Hello...

Mark

Thanks for joining me

I´m an Australian journalist currently living in the charming Spanish town of Tarragona, which is located on the Mediterranean coast about 100km south of Barcelona. In its heyday 2000 years ago, Tarragona was the most splendid and powerful Roman city in the entire Iberian peninsula. However, the occupants eventually left the place in ruins. And so now we have…plenty of Roman ruins. Come and have a look. As for me, well, despite my best endeavours over several decades and across numerous continents, I have consistently failed to attract a wife and so I presently live alone. Nor do I have any offspring wandering the globe. I´m 67 and originally from Sydney.

Lifestyle Values

After being born into privileged circumstances, I spent the first 40 years of my life obediently (and willingly) doing nothing to rock that boat. Later, my work at the BBC in London and an epiphany in Barcelona set me on a different course. My conscience no longer allowed me to live in a world of privilege, blithely indifferent to the social injustices that much of humanity suffers each day. I have since shunned elitism in all its tawdry forms. I prefer an authentic life without pretence, where my sense of self worth isn´t dependent on how others may gauge my apparent wealth. The Barcelona epiphany revealed a simple truth. If our social status is suddenly stripped away from us (as happened to me), all that´s left is our fundamental self – our soul. I try not to stray too far from it.

Lifestyle Choices

I live in a bushland setting beside the sea where one of my daily pleasures is distance swimming at sunrise with a group of like-minded souls. Open water swimmers often say that being a tiny speck in the ocean inspires a humbling and spiritual connection to Nature. I have that feeling. On Spanish beaches, sunbathing and swimming naked is legal and widely practised. It´s a beach culture which blends in well with my naturist lifestyle.

Sport has been my lifelong companion since I first played rugby union at age four. Variously, rugby has been joined by surfing, tennis, triathlons, golf, hang gliding…the list goes on. I combine exercise with a healthy diet which doesn´t preclude beer or wine at the end of the day: though drugs never cross my door.

I´m a team player. Since 2010, I´ve done a weekly volunteer service for La ONCE, the Spanish national blind association. I´m also on call in case of emergency. I coached at an amateur rugby club in Barcelona for eight years, spending some of that time in charge of the adult ladies team. I don´t favour any religion, but I respect everybody´s right to choose their god or guide in life.

Significant Travel Events

El Salvador – In 2013, I worked for a month as a volunteer with an NGO (non-governmental organisation) making promotional videos for a rural community ravaged by the civil war.

Egypt – In 2010, I made a pilgrimage with my mother to the British war grave of her father in the remote town of Tel El Kebir. It was her first time of “seeing” him in 70 years.

Libya – In 2008, I made a documentary following some Spanish adventurers as they travelled from Barcelona to the geographical centre of the Sahara Desert – and back.

Europe – In 1981, starting from my base in London, I spent four months backpacking around Europe, which also included crewing on luxury yachts in the Mediterranean Sea. 

Places Lived

2022 – presentTarragona, Spain
2021 – 2021Sitges, Spain
2020 – 2020Costa Brava, Spain
2017 – 2020Sitges, Spain
2007 – 2016Barcelona, Spain
2006 – 2007London
2004 – 2006Sydney
2003 – 2004Barcelona, Spain
1998 – 2003London
1982 – 1998Sydney
1981 – 1982London
1959 – 1980Sydney

Journalism Career

2026 – present     Living – Not Lounging, Tarragona

2017 – 2025         Newsletter publisher, Sitges + Tarragona

2010 – 2016         Freelance writer, Barcelona

2008 – 2009         Corporate video producer, Barcelona

2006 – 2007         BBC News television producer, London

2004 – 2006         Television news reporter, Sydney

2003 – 2004         Television news producer, Barcelona

1999 – 2003         BBC News television producer, London

1997 – 1998         Television news reporter, Sydney

1994 – 1997         PR / Media consultant, Sydney

1990 – 1993         Television news reporter, Sydney 

1988 – 1989         Radio news reporter, Sydney

1982 – 1987         Magazine editor, Sydney

Contact me: markm@livnolo.com