28th August 2013 USA
Today I will have the honour of representing the UK government on the fiftieth anniversary of Dr Martin Luther King Jr’s historic “I have a dream” speech at the Lincoln Memorial. I’ve represented my country at many big events in my 20-year diplomatic career, from G8 and UN Summits to the State of the Union […]
30th July 2013 Washington DC, USA
Nostalgia is defined as “a sentimental longing or wistful affection for the past, typically for a period of place with happy personal associations.” With this weekend marking one year on, was I feeling nostalgic about the London 2012 games, which I experienced from more than 3,000 miles away? I most definitely was. While I couldn’t […]
21st February 2013 Washington DC, USA
Watching the BRIT awards (the British Music industry awards) last night, I realised there was something different about them this year, something different… and yet very familiar. Then it dawned on me, just before the American musician Frank Ocean (who won best International Solo Male) said: ‘And thanks to Damien Hirst for the Polka Dots!’ […]
11th February 2013 Washington DC, USA
Throughout the telecast of last night’s GRAMMY’s show, viewers saw an exciting showcase of British music – the show included big British names performing and taking home top prizes, making the night a reminder of what makes British music GREAT. Beyond great music was a little taste of another one of my favourite topics to […]
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8th February 2013 Washington DC, USA
Banks. Bankers. Financial Services. Bail-outs. LIBOR. Bonuses. You are probably a bit fed up of hearing all those terms. Haven’t we been talking about banks and the financial sector non-stop for five years? Isn’t this stuff meant to be boring Wouldn’t we rather be talking about Beyonce at the Superbowl instead? These issues are hugely […]
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23rd January 2013
The State of Gujarat, an hour’s flight north of Mumbai, can claim many important contributions to India. It was the birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, another key leader of the independence movement and India’s first Home Minister, and Jamsetji Tata, the founder of the massive eponymous conglomerate, hails from Navsari in Gujarat. Gujarat […]
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3rd January 2013 Washington DC, USA
As 2012 and my first six months of my job at the Embassy came to a close, my colleagues and I reflected back on how great the year was for the UK. One of the reasons that we were able to celebrate this was because of the cutting edge UK fashion industry. Recently our very […]
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21st December 2012 Washington DC, USA
According to Wikipedia, Prosperity is the state of flourishing, thriving, good fortune and / or successful social status. Prosperity often encompasses wealth but also includes others factors which are independent of wealth to varying degrees, such as happiness and health. It’s also (with a capital ‘P’) the word the Foreign Office uses to describe one […]
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19th December 2012 USA
I should confess that while I am not Scottish I would quite fancy being Scottish for a while. The Scots, like the Irish, are renowned for being people who love to live life to the fullest. They produce God’s finest water (Scottish whiskys are seeing their exports to the US and most others markets rocket […]
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14th December 2012 Washington DC, USA
The following is a guest post by Dame Barbara Hay, British Consul-General in Los Angeles. They used to say Amir Khan was the best thing to happen to race relations in Britain. The son of Pakistani immigrants and a practising Muslim, he made all of Britain proud by winning silver at the 2004 Olympics and […]
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