British Embassy of Bangkok - Weird Questions

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http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/world/350732/diplomacy-with-a-smile

Britons abroad test diplomats' ingenuity

• Published: 18 May 2013 at 20.37
  
• Online news: World
  

LONDON - Silencing a noisy cockerel, supplying Olympic tickets and providing contact details for Sir Paul McCartney's wife are all part of a day's work for British diplomats abroad.

So was translating a tattoo and offering advice on where to watch football, according to a report by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO).

"These are often good-natured [requests] but can take valuable time away from helping those in genuine distress," the FCO notes, very diplomatically, on the Gov.uk website.

More than 870,000 British nationals travel to Thailand each year and about 50,000 live and work in the country, according to the British Embassy in Bangkok.

None of their requests merited a highlight in the annual report that the FCO calls "British Behaviour Abroad" - and the UK press calls "Brits Behaving Badly".

Among the inspiring tales of things consular staff are asked to do for their countrymen were these gems:

A man who required hospital treatment in Cambodia when a monkey dislodged a stone that hit him demanded help getting compensation and wanted assurance that it would not happen again.

A man asked FCO staff in Rome to translate a phrase for a tattoo that he wanted.

Consular staff in Beijing were asked to help a woman who had bought a pair of football boots that were "Made in China" but were poor quality.

A woman asked consular staff in Tel Aviv to order her husband to get fit and eat healthily so that they could have children.

Consular staff in Kuala Lumpur were asked if the FCO could help a couple pay to send their children to an international school.

A man asked consular staff in Stockholm to check the credentials of a woman whom he had met online.

A man asked the consulate in Montreal for information to settle a 1,000-pound wager on the colour of the British passport.

A number of British consulates have been asked to book hotels or to advise on where to watch the football, the FCO added.

"We are not in a position to help people make travel arrangements or social plans, but we do help those who face real problems abroad," said Mark Simmonds, Minister for Consular Affairs.

"These can include victims of crime, bereaved families who have lost a loved one abroad or Britons who have been arrested or detained."

The FCO said its staff received 1,053,109 consular inquiries, excluding visa and passport inquiries, between April 2011 and March 2012.

"The examples listed above indicate that some people do not know how the FCO can (and cannot) help Brits abroad," it said.

"Recent research shows that 78% of people wrongly think the FCO could get them out of jail if arrested, and nearly half of 16-24 year-olds do not know what an Embassy or Consulate does."

Edited May 18, 2013 by Japamerican