4th December 2017 Vienna, Austria
During my first posting to Vienna 1984-87, as now, I used to admire the number of fascinating exhibitions in the city. Occasionally, I would be so impressed that I bought a souvenir. One such souvenir was this poster advertising an exhibition of the works of the famous Austrian photographer Ernst Haas, from October 1986. He […]
Read more on #ViennaMemories #4: Ernst Haas: prisoners of war | Reply
15th November 2017 Vienna, Austria
One of the most beautiful, and enigmatic, artworks in the British Embassy in Vienna is Anne Lucy Grenville, Lady Nugent, by the renowned portrait painter Sir Thomas Lawrence. It dates from 1813, around the time that Anne Lucy Poulett (her maiden name), aged 23, married George Nugent Grenville, second Baron Nugent of Carlanstown. The portrait […]
8th November 2017 Vienna, Austria
The youngest of the four men is 82. He left when he was four years old. The oldest is 98. They cheerfully sign autographs and chat about their experiences. I’m at the launch in Vienna of a terrific book: Vienna – London: Passage to Safety: Emigré portraits in photographs and words, edited by Austrian photographer […]
Read more on Vienna – London: Extremes of Good and Bad Luck | Reply
3rd November 2017 Vienna, Austria
One year ago, I attended with my mother a concert in Vienna by the Academy of St Martin in the Fields. It was a sombre occasion. The concert had been due to be conducted by the founder of the Academy, Sir Neville Marriner, aged 92. But tragically, the great musician had died in his sleep, […]
Read more on Sir Neville Marriner Memorial Concert, 14 November 2017 | Reply
31st October 2017 Vienna, Austria
A bloke in a leather jacket stands on a sunny railway platform, looking forward to starting a new job. Excited to be on my way from Salzburg today to take up my posting in #Vienna pic.twitter.com/S4oSK0J1TJ — Leigh Turner (@LeighTurnerFCO) August 27, 2016 I started as British Ambassador to Vienna and UK Permanent Representative to […]
14th September 2017 Vienna, Austria
On 14 September the UK joins others in celebrating the 20th anniversary of the formation of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, known as the UNODC. The UNODC was set up in 1997 from a merger between the UN’s Drug Control Programme and the UN’s Centre for International Crime Prevention. Today, the UNODC’s work […]
Read more on Celebrating 20 years of fighting illegal drugs and crime | Reply (1)
6th September 2017 Vienna, Austria
An ambassador punches a horse and gets involved in a fight with the coachman. Two hundred years later, another ambassador in the same city initiates a series of discussion evenings named after his predecessor. Why? Lord Charles Vane-Stewart, Third Marquess of Londonderry, was the first British Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Emperor of Austria […]
21st July 2017 Vienna, Austria
During my first posting in Vienna from 1984-87 I used to travel down the Westautobahn a great deal – often en route to Salzburg, Tyrol or Munich. On the way home, I used to make a pit-stop at a certain motorway service station and consume a cup of hot chocolate. Oddly, as I then saw […]
Read more on #Viennamemories #2: a cup of hot chocolate | Reply (1)
28th June 2017 Vienna, Austria
How do objects and memories affect each other? I explored these issues in my earlier blog, Things from Vienna? Or Viennese things? One of the costs, or possibly benefits, of of being a diplomat is that every few years you have to pack up everything you own and move to another country. Once you’ve arrived […]
Read more on #ViennaMemories #1: “Mann verliess sie…” | Reply
19th May 2017 Vienna, Austria
I blogged recently about my bruising encounter with a Viennese wild boar. Following the blog, I was overwhelmed with ‘get well soon’ messages from well-wishers. Because the story was widely reported, I also received queries on the lines of ‘what’s this blogging all about then?’ and ‘What does an ambassador do when not being chased […]