The Manx Post Office’s newest set of stamps celebrates 150 years of the Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS).

The Isle of Man has played a big role in the industry, from the design and manufacturing of parts and precision components to involvement on the International Space Station.

The stamps are to be issued on January 12.

The RAeS is the world’s only professional body dedicated to the entire aerospace community.

The Isle of Man has a long heritage in aerospace manufacturing and can trace its origins as far back as the 1930s when Sir George Dowty (founder of Dowty Group) invented aircraft retractable landing gear.

Today the industry continues to evolve, supported by The Isle of Man Aerospace Cluster (IOMAC), a collaboration of 22 companies which include Swagelok, Triumph Actuation Systems (formerly Dowty Group) and Ronaldsway Aircraft Company.

Nigel Brown, managing director of Ronaldsway Aircraft Company, said: ‘The Isle of Man is home to a number of companies that manufacture major parts and precision components involved in the aerospace industry and it’s great to see the stamps produced by Isle of Man Post Office celebrating 150 years of aerospace innovation.

‘The stamps promote the island’s manufacturing capability by highlighting some of the major developments in aerospace that local companies and their staff have been involved with.”

The dream of flight was eventually realised in the late 18th century and Vincenzo Lunardi made the first balloon voyage in Britain in 1784.

Man travelled by balloon for over a century before the first powered controllable aeroplane left the ground.

Sir George Cayley’s understanding of the principles of heavier-than-air flight was a great advance over anything that had previously been formulated and in 1799 Caley, ‘The Father of Aeronautics’, set forth the concept of the modern aeroplane as a fixed-wing-flying machine with separate systems for lift, propulsion, and control.

Thereafter, progress of mechanical flight advanced quickly from the Wright Brothers first manned flight in 1903 to Yuri Gagarin’s first manned space orbit of earth in 1961 and finally, the first passenger supersonic airliner Concorde in 1976.

The stamps capture a history of aerospace innovation and exploration over the last 150 years using a range of colour and black and white high definition images along with accompanying industry commentary by Brian Riddle, Chief Librarian of the National Aerospace Library, who provides a potted history of aerospace innovations over the last 150 years.

Depicted is Vincenzo Lunardi’s ascent of the hydrogen balloon in 1784, Sir George Cayley in 1853 with his fixed wings design, a French-built Wright Flyer rounding a pylon at Reims air event in 1909 and Russian Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin who achieved the first manned space orbit of earth in 1961.

In addition are The Hawker PII27 aircraft – a prelude to the Harrier Jump Jet which made its first free flight in 1960 with components produced by the Ronaldsway Aircraft Company and Dowty, British Airways Concorde which undertook the first supersonic airline passenger flight in 1976 with manufacturing involvement from Ronaldsway Aircraft Company, Dowty Aerospace and Asystem.

Also pictured is the Rolls-Royce Trent 900 turbofan engine - one of the company’s most successful jet engines which Ronaldsway and Swagelok were involved in from the very early stages of its creation. Finally pictured is the International Space Station – the biggest structure ever placed in orbit around the earth with which there are now many Manx connections. The stamps also incorporate an ingenious selective varnish and metallic over-layered print technique which adds shine and lustre to the set.

David Hester, general manager of Swagelok Ltd, said: ‘We are very proud of the high standard of engineering and manufacturing on the Isle of Man. We are investing in our local businesses and we already employ around 7% of the working population in this business sector. Our products are world class and used in many extreme, mission critical applications around the world. We are also happy to support the increasing number of young people who are choosing engineering as a career on the island.’

Chris Allen, general manager of Triumph Actuation Systems, said: ‘I would like to congratulate the Royal Aeronautical Society on their 150th Anniversary.

“We are unsurprisingly passionate about aerospace here and were delighted at the wonderful commemorative stamps depicting significant aerospace achievements over the past 150 years. We have been engaged in the aerospace sector ourselves for over 70 years and can relate some of our own products to the achievements pictured in the stamps.’

With the economy still growing, unemployment low, our international reputation heightened and public finances on track to be rebalanced, the island is in a better position than Allan Bell envisaged when he first became Chief Minister.

Looking back on his last four years in charge - and ahead to the final months of his administration before the general election, he told the Manx Independent: ‘We’ve made good progress and achieved a lot in the last four years. But maybe that has not always been recognised.’

