3rd January 2014 Havana, Cuba
I was delighted to discover last week that Granma, one of the two daily newspapers in Cuba, has come round to the idea that public opinion surveys are a good basis for a news story. They definitely are and they are also useful for public policy makers – we’ve been using them in the UK […]
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16th December 2013 Havana, Cuba
I’m very grateful to Aimée Gonzalez for this excellent guest blog. Aimée is Cuban and currently studying at the London School of Economics (the LSE) in the UK under the Chevening scholarship scheme. Two months have already passed by… and I’m still dazzled and struggling to keep pace with the vigorous current of London’s life. Instead […]
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14th December 2013 Havana, Cuba
The Sauto Theatre in Matanzas is apparently one of only three theatres in the world which can be transformed into a dancehall with the turn of a crank. Normally the audience sits below the stage but when the chairs are removed and the floor is raised, the stage and auditorium become one large space for dancing salsa or the danzón. Unfortunately not many visitors can see […]
2nd December 2013 Havana, Cuba
As I travel around Cuba talking to people about the United Kingdom, I am constantly surprised by how little many Cubans really know about my country. This blog is an attempt to put that right. Here are nine things you probably don’t know about the UK: 1. There is free education in the UK. The large […]
12th November 2013 Havana, Cuba
This week’s blog is a guest blog written by my colleague Rhys Patrick, Second Secretary, Political and Public Affairs. Organised crime and terrorism are two of the world’s biggest security challenges. They can affect anyone at anytime, from people forced into human trafficking to those caught up in terrorist attacks. And they spawn other illicit activities […]
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25th October 2013 Havana, Cuba
This week marks the one year anniversary since Hurricane Sandy swept through eastern Cuba, destroying homes and crops, damaging schools and health clinics, leaving eleven people dead and thousands of people homeless. In the early hours of October 25th the hurricane swept over Santiago de Cuba, Guantanamo and Holguin before continuing northwards and towards New York. […]
19th September 2013 Havana, Cuba
Thankfully not all of the 150,000 Brits who come to Cuba each year on holiday write to me asking for advice on where to go fishing. Earlier this summer, I received the following letter: ‘Dear Ambassador I am eagerly anticipating a visit to your adopted country from the 22nd June in company with four friends. We […]
10th September 2013 Havana, Cuba
This month Aimée Gonzalez, a Cuban development worker, will travel to London to start her studies in local development. Aimée is a Chevening scholar and I’m really pleased that the British government will be paying for her to study a Masters degree at the London School of Economics (LSE). Every year all over the world […]
20th August 2013 Havana, Cuba
It’s exactly a year to the day since I arrived in Havana. When I stepped off the plane 365 days’ ago, it was my first time in Cuba, I knew a little but not a lot about the country and, after a recent posting in Mozambique, my Spanish had a very Portuguese twang. A year later and I […]
13th August 2013 Havana, Cuba
I met the Ambassador of the Solomon Islands a few weeks ago. The Solomons (Honiara is the capital) are in the Pacific Ocean over 13,000 km from Cuba and they only have a few embassies around the world so you might wonder why they have recently opened one in Havana. The Ambassador, Simeon Bouro, explained to […]
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