This blog post was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

Avatar photo

Paul Madden

British Ambassador to Japan

Part of UK in Australia

22nd May 2014

Keeping up Appearances at the High Commission

Hyacinth Bucket came to dinner last night. Well actually it was actress Patricia Routledge CBE. In a distinguished career she has done everything from the Royal Shakespeare Company to Broadway musicals and Coronation Street. But it was as the socially pretentious Hyacinth Bucket (“pronounced Bouquet”) that she really became a household name around the world.

HE Paul Madden with Patricia Routledge CBE
HE Paul Madden with Patricia Routledge CBE

She is currently touring Australia in a charming piece based on the life of Myra Hess, the pianist who helped maintain morale in London during the dark days of WWII by putting on daily concerts at the National Gallery.

Patricia is one of many British national treasures who have a devoted following here, and the current show, Admission One Shilling, has sold out theatres all around Australia. Distinguished guests including my friend George Brandis, the Attorney General and Arts Minister, were delighted to come along to meet her.

There’s an element of “Keeping up Appearances” to diplomatic life: you’re always trying to show your country in its best possible light, and aspiring to keep up with your peer countries. I worry sometimes that sitcoms like this, which played on the delicate nuances of social pretensions in the middle of British society, can give an impression that Britain remains a much more class-dominated society than it actually is.

In reality modern Britain is a highly diverse society with relatively good social mobility. But it’s something we have to continue to work hard on.

We’re also a country that enjoys laughing at ourselves and our human foibles. That’s got to be healthy. Our evening with Patricia was great fun.

2 comments on “Keeping up Appearances at the High Commission”

Comments are closed.

About Paul Madden

Paul Madden has been the British Ambassador to Japan from January 2017. He was Additional Director for Asia Pacific at the FCO in 2015.He was British High Commissioner to Australia…

Paul Madden has been the British Ambassador to Japan from January 2017.

He was Additional Director for Asia Pacific at the FCO in 2015.He was British High Commissioner to Australia until February 2015. Prior to this he was British High Commissioner in Singapore from 2007-2011.

A career diplomat, he was previously Managing Director at UK Trade and Investment (2004-2006), responsible for co-ordinating and
implementing international trade development strategies to support
companies across a wide range of business sectors.

As Assistant Director of Information at the Foreign and Commonwealth
Office (2003-2004) he was responsible for public diplomacy policy,
including managing the FCO funding of the BBC World Service, the British
Council and the Chevening Scholarships programme. He led the team
responsible for the award-winning UK pavilion at the Aichi Expo in Japan
2005.

He was Deputy High Commissioner in Singapore from 2000-2003 and has
also served in Washington (1996-2000) and Tokyo (1988-92). Between
1992-96 he worked on EU enlargement and Environmental issues at the FCO
in London.

Before joining FCO he worked at the Department of Trade and Industry
(1980-87) on a range of industrial sectors and trade policy, including
two years as a minister’s Private Secretary.

He has an MA in Economic Geography from Cambridge University, an MBA
from Durham University, studied Japanese at London University’s School
of Oriental and African Studies, and is a Fellow of the Royal
Geographical Society. His first book, Raffles: Lessons in Business
Leadership, was published in 2003.

Married to Sarah, with three children, he was born in 1959, in Devon.

Follow Paul