A NEW eGaming company in the island is claiming to offer something a little different.

Instead of playing casino games such as roulette or blackjack, people can go online to dabble in the global marketplace.

GoldenBoys is a financial betting website which offers simple games that do not require a detailed knowledge of the financial markets.

Spokesman Martin Linham said: ‘There’s no reason why the general public shouldn’t be able to make money on the financial markets. Our games are designed to make winning on the stock markets easy for anyone.’

He told Business News: ‘You don’t have to be a financial wizard to have a go. The idea is to have fun.’

After registering on the site, players can bet whether the market will go up or down in the next five to 30 minutes in the simple ‘up and down’ game, or match three stocks on a virtual scratch card to win.

And the ‘Millionaires’ game offers the chance to win £1,000,000. Players have to correctly predict the last digit of the official closing price of eight different world markets to hit the jackpot payout of £1 million! One draw is conducted every Friday.

Father of two Mr Linham, 43, who lives in Baldrine, said he is confident GoldenBoys will catch on and as business expands through an ‘aggressive growth strategy’ it is hoped more staff can be taken on. The business is currently based in Britannia House, on the corner of Athol Street and St George’s Street,Douglas.

Mr Linham said there is an affiliate management team in London while the founder of the business is said to prefer to keep a low profile. The business has been in the planning for around 14 months.

The site has already had a ‘soft’ launch but Mr Linham is busily preparing for the official live launch in a London venue on Tuesday, April 24.

He said that this week, in readiness for the London unveiling, players can win a competition to live like a millionaire for a weekend.

Mr Linham said island company SMP Partners have been involved with helping the business set up in the island and Domicilium, internet service providers, in Castletown, are looking after the technical side involved in hosting the site.

He said GoldenBoys is regulated by the IoM Gambling Supervision Commission and standards of customer protection are extremely high.

Mr Linham said the island was much respected in the eGaming industry.

He is originally from Bristol but settled in the island in 1993 with his Manx wife Michelle.

He said he had pursued a career in banking and accountancy before this new venture.

As part of its publicity launch the business carried out a survey of more than 2,000 British adults which revealed significant gaps in understanding of the financial markets.

Almost a quarter (24 per cent) could not identify that Greece was in the Eurozone, given a list of four countries. Twelve per cent selected Switzerland and Turkey was chosen by seven per cent.

Some 44 per cent couldn’t define a bull market and only 53 per cent correctly named London as having the world’s most international stock exchange. Ninety six per cent didn’t know the name given to the day when the markets crashed in 1987 (Black Monday) and 70 per cent don’t know what a corporate bond is.

The message from GoldenBoys’ spokesman Mr Linham is that it does not really matter how little you know about the world’s markets to play the games.

goldenboysbet.com

TYNWALD will decide today (Tuesday) whether Education and Children Minister Peter Karran MHK can press ahead with his plans to privatise the department’s nurseries and introduce a credit scheme to help parents pay for their children’s nursery education.

Speaker of the House of Keys Steve Rodan MHK has tabled a motion which states: ‘Tynwald acknowledges the value of teacher-led pre-school education and calls upon the Council of Ministers to develop a strategy for its provision on a universal and equitable basis following public consultation, and to report to Tynwald no later than July 2012.’

On the eve of the debate, mother of four Amy Burns, who has been campaigning to stop the nurseries’ closure since the announcement was made in February, has spoken out on what she sees as the problems with the current plans, as well as alternative proposals put forward.

Speaking on behalf of her campaign – a Facebook group she set up has more than 2,000 members and her ongoing petition has 6,900 signatures – Amy said the proposed credit system was flawed.

It provides that all parents of nursery-age children will receive £350 towards their costs, regardless of income, while those who currently would qualify for free school meals would be entitled to a credit of £1,150.

The DEC has estimated that the cost of five half-day sessions per week is likely to be a minimum of £2,000.

Amy said it would impact on families who fell just short of the criteria for free school meals, saying: ‘They will either suffer by not being able to contribute to any kind of care or be encouraged to give up work and start claiming benefits costing the economy more.

‘Private nursery provision is subject to market forces and a quick survey of current sessions offered show a huge geographic difference between areas on the island of up to £10 per three- hour session.

‘This will result in people in one area paying more or less than someone elsewhere for the same service.’

Mr Karran has said the new system would mark an end to ‘postcode lottery’ by making it universally available.

But Amy said: ‘Areas where there is no provision under the current system will not see any new places in their area as the proposal does not provide any additional places anywhere.’

And she said she believed the government had ‘created a social status lottery as well as widening the postcode lottery’ by privatising the pre-schools.

‘At present while not covering all children, 470 are educated five days a week for 2.5 hours,’ she said.

‘For a vulnerable child, this provides a daily contact with stimulation and attention often not found at home in the appropriate manner.

‘For the vulnerable child from a family that cannot afford to supplement the credit scheme either at the universal or the benefits-led level, the contact and support that child will have has been reduced between 50 and 70 per cent if they are in fact attending a pre-school.’

She said that children of parents who would only be able to afford one session per week would not be able to receive ‘meaningful education’ and she said there would be less interaction with them, so it was less likely that any ‘issues’ would be picked up on.

And while happy for taxpayers’ money to be spent on pre-school education, she said she objected to it being used to subsidise childcare.

The DEC will not be stipulating that providers employ a teacher.

The DEC has said that providers will be expected to plan in line with the Early Years Foundation Stage guidance and will be encouraged to join the Early Years Quality Award Scheme.

