A woman who had a morsel of cannabis has escaped immediate custody by a whisker.

Tanya Margery Corkhill was told her 2.5 grammes of cannabis, worth £50 would not normally attract such a heavy penalty but her background of repeated cannabis offences placed the matter in a different league.

The 31-year-old, who lives in Douglas, arrived in court around five hours late, apologising and attributing the delay to an alarm clock mix up.

The court heard the latest offence, from October 14, followed in the wake of numerous similar matters and placed her in breach of a probation order imposed in the summer and a conditional discharge from August. The latter penalty was imposed after she was found in possession of a quantity of cannabis police initially thought too small to weigh.

Defending her, advocate Stephen Wood said the quantity involved was relatively small and under normal circumstances might attract a modest fine.

But he added the court may fear she was ‘a young woman not prepared to be led down the right path, regardless of the consequences’.

He said: ‘I have explained that she is not giving the court any choice if she is not prepared to make any effort to change.’

Mr Wood said the problem appeared to be his client used cannabis not as a recreational drug but as a crutch to block out unhappy memories.

He said: ‘So I am asking the court to give her a chance to engage with community mental health and attend support services. She is committed to doing this if the court is minded not to send her to prison today.

‘Probation as a direct alternative to custody may be an option.

‘She says she has already cut down her cannabis use considerably but I can’t say she has desisted.’

Mr Wood reminded the court Corkhill had no experience of prison and desperately wanted to avoid it.

‘But it has been impressed upon her that we really are at that tipping point now,’ he said.

Passing sentence, Deputy High Bailiff Jayne Hughes noted the report on Corkhill ended ‘somewhat abruptly’ because she had failed to attend so many appointments.

‘You have difficulties from your past that you need to address otherwise you will be wallowing in a fog of cannabis smoke for the rest of your life,’ she said.

Corkhill received a total of 22 weeks’ custody suspended for two years for possessing cannabis, cultivating cannabis and being concerned in its production. The probation order was discharged.

A one-time island star of reality TV says she found it ‘absolutely shocking and unacceptable’ that she was refused boarding onto a flight at Ronaldsway due to overbooking.

Madeline Simpson, who found fame as a contestant on Channel 4’s Come Dine With Me back in 2011, had booked her £285 return flight to London City at the end of October.

But when she arrived in plenty of time at Ronaldsway on Wednesday to check in for her 6.55am flight she was told that there were no seats available.

She said from her home in Bride: ‘I’ve still not got my head around this. It’s absolutely shocking.

‘I told them that I had paid for a ticket and how could I possibly not have a seat? They said they always overbook because of no-shows. Everybody else had checked in on line so there were no seats available. How can they sell something that doesn’t exist?’

Madeline was put on stand-by but there were no ‘no-shows’ and she was not able to board. It meant she missed an urgent appointment in the UK that was arranged six months ago.

She said she was entitled to 220 Euros compensation but won’t be able to rebook her flight until she gets a new date for her appointment which won’t be until February.

A BA spokesman said: ‘Many airlines operate overbooking policies because experience shows that a small number of passengers, having made their bookings, do not turn up for the flight. If all such seats were left empty, it would stop other customers from travelling on the day they wanted.

‘By careful monitoring of booking and load patterns for each flight, we do our best to maximise the number of customers able to travel on each service. On the rare occasions when the number of booked customers turning up exceeds the number of seats available, we usually resolve the issue by offering a financial sum to customers willing to accept a confirmed booking on an alternative flight.’

St Matthew’s Church on North Quay in Douglas is the venue for this year’s scouts’ and guides’ Peacelight service next week.

For three years now the Isle of Man has taken part in the process of transporting the eternal flame, lit in Bethlehem, around the world in the run up to Christmas.

Scout Commissioner Guy Thompson said the flame travels around the UK and will be collected from St Helen’s scouts and guides by an Isle of Man group who will travel across specially.

‘We are taking four scouts and two guides. They are all aged 13 or 14, and we will spend a night at their scout and guide hut before returning with the flame on December 14,’ he said.

In fact, as a safeguard, several flames will be lit and brought back courtesy of the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company who are supporting the venture. The flames will be carried in an old fashioned railway signal light which is virtually wind proof and should safeguard against any catastrophic gusts.

