Boland Is Back! Maurice Boland returns to the airwaves with new Costa del Sol radio station iTalk.fm Following a year of soul-searching, larger-than-life radio host, Maurice Boland is back on the airwaves with the launch of his new station italk.fm.  Louise Cook Edwards talks to the Coast’s beloved and berated Irish media star about his return to the public domain.

Love him or loathe him, Maurice Boland is the self-confessed “Marmite” of the Costa del Sol’s media..  12 months on from his shock departure from TRE, the station he founded a decade ago , following an alleged indiscretion with  a teenage girl, Boland has bounced back with a smart new radio station located in a suite of offices within the 5-star Kempinski Hotel Estepona.   Already notching up impressive interviews with key celebrities such as Stephen Fry and Sinead O’Connor, is it onwards and upwards for the man who loves nothing more than talking on the radio?

LCE. How does it feel to be back in action on the radio with a brand new station?
M.B. As I said at our opening cocktail reception I could never believe a year down the line that I would be standing here with such a big turn out launching my new radio station iTalk FM its simply unbelievable.

LCE. You have been through a tough time emotionally – what did you learn in the past year?
MB. I learnt who were my friends and who were my enemies – simple as that.

LCE. You are a very religious man  - do you think we suffer for our mistakes in this life, or when we meet our maker?
MB. It’s up to us to face up to our mistakes in life and do the best not to make them again.

LCE. If you could go back in time, would you change anything?
MB. One or two things…

LCE. Starting afresh feels good – why have you gone back down the same road – ie launching another radio station?
MB. Radio/TV entertainment is all I know and I hope I’m good at it. Radio is a great passion of mine – not just the performance but the writing and designing programmes. Creativity plays a great part in my business and I always enjoy launching new ideas for shows, and allowing and watching novice presenters developing. I have seen a few of my protégés develop into talented radio presenters. Currently Pippa Jones, who started with me only a few weeks ago and had never sat behind a microphone, is showing favourable signs of becoming one of our leading broadcasters.

LCE. What will make iTalk.fm different and a success?
MB. It’s down to three important points Experience; Leadership and The Professionalism of  iTalk.fm’s presenters. For some reason it seems that everyone thinks they can become a radio boss or broadcaster after 5 minutes in the business and it shows as we all know only too well. So yes I hope the combined years in the business of my team will help guide iTalk FM to the success I know it should be. The coast’s media has lost a lot of its audience to the recession.

LCE. Do you think those boom days with half a million Brits living here are ever coming back?
MB. No I don’t believe they will…but business will recover in a good way in time but not as we long-time residents remember.

LCE. 2012 is around the corner – what challenges do you think the Costa del Sol will have to face next year?
MB. Financial survival!
LCE. If you were Mayor of Marbella what would you do  to attract investment and new foreign residents?
MB. Tax free incentives. The name Marbella conjures up success overseas and I would capitalize on that by encouraging big companies to host more seminars here etc. I spoke with the Town Hall in that past about trying to host some kind of UK TV awards here as many of the soap stars love coming to Marbella.

LCE. And with the new government in Spain – how quickly do you anticipate seeing a change for the better?
MB. Today I interviewed an Irish expert on Ireland’s economy (also in crisis) He predicts a recovery in 12 years! I hope he’s wrong but certainly it won’t be overnight.

LCE. What is your personal wish for 2012?
MB. I have many! Obviously the good health and happiness of my family, the success of iTalk.fm and some light at the end of the tunnel for the recovery of the European economy.

www.iTalk.fm
Broadcasting 24 hrs a day on 88.5 FM from Gibraltar to Motril with some of the Coast’s best loved presenters including Maurice Boland, Stephen Ritson, Rosalind Scott-Gibb and Barrie Mitchell.

A Time for Reinvention! Inspiration & Reinvention Networking Groups Launch in Marbella Spain

Following the global energy shift of 11.11.11. signifying a time of interconnectedness, the buzzword of the moment seems to be Reinvention as the world looks to solutions to age old problems, and we human beings seek greater meaning and fulfillment in our everyday lives.  The good news is that a powerful group of highly professional and motivated individuals from London will be bringing a raft of reinvention skills to the Costa del Sol with the Inspiration & Reinvention Group project – launching in Spain in Thursday 17th November with a weekend of inspirational workshops from leaders in their fields.  marbellas.com reports.
On Thursday 17th November Spain will be the first mainland European country to have an Inspiration and Reinvention Group. Inspiration and Reinvention Groups are part of a UK / European Transformational Movement started by Debbie Arnold and Caroline Sheridan, now joined by many leading Inspirators, Motivators, Coaches, Healers and Teachers.