But Amy said she still had concerns over the quality of service that would be provided, saying there was no guarantee the right criteria would be followed.

On the funding side, Amy questioned how the DEC would fund the administration of the credit scheme.

And with census figures showing a rise in the number of children, she questioned how the department would continue to fund the credit scheme in the future.

Amy said that she was in favour of an alternative proposal put forward but rejected by the DEC, which would keep pre-schools under the department and teacher-led.

She said that it would protect the vulnerable, as well as catering for children living in areas with no department provision.

It would see parents of nursery children not entitled to free school meals paying £38.20 per week, raising more than £700,000 in the process.

The Department of Social Care would contribute 70 per cent of costs for families receiving free school meals.

The rest of the money would come from the £400,000 that has been allocated to the department.

Amy said that this proposal would also provide for a £500 voucher scheme for each child in areas with no pre-school provision.

Meanwhile, Amy believes universal provision could be provided by the department by using spare classrooms at Rushen School, extending provision in other schools, and using Bride School, which is earmarked for closure.

She said that to allow for this, and looking after families on free school meals being entitled to 70 per cent of help from the DSC, would cost £1.65m.

It could be funded with 400,000 from the DEC and charging parents £40.25 per week.

Meanwhile, government critic James Corrin wrote to Tynwald members after an advert appeared in last week’s Manx Independent inviting expressions of interest in leasing one of the 11 facilities.

He said: ‘I consider that the DEC is jumping the gun here considering that the Honourable Steve Rodan MHK is putting a motion to the next Tynwald session.

‘I respectfully ask that you do all within your power to stop the DEC – please come off the fence and put your beliefs before your obligations as departmental members.’

The department is inviting expressions of interest for sessional care at Cronk-y-Berry, Manor Park, Ballacottier, Auldyn and St John’s schools.

And it is inviting expressions of interest for day care or sessional care at Jurby, Willaston, Ashley Hill, Ballasalla, Victoria Road, Bride and Peel Clothworkers’ schools.

PLANS to demolish a 100-year-old building in Noble’s Park and replace it merely with a paved area have sparked furious resistance from a Douglas bowling club.

John Marsden, who is a member of the Noble’s Park Bowling Club, said the organisation had used the building as a clubhouse since 1911 but they had been given notice to vacate by the end of September – a deadline extended from May to accommodate the bowling festival – and the structure was earmarked for demolition soon after.

‘This building was a gift to the people of the Isle of Man 100 years ago from Henry Bloom Noble and to demolish it is unthinkable,’ he said.

Councillor Stephen Pitts, chairman of the council’s leisure services committee, said the council was not prepared to foot the cost of repairs to the building – which council estimated to be in the region of £250,000 – and so demolition was the cheaper option.

But Dr Marsden disputed the sums involved, saying the building was structurally sound and adding that the council had not had proper quotations and the work specified went way beyond what was really required.

‘Even if new PVC windows and doors were fitted, which are not really needed, the cost ought to be less than £30,000, which would cover roof repairs, rewiring, building repairs and painting,’ he said.

In fact, he said, expert assessment by an electrician had found a full rewire was not necessary and the cost of the electrical work would be £400 to £500 at the most.

Moreover, he said a proposal by the council to erect a sports and events hall costing at least £500,000 on the nearby tennis courts completely undermined their claims that the demolition was purely cost driven.

‘This is the central venue for bowling across the island and, in the future, the bowling festival may have to be hosted from a portable cabin,’ he said.

Mr Pitts insisted that the building needed extensive renovation, though he admitted it was not unsafe and, because of the cost involved, his committee had voted for the cheaper option of demolition. He said there was currently no budget allocated to build the proposed sports and events hall and it remained just a proposal. But he suggested the bowling club might like to take over the clubhouse at a peppercorn rent from the council and take responsibility for the building.

‘I’m sure I would be in favour of that,’ he said.

Dr Marsden said he still felt the council was shirking its responsibilities to repair the clubhouse but added: ‘It does at least offer a glimmer of hope.’

THE Sayle Gallery in Douglas will be marking World Space Week in October with a Space-themed exhibition.

The Space Week exhibition (October 5-14) is being co-ordinated by Sayle Gallery artist David Maddrell.

He said: ‘It’s early days yet, but a number of artists will be exhibiting works ranging from traditional painting, to print-making and etching and also mixed-media works, including a large 2D wall-mounted relief and a sculputural multi-media installation which includes audio and light projection.

‘It will be a very varied exhibition with something for everyone, and promises to be very exciting.’

The exhibition is being sponsored by SES Satellite Leasing Service, which has become a corporate patron of the Sayle Gallery.

SES business development manager Tara Orgar said: ‘SES is delighted to sponsor the gallery and Space Week, and we look forward to seeing pictures and sculptures based around the space theme during the exhibition.

‘As a leading satellite provider based in the Isle of Man and Luxembourg we see this as an ideal opportunity to support local artists and promote World Space Week.’

Meanwhile, the gallery, in Villa Marina Arcade, Harris Promenade, is keen to promote itself to local businesses, as an ideal space for corporate functions with the added advantage of widening interest in local art and artists.

Sayle Gallery director Margaret Claydon said: ‘We know that there is a widespread interest in local art, but were aware that the gallery wasn’t exploiting its location or its exhibitions to the business community.

‘We have developed our Corporate Patron Programme to redress this, and are delighted to welcome SES to the Sayle Gallery fold.’

