28th August 2019
Skopje, North Macedonia
As much as I enjoy living and working in Skopje, it’s always a great pleasure when I get to visit other places across the country. Last week I had the honour of attending the opening of the Struga Poetry Festival, the world’s oldest consecutive running poetry festival. It was moving to hear poets from around […]
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17th August 2016
Skopje, North Macedonia
For me, most of August and September will be one massive nostalgia trip. Seven years ago I packed my bags and left the Foreign Office to join the team organising London 2012. I spent three years there on secondment as Head of International Relations. And then from July to September we put on the best […]
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1st August 2016
London, UK
Four years ago tonight I watched in awe as Danny Boyle’s opening ceremony in Stratford launched the start of what would become the most amazing Olympic Games the world had ever seen. London 2012 proved a defining moment for our country. The inevitable pre Games gloom – problems with the M4 corridor from Heathrow into […]
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29th October 2015
Havana, Cuba
One phrase stood out from the Italian Prime Minister’s speech at the Instituto Superior de Arte in Havana yesterday. Prime Minister Renzi said that even though Italy might not be a superpower in some areas, it should be considered ‘a cultural superpower’ given the strength of its architecture, music and art. Having spent a few […]
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27th March 2015
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
In 2015, England marks two major anniversaries. It will be 800 years since the signing of the Magna Carta and 750 years since the formation of the first English parliament. Anyone who is interested in seeing the document that has been described as England’s greatest export need only visit the British Library, where not one […]
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30th September 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
It’s not unusual for the AFL Grand Final to attract a big name musician to entertain the almost 100,000 crowd. But it was the first time they’d had Tom Jones. Together with Ed Sheeran, the veteran star and one of the hottest current British talents wowed the fans before and after the game. The match […]
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27th June 2014
Houston, USA
I will start off by saying that I am obsessed with the World Cup. OBSESSED. Every four years, nothing matters more than making sure I am able to watch important World Cup matches. I grew up watching the tournament back when most Americans had no clue that it existed. My family emigrated from Mexico to […]
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26th June 2014
Ottawa, Canada
To mark Formula 1’s Canadian Grand Prix from 4-8 June in Montreal our Consulate-General held its first ever series of GREAT Britain events. The results were……Formidable (best repeated with a French accent)…
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26th February 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
What is more exciting than football? The answer, if you are a fan of any of Istanbul’s great clubs is: nothing. As the famous Liverpool football manager, Bill Shankly, once said: “Some people believe football is a matter of life and death. I am very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is […]
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21st January 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Last night I had dinner with a group of British wheelchair athletes, in Australia for a series of races this week at Canberra stadium, culminating in the “GIO Oz Day 10k” around Sydney’s historic Rocks district on Australia Day. They were a hugely impressive bunch and it was fun talking to them about their experiences […]
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