Manuel still hard at work

Regular readers may recall a story from last August when AudlemOnline's editor, on the coast of Spain, spotted Manuel still at work in a seaside restaurant and managed a sneak photo.

We are glad to report that, having just returned from a family holiday in the same small resort, Manuel is still hard at work and, as last year, seems totally unaware of the excitement he causes amongst British visitors of a certain age.

He hardly seems to have aged since the 1970s and seems to have recovered from the abuse heaped on him by Basil Fawlty and more recently that less than loveable pair of radio teasers Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross. The antics of the two comedians, the thousands watching Sunday night's Channel 5 programme of Celebrity Disasters may have noted, saw their disastrous teasing ranked very highly.

We are glad to report that despite now working for a restaurateur as tall as Basil Fawlty, there was no abuse, no blows rained down on him and he turned in a 'Fawltless' performance with, as last year, superb service on a very busy night.

And for those readers a little too young to recall Fawlty Towers, the bottom photo shows Manuel with the infamous Basil. As you can see, Manuel's hardly changed.

Travel Tip

If you want to save a small fortune and see the real Spain, don't fly to the Costas during the school holidays at a cost of around £370 with the charter airlines. Instead, fly with Iberia or BA at around £90 return to Madrid. It's around 300 miles down to the coast but you get to see the real country and you can break your journey in amazing old towns very cheaply.

In addition, the road system is superb with not a pothole or even a patch along any of the 1,100km covered with little traffic, making driving a pleasure. Every town visited seemed to be enjoying a Festival so it was good to see Audlem well into its Beer Festival as the party returned.

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