midlands, birmingham, Manchester

 Chinnor is a large village and civil parish in South Oxfordshire about 4 miles (6.4 km) southeast of Thame. The village is a spring line settlement^[1] on the Icknield Way below the Chiltern escarpment. The Icknield Way is a pre-Roman road. The site of an Iron Age settlement from perhaps the 4th century BC has been excavated on the Chiltern ridge in the southern part of the parish. Traces of Romano-British occupation have been found both on the same high ground and below on Icknield Way.A twin barrow on Icknield Way has been found to contain the weapons of a Saxon warrior that have been dated to the 6th century. Chinnor's toponym may originally have meant the ora ("slope") of a man called Ceona.[1] In subsequent centuries it was variously spelt Chennore and then Chynor.

manchester 
- The Free Trade Hall on Peter Street, Manchester, England, was a public hall, constructed in 1853–56 on St Peter’s Fields, the site of the Peterloo Massacre. It is now a Radisson hotel.The hall was built to commemorate the repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846. The architect was Edward Walters.^[1] The hall was owned by the Manchester Corporation. It was bombed in the Manchester Blitz and its interior rebuilt and was Manchester's premier concert venue until the construction of the Bridgewater Hall in 1996. The hall was designated a Grade II* listed building in 1963.

industry
- tech

• Manchester has a talent pool of 14,000 students studying advanced materials like #graphene - this is how DIT is driving investment in their futurehttps://twitter.com/i/status/1091697750415036416

calvinism
- The John Rylands Library is a late-Victorian neo-Gothic building on Deansgate in Manchester, England. The library, which opened to the public in 1900, was founded by Enriqueta Augustina Rylands in memory of her husband, John Rylands.^[4] The John Rylands Library and the library of the University of Manchester merged in July 1972 into the John Rylands University Library of Manchester; today it is part of The University of Manchester Library. Special collections built up by both libraries were progressively concentrated in the Deansgate building. The special collections, believed to be among the largest in the United Kingdom,^[5] include medieval illuminated manuscripts and examples of early European printing, including a Gutenberg Bible, the second largest collection of printing by William Caxton,^[6] and the most extensive collection of the editions of the Aldine Press of Venice.^[7] The Rylands Library Papyrus P52 has a claim to be the earliest extant New Testament text. The library holds personal papers and letters of notable figures, among them Elizabeth Gaskell and John Dalton.Enriqueta Rylands purchased a site on Deansgate for her memorial library in 1889 and commissioned a design from architect Basil Champneys.^[4][8] Rylands commissioned the Manchester academic Alice Cooke to index the vast library of the 2nd Earl Spencer which she had purchased and another collection of autographs.^[9] Mrs Rylands intended the library to be principally theological, and the building, which is a fine example of Victorian Gothic, has the appearance of a church, although the concept was of an Oxford college library on a larger scale.

• John Ryland (1753–1825) was an English Baptist minister. The son of John Collett Ryland, he was born at Warwick on 29 January 1753. Before he was 15, he began teaching in his father's school. On 13 September 1767 he was baptised in the River Nene, near Northampton, and, after preaching at small gatherings of Baptists from 1769, was formally admitted into the ministry on 10 March 1771. Until his twenty-fifth year he assisted his father in his school at Northampton, and in 1781 was associated with him in the charge of his church. after his father's retirement in 1786, he had sole charge of the congregation. In December 1793 Ryland became minister of the Broadmead chapel in Bristol, combining with the post the presidency of the Bristol Baptist College. These positions he retained until his death. He joined, on 2 October 1792, in founding the Baptist Missionary Society, and acted as its secretary from 1815 until his death at Bristol on 25 May 1825. On 2 June he was buried in the ground adjoining Broadmead chapel, and on 5 June Robert Hall, who succeeded him as minister, preached a memorial sermon (published 1825). A convinced Calvinist throughout his life, Ryland moved from the high Calvinism of his father^[2] to an evangelical Calvinist position, under the influence of his long-term correspondent^[3] John Newton, and the writings of the American theologian Jonathan Edwards.

