Alastair Kneale's blog

NEWS FROM THE CELTIC LEAGUE

“Nothing strengthens authority so much as silence.”

The Chief Minister of the Isle of Man has often cited the need for ‘social cohesion’ on the Island particularly as it goes through the change agenda that government adopted some years ago after the VAT return from the UK was downsized.

NEWS FROM THE CELTIC LEAGUE

The Isle of Man Government AGENDA FOR CHANGE has got a three point plan:

1) Balance the budget
2) Protect the vulnerable
3) Grow the economy

The plan was cited to us by OFT when they responded to our concerns over the hike in Gas prices they said:

“One of the three key priorities of the current administration is to “Protect the Vulnerable” and the Council of Ministers and all Departments and Statutory Boards have this high on their agendas.”

NEWS FROM THE CELTIC LEAGUE

Peter Crellin, Mec Vannin’s resident statistics 'Guru' (that’s when he’s not analysing the bizarre utterances from the Chamber of Commerce) has been number crunching Isle of Man income figures on the Mec Vannin Facebook pages.

We urge everyone who reads our CL post to go over to the Mec Vannin Facebook site and have a look at the statistics which I hasten to add are all based on government figures (no denying this then Allan!).

Following the Catalan parliament's vote to formally begin the process of breaking away from Spain on November 9, 2015, the crisis between Madrid and Barcelona is deepening. The Spanish Government has refused to negotiate with the Catalan Government to allow the people of Catalonia to have a referendum on independence. However, the elections to the Catalan Parliament held on the 27th September 2015, became a plebiscite on independence, with the pro-independence parties winning a majority.

NEWS FROM THE CELTIC LEAGUE

This government is a tyranny in bed with the business community screwing hard-pressed members of the public for all it can take whilst ‘doling out’ money from the reserves to fund grandiose schemes cooked up by its fellow travellers in the Chamber of Commerce and wider business circle.

NEWS FROM THE CELTIC LEAGUE

It’s a National disgrace just days after Tynwald approved like a load of ‘nodding donkeys’ a £50 million give away to private sector business it has been revealed that education budgets have been cut.

Isle of Man newspapers, presumably using the access to information code with which they are becoming increasingly adept, reveal cuts at four of the five secondary schools, this despite stringent efficiencies that have already been imposed over recent years.

NEWS FROM THE CELTIC LEAGUE

Last week the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), which has co-signed the ‘sweetheart’ deal which allows Manx Gas to charge consumers just about what it wants, told us:

‘One of the three key priorities of the current administration is to “Protect the Vulnerable” and the Council of Ministers and all Departments and Statutory Boards have this high on their agendas’

Well how high is ‘high’?

NEWS FROM THE CELTIC LEAGUE

At the annual Illiam Dhone commemoration I called for a greater emphasis to be placed by Manx nationalists on remembering those prominent in the political and cultural sides of the movement.

To this end later this month a talk will be given by Bob Carswell on the life and work of Colin Jerry (details from Mec Vannin).

The Celtic festival Halloween is celebrated on the night of 31st October and 1st November every year and is associated with the Celtic feast of Kala-Goañv (Breton), Calan Gwaf (Cornish), Samhain (Irish), Sauin (Manx Gaelic), Samhuinn (Scottish Gaelic) and Calan Gaeaf (Welsh). In the Isle of Man it is the date of the celebration known as Hop tu Naa. Traditionally it is a time of year when the worlds of the living and the dead were seen to be at their closest.

NEWS FROM THE CELTIC LEAGUE

The Manx Museum and National Trust (aka Manx National Heritage) publicised the opening of a new ‘Kingdom of Man’ gallery at the House of Manannan in Peel.

However it’s not what is on display that’s significant it’s what is missing. The Museums blurb accompanying the launch says: