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37. In 1905 the head of the Foreign Office suggested that the
Empire appeared like "some huge giant sprawling over the
globe, with gouty fingers and toes stretched in every
directions, which cannot be approached without eliciting a scream. The gouty giant is now a vigorous, diverse and
colourful Commonwealth. The Prime Minister's recent visit to
New Delhi was an historic event for those who, like my wife
and I, have our roots in the Empire. And the current squall
over Legco seats may well be judged by future historians as the last squeal.
British Council and BBC
38. My introduction to the Council came when, as a young lad, I acted as regent in the Lower Yafa' Sultanate, and a Martian in spectacles appeared in a Land Rover and set up a travelling
slide show to demonstrate to an intrigued crowd of my
illiterate tribesmen the wonders of the Prado. Two months
later he returned with a cinema projector run from the car
battery and a more appropriate Western film, so enthralling his audience that one old warrior leapt to his feet and with a war-cry splitting the night sky sent a bullet through the villain and the flickering screen.
39. Since then, no organisation I know has changed more
effectively than the Council. Working with Council colleagues
in the Gulf, North Africa and now Hong Kong has been a joy,
their pioneering work in a wide range of disciplines of vital importance to British and especially our commercial interests.
The Service
40. The Diplomatic Service has changed little. Certainly
work of the highest importance is done in Europe, Washington
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