presbyterian
- in the town of macclesfield in cheshire, there is a purpose-built chapel built in 1689

China
- uk china regional leaders summit

• https://global.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202001/17/WS5e211201a3101282172719e8.html The British city of Birmingham will host representatives from businesses, universities, and government during a forum aimed at forging closer relations between China and the United Kingdom.The Fifth UK-China Regional Leaders Summit has been described as "the most significant gathering of its kind ever held in the UK" and will give the two nations an opportunity to strengthen cultural and economic links.The three-day event was organized by Midlands Engine, which is made up of local authorities and local enterprise partnerships from the East and West Midlands, and aims to boost productivity, attract inward investment, and increase connectivity.

- bicycle

•  中国共享单车品牌摩拜单车13日宣布登陆英国曼彻斯特，并同步进入毗邻曼市的索尔福德（Salford）。首批在曼彻斯特和索尔福德投放1000辆 智能共享单车，后续将逐步增加投放量。这是摩拜单车进入的首个亚洲之外的城市，曼彻斯特市亦成为摩拜单车全球服务的第100城。　　截至目前，摩拜单车已在全球投放超过500万辆智能共享单车，註册用户量超过1亿，每天提供超过2000万次出行服务，是全球第一大互联网出行服务。http://paper.takungpao.com/resfile/PDF/20170614/PDF/b10_screen.pdf

- education

• https://www.facebook.com/singtaodailyeu/photos/pcb.484792341720541/484791518387290/?type=3&theater 由英國中文學校聯會（UKFCS）主辦的英國中文學校文藝匯演3月19日在曼徹斯特落幕。中國駐英大使館賴波副總領事出席致詞，對這次活動給予高度讚賞。英國中文學校聯會會長劉凱旋攜全體文康組委員出席主辦節目，當天蒞臨現場的嘉賓有伯明翰中國城獅子俱樂鄔明慶、曼城文化中心中文學校主席李啟泰MBE、曼城僑聯社華人子弟學校主席王亮能、會長李錦棠以及各多位中文學校校長。參加本屆匯演的學校有十一所之多，為歷年之最。包括倫敦培英華文學校、和景中文學校、白金漢郡中文學校、考切斯特中文學校、米頓堅斯中文學校、曼城文化中心中文學校、利茲華人中文學校、謝菲爾德星星中文學校、偉盧華人協會中文學校、伯明翰文化語言學校、曼城僑聯社華人子弟學校。參加節目有25個之多，按照唱歌、舞蹈、樂器演奏、話劇和武術五大項目進行評比，在節目表演中還進行了書法比賽和賀年卡設計比賽的頒獎典禮。
• http://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/china_world/20160920/00180_023.html英國正審批於曼徹斯特市，設立國內首間融合東、西方教育的曼徹斯特拉瑟福德學校，開授普通話和商業等學科，以加緊配合中國在英不斷增長的投資。該計劃受商界及政界支持，包括前財務大臣歐思邦。學校將會招收十一歲至十六歲的學生，於一八年九月開學，開設普通話、英文、西班牙文、商業及數學等核心科目。http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2016-09/27/content_26906078.htmFormer UK chancellor of the exchequer George Osborne has written a letter of support for a new free school in Manchester that will combine Eastern and Western education, while a bilingual English and Mandarin pre-pschool is set to open in London next year.

