5th August 2011
This morning I was at the Budapest Holocaust Museum to meet the new Director and then attend a ceremony and exhibition. The Museum covers a grim topic but is one of the “must-see” venues in our city – a British Parliamentarian (of Jewish origin) visiting last year called it “magnificent”. Not only is it an […]
28th July 2011 New York, USA
Guest blog by Sir Alan Collins, Consul-GeneralThe last month has been pretty typical of my four and half years as Consul-General in New York: almost every engagement has provided evidence that the relationship between the UK and US is special and essential. 27 July, my final day as Consul General and Head of UK Trade […]
28th July 2011
It’s always humbling to meet elite athletes. So I am rather in awe when we bring together at the residence to mark the one-year countdown to London 2012 some truly great Olympians from Ukraine. They include Valery Borzov, who I remember winning the 100m and 200m gold medals at the 1972 Olympics in Munich and […]
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21st July 2011
One of the striking things about Kyiv is the mixture of architectural styles across the city. This is true of the Ulitsa Desyatinna, where the British Embassy is a stone’s throw from the golden domes of the (rebuilt) St Michael’s Church and the mighty Soviet-era building that today houses our colleagues in the Ministry of Foreign […]
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19th July 2011
The red carpet heaves with talent including John Malkovich, Russian filmmaker and actor Nikita Mikhalkov and many legendary Odesa comedy stars including the “Masks” of Chaos Shakespeare fame. Above, gleaming gilt cherubs frolic. I’m at the fabulous Odesa opera house for the opening of this year’s Odesa International Film Festival. With six British films on […]
14th July 2011
You don’t get much better people-to-people links than by bringing a group of British and Ukrainian young people together to play football on the beach, explore theatre projects and check out urban regeneration and diversity. Those were some of the results of a recent visit organised by the British Council with the Churches’ Regional Commission […]
13th July 2011
Four British medals are laid out on a Union Flag. The family stand proudly as the Defence Attache says a few words, citing a moving text from the Polish War Cemetery at Monte Cassino in Italy which holds the graves over 1,000 Poles who died storming the abbey there in May 1944. Then we present […]
28th June 2011 Islamabad, Pakistan
On Thursday, I visited the Police Lines headquarters in Islamabad. I was accompanying the UK Foreign Secretary, William Hague, who wanted to pay his respects to the fallen martyrs of the Pakistani police service and to publicly recognise their sacrifices in serving Pakistan and its citizens. Mr Hague laid a wreath at the police monument […]
22nd June 2011
For two consecutive Fridays I have had an opportunity to get a glimpse of how British universities are making their mark in India. On the first occasion I attended the launch of an initiative by Glasgow Caledonian University with the Deccan Education Society at Fergusson College, part of Pune University. Held at the College’s […]
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20th June 2011
Some weeks ago I blogged about the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia. This week (11-19 June) the Budapest Pride Festival is taking place, with the annual March due tomorrow. The police have pledged that the March will be secure and safe (though there has been an announcement about a possible far right counter-demonstration in […]