A study has been commissioned to look at the current and potential future market for hotel accommodation in the Isle of Man.

The government says a healthy hotel industry is vitally important to future tourism and economic growth in the island.

It has been hit hard by the closure of the Mount Murray hotel after a fire.

Specialist firm Hotel Solutions has been commissioned to undertake a detailed study of the Isle of Man’s hotel sector and its future potential.

David Cretney MLC, the Department of Economic Development’s political member with responsibility for what’s now called the ‘visitor economy’ by the government rather than tourism, said: ‘The study will be used to inform planning policy and decisions on hotel development and retention. It will also be used as the basis for developing a strategy with the intention of accelerating hotel investment in the island.’

A key part of the study will be to research and assess the current performance of the island’s hotels in terms of occupancy levels, seasonality, achieved room rates, key visitor markets, and levels of denied business.

Work to upgrade the Isle of Man’s emergency communications system has been completed on schedule and within its £4.9m budget.

The government says the Department of Home Affairs’ communications project, approved by Tynwald in December 2014, will provide greater resilience and enhanced coverage for the emergency services and other government users.

It also puts in place a new maintenance and support contract with suppliers Motorola.

The move to the latest generation equipment has taken place this month.

Capital investment was needed to fund the replacement of the Terrestrial Trunked Radio (TETRA) system, which had reached the end of its operational life after 11 years of continuous service.

TETRA provides secure and reliable communications for the police, fire and rescue service and ambulance service, and is an integral part of the emergency services joint control room.

The system is used by a number of other government organisations and is said to be essential to the safe running of high-profile events, including the island’s motorcycling festivals.

It helps to co-ordinate the response to major incidents, such as road traffic collisions and emergencies caused by severe weather.

There are 3,300 terminals in operation and TETRA has handled more than 16 million calls since it was first installed.

The system provides important security, safety and recording functions, along with the ability to conduct group calls.

The project has included an upgrade of the equipment used at the TT Grandstand race control during the TT Races and Festival of Motorcycling.

Another significant development has been a switch from microwave technology to Government’s Connect Mann system as the means of connecting the 23 transmission sites around the Island. This will improve the quality and reliability of communications.

Substantial savings have been achieved on the original budget for the replacement TETRA system thanks to the efforts of a Project Board comprising Home Affairs, Treasury’s Procurement Division, Government Technology Services and the Attorney General’s Chambers.

Home Affairs Minister Juan Watterson MHK said: ‘TETRA plays a vital role in protecting vulnerable people and supporting events that help to grow the Manx economy.

‘The original system had been in operation round the clock for more than a decade and needed to be replaced.

‘The upgrade has been completed within a very challenging timescale and the migration process has gone smoothly thanks to the hard work of our officers.’

Chris Thomas MHK, member of Home Affairs with responsibility for the communications division, added: ‘This project is an example of how joined-up working and robust procurement can add value to government’s capital schemes. We have delivered savings approaching £1million on the original budget, while putting in place an enhanced system that will serve the island for the next 10 to 15 years.’

The Office of Fair Trading’s consultation on a Bill which proposes to ban cold calling in the Isle of Man last month, and it wants to remind members of the public the consultation closes a week today (Friday, September 25).

The proposed Bill would make it an offence for a trader to enter into a contract for the sale of goods and services as a result of cold calling. The Bill would cover all forms of cold calling, including by telephone. At a practical level, the main impact and real benefit would be to disrupt the activities of those who use doorstep pressure selling techniques.

The consultation document can be found on the OFT website at

{http://www.gov.im/oft/consultations.gov?menuid=16916&type=current|this site}

The OFT has also created an online questionnaire which can be found {https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/OFT_ConsumerProtectionAmendmentBill2015|here}

Bishop Robert Paterson believes his heart attack was triggered by a campaign to unseat him.

He was taken ill in Oxford on Monday while attending a meeting of the College of Bishops and he was discharged from hospital on Wednesday after having three stents fitted.

He suffered the heart attack on the same day it emerged that an online petition had been launched calling for his resignation.

Bishop Robert told iomtoday.co.im that medics had graded his heart attack as ‘seven out of 10, when 10 is dead’.

