Dandara Group senior architectural technician Visumbe Zivave has become a fully-qualified architect after successfully completing his Advanced Diploma in Professional Practice in Architecture.

The Royal Institute of British Architects’ diploma is the final stage of a three-part qualification process to become eligible for registration by the Architects Registration Board, and entitles Visumbe to call himself an architect, a title protected by law.

Visumbe, or V as he is known to colleagues, trained and worked in Zimbabwe and South Africa before moving to the Isle of Man in 2008. He holds a first class Bachelor of Architecture degree and joined Dandara in January 2014.

The RIBA Part 3 qualification is only available to candidates who have successfully finished the RIBA-validated Parts 1 and 2 qualifications, and requires the completion of at least five years’ university study and two years’ practical experience.

Dandara Group managing director Seamus Nugent said: ‘There is a huge degree of commitment required to become a fully-qualified architect, and V has worked with determination and dedication towards achieving this final step.

‘He is now eligible for Chartered membership of the Royal Institute of British Architects and to have the letters R.I.B.A. after his name. This is a worldwide-recognised qualification and a symbol of professional excellence which V has worked hard for and should be very proud of.

‘We look forward to seeing him continue to develop as a professional, with the flair, imagination and skill he is known for, and play an important role in the creation of innovative commercial and residential projects for the Dandara Group.’

V added: ‘I’m delighted to have completed the diploma and to have the honour of calling myself an architect. It has taken many years and a lot of work, and I would like to thank my colleagues at Dandara for their support.’

Tynwald threw out a bid for Tynwald to vote on the separate aspects of the Douglas promenades revamp.

Malew and Santon MHK Graham Cregeen had tabled a Tynwald motion calling the members to vote separately on the carriageway upgrade and the horse tramway relocation. But his motion was defeated following a debate on Tuesday evening.

The Department of Infrastructure has submitted its planning application for the £21.3m promenade refurbishment project. Funding approval is likely to a sought at the October Tynwald.

Mr Cregeen argued Tynwald funding for the new tram line should be conditional on Douglas Council signing up to continue running the horse trams for at least another 20 years.

He believes the horse tram line should be kept in the centre of the road but reduced to a single track.

Original plans to relocate the horse tram tracks on the carriageway side of the Marine Gardens on Loch Promenade were abandoned following opposition from hoteliers and town centre traders concerned at the loss of parking spaces.

Under the revised plans, the realigned horse tram track, a single track with one passing place, will share the walkway with pedestrians, cyclists and children.

One of the controversial aspects of the application is the idea of a ‘shared space’ street where pedestrians and traffic have equal right of way and existing conventional pedestrian crossings are replaced with ‘courtesy crossings’.

There is no comparison with the situation between the Steam Packet and Manx Gas, Chief Minister Allan Bell insisted.

Mr Bell was quizzed in Tynwald by Peter Karran (LibVan, Onchan) over the takeover of Manx Gas’ parent company, International Energy Group, by Bermuda-based Brookfield Infrastructure Partners LP.

Mr Karran asked whether Brookfield had given assurances they will ‘not load Manx Gas with excessive debt’.

He asked: ‘Will he refer this back to make sure we don’t end up with a situation like we have with the Steam Packet Company where we end up with a company with massive debts through the sale of a user agreement we give free, so we can protect gas consumers so they are not being charged more than they should be.’

The Steam Packet announced a financial restructuring in 2013 to significantly reduce its unsustainable level of debt dating back to its acquisition by Macquarie in 2005.

Mr Bell said: ‘I was personally not aware of the acquisition of the International Energy Group by Brookfield in 2009 but the OFT who monitor the gas market were aware.

‘There have been no discussions with Brookfield or Manx Gas about debt. I can add that both OFT and Treasury have had access to the accounts of Manx Gas and there are no concerns regarding debt levels.’

