The Garden Butler

After turning fifty, Robert Nicholson decides to move to Spain with his family for a new, simple life in the sun. He has worked in service for over thirty years, at The Garrick Club and in The House of Lord’s Restaurants and is determined to turn his passion for gardening into a small business in the Mediterranean. He wants to swap his suit and tie, silver trays and crystal glasses for a polo shirt, workmen’s scruffs, secateurs and beasty lawnmower. During his free time, he will write down all the memorable experiences and people he has met and served. Through the course of a year and the challenging seasons, he meets a host of many interesting English expats who are every bit as eccentric as the people he left behind in London and also need to be written about. There is Suzie Partridge, with her eighteen cats who celebrates Christmas every day of the year. She hires him as a gardener, but there is one major problem, there is no garden. Also, there is Zelda Dove who has turned her shed into a meditation chamber. She gives Robert an unwanted reading of his chakras and then sends him into a field that he has to cut down by hand with a scythe. Whilst attempting to satisfy these demanding clients’ whims, Robert is reminded of many rare, authentic incidents including serving Baroness Thatcher who comes into the gift shop demanding her Christmas order in June, and of a deserted House of Lords building, with one luncheon booked in, which should have been an easy day, until the news of 9-11 reaches Westminster. The result is The Garden Butler: a hilarious account of trying to change your life and career in a foreign country. This book is for anyone who has ever thought: I wonder if…?