There’s an extra incentive for guests to attend the next eClub meeting, a free parking space in Douglas for the next six months.

The parking space is being donated by Rose Estates Limited, the Douglas-based commercial property letting agent which is hosting the June social event at one of its newest property developments at Analyst House on Peel Road.

eClub meetings are open to anyone working in the eGaming industry or who is interested in the sector. Attendees meet regularly in an informal setting and have an opportunity to network with others over drinks and canapes.

Julia Erskine, director of Rose Estates, said: ‘As specialists in the letting and management of commercial property in the Isle of Man for more than 35 years, we have witnessed first-hand the increase in demand for property by businesses in the eGaming sector in recent times.

‘Our professional and dedicated lettings team have already assisted a number of clients in this field to find the right accommodation for them and ensure their tenancy is trouble-free.

‘Supporting the eClub is a great opportunity to get to know others working in the eGaming community and develop mutually rewarding relationships.

‘And, as anyone working in Douglas will know, car parking spaces are at a premium so we thought a six-month free let would be a much-valued prize!’

Rose Estates lets out only property which it owns and its current portfolio includes a wide range of commercial office accommodation across central Douglas.

All properties are fully refurbished prior to let and have car parking available on site or nearby. Many have stunning views across Douglas Bay.

The eClub is a social meeting place for anyone involved or interested in eGaming on the Isle of Man. Initiated by KPMG and Continent 8 Technologies, eClub offers a space for people working in the industry to make contacts, or discuss industry trends and developments. The nextmeeting of the popular, and growing, club is on Thursday, June 30. For more information and how to get involved with eClub visit www.facebook.com/IsleofManeClub or join the group Isle of Man eClub on LinkedIn.

There’s broad support for reform of the island’s parliamentary system, according to results of an online poll set up by Douglas South MHK Bill Malarkey.

Mr Malarkey presented the results of the survey to Lord Lisvane who told him that it provided a ‘window into a wider sample of opinion’.

There were some 336 respondents to the online poll. There was overwhelming support for the need to change the current three chambered parliament.

Some 56 per cent of respondents supported the idea of a single chamber. Nearly 90 per cent believed MLCs should be directly elected.

Mr Malarkey told Lord Lisvane: ‘There is a lot of discontent with regard to LegCo - how it’s elected, what its job is and what it gets paid.’

Giving his evidence to the review, Douglas West MHK Chris Thomas suggested there should be a referendum on the future structure of parliament. He said that only the directed elected members should be involved in public policy making and financial decisions.

Mr Thomas said there was a political and financial imperative for change. He pointed out that 60 per cent of the £5m Tynwald budget went on pay and present members’ pay and pensions and that sum had grown substantially in recent years.

‘It’s something in the public eye. You can’t help but notice perhaps the newspaper stands today, the front page of our local newspaper is all about the cost of members of Tynwald and it’s an easy target at the minute because they choose the sort of story that will make people buy the newspapers and this is one such story.’

A 33-year-old university graduate has been jailed for three years and three months after admitting possessing ecstasy and cocaine with intent to supply.

Treadwell Eugene Sinclair Nesbitt, of Mona Drive, was caught by staff at the Outback bar in Douglas with the two drugs hidden in the soles of his shoes.

He pleaded guilty in court to two counts of possession of ecstasy with intent to supply and one of possession of cocaine with intent to supply.

Proecutor Rachael Braidwood told the court how, on October 17, the landlord at the Outback saw Nesbitt take off his shoe in a toilet cubicle, then take a pouch containing white powder out of his wallet.

When he came out of the cubicle he was taken to the bar’s kitchen by security staff and asked to empty his pockets. Nesbitt produced money, tobacco and a lighter. Referring to the drugs, staff then told Nesbitt: ‘If you get it out now we won’t get the police, we can flush it.’

Nesbitt then pulled out a white powder wrap containing ecstasy worth £30.50 but was told by staff: ‘Sorry we’ve already got the police.’

