“Spain : Paradise Lost?” Part 2
July 8, 2009 - Posted in Articles
I just about managed to watch the second part of Spain : Paradise Lost without switching off the TV. In this episode we were shown a couple who, with no previous experience in restaurants or bars and no knowledge of Spanish, had bought a café in Benidorm and couldn’t make a go of it. Not only was the presentation of the café basic and dull but I caught sight of the price list and saw that they were selling tea or coffee a 2€ a cup. That seemed very expensive to me and may well explain why they were not getting any customers.
We then saw a hairdresser from the North of England who was moving to Marbella to start a new hairdressing business. His first day seemed to go well but apart from that there was no more information given.
A large portion of the program followed one of Marbella’s longest established agents as she glided through a few large Villas and then went to the hairdressers. I really am not too sure why she agreed to appear on the show but I guess it has something to do with the maxim that all publicity is good publicity even if the program maker is looking at you with a tongue firmly pressed into the cheek!
If this is the best that ITV can do when making a review of the Spanish property market then to my mind it is a very sad indictment of their journalistic prowess. Maybe one day we will see some of these programs making an attempt to show a balanced view of their subject matter although I realize that sensationalism is the only way to attract viewers!
The market is difficult and times are hard for everyone at the moment. Having said that the level of doom and gloom portrayed by the media is well and truly overboard and is doing nothing to help the current situation.
Until next time
Michael