Blogs

The Story Manx Radio carried yesterday about the Calf of Man made me recall the campaign by the Celtic League to seek its return to the Manx nation.

Tom Jago, Camelford boy whose father was manager of Barclays Bank, Camelford has passed away aged 93 years.

Tom came up with the idea of mixing Irish whiskey with cream to create Baileys' Irish Cream which sells more than 87 million bottles each year around the world.

He also launched the wine brand Le Piat d’Or in 1978 and Johnny Walker Blue Label amongst others.

‘When I find myself behind a cyclist on a tricky road it's best to wait and pass with caution. After all they are on a bike and comparatively exposed you have a car wrapped and strapped around you.’

Cycling! It brings back happy memories of narrow roads in the Connemara gaeltacht and glorious endless sunshine. Perhaps I should have stuck to two wheels and I might not be so corpulent. Cycling is the big thing these days in Mann we even have cycling Ministers and cycling lanes. We also have busy roads!

The infamous H Block type prison has made a remarkable return in the Dabancheng Valley of the Uighur people in an area occupied by the Chinese government which has embarked on a severe programme of repression. A BBC in depth report published today focuses on detention centres in the country in which an estimated 130,000 Uyghur are imprisoned for what is euphemistically termed re-education:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-sh/China_hidden_camps

Prince Mohammed bin Salman seems pretty laid back for a guy who is in the eye of a storm. But I suppose when you can afford to splash out $300 million for a French Chateau you think you are pretty much untouchable.

That’s just what he did in 2015 and the attached Irish Times article says the purchase was concealed andl how platoons of lawyers, bankers and accountants in Germany, Bermuda and the Isle of Man helped facilitate this and other transactions:

While the IOM government and its DEFA prevaricate over climate change our neighbor to the West Ireland is taking action that will see peat harvesting by industrial means dramatically cut back and its use ended completely for energy production by 2028.

Peat production volumes hit a high of 6.5 million tonnes in 2013; Bord na Móna is planning to reduce that to 2 million tonnes in 2020 with 2028 as the deadline for an end to the use of peat for energy, two years earlier than originally planned.

Peat bogs are important ‘sinks’ for carbon dioxide as this report outlines:

The Tarradale Through Time project, is a North of Scotland Archaeology Society (NOSAS) led project that commenced in 2017. Supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund and Historic Environment Scotland as well as private donors, it encourages community engagement with archaeology in the Highlands of Scotland. They have been investigating the history of continuous occupation from the very first settlers through to the end of subsistence agriculture in the Black Isle (Scottish Gaelic: an t-Eilean Dubh), a peninsula within Ross and Cromarty, in the Scottish Highlands.

There was a headline news item on BBC Wales yesterday (23 October) " 'Paupers' funerals' in Wales reach five-year high". The news item went on to report that the number of public health funerals in Wales in 2017-18 was the highest for at least five years. So-called paupers' funerals are held by public authorities and the figures show a rise of 62% since 2013-14.

Manx Chief Minister Howard Quayle MHK witters on incessantly about Brexit. Not surprising really as where economically the UK go and the uncertainties that pertain will impact us all.

Howard tends to be fairly upbeat and indeed, although it seems a long time ago now, back in May 2017 the Manx government averred:

It has long been recognised that that there is a hostility towards Scottish independence by the mainstream media. Overwhelmingly the press has been hostile to the Scottish National Party (SNP). This is as obvious now as it was during the time of the referendum held on Scottish independence. This includes the broadcast media, and the BBC has often been criticised for its lack of balanced reporting on the issue. It is, of course not just the BBC.