He admitted it was demoralising to hear comments about this being the ‘worst ever government’ - a criticism that appears to have been levelled at every previous administration.

Mr Bell had started out with big ambitions to create a government of national unity.

But that rainbow coalition didn’t last long with Lib Van Peter Karran sacked as Education Minister within eight months. There’s been little unity in Tynwald and even in CoMin ever since.

Chris Robertshaw resigned as Minister for Policy and Reform, Economic Development Minister John Shimmin was forced to step down over the Sefton loans saga but later returned to the cabinet as Mr Robertshaw’s replacement and two others in the original line-up, David Cretney and under-fire Health Minister David Anderson, lost their jobs in the 2014 government reshuffle.

Mr Bell accepts he may have been a little naive in his hopes for a rainbow coalition. ‘I had hoped we would be able to create a government of national unity bearing in mind that the problems the island faced. For a period it worked but unfortunately it seems it was a step too far,’ he admitted.

Among the wider public, he accepted that new and increased charges, the public sector wage freeze and pension reform was never going to be popular. The introduction of tuition fees and the toilet tax were certainly low points for the government’s popularity.

But Mr Bell said that people all too easily forget what prompted all this - the loss of one third of the government’s income through the arbitrary revision of the VAT deal, combined with the slow recovery from the global recession and the on-going impact of the banking crisis.

‘The starting point was probably the most challenging that any administration has had to had to face since the establishment of the ministerial system,’ he said.

He explained the government had three priorities at the outset - to grow the economy, protect the vulnerable and rebalance public finances. Those three priorities have remained in place right through his term in office.

But he insisted that he had always said it would take two terms to tackle the big challenges his administration faced.

The Chief Minister said the best way to balance the budget is to grow the economy and government had been very successful in stimulating investment, diversifying away from financial services and creating new jobs. The push to attract investment has included forging new links with the economic powerhouse of China, with Mr Bell heading two major Manx missions. This year will see the roll-out of ambitious proposals for a £50m Economic Development Fund, centrepiece of a package of measures designed to boost jobs and growth.

‘We entered our 31st year of unbroken economic growth, we’ve clocked up growth of 4-5 per cent, making us among the fastest growing economies in Europe, unemployment has stayed well below 2 per cent. We are now the biggest Crown Dependency economy for the first time ever,’ he said.

‘Internationally our reputation is stronger than ever before,’ he argued - citing as a major break through the announcement in September 2013 by UK Premier David Cameron two years ago that we should not longer be considered a ‘tax haven’. The island led the way in committing to a new FATCA model of global automatic disclosure of tax information, driven by the US.

‘Economically, politically, internationally we’ve done really well,’ he said. ‘We’re in a better position than I thought we would have been.’

The real challenge, and an area where there is still much work to be done, is to rebalance public finances.

Early on a ‘slash and burn’ approach was ruled out. Mr Bell said wholesale redundancies would have destabilised the economy and disrupted public services. Jersey, he points out, has just sacked 150 public workers and is talking about making another 1,000 redundant.

‘We’ve had hard decisions to make to continue our strategy to downsize government. We’ve reduced headcount by over 600 staff and we’ve contained the government wage bill. I would have liked to see the numbers come down a bit quicker.

‘But the key question is not about numbers but what services do my colleagues in Tynwald want to see reduced or got rid of?’

Mr Bell said the biggest issue that the his and the next government will have to get to grips with is the public sector pensions deficit which is growing year on year.

He said the pension reserve would run out in four to five years if nothing is done - and ultimately this could impact on front line services.

He said the unions recognised that change had to happen.

But it’s not just the public sector pension scheme that needs reform but the state pension too. With an ageing population, the welfare bill as a whole needs to be addressed and the Manx NHS put on a sustainable footing.

‘Sustainability is going to be the watchword for the next few years now,’ the Chief Minister said.

Asked about his biggest disappointments in the last four years, Mr Bell admitted he had been frustrated at times by the slow pace of change.

He said he was also frustrated by the continuing ‘silo’ way of thinking by certain government departments. ‘Things have improved but we have a long way to go to change that culture in government,’ he said.

Continuing that theme of cultural change, he described as ‘major steps forward’ the implementation of the long-awaited Disability Discrimination Act, and the launch of the island’s first mental health strategy. Same Sex Marriage is likely to be law by next summer and the Equality Bill won’t be too far behind, he said.

