THE politician who’s ultimately in charge of rent for local authority homes has overruled Onchan Commissioners, who wanted a rent cap for their tenants.

Social Care Minister Chris Robertshaw MHK told the board they could not cap the rent increase at 15 per cent.

‘I am extremely disappointed with the minister’s response,’ said the authority’s chairman, Robin Turton. ‘Why on earth would he wish to burden some of our most vulnerable tenants with a 34 per cent increase in rents over little more than 12 months?

‘Onchan does not need to collect such an increase. We should not be implementing a rental system that seeks to make a profit out of social housing.’

The commissioners concluded that the minister must have misunderstood the basis for the authority’s request.

Lead member for finance John Quaye said: ‘We already have a healthy housing reserve account and we have made provision for the costs of purchasing and building additional houses. What are we to do with the extra rent charges? Ratepayers don’t subsidise social housing tenants. Are we now asking social housing tenants to subsidise the ratepayers?’

Chief executive Malcolm Hulme said: ‘At the request of the board I have written again to Mr Robertshaw explaining, in detail, the reasons behind the commissioners’ resolution to determine an equitable and fair rent for our public sector tenants. In particular, such a high increase as proposed by the Department of Social Care does not take into account the means our tenants, many of whom face financial difficulties.’

‘We hope that we can now reach agreement quickly,’ said Mr Turton.

The Department of Social Care told the Courier that the updated points system, which will be in place from April 2013, provided a fair and equitable means of charging rent for all public sector properties, regardless of the location. The revised system updates the rent calculation system which has remained largely unchanged for over 20 years and did not take account of new build properties, improved modern designs, layout, thermal efficiency and the modern amenities provided in most public sector homes today. All local authorities were informed of these changes in November 2012.

The DSC said that the revised rents point system was part of a progressive strategy that this year accurately identified property ‘amenity’, forming a sound basis for means-testing. Together these would ultimately provide a rent system that more accurately identified the quality of the amenity and the tenants’ ability to pay.

A spokesperson for the DSC said: ‘The DSC appreciates the commissioners’ concerns on the issue of affordability. As a responsible landlord Onchan can take measures to mitigate the impact of such rent increases, where there are cases of financial hardship, and the DSC is happy to support them on how this might be achieved.

‘The island is facing very challenging times, both at a local and national level, and as such it is important we ensure public services such as Housing are financially sustainable and we are able to continue to build a positive future for our communities.

‘Any extra rental income resulting from the changes should be placed in Onchan’s housing reserve to ensure funds are available for future investment in public sector housing to help address housing need.’

A DEMONSTRATION day showing deaf people the different types of help and support available to help them is being organised by the Manx Deaf Society.

The session later this month is at the Manx Blind Welfare Society headquarters in Onchan and is being run in association with Preston-based charity Deafway.

A range of skills will be demonstrated by a team of people flown into the island specially for the event. These include sign language interpreters, a lipspeaking translator and an electronic captioning touch typist.

The Manx Deaf Society’s new deaf champion, Gareth Foulkes, who took up his two-year post earlier this year said the idea was for deaf people to see the range of support available so they could decide what might be of use to them.

‘There are many hard-of-hearing people on the island, maybe as many as one in six of the population, but this event is focussed on the smaller number of profoundly deaf people whose ability to communicate is compromised by the current lack of available communication support on the island.

‘Only by knowing what individual deaf people’s needs are can we then hope to put the correct type of support in place,’ he said.

‘The idea is for deaf people attending to watch different role plays involving a lipspeaker, sign language interpreter or electronic captioner, and then in small groups discuss which type is most appropriate for their needs and in what situation would they use the communication support if available – medical appointments, meetings at work or other more general meetings.’

The session will also give people a chance to see the latest developments in remote online sign language interpretation using the internet.

The Manx Deaf Society has contacted its members across the island inviting them to attend the event which is on Saturday, April 13, from 9.30am to 3.30pm.

