15th December 2016 Canberra, Australia
My time here is up. For over four years I have been proud to bear the title of the United Kingdom’s Deputy High Commissioner to Australia. It’s the best job I’ve ever had, working with some of the best people I’ve ever met. Large parts of me don’t want to go, but four years is […]
8th November 2016 Canberra, Australia
As I approach the end of my four years representing the British Government in Australia, it is time for reflection. With some diplomatic postings you are counting the days for them to end. With others, you hope they never will. This one is in the latter category. I have seen a lot of this extraordinary […]
30th June 2016 Canberra, Australia
One of the best days of my life culminated in the POSK Polish Cultural Centre in Hammersmith, West London. Let me explain. I went to school directly opposite the POSK centre. I often walked past it, looking at the windows full of posters of beautiful places, described in a language I could not begin to […]
15th March 2016 Canberra, Australia
Last weekend was an unusual one for me, as I went to church twice. The events I attended were different, but equally uplifting. On Saturday I went to the Chapel of the Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture here in Canberra, to take part in an ecumenical service for the feast of St Patrick. This […]
10th February 2016 Canberra, Australia
Sudan is a rhinoceros. If I had written that sentence during the two years I worked at our Embassy in Khartoum, there might have been raised eyebrows. But the fact remains that Sudan is a rhino, and a very special one… Sudan was born in what is now South Sudan in the late 1970s, and […]
20th November 2015 Canberra, Australia
Occasionally something happens which takes you back to an important stage of your life, which helped to set you on the path that that life has taken. Two such events have happened to me in the last few weeks. The first was when staff from British Embassies and High Commissions around the world were asked, […]
12th August 2015 Canberra, Australia
The term “cricket tragic” is often heard in Australia. I consider myself to be more of a cricket melodramatic – basically a tragic, but with the occasional bout of euphoria thrown in. One such bout took place last week. Ask my wife. Last month we celebrated our tenth wedding anniversary. The wedding took place on […]
10th April 2015 Canberra, Australia
The voices of my childhood spoke in an Australian accent. I was born in London to Australian parents, whose Sydney twang was much imitated by school friends, more used to west London’s downward inflection. When I wasn’t listening to mum and dad I was watching cricket, and the voice of cricket was Richie Benaud. Of […]
20th March 2015 Canberra, Australia
The second Monday in March has a dual significance in Canberra. On the one hand it is a local public holiday (Canberra Day), and on the other it is Commonwealth Day. For most of us, the significance of the latter is often masked by the opportunity offered by the former to enjoy a well-earned break […]
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25th February 2015 Canberra, Australia
Regular readers of this blog will know that High Commissioner Paul Madden has now left Australia. His successor will arrive here in April, meaning that I, as Deputy High Commissioner, get to spend a couple of months rejoicing in the title of “Chargé d’Affaires ad interim”. My aim in this period is to ensure that […]