But he said: ‘It didn’t feel that bad. It was like some tightening band about 8ins wide going around my chest.

‘You can’t breathe very well. Your chest aches, your side aches. I was perspiring profusely and shaking.’

He said having the stents fitted, a procedure that takes place while the patient is conscious throughout, was a ‘fascinating experience’.

The Bishop said he had always been in good health and had been feeling fine earlier on Monday when he had walked up from the station in Oxford.

He said he was taken ill, in a meeting of the Lords Spiritual, a sub-committee of the College of Bishops, shortly after taking a call from the media about the petition.

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{http://www.iomtoday.co.im/news/isle-of-man-news/online-petition-calls-for-isle-of-man-s-bishop-and-archdeacon-to-resign-1-7462110|Click here to read our story about the petition}

--

‘Half an hour after I spoke to the reporter I had a heart attack. It’s the cumulative effect of all this stuff. It’s been going on for months now but that might have been the final trigger.’

He said he had been advised to take a week off work.

The online petition, addressed to the Lieutenant Governor, alleges bullying and flawed leadership. This latest attack on the Bishop follows two petitions for redress of grievance brought to this July’s Tynwald by Reverend Canon Dr Jules Gomes.

The Bishop agreed there was an irony in a petition alleging bullying that could be deemed to be bullying itself.

He said his difficulty was that at present he was not in a position to be able to make a full statement addressing the criticisms levelled against him.

He pointed out there were always two sides to every story and suggested other details may ultimately come out that would provide a different perspective.

‘Time will tell,’ he said.

Related stories:

{http://www.iomtoday.co.im/news/isle-of-man-news/unholy-row-as-former-lt-gov-targets-bishop-1-5609756|Bishop and former governor at odds}, a story that made {http://www.iomtoday.co.im/news/isle-of-man-news/former-lieutenant-governor-in-row-with-the-bishop-1-5603489|front-page news in 2013}

{http://www.iomtoday.co.im/news/isle-of-man-news/petitions-presented-on-tynwald-hill-1-7344626|Tynwald petition}

Isle of Man Yacht Club is taking part in Bart’s Bash, the biggest ever sailing event in the world.

At 11am on Sunday, sailing clubs worldwide will host the fun race and raise funds for the Andrew Simpson Sailing Foundation, a charity set up to inspire young sailors.

First held last year, over 16,000 boats in 60 countries took part raising over £350,000 and entering the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest sailing race in the world.

The Isle of Man Yacht Club also took part and raised £1,500 for the charity making it the 34th biggest fundraiser out of 500 participating clubs.

This year the club is hoping to attract even more boats and has a target of 50 and there is an open invitation for all sailors to take part.

The charity was established in memory of Andrew ‘Bart’ Simpson, a gold and silver Olympic medallist and America’s Cup sailor who died in a training accident in May 2013 in San Francisco. The foundation was set up to inspire the next generation through developing the personal skills gained through sailing.

See www.iomyc.com or facebook.com/isleofmanyachtclub

A by-election will be held in Port St Mary to fill the seat vacated by Rebecca Sinfield.

Ms Sinfield stepped down on July 30 after it emerged her name was not on the electoral roll. The requirement led to three other seats being vacated in Douglas and Ramsey, which have since been filled.

At the time, the authority said the decision was made with regret. They added: ‘Port St Mary Commissioners have taken a pragmatic and practical approach to the interpretation of the relevant legislation. It would be wrong to allow an individual who was knowingly no longer qualified to be a commissioner to take part in commissioners’ meetings and to vote on important issues. If that occurred any decisions taken or votes made by that person could be open to challenge.’

Under the Local Elections Act 1986, the seat should be filled within 42 days. When asked by Isle of Man Newspapers why this had not happened, clerk Alastair Hamilton explained the authority was waiting for a response from the Department of Infrastructure to an enquiry. He would not reveal the nature of the enquiry.

Forms are at the commissioners’ office in the town hall until September 24 and must be submitted by September 25; if there is more than one candidate, an election will be held on October 8.

Andreas Produce Show will be held on Thursday, October 1, in Andreas Parish Hall.