So what of his own political future? Will he stand again? ‘I don’t usually make a decision on elections until six months before. I’ll see how I feel then and how the political situation is at that point,’ he replied.

Other MHKs, however, appear to have one eye already on the September general election, the first to be contested with new constituency boundaries and new rules on donations and expenses. ‘It’s my hope the government and Tynwald will stay focused on the major problems right up to election day. If we take the foot off the pedal of change the problems faced by the next few administrations will be considerably worse,’ he said.

Almost 800 healthcare staff are employed by government on zero hours contracts.

In a Tynwald question for written reply Lib Van MHK Peter Karran asked how many are employed by the hospital and health care system and how many of these are over retirement age.

Health and Social Care Minister Howard Quayle MHK replied that 1,269 staff are employed on a full-time basis of which one is over 65, 658 staff are engaged on a part-time basis of which five are over 65 and 793 staff are engaged on a bank (zero hours) basis of which 69 are over the age of 65.

staff engaged on zero hour contracts have no guaranteed minimum number of hours.

Mr Quayle said many DHSC employees hold a post with regular contracted hours and a bank post.

He said: ‘It is in the nature of bank work that the hours worked will vary from week to week.

He said: ‘In the month of October 2015, 311 staff were recorded as working hours in relation to zero hours contracts. This included staff also holding contracts with guaranteed hours. Of these, 285 employees recorded part-time hours.’

Some 62 medical staff were engaged through an agency to fulfil full-time hours and four to do part-time hours in the month of October.

In addition, 23 part-time and 17 full-time non medical staff were engaged, through an agency, to work in health care related areas.

Celebrated raconteur Dot Tilbury MBE is putting on her annual fundraising concert at Marown School on Saturday, January 30.

It is in aid of the island’s young cyclists and it will be chaired by Geoff Corkish MLC MBE.

A host of top entertainers will also take part.

Cycling is close to Dot’s heart.

She has been involved in helping hundreds of youngsters get into the sport.

In 2013 she was awarded the Bidlake Memorial Plaque for her work in that area.

In 2012 she was awarded the Isle of Man Newspapers lifetime achievement award for her work with young cyclists.

Dot has also been inducted into the British Cycling Hall of Fame.

Starting at 7.30pm, it’s always a sell-out so people should book tickets early to avoid disappointment.

Tickets cost £7.50 and include supper.

They’re available from Dot Tilbury, 851691, 480636, or dottilbury@manx.net

Are you under 25 and looking to volunteer with children overseas next summer?

Manx youngsters, aged between 18 and 24, are being invited to apply for a volunteer project to work with children in either Rwanda, Malawi or Peru.

The Karsons Family Foundation, together with the One World Centre, is looking for someone to take part in the Quest Overseas volunteering programme and the successful candidate will spend four or five weeks working on a project which will benefit children.

They will also be asked to raise £500 towards their own personal costs of the expedition, with the foundation funding the rest.

Earlier this year Lucy Johnson, from Ramsey, was the successful applicant and went on to spent a month working with orphaned children in Malawi. She said the trip was a ‘truly life changing experience’.

‘I made many friends and memories which I will cherish and remember fondly forever. Knowing that I have directly contributed to a local community for the benefit of those less fortunate fills me with an immense sense of achievement.

‘I am extremely grateful to have been given this incredible opportunity and I could not recommend it highly enough for anyone to do.’

To apply candidates must write up to 1,000 words explaining why they should be chosen for the project and email it to info@owciom.org.

A full description of what should be included in the application can be found at www.oneworldcentreiom.org/what-else/

The closing date for applications is January 15.

The island’s first national robotics championship has been held at The Forum, Mount Havelock in Douglas.

Organised by the Isle of Man Code Club, it involved competitors building robots with Lego Mindstorms, which are a series of kits containing software and hardware to create customizable, programmable robots.

The robots then had to push each other out of a ring in a robotics sumo-style contest.

The contest was announced in October and was open to all students in the Isle of Man.

A number of students expressed interest and had been meeting every Saturday at Code Club to work on and perfect their robots.

As well as building their robot each competitor had to program it with tactics to use during its fight.

Five contestants made it to the championship final, with Hollie Hazell, aged nine, winning with her robot named ‘IDK’.