MORE than 57,000 passengers passed through the island’s airport during March –1,664 more than in the same month last year.

The figure represents a 3 per cent increase on that of March 2011.

Ann Reynolds, Isle of Man Airport’s director, welcomed the improvement, but was cautious about whether the growth could be sustained.

‘The steady improvement is encouraging and we have managed to maintain this for 11 out of the last 12 months, with only October 2011 registering a small decrease of under one per cent,’ she said.

‘However, the announcement by Aer Arann that they will cease the London City route is clearly a blow to the island and is bound to affect our ability to sustain growth over the coming months.

‘We are working hard to try to secure an alternative operation, but this is proving a challenge given the continued economic difficulties in the UK, as the route primarily supports business traffic. Nevertheless, we will keep trying as we are keenly aware of the importance of the link to the island’s business sector.’

Passenger figures for the 12 months ending in March this year showed an increase of 5.2 per cent, which equates to more than 35,000 extra passengers, mostly using North West England routes, which have seen an 11.5 per cent increase. Passengers flying to Liverpool have increased by 31,000 and Manchester has also seen a rise.

More than 8,000 passengers flew south and south west, which is an increase of 26 per cent, but this will have been hit by the ending of Flybe flights to Southampton earlier this year.

The Flybe Midlands link to Birmingham has also improved by 3.4 per cent over the past year and March figures were up by 9.2 per cent.

The Geneva service has produced one of the largest increases, with a 40 per cent rise in March and a 14 per cent increase overall for the past year. The Manx2.com routes to Newcastle, Leeds and Belfast all increased but London traffic has fallen by 2.4 per cent between 2011 and 2012 and is 5.5 per cent down for March. The Gatwick route improved, however, during March by 2 per cent.

Department of Infrastructure member David Callister MLC said good air service links were essential in attracting both business and tourism to the island, as well as being an asset for residents.

‘In the meantime, we are continuing to look at how the London market can be served and we hope to see progress with this over the coming weeks,’ he said.

CHANGES to the island’s physiotherapy service should reduce waiting times and make the service more efficient, according to health department staff.

Health Minister David Anderson said the new system of self-referral, which means patients who think they need to see a physiotherapist can book treatment directly without going via their doctor, would make much more efficient use of health service resources.

He said a major benefit was that patients would be seen within two or three days, which would avoid appointments being booked far in the future, which patients tended to forget about and failed to attend.

As a result, the hospital expects its current 11 per cent non-attendance rate to fall to about 2 per cent.

‘So we’re simply putting this wasted capacity to use, by looking at our systems and processes; in effect, doing more with what we already have, and increasing patient satisfaction in the process,’ he explained.

‘By “nipping things in the bud”, we prevent conditions from becoming chronic which could, for example, result in someone with a bad back requiring surgical treatment. So the impact of this change isn’t just on physiotherapy or GPs, but will ripple across the entire healthcare system,’ he added.

Director of nursing Bev Critchlow said: ‘If you are opting into a service, evidence shows people respond better to treatment and they need fewer treatments.’

Patients will be able to choose to be treated in Douglas, Port Erin or Ramsey and, where possible, will always see the same physiotherapist.

The scheme starts today for patients aged 16 and over with muscle, joint, tendon, ligament or nerve problems which have developed in the past eight weeks. The scheme will extend to those with longer-term conditions in July and will be reviewed at the end of three months.

More information can be found in the leaflet available from GP surgeries, Noble’s Hospital and the three Physiotherapy Centres – the Community Health Centre on Westmoreland Road, Thie Rosien in Port Erin, and Ramsey and District Cottage Hospital. Or go online at {http://www.gov.im/health/physiotherapy|www.gov.im/health/physiotherapy}, or telephone 642158.

IT’S a challenge that few will complete in their lifetimes, yet Mark Spiers, from Peel, will be running the London Marathon on Sunday.

The marathon has raised more than £450 million for charities since 1981 and, this year, Mark, 41, will be running to raise funds for Manx charity the Drug Advice Service and Helpline (DASH).

Having supported the cause for a number of years, he explained: ‘I have seen the work that the charity provides in the community and the impact that they can have. I wish to continue to support the valuable work they do with both adults, young people and families affected by drugs.’

His efforts will help as DASH deals with the recent bombshell that government will be withdrawing its financial support for the charity from August. Taking a break from his day job as a workshop manager at J. G. Corkill and Co garage, Mark said: ‘I chose to support DASH as my mother-in-law works with them – hopefully the money raised through the marathon will give us the opportunity to help them, as funding to the charity is going to be cut soon.’

DASH is an Isle of Man-registered charity and has been offering free and confidential advice to people of all ages and backgrounds since it was established in 1996.

For more information, or if you would like to donate to the charity, log onto {http://www.drugs.org.im.drugs.org.im}.

JUST over two months since it was launched, MTTV - the Isle of Man’s first on-demand HD TV news service - has established a loyal audience of viewers looking for the latest news delivered online in real time.

Figures released by MTTV show that it has more than 40,000 unique users - around 88 per cent of them in the island.

Google Analytics figures also show that since its launch on February 1 there have been more than 163,000 views of MTTV reports. The top rated video was on the recent Tower of Refuge charity walk which generated more than 5,000 views.

In total, viewers have watched more than 375,000 minutes of video which has included all the latest news reports and features about island life. MTTV - which can be viewed at www.manx.net/tv - is a free service provided by Manx Telecom.

