It was a hit and miss night of quickfire gags from Canadian king of the one-liners Stewart Francis.

But if one pun fell flat or proved too obvious, you could be certain there would be another much funnier one along any second.

The comic sauntered on stage at the Gaiety with a dead pan ‘Would you?’ – then launched into a hour-long routine of sometimes edgy, sometimes predictable, often clever and always very silly wordplay.

He had for instance just come back from a tool engineering seminar - boring! So many people had accused him of stealing an air mattress, it was time to lie low.

The Mock the Week regular, who last performed here in 2012, said he had been determined to return to the Isle of Man on his Pun Gent tour – ‘I do mean determined – last night I was in Wolverhampton!’

He vowed not to do any jokes about Kim Kardashian with a conditional ‘but, and it’s a big butt’.

Some of his material sails very close to the wind – with punchlines about gang rape and paedophilia. But his deadpan delivery allows him to get away with it, leaving you thinking ‘did he just say that?’

Sometimes, it’s down to the audience to work out the punchline for themselves, often with the help of the big screen behind which flashes up words or pictures.

Other parts of his routine are less successful. The running gag about Sean Connery’s poor repertoir of accents starts off funny but becomes tedious after the fourth or fifth outing.

Warm-up was fellow Canadian Allyson June-Smith who provided a fairly conventional and somewhat dated stand-up set, highlight of which is her impersonations of Britney Spears and Shakira.

After a bumpy landing at Ronaldsway, she suggested that many stay in the island as they don’t want to brave the flight out again.

It was a theme taken up by Stewart Francis at the end of his encore saying he was off to mentally and physically prepare himself for the flight home.

He had remarked earlier that it was a quiet crowd. And it’s probably true that his style of stand-up works better in front of a rowdier audience.

But there were many hits and very few misses. No pun in 10 did!

Among the places visited by Pudsey Bear, the mascot for BBC Children in Need, was Ashley Hill School in Onchan.

He had his photos taken with lots of the children.

He also competed with Stuart Nelson from Barclays in a static cycling race in the Barclays Victoria Street branch.

Barclays staff in the Isle of Man raised £5,000 for the telethon, including dressing up as their childhood heroes, a teddy bears’ picnic, a superhero quiz and Pudsey bingo. The total was matched pound for pound by Barclays to make a total of £10,000.

Two hundred local volunteers staffed over 100 phone lines from the Barclays call centre for the Children In Need appeal night.

Two pages of photos from Children in Need appear in the Isle of Man Examiner, which is on sale now.

A school teacher from Matlock in Derbyshire has been given a one-year suspended prison sentence for causing the death of a motorcyclist near Laxey last year.

James Ricketts was attempting to perform a three-point turn when he manoeuvred across the path of Neil Walker’s approaching motorcycle on the A2 coast road near the Bulgham rocks on August 6, 2014.

Deemster Peter Birkett told 51-year-old Ricketts: ‘Nothing I can do can lessen the grief of his family and friends.’

Ricketts, who was found guilty by a jury yesterday (Wednesday) of causing death by careless driving, was also banned from driving for three years and must pay £8,000 costs.

{http://www.iomtoday.co.im/news/isle-of-man-news/driver-found-guilty-1-7577260|Read yesterday’s story here.}

There is a longer version of that story in today’s Manx Independent.

One of the highlights of the Manx social calendar will take place tonight (Thursday) when Isle of Man Newspapers hosts its annual Awards for Excellence night.

The event, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, honours the best in Manx business, charity and government.

A total of 48 finalists will find out who has won in 16 different categories of awards.

A team of independent judges have examined the entries and had a hard time selecting the winners.

A brief outline of the good work the finalists have done will be presented before the names of the winners are drawn out from envelopes.

Nearly 500 people will be served dinner first in the Claremont Hotel, the Sefton Hotel and the Villa Marina, before the event begins in the Villa Marina.

A further 350 will enjoy champagne and canapes and around 1,300 people will see a spectacular show in the Royal Hall while hundreds more will watch it streamed live online here at iomtoday.co.im from around 8.20pm: Awards for Excellence ceremony live stream

Comedian and impressionist Alistair McGowan will host the event, which will end with the lifetime achievement award.

The identity of the recipient of the award is a closely-guarded secret which won’t be known until the night.

