Lewis diplomat toasts Burns - in Tunisia!

Current Covid lockdown restrictions may have put paid to mass gatherings to celebrate Robert Burns – but that’s not stopping Isle of Lewis man Ben Stephen celebrating online.

Ben – who serves at the UK’s Embassy in Tunisia – is to address a massive Teams meeting online organised by staff at FCDO’s joint HQ, Abercrombie House, in East Kilbride, to toast the world famous poet.

All of FCDO’s 17,300 staff worldwide have been invited to attend the event today to remember Burns’ life and works.

Scots working for the UK Government in countries including Bahrain, Chile, China, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mauritius, Pakistan, Peru, Tunisia, and Turkey are among those participating in the virtual Burns Supper.

Foreign Office Minister Wendy Morton said: “Scots are at the very heart of helping FCDO be a force for good around the world and staff were keen to pay tribute to Robert Burns despite Covid-19.

“Lockdown restrictions might mean that the many Burns Suppers our Embassies usually organise around the world to help showcase Scotland cannot happen this year, but that isn’t stopping us from celebrating.

“Robert Burns was very much an internationalist, so I’m sure he would have approved of the UK government bringing the COP26 climate change summit to Glasgow, and our work promoting human rights and helping the world’s poorest countries.”

The Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab recently announced that FCDO is to ‘significantly increase’ its presence in Scotland following the merger of the Foreign Office with the Department for International Development in September.

The news is a huge boost to the local economy in East Kilbride, with plans to add to the 1,106 staff already helping to deliver the UK’s £10billion foreign aid budget from FCDO’s Lanarkshire base.

FCDO employs many more Scots at its Embassies and Consulates worldwide.

Tunis-based Ben said: “The Tunisians have a strange affinity for Scotland. We both have bagpipes and taxi drivers love pointing that out and chatting about it to you in cab.

“I’ll be spending Burns Night eating the Tunisian version of haggis called osban and drinking a glass of Ardbeg.”

Colin Gray, Deputy Head of Mission at the British Embassy – said: “I’m really sorry that I’ll be missing out on the Caledonian Society’s twist on haggis, neeps and tatties this year, but we can still all raise a glass to the Bard and hopefully get together in person again very soon.”

Charles Hay – UK High Commissioner to Malaysia – said: “Normally, we have a big Burns Night celebration and there’s a vibrant and thriving St Andrew’s Society here in Malaysia, but this year, as a result of the pandemic and subsequent restrictions, we’ll obviously all be celebrating much more quietly at home, raising a glass though in the usual way to the national Bard.”