The society would also like to hear from other deaf people who might not be on its current membership list. Free lunch will be provided.

For more details contact Mr Foulkes by email on {mailto:gareth.foulkes@deafway.org.uk|gareth.foulkes(at)deafway.org.uk}

Voice messages can be left with Julie Smith, chairman of the Manx Deaf Society, on 852988, or write to Mr Foulkes, care of 3 Somerset Road, Douglas, IM2 5AD.

STARS from so-called ‘reality’ television are to make public appearances in Douglas over the next few months.

The first to appear will be Spencer Matthews, who stars in ‘Made in Chelsea’, a programme on E4 that follows rich young people in their lives around the plush London suburb.

Spencer is a 25-year-old fashion designer.

He will be appearing at the Courthouse on Athol Street on April 26.

A group of 10 people will be able to have a two-course meal with him and a photo taken for the £75.

On June 28, three members of the Geordie Shore cast will be at the Courthouse.

Geordie Shore is MTV’s most popular programme in the UK. It follows a group of young people in Newcastle and is renowned for the extraordinary amount of sexual content.

Joel Corry will be DJing at the venue. He will be appearing alongside Sophie Kasaei and Holly Hagan.

A group of 10 fans will be able to have dinner with them for £75. A chance to meet them and have a photo taken will cost £20 and entrance to the club will cost £10.

The third night is on July 26 when Gaz Beadle, described as Geordie Shore’s ‘pulling machine’, will appear.

Again, 10 fans can have a meal with him for £75. Meeting him and having a photo taken will cost £15.

MAJOR roadworks began on Ballanard Road, Douglas, on Tuesday.

It involves the refurbishment of the carriageway and footways between Glencrutchery Road and Barrule Road.

The Department of Infrastructure says work will involve full reconstruction of sections where the road structure has failed and re-surfacing of other sections where the underlying road structure is sound.

The Water Authority will be refurbishing their sewers and Manx Gas are also replacing their apparatus as part of this project.

The work will be carried out in phases, initially with a total road closure between the section adjacent to the southern end of the recreation ground (No 24 Ballanard Road) and Norwood Drive. It is anticipated that the works will last for about four weeks.

Vehicular access to Norwood Drive will be maintained at all times, although access will be from the Glencrutchery Road only. Pedestrian access will be maintained along Ballanard Road.

The second phase of the works will be from Norwood Drive to Park Avenue. This work will also be undertaken during a full road closure and is expected to last for six weeks.

During this phase access will be maintained to Norwood Drive from Johnny Watterson’s Lane, Park Avenue will be accessible as usual however at the junction with Ballanard Road it will only be possible to turn left towards Glencrutchery Road.

Port-E-Chee Avenue will only be accessible from Bray Hill. During this phase pedestrian access will also be maintained along Ballanard Road.

The works will be totally suspended and made safe for traffic and pedestrians to use during the TT festival.

Further phases of the work will continue after TT with the main reconstruction work being completed by mid-September. The road will be opened again for the Festival of Motorcycling (Manx Grand Prix), and the resurfacing works will be completed by mid November.

The DoI says it has reviewed the impact of these works, along with other major roadworks taking place in Douglas at the moment. It says consideration has been given to the management of traffic flow during all roadworks particularly to ensure that commuter routes in and out of Douglas are maintained.

A spokesman said: ‘The impact of Ballanard roadworks will be carefully monitored.’

THE KPMG Promendade Relay will take place today (Friday) after being postponed on March 22 because of the wintry weather.

Registration will take place at 4.30pm at the Claremont Hotel on Loch Promendade before the real fun starts at 5.30pm.

The event will see serious athletes and fun runners alike complete a 10km promenade course in teams of either four or two in aid of the island’s children’s hospice Rebecca House.