It will be opened at 3pm by Alf Cannan MHK.

Schedules are available from Andreas Stores, Sulby Stores, Farmers Combine Limited, Marianne’s Floristsin St Paul’s Square, Ramsey, and from secretary Pam Kinrade, at Mountain View, Nassau Road, Bride.

For further information contact Pam on 880331.

Former UK Home Secretary Alan Johnson will be speaking at the Gaiety Theatre.

The Sporting and Dining Club event, An Evening with Alan Johnson, takes place on Tuesday (September 22) and marks the start of Manx LitFest 2015.

Orphaned at 12, Alan and his 16 year old sister were assigned a council flat and a child welfare officer. He left school at 15, stacked shelves at Tesco, and became a postman at 18.

He has been a Labour MP since the 1997 general election. Alan’s memoir of childhood, This Boy: A Memoir of a Childhood, was published in 2013.

A guard of honour made up of past and present female police officers will be formed for the funeral of Margaret Corkill, the island’s first WPC.

Chief Constable Gary Roberts led the tributes to Margaret, who became the Manx Constabulary’s first full-time woman police officer in 1967. She passed away peacefully on September 6 at Brinnington care home in Douglas.

Her funeral will be held in Kirk Braddan Church at 11am next Friday (September 25.

A guard of honour at the church will be made up of serving women officers in uniform, as well as quite a number of retired women officers, many of whom worked with her.

There have been huge changes in opportunities for women in the Manx police force since Margaret was selected into the constabulary in September 1967, having previously worked as a civilian clerical officer at Ramsey police station. She passed out of training in May 1968.

She went on to serve mainly as a uniformed officer, spending several years in the ports unit. Her last four years were spent working in the CID records department, before retiring from the force in August 1988.

It was in the Isle of Man Constabulary that she met her late husband, Sergeant Archie Corkill, who had been widowed with young children.

Chief Constable Gary Roberts said: ‘I had the privilege of working with Margaret. She was a kind, decent and compassionate woman, who exemplified all that is good about the constabulary.

‘She was well known, much liked and widely respected across the whole community.’

Some female auxiliary officers had served during the First World War, but their service ended when conflict ended. A number of female officers also came from London to work in the internment camps during the Second World War.

When Margaret was sworn in there was also a serving cadet, Pat Moss, who became a constable when she reached her 19th birthday a short time later.

There were no other women before them other than a police matron, whose duties included searching female prisoners.

For some years female officers did specific duties that related to women and children. This changed in the 1970s, however. When the current chief constable joined in 1984 there were six female officers.

At the time they were not permitted to work night duty, working no later than 2am and always being with a male officer after dark. At the time they were not allowed to wear trousers!

Robin Oake’s arrival as chief constable in 1986 led to changes being made and the recruitment of women began to increase. Carolyn Kinrade became the first women to become a sergeant, when she was promoted in 1987. She retired as a Superintendent.

In the past decade the percentage of female officers has risen from about 16 per cent to about 33 per cent. The change has largely followed the creation of a ‘values-based approach’ to recruitment.

Currently, a quarter of inspector posts are held by women, a ratio that stands in favourable comparison with UK forces. Similarly, there is near parity in detective posts.

Retired detective chief inspector Dudley Butt joined the police in 1962 when there were no female officers at all. He said when Margaret Corkill and Pat Moss recruited they were quickly accepted.

Mr Butt said: ‘They were often involved with issues to do with children and women, such as taking statements from women and children who were victims of abuse and helping them through their traumas.

‘We did wonder how we managed without female input before. At that time women officers throughout the UK were marginalised towards dealing with children and women.’

Former MLC Mr Butt said he had worked with Margaret many times during his career in CID.

He said: ‘She was often called in to help us deal with rape victims and women and children who had been abused. Later in her career she came into CID to run our admin and records office.

‘Margaret was very professional and never made a mistake. You could trust her to deal with a job properly.

‘Had she joined the constabulary in more recent times I am sure she would have risen highly in the ranks because she had the intelligence, the attitude and the great personal touch to make a good leader.