Launching outside UK

Debbie & Caroline decided that the first launch outside of the UK would be in Marbella as they felt that Spain and Andalucia in particular has an amazing energy.  The meaning of Andalucia ‘walking in light’ also resonated with them as their mission is to enlighten and empower individuals to find their purpose and passion and to fulfill their potential as human beings.  They also importantly believe that this new Movement is not just about ‘Personal’ development but that in 2012 we are now moving into an era of ‘us’ development. They and their Partners and Associates are all working towards building communities of people who collaborate and cooperate, who inspire and are inspired by others.  Inspiration and Reinvention Groups will be launched in 50 cities / locations during 2012.

The New  “We Generation”
Inspiration and Reinvention Group Meet Ups are for people who want to make a change in their lives, find their purpose or passion, inspire and be inspired, design the life they want, monetize their knowledge, earn money while they sleep and learn about new ways of being.  Their overriding message is that collaboration, connection and sharing are paramount to our survival and wellbeing and Inspiration and Reinvention Groups are making a major contribution towards this shift from only thinking about ‘me’ to thinking about ‘us’.

Debbie & Caroline pre-promoted the launch of Inspiration and Reinvention Groups in October 2011 with Talks to networking groups including Women in Business Spain and  they were interviewed about their plans on Talk Europe Radio.  During their visit they appointed local business woman Susan Hunter as their International Representative and Jo King as their IRG Partner in Marbella.  Jo King is an Inspirational Speaker and award winning Motivational Teacher who has created her own form of body confidence therapy and she will be running regular IRG meetings and workshops in Marbella during 2012.

Debbie, Caroline and Guest Presenter Simon Jordan of Simon Jordan Marketing and Simon Jordan TV will be in Marbella from 17th – 19th November. Their programme is to launch the MARBELLA INSPIRATION AND REINVENTION GROUP on Thursday 17th  November 7pm – 10pm at Hotel H10 Andalucia Plaza, Nueva Andalucia and together with Jo King they will be running a Mezze of the Power of Reinvention Workshops at the Hotel on Friday 18th and Saturday 19th November.  It is possible to book for individual workshops, or one or both days.

With a host of corporate and creative experience between them, the founders and speakers of IRG are well placed to help their members facilitate positive changes in their lives and the workshops lined up for the launch weekend are designed to set the process of change in motion. See www.inspirationandreinventiongroups.com for full details.

Contact: Susan Hunter  susan@susan-hunter.com or Tel:  670 637 386 for bookings.

1.      You are one of the Pearls of Marbella – (German TV series)  - what was the Pearls series all about?
It’s a successful German weekly TV-series on VOX + RTL, about the life of 6 German women, living and working in Marbella. Entertaining and funny, it promotes life in  Marbella.

2. As a long-term resident of Marbella, what are the natural “pearls” of the resort we call home…?
The people, the beaches and the Mediterranean, the climate, and beautiful mountains.

3. If you had a magic wand and could grant Marbella a wish, what would it be?
I would wish Marbella a continuously sunny and warm winter climate.

4. What is the most “Marbella” experience you have lodged in your memory?
The glamorous Starlite Gala this summer in Villa Padierna, while Michelle Obama was staying there.

5. As a real estate empresaria, do your clients believe Marbella will return to its former glory?
My clients believe more in a “new” form of glory, Marbella could develop to.

6. How do you personally “sell” the Marbella lifestyle to potential buyers?
I guess, it’s easy, to “sell” the Marbella lifestyle. I take new potential buyers with me
on my tours to beach clubs, etc, a bit like “learning by doing”.

7. You also enjoy interviewing for your online column in The Obtainer, what did Boris Becker have to say at the Starlite Gala?
I remember Boris Becker saying at the Starlite Gala, that he knows and loves Marbella.

8. If you could chose anyone in the world, who would  you personally like to attend a glamorous Marbella gala with?
My future man, of course.

9. How is Marbella’s image in Germany right now?
I can see by client’s enquiries directly from Germany, that Marbella’s image is getting better.

