8th March 2012
USA
I had the pleasure of visiting Nicaragua for a short holiday recently. I loved the scenery, friendly people and, unexpectedly, learning about Nicaragua’s role in the California gold rush. Back in the 1850s Nicaragua was a key route for those dashing to the west coast as it was quicker and cheaper to sail from New […]
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8th March 2012
Warsaw, Poland
Great job guys! I’ve just got home, put my feet up and am tucking into a great salmon sandwich, a cup of Harrogate green tea and you know what, I’m going to try some of my best single malt this evening. It’s been a great day. Let me tell you why. My expert colleague in […]
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1st March 2012
Washington DC, USA
Last week I took a very belated Christmas holiday to Puerto Rico. It was very lovely…even if it has meant that one particular friend and colleague has sung West Side Story’s “America” (which compares the perceived pros and cons of living in NYC to San Juan) every time we’ve bumped into each other since my return. But […]
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27th February 2012
Washington DC, USA
The following is a guest post by Andrew Millar, British Consul-General in Houston, Texas. It has been an exciting few days for us here in Texas. We had the honour of hosting Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne and Sir Peter Westmacott, the UK Ambassador in Washington. As the Consul General in Houston, and thus […]
Read more on UK-Texas ties run deep | Reply
8th February 2012
London, UK
It is unbelievable that in a 21st century Europe there are still barriers to online transactions between EU Member States. Over 40% of Europeans buy goods online but less than 1 in 10 of us have bought something online from a trader in another EU country. It astounds me to see that there are still […]
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19th January 2012
USA
Last week at the National Building Museum, I had the pleasure of listening to Jim Eyre, one of the founders of the London-based Wilkinson Eyre Architects. Over the years, Wilkinson Eyre has unveiled futuristic designs for gardens in Singapore; skyscrapers in Guangzhou, China; and a number of innovative UK projects. One of the firm’s projects […]
Read more on Our prosperity depends on better design | Reply
19th January 2012
Athens, Greece
When I tell those who might be interested in asking what I do for a living that I am the British Embassy’s Political Officer most people ask “so, do you think that we shall have an early election?” or “what do the British think of the latest polls?” So, they are surprised if they get […]
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5th January 2012
Washington DC, USA
When I was offered the dream job of Counsellor for Global Issues at the British Embassy in Washington DC, clearly I couldn’t refuse. It’s a dream job because of the range of issues my portfolio covers—diplomacy on trade, energy, the environment, transport, science and innovation—and because of the country and context, since the US is […]
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22nd November 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Mumbai is the centre of India’s film industry, where hundreds of “Bollywood” movies are produced every year. Shortly before the major Indian festival of Diwali one of the most expensive and extravagant films produced here, “Ra One”, hit the screens both in India and London. Reportedly costing over $30M the film is produced by, and […]
Read more on “Land.Gold.Women” – not your usual Bollywood drama: an honour killing in leafy English suburbia | Reply (1)
24th October 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Earlier this month the Romanian Government ratified its agreement with British energy company Melrose, to start seismic surveys and drilling in the Black Sea exploring for oil and gas deposits. This is great news for British investment in Romania. Melrose and its partners plan to invest some 130 million US dollars in this project and […]
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