There is a loud tweeting coming from the inside of Izzy Newman’s house when I arrive. “Don’t mind Nugget,” she says breezily as I enter the kitchen and spy a big cage on the floor. “He’s only here for another week or so” she explains as I gaze down at a three week old chicken pecking at the tiles. “Erm, right.” “Are you okay with snakes?” she asks. “Erm…” I quickly look back down at the floor. “He’s here somewhere, Monty, the python”. A chicken called Nugget, and a python called Monty, that sums up Izzy’s sense of humour right there.
Izzy’s family started to come to the island when she was a little girl. Her dad, an eccentric character that she talks about with a lot of affection, loved the Med and brought his family to Mallorca every year. As an adult Izzy chose to return to live on the island and she has been here for more than twenty years. “I've lived out of the UK longer than I've lived in it and now most of that has been on the island. I worked in tourism, in Verbier in Switzerland for quite a few seasons. And in the summers I was based in Corsica initially as a water ski instructor, and then I ran the waterfront, and then I ran the hotel. So it's been both entertainment and hospitality for me. These days people say, “You're a singer”, but I’m more of an entertainer. I love to connect to people, I love to create that special moment.”
You may well have enjoyed Izzy’s performances at one of the hotels in the SW that she has sung in this summer, but you may also have caught presenting on the local radio, or seen her as an extra in the Mallorca Files, or enjoyed her hosting skills at numerous fundraisers for charities as she is very generous with her time. Why does she do it? “There isn’t a day that goes by when I don't appreciate how incredible the life I have is. I love living here, and I love to have the chance to give back to the community.” Izzy disappears from the kitchen and comes back a minute later accompanied by another creature. “How are you with rats?” she asks sweetly, almost as good as I am with snakes I think. StuRat is perched on her shoulder and has a good set of long whiskers which twitch as he sniffs the air. He is a fine rat, but I’m not going to be stroking him, I tell her. He goes back into his home, and Izzy and I go down into her garage where she has an office. It’s filled with guitars, speakers, and photos. She shows me some of the people who have been influential in her career and she counts as friends. Family is important, the connections with people who become like family as well, she tells me. Outside the office door is a box marked “Lighting” sat next to a bag of golf clubs. It’s another way to sum her up I say, as she’s also an accomplished golfer. We go outside to her terrace, “Monty is probably hiding behind the barbecue” Izzy says. For some reason I cannot resist looking and peer into nooks and crannies to no avail.
What do you love the most about living in Mallorca, I ask Izzy. “I think it’s the diversity; there's something for everyone. If you're in the mood to go out for dinner and have an amazing evening out, you can do that. If you want to lose yourself, for a hike in the mountains and see nobody you can do that. If you want to engage in the local culture, you can do that. If you want to see a beautiful church you can do that. I think because of the beauty of the environment and its people it draws so many interesting people.”
What’s she up to at the moment, “I'm very much involved with the wonderful Helen O Pitt, who is organising a mini tour with a seven piece jazz band called “Birdie Seven”. They are an internationally renowned band that are being flown in from the Netherlands to perform three concerts in aid of the Cancer Support Charity. They play high quality mainstream jazz, which is ‘easy on the ear’ jazz music."
Jazz is also her favourite type of music to sing, so perhaps we will see Izzy on stage as well as helping to organise the events with her friend Helen. By the way, we don’t ever find Monty, just in case you’re passing through Es Capdella, keep an eye out.
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Where do you like to go to eat? I love to eat locally in the village. Toni at Sa Vinya is always so helpful when we do events, and the food is good as well.
What’s your favourite Mallorcan dish? Pa Amb Oli with jamon or cheese. I used to crave it when I was a kid when we were in the UK and I wanted to be here in the sunshine.
What’s your one piece of advice for anyone moving to Mallorca? Integrate. Learn some Catalan, or better still some Mallorcan words. Make an effort to speak to the islanders in their own language, that effort goes a long way.
You can hear Izzy Newman on Radio One Mallorca, or visit her website www.izzynewman.com. For more information about the Cancer Support Group visit www.cancersupportmallorca.com