David's AW News: Heat Bombs, Bureaucracy & Bank Holiday Trading

Greeting from Sunny Spain

Ironically, parts of the UK have actually been hotter than here this week… but don’t get too comfortable — Spain is next in line for the heat bomb… and it’s coming fast. Last week I was telling you about my trip here and why you should stuff cotton wool in your ears.. if you missed it you can catch up here.

I’ve spent part of the week with the Spanish team in the new Malaga office and warehouse. Always good fun. The showroom is taking shape nicely, stock is flowing, and there’s a real feeling that Spain is beginning to hit its stride for us now.

But alongside warehouse visits and meetings… I also had the pleasure of tangling once again with the famous Spanish bureaucracy.

Ah yes… Residency Card Renewal time.

I needed to renew my residency card before it expired. In theory, straightforward.

Years ago, the system involved turning up at dawn outside a local police station, joining a confused crowd shuffling about on the pavement. Every so often a very important-looking policeman would emerge clutching a clipboard and shout out names in an accent so strong that even the owners of the names struggled to recognise themselves. For some reason they always call me by my middle name which they can't prounounce - it's Lloyd.

It was chaos… but somehow charming chaos.

Now Spain has embraced modern technology.

You can book a very precise online appointment.

Mine was at exactly 10:16am.

Not 10:15.

Not 10:20.

10:16.

I had also been warned very firmly that the appointment MUST happen before the card expired. With my travel schedule resembling a badly organised world tour, getting the slot was stressful enough. My agent Carolina finally managed to secure one in Fuengirola—exactly one day before expiry and perfectly fitted into my travel plans.

So I arrived Thursday night.

Appointment Friday morning.

Perfect.

At exactly 10:16am we marched confidently up the steps. A policeman ticked my name off a list and guided us to a booth where a lady carefully checked all my papers… typed into her computer… frowned slightly…

Then, with what I thought was just a touch too much smug satisfaction, informed Carolina:

“Oh… the rules have changed.”

Something about Brexit was muttered with an elegant Spanish shrug.

Now apparently… I had to attend AFTER the card expired.

All the paperwork was handed back and, almost as an afterthought, she added in English:

“And by the way… you cannot travel outside Spain until your new card is issued.”

That was the moment I got the “wings clipped” feeling.

Poor Carolina looked close to tears.

I was strangely calm.

“These things happen,” I told her.

Part 2…

Carolina somehow managed to get another appointment this week — this time in Marbella.

2pm sharp.

A quick Google search beforehand revealed the Marbella office has developed something of a reputation online… phrases like “most unfriendly office in Spain” and “bureaucratic nightmare” appeared repeatedly in the one star reviews.

Excellent.

This should be fun.

Parking was impossible, so I arrived only slightly early. Carolina was already outside bouncing nervously from foot to foot.

“Quickly! Go in!”

“But the appointment is 2pm…”

Yes… but there was one small complication.

A giant sign on the door clearly stated the office closes at 2pm sharp.

Only in Spain could you be given an appointment at the precise moment the office closes.

Anyway… in we went.

And honestly?

Everyone was lovely.

The man at the desk was cheerful, papers all checked, fingerprints taken, forms stamped. I was fully expecting them to hand over the shiny new card there and then.

No chance. The office was closing.

“When can I collect it?”

He smiled warmly. “We will let you know…”

“How long?”

“Maybe three… maybe four weeks…”

But I need to go to the UK.. well you just need a permission letter - ok can I get one.. Turns out you need an appointment to apply for a permission letter; the earliest is in three weeks, and then there's another week's wait for it to be issued.

Ah yes.

The famous Spanish bureaucracy lives on after all.  No point in getting hot and bothered.. it's getting hot - Heat Bomb - hot already..

Meanwhile, the Spring Bank Holiday weekend is nearly upon us, Father’s Day is creeping closer, and the season is definitely heating up — literally and commercially.

New arrivals continue to land from India and Indonesia, including some exceptionally strong-selling gemstone gifts and jewellery lines that are already flying out of the warehouse. There’s definitely a growing appetite for products with meaning, story and a little soul behind them.  See the deals below.

So wherever you are this week — whether trading hard, relaxing in the sunshine, or wrestling with paperwork somewhere in Europe — I hope you have a brilliant few days.

And if you happen to have a government appointment booked for exactly the same time the office closes…

Good luck.

Have a great week and happy trading.

David