Manx Cancer Help’s Lisa Lowe Appeal Walk raised more than £10,000 for the charity.

The course, which runs along the Millennium Way from Sky Hill to Castletown, covers 28 miles of challenging terrain.

Three hundred and fifty people took part.

To make things even harder, the wet weather over the last few months meant that some areas were muddy and boggy.

Fastest male, Brian Kelly, finished the walk in four hours 52 minutes and fastest female, Angie Robinson, finished in five hours 42 minutes.

ntrants could choose to start at Crosby; Jen Gilmour, who was the fastest walker for this 10-mile stage completed it in two hours 18 minutes.

Finishing in the newly refurbished Castletown Square, participants, family and friends enjoyed the stalls and entertainment which rounded off the event.

The Lisa Lowe Appeal Walk was established for Manx Cancer Help in 1996 when Lisa Lowe set about raising as much money as she could to highlight the importance of the services they provide. Lisa organised many events while she was ill, raising more than £80,000. Lisa died in November 1997 but remains a source of inspiration and motivation for the charity and its fundraisers, with the charity’s premises in Tromode named after her.

Manx Cancer Help’s fundraising events co-ordinator Gareth Nicholson said: ‘What a fantastic event the walk has been this year. Not only did all the participants thoroughly enjoy themselves but, most importantly, they raised a significant amount of money for the vital services that we provide to cancer sufferers and their families.

‘Lisa was a really brave person and her contribution to Manx Cancer Help wasn’t just her impressive fundraising but she has left a legacy which carries on; we hope that Lisa would be proud of the service that we provide today.

‘We were also delighted that Lisa’s daughter, Amy, and sister, Tina, took part in the walk this year, and thank them for continuing to support the charity.

‘Lisa worked for Barclays and we were very pleased when they offered to support the event, with a large number of their employees entering, some of whom had worked with Lisa. There are so many local organisations who have supported the event including Robinsons, St Luke’s Church, Up and Running, Manx Timing Solutions, G4S, Castletown Commissioners, Manx National Heritage, Marown Memorial Playing Fields, St John Ambulance, Manx Workshop for the Disabled and Isle of Man Prison, who we would like to thank, as well as all out volunteer marshals, helpers and, of course, everyone who took part and donated.’

Manx Cancer Help provides specialist psychological and emotional support to anyone whose life has been affected by a cancer diagnosis.

Being completely self-funded, the funds raised at the walk are essential to ensure the charity can continue providing the vital help and support to cancer sufferers in the community. The total raised during this year’s walk is still being tallied but is in excess of £10,000.

{http://www.iomtoday.co.im/news/isle-of-man-news/pictures-hundreds-tackle-millennium-way-for-lisa-lowe-appeal-1-7868062|See more photos from the event here}

Peel’s annual August carnival will strive for an ‘international’ feel this year with a first-time visit of a troupe of feather-clad Brazilian dancers in full exotic traditional costumes both promoting the event and taking part in the parade.

Viva Brasil, samba dancers, whose glamorous appearance brings to life corporate events, private parties, weddings and fashion shows, are being brought to the island by the organising committee for the carnival weekend.

The carnival committee has also booked well-known puppeteer and model maker Steven Allen to bring even greater colour and expertise to the big day.

The 49-year-old from Kent, whose brother and sister-in-law are Sunset City residents, will be conducting workshops in all five primary schools in the west, together with the Queen Elizabeth II High School, helping the youngsters to make models and props which can be used in the grand parade.

Steve worked for Muppets creator Jim Henderson and EMI studios, designing soft toys for the commercial market, recreating characters and features from Fraggle Rock, Thunderbirds, Star Wars and Wallace and Gromit.

Bringing with him his long career experience of working on films such as a Labyrinth, starring the late David Bowie, Steve will travel to the island and spend the last two weeks of the school term at workshops at Foxdale, Michael, St John’s, Bunscoill Ghaelgagh and Peel Clothworkers’ and high schools.