He added: ‘I want to make it crystal clear there is absolutely no comparison with the situation at the Steam Packet and Manx Gas. Manx Gas along with Guernsey Gas and Jersey Gas are owned by IEG. Brookfield have taken over IEG. There is no material impact on Manx Gas in any way at all as a result of that.’

He pointed out that Brookfield is ‘not Macquarie, it is not a speculative investor - it is a very substantial $10bn international company with 9,000 employees worldwide and has very material involvement in utilities, transport, energy and communications.’

Mr Bell said that since the agreed profitability of Manx Gas is based on the capital value of assets deployed, the level of debt of the company does not influence profit levels.

New Top Gear presenter Chris Evans has hinted TT hero Guy Martin is in the running to join the show.

The popular broadcaster has also told how he will be looking to audition ordinary members of the public for the car-madshow.

And perhaps the strongest hint yet appeared yesterday afternoon (Thursday) when a message appeared on the

@guymartinracing Twitter account saying: ‘I’ve got 2 admit I do have an extra job in the offing, driving something pretty trick it was too hard to turn down.’

Since ginger-haired BBC Radio 2 breakfast show host Evans was named as former island resident Jeremy Clarkson’s successor, there has been a great deal of speculation about who will join him.

Model Jodie Kidd has been tipped to be a presenter.

And some bookmakers have the Isle of Man TT race ace and popular character Guy Martin as the favourite male candidate to join the hit show.

And on his Radio 2 show yesterday morning (Thursday), Evans did little to dampen the speculation.

And acknowledging how well-loved Guy Martin is, Evans said: ‘The thing about Guy is, does he want to do it?’

Guy has previously appeared on Evans’ breakfast show and when asked earlier this year about speculation linking him to Top Gear, he said: ‘Never say never.’

Guy’s autobiography continues to be in the best-seller’s list more than a year after it first came out.

Meanwhile Chris Evans has also announced he will be looking to audition members of the public to join his new team to host the show.

The presenter says the only criterion is to have a ‘real appetite’ for cars. He told viewers on BBC1’s One Show on Wednesday: ‘Male, female, old, young, it doesn’t matter.

‘The one thing that does matter is you’ve got to have a real appetite for cars, and you’ve got to know something about cars. You can be a mechanic, you can be an amateur racing car driver, you can be a guy who’s a fireman but who’s been building his own Land Rover in his garage, but you’ve got to know about cars.’

There is no contingency plan yet in place should the UK vote to pull out of the EU, Tynwald was told.

Chief Minister Allan Bell said the government was ‘very alert’ to the situation but at this stage there was very little clarity about what Westminster itself wanted.

He told Tynwald: ‘If the UK withdraws from the European Union there will certainly be implications for the Isle of Man.

‘Considerable work is ongoing to understand what these implications may be. We are also considering the implications of possible changes to the Treaty on the Isle of Man.’

The island’s link with the EU is through protocol 3 in the 1973 Treaty of Rome which permits free movement in manufacturing and agricultural goods.

Speaker Steve Rodan asked what contingencies were being prepared, should the UK vote to withdraw from the EU, to restore such an arrangement similar to protocol 3.

Mr Bell replied: ‘We will have to review our position in terms of a new relationship with Europe. At this stage there are so many options to consider. We do not have a specific alternative proposal - there are so many imponderables.

‘It’s way too early to say what alternative relationship, if any in fact, we may be able to negotiate with the EU.’

He said it would be ‘naive’ to think the island could simply negotiate a new treaty and the EU would be ‘looking for something in return’.

Michael MHK Alfred Cannan said: ‘This referendum has potentially huge implications for the people of the Isle of Man.’

He asked if it was the Chief Minister’s intention to support growing calls for the island to have a full say in any referendum vote.

Mr Bell said he didn’t understand the logic in that as we are not part of the UK or the EU and there was no possibility of our having a direct input in ‘somebody else’s referendum’.

He said his own view was that David Cameron did not want to withdraw and ‘some fudge’ would be put together at the last minute.