- Chinese community

• northern city throws its doors open http://www.chinadailyasia.com/business/2014-09/29/content_15172039.html

- cny celebration

• https://www.facebook.com/singtaodailyeu/photos/pcb.472121592987616/472120722987703/?type=3&theater 曼城華人社團聯合會繼2月7日除夕在中國城及市政廳成功舉辦大型戶外猴年新春慶典之後，翌日又在海寶大酒樓成功舉辦猴年新春慶典晚宴，筵開30餘席，為曼城華人社團聯合會在曼城主辦的系列新春慶典活動劃上圓滿句號。2月8日晚，海寶大酒樓張燈結彩，全英華人社團聯合總會及曼城華人社團聯合會會長葉劍橋帶領會員，喜迎各界嘉賓到來。中國駐曼城總領館李永勝總領事夫婦、周海城副總領事夫婦、賴波副總領事以及大曼城地區女王副代表科恩女士、大曼徹斯特地區多位市長、副市長、其他國家駐曼城總領事等，與曼城各界華人華僑歡聚一堂，同慶猴年春節。葉劍橋會長致詞稱，曼城華人社團聯合會已主辦二十多年大型戶內外中國新春慶典活動，現在規模越來越大，每年都吸引著數萬民眾參與，也進一步得到英國主流社會的重視和支持。今年曼城的猴年新春慶祝活動，從2月4日開始到8日結束，歷時5天，地點從市政廳、購物中心、埃爾伯特廣場、曼城主要街道、中國城、藝術館到海寶大酒樓，開展了以中國文化、藝術為主題的各項慶祝活動。現在曼城新春慶祝活動已經走出傳統的中國城地界，將一片紅火鬧騰的喜悅蔓延到整個曼城市中心。曼城中國年慶典活動，將不分種族、不分文化、不分地域，與當地民眾共度共享美好祥和的中國年。曼城猴年慶典活動也為2016年中英關係黃金時代的開局之年譜寫了一首美好的新春序曲。周海城副總領事任滿赴泰國任總領事 同時，葉劍橋會長還宣布一個消息，周海城副總領事任職期滿，即將離開曼城總領館前往泰國擔任總領事工作，他並代表曼聯會向周副總贈送禮物。隨後利物浦華聲社會長司徒民星及新華聯誼會會長許言忠，也紛紛表達對周副總的謝意及離別之情。其後，李永勝總領事、女王副代表及曼城副市長先後致詞，曼聯會首副會長任潔儀致謝詞，感謝對猴年慶典活動提供幫助的單位及個人，特別感謝贊助商中國銀行，Genting Club Manchester Casino、Westmill Foods & AMOY 淘大、Sliver Hill Farm 銀山鴨以及Ernest Jones等單位大力支持。慶典期間，在李永勝總領事見證下，曼城華人社團聯合會會長葉劍橋向曼城文化中心學校、曼城僑聯社子弟學校、曼城華夏學校、紐卡素中文學校、利物浦華聲社中文學校、黑池中文學校舉行了捐款儀式，共向六所中文學校捐款六千五百英鎊，來補充中文學校教學資金的不足，鼓勵和推動中文教學活動更好地順利進行。

Hong Kong
- 当地时间2日下午，英国曼彻斯特大学最新成立的中国研究院开幕，该院由香港商人、慈善家及曼大名誉博士李启鸿捐赠并以其命名，专门设置有关“一带一路”研究课题等，旨在研究中国政治经济全球化和促进中英关系发展。http://paper.takungpao.com/resfile/PDF/20180507/PDF/a23_screen.pdf

- arts

• 《One of Two Stories, or Both（Field Bagatelles）》日前在英國曼徹斯特國際藝 術節（MIF）舉行世界首演。該作品由西九文化區、MIF 、曼徹斯特華人當代藝術中心、Edouard Malingue Gallery ，以及University of Salford Art Collection共同委約，現正 於曼徹斯特Old Granada Studios的Low Four展出，展期至 十月二十九日。http://paper.takungpao.com/resfile/PDF/20170814/PDF/b4_screen.pdf