The carnival itself takes place the first Sunday in August, which is the seventh this year, which coincides with the town’s traditional boat weekend.

All the usual carnival ‘regulars’, will be there with fire-eating, juggling and acrobatic sideshows, together with the Manchester-based Panfire Caribbean steel drum band. The samba feel of Viva Brasil should also been well complemented by our home-grown SambaMann drum band, led by Andy Marshall, which leads out the grand parade from the House of Mannanan along the quay and seafront to the Creg Malin Park.

Adding to the ‘international’ feel of the event will be the Chinese Lion dancers, whose first-time appearance proved such a wonderful spectacle last year, together with the Rumanian Dance troupe which is appearing this year for the first time.

‘We’ve got it all this year and hoping for our biggest-ever Peel Carnival since it all started 64 years ago,’ said committee chairman Ian Baker. ‘There are bands, entertainers, shows, beach activities taking place from mid-morning and throughout the day.

‘But, as ever, this is a community event for folk, young and not so, and hopefully from all around the island, to get involved, making costumes, dressing up and taking part in the Parade. Without their participation, it just wouldn’t work

‘Thankfully, that participation usually exceeds all our expectations.’

He thanked all the many sponsors assisting the staging of the event, such as the Arts Council, Culture Vannin, the Town Commissioners and several of the Peel-based charities and good cause organisations.

{http://www.viva-brasil.co.uk/tablet/photos.html|Click here to read more about Viva Brasil}

{http://www.kentonline.co.uk/kent/news/puppeteer-steve-allen-is-pulling-a67399|Click here to read more about Steve Allen}

Two experienced members of the finance industry have strengthened the Kreston Isle of Man team.

Melanie Quayle joins as client services manager. She has 30 years’ experience within the industry, working with a variety of private and public companies from several jurisdictions, limited partnerships as well as AIM-listed companies and exempt funds.

Melanie has been instrumental in the completion of large commercial real estate transactions and the acquisition and curation of fine art and antiques.

She has also experience with the sale and purchase of investments quoted and unquoted and foreign exchange dealing.

Also joining Kreston is Catherine Tyrer as finance manager.

Catherine qualified with Ernst & Young in 2010 in the audit team as a chartered accountant.

During her training she completed a six-month secondment with HSBC Securities Services preparing pension fund accounting records and financial statements.

Catherine has five years’ experience as a senior client accountant within the industry prior to joining Kreston in November.

Kreston IoM operations director Christian Cowley said: ‘Kreston is going from strength to strength in the Isle of Man and these two new appointments demonstrate our commitment to building on our combined experience to the benefit of our clients.

‘I’m delighted to welcome Melanie and Catherine to the team.’

Kreston IOM is the Isle of Man’s representative of Kreston International, a global network of 192 independent accounting firms in 104 countries providing a resource of over 20,000 professional and support staff.

Chief Minister Allan Bell has warned that the Isle of Man’s zero/10 tax rate could come under the international spotlight in the wake of the Panama Papers leak.

And he said thousands of island jobs were at stake if a new international blacklist of tax havens was created, based not just on levels of tax transparency and co-operation but on tax rates too.

However, the UK is likely to oppose any such blacklist.

Mr Bell’s warning came ahead of anti-corruption conference being hosted in London by David Cameron on May 12 - and the expected release of a second, even bigger, leak of Panama Papers.

The first leak of 11.5 million documents from Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca lifted the lid on global financial secrecy.

Mr Bell said the Panana Papers were a ‘game changer’, leading to intense scrutiny of the offshore business world.

He said: ‘This is not some tinkering at the margins. It’s massively important. If we lose our zero tax rate it would badly damage the economy and we would lose thousands of jobs.’

The move to set up an international blacklist of tax havens was made by Ecofin, made up of the finance ministers from the 28 EU member states.

Mr Bell said the indications coming out of Ecofin was that the blacklist would be based not just on tax transparency and co-operation but would also refer to tax rates in the different countries. ‘It’s still early days and we are not sure what shape it will take,’ he said.

