This week’s Isle of Man Examiner talks to Stephen Bradley, the chairman of the Chamber of Commerce’s retail committee, in the wake of the news of higher parking charges in Douglas.

Mr Bradley, who has business interests in the capital and St John’s, has written a powerful letter to Phil Gawne MHK, the Infrastructure Minister, urging him to think again.

As the charges being brought in by the Department of Infrastructure continue to dominate the news, we report on one man who was surprised to find that one change has already come in.

Meanwhile, a restaurant talks to us about a clever marketing idea it’s had to try to diminish the effects on it.

Inside the paper, we reveal the fate of the latest Callow’s Yard planning application.

There’s also a preview this week’s Keys sitting, reports from the courts, and some worrying news from Sellafield.

In our business pages, there’s an opinion piece from an e-gaming expert. If he’s correct, this could be bad news for the island, where the industry now makes up more than 10 per cent of our economy.

Meanwhile, our Final Whistle sports supplement includes all the action from the weekend’s sport.

The Examiner is in the shops now.

This month’s Talking Point article by Angelena Boden.

Marketing isn’t really my forte.

I know the principles of course and am constantly being emailed by digital marketing companies implying our website is ‘pants’ and we need better SEO. (search engine optimisation)

Their digital marketing engineer will be in touch blah blah.

I find this intrusive, disruptive and downright cheeky!

Maybe I am a bit old fashioned but I believe that personal contact with potential new clients - ‘face to face in the same space’ is the best way to forge new business relationships.

Events not only generate new sales leads but also help raise your brand. You have an opportunity to stand out from a crowded marketplace and find out what your competitors are doing at the same time.

cost effective

For me, exhibiting at the NEC’s World of Learning on September 29/October 1st this year has already proved to be more cost effective than spending on a mixed marketing campaign that is difficult to measure.

We reached more people in two days than we could have done in six months.

Top drawer clients came specifically to our stand as they had already done their homework and wanted to find something new and different.

It was a big investment but if we convert one enquiry into a sale it will be worth it… and we had great fun!

If you are considering exhibiting in 2015 here are my ten top tips to make sure you have a successful show.

1.Choose the right event. There were a few people at the NEC who didn’t really fit in and as a result didn’t attract the L&D buyers. Research the event from previous years – numbers, quality of visitors, marketing of event, pre and post show support.

2.Choose your stand carefully – we chose a corner stand by a seminar area which wasn’t the best as it got noisy. Don’t cut costs on this. Ask the event organizer about the layout of the space and where footfall is likely to be its highest. Get a professional stand designer. They are really worth the money and save you the hassle.

3.Be clear about your SMART goals and communicate them to you team. It’s important to be realistic. The tighter the goals the better your chances of achieving them.

4.Make the most of pre-show advertising. Stress the benefits of visiting your stand. Be clear and concise in your writing and make sure it’s accurate and easy to read.

5.The people on your stand make the difference between an ok event and a great event. Smart presentation, happy, smiling faces. They need to look as if they are enjoying it! Exhibitions are hard work so have enough staff to allow breaks and opportunities for checking on the competition!

6.Spend as much time with visitors to your stand as possible. We spent at least half an hour with our visitors who had sought us out specially. When you have the HR manager of TATA in your midst you don’t choose that moment for a comfort break.

7.Be honest – overselling your product or service will ruin your reputation. We saw visitors tweeting on the move. You don’t know what they are saying about you. Listen. Ask the customer what they are looking for. Avoid launching into a sales pitch.

8.Offer incentives – we gave a free video and podcast out on a branded memory stick and of course chocolate!

9.Network with other exhibitors. There maybe partnership possibilities. We found a new film maker and possible new ways of working.

10.Keep notes of conversations with interested visitors. When you follow up leads, personalize your emails and phone calls. Decide who should receive a courtesy email… thank you for visiting us … and those hot leads that could keep your business going for years.

So, the show is over. Legs are aching. Faces are tired from all the smiling and you’ve got no voice left. All you want is a glass of something and a sit down.

The real work however begins when the visitors have gone home. It’s time for debriefings and to develop a plan to follow up the contacts you made.

Get back in touch with your press contacts. Update your social media. Keep evaluating the results of the event for several months afterwards. You made the contact now nurture them without being a nuisance.

Finally, reserve your place for next year!

angelena@thefifteenminutetrainer.com

l Fifteen Minute Trainer exhibited at the World of Learning, NEC, Birmingham October 2014. They used Quadrant2Design for their stand.

Firefighters rescued a disabled woman from her flat yesterday.

They were called out at about 5.50pm to deal with a kitchen fire in a flat on Mooragh Promenade, Ramsey.

