'A portrait of the politician as a young man'

The Manx Chief Minister is making the news - quite literally. It's mightily annoying to some on Manx Forums who think the great man is getting too much air time on Manx Radio but for hecks sake he is Chief Minister of the Isle of Man and he did tell Paul Moulton of MTTV recently that during the summer recess its business as usual….so!

Just to show that there are more ‘chapters’ (to borrow a term from Manx Radios resident Gilaroo Alex Allinson) to Howard's book of life he turns up on the Arts Council pages extolling the virtues of the painter John Miller Nicholson (JMN). He outlines initially what drew him to JMNs paintings as a young man

Its ‘Culture Month’ in something called ‘The Year of Our Island’ so this it seems is Howard's contribution as he guides us through his thoughts on JMN and his collection of his works.

I’m not a great fan of JMN but each to his own. Anyway I sometimes think if its art or poetry and its linked to Mann people regard it as a heresy if you don't back ‘the local team’. However much as I like the Manx poet T E Brown I have to admit to being seduced more by ‘foreign’ poets like Brooke, Lorca etc.

In the interview (link below) Howard seems more relaxed that in his occasional forays on Youtube with MTTV perhaps Paul Moulton should franchise the ‘Howard Interviews’ to the Arts Council we would in that way ensure we heard less about Brexit and more ‘the man behind the mask’.

I have an awful thought however: What if this spawns a whole genre of Arts Council videos of MHKs giving us their inner most thoughts on Picasso or JMN - please no!

The interview with the great man is here - apparently it's a part one of a two part interview although I can’t see a link for the other. If anyone spots it message me it's much more interesting than watching Alf Cannan and Kate Beecroft MHK trading political blows!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XjnBBARmZ4

Bernard Moffatt