The service is on Saturday, December 17, at 2pm in the presence of Lieutenant Governor Sir Richard and Lady Gozney, and UK Chief Scouting Commissioner Tim Kidd.

King William’s College has appointed Joss Buchanan as its new principal.

Joss joined the College in 1997 to teach history and politics.

He subsequently became head of history and then the College’s first head of Sixth Form.

More recently he was the academic deputy and since March he has been the acting principal.

Before joining the College he taught in Shropshire and also worked for a number of years as an intelligence analyst at GCHQ in Cheltenham.

Joss said: ‘Having been at the College for so long I know the school extremely well and am very fond of it.

‘It is, above all, a strong community and it is a huge privilege to be asked by the governors to lead it.

‘The school is as successful as it has been for many years and thanks to the International Baccalaureate it has a growing national reputation.

‘I look forward to working with all members of the community – pupils, staff and parents – in the years to come.”

Nigel Wood, chairman of governors, wrote to parents: ‘We are fortunate indeed to have an individual of the calibre of Joss Buchanan now in post and I am sure you will join with me in wishing him well and much good fortune in his promotion to principal.’

The appointment comes following the resignation of the previous principal, Martin Humphreys, who had been on compassionate leave since March.

Martin’s wife, Francesca, died in October following a long illness.

Treasury Minister Alfred Cannan told MHKs he would not reveal how many tax cappers employ more than 10 people as it might risk identifying individuals.

In the House of Keys last month, Mr Cannan revealed that the latest available data, for 2014-15 tax year, shows that 30 tax cappers have companies employing a total of 1,748 staff.

But in the Keys this week, he declined to say how many of those 30 have more than 10 employees. He explained: ‘The Assessor of Income Tax is concerned that breaking this figure down into further detail would make it possible for assumptions to be made as to the possible recognition of individual taxpayers.’

David Ashford (Douglas North) queried which provisions of the Income Tax Act 1970 that information fell foul of. ‘I have got the section in front of me and I cannot find anything I personally think could conflict with this information being released,’ he said.

Mr Cannan replied that section 106 is in place to ensure personal data information is held in the strictest confidence.

The Minister told the Manx Independent: ‘Just to be clear I am not trying to subvert the questions on tax cappers, but I believe I have already gone as far as possible in revealing the associated details on the 30 cappers and associated companies, bearing in mind that arguably this information is related to their tax return.’

Engineering works that aim to end flooding misery for homeowners in Onchan could begin early in the new year.

Homes in Laurel Avenue, Ashley Park, Kaighin’s Lane and Hackett Close had endured periodic flooding in recent years, and during heavy rainfall some properties have even had raw sewage overflowing into their back gardens.

We reported on the scale of the problems back in September 2012 when it was hoped a solution would soon be found.

But more than four years on, new Manx Utilities chairman Dr Alex Allinson outlined in the House of Keys this week the steps being proposed to tackle the problem.

Replying to a question from Onchan MHK Rob Callister, he said: ‘This issue has affected families in his constituency for several years.

‘The flooding periodically experienced in the Laurel Avenue, Ashley Park, Kaighin’s Lane and Hackett Close areas has been extensively investigated by Manx Utilities in order that the flooding mechanisms could be understood and cost-effective solutions identified.’

He said CCTV camera surveys and dye tracing of the surface water and highway drainage systems have taken place, together with hydraulic computer modelling of the foul sewage system to find the cause of the problem.

Dr Allinson said it had been shown that a combination of undersized highway drainage systems and overland surface water run-off from the steep hardstanding areas is affecting the rear gardens of a number of properties in Ashley Park and Hackett Close.

‘During some periods of heavy rainfall these overland flows are also entering the foul sewers, causing them to overload in the downstream catchment,’ he said.

Dr Allinson said Manx Utilities had recently met the Department of Infrastructure and Onchan Commissioners where it was agreed that a number of small-scale improvements would be made to reduce overland surface water run-off and divert the floodwater into existing drainage systems in order to protect the properties.

Manx Utilities has also come up with a design to reduce the impact of flooding at the bottom of Laurel Avenue, which the DoI is currently reviewing and has agreed to lead the construction.

