October 2016 | the COLLECTIVE issue

Isle of Man Premier Magazine | no. 58 | October 2016 | the [COLLECTIVE] issue

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Gallery is published eleven times a year as a fresh yet discerning guide to all that happens on the Island and beyond. Not too arty farty superior or too serious, written by you and enjoyed by people everywhere.

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EDITORIAL

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Clare Bowie Hannah Goodby Michelle Tonnesen Linda Huxley Anne Berry Jennifer Parkes Sam New Maria Hill Jessica Ledger Grant Runyon Les Able Suzy Holland Rebecca Lawrence Adam Jazard Rachel Green Theo Leworthy Anne Moorhouse Leon Flemming Richard Evans Martin Fox Tim Bradshaw

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UPFRONT

#58

[COLLECTIVE] Isle of Man Premier Magazine | no. 58 | October 2016 | the [COLLECTIVE] issue

£ priceless

edito

#58

the COLLECTIVE issue BECAUSE QUALITY MATTERS

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W E A LT H BUSINESS T E C H N O LO G Y

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ON THE AGENDA n NO 24 n OC TOBER 2016

W E A LT H - T H E T W I S T E D L O G I C OF NEGATIVE INTEREST RATES

B U S I N E S S - S TA N D A R D B A N K MARK OF EXCELLENCE AWARDS

TECHNOLOGY - TO BE SEEN OR NOT TO BE SEEN

Isle of Man | Home & Interiors | October 2016

Sponsored by

The best place to find a new place in the Isle of Man

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A

collective is a group of entities that share or are motivated by at least one common issue or interest, or work together to achieve a common objective. In our case it’s a group of creative people coming together and publishing Gallery every month so we can entertain, educate and amuse you.

In this issue we entertain you with some great feature articles starting with ‘Tired of being alone’ on page 10, where Grace Ryan thinks the human is a social animal. Grant Runyon then takes over on page 20 with a feature on ‘Collective Living: new lifestyles of generation rent’. We continue by educating you with what’s on in our guides on pages 12-13, for you culture vultures see page 36. You will also find the Agenda section bursting with information, facts and feature articles starting on page 47. We amuse you in our own unique style throughout the magazine ending up in the popular paparazzi section - go look.

Top that with an additional 600 photos and approximately 20,000 words and the Gallery collective have done it again.

Enjoy reading this months issue.

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ARE YOU IN? You can also view paparazzi photos on our facebook page.

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5

WILKINS WATCH of the MONTH

MONTBLANC MARKS ITS 110TH ANNIVERSARY THIS YEAR WITH A NEW 4810 COLLECTION, BUILDING ON THIS BEST-SELLING LINE THAT WAS FIRST PRESENTED IN 2006 FOR THE MAISON’S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATIONS. THE NEW 4810 COLLECTION RESPECTS ALL THE CODES OF MONTBLANC’S WATCHMAKING, WITH ITS STRONG, ELEGANT AND SPORTY DESIGN, OFFERING A NEW SOPHISTICATED INTERPRETATION OF THIS MUCH LOVED 4810. COLLECTION FOR THE MODERN TRAVELLER WHO NEEDS A PERFORMANCE TIMEPIECE HE CAN RELY ON.

www.wilkinsthejeweller.co.uk

It was in 1906, during a booming period of manufacturing that three pioneers travelled to America – engineer August Eberstein, merchant Alfred Nehemias and stationery trader Claus Voss – inspired by what they discovered. They developed a writing instrument with non-leaking technology and a piston convertor. Eberstein was the visionary engineer of the trio, and had spent many years researching micro mechanical innovations in the United States and England.

His vision of performance, innovation and perfect quality became the nucleus and driving force of Montblanc.

Voss, on the other hand, was the entrepreneur. He had been actively seeking new innovations with unique development potential. When he met Eberstein he immediately recognized his creativity and passion for engineering and knew he would be the perfect partner to complement his own entrepreneurial drive.

In 1910, the three founders adopted the name Montblanc (previously known as Simplo Filler Pen Company), after the highest mountain in Europe, and made it a symbol for their vision for excellence. This desire for the highest quality translated into ultimate performance, true innovation and the finest craftsmanship, values that continue to drive Montblanc today.

Thepeak of the Mont Blanc Mountain measures 4,810 meters, a number which has always been an iconic figure for the Maison.

Today, this number is reborn in the new 4810 Collection and honours the spirit of excellence that was set by the Maison’s founders when they began their incredible journey 110 years ago.

THE MONTBLANC 4810 COLLECTION

MONTBLANC CELEBRATES THE GOLDEN AGE OF TRAVEL ACROSS THE ATLANTIC OCEAN WITH ITS 4810 COLLECTION MONTBLANC 4810 COLLECTION. The beginning of the 20th century marked an exciting time in innovation, looking towards new horizons especially with transportation across the Atlantic driving international commerce and cultural relations. Thanks to ground breaking new inventions, the rise of the marine steam engine and improved navigational methods, there was a quantum leap in sea travel. Passenger liners competed against each other for the Blue Riband award—a prestigious prize for the fastest crossing of the Atlantic Ocean. The record was based on average speed, as ships took different routes across the ocean, and only recognized the fastest speed westbound against the challenging Gulf Stream. This muchcoveted award attracted both passengers and freight companies who sought out the fastest and most powerful ships. The Blue Riband became a true symbol of distinction and high achievement and its spirit is part of the new Montblanc 4810 Collection, embracing peak performance and horological excellence.

During these enterprising times, the cities with the largest ports experienced the most vigorous growth and development, becoming hubs for trade, cultural exchange and innovation. The port of Hamburg was among them; as Germany’s largest port it soon became referred to as the country’s “Gateway to the World”. Thanks to the port, the city of Hamburg was thriving with international trade, but also the manufacture of Germany’s own sumptuous ocean liners, which were quickly recognized as the world’s most important and modern shipping vessels. Montblanc’s roots were set down in Hamburg during these dynamic times and are celebrated in the new Montblanc 4810 Collection from both a technological and aesthetic point of view.

Each timepiece in the 4810 Collection follows the strong and elegant design codes of the Maison with guilloché dials featuring the prominent exploding Montblanc star motif, red gold Roman numerals and indexes, larger and bolder cases, and beautifully designed regate-shaped and skeleton hands. The attention to detail brings a new level of sophistication to the 4810 Collection, showing how Montblanc continues to “share the passion” for watchmaking with timepieces that offer functions, quality and aesthetics to seduce watch aficionados the world over.

To discover this stunning new collection along with other models from the Montblanc timepiece range, call into our Strand Street store.

76 Strand Street, Douglas Isle of Man IM1 2EW T: 01624 690450 E: enquiries@wilkinsthejeweller.co.uk www.wilkinsthejeweller.co.uk

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UPFRONT

CONTENTS PICKS MAY CONTAIN SATIRE UPFRONT

CULTURE

Collective living:

Although I have some affection for this strange alliance of middle-class dreadhead dropouts and caravan-dwelling retirees, it has dangerous levels of bongo drum ownership and the available amenities extends to a few bins and a cafe that doesn’t like you

new lifestyles of generation rent My grandfather loves to sit me on his knee and tell me stories about when he was a young man, particularly those where the moral revolves around how he knuckled down, saved money and bought his first home before he was twenty. I appreciate the advice, but I wish he’d realise that no 34 year old still lives with their mum out of choice. The only reason I’m still sat on his knee is that I’m hoping the exertion will hasten his demise and I might inherit enough to own a bedsit by the time I come to retire. The older generation are happy to tell youngsters they have unrealistic expectations of property ownership, but that’s a bit rich coming from people who had the option of mortgaging a three-bedroom house for the same amount of cash that some of us are putting towards renting a parking space.

What’s more irritating is that his generation’s ability to snap up investment properties in the 70s means that us youngsters must expect to pay an inflated rent in order to keep our elders in cruise holidays and beige trousers. I can’t even “be happy with renting a nice place” when 40% of my monthly income goes towards a damp hovel with no garden and walls so thin I can hear my neighbour waxing her bikini line. There’s still a property ladder, but the last person going up covered it with grease and broke most of the rungs. If you’re single, unless you’re expecting either an inheritance or a promotion, you should probably stop dreaming of owning anything grander than a chalet with its own chemical toilet and a bucket to wash with. If you too can’t get a mortgage, the following creative solutions might feel horribly familiar.

Shared housing

You too can star in your own wacky flatshare comedy Sharing a house is a super idea when you’re a student, probably because at 18 it seems incredibly liberating not to have your parents breathing down your neck about hoovering your bedroom and washing the dishes. It inevitably becomes tiresome in the extreme, because you aren’t just sharing a house with Tamsyn from your World Cinema class, you’re also sharing it with Tamsyn’s sock microbes, her inability to turn the heating off and her loud and pretentious boyfriend, Rupert. Even if you leave university and move into a flat the size of a double bed, it’s at least a double bed where nobody eats all of your cereal or brings ten people back from a dubstep rave when you’ve got lectures in the morning. This inconvenience is no less true when you’re all working adults, as house share life is less like Friends or The Big Bang Theory than it is like Peep Show or a Channel 5 documentary about a man who kills his flatmates because they have noisy 4AM sex and never replace the toilet roll.

Multi-generational homes: mother knows best

Growing numbers of desperate young people convince themselves that living with Mum will become magically less stressful if only there’s some kind of formal agreement in place. Perhaps if you buy a larger house together, or sign a joint lease, Mum will realise that you’re an adult now and your choices about diet and laundry are yours to make? WRONG. She spent six plus hours squeezing your fat head out of her birth canal, and wiped your bottom until you were old enough to do it yourself: she will never let you forget this. If you continue to live together you’ll always be a child - any partner you have will be on indefinite probation, your privacy will be consistently disrespected and you’ll always have a theoretical curfew. On the other hand, if you endure the omnipresent tutting you will continue to get free dinners and inappropriate sympathy any time you catch cold or graze one of your knees. Mummy’s brave soldier needs to get a good night’s sleep, and there will be a crustless sandwich in his lunchbox so he isn’t too tired for that board meeting.

Life on the (not so) open road

It might be near-impossible to purchase stationary property, but there is another way to own your own space. Most of us could just about scrape together enough money to buy a home on four wheels, and if you consider mushrooming vehicle size against the shrinking square footage of houses it won’t be long before a Mercedes van is larger than a two-bedroom flat. It might not have a proper toilet (or any toilet), but you can squeeze in a kitchen that shames many bedsits and get some surprisingly comfy beds for diesel-powered romance. You’ll be living in a community of other nomads, so it might be possible to pool your resources and purchase one of those tin baths from Steptoe & Son. The major downside, aside from space, security and storage, is that we live in the Isle of Man, so the only place you can legally overnight in your mobile home is a campsite. Although I have some affection for this strange alliance of middle-class dreadhead dropouts and caravan dwelling retirees, it has dangerous levels of bongo drum ownership and the available amenities extends to a few bins and a chemical toilet emtptying facility.

Tickets for GuitarFest events and Belshazzar’s Feast are available now from eTickets.im/jp or in person from Peel’s Celtic Gold, Peter Norris Music in Douglas, Shakti Man in Ramsey and Port Erin’s Thompson Travel.

PRESENTS

GUITARFEST2016 Amrit blends global influences reflecting his musical journey through Asia, Africa, the MiddleEast and Britain. The result is a truly individual sound that leaves audiences awestruck. This is his fourth visit to the Isle of Man, after playing GuitarFest in 2009 and supporting Clive Carroll in 2011.

Headlining Friday’s lineup is one of the world’s finest, most creative modern fingerstyle performers Mike Dawes. He’s racked up more than 10 million views on YouTube and is renowned as both a live artist and mentor on TV’s Sky Arts Guitar Star.

Mike has recorded with, sessioned for, and even taught, Grammy awardwinning artists – besides appearing on film and TV soundtracks, releasing apps and transcribing for international music magazines. He comes to GuitarFest after a US and UK tour, opening and playing lead guitar for Moody Blues star Justin Hayward - a regular role for Mike.

Event creator and organiser Jonno Gollow said “We’re delighted Mike’s making his Manx debut for JonnoPromotions at GuitarFest 2016. As well as Friday’s concert, Mike will lead a guitarists’ masterclass on Saturday afternoon, a fantastic opportunity for local players to work with a modern guitar master!”

WORDS Grant Runyon ILLUSTRATION Jacques Le Breton

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APPETITE

“If only I could borrow at minus 0.05 per cent my company would be able to undertake some great projects”

The twisted B logic of negative interest rates

Words by: John Kay (FT)

usiness history, of a sort, was made last month. Sanofi, the French pharmaceutical company that makes blood thinner Plavix, and Henkel, the German consumer company that makes Persil detergent, between them sold more than €1.5bn of debt with an interest rate of minus 0.05 per cent. They are thought to be the first private businesses to charge bondholders for the privilege of lending them money.

We have grown used to this in the world of sovereign debt since the financial crisis, of course. About half of all eurozone government bonds, and most of that issued

by Japan, now carry a negative interest rate, meaning the lender recoups less than the amount invested.

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Friday night’s “nu-coustic” opener features Grammy award-winner Amrit Sond, whose unique style uses every surface of the guitar to provide exciting percussion while playing complex contrapuntal guitar lines that negate the need for vocals.

JONNO PROMOTIONS PRESENTS IOM GUITARFEST 2016 AT THE PEEL CENTENARY CENTRE FROM FRIDAY, OCTOBER 28TH TO SUNDAY, OCTOBER 30TH.

There is a theory behind the seeming madness in all this. Low interest rates encourage companies to invest and consumers to spend now rather than later - a useful tool in a floundering economy. If the economies of Japan and the eurozone are stagnant, the thinking goes, it is because interest rates are not low enough.

So long as inflation is under control, it is the duty of central banks to push rates lower still. The logical next step, when rates have fallen to zero and growth remains low, is to impose negative rates.

