00:00Say it loud, say it proud. Us Brits love the Costas. We love Bedford. You're here in the sun, lap it up. We're living the dream, I'll see you. Well, maybe not quite that loud, Nathan, but we are. And with over 300 days of that glorious sunshine a year, it sure beats the cold and grey of the old UK. Ah, this is a life. Living that dream can be blooming hard graft. Misty. My life, you're right. Stress level.
00:30.
01:00Today on The Costas, Welsh singer Laura Ellen's whirlwind wedding plans... I think I can't even know what it is. ...are turning into a nuptials nightmare. Right, knock that one then. Removal Man Tom has a delivery disaster. I didn't write down which one it was in. And now I can't remember which one it was in. And we're shifting gear to reverse, back to when Carol and Wacker were driving towards their dream life...
02:00There must be other people out there, in the world, that eat freezing cold curry the next day. Can't be just me. Each to their own, I say. Mmm. Laura Ellen swapped Port Talbot for the Costa del Sol 20 years ago and keeps herself in cold curry by singing at nuptials. I've done six, seven hundred weddings. And she also performs on the tribute circuit. Tuesday's normally my day off, but I've seemed to ended up working.
03:00To Laura Allen moving out of best-made Collins house four months later. Oh dear. And it's a new beau Robs. I've always said wherever I lay my pot. That's my home. Their relationship is still gathering pace. A couple of months ago I was singing in the restaurant down the road and after I finished he got down and proposed to me on one knee.
04:00Laura, Ellen and Rob only have six months until they say I do. Today I have to start planning and sorting things out for the wedding. So I'm going to go and visit my friend Shona who owns the florist. I've known her now for 15 years from the wedding industry. She's going to help me design my bouquet. To save for the wedding Laura, Ellen and Rob are both working flat out and today is the first time she's managed to grab a few hours to plan.
05:00So I'm just going to go with where I think it is and hope it's there. What? If you're going to make that gig tonight, today needs to run like clockwork. Oh dear, I can see this turning into a nuptials nightmare. Ten minutes inland from Benidorm is the town of Panorama.
06:00to learn Spanish, second year, complete shock to the systems. No, you do need to learn this Spanish stuff. Tom's parents achieved their Spanish dream by running a removals and storage company. These tents over here are what mum and dad used to go to the UK. A lot of the time they'll have about 20 cubic metre worth of stuff. And four years ago, when he was just 23, Tom followed in their footsteps, setting up the Rapido removals.
06:30.
07:00to LaFlorida. Take their stuff to Hondon de las Nieves, which is about 40 minutes away from LaFlorida. Sounds like a busy day. Delivering one couple's precious possessions to their new flap from storage before tackling a full house-to-house move for a second couple. You've got a kind of guesstimate more than estimate as to how much time you're going to take to then be at the next job on time. The removals is quite competitive. The UK especially competitive.
08:00I didn't write down which one it was in and now I can't remember which one it was in oh dear it's not a good start to such a busy day ahead normally when they're in here for a while we write it down on the list whereas where this one was only in here for a week I thought I can't forget that turns out again if Tom and employee Mickey can't find the container soon the only reviews Tom will get today will be bad ones
09:00All over the costas, thousands of expats have created caravan kingdoms. Morning. There's another one of our names. Did you see a look, eh? And one couple living their Spanish dream in a static palace is Yorkshire lass Carol. I hate the smell of air spray. And her husband Barry, or Whacker, to his friends because of his amateur boxing days. Making her a breakfast. Cettle on.
09:30.
10:00now, we would not be able to survive on our private pensions, would we? But here, it's definitely a much cheaper cost of living, isn't it? Yeah. It may be cheaper than Blighty, but their €500 a month pensions have still been falling short, so part-time work is the answer. You attempt to do the housework, don't you? You attempt, let's just say you attempt. Wacker normally works three days a week as an odd job man, but he's had to down tools in the peak season.
11:00work. I could get used to you doing my breakfast, which is appreciated. Good for some of them. Yes. With his job as head of catering done... Beautiful moment, isn't it? Sure is. ..his next role is that of chauffeur. Stay there, mate. Carol's in a row. Once he's delivered his customer, er, I mean his wife, to her work, there's still no time to relax for this man of leisure. Just go like that. It's quite awkward.
11:30.
12:00Fingers crossed, it's a busy day at the pavement office, Carol. Or Whacker could spend more than you make. In Panorama, 27-year-old Tom and employee Mickey are still hunting for the box containing their first customer's possessions. Leave that there for a minute while we do this one.
13:00They didn't do it with this one because it was only in here for a week. It's 10.30 and they're already an hour behind schedule. That's the one. So I put it in the wrong way round. Phew, better get loading lads. I wish I wore some trousers that would stay up properly. Oh Tom, trying to load up a van in baggy trousers is madness. Get it? Oh never mind.
14:00The first ones today are a customer that we collected from Torre Viacca last week and then the customer after they've flown over from England last night so I've not actually been over to see what they've got or anything it's just a last minute one so not really sure what we're getting ourselves into there I'd much rather go around and give a quote in person but obviously you can't always do that. Taking on a job without seeing it first means Tom will have to rely even more on the
15:00I'm going to go ahead and start doing the first job now, so keep me up to date. I could use you on the second one. It will set us back quite a bit on time-wise, and the second job is from an apartment, so that's going to make it a bit harder as well, because a lot of the time I like to be on the back of the van while the boys bring me things so that I can stack it, whereas now I'm going to have to jump down and do it with Miggy and then get back on the van. First drop-off is 50 miles away in Rahalis. So we're not even started and we're a man down.
16:00I've met the love of my life in Benidorm, I can't say that for a fact, yeah.
16:03Just got to look at it. Spain's a romantic place, just got to look at it.
16:07As I just propose to it.
16:12Give me a kiss to bride!
16:14The atmosphere, the sun, the way of life, it's just relaxing.
16:19You've got me.
16:20And I've got my husband.
16:23You may find the love of your life.
23:55.
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