Tag: Scotland

28th March 2012

Avatar photo

by Nigel Baker

Ambassador to the Holy See (2011-2016)

Visiting Scotland

In a recent blog, I noted after a visit to Northern Ireland the importance for British ambassadors abroad of understanding the country they represent. I spent last weekend in Edinburgh, at the kind invitation of the Scottish Catholic Bishops Conference. My programme included: meetings with the Catholic Bishops of Scotland, including Cardinal Keith Patrick O’Brien; […]

Read more on Visiting Scotland | Reply

13th February 2012 Dublin, Ireland

Robin Barnett

by Robin Barnett

Former Ambassador to Ireland, Dublin

A Scottish evening with Wojtek the Bear.

One of the UK’s great strengths is its diversity. That includes some great cultural traditions. One of the best of those is Burns night. To celebrate this, we held an event at the Embassy. Very few of our events feature a pipe band and a sword dance, performed by the outstanding pipe band from Częstochowa. […]

Read more on A Scottish evening with Wojtek the Bear. | Reply

25th January 2012 Ottawa, Canada

Scotland’s gifts to 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 […]

Read more on Scotland’s gifts to Canada | Reply

29th November 2010

Avatar photo

by Leigh Turner

Ambassador to Austria and UK Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other International Organisations in Vienna

St Andrew’s Night in Kyiv: a Ukrainian-Scottish ceilidh

It’s 9.30 p.m. and the Sancho Panza Restaurant is packed with Scots and Ukrainians in kilts and traditional embroidered linen shirts (actually most of the men in kilts are wearing Ukrainian shirts).  A Scottish/Ukrainian band equipped with bagpipes, a harmonica, fiddles and a tsymbaly play Ukrainian and Scottish dance tunes accompanied by roars of enthusiasm […]

Read more on St Andrew’s Night in Kyiv: a Ukrainian-Scottish ceilidh | Reply

1st October 2010 London, UK

Avatar photo

by David Lidington

Minister for Europe, London

A day in Edinburgh

On Wednesday 29 September I spent the day in Edinburgh. I visited the Chamber of Commerce, the University of Edinburgh and the Scottish Parliament. Find out more by watching my video blog below. See a full video of the speech I gave at the University of Edinburgh.

Read more on A day in Edinburgh | Reply