Among the other attractions during the night will be entertainment from X Factor star Simon Lynch and a choir made up of 35 individual singers conducted by Julian Power.

The event will raise money for the Manx Blind Welfare Society.

Isle of Man Newspapers thanks the community and sponsors for helping to make the event such a success.

Homegrown blues star Davy Knowles is to play a second date in Port St Mary over Christmas.

As reported on iomtoday last week, he is due to play at the town hall on Boxing Day.

He will now also appaear on Monday, December 28.

Davy is no stranger to sold out shows having sold out every performance by Triskel Promotions at the Gaiety Theatre and Peel Centenary Centre swell as previous Town Hall shows.

Davy has played at Port St Mary’s town hall many times before.

There are already 115 people on the waiting list for the Monday show.

Davy said: ‘I’m so excited to play in my home town again. There is nowhere else like it, and no feeling nicer than having so much support there.

‘I’m totally blown away that we’ve had to add another night.’

Davy has been hard at work this summer writing and performing at popular festivals and residencies at famous venues across the States including the Iridium in New York and at the Hideout in Chicago, his adopted city where he now lives with fiancée Amber Freuh.

Audiences at the town hall will be treated to at least a few new songs.

Tickets are £12 and can be reserved at the Facebook page DAVY KNOWLES TOWN HALL 2.

A campaign to encourage residents to explore the importance of self care and keeping fit and healthy is taking place this week.

The British Isles wide ‘Self Care For Life’ campaign aims to teach the public about the actions they can take to keep themselves and their families healthy.

Self care is about preventing illness or accidents and keeping fit and healthy, as well as knowing where to go for advice about treating minor illnesses or living with a long term condition such as Type 2 diabetes, heart disease or lung conditions.

Ann Corkill, senior nurse of self care, said: ‘During Self Care Week, we aim to raise awareness about the support available for people to look after their own health and making self care a life-long habit.

‘It’s about recognising that you can make a contribution to your own and your family’s health and wellbeing, by choosing the right services for your health needs, such as coping with minor ailments by visiting your local pharmacy for advice and treatment.’

As part of the week-long campaign, which began on Monday, residents visited Noble’s Hospital to learn how to self manage minor illnesses and have a free blood pressure check. They met with hospital, community, mental and occupational staff to find out more about self care and where to go for advice.

A special walking netball taster session was also held at the NSC to highlight the benefits of exercise.

Tomorrow (Friday) a chair-based exercise session will take place in Port Erin between midday and 3.30pm, which is open to all.

Minister for Health and Social Care, Howard Quayle MHK, said the campaign is important as it raises awareness about how to safely treat minor illnesses such as colds and fever and prevent avoidable but more serious long term conditions.

‘Self care and ill health prevention are fundamental parts of the Department’s strategy which supports the government’s priority to protect the vulnerable.

‘Helping people look after their own health by providing information, tools, support and care, enables people to stay well and to use health and care services appropriately. This helps us to manage demand, so that people receive care at the right time, in the right place.’

Self care information is available at local pharmacies and GP practices across the island. More details about the exercise session or about self care contact Ann Corkill on 811830 or email ann.corkill@gov.im.

Visit www.nhs.uk and follow the links to the Self Care Week page for more info.

A Hop-tu-Naa attraction organised in Summerhill Glen for the second year running proved so successful that councillors are considering charging more for the organisers to use the glen.

So far the council has charged only a nominal fee.

However, as the event itself has an entry charge, the council takes the view that it’s appropriate to charge or ask for a charitable donation.

Health chiefs are looking for a graduate to help develop telemedicine in the island.

Telemedicine is the use of telecommunication and information technologies to enable healthcare professionals evaluate, diagnose and treat patients at a distance.

Patients can receive medical expertise quickly, efficiently and where possible without the need to travel off-island for specialist care.

The Department of Health and Social Care, in collaboration with Cabinet Office, is inviting applications for a graduate intern to support its development.

As part of its charitable support for health on the Isle of Man, the Henry Bloom Noble Healthcare Trust has agreed to fund a 12-month graduate telemedicine internship.

Minister of Health and Social Care Howard Quayle MHK said: ‘The department’s strategy focuses on enhancing services, modernising procedures and improving performance.