It is fronted by former BBC North West Tonight and ITV Granada Reports journalist Paul Moulton, one of the island’s most experienced and best known broadcasters.

Video reports are uploaded to MTTV as soon as they have been edited so that viewers can see them when news breaks rather than waiting to watch a scheduled daily bulletin.

Paul said: ‘I’m delighted with these figures, they show that there is a real need for the on-demand video news which MTTV provides.

‘Viewers want to see the news as soon as it has happened, and this is what MTTV provides.

‘From the outset I’ve been excited by MTTV, it really is the future of how television news will look and it’s been great to bring this to Isle of Man viewers.

‘There has been an overwhelmingly positive reaction from the Manx public, and these statistics prove just how popular MTTV has become is such a short time.’

Mike Dee, Manx Telecom chief executive officer echoed Paul’s reaction to the statistics and said: ‘We were always confident that MTTV would be hugely popular, but it is satisfying to have its popularity confirmed with these figures. It proves that there is a huge appetite for high quality, on-demand video news, and Paul is doing a brilliant job of producing the type of coverage viewers want to watch and delivering it in real-time.

‘With our excellent broadband network and 3G mobile coverage, MTTV is available to everyone whether they are at home or on the move.

‘Our recent acquisition of the isleofman.com website will also soon include MTTV content, increasing the distribution even further to a wider off-Island audience.’

A TOTAL of 19 young people have been presented with their Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Gold badges by Lieutenant Governor Adam Wood.

Another three completed the award in the last year, but were unable to attend the presentation at Government House.

The award, the highest that can be attained under the scheme, can be started from the age of 16.

It sees young people spending a year volunteering and the same period on either physical or skills, with six months on the other.

They also complete a residential section, spending five-days undertaking group activities with people they don’t know.

The following people attained their Gold badges: James Allen, Alistair Johnston and Hannah Riordan of The Foundry; Zoe Anderson, Robbie Daniels, Hannah Scarlett, Natasha McKenzie, Alexandra Hardman, Rosie Hesketh, Ashley Howard of Queen Elizabeth II High School; Molly Canavan of Ramsey Grammar School; Joanne Howie of St Ninian’s High School; Hannah Leece, Rebecca Sayle, Johanna Gledhill, Charlotte Howarth, Thomas Howitt and Sarah Teare of Southern Explorers; Samantha Crellinm, Michael Lee and Steven Lee of Markee Vannin; Adam Clucas, independent.

• To order copies of this picture and individual presentation pictures taken by our photographer go to {http://www.iomtoday.co.im/buyaphoto|www.iomtoday.co.im/buyaphoto}.

The fight to keep the island’s government-run pre-school nurseries has been lost.

Tynwald last night backed Education Minister Peter Karran’s proposal.

However, Mr Karran failed to secure even the backing of his two remaining department members. John Houghton (Douglas North) and Liberal Vannin member Zac Hall (Onchan) were absent from the vote.

Dudley Butt MLC had already resigned from the Department of Education and Children over the issue.

Mr Karran was therefore isolated in his own department and relied on the votes of the Council of Ministers.

The vote for the department’s plans for privatisation (13-9 in the House of Keys and 1-7 against in the Legislative Council) means private operators will take over facilities at 12 island schools in the autumn.

More on this story in tomorrow morning’s Manx Independent.

What do you think? Let us know. We will try to include some readers’ comments in coverage.

Katy Myers, 16, is a student at St Ninian’s High School, Douglas, who hopes to go to university. Here she tells us of her concerns as she faces the prospect of paying tuition fees, or even understanding what that might involve.

I can honestly say that trying to research the correct information regarding the application of university fee grants, has been one of the most confusing and rather stressful periods of my life.

It takes a lot before I become stressed about a situation.

Yet mix together the thought of moving to a different place, leaving behind lifelong friends and the pressure of achieving grades that will determine the course of the future, it becomes easy to see why I am surrounded by people in a similar state of mind. Add to that the government’s ever-changing student awards regulations, and a recipe for confusion becomes apparent.

The information regarding grants seems to be spread out over a multitude of contradicting sources, and for many people it has been difficult to find the truth amongst word-of-mouth from peers, facts from school and reports from government websites. It would seem common sense that the correct information on government grants would come from these websites. Yet the truth is the information is hiding behind an excess of jargon that may make perfect sense to the officials who wrote it, but not to the masses who need it.

Asking some of my peers for their thoughts regarding university fees, I found I was not the only one struggling. It seemed everyone had a different idea of the current regulations. Future information needs to be presented to students in a clearer, more concise way. At the moment, the Manx Government pays for the tuition fees at university for the first three years for a student who has been residing on-island for more than three years, with the student contributing towards the tuition fees of any additional years. It also contributes towards the student’s annual maintenance fees, leaving Manx students with a substantially smaller potential student debt than their UK counterparts.

However, I have too often come across students from the island who feel it is their ‘right’ to have the Manx government pay for all of their university fees. This is supported by the argument that it is the government’s fault most university courses are not offered on-island, and therefore it should have to pay the grants. To quote a comment on a news story about this, it seems ‘privilege has led to a sense of entitlement’.

Peter Karran MHK, Minister for Education and Children, said that ‘Asking students to contribute £5,000 a year for the fourth and subsequent years of a degree or for postgraduate study will encourage students to carefully consider which courses to take’. Yet students are well aware that the course they choose will determine their future career...after all this is constantly drilled into them from the moment they choose their GCSE options. Whether to choose a three or four-year course with a potential debt of £5,000, will only be considered as another item in an ever-growing list of concerns.