But the implementation of negative rate policy has been thought to be limited by the fact that savers have an alternative: simply holding cash. Households may prefer to keep their notes under the mattress instead of spending - and the value of currency in circulation has risen to more than €3,000 per head in the eurozone, suggests that many have. But, while you can sleep fairly comfortably on €3,000, storing, say, €1bn is more difficult.

Munich Re is reported to have explored the possibility of storing its cash pile in heavily guarded warehouses. The German reinsurance group knows better than anyone the likely cost of insuring such premises.

But there are simply not enough notes to go around to substitute for holdings of debt. The volume of negative yielding bonds of the German government alone exceeds the value of all the euro notes in circulation.

At any rate, this is not a theory that bears much scrutiny. It is not because interest rates are too high that eurozone consumption is sluggish but rather because expectations are so low. Fiscal austerity and the aftermath of the global crisis

ON THE AGENDA

WEALTH & INVESTMENT

ISLE OF MAN PREMIER MAGAZINE

Martyn scored five UK Top 50 singles in the 90s, including “Dolphins Make Me Cry”, “Working Mother”, “Being There” and “Let’s Talk About it in The Morning” (co-written with Tom Robinson). Several of his songs including “I See You” from 1993 album Being There may already be familiar to Manx audiences as Island band G.A.S.P. covered a number of those songs.

There’s another musical treat on Saturday, February 11 next year.

CityWing is supporting a special visit from four Northern Irish singer/songwriter/guitarists who’ll play “Songwriters’ Circle”-style in Peel.

They’re all independent artists with songwriting awards from the Belfast Nashville Songwriters’ Festival, and they’ve graced Nashville venues including the Bluebird Café. That said, none of them are exactly country singers; just excellent songwriters with their own distinctive and individual styles.

Peter McVeigh, Emily-Rose Conlon, Warren Attwell and Stephen Macartney will also lead songwriting workshops for young people and the public while they’re here.

For more details on all artists and events, join our mailing list at jonnopromotions.com or Like the JonnoPromotions’ Facebook page.

Martyn has been dubbed the “Welsh Springsteen” and claimed numerous awards, including Best Folk Song at 2012’s World Independent Music Awards. His songs are pictures, stories and feelings set to music and masterfully delivered.

BBC Radio’s Tom Robinson called him “one of the most charismatic and electrifying performers in Britain today”, while MOJO magazine says he’s “Britain’s best kept secret… a challenging songwriter and a compelling, courageous live performer”.

All GuitarFest performers this year bring something different to give audiences a truly memorable experience.

A ticket-only brunch at the Mereside Hotel on Sunday morning rounds off GuitarFest, courtesy of Creative Industries at DED, where you can meet this year’s musicians. They’ll talk about their experiences in the industry, tell tales from the road, and answer your questions.

“We’re hoping for a good attendance from the Island’s musicmakers at this event,” said Jonno, “And we’re very grateful for the continuing sponsorship and support from Arts Council Isle of Man, Aston International, Swagelok Limited and the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company. We’re also pleased to welcome DQ Advocates as first-time sponsors of GuitarFest, and keen to thank our media partner, more music 3FM, for their continued support.”

Away from Guitarfest – but no less exciting – is the Manx debut of a band that defies expectations and genres.

On Saturday, November 26th, JonnoPromotions brings Belshazzar’s Feast to Peel. Are they classical? Folk? A category undreamt of? The answer (to all three) is YES – and a lot more, besides. Belshazzar’s Feast start with traditional folk music, mix in classical and jazz, sprinkle in some music hall and top it all off with wry humour!

Paul Sartin (Bellowhead, Faustus) on voice, fiddle and oboe with Paul Hutchinson (Hoover The Dog) on voice and accordion “play like no-one else you’ve ever heard”, according to Mike Harding who adds “their music is breath-taking and wickedly inventive.”

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BECAUSE QUALITY MATTERS

CULTURE: GuitarFest 2016

SPORT

have dimmed the employment prospects of a generation of young Europeans. Low interest rates have as intended pushed up the prices of long-dated bonds and houses - but one unwelcome effect of this is to put buying a home beyond the reach of many and to render long-term saving more or less hopeless. To provide yourself with 70 per cent of gross your income for 25 years of retirement when real interest rates are zero requires setting aside 45 per cent of that gross income every year. Should you save more to try and make up the shortfall - or, since the goal of comfortable retirement is beyond reach anyway, should you save less?

All told, the primary effect of monetary policy since 2008 has been to transfer wealth to those who already hold long-term assets - both real and financial - from those who now never will. Last month’s debt sale reinforces this. Henkel and Sanofi are not borrowing at negative interest rates to invest in new productive facilities. Both companies have large cash piles, and the cash generated from their operations far exceeds their investment needs.

Their borrowing deploys the strength of their balance sheets to make profits from their treasury operations - exemplifying the aphorism that people will lend you money so long as you can prove you do not need it. Henkel, secure in the knowledge that German consumers will always demand laundry products, benefits from the absurdity that its creditworthiness is far stronger than that of Deutsche Bank.

It is these dysfunctional capital markets, rather than any excessively high interest rates, that are behind an investment shortfall across Europe. There are obvious requirements for investment in the eurozone - to provide power through cleaner energy plants, to improve roads and relieve overcrowding on trains, to build houses, to accommodate tens of thousands of recent refugees and above all to fund the new businesses that will promote innovation on the continent. But I have yet to hear a single business person say: “If only I could borrow at minus 0.05 per cent my company would be able to undertake some great projects.”

Aversion on the part of governments to public debt and the additional costs associated with off-balance-sheet financing obstruct infrastructure funding. Shorttermism pervades listed companies.

European venture capital, never robust, has shifted focus from the funding of earlystage business to the buyout of established ones.

As policymakers of my generation congratulate each other on the financial innovations they call unconventional monetary policies, we can only hope our children and grandchildren will think better of us than we deserve.

agenda

On Saturday night, guitarist/singer/songwriter and “Welsh wizard” Martyn Joseph makes his Manx debut. With a career spanning more than 30 years and 30 albums, his versatility and live concerts are legendary.

BELSHAZZAR’S FEAST AND BELNASH No matter your musical taste, there’s a truly talented treble in SONGWRITERS’ CIRCLE Peel this autumn to keep you culturally warm and entertained!

Given all of the above, you might conclude that the only realistic solution lies in drastically lowering your expectations of a home.

In the future the the Isle of Man could import a housing model which is becoming popular elsewhere, like San Francisco, Tokyo and the prison cities where they make iPhones. Optimistically marketed as “micro-apartments”, but more honestly known amongst residents as “coffin apartments”, these tiny homes offer considerably less square footage than a typical garage. Think an extremely compact single hotel room, where you need to put the toilet lid down to shower, except you also have a shelf for your microwave and a tiny little desk. Storage is found underneath your bunk and the only window is so narrow you couldn’t possibly jump out of it. The only space is in shared common rooms - like a university hall of residence where everybody swaps tips on how to cook instant noodles in a kettle. It feels like living in the future! Except the future is one depicted in a film where the lead character is oppressed and decides to join a revolution against people who are privileged enough to have enough space for a couch. At least it’s safe, warm and the space is all yours, although this isn’t too far away from the same argument you might use to justify caging a hamster. It doesn’t appeal to me, because I’m happy where I am - hoping that I can play my cards right and that Mum will let me use the garden shed to celebrate my 40th.

wealth & investment

MARTYN JOSEPH

MIKE DAWES

AMRIT SOND

Dystopian dormitory dwelling

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CULTURE

SPORT

BEN STRIKES AGAIN TO WIN MANX TELECOM END2END BIKE RACE!

M

ore than 700 riders took part in the 20th anniversary Manx Telecom End2End Mountain Bike Challenge over the epic 46-mile course from the Point of Ayre to Port Erin. Some were racing to win, but most were riding to achieve personal fitness goals or raise funds for charity. As always, it was a fantastic day with a carnival atmosphere once again showing why it has become so popular with riders from both on and off Island.

Ben Thomas from England made it three wins in successive years, but the Mountain Trax/Vauxhall team rider had to fight off a determined challenge from Manx riders Nick Corlett (Manx Mountain Bike Club) and Elliott Baxter (Team Bikestyle) who finished second and third respectively. Anke Dannowski (ESV Dresden MTBO) won the women’s race with Cheri Mills (One Planet Adventure) in second, and Kathryn Priest (Manx Mountain Bike Club) in third. There was also a half-distance race from St John’s to Port Erin – the winners in the adult category were Paul Renshaw and Liz Bigwood, and Max Walker was the first junior.

Hundreds of riders opted to have action photos of them in the race automatically uploaded to their Facebook accounts thanks to a free Pic2Go service provided by Manx Telecom.

Voirrey Barron, Manx Telecom Marketing Communications Manager, said: “Congratulations and thanks to all of the riders who took part this year. We must also say a big thank you to all of the organising team, volunteers, and supporters who cheered the riders along the route – they all play a vital role in making the Manx Telecom End2End Mountain Bike Challenge such a great event.”

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AGENDA: The Twisted Logic

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ISLE OF MAN PREMIER MAGAZINE

BECAUSE QUALITY MATTERS

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114 ACTIVE: Manx Telecom End2End

THE REST UPFRONT

Edito...........................................................................................................................5 Tired of Being Alone?...........................................................................10 What’s On..................................................................................................12 Me & My Pet......................................................................................................14 News in Numbers....................................................................................16 Collective Living....................................................................................20 Give.............................................................................................................22 MISC.......................................................................................................................24

PLACES

Feature Properties...........................................................................81-94

EVENTS

FASHION & BEAUTY

Caroline & Matthew’s Wedding Day...............................................26 Katherine & David’s Wedding Day..................................................28 Denise & Steve’s Wedding Day........................................................30

Get the look............................................................................................96 Beauty Products....................................................................................98 Aesthetic Medicines............................................................................100

CULTURE

APPETITE

Bruno Cavellec.......................................................................................32 Novels with Graham Hamer..............................................................33 GuitarFest 2016.....................................................................................34 Culture Vulture.......................................................................................36 Culture News..........................................................................................37 UPLOAD....................................................................................................40

Appetite News.................................................................................................102 Cocktails & Dreams.............................................................................106 Jabali African Street Food...............................................................107 Recipes.....................................................................................................108 Wine Talk.................................................................................................110

TRAVEL

Commonwealth Games Association Golf Day...........................112 Manx Telecom End2End Bike Race................................................114 Active News............................................................................................117

Travelling With An Entourage....................................................................44

AGENDA

In The News........................................................................................................48 Movers & Shakers..............................................................................................52 Career Ready.......................................................................................................54 Standard Bank Awards.........................................................................56 KPMG eGaming Summit.....................................................................58 Canaccord Genuity Wealth Management Celebrate...............60

8

Negative Interest Rates Twisted Logic.........................................62 Vicky Quirks ‘Posh’ Pie’s................................................................................66 Ashgrove Creative Awards................................................................68 Tech - Password Nightmares.............................................................74 To be Seen Or Not Seen.....................................................................76 A Bogus Online Business....................................................................76

ACTIVE

HARDWARE

Motoring News.....................................................................................120 Gadgets....................................................................................................122

PAPARAZZI Are you in?.....................................................................................125/134 ISLE OF MAN PREMIER MAGAZINE

UPFRONT

COVER CREDIT

Photographer & Styling: Shan Fisher Makeup Artist: Heather Maddrell Hairstylist: Karen T Jones, Reflections Hair Studio, Ramsey Nail Technician: Christine Cowley at Rock Hard Nails Dress: Rachel Clayton at Bells and Bows, Castletown Model: Natalie Nixon Location: The Tea Junction, Douglas Assistant: Helen O’Connor 1

COVER: the COLLECTIVE issue

BECAUSE QUALITY MATTERS

9

Tired of being alone?

How to pretend you like other people.

WORDS Grace Ryan ILLUSTRATION Luke Moss

UPFRONT

Religion and science can’t agree on much, but aside from the fundamental opinion that old men are right about everything, one of the few areas where they do concur is that the human animal is a social animal. Like otters, termites and wildebeest we are stronger in groups, working in unison to do everything from building igloos to delivering a third quarter earnings forecast. Banding together is how we managed to fight off the velociraptors and dominate this planet to a degree that even the members of our species stupid enough to appear on reality TV aren’t picked off and eaten by mountain lions.

Unfortunately, our success comes at a psychological price, and I don’t just mean the indignity of people from TOWIE using up valuable oxygen. Unlike otters or wildebeest my gigantic human brain has a lot of spare capacity, and in the absence of wild predators a lot of that anxiety bandwidth goes to thinking about how uncomfortable I am with the thronging millions of my own species. We’ve been so successful at building a safe, modern society that I’ve learned to survive with minimal interpersonal contact, and as a result my basic social skills have gone the way of my tailbone and appendix. I seldom need to team up with strangers to bring down a mammoth, and so have little opportunity to get used to those strangers’ weird smells and irritating mannerisms, perhaps even to come to love them.

Although I’ve always contended that being a misanthropic loner should be a legitimate and respected life choice, if I’m being honest I’d admit that the quickest way to a successful existence really isn’t far removed from lining up to eat ticks out the armpit of a bigger monkey.

Fake it til you make it

This would paint a sad picture, except unlike wildebeests humans have also evolved a thousand ways to pretend that we like other people - even when we don’t want them to have sex with us or give us money. I’ve studied these extensively, and am now confident that I can feign not to be appalled by humanity, moving through your birthdays and weddings without anybvody guessing that I’m about as interested in hearing about your children as one of the murderous androids from Blade Runner.

Perhaps even less interested, because the androids from Blade Runner weren’t forced to add you on Facebook in order to fit in at the office. I’m like the Terminator, if the Terminator was only programmed to pretend it was having fun at your Christmas party before going home and drinking half a litre of amaretto.

