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Leigh Turner

Ambassador to Austria and UK Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other International Organisations in Vienna

Part of UK in Ukraine

28th September 2011

Running the gauntlet: why English is wonderful

What is a “Chicken Chernobyl”?  How about “the Order of the Golden Toecap” or “buckets of sunshine”?

I’ve blogged before the constant evolution of the English language (see “Brainiacs, dwarf planets, podcasts and tweets in Kyiv“).  For another take on this, setting out the contribution made by the British Royal Navy with what is known as “Jackspeak” to expressions as diverse as “between the devil and the deep blue sea” and “helioproctosis”, check out this excellent piece on the BBC website.  It all goes to show that (a) a language never stops changing and (b) Navy personnel have a macabre sense of humour.

About Leigh Turner

I hope you find this blog interesting and, where appropriate, entertaining. My role in Vienna covers the relationship between Austria and the UK as well as the diverse work of…

I hope you find this blog interesting and, where appropriate, entertaining. My role in Vienna covers the relationship between Austria and the UK as well as the diverse work of the UN and other organisations; stories here will reflect that.

About me: I arrived in Vienna in August 2016 for my second posting in this wonderful city, having first served here in the mid-1980s. My previous job was as HM Consul-General and Director-General for Trade and Investment for Turkey, Central Asia and South Caucasus based in Istanbul.

Further back: I grew up in Nigeria, Exeter, Lesotho, Swaziland and Manchester before attending Cambridge University 1976-79. I worked in several government departments before joining the Foreign Office in 1983.

Keen to go to Africa and South America, I’ve had postings in Vienna (twice), Moscow, Bonn, Berlin, Kyiv and Istanbul, plus jobs in London ranging from the EU Budget to the British Overseas Territories.

2002-6 I was lucky enough to spend four years in Berlin running the house, looking after the children (born 1992 and 1994) and doing some writing and journalism.

To return to Vienna as ambassador is a privilege and a pleasure. I hope this blog reflects that.

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buckets chernobyl chicken engligh general jackspeak language of sunshine

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