Gillian Angrave

Skirting The World

My Life as an Ambassador’s PA

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ABOUT BOOK

Gillian (Gill) Angrave is an author who has travelled the world

In her latest book, ‘SKIRTING THE WORLD, follow Gillian as she charts the course her Diplomatic career has taken, from her first day as a Civil Servant, to her Embassy life, and the opportunities for travel that her job created. A truly inspirational read.

British Embassy, Budapest

ABOUT THE BOOK

Gillian Angrave’s thirty-year career as Ambassador’s PA with the Diplomatic Service has taken her on an unforgettable journey around the world to the Philippines, Peru, Guatemala, Chile, Mexico, Hungary, and beyond.

Each of her postings presented their own particular problems and difficulties, and her life has been challenging, often dangerous, but always exciting and rewarding. She found the ordeal of being caught up in the dispute between the United Kingdom and Guatemala over Belizean Independence, and her subsequent expulsion from Guatemala in 1981, both harrowing and distressing. And her involvement in the Falklands Conflict in Chile was not only demanding but also emotional given her previous career as an Assistant Purser on board P&O’s ss CANBERRA.

Her role as Ambassador’s PA within the Embassy also brought her into contact with a wide variety of people – HM The Queen, other members of the Royal Family, celebrities, politicians, to name but a few. But there have been lighter moments too, as recounted in some of her anecdotes.

In ‘Skirting the World’, follow Gillian as she charts the course her Diplomatic career has taken, from her first day as a Civil Servant, to her Embassy life, and the opportunities for travel that her job created. A truly inspirational read.

Gillian’s book (price £15.99 hardback, £12.99 paperback plus p&p) can be obtained by contacting her direct on info@gillianangrave.co.uk; through her website or through Waterstones and Foyles On Line, and Amazon.

Gillian’s Civil Service Pensioners Alliance podcast:

A LEAP INTO THE DARK

As you will know from my books, I was bereft when I retired from the Foreign Office. I felt like a ship without a rudder, drifting in a vast ocean with no land in sight. But help was at hand and I started my fourth career not long afterwards as a Registrar of Marriages.

The Civil Service Pensioners Alliance are interested to learn how ex-Civil Servants cope with their retirement, and when I told them my story, they were keen for me to share my experience more widely. The result is the podcast entitled A Leap into the Dark which I recorded for them in August 2024. I wanted to present a very positive picture of life in retirement, which I hope you will agree I have done.

To read more from the Civil Service Pensions Podcast click here.

BID 590 – ‘NOREEN’ ©Crown Copyright, by kind permission Director, GCHQ

Russian troops leaving Romania

CANBERRA at San Carlos Sound, Falkland Islands © P&O Heritage – www.poheritage.com

Other Books By Gillian Angrave

As a result of her experiences and travels, Gillian has also written:
From Oceans to Embassies, her own personal memoir;
And Venice: Diary of an Awestruck Traveller, a set of travelogues.

FROM OCEANS TO EMBASSIES

A Splendid Journey

In “From Oceans to Embassies”, Gillian Angrave takes the reader on a splendid journey, first as an Assistant Purser on P&O’s liners, CANBERRA and ORIANA, and then in the Diplomatic Service to Latin America, the Philippines and Eastern Europe.

Gillian Angrave has a live interview on P&O Heritage’s ‘WOW – Women On the Waves’ an online exhibition, pioneering seafarers: past present and future.

There are plenty of anecdotes, from playing golf with Prince Andrew in Hungary, where she was the Women’s Open Champion in 1991, to being thrown out of Guatemala in 1981 because of the Independence of Belize.

Particularly touching is the description of her sadness on walking across the quadrangle and under the arch of the Foreign Office on her last day. How many of us have felt the same?

VENICE: THE DIARY OF AN AWESTRUCK TRAVELLER

An Essential Read

Gillian Angrave writes about her travels to Venice, the capital of northern Italy’s Veneto region. Described as ‘an Essential Read for the First Time Visitor to Venice’ Gillian’s slim, pocket size glossy travel companions are filled with photos, and available in four volumes.

Volume 1: From Swamp to La Serenissima, follows Gillian on her first two visits to Venice as she sets out to explore and photograph this magical “water city”. Volume 2: Betwixt and Between describes her further meanderings on the 3rd visit.

In Volume 3: Hidden Gems, follow Gillian on her fourth and fifth visits, in winding alleyways, learning more about the crafts and culture of this magical group of islands. Volume 4: Precious, Yet Precarious describes one outstanding sixth visit, made in September 2018.

Gillian Angrave 'From Oceans to Embassies' book and memoir

Gillian Angrave VENICE: THE DIARY OF AN AWESTRUCK TRAVELLER

Order Gillian's Books

Gillian’s books can be ordered direct from this website, via her online bookshop

Further Information

Contact Gillian direct via email at info@gillianangrave.co.uk
Or visit her contact page.

Gill’s travelling career may be over, but she still manages to discover and write about new and exciting destinations like Venice, and she has found added happiness as a Registrar of Marriages in West Sussex.

Gillian Angrave, Associate Member of The Alliance of Independent Authors

Member of ALLi
Alliance of Independent Authors