Diversify your personal portfolio

The only thing you need to worry about is making sure that you evolve more than one strategy to prevent people from realising that you’re a creepy introvert with a freezer full of stolen house pets. This is a rookie

BECAUSE QUALITY MATTERS

error, but a surprisingly widespread one - the most obvious example being people who mistake non-controversial genderbased interests as being an adequate substitute for a convincing personality. That phrase sounds like the kind of thing my psychologist used to put in reports (before he went missing in those woods), but in regular English I’m talking about people who think that building their “personal brand” exclusively about one interest is a substitute for any personal depth. The most obvious example is obsessive sports fandom, which takes all the complicated aspects of physical competition and

tedious normality that very few people will question. If she loves cats and babies so much, why does she live in an unlit apartment full of gin bottles and shoes?

Nobody thinks to ask. This is why all the serial killers who get caught are men.

Graeme Norton American Psycho

Sadly I couldn’t pull that one off, because no amount of conditioning can obscure my innate revulsion to nappies, “kids say the funniest things” rubbish and how your “little ones” are doing at nursery. If I see you have a Baby on Board sign on your people carrier I instinctively start driving

“ If she loves cats and babies so much, why does she live in an unlit apartment full of gin bottles and shoes? Nobody thinks to ask. This is why all the serial killers who get caught are men.”

replaces them with a lifestyle based around chuntering out dull statistics and pointless opinions about whether one bunch of millionaires can kick a ball further than the other. The only positive thing I can say about conversing relentlessly about sport is that there’s a certain grim irony in lazing about, hammering your body with booze and pork scratchings whilst prattling on about an activity that was designed to keep you fit.

Stepford wife swap

In some ways it’s easier to pretend you have an acceptable personality if you’re a woman, perhaps because there are so many men out there who won’t pay the slightest attention to anything you think or like if they can be persuaded you’ll listen to them talk about themselves. Even our supposedly liberal western societies have such low expectations of women and girls that few people notice if your personality entirely consists of talking about babies (and sometimes cats). You can be interested in other stuff, but only to the extent that other stuff plays a role in the singular purpose of nurturing babies (and cats). A convincing identity can be constructed from a thousand images and anecdotes about your children, or just random children you made up, offering a smooth facade of bland,

more dangerously. So, my winning strategy for social camouflage has been to avoid focussing on one area, and instead develop a surface personality where I pretend to be slightly interested in a wide variety of things, when really all I’ve done is mined social media for a broad spectrum of unchallenging positions to take on things.

I’m like a chat show host, a smiling parasite that thrives amongst you and distils polite banter into the poison sacs incubating in my subterranean lair. Like Jonathan Ross I can be your best friend for up to seven minutes, which is usually long enough to lull people into a false sense of security if I need to chat to you at a cocktail party or are simply looking for a fresh body for one of my monthly feeds.

So, have I managed to find a way to fit into our society? I wouldn’t go as far as saying it’s been an unqualified success, but I think I manage a fairly convincing impersonation of a human being. I might not be top of anybody’s list to be a godparent to their child, but neither will I be the last person allowed onto the lifeboats. You can talk about sport and babies, whilst I’ll be busy working out who I’m going to try and eat as soon as they get sunstroke. See you at the Christmas party!

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UPFRONT

WHAT’S ON

LOCAL WHAT’S ON 07.10.2016

MURDER MYSTERY FORMAL FUNDRAISER AND 3-COURSE DINNER //PEEL GOLF CLUB// Manx Wildlife Trust Invites you to a Murder Mystery Evening

02.10.2016 and 07.1009.10.2016

ISLE OF MAN HERITAGE OPEN DAYS

//ISLAND WIDE// If you have participated in the past you will have already booked your tours, be gripping your brochure and be very excited, if you are new to the event then you are invited to get involved – you won’t be disappointed. 53 places, tours or experiences feature in the programme, access is free, and they are happening across the whole Island. These are two weekends to celebrate what makes our beautiful Island unique. Community groups, heritage groups, government departments and passionate individuals will open their doors and give up their time to show you behind the scenes.

The Suspect Players will present: The Rum Cover Murder Setting the Scene: We are in Rum Cove Manor on the Isle of Man, some time during the end of the 18th century. Captain Theolotter Infamy has been found dead on Rum Cove beach in highly suspicious circumstances. Was he murdered and if so, do the assembled group of people, including a blacksmith, a Spanish noblewoman, a pirate and the vicar’s daughter, know something about his death?

Following on from previous years’ excellent events, this really should not be missed.

Tickets: £45 per person, which include a welcome drink, three-course dinner and murder mystery entertainment For more information and/or tickets please contact Clare Bryan on cjbryan@manx.net.

27.10 – 28.10.16

GUITARFEST 2016

//THE CENTENARY CENTRE, PEEL// The annual GuitarFest has moved west this year, and features the return of Grammy Award winner, Amrit Sond, Mike Davis and ‘Welsh Springsteen’ Martyn Joseph who headlines on Saturday night. Various other events are taking place around Peel over the weekend and full details, and to book tickets see the Jonno Promotions website. www.jonnopromotions.com

Many of the events are drop in, you don’t have to book, turn up and see something new.

Pick up a programme from any Manx National Heritage site or visit: www.manxnationalheritage.im/whats-on/ heritage-open-days.

06.10.20

STORY OF THE SEA IN WORDS AND MUSIC

//FALCON’S NEST HOTEL, PORT ERIN// The Isle of Man has many stories of the sea from famous shipwrecks to the arrival of the Gutter Girls and the annual Queenie Festival, and the traditions of the seafarers are kept alive to this day. The evening, featuring several local musicians and wordsmiths will be presented by Alan Jackson, from 7pm. Tickets £5 from the Falcon’s Nest, or payable on the door. www.rushenheritage.org

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24.10 – 30.10.2016

HOP TU NAA FESTIVAL

//CREGNEASH// Turn up for turnips during afternoons every day during half term, culminating in a unique Manx Hop Tu Naa celebration on Sunday 30th October. Enjoy live music, carve your turnip lantern, join in song and dance and discover recipes and superstitions from the past. www.manxnationalheritage.im ISLE OF MAN PREMIER MAGAZINE

UPFRONT

OCTOBER

ELSEWHERE OCT 1 - 9, 2016

26.10.2016

MEGASLAM WRESTLING – OCTOBER OUTRAGE

//VILLA MARINA, DOUGLAS// Two shows from the stars of Megaslam Wrestling, including some of the biggest names from world wrestling including champion CJ Banks, former champion Bully Boy Carter, ‘Russian Nightmare’ Boris Koslov, the Megaslam Divas and the Isle of Man’s own Megaslam hero Marcus of Man. Prices from £11 (under 16s) to £16 for adults, Megaslam Wrestling is fun for all the family. www.villagaiety.com

04-06.11.2016

LABYRINTH: DEATH OF THE VIKING KINGDOM

//CASTEL RUSHEN// The death of the last Viking King Magnus in 1265 threw the Island into a century of turmoil, with battles, political intrigue, love trysts and deception. Embark on this immersive journey unlocking Castle Rushen and the demise of the Kingdom of Man and the Isles with Labyrinth: History in Action. An active fast-moving experience with low lighting levels, not recommended for children. Tickets out now at the Manx Museum Gallery Shop & online, places limited. www.manxnationalheritage.im

ALBUQUERQUE INTERNATIONAL BALLOON FIESTA

Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States Picture a connect-the-dots rainbow of mammoth balloons filling the sky, from the horizon to the stratosphere, while thousands of tiny-as-ants onlookers pepper the flats below. This is the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, which takes place each year at the southern end of the fabled Sangre de Cristo Mountains, just east of Navajo country and an hour from 400-year-old Santa Fe. From the early sunrise Dawn Patrol to the evening’s “Glowdeo” parade, balloon races, and much more, this event is a spectacle of wonder for all ages. The festival is book-ended by two weekends in October with balloon die-hards holed up in Albuquerque for the entire event. www balloonfiesta com

OCT 6 - 8, 2016

JOSHUA TREE MUSIC FESTIVAL

California, United States Joshua Tree National Park—home of the eponymous and quirky-looking yucca brevifolia tree species—has served as inspiration for musicians, poets, and thinkers through the ages. Its colorful history, beautiful scenery, and unique flora and fauna translate into a place with an elevated consciousness and a metaphysical vibe. One would hope that its namesake festival would live up to the mythology of its location, and Joshua Tree Music Festival certainly does.

Independently produced and drawing about 4,000 attendees, this music-and-artfocused event has a homey, intimate feel www.joshuatreemusicfestival.com

HEN

OCT 19 - 23, 2016

AMSTERDAM DANCE EVENT

and e,

Amsterdam, Netherlands Amsterdam Dance event is a five-day industry and entertainment extravaganza scattered across 115 reputable venues throughout the iconic Netherlands’ capital city. The festival boasts some of the biggest names in the international electronic club scene as well as its fair share of up-and-comers and underground artists. In its entirety, ADE involves an astronomical 450 conference and music events – including over 2,200 BECAUSE QUALITY MATTERS

DJs. It’s all business during the day with presentations and networking opportunities at ADE Pro, ADE Tech, HDE, ADE University, ADE Next and ADE Green. Things really take off at night, when the who’s who of club music creators and aficionados take over the town. www.amsterdam-dance-event.nl

OCT 21 - 30, 2016

FANTASY FEST

Key West, Florida, United States Started by two Key West businessmen who wanted to accelerate the start of the traditional peak winter season, Fantasy Fest probably rivals Mardi Gras as America’s most free-for-all hedonistic part. While the roots of the event match Key West’s gay mecca demographic, over time, the audience has grown more mainstream but, beware, there’s a “try-sexual” flavor that still adds a spicy twist to the affair. Fantasy Fest isn’t for everyone, but for those who love it, they swear by it and make the trek every year attracted by the combination of balls, costume competitions, body painting, homemade bikini contests, and the infamous camp parade where people just let it all hang out, literally. www.fantasyfest.com

OCT 30 - NOV 2, 2016

LA CALACA

San Miguel de Allende, Mexico If you’re a fan of arts and music events and also happen to like Halloween, pack your bags for San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, and celebrate a different kind of Halloween here. La Calaca Festival is a participatory arts festival that brings together interactive arts installations; local businesses, individuals and arts organizations; and visitors from Mexico and elsewhere to witness art and creativity inspired by Dia de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead). Jump right in and learn about the holiday, tour through the wealth of art installations, hit the party circuit, hear a variety of music, and celebrate the dead along with the community. We’re all headed there, eventually. www.lacalacafestival.org

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UPFRONT

ME & MY PET

Natalie Harrison Breed: Human Age? 23 Likes? Prodding Hambo when he’s asleep Dislikes? Answering questions about myself :) If animal what would you be? A pet cat so I can be fed and have human slaves Favourite food? Steak and chips and anything chocolatey

Do you have any more pets? Not currently, ask again next week!!!!!!!

Would you have any more pets? See above

Where do you live? Port St Mary

The best and worst thing about having a pet is? Best-having someone to pester Worst-getting glared at for over pestering Interesting fact: Apparently hamsters can easily be trained to do tricks!?!? No evidence here!

Where are you originally from?

Cheshire Where do you work? Isle of Man Transport

?

G PET.IM ESTINLL R E T O C Y. IN ER N GA HAVE A ATURES@

FE DO YOAU RSELVES BOUT YOU TELL US

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ISLE OF MAN PREMIER MAGAZINE

Hollie

H

Hambo Breed? Syrian Hamster Age? One year - so I’m middle aged (no grey hairs yet) Likes? Running around free range, escaping and climbing walls.

ollie is a placid and gentle cat who simply wants a quiet life.

Her previous owner’s child developed allergies and so Hollie came to us in May for re-homing. She had a pretty rough time in sick bay for several weeks, but she has now been given the all-clear and is in one of our socialisation rooms. She’s a middle-aged cat, aged about six, and although she’s very friendly she can be a little timid at first until she warms to you. She especially enjoys having her cheeks being stroked! Hollie has never been a wandering cat and she will stay close to her new home, when she finds one, and not roam too far; and she isn’t used to traffic and so a house in a quiet area would be more suitable for her. She’s a beautiful cat, with stunning eyes and a ‘noble’ face, and she will make a loyal and loving companion for her new owner.

Dislikes? Being prodded when I’m asleep If human what would you be? An escape artist Favourite food? Shreddies and Banana Chips Why do you love your human? Love?

I’d say I tolerate her.

If you had one wish what would you wish for? Opposable thumbs - so I can open my cage and help myself to my Banana Chips without needing my human Interesting fact: Apparently my human thinks it’s an enjoyable pastime disturbing sleeping hamsters - does she not know I’m nocturnal?

Milo

M

ilo loves his walks come rain or shine and he bubbles with enthusiasm. He is a two year old Patterdale Terrier that had just a bit too much energy and ‘zest for life’ for his previous owners to cope with. This young dog needs to ‘go back to basics’ with his training and he needs an adoptive home that will set boundaries and routines so that his big personality can be nurtured. He will also need to be the only animal in a household, and he is a bit too boisterous and bouncy for younger children. He will give his new owner an amazing and rewarding experience, and repay the time invested in him with a lifetime of fun and adventure.

ManxSPCA • Ard Jerkyll, East Foxdale • Tel: 851672

www.manxspca.com

BECAUSE QUALITY MATTERS

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UPFRONT

NEWS

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in

NUMBERS 53 Visit 53 places to celebrate what makes our beautiful Island unique with Isle of Man Heritage Open Days.

See what’s on page for more info.

The number of public sector workers has fallen by 10% since 2011, according to IOM Government figures.

800

Over 800 people turned up for a mass pilates event at Knockaloe last month, on the very site where Joseph Pilates, the creator of the popular exercise regime, was interned in the first world war.

100

the date the new House of Keys elects the Island’s Chief Minister.

£100 fine for anyone who hasn’t filed their personal income tax return before the deadline of 6 October.

888

Elvira Clark, the oldest resident in the Island entries to this years End2End mountain bike race with some has recently celebrated her 105th Birthday. 4330 photos taken on the day. www.end2end.im Elvira had a surprise party and also received a birthday card from the Queen. entries to this years End2End mountain bike race with some 4330 photos taken on the day. www.end2end.im

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ISLE OF MAN PREMIER MAGAZINE

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UPFRONT

COLLECTIVE NOUNS ANYONE? The 10 agonising stages of homework time- the struggle is oh so real for the parents!

