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Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs
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8th June 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Scotland 9, Wallabies 6
In Newcastle, New South Wales, watching Scotland play Australia at Rugby. I don’t think I’ve ever attended a sports match played in such adverse weather conditions: a massive storm brought high gusting winds and driving rain. All the points came from penalties, and to the enormous satisfaction of their band of dedicated followers, a gritty […]
7th June 2012 Geneva, Switzerland
Walking the UPR walk and mounting the pressure on Syria
The much awaited second round of the Universal Periodic Review finished its first session on Monday. There’s general agreement in these parts that the UPR has been a big success since it began 4 years ago, so the second round began with more excitement than you get at a diplomat’s house on Eurovision night. Without […]
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7th June 2012 Budapest, Hungary
A Diamond weekend
Did you see the celebrations of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee this weekend? I thought they were spectacular. The procession of boats down the river Thames was majestic. The concert outside Buckingham Palace was fabulous and star-studded. And the street parties around the UK looked like such joyful occasions. Certainly the one I went to at […]
6th June 2012 USA
The UK is GREAT at Grand Designs
Over this past weekend Royal fanfare and celebrations in the UK mark the 60th Anniversary of the reign of Her Royal Highness, Queen Elizabeth II. The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee offers us a chance to reflect on days gone by, on an era that has taken us from the insides of a telephone booth requiring pockets […]
6th June 2012 Windhoek, Namibia
One of Namibia’s lesser known gems: a gold-filled 16th century Portuguese shipwreck
As well as being rich in minerals and boasting some of the most spectacular landscapes in Africa (if not the world), Namibia can also claim to be the site of some extraordinary archaeological finds. During my recent familiarisation trip to the south of the country, I had the opportunity to visit one of these special […]
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6th June 2012 Dublin, Ireland
GREAT weekend indeed!
The Diamond Jubilee long weekend here in Poland presented many different faces of the UK. First, we showed our tolerant, diverse face and our commitment to equality by participating in the Gay Pride parade. We were very visible indeed. Polish TV was very keen to understand why I was there. In addition to upholding the […]
6th June 2012 Warsaw, Poland
The Great British Car Rally and Motor Show
8.00, Thursday 31st May, Jablonna Palace just outside Warsaw a pack of 15 Great British motoring icons line up on the palatial courtyard for scrutineering. E type jags, Rolls Royces, Austin Healeys, an MG and leading the pack a Lotus 7, a testimony to Colin Chapman and British racing excellence. The British and Poles are […]
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6th June 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Putting children first
Last week I spent time with the Jerusalem Children and Community Development Organisation (JeCCDO) at their Debre Zeit branch office – altogether they operate in 15 areas of Ethiopia. JeCCDO was first set up in 1985, to support the wellbeing of orphans and other vulnerable children. But it has branched out since to embrace the […]
6th June 2012 New Delhi, India
A day spent in Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI), Bareilly
In February this year, I travelled to Bareilly, located in northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh (UP), along with a delegation of UK experts in livestock research to visit IVRI. The visit was part of a joint venture between the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and Indian Department of Biotechnology (DBT) to initiate […]
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5th June 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Sixty Years of Service
This is a week of celebration in the United Kingdom and across the 15 independent realms of which The Queen is Head of State (including Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Jamaica). We are celebrating Her Majesty the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. And in so doing, we are also celebrating the stability and evolution of the British […]