A Maughold Head swimming challenge in aid of a muscular dystrophy charity will begin on Friday, March 27, at the Northern Swimming Pool in Ramsey.

The swim will be 172 lengths, which is the equivalent of the Maughold Head walk, which is 2.75 miles.

Participants will have 10 weeks to complete the distance.

The pool has reduced its costs for people taking part in the event to £2 for adults and £1 for children per session.

The event is being organised by Alison Barr, whose son James, has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, a serious condition that causes progressive muscle weakness.

Unfortunately no cure has yet been discovered and generally between the age of eight to 11 years a wheelchair is required.

We previously reported on 10-year-old James’s fundraising efforts to buy his own all-terrain wheelchair to allow him to play outside with his friends.

Mrs Barr said: ‘It should be a great community event which is fun for all, helps everyone exercise, utilises a super facility and benefits a worthy cause. Although James can no longer walk, he can swim.’

In July 2014, the Barr family managed to raise the final funding needed to order the chair.

Anyone interested in participating should contact the pool on 812852.

If any local businesses wish to provide sponsorship, contact Mrs Barr on 457944.

Volunteers from the island’s Christian community will carry an eight-foot high wooden cross around the Isle of Man in the lead up to Easter.

Christians of all denominations have been invited to participate in the walking tour, which will begin on Monday, March 30 at St German’s Cathedral in Peel at 1.30pm.

The cross will be carried to dozens of the island’s churches over the course of a week and will return to St German’s Cathedral on Easter Sunday (April 5).

Everyone who is able to walk the three-mile final leg on Easter Sunday from St John’s to Peel has been invited to take part and join the Easter Praise service at the Cathedral.

Bishop Robert Paterson said: ‘I think it’ll be good for the island to see that there is still such an active Christian community coming together.

‘I hope the occasion will show that whilst there may be a range of 10 or 12 denominations that each do their own thing on a Sunday, they’re united in what they fundamentally believe.’

For more information and to see details of the full route, visit www.facebook.com/ChurchesAliveinMann.

The Nunnery is being considered for registration as a listed building, MHKs were told.

Onchan MHK Zac Hall led the call in the House of Keys for the building to be listed.

He said: ‘This is probably one of the top sites for registration, given its importance, as an estate, to the whole island, and given that the buildings have been very influential throughout the whole Isle of Man.’

Tynwald voted overwhelmingly in November to support a plan to sell the Nunnery for £5m to International Centre for Technology Ltd, the company now leading a project to create an IT centre of excellence there.

That sale was completed on January 30.

In the Keys, Infrastructure Minister Phil Gawne confirmed the Nunnery is being considered for registration, and work is being undertaken to see whether the building is worthy of listed status.

He said: ‘I will be responsible for giving an independent assessment as to whether or not I believe the building is worthy of registration, so it would be wrong of me to prejudge that position.’

The Minister said four buildings were registered in the past 12 months – Peel police station, Santon railway station, Colby Level gate hut and Ballagawne gatehouse.

He said he was unable to confirm how many buildings are to be registered in the next 12 months.

There is not a formal list of buildings waiting to be registered, he said, but there are currently more than 275 identified by the conservation officer for possible inclusion on the register.

Peter Karran (Lib Van, Onchan) suggested that the department had ‘gone for the easy option’ with the four buildings registered last year.

‘Why has your department refused to register the Nunnery, when it is of such significance and importance as far as the island and its history are concerned?’ he asked.

Mr Gawne replied that Mr Karran had fallen into the trap of preparing supplementary questions and not listening to the answers.

He said there was no need to register a building in government ownership because it was felt that government would look after its buildings.

‘Obviously, the Nunnery is not in government ownership now, which is why we have been asked to consider registration,’ he added.

A public speaking competition for schools takes place next week.

Among the topics are the Bermuda Triangle, the life of Anne Frank, autism, smartphones, Snapchat, selfies and a missing animal.

Also included in the annual face-off between 10 junior schools and five senior schools island-wide are presentations on ‘ʻan adventure to remember’, ʻ’friendship’, ʻ’girl power’, ‘the ʻsocial consequences of the internet’ and ʻ’the thing about technology’.

