Delights
Protocol: the rules of engagement
It might sound a bit like a fusty carryover from bygone times, but protocol — the etiquette of diplomacy and relations among nations — remains essential for the smooth functioning of international interactions. “Protocol is really a bridge profession,” said Christopher Young, past-president of the Protocol & Diplomacy-International Protocol Officers Association (PDI-POA), which held a […]
Pakistani cuisine: curried by history
Technically speaking, Pakistan is a relatively young country. When India gained independence in 1947, after almost a century of British rule, it was partitioned in two and the sovereign state of Pakistan emerged, offering a homeland for Muslims of the subcontinent. However, the land area occupied by Pakistan can trace its roots back as far […]
A different look at Islam
As Diplomat is published only four times a year, I have a devil of a time rooting out books that haven’t already been reviewed everywhere else but are nonetheless, I hope, ones of topical interest to our readers. The situation is made more complicated by what seems to me (though this may be middle age […]
Swimming with the spawning salmon
Pull on a wetsuit and snorkel gear and step into a fast-running river. Float effortlessly for kilometres in your buoyant lifejacket down the current, while 20,000 salmon are swimming under you in the opposite direction. It is a thrill ride at five kilometres an hour down the swift-moving Campbell River on Vancouver Island’s east coast. […]
For the love of the salmon
Atlantic salmon have benefactors in Ottawa. Deputy Minister of Fisheries Matt King, MPs, diplomats, fishers, business people and civil servants turned out to support these iconic creatures that swim 3,000 kilometres from northern Europe to spawn in the rivers of their birth in Eastern Canada and the U.S. The 250 people who attended the Atlantic […]
Happy birthday, Sir John A.
Canada is known more for stability than for any sense of mischief or scandal. That makes it all the more surprising that the man considered most responsible for Canada’s birth as a nation was a fast-talking, crudely mannered heavy drinker with lifelong bad behaviour, but big accomplishments. As we mark the 200th anniversary of Sir […]
Vive la France and all its beauty
France is the world’s leading tourist destination (83 million visitors in 2013) and has so much to offer, it is hard to choose just a few places to recommend. Of course, Paris is the top tourist destination within France — a city of romance and the country’s fashion capital. It boasts extraordinary monuments and museums. […]
Vietnam’s home away home away from home
Vietnamese Ambassador To Anh Dung and his wife, Tran Phi Nga, meet photographer Dyanne Wilson and me at the door of their Glebe home. Ms Tran is wearing a traditional hand-painted silk Ao Dai, a national dress that bears a slight to the exterior of their heritage house whose architecture is Spanish. But inside, the […]
Venerable Viognier
A dog-eared book, an old sweater, or, even a glass of wine poured more out of habit than pleasure are all familiar things. Unfortunately, while familiarity is certainly comforting and reassuring, it rarely exceeds expectations. The prevalence of certain too-familiar wine grapes and their common styles can send palates running in the direction of something […]
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