Greetings! This is a new experiment for us. We aim to produce a new bulletin every week. Maybe more when we are doing especially exciting things. But it won’t always be me – sometimes my British and Hungarian colleagues will be doing the writing. We’ll keep it short and try not to bore you.

February started very well for a (half) Welshman (i.e. me), with Wales beating England in the Six Nations Rugby 26-19. Wales is smaller than Hungary by a long way (3 million population) – sometimes David does beat Goliath. Why is this relevant to you? Because rugby is taking off in Hungary, particularly with young people. Pob lwc! Watch this space.

I lived and worked in Hungary between 1989 and 1992 at the Embassy and this country is very close to my heart. I returned in December 2007 to a somewhat different place to the one I left and I am now rediscovering it and updating myself on all the changes that have taken place. Most good, some not. One of my first tasks is to get around and meet Ministers, politicians, business people and as many folk in all walks of life as I can. It’s a bit like – as we say in Britain – painting the Forth Road Bridge (i.e. impossible to finish). As soon as I think I’m getting to the end, someone moves on and I have to start again. My main aim is to tell them about UK priorities. I’d like Hungary to share these as much as possible. I know that won’t always happen.

We’ve several important but very different manifestations of Britain in Hungary this past week. I was privileged to hear Dr Jane Goodall lecture at ELTE. She is the lady best known for her study of chimpanzees at Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania. And she’s even better known in Hungary than the UK – the large lecture hall was packed to bursting with hundreds of students and others keen to hear about her work. There were tears before she finished. One of the worldwide organisations she has founded is Roots & Shoots, which has an Hungarian branch, and which aims to help create healthy ecosystems by encouraging sustainable livelihoods and nurturing new generations of committed, active citizens around the world. Why is this of concern to us? Because climate change and environmental issues are one of the UK Foreign Office’s main priorities these days. I was really quite moved (not sure this is appropriate for a diplomat) by the enthusiasm here for her messages about action-oriented compassion. If any businesses are listening – your support for this movement could make you feel good and achieve a great deal.

We’ve also had teams here in the past few days working with your customs and police on best practice at the borders and within Hungary. And not long ago our fire services presented equipment and provided training for a local depot. I mention this because this day to day cooperation between Britain and Hungary is unsung and you never hear about it. It sounds dull. But it’s crucially important locally and testifies to our very warm – but substantive, not just warm - bilateral relations.

And I thoroughly enjoyed a BBC Singers’ performance together with the Savaria Szimfonikus Zenekar at the Művészetek Palotája this week too. (They performed Stravinsky’s “Symphony of Psalms”.) This is one of the most flexible and accomplished British choirs and their brilliant performance raised the hairs on my neck – that’s not bad, it’s meant as a compliment. This fantastic venue (though better from the inside than the outside) didn’t exist when I lived here before, but plays a really important role putting Budapest on the cultural map. The linguistics can sometimes mean our cultures seem very different – but music is one of the media which brings them together.

I get invited to many classical occasions. Sometimes I’d prefer a good rock concert – Locomotiv GT or Kispál és a Borz. (I realise that would embarrass my children, but that’s part of the attraction…) Budapest is a favourite venue for UK bands and DJs - they crop up in this city on a weekly basis. Mostly these bands are up-to-date and modern, but at least one of my Embassy colleagues was at the UK Subs concert on board the A38 Hajó a couple of weeks back, seeing authentic UK Punk Rock played by one of the original 70s bands to an enthusiastic audience of 20-something Hungarians. The band's singer Charlie Harper told my colleague that they always enjoyed playing Budapest - great atmosphere, real enthusiasm - and they will certainly be back next year

I spent the last weekend walking around Budapest, using Andras Torok’s superb English language guide to the city. The architecture is still stunning. It’s good to be back.

Greg Dorey

British Ambassador
18 February 2008