any advice where I can sign up to get (local) pay by click advertising on my website?

Google Google Adsense...

I purposely want to avoid google so that I can choose the ads that are most suitable. It is a very small specific audience and I want the ads to be to the point.

In that case, you're better off approaching the advertisers direct.

But don't discount Google Adsense. It does a better job of targeting ads than you'd think. And at the end of the day, do you really care where the ads come from as long as you're making money?