Mr Bell said that David Cameron and Chancellor George Osborne have made it clear they want the UK to have the most competitive corporate tax rate anywhere in the world. ‘I don’t think we will find hostility from the UK on this one at all,’ he said.

The island has also won praise for its early moves on tax transparency - most recently signing up to automatic exchange of beneficial ownership information, an initiative led by the G5 nations of UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain.

Mr Bell said thee was a lot hypocrisy in the debates about headline tax rates with many countries offering discounts, rebate and preferential rates.

But he said the offshore world was going to be considerably more transparent than it has been and some smaller jurisdictions might struggle to survive in the long term.

The capital’s historic Castle Mona hotel should be added to Douglas Council’s list of dilapidated properties - that’s what a number of local councillors want.

Councillor Betty Quirk pointed out that new legislation will give increased powers to the council to enforce penalties against owners of ruinous properties.

‘It’s just sitting there and no-one seems to be doing anything about it,’ she told this month’s council meeting.

Mrs Quirk also wanted to know if the owners were obliged to pay rates on the property.

Councillor Catherine Turner offered her support, telling fellow councillors she thought adding the historic registered building to the list would be ‘fantastic’.

Councillor Carol Malarkey agreed and Councillor John Skinner told councillors the owners were obliged to maintain it to a ‘reasonable standard’ because it was a registered building.

Councillor Ann Corlett, who is on the council’s environmental services committee that oversees rundown properties, confirmed the owners do pay rates on the building but said there was no reason, in principle, why it could not be put on the list.

Speaking after the meeting, Mrs Corlett said the next move would be for council inspectors to examine the building and make any recommendations regarding work needed to tidy it up.

‘As far as we are aware, it is structurally sound,’ she said.

If any work recommended is carried out, that is the end of the matter, she said. If not, the building goes on the council’s list of dilapidated or rundown properties. This means it is monitored and if improvements are not made court action may be taken.

Sefton Group chief executive Brett Martin was surprised by the council’s stance but said so far no approach had been made to his company, which owns the former hotel.

‘If they want to send someone round, that’s not a problem. It’s certainly not a dilapidated building. It’s a closed building but it is maintained,’ he said.

The hotel was closed in 2006 by previous owners, Skyland Investments, taking staff and guests by surprise.

The Sefton Group bought the building, reportedly for around £4 million, in February 2007 with plans to turn it into a four-star hotel but following the downturn in the economy this did not happen and it has remained closed ever since.

Plans for the Manx Education Foundation to use the building as an ICT training centre also fell through in 2013.

Currently the building’s boarded-up windows and security fencing around the car park lend it a neglected air, but Mr Martin said this had been necessary to protect it.

‘We had a couple of break-ins and some damage was done so that’s what prompted those measures. It’s a necessary evil,’ he said.

‘The building has regular maintenance checks and work has been done on the roof several times to ensure it is water-tight.

‘But the key to the Castle Mona is finding a sustainable use.’

Formerly the Duke of Athol’s private house, dating from the early 19th century, the original building, with its 20th century additions, is difficult to operate as a modern hotel, he said.

In recent years the hotel’s grand ballroom was used for shooting some scenes for the feature film Spooks.

The Manx Independent asked if access could be given to the newspaper’s photographer to take some interior photographs to show readers the current state of the building inside but the request was declined.

The property is currently on the market with UK estate agents Lambert Smith Hampton. The advertisement is marked ‘POA’ (price on application) but this is likely to be ‘substantiallty below’ the original £4 million price tag.

A review gets under way next month which could result in the radical reform of Tynwald.

Lord Lisvane, former clerk to the House of Commons, has been appointed to head the independent review of the branches of the island’s parliament and to recommend options for reform.

Chief Minister Allan Bell has expressed his preference for a single parliamentary chamber rather than the current tricameral system which comprises the House of Keys, LegCo and Tynwald.

