This week’s blog guest is Robert Edwards who has co written a book, “The Fontainebleau “ , with Paul Bradley, an author I interviewed way back in 2021 – https://bootsshoesandfashion.com/spotlight-on-the-andalusian-mystery-series. “The Fontainebleau” is a true story based on the Edwards family move in the 1970s from London to Nerja, Spain to open Hostel Fontainebleau. Robert initially ran the Fontainebleau Bar & Restaurant and took overall management when his parents retired. Before I welcome Robert onto the blog, here’s a quick summary of “The Fontainebleau” :
BOOK SUMMARY
A nostalgic journey back to the 1970s when the love affair with Nerja, Spain, began. Based on the true story of the Edwards family.
In 1972, smooth-talking London bookie Jimmy Edwards was horrified by the daunting prospect of a tax-grabbing Socialist Government. With a pioneering British spirit, he sold up and voted with his feet. Seduced by the balmy climate and low costs, he crammed the family into the Rolls Royce and headed for Spain, still under the iron fist of a Fascist regime. Blissfully ignorant of the politics, linguistically inept, and without relevant experience, they purchased a half-finished hostel from a dodgy developer in the quaint fishing village of Nerja on the eastern Costa del Sol.
The bureaucracy was a nightmare, and rip-off builders were laboriously slow. But Jimmy was smart. He appointed a Spanish lawyer in Málaga who spoke English. What could go wrong?
Unsurprisingly, the project was delayed and then delayed. In 1974, well over a year behind schedule, the Fontainebleau opened and was immediately at loggerheads with oddball ex-pats, eccentric guests, demanding tour operators, and the dreaded Guardia Civil. With family harmony falling apart and bankruptcy looming, their only hope was luck and a gritty determination to succeed.
THE INTERVIEW
Hi Robert, thanks for joining us on the blog 👋
Hello. My name is Robert Edwards. I live in Spain, near Nerja on the eastern Costa del Sol. And I have done so since 1974 when I came here with my parents who decided to retire from the UK. I have involved myself with many different business activities during my life in Spain. Firstly, the opening of the Hostal Fontainebleau in 1974, the subject of my recently published book. During this period I met and married my Spanish wife and we had our first child, Syreeta. In 1980 my parents sold the hostal at my request (as mentioned in the book), and I went into real estate. This continued very successfully through until the early nineties when I sold the business, during which time we had two more children. I then created the first private long term covered car parking facility at Malaga International airport. This went well until disagreements with my Spanish partner made it impossible to run it as I had envisaged. So, I sold out of this one too. Then, the Internet started to appear, and I could see its potential, so I started a design and advertising company to create the very first websites here in Spain. This should and would have been very much more successful had I had the IT and financial backing that was necessary at the time. After three or four years I moved on again, and moved back into real estate with a friend. This continued into the 21st century where I also joined forces with another, local Spanish company who were building property in Morocco. So, lots of trips to Tangier and Chefchaouen. This continued for a few years until, yet again, I jumped ship and went with other local real estate outfits. This continued through to my final retirement about five years ago, when I then decided to use my life long hobby of photography and started a photo business providing photo shoots for local real estate agents. I still continue to do this on a part time basis.
What inspired you to tell the story of your family’s move from London to Nerja in the 1970s?
Five years ago during Covid, I was walking across Plaza Cavana, a square in the centre of Nerja, with my mask on when I heard a familiar voice call my name. I turned around, and it was Paul (Bradley), who I recognised despite him wearing a mask also. We said hello and changed pleasantries, and then I had a light bulb moment. At the back of my mind for over forty years I had thought about writing a book to reflect the early days in Spain and the Fontainebleau. One of my favourite all time comedy series was Fawlty Towers, and I had often compared some of its episodes to the calamities that we had endured in the early days of the hostal. The problem was that I didn’t consider myself up to the task of writing a book, but in that moment I knew that Paul had. In fact he had written several books in a crime mystery series set in Andalucian cities. “Fancy a coffee?”, I said. We sat down, and two later hours later and after much coffee, I had explained and convinced him of my idea and he agreed to co-write the book for me.
Prior to the family move, had the family or your father been to Spain? What were your first impressions of Nerja?
Yes, my parents came to the Costa del Sol on various occasions for holidays in the sixties. We found Nerja completely by accident, which is explained in the book. Our first impressions were that we all loved it. (If I say any more, I’ll be providing snippets about the book!)
A lot of people dream of moving abroad and owning hotels/ bars/ restaurants in Spain … although your family move was in the 1970s , do you think your family’s encounters & struggles with construction, bureaucracy and eccentric guests still exist today for people hoping to make the jump abroad?
