In the land of milk and honey

When your feeling a little down because it’s just two days away from the ‘International Day of Older Persons’ (UNIDOP and you just know Alf Cannan MHK has forgotten you and to add to that you are a tad hungover from having to much older persons beer I generally cheer myself up by having a look at the Chamber of Commerce News.

I’m a little surprised that the Chamber still run their own news page seeing as things are so hunky-dory with Manx Radio these days they can just get any of their tripe recycled from the head at will. However - obviously just to please me - they keep turning it out.

I homed in on this item about that place outside Ramsey that was once going to be the next Hollywood back in the days when we were going to become a pivotal part of the Film industry. You remember that! It was the time before we were going to start sending people into space. Both projects crashed like a burnt out piece of space debris:

http://www.iomchamber.org.im/public/latest-news/afd-group%E2%80%99s-moun...

I often wondered about that site as I meandered past on my visits to see ‘skin woman’ at Ramsey Cottage Hospital or on the way into the Northern Powerhouse for some retail therapy after visiting the farm shop.

Now all is revealed it seems it's a kind of green Chamber of Commerce linked commune or kibbutz. There’s solar panels, allotments to grow their own and people in bee suits. It's not so much men in sheds as men and women in the biosphere. Everyone is planting trees and making honey. It's the kind of world I dreamed of when I was a hippie - ‘man’ - back in the 60s. I bet in their spare time they give Bill and the crew a hand when they doing the Ballaugh to Smeale beaches.

The good thing about it is that it all seems to have been done without any government capital being ploughed in at least I didn’t see any mention of it in the article so I’m taking it as read.

The solar system - not that one the Ramsey one - can generate that much energy they have enough to sell some to ‘Popeye’ (aka Alex Allinson MHK) at the MUA and then he can sell it on to us at a markup!

Bernard Moffatt