It seemed like a long time since we had visited the coast - it isn’t that far, and there is so much to do inland - but we decided to have a change. We would visit some of the cabaret bars, and see what entertainment there was on offer. OK, it’s November, there aren’t quite as many tourists as in August, but there must be something on.

We looked in the newspaper, and made a list of the bars that were advertising that there was live entertainment, and planned out a sort of pub crawl around Fuengirola.

First on the list was the Brigadoon bar. This is located in Las Rampas, right in the centre, in a bar that at one time was a swingers bar (so I am told!), and handy for the car parks. So off we went. There is a notice on the door, saying that the bar opens at 7:30, and another that says that the entertainment starts a 9:30. But at 9:45, there wasn’t a light on in the place. And the owners, despite paying for adverts in the paper, couldn’t even be bothered putting a notice in the window to say why they were closed. Customer service, Spanish style. Marks out of ten, none. And we won’t be going back there, because they will probably be closed next time as well. And if they can’t be bothered, we certainly can’t be. So, our recommendation for Brigadoon - avoid.

Next on the list was Moochers. The room was packed with diners. We were met at the door by a friendly member of staff, who asked how he could help us. “Can we just get a drink?” “Sure, just make your way towards the bar” - the subtext of which is, please don’t take a table! Which I think is fair enough, since four diners will put a lot more in their coffers. There weren’t many seats in the bar area, but we found a couple, and settled down to watch the band. “Monkey Puzzle” consist of a pianist / vocalist, playing electronic piano, supported by a drummer and bass player. The music was a very enjoyable set of modern music, and covered stuff like Micheal Buble, Stevie Wonder, and other smooth, stylish songs. The pianist had a very pleasant, jazzy voice, and could pull out some nice chords from the piano. We would have stayed longer just to listen if we had better seats! A quick glance at the menu showed that, amongst other things, there were two set three course meals, with a choice of dish on each course, at about 15 Euros and 22 Euros respectively. The food looked good. We plan to visit again, with friends, and take a meal there.

We moved on towards Sals Paradise, a stoll along the promenade to the west. Sadly, when we got there - no lights again! Even though they were advertising in the paper that week. However, at least the management had taken the trouble to put notices in the window, saying that they were re-decorating. So we will try there again.

After the stroll, we needed a drink, so we called in at one bar, which had entertainment on at times, but nothing that night. A pleasant chat with the owner, who told us that they had karaoke on Saturday evenings, but cut down on cabaret during November, but it would be back again soon. He was saying that they had problems, as had all the other bars in the area, with property owners complaining about the noise. I have never understood that - these people buy a property over a block of bars, then are surprised that noise comes out of them. It’s not like the bars came after the apartments, I could understand that. I can’t see why people are surprised that, if you have a dozen bars underneath the apartment that you are planning to buy, then you will probably get some noise from them. However…

Next we took a trip to a bar just on the other side of the town centre, a short walk from the Pyr Hotel. This was Linda’s Bar, about two blocks east of the Pyr, and a block inland. The first thing that I noticed as I entered, especially after the conversation at the previous bar, was the “airlock” at the front door, to keep the music inside. In one corner, was a guy playing the guitar and keyboards, and singing. This was Switch. From the name, I assumed that we were going to find a band. But there was no disappointment, because the music was great. The songs were songs that we would all know, but cleverly played out. The audience loved it. This guy, quite rightly, appears at a number of different venues along the coast, so we can recommend both him, and Linda’s bar! Both worth a visit