What are your personal and your family's impressions of Serbia so far?

 

We are very happy here.  I had visited before a number of times, but for my wife and son, aged 19, it was all new.  We all came for a visit in July 2006, and my son disappeared to the 'EXIT' Festival for three days.  He had a great time.  And since we arrived here in November 2006 we have had many wonderful experiences, especially over the Christmas and New Year period when my whole family came out from the UK to join us.

 

 

How did you learn to speak Serbian? Do you speak any other languages?

 

I was in Moscow before, so I could build on my knowledge of Russian.  I had six months of language learning in London, and finished off with three weeks staying with a family in Novi Sad.  I can now read newspapers, or watch TV, without too much difficulty.  But I was a bit disappointed when I first came here to find that most Serbs in Belgrade still seem to speak much better English than my Serbian!

 

 

Your strongest impressions from/about Russia?

 

I studied Russian as a University student, and first worked at the Embassy there in 1979-1981, during the Brezhnev period.  And then I was there again from 2003-2005.  Of course, it has changed enormously over that time, and very much for the better.  For a Western diplomat, the best thing now is that we can mix freely with ordinary Russian people - back in the Cold War days, that was quite impossible.  As for my strongest impression, it's hard to say - there are so many.  Perhaps the most striking thing for someone coming from a small island such as the UK is just the size of the country.  I went twice to the Russian Far East, once to Vladivostok and once to Sakhalin Island.  You fly for about eight hours, cross eight time zones, and end up well to the east of China - yet you are still in the same country, with the same TV programmes and the same advertising posters!  My other vivid memory is of having to go on stage at the Bolshoi theatre in Moscow, to make a speech in Russian to a full theatre to introduce a visiting British dance company.  It was terrifying.  But the audience was very kind, and I can now honestly say that I have performed on stage at the Bolshoi to great applause.  Not many diplomats can say that.

 

 

What part of the UK are you from?

 

I was born and grew up in Wales, so I am always very quick to react when anyone assumes that we are all 'English'!  And my wife has her roots in Scotland and Ireland.  Even though we live in a small country, and almost everyone in the UK speaks English these days, there are still many people in Wales, for example, who speak Welsh at home, and that's a completely different language, much older than English.  And even the English have lots of different accents and dialects.  And the scenery varies enormously too.  The geology of Britain is the most diverse in Europe. 

 

 

Do you have any particular hobbies or interests? 

 

I have recently developed an interest in astronomy, and I bought a telescope before I came here.  But I haven't had much time to do anything with it yet!

 

 

What is the main focus of your activities in Serbia?

 

The UK and Serbia work together in all sorts of ways.  Most people think of the big political issues, like integration into Europe, and of course that's very important.  But we are also cooperating, for example, on the process of reform of the armed forces, so we can jointly face the many new threats and challenges in the modern world.  I hope that one day Serbia, which recently joined NATO's Partnership for Peace, will become a full NATO member.  And there are lots of other things we do.  The Embassy team from the UK's Department for International Development is working on a range of social reform issues.  The British Council is promoting cultural and educational links.  The Projects and Press team do important work with civil society and the media.  We have experts who are helping to develop trade and investment links.  The UK is also working very successfully with Serbia in countering organised crime.  One area I particularly want to develop during my time here is cooperation on environmental issues, which is an important subject for us both.  Look at our website - there's lots of information there.  And don't make the mistake of thinking that this is all done by British diplomats.  We employ more Serbs than British citizens in the Embassy, and we couldn't get anything done without their contribution.