‘We must consider how to introduce telemedicine and other advances in technology to deliver a high standard of specialist care, diagnosis and treatment quickly and effectively.

‘There are significant opportunities for developing the use of telemedicine to allow specialists to offer diagnosis from a distance, based on test results sent electronically, seeing the patient on camera and discussing the case with the patient and members of the healthcare team on island.

‘This internship, generously supported by the Henry Bloom Noble Healthcare Trust, will lead the way in exploring what works well in telemedicine elsewhere and developing proposals for how we can adopt the technology.’

Mark Lewin, director of government technology services in Cabinet Office said: ‘As part of the government’s digital strategy, we aim to encourage health and care professionals to embrace telemedicine as a way of enhancing patient care, ensuring that clinical staff have the right information for the right patient in the right place.’

Chairman of the Henry Bloom Noble Healthcare Trust, Laurence Keenan said: ‘The trustees are pleased to support this first step towards telemedicine provision on the island. This is an exciting opportunity to work together to develop the future of healthcare. Such partnerships are made possible by the generosity of those making donations and through bequests.’

This internship is a limited term placement for a recently qualified graduate in either a technical, medical, engineering or related field.

The role will explore best practice and developments in the field focussing on researching and mapping out the opportunities to use telemedicine to transform care pathways.

Application information is available online at www.gov.im.

One of Disney’s biggest hits, The Lion King has echoes of Shakespeare, bringing to mind the plots of both Richard III and Hamlet with murderous ambition to be King.

The young cast took to the stage at Ballakermeen High School’s Studio Theatre on Monday for their dress rehearsal of ‘Disney’s The Lion King, Jr.’

The performers were clearly enjoying themselves as much as the audience adored this high quality production.

The opening number, ‘Circle of Life’, brought a tear to many an adult eye, including mine, and the finale brought the audience to its feet.

There is nothing lost in these shortened versions and had I not been sat next to head teacher Adrienne Burnett, I really would not have known it to be a school show as these young people gave their all.

All the classic numbers were here and the cast enthusiastically sang and danced, beautifully directed by music teacher Dani Bridson.

The set was deliberately simple; a series of projections depicting the jungles and savannahs of Africa, the images adding atmosphere to this colourful production.

The costumes included African traditional dress enhanced with headpieces and masks that allowed the actors to move.

The impressive make up was designed by Janet Norris and her team who did a wonderful job of transforming 90 young people into exotic creatures.

Well done Ballakermeen - this Lion King roared!

Leading Isle of Man law and professional services group Cains has been given top band 1 rankings in the esteemed Chambers UK Guide for 2016.

Cains has been top-ranked in two practice areas including corporate and finance and dispute resolution by the annual independent guide to the best law firms in the British Isles.

It was also ranked in band 2 in employment.

A total of seven Cains lawyers have been ranked as ‘leading individuals’ in the latest edition, with the firm’s managing director Andrew Corlett OBE named as a highly influential ‘eminent practitioner’.

Every year, law firms and individual lawyers are ranked based on the research of Chambers’ 150 full-time editors and researchers who rely heavily on in-depth interviews with lawyers and clients.

The 2016 commentary refers to Cains as ‘expert in advising clients on capital markets, e-business, international banking and financial services, shipping and space and satellite’ and adds that ‘Cains acts for a broad range of clients including multi-national corporations, financial institutions, regulatory bodies and family offices and has a strong track record of working in partnership with leading law firms to effect international transactions, including market listings, for clients’.

One client is quoted as saying ‘I have a lot of time for Cains. The people I deal with there are very reasonable and very able’.

One individual praised ‘their ability to turn their hand to absolutely anything at an impressive level’ and another said Cains stood out because they are ‘good academic lawyers but client-focused too.’

The guide refers to examples of the work undertaken by Cains in the last 12 months. Work highlighted for corporate and finance includes advising the Amaya Gaming Group on its USD4.9 billion purchase of Oldford Group and advising Lamprell on its USD66.2 million sale of International Inspection Services to Intertek Testing Services Holdings.

Highlights for dispute resolution include defending HSBC in relation to a claim alleging its maladministration of an offshore corporate pension scheme.

Peter Clucas, who manages the litigation department, is noted for advising and representing Andrew Paul Shimmin as liquidator of Isis, a subsidiary of Kaupthing, in connection with a scheme of arrangement presented to the Isle of Man High Court.