Words Clare Bowie

BECAUSE QUALITY MATTERS

1 o start o calml “Let’s just get this done as quickly as we can and everyone’s happy”. (That’s the last time you will utter the word happy or even remember that happiness exists).

2. The stalling begins: the child has a “quick snack” (consumes their body weight in toast and biscuits) then decides they need to go to the toilet, sharpen all their pencils, watch a quick video and change clothes before finally sitting down to start their homework, before deciding that they are thirsty.

3. Powers of hypnotism. Your child has no idea what they are supposed to do and you find yourself talking them back through the day in your best Paul McKenna voice, “think carefully, what did the teacher say? Just relax and try and remember”. Your impatience is rising but you resist the urge to shake them and call them a dosey Dory. At this stage.

4. The long haul! Ok, so you’re ten years old and you just have some english, maths, vocabulary, spelling, tables, reading and collective nouns to learn then. No problem at all, dinner will be served at midnight, but hey, at least you now know the collective term is a prickle of hedgehogs!

5. The frustration: they get stuck on something and you try your best to calmly help them and they calmly ignore you and then you get mad and say something that you know may seriously affect their self esteem, capacity to build future relationships and all round sense of wellbeing and you feel very bad and still noone knows how to find the area of the unshaded triangle!

6. The negotiation: “I’m not doing it” they throw down their pencil and storm off. This can go one of two ways. You battle it out with a “oh yes you are, get back here young lady” approach or you do the softly, softly, “I feel your pain” approach and throw them another biscuit and maybe pour yourself a wine to make yourself a nicer person. #homeworkhacks

efiance “What do we need to know this stuff for?” Answer: just be quiet and learn it, you never know when the interior angles of quadrilaterals may come in handy. Knowledge is power and all that. What you really think: I know!! *Weeps* You will never, ever need this shiz again, unless of course you have kids and have to do it with them for homework, ha!

8. High blood pressure: You’ve just got to grips with the daily struggle when they announce they have a project to do. Translation: YOU have a project to do, so buckle up and get that glue stick ready but make sure to do a messy job, maybe after a bottle of wine, so it looks like the kid had some input. #keepingitreal 9. Teacher torture: Not only do they want the homework signed, sealed, delivered some of them really put the knife in. They encourage extra reading at night, withhold star stickers and casually mention that teabag stained, frayed round the edges pieces of history related homework can guarantee a bump up the reward chart. Whaaatttt??? Come round to my house any afternoon and I’ll give you frayed round the edges!

10. You look stupid. As if they needed any more reasons to disrespect you. They used to just laugh at your old fashioned iphone 4 but now they know you’re rubbish at percentages too and sometimes it takes you longer to check their work than it took them to do it. There’s nowhere to hide when the homework comes out!

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UPFRONT

FUN FOR ALL THE FAMILY UNVEILED AT RILEY’S GARDEN CENTRE A complete ‘family environment’ for customers is unveiled this month by Braddan-based Riley’s Garden Centre with the completion of a state-of-the-art Play Park for children where even Mum’s and Dad’s might also be tempted to have a fun time.

“It’s more of a learning and development area,” says managing director Thomas Riley.

“Yes, it’s a Play Park but the emphasis is on adaptive learning so kids can learn while they play.

At the same time there are all the features and apparatus you expect in a Play Park to keep children amused from the age of one-year-old upwards.”

He adds: “It’s all about creating an enjoyable family environment and a natural play element. There are some challenging features and activities for older children,

including puzzles and natural wood features, which I’m pretty sure will be of interest to some adults while they keep an eye on what their kids are doing. “ The Play Park is just one of the new developments to be announced by the 134-year-old family owned and run business. Riley’s membership cards have been introduced which give customers the opportunity to enjoy a rewards scheme and build up points for future purchases. Card members will also be made aware of special offers.

“For every £ spent customers get a point on their card, we just wanted to give something back to our customers,” says Thomas.

“With the festive season fast approaching Riley’s is holding its annual Christmas preview evening on Wednesday, October 19 from 6pm until 9pm. It’s an evening targeted at all ages, with the Island’s largest Christmas display. The team has worked hard and made some fantastic changes, so

hopefully the customers will really enjoy this and there will be free drinks and nibbles.

The evening will also be supporting the Braddan section of the Women’s British Legion charity.”

Thomas, the fifth generation of the family business declares: “We are very much a traditional garden centre but one with a decidedly modern touch and beliefs.”

“it’s a Play Park but the emphasis is on adaptive learning so kids can learn while they play”

South

we are here

Douglas

Cooil Road

www.rileys.co.im 18

Cooil Road Spring Valley Industrial Estate IOM Post Office

RILEYS GARDEN CENTRE COOIL ROAD, BRADDAN, ISLE OF MAN, IM4 2AF T 01624 616116 Email: info@rileys.co.im ISLE OF MAN PREMIER MAGAZINE

Make Christmas Special

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Christmas Display Opening Wednesday 19th October 6-9pm

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The Island’s largest Christmas display with amazing decorations and gift ideas for everyone at Riley’s Family Garden & Lifestyle Centre T: 01624 616116 | E: info@rileys.co.im | www.rileys.co.im

MAY CONTAIN SATIRE UPFRONT

Collective living:

new lifestyles of generation rent My grandfather loves to sit me on his knee and tell me stories about when he was a young man, particularly those where the moral revolves around how he knuckled down, saved money and bought his first home before he was twenty. I appreciate the advice, but I wish he’d realise that no 34 year old still lives with their mum out of choice. The only reason I’m still sat on his knee is that I’m hoping the exertion will hasten his demise and I might inherit enough to own a bedsit by the time I come to retire. The older generation are happy to tell youngsters they have unrealistic expectations of property ownership, but that’s a bit rich coming from people who had the option of mortgaging a three-bedroom house for the same amount of cash that some of us are putting towards renting a parking space.

What’s more irritating is that his generation’s ability to snap up investment properties in the 70s means that us youngsters must expect to pay an inflated rent in order to keep our elders in cruise holidays and beige trousers. I can’t even “be happy with renting a nice place” when 40% of my monthly income goes towards a damp hovel with no garden and walls so thin I can hear my neighbour waxing her bikini line. There’s still a property ladder, but the last person going up covered it with grease and broke most of the rungs. If you’re single, unless you’re expecting either an inheritance or a promotion, you should probably stop dreaming of owning anything grander than a chalet with its own chemical toilet and a bucket to wash with. If you too can’t get a mortgage, the following creative solutions might feel horribly familiar.

Shared housing

You too can star in your own wacky flatshare comedy Sharing a house is a super idea when you’re a student, probably because at 18 it seems incredibly liberating not to have your parents breathing down your neck about hoovering your bedroom and washing the dishes. It inevitably becomes tiresome in the extreme, because you aren’t just sharing a house with Tamsyn from your World Cinema class, you’re also sharing it with Tamsyn’s sock microbes, her inability to turn the heating off and her loud and pretentious boyfriend, Rupert. Even if you leave university and move into a flat the size of a double bed, it’s at least a double bed where nobody eats all of your cereal or brings ten people back from a dubstep rave when you’ve got lectures in the morning. This inconvenience is no less true when you’re all working adults, as house share life is less like Friends or The Big Bang Theory than it is like Peep Show or a Channel 5 documentary about a man who kills his flatmates because they have noisy 4AM sex and never replace the toilet roll.

Multi-generational homes: mother knows best

Growing numbers of desperate young people convince themselves that living with Mum will become magically less stressful if only there’s some kind of formal agreement in place. Perhaps if you buy a larger house together, or sign a joint lease, Mum will realise that you’re an adult now and your choices about diet and laundry are yours to make? WRONG. She spent six plus hours squeezing your fat head out of her birth canal, and wiped your bottom until you were old enough to do it yourself: she will never let you forget this. If you continue to live together you’ll always be a child - any partner you have will be on indefinite probation, your privacy will be consistently disrespected and you’ll always have a theoretical curfew. On the other hand, if you endure the omnipresent tutting you will continue to get free dinners and inappropriate sympathy any time you catch cold or graze one of your knees. Mummy’s brave soldier needs to get a good night’s sleep, and there will be a crustless sandwich in his lunchbox so he isn’t too tired for that board meeting.

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Life on the (not so) open road

It might be near-impossible to purchase stationary property, but there is another way to own your own space. Most of us could just about scrape together enough money to buy a home on four wheels, and if you consider mushrooming vehicle size against the shrinking square footage of houses it won’t be long before a Mercedes van is larger than a two-bedroom flat. It might not have a proper toilet (or any toilet), but you can squeeze in a kitchen that shames many bedsits and get some surprisingly comfy beds for diesel-powered romance. You’ll be living in a community of other nomads, so it might be possible to pool your resources and purchase one of those tin baths from Steptoe & Son. The major downside, aside from space, security and storage, is that we live in the Isle of Man, so the only place you can legally overnight in your mobile home is a campsite. Although I have some affection for this strange alliance of middle-class dreadhead dropouts and caravan dwelling retirees, it has dangerous levels of bongo drum ownership and the available amenities extends to a few bins and a chemical toilet emtptying facility.

Dystopian dormitory dwelling

Given all of the above, you might conclude that the only realistic solution lies in drastically lowering your expectations of a home.

In the future the the Isle of Man could import a housing model which is becoming popular elsewhere, like San Francisco, Tokyo and the prison cities where they make iPhones. Optimistically marketed as “micro-apartments”, but more honestly known amongst residents as “coffin apartments”, these tiny homes offer considerably less square footage than a typical garage. Think an extremely compact single hotel room, where you need to put the toilet lid down to shower, except you also have a shelf for your microwave and a tiny little desk. Storage is found underneath your bunk and the only window is so narrow you couldn’t possibly jump out of it. The only space is in shared common rooms - like a university hall of residence where everybody swaps tips on how to cook instant noodles in a kettle. It feels like living in the future! Except the future is one depicted in a film where the lead character is oppressed and decides to join a revolution against people who are privileged enough to have enough space for a couch. At least it’s safe, warm and the space is all yours, although this isn’t too far away from the same argument you might use to justify caging a hamster. It doesn’t appeal to me, because I’m happy where I am - hoping that I can play my cards right and that Mum will let me use the garden shed to celebrate my 40th.

ISLE OF MAN PREMIER MAGAZINE

Although I have some affection for this strange alliance of middle-class dreadhead dropouts and caravan-dwelling retirees, it has dangerous levels of bongo drum ownership and the available amenities extends to a few bins and a cafe that doesn’t like you

WORDS Grant Runyon ILLUSTRATION Jacques Le Breton

UPFRONT

OUR COMMUNITY

GIVE

Photo: From left – Lee

BOBBY MOORE GOLF DAY RAISES A RECORD £38,000 FOR BOWEL CANCER RESEARCH The 2016 PokerStars sponsored Golf Day in aid of the Bobby Moore Fund for Cancer Research UK has this year raised a staggering £38,000, the highest ever figure since the charity event was launched six years ago.

Sue Hammett, head of corporate giving with PokerStars said: “We are delighted to be the new sponsor of the Bobby Moore Golf Day here on the Isle of Man. It was

great to see that the money raised this year set a new record and in the very year we celebrate the 50th anniversary of England’s World Cup success.”

Lars Ugland, chairman of the team which organised the Golf Day at Mount Murray said: “This year’s Golf Day very definitely broke all records and took the total raised by the event since it was launched to a magnificent £151,000.”

McLellan, Golf Day organising team committee member; Lars Ugland, team committee chairman; Stephanie Moore, widow of Bobby Moore; Sue Hammett, PokerStars head of corporate giving; and Geraldine Ugland, wife of Lars.

STEAM PACKET COMPANY SUPPORTS HELP FOR HEROES MOUNT KILIMANJARO CHALLENGE A Castletown man is bidding to climb Mount Kilimanjaro to raise money for Help for Heroes, with support from the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company.

Father-of-three Lee Notman will travel to Tanzania this month to take on the Machame Route towards the 19,341-foot summit.

The Steam Packet Company is supporting his efforts by covering the cost of travel from the Isle of Man. It is the second time the 34-year-old has embarked on a challenge for the charity, which helps provide essential facilities for British service personnel injured in the line of duty. In September 2014 he completed the Moroccan Three Peaks Challenge, climbing the three highest mountains in North Africa during a seven-day trek in the High Atlas range.

Lee raised more than £3,000 previously for Help for Heroes (H4H) by completing the Moroccan Three Peaks Challenge in 2014 and hopes to beat that total with this year’s expedition.

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ISLE OF MAN PREMIER MAGAZINE

UPFRONT

PWC ISLE OF MAN CONTINUES SPONSORSHIP OF MANX HOCKEY LEAGUES PwC Isle of Man is proud to continue its long-running sponsorship of the Manx Hockey Association for the forthcoming season.

The sponsorship covers several of the leagues that come under the MHA’s umbrella – Ladies, Men’s, Mixed Under-16,

Junior 11s and Junior 13s, and most recently the Summer 6s.

Anyone interested in getting involved with hockey, visit www.manxhockey.org or email Debbie Shimmin, Hon Secretary of Manx Hockey Association, at mhasecretary@ manx.net for more information.

Photo: PwC’s Paul Jones (back row, third from right) and Manx Hockey Association Chairman Tim Leeming (back row, second from right) pictured with representatives from Island teams – back row, from left - Steven Crowe, (Vikings), Keith Corkill (Ramsey), James Russell (Saracens), and James Cadamy (Castletown); front row, from left - Emma Leeming (Bacchas) Imogen Manning (Valkyrs), and Karmina Kovanda (Valkyrs).

CHARITABLE PROJECTS FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES BENEFIT FROM DANDARA DONATION Charitable projects for children and families across the Isle of Man will be supported by a donation from Dandara.

The award-winning developer was the first ‘Diamond Donor’ to sign up to an appeal by The Children’s Centre to raise £50,000 in 50 days. It committed £5,000 to support the charity’s work, which reaches more than 5,800 young people every year.

