Danae Dholakia

Poppies at the Tower of London

Poppies at the Tower of London

Poppies at the Tower of London

Poppies at the Tower of London

Marking 80 years since VE Day at the Tower of London

Book cover: “Servants of Diplomacy: A Domestic History of the Victorian Foreign Foreign Office” by Keith Hamilton

Just finishing off this wonderful domestic history of the Victorian Foreign Office.

Never have I read a book more deserving of being made into a period TV drama.

In case Netflix are reading, some thoughts on the first couple of episodes:

“Some who have read the book, or at any rate have reviewed it, have found it boring, absurd, or contemptible; and I have no cause to complain, since I have similar opinions of their works, or of the kinds of writing that they evidently prefer.”

- Tolkien
(forward to LOTR)

Am glad that it was! And looking forward to talking about all things Tolkien in due course!

“A frightful day in which everyone lays hand on every box they can find, crams into it all the worst and most complicated files, and throws them at my head”

From the diaries of Foreign Office Permanent Under-Secretary Sir Alexander Cadogan, 84 years ago today.

Delivery guy on a break

#Beijing #streetphotography #monochrome
#blackandwhite #photography #China #blacknwhite
#streetphoto #bnw #blackandwhitephotography #bnw_zone

If you’re interested in diplomacy, you might like the thread below - not only my modest Brit Dips starter pack, but all the others I’ve found so far. If you’re in diplomacy and not in the below lists, please do reply with your details or starter pack. #BlueskyDiplomacy

Utagawa Hiroshige, 'New Year's Eve Foxfires at the Changing Tree, Ōji,' ca. 1857

Cutty Sark Christmas Tree mast

A very Merry Christmas to all who celebrate!

Thoroughly recommend Kintsugi - here are some of my recent efforts (I am very new to this art)

British Diplomats often stand lost in the beauty and significance of Holbein’s Ambassadors (which is handily just down the road from our HQ). This brilliant thread explains it 👇

Thanks @davidclay.bsky.social for drawing my attention to it

8. Embrace your mistakes! I guess it’s a universal truth - but I’m definitely hardwired to focus more - and do better - having got something wrong. So I try to give new vocab and grammar a go “in the wild” before I feel 100% confident - however uncomfortable that feels (and it does)

Ah yes - that’s great advice - thanks

So do I 😂 - I’m a Jill of all trades and mistress of none!

I think the short version of all of my language learning advice is: make it fun. Find ways to do what you love in the language you’re learning - and I absolutely LOVE Le Seigneur Des Anneaux

Picture of a little robot - representing chatbots

7. Make grammar fun - I think there’s a fortune to be made by whoever designs the app with enjoyable grammar games. Meanwhile, I’m experimenting with asking ChatGPT and similar to make up fun games and quizzes for me (it’s a slog, though - better suggestions appreciated!)

Chairman’s Bao logo

6. There is also a whole world of graded listening podcasts and apps out there now too - for various levels and at various speeds. I remember “the Chairman’s Bao”
being a real blessing when I was learning Mandarin - news read slowly, graded according to various levels

Poster for Servant of the People

5. Another precursor to the feature-length movie is the best possible soap or series in your target language you can get your hands on. Even if you generally hate soaps - it really helps to hear the same voices over and over in 30 minute installations

Moana poster in Chinese

4. Disney animated movies are a great precursor to the wonderful (but often quite complex) world of foreign movies. They are available in a range of languages, easy to follow and beautifully translated

3. Make good use of graded readers, then dive into your favourites - for me that’s Jane Austen, Charlotte Brontë, JRR Tolkien…Reading something I already know well in English is initially less daunting than a great work from that culture - and I don’t need a dictionary on the bedside table!

A « dictée magique » - French version of a Speak and Spell

2. Spaced repetition apps are amazing. When I learned French as a toddler, there wasn’t such a thing, of course - I annoyed my parents with my « dictée magique » instead. But space repetition apps are a different kind of magic - definitely essential to the modern language student!

Chinese character for love “ai”

1. Do it for love: learning a language is super-difficult (for me at least 😂) and needs a lot of passion and energy - so strong motivation - and an end-goal - is essential. For me, I haven’t embarked on learning a language that doesn’t already fascinate me

Big pile of language textbooks

One of the great joys of a life in diplomacy is the opportunity to learn languages. Although I wouldn’t describe myself as a naturally gifted linguist, I’m currently deep into studying my seventh and though it might be helpful to share what I find useful (and get some tips in return!)

1/2 Maud Chadburn (L) & Eleanor Colley-Davies were among first women to train as surgeons. They worked at New Hospital for Women in Euston Rd then raised funds to open a hospital solely for women & children. In 1912 the small South London Hospital for Women was opened on Clapham Common Southside …

Roughly about £4 billion since 2011 for lifesaving and life-sustaining assistance for the victims of the crisis in Syria - the UK’s largest ever response to a single humanitarian crisis

NEW RECORD: 2024 is the first year in history when wind, solar and hydropower generated more electricity than fossil fuels in the UK.

Hope for a better future in #Syria isn’t enough. Am pleased that 🇬🇧 is increasing humanitarian aid for the people of Syria by £11m to help the @UN and NGOs meet the needs of the most vulnerable. An estimated 370,000 people have been displaced by recent events.

➡️ gov.uk/government/new…

1949 Foreign Office advice for junior diplomats heading off to a job in the US:

“To appear superior is the eighth deadly sin. Let Mr and Mrs John Bull be their natural selves and never, never behave as if their name was Mr and Mrs Cholmondeley Haugh-Haugh.”

go.bsky.app/GJaoYpk

I have collected a few foreign policy starter packs - including my own - all in a handy thread on my feed