The competitions are sponsored by the Rotary Club of Douglas.

The junior competition, arranged by clubʼs youth committee in partnership with the Department of Education and Children, is at Cronk y Berry School on Monday, beginning at 6pm, while the senior competition takes place three days later on Thursday, March 19, at Castle Rushen High School, starting at 7pm.

Schools entering include Victoria Road, Arbory, Marown, St Johnʼs, Rushen, Ashley Hill, Cronk y Berry, Willaston, Henry Bloom Noble and the Buchan (junior) and Castle Rushen, Queen Elizabeth II High School, Ballakermeen, Ramsey Grammar and King Williamʼs College (senior).

Through the competition schools are encouraged to give teams of young people the chance to stand up and speak in front of a live audience.

Andrew Swithinbank, the Rotary Club organiser, said: ‘We are really pleased to have the opportunity of mounting this competition because of the huge opportunities it provides for island youngsters.’

Police have issued a warning to drivers to ensure they don’t leave their vehicles unsecured.

Officers say there has been a series of thefts from cars left unlocked.

They say opportunist thieves have been stealing property from unsecured vehicles and also taking cars for their own use when keys are left inside them.

It was reported on Friday that an Isuzu Trooper had been taken without the owner’s consent overnight from the Braaid area.

It was subsequently located and returned.

But more thefts from unsecured vehicles have since taken place.

Sergeant Andy Pailor said: ‘Please don’t become a victim of theft, remove any personal belongings and valuables from your vehicle and secure it properly before leaving it unattended.

‘Even if your vehicle is parked on a driveway these steps should be followed to ensure that it and items within it remain safe.

‘Should anyone have information about these crimes they are urged to contact police on 631212 or provide information to the police via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.’

Peel Commissioners have been brightening up the benches on Peel promenade for the summer by painting them in a variety of colours – but one holidaymaker appears to have misunderstood their intention.

The first bench was painted on Station Road with the commissioners saying the idea had been well-received so they were going to expand the idea to the promenade benches.

The benches on the promenade have now been painted but a Mr Tucker, from Norwich, misunderstood the idea after seeing the original bench during a recent visit to the island.

He thought that the colours had been chosen to reflect the colours of the gay pride flag.

In an email to town clerk Peter Leadley, Mr Tucker praised the commissioners for painting the Station Road bench in the colours but said that he would like to point out that they had got them in the wrong order if, as he thought, they were intending to reflect the colours of the internationally-recognised gay pride emblem.

Mr Tucker even went on to suggest that the bench should be repainted so that the colours were in the correct order.

Mr Leadley said: ‘The decision to paint the bench in the colours was not originally taken to reflect any association with the gay pride movement or any other group. We have written back to Mr Tucker thanking him for his praise but explaining that the colours chosen for the benches have no particular meaning, they were just to brighten up the benches!’

The seats on the promenade have, however, been painted with the colours in the same order as the gay pride flag which are red, orange, yellow, green, blue and violet.

The flag is also known as the Rainbow flag and sometimes the LGBT flag (lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgender). It has been used since the 1970s with the colours aimed at reflecting the diversity of the LGBT community.

It originated in California but is now used worldwide and was designed by San Francisco artist Gilbert Baker in 1978.

The flag originally consisted of eight colours.

A fresh and exciting re-telling of the classic romantic tragedy Romeo and Juliet.

That’s what the Manx Operatic Society will be bringing to the Gaiety Theatre this month as it prepares to stage West Side Story for its 75th production.

The story is set in the Upper West Side of New York in the mid-1950s and focuses on the rivalry between two street gangs, the Jets and the Sharks.

Tony, a former member of the Jets, falls in love with Maria, the sister of the leader of the Sharks.

For the society’s chairman, Karl Clegg, it’s the chemistry between the leads playing the star-crossed lovers– Simon Lynch and Saroja-Lily Ratnavel – that’s one of the main highlights of the show.

Karl said there were many factors to consider when selecting the society’s next production: ‘One of those things is what’s not on or missing at the Gaiety Theatre. I believe a true “classic” like West Side Story, fits the bill.’

With music from Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, the show provided some of the greatest songs from Broadway, including Maria, Something’s Coming, Tonight and America.

