29th June 2018
Vienna, Austria
My blog of last September described the “Charles Stewart Conversations”, our regular series of salons here at the British Embassy in Vienna. I wrote how we decided to name the salon after Lord Charles Vane-Stewart, Third Marquess of Londonderry, the first British Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Emperor of Austria, from 1814-1823 (there’s a […]
Read more on Horse-punching not required: a Viennese salon at the Jewish Museum | Reply
28th June 2018
Vienna, Austria
A medium-sized1 EU country takes on the Presidency of the Council of the European Union during a busy period in Europe. In addition to Brexit, migration and asylum policy are at the forefront, along with tense long-term EU budget negotiations. Although people in this country are famously modest, everyone knows that they have run two […]
Read more on Austrian EU Presidency: Service Announcement | Reply
15th June 2018
Vienna, Austria
The guest of honour takes up his place at the podium. The room is hushed. He begins to speak. I was recently invited to attend the award of the honorary citizenship of the city of Vienna to Dr Hugo Portisch, at the splendid Vienna town hall. I had met Dr Portisch briefly when I was […]
Read more on Meeting Hugo Portisch – again | Reply
5th June 2018
Vienna, Austria
The car is bright red – and silent. It is, perhaps, the best electric car in the world. I recently had the privilege to attend the launch of the new Jaguar i-Pace in Graz, a couple of hours south of Vienna. Graz is one of my favourite Austrian cities, with a huge student population, a […]
Read more on Motor City UK, Motor City Austria and the Jaguar i-Pace | Reply (1)
23rd May 2018
Vienna, Austria
The crystals are colourless and brittle. They could be an illegal narcotic substance. How to find out? Here at the UK Mission to the United Nations in Vienna we work closely with the UN office on Drugs and Crime. Policy on drugs, which are produced and consumed in countries across the world, is a classic […]
Read more on What a drug lab looks like – in Vienna | Reply
9th May 2018
Vienna, Austria
‘So,’ I say, ‘what do you think you might to do for a career?’ ‘Diplomat,’ says the first young woman. ‘Yeah, diplomat,’ the second says. ‘Us, too,’ say the third and fourth members of the group. As part of #girlsday, or #toechtertag, the British Embassy in Vienna this year invited young women to apply to […]
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3rd May 2018
Vienna, Austria
If you watch period dramas such as “The Crown”, where characters write letters with fountain pens, you may see on desks a lozenge-shaped or a semi-circular blotter. Their purpose was to absorb excess ink, particularly from signatures, so that it would not smudge if the paper came into contact with something else. I like fountain […]
Read more on #ViennaMemories #7: the “Robox” blotter | Reply
12th April 2018
Vienna, Austria
If you have followed recent discussion over the case of the attempted murder of Sergei and Yulia Skripal in Salisbury using a military grade nerve agent, you may find interesting the programme “Russia and the West: a new Cold War? Who is responsible?” transmitted on Austrian broadcaster Puls 4 on 11 April. In the programme […]
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9th April 2018
Vienna, Austria
The three liqueur glasses are sub-standard in every way. Each is slightly different from the other. The thickness and shape of the glass curves are irregular. Two are chipped. I treasure them. The three tiny liqueur glasses I bought second-hand in Vienna in 1986 are another #ViennaMemories item rich with history. I have used them […]
Read more on #ViennaMemories #6: three slow glasses | Reply (2)
28th March 2018
Vienna, Austria
As a British diplomat in Austria (I am Second Secretary for Economic and EU issues), I have found one of the most surprising things about Austrian politics is how people feel about trade. Austria’s export ratio (i.e. goods exports as a ratio of GDP) is high – 52%, compared to the High Income Country average […]
Read more on Trade and comparative advantage: why Harry Kane doesn’t mow his own lawn | Reply (1)