This includes new soakaways located in Ashley Hill School’s playing field, and may require the appointment of a specialist off-island contractor to carry out the necessary directional drilling.

Dr Allinson said the work would be carried out by April.

Onchan LibVan MHK Julie Edge asked why it was necessary to bring in off-island contractors.

The MUA chairman explained one of the proposals being considered is to drill under people’s gardens, and there are no island firms that have the specialist equipment to do this horizontal directional drilling.

Mr Callister said he was disappointed at the April 2017 date, given the fact that these residents will have to endure another winter.

‘I can only hope that we do not get the rainfall that we have suffered over the last few years,’ he added.

Beach Buddies volunteers will be tackling at Castletown bay tomorrow (Sunday), meeting at the car park with the Beach Buddies bin near Hango Hill at 10.30am.

Organisers will provide all the necessary equipment but volunteers may prefer to bring their own gloves.

Metal, glass bottles, tin cans and some plastics are all recycled - and the rest will be taken to the EFW to generate free electricity.

Beach Buddies provides handwipes and hand gels afterwards, and a First Aid kit. There is full Public Liability Insurance, and various Risk Assessments can be provided for company events, or events for groups like schools, Scouts, Guides, Cubs etc.

New volunteers, of all ages, are always warmly welcomed, especially families, and Beach Buddies also likes to welcome well-behaved dogs. No need to register - volunteers can come along for as long or a little as they like, finishing no later than midday.

The final event of 2016 will be on Douglas promenade on Sunday, December 18, followed by refreshments.

A one-time island star of reality TV says she founds it ‘absolutely shocking and unacceptable’ that she was refused boarding onto a flight at Ronaldsway due to overbooking.

Madeline Simpson, who found fame as a contestant on Channel 4’s Come Dine With Me back in 2011, had booked her £285 return flight to London City at the end of October.

But when she arrived in plenty of time at Ronaldsway on Wednesday to check in for her 6.55am flight she was told that there were no seats available.

She said from her home in Bride: ‘I’ve still not got my head around this. It’s absolutely shocking.

‘I told them that I had paid for a ticket and how could I possibly not have a seat? They said they always overbook because of no-shows. Everybody else had checked in on-line so there were no seats available. How can they sell something that doesn’t not exist?’

Madeline was put on stand-by but there were no ‘no-shows’ and she was not able to board. It meant she missed an urgent appointment in the UK that was arranged six month ago.

She said she was entitled to Euro 220 compensation but won’t be able to rebook her flight until she gets a new date for her appointment which won’t be until February.

British Airways states on its website that most major airlines overbook services in order to minimise the effect of ‘no-shows’ and to allow as many passengers as possible to travel on the flight of their choice.

It adds: ‘Whilst we make every effort to provide seats for which confirmed reservations have been made, there is a slight chance that a seat will not be available on a flight for which a person has a confirmed reservation. British Airways operates compensation schemes for passengers with confirmed reservations who are denied carriage without reasonable grounds.’

Why not start your Christmas celebrations the traditional way with the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols?

That is the invitation from St German’s Cathedral in Peel, when they will hold their annual Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols this coming Sunday.

The service is based around the reading short Bible readings, telling of the fall of humanity, the traditional story of the birth of Jesus and the promise of a Messiah, and will be accompanied by the singing of carols and descants by the Cathedral choir.

This is a highly anticipated event in the year of the church, and last year drew praise from the Bishop Robert Patterson, who described it as comparable with similar concerts held in the large cathedrals in the UK, saying that ‘the service was as good as anything I have heard at York Minster and Kings College Cambridge’.

The Choir will be directed by Dr Peter Litman, the musical director at the Cathedral, and will be ably accompanied by the organ scholar, Max Smith, who joined the Church last September.

The festive period marks the end of a busy year for the choir. They have sung at many church services and have sung at events and occasions in Ireland.

However, the Festival of Carols will mark the end of the singing career for two of the choir trebles, at least as far as singing for the Cathedral chorus goes. Peter Boussougou and Mackenzie Brown leave the choir after Sunday’s performance, and Dr Litman said it would be sad to see them go, although they look forward to welcoming new trebles in the coming months.

