“I awake at around six-thirty/seven in the morning and I get up. Obviously. I have breakfast, not a heavy one but I eat every morning the same nourishing thing... which is several types of fruits - some of your good fruits, which are some of our good fruits, which sometimes have different flavours and are very nice - a piece of fish, porridge with honey, red berry drink and a cup of green tea.

Then I go to the office. I try to stick as much as possible to the nine o’clock hour, which is the time for the embassy, but I must say I tend to stray a little - all for good reason. This is because when I wake up in the morning, I usually try to listen to the news and BBC on the radio. I would also watch the TV and read the newspapers.

W hat I do tend to do is have my papers and TV here [at the office] so I listen to the Venezuelan radio, so that I can know what is going on in my country... One must understand that as soon as one is out of one’s country - even though we are not far, we are neighbours - it is easy for one to lose touch with what is going on in one’s society... It is very important also for one to go back typically from time to time to their home country.

As soon as I get here, the normal routine is to see what I have on my agenda, even though I already know what I have on it. If there are no outside meetings or meetings at all in these hours, I begin by reading the press, selecting what I wish to read a little further and to digest more the topics of interest, for a better knowledge of Guyanese society, and also anything which may have any relation to the relationship between Venezuela and Guyana.

Then during the day I have all the work which comes with being a diplomat, all the paperwork between this Embassy and Caracas. I may have to do responses and this takes me into the hours of lunch.

I have lunch in the embassy - I mean, it is very tempting to go to the residence but I prefer to have lunch in the office. I like to be in touch with my staff during working hours. I used to do that in Venezuela, and I try to maintain the routine I had with my staff in Venezuela. I only have lunch out of the office if there are some people I wish to meet that requires having lunch outside.

This takes me on to somewhat late in the evenings. One of my surprises is that I did not realise the amount of time that is involved in the work. Some things take a lot of time. I must confess that all the administrative aspects of the life of the Embassy depend on me but I am helped a great deal by my secretary and my Venezuelan secretary. In spite of that, there is quite a little administrative business which does take a considerable amount of time. That usually has me leaving here about six or seven in the evening and then I go back to the residence.

If I go back to the residence soon enough, I try to do some physical exercise. If I have no commitments in the evenings, that is no cocktails or dinner, I would finish in the pool after the exercise but I must confess that I am physically lazy, and in certain periods I cannot maintain discipline.

I have reached a stage where some mornings I shoot to the pool immediately after getting up and then try to do an hour’s exercise in the evening... Afterwards I would have a light dinner, usually a soup, always soup.

In the evenings, I do try to relax a little, I look at the news once more - the international news BBC, CNN. I also try to listen to the radio for some news, and television. Then I would relax by reading and listening to music. But I must confess that sometimes I have work to do, I may have to put out a special report and that makes me work very, very late at night.

I am a late person. You know there are two kinds of persons - the morning ones and the others. Well I am [not a morning person]; I tend to be bored by the idea of going to bed so I would read and go to bed late.

You must know I am a married man and what I am describing to you, is while my wife is not here. My wife is a working woman and I do respect my wife’s wish to work and I do believe in working women... My wife even tried not to work for a while but it was not good.

We are so close... She stays and works in Caracas and she comes here each month for fifteen days or three weeks. She comes here and spends time with me. She has special arrangements with the place she works; we have no children.

So now you see why it is difficult for me to stick to the nine o’clock hour [in the morning] but she is so kind that she comes to the office and spends time with me.

You must understand this is the first time I have been stationed outside of Venezuela and I never realised how hard it was to be an ambassador.”