uk - east

norfolk
- Hunstanton is a seaside town in Norfolk, England. The coastal cliffs include the type section of the Hunstanton Formation of lower reddish limestone, which was laid down during the Lower Cretaceous. This is topped by a white chalk layer from the Upper Cretaceous period.Hunstanton is a 19th-century resort town, initially known as New Hunstanton to distinguish it from the adjacent village from which it took its name. The new town soon exceeded the village in scale and population. The original settlement, now Old Hunstanton, probably gained its name from the River Hun, which runs to the coast just to the east. It has also been argued that the name originated from "Honeystone", referring to the local red carr stone. The river begins in the grounds of Old Hunstanton Park, which surrounds the old moated hall, the ancestral home of the Le Strange family. Old Hunstanton village is of prehistoric origin and lies near to the head of Peddars Way. In 1970, evidence of Neolithic settlement was found. The quiet character of the village remains distinct from its busy sibling and complements it with clifftop walks past a redundant lighthouse and the ruins of St Edmund's Chapel, built in 1272.In 1846, Henry Styleman Le Strange (1815–1862),^[8] decided to develop the area south of Old Hunstanton as a bathing resort. He brought a group of like-minded investors into the construction of a railway line from King's Lynn. In 1861, Le Strange, as principal landowner, became a director of the railway company and by 1862 the line had been built. Le Strange died in the same year, at the age of 47, leaving his son Hamon to reap the rewards of his efforts. The Lynn and Hunstanton Railway became one of the most consistently profitable in the country.

• people

Edmund the Martyr (died 869), King of East Anglia, landed here to claim his kingdom about 855. 

Sir Roger L'Estrange (1616–1704), Royalist and pamphleteer, was born here. 

Guy Le Strange (1854–1933), Middle East scholar and linguist, was born here.

 The River Hun is in the west of the county of Norfolk,^[1] in England. Its source is in the grounds of Hunstanton Park. Its mouth can be found on the North Sea near Holme-next-the-Sea.In the 11th century it was known as 'Esten broke' (i.e. Esten brook).

uk people diplomats, international relations

Diplomats/former diplomats
- Sir Hugh Selby Norman-Walker KCMG OBE KStJ (17 December 1916 – 28 August 1985) was a British colonial official. He served in Indiafrom 1938 to 1948. Joining the Colonial Office in 1949, he successively served as an Administrative Officer and an Assistant Secretary in Nyasaland, and was seconded to the Cabinet Office of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland in 1953. He returned to Nyasaland to become Development Secretary in 1954, Deputy Financial Secretary in 1960 and Secretary to the Treasury in 1961. He remained in the government until 1965 when Nyasaland gained independence as Malawi in 1964. In 1965, Sir Hugh was posted to the Bechuanaland Protectorate as Her Majesty's Commissioner. Knighted in 1966, in September of the same year he witnessed the independence of the Protectorate as Botswana. In the next year, Norman-Walker was posted to the Seychelles as the Governor and Commander-in-Chief but his short tenure came to an end when he was assigned to succeed Sir Michael Gass, who was in turn appointed High Commissioner for the Western Pacific, as Colonial Secretary of Hong Kong in 1969. He was once rumoured to be the designated candidate to succeed Sir David Trench as the Governor of Hong Kong, but the rumour soon died out when the post was taken up by Sir Murray MacLehose, a career diplomat, in 1971. Sir Hugh was supposed to become the Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man when his tenure in Hong Kong ended in 1973. However, when it became known that his wife would not accompany him, he was forced to decline the offer. Sir Hugh was not compensated with another post for his withdrawal. He spent his retirement in England and was appointed chairman of the Isle of Wight County Structure Plan Panel in 1976.


