I just love it when you all get on so well.

Obviously I can't speak for hbg, but since he mentioned "friends and family" I'd be willing to bet he probably wasn't referring to you! I'm jealous of your two weeks btw, this year I've managed 0, after a lack of work last year meant I had to take any work going this time around - moving house to London wiped out a lot of cash too. Ah well, this time next year Rodney, I'll be a millionaire and buying my second home in Madrid. (we can dream...)

I thought this thread had been relatively well behaved (edit - reading again there was a spat at the beginning, but the thread soon got back on track). Although we all probably differ to some degree in our opinions, we've generally made our point without resorting to direct abuse. Time yet though...

You might be right, but this immediately followed an earlier post of mine, perhaps that was a coincidence as well.

ah - that comment may well have been directed in your direction. I'm fairly sure Blackpool isn't to your taste though!

It can all change in a trice, even on a Sunday. In fact, I can feel it in my bones. Doesn't it liven things up a bit?

I was going to reply to Econ, but I haven't been down south for a while and hope to remedy that next summer.

As for the Oil man who calls me the Torre man - I don't mind - I've never been called that before.

Back on topic, Sunday is my paper reading day and Spain didn't get as bad a press as it has done recently. They do seem to be selling a lot of their British assets, which are considerable, but I've got no idea why.

Back to the thread topic, it's probably the case all over the western world that people unable to get work are trying to set up as a freelance operation, often using the net. I've considered going the ebay/web sales route myself, but I wouldn't know what to sell - well what to sell at a profit.
Very hard to get work it seems once you pass 40, in a lot of fields. Following link is an article on older workers in Madrid trying to set up on their own, in the absence of suitable job offers (in Spanish)
http://www.madridiario.es/2010/Dicie...presas-.html02

Thinking some more about the Spanish selling off their British assets, there can only be two reasons for that phenomenon, either they think their country is going down the pan and needs more repatriated cash, or they think that the UK is going down the pan and not worth investing in.

Neither reason is helpful in these difficult times, not for those of us with a foot in both camps. Being a Torre man – a tower of strength – I’m going to sit tight, and pray.

Are there no local handy crafts 'artesania' in your area? everything you see on ebay generally seems to be mass produced items whereas maybe you could still find there is a demand for the likes of hand made baskets (for example) from overseas... Just a thought

Thanks for the tip (probably a good one at that), but I suspect I've not the sales gift. Luckily I've got other ways of earning a living in the IT field, so I'm concentrating on that for now. I may see if my partner can do something in this field though...

I think pretty much everything has been tried on ebay, it's hard to come up with something that is new, and would sell in large numbers to make it worth your while. I think a lot do it more as a hobby than a money making concern. I recently bought a Tom Tom charger cable, £1.85, free postage.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...=STRK:MEWNX:IT
Now given that some has to buy the original item, processs that, wrap it, pay the postage, they can't be making more than pence on a deal like that. It's not an easy way to make money. Ebay started off with people selling bits and bobs, but now the vast majority of sellers sem to be companies.

I could help with advice on the latter. My husband could do with steering in the right direction for the former! (he hasn't got the sales gift either)

Very true. And free postage just isn't an option in Spain!

I have read of a few people (you might have been one of them?) that used to sell through ebay in UK, but found it difficult in Spain because of the postage. I'm sure there'll be some though, depends on what you are selling.

No I've never sold on ebay. I sell direct from my page. Not thinking of giving up any time soon. Fortunately, the things I make are in their nature very small & therefore light weight. But I have had to give up posting books and a mould making material I used to sell which was too heavy to post. But I do feel sorry for people who's work/goods are heavier. They just can't compete, with Spanish postage as high as it is. So yes, I'm one of the ones who 'moans' about this. More on behalf of other people than myself.