Three enginess from Ramsey and Laxey, along with the aerial ladder platform from Douglas, were called.

While these appliances were on the way, the control room was told that the occupant of the flat was disabled and could not make her own way out of the flat.

A fourth pumping appliance from Kirk Michael and an ambulance were then sent as well.

The fire was on the first floor. The occupant of the flat was found on the landing outside her flat and was removed to safety on the ground floor.

Two firefighters put out the blaze in the kitchen using a hose reel. The fire was confined to the microwave and the surrounding kitchen surfaces.

The kitchen and lounge area both suffered smoke and heat damage.

Crews stayed there for another hour to ventilate the flat using a positive pressure fan.

The occupant of the flat was given a precautionary checkup at the scene by the ambulance service.

An appeal against refusal of the latest plan for Callow’s Yard in Castletown has been turned down by planners.

The plan (14/00338/B) is for alterations to convert from retail to residential use properties on Arbory Street and Fusion Bar, retaining retail on the ground floor in all bar one property in the town centre development.

Planners turned it down because more residential units would increase the need for parking and have an ‘adverse impact’ on the town centre; the number of single bed units would be ‘over intensive’ and ‘alter adversely the sense of community’; also changing 8 Arbory Street from retail to residential use would ‘dilute the commercial appearance of the street’ and ‘establish an unfortunate precedent for further shop fronts to be replaced with domestic frontages to the detriment of the streetscape’.

Cornerstone Architects, which submitted the application, appealed against the reasons for refusing the plan.

However at an appeal into the decision, the plan was again turned down because the increase in the number of residential units would lead to more parking requirements which could not be met and lead to on street parking.

The Isle of Man government has no plans in the pipeline to allow for new drugs to be tested on terminally ill patients.

A statement from the island’s Department of Health said in addition to considerable investigation a change in the law would be required to implement any such change so the consent of Tynwald would be needed.

The statement comes in the light of a government backed bill in the UK parliament, proposed by Lord Saatchi.

The Medical Innovation Bill,if passed into law, would allow some terminally ill cancer patients to undergo treatment with drugs which have not yet been licensed for use on the public.

The UK bill requires doctors to have agreement from another specialist when prescribing unlicensed treatment but it would then give legal protection to doctors who want to try different teatments once conventional ones have failed.

The Isle of Man Department of Health spokesman said: ‘Professional and regulatory bodies such as the General Medical Council and the British Medical Association have significant reservations and do not currently support the approach proposed in the UK.

‘In the first instance a professional recommendation would be sought from the department’s clinical recommendations committee. In addition it is likely a view would also be sought from the island’s Local Research Ethics Committee.’

The Clinical Recommendations Committee is chaired by the government member for health along with doctors and Department of Health and Social Care staff, as well as lay people. Its function is to recommend appropriate treatments to the Minister for Health and Social Care and prioritise them based on need, effectiveness and value for money.

Lord Saatchi, a Conservative peer who has campaigned for such a change in the law since his wife died from cancer, said the same approach was currently being employed by doctors treating ebola patients in Africa.

The Isle of Man Health Department’s statement concluded: ‘The use of untested drugs in terminally ill patients is a highly emotive topic and the department is mindful of the vital global importance of promoting continued innovation to develop new treatments that are both safe and effective. The department is equally mindful of the need to ensure a safe and equitable health service for all.’

Marketing column by Terry van Rhyn

One of my favourite topics to write about is the British national press, and the reason for that is I get to make observations like the following.

On September 11 this year, writing on the stance of SNP leader Alex Salmond in the Scottish independence referendum, The Telegraph compared him to Robert Mugabe. Yes, that’s Robert Mugabe.

Here’s a little more – on September 9, The Times’ Melanie Reid wrote on the same subject: ‘What spoilt, selfish, childlike fools those Scots are ... They simply don’t have a clue how lucky they are’.

On September 7, Dominic Lawson for The Daily Mail, obviously, compared the Scottish Independence’s threat to the existence of the United Kingdom to the marches of Hitler and Napoleon, helpfully accompanied by pictures of the two.

It gets better. On June 7 2014, The Spectator’s Simon Heffer helpfully generalised a generation of Scots as being ‘addicted to welfare’, people who ‘embraced the something for nothing society’. And finally, contributing to what eventually became significant demonstrations outside the corporation’s offices; the BBC’s Nick Robinson subjected Alex Salmond to a barrage of accusations, including one which completely misunderstood the basics of corporation tax, and another which unwittingly prompted Mr Salmond to press for an official enquiry in to the provision of insider information.

