vincetracy.com Blog

I swear this week has gone faster than other weeks!

The news is now out and the workings of corporate business has overtaken what we have been doing at OCI. Maybe we have taken things too much for granted. Most people do this. However, there’s always more to any story and I came to the Costa Blanca on my own personal educational voyage to learn how things are done in Spain. Are things really that different? I will explain how I intend to find out.

I am waiting to write the last chapter of my book. I didn’t know how I was going to finish the book until this week. The answer has jumped at me. I will be closing my book by writing the closing chapter about OCI.

I had been made redundant before and I then had no idea what had hit me! I was the DJ at the Hamilton Club in Birkenhead and I was doing too good a job in the disco. We were packed every night. However, the club-owners wanted the cabaret room to be busier than the disco. They wanted their cake and they also wanted to eat it. They asked me to close the disco down when the cabaret top of the bill was performing. I didn’t really understand the economics of what was going on….it’s all in the book!

This time I do understand.  OCI is not the BBC and it is not a public service broadcaster. I think we have been given a political answer in economic times and the world is in recession. I haven’t seen the figures but my hunch is that someone in Madrid has looked at the figures without seeing or understanding the reality of OCI, Altea.

Personally, my belief is that the Government might even have a department prepared to find European funding for what we do. Anyone can play music and others do it well. Our job is a little more demanding and different. I think we reflect the demographics of the Costa Blanca and it must benefit Spain if we work to seek better integration for all on the Costas.

The economy of the Costas is heavily influenced by the retired from Northern Europe. This justified our output from Altea being directed at an older market and I believe the team has done a really good job.
I think this integration has influenced the philosophy of Pepe Navarras who had the vision to start the International wing of Onda Cero. I need to thank Pepe for his vision then be thankful that I met Hugh Stewart at a time when they needed someone with my skills. There is another person who needs a personal vote of thanks.
We are a commercial station and it goes without saying that the founding members of OCI Costa Blanca did a wonderful job as the vanguard to today’s radio scene. In Moraira we have had a representative called Marlene who has beavered away selling advertising through thick and thin, out in all weathers and always with a lovely disposition. Marlene, I want to say ‘Thank You‘ you are one of our unsung heroes.

I also enjoyed working in the early days with Stephen Ritson, Ricardo Dunne, Caroline, Linda, Lola our cleaner and Stephen our librarian who sadly died a year or so ago.

Obviously, I will miss Pauline in the mornings and Paul and ET in the afternoons and Charlotte in the office. Although Beverly retired from full-time broadcasting her influence was always felt at the station. I’ll also miss Danny who was our newest team member and is a really first-class representative.

I can’t find enough words to thank my own team of helpers on my own show. Eric Malpus was tireless in his efforts to help me as was Paul Melba. Ian Charman was there almost every day with his hot tips and insight into current affairs. Iris was excellent in foraging for Internet baddies and Mike Baker is fantastic with his computer expertise. Beatles Historian Ray O’Brien and songwriter Don Woods have always been good value for money.

The Tuesday sports team has gone from strength to strength with Rob Daniells, Ron Mitchell, Ken Bates, John Hemus, Stephen Howarth, Terry Whitehead and Tery Williams, Nigel from the Cumberland Bar and Neil who is Dustin Gee’s step-brother. In previous years Peter Williams was excellent as was Big Ron with the horses.

Leapy Lee has always made an impact and Barry Britten with Chris Allen have produced brilliant shows for me. My thanks also go to Steve Ashley and Annie Bennetts for their Serious Issues in previous times. Tony Hiller has become a close friend and each week his years of experience as the songwriter for the Brotherhood of Man have proved invaluable. Do you also remember Tom Brown who gave us an insight into the great Spanish painters?

Sir Berks will be able to have a lie-in at his home in Palm Springs and I’ll miss the lively voice of Cathy Humphreys at the Post.

Fridays will never be the same without Shane’s tips from under the bonnet in Villajoyosa and WPC Hodges on location.

I cannot believe the superstars who have joined me on my podcasts and I only wish the Costa Del Sol listeners had heard all of these great stars and I appreciated the time they gave me. They must be visited to be believed at www.vincetracy.com

It is also a sadness that I have never met my colleagues from Marbella. I hope you all find something fulfilling after these difficult days.