Inquiry sittings will be held in public and streamed live on the Cabinet Office’s webpage.

Witnesses to give oral evidence will be selected at Lord Lisvane’s discretion but the public is invited to make written submissions.

They should be received by Thursday, June 1, in order to be taken fully into account in the review. Receipt by May 13 will allow Lord Lisvane to decide whether to take oral evidence on a submission.

The Treasury Minister has defended a Council of Ministers’ decision to sack the chairman of the Post Office.

Malew and Santon MHK Graham Cregeen, a former government minister, was removed as member and chairman of the Post Office with immediate effect last month over his ‘fundamental conflict’ with board policy on corporatisation.

But that plan to run the operation as a state-owned private company rather than a statutory board has been left in disarray after Tynwald voted down most of the recommendations of an independent report into the future of the island’s postal service.

In the House of Keys this week, Michael MHK Alfred Cannan asked why Mr Cregeen was not given a reasonable opportunity to resign - and whether he should now be reinstated given that Tynwald had rejected the board’s corporatisation policy.

But Treasury Minister Eddie Teare said: ‘A chairman of a statutory board has to accept the democratic decision of the board, and if you do not accept the democratic decision, then the option in your hands is to resign.’

Mr Cregeen said he would have resigned if Tynwald had supported corporatisation.

Douglas South MHK Bill Malarkey said: ‘Does the Minister not agree the timing was rather unfortunate, because CoMin wanted to push through corporatisation and that sacking should not have taken place until after Tynwald had made its decision?’

Mr Teare replied: ‘No. The fact of the matter here is that thsere was a disagreement with the board and the chairman did not accept the views of his colleagues, the democratic decision.’

Manx photographer Chris Killip is to talk to an audience at the Manx Museum on Saturday, May 7.

He will reflect on his varied career and experience before signing copies of his new book.

Killip’s career has been wide-ranging and included a period living and working in the north east of England.

He has received prestigious commissions and recognition of his work, both in the form of awards and in major institutions featuring his work in their permanent collections.

The event marks the opening day of a new exhibition Chris Killip’s Isle of Man Revisited. Born in 1946, Chris lived on the Isle of Man until his late teens when he moved to London to work first as a photographer’s assistant and then as a freelance photographer. In the early 1970s he returned to photograph the island, recording buildings, interiors, natural features and people of all ages at work and rest.

Now, visitors to the Manx Museum have the rare opportunity to view large prints of some of these, selected from 250 photographs acquired by Manx National Heritage from Chris Killip.

According to a press release from the museum: ‘The island, as seen through Killip’s camera lens, makes a lasting impression.

‘What he saw and what he chose to photograph has the ongoing power to startle and unsettle as well as to mesmerise and delight.

‘Killip himself recognises the different relationships people can have to his work. It makes him “very happy that the work is in the Isle of Man because that is where it well and truly belongs. It is more open to all sorts of other meanings which it couldn’t have in other places because it doesn’t belong.”’

Exhibition dates: May 7 to July 30, Manx Museum, Kingswood Grove, Douglas.

He may not be one of the leading names, but TT racer Anthony Redmond, from Manchester, won the support of so many well wishers at his first TT last year that his fairing has no room left for more logos.

Friend and supporter Debbie Wright decided to try and get Tony some sponsorship for this year’s races and found such overwhelming support for him she says people have nick-named his bike ‘The Isle of Man Small Business Bike’.

Debbie said: ‘I decided to start the Team Tony campaign to see if we could get him some more funds for the TT fortnight and expected to get a couple on board.

‘So far we have raised £2,800 with more possibly to come. We’ve had to close the door because we have run out of room on the bike for more logos. Unbelievable.’

Tony cut his teeth competing in the Manx Grand Prix, achieving a seventh place finish in the Lightweight in 2014, before moving up to the TT last year.

This year his aim is the magical 120mph lap, having missed it by a fraction last year at 119.6mph.