There will always be difficulties and challenges for anyone moving to another country, especially if they are considering a business start up. The language, the culture, the climate, and many other things will all add to their experience, whether they are successful or not. The difference today, as opposed to the early seventies, is that many, many people have now done it, so there a lots of people online and in books who can provide help and advice. That was not the case when we came to Spain. It was an adventure punctuated by our daily endeavour to succeed and overcome a barrage of new obstacles and hurdles
What were your highlights from your move to Spain and your time running The Fontainebleau Bar & Restaurant ?
Best to read the book! It’s all summarised from the early seventies when my parents were first pondering with the idea of a move to Spain and early retirement, but they needed an income as well, so my fellow two sisters and brother were all invited to come I (if we were successful in finding something to invest in), but only my brother, his wife and two children, and myself decided to join them. Prior to the eventual decision to purchase the hostal, we did some recky trips from 1970 through to 1973 looking at potential businesses. This was fun and we naturally combined these trips with a holiday as we explored options. Running the Fontainebleau was a great experience. I learnt Spanish, met my wife, had three children, 2 girls and a boy, and grew up in a country that at the time was a very different place to what I had experienced during my childhood at home in England. I was young, adventurous and considered myself privileged to experience this new challenge.
If I was visiting Nerja, what 5 things do you recommend I put on my itinerary?
Certainly, the Caves of Nerja, discovered by accident in 1959, and opened to the public in 1960. The ‘Balcon de Europa’, a beautiful promenade in the centre of Nerja that butts out into sea. The adjacent village of Maro, which forms part of the Nerja municipality, that has almost stood still in time when compared to the huge construction boom that has taken place over the last 60 years along the entire Costa del Sol, and of course the rest of Spain. Maro in probably the most unspoilt village along the entire coast. The nearby village of Frigiliana, also one of the most authentic and unspoilt villages in Andalucia. Visit ‘Ayo’s? for a paella! Ayo has been making paella on the Burriana beach in Nerja for some fifty odd years. He’s probably the most photographed chef ever.
Are you a bookworm? What is your favourite genre and/or authors? Kindle or actual book?
I’m not a bookworm. But in the past I loved reading books by John Grisham, and similar. I still love a court room drama, whether in a book or a film.
Is “The Fontainebleau” available to purchase worldwide?
Yes, the book is available on all Amazon platforms, including Kindle. It’s available locally in Smiffs and Europa bookshops in Nerja.
Personal now – what outfits and shoes would you normally be found wearing?
Well, I’m not a flip-flops sort of person! Given the climate, I prefer to wear smart but light summer shoes most of the year round, leather shoes in winter, and boots for trekking in the ‘campo’.
Do you have any favourite shops or online sites?
Well, like so many people, I do use Amazon a lot. However, it is nice to browse actual shops and stores as we all did once upon a time. I still enjoy visiting El Corte Ingles, a private chain of stores to be found in all major cities across Spain. Commercial shopping centres in Spain, whilst convenient, are also a bit boring insofar as they all have the same commercial names and shops. This of course varies a little from one autonomous community to another but essentially has the same problem. It’s much more fun to explore the individual shops. My daughter lives near Madrid, so I enjoy trips into the city to do this.
What’s next on your clothes/shoe wish list?
Anything that keeps me cool in summer!
Boots or Shoes? ( & Why?)
I found your blog through Facebook. As explained, Paul Bradley helped me write my book, but the promotional side was definitely down to me. As I had built an Internet website design company and have always been computer literate, since IBM brought out their first ‘portable’ PC in the eighties (it weighed a ton!), it was something I enjoyed doing. I liked the way you posted about so many different subjects and people, not just fashion (as the title of your blog would suggest).
Links you would like to share e.g. website/facebook etc
Official Fontainebleau Fan Page on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61565730580167
By far the most books sold on Amazon have been on Amazon UK: https://amzn.eu/d/etID2px
Amazon com: https://a.co/d/gPC9O2L
Amazon Spain: https://amzn.eu/d/ehxcL3J
The FONTAINEBLEAU surges to BEST SELLER in 3 Categories on Amazon UK! (This happened earlier this year several months after the launch).
No. 1 in Beach Holidays
No. 1 in Spanish Historical Biographies
No. 1 in Resorts & Spas for Travelers
Google Books: https://books.google.es/books/about/The_Fontainebleau.html?id=bUXl0AEACAAJ&redir_esc=y
Article published last year in Sur en Ingles (Sur in English), the leading English speaking newspaper on the Costa del sol since 1984: https://www.surinenglish.com/lifestyle/people/the-tale-the-british-family-who-ran-20241031144043-nt.html
The book is printed and distributed by Gardners and Ingram’s in the UK:
ISBN-10: 8409642425
ISBN-13: 978-8409642427
Thank you Robert for the kind words about my blog – truly appreciated 😊 and thank you for sharing a bit about your love affair with Spain 😊
Linda x
All photographs have been published with the kind permission of Robert Edwards. Palm tree photo – Linda Hobden
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