Britain’s Man In Bangkok

written by Rianka Mohan

 

 

The British Ambassador to Thailand, H.E. Brian Davidson, looks to modern British values to forge the future of the four- hundred-year-old relationship between Thailand and the UK, as he describes in an exclusive interview with Expat Life.

 

“One of the things that I would like to do is showcase the multi-cultural and truly diverse place that is today’s
Britain.”

 

The sprawling verdant grounds of the British Embassy greet you with a silence that feels worlds away from the tumultuous traffic beyond. A stately, cream-coloured mansion – the home of the current ambassador – stands within as testament to a relationship dating back to 1612 when the first English ship arrived on the shores of Siam. The entire effect  of the eightacre compound is to take you back in time until you meet Brian Davidson, the tall, dapper diplomat who from  his casual shirt worn without a tie to his crisply ironed slacks is every bit as modern as you can get. And it doesn’t end with  his dress sense. Davidson is determined to bring the best of 21st century Britain to Thailand.

 

“One of the things that I would like to do is showcase the multi-cultural and truly diverse place that is today’s
Britain.”

 

“While we’ve had a significant   historical  relationship, I think both the Thais and the British suffer from certain misperceptions about each other. When   you think of Britain here, the images conjured might be a tad outdated and influenced more by our past than our present,”  he explains. “One of the things that I would like to do is showcase the multi-cultural and truly diverse place that is today’s  Britain. A country not just to visit for castles and Shakespeare but one that’s at the forefront of pioneering work in many   areas across a range of  industries. On the flip side, it is my responsibility to shift perceptions in the UK. Thailand is not just  about holidays and  beaches but stands as ever, a valuable trading and investment partner in the ASEAN region with ample opportunities for  British business.”

 

It was exactly a year ago that Davidson took over the role of from his predecessor. And an extraordinary year it has been, marked by stunning events both in Thailand and in Britain. Yet Davidson remains unfazed, “Certainly these events – the passing of the King of Thailand, the referendum on Brexit and the election in the UK – were unexpected and have had an  impact on the level of activity and engagement but our mission, the mission of the Embassy, remains unchanged. I have  outlined my top three priorities in Thailand, which are about promoting a free and open society; building stronger  partnerships for mutual prosperity; and providing top-notch consular and embassy services to all who avail of them.”

 

“I think it’s incumbent on those of us who’ve enjoyed the support of their families and their  government to live the life we want, to be more visible and to show that there’s nothing unusual about this, on behalf of those who may not have the same privileges. I also encourage others in my team to contribute to causes about which they feel passionate. It’s not a preachy, this-is-how-you-should-do-things approach but rather speaking from the heart with our perspectives and/or struggles around these issues. I’d like us as a whole, to walk the walk on diversity because this is an  important part of the fabric of our society.”

 

Considering the first priority, Davidson himself has been the embodiment of the very values of openness and transparency  that he champions. In 2014, Davidson married his long-time partner, Scott Chang, at a private ceremony at the British  consulate in Beijing, which made headlines as one of the first same-sex marriages to be conducted by a diplomatic mission of a foreign country in China. Both the local and international press made much of the fact and it catapulted Davidson into  the public eye in China and overseas as an icon for gay rights. Davidson is sanguine and happy to be open about his family life if it serves a purpose.

 

Full story: https://expatlifeinthailand.com/lifestyle/britains-man-bangkok/

 

-- © Copyright Expat Life In Thailand 2017-09-07

be nice to ask why these rip off merchants charge me 50 pounds for a piece of paper, about my pension income. i do all the work and in their words they do not check it to be authentic.

Really what is the point of the British embassy.

"The sprawling verdant grounds of the British Embassy greet you with a silence that feels worlds away from the tumultuous traffic beyond."

What a load of nonsense. There's a huge mall in the front garden now!

20 years ago this description would have fit, but nowadays  . . . . .   

1 hour ago, Father Fintan Stack said:

Send an openly gay ambassador with his head in the clouds to a country under a military ************.

 

No wonder they think Britain is a joke these days. 

 

Yeah, but it got a tick in the FO diversity box!

1 hour ago, webfact said:

“One of the things that I would like to do is showcase the multi-cultural and truly diverse place that is today’s
Britain.”

These robots must all be made in the same factory somewhere. This is all any of them ever say. I reckon he has a string on his back which, when pulled, says 'diversity is our strength' or some other cliched BS.

M.E. Klaus Kunkel greets H.E. Brian Davidson with a resounding "wassup, Dude?!"