Mr Karran went on to say: ‘The decision to continue to meet tuition fees for the first three years of a degree course meant that university places could be accessed by all students who are academically able to attain them and not just those who can afford it’. Therefore the government seems keen to promote a system of meritocracy, as in the past often only the most privileged of students have gained the chance. However, just under a third of Manx students qualify for a maintenance grant, so it is still predominantly students from higher wage-earning families that are going to university.

Also, the UK Government’s wish for more people to have degrees has led to a compromise in the number of jobs available to university leavers. The job prospects after a degree have been in the forefront of my mind when looking at courses.

I personally believe that any kind of education should be free to all those who need it, regardless of where they live. However, whilst university education remains an asset UK students have to pay for, I’m sure past, present and future Manx students are thankful for the assistance our government gives us. The review of the student awards regulations has helped to bring into the public eye how fortunate we are.

For more information, contact the Student Awards Office on 685822, or e-mail {mailto:studentgrants@doe.gov.im|studentgrants(at)doe.gov.im}.

ISLAND author Rakie Keig will be speaking about her third full-length novel, Home Ground, at the Henry Bloom Noble Library in Douglas next month.

The event will take place on Wednesday, May 9, from 7.30pm and is expected to finish at 9.30pm.

The story, a horror tale set in the Isle of Man in 1940, sees the main character, English-born Allan Hendricks, fleeing Germany and ending up being placed in an internment camp in Kirk Michael.

The decidedly dark tale unfolds to feature an unwell Romanian, zombies, late-night medical experiments in the camp’s medical facility, missing internees and a disease that reanimates the dead.

Her first full-length novel to be published was Terror Island in 2007, followed by Moths in 2010.

Refreshments will be available at the talk. Tickets are free but must be obtained in advance from the ground floor counter of the library, in Victoria Street.

• Home Ground, which was published in February, will be launched in the island with an event at the Jabberwocky Cafe, in Duke Street, Douglas, next Thursday (April 19) from 7pm to 9pm.

GRIZZLED veterans of making the once perilous journey out to the Tower of Refuge looked on with amused indulgence when those 2,000 other people did it.

My office window overlooks Conister and, as the walk coincided with the cocktail hour, I observed the event with friends and a few snifters and bored the latter breathless with my relentless reminiscences of doing it when it was nothing like as easy as it is today.

For one thing, there was no causeway like the one built a few years ago so that building materials could be hauled out for carrying out repairs to the tower.

The only way to get out dry shod was to walk on top of the 19th century sewer pipe which leads out to seaward of Conister. This is curved and always covered in slippery wet seaweed.

When their mothers didn’t know is I took my young children and grand-children out that way.

They were unconcerned about the risks of falling into the sea. They were fully focused in breathless wonder on what was streaming out under their feet.

But those days are gone and I read in the Manx Independent that the walk is to be repeated, again organised by the Douglas Development Partnership and sponsored, with admirable opportunism, by Tower Insurance.

I can see the future now . . .

There will be Sunday School trips out to Conister, picnics for members of the WI and the Mothers’ Union, and intrepid people in wheelchairs will do it for charitable purposes.

In TT Week the likes of Steve Colley and David Knight and Conor Cummins will ride out on their rear wheels.

Young mothers will take their children out during the school run in their four-wheel drive Toyota Tiger Tanks.

Mark Cavendish? I don’t know about that. But I think Infrastructure Minister David Cretney and the First Deemster might jog it.

Of course, there will have to be refreshment facilities on Conister. The Tower of Refuge will be licensed with all drinks served on the rocks and there will have to be stalls selling pizzas and burgers.

Mind you, the latter idea is nothing new. In the long ago, when visitors hired rowing boats to take them out to Conister, there would be local ladies there who had been rowed out with stands from which they sold mineral waters and ice cream.

One who did it is Celia Cringle (no relation and wife of Peter) who was known as the Queen of Conister and who I am still hoping will tell me about it for Times Past.

Finally, there will be annual outings for us grizzled veterans. Naturally we will disdain the causeway. It will be the Poo Pipe for us.

• I HAVE been told, in strict anonymity, that the Isle of Man Courier’s outdoor bowls championships report said: ‘The favourite for the crown is Margaret Thatcher . . .’

No it wasn’t. It was really Margaret Tasker.

• I RAN into my old friend and former senior Douglas fire officer Godfrey Cain in the car park at Winerite and he told me he had a bad shoulder. I asked him what had happened.

‘Fell off a ladder,’ he said, before he could stop himself.

Oh how we laughed. Certainly I did.

AS I was driving into work the other day I had my car stereo tuned in to the Radio 2 Breakfast Show.

Usually, the man formerly known as ‘the ginger whinger’, Chris Evans, is on, talking about expensive cars or golf or whatever boring subjects he’s into now he’s given up marrying young popstars and drinking a lot of cider.

But on this occasion it was the dulcet tones of the old smoothie himself, Richard Madeley. Mr ‘I’m overly effusively interested in everything, especially if it will make me look down-with-the-kids’ himself.

He was talking to Nina Myskow – a blast from the past – about food when I set off.

By the bottom of Thorny Road, he’d eaten a mouthful of frozen peas soaked in lemonade. He was crunching and slurping as dramatically as he could to show he knew his role as a radio DJ was to be as descriptive as possible.