It is advised to come early, as this service is usually very popular. The doors will open at 2.15pm.

This beautiful little rocking horse could be yours for just £2.50.

It is being raffled to raise money for the Southern Community Initiatives, the charity at the Four Roads in Port Erin which oversees many activities, including Men in Sheds.

One of those men – Mike Bisey – has spent many hours crafting the horse by hand.

‘It took me three days full time,’ he said. ‘It took a whole Saturday to rub it down.’

He would probably never have discovered his talent for woodwork if he hadn’t joined Men in Sheds, and was inspired to do so having read an article about another fantastic creation – a boat the men built which was launched in the summer.

It seems they are only limited by the dimensions of the shed and have created many items, from stage props to raised vegetable troughs and also classroom dividers for Scoill Phurt le Moirrey.

Recently, Mike also made a wooden sledge, which was sold in exchange for a donation given to the Hub.

Mike, a retired tanker driver, goes to the shed three times a week. He said. ‘My father was a carpenter, but I could not bang two nails in.

‘They’re a great bunch of lads at Men in Sheds – it keeps you busy, gives you something to do. Don’t retire unless you have something to do!

‘You’re working round people, then suddenly: bang! You’re retired. It’s a bit of a shock, you’ve got nothing to do.’

Sadly he’s unlikely to be making more rocking horses – except for ones going to family and friends. He said: ‘I do not really want to do them as a production line.’

He has gone off his rocker!

Planning permission has been granted to extend the shed. Anyone with skills useful for building the shed, or interested in joining the group, should contact shed co-ordinator Les Shires by calling 494885.

For raffle rickets contact the Hub on 838180.

The future is bright for Castletown, according to the town’s authority.

The statement was made as members objected to a proposal for 17 and 19 Malew Street for ‘additional use and conversion of retail units to form two residential units for permanent and tourist use’.

The proposal (16/01371/B) includes a design and access statement by Cornerstone Architects which is a damning indictment on Castletown’s retail prospects.

It proposes converting the units ‘until the local authority can devise a strategic plan to return footfall to Castletown’.

It says about a third of the town’s 52 retail units have been empty for ‘several years’ and the two shop sites it is seeking to convert haven’t been successful for more than 30 years.

The report states: ‘Since 2009, footfall in the town has dramatically declined with the recession and now has a further reduced daytime trade.’

It cites the withdrawal of ‘nearly all of the major office employers’ in the town as well as the loss of the doctor’s surgery, opticians and a dentist as two ‘major influences’.

It also blames the expansion of two petrol stations on the town’s perimeter, a decline in tourism and spend from coaches visiting the town, and the rise of internet shopping.

It says that prior to Callow’s Yard purchasing the site in 2005, 17 Malew Street, known as Bill the Barbers, ‘had a mature tree growing inside through the first floor and out through the roof’.

And it describes the former Sunflower Cafe that occupied 19 Malew Street as an ‘abandoned greasy spoon’.

It says the ‘newsagent/ toyshop/ baby shop/ pound shop’ that opened in the location quickly closed due to ‘poor footfall with virtually no passing trade’.

Callow’s Yard signed a lease with a Tesco Express in 2010, but it did not proceed after failing to secure an alcohol licence.

A series of applications to convert Callow’s Yard from retail to residential use in 2014 led to public meetings at which residents expressed their fears the plans would ‘fundamentally alter’ the town.

In January, permission was granted to turn 17 and 19 Malew Street from one back into two shops and to create two single-bed residential units out of the courtyard-facing space behind.

In response to this latest proposal, at Monday’s meeting, commissioner Jerry Ludford-Brooks said: ‘I’m against anything that takes business out of the town centre.’

Jimmy Cubbon said his family had held shops in town for generations and if he supported this plan, ‘my great-great-grandfather would turn in his grave.’

He added: ‘The amount of people Costa [coffee shop, by the harbour] is bringing in is incredible.’

Carol Quine said, once converted, they would not revert back to retail use.

Mr Ludford-Brooks remarked it would lead to more conversion of retail units to residential use.

Colin Leather said: ‘It’s “destination Castletown”, a lot of people are working very hard and the future is brighter than it has been for a time.Castletown is turning a corner, it’s on the up.

