I’m the British Ambassador to Cuba and I’ve decided to start this blog. The idea is to write about the United Kingdom and Cuba, everything that joins them together and one or two things that separate them. Of course, the British Embassy in Havana already uses lots of digital platforms for communication – for example, we have a very active Facebook page, we post on the Embassy website and I tweet (my Twitter address is @HMATimCole). But blogging takes us one step further and gives me an opportunity to have more of a conversation with you.
I’d really welcome your comments on this blog. If you want me to blog about a particular issue, let me know. If you want me to answer a particular question, ask it. I’ll be honest in reply and explain carefully what we do in Cuba and why. I’ll be diplomatic too – after all, I am a diplomat. You may not always like what I write. If you don’t agree with me, don’t abuse me (I get enough of that on Twitter) but explain why not. If you do agree with me, please tell me. The blog will be in Spanish and English so you can reply or comment in either language.
With only limited internet access in Cuba, you might ask why I’m bothering. The answer is, and I am pretty sure this is the case, that there are enough people out there interested in Cuba, and about Britain in Cuba, to make this worthwhile. Some are in Cuba, many are outside. Many are Cubans, some aren’t. Let’s see how it goes.