27th May 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
What are governments for? At its most fundamental, the role of government is to keep people and communities safe. Right until the modern era, provision of security was seen as the prime function of government. It still is an essential priority, and it is no coincidence that assuring national security remains one of the over-riding […]
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2nd February 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Last Saturday some 170 people gathered at the Athenee Palace Hotel in Bucharest for Burns Night – an annual celebration for the Scottish community. Born on 25th January 1759, Robert Burns is Scotland’s national poet as well as a pioneer of the Romantic movement. Burns suppers are organised each year on or around the poet’s […]
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25th September 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Ethiopia is one of the few countries that celebrate their New Year at this time. On 27 September, the ceremony of Meskel will be observed by many Ethiopian Orthodox Christian believers. Meskel is one of the most significant holidays for the Orthodox Church: arrays of vivid colours, religious chants, huge bonfires (Demera in Amharic) and […]
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20th July 2012
Nairobi, Kenya
And so to Hargeisa for the Hargeisa International Book Fair, an inspiring gathering of artists, authors, poets and more. Established by Jama Musse Jama and organized by the wonderful Ayan Mahamoud and her excellent team, the Book Fair is now in its fifth year. Hargeisa may have no theatre, no permanent library and no cinema, […]
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24th May 2012
Beirut, Lebanon
Monday marked 100 days until the London Paralympics. We had prepared a programme of events promoting the milestone, raising the profile of London and the UK, and encouraging greater focus on disability rights in Lebanon. But the disturbances of the weekend meant that we took a decision to focus on those instead. In a country […]
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17th May 2012
Washington DC, USA
It isn’t every day that you walk out of your house to find 10,000 people on your lawn. But on Saturday, for EU Embassy Open House day, that is what happened to me. From the time gates opened at 10:00—with quite a queue already formed—until they closed at 4:00, a steady stream of visitors turned […]
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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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13th April 2012
Islamabad, Pakistan
I really enjoy sharing my experiences and thoughts in an informal way through this blog. I’ve been able to do blog posts on subjects as diverse as foreign policy issues, the Commonwealth, the trade and education links between the UK and Pakistan and of course cricket. And I have particularly valued the feed back. But […]
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11th April 2012
USA
Like a lot of people interested in US politics and economics, I’ve been thinking quite a bit recently about the results of the last US census and the excellent analyses that demographers, political pundits and others have done on them. One thing that really strikes me is the projections of the US’s population out to […]
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11th January 2012
Washington DC, USA
I’m just on the train back from a trip to New York City—my first excursion out of DC since arriving in the US at the end of November. Of course, I’ve been to NYC many times before (indeed Layla and I went there on our honeymoon) but it’s a very different experience to go to […]
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