He has the support of Green Ant Racing which has supplied the S1000RR BMW, and his uncle, ex racer Alan Young, who lives in the island, is supplying him with a 650cc bike for the Supertwins race.

‘Everyone is supporting Tony and his team because they can see they do the TT for the absolute love of racing and they bring the true spirit of the TT to life. He has everyone backing his 120mph lap this year,’ Debbie said.

As a thank you, Debbie and the team will be holding a sponsors’ get together at Tony’s race tent on May 29 from 4pm to 6pm.

Cakes will be donated by Taylor Made Cakes and SB Photography will be providing photographs.

‘We can’t offer all the frills, but we can offer them a fantastic time,’ Debbie said.

The Campaign for Abortion Law Modernisation, known as Calm, will take place on Wednesday.

It will be held at the Manx Legion, Market Hill, Douglas, starting at 7.30pm.

Tha campaign wants to see the 1995 Termination of Pregnancy (Medical Defences) Act updated.

Organisers say a detailed programme of events will be discussed at the meeting which will bring Calm to the attention of current and prospective MHKs, and to the attention of health professionals who may not be aware of the discrepancies between the 1995 Termination of Pregnancy (Medical Procedures) Act and the 1967 Abortion Act.

All welcome.

An annual three-day celebration of visual art opens tomorrow (Saturday).

The Isle of Man Art Festival features open access to artist studios, exhibitions, workshops and demonstrations.

Formerly known as the Western Open Studio Art Trail (WOSAT), the re-brand has allowed greater scope to encourage island-wide artist participation.

Painters, illustrators, sculptors, potters, jewellers, embroiderers, print-makers and photographers are all taking part in the festival.

They include Bruno Cavellec, Gavin Carter, Neil Milsom, Patricia Tutt, Simon Capelen, Shane Lucas, Di Beckerson and Charlotte Jane Henry.

Artists in Port Erin, Grenaby, Peel, St John’s, Laxey and Kirk Michael will open the doors of their studios to the public.

Exhibitions of Creative Network members’ artwork will be on display at the Hodgson Loom Gallery in Laxey, Peel Centenary Centre and Patrick Church.

Venues for demonstrations include Peel’s Corrin Hall, the House of Manannan, the Pilates Studio at the Viking Longhouse, Sayle Gallery in Douglas, the Isle Gallery at St John’s and the Hodgson Loom Gallery in Laxey.

And workshops on Saturday and Sunday, being held in conjunction with the Manx Society for Marine Conservation, offer the chance to make environmentally-friendly floating lanterns.

Entrance to studios, demonstrations and exhibition venues over all three days is by purchase of a wrist band at £3, which includes a free festival guide.

Entry for students costs £2 and there’s free entry for under 18s.

All venues will be open from 11am to 5pm from Saturday to Monday.

The Art Festival is organised by the Creative Network, and supported by the Isle of Man Arts Council, Manx National Heritage, Peel Commissioners and partner galleries.

The official launch took place at Noa Bakehouse last week.

It saw Peel MHK Ray Harmer open an exhibition preview covering a wide range of disciplines.

The exhibition will continue until the end of the festival.

For a full list of venues selling the wristbands and guides visit www.creativenetwork.im

The 180th anniversary of the consecration of St Luke’s Church, Baldwin, will be celebrated on Sunday, May 8, at 6.30pm.

The special preacher will be Bishop Robert Paterson, and the Cathedral Choir will be present.

Light refreshments will be available afterwards.

The organisers says that everyone is welcome.

A review of the island’s children’s services is expected to report that ‘encouraging progress’ has been made, MHKs were told.

Health and Social Care Minister Howard Quayle was quizzed in the House of Keys over how many recommendations from the damning 2006 childcare Inquiry report had been implemented.

Mr Quayle said of the 132 recommendations, 118 have been fully implemented, one was discarded and the remaining 13 were partially implemented as they were either overtaken by modern childcare practice or superseded by the outcome of a 2013 review by the Scottish Inspectorate.