After the excitement and crackling atmosphere of the last two weeks we’ve arrived at the annual post TT slump.

The island is quiet and tranquil once again, well almost! There are a few bands still forging ahead this weekend after their recent busy period.

Borderline continue where they left off with their relentless TT schedule by making appearances at The Creek in Peel on Friday and The Railway in Douglas on Saturday.

The band state that their influences range from Rock’n’Roll, Rhythm’n’Blues, Fifties Rockabilly, New Orleans R’n’B, Psychobilly, Country and Western Swing, Sixties Soul, Chicago Blues, Texas Jump, Swamp Blues and Delta Blues. Their musical influences come from the likes of Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, Robert Cray, Albert King, B.B. King, Willie Dixon, Muddy Waters, Jerry Lee Lewis, Moon Mullican, Little Walter, Robert Johnson, T-Bone Walker and Ray Charles. The band’s Facebook page is: www.facebook.com/pages/Borderline/578145575594045

9 Mile Smile are another band that have been notching up the gigs recently and are certainly doing well for it. The band is made up by vocalist Angela Wells, guitarists Graham Smith and Grant Evans, bassist Lewis Thompson and Johnny Wade on drums.

They specialise in covers from the likes of anything from the now ubiquitous Kings Of Leon and Stereophonics to Blondie and Michael Jackson via Amy Winehouse and Aretha Franklin.

Quite a mix and well worth seeing as what they do, they certainly do well.

The band appear at Jaks Bar in Douglas on Friday night. For more information on the band and any further dates, please visit www.facebook.com/9MileSmile

For anyone who had planned on attending the forthcoming Matt Creer show due to take place at the Centenary Centre in Peel this Saturday, sadly it has been announced that the show will now not be going ahead.

Matt will however still open the show the following Saturday at the same venue as support to Anxo Lorenzo.

Further information on the Centenary Centre website.

There isn’t much that I can say about Davy Knowles that hasn’t already been said many times over.

This time however it’s his turn as he has been writing a travel/tour blog while on his current trek across the States as part of the George Thorogood/Brian Setzer tour and it’s well worth a read. Please visit www.davyknowles.com/blog

Thanks for reading and I’ll see you next week.

Isle of Man-based Transmann has announced that it will now be offering a full range of distribution services to Poland and the Baltic countries, including Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

Services to the four countries began this month. The extension of its international services is being made possible by the distribution company’s membership of Palletways, said to be Europe’s largest and fastest growing express palletised freight network.

It now means Transmann provides delivery services to 18 European countries, which also include Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Republic of Ireland, Slovakia, Spain and the United Kingdom.

exciting times

Geoff Evans, principal at Transmann, said: ‘These new additions to the network are really exciting times for both Palletways and Transmann.

‘This adds to our growing pan-European delivery capability and will open up significant new market opportunities for us and our customers.’

Luis Zubialde, managing director of Palletways UK Network, said: ‘Our expansion into Eastern and Northern Europe is part of our wider strategy to extend our geographical presence and provide even more value to our customers.

‘It will be supported by our pan-European IT platform and central customer service operation in Madrid to ensure we provide the best possible customer experience.’

Palletways comprises 400 depots across Europe of which over 100 are in the UK.

‘The company’s distribution networks are made up of independent transport companies, including Transmann, who share each other’s resources to deliver consignments of palletised freight to market faster and more cost effectively than ever before.

Bus and rail passenger figures from Isle of Man Transport support reports that the 2015 TT fortnight was the busiest for several years.

A total of 217,560 passengers were carried on all three heritage railways and bus vannin services between June 1 and 12 generating an income of £427,000.

Visitors seemed to embrace the new Go smart travel cards with almost 5,000 sold during the fortnight in addition to pre-sales by tour operators and online.

The busiest days were the Friday of Practice Week (June 5) on all services and the Thursday of Race Week (June 11) when the Manx Electric Railway carried 2,000 people to Laxey and hordes of people went on the Steam Railway.