• hkej 12dec17 shum article on links with rhodesia

-  Sir Percy Cradock GCMG PC (柯利達爵士, 26 October 1923 – 22 January 2010) was a British diplomat, civil servant and sinologist who served as British Ambassador to the People's Republic of China from 1978 to 1983, playing a significant role in the Sino-British negotiations which led up to the signing of the Sino-British Joint Declaration in 1984.
Joining the Foreign Office in 1954, Cradock served primarily in Asia and was posted to the British Chargé d'affaires Office in Peking (now Beijing) at the outset of the Cultural Revolution in 1966. He, along with other British subjects, was manhandled by the Red Guards and the mobs when the office was set on fire on 22 August 1967. After the rioting, Cradock served as Chargé d'affaires in Peking from 1968 to 1969, and later succeeded Sir Edward Youde as British Ambassador to the People's Republic of China in 1978. His ambassadorship witnessed the start of the Sino-British negotiations in  1982, which subsequently resulted in the Joint Declaration in 1984, an agreement deciding the future of the sovereignty of Hong Kong after 1997. However, the decision of Cradock, who was the British chief negotiator in the negotiations, to compromise with the Chinese authorities, was regarded as a major retreat by the general media in Hong Kong and the United Kingdom, and was heavily criticised at that time as betraying the people of Hong Kong. Cradock remained a trusted advisor to the-then Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, who appointed him as Chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee in 1985. After the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, he was the first senior British official to pay a visit to the Chinese leadership in the hope of maintaining the much criticised Joint Declaration. He was successful in fighting to guarantee, in the Basic Law of Hong Kong, that half of the seats of the Legislative Council would be directly elected by 2007. However, Cradock worsened his relationship with Thatcher's successor, John Major, by forcing him to visit China in 1991 after the row between the two countries over the Airport Core Programme of Hong Kong. Major had enough of the compromising attitude of Cradock and the-then Governor of Hong Kong, Sir David Wilson, and finally decided to have both of them replaced in 1992, choosing instead his Conservative-ally Chris Patten as Governor. Unlike his predecessors, Patten was strongly criticised by the Chinese authorities during his governorship because he introduced a series of democratic reforms without consulting them. Although Cradock had retired, he joined the pro-Beijing camp, and became one of the most prominent critics of Governor Patten, censuring him for wrecking the hand-over agreement that had been agreed with the Chinese government. Cradock and Patten blamed each other publicly a number of times in the final years of British administration of Hong Kong. He once famously denounced Patten as an "incredible shrinking Governor",^[1] while Patten mocked him openly, in another occasion, as a "dyspeptic retired ambassador" suffering from "Craddockitis". Cradock spent his later years in writing a number of books on realpolitik diplomacy and was a non-executive director of the South China Morning Post.

•  評論一級人物，彭定康文筆亮麗。到了外交部駐北京大使、中國通柯利達這一等，則隱隱然尚有怨氣。柯利達只想快點處理好香港前途，對於香港民主，毫無興趣，他陪同英國來訪華的高官，不忘提點：記住，即使向共產黨提出人權，也只是裝模作樣。
  柯利達在文革時曾遭紅衛兵火攻代辦處，做過人質。他不是「親華」，不過見識過文革時中國人那副人來瘋的德性，認為這個民族不可能、也不配享有普選。彭定康沒有中國經驗，將中國人與東歐人平等看待，柯利達、麥理浩，甚至衛奕信，都認為這是錯的。
  三十年前，我年紀小，充滿激情，也一度認為柯利達是個種族主義者，他大錯特錯。但今日看來，我覺得柯利達也看得透徹。張愛玲說：因為了解，所以慈悲。Well，也可以說：因為了解，才不會有幻想，省卻蹉跎。http://hk.apple.nextmedia.com/supplement/columnist/%E9%99%B6%E5%82%91/art/20170922/20159986
-唐納德爵士 Sir Alan Ewen Donald KCMG (5 May 1931 – 14 July 2018) was a British diplomat who was the United Kingdom ambassador to Indonesia and China. Donald was born on 5 May 1931 in Inverurie, Scotland to Robert T. Donald and Louise Turner.^[1] He was educated at Aberdeen Grammar School, Fettes College, then Trinity Hall, Cambridge (BA, LLM).Donald married Janet Hilary Therese Blood in 1958, and they had four sons.