‘This plan is a kick in the teeth for the people working so hard. As it is now, Castletown is heading to a bright future, including retail.’

Beautiful Amy Jackson continues to receive accolades for her contribution to Bollywood film.

The Manx-born actress, who lived in Colby until the age of three, was recognised for her excellent contribution to Indian film at a glittering awards ceremony in Dubai.

Amy, daughter of former Manx radio presenter Alan, has been lead female in all her movies in India since being discovered by director AL Vijay. She was Miss Teen World at the time. 

Now the 24-year-old is working for director Shankar on his latest big-budget project alongside superstar icon Ranginikanth and Bollywood’s Akshay Kumar. Robot 2.0 is due for its global release next year.

Amy said: ‘I must thank all my directors, co-stars and, of course, my fans who’ve loyally supported me throughout my incredible journey in Indian cinema.’

The future of the Family Library’s mobile unit has been secured for the next three years.

Funding is being supplied by Microgaming, through its PlayItForward initiative, which will see the Douglas -based company provide £10,000 each year towards running costs.

Operating from the Family Library on Westmoreland Road in Douglas, the unit travels around the island, bringing a selection of books, audio CDs and other interactive material to people who are otherwise unable to get to a library.

The vehicle is kitted out with more than 2,600 books, covering a range of genres, and it also serves as an opportunity for people to meet, form friendships and to exchange information.

For people unable to visit the mobile library, a smaller vehicle makes home visits where staff take the time to get to know people and what kind of books they like, before taking a selection of reading material directly to their doors.

The home library service particularly benefits those who are confined to their homes or without access to transport, such as the elderly, including those living in residential homes or far from public transport.

A mobile school service also supplies teachers with support material to help boost classroom creativity.

Children can browse the books and other resources onboard the Mobile Library, and there are regular follow-up activities such as craft workshops and a successful summer reading scheme, based at Westmoreland Road.

Claire Coleman, from Microgaming, said: ‘The Mobile Library is a wonderful facility, but keeping the vehicles on the road is costly. We wanted to make a long-term commitment to the Family Library to ensure that people keep benefiting from the service. The team at the Mobile Library do a fantastic job, one that makes a real difference to the island’s residents.’

Sandra Henderson, from the Mobile Library, said: ‘We keep hundreds of people regularly stocked with exciting reading material and also hold social sessions where they can get together to chat about books, poems and other artifacts supplied by the library. This donation from Microgaming will help us enormously with the cost of running and servicing the vehicles for the next three years.’

Ten months after it was officially finished, regeneration work in Castletown square is still not complete, said the town authority, as the frustrated commissioners continue to request more work be done.

Work began in the summer of 2015 and officially finished in February. However, since then the authority has reiterated how there were several areas that remain incomplete and they have pushed for action to be taken.

On Monday, commissioner Jerry Ludford-Brooks said: ‘The removable bollards are a disgrace.’

Regarding a broken bike rack, Carol Quine said: ‘If it falls on a child, we are in trouble.’

Jimmy Cubbons said: ‘How long are we going to suffer this?’

Colin Leather commended clerk Hugo Mackenzie for trying to get some activity and said: ‘Hugo is on the job. The square also needs cleaning and sealing. It’s time we went to town on the unresolved issues.’

Mr Mackenzie said there was a disconnect between politicians and officers carrying out the work,and said: ‘Officers are clearly not being reached.’

Mr Leather suggested they revisit what was agreed with the previous administration, adding: ‘It’s all in black and white. We are getting to the end of our tether.’

He also suggested contacting the company contracted to install CCTV and a sound system – for around £25,000 to £30,000 – and try to compel them to complete the work.

Afterwards, Mr Mackenzie said: ‘There are concerns that the Department of Infrastructure believe the work in the square to be complete, when it is immediately apparent to anyone on closer inspection that it is not. There remain issues with the lighting, grouting of paving and significant drainage issues, particularly adjacent to the George Hotel.’

He will write to Infrastructure Minister Ray Harmer ‘outlining their concerns and frustrations that the messages that come through from discussions with political members and then subsequently from officers are not always harmonised.’

The government is looking for sponsors for its Food and Drink Festival.