The event is sponsored by The Claremont, Boston Group, Shoprite, Appleby, Barclays, Pokerstars, Mann Link Travel, Skandia and the Douglas Development Partnership, while participants will also collect their own fundraising money in aid of Rebecca House, KPMG’s charity of the year 2013.

KPMG manager Paul Cawley: ‘There is a great cross-section of industries entering the event which will add a different competitive element to what I hope will turn into an annual event.

‘Rebecca House is a wonderful charity and I am proud to see from the response we’ve had so far that the island’s business community is well aware of the fantastic work it does for children that face life limiting illnesses. It seems the hard work has now paid off so I urge everyone who can to come down and show their support during what is certain to be great event.’

Mary Doyle, of Hospice Isle of Man, said: ‘We are delighted to be working with KPMG this year and are really grateful to the team at this firm for organising a Promenade Relay.

‘We are also grateful to all the sponsors that have come on board.

‘Our children’s Hospice, Rebecca House, currently looks after 23 children, ranging in age from six months to 14 years old so events such as this not only allow individuals and companies to get involved in a community way but raise our children’s Hospice profile and income – thank you to everyone involved.

ISLE of Man Newspapers is planning some changes.

We’re intending to give all three of our titles – the Isle of Man Examiner, the Manx Independent and the Isle of Man Courier – a fresh new look and to include some changes.

But before we do that, we’d like to hear from readers.

So the editor, Richard Butt, will be at the Strand Centre in Douglas with a few other staff on Sunday. He’d love to chat to you and for you to complete a survey for us.

If you complete the survey, you will be entered into a prize draw to win a sofa provided by B&B.

Richard said: ‘I always like to hear from readers about what they think of the newspapers and our website.

‘We radically changed the Examiner from a broadsheet to a tabloid paper nearly two years ago after we held a similar event at the Strand Centre. That relaunch went very well.

‘Now we’re looking at all our titles to keep make them more modern and fresh and we’d love readers’ input again.’

He’ll be at the Strand from 1pm till 3pm.

THE Isle of Man’s Space sector was represented at the Satellite 2013 conference, which is regarded as one of the most important events of the year for the global space industry.

The event took place at the Washington Convention Centre in Washington DC, USA.

Alex Downie MLC, the Department of Economic Development’s member with responsibility for Space, said: ‘The level of awareness among those we spoke to about the Isle of Man’s benefits for the Space industry was quite amazing.

‘The work that has been done to date in raising the island’s profile has been very successful and we are starting to see increased levels of enquiries from companies across the board wishing to explore how an Isle of Man presence could benefit their business models.

‘Testament to the success that has been achieved is the fact that the Space sector now accounts for more than 1 per cent of the island’s national income.’

DED’s business development director Tim Craine added: ‘We were kept busy the whole time with good quality enquiries and I am confident that we will see more companies moving to the island in the near future as a result of our attendance at Satellite 2013.’

The Isle of Man team attended a number of meetings involving lawyers, accountants, satellite operators, launch providers and service providers, and were delighted with the levels of interest and enquiries, which are now being actively pursued.

The opportunity was also taken to renew contact with the representatives of the International Space University (ISU) who were in attendance.

The ISU has been very supportive of the Isle of Man’s Space sector and established the International Institute of Space Commerce in partnership with the Isle of Man Government, which is based in Douglas.

After being buried in a snow drift for 12 days, a brown 11-month-old lamb was found alive on Chibbanagh Farm in The Braaid.

Farmer Graham Watterson said after the first heavy snow fall struck on Friday, March 22, they found and sheltered a lot of the flock.

His sister Carole said: ‘This is not what the farming community is used to – the swiftness and severity of it.’

She said of the Friday night: ‘We looked round, but could not see a thing. It was a pretty miserable night, and that the weather was nothing we had experienced and could not imagine how they survived the whole night long.’

They headed back to the field on Saturday. ‘The wind was strong and it was cold. It’s a big, big field, we were prodding round with a stick. We managed to find 12, they were totally buried … they were clever, they got into roots and found pockets of air.’