The cast ranges in age from 14 to 50 – and Karl said it’s one of the strongest they’ve had in a while: ‘Watching the rehearsals come together, the show is full of dynamic dance routines and emotionally charged scenes. The audience can expect fresh and exciting re telling of Romeo and Juliet.’

West Side Story will be Simon’s first show with the Manx Operatic Society and his debut on the Gaiety stage.

Despite having seen countless Gaiety productions and inheriting a keen interest in musical theatre, for some reason auditions always seemed to pass him by!

It wasn’t until leaving Manx shores to study at Durham University in 2010 that he became a part of the world of singing and dancing at the same time.

Since then, he has appeared in 10 musicals, with highlights including his turns as Nicely Nicely Johnson (Guys and Dolls), Tom Collins (RENT) and J. Pierrepont Finch (How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying) at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2014.

Saroja-Lily, 16, is studying for her A-Levels at Queen Elizabeth II High School. It’s her second show with the Manx Operatic Society having previously performed in Hairspray.

And she is no stranger to the Gaiety Theatre stage having performed in Peter Pan and Cinderella with Dreamstar and Bugsy Malone and Annie Jr with JT Productions.

After a short break from the society, they are pleased to welcome back Anthony Williams as director and choreographer.

Karl said: ‘Anthony’s passion, drive, dedication and encouragement to the cast are second to none, as is evident at any of his rehearsals.

‘The cast are all hot, sweaty and exhausted but loving every minute of it and I think the standards he can achieve in people will be obvious throughout the show.’

West Side Story runs from Saturday, March 21 to March 28 at 7.30pm, with a 2.30pm matinee on March 28. Tickets are available from the Villa/Gaiety or the Welcome Centre. Group discounts are available.

Police officers rescued a woman from the water in Douglas marina in the early hours today (Sunday).

Emergency services were called out at 1.40am to a report of a woman entering the water in the marina.

After being rescued by police officers, she was lifted from a boat with the help of firefighters and then taken to Noble’s Hospital by ambulance.

Inspector Derek Flint said: ‘A well-coordinated rescue meant this woman was transferred to hospital at the earliest opportunity.

‘We are now trying to establish how she ended up in the water and would be pleased to speak to anyone who might have been in the area at the time.’

Locally-educated illustrator Keith Burns is returning to the island to give a talk next month.

Specialising in comics and graphic novels, Keith has worked as an illustrator and artist for a decade.

He will host a free talk in the Market Hall, Douglas, on Thursday, April 30, from 6.30pm.

Keith went to Queen Elizabeth II High School and studied art at the Isle of Man College before going on to university.

For more information email helen.fox@iomcollege.ac.im

Gardeners will share their skills, tips, expertise and local knowledge at an event at Dalby Schoolrooms.

Gardeners’ Question Time takes place on Friday, April 17, from 7.30pm.

The experienced panel will be chaired by Brian Rae and will include Steven Whittaker, Ian Smith and Michael Killey.

Admission (£7.50) includes a gardening gift and supper of Manx broth and bread, with tea and coffee and home made cake.

To book call Gilly, 844031.

The island has donated £20,000 towards a new ‘Home from Home’ unit at the Walton Centre in Liverpool, which was opened recently and which will accommodate relatives or friends of patients undergoing treatment at the centre.

The unit specialists in neurology, neurosurgery and pain services.

As with all emergency medical treatment, hospitalisation is last-minute and traumatic, meaning the last thing anyone accompanying the patient wants to worry about is where to stay.

‘It will benefit families who need to stay close to loved ones receiving lifesaving treatment at The Walton Centre,’ said Brenda Brown, chairman of the Manx/Walton Research Fund which gave the donation.

Fundraising for the Home from Home unit began after Liverpool FC’s David Fairclough organised a charity ball in Liverpool in memory of his wife Jan, who died from a brain aneurysm at the Walton Centre in April 2011.

He and his children, Tom and Sophie, have championed the project and were among the guests at a ‘thank-you’ event for major donors and supporters, held in the newly-completed Home from Home unit, which is in the hospital’s new Sid Watkins Building, next to the centre.