It was a sound I could’ve done without just after 8am on a Thursday morning but nevertheless, I was less bothered by that and more bothered with why he was eating such a foul concotion.

As the segment progressed, it became clear he’d been asking listeners to let him know the oddest and yet most surprisingly tasty food combinations they knew.

One listener had called in with peas and lemonade.

It’s a step further than cheesy peas which, since the Fast Show made them hilarious, have probably popped up in some disgusting frozen form in a supermarket cabinet near you.

It was Myskow’s turn next and she propounded the delights of a peanut butter and golden syrup sandwich.

I have to say, I was not totally put off by this suggestion, although I could feel my arteries hardening just at the thought of it.

At the time of writing, I’ve resisted, but I can’t guarantee that’s going to last. If ever the ingredients are in my cupboard and I come back hungry from a night out, I think I’m in trouble.

Can you imagine the remorse you’d wake up with though? No hangover would compare I don’t think. You’d probably wake up with no teeth too.

Sickly sweet sandwiches are not the sole domain of former newspaper and talent show doyennes, however.

I can personally vouch for that after having shared a university house with a girl who thought sugar sandwiches were an appropriate nutritional addition to the day.

The thought of that, at least, makes me gag.

Anyway, back to Richard Madeley, who seems to be carving out a decent career for himself these days without his shaky sidekick (although he does mention her every third second).

Twitter users will know, however, that Richard cheats when he fills in for Chris on his breakfast show. He spends every night asking his followers to tell him what he should say on the air.

He comes up with a topic he says he’s going to discuss on the show and then asks them to tell him their experiences of that topic. For instance, the other night he asked people to send him their favourite practical joke experiences and then he just read them out on air, passing himself off as the funny one.

There’s a problem with that method of broadcasting on many levels in my opinion. Mainly, it’s lazy – anyone on Twitter has already heard half the show before they listen to it and it means he’s not really thinking on his feet, which is what the best radio DJs do in my opinion.

On the other hand, it could be seen as sensible if you’re not sure of your ability to fill air time.

In fact, it might be a good idea that some of our MHKs who are less adept at public speaking could latch on to.

Before each Keys or Tynwald sitting, they could put one of the items on the order paper out there for discussion on Twitter. They’d probably pick one they didn’t have much of an opinion on but one on which they felt their constituents would expect some reaction of them.

When the debate runs dry, maybe a list of Tweets from members of the public could liven things up a bit? Or really stir the hornets nest in an already controversial debate.

Take, for instance, the subject of my last column, the disgraceful petulant behaviour of some MHKs over the suggestion they should pay 10 per cent towards their own pensions. The injection of a bit of reality there wouldn’t’ve gone amiss, would it?

Reading out a long list of Tweets from the public on the subject may have brought our elected representatives back down to earth. It may have focussed their minds?

Or maybe, like Richard Madeley, they’d’ve reverted to type and concentrated on the inane.

Frozen peas in lemonade at the Tynwald tea break anyone?

TEMPORARY speed limits are in place this week to control traffic while sections of the black and white kerb edges around the TT and Southern 100 course are repainted ready for this year’s races.

Work started on Monday and weather permitting should be finished by Wednesday April 25.

The speed limits will apply on the approach to work areas, where drivers should not exceed 50mph and where work is actually taking place the limit will be 30mph. Because the location of the restrictions will change daily as the work progresses drivers should stay alert and look out for the warning signs.

A Department of Infrastructure spokesman said the locations of black and white kerb edging had been reviewed by the ACU and road edge and kerb painting would only be done where it was specifically identified as necessary to help competitors during the racing.

The Department of Infrastructure is responsible for doing the painting work following guidance by the race organisers. Previously the chequered kerbs were painted as much in accordance with tradition as with safety in mind.

A PAY dispute involving heritage site officers at the Manx Museum in Douglas looks to have been resolved after protracted negotiations.

The Unite union had threatened industrial action over changes to terms and conditions for the seven museum staff which came into effect on Monday of this week (April 16).

But following talks that day between unions officials, Manx National Heritage management and the industrial relations officer, it looks like a way forward has been found.

Unite regional industrial organiser Steve Salter said: ‘Through robust negotiations we’ve been able to find a way forward and find some common ground.

‘We went through a list of options with the assistance of the industrial relations officer and it’s been agreed to trial a new method of working for a three-month period and to review it after that.’

MNH director Edmund Southworth said: ‘We’ve been in discussion with the trade unions for a considerable period of time – well over 18 months – about changing working practices to reduce costs. As far as I’m concerned, these negotiations have reached a satisfactory conclusion but there are ongoing discussions about the detail. We’ve been in discussions about premium payments and flexible working and we are not talking about redundancies or job losses.’

Mr Southworth said MNH had lost £650,000 from its budget over the last two years and, like all other government departments and bodies, was looking at all areas of its organisation to reduce costs so that it could try to provide the same level of public service.

At the centre of the dispute were enhanced payments given to seven heritage site officers for working extra hours to ensure the museum is opened up in the morning and the bridge from the Chester Street car park locked up at night. Unite said the staff earned on average just over £20,000 and they could lose between £1,500 and £2,000 a year following changes to their working patterns. The union said staff had felt ‘railroaded’ into accepting the terms and lodged an official dispute, warning there could be potential industrial action.

Talks to resolve the issue were held over five-and-a-half hours on Monday between MNH management, Mr Salter, Whitley Council employees’ side secretary Eric Holmes and the industrial relations officer Ian Cochrane.

