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MEETING THE ARMENIAN MARGARET THATCHER
Iain Dale's Diary
September 7, 2009 Monday 3:04 PM EST
Having only had four hours sleep, today got a bit of getting
through. Eyelids were drooping at one stage. This morning was
spent in meetings with the British Council here in Yerevan and then
meeting the British Ambassador to Armenia, Charles Lonsdale (pic)
at the embassy. We then had lunch in a French restaurant where we
were serenaded loudly by some very loud French music. Watching my
travel companion Aisling from the John Smith Memorial Trust eat her
salmon steak to the strains of Je T'Aime was a delight indeed. During
the afternoon we made our presentation to thirty or forty possible
candidates for a JSMT Fellowship, encouraging them to apply to come
to Britain next summer for five weeks. Find out about the fellowship
programme HERE. The room we were presenting in felt like a sauna as
the air conditioning had failed. But the potential Fellows seemed
impressed by what we had to tell them.
This evening we attended a reception at the Ambassador's residence
related to the EU Skills initiative. It turned into a highly
entertaining evening firstly because the Ambassador took a shine to
my tie - clearly a man of taste.
I then had the pleasure of having an uproarious chat with the
Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister, a lady called Karine Ghazinyan
(pic). She's only been in the job six months, having previously been
Armenian Ambassador to Rumania and Germany. Armenian Ministers are not
politicians - they are appointees by the Prime Minister. She was the
most untypical diplomat I have ever met - a real Margaret Thatcher
in the making if ever I saw one. She also had a good line in jokes
from the Soviet era...
Both the American and Soviet constitutions guaranteed freedom of
speech. The difference was that the American constitution guaranteed
freedom after the speech.
Boom boom. And... Damn, I can't remember the other one.
Tomorrow I have three TV interviews to do, and in the morning I am
visiting the genocide museum and then going on a trip outside the
capital. And back to London on Wednesday morning. I wish we were here
longer. There's a lot to see and because of all the meetings we'll
barely scratch the surface. I won't make that mistake again.
Iain Dale's Diary
September 7, 2009 Monday 3:04 PM EST
Having only had four hours sleep, today got a bit of getting
through. Eyelids were drooping at one stage. This morning was
spent in meetings with the British Council here in Yerevan and then
meeting the British Ambassador to Armenia, Charles Lonsdale (pic)
at the embassy. We then had lunch in a French restaurant where we
were serenaded loudly by some very loud French music. Watching my
travel companion Aisling from the John Smith Memorial Trust eat her
salmon steak to the strains of Je T'Aime was a delight indeed. During
the afternoon we made our presentation to thirty or forty possible
candidates for a JSMT Fellowship, encouraging them to apply to come
to Britain next summer for five weeks. Find out about the fellowship
programme HERE. The room we were presenting in felt like a sauna as
the air conditioning had failed. But the potential Fellows seemed
impressed by what we had to tell them.
This evening we attended a reception at the Ambassador's residence
related to the EU Skills initiative. It turned into a highly
entertaining evening firstly because the Ambassador took a shine to
my tie - clearly a man of taste.
I then had the pleasure of having an uproarious chat with the
Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister, a lady called Karine Ghazinyan
(pic). She's only been in the job six months, having previously been
Armenian Ambassador to Rumania and Germany. Armenian Ministers are not
politicians - they are appointees by the Prime Minister. She was the
most untypical diplomat I have ever met - a real Margaret Thatcher
in the making if ever I saw one. She also had a good line in jokes
from the Soviet era...
Both the American and Soviet constitutions guaranteed freedom of
speech. The difference was that the American constitution guaranteed
freedom after the speech.
Boom boom. And... Damn, I can't remember the other one.
Tomorrow I have three TV interviews to do, and in the morning I am
visiting the genocide museum and then going on a trip outside the
capital. And back to London on Wednesday morning. I wish we were here
longer. There's a lot to see and because of all the meetings we'll
barely scratch the surface. I won't make that mistake again.