18 minutes ago, CelticBhoy said:

"The sprawling verdant grounds of the British Embassy greet you with a silence that feels worlds away from the tumultuous traffic beyond."

What a load of nonsense. There's a huge mall in the front garden now!

20 years ago this description would have fit, but nowadays  . . . . .   

Not for much longer, soon to be sold and the Embassy move into a non nondescript office block as the UK loses even more significance. Whats he got to say about that?

36 minutes ago, marko kok prong said:

Really what is the point of the British embassy.

Espionage and shady deals?

"Brian Davidson, Britain’s man in Bangkok and the epitome of a thoroughly contemporary ambassador, shares the Colonial-style home, with Scott Chang, his Chinese-American husband, and their baby son Eliot, born to a surrogate mother in California."

Rule Britannia. A man for all reasons.

 

25 minutes ago, sungod said:

Whats he got to say about that?

Try reading the article - quite a lot of diplomatic/corporate speak - IE nothing really concrete actually.........

59 minutes ago, marko kok prong said:

Really what is the point of the British embassy.

To make alot of money from us, whenever we need any documents.

 

9 minutes ago, topt said:

Try reading the article - quite a lot of diplomatic/corporate speak - IE nothing really concrete actually.........

"IE nothing really concrete actually........."

I thought he was here to cement relations between the two governments.

2 hours ago, webfact said:

dapper diplomat who from  his casual shirt worn without a tie to his crisply ironed slacks

 

2 hours ago, mercman24 said:

be nice to ask why these rip off merchants charge me 50 pounds for a piece of paper, about my pension income.

Those crisply ironed slacks aren't going slack themselves, now, are they. 

His Excellancy; for he is so excellent (?); has garnered a great deal of publicity for himself in recent months. I respect his lifestyle choice but I want an ambassador to prioritise those he is appointed to serve. Apart from the appropriate and well worn BS that he dutifully inserts into the interviews he gives, I see nothing that suggests any improvement in service for those he serves.

I have only a very limited experience of dealing with the UK Embassy, but I was given the clear impression that they would not help me and could not help me and could I please get off the phone line.

I would be interested to know if anyone has a positive experience with the UK Embassy to share with us.

Double post.

Edited September 7, 20178 yr by champers

1 hour ago, marko kok prong said:

Really what is the point of the British embassy.

Utterly none as far as we Brit expats are concerned. They were certainly unable to do anything to stop those incompetent clowns at HMPO steamrollering the dreaded "With-It Tower Passport Renewal Experience" through 3 years ago - meaning that we are now obliged at passport renewal time to make 2 awkward trips from whatever far-flung corner of LOS we live in to some office building with an exceedingly silly name and an entrance tucked down some obscure back soi in deepest darkest Bangkok, with only a pathetic excuse of an online map akin to one produced by Noddy of Toytown to guide us to our destination!

 

And they also have zero influence over those equally incompetent clowns at DWP who have frozen our State Pensions forever and a day and periodically bombard us with futile requests for witnessed Life Certificates which have to be sent by snail mail to an address in Wolverhampton even though their office is located in Newcastle-upon-Tyne!

Edited September 7, 20178 yr by OJAS

27 minutes ago, topt said:

Try reading the article - quite a lot of diplomatic/corporate speak - IE nothing really concrete actually.........

Apologies as I thought that was the article with just the source posted, thanks for pointing that out, I'll dig out the reading glasses :)

be nice to ask why these rip off merchants charge me 50 pounds for a piece of paper, about my pension income. i do all the work and in their words they do not check it to be authentic.

"top-notch consular and embassy services to all who avail of them.”

Perhaps you are not being sufficiently "diverse"?
You need to "walk the walk", it is "the very fabric of British society".

4 hours ago, mercman24 said:

be nice to ask why these rip off merchants charge me 50 pounds for a piece of paper, about my pension income. i do all the work and in their words they do not check it to be authentic.

Well said!  The consular fee for the Affirmation of Marital Status is as bad,   We even have to retype the "specimen" form from their web site and complete it with all required supporting documents, which they then just sign and stamp it. It then has to be translated into Thai elsewhere for another fee before being OK'd by the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

 

Why cannot a single form be provided in both English and Thai, which merely has to be filled in?  That could then be approved by the MFA.  Too simple, I suppose.

55 minutes ago, JAG said:

"top-notch consular and embassy services to all who avail of them.”

Perhaps you are not being sufficiently "diverse"?
You need to "walk the walk", it is "the very fabric of British society".

 

I can only speak for myself about Chiang Mai, where our formerly-good limited-hours consular-service has been shut-down over the past few years, it can't have saved the UK-government much but it certainly did previously help us UK-citizens/tax-payers up here.