Police arrived and arrested Nesbitt who said: ‘This is going to ruin my life, can’t we sort this out? I think it’s MDMA, I’m not sure. I’m trying to find out what it is.’

Nesbitt went on to say that he thought the drugs may be a legal high.

A search at police headquarters found four more wraps in Nesbitt’s left shoe, containing £127 worth of cocaine, and two in his right one, containing £55 worth of ecstasy. He was also carrying £180 in cash.

An analysis of his mobile phone revealed a large number of messages relating to the sourcing and supply of drugs.

One message read: ‘Yo! How’s it going, any chance of you getting any pills?’. Other messages referred to ‘Mandy’, slang for ecstasy.

Police searched Nesbitt’s parent’s home at Ballaughton Manor Hill in Douglas and found another wrap containing £525-worth of ecstasy in a suitcase in the garage.

In court he entered a basis of plea saying that the money he had was not from selling drugs and that most of the messages on his phone were from people he did not know and who he did not intend to supply drugs to. Nesbitt said in the plea that he was using a lot of ecstasy at the time of the offence and that he would have used most of the drugs found in the garage himself.

A probation report said that Nesbitt had a good upbringing and obtained a degree in electronics at university.

Deemster Alastair Montgomerie commended staff at the Outback, and told Nesbitt: ‘You have a degree in electronics. How you have ended up here is a mystery. It shows the dangers of becoming dependent on drugs. All that one can hope is that you will at least learn from your time in custody and come out a much wiser person.’

It’s difficult to look past Ian Hutchinson and Michael Dunlop as the likely favourites for today, Friday’s, PokerStars Senior TT.

The pair have been on blistering form throughout the fortnight, with Dunlop blitzing the Superbike event last Saturday and Hutchinson the dominant force thereafter.

Hutchy won the Superstock race on his Tyco BMW at a speed almost as fast as Dunlop’s in the earlier event.

And the Yorkshireman went quicker still in a single lap of qualifying for the Senior on Wednesday with a speed of 133.15mph. It really could go either way, but Dunlop just might be hungrier over the full six laps.

The Kawasaki trio of James Hillier, Dean Harrison and Peter Hickman are likely to contest the final spot on the podium in a straight head-to-head with the Hondas of John McGuinness and home favourite Conor Cummins.

The race starts at 2pm, preceded by the second Sidecar event at midday in which Manxmen Dave Molyneux and Dan Sayle will be anxious to make up for earlier disappointments

Fog was causing delays at Ronaldsway this morning.

Flights were expected to be delayed by up to three hours.

Easyjet’s 8.20am flight to Liverpool was estimated to depart at 11.05am, while Flybe’s 7am flight to Manchester was estimated to leave at 9am.

Isle of Man Met Office forecaster Adrian Cowin said fog patches in the south and east would become increasingly confined to the coastal fringes as the morning goes on.

The island is showing its support for home-grown star of the stage and screen Samantha Barks.

The Manx singer and actress is returning to the island for her homecoming concert on Saturday, the day after the release of her debut album.

Sam will be performing at the Gaiety Theatre and even by the end of last week, tickets were almost sold out. As the Manx Independent went to press, there were only a small number of seats available in the amphitheatre.

There’s another chance to see Sam – she will be signing copies of her eponymous album at HMV in Strand Street on Saturday at 4pm.

The 25-year-old is clearly looking forward to her return to the island.

‘I’m so excited to come home and get to perform in the Isle of Man, and the Gaiety Theatre in particular,’ she said.

‘It’s really where I grew up. It’s always nice being in front of friends and family.’

Her album features 12 tracks, including her solo from Les Mis, On My Own and As Long As He Needs Me from Oliver. In a nod to her Manx roots, the last track is Ellan Vannin.

Sam kickstarted her tour on Wednesday with an appearance at Theatre Royal in Norwich. And after the Douglas date she will be performing at venues across the UK for the rest of the month.