Next year’s festival will place at the Villa Marina Gardens on the weekend of September 16 and 17.

The 2016 festival attracted more than 10,000 visitors, 3,000 more than last year.

In 2015, the festival won the PokerStars Award for Public Sector Achievement of the Year at Isle of Man Newspapers’ Awards for Excellence.

Sponsorship packages range from £10,000 to £1,000.

To discuss becoming a sponsor, contact the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture.

Pictured: A scene from this year’s festival.

A conman who promised cheap tobacco pocketed £1,200 then fled without producing the goods, a court was told.

David Michael Yeomans, of Christian Road in Douglas, was the man behind the scam, arranging a meeting with the victim, Barry Gelling, on a path off Station Road in Ballaugh last June.

At an earlier hearing Michael Jelski, for the prosecution, said Mr Gelling was telephoned by a man ‘with a Welsh accent’ and struck a deal with him to buy 200 50-gramme packs of rolling tobacco for £1,200.

The man said he was given Mr Gelling’s number ‘by an associate’.

The initial arrangement was to meet in the car park of the Raven pub but the venue was changed to the alleyway near to the Spar shop. There, a man who called himself Tony took the money from Mr Gelling and handed over a few packets of tobacco, telling him he would fetch the rest from his car. As he walked away, Mr Gelling received another call on his mobile telephone, again from someone with a Welsh accent, telling him not to follow ‘Tony’ or he would ‘lose his job’. Meanwhile, ‘Tony’ ran to a car, leaped in and drove off leaving Mr Gelling empty-handed.

Mr Jelski said every time Mr Gelling called the number on his telephone he was promised the tobacco ‘soon’ but none appeared so he contacted the police.

Yeomans was caught out when CCTV footage from outside the Raven and Spar shop in Ballaugh revealed him to be the mysterious ‘Tony’. He was picked out in an identity parade and his handwriting also matched that on a receipt. The identity of the ‘man with a Welsh accent’ remained unknown, though Yeomans insisted he was acting alone.

The 36-year-old admitted obtaining £1,200 by deception.

Yeomans’ advocate, Paul Rodgers, told the court the incident had come at a particularly low ebb in his client’s life when he was dealing with marital and other personal difficulties.

He said the defendant had made great efforts to find employment and was now working again.

‘He’s made positive steps and would like one last chance,’ he said.

Sentencing him, Deputy High Bailiff Jayne Hughes noted the scam was planned and premeditated. Describing it as a ‘mean offence’ she pointed out Yeomans had been on bail on a theft charge at the time of the offence. But she accepted he was remorseful and had sought support.

‘You have taken steps to address your difficulties,’ she said.

He received 200 hours’ community service, to be completed in the next 12 months, and must pay costs of £125 and compensation of £1,200.

We all take things for granted. We even take waking up in the morning for granted. I mean, when you put down your copy of ‘Albert Einstein’s Popular Theories’ and turn out the light, the odds are that you will be planning what you’ll be doing in the morning when you wake up, not if you wake up.

When I sit down to write I just have to look up from the desk and look out of the window. I can look right over the top of Lakeside and see the Creg ny Baa and Snaefell. A fine sight, but sometimes it takes the eyes of a stranger who sees it for the first time to remind me to look at it again.

On the wall opposite the Pulrose Bridge junction to Peel Road, there once was a permanent advertising site that shouted to the World: ‘Don’t take your wife for granted, take her to the Pictures’.

Something that I have never forgotten.

Now if someone asked you to define Douglas Promenade, you would probably say that it is the road that connects Douglas to Onchan. And so it does. It is simply a road that goes from A to B, and we all just take it for granted.

Now my first childhood memories of the Prom are all summertime and visitors and excitement.

One of our family highlights, was our annual outing to see the Summer Hill Glen illuminations. This always took place towards the end of the summer season when darkness came earlier. We would walk to Peel Road to catch the Circular Bus.

We would take the one that circled Douglas in a clockwise direction. It would turn right at the Quarter Bridge, up past the TT Grandstand, and up into Victoria Road where we would get off and walk down through the Glen with the strings of coloured lights that were strung from tree to tree. The Glen seemed to go on for ever, before we reached the gateway that opened onto Summer Hill and the Promenade and a whole new world. A summertime world of lights, music, horse trams and people.

