The Spanish Adventure - a temporary pause

Thus is the post I was hoping I would never have to write.

Sadly, after 7 weeks I have not been able to secure enough work here in Benidorm and I must return to the UK.

During my tie here I have made several useful contacts and I will continue to pursue them though text, email and phone calls from the UK. As soon as I have an offer of enough work to cover the rent on an apartment, I will be on the next plane to Benidorm.

Most importantly, I do not consider that I have failed. If I had not even come out to Benidorm in the first place than I would have failed. By taking the plunge and coming out her I have laid the foundations for a possible future so it has certainly not been a waste of time or by any means a failure.

I've booked my flights back to the UK for next week so look out Essex, I'm coming back!!!

The Spanish Adventure - 7th July

I had a bit of a body blow today as one of my proverbial "irons in the fire" was taken away.

Without saying too much, one of my contacts was hoping to do a sort of job share with me but his bosses won't allow it. I got the impression that he was getting tired of working 6 nights a week so he was as annoyed about their decision as I was! Not a lot either of us can do about the situation. He did offer to try and get me some cabaret work but I've told him not to worry at the moment. I may have to return to the UK at the end of July if I can't find enough work to cover the rent and I'm not going to mess people about by cancelling shows because I'm not here any more.

I have contacted my one remaining hope for regular and decent work on the pretext that I am letting them know that I have all the relevant paperwork to allow me to work legally in Spain. I've told them I will have to return to the UK soon but would be able to come back at short notice if needed. I still have almost four weeks for something to happen so I'm not looking for flights back to the UK just yet.

The most annoying thing is that I'm really enjoying presenting the radio shows - even though it is a lot of work to prepare them and equally hard work presenting them. It would be a real shame to have to give them up but I suppose it will look good on my CV if I have to come back to the UK.

Adios

The Spanish Adventure - 2nd July

I've just realised that I haven't written anything for a while - essentially because things have sort of stagnated at the moment.

I've done about 3 hours of filming for a TV documentary about ex-pats who have made a new life in Benidorm. They have been talking to a variety of people and were interested in me as I'm at the other end of the spectrum as I'm only just starting out here. They filmed me auditioning for an entertainments manager at a caravan park (miles better than any of the caravan parks I've seen in the UK) as well as a second night in my working suit performing close-up magic for the residents at the caravan park. I have no idea when the program will air or how much of me will make it to the screen but when I do hear I'll let you know. I'm fairly sure it is a series so you may have to watch several episode to even et a glimpse of me!

I have a couple of irons in the proverbial fire but, as entertainment jobs are rather cut-throat out here, I don't want to say too much at the moment.

I thought I'd try and get myself hired to perform close-up magic in a Chinese restaurant so went across town the other day. There are three restaurants side by side and with similar prices so I picked on the busy one as the other two were virtually empty. The "tourist" menu started at 5 Euros for a three-course meal - that's about £4 - and you get a drink with it as well! I pushed the boat out a little and got the 5:50 Euros meal as I fancied the beef chow mein as my main. Anyway, I managed to make two of the ladies who worked there a flower and a dog. The place was too busy to talk to the staff properly and their English was not much better than my Spanish so I gave up. I might try one of the other two restaurants this Sunday and see if I have better luck. If they are not busy than I can use the angle that I can attract customers when people see me entertaining at the tables - assuming the management can speak English in the first place.

Best news of all so far - my wife is coming out for a week before she has to go into ospital for an operation and can't fly for three months afterwards.

Adios

The Spanish Adventure - 21st June 2015

Today has been a very emotional day.

I woke up very late (for me anyway) at 9:30 so I must have been really drained from yesterday.

Had some bad news last night. A bar where I had a karaoke try-out had told the regular host that I had done a good job but, five minutes later they told me that they didn't want me and were going to use somebody else! When I told a friend this they said that they wouldn't want to work for that particular bar anyway! Did I have a lucky escape? Only time will tell.

Seeing all the Father's Day posts on Facebook made me very tearful. My father died many years ago and I can never be a father, Time like these hammers home how much I long for silly things like a hand-made card or present that I will never get from my child.

Missing my wife has also made me emotional today. To show just how much in tune we are with each other, I called her this morning as she was picking up the phone to call me. We both have to keep telling ourselves that I am trying to make a better life for both of us instead of sitting around and expecting her to provide for me like some husbands who are not even bothering to try and find work.

The emotions spilled over into my appetite as well today. I had a small cake with my instant "tea" this morning but at 5:30pm I hadn't eaten and wasn't really feeling hungry. I looked at a few restaurants with their "menu del dia" (3/4 courses for about £10) but nothing really grabbed me. I was walking past a supermarket on the seafront that I had been into several times before and decided to go in and get a large bottle of something cold. While in there I saw small cooked chickens and that was it. I got a small, cooked chicken, a bag of salad, some rolls and a bottle of rose wine for 10 Euros which was what a meal would have cost me. So that was today's picnic folks. Only problem was everything was very dry. I don't have oil or seasoning so I had to eat it as it was. Never mind, I'll live.

I'll probably pop out for a couple of beers later as it is so hot and I haven't had a lot to drink today - that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it! Can't be too late to bed as I've got work in the morning. Listen in on www.coolfm974.com between 9am and noon UK time if you can.

In the words of the song - who knows what tomorrow brings.

Adios 

The Spanish Adventure

Things really move quickly when they want to here in Spain.

Following the meeting with the TV people on Wednesday, I got a call yesterday (Friday) afternoon. They wanted to film me at the caravan park that I was at the other day at 11:30 this morning (Saturday). Needless to say I had trouble getting to sleep last night and was awake early this morning.

I carefully selected about six tricks as I didn't know exactly what was going to happen, Best bib and tucker - well I took my new "star" jacket from the suit anyway - and headed off.

When I got there the filming took about an hour and I was exhausted from being so mentally active for all that time - as usual. We started off with a one-on-one between myself and the interviewer. Then we moved on to an interview between myself and the man I met the other day and finished with a one-on-one again for me to summarise the meeting.

During the interview I managed to make a bead dog and a balloon flower as well as performing my signature magic trick which amazed the TV people as well as the man I was talking to. He has suggested several places that would be interested in me but, unfortunately, a lot of them are out of town and I can't get to them.

He wants me to go back on Wednesday evening and do some close-up for the customers so he can get an idea of how well I will go down for an evening show.

On the downside, he really wants a children's show on a weekly basis and I have left all the children's magic back in the UK!

I had a missive from the bosses about my radio show so the rest of today will be spent planning my shows for next week with their guidelines in mind.

No news on the hotel job yet but I'm not writing it off just yet,

Adios for now,