10. What is your wish for 2011?
In general I wish the world to overcome the crisis in 2011, and Marbella too.

11. Born where?
I was born in Bad Rothenfelde, a Spa village in the Teutonian Forest, North Germany,

12. Philosophy of life/Motto?
Smiling is the best medicine.

13. Most treasured skill?
Communication

14. A little known fact about you?
My shyness

15. Your best contribution to Marbella so far?
I would guess, my contribution in the German TV-series  ”The Pearls of Marbella”, and my Marbella Lifestyle column in the “Obtainer”.

16. Favourite Marbella restaurant?
Right now I am going to “La Sala” a lot.

17. What is Your Dream?
To continue living in Marbella and to experience lots of love and success forever more!

Radio station boss, presenter, entrepreneur, charity supporter extraordinaire, family man…Who is the real Maurice Boland?
I don’t even know if I have the answer to that… Above all, I would say the real Maurice Boland is a man who has compassion for those less fortunate than himself and a man who’s hugely proud of his family and passionate about his work.

You have had your own radio station six years now – what have been the best and worst moments?
The best and proudest moment without doubt is when I launched the radio and pushed that button at 8pm on 10th May 2004 and said ‘Good morning and welcome’. The worst is when my evening presenter Craig James and a friend of mine for over 15 years told me he had terminal cancer.

After your love affair with TV, has the radio totally seduced you now?
Well, if I could make a choice, I’d choose both; I love both the mediums for different reasons radio for fantasy and TV for expression…

You have interviewed just about every celebrity alive – who is still left on your hit list?
There are so many… let me see: . Jeremy Paxman, Jeremy Clackson, Simon Cowell, David Letterman, King Juan Carlos of Spain etc, etc…

What does the boss of a radio station do all day?
You mean ALL day and ALL night – a radio station never closes 24 hrs per day – we are like the Windmill Theatre. My day begins at 6am when I have breakfast and head off to the studios. My first job of the day is to make sure everything is working, checking emails and seeing what my diary has for me for the rest of the day.

My own program starts at 11am. I normally have between 4 and 6 guests of variable backgrounds from politicians to famous celebrities and a lot of reading and research has to be done before broadcast.

My show finishes at 1pm and running the radio station begins almost immediately after I come off air. Meetings are set for me whether it be a new client to talk about advertising or staff and production schedules to be sorted out. I usually lunch with a client, then it’s back to the studio or out to see clients.

Most days involve charity work too. I’m Honorary patron of CUDECA, the cancer care hospice and I contribute to many other charities. I’m normally ready to leave the office before 7pm, which gives me enough time to get home and change if I need to attend a charity gala as a host. My ideal evening is to be home with my wife – and family if they pop around, but that is a rarity rather than the norm. I like to be in bed as close to midnight as possible.

Do you ever just wish you could sit around the house with your feet up?
No, never!

What can we learn about “expat life” by listening to Talk Radio Europe..?
Talk Radio Europe is dedicated to the expat communities along the Costa Del Sol and Costa Blanca and we tap into the issues that most concern people living abroad. News,both local, national and international is paramount and is top of our list of importance, we carry news from the British Embassy, Town Halls the Spanish tourist board and the Junta de Andalucia. We have contracts with the BBC and SKY news.

As a talk formatted radio station, debate is an important part of our programming and listeners are invited to contribute to most programmes by telephone. Financial news and updates on markets and currencies are also broadcast throughout out the day. Medical, legal and health and fitness’ news and updates are also included in our programme schedules.

You have been in Marbella since the 80s – would you ever go back to Ireland to live?
I would never say ‘never’!

Do you have a hero?
No!

What would be the best thing that could happen to Marbella?
The recovery of our economy, the Town Hall getting it right, our image abroad improving and restaurant, supermarket, hotels, beaches and banks improving their service – a smile never hurts!! And the sun continues to shine.

Born where?
Dublin, Ireland

Philosophy of life/Motto
Work hard to the best of your ability. Never give up.

Most treasured skill?
Talking (too much I hear you say!!!) and making things work.

Favourite Marbella restaurant?
Passion Café and MC Café for lunch. I would have to say The Polo House for dinner.

A little known fact about you?
I’m a hypochondriac !!!!

What’s your best contribution to Marbella so far?
The community work we do on the radio, hosting business and technology awards for the Junta de Andalucia and now sitting on the Town Hall’s Think Tank working on ideas to help promote Marbella. I love where I live.

What is Your Dream?
To live long enough to see my grandchildren married!!!!

www.talkradioeurope.com