Sponsors of the competition, Bluewave Communications Limited provided the winner’s prize of a four-wheel drive robotic car which can be controlled over Wifi or mobile data.

Ryan Gilmour, director of Bluewave Communications Limited said: ‘It was a pleasure for us to supply a prize for this contest. This type of contest is a great way to encourage students of all ages to get interested in technology and we are proud to be part of it.’

Owen Cutajar, founder of Code Club added: ‘It’s fantastic to see the energy and intellect that these students have poured into their projects.

‘It wasn’t an easy challenge and Hollie did a magnificent job in beating all the others.

‘We hope to be able to run this again next year to give more contestants an opportunity to take part.’

Code Club has regular meetings and has recently moved to Barrule House at Ronaldsway Estate. Visit www.codeclub.im for more details.

This was the scene following an accident which resulted in the main Peel Road in Union Mills being closed for a couple of hours.

Emergency services were called at about 5am today (Sunday) after a van ended up on its side near the entrance to the Snugborough trading estate.

The driver was taken to Noble’s Hospital for treatment to his injuries.

The road reopened about two hours later.

Normal ferry services can resume after an obstruction that was blocking Heysham port was cleared.

Sailing schedules had to be revised after a large piece of timber broke free in recent storms and become embedded on the sea bed at the entrance to the port.

It meant that the Ben-my-Chree could only approach and leave at higher states of tide.

Steam Packet chief executive Mark Woodward said: ‘We are very grateful to Heysham Port for working to clear the obstruction as quickly as possible, allowing the Ben-my-Chree to resume its normal schedule from Monday (January 4).

‘We would also like to thank the travelling public for their patience and understanding during this short period of disruption.’

Tonight’s sailing to Heysham will depart Douglas at 9.30pm and the return crossing will leave at 2.30am. The advertised schedule will then be in operation from Monday’s 8.45am departure to Heysham.

The parents of the Jurby teenager feared drowned on New Year’s Day have issued a statement, telling his friends that they should not blame themselves.

Joshua Caley’s parents raised the alarm with police on Friday morning after he failed to return home from a night out.

Police believe the 19-year-old fell into the harbour at Ramsey in the early hours of New Year’s Day.

CCTV footage of the harbour area in Ramsey shows what is almost certainly Joshua who tragically appears to have fallen into the harbour just after 1am on New Year’s Day.

A search and recovery operation continued today.

In a statement, Josh’s parents said: ‘We wish to thank everyone for their support at this difficult time.

‘We thank everyone who is currently taking part in the search and recovery operations that are taking place.

‘We have a special message for all of Josh’s friends. Please do not blame yourselves for what has happened. It was an accident and could not have been prevented. Please celebrate the happy memories that you have of Josh.’

A police spokesman said: ‘Our thoughts are with Josh’s parents, family and friends at this extremely difficult time.’

Police are investigating a burglary at the Jim Crosbie Memorial Band Room (the old Red Cross Building) on Derby Road, Douglas.

A quantity of cash was taken from the premises during the break-in, which took place between 4.50pm on New Year’s Eve and 10.50am today (Sunday).

If anyone was in the area of this building and noticed anything out of place or heard anything unusual they are asked to contact police headquarters on 631212 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.

The Lonan and Laxey Branch of the Isle of Man Anti-Cancer Association is opening a pop-up shop at Christ Church in Laxey from Wednesday, January 13 to Saturday, January 16.

Open each day from 10am until 4pm, the pop-up shop will offer people the chance to find a post-Christmas bargain.

Contact Christine on 861724.

Donations have been made to two Isle of Man charities from the proceeds of a Pilates event led by local teachers Mo Sherring and Johan Zwaenepoel.

Joseph’s Legacy – Pilates 100 Years On was held to mark 100 years since Joseph Pilates arrived in the Isle of Man in 1915. It was while interned in the island during the First World War that Joseph Pilates was able to start developing the exercise system which is now the global phenomenon of Pilates.

The event included a lecture about Joseph’s original teaching style and philosophy, a demonstration of Joseph’s original 34 movements to show how they have been adapted for modern day use, and Pilates workshops.

There was also a film in which Mo interviewed Lolita San Miguel, who was certified to teach by Joseph, describing Joseph’s appreciation of his time in the island.

