iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Danae Dholakia @danaedholakia.bsky.social · 08/05/2025

Marking 80 years since VE Day at the Tower of London

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David Clay @davidclay.bsky.social · 16/02/2025

Just finishing off this wonderful domestic history of the Victorian Foreign Office. Never have I read a book more deserving of being made into a period TV drama. In case Netflix are reading, some thoughts on the first couple of episodes:

Book cover: “Servants of Diplomacy: A Domestic History of the Victorian Foreign Foreign Office” by Keith Hamilton

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The Wonder of Tolkien @tolkienwonder.bsky.social · 26/01/2025

“Some who have read the book, or at any rate have reviewed it, have found it boring, absurd, or contemptible; and I have no cause to complain, since I have similar opinions of their works, or of the kinds of writing that they evidently prefer.” - Tolkien (forward to LOTR)

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Danae Dholakia @danaedholakia.bsky.social · 27/01/2025

Am glad that it was! And looking forward to talking about all things Tolkien in due course!

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David Clay @davidclay.bsky.social · 18/01/2025

“A frightful day in which everyone lays hand on every box they can find, crams into it all the worst and most complicated files, and throws them at my head” From the diaries of Foreign Office Permanent Under-Secretary Sir Alexander Cadogan, 84 years ago today.

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Danae Dholakia @danaedholakia.bsky.social · 15/01/2025

If you’re interested in diplomacy, you might like the thread below - not only my modest Brit Dips starter pack, but all the others I’ve found so far. If you’re in diplomacy and not in the below lists, please do reply with your details or starter pack. #BlueskyDiplomacy

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Tatiana Fajardo @tatiana1979.bsky.social · 30/12/2024

Utagawa Hiroshige, 'New Year's Eve Foxfires at the Changing Tree, Ōji,' ca. 1857

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Danae Dholakia @danaedholakia.bsky.social · 25/12/2024

A very Merry Christmas to all who celebrate!

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Danae Dholakia @danaedholakia.bsky.social · 18/12/2024

Thoroughly recommend Kintsugi - here are some of my recent efforts (I am very new to this art)

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Danae Dholakia @danaedholakia.bsky.social · 18/12/2024

British Diplomats often stand lost in the beauty and significance of Holbein’s Ambassadors (which is handily just down the road from our HQ). This brilliant thread explains it 👇 Thanks @davidclay.bsky.social for drawing my attention to it

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Danae Dholakia @danaedholakia.bsky.social · 14/12/2024

8. Embrace your mistakes! I guess it’s a universal truth - but I’m definitely hardwired to focus more - and do better - having got something wrong. So I try to give new vocab and grammar a go “in the wild” before I feel 100% confident - however uncomfortable that feels (and it does)

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Danae Dholakia @danaedholakia.bsky.social · 13/12/2024

Ah yes - that’s great advice - thanks

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Danae Dholakia @danaedholakia.bsky.social · 13/12/2024

So do I 😂 - I’m a Jill of all trades and mistress of none!

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Danae Dholakia @danaedholakia.bsky.social · 13/12/2024

I think the short version of all of my language learning advice is: make it fun. Find ways to do what you love in the language you’re learning - and I absolutely LOVE Le Seigneur Des Anneaux

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Danae Dholakia @danaedholakia.bsky.social · 13/12/2024

7. Make grammar fun - I think there’s a fortune to be made by whoever designs the app with enjoyable grammar games. Meanwhile, I’m experimenting with asking ChatGPT and similar to make up fun games and quizzes for me (it’s a slog, though - better suggestions appreciated!)

Picture of a little robot - representing chatbots

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Danae Dholakia @danaedholakia.bsky.social · 13/12/2024

6. There is also a whole world of graded listening podcasts and apps out there now too - for various levels and at various speeds. I remember “the Chairman’s Bao” being a real blessing when I was learning Mandarin - news read slowly, graded according to various levels

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Danae Dholakia @danaedholakia.bsky.social · 13/12/2024

5. Another precursor to the feature-length movie is the best possible soap or series in your target language you can get your hands on. Even if you generally hate soaps - it really helps to hear the same voices over and over in 30 minute installations

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Danae Dholakia @danaedholakia.bsky.social · 13/12/2024

4. Disney animated movies are a great precursor to the wonderful (but often quite complex) world of foreign movies. They are available in a range of languages, easy to follow and beautifully translated

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Danae Dholakia @danaedholakia.bsky.social · 13/12/2024

3. Make good use of graded readers, then dive into your favourites - for me that’s Jane Austen, Charlotte Brontë, JRR Tolkien…Reading something I already know well in English is initially less daunting than a great work from that culture - and I don’t need a dictionary on the bedside table!

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Danae Dholakia @danaedholakia.bsky.social · 13/12/2024

2. Spaced repetition apps are amazing. When I learned French as a toddler, there wasn’t such a thing, of course - I annoyed my parents with my « dictée magique » instead. But space repetition apps are a different kind of magic - definitely essential to the modern language student!

A « dictée magique » - French version of a Speak and Spell

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Danae Dholakia @danaedholakia.bsky.social · 13/12/2024

1. Do it for love: learning a language is super-difficult (for me at least 😂) and needs a lot of passion and energy - so strong motivation - and an end-goal - is essential. For me, I haven’t embarked on learning a language that doesn’t already fascinate me

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Danae Dholakia @danaedholakia.bsky.social · 13/12/2024

One of the great joys of a life in diplomacy is the opportunity to learn languages. Although I wouldn’t describe myself as a naturally gifted linguist, I’m currently deep into studying my seventh and though it might be helpful to share what I find useful (and get some tips in return!)