The donation will help to fund more than a dozen projects managed by charity for children, young people and families across the Island, including the Community Farm, MOBEX,

Out2Play, learning support and the Forest School.

Fiona Dawson, Chief Executive of The Children’s Centre, said: ‘It costs more than £3,000 a day to deliver our services, which is a huge undertaking for an independent local charity like ours. That makes the support of donors like Dandara essential to our work.

One of the projects the Dandara donation will support is the Community Farm, an initiative which offers learning and support through connecting with nature.

Photo: Children meet the donkeys at the Community Farm with (from left) Dandara Marketing Director Joanna Orton, Lisa Motley, fundraising Team Mat The Children’s Centre, Craig Harlick from the Community Farm and Fiona Dawson, Chief Executive of The Children’s Centre.

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UPFRONT

MISC

Just random things to amuse you.

WORDS TAYLOR JONES

Top 5...Worst Acronyms for Groups Around the World (All in the U.S)

Sheep, Google, Something…

I had never heard of the Faroe Islands. I now know that it’s a small archipelago that looks just about equidistant from Norway, Scotland and Iceland. And that’s it. The tiny group of islands is about as well documented as here, so finding out any kind of information about them is more difficult than getting there. So unexplored and unknown are the islands that even Google, in its infinite wisdom and knowledge, are yet to provide the island with Street View, and this fact alone has sparked the innovation and cunning that only the collective genius of islanders can bring.

Instead of impatiently waiting for Google to realise its mistake, the islanders have decided to use one of their most abundant resources to map the islands themselves. That resource? Sheep.

That’s right, instead of using fancy technology like cars and whatever else is on that weird Street View car that everyone tries to flip off as it walks past, these isolated peoples have strapped 360 degree cameras to their sheep and set them free around the islands. You can’t help but feel that the majority of the footage will be fields, but then who are we to assume that these people have roads? Maybe this piece would have been better with some form of research involved…

It’s Always Breezy in Philadelphia

Throughout history, major events have taught us that the power of the many usually outweighs the power of the individual (at least, the many usually believe that). Ask the Saxons that fought against Charlemagne, or the New Jewel Movement who overthrew the government in Grenada, and they will all tell you that when people come together, and get funding from established governments to purchase deadly weapons in order to establish a larger regime, anything is possible. In Philadelphia, a 3,000 strong group have decided to take inspiration from the revolutionary groups of the past and attempt to break down boundaries and limitations for the people of the entire world. These brave warriors are taking to the streets to ensure that we the people are never restricted from cycling naked again. That’s right, it’s one of those great events that Brighton City Centre sees each year as people decide that the laws of indecent exposure are open-ended and that the reproductive organs are a great way to make the leaders support their cause. These Philly residents are taking a break from their cheese steaks in the city where it’s always sunny in order to “promote a positive body image and encourage others to reduce fuel consumption”. Somehow, this is Oscar Wilde’s fault.

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Creepy Clowns

Coulrophobia is, according to some disreputable websites, the third most common phobia in the world. The first two are, understandably, heights and spiders, one of which we are practically born with and the second we develop after about 4 encounters with God’s biggest 8-legged mistake. The third, however, is one that, on this island, does not seem so common; one that plagues the minds of any who sent their childhood either watching the news between 1972 and 1978, or in the circus tents that forced loud noises and bright lights into the eyes of the young. This fear, my friends, is clowns.

Admittedly, this one became popular in the post-Gacy landscape, but there’s no denying that the smudged makeup and insidious smile of these relics of a lost age of entertainment are no longer symbolic of childlike wonder and happiness, rather they have become an overused cliche of the horror genre, used to instill bone chilling fear. So, what better way to spend your evenings is there than joining a collective of these tokens of terror. People across the U.S.A have been doing that. There has been a sharp and notable rise in the number of 911 calls concerning terrifying clowns simply standing and watching in neighbourhoods, scaring residents and, I can only imagine, inciting a tainted nostalgia in the older generation. You decide which is the worse crime

Some businesses are destined for success. Apple, which is currently trading at $114.5 and has a market cap of about $617 billion, was one of these.

Is it because of the genius of Steve Jobs that the company continues to flourish, or could it be widespread brainwashing and an ability to take advantage of the universal period of dumbing down that we are in?

Or, maybe, just maybe, it could have something to do with the name. Now, Apple may not seem like the most inspirational and awe-inspiring name in the world, in fact there are still aged people that believe it is a misnomer and that the company should turn to fruit sales, however when compared with some of the names for companies, groups and collectives out there, a pomaceous fruit seems like a great thing to name yourself after…

T.B.A.G: Tempe Bicycle Action Group.

If you don’t know why this is funny, you need to go out and purchase any Call of Duty game, than spend countless hours being tormented by 12 year olds. I apologise for the rage in advance

D.T.F: Denim and Tees...Finally.

Kids, if you’re parents ever buy you anything from this shop, make sure you wear it to your next school disco.

S.T.U.P.I.D: St. Thomas University of International Diplomacy.

OH THE IRONY, THE BITTERSWEET IRONY OF IT ALL!

W.T.F: Women Take Flight

I don’t… I can’t… Come on what do I do with this?

N.O.V.A.G: Northern Virginia Gamers.

Which is exactly what they’ll be seeing for the rest of their lives

ISLE OF MAN PREMIER MAGAZINE

EVENTS

Caroline Beauman & Matthew Smethurst Wedding Day

Put your feet up this festive season and enjoy Boxing Day and New Year’s Day brunch on us!

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ISLE OF MAN PREMIER MAGAZINE

EVENTS

Location:Â St Ives, Cornwall, 1st July 2016 Reception: Harbour Hotel, St Ives

Book today! www.seftonhotel.co.im/christmas www.palacehotel.co.im/christmas or visit our Facebook page events@seftongroup.co.im Tel: 632825 BECAUSE QUALITY MATTERS

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EVENTS

Katherine Cooper & David Latta Wedding Day - 25th June 2016

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EVENTS

Photographer: Shan Fisher (www.shansphoto.com)

BECAUSE QUALITY MATTERS

Location: St George’s Church, 25th June Reception: Marquee at Glenlough Campsite, Ballahutchin Hill Reception:

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EVENTS

enise o ton and te e

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llen s

eddin

a

Location: Abbeylands Chapel | Reception:Â The Sefton Hotel | Photographer: Brian Mitchell

ISLE OF MAN PREMIER MAGAZINE

4 - 6 NOVEMBER, CASTLE RUSHEN The death of the last Viking King Magnus threw the Island into a century of turmoil, with battles, political intrigue, love trysts and deception.

Embark upon an immersive journey discovering the demise of the Kingdom of Man and the Isles.

TICKETS OUT NOW

Manx Museum Gallery Shop, Castle Rushen and online

CULTURE

EXHIBITION

Heart Rock Island

Tom Buchanan

LIFTED

By Bruno Cavellec “

I AM THE PERSON I ALWAYS WAS, BUT HOLDING A BETTER BALANCE BETWEEN LIGHT AND DARK

”

Words: Joe Holland Images: Bruno Cavellec

Tonkin

Glory

Bruno Cavellec was born in 1959 on the western most tip of France, and for much of the time since has been exploring his creativity in a shifting variety of media. From album covers to film posters, the commercial side of Bruno’s output has been varied in content and receives almost unanimous praise, but it’s in his personal works, his paintings and his prints, that Bruno Cavellec the artist, rather than the illustrator or designer, is revealed.

Much of his work is influenced by his relationship with his father; great expansive landscapes with lonely faceless figures tucked down in corners are typical motifs in his paintings, larger silhouettes often leading smaller, more naïve shapes into the maelstrom of browns and oranges of Cavellec’s landscapes. It would seemingly be safe to assume, then, that the death of this looming figure in Cavellec’s life would lead Bruno further down the dark path his previous exhibitions have mapped out, but his latest collection ‘Lifted’, on at Twnwald Mills’ Isle Gallery this month shows quite a different shift of direction.

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Making a conscious decision to move away from the motivations and inspirations of the past, in ‘Lifted’ there is a seismic shift in his tonal palette. Where there were once dark swirling clouds of earthy colours are now bold monotone backgrounds; where there were landscapes seamlessly melting into the sea now are harsh borders, separating each object and throwing them off the canvas. These brighter, bolder colours seem to be born from a new-found exploration of digital painting as a viable (and interesting) alternative to traditional oils and acrylics and offer a new dimension to Bruno’s work.

Watching an artist develop their craft is fascinating, as painters take gallerygoers on deeply personal journeys using only their works to communicate the incommunicable, and Bruno Cavellec is no exception. The experiences of the artist off-course influence the art itself, and to see such dark real-world influences be transformed into such bold and bright work is an opportunity not to be missed. Bruno Cavellec may be the same person he always was, but it seems he has balanced the light and the dark.

‘Lifted’ is at the Isle Gallery in Twnwald Mills from the 2nd to the 30th of October and is held in association with Artreach Studios.

ISLE OF MAN PREMIER MAGAZINE

INTERVIEW

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NINE MANX CONNECTIONS NOVELS AND MORE TO COME FROM GRAHAM HAMER What is it about the Isle of Man which inspires thriller writers? Just a month or two ago we had the latest E J Henry novel ‘The Corpse Lodging’, back in May ‘Long Time Lost’, from award winning and internationally lauded Chris Ewan, was published – and now another local writer, Graham Hamer, pops up with his Manx Connections series.

I confess to speed reading ‘Chasing Paper’ in preparation for meeting Graham, but I quickly became enthralled by the intricate financial dealings of the main characters.

Money laundering, interesting company set-ups, dodgy building deals and locations which criss-cross from the Isle of Man to Kuwait to Paris, with a bit of the Caribbean thrown in for good measure.

Graham has lived and worked in all those places. He was born in Laxey where his father was vicar, but then the family moved to the Midlands, only to return a few years later. He’s been, variously, a banker, an accountant, a self-described ‘internet guru’, a scuba diving instructor, a builder, a business analyst and more, but eventually returned back to the Island and settled in Peel.

“Like a lot of people I thought I had a book in me, but I only started writing because I had so much free time,” says Graham.

“I was working in the Netherlands, and my wife Marie-Danielle was a doctor in Brussels, so the writing not only occupied me but it was cathartic: and once I got started I really couldn’t stop.” Even after numerous re-drafts, Graham is still not completely happy with ‘Chasing Paper’.

“It’s very obviously a first novel,” he laughs.

“You won’t be surprised to learn that some characters never appear again in the series, but readers tell me that they are pleased to find their favourites – and mine - do return.” I stop him there as it would be a shame to ruin it for anyone, and despite some misgivings I’d enjoyed ‘Chasing Paper’ enough to immediately start on the second Manx Connections book, ‘Walking on Water’.

I tell Graham I was a little disappointed to find the location of this one is not the BECAUSE QUALITY MATTERS

Isle of Man, but the Netherlands. “Keep reading and remember the double dealings that go on in ‘Chasing Paper’ and the way everything hangs together,” he says, and sure enough the links are there with the building companies of ‘Chasing Paper’, the plethora of accounts and internet banking scams, not to mention some new themes, including religion. I ask Graham if this is drawn from personal experience. “Well, my Dad was a vicar,” he reminds me, “so religion played a big part in my early life.

But writing novels isn’t just writing about what you know, most of it really is fiction.”

Now semi-retired and happily settled on the Island for six months of the year – the rest are spent in Marie-Danielle’s native France - Graham has thrown himself into the Manx Connections series, and tells me that later books are set almost exclusively on the Island.

Words: Suzy Holland Images: Bruno Cavellec and Graham Hamer Manx Connections books 1 – 6 are Available from Amazon, either as e-books or paperbacks.

And there’s an added bonus of another ‘manx connection’ - cover illustrations by the popular Isle of Man artist Bruno Cavellec.

“Every time I go out I see things which I know will provide a location or a character for me,” he says. And it’s not just the obvious. “Although I no longer dive, I do know the currents around the Island and what’s beneath the waves – it would be almost criminal not to use that knowledge.”

Our conversation over, Graham’s mind has obviously moved on to the next of his Manx Connections and I go home to switch off the phone and catch up with exactly what the characters who do return in ‘Walking on Water’ are getting up to. The plots thicken.

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AMRIT SOND

PRESENTS

GUITARFEST2016

BELSHAZZAR’S FEAST AND BELNASH No matter your musical taste, there’s a truly talented treble in SONGWRITERS’ CIRCLE Peel this autumn to keep you culturally warm and entertained!

JONNO PROMOTIONS PRESENTS IOM GUITARFEST 2016 AT THE PEEL CENTENARY CENTRE FROM FRIDAY, OCTOBER 28TH TO SUNDAY, OCTOBER 30TH.

Friday night’s “nu-coustic” opener features Grammy award-winner Amrit Sond, whose unique style uses every surface of the guitar to provide exciting percussion while playing complex contrapuntal guitar lines that negate the need for vocals.

Amrit blends global influences reflecting his musical journey through Asia, Africa, the MiddleEast and Britain. The result is a truly individual sound that leaves audiences awestruck. This is his fourth visit to the Isle of Man, after playing GuitarFest in 2009 and supporting Clive Carroll in 2011.

Headlining Friday’s lineup is one of the world’s finest, most creative modern fingerstyle performers Mike Dawes. He’s racked up more than 10 million views on YouTube and is renowned as both a live artist and mentor on TV’s Sky Arts Guitar Star.

Mike has recorded with, sessioned for, and even taught, Grammy awardwinning artists – besides appearing on film and TV soundtracks, releasing apps and transcribing for international music magazines. He comes to GuitarFest after a US and UK tour, opening and playing lead guitar for Moody Blues star Justin Hayward - a regular role for Mike.

Event creator and organiser Jonno Gollow said “We’re delighted Mike’s making his Manx debut for JonnoPromotions at GuitarFest 2016. As well as Friday’s concert, Mike will lead a guitarists’ masterclass on Saturday afternoon, a fantastic opportunity for local players to work with a modern guitar master!”