In fact, with more than 281 people boarding the late morning train to Port Erin, every available carriage was used.

Kate Beecroft MHK, Political Member responsible for Public Transport, paid tribute to the staff, many of whom worked long hours during the fortnight.

She said: ‘TT is an extremely testing time for everyone involved in operating public transport and I want to say a huge well done to every member of staff who pulled out all the stops to make it a bumper TT for Isle of Man Transport.

‘We should also acknowledge that Government investment in our transport infrastructure has helped achieve these remarkable

The P&O Express fast craft will not be joining the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company fleet during the 2016 TT.

The vessel has been a regular in Manx waters for Larne trips each TT, but the craft is being returned to her owners by P&O and will not be available for TT charter trips in 2016.

Finding a suitable alternative which is available for such a short lease period is proving very difficult, so the Steam Packet Company has already adjusted its TT schedules for next year to maximise capacity.

Although the loss of P&O Express means there are slightly fewer Irish sailings during TT 2016, Ben-my-Chree and Manannan have already been scheduled to operate additional Belfast sailings to accommodate Irish fans heading to the races.

Adding these extra Irish services for Manannan and Ben-my-Chree means the number of sailings from Heysham and Liverpool is slightly reduced.

Isle of Man Steam Packet Company chief executive Mark Woodward said: ‘Fast craft are expensive to operate and maintain so we are not surprised that P&O has decided to return the craft. Realistically, there simply aren’t many owners who are prepared to make their vessels available for just two or three weeks’ charter, and commit to that a year in advance. The search for vessels is further restricted because of the size constraints necessary for vessels which can operate within the limitations of the harbours we service.

‘We will keep looking for a replacement charter and have already approached several companies. None at present has indicated a willingness to release vessels to us but we will keep trying. As things stand it appears highly unlikely a suitable replacement will be available and our published schedule for TT2016 assumes we will use our existing resources.’

He added: ‘Our vehicle capacity at TT is significantly higher than 20 years ago and Manannan with the mezzanine deck has double the motorcycle capacity of P&O Express, which only carried around 700 of the 14,000 motorcycles transported in 2015.’

Juan Turner has been dropped from the Department of Infrastructure - just hours after be branded it ‘the Parking and Anti-motorist Department’.

Mr Turner was contacted by Infrastructure Minister Phil Gawne after yesterday’s Council of Ministers’ meeting and told he was no longer in the DoI.

He said this had ‘come as no surprise’.

Mr Gawne insisted he had not sacked Mr Turner and had been willing to keep him on - but the view had been taken that he could not retain his role if he was actively lobbying against the department.

Mr Turner told iomtoday this week that he could not support plans to charge senior civil servants and Tynwald members to use government parking spaces in central Douglas. He insisted he would not be buying a space as he could park elsewhere for free nearby.

‘The Parking and Anti-motorist Department has created a false value,’ he said.

Mr Turner has also criticised the dumping of silt from Peel marina at Poortown, insisting it should have been dumped at sea. He has objected to ‘nonsensical’ airport parking charges and the ‘dreadful’ shared-space scheme for Douglas promenades.

Police have released the name of a man who died while under police guard at Noble’s Hospital in the early hours of Monday, June 16.

Steven Jonathan Corkill, aged 27, from Douglas, had been arrested on the evening of Friday, June 12, on suspicion of drug trafficking offences.

The investigation into his death is continuing.

Man dies while under police guard at Noble’s Hospital

A 25-year-old man has been charged with 40 offences of criminal damage.

Most of the charges relate to damage sustained by motor vehicles in the early hours of Saturday, November 29, last year.

The accused will appear in court later this month.

Are windfarms no longer seen as the answer to cutting the island’s carbon emissions?

Tynwald last month voted to commit the island to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80 per cent by 2050.

But at this month’s sitting of court, Environment Minister Richard Ronan said the government did not want to promote wind farms for local use.

