That's me. I was 21 years old joining the FCO in 1980; 63 y.o. now. Strangely, my concept of old keeps receding. (View Post)

I absolutely would have not had any input into that decision, but you seem oblivious of the fact that the US only just supported our effort to retake the Falklands - we persuaded them by the skin of … (View Post)

As someone who was in the FCO at the time, I'd just like to say that even a UK threat of nuclear weapons use against a non-nuclear state, let alone their actual use, was unthinkable in 1982. (View Post)

Moldova would be a logistical nightmare for the Russians, and if Ukraine has shown anything, is that logistics are the weakest link in many, many Russian military weak links. Russia seems to have an … (View Post)

And keep eating and drinking lots of water (View Post)