In recent weeks Sam has been busy promoting her new album. The West End star sang her first single – Troublemaker – on the National Lottery draw. She was then interviewed by Gaby Roslin on BBC London on Sunday, where she sang her version of Justin Bieber’s LoveYourself.

And she’s been hitting the headlines too, including an interview with the Sunday Express.

Sam first came to the public’s attention as a contestant in the 2008 BBC reality singing competition I’d Do Anything.

Widely acclaimed for her breathtaking voice and emotive power, Sam’s heart-rending portrayal of Eponine in Les Misérables earned her an international reputation.

She also has lauded touring productions of Oliver! and Cabaret under her belt.

And she recently won acclaim on the US stage for her performance in the title role in the world premiere of musical Amélie at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre, in California.

Fire crews have dealt with a variety of incidents of the last 24 hours.

At about 3.30pm yesterday, Douglas and Laxey crews helped the police and ambulances service with a road traffic collision at Bulgham Rocks, while Castletown station was dealing with a fire on the steam railway lines embankment.

The incident at Bulgham Rocks involved a car and motorcycle, and saw three people requiring hospital treatment.

One casualty had to taken to Noble’s Hospital by helicopter.

Firefighters helped the Manx Electric Railway staff to clear the tracks which had been showered with stone from a wall following the impact.

In the early hours of this morning Douglas crews were called to flooding in a home, caused by a pipe coming loose.

This was eventually dealt with by a plumber.

Shortly after the flooding incident, at about 2am, a neighbour was alerted by a smell of smoke coming from a property in York Road.

On arrival Red Watch, found that the sole occupant had been rescued from his smoke-filled flat by the neighbour who had dialled 999.

Firefighters cleared the smoke and removed a smouldering sofa outside.

The fire is thought to have been caused by smoking materials.

Peel RNLI recovered a yacht which got into difficulty about 16 miles off the Manx coast.

Ruby Clery had been about to open to the public for Peel RNLI flag day yesterday afternoon when crew received a call from Belfast coastguard that the yacht, Sea Time, had encountered fuel problems and was having trouble establishing its location in the misty conditions.

The yacht, which had been on its way from Ardglass to Peel, was quickly located and then towed back to Peel.

An RNLI spokesman said the one crew member was ‘none the worse for the experience’.

The lifeboat was then opened to the public for viewing.

A man who has more than 20 previous convictions for taking vehicles without consent has been jailed for 26 weeks.

Christopher James Christian, of James Street, admitted committing the offence again on April 13 and was also disqualified from driving for 18 months.

Christian, who is 31, also pleaded guilty to charges of driving while disqualified and having no insurance.

Deputy High Bailiff Jayne Hughes said: ‘You drove a stranger’s vehicle knowing you were disqualified and not insured.

‘You have a total of 52 pages of convictions with over 20 for taking vehicles without consent and over 15 for driving when disqualified.

‘It’s an appalling record by anyone’s measure. You were in court for an attempted theft in March and now six weeks later these offences.

‘No-one is writing you off but you are now 31, you need to think about your actions.’

The court heard how Christian had taken a Peugeot van from Cooil Drive in Douglas.

The van was located two days later on Head Road. In it were several McDonald’s fast food wrappers.

Police checked the CCTV footage at McDonald’s drive through on Peel Road and it showed Christian in the van at 5am buying food. He was subsequently arrested.

Christian’s advocate, Andrew Marshall, submitted a basis of plea on behalf of his client which said that the vehicle had been unlocked and that the keys were inside the car. Christian said in the plea that he would not have taken the vehicle had it not been unlocked with the keys in and that he did not intend to damage or sell it. It went on to say that he had only used the car to go to McDonalds to get food and did not touch anything inside.

Mr Marshall said: ‘My client has stopped consuming drugs and alcohol which seemed to be the root of his problems. He has been meeting all of his goals in this regard.

