The sad outcome in the search for the British ambassador of Lourdes, the woman who welcomed him: "He died with 35 years because of sclerosis"

• The British ambassador to Spain is looking for Lourdes, the woman who welcomed him when he ran out of bicycle and without money

It has not been. The British ambassador to Spain, Hugh Elliot , has not been able to meet again and thank Lourdes Arnáiz in person for what he did for him 35 years ago on his first visit to Spain . After mobilizing Twitter to try to find the woman who welcomed him at home, Elliot has announced that Lourdes Arnáiz died with 35 years of a "devastating" multiple sclerosis.

"Three days ago I recorded a message in Bugos to thank an act of generosity that I received when I arrived in Spain for the first time 35 years ago. The reaction has been totally unexpected, overwhelming and very affectionate: you joined my effort to send my message of gratitude to Lourdes Arnáiz . Thanks to your support, I managed to hear from her, but now the saddest part comes. I am very sorry to have to say that Lourdes died at age 35 due to multiple sclerosis , "is the sad outcome in the search for Lourdes Arnáiz, the woman who welcomed the now British ambassador, Hugh Elliot , when he lost his bicycle and his money.

This Thursday, the ambassador posted a video on his Twitter account in which he thanked Lourdes Arnáiz for that gesture of gratitude. The video went viral immediately and the social network turned to the search for Lourdes Arnáiz . Today, Elliot has re-posted a video to thank for the help in finding Lourdes and to say that unfortunately he has not been able to thank him in person because Lourdes died at age 35 due to multiple sclerosis.

In an emotional message, the diplomat says he expected another outcome, "but it could not be" , although he explained that he has managed to talk to his brother Alfonso, whom he also met when Lourdes welcomed him. "We had a very friendly conversation and we agreed to send this new message and we will meet soon, " Elliot explains in the video.

Despite the sad outcome, the ambassador wanted to make visible in his video how "devastating" multiple sclerosis is for those who suffer from it and for family members , and has called to collaborate with the associations that are in Spain and that treat this terrible disease . "We can each contribute our grain of sand with our time as a volunteer or with an economic contribution . Thank you for your help, thanks again for all the interest you have shown in this story, and thank you for so many endearing comments," he said. Fired the British ambassador.

In 1984 , during a bicycle trip from the United Kingdom to Santiago de Compostela, a young and unknown Hugh Elliot decided that, to save some time, he was going to take a train from Carcassonne, in the south of France, to Burgos. He billed his bicycle and arrived safely in the city. But the bicycle was lost in a car .

"I was in trouble, I had very little money and a tent," Elliot recalled in the video he published Thursday, in front of the train station, now a leisure center.

His idea was to stay at the campsite, but he was far away, several kilometers away, and he didn't have his bike. So he looked for the solution in a bar. "I went to the bar to reflect. There I met a Canadian, Eli Rubenstein ." He tells his story and Eli explains that he is in Burgos to visit his girlfriend, called Lourdes (surnamed Arnaiz, for more information).

"When she arrived, she did not hesitate to invite me to stay with her and her brother in her apartment in the city and return the next day for the bicycle." But when Elliot returned to the station, the bike had not yet arrived. So the Arnaiz extended the invitation. The ambassador took five days to recover his appreciated means of transport .

"I spent five days at home, eating as a family, without being allowed to pay anything," says the British ambassador. "In how many countries would such an outsider have taken refuge?" Hugh Elliot wondered finally. And is that the anecdote explains the affection for Spain of the ambassador , as he himself recognized in the video. An affection that moves to other typically Spanish traditions such as croquettes that, also on Twitter, Elliot himself defines as "one of the fundamental pillars of civilization." Again, most Spaniards would agree.

Member of the diplomatic corps since 1989 (which led him to Madrid as the first destination), Elliot assumed the position as ambassador last August , replacing Simon Manley. He had previously been Director of Communication at the Ministry for Brexit. Elliot is a lover of Spain, literally. It was in Salamanca, while working as an English professor at the University, where he met his wife Maria Antonia (Toñi). His two children were also born in Spain. Specialist in the European Union, Elliot has previously worked at the British embassies in Buenos Aires and Paris .

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