Also it will let those that aren't aware of the UK or think it is part of the USA to be more enlightened.
So some of my tax money is being used so that companies and organizations that do not have anything to do with me, or benefit me in any way, have the chance to make money........ Neat............
They might indirectly benefit you - by employing people and paying salaries so that they can buy bottles of wine from you!
Oh, is BAe Systems, which has rather a large factory in your neck of the woods, on zero-hour contracts paying minimum wage? But I believe there is a missed opportunity here. All the events being organised are confined to one rather small area of Manila and aren't being particularly well advertised. In fact the only advertising I have personally seen is by email and by virtue of my erstwhile "Locate" registration which means I get updates from fco.gov. It seems that whoever writes the Embassy's press releases and emails hasn't mastered the concept of "truth in advertising". Take this email - received today: One might reasonable suppose that the British Embassy has done a deal with a local TV broadcaster to televise this performance. But no, it's a single screening in one cinema. Later in Embassy schedule will be a screening of "Coriolanus" which is likely to confuse any Filipinos in the audience by more than a little as I believe the version to be shown is set in modern-day Rome but using the Bard's original script. Those working in the Embassy need to get out more and leave the cosy confines of the "Embassy Circuit" whereupon they will discover that there are other big cities hosting companies that they might wish to court for trade purposes. Confining its activities in this way does little to promote the UK to a wider Filipino audience, some of whom may be decision makers now or in the future.