‘Mr Christian has been in custody for seven weeks and four days already. He is on the verge of losing his flat if he receives a longer sentence.

‘He now realises he needs to change his ways. He has spoken to the local housing authority and an eviction process will start if custody is imoposed.

‘He has been visiting the job centre and his brother has offered him employment. His brother has noticed a change in him.

‘His mother and partner are in court and intend to keep a close eye on him to ensure he doesn’t reoffend.’

Christian was sentenced to 26 weeks jail for the taking without consent offence and 18 weeks for driving while disqualified, to run concurrently.

No separate penalty was made for the driving with no insurance offence.

Ian Bell has died following an incident during Friday’s Sidecar Race 2.

A statement released by Isle of Man TT organisers said: ‘ACU Events Ltd regrets to announce that sidecar driver Ian Bell, 58, from Bedlington, Northumberland was killed following an accident at Ballaspur during today’s Sidecar Race 2 at the Isle of Man TT Races.

‘Ian was competing with his son Carl who was reported to be uninjured.

‘Ian, a motorcycle dealer, was married to Trudi and had two children. He made his TT Races debut in 1995, winning the newcomers trophy, and achieved five podiums during his TT career including a race win in 2003.

‘ACU Events Ltd wishes to pass on their deepest sympathy to Ian’s family and friends.’

Andrew Soar of Loughborough died when he crashed at Keppel Gate on lap five of the Senior TT today.

The 32-year-old produced a remarkable ride to finish runner-up in the 2012 Senior Manx Grand Prix in what was his first year of racing on the Mountain Course.

He went on to win the 2014 Senior MGP before stepping up to the TT last year.

In Friday’s delayed Senior he opened with laps in the excess of 121mph, upping his pace to 122.5mph on lap four.

He was the fourth rider to die in this year’s TT and second of the day following sidecar driver Ian Bell.

Chief Minister Allan Bell and Tynwald president Clare Christian have been named in the Queen’s Birthday Honours.

Mr Bell receives a CBE for public service to the Isle of Man.

Mrs Christian is awarded the OBE for her services to the island.

A third recipient, Rosemary Mazzone, is awarded the British Empire Medal for services to youth and the community in Ramsey.

Ramsey MHK Mr Bell entered Manx politics in the mid-80s and has spent 30 years in ministerial government. He was appointed Chief Minister after the 2011 general election.

He had led the island during a period of continuing international and fiscal challenges and has championed social reform, the exchange of tax information and greater international financial transparancy.

Only last month, he received a round of applause from delegates when he addressed an international anti-corruption conference in London hosted by UK Premier David Cameron.

Mrs Christian has had a distinguished career marked by achievements as a parliamentarian, Minister and in community voluntary service.

She was an MHK from 1980 to 1986 and was first elected to the Legislative Council in 1993.

During her time as Minister for Health and Social Security from 1996 to 2004, she oversaw the completion of the new Noble’s Hospital and the transfer of services from the old hospital.

She has been President of Tynwald from 2011 and is a highly regarded member of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. Mrs Christian is involved with many charities and organisations from Girl Guiding to Shire/Heavy Horses.

Mrs Mazzone is very well known in Ramsey. She has fostered children for over 20 years and enjoys making a difference to their lives. For many years she’s worked at Ramsey Youth Club and been involved with Ramsey Football Club and the Northern Athletics Club. Rosemary is a helper at Ramsey Grammar School and organises the annual Ramsey Bra Dash. Last year, she topped the poll in Isle of Man Newspapers Pride in Mann Awards in the community champion category.

Possible sites suggested for housing in Castletown can be viewed online.

Last year, the local authority asked the Department of Infrastructure (which was then responsible for planning) to reconsider the designation of land for housing in town within the southern area plan, saying more development was needed to grow the town.

In October, the department asked for sites to be suggested and the resulting feedback – from Great Meadow to land west of Castle Rushen High School - is featured on the website. It includes a list of sites submitted, a map of all sites and an update on the next steps and the decisions that need to be made.