‘Everyone respected her, which was not always the case with police women in the early days of the 60s and 70s, when they were sometimes regarded as second class officers. Margaret was never regarded as second class. She earned the respect of everyone because of her abilities, her kindness and her lovely personal Manx way.’

Paul Davenport, secretary of the island branch of the National Association of Retired Police Officers, said Margaret was highly regarded by everyone she came into contact with.

He said: ‘I worked with Margaret on Douglas Sections, and during my time in the Scenes of Crime Office when she was in CID Admin, where I particularly recall her sense of humour: we had some great laughs!

‘Later in life she married Archie, and became a much-loved step-mother and Nana.

Margaret was most recently resident in Brinnington Home, where, despite suffering dementia, she was always on good form and pleased to see you. She passed unexpectedly, but peacefully, in her armchair.

‘Our thoughts and prayers should go out to her family, not least to step-daughter Gill and John Manley, and her close friends.’

The Positive Action Group has condemned what it believes is a two-tier planning process – one for the very wealthy and one for the rest of us.

It made the criticism after the Council of Ministers over-ruled a planning inspector’s recommendation to refuse planning consent for the construction of a leisure complex in the grounds of a mansion house in Santon.

John and Pat Moore had applied for the demolition of outbuildings at Meary Voar, Arragon, and erection of a new swimming pool, gym, pool and spa together with staff and office accommodation (15/00124/B).

But independent planning inspector Stephen Amos recommended that planning consent be refused.

He did so on the grounds that the site lies outside areas zoned for development, and that the proposed building, due to its size and scale, would ‘constitute an alien and obtrusive feature’ whose visual impact would ‘cause significant harm to its countryside surroundings’.

But the Council of Ministers disagreed. Ministers determined that the application be approved, arguing that the proposed economic benefits of the development outweighed the adverse effects.

The application states that the proposed accommodation would be used by pilots for aircraft located in a new hangar constructed at Ronaldsway.

A Positive Action Group spokesman said: ‘Without doubt there is a two-tier planning process in place – one for the likes of you and me and one for the very wealthy!’

The application was considered by CoMin as the Department of Infrastructure declared an interest, as it is responsible for a footpath which runs through the site.

opinions@newsiom.co.im

Residents are being warned to be alert as criminals attempt to gain people’s bank details over the telephone.

A statement from the police describes the campaign as ‘ongoing’, adding: ‘Following several calls to us this evening (Friday), it is clear that one of the bank telephone scams is back in operation in the island.’

‘This is where a customer is called and the number displaying on their telephone is the same as their bank - the scammers have a means to transmit false numbers on to call displays.

‘The bank customer is then told that there is some sort of problem with their account and they are then encouraged to call their bank back on the same telephone, whereby their bank details are asked for.

‘Please do not give your bank details over the telephone;

‘Please do not use the same telephone if you do choose to call your bank. The scammers maintain an open line on the telephone originally called to then continue the charade.

‘Please consider not calling your bank at all, and instead visit your branch.’

If you think you may have been been the victim of the scam, or for more advice, call police headquarters on 631212.

Some years ago as part of my Officer role with the old TGWU I attended a conference at a hotel in Douglas about the Isle of Man Shipping Register.

The Register was at that same time expanding and it was a ‘jewel in the crown’ of the Manx government’s policy on economic diversification.

The Industry Minister of the day, David North MHK, as always, had pulled off something of a coup for although the conference was relatively low-key he had managed to get the Director of Labour Standards at the International Labour Organisation (ILO), Dr Cleopatra Doumbia-Henry, to address the meeting.

The audience was mainly ‘suits’ from the industry complete with ‘corporate mouthpieces’. The employee balance was me and a guy from the old Merchant Navy Officers’ Union (NUMAST) who I don’t remember contributing much.

Presentations over, we moved to questions and I had the temerity to suggest that the Manx Register could ensure there were minimum standards in line with employment law on the Isle of Man?

This led to much derision from the ‘suits’ and their accomplices. The industry was ‘far too complicated’ for anything as straightforward as minimum standards in line with Manx employment law (strange that there’s always ‘complications’ when workers want something).