The Manx fund was set up in 2008 by Brenda and her husband David to thank staff at the Walton Centre for Neurology in Liverpool for their professionalism while she was a patient in 2007.

Brenda said: ‘Our family and many others, have cause to be very grateful for the professional support and assistance received at The Walton Centre in Liverpool. When it happens to you, or those dear to you, the availability of this support matters a great deal. All of our fundraising goes to the Walton Neuroscience Fund, a UK registered charity at the Walton Centre for research and patient support.’

An Isle of Man ‘quiet room’ has been included in the accommodation, to acknowledge the support from the island; the centre also has eight en-suite bedrooms, a large living and kitchen area and a laundry room.

The sum was raised from generous donations received from many companies, organisations and individuals in the island said Brenda.

Also in the last few years, Brenda has donated the proceeds of a series of books for children she has written.

Each year, hundreds of people from the island were treated by the centre, for planned operations, appointments and emergencies.

The Walton Centre’s chairman, Ken Hoskisson, and chief executive, Chris Harrop, thanked everyone who had supported the appeal in any way.

Mr Hoskisson said: ‘We have been overwhelmed by the generosity and enthusiasm of hundreds of people who have organised and attended events or made donations over the last two and a bit years. Thanks to this amazing support, we have been able to build high quality accommodation for families, so that we can give them somewhere to stay and take away some of the practical worry of being near loved ones when they are critically ill in our care.’

Fundraising for the Home from Home unit will continue, so that the accommodation can be provided free of charge to families from outside the area for the first few nights after a relative has been admitted.

In addition, the next phase which requires finance is a therapy garden and extra equipment in the new, specialised rehabilitation unit.

The number of places for on-island nursing degrees has been increased from 13 to 20 for 2015, with interviews and shortlisting under way ahead of the programme starting in September.

The move means additional capacity for residents who wish to pursue a career in nursing and study in the island.

The Bachelor of Nursing degree is a full-time three-year pre-registration programme with the option to study the field of adult nursing or mental health nursing. The programme is taught entirely in the Isle of Man and is validated and awarded by the University of Chester.

This year’s programme will consist of 14 places in the adult field and six places in the mental health field.

During the degree programme student nurses will undertake a minimum of 2,300 hours of academic study supported by qualified nurse lecturers and 2,300 hours of nursing practice supported by qualified mentors in conjunction with placement staff and the multi-professional workforce.

A bursary, which is currently £5,000 a year, is awarded to successful applicants.

In addition to the pre-registration degree programme, places are available for nurses who have taken a career break and wish to return to practise.

Like the pre-registration degree, the comprehensive ‘return to practice’ programme is delivered entirely on-island and is specifically designed to assist former nurses in making the transition back to professional practice. The programme, which is fully endorsed by the Nursing and Midwifery Council, is still accepting applicants for 2015.

Linda Radcliffe, chief nurse for the Isle of Man, said: ‘The increase in the number of places for our nursing degrees is an exciting and welcome initiative which demonstrates government’s commitment to developing home grown talent. It means those interested in a career in nursing don’t have to go to the UK, instead they will have the opportunity to be educated locally in familiar surroundings.

‘The degree isn’t just for people leaving the education system; it provides an opportunity to those who might be looking for a complete career change. Our focus is already turning to recruitment of candidates for our 2016 intake, and I would encourage anyone who is interested to get in touch so that we have their details on file.

‘We are very keen to support existing talent and offer nurses who have previously qualified but, for whatever reason, left the profession, the opportunity to retrain on-island through our Return to Practice ‘Nursing is a highly rewarding career. No two days are alike and it gives you the opportunity to make a real difference to the lives of people in our community.’

Two by-elections have been triggered following the election of two MHKs - Bill Henderson and David Cretney - to the Legislative Council.

And with two seats in the upper house still to be filled after multiple rounds of voting, a surprise new candidate has emerged - Education Minister and Peel MHK Tim Crookall.

Douglas North MHK Mr Henderson, a member for Treasury, won his seat in the first ballot, picking up 17 votes.

It took Douglas South MHK Mr Cretney five rounds of voting to secure the 13 votes he needed.

Mr Crookall’s name was proposed for the fourth ballot, and the Peel MHK picked up 12 votes in each successive round apart from the sixth, when his tally fell to nine.