Richard Vanderplank, who is head of the firm’s corporate team, is referred to by one commentator as ‘probably the pre-eminent corporate commercial lawyer on the island’.

Lindsey Bermingham is hailed as ‘brilliant’ and ‘amazing’ by sources, who reveal that ‘there are clients who brief her because they don’t want her on the other side. You couldn’t ask for better in a corporate or white-collar lawyer.’

Commentators also say Andrew Baker ‘is very easy to work with, extremely efficient and to the point’ and Robert Colquitt is noted by interviewees for his ‘sound judgment’.

Team Tesco is pictured making a presentation to the organisers of Relay For Life after raising £6,990 in total and coming overall highest corporate fundraiser out of 58 teams, contributing to the record grand total raised of £123,694.

The Relay for Life, a sponsored walk at the National Sports Centre, raised money for Cancer Research UK.

Pictured: Grzegorz Wykurz, Caitlin Roy, Sandra Smith. John Francis (team captain), Steve Forbes (store manager), Clare Gelder, Debbie Pitts of the Relay For Life committee with cousin Riley Devereau (seated).

Christmas is coming and so is Santa and his special horse tram service, Douglas Council has confirmed.

The Santa horse trams are back for 2015 and will run eight times a day on Saturday, December 19, and the next day starting at 10am from the Strathallan terminus.

Regeneration and community committee chairman Councillor John Skinner said: ‘The horse tram service has a place in the hearts and minds of the people of the Isle of Man year round and especially at Christmas, so the council is delighted to be able to offer this unique experience once again.’

Prices are £7.50 for adults and children aged two to 16, (under-twos travel free) while a group ticket of four (any age mix) costs just £20.

Tickets buy a ride on the tram, a visit to Santa’s grotto and a gift, refreshments in the Strathallan suite and an opportunity to visit the stables.

Tickets are on sale now at www.douglas.gov.im (credit card payments accepted but with a charge), from the borough treasurer’s counter at Douglas town hall or by phoning 696344.

The Treasury Minister insisted in Tynwald that there is no block on setting up a Manx credit union.

But Eddie Teare MHK was unable to give a time frame for when such a credit union could be established.

He said one major issue to overcome was drafting a financial compensation scheme for depositors in the event that a credit union is unsuccessful and goes into liquidation.

But Lib Van MHK Peter Karran (Onchan) asked why there was such a problem, given that there were credit unions in the Irish Republic and the UK ‘for generation after generation’. He said it would ‘get people away from payday loans and moneylenders’.

He said: ‘Is this not another example where we can bring in legislation in one sitting of the House, with three readings in both Houses when it suits, but when it is things like this that have a direct effect on the quality of life of the less well-off in our society, it does not get the same priority within the legislative programme?

Mr Teare told the court: ‘There is no block on setting up a credit union.

‘However, it is important to establish a credit union regime that is appropriate for the Isle of Man. Designing such a regime takes a great deal of research and resource and the Financial Services Authority has needed to allocate its limited resources towards others matters recently.

‘The FSA has had to focus on matters such as the introduction of civil penalties, the designated businesses regime and currently the introduction of crowdfunding.

‘Despite this, members should be assured that following a high level public consultation early this year, research has continued - including comparisons between UK and Irish regimes – to help determine the best credit union structure.

‘Additionally, the FSA and Treasury expect to discuss some important matters in the near future, including whether savers would have access to a compensation scheme. Following completion of these matters, the FSA expects to be able to prepare a bill and thereafter introduce amending legislation.’

New MHK for Douglas South Ralph Peake asked the Treasury Minister if he believed credit unions are a good thing for the Isle of Man and if he could give a timeline and date when one could commence business.

Mr Teare replied that he was unable to give a date at the present time. ‘There are technical issues to overcome,’ he said.

The Treasury Minister said there were other pressures on resources, and pointed out that no fewer than 253 questions in Tynwald and the House of Keys had been directed to his department since October last year, including 100 from the Lib Van MHKs.

The second heat of the Amber Battle Of The Bands competition took place on Saturday.

The victors were metal behemoth The Fletcher Christian Mutiny.

Coming in just behind them in a very closely run heat were Mad Daddy, Ignite The Sky and Armad***o.