I’ll leave those to provide a little context for what I intend to discuss; accusations of media bias on the part of British institutions in their coverage of the Scottish independence vote.

Not, of course, to demonstrate actual bias, but to demonstrate the absurdity and slipperiness of what it is we’re tackling here.

Could it really be that the national media is at the beck and call of London’s financial elite?

Could they be rallying behind the bankers?

Perhaps they’re doing it for Queen, country and empire, engaging in an unprecedented programme of censorship and skewerage for the protection of the realm.

Or, more realistically, perhaps they’re trying to remain profitable by creating the most convoluted and inflammatory narratives possible in a bid to confound and thus retain readers.

We should not forget that ‘our’ media, the BBC included, is a business, and in this society that means free reign to generate profits by any means. It’s the same as a toothpaste company inventing halitosis, or Guy Beringer inventing brunch – create the problem, then sell the solution.

If I was to write the advert it would read something like: ‘Are you bewildered yet? Buy our newspaper to find out even more.’

danger

What it all comes down to is the actual danger of engaging with the media on any front, and that is the temptation to underestimate. We should not, for a second, presume in all seriousness that a writer capable of working for one of the country’s oldest and most established newspapers won’t have anticipated the backlash of calling Scottish people ‘spoilt, selfish and childlike’.

Nor should we expect that The Daily Mail’s editor Paul Dacre would be blind to the potential ramifications of printing photos of Hitler in an article about Alex Salmond. For all its subtleties and raised palms, I also think it would be decidedly unwise to think that the BBC might not have noticed a certain imbalance in its referendum coverage.

Don’t misunderstand me, at its best the British media is one of the great bastions of anything resembling institutionalised free speech and objective, investigatory journalism and is the envy of many countries worldwide.

But for the most part, it’s also populated by the offline equivalent of click-bait and forms part of an enormous enterprise run not by benevolent guardians of free speech and impartiality, but by big business that wants to stay big.

As such, ultimately, any outrage at the possibility that the national media did provide blinkered coverage of the independence movement speaks of a degree of willful naivety on the part of the indignants.

Granted, the BBC could be accused of media bias and as a quasi-public institution there is an argument to be had surrounding the BBC’s journalistic impartiality as defined in the terms of its licensing agreement, as always.

But at the crux of the argument lies the following: of all the media institutions, English and Scottish, regional and national – perhaps just a handful provided what could be described as balanced coverage of the independence movement.

Most picked a side and stuck to it without reservation.

But we all knew they would do that. They’ve been doing it for decades.

And yet, without representation, and against the tide of the national press, the independence campaign cannot be considered anything other than a success.

In its first iteration, a 45 per cent minority is not to be sniffed at.

Its campaigners manufactured one of the most exciting periods in recent Scottish history and did so by taking an approach to the media defined by pragmatism, understanding and realistic expectations.

They balanced the institutional with the independent, and the rarified with the social. There’s a David and Goliath metaphor in here that’s perhaps a little more apt and a lot less patronising, but which escapes me now.

Either way, it’s a cause for celebration and a lesson to be learned.

Terry Van Rhyn is managing director, Ashgrove Marketing

Bonfire Night will be celebrated with displays around the island.

Peel fireworks will be set off from the breakwater tomorrow (Wednesday) at 7pm, after commissioners chairman Ray Harmer has lit the bonfire.

Half an hour later, Port Erin and Ramsey’s fireworks displays both take place at 7.30pm.

Port Erin’s display will be over the bay while Ramsey’s will be from the Mooragh lake’s island.

Celebrations in Douglas take place on Friday.

The event starts at 7pm with a Best Guy contest. Take entries to the staged area at the War Memorial between 6.30pm and 7pm.

The bonfire will be lit at 7.15pm followed by a fireworks display at 7.30pm.

Anyone lighting a bonfire is urged by Dolittles to watch out for hedgehogs.

Sandy Huyton said: ‘Earlier warmer autumn temperatures could have resulted in second litter hoglets being born and with the colder weather now approaching hedgehogs will be searching for the perfect nesting areas for hibernation and hedgehogs will find bonfires very inviting.

‘We would advise you use a long pole and check to the centre from all sides before lighting and preferably on the night. Hedgehogs are in decline and ecologists say in the UK they could be extinct by 2025.’

A Minister went bonkers over a cabinet colleague’s scheme to charge £25 for residential parking permits.

But Chief Minister Allan Bell has dismissed the idea of a bust-up between Ministers and insisted it was all a ‘storm in a teacup’.

Minister for Policy and Reform Chris Robertshaw didn’t pull his punches when he criticised as ‘bonkers’ the announcement by Infrastructure Minister Phil Gawne that his department was bringing in a £25 charge for residents’ parking permits.

