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28th April 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
ANZAC Day – Part of Australia’s National Identity
On 25 April I got up at 4.00am to attend the ANZAC Day Dawn Service at Canberra’s magnificent Australian War Memorial. It was a very moving experience. I was deeply impressed to see a crowd of some 20,000 people so still and silent that you could hear the cockatoos screeching in the trees – a […]
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28th April 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Romania and the Royal Wedding
There can be few countries outside the UK where the Royal Wedding is being followed more avidly than in Romania. TV coverage began a week ago, the newspapers are full of information about Prince William and his bride-to-be Kate and everyone I meet is looking forward eagerly to the big day. That’s true even here […]
27th April 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
The longest walk in my life
Guest blog by Liudmyla Bulychova, Entry Clearance Assistant and Chornobyl walk participant When I first heard about the idea of Charity Walk to Chornobyl, I was so excited about it that I immediately agreed to help organise and take part in it. I had two basic reasons for that. Firstly, I would be the only […]
23rd April 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Tradition and Modernity
It seems that even here in Bolivia there is Royal Wedding fever. I have given a number of interviews recently to television and other media. And there is intense interest in our competition to find a Bolivian couple who are also getting married on 29 April to join us at the Residence to celebrate their […]
21st April 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Chernobyl charity walk – last chance!
I blogged in March about the Chernobyl charity walk which members of the British and French embassies were planning for 22 April. The great news is that the event, which is to help The Children of Chernobyl Relief and Development Fund and BLESMA, has already raised over UAH 130,000 – around #10,000. This is a […]
21st April 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Visiting Tasmania – Antarctic research on Climate Change
Hobart, capital of Tasmania, is only a four hour flight from Australia’s Antarctic research stations. Whilst there I had a fascinating visit to the Antarctic Division, the equivalent of our own British Antarctic Survey in Cambridge. Scientists there talked about some of the fascinating research they are doing on the impacts of climate change, which […]
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21st April 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Chernobyl 25th anniversary
This week Kyiv has seen one of its largest ever gatherings of international leaders as Presidents, Prime Ministers and other political figures and experts congregate on Kyiv for two conferences to mark the 25th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster in 1986. The first is a pledging conference to secure funds for the New Safe Confinement […]
20th April 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
5m people, an economy growing at 11.5 per cent – Ingredients for a “second tier” city in India
I made two visits recently to the State of Gujarat in Western India, both of which underline the enormous potential for UK companies in India, and the scale of developments here. At the end of March a team from our trade and investment operation in Mumbai travelled to Surat, the second largest city in Gujarat, […]
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19th April 2011 Toronto, Canada
WWF CN Tower Climb 2011
This is John Preece guestblogging about the recent CN Tower Climb, where two teams from the British Consulate-General in Toronto (one of which included myself) raced up the 1,776 steps and raised over $6,600 for WWF Canada. “Where’s the science?” I hear you cry – read on! First of all, a quick statistical analysis of […]
19th April 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
English and England
Yesterday afternoon I participated as Patron in the 2011 BBC Entertainment and English Speaking Union (ESU) Public Speaking Awards in Hungary. Along with the Ministry of National Resources and Magyar Telekom, the event was also supported by the British Council, Oxford University Press and the Robert Burns International Foundation. It’s the first time the BBC […]