George Courtauld

Unlike the first book, this one contains few details of actual Messengering. Instead, the travel reports consist chiefly of various sightseeing jaunts during his downtime on assignments. No more stories of his life on the farm back in Britain between trips; mini-essays on various topics appear every so often instead. Courtauld comes off as a bit of a peevish spoiled brat, jetsetting abut first class on his sinecure. It doesn't help to be aware that diplomatic bags generally serve to alow diplomats (and expats) to avoid customs examinations/duties, rather than containing any "sensitive" materials. We get a hint of this whenever the author brags about about how light he is travelling, and then goes on to mention all the loot he's just bought on the current trip.… (mehr)

The term "Fat Bulldog" refers to a dismissive term given to members of the Queen's Messengers squad, charged with securely transporting diplomatic items around the world. In addition to that part-time job, Courtauld is also a British farmer; his travel tales are broken up by (italicized) summaries of his life at home between assignments. Flying around for free (mostly first class), and being feted by the station embassy staff is rather a cushy job for most outings (though his trips to Mongolia didn't seem envy-inspiring). The one time he ran into trouble (Havana), he whined about how the locals wouldn't go out of their way to help him - my reaction was: an 'emergency' on his part, didn't constitute on on theirs. That having been said, I'm looking forward to reading both sequels.… (mehr)