In an interview on Manx Radio, Mr Robertshaw said: ‘My understanding was and is that Phil’s taking this matter through a review. It was extremely unfortunate therefore, and something must have gone wrong somewhere, that the department suddenly announced it was going to raise a £25 fee and then conduct a review which frankly is a bonkers way of doing things.

‘You don’t announce a figure you are going to charge and then rush around trying to justify it.’

Interviewed by the Examiner, the Douglas East MHK said: ‘I’m in a very difficult position because Council policy conflicts with what is fair and reasonable for the constituents of East Douglas.

‘I made it plain in my manifesto that the issue of street parking was a matter of real concern in the constituency. It’s effectively an extended car park of Douglas.

It was inevitable, given that pre-declared position, that when it came to an attribution of a charging regime for residential permits, I took a position different from that of CoMin.’

He insisted the department had ‘not gone about it the right way’. ‘I repeat you don’t decide what you are going to do and then go about trying to get people to agree it’s a fair and reasonable proposal.’

Mr Bell said he had spoken to both Ministers and the issue was now closed.

He said: ‘There was no breach of collective responsibility. Chris Robertshaw had a pre-declared position. The language could have been couched in different terms but Mr Robertshaw is a passionate individual and wears his heart on his sleeve.

‘Mr Gawne has an extremely difficult job to do, having been charged by Treasury to find £5m of savings in his already stretched department. All the charges have gone through a consultation process. There is nothing untoward about the way they’ve done it.

‘There will be disagreements from time to time between Ministers - it’s a healthy sign of democracy to have robust debate in CoMin.

‘This is a storm in a teacup. It’s only £25 we are talking about - it’s the smallest of the charges we are bringing in.’

Mr Bell said that while the £25 charge would come in from next March, a review would be done in the meantime to see how the effects could be mitigated by other measures such as improved road marking and signage to make it clear where parking can take place and where it is prohibited. Member for the Department of Infrastructure Chris Thomas MHK (Douglas West) has been charged with carrying out that review. He admitted that a carrying out a review after a policy decision had been announced ‘is not ideal’ but circumstances were driven by the department’s need to save £5m. He said the idea of charging £25 for a residential parking permit ‘might make sense’ if it benefits those using the parking zones by ensuring they could park outside their house.

But in a message to the Chief Minister posted on his Facebook page Mr Thomas said that the cost of painting lines and new signs will be substantial, increasing the current administration annual costs of £42,000.

Retired American astronaut Col. Ron Garan will be in the island next week for an event.

Col Garan is a highly decorated fighter pilot, test pilot, astronaut, spacewalker and aquanaut.

He will be the special guest speaker at the inaugural annual fundraising dinnner for the island based International Institute of Space Commerce.

Since leaving NASA, Ron has become a leading social entrepreneur and science advisor to Nobel Laureate Mohamed Yunis.

His speech is likely to be fascinating and will appeal to all those with an interest in space, aviation, science and engineering, e-business and entrepreneurship. The dinner is being held in the Sanderson Suite at the Claremont Hotel Douglas on the evning of Tuesday, November 11.

Tickets are priced at £50 a head or £500 a table

For more information on the event and for tickets and tables contact John Sheath, secretary of the institute via john@cornerstone.im

More information about the IISC can be found at www.iisc.im

Four men accused of kidnapping have been remanded in custody by magistrates in Douglas.

The men, Abdul Ahad aged 19, of Kent Street, Burnley, Muhammed Hammad Khan, aged 24, of Jasmin Terrace in Bradford, Amman Sohail, 22, of Roydscliffe Road, Bradford and Zishaan Amar Sharif. 21. of St Michael’s Road, Bradford, were all remanded in custody and will reappear on December 2.

The four men are charged in relation to an incident alleged to have happened on October 31.

Advocate Peter Taylor acting for Mr Khan and James Robinson acting for Mr Sharif both made unsuccessful bail applications on behalf of their clients.

No bail applications were made by Peter Russell, representing Mr Sohail or by Roger Kane, representing Mr Ahad. No pleas were taken. The men will reappear on December 23 for committal.

The top entrants in a wildlife photography competition received their prizes at the Salmon Centre in Laxey.

The competition was run by the Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group and attracted more than 200 entries with the top 15 being used in the Custodians of the Manx Countryside 2015 calendar.

The comeptition had five categories – farm animals, farm machinery, wildlife, countryside scenes and countryside characters – and the winning entrants received £25 gift vouchers and certificates with their names and their featured photographs on them. The winners also each received a copy of the calendar. Proceeds from the calendar go to charity and last year’s raised £750.