Mr Salter said the agreed way forward would see work previously covered by enhanced payments becoming part of accrued hours. He said: ‘Staff will lose a financial payment but will be able to bank the extra hours and use that as time off in lieu. I was extremely disappointed that the matter had not been referred to the Whitley Council originally. But thanks to robust negotiations, the threat of industrial action has been averted.’

Mr Holmes said the local agreement was the ‘best we could salvage from a bad deal’ but expressed concerns that it might have wider implications for Whitley Council negotiations.

He said that as a local agreement it would need to be ratified by the full Whitley Council.

A ‘NON-commercial business venture’ is a rare phrase in today’s tough economic world in which retailers remain vulnerable.

But the Mostly Manx project, which provides an outlet for more than 50 local producers of art, food, drink and clothing, is about supporting creativity and innovation over generating profit.

Audrey Fowler, in her role with the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture, is in a particularly good position to appreciate the value of a venture like Mostly Manx to local producers, and she has nominated founder Dian Skelton in the family business category of the Flybe-sponsored Pride in Mann awards.

Audrey said: ‘Mostly Manx certainly stands out, as it has brought a number of food producers together. Instead of them working separately, it comes under the branding – producers like Pentti Christian’s Ellersie Oils, Cocoa Red, the Original Manx Fudge Factory, and Sheila Gawne’s jam. And when you walk into the Nelson Street shop in Douglas, it’s absolutely beautiful.’

On Dian, Audrey added: ‘She’s a very driven lady, she puts a lot work and her own money to support Manx industries.’

Dian works full time in the finance sector, and describes Mostly Manx, founded nearly three years ago, as ‘a somewhat philanthropic venture’.

Her parents ran the Laxey Woollen Mills, and her brother still does, but Dian left the family business young. It was in recent years that her outlook shifted, when she was working on a book on the mill.

‘Like lots of Manx people I reached a certain age and became proud of our heritage,’ said Dian. ‘As soon as my son was old enough that I didn’t need to earn for his upbringing, I questioned that the finance sector doesn’t really physically produce anything.’

Coupled with an appreciation of the calibre of artisans in the Isle of Man, and a concern that a lack of retail opportunities could cause this creativity to dwindle, Mostly Manx was born.

‘The individual artisans don’t produce enough to open a shop or stock a supplier. They are creative, they don’t make things to order,’ said Dian.

She remains full of respect for the producers: ‘The foodies are excellent. They are intelligent people who could get jobs anywhere, but they choose to make produce. They believe in it, and you can feel their enthusiasm. I’m just a facilitator.

‘But if there was nowhere to sell it, they would have to stop producing and work somewhere else.

‘Hopefully people see that there is more depth to it than going out to Tesco and picking out the cheapest possible products.’

Great pride is taken in the Mostly Manx hampers, and Christmas trade has picked up from 30 to 40 two years ago to sending 430 hampers abroad over Christmas 2011 – as far overseas as Canada, Australia, South Africa, Singapore and the Philippines.

Does the ‘free’ nature of production make things difficult when the demand can get so high?

Dian sees the bigger picture: ‘I have a strong philosophy: if the Manx bees don’t feel like producing honey this year, then we won’t have any (in the hampers). I would rather do without than import a replacement.

‘The day-job pays the mortgage. It doesn’t need to make money or even break even. It’s a pleasure for me to give freedom to the artisans. That’s the business success, not dividends!’

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Pride in Mann is an awards scheme from Isle of Man Newspapers and Flybe which aims to recognise unsung heroes in the Manx community.

The competition sees the public invited to nominate people they feel are worthy recipients of an award across 10 categories. Each person nominated will be recognised in one of our newspapers and later there will be a public vote to find the categories’ winners.

The categories for this year’s Pride in Mann awards are: Promotion of Manx Culture, Performer of the Year, Teacher of the Year, Sporting Acheivement, Young Person of the Year, Volunteer of the Year, Linking with Schools, Customer Service and Family Business.

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Who will you nominate?

You can find a downloadable nomination form by clicking {http://www.iomtoday.co.im/news/isle-of-man-news/pride_in_mann_1_4040786|this link.}

THE man behind a website set up to publicise problems with the island’s roads says the site fulfils a valuable role and does not simply deflect attention from the official highways department site.

Graham Barker, who created roads.im in February, claims the site had received more than 14,000 page views from more than 3,000 visits.

Mr Barker points out his website preceded that of the highways department and, furthermore, its remit was wider.

‘The purpose of roads.im seems to have been misunderstood,’ he said.

‘It is not only for the reporting of the abysmal state of the Isle of Man’s roads, but also for bringing road signage and road marking issues to light.

‘Commenting on the problems raised, and voting for how annoying they are, have quickly become central to the community that has developed around the site.

‘In a personal aside, I have previously submitted issues with the state of the Isle of Man’s roads to the Department of Infrastructure through most of the available methods – email, the ‘Report an Issue’ website and family members have written in. At no point has there been a response, nor has anything been done about the issues raised.

‘For example, I reported a road sign facing the wrong way on North Quay over a year ago and yet nothing has been done to date.

‘Since having set up roads.im, I have been inundated with similar stories.’

Mr Barker said the official government site failed to give feedback on whether an issue had been addressed and it was also impossible to see if an issue had been reported already – giving a measure of the level of concern it was causing.

