Life takes extraordinary twists and turns, just when you think your running smoothly on a direct course life take a detour. Looking back I’d safely say my life path from the beginning was never going to run on a straight course. There have been many detours as most of you who have followed My Story (you’ll find it here on this blog by typing in My Story in the search window) know. Just when I think everything is running smoothly I’m ordered by Capt. circumstance to change direction. This was never more so prevalent than last year when I set a new course, a new direction, a direction I would never have believed only a few short years ago.
My life spent in show business spans over 5 decades. I’ve lived my life in the spotlight for as many years as i can remember. Chapters in books like Rosanna Sweetmen’s On Our knees to pages in newspapers and magazines have written about me. In my teens I opened Irelands first Discotheque to being among the first pioneers of English radio and television in Spain. I’ve helped many charities over the last 30 years among them Cudeca the cancer hospice, Age Concern, Children In Need, Leukaemia (Gibraltar) Debra, Emily Ash foundation, Children With Cancer UK and Cruz Roja ( Spanish Red Cross). I was the first Englishman (Irish in fact!) to be awarded the Red Cross’s highest award The Bronze Medal in recognition for the millions I’ve raised for charity over the years.
Have I had critics?? Yes of course I’ve had. When you live such a public life you have to expect to rustle a few feathers along the way. Did I deserve criticism? In some cases absolutely in others it just petty jealousy and in others the jealousy goes further and becomes an obsession. I have made sure I read none of it and now a days since leaving the spotlight they have nothing to pick on so they either go back into my past life our pick on anything to feed their obsessions even my Jewish faith. I know it’s sad but don’t feel sorry for me it’s those poor lonely sods who believe people are actually listening to them therefore keeping them company. Good luck to them they need it!
Two years ago I was sitting in my office at iTalk FM’s studios when I received a letter that was to change my life, it was from the Junta de Andalusia advising me that if i carried on broadcasting without a current broadcasting licence I faced a fine to up to 500,000€ !!!!
Now let me explain. NONE of the English radio stations in Spain have a broadcasting license nor do hundreds of Spanish stations this has been the same for over 30 years and probably longer, the Spanish government turned a blind eye and we all continued to broadcast as pirate radios, now and again the Junta would shout and then disappear. There was no way I was going to continue broadcasting with the threat of a fine for half a million euro hanging over my head. So i decided to close up shop for the first time in 30 years and sit back and see what happens to the other stations. The truth is as I write this blog the other stations continue to risk it and broadcast although they too have received the same letter warning of a fine . If they are caught they know what they face, most have no assets so they are risking nothing. I was risking a lot!
I was in a dilemma, not for the first time in my life I might add. At my age I thought I knew how my life would span out until I could go on no longer either Father Time would decide or bad health would dictate. To be honest I was terrified I was still full of energy and ambitions and yet where to go and what to do?
Over the years I’ve met many powerful and well known people in Marbella one of those was a well known Estate Agent who invite me to lunch where she suggested that I should consider joining her hugely successful real estate company. She laughed and said: “With your big mouth and personality you’d bound to be a success!” I laughed the suggestion off. Driving home after lunch I got to thinking about her suggestion after all most of the big money I had made in life had been from buying and selling my own properties, perhaps her suggestion wasn’t that crazy. I discussed it with my family; my sons had made a huge success in real estate and thought it to be a great idea. So I studied the market, which was on the rise so a good time to get involved I knew that Bromley Estates Marbella was one of the market leaders. I simply picked up the phone and called Hayley Bromley to ask for a meeting and that folks was that.
Within the second month I was sales man of the month and last month again I was awarded top sale man of the month. So over the last 9 months I’ve been sales of the month twice and missing out by 500€ once. The old saying He took to it like a fish out of water seems to fit my situation pretty well. I love my new life, I love meeting new clients and I suppose my ease in connecting with them has helped my successes.
Do I miss radio? I’m amazed by my answer every time I’m asked that. “Not a bit”. I wrote some time ago that I couldn’t believe that I’d actually turned down an lucrative offer to return to radio! Will I return to my old life in broadcasting? Normally I’d say no but looking at the way my life continues to change course, who knows?
Listening to certain English radio stations on my way to the office makes me smile when I hear things like ‘We are the Most listened to radio station on the Costa del Sol” How do they know? Rubbish, radio stations claiming hundreds of thousands of listeners is also total rubbish. Prove it I’d ask. You can easily get somewhat of an idea of how many listeners English radio stations have a by the number of live telephone calls they recive or reading just how many comments on their Facebook’s etc. If they had 500 listeners I would be surprised. Mind you I was as guilty of this as they are now.
So how is the real estate market at the present time What a spectacular week at Bromley Estates Marbella. It's the only way I can describe it. Last week we launched the development Benalmadena Hill Views with luxury apartments from only ...wait for it 125,000 € . Bromley sold 20 in the first 3 days!!!! I'm sure this must be a record? Record or not with the Euro being so weak against the UK pound and US Dollar this is the time to take your first steps into owning a luxury property in Spain and I am here to help you. Either email me maurice@bromleyestatesmarbella.com or call me 00 34 646 247 996.
You might ask. “What is your life like OUT of the spotlight for a change”. Without hesitation I’d answer “Perfect.”
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