Island Life Magazine Ltd August/September 2015 | Page 26

INTERVIEW
horrendous.
“If I have any regret, it is
about getting involved in all
that – I guess most people have
something they regret.”

Just for fun

someone’s life.”
Alongside the hypnotherapy practice,
he also still offers some spiritual healing
for people with more severe illnesses,
although he never offers a ‘cure’ and will
not charge for such work.
He says he has had only one complaint
in 35 years of practice: “On the Isle of
Wight you simply wouldn’t be able to
continue if you weren’t getting it right,
because everyone would know about it!”
There was one situation back in 2001
that everyone on the Island DID hear
about – the so-called “Curse of the
Pyramids”, which Den unwittingly found
himself at the centre of.
This was the ‘Women Empowering
Women’ pyramid-selling scheme
that went badly wrong, leaving some
people out of pocket when it all
collapsed. Unfortunately for Den, he had
mentioned it on the local radio station
with an invitation for people to call him
for more information - although he was
nothing to do with the organising of it.
This turned into what he calls “the worst
three weeks of my life”, after the scheme
was picked up on by the national press,
everybody involved lost confidence,
and it all came crashing down amid
accusations and bad feeling.
“I was probably naive but I went into
it in good faith” he says, “not realising
that it was all a numbers thing and that
eventually the numbe rs would run out on
the Isle of Wight. I seemed to be singled
out for attack and people thought I’d
made loads, which wasn’t true – it was
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Being down is very much the
exception for Den, though. He’s
someone who knows how to
make the most of life.
He loves his cars, and regularly
updates his driving skills by retaking the Advanced Driving and
ROSPA tests.
Convertible cars are his passion,
and his dream car is the one he’s
got – a10 year-old Jaguar XK,
which he reckons is reminiscent
of the old E-Type.
“I use it every day and absolutely
love it when I can get the top
down and just drive for the pleasure of
it”.
He’s also turned his passion for wheels
into a sideline – driving the Mayor in
carnivals for over 30 years, and driving
celebrities appearing at Isle of Wight
Festivals.
This has brought him into close contact
with some of his musical heroes, such as
Tom Jones, Paul McCartney and Sting.
In fact it was Sting who got into
conversation with him about meditation
and matters of the mind – and then
requested a 20-minute
hypnotherapy slot with
Den before his Festival gig.
Naturally Den didn’t
charge the superstar – but
asked for a photo with him
in return.
It’s well known that Den
has a weakness for being
snapped with celebs, but he
insists he never pushes it.
He was, however,
delighted to meet his idol
Cliff Richard along with
Gloria Hunniford and Des
O’Connor, at one postfestival charity event.
On a day-to-day basis, Den
says he gets the most joy
from his growing family. He
has four children with his
ex-wife Sandra, and a 32
year-old daughter Emma
with long-term partner
Elaine, an events manager for

the Council.
His sons Darren, 50, and Bernie, 48, live
in California, whilst two older daughters
Nathalie and Lucy are both still in
Shanklin, running their own businesses.
With six grandchildren, Den says he
feels content and happy with his lot.
“We have some lovely family holidays
in Spain and Egypt but I’m always glad to
come back home. I walk in here and it’s
heaven.
“I don’t think about the future –
because the future is here, now.
Whatever is past is gone, and we cannot
change.
“Heaven for me is here, right now”.

“Nobody really
understands the
mind, but it has such
power over the body,
and if you believe
that, there are almost
no limits to what you
can achieve”