I ARRIVED in Tenerife in the dark and, after dragging my suitcases to my apartment, showered, set the alarm, and tried to sleep as I was due in the newspaper office at 9am to see the boss.
The next day dawned as it does and, after getting shaved and showered again, got dressed in my best suit to make my way up the hill – which I later learned was labelled “cardiac hill” by the islanders – to the office. Totally overdressed, I walked into the main office where everyone was wearing “T” shirts and shorts for my first day as a working “proper reporter”.
My colleagues were great – a happy, smiling bunch – unlike the Editor, an English woman, who had met the owner, a German, when they both worked in the notorious timeshare industry.
I thought I got on quite well with the owner but did on occasions have “professional” differences with the editor, as to how was the best way to use my time and what articles I should write. I found out later I had more writing experience but she cracked the whip.
On occasions, we had staff meetings and she would order me to carry her chair into the meeting to which I replied “Where would you like me to plug it in?” That amused my colleagues as nobody ever stood up to her and her treatment was sometimes rude. But there again she was editor and the boss’s wife. I had a great time with this newspaper – called “Island Connections” – and many of my ideas reached the pages of every edition. I began to build up my own connections with a reputation for good interviews and balanced articles, as well as taking photographs to go in the paper and sell copies to tourists and residents, for additional pocket money. I quickly learned you had to have more than one string to your bow to survive a life in the sun.
I thought progress was going in the right direction – until one day the owner called me into his office. He opened by praising me for my work, adding that I may have heard the editor was leaving to take up a post in island television. That was good news which was followed by even better—he would like to offer me the job as editor on a trial basis. Of course, I was pleased to hear those words but the offer came with conditions. He advised me that in Spain a newspaper editor had to be a share holder and was that a problem for me?
“How many shares would I have to buy and how much would it cost?” I enquired.
A reasonable question I thought but his answer was anything but reasonable. The shares are £1 each and I would have to buy 10,000!
A quick calculation meant that the money I had earned in the first six months would go on buying shares. I responded by saying that, if I did have that kind of money to invest, it would not be in a newspaper.
It was not the answer he wanted and, although they withheld my pay for the final month, it eventually did appear along with the Spanish equivalent of a P45.
Of course, I challenged the decision to “retire me” but he referred me to the contract of employment he said I had signed, which was in Spanish, and to this day I have no recollection of signing any contract in any language.
Life in Tenerife is a steep learning curve and if you are planning to live or work in the sun, learn quickly!
“When one door shuts another one opens” is now a familiar saying and when I left the first newspaper I approached a rival, simply called “The Paper”, with the hope of finding a job. You cannot sit in the sun for 52 weeks a year without doing something constructive – or you would go mad!
The Editor of “The Paper” was a professional journalist who had once worked for the News of the World. She had seen my work but was unable to offer me work in their editorial department until there was a vacancy. They did have a job in distribution as a van driver. In less than a week, I went from being a potential editor to becoming a delivery driver. Welcome to the real world in Tenerife!
As reluctant as I was to accept the offer, I did, as I explained earlier, have the need to keep occupied and feed myself, whether it was sunny or not. My work was four days a fortnight – Thursday to Saturday – charged with delivering 11,000 newspapers to many outlets in the south of Tenerife.
I also sold advertising on odd occasions as well as writing some reviews on restaurants and bars. I wrote about El Cine, a popular bar restaurant on the site of the old cinema in Los Cristianos, which appeared in print with the headline
“They deserve an Oscar for their food”.
The owner Carlos was delighted. He used that on his paper napkins and advertising hoardings – and we have remained friends to this day, even though I only see him when I am on holiday.
I did eventually get a position in the editorial department and eventually became Sports Editor. I expanded my knowledge from football to Formula One, boxing, darts and to interviewing many of the entertainers plying their trade on the island. Cy Benson, who has family living in Peterlee, Buddy Graham and Thornaby’s Andy Maughan with his hilarious Chubby Brown tribute.
In The Claddagh, the Irish Bar in San Telmo, we had three musicians – an Englishman, a Scotsman and an Irishman – which sounds like a joke. But Keith from Coventry, Scotsman John from Carnoustie and the Irishman billed as “The Singing Willie” provided great music while Willie’s wife Kay served Guinness behind the bar.
Join me next time as I settle into my new job as the Sports Editor on the island of dreams……Tenerife!
Author: John
Author of Around The World In 80 Years