 

Perhaps a monthly-visit by himself/consular-staff might be offered instead ?

 

And the new arrangements for passport-renewal, well perhaps His Excellency might pass-on our feed-back, it's expensive and cr*p compared to the previous DHL-to-Hong-Kong service IMO !

 

H.E.'s personal situation is of course his own business, and I wish him well during his posting to Thailand, I'm sure he'll do a competent job of representing the UK's interests here, and find it a fascinating country.

 

 

Well the Foreign Office won't send their best guys to Thailand will they.

2 hours ago, Ricardo said:

 

I can only speak for myself about Chiang Mai, where our formerly-good limited-hours consular-service has been shut-down over the past few years, it can't have saved the UK-government much but it certainly did previously help us UK-citizens/tax-payers up here.

 

Perhaps a monthly-visit by himself/consular-staff might be offered instead ?

 

And the new arrangements for passport-renewal, well perhaps His Excellency might pass-on our feed-back, it's expensive and cr*p compared to the previous DHL-to-Hong-Kong service IMO !

 

H.E.'s personal situation is of course his own business, and I wish him well during his posting to Thailand, I'm sure he'll do a competent job of representing the UK's interests here, and find it a fascinating country.

 

 

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•  #23

Posted 2 hours ago

  3 hours ago, JAG said:

"top-notch consular and embassy services to all who avail of them.”

Perhaps you are not being sufficiently "diverse"?
You need to "walk the walk", it is "the very fabric of British society".

 

"I can only speak for myself about Chiang Mai, where our formerly-good limited-hours consular-service has been shut-down over the past few years, it can't have saved the UK-government much but it certainly did previously help us UK-citizens/tax-payers up here.

 

Perhaps a monthly-visit by himself/consular-staff might be offered instead ?"

 

Absolutely agree - as the Australian's manage so to do.

 

The renewal of passports sounds like a nightmare now.

Fortunately I got mine renewed when one did it via HK - which was bad enough!

This really needs reviewing and hopefully be4 mine is due to be renewed again!

5 hours ago, champers said:

His Excellancy; for he is so excellent (?); has garnered a great deal of publicity for himself in recent months. I respect his lifestyle choice but I want an ambassador to prioritise those he is appointed to serve. Apart from the appropriate and well worn BS that he dutifully inserts into the interviews he gives, I see nothing that suggests any improvement in service for those he serves.

I have only a very limited experience of dealing with the UK Embassy, but I was given the clear impression that they would not help me and could not help me and could I please get off the phone line.

I would be interested to know if anyone has a positive experience with the UK Embassy to share with us.

Sorry to say no positive experience with the embassy or its personnel here or at the FCO sad to say only here for the good life it seems, waste of time and effort Miss Black?

6 hours ago, champers said:

His Excellancy; for he is so excellent (?); has garnered a great deal of publicity for himself in recent months. I respect his lifestyle choice but I want an ambassador to prioritise those he is appointed to serve. Apart from the appropriate and well worn BS that he dutifully inserts into the interviews he gives, I see nothing that suggests any improvement in service for those he serves.

I have only a very limited experience of dealing with the UK Embassy, but I was given the clear impression that they would not help me and could not help me and could I please get off the phone line.

I would be interested to know if anyone has a positive experience with the UK Embassy to share with us.

Can you really blame the poor bastards working in the UK embassy for not providing first rate service?

Imagine having to front up to work everyday knowing that all you'll be doing until knock off is dealing with whinging poms.

7 hours ago, ratcatcher said:

"Brian Davidson, Britain’s man in Bangkok and the epitome of a thoroughly contemporary ambassador, shares the Colonial-style home, with Scott Chang, his Chinese-American husband, and their baby son Eliot, born to a surrogate mother in California."

Rule Britannia. A man for all reasons.

 

Jesus wept...

Useless piece of xxxx

From the original pic. Well dressed appointee with facial groomed hair and wild growth at the back of his neck.

Sigh, another dud not so well groomed appointee. Does it matter?

No, just another sponger

12 hours ago, ratcatcher said:

"Brian Davidson, Britain’s man in Bangkok and the epitome of a thoroughly contemporary ambassador, shares the Colonial-style home, with Scott Chang, his Chinese-American husband, and their baby son Eliot, born to a surrogate mother in California."

Rule Britannia. A man for all reasons.

 

"and providing top-notch consular and embassy services to all who avail of them.”

Most farmed out now...

 

He actually looks relatively normal