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Women of South London @womenofsouthlondon.bsky.social · 13/12/2024

1/2 Maud Chadburn (L) & Eleanor Colley-Davies were among first women to train as surgeons. They worked at New Hospital for Women in Euston Rd then raised funds to open a hospital solely for women & children. In 1912 the small South London Hospital for Women was opened on Clapham Common Southside …

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Danae Dholakia @danaedholakia.bsky.social · 10/12/2024

Roughly about £4 billion since 2011 for lifesaving and life-sustaining assistance for the victims of the crisis in Syria - the UK’s largest ever response to a single humanitarian crisis

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Jan Rosenow @janrosenow.bsky.social · 10/12/2024

NEW RECORD: 2024 is the first year in history when wind, solar and hydropower generated more electricity than fossil fuels in the UK.

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Danae Dholakia @danaedholakia.bsky.social · 10/12/2024

Hope for a better future in #Syria isn’t enough. Am pleased that 🇬🇧 is increasing humanitarian aid for the people of Syria by £11m to help the @UN and NGOs meet the needs of the most vulnerable. An estimated 370,000 people have been displaced by recent events. ➡️ gov.uk/government/new…

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David Clay @davidclay.bsky.social · 06/12/2024

1949 Foreign Office advice for junior diplomats heading off to a job in the US: “To appear superior is the eighth deadly sin. Let Mr and Mrs John Bull be their natural selves and never, never behave as if their name was Mr and Mrs Cholmondeley Haugh-Haugh.”

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Danae Dholakia @danaedholakia.bsky.social · 05/12/2024

I have collected a few foreign policy starter packs - including my own - all in a handy thread on my feed

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Museums Association @museumsassociation.org · 11/11/2024

Hey! We’ve compiled a starter pack of museums, galleries, archives and libraries in the UK who are right here on Bluesky 🦋 go.bsky.app/9o1sRWp

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Danae Dholakia @danaedholakia.bsky.social · 03/12/2024

Every year the kind people of Norway give the Foreign Office a bit of Christmas cheer, with a special gift. Here, in all its glory, is this year’s lovely 🎄

Brightly lit Christmas Tree in the Foreign Office Quad - a gift from the people of Norway

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Danae Dholakia @danaedholakia.bsky.social · 02/12/2024

And your fourth bird of Carthage - also from the Roman villa - #birders of Bluesky - identification most welcome! #MosaicMonday

A small bird mosaic from the Roman villa at Carthage

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Danae Dholakia @danaedholakia.bsky.social · 02/12/2024

I figure I might just turn this into a “bird mosaics of Carthage” thread - so here’s your third one - from the Carthage Roman Villa - a grey heron, I think? #MosaicMonday

Grey Heron Roman mosaic from the ruins of Carthage

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Danae Dholakia @danaedholakia.bsky.social · 02/12/2024

Another #MosaicMonday treat from the ruins of Carthage - this time it’s a graceful goose

A mosaic of a goose with some plants and flowers

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Jim Pickard @pickardje.bsky.social · 29/11/2024

Parliament

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Danae Dholakia @danaedholakia.bsky.social · 27/11/2024

Also pleasing to see evidence that the lights are designed not to upset the local wildlife

A fox enjoying the lights in Kew Gardens

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Danae Dholakia @danaedholakia.bsky.social · 27/11/2024

With sunset now before 4pm, an evening visit to the twinkling lights and beautiful plants of Kew Gardens is balm for the soul

A beautifully lit tree in Kew Gardens surrounded by spirals of light

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Danae Dholakia @danaedholakia.bsky.social · 27/11/2024

Well this is exciting - with a message in a bottle too! Must pay a visit to 🇳🇴

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Andrew Mitchell @andrewmitchell67.bsky.social · 23/11/2024

Visit of HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH to Hamburg this week and first Ministerial since signature of 🇬🇧🇩🇪Trinity House defence Agreement on 23/10

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Danae Dholakia @danaedholakia.bsky.social · 25/11/2024

Have followed you. J’espère qu’il y aura plein de photos de châteaux en France!

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Danae Dholakia @danaedholakia.bsky.social · 25/11/2024

Just spotted it - very beautiful

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Danae Dholakia @danaedholakia.bsky.social · 25/11/2024

Today’s #MosaicMonday treat, this rather lovely peacock, gracing the ruins of Carthage in Tunisia

Mosaic from ancient Carthage - with a peacock, a grapevine and a smaller bird

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Danae Dholakia @danaedholakia.bsky.social · 24/11/2024

Very beautiful. Have you painted any of Guernsey’s beautiful Menhirs?

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Danae Dholakia @danaedholakia.bsky.social · 24/11/2024

Optimist: The cup is half-full Pessimist: The cup is half empty Diplomat: The cup has the potential to be full and we’re working on a resolution to address the remaining capacity

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Danae Dholakia @danaedholakia.bsky.social · 24/11/2024

Hi Jo 👋 - welcome to Bluesky. Starter packs are a brilliant way to find your way around - worth finding and adding all the people in the ones that you like. Once you’ve got the swing of thing, worth creating your own too

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Danae Dholakia @danaedholakia.bsky.social · 23/11/2024

Finding new starter packs full of friends feels like opening a 🎁 - with thanks to @weixinwindow.bsky.social for forwarding and @christiangoebel.bsky.social for compiling - here are some great China ones 👇

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Danae Dholakia @danaedholakia.bsky.social · 23/11/2024

Great pack - a lot of old friends here. Do former Beijingers count?

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