The Scottish team were recently invited back to review progress.

A full written report is awaited, said Mr Quayle, but the inspectors had spoken of ‘demonstrable improvements’ to early support given to families, and ‘encouraging progress’ in responding to children at risk of abuse.

‘I believe this is encouraging news but we are not complacent,’ he said.

Isle of Man anglers can now record information about their catches in Manx rivers and reservoirs thanks to a free mobile phone app.

Ecosourcer allows anglers to keep track of their fishing successes and view details of their catches, including photos, using smart phones or similar devices.

The app will share the information with the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture’s fisheries officers but will not be visible to other anglers.

For river anglers, it will provide an alternative to submitting a paper catch return to DEFA at the end of the season.

Richard Ronan MHK said the app will provide data to help the with the management and conservation of freshwater fisheries. It can be downloaded from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.

The first horse trams of 2016 will starting running today.

They come under the control of the government for the first time after Douglas Council relinquished the loss-making service.

The first horse tram will leave Derby Castle at 9am and continue until 5.30pm.

The last tram leaves from the Sea Terminal end of the line at 5.50pm.

The horse trams are expected to lose £100,000 this year, {http://www.iomtoday.co.im/news/isle-of-man-news/reprieved-horse-tram-service-set-to-lose-100-000-this-year-1-7881825|as we reported earlier this week}

Horse tram fares are £3 for adults and £2 for children for single journeys.

Day tickets are available at £6 for adults, £3 for children or £15 for a family. Season-long Go Horse Tram cards valid until October 30 are £30 for adults and £20 for children and holders of Isle of Man senior citizens’ 60+ cards.

Go Explore cards are valid for travel on all bus and rail services operated by Isle of Man Transport, including the horse trams.

All Go Horse Tram cards, tickets and free timetables are now available from Derby Castle ticket office and the Welcome Centre in Douglas Sea Terminal.

Bankrupt former Braddan Commissioners clerk Buster Lewin will have to face a public examination on behalf of his creditors – after the court ruled that he was not too ill to attend.

A bankruptcy order against Mr Lewin was made in his absence in the high court last July following his failed attempt to seek damages from Braddan for unfair dismissal.

The commissioners had been awarded costs of more than £300,000 and had sought the bankruptcy order when he failed to pay.

That order required him to attend a public examination on behalf of the trustee and other creditors. But the hearing was adjourned on the grounds of ill-health.

Trustee Craig Mitchell, of Browne, Craine and Co, wrote to the court in January this year said it was his view, shared with those of certain creditors, that there were still matters requiring further clarification and that a date and time should be fixed for the public examination.

Mr Lewin, of Ballavitchell Road, Crosby, said he was happy to answer questions in writing but was not fit to attend the court for cross-examination.

In his four-page submission to court he referred to medical reports which confirmed he is suffering from cluster headaches with an average 10 sudden attacks per day which continue to be painful for 15-20 minutes during which time he said he could not speak.

But the trustee said he was concerned Mr Lewin was seeking to use his health problems to avoid a public examination and to frustrate efforts to pursue the bankruptcy for the benefit of the creditors.

He said that there were inconsistencies between the medical evidence and Mr Lewin’s own assessment of his condition.

Deemster Christie QC ruled he was not satisfied that Mr Lewin has established he is not fit to attend court for examination.

In his judgment he said: ‘I entirely accept that adjustments may need to be put in place to accommodate him but I am sure these can be achieved.

‘Further, Mr Lewin has not established any good reason why the normal principle of open justice should not apply in this case and he has not provided me with any good reason why any examination should be in private.’

Mr Lewin was sentenced in 2012 to three-and-a-half years in jail for his part in trying to rig a House of Keys by-election in 2010. He admitted charges of conspiring dishonestly to secure proxy votes, conspiring to steal and conspiring to forge a document.

Police are asking for help in protecting wild birds on beaches in the north of the island.