Finally, I have worked diligently with all those who wanted to advertise with me on OCI. I have met some of the most dedicated and interesting business people who will know how much I respect both their work and their faith in my judgement. I sincerely thank you all for your  wonderful support which was part of such campaigns as the Rugby World Cup, the Soccer World Cup, The Olympic Games  and the Labels and Tables Christmas Giveaway.

Whatever comes next,  you are all a part of great memories for me. Sincere Thanks to all of you and to Onda Cero for giving me such a wonderful opportunity….. I also add that I did not receive such good treatment from my redundancy in England. Onda Cero have acted both fairly and in a dignified way. Without Onda Ceo there would not have been Onda Cero International!

Our radio station will not  be broadcasting to the Costa Blanca and Costa Del Sol after the 30th November. Firstly, I am sorry I was not able to tell you what was going on. I didn’t know myself until last Friday. We were asked not to make the information public.

As I understand the situation it is a commercial decision taken by the board at Onda Cero to close Onda Cero Internacional and it is their company. Subsequently, they have certainly treated us very fairly and in a very civil manner.

To all my team I wish to say a huge ‘Thank You‘ for all your help and support over the years. Similarly, I give a huge ‘Thank You‘ to our listeners.

I intend to complete my contract in a professional manner and then work towards offering my team a new situation in which you might care to join me.

I can’t tell you how proud I am of our work together and I will be in touch as soon as possible. Please remember, it is business as usual until November 30th and it will be best to not criticise Onda Cero if we are on-air. If I don’t mention the situation please don’t think I don’t care.

It has to be said that I have enjoyed a fantastic six years with this station and, although the situation is changing, I do not view this as the end of the road. Life is full of ups and downs and this is just another opportunity for us to work together and find a solution to this problem. Let’s all hope this will be found by December!

This has been a golden opportunity for me to work with Spanish people and I am living and learning every day. I would also like to think we have, as a team, tried our best  to work towards helping the International community in Spain.

I’ve been sitting on some pretty mind-blowing news for the past few days. I’m not the only one and we’ve had to keep some very important news to ourselves for a number of days. It will soon come out in the open.

It really is weird when something very dramatic is happening in your life and I will soon be apologising to a number of close friends because I was not able to take them into my confidence. They will all understand but it has been a strain.

Elsewhere, the world has witnessed America’s first black president. Of course, it should never matter what colour the skin of a person should be and it has taken a fair few years for this event to happen. Needless to say there will be those who will not want this to happen but racial bigotry and hatred has been around for yeasrs and I can only inflence this at a personal level. I wish the new president well and I hope his success might help the world out of recession.

I was listening to the Americans on my TV screen whooping with delight at the outcome and wondered how many actually understand politics. Are they voting for the man or his policies…………..

The blog has been extremely hit or miss for a while and I can only promise to update when I am able. I also have my book to finish. I couldn’t really find the right ending but I have a new sense of direction!

I am busy taking stock of this last week. I have to be honest, I am finding it difficult to remember a week so jam-packed with bad news. I am seriously reeling and then I look at what I have got and the best thing I have is my health and a good family.

If anyone has been wondering why the blog has been intermittent over the past few weeks then I probably have just answered any questions in your mind. Just when I thought the week could get no worse I settled down to watch my soccer team, Liverpool, get beaten by the bottom of the table, Tottenham Hotspur. This is not a matter of life and death and it is about time Spurs fans had a good week. I also like their new manager and Harry Redknapp seems to be working his magic already.

Currently, I am watching a series about how the animal police are working in South Africa. How on earth people can be so cruel to pets is completely beyond me. How these people work undersuch difficult conditions is also beyond me.

Just a very quick blog to say I am still alive and kicking. A few problems are slowing me down but I’ll be back!

I have to admit that I have neglected my blog for a while. I had a week away from the radio last week and so it is also good to have a week away from the computer.

Anne and I visited La Manga and Cartagena in the last week and we had a very enjoyable time. The sad fact was the weather wasn´t good but Murcia and Valencia need the rain and they certainly got it!