FWAG chairman Paul Fletcher thanked the photographers for their entries and Quine and Cubbon who produced the calendars at lightning speed in time to sell at the Royal Manx Agricultural Show after the winning photographs were voted on by visitors to the Southern Agricultural show a few weeks earlier,where all 200 entries were on display. Proceeds from sale of the calendars will go to the Agricultural Benevolent Trust, Manx Wildlife Trust and Manx Birdlife.

They cost £5 each and are available from the Agricultural Merchants, the Salmon Centre in Laxey, Union Mills filling station, Ballaleece Farm shop, DEFA headquarters at St John’s and Raymond Caley’s shop in Sulby.

Paul Davis, chief executive officer of Counting House (IOM) Ltd has returned from the EiG event in Germany with hard-hitting analysis of his concerns for the eGaming sector in the island. This is what he has to say:

I was privileged to be part of the Isle of Man delegation which visited Berlin in late October and exhibited its offering and finest people to the international eGaming community.

By any metric – footfall on the stand, number of meetings held, quality of visitors, number of other exhibitors, the sector appears to be in decline.

The homework had been done.

We hosted a special session for start-ups (well attended), and publicised a launch event to showcase our crypto currency readiness (only one chap came).

playing cards

But for sizeable portions of the three days, we had only ourselves to talk to; in fact there was so little action that at one point the younger delegates on the team sat around a table and held a card game.

It sounds terrible, but there was no-one to notice.

What are we to make of this absence of enthusiasm?

EiG is not the largest gaming show in the world, or the most important.

ICE, held every winter in London, is bigger and by virtue of its free entry attracts a bigger crowd.

The iGaming Supershow, presently held in Amsterdam, is also arguably a more important event.

But EiG has been a good source of business in the past. It is no longer.

The points of failure are both in the industry at large and in our own back yard.

There has been much consolidation in the eGaming industry of late.

There are few really new ideas, and the barriers to entry are ever higher.

As the Isle of Man we can no longer offer a ticket to entry into the lucrative and mature UK market, and with the entry of Jersey at around 15,000 euros per year for a licence we are priced out of the start-up market by refusing to lower our 35,000 euros.

New entrants, even if they have this kind of money to spend, would rather put it into development and marketing.

Larger, established players in Europe are juggling their licences and assets between Gibraltar and the UK, while Asian businesses, particularly in sports betting, are putting their efforts into protecting their UK shirt sponsorships and advertising privileges.

annihilated

The UK has boxed very clever, and virtually annihilated the Isle of Man’s USP (unique selling proposition).

ROI (Return on Investment)is down with market saturation, and when returns sink, costs are examined carefully.

The massive growth in the binary options industry is over.

One bright star; the greatest growth area of online gaming at present is in the lottery messenger industry.

Development is in Israel but there is much interest in the IoM licence due to our expertise and current market position.

Firm, positive action needs to be taken on several fronts to preserve our existing operators on the island and give us any kind of foothold in the future.

The private sector knows this; government has been slow to respond and the battle may already be lost, albeit that the evidence is not yet all gathered.

Too little, too late will not save the day.

Now the nights are darker and the weather is beginning to get wintry, it’s time for motorists to prepare.

John Houghton MHK, the politician with responsibility for roads at the Department of Infrastructure, has launched a campaign aimed at improving road safety during the winter months.

‘Are You Ready For Winter?’ urges drivers to carry out a number of basic vehicle checks and to drive to the conditions as the days become darker and the weather more extreme.

Before heading out on to the road people should –

Check lights work – and use them

Demist windows fully before driving

Check tyre treads and pressures

Use fog lights in fog

Mr Houghton said: ‘Keeping your vehicle well maintained is important all year round, but doubly so in winter.

‘This is about taking practical and common sense steps to ensure everyone stays safe on the island’s roads.

‘For example, worn tyres won’t hold the road in wet conditions as well as those with a good, deep tread.’

He added: ‘Always adjust your dri­ving accord­ing to the con­di­tions and plan your jour­ney by check­ing the lat­est weather forecast, as the winter months can bring extremely challenging driving conditions.

‘Make sure that you can see clearly and that you can be seen.

‘Don’t set off peering through a letter-box size gap in your windscreen – make sure it is fully demisted.

‘Use dipped head­lights in poor vis­i­bil­ity and don’t just rely on day­time run­ning lights if you have them.’

To promote further awareness of the added requirements for winter motoring, the department is asking drivers the following questions –

Do you know where the switches are for your front and rear fog lights? Studies suggest that 30 per cent of drivers don’t know how to turn on their rear fog lights

When did you last check your lights and tyres?