Wildlife crime officer Constable Mark Kerruish said: ‘Terns will soon be nesting on beaches at the Ayres and important colonies will be fenced off in order to try to protect these vulnerable sites.

‘These nesting colonies are clearly marked by numerous warning and advisory signs.’

Arctic and little terns nesting in the areas are classified as Schedule 1 protected birds under the Wildlife Act 1990. Terns that migrate annually from the Southern Ocean to the Isle of Man nest and breed at these sites. The terns make their nests by constructing a shallow scrape in the sand and shingle beach.

Constable Kerruish said: ‘The eggs that they lay to the untrained eye are almost identical to the size and colour of stones on the beach.’

The nesting colonies on the northern beaches are the only location in the island where these birds nest. Research shows they make an estimated 50,000-mile round journey to breed at these sites.

Other birds such as oystercatchers and ringed plover use the area for nesting and safe refuge for their vulnerable chicks. In 2015 there were more than 300 nests on the beaches between Blue point and the Point of Ayre.

‘If the terns are disturbed this forces the parents to leave the nest for their own safety and to protect it against intruders.

‘The eggs or chicks are then exposed, and the noise and activity resulting can attract the attention of predatory birds such as crows and gulls, which may then take the opportunity to fly in and predate the nests while the parent birds are busy with another perceived intruder.

‘If the exposure persists then the eggs or chicks may also overheat or chill depending on the prevailing weather, putting them at risk. The more time the birds are off the nest, the greater the risk of losing the eggs or chicks to exposure, predators or the adults abandoning their eggs.’

Outside of the restricted areas people are not advised to spend extended periods close to the fencing observing or photographing the birds.

This can cause significant risk as nests are often close to the edges of the fenced areas, and the activity can cause the parent birds to be off the nest for extended periods causing the eggs or young to be at risk. Anyone being harried by terns is more than likely too close to active nests and should retreat away from the colony.

Constable Kerruish added: ‘I very much want members of the public to enjoy the scenery and wildlife that the island has to offer however I must remind people that disturbing nesting terns is an offence. The fencing and signage provide clear demarcation of such areas.

‘Arctic terns will defend their nests and this can be a painful experience. Please therefore respect the controls put in place, which are in the interests of the terns and visitors.

‘I would also ask dog owners to be responsible, dogs must be kept on leads within the Ayres National Nature Reserve between 1st April and 31st July in order to protect other ground nesting birds just off the beach area..

If any anyone is seen not observing the on-site guidance please report the matter to Ramsey Police Station on 812234 for the attention of wildlife crime officers Mark Kerruish or Chloe Keegan or the Department of Environment Food and Agriculture.

‘That Bernard Moffatt, don’t get me started – what about the public sector pensions? He made a right hash of that!’

When sentiments like that are expressed I get a tad perplexed because when public sector (PS) pensions were initiated back in the 1960s I was busy digging my way around Dalton and Allan Street in Douglas for NR Corlett contractors in the direction of the telephone exchange.

Today you see those massive excavators besides a couple of hundred yards of trench they dig in about half a day. Well we always had the trenches but we didn’t always have the excavators and it was slow going ‘on the tools’ – a pick and shovel – and it played hell with your hands. Anyway I suppose I can honestly say that some of the curmudgeons that harp on about me being ‘a dinosaur’ are right because I’m one of the last of the navvies!

I honestly can’t remember anyone shouting down into the trench (and they were pretty deep) ‘Hi Moffatt they want you down at government office to help them with the new PS pensions’. Although my memory might not be as good as it was.

Maybe ‘Harry Potter’-like, I was utilised at the time to ‘magic up’ such things.

However, on second thoughts no, because they didn’t have any ‘government office’ then. In fact, years later I was working on the construction of that for Parkinson’s. I was still on the tools but thankfully JCB excavators had arrived. You’ve no idea how many construction workers praise the day the JCB arrived and took the ‘back-breaking’ out of ‘back-breaking work’.

Coincidentally I was still working for Parkinson’s when the next big phase of PS pensions arrived.