Undeterred I said OK, but to ensure that the crews were well treated within the existing regimes, what about a system whereby they could notify a grievance directly to the Isle of Man Department of Industry to have it resolved? Again ‘complications’ seemed to be a problem – ‘and what about communications?’.

This time the derision was from me as I advanced the view that surely most vessels had state-of-the-art communications facilities these days?

Shouting over, we adjourned for the lunch, and in those days the DoI liked to ‘put on quite a spread’ at such events. I wondered if such ‘a rich repast’ was available to crew members on the notional ‘MV Rusty Barnacle’ (registered in Douglas) bobbing around off some foreign shore.

The debate continued in the evening at a restaurant in Douglas at which again I was ‘the ghost at the feast’. Again the DoI certainly ‘pushed the boat out’ (if you’ll forgive the pun). I wonder what ‘hospitality’ is like these days.

The ‘suits’ still seemed to have difficulty grasping the principle of employment fairness. Although to her credit the ILO Director, Dr Doumbia-Henry, seemed to be swayed – but then the ILO and indeed the IMO (International Maritime Organisation) can only aspire. Ultimately it’s the ‘suits’ who decide.

I was reminded of that episode recently when some Isle of Man politicians were busy expounding on our beneficence in supplying money for bore-holes to villages in the developing world or donating our old fishery protection vessel for use to a government in West Africa.

The Isle of Man has a strong commitment to aid it seems and no doubt these funds make a great difference.

However, chances are that many of the vessels on the Manx Ship Register have crews from the Third World or the post-Soviet era countries of Eastern Europe.

By ensuring good pay and conditions for all those workers and employment rights we could do so much more than the current aid programme delivers and at the same time we would be rewarding people who were helping to build and sustain our economy (albeit they may never see, or set foot in, the Isle of Man)

Since my conference foray all those years ago the Ship Registry of the Department of Economic Development has developed and we are told that it has become, as originally envisaged, a major component of the diversification of our economy. Indeed it has spawned an equally successful Aircraft Registry.

Who knows? Perhaps some of the altruistic visions I had for the industry have come to pass and pay, meals and accommodation on today’s incarnation of the ‘MV Rusty Barnacle’ are much better? Somehow I think the Ukrainian, Philippine or Chinese seamen plodding the seas and looking up at that Manx flag fluttering on the mast I’ll wager are not getting quite so good a deal!

Certainly if a recent series of articles in the New York Times is anything to go by ‘life below decks’ is most unpleasant!

A second candidate has stepped forward to contest the vacant Douglas East seat in the House of Keys.

Geraldine O’Neill will join Jon Joughin on the ballot paper in the forthcoming by-election after Brenda Cannell stepped down for personal reasons.

Mrs O’Neill, who is 57 years old and recently widowed, has a 20-year-old daughter at university.

She is currently employed as English as an additional language co-ordinator in St Ninian’s High School in Douglas, where she has worked for the past 14 years.

A fluent French speaker, she is also branch secretary for the Isle of Man NASUWT Teaching Union and secretary and director of the Archibald Knox Society.

In a statement released this morning (Saturday), she said: ‘Throughout my varied career, I have demonstrated the qualities that are necessary to work successfully in government.

‘I have personally championed many causes for those I believe needed to be fairly and justly represented.

‘The skills of negotiation and flexibility are an everyday part of my professional work.

‘Personal integrity, pragmatism and problem solving skills are the main attributes that I can offer if elected as a Member of the House of Keys.’

More on this story in next week’s Isle of Man Examiner - in shops Tuesday morning.

Dr John Clague endeavoured to collect and preserve as many old Manx songs, customs and sayings as possible at the end of the 19th century as possible before it was too late. Here, Adrian Cain, Culture Vannin’s language development officer, looks back at the contribution he made.

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Dr John Clague (1842-1908) was a collector of music, song, calendar customs, Manx proverbs and folk medicine remedies and charms.

With fellow collectors, WH and JF Gill, he published Manx National Songs in 1896 and Manx National Music in 1898.

His original music notebooks dating from the 1890s contain 315 melodies.

His bilingual book Cooinaghtyn Manninagh: Manx Reminiscences was published posthumously in 1911 and is a real treat for any Manx speaker.