On Monday, commissioner Carol Quine said: ‘Everyone should look at the housing review. It’s a good read, they should feed back opinions and thoughts.’

She asked that print outs of what is online be made available at the civic centre, for those unable to access the internet.

James Barrow said they should investigate expanding the town boundaries or a ‘huge estate’ could be built near Castletown, but be in Malew, with rates benefiting the parish.

Colin Leather said boundaries cannot be altered for financial reasons.

Jerry Ludford-Brooks added: ‘It has to be for the benefit of the town, we would have to have a business plan.’

>> gov.im: The Castletown Housing Land Review

Representatives from the Isle of Man and Ireland met at the iconic Kilmainham Gaol in Dublin to discuss enhancing membership schemes to enter historic sites.

Manx National Heritage director Edmund Southworth and development and admin officer for the Friends of Manx National Heritage Nicola Pemberton travelled to Ireland to meet with the Office of Public Works, the agency responsible for State-managed heritage sites throughout Ireland.

In 2014, MNH signed a reciprocal agreement with OPW enhancing its membership scheme in Ireland, which is operated by the Friends of Manx National Heritage.

The agreement enables members who are resident in the Isle of Man to use their membership cards at a range of historic properties in Ireland and receive free or reduced admission to properties operated by the National Trust, English Heritage, Scottish National Trust, Historic Scotland, Cadw, York Archaeological Trust sites.

They are also entitled to free or reduced admission to properties controlled by the Trusts of Australia, New Zealand, The Cayman Islands, Bermuda and Malta. In return OPW cardholders can use their cards at Manx National Heritage sites throughout the Isle of Man.

Opportunities to develop the agreement and strengthen the cultural links with Ireland were discussed at the meeting.

Mr Southworth said: ‘The Isle of Man has close cultural connections with Ireland from family history to Neolithic burials, Christian sites, Vikings, 19th Century fishing fleets and world famous motorcycle racing.

‘With such close connections, we are keen to encourage our members to visit heritage attractions in Ireland, whilst also encouraging OPW cardholders to explore and enjoy the Isle of Man.

OPW has responsibility for 780 national monuments and historic properties throughout Ireland.

Frank Shalvey of the OPW heritage service said: ‘Friends of Manx Heritage members will be warmly welcomed should they decide to make the short trip to Ireland and they feel sure they will appreciate what we have to offer.

‘We look forward also to continuing our relationship with the Friends so that our own heritage card holders will visit the wonderful historic sites in the island and benefit from the rich opportunities they present.’

Membership to the Friends can be purchased at any MNH site and online at www.friendsofmnh.org

Community service is anything but an easy option, insists the Home Affairs Minister.

Juan Watterson said community service orders are playing an increasingly important role in efforts to reduce re-offending.

They are handed down by the courts as an alternative to custodial sentences and requires individuals to perform unpaid work in their own time - often at weekends.

It is estimated that more than 500 days (3,500 hours) of unpaid works will be completed by weekend work groups in 2016. This is an increase on 2014 and 2015 when about 430 days (3,000 hours) were recorded.

Minister Watterson said: ‘This is about putting in prison only the most serious, persistent or violent offenders.

‘Community services orders are definitely not a soft option. This type of community payback is a positive way of holding people to account for the harm they have caused.

‘Offenders are required to show discipline and commitment, often over many weeks, to complete the orders imposed by the courts, while their work improves the environment and helps local communities and charities.

‘There is also growing evidence to suggest that restorative justice of this nature reduces the frequency of re-offending, which strengthens our efforts to combat crime and protect vulnerable people.’

Notable schemes carried out by community service work teams include the construction of several miles of off-road cycle trails and paths in Archallagan plantation, helping clean the outside of the Onchan Silver Band hall, cleaning up Onchan Pensioners Club and assisting Beach Buddies to remove thousands of tonnes of rubbish from the Manx coastline.