The Fletcher Christian Mutiny go through to join Heat One winner Han FX in the final on Saturday, November 28.

And so to the third and final heat this coming Saturday which sees a more laid back and relaxed bill.

The line-up features singer-songwriter Mae Challis with her band, an acoustic performance by alternative noisemakers Postcode, who replace Southern Audio Conspiracy in the proceedings, and acoustic singer-songwriterTeresa McNulty, well known for her take on all things reggae, roots and slightly folkesque.

The doors for this final heat open from 8pm. The event is free entry and the first band will hit the stage at around 9.15pm.

For further news and information on the competition as it unfolds, visit www.facebook.com/events/1648994672051447/

Those lovely people from the offices of Small Bear Records have announced their annual Christmas album release.

The label that has released music from the likes of local bands and artists Clara Barker, the aforementioned Postcode, Ian Thompson, Nanaki, Phil Reynolds and the Dearly Departed, and Skyline Advantage to name but a few have been releasing a Christmas offering for a few years now.

This year’s release entitled Smells Like Christmas Spirit features cuts that cover the entire spectrum of the Small Bear roster and includes Post-Rock, Electropop, Folk, Alt-Rock and much more.

The Bordellos, Nanaki, Phil Reynolds, Matt Bouvier and Postcode have all submitted tracks that also sit alongside contributions from acts in New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Canada and the USA.

You can buy this new release on a pay-what-you-want basis from https://smellslikechristmasspirit.bandcamp.com

The previous festive releases can also be purchased from the following links: Enter Snowman https://entersnowman.bandcamp.com; Tinsel Machine https://tinselmachine.bandcamp.com/; and Never Mind The Baubles https://nevermindthebaubles.bandcamp.com

For more information on all Small Bear Records bands, forthcoming and previous releases, visit www.smallbearrecords.com

Sunday night sees Acoustica Live taking place at the Centenary Centre in Peel.

From its smaller beginnings each Saturday afternoon in the Peter Norris Music shop in Douglas, this larger event sees a bill made up by John Gregory, Mark Burrows, Steph Joyce, Matt Creer, Daryll Williams and Jeff Jepson.

Acoustica Live starts at 7.30pm.

Tickets for the event are available directly from Peter Norris Music or by calling Ken or Rob on 661794.

The lowest paid are to get a substantial increase in their real earnings.

Tynwald this week unanimously approved significant rises in the minimum wage, taking the rate for those aged 21 and over from £6.65 to £7 an hour from January 1.

The rate for those aged 18 to 20 will also rise from £6.40 to £6.65, while minimum pay for 16 and 17-year-olds, which has not been reviewed since 2007, will go up to £5.40 an hour.

Economic Development Minister Laurence Skelly MHK told Tynwald that the main rate was rising by 5.3 per cent when inflation at the end of October, as measured by the consumer price index, was -0.8 per cent.

Together with last year’s increase of 3.9 per cent, this was a ‘substantial increase in the real earnings of the lowest paid in our community,’ he said.

Mr Skelly said the move, that follows recommendation from the minimum wage committee, struck the right balance between the need to grow the economy and to protect the vulnerable.

He added: ‘Work should pay. There is dignity in work. I believe it is important that people who work hard should be able to maintain a decent standard of living as a result of their labours.’

He said he was satisfied that the new rates while higher than most comparable jurisdictions, were not markedly out of step and so would not harm the economy or jeopardise job creation.

Bishop Robert Paterson urged the government to work towards a living wage, pointing out the increases in the minimum wage amounted to 25p and 35p and the cost of living in the island is high particularly for low paid workers.

The Minister said the introduction of a living wage, following developments the UK, would be a ‘major step’ and one that requires careful consideration including broad consultation.

The Isle of Man Newspapers Awards for Excellence took place last night (Thursday) at the Villa Marina in Douglas.

During the glittering ceremony, hosted by impressionist Alistair McGowan, winners were announced in 16 categories.

The attached video features interviews with the winners of the first eight awards presented on the night.

Read the full list of winners here: Geoff Duke wins Lifetime Achievement Award at Isle of Man Newspapers ceremony

Douglas councillors have agreed to write off debts owed by two former council tenants totalling almost £5,000.

The decision was confirmed at a recent council meeting once the money was deemed to be uncollectable.

