Marbella moments with Nicole King: I’ve been booked

A few weeks ago I received a poster via Messenger from Tony Bryant regarding the book signing of his latest publication “A Cohort of Creative Bohemians and other Interesting Individuals.”.   There was no additional note or personalised invitation, just the poster.

I don’t usually go to anything outside of Marbella; we get very cozy here and have everything we need, so heading out on the highway seems like too much of an adventure.  This event was to be held in Fuengirola, which for me feels like the other side of the world so normally I wouldn’t even consider it.

In this instance, however, as I enjoy reading Tony’s work and during interviews with him he’s come across as such a lovely person, I decided I would definitely attend and put the date in my diary. 

Tony is British but has lived on the coast for many years and is passionate about Andalucía.  He has published several books on Flamenco and Sevilla but this new contribution is completely different.  This time Tony has chosen to write about some of the most emblematic people he’s met over the past 25 years as a journalist.

On the day of the event, I found myself, as usual, doing far more things than are humanly feasible for the number of hours in any given day and was running a little late.  The heat was intense and the thought of traffic and driving “all the way” to Fuengirola was daunting.  Even so, I set off enthusiastically on this “road trip” accompanied by my friend Martina.

As anticipated we arrived slightly late and Tony was already giving the presentation.  As we walked through the door into the packed room I heard my name being pronounced and my sense of guilt made me think Tony was calling me out for not being on time.   Much to my delight I later found out that this was not the case, rather that I was part of his “speech” as I’m in the book and my perfectly timed entrance was purely coincidental.

At first, all I could think was “thank heavens I came!”.  There had been no inkling that I would have a special interest to be there; it had been divine providence without a doubt, saving me from a lifetime of potential guilt and embarrassment if I hadn’t gone.   Now I just feel chuffed and flattered but still totally surprised.  I also feel encouraged to carry on just being me, along with all those other bohemians and intellectuals:  recognition from somebody in Tony’s professional league is an honour indeed.

I still don’t have a copy of the book myself as there were none left after the event as the book was in great demand so I’ll need to get one through Amazon, or preferably from Tony himself to get it signed too, and see what he actually says about me.  I understand it’s all good from the impromptu interview filmed by my friend Martina whilst Tony and I were chatting outside.

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