As Poland starts its EU Presidency, the long-awaited announcement is made: HM Ambassador in Poland Ric Todd is moving on, to a significant and sunny new posting.

All is not (yet) quite lost. Lots of scope for transplanting modern progressive  European values to the conservative locals - and flying that flag.

Plus on those balmy tropical evenings time aplenty to practise one's grammar:

Equally, some of the stereotypes in Britain of Poland being a grey, concrete covered country with bad weather and intolerant people is (sic) also completely wrong

Here's how the next UK Ambassador to Warsaw should arrive. Properly dressed.

Update   this is well put by Ambassador Todd as he tries to explain some simple truths about UK/Poland relations down the decades. And does not succeed!

I have failed utterly in my attempts to combat this anti-British thread. It is impervious to facts.

For example we got a “demand” that a British medal be given posthumously to General Sosabowski because Britain had denigrated him and not given him a medal to honour his war-time service.  

When we replied that there is no evidence that Britain ever denigrated General Sosabowski and furthermore we gave him a medal when he was alive (as well as asylum for him and his family) the answer came back that we should give him another one, because Britain denigrated him..