A British ambassador's visit
Published Jun 5, 2022 12:05 am
HEARD IT THROUGH THE GRIPE-VINE:OUR NEW ABNORMAL
Earlier this week, the Manila Bulletin Intramuros office was honored with a visit by the UK ambassador to the Philippines, Her Excellency Laure Beaufils. I had the opportunity to interview the engaging Ambassador Beaufils during the third quarter of last year, when she had just been assigned here. The first female British ambassador to the Philippines, she enjoyed regaling me with how being a woman, plus being half-French, had occasionally sown confusion in her previous postings. It’s her speaking in French to her children that would often turn people’s heads, and making them think twice about which nation she was representing; but she loved that it meant she was representative of the new United Kingdom, ethnically diverse, and gender-inclusive.
Ambassador Beaufils’ father is French, and she doesn’t want her two children to lose sight of that provenance. The two are enrolled at the British Academy here, and she makes it a point to converse with them in French, so that they don’t lose their gift of being fluently bilingual. Over the course of her diplomatic career, she herself has made it a point to pick up a little of the local language wherever she’s assigned.
Last August, she floored me by carrying on a decent conversation in Pilipino, and disclosed that in her previous posting, when she learned she would be assigned to the Philippines, she began taking Pilipino lessons. She confesses to having slacked in these lessons since the New Year started, and in order to correct that had instituted a Pilipino Only on Fridays at the Embassy – which she hopes will help her be more adept with the language. I don’t know how many ambassadors make that kind of effort.
Besides Dr. Emil Yap, and his cousin Michael Vincent, touring Ambassador Beaufils around the Manila Bulletin building were Editor-in-Chief Lorie Cabañes and News Editor Isabel de Leon. EIC Lorie was charmed, joking that he and the Ambassador were “tocayos,” Laure and Lorie. On the third floor, Ambassador Beaufils stopped in her tracks when we passed the gallery of shelves devoted to Emil’s collectible toys.
Michael and Emil Yap with UK Ambassador Laure Beaufils at the MacArthur Suite of the Manila Hotel.
Emil explained how it all started with Iron Man, but as far as Ambassador Beaufils was concerned, the shelves and sections assigned to Marvel, to Star Wars, and to DC were all something her nine-year old son would be super-excited by. She often has dinner with her son and 11-year old daughter, entertaining them with stories and anecdotes of what she was up to that day. Candidly, she admitted that more often than not, they would smile and just show a modicum of interest, but with the photos she took of the shelves, she knew that she would have them hooked later that night.
At the newsroom, she gamely posed at the center table, while Bel joked that we’d pose as her sub-editors for the MB photographer, and she was more than amused to hear Emil explain that the configuration of the table layout was actually inspired by Star Trek, with Sir Lorie playing Captain Kirk. The presses, and the sustainability measures taken by the Manila Bulletin to operate them, sparked great interest, as Ambassador Beaufils is a strong sustainability advocate.
Heading to Manila Hotel’s Champagne Room for a quick lunch, Ambassador Beaufils asked Bel to ride with her, and Bel says they had a great time establishing a more than casual friendship. In the course of the lunch, more weighty matters were discussed, and we were all impressed by her grasp of the political situation and of the incoming administration.
YOUR COLUMNIST and the Ambassador at the Champagne Room of the Manila Hotel.
A tour of the MacArthur Suite at the Manila Hotel followed, and she was gushing about how impressive the suite is – blending comfort and luxury, with a strong sense of history, given that General Douglas MacArthur actually occupied the suite from 1936 to 1941, while it served as his headquarters. Before we knew it, the Ambassador had to depart for her afternoon appointments.
If this is the face of new diplomacy, of the ambassadors assigned to our country; then I’m all for it, as it is a refreshing change from the ambassadors I’ve met in my lifetime. Ambassador Laure Beaufils knows her protocol and standards of behavior; but she’s just as ready to dispense with the formalities and stuffiness that often accompanies the position, when she senses she’s with friends or feels more comfortable. I know Emil, Michael, Sir Lorie, and Bel join me in finding that so disarming.