Clague attended Ballabeg Village School, Castletown Grammar School and King William’s College.

He worked on the family farm at Ballanorris for a few years before going to London to study medicine at Guy’s Hospital.

He worked as a doctor in the parishes of Santon, Rushen, Arbory and Malew and was surgeon to the Household of the Governor from 1888-1901.

Clague was a keen amateur violin player and formed the Castletown String Band.

He composed the well-known hymn, Crofton, named after his house in Castletown whilst he was a founding member of the Manx Language Society, formed in 1899.

Dr Clague was aware that the use of Manx Gaelic was in rapid decline at the end of the 19th century as were old songs, customs and sayings. He endeavoured to collect and preserve as much of the ‘oral tradition’ as possible before it was too late.

He used his position as a well-respected and loved doctor to collect songs and melodies in the towns and the countryside in the south of the Isle of Man.

Most of his informants were men and they came from different working backgrounds: they included a quarryman, surveyor of roads, parish clerk and a painter.

His most well-known informants were a blind singer called Tom Kermode - nicknamed ‘Bwoie Doal’ (Blind boy) who was a fisherman from Bradda - and his coachman Charles Clague who played the fiddle .

As a trained musician, Dr Clague could accurately write down the melodies as he collected them whilst given the respect people had for him he was always welcomed into people’s homes.

Described as ‘a Manxman from the crown of his head to the soles of his feet’ his epitaph reads: ‘Hie eh mygeayrt jannoo mie, which translates as: ‘He went about doing good’.

Next month’s column we’ll return to the 21st century with our personal biographies of those involved with the language.

The Royal Opera House’s production of the classic tale of star-crossed lovers, Romeo and Juliet, is being screened live at Ballakermeen’s Studio Theatre.

The ballet takes place on Tuesday next week (September 22).

Kenneth MacMillan’s ballet is a 20th-century classic, starring Steven McRae as Romeo and Sarah Lamb as Juliet.

Koen Kessels will conduct the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House.

Since arriving at Covent Garden in 1965, Romeo and Juliet has been at the heart of the Company’s repertory.

Doors open at 6.30pm for a 7pm start. Tickets cost £15 (concessions £12.50).

‘We’re disruptive and we want to remain so – we challenge what everyone else does,’ says Nick Verardi, director of plan.com

The firm utilises the latest technology to offer small to medium-size businesses a simple but compelling proposition: the ability to tailor their entire communication needs in real-time, from mobility to data, voice to applications. It’s no wonder that the company is proving successful.

‘We’re seeing fantastic growth, 25 to 30 per cent of revenues month-on-month, which clearly suggests that we’re doing something right and there is a market for what we offer,’ adds Nick.

A start-up in 2013, plan.com is based in Douglas, employing 25 staff in the island and a further eight in the UK, with recruitment under way to add an additional 22 people over the next two quarters.

The company won the Award for Marketing and PR Effectiveness at Isle of Man Newspapers’ Awards for Excellence last year.

Since winning this award, plan.com has also won two major national awards in the UK – the Mobile News Award for Best Airtime Distributor, beating Carphone Warehouse, and the Mobile Industry Awards Best B2B distributor, beating Ingrams Micro.

This year they are delighted to be sponsoring the Award for Customer Service at Isle of Man Newspapers’ Awards for Excellence, especially as all their own customer services support is based on the island.

Plan.com delivers its services to the UK via its network of more than 400 ‘partners’ operating in the IT and telecom sectors, through its innovative and award winning plan.portal.

Nick says: ‘The portal enables partners to design bespoke communication solutions far outside that normally available through traditional networks and operators.’

‘This year saw the launch of five new products, including a VOIP [voice over internet protocol]proposition after the successful acquisition of a leading UK provider.

‘In addition, our “internet of things” offering is building very quickly for us. Our products are now in everything from vending machines to cars, with customers ranging from single product family-owned businesses, to the likes of News International, requiring multiple products across hundreds of employees.

‘An interesting fact, we even have SIM cards in a herd of cows!’

There are 16 award categories at this year’s Isle of Man Newspapers’ Awards for Excellence, for companies of all sizes, individuals, public sector teams and charitable organisations.

