Welcome to Kernow Joe...

[Gob]

Joe Biden will make his first foreign trip as president to the UK, attending the G7 summit in Cornwall in June before traveling to Brussels, the White House has confirmed.

The announcement is regarded as a win by British diplomats, although the UK hosting Biden’s first presidential venture overseas relies in part on luck in holding the G7 chair in his first year in office.

“It was clear early on that the G7 would be his first trip as part of his emphasis on re-establishing relations with partners and obviously the G7 works for that,” a British official said. “We just weren’t certain until now that it would be first, or whether he would make a quick trip to a neighbouring country before June.”

The official announcement covers G7 leader events during the summit from 11 to 13 June. Those will be followed by Nato and EU summits in Brussels from 14 June, but the White House said that “potential additional elements” could be made public later, and those are expected to include other UK stops, possibly including a meeting with the Queen.

Biden and his foreign policy team began his presidency sceptical about Boris Johnson who they saw as being closely allied with Donald Trump and being a driving force behind Brexit, viewed by the Biden camp as being disruptive to western cohesion. UK diplomats in Washington have focused on what the new leaders have in common, particularly a commitment to addressing the climate crisis.

The mood could still sour before the Cornwall summit, particularly if violence continues in Northern Ireland. Biden will hold Johnson accountable for any damage Brexit does to the Good Friday peace agreement. The administration also looks dimly on Johnson’s decision to cut overseas aid, and there will be pressure from Washington to rethink that decision before June.

The White House said the trip to the UK and Belgium “will highlight his commitment to restoring our alliances, revitalising the transatlantic relationship, and working in close cooperation with our allies and multilateral partners to address global challenges and better secure America’s interests”.

The dominant theme of the Cornwall summit, from the US and UK point of view, will be discussing a strategy for the democratic world to confront the challenges represented by Russia and China. That theme will also underpin the Nato and EU meetings in Brussels.

Not mentioned in the White House announcement is the possibility of a summit meeting with Vladimir Putin. Biden has invited the Russian leader to meet in Europe and officials from the White House and the Kremlin are discussing the possibility, according to the US national security adviser, Jake Sullivan.

But there has been no agreement so far on whether, when and where to hold what is likely to be a tense encounter.

[MajGenl.Meade]

That's as foreign as one can get

[Gob]

[ex-khobar Andy]

And for our American listeners, there is a long-running debate in Britain as to the proper way to eat a scone with jam (jelly) and clotted cream. There are those - obviously heathens, Trump supporters and miscellaneous lost souls - who put the cream on first followed by the jam. And then there are the perspicacious, high-minded and properly brought up Christian folk who put the jam on first followed by a dab of cream. I won't take sides in this debate: this is not the time or place.

[MGMcAnick]

And then there's the debate over how one should pronounce scone.

[Gob]

"Sc OH n", obvs.

[Gob]

Cornwall prepares for G7, with its usual....interesting... take on life!

[Long Run]

The locals don't find this "exciting"? I guess the EU could get Greece to pitch in some hummus and tzaziki since the event will be a major PITA for the populace.

[ex-khobar Andy]

There is a perception that hummus is a Greek dish because Greek Cypriot expats drove its popularity through Europe and then the Americas. But it's very much a Middle Eastern - specifically Arabic although Israel has culturally misappropriated it - thing.

PS I have no idea what Boris is up to in that pic Gob posted. Mind you, Boris usually has no idea what Boris is up to . . .

[Gob]

Spotted in St Ives.

[Gob]

Funnily enough they arrive today, and the sea fog has rolled in. You cannot see your hand in front of your face here

[Bicycle Bill]

G7 ACTION FIGURES (2021 series) — COLLECT 'EM ALL !!

-"BB"-

[Gob]

Nicked!

[Long Run]

I think they miscounted.

[Bicycle Bill]

I think they miscounted.

Pictured (left to right): Justin Trudeau, Canada's prime minister; Charles Michel, president of the European Council; US President Joe Biden; Yoshihide Suga, Japan's prime minister; Boris Johnson, Britain's prime minister; Mario Draghi, Italy's prime minister; Emmanuel Macron, France's president; Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission; and Angela Merkel, Germany's chancellor.  So you have the leaders of the seven countries, and two outliers.

Although I'm surprised they didn't somehow make room to include someone – the mayor, for example – from the host community as well.

-"BB"-

[Gob]

The summit will consist of the Group of Seven, as well as guests.

Here is the full list:

The G7:
Canada - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
France - President Emmanuel Macron
Germany - Chancellor Angela Merkel
Italy - Prime Minister Mario Draghi
Japan - Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga
UK - Prime Minister Boris Johnson
USA - President Joe Biden

EU representative:
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission
Charles Michel, President of the European Council

Guests:
Australia - Prime Minister Scott Morrison
India - Prime Minister Narendra Modi
South Korea - President Moon Jae-in
South Africa - President Cyril Ramaphosa

[Gob]

[Bicycle Bill]

Got the Blue Angels performing today at our local air show.  I've seen 'em several times, so maybe I'll just drive by and watch from outside the fence.



-"BB"-

[Gob]

Some good images from the G7 here, looks like a lovely place to live

[ex-khobar Andy]

One of those pics is of the Minack Theatre which was chiselled out of the rocks and which was the subject of a thread a few weeks ago.

This provided an opportunity for another Bewilderingly Useless Tory Tosser (BUTT for short) to make a public fool of himself. Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden tweeted the following:



Of course this was an untruth. According to the Guardian:

The theatre was taken aback and pointed out that it had not received any such funding, tweeting: “Sorry @OliverDowden but this is not true. We did not benefit from any CRF money as we were not eligible to apply. It turned out having a good level of cash reserves meant we had to fend for ourselves and utilise our own reserves.”

Mr Dowden has deleted his tweet. Thanks to the magic of the intertubes, it lives on.