91Èȱ¬

A new radio play by Viv Groskop.

Betty bought her beloved place in the sun in Alheurin, high in the mountains above Malaga, in the late 1980s. A few years later she moved over there completely and ran a successful and much admired holiday rental management business. She is one of a wave of Brits who made their home in Spain, working hard in anticipation of an early retirement in the Spanish community she knows and loves.

Now in her 70s, Betty finds herself victim of a situation she had not anticipated - sunny Spain is suddenly a little bit too, er, sunny.

This summer, as temperatures hit 45 degrees, Spain’s health minister warned that the country’s tourism industry was under threat — and cautioned that if tourism numbers continue as they have been, local infrastructure would not be able to support the numbers. Betty can see it’s already happening. The area where she lives is experiencing water shortages. Air conditioning firms are overwhelmed in the extreme heat.

Maybe she could manage all this if one big thing wasn’t changing. Her brother Andy and his wife, Sue - who Betty persuaded to come out here years ago - are contemplating heading home to their grandchildren.

Betty has never been lonely in this place. But if they go…

Cast:
BETTY - Joanna David
SUE - Jane Slavin
ANDY - Ian Conningham
PILAR - Jacey Salles
SARAH - Rebecca Birch

Produced and directed by Eoin O'Callaghan
A Big Fish Radio production for 91Èȱ¬ Radio 4