The organisers decided to make donations from the proceeds of the events to Bridge the Gap and the Knockaloe Exhibition and Patrick Community Centre Trust.

Bridge the Gap helps young people between the ages of 16 and 18 to adjust from paediatric to adult care, especially helping those with complex, chronic or life-threatening medical conditions.

Knockaloe Exhibition and Patrick Community Centre Trust is restoring the old school in Patrick into a community and exhibition centre and researches the history of Knockaloe Internment Camp, where Joseph was held during the First World War.

Prisoners at the Isle of Man Prison have been making home-made soup to help homeless people in the island.

Fresh vegetables grown in the prison garden are being used to make warm and nourishing soup for people who visit homeless charity Graih.

The vegetables, grown at the prison in Jurby, are made into soup and then chilled and delivered to the Douglas charity once a fortnight on a Friday evening.

Onchan Rotary Club has also stepped in to support the initiative, organised by the Isle of Man Prison and Probation service, by donating a new cauldron to reheat the soup ready for serving.

Michael Coleman MLC, Department of Home Affairs member with responsibility for the Prison and Probation Service, said: ‘It is always good to see prisoners making a positive contribution to the local community through their charitable efforts.

‘Two tonnes of vegetables are grown at the prison each year, which helps to save money and ensure a healthy diet is available for prisoners.

‘It is good to see the prison putting its home-grown produce to further use by joining forces with Onchan Rotary Club and Graih.’

Graih operates a drop-in centre at The Alpha Centre in Broadway, Douglas providing hot food, a place to socialise and somewhere to sleep at night on an emergency basis for homeless people.

The charity also helps people get support with substance abuse and health issues, organises activities such as walks and trips to the charity’s allotment in Braaid, as well as find accommodation for those in need of help.

Kenny Best, chairman and volunteer at Graih, said: ‘We are very grateful for the support provided by the Prison and Probation Service and Onchan Rotary Club.

‘Our service users feel the benefits of a hot meal, particularly at this time of year, and the soup has been very well received.’

To find out more information about the homeless charity and its work visit www.graih.org.im

Island children will have the chance to learn new skills and develop their confidence at an exciting outdoor Forest School.

After a successful pilot scheme, the new school will now run sessions for groups of children and school classes from next year in Laxey Glen.

Under the expert eyes of Forest School leaders Vicky Richardson and Chris King, the school aims to develop children’s confidence and self-esteem through hands on learning experiences in the forest.

By taking part children build relationships, develop resilience and learn to manage risk leading to them having access to the use of fire, saws and knives as well as a host of other woodland tools.

The Forest School has been running in Laxey Glen since September but was destroyed in this month’s flash floods. The damage caused has meant the equipment will have to be replaced meaning the outdoor school will be out of action in the glen for at least three months.

However, the school has since been taking place in Silverdale Glen and will be up and running in Laxey Glen later in the year.

Chris Gregory, play and playwork development manager at The Children’s Centre, said: ‘Teachers have expressed their delight and surprise [with the project] as the most unlikely children excel.

‘Children who have identified speech and language struggles feel less pressure in this environment and as their confidence improves, so does their speech and language.

‘Children who struggle to express emotion have demonstrated reflective skills, understanding and improved relationships with their peers.

‘Even children who are known for their lack of attention have focused for extended periods of time on interesting tasks and perhaps the most satisfying, yet least surprising, result is that every child thoroughly enjoys it.’

Brian Pimm-Smith, a governor at Andreas Primary School, attended a Forest School session and said he was absolutely delighted with what he saw.

‘It was good to see their enthusiasm and their determination when a small problem came up and, most of all, their willingness to help each other and work as a team.

‘They were willing to take risks, but still be sensible about what they were doing.’

The Children’s Centre plans to develop the project into a training program and in 2016 deliver a recognised Forest School level 3 qualification, which will equip practitioners with the skills and understanding to deliver sessions themselves and help ensure Forest School experiences can be enjoyed by many more children for years to come.

For more information about the children’s Forest School or Forest School qualifications email Chris at chrisgregory@thechildrenscentre.org.im

Laxey Commissioners’ chairman Andrew Moore is planning to meet government officials in the new year and establish plans for restoring Laxey.

In addition to the devastaion caused to people’s homes, the raging floodwater caused severe damage to areas of the river retaining wall in Laxey Glen, causing large sections of the Victorian attraction to be closed off to the public.

