29th December 2015 Skopje, North Macedonia
Everywhere you look in December and January there are people broadcasting their reviews of the year just gone. Facebook is especially popular for this. Log on now, and there’s a long list of friends grinning out at us, inviting us to check out their year in review. Looking at Macedonia, it’s not an easy call […]
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25th June 2015 Skopje, North Macedonia
I leave Macedonia today after a fascinating three years as Deputy Head of Mission at the British Embassy in Skopje. There have been many developments across the political and economic spectrum during that time. I have had the pleasure of working with a dynamic team within this Embassy, and developed our cooperation in the fields […]
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2nd June 2015 Skopje, North Macedonia
This is not a political slogan. It is the title of an exhibition that the UK Parliament is hosting in celebration of 800 years of Magna Carta. The exhibition commissioned nine artists to produce banners for the historic and beautiful Westminster Hall, celebrating key moments along our journey to modern democracy. If you are not able to visit it in person, you can see the exhibition […]
17th March 2015 Skopje, North Macedonia
What’s the reason to mention the ‘Game of Thrones’ in a blog reflecting on Northern Ireland on St Patrick’s Day? Simple and glorious: this American fantasy drama television series is filmed in a Belfast studio and on location elsewhere in Northern Ireland, Malta, Scotland, Croatia, Iceland, the United States, Spain and Morocco. If you have […]
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1st March 2015 Skopje, North Macedonia
On Sunday 1 March along with Welsh citizens around the World, I will celebrate St David’s Day. Tradition has it that St David, or Dewi Saint in the Welsh language, died on this day in 569AD and from the 18th Century he was adopted as the Patron Saint of Wales, and the date celebrated as […]
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12th December 2014 Skopje, North Macedonia
Since I arrived in Macedonia, many people have spoken to me (usually with enthusiasm, though sometimes rather wistfully) about the role of Wilton Park in 2008 in helping to establish parliamentary procedures here. I have often been asked why we haven’t, given the success of the 2008 conference, done more Wilton Park events for Macedonia. […]
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25th November 2014 Skopje, North Macedonia
Hopefully you will see a lot of orange today as the United Nations has chosen the colour to symbolize a brighter future without violence against women. 25 November is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence start today to raise awareness about the fight to […]
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18th October 2014 Skopje, North Macedonia
Just occasionally a diplomat’s work takes us into deeply emotional territory. That happened here this week with the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s visit to Skopje. The IHRA (www.holocaustremembrance.com) exists to foster international cooperation to support Holocaust education, remembrance and research. The UK holds the Chair this year. And in that role Sir Andrew Burns (ex-FCO, […]
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