THE career options available to the retired Foreign Office mandarin ought to be enough for the most demanding diplomat.
Clutching his newly minted KCMG he may, if he wishes, retire on a generous pension to cultivate his garden, while dabbling, perhaps, in the affairs of the local District Council as a sideline.
If he hankers for a more active existence he may consider a variety of alternatives.
Respectable charities will happily recruit him to add a touch of class to their governing bodies. Businesses will pay a fat fee to put his ambassadorial gloss on the board (though offers of this kind need to be considered with some care).
If academically inclined he can look with considerable confidence to a chair at some university taking an interest in the site of his last posting.
If he has the right connections (and a deplorable number of former ambassadors do) then the headship of an Oxbridge college is a possibility.