Worst affected are areas of wall near to the Shore Hotel parallel with Glen Road and an area in the upper glen behind the flour mill.

‘I want to see the glen accessible again but it is a major job and how do you prioritise it? It’s on the list of priorities like the breakwater in Castletown, so it’s difficult,’ Mr Moore said.

He commended the quick work carried out erecting the temporary footbridge by the Shore Hotel. And work is currently being done to repair collapsed drains on Rhencell Hill which had allowed water to cascade down onto the New Road and the bridge by the flour mill. He said another culvert running from Baldhoon Road taking water down into the river had been blocked, apparently deliberately. The effect of this was that water was channelled down onto New Road, cascading off the bridge between the railings in a spectacular waterfall.

High on the agenda is a replacement bridge in Old Laxey. Mr Moore said he hoped designs for a new bridge could be approved by the end of January and planning permission granted by the end of February. He said he favoured a concrete single span bridge that could be built quickly and cost effectively that would allow maximum flow under it. It would have two lanes for traffic and a pavement.

‘They are not going to put in a three-arch bridge again. Later on it could be stone faced to allow it to blend in, if that is what people want, and I favour having two decorative stainless steel leaping salmon coming out of the water at each end which would double as supports for it. It would be in keeping with the Salmon River,’ he said.

Home owners who were evacuated from the foot of the cliffs after fears of a cliff collapse have now been allowed to return home. One resident in Glen Road bought a petrol driven water pump and managed to keep flood water out of his home be refuelling it regularly through the night. Bill Snelling said things were now starting to get back to normal.

‘Our bit of Laxey is not too bad. About a week or so ago, there was a sudden whoosh and the rear drain, which had not been too efficient, cleared itself and is running freely.

‘There is still a lot of water coming down our bank (behind the house). The MER people came down; it appears a culvert above us was ‘obstructed’. Once they cleared this out, all the major water that was running across the road stopped.’

Police investigating a New Year’s Day assault by the Villa Marina Colonnade have made a further appeal for witnesses.

The incident occurred at the Gaiety Theatre end of the Villa Marina Colonnade at about 1.10am on New Year’s Day.

A man was seen running from the scene pursued by two other men in the direction of Broadway.

Detective are keen to trace a man seen carrying a bottle of Grey Goose vodka at the time of the assault and which was left at the scene.

A police spokesman said: ‘This type of vodka is very expensive. Did anyone see a male carrying it prior to the offence? Do you know where he got it from? This would have been on New Year’s Eve and into New Year’s Day morning.

‘The male involved also went past two people as he ran off towards Broadway, and we would like to speak to them please. If the male involved is reading this we would obviously like to speak to him, we would ask him to get in contact with us as soon as possible.’

Witnesses are asked to contact police on 631212 or ring Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.

The community in the north of the island is being offered the chance to learn more about the language and culture of China.

Ramsey Grammar School is to host classes in Mandarin and Chinese culture.

In an initiative funded by the Department for Economic Development, teacher Wang Xin will offer 10, hour-long lessons starting on Tuesday, January 26, from 5pm.

The classes are open to pupils aged 14 to 18 and their parents and are being promoted by Ramsey Commissioners and Ramsey Chamber of Trade.

Anyone interested in taking part, either immediately or in the future, is invited to an information evening at the school on Thursday, January 14, at 6pm.

Annette Baker, headteacher, said: ‘The Isle of Man Government’s Vision 2020 highlights the importance of developing deepening links with international partners who will be influential on our own future economic success.

‘Chief Minister Allan Bell MHK has led delegations of private sector representatives to China to promote the island’s profile as an international business centre and generate business opportunities.’

Mrs Baker said: ‘Among our own students, this will reinforce the importance of learning new skills and this may encourage them to take up Oriental studies at university.

‘The course fits in perfectly with the school’s community strategy, aimed at engaging members of the wider community in learning alongside students.’

She added: ‘The project has brought me into contact with colleagues in China who indicate that there are business opportunities for companies who are able to facilitate “summer camp” experiences for Chinese partners to bring students to the island.

‘These kinds of opportunities could multiply as the potential to engage in other projects emerges.’

Mrs Baker said: ‘If those taking part in this pilot wish to continue their learning, they can do so via the new Confucius Centre at Ballakermeen High School, Douglas, which is offering schoolchildren and the community lessons in Chinese language and culture.’

