Tag: uk

11th February 2013 Houston, USA

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by Lauren George

Science and Innovation Officer

‘Spidey Silk’ – Spider-Man would be jealous!

When I read that scientists had created a real life “Spidey Silk”, I was curious to say the least. The new material was named that because it is both incredibly strong and equally flexible – just like the webs that Spider-Man shoots from his wrists. It sounds revolutionary in itself, but when you really understand […]

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8th February 2013 Washington DC, USA

by Peter Matheson

Economic Counsellor

Financial Reform: The Long and Winding Road

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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8th February 2013 Toronto, Canada

Making the most of scientists and engineers in government

The UK government employs a lot of scientists and engineers, often in positions not directly related to their professional training. In order to take advantage of possibly-underused skills and push evidence-based policy, the Government Science and Engineering (GSE) community was set up in 2008. It is open to any civil servant with a science or […]

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8th February 2013 New York, USA

Charles Arrowsmith

by Charles Arrowsmith

Deputy Chief of Staff, Office of the Consul-General

Super-Duper Bowl

My first Super Bowl experience was transcribing the lyrics of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band’s half-time show in 2009 for Sky Sports’ subtitled output back in the UK. This, fortunately, required zero knowledge of how (American) football works – and played to my eternal love of The Boss. Since I moved to the […]

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8th February 2013 Beirut, Lebanon

Tom Fletcher

by Tom Fletcher

Former British Ambassador to Lebanon

Beirutopia

Diplomats hate making predictions. Churchill once said that you could ignore every other page of Foreign Office advice, because it tended to be in the form of ‘on the one hand’ and ‘on the other hand’. The files are full of pre-election telegrams that hedge their bets. There are good reasons for this. We don’t […]

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30th January 2013 Washington DC, USA

by Major General Buster Howes

Defence Attaché

Pipes and Drums roll into US for the start of 2013 Tour

The following is a guest blog by Major Andrew Halliday from the Black Watch. Major Halliday is currently taking part in the Pipes and Drums of The Black Watch and the Military Band of the Scots Guards 2013 US tour. This is his first post as they roll into Philadelphia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. […]

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30th January 2013 Washington DC, USA

Maeve Atkins

by Maeve Atkins

Communications Officer

Six Nations Rugby: How You Can Cheer Stateside

I happened to be in Dublin four years ago when Ireland’s Rugby team won the Six Nation’s Tournament, sending the country into a swirl of excitement culminating in daylong welcome home celebration on the River Liffey, as well as the first I heard of team captain Brian O’Driscoll – nicknamed The BOD – a player […]

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