Replying to a question from Peter Karran (LibVan, Onchan), he said: ‘Government currently has no plans to offer equivalent subsidies to those in the UK for wind farms on or offshore of the Isle of Man.

‘We currently believe that given the MUA’s substantial generation capacity, we would not wish to stimulate any further capacity for local use, unless such new capacity were to financially improve the MUA’s financial situation.’

Mr Ronan said the focus should instead be on cutting energy loss from homes, with ‘space heating’ representing around a third of the existing emissions.

In 2010, Tynwald voted unanimously in favour of a target of generating 15 per cent of the island’s electricity from renewable sources by 2015. At that time it was thought that an onshore wind farm could provide 12 per cent of that target. A 2009 report commissioned by the government’s Energy Policy Working Group said the island was ideally suited to onshore wind farms as it has, on average, the highest wind speed throughout the year compared with the UK, Denmark and Germany.

Expressions of interest were subsequently sought from developers interested in tendering for the design, finance, build and operation of a 20 megawatt wind farm.

Then in May 2013, a Council of Ministers report on the renewable energy target concluded the commitment to have 15 per cent of energy generated from renewable sources by 2015 was unachievable.

Mr Ronan told Tynwald this week: ‘There are discussions under way with a developer regarding a potential off-shore windfarm. However, the electricity generated would be sold directly into the UK and as such would not have an effect on the MUA electricity generation operations or costs.’

He said the existing gas-powered power station at Pulrose is ‘highly efficient and produces comparatively low emissions’.

‘Therefore we believe we should not prioritise electricity generation emissions until the current plant comes to the end of its effective operational life. The replacement facilities would then be expected to be ultra-low emissions,’ he said.

Manx Utilities Authority chairman Alfred Cannan told the Manx Independent: ‘Government has neither ruled in or ruled out onshore wind farms. The MUA is committed to engaging with any firm wanting to establish wind farms but with the clear proviso that any engagement carries with it the potential risk that any proposal for a wind farm is not guaranteed political support.’

In 2013, Mr Cannan led the charge against plans for a wind farm at Jurby, plans that quickly descended into farce.

Developer Prowind UK arranged interviews at the Job Centre, despite the company being told it would need full planning consent - and in any event wind turbines could not be erected at the Jurby airfield site.

The company pulled out and demanded compensation.

Broadway in Douglas will be closed next week while water mains connection work takes place.

The road is scheduled to close at at 6am on Monday morning and is reopen on Friday at 6pm, earlier if work is completed in good time.

Contact the Department of Infrastructure for more information.

A ship’s captain with the Steam Packet Company died from hanging after drinking a large amount of alcohol, an inquest has heard.

Recording a suicide verdict, coroner John Needham said Stephen Michael Spenser, who was 44 and lived at Lakeside Road in Governor’s Hill, had died from asphyxiation on October 30 last year.

A statement from the Steam Packet Company paid tribute to him saying: ‘The thoughts of everyone here at the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company are with the family and friends of Stephen. He was a long-serving colleague and a man who conducted his work professionally and responsibly. We have all been touched by his loss.’

A statement from Mr Spenser’s mother Helen Spenser said she had seen her son the day before his death, on October 29, when he was subdued but did not otherwise behave out of the ordinary. However, she said the following day she was contacted by the Steam Packet asking if she knew where Mr Spenser was because he had not arrived at work. When she went to his house, along with his brother David and fiancee Sara Johnson, they found he was already dead and could not be revived.

The court heard he had been attending the alcohol support service MOTIV8 but he had given no special cause for concern.

‘I find he deliberately hanged himself before he was found on the evening of October 30. He acted impulsively but nontheless at that time his intention was to end his own life,’ Mr Needham said.

He thanked all the witnesses and offered condolences to Mr Spenser’s family and friends.

A well-known and popular Peel couple recently celebrated their golden wedding anniversary.

Eric and Sheila Kelly, of Ballaterson Road, celebrated 50 years of marriage on June 3 with family and friends at a Tea Dance at St John’s Methodist Hall.