Mr Houghton said: ‘Being prepared for winter motoring is very important. We want to keep people safe and reduce the number of incidents on Manx roads. The message is to properly maintain your vehicle, drive with care and respect the road con­di­tions.’

More than £1 million of upgrades and refurbishments have given the historic buildings of King William’s College a new lease of life.

Several major projects were undertaken over the summer period, including a significant upgrade in the girls’ boarding house and much needed roof, window and external repairs.

Meanwhile a complete makeover of the fourth form year group centre, new electrically retractable seating in the main theatre space and on-going refurbishment of the art building have made for major improvements in the school environment.

The retractable seating in the main theatre space, known as ‘big school’, has enabled the school to hold large events.

These have already included a fashion show by local fashion designer Claire Christian, when the space was turned into a catwalk and dinner venue.

The refurbishment to the girl’s boarding house has given the building a new lease of life.

The fourth form year group centre, known as Stenning, has had a complete makeover and makes for a more spacious and relaxing environment for members of the fourth form during their break times.

College principal Martin Humphreys said: ‘These works, long overdue and part of a long-term commitment to substantially upgrade facilities, have made a real and immediate difference for pupils and staff at King William’s College.’

The Department of Infrastructure (DoI) and the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture (DEFA) have joined forces to undertake work in Peel harbour.

The work was carried out in conjunction with the department’s sub-contractor JCK Ltd.

A spokesman for the DoI said: ‘Work is taking place to extract a quantity of river stone from an area alongside the marina boat park that had become dry.

‘This is a joint scheme involving DoI and DEFA and should be completed by the end of the week.’

The harbour was dredged in May, causing controversy after black sludge was seen being pumped into Peel bay by a newly-installed pipe which carried silt from the harbour to the end of the breakwater.

DEFA and the DoI removed 10,000 tonnes of silt.

Last month was the second wettest October on record, the latest Met Office figures show.

But the dry September – with the second lowest rainfall on record – meant the ground was able to absorb the majority of the rain so flooding was relatively minor.

Total rainfall measured at the Met Office’s base at Ronaldsway was 210mm. It compares to the October average of 102mm. Only October 2002 recorded more with 228.6mm.

The mean temperature for the month was 12.5C compared to the October long term mean of 11.2C.

The highest temperature of 17C was reached on both October 2 and 17.

Meanwhile the lowest air temperature of 3.3C and the first grass frost of the season – minus 1.3C – were recorded on October 29.

The wind speed for the month was above the 15.6mph average at 17.5mph.

The wind reached gale force on October 6 and 21, the latter containing the remnants of Hurricane Gonzalo recorded a maximum gust of 60mph at Ronaldsway.

Despite the unsettled weather there were 107.3 hours of bright sunshine, slightly above normal.

There were four days with thunderstorms.

Shipping company boss Mark Robershaw is a firm believer in promoting the Isle of Man during his globe-trotting business travels.

After all, the slogan for expanding Bibby Ship Management is ‘the power of partnership.’

So it is no surprise that this Manxman and father-of-three strongly supports giving the thumbs-up to ‘Isle of Man plc’

It’s been a whirlwind first year in the hot seat at Bibby in the island for 42-year-old Mr Robertshaw.

During an interview with Business News he told how Bibby has plans to expand and how the business is a firm supporter of the Isle of Man.

As managing director of Bibby Ship Management (Western Europe) Ltd and group commercial director, he admits that in an average month he will spend two weeks away on business.

He said: ‘I think the accessibility of the Isle of Man is terrific for international business as long as the current air links remain in place. It is exciting.

‘And I think Dick Welsh does a fantastic job at the Isle of Man Ship Register.

Mr Robertshaw who went to Onchan Primary and then Ballakermeen High School, joined Bibby in September last year.

He was previously based in Singapore where he set up a top-level recruitment company for the maritime sector.

His three sons Joe, 13, Jake, 11, and Sam, eight, were all born in Singapore.

It’s been a massive year for me being back in the island which I love.’

Forty five people work for Bibby Ship Management at its impressive base at Compass House on the Isle of Man Business Park.

Mr Robertshaw has around 20 years worldwide experience in the maritime industry and has worked in various enior management roles within the industry.

Bibby Ship Management manages around 760 vessels including dive support vessels, tanker vessels, oil and gas carriers, product tankers and floating storage units with a distinct focus on the offshore sector with around half of them offering support to the offshore oil exploration business.

Mr Robertshaw said: ‘Our operating plan is we are looking to grow to probably about 150 ships in the next three to five years so doubling in size.