The other candidates were Glenfaba MHK and former Health Minister David Anderson, who picked up no more than 11 votes, Phil Braidwood MLC who came close to winning back his LegCo seat with 12 votes in the fifth ballot, and two advocates Paul Becket and Christopher Kinley who both saw their vote fall away over successive ballots.

Speaking after his election, Mr Cretney said: ‘I’m never confident in elections. And I would far rather face the electorate in South Douglas - I know where I stand with them!’

He said he was looking forward to the completely different challenge of his new role.

Mr Henderson said: ‘I’m absolutely thrilled. I didn’t think I would get that many votes and be put through on the first round. I’m still a little shell-shocked. I’m very very pleased with the support I’ve had.

‘I’m delighted and proud to carry on serving the island, albeit from a LegCo perspective.’

With one further round of voting after the lunchtime recess failing to see any other candidates come closer to filling the remaining two seats, Speaker Steve Rodan called for fresh nominations by 5pm on April 16 with the next election to take place on May 6.

An unattended pan led to firefighters being called out in Onchan today.

They were called to a property in Belgravia Road after an occupant from a flat discovered the building smoke logged

The source of the smoke was an unoccupied flat within the building, where a pan had boiled dry.

Damage was restricted to the cooker area.

Householders are going to be asked to declare how much they think their property is worth under proposals to reform the rating system.

The government today launched a public consultation on reforming the rating system.

Currently, the ‘rateable value’ of a domestic property is calculated by estimating the rental income it would have earned in the 1960s, when the island’s housing market was completely different.

The consultation proposes rates based on current capital value - the price a home would fetch if sold on the open market.

Properties would be grouped into nine valuation bands, ranging from below £125,000 to above £1 million, with those in the top band paying eight times more in rates than those in the bottom one.

Under the proposed scheme householders would declare the capital value of their property so that its banding could be determined.

Modernising the system using capital valuation would mean some households paying less in rates than they are at present, and others more, but it would not increase the overall amount of revenue raised.

Treasury Minister Eddie Teare MHK said: ‘It is more important than ever that we have a rates system which is accurate and fair.’

He added:‘Our current system is decades out of date, is full of anomalies, and it can produce big differences in rates bills between nearby properties with the same market value.’

The consultation is open until April 27 and the consultation document can be found {http://www.gov.im/consultations.gov?menuid=16916&type=current|here} and can be completed online at {https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ratesreform|this site.}

Two apprentice engineers from the Isle of Man were among the winners at the North West Aerospace Alliance (NWAA) New Talent Awards, which recognise and reward the achievements of young apprentices and graduates from the North West region’s aerospace and defence industry.

Luke McKinley from RLC Ronaldsway won The Innovation Award, which recognised innovative thinking and outstanding engineering skills that have brought successful change to the business.

Luke’s project enabled the company to recycle coolant from swarf skips and bins.

Jack Hunter from Swagelok gained a commendation for establishing a project to teach school children about engineering through motive power.

David Bailey, chief executive officer at NWAA, said: ‘The New Talent Awards has become a key event for the North West’s aerospace and defence sector.

‘It is hugely important to our industry that we increase the numbers of talented young people into apprenticeships to plug the skills gap that threatens our ability to achieve the growth the aerospace market is experiencing.’

Both Luke and Jack have come through the Isle of Man manufacturing sector’s apprenticeship scheme. Thirty-six new students are required to join the Foundation Apprenticeship in Engineering programme in September 2015 and further details and an application form can be found at www.iomcollege.ac.im

A four-week murder trial got under way today after being postponed from earlier this month.

Opening the case for the prosecution, Linda Watts told the jury of eight women and four men she intended to prove Ian Anthony Anderson, aged 46, late of Queen Street in Castletown killed gardener Neil Edward Roberts of Ballabeg, in the early hours of December 1 2013.

Mrs Watts said the evidence would show a violent attack on Mr Roberts by Mr Anderson causing facial injuries so severe the victim was almost unrecognisable, and breaking almost all of his ribs as well as his sternum.

The jury heard Mr Anderson, who has denied murder, and Mr Roberts were drinking together in the Bay Hotel in Port Erin on the evening of November 30, before the pair joined Mr Anderson’s wife Alison back at their home in Queen Street, Castletown.

