Book description
When leaving a foreign posting, Britain's ambassadors were encouraged
to write a valedictory despatch until the practice was abolished in
2006. Unlike the usual style of the diplomatic bag, these last reports
from foreign posts were unbuttoned, indiscreet and often very funny.
There was much settling of scores, some poking fun of foreigners, a
degree of moaning about the privations of Embassy life - and sometimes
a bit of serious analysis too.
Based on a very successful BBC radio series, Matthew Parris, who
once worked for the Foreign Office and had the task of distributing
the despatches, and Andrew Bryson have compiled an always entertaining
and frequently hilarious volume of the best of them.
Andrew Bryson is a radio journalist working on the BBC's Business
News Unit. He set about making Parting Shots for Radio 4 after
reading a column about valedictory despatches by Matthew Parris in
The Times. As well as producing the series, he researched the
material - a contrast from his day job as a news reporter and
presenter on Radio 5Live and a producer of Radio 4's Today programme.
Matthew Parris is a columnist for The Times for whom he was
previously a parliamentary sketchwriter. He was a Conservative MP from
1979 until 1986, and once worked for the Foreign Office. He says that
it was after reading one of these valedictory addresses that he
decided to give up his career there. His highly acclaimed
autobiography Chance Witness was published by Penguin.
