The case of Mrs Jones

The British vice-consul in Malaga told a worrying story at the recent SUR in English forum in Marbella. The main message we can all pick up, whatever our age or situation, is that we need to plan for the future

Rachel Haynes

Malaga

Friday, 11 April 2025, 11:48

The British vice-consul in Malaga, Miriam Pérez, told a worrying story at the SUR in English forum in Marbella last Friday. The case of 'Mrs Jones', as she called her, had finally reached welfare staff at the British consulate, but for a number of reasons she could and should have received help sooner.

Mrs Jones, explained Pérez, had been living in Spain for 20 years and her husband died ten years ago. They lived in a house in a rural area like so many other foreign residents in Spain. Busy enjoying their dream life in the sun, neither Mrs Jones, nor her husband when he was alive, had worried about getting their residence papers in order, neither had they joined their local padrón register. Now Mrs Jones is elderly and is struggling in that dream home in the Andalusian countryside. She has become vulnerable, yet not having her paperwork in order meant that she has gone under the radar of the local social services. What's more, her UK pension had stopped arriving as she hadn't updated her details with the UK's Department of Work and Pensions.

In the end the British consulate was able to step in, however, and make sure that Mrs Jones got the support she needed. However I'm sure the British consulate doesn't have the means to work miracles for every Brit in trouble in Spain and neither can the numerous charities and associations cope with many more cases.

So what can we learn from Mrs Jones? I think the main message we can all pick up from her story, whatever our age or situation, is that we need to plan for the future. We are not always going to be able to run up and down the stairs as we do now; there will come a time when we can no longer drive a car; our garden and pool are getting increasingly difficult to maintain.

Living in Spain, many have the added complication of not having family members close by to help out; what's more, people may not understand what help is available and conversation with closest neighbours who could help may be difficult.

The story of Mrs Jones reminds us that we are all potentially vulnerable, especially as the years go by. Making sure that we've got our paperwork in order is an important step towards getting the right help when we need it.

Nobody wants to think about a future when we rely on the help of others to survive; no one wants to imagine suddenly finding ourselves without our partner; and no one can bear thinking about leaving their dream home.

However time flies, life is short and life-changing complications can turn up at any moment. Mrs Jones had the help of the consulate in the end but we should aspire to not needing that help. Have a plan for the future is the message from the British consulate.

The problem is that the people who could really learn from Mrs Jones's situation were not at the seminar last week, they were not watching it on surinenglish.com and they are unlikely to be reading this. Perhaps if you see them, you could let them know.

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