Jurors were shown a video of the outside and internal layout of the property. Tomorrow jurors will visit the scene and the prosecution case continues in the afternoon.

The Office of Fair Trading has been carrying out a number of ‘anti-scam’ awareness events, offering advice and support to people across the island on how to avoid being ‘scammed’.

The programme of events has included talks to community groups and residents of sheltered housing complexes.

Police officers have also been working with the OFT to raise awareness of scams as part of their ‘Brew with a Bobby’ sessions.

Scammers operate through all forms of communication – telephone calls, emails, social media, text messages and letters.

An OFT spokesman said: ‘Sometimes “scams” are very obvious and are easily spotted – you may have had an email from an African prince offering you a financial reward to help him move money from his home country and asking for your bank details.

‘However, most scams are far more subtle and difficult to assess. They can appear professional and official and claim to be from your bank. They may even stay in contact with you over several months to build up a relationship of trust before then asking for money or personal details.’

As part of the campaign, staff from the OFT joined the Mobile Family Library to take the message on the road.

Sandra Henderson, librarian in charge, said: ‘It was an excellent way of getting the information about scams out into the community and also the other services which the OFT offers. We have since given out leaflets regarding the OFT services to members of our Home Library Service as an extension of the OFT scams awareness programme. We are an information service as well as a library and welcome initiatives such as this.’

Four sixth form students will test their problem solving skills against young linguists from around the world in July.

Daniel Quayle, Annie Lennon, Max Quayle and Dylan Leonine will represent the Isle of Man at the International Linguistics Olympiad in Bulgaria, where over 150 competitors from up to 30 countries will test themselves against the world’s toughest language puzzles.

The four were selected after achieving the highest scores in the Isle of Man’s regional competition.

A total of 42 students from the Isle of Man’s secondary schools attempted the competition paper, which was devised by Max Wheeler, professor emeritus of linguistics at Sussex University.

The contest aims to inspire young linguists and language students to develop their analytical skills and encourage them to find out more about language structure and grammatical concepts.

The mind-bending paper tested students on a range of linguistic systems and expected them to analyse the pronouns and cases in an Australian Aboriginal language and even calculate semantic relationships in an artificial language devised by a computer algorithm.

‘Our Community’ is the theme for the 2015 Isle of Man Flower Festival.

Preparations have begun to bring the event – a firm favourite in the summer calendar with thousands visiting churches and other participating venues to view the displays – to full bloom.

The festival runs from July 5 to July 11, with 17 venues taking part, including churches, Manx National Heritage sites and a joint project between Milntown and Bunscoill Rhumsaa.

The photography competition will cater solely for digital photography.

Flower Festival committee chairman Judy Matthews said: ‘We are grateful, once again, for the support of Connect2Charity, and especially to Kurt Roosen.

‘This year we are delighted to report that we are being supported by Culture Vannin who offered us a grant towards the printing costs of the brochure. All the volunteers look forward to seeing many familiar faces and some new ones at this year’s festival.’

Culture Vannin chairman Phil Gawne MHK said: ‘The Flower Festival is at the heart of our communities and cultural life. It encourages everyone – Manx and visitors alike – to connect with our beautiful churches and chapels, which are brought to life through floral and art displays, concerts and gatherings.

‘The festival often unlocks places of spirituality and tranquillity to new audiences, connecting them to a cornerstone of our culture.’

The venues taking part are St Mary de Ballaugh; St Patrick’s Church, Jurby; St Andrew’s Church, Andreas; Milntown and Bunscoill Rhumsaa; The Grove Museum; Trinity URC, Ramsey; Ramsey Independent Methodist Church; Christ Church Dhoon; Christ Church, Laxey; Onchan Elim Pentecostal Church; Onchan Methodist Church; St Matthew’s Church, Douglas; Abbey Church, Ballasalla; The Nautical Museum; Port Erin Methodist Church; St Peter’s Church, Cregneash; St German’s Cathedral.

Festival brochures will be available after the TT.

Keep up to date at www.flowerfest.im or, for further information at this stage email flowerfestim@gmail.com