A teenage rapist has been told he must serve part of his three-year sentence at the adult jail in Jurby once he turns 18.

The youth, who has been named on the Isle of Man Court of Justice’s website but we have chosen not to name as he was two days short of his 17th birthday when he was convicted, has lost his appeal against his sentence.

He was 16 and a half when he raped a 14-year-old girl on wasteland close to Robert Stevenson Close, Douglas, in June last year.

His victim was intoxicated on drink or drugs and had passed out when the rape occurred. Her attacked denied he had supplied her with alcohol and cannabis.

In December he pleaded guilty to rape and was sentenced to three years’ custody by Deemster Alastair Montgomerie.

But the teenager appealed on the basis that while he would remain at Cronk Sollysh secure care home until his 18th birthday, he would then be transferred to Isle of Man Prison to serve the remainder of his sentence.

Lawyers for the teenager called for the sentence to be cut to two years so that he could avoid being sent to Jurby jail.

Medical reports produced for the appeal highlighted concerns about the possible negative impact should the appellant be transferred to prison following his 18th birthday.

One noted his ‘narcissistic personality traits with a lack of empathy and immaturity in emotional development’.

The Youth Justice Team concluded he was a lower risk of engaging in further sexually harmful behaviour and placing him with more ‘hard-core’ offenders in an adult jail might do more harm than good.

There was also concern that he might be placed in the same wing of the prison as his father, who is currently on remand there.

But the appeal court judges rejected the appeal.

In a judgment Judge of Appeal Geoffrey Tattersall QC and Deemster David Doyle concluded: ‘We are well aware of, and in reaching our determination of this appeal have had regard to, the appellant’s relative immaturity and accept that he will find his transfer to prison difficult.

‘In such circumstances we have considered whether, as an act of mercy, we are able to reduce the sentence imposed on this appellant to one of two years’ custody which would prevent him having to be transferred to prison.

‘We are satisfied that it is inappropriate that we should do so given that this was a very serious offence.’

The court heard that the appellant had denied that two of his victim’s friends had warned him not to take advantage of her in her intoxicated state.

But while he was alone with her he had unprotected sex.

A female friend returned to find found her lying flat on her back on the ground with her arms and legs out to the sides. She was not moving as if she were asleep but the appellant was lying on top of her with his trousers pulled slightly down.

The friend told him to stop what he was doing but the appellant denied that she hit him on the back of the head or threatened to call the police or that he said that the girl was ‘asking for it’. However, after this intervention, he walked off and the friend dressed the girl and took her home.

When he was arrested, the teenager initially denied rape and claimed that his victim had instigated the incident.

Some months later he indicated his intention to plead guilty.

Fifty years ago I was working in a shop in Strand Street.

I had started my new career a couple of years earlier at the grand old age of 23.

At the time, I was working in the office at the abattoir in Lake Road and earning the princely sum of £8 per week.

I was interviewed by my boss to be Mr George Ridgway, who was obviously a man who could make quick decisions.

It took him all of three minutes to offer me the job and a wage packet of £8.50 per week. I was equally as quick to accept.

My initial training included scrubbing the back yard, cleaning the windows and removing dog muck from our bit of pavement before it was walked into the shop.

In the days before the Chester Street car park was built there was a fair few folk living in the area.

Many people lived ‘above the shop’, and the many pubs were also home to the resident licensee and his family.

They all had dogs. Believe me, I know.

When I started in the ‘Street’ the usual opening hours for shops were 9am to 6pm with half day closing on Thursday.

Practice week was the start of the ‘season’ and summer hours were 9am to 9.30pm. In those days, we were closed on Sunday, but times would change.

If you take a stroll along the prom, try and picture what it looked like 50 years ago.

Boarding houses, private hotels and hotels with bars that were open to the public.

The nearest apartment blocks were the Corporation flats in Lord Street.