‘By hiding away the public’s concerns, it conceals how long issues have been left to fester, gives no feedback on when works have been completed and does not allow the public to check if a problem has already been reported,’ he said.

Mr Barker added that, in particular, if people report a problem they were anxious to receive feedback on their comments and follow any progress being made to rectify it.

‘The size of community that has grown up around the site shows that this is a wider issue that is failing to be addressed,’ he said.

He said the three issues topping the poll on the site were a Department of Infrastructure van partly parked in a disabled bay in Onchan, the poor condition of Peel Road and the promenades in Douglas, and double yellow lines alongside taxi rank markings at the Sea Terminal. There are currently 81 unsolved issues logged.

But Director of Highways Richard Pearson said it was better for members of the public to report issues directly to highways than to go through a third party.

‘It is true that the “Report a Problem” website is relatively new. However, before that we had {mailto:pothole@gov.im|pothole(at)gov.im}. and our enquiry number 686665 which also both still exist,’ he said.

‘It is disappointing that he is reporting dissatisfaction as the DoI teams do work hard to address defects. We record our performance against defects reported and actioned each month.’

Mr Pearson said performance had been good, with 139 out of 143 top priority jobs completed within one working day over the past year, and 65 out of 74 second priority jobs done within the target of five working days.

However, he said there was inevitably a gap between what people wanted and what funds allowed them to do.

‘We would like to respond to all defects reported, but the reality is that our budgets are about £6m a year less than required to maintain the road network in a steady state and there is about a £100m backlog of work required.

‘We cannot afford to attend to all issues reported but instead apply a prioritised approach whereby we attend to defects that have a safety implication if not dealt with.’

He said a sliding scale from 24 hours to six or even 12 months was used to prioritise work depending on whether the defect was dangerous. If possible, he added, jobs would be grouped together in a particular area and dealt with all at once for improved efficiency.

He said a record number of projects had been completed over the past year, including Victoria Road in Douglas and the Castletown bypass, and teams had laid a record one kilometre of new surface in a single day at the Shoulder Road in Patrick. Commenting on the contentious issues of Peel Road and Douglas promenades, Mr Pearson said plans were being made, adding: ‘I hope to be able to report some positive progress in the next few months.’

MORE than 100 people helped Kleinwort Benson mark its official launch in the Isle of Man as the ‘bank for entrepreneurs’.

Joining the staff and management of the bank at a special party at Portofino Restaurant was managing director, offshore businesses, Mark Bright.

He was joined by other members of Kleinwort Benson’s executive committee, Stephen Rothwell head of wealth management and Guy McGlashan, head of strategic development, who were attending the event to meet Isle of Man-based clients and intermediaries.

Kleinwort Benson’s acquisition of the Close Offshore Group (“Close”) was completed last summer and comprised Close’s offshore private banking, fund administration, fund management, trust and asset management businesses. ‘The acquisition of Close Offshore Group (Close) was in keeping with our strategy of developing our onshore and offshore capability, and becoming the bank for entrepreneurs,’ said Mr Bright.

‘This launch event formally establishes Kleinwort Benson’s place in the Isle of Man finance industry.

‘To have a presence here both enhances and consolidates our position in the offshore market place, adding scale to our banking and fiduciary businesses.

‘Getting to know the team on the ground here, I can see how much scope and opportunity there is to grow and develop our client offering.

‘One of the key areas of growth for the Isle of Man is e-Gaming, which is an industry that is entrepreneurial by nature and therefore a sector that we can support as a bank, wealth manager and trusted adviser.’

In the Isle of Man, Kleinwort Benson is the registered trading name of both Kleinwort Benson Bank (Isle of Man) Limited and Kleinwort Benson Trustees (Isle of Man) Limited, and offers banking, fiduciary, trustee and custodian services.

It has access to the range of products and services offering through its Channel Islands and London offices.

Lesley Corlett, head of Kleinwort Benson in Isle of Man, said: ‘Kleinwort Benson is both innovative and dynamic in its approach to banking, fiduciary and custodian services, and is a welcome addition to the Isle of Man. ‘As a new name in the Isle of Man market, it is an exciting time for us as we work with clients, intermediaries and the wider finance industry to promote Kleinwort Benson as the entrepreneurs’ bank.’

Kleinwort Benson is one of the most historical names in British private banking with roots dating back to the 1790, and provides a range of bespoke wealth management services to private individuals.

With an offering spanning investment management, tax and banking, trust and fiduciary services, Kleinwort Benson operates from offices in London‘s West End, across the UK and Channel Islands.

Kleinwort Benson is also a leading provider of fund administration services. As one of the first major banks to have established in the Channel Islands 50 years ago, it is consistently ranked as one of the top ten providers of administration and custodian services, working with fund managers across a wide range of traditional and alternative asset classes.

READ about jobs joy in the west as the food industry expands.

Our Pumps 4 Kids campaign has been a success.

We carry details about next week’s Royal visit by Price Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall.

More new buses are on the way, we report.

There are calls to restore the London City air link.

Archibald Knox expert believes island should embrace its cultural tourism links, we report.

There’s the chance to win £50 worth of fuel.

South News reports on the fire at Patchwork cafe.

North News reports on the Ramsey resident’s aunt who survived the Titanic’s sinking.

West News reports on the Young Magicians’ magic show this Friday.

Sport reports on Norton’s return to TT 2012, the upcoming new cricket season , and one man’s marathon effort in Sahara.

The Manx Independent is in shops from Thursday morning.