It was part of my rehabilitation following a leg operation at Hartlepool General Hospital. I could not go to work, as the doctors had told me not to drive for at least 28 days or my car insurance could be invalidated.
I was working as a probation officer in a prison at the time and it would not have looked good if I appeared in court, for driving whilst disqualified!
The flight to Tenerife is about three and a half hours from the North East but, if you add on the travelling time to Newcastle Airport and the waiting time, it seems like it takes well over half a day before you are stepping out into the sunshine.
I seem to recall we stayed in an apartment hotel on the seafront in Los Cristianos – only a stone’s throw from the Sunday morning market – but I do not recall the name – which is not surprising, when you think I have stayed in more than a dozen different places in Los Cristianos! I seem to recall saying once that, if I had gone anywhere else in Tenerife away from the south coast, I may not have returned.
But I did in 1997, when I retired again, having had more retirements than Frank Sinatra!
But I digress – on this first visit I found an Irish music bar, The Claddagh in San Telmo, which I made my local as the typical Irish welcome and the great music was the relaxation I needed. It felt really welcoming and, when I retired to the island, I made a bee-line for the same pub.
During the first visit, I read many of the local English language newspapers – some were free and others were about £1 in the shops and market. I decided I would take them back to Hartlepool and, on the long winter nights, read them to remind me of a great time I had in Tenerife.
On my return home and back to work, I was handed a staff notice which basically said they were looking for people, over the age of 50, to either take voluntary redundancy or retire early.
I had often heard the saying “When one door shuts another one opens” and was this coincidence or my time I asked myself?
I investigated, looked at the options and decided that I would take early retirement and began talks with the management. I was surprised to read that the “one door closing and another opening” saying originated in the comic novel “Don Quixote de la Mancha” by Miguel de Cervantes, dated 1605.
When I shared my decision with my mother, she said “Your father would turn in his grave if he thought you were giving up work at 50”.
We did have a discussion and, in response, I said “Just look at what you have said. My dad died, aged just 60, after years of heavy work in Horden Colliery and the steelworks”. Maybe my response was a little cruel but, eventually, my mother said “I see your point. But what will you do?”
As planned, I had read through the Tenerife papers, edited them in red pen, corrected the spelling and typos and sent them back to the island with a note to each editor that I could take their publications to the next level – if they offered me a job.
I waited for weeks without any response being forthcoming.
But one day, I did receive a telephone call from a newspaper owner in Tenerife. He was interested in how I could help enhance his product and invited me to send samples of my work to him. That was no problem as I had a fax machine and sent him “A letter from a Small Island” every week as well as other stories in the national news – long before the days of email and the internet. He said, as soon as I was able, could I come to Tenerife for an interview?
Of course I could and, as luck would have it, my own retirement package was agreed with a lump sum and monthly pension for life, although the amount would be frozen for five years in common with many Local Government schemes.
My retirement date was fixed for September 1997 but, before my departure, I had to tie up my life in Hartlepool – sell my car, hand my house to an estate to let in my absence and explain my plans to my three children, who were living with their mother, my former best friend. Time flew by and I was able to secure a holiday let at Victoria Court II and a flight from Newcastle.
No going back now and – at my retirement party – I was presented with a cheque to buy a bicycle in Tenerife which, in fact, I used to buy a car!
My sister Mavis and brother-in-law Bob took me to the airport and, after the customary wait through customs and passport control, I flew into the night on my next adventure. It was still dark when I arrived in Tenerife and, not speaking any Spanish, gave the taxi driver a note which gave the address of Victoria Court. I was dropped off and discovered there were TWO Victoria Courts and I was at the wrong one. Lost in paradise?
Author: John
Author of Around The World In 80 Years