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