...Apartments in general are similar in a resort town, such is the case here in La Cala, but there are some peculiarities from apartment to apartment, usually this depends on the build specification that the owner paid for when he bought the property. For example, every apartment will have the option for air conditioning, but not everyone will buy it. And in some cases the price includes finished to completion or finished up to fitting stage. If it is up to fitting stage, quite literally every fixture, Bathroom suite, kitchen suite, lighting, air con, curtain rails, light switches, sockets etc. are missing. In some cases there isn't even a plaster ceiling in place. So the new owner has to either fit them him/herself or pay for tradesmen to come and do it for them.
So, when it comes to renting an apartment like many of us do, we have to have a good memory for what the minimum standard must be, or go to view with a list of musts and must nots. We thought we had considered everything in our apartment until we wanted to switch the light on in our utility room and discovered we had a switch but no light fitting. In fact there was no wiring from the switch to the ceiling at all. Equally some of our friends don't have air conditioning and a couple we are friendly with didn't even have an oven or space for one.
A new neighbour in our block bumped into me and asked if we had air conditioning, which we have, and could I show her how it works. I went to her apartment and did everything I would do with ours but it still didn't seem to work. I advised she went back to the Realtor and ask him to get it checked.
This will give rise to the next problem with rented accommodation, who pays for what? The first thing the agent will say "I teenk you 'ave to pay" well in my experience don't be fobbed off. The gas boiler in our apartment stopped working. The pilot light would not stay lit. The first time this happened, my friend Julie was here to stay with her children and former husband. This was particularly embarrassing for us because we couldn't have hot showers. So I went to the agent. "I teenk you 'ave to pay" was his set piece, so I arrange for a 'Technico' to attend and he took off the pilot light, shoved a pin down the nozzle, and gave me a receipt asking for 37.00 Euros. I paid, and kept the receipt, photocopied it and then when we paid the rent, we deducted it from the rent and took the receipt down to the agent, and I said "I am not paying, it is a fixture and you should organise a regular inspection and maintenance for health and safety reasons." He disagreed, so I told him if he pursued it I would put in a denuncia (basically denounce him to the authorities) for breaking Spanish law. He backed down. Eighteen months later the same thing happened and we went through the same procedure once more until he backed down again.
Its time like that I am driven to drink, but that wasn't my excuse the day before yesterday, Dave and Pete said lets meet in the bar at 2.00 pm, so off I went, unfortunately they didn't turn up for a while and I may have had a few more than them ultimately. In the mean time Dave and Doreen came in and sat adjacent to me. Dave told me that he had been to 'Les Dunes' a hotel along the Levante beach, for a coffee and something to eat after having been to the Sunday market. However, nearly every time they chose a table a waiter came along and slapped a reserved label on it. and pointed to it, in other words move elsewhere. Dave was, not surprisingly, annoyed at this treatment so when he was leaving (having decided not to eat) he called by the manager and told him so.
I may have mentioned that Dave has a Hotel and Caravan park near Newquay in Cornwall. Dave is a canny Yorkshire man, and always looking for cost-saving opportunities. He has solar panels on his roof which heat his swimming pool back in Cornwall and heats his water too. I did suggest he passed on his savings to his customers to which he replied a resounding "no..." "You see Bob, we don't know how much they are going to use." he lamented, "..when they come to us, they forget to switch heating off and lights and they charge their phones and gaming consoles, so no I don't pass on the savings, because I am not really making any." He pointed out that many of the hotels in Benidorm have solar panels all over their roofs, clearly affording them savings on their bills. It seems that big hotels save and little ones like Dave's don't...that logic escapes me somewhat. He was also upset because he flies from Newquay to Alicante with Ryanair, who had emailed his son in Cornwall to say they were suspending the service from January to march from Newquay, which means Dave's next flight out is cancelled. So he will have to fly from Bristol next time which is a fair distance from where he lives.
Over the years Dave has built up a regular clientele especially caravan owners. But he feels a little let down by them of late. Dave has a restaurant and bar in the Hotel, which is there for the main use of his customers. Dave is renowned for his steaks, (although we try not to mention this in front of the grim reaper who if you remember swallowed half a pint of citronella just prior to Dave's last family steak-making supper in Spain). Like most landlords he is feeling the pinch from the no smoking bans in the UK and the ever increasing supply costs. The clients are suffering too, so their remedy is to buy their own booze elsewhere 'cheap' and consume them in their caravans, and cook their food in their caravans which are plugged into, you guessed it, Dave's electricity supply. So Dave ever the thinker is considering other ways of getting his money back. I think his ears pricked up when I suggested putting 'pay as you use' meters at each berth. You can take the man out of Yorkshire but you can't take Yorkshire out of the man!
We believe the new series of 'Benidorm' is soon to be filmed. That will be entertaining for us, we often find where they are filming and go have a look. For many of us ex-Pats we don't need to watch 'Benidorm' to spot the characters, we have our own in and around La Cala. No doubt to some I am a character too. But yesterday when in the marina, Jesus said to everyone around me that "Bob, dee boss, is numero uno jefe cameraro y Al capone de Cala Finestrat" (Bob, the boss is chief waiter and Al Capone of Finestrat) He also knows how many people I bring into his bar and he always looks after my interests.
Also in the bar were many Belgian and Dutch customers, and they too are characters. One lady, christened 'Yuppee' by the staff because the drunker she gets the more she shouts "Yuppee!" no-one quite knows why, but she seems to be happy. Her group have two other characters, one who sings when she is drunk and the other who comes and drapes her arms over me and my male mates telling us that we are her lovers. Her husband just smiles and says sorry.
Andrea has got a contract phone recently, Movistar the mobile phone operator has a good deal, no doubt we all will be on it soon. The phone she got is very good and she has been taking pictures like a woman possessed. So no doubt the results of these pictures will be featured in future blogs.
Today it is raining, yesterday me and Ange, Pete and Dave, Patrick and Neil, went to Mitico for lunch, Neil and Patrick had to go and open their restaurant but the rest of us went down to the Marina bar afterwards. The usual customers were in. We found a warmish seat to sit in, and before long the heaters were out and the toldos (awning and side panel) were in place. Pete and Dave go to England on Thursday for 3 weeks. I am taking them to the airport and watering their plants whilst they are away. So that means today (Wednesday) is packing and cleaning day. Dave said to Pete: "..maybe we can come down here for a last drink Pete..." Pete, said "..I won't be coming down, I will be too busy packing and cleaning." "Oh alright Pete.." said Dave sounding down in the dumps about it. " ...it doesn't mean to say that you can't come down and have a drink with Bob though." So I am not sure if he will be there or not and as it is raining, I can't say I am eager to go out. But I have printed off Trevor's Ryanair flight booking reference, and have to pass that to him, so I suppose I will go. Its a hard life here in Spain......but someone has to do it...
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