Being an advisor, instructor, and pathfinder for ex pats abroad must be a right royal pain at times but William Middleton takes it in his stride, even with 17 countries to oversee. The British Consul Regional Director for South Europe is quite a title to carry but fitting in a stop off at Adeje Cultural Centre (below) , William was relaxed and informal as he met some of the bloggers, journalists, and community leaders of Tenerife South.

With less than two weeks until the online voting deadline for Brits abroad in the In or Out EU referendum, life after 23 June was a hot topic. So why have no clear plans been announced for a possible life outside. “The truth is no one knows what will happen if Britain chooses to leave, its uncharted waters, there is no provision for a country leaving in the treaty. So much would depend on the attitude of the other 27 states, but one thing is sure, nothing will change overnight.”

Good news for those fearing a Millennium Bug type meltdown (you know, the one that never happened). In the meantime the British Consul is relying on the priorities that underline the consulate service on all other issues. “ Prevention is a great thing and we like to remind people that registering on the local council pardon brings so many advantages financially, as well as building safeguards against any future health and age problems that may arise. Helping the most vulnerable is our aim, sadly many people only think of us in times of dire need but we have so much easily available information that can smooth people’s everyday lives.”

Reaching out to communities is a big aim of the British Consul, in this computer literate age, accessing information and filling in forms can be done at the touch of a screen. This answered one of the concerns about the British Consul in Tenerife being based in Santa Cruz (Mary Suarez and Helen Keating made the short trip down to Adeje) with no part time southern office these days. William’s kingdom covers 37 posts and 130 staff so he has plenty of experience of spreading himself thinly. Based in Madrid, he clocked up 130 flights in three years, and managed calls at three different Balkan countries in one day. The South Europe region stretches from Portugal to Turkey.

William, originally from Oxfordshire, started out as a business journalist with The Times but has now 14 years under his belt in the British Consul service. When he left for further meetings in Tenerife I had a browse through the wealth of information on courses and events in the Adeje Cultural Centre, with an inexpensive café and auditorium on site it’s a great example of a wide ranging resource for all nationalities. On a beautiful clear day the flower cross on the church was still impressive a few days on from Dia de la Cruz and the view over Adeje down to the coast was inspiring. The cockerel on the weather vane could see for miles, but the British Consul Regional Director for South Europe has even further horizons to keep an eye on.