• very little available information, only english, norsk and chinese wikipedia versions
• 唐納德的外交官生涯隨駐華大使任期結束而終止，但他仍繼續在外交界發表言論，當中唐納德對彭定康在香港主權移交前的政制改革頗有微言，主張英國對中國外交政策應尋求共同點，不要過分強調政治哲學的分歧。http://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/news/20180720/00176_028.html
• career

• National Service with Royal Horse Artillery 1949–50.

• Joined HM Foreign Service 1954: Third Secretary, Peking, 1955–57.

• Foreign Office (FO), 1958–61: Private Secretary to Parliamentary Under-Secretary, FO, 1959–61.

• Second, later First Secretary, UK Delegation to NATO, Paris, 1961–64.

• First Secretary, Peking, 1964–66.

• Personnel Dept, Diplomatic Service Admin Office, later FCO, 1967–71.

• Counsellor (Commercial), Athens, 1971–73.

• Political Adviser to Governor of Hong Kong, 1974–77.

• Ambassador to Republics of Zaire, Congo Brazzaville, Burundi and Rwanda, 1977–80.^[3][4][5]

• Assistant Under-Secretary of State (Asia and the Pacific), FCO, 1980–84.

• Ambassador to Republic of Indonesia, 1984–88.

• Ambassador to People’s Republic of China, 1988–91.

• Director: China Fund Inc. (NY), 1992–2003; HSBC China Fund Ltd, 1994–2004; J.P. Morgan Fleming Asian Investment Trust Ltd, 1997–2001 (Fleming Far Eastern Investment Trust, 1991–97).

• President, China Association, 2003–08.

- Sir Simon Gerard McDonald KCMG KCVO (born 9 March 1961) is a British diplomat who is Permanent Under-Secretary at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Head of the Diplomatic Service.McDonald was educated at De La Salle College, Salford, and read History at Pembroke College, Cambridge. He joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in 1982 and served in Jeddah, Riyadh, Bonn and Washington, D.C. as well as in London.In 1989 Simon McDonald married Olivia, daughter of Sir Patrick Wright, later Baron Wright of Richmond, who had also been Permanent Under-Secretary at the FCO (1986–1991). Simon and Olivia have two sons and two daughters.


• https://www.fda.org.uk/home/Newsandmedia/Features/Interview-with-Sir-Simon-McDonald.aspx
• The top Foreign Office mandarin has told staff he plans to retire early next year amid a controversial shake-up of Britain's global footprint, according to sources. Sir Simon McDonald is understood to have said in a call that he would stay on as permanent secretary at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) as it merges with the Department for International Development (DfID) in a major restructuring.He would then take on the role of top civil servant at what will be called the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office when it opens in September.However, Sir Simon is thought to have said he plans to step down early next year to make way for a successor, the sources said.There has been speculation in the past that Sir Simon may not be granted a longer term because - like many diplomats during the Brexit referendum - he was seen as someone who had been in favour of remaining in the European Union, according to the source.He also scored an unfortunate own goal in April when he gave confused evidence to a committee of MPs about Britain's decision not to join an EU scheme to buy ventilators when the coronavirus pandemic hit.https://news.sky.com/story/sir-simon-mcdonald-top-foreign-office-civil-servant-to-retire-early-next-year-amid-department-shake-up-12009117

- sir tony brenton


• http://www.wolfson.cam.ac.uk/people/sir-anthony-brenton
• http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1063227/British-Ambassador-Moscow-I-besieged-Putin-thugs.html
• letter to FT editor on 24sept14
- caroline wilson

