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Court circuit – Embassy 35
Jiten Vyas (VFS), Keith Vaz MP, chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee and Consular Corps President George Georgiou
Consular Christmas
The festive season is always busy for London’s hard-pressed consuls so they celebrated their party early – and in the prize draw, one lucky winner got an early Christmas present of a trip to sunny Cyprus, while other prizes such as a mobile phone and flatscreen television were also up for grabs. The Guest of Honour was the Chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee, Keith Vaz MP, who congratulated the consuls on their work in assisting nationals in need and pledged more cooperation between the Consular Corps and the House of Commons. He also thanked guests for raising £1500 for the Silver Star Appeal on the evening, which raises awareness of diabetes. The Consular Corps President George Georgiou said the Corps had had a successful year and thanked the organisation’s sponsors and the hosts for the evening – VFS Global, IDS and Rowland Brothers – for their support. After the speeches and prize draw, the live band struck up some Latin music, turning the ballroom into scenes from Strictly Come Dancing.
PHOTOS: PIERRE DE VILLIERS
Katya, Justin and Bernard Silver (Seychelles)
Noeleen Alexopoulou (IDS), second from right) joins the staff at the Albanian Embassy
The staff from the Lithuanian Embassy
The Honorary Consuls: Lawrence Landau (Benin) and his wife Carol, Douglas Hershman (Benin) and his wife Frances, Louis Muzzu (Congo-Brazzaville) and his wife Jean and Barry James (Tunisia)
Sonia Lau (USA), Erin O’Connor (USA), Grant Butler, Mike Guy (Bahamas) and Roberto de Lisa (European Medicine Agency)
Raul Sanchez Atencio (Cuba), Miguel Vilchis (Mexico), Mrs Vilchis, Fidel Narvaez (Ecuador) and Hans-Rudolf Bolli (Switzerland)
Rohan Ghatge (VFS), Ana Lopez (El Salvador), Alejandro Vascones (Bolivia), Nigel Coelho, Tatjana Rudahja (VFS) and Ramon Balid
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Sue Ackerman (Rowland Brothers International) and Claudia Lapeyre (Peru)
Karel Marks and Linda van Ras (Netherlands)
Catherine Crutzen and Dorothée Godfroid (Belgium)
Keith Vaz MP thanks the consuls for their generous contribution to charity
Sonali de Silva and Chaminda Kulnaratne (Sri Lanka)
Mario Christoforou, MD of Profile Hotels, awards Roanna Gopaul a dream holiday to Cyprus
Olga Jerzjukova (Latvia) awards a prize to Gisela Steinort
Above, below and bottom left: Consuls danced the night away to a live band
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