‘Bibby operates in 16 locations in eight countries.

‘It’s a very international business. We have some very ambitious plans both for the group and for the Isle of Man office. The office here is an integral part of the whole operation.

‘The Isle of Man, although not the head office [that’s in Liverpool] is one of the biggest net contributors to the business.

‘With the large contracts that we have here we are key to the group’s ambitious growth plans.’

around the world

He added that a lot of his work takes him around the world on business.

And he is always keen to promote the island on his travels.

‘As an example during October I have been to Singapore, Aberdeen, Liverpool. During November I will be in Saudi Arabia, Aberdeen again, London, it’s a mixture of international and local travel in the UK.

Mr Robertshaw said shipping was not really in his blood, his grandfather Gilbert and his father Chris Robertshaw were hoteliers. His father is now an MHK and is currently Minister for Policy and Reform in the Isle of Man Government. Asked if he would consider following in his father’s footsteps he said he is happy working in the maritime sector and would not be pursuing a political career.

He said: ‘I love the international nature of shipping. I just like the characters you meet in shipping, there are so many.

‘You meet such a variety of people, amazing characters.

‘This is very much a people business.’

Asked about the economic benefits for the island he said:’ From a tax point of view it is less and less. I think it is about the skill set now.

‘the tax benefits are there but they’re not as great as they used to be. It’s about the fact we have a great pool of talent here in the Isle of Man.

‘That’s why the business is here in the island.’

Mr Robertshaw said Bibby Ship Management was involved in some exciting projects for the future as well as more than 200 years trading in the maritime world.

A Manx Cadet Trainee officer scheme is set to get under way next year offering job opportunities for young people.

In addition Bibby offers crewing and technical services to a number of superyachts and it also has another business in the island called Bibby Travel which provides business and marine travel to both island and international customers.

On a personal note Mr Robertshaw said he and his wife Cath and family were delighted to be back in the island.

And he revealed he has converted a barn to be their family home in Marown. He said he had wanted the building since he was 16, bought it when he was 29 and finally moved in three weeks ago.

This was the moment that ducklings that were rescued after being targeted by seagulls were released back into Silverdale boating lake.

A crowd gathered at the lake last week to watch as Sandy Huyton of Dolittle’s Animal Centre at Cregg Mill in Silverdale along with volunteers of The Ace Team returned the eight ducklings to their natural environment.

Sandy said they’d had to intervene to ensure their survival – but the best place for them was now on the lake.

She said: ‘They will find it strange to start with but they were built with a natural instinct to survive and so they will.’

Following the release, a duck race – using plastic ducks – took place.

The animals had been cared for by Sandy and 16-year-old Jake Callow since their rescue in August, when the ducklings were just a couple of days old.

Jake, who worked over the summer at Silverdale cafe, prompted the rescues when he became concerned about the risks posed to them by seagulls.

Paddle boats were used to reach the ducklings and Jake ended up in the water during one of the rescue missions.

Since then they received VIP treatment, and Sandy and her team watched their development as they moved on to solid foods, and increased in both size and weight.

The ducklings’ rescue and subsequent progress sparked huge interest online.

A strongly-worded letter from the Chamber of Commerce’s retail committee chairman slams the proposal to introduce more car parking charges in central Douglas and calls on the government minister to have a complete rethink on the policy.

Stephen Bradley accuses the government of picking easy targets with new town centre parking charges and says owners of businesses in central Douglas were ‘flabbergasted’ at the measures. ‘Our customers have less cash in their pockets and our costs are rising faster than revenues,’ he says.

‘Our part of the economy cannot sustain further increases in costs from whatever corner. Such charges will not just be unpopular, they will threaten the very existence of many small retail and restaurant businesses.’

In his letter, Mr Bradley suggests the burden should be borne by ‘more profitable sectors’, adding: ‘Increasing car parking charges without considering the wider economic impact on a fragile service sector is pure madness and totally unacceptable.’ He describes the measures as ‘ill-considered knee-jerk decisions’ and claims the effects on the town centre could be irreversible, taking significantly more money out of the high street than they will generate in revenue. He also cites examples of towns in the UK have made a conscious move back to providing at least some free car parking to boost town centre trade in the light of the competition from out of town retail parks and the internet.

‘Reduce car parking charges and town centre footfall increases, increase footfall and retail turnover increases. With retail turnover comes investment and jobs; the reverse is unfortunately true.’

The new Infrastructure Minister Phil Gawne MHK last month announced a string of measures which included reducing the duration of the angled parking on Loch Promenade in Douglas from two hours to one and charging drivers to park on the promenade walkway.