You can find full details and download entry forms at www.iomtoday.co.im/afe

The ceremony takes place on November 13.

Smokers in the island are being encouraged to take advantage of new appointment-only clinics to help them stop smoking during this year’s ‘Stoptober’ campaign.

The island’s Quit4You Stop Smoking Service has made changes to its service, to coincide with the campaign, to provide weekly appointment only clinics in Peel, Ramsey and Port Erin.

Clinics in Douglas will remain as drop-in sessions open every Tuesday from 12.30pm-1.30pm and 5.30pm-6.30pm.

The annual Stoptober campaign encourages smokers to stop smoking for 28 days from October 1. Research shows that if people can stop smoking for 28 days, they are five times more likely to stop for good.

Health Minister Howard Quayle MHK said he wanted to encourage people to take on the challenge and find out what help and support was available to them.

‘Quitting smoking is still the single best thing people can do for their health. The island’s free Quit4You Stop Smoking Service, along with encouragement from family, friends, employers and work collegues, can help motivate people to stop for the whole of October and beyond,’ he said.

During Stoptober, Quit4You is offering free Quit Kits which include a beat the cravings booklet, success tracker and details about how to access local services.

Health psychologist Anita Imberger said the Quit4You service could provide vouchers for free nicotine replacement therapy to help smokers quit.

‘Quitting smoking isn’t easy on your own, so Stoptober is an opportunity to get lots of support every day throughout October,’ she said. ‘It’s a great way of breaking down the quitting process and making it more manageable. Just 28 days can change your life.’

All Stoptober support materials are free.

To sign up for this year’s ‘Stoptober’ visit www.smokefree.nhs.co.uk. For more information, to book an appointment or to receive a free Quit Kit, visit www.Quit4You.gov.im, call 642402 or email tobacco@gov.im

Onchan commissioners have offered condolences to their former member Fred Griffin who has died aged 84.

Mr Griffin was elected as a commissioner in November 1974 amd was chairman from 1981 to 1983. He retired by rotation from the board in April 1985.

Though born in Douglas Mr Griffin spent his formative years in the south of the island where his father farmed at Balnahowe and The Sound. He attended Rushen primary school and Douglas High School for Boys. For a time after leaving school he worked for Castletown architect FH Kerr. After spending his national service in the army he returned to the island to work in the offices of the Isle of Man Farmers. This was followed by a spell working for Corlett and Sons and Cowley Ltd before, in 1966, becoming assistant secretary of the Agricultural Marketing Society. He remained there for 21 years before finding employment with an island firm of advocates, where he remained until retirement.

Rally enthusiasts may remember him as a founder member of the Steering Wheel Club which was formed to support local rally car enthusiasts. He also opened a cafe called the Steering Wheel which was run by his family and frequented by club members.

In 1973 he and his wife Pat, also a former Onchan commissioner, moved to Onchan where she took over the Royal Avenue sub post office at Port Jack. The couple celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary late last year at Anfield Manor residential home in Douglas.

We are rapidly approaching the end of 2015, and so far, apart from a long weekend in Liverpool, we haven’t been off the island.

Usually by now we’ve either been somewhere ‘foreign’, or have plans to do so in the near future. Not only that, there are no plans in the pipeline to do anything about it.

And to be truthful, the way things are in the world, I can’t see us going anywhere outside the UK again.

Not only is it too much hassle to actually get there, some recent, apparently random acts of terrorism, don’t exactly make me feel very secure.

I know it is very unlikely we would be in the wrong place at the wrong time. I just can’t stir up enthusiasm to see the travel agent any time soon.

The daily news reports on TV and the lengths that some desperate folk are forced to go to just to survive are so upsetting that it seems immoral to waste the amount of resources it costs to go on holiday.

It seems so unfair that we have so much and others have to survive on so little.

Our European travels have been limited to the popular Mediterranean destinations such as Cyprus, Spain and Portugal etc.

The one common denominator that stands out is the labour force that keeps the wheels turning and the hotels clean is from countries other than the one you are visiting.

If you are in Cyprus, the bar workers are more likely to be from Latvia than Limassol.