She said every day until Easter Monday, she carried on looking.

‘It was like looking for a needle in a haystack. I was not sure if any were missing, but where we thought perhaps there was, we could not leave it alone.’

She returned on Tuesday and spotted the lamb.

‘He was just sat there,’ she said. ‘He could not move he was so weak. It was a shock. I was surprised to find one after a day, never mind 12. Quite often they come out and do not survive the evening. His ears are a bit warmer now. He is contentedly chomping on grass. He was quite calm, he had the right temperament.’

Graham said of his sister, ‘she always worries about anything lost, she never gave up.’

THERE has been a jump in the island’s rate of inflation.

The annual rate, measured by the Retail Prices Index, increased to 3.3 per cent in March, compared with 2.8 per cent in February.

On all other measures, the cost of living rose. Excluding housing costs, the RPI rate was 2.7 per cent, upfrom 1.2 per cent. Measured on the Consumer Prices Index, it was 1.9 per cent, up from 1.4 per cent in February.

The Consumer Price Index excludes mortgage interest payments and household expenditure such as buildings insurance, which rose 11.2 per cent.

The figures have been compiled by the Treasury’s economic affairs division.

The UK’s figure for March has not yet been published.

In February, RPI inflation there was 3.2 per cent. CPI inflation, which the Westminster government usually uses, was 2.8 per cent.

Monday’s Isle of Man Examiner will include more details of the figures.

TESTS undertaken by the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture have found no trace of horsemeat in locally-produced meat products.

The onset of the horsemeat scandal in the UK and Ireland led to the DEFA’s food safety sampling officer taking samples of products, such as sausages, mince and burgers, to ensure that they had not been contaminated.

All local producers had samples of various meat products taken and submitted to the government analyst for examination.

Results indicate that all products tested were free from horsemeat.

Brenda Cannell MHK, member for the Environment Directorate, said: ‘It is pleasing to get such positive results and know that we can rely on our local produce.’

To ensure accuracy of testing, the government analyst had to buy special testing kits, which have a limited shelf-life and are therefore not held in stock.

However, the sudden increase in demand for the kits led to a delay in manufacturers being able to supply them immediately. This has led to the delay in reporting the results

POLICE are appealing for witnesses after a driver failed to stop following a collision on St George’s Crescent, Port Erin.

The incident occurred on Saturday, March 30, at around 5.20pm.

It is alleged that a black vehicle rounded the right hand bend at the top of the crescent, on the wrong side of the road, causing an approaching silver Vauxhall Corsa to take avoiding action, leading to a collision.

If you were the driver of this black vehicle, or have any further information, contact Castletown Police Station on 822222 or Police Headquarters on 631212.

Alternatively, contact Isle of Man Crimestoppers on 0800 555111. Crimestoppers is an independent Manx charity established to enable callers to pass information regarding criminal activity anonymously. Crimestoppers is not an agency of the Police and will never ask callers for any personal details.

MANX actress and singer Samantha Barks says she was thrilled to be back in the island for her latest starring role.

Sam took time out from filming of period festive drama The Christmas Candle to be crowned best female newcomer at the Empire awards in London.

Speaking back on the set at the Island Studios, she told the Examiner: ‘I am so thrilled to be back in the island. A definite perk for me was to learn I would be filming in the Isle of Man. It’s so special for me.’

She said it was a ‘lovely surprise’ to secure Empire magazine’s best newcomer award at a star-studded ceremony at the Grosvenor House Hotel.

The Christmas Candle is the 102nd Isle of Man film production since 1995 – and the fourth collaboration with Pinewood. It’s also Sam’s second film acting role – having won plaudits for her performance as Éponine in the triple Oscar winning big screen adaptation of Les Miserables.

