30th January 2013
The flow of Syrian refugees entering Jordan has now reached crisis point. What started as a trickle over 18 months ago has now become a flood. Even a few weeks ago the UN was reporting 300 – 400 new arrivals each night. Now it is 3,000 – 4,000 most nights. These are bald figures. Like […]
16th January 2013
These days text communications shorthand is using “Gr8” to mean “great”. It looks and sounds similar to “G8” a heading that many people see in their newspapers and websites. The G8 heading is now part of my daily activity. We even have a website: @G8 and a similar Twitter address. What’s going on? The UK has […]
30th December 2012
Cartoons at this time of year usually show a battered, bruised and battle-scarred old man handing over the torch of time to a new-born infant, symbolising the passage of time from the horrors of the old year to the hopes of the new. The change of year always inspires thoughts about what has passed and what is […]
13th December 2012
His Majesty King Abdullah is in London this week. A top priority in his talks with Prime Minister David Cameron and Foreign Secretary William Hague was the Middle East Peace Process. After HM King Abdullah’s trip to Ramallah last week; after the ceasefire in Gaza; and after the vote at the UN General Assembly, this […]
21st November 2012
Ala’a Al-Sallal was frustrated when he found he couldn’t buy Arabic books on Amazon. So rather than give up he decided to set up his own Arabic version of Amazon. This young man from Jabal Natheef worked with the active support of his family to set up a new company: Jamalon, an on-line bookshop that now […]
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12th November 2012
My Prime Minister David Cameron was in town last week. Maybe you’re wondering what it’s like arranging a visit by a leading politician? And what it’s like having him stay in your home? For any Ambassador, a top-level visit is the icing on the cake of what we do. Embassies try to get to know the country they’re […]
24th October 2012
Last week saw a campaign in Amman to clean up the streets. Teams of volunteers brushed and swept to remove tons of rubbish. What a great campaign! But… what about the rest of Jordan? Visitors always rave about the beauty of the country. And justifiably so: there are amazing places to see and experiences to […]
12th September 2012
A fellow diplomat in Amman once told me that he loved it when the Ambassador was away, because he didn’t have to do any work. Well, after a busy summer, @PeterMillett1 is now on a well-earned holiday. In his absence, has the British Embassy shut down?
4th September 2012
A scorpion wanted to cross the River Nile. Unable to swim, he asked a frog to carry him over to the opposite bank. “No way!” said the frog. “You’ll sting me and I’ll drown!” “Of course I won’t sting you,” said the scorpion. “I’d end up drowning myself too.” So the reluctant frog let the […]
23rd August 2012
Next week sees the start of the London 2012 Paralympic Games, two weeks of great sport between athletes from all over the world. It is the second largest sporting event in the world, an extraordinary celebration of elite sporting ability. Maybe some people will say “So what?” and turn off. Surely nothing can match the […]