Just before I unveil the placque, may I thank all of the staff at the British Council here in Warsaw for the very good work which they do.
You are quite right! When your former Chairman, Sir Richard Troutman (phon), used to come and see me and he said; “I really must have this money because we need it in Warsaw and in one or two other places!” I had such great confidence and faith in him, that he usually got the money and the Treasury were not always very pleased! But I knew that it would be put to very good use and that we are fortunate in a number of capitals in the world—but particularly in Warsaw, which means so much to us—that there is a British Council; that it offers so many books and so many facilities and that all citizens are welcome in this little bit of Britain in Warsaw.
It is something which gives us great pleasure and we were so pleased that the British Council remained here through very very many changes in Warsaw and in Poland. [end p1]
Yes, we hope it will continue its services and I am glad that you not only make use of the books, but of the facilities which you have here.
Yes, it is reciprocal. Your Minister of Culture comes to us and says it has wonderful exhibitions, which we are always very thrilled to have.
I am delighted to see the great things that you have done in rebuilding Warsaw. A people that can rebuild Warsaw like that, can do anything at all that they wish to do!
We wish you well. We hope that you will continue in increasing numbers to use our premises and we will try to see that you get a good proportion of the extra money.
Thank you very much and thank you very much all your Polish staff (applause).