Based on a story by best-selling author Max Lucado, The Christmas Candle tells the tale of a sleepy Cotswold village where nothing out of the ordinary happens except at Christmas when legend has it an angel visits the local candlemaker and touches a single candle.

Whoever lights the Christmas Candle receives a miracle on Christmas Eve.

It’s the year 1890 and everything changes with the arrival of a sceptical church minister.

Sam plays Emily Barstow, who doesn’t believe in the legend of the Christmas Candle and becomes friends with the new Reverend.

It is not a singing role and Sam says she is delighted to be able to focus on her acting. ‘You see Emily’s vulnerable side,’ she said.

The Manx singing sensation has really hit the big time since first making her name on BBC’s I’d Do Anything in 2008. Her career took off when she was chosen to play Éponine in the West End production of Les Miserables and then reprised that role for the 2012 movie.

Last month the 22-year-old from Lonan sang a medley of songs from Les Mis at the Oscars with her co-stars including Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway and Russell Crowe.

Sam said that when she left the island to go to drama school as a teenager she ‘never in a million years’ imagined she would go on to appear on stage with Hollywood legends at the Academy Awards.

‘The whole thing has been like a whirlwind,’ she said.

‘When I was singing at the Oscars I felt so proud appearing on stage with the cast. But it was a bitter-sweet feeling as I knew this whole thing was coming to a close.’

In August, Sam and her sister Kim were in Utah to watch their dad Richard break two landspeed records at the legendary Bonneville Salt Flats. ‘He’s a cool dad,’ said Sam.

Much of the filming for The Christmas Candle has been done on location in the Cotswolds, with the cast and production crew then heading to the island for a further week, with all scenes being shot in the studios at the Mountain View Media Village off the Jurby Road, Lezayre.

For the movie, the studio’s main sound stage has been transformed into a series of spectacular sets including a Victorian candlemaking workshop.

Just three months ago, the stage was a sleazy nightclub used for the production of Dom Hemingway.

Sam said: ‘The whole thing has been transformed by the art department. It’s so good. So many parts go into making a film – that makes it so exciting.’

The role of Gladbury’s village candlemaker Edward Haddington is played by Sylvester McCoy, star of stage and screen, a former Doctor Who who is remembered by many for his role in the 70s TV show Vision On and is cast as the wizard Radagas in the three-part movie adaptation of The Hobbit.

Sylvester joked that he was picked for the role as one of his jobs during the hippy era was as a candlemaker.

Enthusing about the set, he set: ‘It’s beautiful. the guy who does all that is a star. If you think about films and theatre we all get the kudos but its behind the scenes where the wizards are.’

He said acting was ‘great fun’. ‘It’s like being a child. As an actor you have to find the child in yourself.’

Sylvester said his role as Edward Haddington had given him the chance to top the famous Two Ronnies ‘Fork Handles’ sketch as he could talk about four King Candles. ‘Ronnie Barker would have thought that’s great!’ he laughed.

After filming, he is to fly to Bonn, Germany, for a hobbit convention and then jetting off to LA and Australia.

Sam, meanwhile, says she will be doing promotion work for Les Mis.

The Christmas Candle, which is directed by John Stephenson, who visited the island in 2003 to make Five Children and IT starring Eddie Izzard and Kenneth Branagh, also stars Britain’s Susan Boyle, John Hannah, Hans Matheson and Lesley Manville.

It is expected to be out in time to hit the big screen for Christmas - and Isle of Man Film bosses hope it will become a regular feature of Christmas TV schedules in future years.

Filming the final scenes of The Christmas Candle has marked the end of an era for Isle of Man Film, whose development manager Hilary Dugdale retired last week. Hilary had been involved with the Manx movie industry since its inception in 1995.

ASSESSMENTS will be carried out on the Mountain Road to decide if work will be needed before the start of the TT Race at the end of May.

No additional work on the course is planned at the moment, a Department of Infrastructure spokesman told iomtoday, and initial inspections suggested any damage was minimal with only minor maintenance needed.

