I had the pleasure of meeting new British Consul for Alicante, Sarah-Jane Morris this morning, who has now officially taken office – assuming responsibility from Paul Rodwell who has gone onto pastures new in the Balearics. However, unlike Paul she will be based at the British Embassy in Madrid and will visit Alicante at least a couple of times a month – leaving the day to day running in the capable hands of Vice Consul Lloyd Milen and his team.
Some may find it somewhat peculiar that the busiest Consulate in the entire world will not have the Consul based there – but that is the reality of rationalization within the Foreign Office. However, it must be remembered that the Alicante Consulate is the only one that has a UK Department of Works & Pensions within its facility. Sarah-Jane doesn´t envisage any further restructuring, but there are advantages to the unusual setup. Being based in Madrid our Consulate in Alicante will have a direct line with the Embassy and be closer to the "front line" of Government – both British and Spanish.
Originally from Skegness in Lincolnshire, Sarah-Jane has lived and worked in Spain for 20 years – the last ten for the Foreign Office in the Consular field. Her background was spent working in the voluntary sector, for "Action Aid" – an organization whose primary aim is to fight poverty in Asia and Africa. She then moved to Madrid and worked for the Red Cross before assuming her work for the Foreign Office. She is fluent in Spanish and married to a Spaniard, who incidentally she met in the UK and not Spain and has 3 teenage children – who are all schooled locally in Spanish schools, although the language spoken at home is English!
She is particularly looking forward to meeting the British communities within the province and very keen to continue her passion of supporting the voluntary sector, which Paul and his team have done a splendid job of. She is eager to encourage more volunteering among the ex-pat residents here, many of which are time rich, especially those who are retired and determined to look at suggestions to support local charities – both British and Spanish. It is one way she said of integrating communities, making new friendships and learning the language, often a perceived barrier for many. She is on the executive committee of Age Concern, has met the volunteers at "Samaritans in Spain" and already filling her diary with dates to meet members of the many other charities based here along the Costa Blanca.
As the new British Consul she is 100% confident that the excellent service provided to British citizens by the Consulate team based in Alicante will continue. The needs of residents and holidaymakers are very different – the unfortunate main issue for visitors is lost or stolen passports and EHIC matters, whereas for ex-pats who have chosen to reside here, healthcare and pensions. The Department of Health are investing in a dedicated team to be based at only two locations in Spain – and fortunately for us, Alicante is one and the Embassy in Madrid the other.
I hope that Sarah-Jane comes to visit us here in Benidorm one day, a place that she hasn´t yet been to but heard so much about. She will be able to see what attracts millions of Brits here every year, first hand and possibly even take a holiday here. She told me that she tends to holiday here in Spain rather than travel abroad, having done that in her youth and there is so much beautiful yet contrasting landscape within this region – I am sure we could tempt her!