By then, I had been elevated to a more lucrative role in ‘concrete products’ and was a shop steward in the Transport and General Workers’ Union, but again I don’t recall anyone saying ‘Bernard, they need you down at government office to sort out the next phase of pensions’ (but then there could be that Harry Potter thing again)!

Some years later still was the final phase of the PS pensions saga (before the Government Unified Scheme when I was long retired) when they rolled out the second (1977) Manual Workers scheme, etc.

Once again I can’t recall anyone summoning me into the discussions. If they had they would probably have sniffed and said ‘what’s that smell?’ and I would have said: ‘Sorry it’s just me. I had to come straight here, I’m working for Christian Salvesen’s now smoking kippers. I know I should have gone home and had a bath but someone said it was urgent’!

My first real involvement in PS pensions was in 1980 when cast into the public sector briefly I was inducted into the 1977 scheme which I contributed to for six years until I left government employment.

I wasn’t impressed by the scheme and was even less impressed when I ceased working for government to be told I could not cash in my six years’ contributions. No, I had to leave it there for the next 20-plus years.

You often hear people going on about ‘gold-plated’ pensions. Well, to quote Ricky Tomlinson, ‘gold-plated pensions my….’ – well, we won’t go there!

Anyway I’m really cheesed of that all those years ago I wasn’t summoned ‘Harry Potter’-like to devise the first pensions.

But even though I was only digging holes with a pick and shovel at the time, I could have told them they were heading for trouble.

At that time there wasn’t a great deal of money around and wages were low. However, I can tell you this: any shysters who had turned up at private sector firms like NR Corlett’s saying ‘we want you to pay money into a scheme to fund other people’s pensions and in 40 years’ time you may get something’ might have found themselves on the receiving end of a pick handle!

I notice that the Public Sector Pensions Authority didn’t have much to say about the Manual Workers’ No 1 Scheme people recently.

Of course, the Manx government did a Maxwell on them!

Steam Packet vessel the Ben-my-Chree is to return to service on Wednesday following her overhaul.

The boat, which has been in service in the Isle of Man for 18 years, has spent three weeks in dry dock. The work completed includes a technical overhaul as well as refurbishing some of the passenger areas. This has involved work on seating, decor and lighting in the executive, Niarbyl and premium lounges.

The Ben-my-Chree will be back in the island by Tuesday, ready to return to regular service on Wednesday May 4.

Local teacher Jim MacGregor has a mountain to climb every time he leaves his house - in the shape of Mont Blanc which he has painted onto the end wall of his property in Woodbourne Road, Douglas.

The mural is to promote his latest venture: climbing Mont Blanc in a few weeks’ time to raise funds for the island’s Victim Support charity.

He said his work as a volunteer with the search and rescue dog charity SARDA and with Civil Defence prompted him to raise money for Victim Support.

‘It’s a worthy charity and it also has close connections with what we do with both Civil Defence and the search dogs which on occasions brings us into contact with crime and victims of crime. Any help victims can receive is always more than welcome,’ he said.

As part of his preparation Jim has been running, visiting the climbing wall and taking tome to brush up on technical climbing skills. However the biggest difficulty could lie in doing the climb at the very start of the season.

‘Basically, it is the first week of the season so there could be quite heavy snow to get through. Also, altitude sickness could be a problem as we are only going for a week so will have little time to get used to it.’

Also taking part in the challenge will be Jim’s SARDA colleague Mal Stewart, Mal’s son Alex, currently a Leeds University student, and at least one member of Llanberis mountain rescue team. For Mal it will be a repeat process as he climbed Mont Blanc last year with a friend.

The plan will be to take a few days over the climb, stopping off at a refuge part way up. From there they will make an early start - probably around 4am - so they can reach the summit and get down again.

As a lead up to it, Jim and 12 the Civil Defence volunteers will be climbing the Lake district peaks over 3,000 feet this May bank holiday.

https://www.justgiving.com/jim-macgregor3