The Mountain Road reopened to two-way traffic more than 10 days after it was closed by drifts several feet deep, but motorists were warned to look out for animals freed by broken fencing.

Highways director Richard Pearson told iomtoday he thought the road surface was unlikely to have suffered any significant damage as this was usually caused by the continual freezing and thawing of water which can enter cracks in the road and force them apart causing the surface to break up.

This was the type of damage which affected the Jurby South road circuit in 2010 leaving the road too badly damaged to be accepted by the ACU as fit for racing any more.

Preparations for the TT, which involve putting up signs and placing straw bales and recticel impact absorbing barriers in position have already begun but Shaun Counsell who is the ACU course inspection officer, said they were having to tackle the preparations in a different sequence because snow had restricted access to certain areas.

Mr Counsell said:’Some of the areas we usually leave until last we are having to do now so we can keep to schedule. Some of the areas have been restricted by snow at the road side and the mountain has been closed so nothing could be done up there.

‘Instead we have had to put bales and barriers in place that we normally leave until last to minimise disruption to pedestrians, for example.

‘We have been trying to find areas where they can set up so we don’t fall behind. We have a schedule so the course can be checked and signed off in time for the first practices.’

An additional problem over the mountain was that the heavy snow fall had brought down fences in places allowing livestock to escape on to the road and this again would need to be addressed, he said.

Gary Thompson, clerk of the course, for the TT Races said they continually monitored the quality of the road around the Mountain Course and had completed numerous laps in the past year in an inspection car.

It is within the power of the ACU not to issue a course licence should the road not be up to scratch for racing.

He said they also took along experienced Mountain Course competitors like Conor Cummins, John Barton and Richard Milky Quayle for expert advice on the state of the road. He said the road would undergo a thorough safety assessment by them before the start of racing.

Several areas are to be resurfaced before the TT, namely the approach to Parliament Square in Ramsey, the exit from Creg-ny-Baa, Bedstead and the approach to the Jubilee Oak at Braddan Bridge.

Mr Thompson said extra recticel barriers were to be used at Governor’s Bridge and Glen Tramman.

BUS drivers union Unite called off a strike this week ‘to concentrate on the legal side of things’.

That’s according to the union’s regional officer Eric Holmes, speaking after it was confirmed that a number of bus drivers opposed to changes in their terms and conditions have lodged claims with the island’s employment tribunal.

He said the union’s lawyers were representing members but that no tribunal date had yet been set.

He couldn’t say how many members had lodged claims, but said those who hadn’t already still had time to do so.

When asked whether he thought the issues could be resolved before a tribunal was held, he said: ‘The way it has gone from start to finish has been awkward right the way through so it wouldn’t surprise me if it did [reach a tribunal].

‘I take nothing for granted any more.’

The independent Manx Industrial Relations Service’s job is to promote good industrial relations, and it offers impartial and free advice to employers, employees and trade unions.

The service has been involved with the bus dispute for some time.

Industrial relations officer Julie Bradley explained the service had a ‘statutory duty’ to offer conciliation in all cases when a complaint is made through the employment tribunal system.

She said: ‘We talk to both parties to see if we can find a way through the issue that will result in some kind of settlement everyone is happy with and will avoid the need for having a tribunal.

‘Our success rate is about 70 per cent in those cases. Most cases don’t resort to there having to be a tribunal hearing.’

She said ‘We don’t wait for them to contact us. As soon as all of the paperwork is here we will be quite proactive in contacting the parties, sitting down and going through the pros and cons of the cases and looking to see if there can be some proposal to settle it.’

The two two-hour stoppages had been due to take place on Wednesday.

BEACH Buddies will be staging a beach clean event at Smeale tomorrow (Sunday).

Volunteers are asked to meet at the far car park, alongside the wooden walkway to the beach, for a 10.30am start

Beach Buddies will supply all necessary equipment, including litterpickers, gloves and bin bags and will arrange recycling of all metal, plastic and glass and the disposal of all other litter collected.