From the Villiers Hotel to the Derby Castle there were hotels, boarding houses, theatres and cafes. All of the larger hotels had resident cabaret shows. The Gaiety, the Crescent Pavilion and the Palace Coliseum staged variety shows, and in the Villa Marina and the Palace Ballroom you could dance ‘till you dropped to the music of world class dance bands.

In the day time, the shore offered deck chairs, rowing boats, Punch and Judy and donkey rides. And we took it all for granted. After all what could possibly go wrong? And then Mr Boeing invented the wide bodied jet and the Brits discovered Costa del Benidorm, and things were never the same again.

The developers were ready and waiting to do what developers do best, and that was that. All gone. We were left with large blocks of apartments, road surface that could be used as a test track for Land Rover and a blue tractor.

Not just any old blue tractor, mind you, this is a blue tractor with OCD. Every day it drives up and down the shore, pushing all the seaweed into little piles which it then pushes down to the waterline, and waits for the tide to wash it all away.

Then it sits and waits for the seaweed to be washed back in on the next tide, and then it does it all again. And again. And again. I puzzled about this and eventually phoned up Leading Councillor Christian to ask him if he knew about this tractor. What was the point of pushing the seaweed into the sea when he knew that it would all be back again the next day?

He said that the Promenade residents had complained about the flies that were brought in with the seaweed and the Corporation were obliged to do something about it.

Apparently they take the constant foul smell for granted.

A graphic novel created by island students is A World Apart.

The project was the brainchild of Kenny Diack, who was keen to give students experience in getting their work published.

The sci-fi/fantasy story was written by Ann-Marie McCarthy who is studying an MA in English literature at Lancaster University.

Graphic artists on the project were Andy Noble, Bryan Moore and Alex Corlett, who are studying for HNDs in art and design at University College Isle of Man.

And more than 250 secondary school pupils entered a drawing competition to design one of 12 characters from the novel.

A World Apart was published this week and goes on sale at WH Smith on Monday. It’s also available through the B43D Media Facebook page.

Kenny said that he had enjoyed working with young people on the project: ‘It’s been great to connect with the kids.

‘I can see that they are inspired and excited about the possibility of their creation being published in a graphic novel.

‘I also think it has opened their eyes to the possibility of a creative career and that’s what it’s really been about for me.

‘Overall it’s been a huge success.’

Kenny explained that the project wasn’t a one-off venture. He plans to use all of the money raised from sales to employ graduating art students each year to create the graphics for a locally authored novel.

It’s important to Kenny that the artists and authors receive a commission for their work.

The graphic artists will work on the novel during the summer holidays and have been based at the Sayle Gallery, in Douglas.

‘The idea is that the kids will benefit from being creative and the graphic artists will benefit by being employed to translate the winning entries into the graphic novel and local writers will benefit from having their profile raised and their work made more accessible,’ he said.

The long-term plan is to open a studio.

Kenny described the project as ‘quite an undertaking’ which had only been possible thanks to the support of the Department of Education and Children and a number of businesses, SMP Partners, Sayle Gallery, Wi-Manx, Words & Spaces and Sugar Lump Studios.

For more information contact team@b43d.co.uk

A box containing cremated prehistoric bones dug up in 1947 has found to be harbouring more ancient secrets.

Small bone objects that had not been noticed by the excavators have been identified by archaeologists studying Neolithic and Early Bronze Age human remains in the Manx Museum collection for the ‘Round Mounds of the Isle of Man’ project.

Osteologist Dr Michelle Gamble made the thrilling discovery. She said: ‘The first step of the osteological analysis is to clean and sort the bones, so that we can determine the number of individuals present and any age or sex information.

‘Within this burial, we have four skeletons, very fragmented and mixed together – two adults, one of which is a male, an adolescent and an infant.

‘The bone objects were burned as well and mixed in with the cremated human remains.’

The bones had been buried almost 4,000 years ago at Staarvey Farm in what is now German parish. The site was excavated by Basil Megaw, who was director of the Manx Museum from 1945 to 1957. Mr Megaw had been contacted by the farmer who had hit a large stone during ploughing.