Earlier this week, the Manila Bulletin Intramuros office was honored with a visit by the UK ambassador to the Philippines, Her Excellency Laure Beaufils. I had the opportunity to interview the engaging Ambassador Beaufils during the third quarter of last year, when she had just been assigned here. The first female British ambassador to the Philippines, she enjoyed regaling me with how being a woman, plus being half-French, had occasionally sown confusion in her previous postings. It’s her speaking in French to her children that would often turn people’s heads, and making them think twice about which nation she was representing; but she loved that it meant she was representative of the new United Kingdom, ethnically diverse, and gender-inclusive.
Ambassador Beaufils’ father is French, and she doesn’t want her two children to lose sight of that provenance. The two are enrolled at the British Academy here, and she makes it a point to converse with them in French, so that they don’t lose their gift of being fluently bilingual. Over the course of her diplomatic career, she herself has made it a point to pick up a little of the local language wherever she’s assigned.
Last August, she floored me by carrying on a decent conversation in Pilipino, and disclosed that in her previous posting, when she learned she would be assigned to the Philippines, she began taking Pilipino lessons. She confesses to having slacked in these lessons since the New Year started, and in order to correct that had instituted a Pilipino Only on Fridays at the Embassy – which she hopes will help her be more adept with the language. I don’t know how many ambassadors make that kind of effort.
Besides Dr. Emil Yap, and his cousin Michael Vincent, touring Ambassador Beaufils around the Manila Bulletin building were Editor-in-Chief Lorie Cabañes and News Editor Isabel de Leon. EIC Lorie was charmed, joking that he and the Ambassador were “tocayos,” Laure and Lorie. On the third floor, Ambassador Beaufils stopped in her tracks when we passed the gallery of shelves devoted to Emil’s collectible toys.
Michael and Emil Yap with UK Ambassador Laure Beaufils at the MacArthur Suite of the Manila Hotel.
Emil explained how it all started with Iron Man, but as far as Ambassador Beaufils was concerned, the shelves and sections assigned to Marvel, to Star Wars, and to DC were all something her nine-year old son would be super-excited by. She often has dinner with her son and 11-year old daughter, entertaining them with stories and anecdotes of what she was up to that day. Candidly, she admitted that more often than not, they would smile and just show a modicum of interest, but with the photos she took of the shelves, she knew that she would have them hooked later that night.
At the newsroom, she gamely posed at the center table, while Bel joked that we’d pose as her sub-editors for the MB photographer, and she was more than amused to hear Emil explain that the configuration of the table layout was actually inspired by Star Trek, with Sir Lorie playing Captain Kirk. The presses, and the sustainability measures taken by the Manila Bulletin to operate them, sparked great interest, as Ambassador Beaufils is a strong sustainability advocate.
Heading to Manila Hotel’s Champagne Room for a quick lunch, Ambassador Beaufils asked Bel to ride with her, and Bel says they had a great time establishing a more than casual friendship. In the course of the lunch, more weighty matters were discussed, and we were all impressed by her grasp of the political situation and of the incoming administration.
YOUR COLUMNIST and the Ambassador at the Champagne Room of the Manila Hotel.
A tour of the MacArthur Suite at the Manila Hotel followed, and she was gushing about how impressive the suite is – blending comfort and luxury, with a strong sense of history, given that General Douglas MacArthur actually occupied the suite from 1936 to 1941, while it served as his headquarters. Before we knew it, the Ambassador had to depart for her afternoon appointments.
If this is the face of new diplomacy, of the ambassadors assigned to our country; then I’m all for it, as it is a refreshing change from the ambassadors I’ve met in my lifetime. Ambassador Laure Beaufils knows her protocol and standards of behavior; but she’s just as ready to dispense with the formalities and stuffiness that often accompanies the position, when she senses she’s with friends or feels more comfortable. I know Emil, Michael, Sir Lorie, and Bel join me in finding that so disarming.