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Post by Deleted on May 15, 2018 21:23:38 GMT
There's been this one character whining and whinging that the British Embassy don't do enough for British citizens. Personally I disagree, I think they do plenty, but there you are. In my experience this normally comes from people who believe they still live in the days of the Empire and The Raj and are expecting to be lauded whilst offering nothing of value in return.
Anyway, in a fit of weakness I stuck him on an invitation list for a Breakfast at The Embassy and marvelled at my own thoughtfulness. His reply? I am told that he prefers not to get up early on a Saturday so he declined. He also asked that in future could I ensure that he is invited for the next evening function as he feels that would be more appropriate.
Could I f**k!
I remember when I was younger and first started getting invited to "posh dos". I was so chuffed I told everybody that'd listen. Either times have changed or I'm extra special shallow I guess.
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Post by tyrednexited on May 15, 2018 21:30:04 GMT
Either times have changed or I'm extra special shallow I guess. I'd suggest you don't eliminate the possibility of both........ |
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Post by Deleted on May 15, 2018 21:34:39 GMT
Am I alone in thinking that the job of the British Embassy is to represent the UK in the country in which it sits rather than pander to the whims of the expat community who have chosen to leave the UK to live elsewhere?
Presumably these people have left the UK, no longer pay tax to the UK and therefore should not derive any benefit from the embassy other than perhaps emergency consular assistance. I am being mean?
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Post by Deleted on May 15, 2018 22:17:43 GMT
t&e - fair point, probably spot on.
Espada - There is a type of expat that thinks it is special. It thinks is is a British person abroad and the Embassy should support him personally. These are people who rarely have much to contribute to or support the Embassy's mission.
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Post by Deleted on May 16, 2018 2:06:52 GMT
BTW, at the moment I do not pay any tax in the UK. Do you think I should not benefit from Embassy services then?
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Post by tyrednexited on May 16, 2018 6:33:48 GMT
Am I alone in thinking that the job of the British Embassy is to represent the UK in the country in which it sits rather than pander to the whims of the expat community who have chosen to leave the UK to live elsewhere? Generally correct (and I believe the Consular Service, though sometimes co-located, is an entirely separate hierarchy). ...but, one of the means of representation is by networking, and those networks can be widened through a string of ex-pats, many of whom will have local contacts, and potentially at influential levels. Such Ambassadorial functions encourage that networking and contact. In addition, I suspect such gatherings play a part in keeping the locally-posted staff "sane" in inviting such expats (Mark may be the exception  ) to give them a more-relaxing set of social intercourse than with the local populace. I remember when I was younger and first started getting invited to "posh dos". I was so chuffed I told everybody that'd listen. Either times have changed or I'm extra special shallow I guess. If I were to stop taking the p*ss; I like to think I'm not over-shallow. When I got invited to a Palace Garden Party I kept reasonably quiet about it (and still do, except for now of course). The current Mrs TnE, to whom the invitation extended, however was rather different......................... It's not something I (would have) tried to wangle, and I was certainly surprised to get the very-fancy invitation, but I suppose there was just an element of smugness, and, TBH it proved to be an interesting experience (and the food and drink allowed me to recover the value of several years of the bit of my taxation that goes to support the Royal Family. The ice-cream was particularly nice  ) |
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Post by WDB on May 16, 2018 7:34:32 GMT
...people who believe they still live in the days of the Empire and The Raj and are expecting to be lauded whilst offering nothing of value in return. Anyway, in a fit of weakness I stuck him on an invitation list for a Breakfast at The Embassy and marvelled at my own thoughtfulness. His reply? I am told that he prefers not to get up early on a Saturday so he declined.] I can’t fathom the motives of anyone who’d refuse an invitation to breakfast. I did decline a champagne brunch the other week but only because there was somewhere else I had to be. As for that Empire attitude, it’s clearly never gone away, much as we might wish it had. Expect to hear a lot more of it from the poisonous ‘Anglosphere’ lobby, who think our future - rather than our past - lies in doing business with English-speaking white people. |
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Post by tyrednexited on May 16, 2018 7:59:38 GMT
I can’t fathom the motives of anyone who’d refuse an invitation to breakfast........ ....especially when it was nailed-on to be "The Full English".....  |
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Post by Alanović on May 16, 2018 9:17:11 GMT
Ah, Embassy dos. In my days in the USSR the most fun embassies were Germany and New Zealand. Had some great booze ups there, was an utter treat to get some Steinlagers or German beers and Kummerling Bitters down our parched throats. The German Embassy Security team were the best laugh, utter beer monsters. I think probably the parties we went to weren't the Ambassadors Receptions or the like, just staff bashes. The British Embassy didn't indulge in such things and was only useful for its shop which stocked some British sauces and the like. Also Andrex, which was an absolute essential.
I was invited to Buckingham Palace to attend my brother-in-law's OBE award (or is it CBE, can't remember) and its associated garden party, but declined on the grounds of my republicanism. The rest of may family eagerly attended, I just congratulated B-I-L in my own way. Probably churlish of me, but still. I couldn't bring myself to go. He knows where I stand on these things and respects my position, we're still good mates even though the daft bastard voted leave.
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Post by Deleted on May 16, 2018 10:55:06 GMT
>>the job of the British Embassy is to represent the UK in the country in which it sits rather than pander to the whims of the expat community who have chosen to leave the UK to live elsewhere?
>Generally correct (and I believe the Consular Service, though sometimes co-located, is an entirely separate hierarchy).
The job of the Embassy includes to promote and encourage trade and communication between the two nations. The Consular service is mostly all the legal stuff.
The Consul General here is a really nice chap, I get on with him well. He is also the Deputy Head of Mission, which means second in charge to the Ambassador. And we're just getting a new Ambassador, I'm quite looking forward to it, seems a very decent sort and just what we need, I think.
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Post by Deleted on May 16, 2018 10:56:22 GMT
No, I don't know what happened to the font.
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Post by Humph on May 16, 2018 11:50:32 GMT
A friend of mine became a diplomat. Retired now, says he’s not sure how his liver stood up to it for so long.
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Post by Deleted on May 16, 2018 12:42:12 GMT
There are certainly endless functions. I don't think alcohol is quite so much a thing these days though.
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Post by Deleted on May 16, 2018 20:24:25 GMT
What a reminder of old times.
When we lived in South West Africa, UK government representation was mostly via regional consular offices. The local Consul was a friend who was also the Fire & Safety Officer for the mine where we both worked.
One day he'd taken his crew for a training and maintenance session up to the pumping station that supplied all the hydrants and automatic fire sprinklers. Unfortunately, the silly buggers left a valve closed and a few days later a fire broke out and completely destroyed part of the processing plant.
We used to have regular braais at his place that doubled as a welcome for new ex-pat employees and social events for the lodge. "Master of the Braai" was an eccentric ex-pat with a fondness for pith helmets and khakis and had trained as a Cordon Bleu chef. His secret Monkey Gland sauce steaks were amazing. RIP Edgar.
Alcohol was very much a component but thankfully we lived within staggering distance.
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) to give them a more-relaxing set of social intercourse than with the local populace.
) 
