20th March 2013
What’s it like organising a royal visit? They don’t come round very often in a diplomatic career. But when they do, they present extraordinary opportunities. Last week’s visit by the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall was just such an opportunity. It was made all the more meaningful because of the lasting relationship […]
26th February 2013
Last week we celebrated Burns Night, the traditional gathering of the clans to commemorate the great Scottish poet who was born into a poor farming family, but is now the literary hero of a nation. He had to struggle to gain acceptance and appreciation and faced bankruptcy and failure many times. I was reminded of […]
13th February 2013
Political slogans are part of elections all round the world. They try to encapsulate a simple attractive catchphrase to make the voter support their candidate. They usually promise a better world and try to energise the voter: “Yes We Can”, “Tough on Crime” “The Buck Stops Here”. The trouble with election slogans is that they tend […]
30th January 2013
The flow of Syrian refugees entering Jordan has now reached crisis point. What started as a trickle over 18 months ago has now become a flood. Even a few weeks ago the UN was reporting 300 – 400 new arrivals each night. Now it is 3,000 – 4,000 most nights. These are bald figures. Like […]
16th January 2013
These days text communications shorthand is using “Gr8” to mean “great”. It looks and sounds similar to “G8” a heading that many people see in their newspapers and websites. The G8 heading is now part of my daily activity. We even have a website: @G8 and a similar Twitter address. What’s going on? The UK has […]
30th December 2012
Cartoons at this time of year usually show a battered, bruised and battle-scarred old man handing over the torch of time to a new-born infant, symbolising the passage of time from the horrors of the old year to the hopes of the new. The change of year always inspires thoughts about what has passed and what is […]
13th December 2012
His Majesty King Abdullah is in London this week. A top priority in his talks with Prime Minister David Cameron and Foreign Secretary William Hague was the Middle East Peace Process. After HM King Abdullah’s trip to Ramallah last week; after the ceasefire in Gaza; and after the vote at the UN General Assembly, this […]
21st November 2012
Ala’a Al-Sallal was frustrated when he found he couldn’t buy Arabic books on Amazon. So rather than give up he decided to set up his own Arabic version of Amazon. This young man from Jabal Natheef worked with the active support of his family to set up a new company: Jamalon, an on-line bookshop that now […]
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12th November 2012
My Prime Minister David Cameron was in town last week. Maybe you’re wondering what it’s like arranging a visit by a leading politician? And what it’s like having him stay in your home? For any Ambassador, a top-level visit is the icing on the cake of what we do. Embassies try to get to know the country they’re […]
24th October 2012
Last week saw a campaign in Amman to clean up the streets. Teams of volunteers brushed and swept to remove tons of rubbish. What a great campaign! But… what about the rest of Jordan? Visitors always rave about the beauty of the country. And justifiably so: there are amazing places to see and experiences to […]