Councillors heard strenuous attempts had been made to secure the money but in both cases this had proved impossible.

In one case the former tenant had proved impossible to find and had since died. In the other case, all attempts to contact the person had proved to be fruitless and their whereabouts were unknown.

Councillors agreed the total debt of £4,949 should be written off but should the latter person ever try to rent a council house in the island in future the debt would have to be settled first before they could be included on the housing list.

Councillors also discussed a quarterly report detailing vacant council properties. Currently there are 40 in Willaston soon to be relet. These were kept vacant to house tenants whose homes were being refurbished but were not needed. A further 24 in Willaston are being used as temporary accommodation for tenants whose homes are part of the renovation scheme. Elsewhere in Douglas, a further 26 council properties are vacant.

On average a council property is vacant for 12 weeks before being relet.

A Christmas fair will take place in Ramsey on Saturday, December 5, with all funds raised going towards Hospice and Manx Blind Welfare.

Festive gifts, ornaments, candles and cards will be available to buy, while a raffle will also be held.

It will be held in St Paul’s Hall from 2.30pm to 5pm.

Admission for adults £1, children free.

Work on the next stage of refurbishments in Douglas borough cemetery should start this month.

The work to refurbish the cemetery walls, driveway and railings is the latest stage in a major renovation at the cemetery which started a year ago.

It follows hot on the heels of a scheme costing £1.5 million which started last November. This first stage of the work was to improve the facilities at the crematorium for mourners as well as funeral directors and staff.

Work at the chapel involved providing separate entrances and exits to segregate those arriving for services and those who are leaving. Among the other upgrades were improved disabled access, a new waiting room area and refurbishment to the toilets.

Work on the crematorium itself was done to provide a bigger cremator capable of accommodating larger bodies. In addition upgrades were made allowing the crematorium to comply with latest emissions regulations.

The latest stage of the work to improve the paths, driveway, walls and railings will cost £372,268 to complete and this includes a planning supervisor’s fee of £2,500.

The tender for the work, which was provided by Stephen Christian and Sons, was the lowest offered.

At the suggestion of one councillor, borrowing of the sum should be over a 20-year period rather than the 30-year term originally proposed. Councillors agreed this would result in a substantial saving on interest payments over the period.

The newly-refurbished chapel will not open until work to the drive and pathways and the chapel surroundings has been completed.

Office of Fair Trading chairman David Quirk MHK felt the heat in Tynwald as he faced a barrage of questions over Manx Gas’s standing charge hikes.

Mr Quirk was accused by Douglas North MHK John Houghton of ‘compromising himself time and time again’ by being in the Manx Gas’s hospitality suite at the back of the Grandstand at TT.

The OFT chairman pointed out many go in the hospitality suite.

‘It’s a common practice. And I also went to the hospitality tent of government,’ he added.

Lib Van leader Kate Beecroft (Douglas South) asked whether the voluntary agreement drawn up between the utility and the OFT could be terminated by either party by giving appropriate notice.

Mr Quirk replied that the regulatory agreement runs for a period of four years until the end of December 2018 and can be terminated in the event of a default by Manx Gas. After the initial four years, the agreement can be cancelled by any party giving six months’ notice.

Mrs Beecroft asked if that meant government could not terminate it because it was not in the interests of the Manx people. Mr Quirk said there would have to be ‘serious failings’ in obligations that Manx Gas have given. He urged members: ‘Give the agreement a chance. Only time will tell.’

Juan Turner MLC suggested that Manx Gas ‘really have seen you coming’.

He said the serious failing has already occurred in that not long after the agreement was signed Manx Gas released its ‘outrageous standing charge structure’. ‘There has been a serious failing in public confidence. It’s all down to this agreement.’

Mr Quirk said customer concerns have been addressed by the company itself with the help of the OFT. Some of the more ‘outlandish’ comments had been ‘bottomed out’, he said, and the OFT had helped ‘about a dozen’ people who had some real difficulties.

He urged members to speak to the company and any allegations of abuse should be drawn to the OFT’s attention but added there’s ‘no facts behind them’.

Peter Karran (Lib Van, Onchan) asked what the legal consequences would be if government withdrew from ‘this disgraceful agreement’.

Mr Quirk said the voluntary agreement had not actually started yet ‘as such’, but: ‘Some of the teething problems have been addressed.’