However, Chris believes the downsides stop there. “I think the pros outweigh the cons; I have met some absolutely brilliant people,” he enthused.
The extent to which the community pulls together was evidenced for Chris during a lockdown in Benidorm during the Covid pandemic.
“We had a complete lockdown,” he said. “If you went to the supermarket you had to keep the receipt and if the police stopped you you had to show them your receipt, and if you didn’t have a receipt, then obviously, you’re in trouble.
“It was really, really tough. I remember one day I had literally not realised that it was a Bank Holiday and the supermarket was closed.
“I just put a silly status on Facebook saying, ‘Can’t believe the supermarket’s closed, looks like it’s beans on toast without beans tonight’ and I must have had 100 messages from people saying, ‘Oh Chris, I’ll send you some food out’, ‘I have all got this in the freezer’… so the community spirit there is fantastic.”