Her Majesty's Ambassador to Venezuela.
The second of two films about the life and work of British diplomats overseas.
Venezuela is a founder member of OPEC, one of the few parliamentary democracies in South America, a wealthy and rapidly-developing country. For the British Ambassador Jock Taylor and his colleagues in the commercial department of the Embassy, the challenge is quite simply to get a foot in the door, to make contacts in a market and a culture that has few traditional links with Britain.
In the film we cover the arrival of a trade delegation from Birmingham and the help they receive from the diplomats on the spot.
Venezuela has massive contracts to award but it also needs help, particularly in the field of education and in the teaching of English. The Embassy works closely with the British Council in helping to meet these needs. We look, too, at some of the problems for the wives of diplomats, and at the less glamorous side of the diplomatic social life. Important work is often done at cocktail parties, but two or three functions an evening, sometimes every night of the week, can also become a tremendous strain.
Film cameraman JOHN ELSE Sound recordist JOHN MURPHY Film editor LES NEWMAN producer JONATHAN STEDALI ,