The Spanish Ambassador's Suitcase

Heard the one about the Spanish Ambassador who arrived in the scorching Algerian desert fully suited and with a mysteriously enormous suitcase? It's a story which first saw the light of day in a despatch from the British Ambassador in Algeria, and has now achieved classic status in diplomatic circles. Or the one about the horse presented to Prime Minister John Major by the authorities in Turkmenistan which had to be rescued from the Moscow train station by the Embassy? These and other 'funnies', as they are known in Whitehall, are featured in Matthew Parris and Andrew Bryson's follow up to their highly successful collection of ambassadors' final despatches, Parting Shots.

A 'funny' was usually written simply to entertain those back in the office in London. But there was another kind of despatch written with a more serious purpose: the First Impression. A new Ambassador was encouraged to put down on paper his thoughts on his new posting after just three months in the job. It was an opportunity to wax lyrical or to express disdain, to show off or profess ignorance, but most of all to cast a fresh eye on some foreign field.