As their anniversary day fell on Wednesday in the middle of TT Practice Week they decided to combine their celebration with their usual weekly afternoon Tea Dance.

Eric, 75, said: ‘We met around 53 years ago in the usual place where most couples met in those days at the Villa Marina dances.

‘I asked Sheila for a dance and that was it.

‘I had first saw her at the Golden Goose club in Duke Street in Douglas.

‘We got married at St Matthew’s Church on the quay in Douglas.’

Eric and Sheila, 71, have one son, David, and four grandchildren.

Asked about the recipe for a long and successful marriage, Eric said: ‘Working together through the good times and the bad.

‘People tend to part these days during the bad times, but you’ve got to support each other.’

Friend Audrey Corrin said: ‘Eric and Sheila are a very popular and generous couple, always willing to help others and share their time and talents for other people’s enjoyment.

‘Eric plays the organ for Sunday morning worship at St. John’s Methodist Chapel and he and Sheila organise the popular weekly Good Friends Tea Dance at St John’s, and run the indoor bowls at the hall too.

‘Eric helps many churches around the island to entertain for Christmas fairs, coffee mornings or concerts. He regularly contributes to Manx Radio’s Thought for the Day, participates in The Guild, and plays festive music on his organ in Michael Street in Peel at Christmas time to entertain shoppers. They’re a very special couple and deserve a big thank you for bringing so much enjoyment to others, and many congratulations on their golden wedding anniversary.’

Top quality talent from around the world will be performing at the Erin Arts Centre for the 41st Mananan Festival.

The event starts on Sunday with a sold-out performance by the hugely entertaining pianists Worbey and Farrell.

The music and arts festival runs daily until Thursday, July 2, with a variety of events including jazz, classical, Indian and Celtic music, floral art and silent film.

The line-up includes an evening with one of Britain’s best loved sopranos, Dame Felicity Lott, and Edward Seckerson on Monday.

A Celtic music night with Fraser Fitfield (low whistle, sax, border pipes, kaval and cajon) and Graeme Stephen (guitar) takes place on Thursday, June 25.

The duo are well-known in folk and jazz circles as musicians with a unique approach and distinctive sound.

Emma Johnson (clarinet), John Lenehan (piano) and Paul Clarvis (drums) present a jazz evening on Saturday, June 27.

Clarinet Goes To Town will explore ragtime, cakewalks, popular song, habanera and spirituals – not least the music of the king of swing, Benny Goodman.

EAC patron Julius Drake will introduce German baritone Ben Appl in a celebrity song recital on Tuesday, June 30. The recital will be recorded by BBC Radio 3 for future transmission.

Red Priest will take the audience on a whirlwind tour of Handel with ‘Handel in the Wind’ on Wednesday, July 1. The foursome are described as ‘outrageous yet compulsive’ with a ‘red-hot wicked sense of humour’.

Soumik Datta and Shahbaz Hussain return to the EAC for an evening of Sarod and Indian classical music on July 2. Soumik’s latest album, ‘Anti-Hero’, explores an area between Radiohead, Pink Floyd and Indian classical music.

The box office is open 10.30am to 4.30pm. Visit in person or call 832662.

A Baldrine man is driving 2,000 miles across Europe helping to raise £1m for charity.

Michael Sawdon, 26, has collected more than £7,500 in donations for the Help for Heroes charity so far and you can still donate as he takes part in the rally.

The rally is over 2,000 miles long, starting in Warwickshire and ending at Hitler’s nest Berchtesgaden in Austria.

It follows the route the American 101st division took from D-Day until the end of World War II.

There are 40 teams taking part and the final goal was to take the total raised since the first Help for Heroes Rally in 2010 to £1,000,000, a target which has been reached already.

Help for Heroes provides assistance to wounded servicemen and their families.

The event will follow the path and tell the story of the Allied Invasion through Europe. The Allied Forces landed in France early on D-Day morning, June 6, 1944.

