Sign in the get-well book for blessing the King

 

On Thursday 25 October I visited Siriraj Hospital to sign the get-well book for HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej  I also passed a letter from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth  II  to the Royal Household Bureau.  The  message reads:

"I was concerned to hear of your recent ill health. I would like to express my best wishes for a full and swift recovery. I sincerely hope that you will be able to resume your royal duties soon. I look forward to continuing the close ties between the Thai Royal Family and my own and between our two countries." 

 

 

 

Student Internship

On 24 October, I  invited students from Bangkok, Chulalongkorn, and Thammasat Universities to have tea with me at my house to discuss their views on the current political situation. I was very impressed by the standard of debate and found the discussion most interesting. The Thai students were enthusiastic about expressing their opinions on a wide range of views, in both Thai and English. 

I invited four of them to join the embassy as interns for the next few weeks. Internship is a very good way of improving the embassy's links with universities, with benefits both for the embassy and, I hope, the students involved.

 

Dinner with Sir John Sulston

I attended a private dinner with Sir John Sulston, the 2002 Nobel Prize Winner for Medicine, on Friday 19 October at Erawan Tea Room Restaurant. The dinner was hosted by British Council Thailand and included Thailand's leading scientists from BIOTEC, Mahidol University and the National Science Museum.

(Sir John Sulston visited Thailand between 18-19t October 2007 to give the keynote lecture on "Genes, Equity and Global Medicine" at the 33 Science and Technology Congress, Walailuck University).

The guests are as follows (from left to right):  

 

Training on Policing in a Multicultural Society - 3rd October

I attended the opening ceremony of an Embassy funded police training course at the Police Education Bureau in Bangkok on 3 October 2007. The course addresses very important areas of modern police work - cultural awareness and community policing skills.

The second phase of the training will take place in the far south where we hope that an improved awareness amongst police officers of the local religion and culture will play a positive role in improving community relations and contribute to a decrease in the violence.

This project is the latest in a series of projects with the Thai Police supported by the British Embassy. Previous projects have included professional policing skills, riot control and bomb disposal training