Concessions granted after protests, will allow free parking for Thursday late night shopping in the run up to Christmas and on Saturdays before the charges kick in fully in January.

Mr Bradley cited the examples of Swindon, Rotherham, Bolton. Middlesbrough and Oldham, which have tried out different types of free parking schemes, successfully generating more town centre business.

Among the measures he has called on for Douglas are free promenade parking for the first two hours, free promenade parking at the weekend and free promenade parking any day after 3pm.

The measures would apply both at the roadside and on the walkway. He also calls for free parking after 3pm and at the weekend in the DoI’s Chester Street car park.

Douglas East MHK Brenda Cannell whose constituency includes the seafront and town centre and is therefore most affected by the proposals said she was furious not to have been consulted in advance and is asking questions about the matter in Keys this week.

Mrs Cannell wants to know when the results of a parking consultation relating to Douglas centre will be published and she will also be questioning the impact of a proposed £25 ‘administration’ fee to issue residents’ parking permits, which are currently free.

Mr Bradley pointed out the new measures come in the wake of a 20 per cent fall in the island’s consumer economy since 2006 and rising overheads for businesses.

Strand Shopping Centre manager John Shakespeare has also voiced grave concerns over the adverse effect of new car parking charges. He too pointed to schemes run in the UK with free parking which had done much to boost town centre trade.

On page six of today’s Isle of Man Examiner, a Douglas restaurateur is so concerned about the impact of parking charges she is offering to reimburse her customers and a resident refused a bus pass because at 60 he is not yet retirement age, queries the legitimacy of such a swift change in the regulations.

‘Doing nothing is not an option.’

That was the message from Bill Henderson MHK, Treasury member responsible for social security, as he unveiled radical proposals to transform the island’s welfare system at a press conference today.

A 640-page report from consultants Ci65 Ltd says the ‘out of date and broken’ system has not kept pace with the ageing population, is based on UK policies rather than local priorities, has become too complex, and risks failing the vulnerable.

The recommended measures, which will go out to public consultation before proposals are presented to Tynwald next year, would leave existing pensioners largely unaffected.

But, if Tynwald approval is given, a new flat rate pension of £180 a week will be rolled out over 20 years from as early as 2016.

People will have to work longer to get the full state pension and the retirement age could rise more than in the UK.

Other proposals could see a cap on benefit payments and the introduction of compulsory workplace pensions.

Mr Henderson insisted that these were recommendations only.

He told reporters: ‘This is a very important day for the Isle of Man.

‘This is nothing to do with the credit crunch or the VAT agreement. Over time it has become increasingly obvious to the government that the sustainability of the NI Fund has come under question.’

Mr Henderson said over the next 30 years there will be 93 per cent increase in the number of people over the age of 65. The total benefits bill, including pensions, is £269m this year - that’s half the Manx government budget.

The NI Fund was now at a ‘critical mass’ and investment returns were having to be used to top it up, he said.

‘It’s not an option to do nothing unless we want to see the collapse of the National Insurance Fund - it’s that serious,’ he stressed.

Mr Henderson said the consultants had identified a ‘pragmatic’ way forward. If some of the recommendations are adopted transition protections would be put in place, he said. Current pensionsers won’t be affected, he said.

The recommended measures include:

*Contributing longer to qualify for a full state pension, with accrual over 45 years instead of the current 30 years. That could give the Isle of Man a higher state pension age than the UK.

*A minimum of 10 years National Insurance contributions to qualify for any pension payment.

*A new flat rate pension of £180 per week, higher than the UK equivalent and more than the current total of £166.85 per week paid to those in receipt of both basic pension and the Manx pension supplement.

*The pension supplement would be phased out for new entrants over a period of 20 years.

*The State Second Pension scheme (formerly SERPS), allowing for additional state pension, to be abolished, with transitional protection for those already in the scheme.

*A £10m a year increase in National Insurance contributions. Ci65 recommends removing the upper earnings limit for employees, dropping the employer’s rate and increasing the self-employed rate to match the employee’s rate of 11 per cent. Those working beyond state pension age would start paying employee’s rate, but employer’s contributions for such workers would be abolished.

*Compulsory workplace pensions. Only 35 per cent of the island’s working population have one – the rest rely on the state pension alone.

*A ‘New Manx Benefit’ to consolidate and simplify the existing regime of 16 working age benefits. Easier for the public to understand and less bureaucratic to administer.

*A ‘Better Off In Work’ guarantee – top-ups to ensure that people will always receive more in employment than out of it.

*Consideration of a benefit cap. The UK model means that no family can receive more than £500 per week in total benefits.