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ISLE OF MAN PREMIER MAGAZINE

CULTURE

MIKE DAWES

MARTYN JOSEPH

Tickets for GuitarFest events and Belshazzar’s Feast are available now from eTickets.im/jp or in person from Peel’s Celtic Gold, Peter Norris Music in Douglas, Shakti Man in Ramsey and Port Erin’s Thompson Travel.

On Saturday night, guitarist/singer/songwriter and “Welsh wizard” Martyn Joseph makes his Manx debut. With a career spanning more than 30 years and 30 albums, his versatility and live concerts are legendary.

Martyn scored five UK Top 50 singles in the 90s, including “Dolphins Make Me Cry”, “Working Mother”, “Being There” and “Let’s Talk About it in The Morning” (co-written with Tom Robinson). Several of his songs including “I See You” from 1993 album Being There may already be familiar to Manx audiences as Island band G.A.S.P. covered a number of those songs.

There’s another musical treat on Saturday, February 11 next year.

CityWing is supporting a special visit from four Northern Irish singer/songwriter/guitarists who’ll play “Songwriters’ Circle”-style in Peel.

They’re all independent artists with songwriting awards from the Belfast Nashville Songwriters’ Festival, and they’ve graced Nashville venues including the Bluebird Café. That said, none of them are exactly country singers; just excellent songwriters with their own distinctive and individual styles.

Peter McVeigh, Emily-Rose Conlon, Warren Attwell and Stephen Macartney will also lead songwriting workshops for young people and the public while they’re here.

For more details on all artists and events, join our mailing list at jonnopromotions.com or Like the JonnoPromotions’ Facebook page.

Martyn has been dubbed the “Welsh Springsteen” and claimed numerous awards, including Best Folk Song at 2012’s World Independent Music Awards. His songs are pictures, stories and feelings set to music and masterfully delivered.

BBC Radio’s Tom Robinson called him “one of the most charismatic and electrifying performers in Britain today”, while MOJO magazine says he’s “Britain’s best kept secret… a challenging songwriter and a compelling, courageous live performer”.

All GuitarFest performers this year bring something different to give audiences a truly memorable experience.

A ticket-only brunch at the Mereside Hotel on Sunday morning rounds off GuitarFest, courtesy of Creative Industries at DED, where you can meet this year’s musicians. They’ll talk about their experiences in the industry, tell tales from the road, and answer your questions.

“We’re hoping for a good attendance from the Island’s musicmakers at this event,” said Jonno, “And we’re very grateful for the continuing sponsorship and support from Arts Council Isle of Man, Aston International, Swagelok Limited and the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company. We’re also pleased to welcome DQ Advocates as first-time sponsors of GuitarFest, and keen to thank our media partner, more music 3FM, for their continued support.”

Away from Guitarfest – but no less exciting – is the Manx debut of a band that defies expectations and genres.

On Saturday, November 26th, JonnoPromotions brings Belshazzar’s Feast to Peel. Are they classical? Folk? A category undreamt of? The answer (to all three) is YES – and a lot more, besides. Belshazzar’s Feast start with traditional folk music, mix in classical and jazz, sprinkle in some music hall and top it all off with wry humour!

Paul Sartin (Bellowhead, Faustus) on voice, fiddle and oboe with Paul Hutchinson (Hoover The Dog) on voice and accordion “play like no-one else you’ve ever heard”, according to Mike Harding who adds “their music is breath-taking and wickedly inventive.”

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CULTURE

CULTURE VULTURE What’s on

now now 1 11 2016 ISLANDS AND BRIDGES – THE ART OF ROGER DEAN //MANX MUSEUM, DOUGLAS//

An exhibition featuring artworks by internationally renowned artist and designer Roger Dean; best known for his album covers for bands such as Yes, Asia and Uriah Heep. Roger’s fantastical imagery has become a symbol of the progressive rock genre and is much loved by fans worldwide.

Roger has been responsible for posters, books, the revolutionary publishing companies ‘Dragon’s Dream’ and ‘Paper Tiger Books’, Eco architectural, furniture and stage design, as well as typefaces, logos and iconic designs for computer games company, ‘Psygnosis’ and ‘Tetris Worlds’ as well as a redesign of the Tetris Logo.

Admission free. www.manxnationalheritage.im

now – 09.10.2016 SIMON BUTTIMORE: A RETROSPECTIVE //SAYLE GALLERY, DOUGLAS//

For this tribute to much loved polymath and Island character Simon Buttimore, the Sayle Gallery will be exhibiting his own works, his films and playing his music as well as showing photographs and paintings of the man himself by many of the Isle of Man’s best known photographers and artists. www.sayle.gallery www.facebook.com/saylegallery

Now – 12.11.2016 SHEENA GRAHAM – GEORGE //STUDIO 42, PORT ST MARY // Once an island resident, Sheena now lives in the Orkney Islands, where she continues to work on her many creative projects and amazing mixed media works. She has exhibited widely around the world, and Studio 42 has now managed to bring Sheena and many of her beautiful works back to Port St Mary for this exhibition, her first on the Island since 2002, which open in late September, and is a real treat.

www.facebook.com/studio42isleofman

02.10.2016 – 30.10.2016 LIFTED //THE ISLE GALLERY, TYNWALD MILLS//

The bright and bold colours might be a change of pace and style for popular local artist Bruno Cavellec, but this exhibition of completely new pieces, including prints,

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OCTOBER

CULTURE NEWS

paintings and digital work, is a delight.

Simon Rea and Paul Teare from Truman Falls will be playing some new songs inspired by Bruno’s artwork, and other music from their two albums at the opening of Lifted, from 2pm on Sunday 2 October. www.facebook.com/theislegallery

08.10.2016 – 05.11.2016 ELEMENTAL //HODGSON LOOM GALLERY, LAXEY// A joint exhibition of work from illustrator and gallery curator Julia Ashby-Smith, stone sculptor Neil Milsom and artist Elizabeth Cowin. The three artists chose the title ‘Elemental’ as it covers both their inspirations and subsequent creations.

There is also a sense of magic: unseen forms and the raw power of primal forces all coming together in this exciting exhibition. www.facebook/hodgsonloomgallery

Second and last Friday of every month SAYLE GALLERY ART CINEMA CLUB //SAYLE GALLERY, DOUGLAS// The Sayle Gallery Art Cinema Club is a small group of Art Film enthusiasts who get together on the second and last Friday of every month to watch strange and interesting cinema. Run originally by late artist Simon Buttimore, now continued in his honour by friends Zoë and Nadia. Join the club on facebook to see what films are coming up and suggest your own. www.facebook.com/ groups/587317068103781/

27.10 – 28.10.16 GUITARFEST 2016 //THE CENTENARY CENTRE, PEEL// The annual GuitarFest has moved west this year, and features the return of Grammy Award winner, Amrit Sond, Mike Davis and ‘Welsh Springsteen’ Martyn Joseph who headlines on Saturday night. Various other events are taking place around Peel over the weekend and full details, and to book tickets see the Jonno Promotions website. www.jonnopromotions.com

The Poets are in town - 18th November - Gaiety Theatre Roll up! Roll up! Ladies and gentlemen of the capital, lock up your sons, daughters and those of a sensitive disposition. The poets are in town.

On the 18th of November the travelling band of linguistic tricksters and fiction spinners known as Pullyman and Friends will be performing at the Gaiety for one night only.

Billed as An Evening Of Poetry, Variety And Tall Tales, Pullyman and Friends are preparing for their third show of the year, following on from sell out performances at both the Peel Centenary Centre and the Erin Arts Centre. Both evenings were roaring successes, leaving their audiences with split sides and tears of laughter running down their faces.

Pullyman and Friends are a marauding horde of local performers, well known to the concert-going public from various gigs and festivals around the island. Mike Cowin – that’s Pullyman to you – has been a star in the ascendant for the last few years, raising thousands of pounds for both Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s Societies using his writing skills and force of personality.

As always with Pullyman events, all proceeds will be going directly to Parkinson’s Disease Society and Alzheimer’s Society charities and will help people within your community here on the island as well as helping to fund research for cures.

On this, the final night of the road show, Mike will be leading his motley crew of rebels, rogues and reprobates as they orate on a surprising (and often, very adult) range of topics.

Pullyman believes you might need a drink after hearing what some of them have to say, so he’s arranged special buses for you. They leave at 7pm from Ramsey, Peel or Port Erin and take you straight to the theatre.

Master of Ceremonies for the evening will be the dark charmer Bill Strutt, an ISLE OF MAN PREMIER MAGAZINE

CULTURE

Successful 2016 Youth Services Holliday Venture Scheme

This year’s Department of Education and Children’s Youth Services Holliday Venture Scheme has been a huge success and fully subscribed for all four weeks.

Youth Worker in Charge Brian Mitchell said ” We offer the children an exciting range of activities such as arts & crafts, cookery, sports and mini bus excursions to parks & glens Airport Fire Station, Silly Moos Laser Blast, ten pin bowling, rock pooling, bug hunting and many more”. It is magical to see the children coming out of their shells, having a good time and forming new friendships.”

The Youth Holliday Venture Scheme provides a safe and fun packed four weeks for around forty children of school years 4, 5, 6 & 7 enabling parents to continue in their employment during the majority of the summer holidays and continue to contribute to the economy. intrinsic voice on the circuit, having been performing poetry on the Isle of Man for decades.

The current Manx Bard, Stacey Astill will be performing a selection of her poems to delight and amuse.

Joining them will be the one and only Vinty Kneale. Vinty’s performances captivate, enthrall and delight all who hear him, balancing linguistic riches with metered masterstrokes in a stupendous symphony of the spoken word. For those of you who are Vinty Virgins, you have a real treat in store.

As well as these poets of note there will be beautiful music from harpist Mena Royle, musical comedy from Geoff Collier and Simon Fletcher and the grandeur of the Manx Concert Brass to blow you away.

This is truly a night not to be missed.

BECAUSE QUALITY MATTERS

Contact Brian Mitchell on 688 592 for more information.

Facebook/Holiday-Venture-Scheme Full Cast: Mike Cowin; Bill Strutt; Martin Lynch; Dave Shaw; David McKenna; Millie Blenkinsop-French; David Kelly; Vinty Kneale, Jan Allison; Di Benson, Stacey Astill; Bridge Carter; Georgia Baumgartl (formerly Zapparoli);Geoff Collier; Simon Fletcher; Irene Cowin. Tech support by Ernie de Legh-Runciman and the glue that holds it all together is Stage Manager Hazel Teare. n Bus tickets are available from St Paul’s Bookshop in Ramsey, Thompson Travel in Port Erin and Green’s the Jewellers on Michael Street in Peel and a return ticket costs £5. n Show tickets are available now from the Villa Marina box office priced at £10 for the stalls or £12.50 for the dress circle.

Words by: Bill Strutt Photographs: Mannin Photographics

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CULTURE

CULTURE NEWS All hail the new Manx Bard!

John ‘Dog’ Collister was appointed the third Manx Bard on Sunday 2 October, during this year’s Manx Lit Fest.

He will be the second living Bard – the first was renowned Manx poet TE Brown who was given this accolade in 2014, 117 years after his death in 1987. John was appointed after a rigorous judging procedure which began when entries opened at the beginning of the summer. Entrants were invited to send an example of their poetry, and a proposal stating how they saw their year as Manx Bard progressing and what they’d bring to the role. An independent judge then anonymised the entries before passing them as numbered items to the judging panel who drew up a shortlist, before inviting the successful applicants to an audition.

Photo: The creators of the Bardic Throne (l) Simon Capelin and (r) Graham Hall with Manx Bard Committee members l-r Janet Lees, Bridge Carter and Hazel Teare.

“The standard of entries was extremely high,” says member of the Manx Bard committee, Hazel Teare, “but after his audition, John was our unanimous choice.

It wasn’t just the high standard of his poetry but also his great enthusiasm for the Manx countryside and culture, and although he is not a native Manx speaker, he took the trouble to translate one of his poems into Manx (or Manks as he prefers to call it) as well as providing the English version. We know his enthusiasm, his exceptional communication skills and his indefinable charisma will make him an excellent Manx Bard, representing Manx culture to all ages, at home and abroad.”

Market Hall taken over by MakeMarket The Island’s Creative Industries took over the Market Hall in Douglas for ten weeks this summer, with sessions ranging from music to talks on architecture and fashion, digital workshops to yoga for creatives. Hundreds of people took part in MakeMarket’s pop-up events almost every day during the summer, which were organised by local marketing and events company Revel, with the help student interns.

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The Market Hall is usually home to UCM’s fine art and visual communications degree students, but during the long summer break, several ‘residencies’ took place there, with creatives sharing their skills and enthusiasm, and a lasting piece of street art was created by local artist Jimmy Duggan on a gable end just outside.

MakeMarket: A Creative Industries Takeover was designed to give a boost to the Island’s active and successful creative industries sector and was supported by the Arts Council, Culture Vannin, the Manx Lottery Trust DED and UCM, all of whom recognise the importance of this economic sector.

ISLE OF MAN PREMIER MAGAZINE

CULTURE

A lasting tribute to Dwight Beare A memorial bench and new play park named in the honour of late Australian sidecar racer Dwight Beare have been unveiled in Colby.

his partner Tash Beare were joined by other family members, racing sponsors, friends and colleagues to formally declare ‘Dwight’s Park’ open to the public.

27-year-old Dwight, who lived on the Isle of Man and was a joiner by trade, lost his life while competing in this year’s TT races.

A group of tradesmen who worked alongside Dwight on Hartford Homes’ Cronk Cullyn development in Colby wished to pay a lasting tribute to their workmate by installing a memorial bench on site.

Dwight’s mother Robyn Stewart and

Photo: Dwight’s mother Robyn Stewart and partner Tash Beare (front right) were joined by his main racing sponsors Clive Coates and Ann Murray (front left), friends and colleague to unveil memorial.

Hartford was able to go further by naming the entire play area at the centre of the development after him, with the consent of Arbory Commissioners.

