POSITIVE FOOTPATH ACTION GROUP

Footpaths are emotive issues. Some of the recent posts by Celtic League Secretary Alan Moore - coincidentally sampling the footpaths of SW Wales at the moment - garnered a brisk take up on our CL Manin Facebook pages. The issue was the state of them and the ‘Bête noire’ Ray Harmer MHK DOI Minister. Harmer is in the mud so to speak again having pushed through Tynwald the rerouting of a footpath on the East of the Island.

Not all MHKs were happy (see link):

https://www.manxradio.com/news/isle-of-man-news/politicians-question-pub...

Meanwhile Howard Quayle ever the great illusionist succeeded in looking both ways at once by ‘not condoning’ anything but averring it was ‘due process’ (link):

https://www.manxradio.com/news/isle-of-man-news/due-process-followed-in-...

Over on Crown Dependency News Eddie Power has shared a release by PAG in which they allude to secret goings on behind the scenes in the COMIN chamber. It's ominously titled ‘There’s More to Meary Voar’.

I do wonder though other than protests on social media or a couple of MHKs if their is grass roots (no pun) appetite for complaint.

Interestingly the imuseum has a great photograph of the protest at Peel when there were plans to reroute a footpath and the public turned out in force. Strangely I stumbled across some of my own photos the other day when I was culling (for the umpteenth time the personal archive) so I must have been there.

I don’t think these days masses of folk will rise up over the footpath issue and the matter like everything else will ultimately die. There is a weary resignation that government and others can just do as they like and sadly I think that's true! Perhaps what we need is a Positive Footpaths Action Group!

Pic from the imuseum at this link:

https://www.imuseum.im/search/collections/archive/mnh-museum-672030.html

Bernard Moffatt