• http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/1860678/british-envoy-hong-kong-duped-fictitious-chinese-firm-cash http://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/news/20150924/00176_004.html 英國工黨前外相施仲宏（Jack Straw）及保守黨前外相聶偉敬（Malcolm Rifkind），早前被揭涉嫌謀取利益、為商界疏通人脈的醜聞。英國傳媒近日再踢爆，曾任施仲宏私人秘書的現任英國駐香港及澳門總領事吳若蘭（Caroline Wilson），曾於今年初協助施仲宏為其收受利益對象「起底」，並披露了兩人的電郵對話內容。英國駐港總領事館回應指，他們一直有協助英國企業在海外投資營商，未有正面承認或否認有關報道。英國《每日電訊報》與英國電視第四頻道於今年初放蛇，假扮來自香港的公關公司人員，分別向施仲宏及聶偉敬詐稱，希望聘請他們出任顧問協助拓展業務。施當時稱可運用自己的影響力，以換取每日約六萬港元的報酬，整個對話過程被記者偷拍。該報前日再報道，施仲宏為了弄清該「公司」的底細，在今年一月接觸吳若蘭，希望她或其下屬可代為調查該「公司」。吳其後透過電郵回覆他，指該「公司」辦公室位處高尚地段，相信對方的確有誠意找他幫手，甚至建議可代為邀請該「公司」高層，參加英國駐港總領事館的活動，以便全面評估該「公司」。英國駐港總領事館昨回應本報查詢時指出：「我們一直致力協助英國企業在海外的貿易及投資，並提供有關海外營商的建議。」英國國會下議院標準事務委員會早前就施仲宏及聶偉敬涉嫌以權謀私事件進行調查，並於日前發表報告，指兩人並無違規，惹來英國政壇嘩然。惟報告無公開吳若蘭名字，僅稱她為施在「香港方面的聯絡人」，但未知背後原因。
• https://twitter.com/CWilsonFCO/status/661068473330569216 Hairy crab lunch w Carrie Lam
• Britain has appointed a former top envoy to Hong Kong during the “umbrella movement” as its next ambassador to China, a move that comes as London hardens its stance on Beijing amid the row over its former colony. The appointment of Caroline Wilson – who was consul general to Hong Kong and Macau between 2012 and 2016 – was announced by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) on Monday.She is expected to take up her ambassadorial role in September, succeeding Barbara Woodward.   Wilson is currently the FCO’s Europe director, in charge of Britain's new diplomatic relationship with the continent in the wake of Brexit.https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3089176/former-hong-kong-envoy-chosen-new-british-ambassador-china
- Andrew Heyn, a 26-year veteran of the British civil service, replaces Caroline Wilson, who will transfer to an unnamed diplomatic posting elsewhere. Since joining the Foreign Office, London’s incoming top diplomat to Hong Kong has served in Venezuela, Portugal and Ireland before taking up his role in Myanmar in 2009, a posting that witnessed the re-emergence of the country and the release  of de-facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Most recently, Heyn had been working from London and the Cabinet Office spearheading ­governance reform, a role described as being “at the heart” of the British government.http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/2009105/former-uk-ambassador-myanmar-appointed-new-consul-general

• bio at fco  https://www.gov.uk/government/people/andrew-heyn
- julian king
- tim barrow