Some parts of the route will also include areas of the ‘Western Front’ of World War I.

Michael’s father, Peter Lambert, said: ‘Michael is using his own Land Rover from the Isle of Man, we got it for him after his own vehicle was stolen in the UK.

‘This one was originally blue but he sprayed it yellow, we got it in Laxey.

‘Someone said it looked like a Tonka jeep, the old toy ones from years ago, so he painted ‘Tonka’ on the side.’

The event started on Saturday, June 13 and is scheduled to end on June 27. The 2,000 mile expedition will encompass seven European countries, including the UK, France, Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg, Austria and Germany.

The rally is a part military history tour, open to road-legal 4×4 vehicles.

Michael is driving for ‘Team 40’ which has an individual fundraising target of £10,000. His co-drivers on the journey are Navy colleagues from the UK, Ashton Peace and Lucy Weigel.

Michael joined the Navy when he was 16 and is a Weapons Petty Officer based in Portsmouth.

You can follow Michael’s progress at www.h4hrally.co.uk/livetracking

Make a donation to the Help for Heroes charity at bmycharity.com/theseniorservice

Same-day electoral registration could be considered as part of a root and branch review of the island’s ‘increasingly outdated’ election legislation.

Onchan MHK Zac Hall suggested in Tynwald that allowing people to register to vote on the day of an election, as introduced in some US states, could boost voter turn-out at the polls.

Mr Hall said it would be a ‘golden opportunity’ for the island to lead the way, helping those who simply forget to register or don’t know you have to register, and those who frequently move.

Chief Minister Allan Bell said the system had not yet been considered in any detail.

He said: ‘While there is some evidence that same-day electoral registration increases voter turn-out, it comes at a significant technical and administrative cost.

‘The Council of Ministers is committed to root and branch review of the island’s increasingly outdated election legislation after next year’s general election. This review could include a more detailed investigation of same-day electoral registration.’

Concerns were expressed at last month’s by-elections in Douglas North and South that thousands of names have been taken off the voters’ list when the electoral register was updated.

John Houghton (Douglas North) claimed voters had been turned away at the polling station only to be called back when their completed registration forms were found after a search.

Bill Malarkey, who was victorious in the Douglas South by-election, suggested a simple amendment could allow names to be put on the voters’ list seven days before a by-election just as they can in a general election. Mr Bell replied that this was an anomaly that was being looked into.

The Chief Minister rejected a call by LibVan leader Kate Beecroft (Douglas South) for online voting. Mr Bell said while it had many attractions, it was still an unsecure way of voting.

He also rejected a suggestion by Speaker Steve Rodan for an international election observer mission. He replied, somewhat pointedly: ‘I understand Mr Speaker has just returned from a similar mission in BVI and I am sure his experience will be undoubtedly beneficial to the Isle of Man, but the answer is no.’

The Parish Walk is under way after around 1,400 walkers set off from the National Sports Centre in Douglas at 8am.

The participants are currently making their way towards their target destinations along the 85-mile course.

With such a large volume of competitors, spectators and support vehicles, a number of roads closures have been put in place.

They are: A1 Douglas to Peel Road, from 8.15am to 10.30am; Cleanagh Road, Marown/Santon, from 9am to 11.30am; Orrisdale Road, Malew, from 10am to 1.30pm; and Derby Road, Peel, from 12.30pm to 6.30pm.

A range of other routes will be one-way from 11am today (Saturday) to 7am tomorrow and motorists are asked to drive and park with consideration and patience.

The iomtoday sports team will be providing updates throughout the day on their Twitter account @iomsportsdesk

To follow individual walkers, click the following link to the Manx Telecom Parish Walk live timing page and enter their name see how they’re getting on: parishtiming.manxtelecom.com/

To read a full preview, click here: Richard Gerrard starts as favourite to win Parish Walk

Road closure and one-way information from the Department of Infrastructure: http://www.gov.im/residents/roadnotifications/Notification.aspx?id=4813