Volunteers should wear sturdy boots and warm clothing as it’s likely to be chilly.

It is also important to be aware that Smeale is one of the Isle of Man’s most important nesting areas for a variety of seabirds which are in the process of creating nests for the spring, despite the very cold recent weather.

Volunteers are therefore asked to be especially careful when clearing rubbish from above the high water mark.

Directions to Smeale can be found on the Beach Buddies Isle of Man Facebook page.

FREE range egg producers Philip and Anne Caine are just two farmers whose business hangs in the balance following the heavy snowfall.

Mr and Mrs Caine, of Little London Farm, Michael, may have to cull the birds that survived the snow because they have stopped laying eggs due to shock.

And if that happens they can’t afford to re-stock.

Mr Caine said: ‘If they don’t come back to laying we’re going to have to pack up.’

They were unable to get into the hen sheds for a couple of days following the snowfall.

They lost more than 1,000 hens out of their total stock of 4,000.

Mr Caine said: ‘We couldn’t get them dried off and the cold set in to them.’

‘And there’s another 200 that we will have to cull because they’re looking pretty sorry for themselves.’

On top of that, he said the remaining hens were only laying eggs at a rate of 40 per cent.

‘We just live in hope they will come back up,’ he said.

Mr and Mrs Caine have had hens for just over two years, and in that time have invested £150,000.

They supply half of their eggs to Shoprite and the rest to small local retailers.

In last week’s Manx Independent, we reported that Helen Kermode of Hilltop Rise, Greeba mountain, was one of the many farmers grateful to the kindness of total strangers who had turned up to help dig out sheep and cattle buried in huge snow drifts.

One week on, there are still some 90 acres of land they haven’t been able to check because of the drifts and slow thaw.

When asked if she saw a future in farming, she said: ‘I doubt it with the sheep but I will keep on going with the cattle.’

She described the losses as being ‘too bleak’, particularly as following the weather warning she had moved her stock to lower land – which turned out to be hardest hit.

On Tuesday, she uncovered 20 dead lambs from one field, but said it was still too early to say how many she had lost in total.

Angela Kelly, who farms at Rhencullen, Kirk Michael, lost half her livestock when two shed roofs collapsed on top of them due to the weight of the snow.

She currently has calves in one of her neighbour’s sheds and is renting another shed for lambs.

‘The thing now is to look forward and hope we get over this,’ she said.

‘I don’t know what the future of farming is at the moment.

‘I personally don’t feel as though there’s a future in it.

‘But I’ve got a young up and coming farmer [her son Michael, aged 24] and we have to try and keep going for him.’

Mrs Kelly said: ‘There are no government grants to help us get the sheds.

‘It’s going to be insurance and if not, out of our own pocket again.’

She said: ‘It will take us years to lift out of this, if we do. I just hope it doesn’t happen again.’

There are still sheep on land at the top of Rhencullen that she has been unable to check.

And there are no green fields at all yet.

‘The sheep are just eating and eating snow as far as I can see,’ Mrs Kelly said.

She thanked members of the public for the ‘masses of help’ she had received.

Ray Green, aged 65, of Creg Lea Farm, in Dalby, said the weather conditions had been ‘horrendous’, but said he had fared much better than some farmers.

He farms up to 800 feet and his land includes Doarlish Cashen.

It was some eight days before he was able to get a tractor up to his stock.

So far, Mr Green has lost two of his 70 cows and six of his 180 sheep to the snow.

He said his main hope now was that his sheep – due to start lambing soon – didn’t abort them.

Michelle Noonan was the recipient of this year’s Dr Partington award.

The award which has been going for a number of years is presented in memory of Dr Partington’s wife, Dr Mary Partington. It is awarded annually to a nurse in the acute medical wards at Noble’s Hospital.