And another thing, have you ever seen a Spanish beggar when you are in Spain? Not often I would say.

And in Majorca for example, all the buskers are from Romania. It just seems that for some folk, the grass is always greener on the other side of the border.

But basically, the rich travel to the poor countries because in their eyes everything is so cheap. This in turn drives the cost of living up. Then the wealthy new residents start to buy up property which puts even a modest house beyond the pockets of the locals.

And another wedge that gets driven between the rich and the reality are these so-called ‘gated communities’.

To all intents and purposes, they are simply fortresses designed to protect the wealthy and privileged residents from the real world. Some years ago we spent a couple of weeks in a rented apartment in a gated complex in Southern Spain. It was horrible.

It was a development that had everything you would could ever need for a holiday in the sun. Everything that is, if you went on holiday to avoid meeting the locals.

The less said about my ex pat neighbours the better. Suffice to say that our Christmas card list didn’t get any longer, and in my opinion, the gates were to protect the locals from the Brits and not the other way round.

Our changing world and its growing population seems to be coming more troubled each week. Asylum seekers, refugees, and people who just want to work and live with dignity and freedom are trying to escape from their own countries to have the chance to live in peace with their families.

They face unimaginable risks, probably losing every penny that they own, in the hope that they can at least have the chance of a better life.

In the Isle of Man we live in comfort and safety and cannot possibly know how it feels to be under the threat of death at the hand of your fellow countryman.

We are reluctant to accept refugees and displaced people into our precious and comfortable cocoons.

We complain and moan about the foreign workers who come and work long hours for minimum reward in our service industries.

Yet it doesn’t seem so long ago the conquering heroes from our so-called civilised world, invaded the lands of our so-called, primitive cousins.

How does that saying go? I think it’s something like: ‘What goes around, comes around’.

It’s almost 40 years since Smokie released worldwide hit Living Next Door to Alice and 20 years since they collaborated on a parody version with Chubby Brown.

Chris Norman, who has lived in the island for 29 years, enjoyed a massively successful decade with the band as lead singer before leaving in 1986 to embark on a solo career.

As Chris launches his latest solo album this weekend, Island Life took the chance to try to solve one of the great music mysteries: Who exactly is Alice?

The Yorkshire-born singer and songwriter said: ‘I don’t know but if I find out I’ll let you know!’

Following his 2011 release Time Traveller and his most recent There And Back album (2013), Crossover is his most genre-defying release yet.

It will be released on Saturday through Solo Sound Records, featuring 12 tracks and a bonus track, Forty Years On, a remix of the song he exclusively penned for the recent 40th anniversary release Smokie Gold 1975-2015.

‘The title just seemed appropriate because of the variety of styles of the songs, which cross from one genre to another,’ he said.

‘I decided not to follow any kind of style and just worked on any song I came up with.

‘I took no notice if it was rock or country or whatever, the only thing I went by was if it was a good song and I felt it suited my voice.’

Born into a show business family, Chris fell in love with music at a young age.

He was three when he walked on stage to join the finale line up for a show his parents were appearing in.

Four years later, he got his first guitar, and at 11, Chris started at St Bede’s Grammar School in Bradford where he met Alan Silson and Terry Uttley – the future members of Smokie.

In 1973 Pete Spencer completed the line up.

From 1975 Smokie dominated the charts in UK and various other countries, Chris and the band released a string of hit singles, including If You Think You Know How To Love Me, Living Next Door To Alice, Mexican Girl, It’s Your Life and Lay Back In The Arms Of Someone.

Having first tasted success outside the group with Stumblin In (a duet he recorded with Suzi Quatro in 1978), he left Smokie in 1986 to launch his solo career.

His 1986 single Midnight Lady featured in a popular German TV movie and became a massive hit throughout Europe, holding the number one spot in Germany for six weeks.

Awarded ‘International Video Star of the Year’ by CMT Europe in 1994, stand-out hits such as No Arms Can Ever Hold You (1988) and Amazing (2004) have made him one of the few artists on YouTube whose videos have exceeded 10 million views per clip.

To support the release of Crossover, Chris, who lives in Braddan, will embark upon on an 18-date German tour in November, with dates in other territories to be announced.