To find out more about the initiative, visit the blog at {https://ramseygrammarschool.im/|this site}, email Headteacher@rgs.sch.im or ring 811100.

Senior officials from DED will lead school assemblies on the importance of links with China in the run-up to the initiative’s launch.

A disability expo will take place on the island on Thursday, February 11, and Friday, February 12, at the Cushag Suite at the Palace Hotel.

The event is being run by ‘Isle of Man Disability Info’, a non-profit company, which aims to bring together the island’s disabled resources.

Amongst the long list of exhibitors already signed up for the expo will be Circa and Shop Mobility, Manx Blind Welfare and Guide Dogs for the Blind, Manx Deaf Society, Manx Workshop for the Disabled, Manx Sports and Recreation RehabLab, and Excellent Ramp Systems.

The event will be open from 10am until 7pm on both days.

Owner and founder of ‘Isle of Man Disability Info’ Annabelle Pearce said: ‘The expo idea is something I came up with after seeing the ones they do elsewhere and how successful and useful they are.

‘There are many resources on our island, to help the disabled but very little in the way of joined up thinking, about how they can work together and help each other.’

For a full list of exhibitors at the February expo or more details of the event visit www.iomdisabilityinfo.com or the IOM Disability Info Facebook page.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding disability in the Isle of Man in general, you can contact Annabelle by calling 618713 or 228713, or by emailing info@iomdisabilityinfo.com or iomdisabilityinfo@gmail.com

Isle of Man Disability Info does not charge anyone to join any of its projects or use any of its services.

Or if you’re an Isle of Man business, with commercial related questions, you can book a free consultation.

A Manx snooker player who has being playing the sport for 62 years has met three of his snooker heroes.

Roy Gelling met famous snooker stars Ronnie O’Sullivan, Dennis Taylor and Jimmy White at the sold out Snooker Legends event at the Villa Marina.

Mr Gelling was Quinn Legal’s guest of honour for the evening and advocate Ashley Kneale, from the Douglas company who sponsored the event, said: ‘As soon as we learnt of Roy’s commitment to snooker on the island we wanted to recognise his achievement.

‘Roy is a huge fan of Ronnie so we just had to arrange for him to meet the stars.

‘His passion for the game was evident as soon we met the legends. It felt like he was amongst friends and not his heroes.’

The Manx player celebrated 62 years of continuous play in the Manx snooker leagues earlier this year and during this time has never missed a single match.

He said about meeting his heroes: ‘It was an absolute honour to meet three of the best snooker players of all time, it’s definitely one of the highlights of my snooker career.’

The legends evening saw five time world champion Ronnie O’Sullivan, known as ‘The Rocket’, take on Jimmy ‘Whirlwind’ White, along with analysis from Dennis Taylor.

Manx Telecom has appointed Danny Bakhshi as chief financial officer (CFO) with effect from February 1, 2016.

He has 25 years’ experience in the telecoms industry and joins the communications company from Virgin Media where he has been executive commercial director since 2013.

Danny held a CFO role at Vodafone Global Enterprise Services for five years, before becoming managing director of Vodafone Global Enterprise Africa. He has also spent a number of years working in various finance roles at British Telecom.

Danny said: ‘The company already benefits from well invested, reliable existing infrastructure, a highly experienced workforce and a really strong management team. Their reputation for service and innovation is well known in the sector but what is also clear to me is the real potential for growth inside the business, both on and off-island.

‘I believe this is an exciting time for the business and I very much look forward to working with chief executive officer Gary Lamb and his senior team to help take the company to the next level.’

Gary Lamb stepped down as the company’s finance director to become CEO in July 2015. An interim chief financial officer – Paul Tierney – was appointed in June 2015, and Mr Bakhshi will take over as a permanent appointment in the role of CFO.

Gary Lamb said: ‘Danny brings with him genuine industry expertise and a track record of leading finance functions in the telecoms sector. He will be an outstanding addition to our senior management team.

‘Attracting someone of Danny’s calibre is testament to the business that Manx Telecom has become. We now have a reputation for market leading customer service and innovation, combined with an exciting outlook for growth. Danny will play a vital role as we look to build on our core business on-island and continue to explore opportunities off-Island, not least in our Global Solutions division’.