Bernard Moffatt's blog

Eddie Powers Crown Dependency website has the Manx police responding to a couple of items on social media that have generated concern of late (link):

https://www.facebook.com/crowndependencypoliticalnews/posts/194731213528...

Leaving aside ‘mad dogs’ the most serious item would seem to be a video purporting to show heavy handed restraint - something the police vehemently deny.

It's ironic that the British parliament should chose to honour Countess Markievicz this week given that just over 100 years ago they sentenced her to death for her part in the Easter Rising (link):

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/uk/constance-markievicz-honoured-i...

The news (imparted by Manx Radio) that some obscure German University is placing Manx under the cultural microscope continues to fascinate me.

No hint of doom and gloom they other day when I get a missive from Adrian Cain announcing the production of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Manx so I was a little surprised to read this news item on Manx Radio:

https://www.manxradio.com/news/isle-of-man-news/manx-gaelic-features-in-...

Plastic is everywhere and it's very bad. We know because Bill Dale and the crew are always collecting it of beaches that is when Bill is not collecting the odd award or three for collecting plastic.

Now Manx Radio have gone one better than beach buddies they are exploring the Pacific Gyre a gigantic mass of seaborne plastic crud on the other side of the world. However it doesn't matter that it's the other side of the world because we live in the global village now.

With Manannan obviously unimpressed either by the rushes on ‘Baroole’ or Geoff Boot’s fire raising skills I emerge blinking to see a brief shower of rain has ‘blessed’ us.

I decide to settle down with De Valera for the day and am immediately struck by the fact that we may in Mann be revisiting the great mans vision of Ireland set out in his 1943 St Patricks Day message sometimes referred to as the ‘comely maidens’ speech (which it turns out is a misquotation).

Its Culture Month so over on MTTV there is a piece about carting rushes up to the top of ‘Baroole’ to placate ‘Mannan Mac y Lheir’. I find myself less intrigued by this than the possible cost of CV producing a video on it.

Of more immediate interest is that ‘Mannan Mac y Lheir’ seems so cheesed off with Geoffrey Boot MHK having a barbeque and threatening to incinerate the countryside he has called up a smidgeon of rain but as yet hardly enough to break the drought - who knows its early days.

The dangers posed by fire in the countryside is once again in the news with a major fire underway just across the Irish Sea from us in the Slieve Gullion area of South Armagh!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-44779829

Members of the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service are being assisted by helicopter support from the Irish Air Corps offered by the 26 County government.

An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar tweeted:

I see Yn Chruinnaght is back and its had another minor make over it seems to be called CELTIC GATHERING. Now last year you will recall some of what Bob Carswell described as 'pedants and purists' were appalled at the change to CELTFEST. I’m bound to say however I didn’t whip myself into a frenzy over the change.

I recall writing at the time;

With what passes for ‘real politics’ heading into the long grass as the MHK/MLCs grab their buckets and spades and head for the seaside the media are becoming desperate. Expect a series of stories anyday about how busy Tynwald members are going to be - although Tynwald itself will be like Tutankhamun's tomb before Howard Carter arrived.