Dwight’s Park and bench are at heart of the Cronk Cullyn estate, surrounded by the houses he helped to build.

pace the final frontier for o n writers as competition is launched The annual Hall Caine Prize for Creative Writing is launched this week with the theme of ‘space’.

The prize is in its seventh year and each year a new theme is chosen.

Organising the competition for the Department of Education and Children is Margaret Mansfield, who said: ‘While the recent exploits of Major Tim Peake may encourage young people to cast their eyes skywards for inspiration, students may choose to write about open space, their personal space, a space that’s special to them.’

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Entries are invited from those in full-time education in the Isle of Man aged 21 and under. The competition is judged in four categories: Primary, Key Stage 3, Key Stage 4 and Key Stage 5/University College Isle of Man (UCM), with word limits for each.

There are cash prizes for first, second and third placed and highly commended entries.

For posters, rules and entry forms, visit www.gov.im/hallcaine or email hallcaineprize@gmail.com The closing date for entries is Friday 20th January 2017.

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THE MONTHLY UPLOAD

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1 Hannah Watson 2 Yohann Bonjus 3 Reuben Allan 4 Grayse 5 Colette Rimmer

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12 Peter Jenkins 13 Rebecca Stride 14 Alison Watterson 15 Darcy Thatcher 16 Audrey Fitton 17 Janette Phair

Want to win £50? All you have to do is email your entry with the subject ‘upload’ to: upload@gallery.co.im.

Make the files nice and big though, 2MB is a good size to aim for. We do try to print every photo following the guide but we can’t get them all on the pages full-size unfortunately - they just wouldn’t fit!

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TRAVEL

WANDERLUST

TRAVELLING WITH AN ENTOURAGE WORDS Tamarin Marriott-Wilkinson

The only thing better than a holiday; is a holiday with your nearest and dearest. That said, nailing down a destination with enough culinary delights, bars, photo ops and activities to suit each and every personality in your party, is a tricky task to say the least. To save you the trouble, we’ve listed a few of our favourite ‘group’ travel options below…

Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

Looking for an easy group trip to plan? Cabo could be it! It’s here your nearest and dearest are guaranteed a good time, with plenty of beach, sun and margaritas…

Stay Both Palmilla and Capella Pedregal are ideal options for an entourage of couples. These resorts boast the perfect setting for beachside dinners and drinks, whilst allowing each and everyone a little down time in their own space (a blessing after a night on the tiles). www. theresortatpedregal.com

Do poolside people watching is a must, as is dancing until the early hours of the morning. You may even spot a celebrity or two – Cabo is a hot spot for Hollywood starlets.

Dine at Mastro’s – a restaurant renowned for its steak and high-end tequila. www. mastrosrestaurants.com

Telluride, Colorado

Renowned for its rustic charm, lakeside views, serene waters and mountainside taverns, it’s a great spot to visit all year round.

Stay at the Hotel Telluride – with hospitality like no other, a great location ( just a few blocks from downtown) and reasonably priced rooms, what more could you ask for? www.hoteltelluride.com

Do SUP-boarding – the views from the Alta Lakes, Colorado’s glassy waters and the surrounding cliffs are the perfect place to get to grips with this top-rated sport.

Dine at the Black Iron Kitchen and Bar – a mountainside eatery big enough to accommodate a small army. Don’t leave without trying their specialty steamed king salmon, tempe, quinoa and arame corn salad. Wash your dinner down with a brew at the Last Dollar Saloon. www.madelinetelluride.com

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TRAVEL

Mustique, Petit St. Vincent It may be Mick Jagger’s favourite getaway (not to mention one of the Caribbean’s best-kept secrets) but that doesn’t mean you can’t get acquainted with this island too…

Stay in a villa fit for a king and enjoy a multitude of dished prepared by your very own gourmet chef. Despite its five star appearance, you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the price tag.

Do a little people watching at the Tuesday Cocktail Club, hosted by the island’s only hotel – the Cotton House. www. cottonhouse.net

Dine in your villa – why would you venture anywhere else when you get to design the menu?

Tuscany, Italy

Travelling with foodies? Look no further than Tuscany – one of the few places where it’s perfectly acceptable to devour at least two bowls of pasta per day!

Stay at the Castiglion del Bosco, just a short hop from Montalcino. Your crew and you are certain to enjoy the surrounds of this beyond-gorgeous villa, especially as the rooms are larger than your average apartment. www.castigliondelbosco.com

Do organise a trip to one of the local vineyards, where harvest dinners and tastings are a frequent occurrence and the perfect place to catch up with friends and family. www.stelladicampalto.it/en

Dine on local delicacies, including boar’s meat and specialty cheeses. Sip on Brunello at Tuscan Auteur, the region’s ‘Brunelo Babe’. www.tuscanauteur.com CONTINUED

BECAUSE QUALITY MATTERS

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CONTINUED

Verbier

Plan the perfect mountain vacation with your ski (and snowboard) loving buddies in Verbier. It’s here you’ll discover superb snow, fine dining, a concierge service, spacious bedrooms and cinematic views of the spectacular Mont Blanc Massif.

Stay at Alhena – a stunning, luxury apartment that sleeps up to ten people. With champagne on arrival, an in-resort shuttle service, canapés six nights a week and extras including childcare, spa trips and restaurant reservations – you’ll never want to leave! www.skiarmadilloverbier.com

Do enjoy the astounding views, be this from the apartment’s private balcony or

on the slopes – the accommodation is ideally located just 100 metres from the Savoleyres lift.

Dine in the apartment’s very own openplan entertainment space on Alpine specialties including fondue Savoyarde, hearty soups, fish from the local lakes, mountain berries and wild mushrooms.

Saint Émilion, Bordeaux

This medieval village and UNESCO world heritage site is a culinary haven, and one of France’s most famous wine-producing regions. Whilst navigating the narrow streets in your hire car, be sure to take in the charming 500-year-old buildings.

Stay at Hotel Le Relais Franc Mayne. With its seven-hectare vineyard, communal farmhouse-style breakfast room and outdoor pool, it’s the perfect place for a larger party of guests. www. chateau-francmayne.com

Do stop off at Port Saint Martin ile de Ré on route to Saint Émilion – with its quaint cobbled streets, classic car club and epic sunsets – you’ll feel a little like you’ve stepped back in time. If you’re planning to stay the night, spend it in Hotel la Baronnie, an establishment that dates back to the 1400’s. www.hotel-labaronnie.com

Dine at Le Tertre. For group dining with a difference, reserve the cellar – a private area surrounded by an abundance of Grands Crus. www.restaurantletertre.fr

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W E A LT H BUSINESS T E C H N O LO G Y

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ON THE AGENDA n NO 24 n OC TOBER 2016

W E A LT H - T H E T W I S T E D L O G I C OF NEGATIVE INTEREST RATES

B U S I N E S S - S TA N D A R D B A N K MARK OF EXCELLENCE AWARDS

TECHNOLOGY - TO BE SEEN OR NOT TO BE SEEN

business news

Staff prepare to welcome students to UCM

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ith the launch of The University College Isle of Man (UCM) rebrand in April this year, it is an exciting time as staff got ready to welcome the first intake of UCM students the next generation of the Manx workforce.

With the new identity come new opportunities for the University College who are a central player in the islands education sector. Since the re-brand earlier this year, staff have been focusing on how UCM can better serve the island community and improve links with industries, through identifying areas of growth within the Manx economy and selecting appropriate provision to equip students with the desirable attributes and skills.

As well as introducing new courses for 2016/17 such as Level 3 Sport, which quickly reached capacity for this year’s intake, UCM has also been actively exploring future opportunities for their students. In addition to their continued partnership with the University of Chester for their degree and higher education provision, UCM has also forged links with Forth Valley College to enhance the educational experience of students.

Additionally a newly formed student association will work independently on becoming the voice of the student and developing their experience not only at UCM but also as alumnus.

UCM Principal Jo Pretty commented “It’s an exciting time for everyone as we

look to develop our curriculum offer and our higher education, ensuring that we are consistently meeting the needs of our community and our industries. We are in a unique position on the island, with such dedicated support from local companies our students are given an unrivalled opportunity to develop their contacts and themselves whilst studying, giving them a flying start on school leavers and returning UK graduates into employment.’

If you are interested in courses on offer or want to find out more contact the University College reception team on 648200. www.ucm.ac.im

FREE “WEALTH CHECK” AS RAMSEY CROOKALL MARKS 70TH ANNIVERSARY

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eading stockbroking and investment management firm Ramsey Crookall is celebrating 70 years of business and to mark the anniversary the company is offering free, no obligation wealth checks for Isle of Man residents.

Chief Executive Officer Joanna Crookall said taking stock of one’s own finances is essential today.

She explained: ‘With interest rates being so low, and inflation driving down the value of cash in our bank accounts, it’s really important to ensure that our money is working as hard as it can. We all need to think about preserving our hardearned capital to build a nest egg, so our investments can protect us for the long term no matter what life may throw at us.

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‘The toxic combination of rock-bottom interest rates and rising inflation means that even if the cash balance in our savings account is growing it will buy less and less.

Concerns over the longer term performance of both private and government pensions for those who are just entering the workforce mean that it’s essential for everyone to be investing wisely for their future.’

A one-to-one consultation will be with one of Ramsey Crookall’s qualified and experienced investment managers who will review current investments, portfolio strategies and possible investment opportunities.

For more information please email wealth@rc.im or call 717171.

ON THE AGENDA

Harding Lewis partners with Quickbooks Online to provide local businesses with timesaving bookkeeping software

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arding Lewis has partnered with Intuit Quickbooks Online to provide an innovative and versatile cloud accounting solution for businesses and self-employed traders on the Isle of Man. Quickbooks Online offers a transformative way of accounting with a number of features to save businesses time and money. These include the ability to prepare invoices online which can then be emailed directly to clients while the information is saved automatically into the bookkeeping system.

Bank statements can also be

BUSINESS NEWS

downloaded straight to file and reconciled without the need for any manual data entry and dashboards can be created to give you real-time updates on your finances at the click of a button.

The cloud-based software means it is a fully mobile system which can be accessed anywhere, anytime via laptop, phone or tablet.

For more information contact Stephen Jackson on 679524

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business news

Manx Telecom launches new business, Vannin Ventures

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anx Telecom has launched Vannin Ventures, a new standalone business established to support the company’s long term growth strategy.

Manx Telecom CEO, Gary Lamb, explains: “Vannin Ventures is a new business, wholly owned by Manx Telecom, and its purpose is to identify new and promising business opportunities in the telecoms and technology sectors, acting as an incubator to bring innovative products and services to market. There will be an autonomous team behind the

new business, who will not only have a new and creative environment to foster original ideas, but will also benefit from the support of its parent company, Manx Telecom.

Most importantly, Vannin Ventures will have an entrepreneurial ethos with the flexibility necessary to move quickly and take exciting ideas from inception through to launch.”

Vannin Ventures is led by Tom Meageen and Peter Callow, who both have extensive experience in the communications sector. In his most recent role, Tom was responsible for setting up and running

Manx Telecom’s international business which now forms a significant part of the company’s overall revenue, while Peter also brings a wealth of commercial telecoms business experience.

Find out more about Vannin Ventures at www.vanninventures.com

Sure Heads for the Cloud in Las Vegas

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ichard Moore, Sure International’s Data Centre and Hosted Services Product Manager, has travelled to one of the world’s leading Cloud technology conferences recently, to uncover some of the technologies that will help Sure customers deliver greater flexibility and efficiency in their businesses in the coming years.

VMworld 2016 is billed as “four full days of innovation to accelerate your journey to a software-defined business” and is organised by one of the world’s leading virtualisation firms, VMware.

“We are determined to give island businesses access to the latest Cloud innovations, technologies that enable firms to become more mobile, more

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efficient and more flexible,” said Richard.

“From the Isle of Man, we will always have a limited view of the technological landscape, so to get a real understanding of where things are going and to meet with those people developing the latest technologies, we have to visit major conferences like VM world.”

In previous years, conference delegates have seen the launch of some of the most disruptive technologies in the world of cloud computing. Richard’s aim is to bring back a carefully curated selection of these technologies.

“This year, a key theme of the event is ‘competitive advantage in the multi-Cloud era’,” said Richard.

“Keynote speakers will discuss ways in which products in the VMware ecosystem can be used to break down IT silos, and allow workloads to move seamlessly between clouds.

“One particularly futuristic theme is, ‘Seeing and Creating the Unimaginable’. This focuses on digital transformation, the Internet of Things (IoT), and artificial intelligence with speakers describing the ways in which we are venturing to the outer limits of our imagination, in an age where ‘satellites are locating lost cities, 3D printers are creating entire robots, synthetic biology is re-envisioning the future of space travel’.”

ON THE AGENDA

dreams aspirations. See our work at www.hla.im

Local RIBA chartered practice, Hugh Logan Architects, can help to provide a unique solution in order to realise your needs, desires and aspirations for your property.

H U G H L O G A N A R C H I T E C T S

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The value of investments and the income from them can fall as well as rise and you may not get back the original amount invested. Exchange rate changes may affect the value of investments. Nedbank Private Wealth is a registered trade name of Nedbank Private Wealth Limited. The parent of Nedbank Private Wealth Limited is Nedbank Group Limited, which is incorporated in South Africa and is regulated by the South African Reserve Bank. The ultimate parent of Nedbank Private Wealth Limited is Old Mutual plc, which is incorporated in England and Wales. The latest audited report and accounts, and details of the credit rating are available at www.nedbankprivatewealth.com. Nedbank Private Wealth Limited is licensed by the Isle of Man Financial Services Authority and is a participant in the Isle of Man Depositors’ Compensation Scheme as set out in the Compensation of Depositors Regulations 2010. For full details, please see www.iomfsa.im. Registered office: St Mary’s Court 20 Hill Street Douglas Isle of Man. The Jersey branch is regulated by the Jersey Financial Services Commission and is a participant in the Jersey Banking Depositor Compensation Scheme. See www.gov.je/dcs for full details of the Scheme and banking groups covered. The London branch is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. Registration No: 313189. Your eligible deposits with Nedbank Private Wealth Limited, London branch, are protected up to a total of £75,000 by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, the UK’s deposit guarantee scheme. Any deposits you hold above the £75,000 limit are unlikely to be covered. Please ask for further information or visit www.fscs.org.uk. The UAE representative office in Dubai is licensed by the Central Bank of UAE. Licence No: 13/191/2013. Representation in South Africa is through Nedbank Limited. Registered in South Africa with Registration No 1951/000009/06, an authorised financial services and registered credit provider (NCRCP16).

movers & shakers

Sefton Group plc appoints new Group Marketing Manager

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he Isle of Man’s oldest and most prominent leisure and hospitality group has appointed a new Group Marketing Manager.

