03/08/2008

allmediascotland.com is about to change, in terms of design, functionality and style of editorial. That may lead to some disruption of normal services over the next few weeks, not least because there are holidays to be had. It does mean also the prospect of new voices, from a galaxy of bloggers. So far, Brian McLair, David Calder, Chris Bell, Craig McGill, Paul Hineman, Shaun Milne and Mark Gorman. Here, NICK CLAYTON writes for a third time You’ll see his biog below. Feel free to become an AMS blogger yourself, by emailing us, here.

Since I moved to Ibiza, one of the questions I always get asked by people stuck in the UK is: "How on earth do you ever get any work done?" I usually just shrug my shoulders, although it's generally not that problematic. But I can end end up suffering from a double dose of guilt.

Let me explain. Along with just about every other journalist I've ever met, I've turned prevaracation and displacement activity into a fine art. I mean, what's a deadline for unless it's left almost to the point of impossibility?

Years of working on newspapers provide justification for this attitude. If you file too soon the story may have moved on, so you're really being more professional by leaving it until the subs are ready to kill you.

The internet's been no end of help in bolstering this behaviour. No matter what copy you're churning out there's some other source of online information that could be checked. Well it starts off that way. Pretty soon, you're off wandering down the byeways of the world wide web. 'Research' expands to fill the time available.

That's where the double dose of guilt comes in. On a wet Wednesday in Edinburgh, the impact of a couple of hours online distraction only leads to a delay in washing up, missed programmes on daytime TV or a lost trip to the gym. In Ibiza, the wasted hours in front of my computer could have been spent on the beach, in the pool or I could have taken up that guestlist invitation to go clubbing the night before and slept in.

When distraction does become a problem is if friends or relatives are visiting. After over four years on the island I know plenty of places that aren't in the guide books and I want to share them. I want to show people why I moved here. It's a decision many think is bizarre in light of Ibiza's media reputation. But I feel a duty to prove that the image is as accurate as portraying 'Scotland Uncovered' entirely based on footage of the Grassmarket and Sauchiehall Street on a Friday night.

Of course, even with distraction of visitors, I'll still meet my deadlines. But they might leave me with a little less online prevarication time.

Actually, the hardest thing to overcome in Ibiza is the feeling engendered by decades of living in Scotland. It comes when you look out of the window and think: "It's a beautiful day. Why am I sitting here staring at my computer screen?" Here, it's a beautiful day most of the time. That takes a while to get used to.

The final reason why Ibiza life isn't really such a distraction is that the island actually only wakes up for a few months. The clubs are only fully open from mid-July to mid-September. They close completely from October to June apart from one, Pacha, which has small-scale events on Friday and Saturday nights.

The only tourists through the winter are Spanish pensioners on subsidised packages from the mainland. Nobody else could get to the island as, until this year, there were pretty much no direct flights from anywhere outside Spain. This winter, a handful are scheduled, including three each week with Ryanair from Stansted.

Ibiza's residents grumble about the lack of winter flights, but not half as much as they moan about the dreaded month of August. Everywhere is overcrowded. There's nowhere to park. You can't get a table at your favourite restaurant. And too many of the bars are filled with noisy and obnoxious Brits who think they're being funny. But I'm used to August being like that. Don't forget I moved here from Edinburgh.

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Nick Clayton believes that, in the digital age, writers should be able to work anywhere they can get a dial tone. To prove the point, he lives in Ibiza with his wife, dog, swimming pool, several computers and a broadband connection. Only the last two are strictly necessary for his productivity.

His book, 'The Guardian Guide to Working Abroad', was published recently. Nick continues to write a weekly gadget column for The Scotsman where he was technology editor during the first internet boom. His other work is generally less conspicuous, but better paid, producing white papers, press releases and other copy for a variety of mainly techie outlets.

And occasionally, he gets to give his middle-aged perspective on Ibiza's nightlife, glamour and entertainment, notably for Pacha Magazine.