• Sir Timothy Earle Barrow KCMG, LVO, MBE (born 15 February 1964) is a British diplomat who was Ambassador of the United Kingdom to the Russian Federationfrom 2011 to 2015. He previously served in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, as a representative to various bodies of the European Union, and as British Ambassador to Ukraine 2006–2008. He was named as the British Permanent Representative to the EU, following the resignation of Sir Ivan Rogers on 3 January 2017. 
• https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/2539919/who-is-sir-tim-barrow-the-uks-new-ambassador-to-the-eu-heres-what-we-know/ His nickname is “Deep State”, after the conspiracy theory that a shadowy cabal secretly controls world power.
• https://www.ft.com/content/c3d4abda-d357-11e6-b06b-680c49b4b4c0 Olly Robbins, the permanent secretary at the Department for Exiting the EU (Dexeu), attempted a land grab following the resignation of Sir Ivan Rogers from the Brussels post this week, the officials
  said. The officials told the Financial Times that Mr Robbins suggested downgrading the job of UK ambassador to a director-general, with a reporting line to Mr Robbins at Dexeu. But the Foreign Office sees the role in Brussels as a vital diplomatic post and moved to block Mr Robbins, officials said. Sir Tim’s nomination was also supported by Sir Jeremy Heywood, the powerful cabinet secretary who heads the civil service. The appointment of Sir Tim, a professional diplomat, was well received by Tory Eurosceptics and mandarins. But his nomination has failed to resolve what one former civil servant described as the “dysfunctionality at the centre”, over which official would be at the front of the negotiations and control the flow of information to the prime minister. In his parting email to staff, Sir Ivan hinted at the power struggle, saying: “The structure of the UK’s negotiating team and the allocation of roles and responsibilities to support that team needs rapid resolution.” Theresa May, the prime minister, is under pressure to resolve the issue, with Brexit negotiations scheduled to start before the end of March. Mr Robbins is in a powerful position. At the top of Dexeu, he is the senior civil servant co-ordinating efforts across Whitehall to deliver Brexit. He is also the prime minister’s “sherpa”, or emissary, to the European Council, the committee of EU leaders in Brussels, and so should technically lead the talks.  But Mr Robbins will be based in London while Sir Tim’s team at the UK Representation in Brussels will be on the front line of Brexit negotiations and will have close daily contact with EU negotiators. In practice the two men should form a double act, but officials told the FT that Mr Robbins’ move was designed to ensure he is clearly in the lead and is the prime minister’s principal adviser on Brexit. According to one person in Whitehall, Sir Ivan and Mr Robbins have had a scratchy relationship in recent months. The London-based official said: “The key point is that Olly Robbins doesn’t know Europe very well: he is a Whitehall operator and people don’t think he is capable of conducting the negotiation.”
- john kerr


• John Olav Kerr, Baron Kerr of Kinlochard GCMG (Lord Kerr of Kinlochard) (born 22 February 1942), is a former diplomat, now Deputy Chairman of Scottish Power and a crossbench member of the House of Lords.  He served in the British Diplomatic Service from 1966 until 2002. This included postings at the British Embassy in Moscow, and at the High Commission in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. He was Private secretary to the Permanent Under Secretary at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office from 1974 until 1979, and was on secondment to HM Treasury from 1979 until 1984, during which time he was Principal Private Secretary to the Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1981 until 1984. He was Head of Chancery at the British Embassy in Washington DC from 1984 until 1987, then Assistant Under Secretary at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office from 1987 until 1990. He was Ambassador and UK Permanent Representative to the European Communities/European Union in Brussels from 1990 until 1995, and Ambassador to the United States in Washington from 1995 to 1997. Returning to London in 1997, he was Permanent Under-Secretary at the Foreign Office and Head of the Diplomatic Service until 2002. After leaving UK Government service he was Secretary General of the European Convention in 2002/3.

• ft article on brexit 26jan17

- Alexandra Mary Hall Hall (born 1 February 1964)^{[citation needed]} is a British diplomat.Hall Hall studied at Durham University, where she read Economics and Politics, graduating with a 2:1 degree in 1986.^[1] She is married to Daniel Twining, head of the International Republican Institute.Hall Hall was British ambassador to Georgia from 2013 to 2016.^[3][4] Prior to her posting in Tbilisi, Hall Hall served in Bogotá, New Delhi, and the United States, amongst other places.^[5] She served as Brexit Counsellor at the British Embassy, Washington, from 2018 to December 2019.Lead envoy for Brexit in the British Embassy in Washington, she resigned in December 2019, dismayed at Brexit "half-truths" and the "not totally honest" messages delivered to citizens.



international relations/geopolitician
- Sir Halford John Mackinder PC (15 February 1861 – 6 March 1947) was an English geographer, academic, politician, the first Principal of University Extension College, Reading (which became the University of Reading) and Director of the London School of Economics, who is regarded as one of the founding fathers of both geopolitics and geostrategy.


• hkej 5jun17 shum article