25th August 2011
Like many people in Jordan and elsewhere I have been glued to the TV reporting and the Twitter feeds coming from Libya. Although there are pockets of resistance, the end of the Libyan people’s nightmare is not far away. The sooner Qadhafi is captured the better. We have watched, fascinated, as history was made in […]
24th August 2011 Ottawa, Canada
Canada lost a remarkable public figure this week. I would like to offer my most sincere condolences on behalf of myself, the staff at the British High Commission and the British people to Mr. Layton’s family and friends as well as Canadians across this country that have been touched by his passing.
22nd August 2011 Nairobi, Kenya
My name is James Hooley and I’m currently part of the British Office for Somalia team in Nairobi. My boss, Matt Baugh, has very kindly lent me his blog so I can tell you a little bit more about our trip to Mogadishu on Wednesday with Andrew Mitchell, the UK Secretary of State for International […]
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18th August 2011
Last night, I was pleased to be invited by the Blue Star Intercultural Centre to celebrate the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, over a traditional Iftar dinner in a Muslim family home in the Canberra suburbs. Having lived for the last four years in Singapore where a sixth of the population are Muslim, I knew […]
16th August 2011 Ottawa, Canada
If you’re like me, you’ll have watched the riots in the streets of London and other English cities with a mixture of shock, dismay and outrage. There was a great deal of criminality on display. Deeper analysis will follow, but there’s plenty to be done in the interim. In London, we’re well into what the […]
16th August 2011 Ottawa, Canada
It’s always a sad time in the office, when we have to say goodbye and send our interns on to their next adventures. Rasna, one of our most recent interns here at the High Commission is off, but not far from our minds. I have a few blogs that she had written for us that […]
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14th August 2011
The online version of Nepszabsag, one of Hungary’s broadsheets, want to do a video interview with me. The journalist is the same one who interviewed me a couple of years ago when we launched a “Music Against Racism” initiative at the Festival – it is still going strong, now with a Hungarian coordinator. The interview […]
14th August 2011
My day at the Sziget Festival started with participating in a press conference together with the Deputy Police Chief of Budapest. Our two British police officers, together with Netherlands, German and Polish counterparts, were present. I spoke about our long-standing bilateral police cooperation, going back to the early 1990’s. There was media interest in what […]
13th August 2011
The Sziget Festival crowd are starting to look tired after several days here, but by tonight the adrenalin rush will have them partying again. On the Main stage today are Hadouken!, Kate Nash and the Kaiser Chiefs (we won’t worry about the non-British bands). While tomorrow we look forward to white Lies and some traditional […]
13th August 2011
This morning the British Embassy swimming team all successfully completed a 1500 metre crossing of Lake Velence (the third largest in Hungary) to promote the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympic Games. Colleagues Andy, Kata, Melinda, Anna and Geory were joined by 2 Hungarian international paralympic swimmers, Tamas Toth and Judit Tarjanyi. Dani drove and took […]