A must-read reality check for anybody who has ever pondered making a new life abroad

"Pure enjoyment!"

"Another corker from Mr Cawley"

"Couldn't put it down. Made me happy, made me sad, made me happy some more. Really, really good book. Can't wait for the next installment!"

"Funny, emotional and identifiable, loved every minute..."

The first six months of running the Smugglers Tavern had been a baptism of fire. The subsequent years were about as much fun as bobbing for apples in a vat of acid.

Having swapped the tin roof of a cold British fish market for the sunny skies of Tenerife, one of Spain's holiday islands, Joe and Joy succeeded in thwarting the first wave of attacks from bungling bureaucrats, bewildered holidaymakers and their own spectacular ineptitude.

What they didn't realise was that their enemies were regrouping. Not only that, but those enemies had made camp a lot closer to home, enemies that would make their encounters with exploding gas bottles, East European squatters and big-time Charlies seem like chapters from a children's picture book.

Dreams are shattered, relationships left in tatters and sanity is tested in this prize-winning travel and humour memoir in this revelation about what it's really like when you try to make a better life for yourself overseas.

Recent reviews

• "Beautifully observed, laugh-out-loud funny in parts and heartbreakingly emotional in others. If you've ever lived abroad, particularly in Spain, this book has something in it for you."
• "Hilarious all the way through and tinged with the slightest of sadness in parts."
• "The humour reminds me a lot of Deric Longden's equally poignant books and plays, especially the bits about Joe's gran and Buster the cat. Would make a great film."
• "Loved this book! Laughed and cried... Honest and compelling read."