20th June 2012 Ottawa, Canada
War fever is racing down the river! Actually, war commemoration fever, as the many ceremonies to mark the War of 1812 begin. I had the pleasure of attending two fascinating events in the last week. The first, at Ottawa’s excellent War Museum, is called: 1812: One War, Four Perspectives. Its curator is Dr Peter MacLeod, […]
28th May 2012
I’m sitting next to a senior diplomat from a respected European country at dinner when conversation turns to the Falkland Islands, known to Spanish speakers as the Malvinas. “A key fact,” I say, “is that the 3,000 people who live in the Islands want to remain British.” “Ah,” says the top diplomat. “But how do […]
22nd May 2012 Dublin, Ireland
Guest blog by Iain Stewart, Head of Political at the British Embassy Warsaw. My name is Iain Stewart. I lead the political team within the UK Embassy in Warsaw. What does that mean? Our main role is to explain and promote UK government thinking on the EU and international agenda to a Polish audience. To […]
Read more on Polish-British round table in Krakow | Reply (1)
18th May 2012 USA
The following is a guest post by Bob McNally, drummer for MADlantic, a local rock and roll cover band with US and UK band members. It is Music Week and Great Britain celebrates its long and outstanding tradition of rock and roll. Music is one of the great cultural ties between the US and the UK. The […]
Read more on GREAT British Music Rocks and Rolls Through The Years | Reply
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 […]
29th March 2012 Ottawa, Canada
On Monday evening the High Commissioner and I attended a reception at the Canadian House of Commons to celebrate the opening of a Library exhibit commemorating 70 years since Churchill’s world-renowned “Some chicken! Some neck!” speech. Few Canadians, I know, will be confused by that reference. But for the uninitiated, this was from Winston Churchill’s […]
25th January 2012 Ottawa, Canada
January the 25th is Burns Night, an anniversary globally celebrated. It’s right and proper, therefore, to reflect for a moment on the Scottish contribution to Canada. I was given a book the other day, modestly titled: How the Scots Invented Canada, by Ken McGoogan. It points, not without evidence, to the seminal contribution made by […]
11th January 2012 Ottawa, Canada
As we approach the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812, Canadians have begun to reflect on its role in shaping what Canada is today. But this is also a chance for Britain to consider its own contribution to the conflict, and how its relationship with Canada has evolved over the past two centuries. The […]
20th December 2011
This week Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Margareta unveiled a new picture at the British Ambassador’s Residence in Bucharest – a portrait of Queen Marie of Romania. Queen Marie was the granddaughter of Queen Victoria, born Princess Marie of Edinburgh in 1875. As the wife of King Ferdinand she became Queen of Romania in 1914. […]
Read more on Queen Marie arrives at the Ambassador’s Residence | Reply (1)
6th December 2011
What would the great Welshman and founder of Donetsk, John Hughes, think of Ukraine today? I was privileged to be invited to Donetsk recently to give the inaugural John Hughes memorial speech. My audience was the Donetsk Chamber of Commerce and the British Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce. In the speech I paid tribute to John […]