The three criteria on which it is judged are demonstrating practical nursing care to a high standard, good attendance and providing support to colleagues.

Michelle Noonan has been a sister at the hospital for a number of years but had not worked as a senior sister but was asked to take on the role, for an initial six week period in 2011.

She remained in that position until September 2012. During that time she campaigned for patient safety and excellence in nursing care and took on a project to produce posters reminding staff of the importance of hydration and nutrition for patients.

She has undertaken teaching on the ward, during her shift with junior members of staff and bank staff, promoting best practice.

She has played an active role in meetings such as the professional development forum.

Entries are now open for the 2013 Energy Awards, which are run by the Department of Economic Development.

Organisations of all sizes are being urged to take part in the main event while schools are invited to submit entries for the 2013 Junior Energy Awards, which are being run in conjunction with the Department of Education and Children and sponsored by HSBC

The winners will be announced at the 2013 Energy Expo being held in August as part of the Royal Manx Agricultural Show.

Dr Ken Milne, DED’s senior manager for energy policy, said: ‘We would like to hear from any local organisation which has made significant energy savings over the course of the past year as a result of measures they have taken to make them more energy efficient. We would also like to hear from the schools regarding successful eco-projects undertaken by local children.’

Laurence Skelly MHK, department member with responsibility for Energy, added: ‘The DED is committed to helping minimise the impact of our energy use on the environment.

‘These awards highlight excellent examples of energy saving initiatives that are being implemented across the island. They also enable recognition of the island’s Energy Champions and I hope this will encourage local organisations to consider potential energy saving opportunities.’

Organisations wishing to submit an entry for the Energy Awards should visit the DED website {http://www.gov.im/ded/Energy/energyexpo.xml|gov.im/ded/Energy/energyexpo.xml} to download an entry form or call 682367.

For details of the Junior Energy Awards go to {http://www.gov.im/education/competitions/energy.xml|gov.im/education/competitions/energy.xml}.

Any organisation wishing to nominate an individual to receive energy efficiency training to become an Energy Champion should visit {http://www.gov.im/ded/energy/energychampionshome.xml|gov.im/ded/energy/energychampionshome.xml} or call 682367.

2012 Energy Awards winners:

• Best Innovation in Business – ManTTX

• Best Innovation in Government – Department of Social Care

• Best Practice in Business – The Snug

• Best Practice in Government – Department of Education and Children

• Biggest Saving in Business – Marks and Spencer

• Biggest Saving in Government – Department of Health

• Isle of Man Creamery received a ‘highly commended’ award for its focussed initiatives to reduce electricity, heating oil and water consumption over a four-year period.

Zero Waste Mann will be promoting the use of real nappies at the Strand Centre in Douglas on Saturday, April 20.

Nicky Hockaday will be on hand to give advice, show samples of modern washable nappies and explain how things have changed since the days of terry towelling squares.

All babies born at the Jane Crookall Maternity Home use washable nappies. The Stork Eco Nappy was developed and trialled by a midwife at Noble’s Hospital in Braddan. After their introduction, the amount of waste was reduced and many families continue to use real nappies when they take their babies home.

Nicky will be available from 10am on the day.

HOME Affairs Minister Juan Watterson MHK has praised Civil Defence volunteers who maintained community safety during the heavy snow.

Working alongside the emergency services, they helped residents left without power, cleared snow from paths and access routes, delivered fuel, food and prescribed medication, dug out livestock and co-ordinated the support of the Isle of Man Four Wheel Drive Club.

He said: ‘These volunteers devote many hours to helping the local community, often working in extremely challenging circumstances. The role of the Civil Defence Corps was brought into sharp focus during the recent severe weather.’

He added: ‘Civil Defence is a special organisation: like an insurance policy, you hope you’ll never need them, but if things go wrong you know they’ll be there to help. The commitment shown by all our volunteers is further testament to the Isle of Man’s outstanding community spirit.’