C5 crew outside Hospital Clinica Benidorm |
But it´s not only the British television companies which are filming here. This week TVE2, the second biggest television station in Spain have been recording a documentary "El Escarabajo Verde" about British ex-pats and how they have adjusted to Spanish routines and way of life. Reporter and Researcher Xavier Sitjá was accompanied by a 3 man crew over two days earlier this week along with ex-pat Pamela Dawson Tasker, who assisted them.
Afternoon tea |
Then yesterday I went to the home of friends Sue and Bernard Makinson where they wanted to film Brits having drinks and dinner - and whether our patterns had changed to tie in with Spanish habits.... such as eating late - very late! We told them that most Brits more or less kept to the same habits as back in the UK - well we all did and very rarely ate dinner like the Spanish, which can be at 10pm or in the summer much later.
Xavier wanted to know our thoughts on the traditional mid afternoon Spanish siesta, and if we took one. He was interested on my opinion when I told him that I had young children when we first arrived in Spain and how it affected them having a ridiculously long lunch break! We then went on to talk about issues such as bank and post office closing times - half day whereas in the UK they are open business hours and small shops still closing for a long lunch break.
Over the two days they recorded around 30 hours which will be edited down to a 28 minute programme - as a rule they record approximately one hour for 1 minute of screen time! The documentary is due to be screened towards the end of November - it will be interesting to hear the opinion of Spanish people... I will definitely watch it. When programmes are edited often things said are taken completely out of context - as I know following my stint on Come Dine with Me and things I had allegedly said.
One lady by the name of Sue McCray has been very busy writing to the editors of all the British newspapers I contribute to - her opinion being that I made derisory comments about Benidorm so I assume her thoughts are why should I be allowed to write for them... Its all about the editing, of which the participants have no control over - I thought everyone knew that.