Island Influencers

My guest this week is Chris Callow.

Chris is a former Isle of Man advocate, but a change of tack to include the running of a French ski chalet and volunteering for Manx National Heritage and the Leonard Cheshire Disability Centre are just some of the things he's done on his journey towards his pathway to running and owning Island Heritage Tours.

Chris is a qualified Blue-Badge Tourist Guide with a first class honours degree in history and heritage, offering bespoke tours of his beloved Isle of Man.

Welcome to Island Influencers, where my guest this week is Dawn Jones.

Dawn has been one of the most high-profile lawyers on the island, involved in many headline-making cases over her 30-year career as an Isle of Man advocate.

I hope you enjoy hearing her story, including what she is up to now and her hopes for the future.

Here's my conversation with Dawn Jones in episode 22 of Island Influencers.

Welcome to the latest episode of Island Influencers, where my guest today is Jane Prescott.

Jane is a Chartered Landscape Architect and she's worked on various projects in the public and private sector over the years, including involvement with the Chelsea Flower Show Medal-Winning Gardens in 1984 and 1986.

She's the first person I've ever heard of outside of Warner Bros Studios to have a herbology diploma, so I hope you enjoy hearing her story.

Here's my conversation with Jane Prescott in episode 21 of Island Influencers.

Welcome to the new episode of Island Influencers, where my guest is Dr Breesha Maddrell, the Director of Culture Vannin.

Breesha works closely with the IOM Government agencies and members of the public to develop strategies and policies for the advancement of Manx culture and heritage.

Before Breesha joined Culture Vannin in 2008, she worked for six years as a lecturer at the University of Liverpool's Centre for Manx Studies.

An active musician, singer and composer, Breesha has a BA in Music and Germanic Studies from the University of Sheffield, an MLitt in 20th Century German Literature and Society from the University of St Andrews and a PhD in sociolinguistics and Manx Studies from the University of Liverpool; her thesis looking at aspects of cultural revival in the Isle of Man.

She started playing traditional music at school, learning Manx Gaelic on her return to the Island in 1996. Breesha is an authority on key figures in Manx cultural revival such as Sophia Morrison and Mona Douglas.

Breesha plays flute and whistles and sings with groups including Caarjyn Cooidjagh and Clash Vooar.

She has served on the IOM Arts Council for eight years and has helped organise various festivals and events nationally and internationally.

Here's my conversation with Dr Breesha Maddrell in episode 20 of Island Influencers.

Welcome to episode 19 of Island Influencers, where my guest is David Roberts.

David was born and raised in Guildford, Surrey.

The son of a policeman and school teacher, David started his career by working as part of the marketing team for BP and Shell.

He progressed for 30 years where he was involved on the marketing side in a whole variety of different activities.

When the price of electricity was sky high on the Isle of Man because Shell was overcharging and over profiteering, David saw an opportunity to compete with Shell by approaching Total to become a fuel supplier on the Isle of Man.

This led to a £2 million reduction in cost for fuel to the Isle of Man within one year. What a contribution to our Island's economy!

David is currently retired and involved with many charities including Scripture Union, Care in Mann, Junior Achiever and the Isle of Man Beekeepers Federation.

Here's my conversation with David Roberts in episode 19 of Island Influencers.

Welcome to this week's episode of Island Influencers.

My guests on the podcast today are Northern Irishmen Mark Noble and Chris Suitor, who between them after what started as a bit of a joke about their combined names and occupations, formed The Noble Suitor now based at Tynwald Mills in the Isle of Man.

I hope you enjoy listening to their story.

Mark, a university-educated biology teacher, having followed his wife to the Isle of Man, found his way into tailoring bespoke suits with Chris Suitor of the Belfast based award-winning Suitor Brothers.

Let's meet Chris and Mark, in episode 18 of Island Influencers.

Welcome to this week's episode of Island Influencers.

My guest this week is an entrepreneur and multiple business owner professional and also a community leader.

I refer to, of course, Dave McLean, who was one of the key people behind the Peel Centenary Centre's restoration and behind the successful Our Island: Our World festival held in 2019.

But sadly not this year due to current circumstances, or is it?

Make sure you listen to the end to hear what Dave's current thinking is about the festival and also to learn all about him and to hear his story.

So let's meet Dave McLean, in episode 17 of Island Influencers.

My guest this week on Island Influencers is a local osteopath and business owner Sarah Gartland of Follan Natural Health Centre.

Sarah attended the British School of Osteopathy in London, and she was the first Manx woman ever to qualify, returning to the Isle of Man to open her first clinic in North Quay until 2006, before working from home with her two children.

Through her encouragement, a second - and then a third local woman followed in her footsteps.

They came back to the island to help her open and run the Follan Natural Health Centre in 2016.

The centre is the first of a new type of multi-disciplinary health practice, based on the Tromode Industrial Estate, helping bridge the gap from private health care into the private sector.

So let's meet Sarah Gartland, in episode 16 of Island Influencers.

This week on Island Influencers, my guest is Mike Boulton, who many Isle of Man born and bred Northerners like me will no doubt know and remember fondly from the time they spent at Albert Road School in Ramsey.

Mike started his career teaching at Albert Road School in 1968 and didn't retire until 1998.

During that time, he taught and influenced so many of us whether it was in the classroom learning maths, or if you were being trained to be a Commonwealth Games swimming competitor.

He was one of the founders of the Northern Athletics Club, and he was also a musician and founder of one of the many folk music ensembles he put together.

Mike's had a huge impact on the revival of Manx culture, particularly in music.

Mike also taught star pupil Mera Royle who won the Young Folk Musician of the Year award in 2018.

I hope you enjoy listening to my podcast and will be impressed, like me, by how incredibly humble Mike is.

His skills and qualities make him such an inspiration for so many primary school children during the formative years of their lives.

Here's my conversation with Mike Boulton in episode 15 of Island Influencers.

My guest on the podcast today is Adam Owen, Curriculum and Training Director at NextGen Planners in the UK.

Adam is currently President of the Personal Finance Society, the largest professional body for retail financial advisers in the UK with more than 40,000 members and the largest issuer of Statements of Professional Standing for financial advisers.

Adam joined the profession in the mid-1990s, and he held advisory roles within direct sales and the IFA sector providing technical compliance support to both directly authorised firms and networks.

He was a founding Director of the support provider EQI Consultancy and held a variety of senior compliance and supervision positions.

More recently, he's focused on developing career pathways throughout the profession, becoming a Chartered Insurance Institute and Personal Finance Society accredited trainer.

And indeed, this year he is the President of the Personal Finance Society, where his leadership is training up the next succession of leaders within the profession.

Here's my conversation with Adam Owen in episode 14 of Island Influencers.