Excavations revealed a stone-built cist (a box made out of stone slabs) containing fragments of burnt bone, two flint tools and two collared urns (Bronze Age pots) buried upside-down. But it is only now that the bones have been studied in detail.

Dr Chris Fowler, co-director of the Round Mounds of the Isle of Man project, said: ‘I opened my email to find a photograph of an extremely rare Bronze Age object – a bone pommel from a bronze knife.

‘This would have been fitted to the very end of the hilt. There are only about 40 surviving knife and dagger pommels of this period from the British Isles, and none have been found in the Isle of Man before!’

‘The size and shape suggest it was once attached to a small knife which archaeologists call a ‘knife-dagger’, and have been found buried with both males and females.

‘Several other bone objects were found among the cremated bone. One is a burnt bone point or pin. A recent study of such objects found that few showed evidence of wear on the tip, suggesting that these were not tools, so it will be interesting to examine the end point of this example closely to see if there is evidence of use wear. Some of the other objects may be burnt bone beads, and there are four enigmatic worked bone strips which we are still working to understand.’

Allison Fox, from Manx National Heritage, said: ‘The reassessment of finds from earlier excavations is always worthwhile. Modern scientific techniques can now give a lot more information about these finds, but so can the low-tech approach of a skilled pair of eyes examining the finds in detail.’

Round mounds are found throughout the British Isles and in Continental Europe. In the British Isles the earliest round mounds appeared in the Neolithic period, after 3,800 BC. More were built periodically over the next 2500 years or so.

The current project aims to investigate what these sites and their associated burials, people and artefacts can tell us about life in the Isle of Man and interaction with other communities across Britain, Ireland and potentially beyond. It includes analysis of the landscape location of the mounds, geophysical survey at several sites, and re-analysis of both previously excavated remains and records of previously destroyed or excavated sites.

The project, which began in September, is directed by Dr Rachel Crellin (University of Leicester) and Dr Chris Fowler (Newcastle University) and has received funding and support from Culture Vannin and Manx National Heritage.

Culture Vannin will also support a series of workshops for school children that will be delivered by Michelle and Rachel in 2017 across the island.

For more information about the project visit: https://roundmounds.wordpress.com/

A drink driver’s progress was so erratic that a witness informed on him to the police, a court was told.

Andrew Storey, of The Threshold, Jurby, failed to negotiate an S-bend near to Snaefell View and crossed the carriageway on the Jurby Road in his Landrover Discovery.

For the prosecution, James Robinson said a witness following the defendant’s Landrover saw it mount the verge at one point.

When police arrived at 60-year-old Storey’s house, the Landrover was parked on the verge outside with the keys in the ignition. It was still warm. Police could smell alcohol and deduced the defendant may be drunk. He was arrested on suspicion of drink driving. He said he had drunk alcohol but had also been drinking rum since reaching home. Police seized a bottle of rum from the fridge and breathalysed the defendant who produced a reading of 84.

The defendant told police he had started work early that morning and had skipped lunch then finished at 3pm. He said he had drunk a can of Carling lager in Ramsey in the afternoon, but nothing else before driving home and drinking the rum at home. He said he drank a tumbler full, quickly, before police arrived.

Expert assessment of the defendant’s account said it was not entirely credible but there was an element of post-driving consumption involved.

In the light of the report, the prosecution agreed to proceed on the basis of a lower breath reading of 71, just over double the legal drink drive limit of 35. Storey admitted the offence.

Representing Storey, Peter Russell said his client would lose his good character as a result of the conviction.

‘He is a driver and mechanic so the loss of his licence will have an impact on his employment options and on his wife who is reliant on him for lifts. He is normally law-abiding and he does accept that he could have been more frank with the police,’ he said.

Passing sentence, Deputy High Bailiff Jayne Hughes noted Storey had entered an early guilty plea. She also noted the defendant had reached the age of 60 with no convictions at all.

‘It’s unfortunate for you and goodness knows why you were driving intoxicated,’ she said.

The offence was also aggravated by the manner of driving, mounting the verge and crossing to the wrong side of the road.

He was fined £900 with £125 costs. He was banned for two years and has to take an extended driving test.