Cartagena is a city with a nice Tourist Bus to take you round the city and its walls for a mere 4 euros. That is a forty minute guided tour and it´s well worth the money. It´s also much more relaxing than trying to guide yourself around the area.

We didn´t get to see all the sights which incled Roman ruins and a very interesting tunnel used during the Spanish Civil War. However, what we have seen whetted our appetites and we will return.

La Manga is very different. It is an 18 kilometre strip which is about 300 metres at its wider parts and has hotels and businesses the whole length of the strip. The Mar Menor is on one side and the Mediterranean on the other. It is quite astonishing at times but just as I liked it there are others with very different opinions.

We also visited the La Manga Club where we made a few contacts for the future. I am sure we´ll be back!

To round off the week I just sang at a very good concert with the Lions at Benidorm Palace. It was organised by Tony Hay and Senor Richardson and I felt it went very well. After I´d done my own spot as Fr Ignatius with Peter Walke as Barking I shot off to a local bar to see Liverpool hang on to a one goal lead to defeat Chelsea. I´ll sleep well tonight.

Hasta manana when my guests include Iris, the Silver Surfer, Don Woods, Paul Melba and Jimmy Cricket.

I’ve planned my holidays so that I take regular breaks this year. To be honest, by the time you throw in a couple of fiestas and other incidentals, I don’t know whether I’m coming or going!

There’s all kinds of developments on the website so I hope it will be more user friendly and full of interesting content. The podcasts are usually updated around 6 pm and you can download them from the site.

The World Cup qualifiers are in full flow and England are leading by 3 goals to 1. Needless to say, I can’t watch the action ‘live’ but Sky have constant updates and Spain are ‘live’ in their game against Belgium. Spain views the importance of watching the national team differently to Britain.

Well, I’m trying to learn from other websites so off I go…..

We have a grandson visiting us and we are under seige. We’ve had to move every single item situated below two feet! We are being terrorised by a tiny human being who is constantly moving. Fortunately, there does come a full stop every now and then and we can all relax for an hour or two!

The radio show has been brimming with  interesting celebrities for  the past fortnight and on Monday my special guests were P J Proby, Duncan Norvelle and Ricky Tomlinson. We enjoyed a really good hour in the studio and I think they enjoyed being on the show.

I particularly enjoyed seeing PJ and hearing about his times with Elvis. I certainly enjoyed hearing him sing his great hits Maria, Somewhere and Hold Me. I think the audience in Benidorm Palace particularly enjoyed seeing PJ again.

Yesterday, I had a very interesting chat with Dwain Chambers about his drug taking. The podcast is available on my website. I think it was a very interesting insight as to how he got involved and my experience as a college tutor helps me understand how he became involved.

Well, it’s a fiesta tomorrow so hasta Friday!

I´ve lots of interesting things happening right now. Yesterday I interviewed my old friend Ricky Valance and it sounds like he´s still making some great music. Today, I´ll be chatting with P J Proby. Then on Sunday we´re all going to see Ricky Tomlinson and the gang at his Laughter Show.

Apologies to our regular visitors as there has been disruption to this blog over the past two weeks. Some of it is technical and I have had personal commitments which have had to take priority.Cellar Bar Certs

I received a very interesting communication today from one of my guests. Her name is Joan Sotkin and she has this to say about the current economic crisis.

“I see the current situation as a major correction as the greed and corruption come to the surface, which will allow the system to start healing itself. The dysfunction goes very deep so it could be a lengthy healing but it will heal. The system that emerges will be stronger-until greed and corruption take over once again.”

I think you´ve got this spot on , Joan, and I commend all readers of this blog to visit the webpage www.vincetracy.com/motivationalspeakers.html where I have tried to interview positive people who have positive things to say.

For my money some of the old adages ring true. For example “never a lender or borrower be.” This old maxim could be applied to the bankers who have lent their, sorry our, money far too easily.

If you lend money and people spend that money they then don´t have the money to give back to the lenders. It´s quite easy to follow. If you apply the same principle at higher levels and international levels then throw in the charlatans, robbers and thieves don´t be surprised if you find a whopping great mess.

Finally, if you worry about forgetfulness then read this article. Have a good day!