30th May 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Prime Minister Julia Gillard joined us in congratulating three young indigenous scholars who are going off to study at Oxford and Cambridge. I took them over to Parliament for tea with the PM, after hosting an uplifting scholarship ceremony at my Residence. The British Government is a key partner in the Charlie Perkins indigenous scholarships, […]
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29th May 2012
New York, USA
The frenzy surrounding Facebook’s IPO shows the firm grip the thriving tech scene has on public consciousness. The IPO disappointed investors and Facebook is a few billion off its May 18 valuation. Let’s not forget however, that this is an eight-year-old company that is closing in on 1 billion users and employs a staff of […]
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17th April 2012
Washington DC, USA
Before I continue on my theme of how GREAT Britain is this year, I’d like to give a shout out to the 100 Days to Go event coming up tomorrow at American University. All afternoon we will strive to go ‘Faster, Higher, Stronger’ than our fellow Embassy (and previous Olympic Host) competitors in the “Embassy […]
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6th April 2012
Washington DC, USA
On our very first visit to DC, a chilly weekend last October, to scope out the city as our imminent home, we crawled jetlagged onto the metro at an unpleasant hour of the morning. It might have made sense to start house hunting, or to embark on some general meandering to get a sense of […]
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21st March 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Our Sports and Olympics Minister Hugh Robertson MP was in Melbourne this weekend to launch the GREAT campaign in Australia. This marketing campaign, which is running in ten countries around the world, aims to build on the fact that London and the UK will be a focus of world attention this year, with The Queen’s Diamond […]
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19th March 2012
Washington DC, USA
It was pretty much impossible to look at a newspaper, news programme, tweet or blog last week without being met by numerous photographs of David Cameron and Barack Obama sharing a joke, or their quotes about the essential relationship shared by the US and UK. They even wrote a piece together for the Washington Post. […]
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22nd February 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
I hosted a lunch yesterday for celebrated British actress Miriam Margolyes who is touring Australia with her show “Dickens’ Women”. With her hugely varied and successful career across stage, TV and film she is one of our best loved actresses. Miriam has a lifelong passion for Charles Dickens, perhaps Britain’s greatest ever novelist, and she spoke entertainingly about […]
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13th February 2012
Washington DC, USA
If the first two months are any indication, 2012 is shaping up to be a truly GREAT year for the UK. At the Golden Globes back in January, British shows and performers brought home three awards, including Best Miniseries for the smash hit Downton Abbey. Last night’s GRAMMYs kept the momentum rolling. The one and […]
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10th February 2012
New York, USA
2012 is a special year for the UK, and we have much to look forward to in the months ahead with the London 2012 Games and the Diamond Jubilee. On a cold January day in New York, while talking to some colleagues about celebrating the countdown to the Olympics, somebody mentioned the “Empire State Building Run […]
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11th January 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
The address of Pope Benedict XVI to the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See, at the start of each year, is always an opportunity to look ahead at the foreign policy challenges of coming months. 2012 was no exception, and I was struck by just how much of his Holiness’s wide ranging speech dovetailed […]
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