Hola, island lovers.  Every time I come back to Mallorca I’m amazed at how quickly I settle back into the life. And, how fast everything starts to happen for me. This week was no different. So here goes.

I arrive Thursday, check in with my faithful ghostwriter, David – I let him out of the cellar for a bit, get some sun. He tells me he reckons we’ll be done with writing by the end of June.  We spend a few days polishing chapters and coming up with ideas for new ones – a lot of time spent doubled-up with laughter on his apartment floor.

Bring back the 80s

Saturday night I’m invited to an 80s reunion night at Tokio Joe’s in Magaluf. Four DJs, who all got their start on the island – including Michael Vitti from Jazz FM – spin smooth soul grooves of the era. I’d forgotten how great some of those tracks sound – especially on a hot summer night in Magaluf.

Magaluf in the 80s features a lot towards the end of the book so, if you were there then, you’re going to enjoy taking a stagger down memory lane.

Radio Free Christiana – Denmark calling!

Now, I spent three years in Denmark, in the 1990s, and I’ve always loved the place. I go to Copenhagen at least once a year. For me, the Danes are the real Vikings of Europe. I love ’em. And, if you’re talking Vikings, you don’t get more outrageous than Mai-Brit Bergh AKA DJ Farmor, who’s been presenting a show on Radio Free Christiana for the past 24 years.

Apparently, you can say what you want on the station. Something we decided to put to the test when Mai-Brit, who’s been to Mallorca 82 times in the past 20 years, interviewed me.

We reminisced about my time in Denmark and talked about how Mallorca has a special place in the hearts of both of us. Mai-Brit is a true original.  My Danish fans can hear the interview on Christiana Radio when I manage to get the MP3 file to Mai-Brit, which will be in the next week or so. By then, I’ll have remembered the wavelength of the station. Sorry, Louie The Lip and modern technology don’t really go hand in hand. (David’s writing this!)

While we were sampling the mojitos at the Blue Bar after the interview, the owner showed us his amazing collection of photos and press cuttings from the 60s onwards. Turns out his old man was the manager of Sergeant Peppers, which then became Alexandras when we took it over. Dad actually wrote a book about those times but, this was when Franco was around, and there was no way it could have been published. Draw your own conclusions.

Lucky for me, though, because my book will be the first to really tell the truth about those wild days.

Meeting His Nibs

One of the big things on my agenda this week was to hook up with my great friend Debbie Cameron, who is helping promote and market HLFF! My readers will know that I’ve pledged 10% of the revenue from the book to Nourish The Children, the worldwide initiative Debbie’s closely involved with.

Debbie arranged for me to meet up with the man we call His Nibs in the book

It was the first time I’d met the guy in 14 years and it was a great pleasure to sit down and do some catching up, with Debbie translating. It’s nice to see that His Nibs listened to all the advice I gave him about how to build a business empire all those years ago. (Joke!)

More old friends

One of the great pleasures for me when I’m on the island is meeting all the old faces. A couple of these own Top Dogs in Magaluf. Sam and Kerry (Kerry is the bird) started out with me when I was running Millennium downstairs at BCM in 1997.

Kerry was in charge of the podium dancers and Sam was our PR chief. Nice to see they’ve made a success of things on the island. Once again, they listened and learned from yours truly. (Another joke!)

…and some new ones

Debbie’s daughter Laura runs the hugely successful Magaluf Pub Crawl. I was delighted to have my picture taken with Laura, Debbie and the great team of PRs she’s built up as part of my strenuous duties promoting HLFF!

For me, it’s so great to see another generation living the dream in the sun by using their skills, wits, personality and initiative to punt tickets. And, just as it was for me, selling tickets is a challenge every time!

But, who knows, anyone of these guys and girls might be an Alan Sugar in the making.

One thing I don’t understand. Why are we all holding flip-flops?

The off

So, it’s Saturday 28th May. I’m flying back to the UK tonight – I left a chicken on a slow oven a week ago – for a well-earned rest before planning the final push before HLFF! is ready for all you lovely people to buy. All’s right with the world. Almost…

It would be great if more of you left comments here. I’d love to hear from you.

HLFF!