And if you went back inland from the prom, practically the whole of the rest of Douglas was wall to wall boarding houses, and believe me, 50 years ago, they were all full, all summer.

If you ask any shopkeeper in the UK when is your busiest time the answer will be Christmas. Fifty years ago in the Isle of Man, the answer would have been the TT.

Now most of today’s fans will be here on their bikes.

They will complete lap after lap of the course, punctuated with stop-offs at convenient vantage points where they will buy mugs of tea, carefully study each other’s pride and joy, and ask each other technical questions about things they know the answers to.

They will explore all corners of the island and when their turn comes, they will arrive in good time at the Sea Terminal to check in for their journey home.

The Steam Packet’s passenger fleet is made up of two vessels, the fast craft Manannan and the multi-purpose work horse the Ben-my-Chree.

But 50 years ago, the Steam Packet armada was an impressive seven passenger ships. At the busy TT time, they would run what can only be called a shuttle service from Liverpool and Fleetwood to the island.

These were the two main gateways, and were supported by regular, but not as frequent, services from Dublin, Belfast, Llandudno and Ardrossan.

From memory, the passenger capacity for the Ben my Chree, is now in the region of 650.

The capacity of the Manannan is not listed on the company website, so at a guess, if we said that it is the same as the Ben, that would give a total capacity of 1,300.

The passenger certificates for each of the seven vessels of 50 years ago, in round figures, show a minimum of 2,000 to a maximum of just under 3,000.

A total of more than 10 times the capacity available today.

Now don’t forget that most of these racegoers were on foot in Douglas, and when the day’s racing was over, the shops, the pubs and the cafes were ready and waiting.

It is impossible to describe just how busy the town was in those days, but on the Saturday of the big Exodus the queue to get aboard the Steam Packet ships stretched from the two piers, along the Prom, until it reached the War Memorial.

And that queue lasted all day. That’s what I call a busy TT.

Rachel Hair has published her second book of arrangements of Manx music for Celtic harp.

Claasagh 2 celebrates the vibrancy of the Manx tradition, with a selection of dance tunes, songs and airs, new and old, progressing from elementary to advances.

Meanwhile, Rachel will be performing in the Royal Chapel of St John’s at Tynwald Day on July 5.

And her student group will be playing in the Villa Marina Arcade, in Douglas, on July 7 at 8pm.

Order Claasagh 2 online at www.rachelhair.com

Manx singer Christine Collister was the highlight of the Australian Celtic Festival.

That’s according to a review in the Glen Innes Examiner, the local newspaper for the festival’s venue.

Christine took part in concerts and school workshops.

In a review of her concert alongside Australian acoustic guitar player Michael Fix, the Glen Innes Examiner reported: ‘When you get a crowd singing words they don’t even understand, you know you have them onside, which Collister did with her a cappella Manx hymn.’

It continues: ‘Collister-Fix were the highlight of the festival, which is not only my opinion but that of many of the people I spoke with afterwards that witnessed tonight’s show.’

Anyone intending to stand as candidates in the House of Keys general election on September 22 this year have just days left to ensure they are on the electoral register.

June 17 is the deadline for the next quarterly revision of the register, which provides an opportunity for those who are not already on the register to have their names added to it.

The revised register is effective from July 1 and anyone who is not included on the list at that stage will not be eligible for nomination as a Keys candidate on nomination day, August 24.

Candidate’s proposers, seconders and assentors will also be required to be on the register.

The electoral register now contains more than 59,000 confirmed entries following its annual update earlier this year.

As of April 1 there were 59,097 names on the register – around 10,000 more than when the update process or ‘canvass’ began in January.

Electoral registration officer Della Fletcher said: ‘An accurate electoral register is essential for the integrity of the democratic process, and to be fit for purpose it has to be updated on a regular basis to take account of people changing address.

‘The only way to maintain an accurate electoral register at this time is to make the voter responsible for keeping their entry alive and up to date.’