Merita Taylor has joined Sefton Group plc, where she is responsible for management of the strategic and

operational marketing activity for all of the brands within the company’s portfolio including the Best Western Palace Hotel & Casino, the Sefton Hotel, the Sefton Express Hotel, the Palace Cinema, Palace Bingo, Palace Slots, the Palace Health Club and Paragon Bar and Restaurant. She will also have a strong focus on the Group’s gaming proposition in her new role.

Merita has significant strategic marketing, communication, PR, brand management, event management and sponsorship experience gained in the UK, across the offshore Islands and internationally, and has worked for a number of blue-chip corporations in a broad range of sectors. She has a longstanding interest in motorcycle racing, and has managed brand activation campaigns for a number of the Isle of Man TT’s headline sponsors.

She has experience of working on both sides of the media, having reached senior management level as a national broadcast journalist in addition to her marketing experience, and holds professional qualifications in both areas.

Commenting on her appointment, Merita said: “Working with a Group that owns so many different brands operating across such a diverse number of sectors presents a real challenge, and one which I am looking forward to. I have joined Sefton Group plc at a very exciting time in its development, and I am very proud to be working for such an iconic Manx brand.”

Estera Signals Growth Ambitions with Senior Appointment

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stera has strengthened its management team with the appointment of Ethan Levner as Group Head of Corporate Development.

He will be responsible for leading the fiduciary and administration services provider’s growth strategy, including mergers and acquisitions.

The creation of this role demonstrates Estera’s commitment to making the most of the many global expansion opportunities that have arisen as a result of a growing and increasingly international sector that remains fragmented, with considerably more consolidation activity expected.

Ethan has 15 years of experience executing transactions in financial services on both the buy-side and sell-side in Asia, Europe and the US. Before joining Estera, Ethan was Director at AnaCap Financial Partners, a private equity fund focused on European financial services. He had previously served as Managing Director of JRJ Ventures LLP, a private equity fund focused on European financial and business services, and as Director in the Financial Institutions Group at UBS Investment Bank, where he advised financial institutions, corporates and private equity firms on mergers, acquisitions, capital raisings and other corporate restructuring activities.

A graduate of Drexel University in Philadelphia (USA), Ethan attained a Bachelor of Science, magna cum laude, in Finance, Economics and International Business and won the university prize in Economics.

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ON THE AGENDA

Paul Connolly

Dan Cuthbert

Manx Telecom appoints new Head of Customer Experience

M

anx Telecom has appointed a new Head of Customer Experience who will take the lead on initiatives to further enhance the company’s high standards of service and support.

Dan Cuthbert has a wealth of proven experience from customer service and sales environments in the UK and overseas. During a career spanning across telecoms, insurance, utilities, retail, transport, and financial services he has worked for high profile private and public sector organisations including 02, AIG, npower, Royal Mail, The White Company, and Transport for London. In his role at Manx Telecom, Dan will focus on reviewing the customer experience which the company provides today in consumer, corporate and international marketplaces; identifying ways in which this experience can be enhanced; and developing and implementing a plan for excellence in customer experience and internal service culture.

Commenting on his appointment, he said: “I’m delighted to be joining

Manx Telecom at what is a very exciting time for the business, and because the company takes great pride in providing the highest standards of customer service and support. I’m looking forward to working with my new colleagues to create innovative ideas to make sure our customers have the best possible experience.”

Manx Telecom has also announced the appointment of Paul Connolly as its new Head of Technical Pre-Sales.

Paul leads a specialist team of technical pre-sales consultants and is responsible for the strategic vision and evolution of end to end solutions for Manx Telecom customers, including services, applications and third party suppliers. A highly experienced sales professional in the telecoms sector, his CV includes roles with PCCW, Telstra, Pacnet, T-Systems, and NTT Australia IP. Paul, who grew up in Australia, joins Manx Telecom from his most recent role which was working as a Solutions Consultant for Vodafone.

PwC APPOINTS JOHANN MARAIS TO DIRECTOR OF ACTUARIAL SERVICES PRACTICE

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Fellow of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, Johann joined PwC in 2007 and has more than 14 years’ experience in a range of actuarial consultancy roles, including employee benefits and financial risk management consultancy.

Johann has extensive knowledge of the offshore insurance and pensions sectors and advises financial services clients on insurance reserving, pension scheme valuations, and risk and capital modelling.

‘It is an exciting opportunity to be leading the firm’s actuarial services practice,’ Johann said. ‘The practice started with just one person and has grown to a team of five consultants, with ambitions to keep growing the practice even further.

OFFSHORE LEGAL SERVICES

Supporting Youth, Education and Sport in the Isle of Man MOVERS & SHAKERS

applebyglobal.com

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business events

Standard Bank Mark of Excellence Awards

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Location: Mount Murray Golf Club

tandard Bank staged its annual Mark of Excellence Awards at Mount Murray Golf Club on 16 September. The event was an opportunity for the Bank to reward individuals and teams for their efforts and celebrate success together. There were individual awards for Profitability, Learning Excellence and Innovation as well as Team of the Year, Ambassador of the Year and a special peernominated ‘LOVE’ award for the colleague who lives the Bank’s values on a daily basis.

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ON THE AGENDA

BUSINESS EVENTS

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events/eclub closing party

eClub Closing Party at Best Western Palace Hotel and Casino a fun and fitting end to 2016 KPMG eGaming Summit September’s eClub event was a fitting finalé to an exciting, if exhausting, day for delegates at the 2016 KPMG eGaming Summit.

Photographer: Liam Gilman

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H

osted by The Best Western Palace Hotel and Casino, the eClub’s closing party saw guests transfer to Whispers Bar and then the Palace Casino to cement new friendships over drinks and canapés, followed by a chance to try the gaming tables for some hands-on betting activity.

More than 100 professionals from the eGaming community attended the event, which featured food from the ‘Majestic at the Casino’ Chinese restaurant and live music from local singer and guitarist, Adam Kelly.

Winner of a fun blackjack tournament was Anthony Gullan, KPMG, who won an Afternoon Tea for Two at ‘Harbour Lights at the Sefton’ and a bottle of champagne, with Steve Credie, Creative 3D Web, winning a Bed and Breakfast package to be used at one of the Sefton Group hotels, which owns the Best Western Palace Hotel and Casino.

Welcoming guests to the eClub party, Merita Taylor, Group Marketing Manager for the Sefton Group, said: “Today has been a fantastic day and I for one am very excited for the future.

“Due to our unique position as the only Casino, Bingo Hall and Slots Lounge on the Island, we work closely with our colleagues in other areas of the local eGaming sector.

We believe that having such close working relationships is key to the future success of the Isle of Man, and of the eGaming sector itself.

“Not only is eGaming such a significant employer locally, it drives business across many other areas of the economy. We are delighted to help round off what has been a wonderful and important event ON THE AGENDA

in the Isle of Man’s business calendar so appropriately.”

Russell Kelly, Director of KPMG, commented: “We were delighted that the Best Western Palace Hotel and Casino agreed to host such an entertaining after party for this seventh Isle of Man eGaming Summit.

“The eClub events have been running just as long with the support of Continent 8 and KPMG, and we are grateful to the support of the business community in enabling these events to continue and flourish.

“We have enjoyed some very varied social evenings over the years and it is marvellous to see so many people here tonight. The comments from our attendees this evening have been extremely complimentary and we would be delighted to hold the 2017 closing ceremony once again at the Palace Casino.”

Adrian Brockhouse, Group Director of Operations and Leisure at the Sefton Group, added: “The Best Western Palace Hotel and the Palace Casino are superb venues for gatherings such as parties and social networking events.

“We were thrilled to host the eClub closing party after such a successful eGaming Summit and were pleased to offer all the attendees a fun and relaxed ending to what was a fairly intense day!”

Membership of eClub is open to anyone working within the eGaming and the wider eBusiness industry on the Isle of Man of Man. Initiated by KPMG and Continent 8 Technologies, members meet on a regular basis to make contacts, or discuss industry trends and developments.

BUSINESS EVENTS

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events/Canaccord Genuity

Canaccord Genuity Wealth Management is celebrating its 20th anniversary Award-winning business Canaccord Genuity Wealth Management is celebrating its 20th anniversary in the Isle of Man this year.

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mployees and clients celebrated the company’s milestone birthday at a Midsummer Night’s Dream themed party which was held at The Nunnery in Douglas on 17 June.

The company has firmly established itself as a key player in the island’s corporate sector and wider community over the last two decades, having won major industry awards, sponsored key local events and donated more than £60,000 to local causes.

Dermot Hamill, head of wealth management at Canaccord Genuity Wealth Management in the Isle of Man, said: “It is incredible how far the team has come in 20 years. Many of them have been employed by the business for a decade or more and that expertise, knowledge and dedication is of huge benefit to our clients.

“We remain dedicated to offering the best investment solutions to clients and will continue to innovate in anticipation of future wealth management requirements, while also relishing the opportunity to play our part in the local community for decades to come.”

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ON THE AGENDA

CREATIVE DESIGN SOCIAL MEDIA WEB DESIGN EVENTS BRANDING ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN PLANNING

MARKETING INTELLIGENCE AGENCY www.vmc.im

wealth & investment

The twisted B logic of negative interest rates

usiness history, of a sort, was made last month. Sanofi, the French pharmaceutical company that makes blood thinner Plavix, and Henkel, the German consumer company that makes Persil detergent, between them sold more than â‚Ź1.5bn of debt with an interest rate of minus 0.05 per cent. They are thought to be the first private businesses to charge bondholders for the privilege of lending them money.

We have grown used to this in the world of sovereign debt since the financial crisis, of course. About half of all eurozone government bonds, and most of that issued

by Japan, now carry a negative interest rate, meaning the lender recoups less than the amount invested.

Words by: John Kay  (FT)

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ON THE AGENDA

APPETITE

“If only I could borrow at minus 0.05 per cent my company would be able to undertake some great projects”

WEALTH & INVESTMENT

There is a theory behind the seeming madness in all this. Low interest rates encourage companies to invest and consumers to spend now rather than later - a useful tool in a floundering economy. If the economies of Japan and the eurozone are stagnant, the thinking goes, it is because interest rates are not low enough.

So long as inflation is under control, it is the duty of central banks to push rates lower still. The logical next step, when rates have fallen to zero and growth remains low, is to impose negative rates.

But the implementation of negative rate policy has been thought to be limited by the fact that savers have an alternative: simply holding cash. Households may prefer to keep their notes under the mattress instead of spending - and the value of currency in circulation has risen to more than €3,000 per head in the eurozone, suggests that many have. But, while you can sleep fairly comfortably on €3,000, storing, say, €1bn is more difficult.

Munich Re is reported to have explored the possibility of storing its cash pile in heavily guarded warehouses. The German reinsurance group knows better than anyone the likely cost of insuring such premises.

But there are simply not enough notes to go around to substitute for holdings of debt. The volume of negative yielding bonds of the German government alone exceeds the value of all the euro notes in circulation.

At any rate, this is not a theory that bears much scrutiny. It is not because interest rates are too high that eurozone consumption is sluggish but rather because expectations are so low. Fiscal austerity and the aftermath of the global crisis

have dimmed the employment prospects of a generation of young Europeans. Low interest rates have as intended pushed up the prices of long-dated bonds and houses - but one unwelcome effect of this is to put buying a home beyond the reach of many and to render long-term saving more or less hopeless. To provide yourself with 70 per cent of gross your income for 25 years of retirement when real interest rates are zero requires setting aside 45 per cent of that gross income every year. Should you save more to try and make up the shortfall - or, since the goal of comfortable retirement is beyond reach anyway, should you save less?

All told, the primary effect of monetary policy since 2008 has been to transfer wealth to those who already hold long-term assets - both real and financial - from those who now never will. Last month’s debt sale reinforces this. Henkel and Sanofi are not borrowing at negative interest rates to invest in new productive facilities. Both companies have large cash piles, and the cash generated from their operations far exceeds their investment needs.

Their borrowing deploys the strength of their balance sheets to make profits from their treasury operations - exemplifying the aphorism that people will lend you money so long as you can prove you do not need it. Henkel, secure in the knowledge that German consumers will always demand laundry products, benefits from the absurdity that its creditworthiness is far stronger than that of Deutsche Bank.

It is these dysfunctional capital markets, rather than any excessively high interest rates, that are behind an investment shortfall across Europe. There are obvious requirements for investment in the eurozone - to provide power through cleaner energy plants, to improve roads and relieve overcrowding on trains, to build houses, to accommodate tens of thousands of recent refugees and above all to fund the new businesses that will promote innovation on the continent. But I have yet to hear a single business person say: “If only I could borrow at minus 0.05 per cent my company would be able to undertake some great projects.”

Aversion on the part of governments to public debt and the additional costs associated with off-balance-sheet financing obstruct infrastructure funding. Shorttermism pervades listed companies.

European venture capital, never robust, has shifted focus from the funding of earlystage business to the buyout of established ones.

As policymakers of my generation congratulate each other on the financial innovations they call unconventional monetary policies, we can only hope our children and grandchildren will think better of us than we deserve.

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THEMAGAZINE AGENDA ISLE OF MANON STYLE

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It’s that time of the year when you look at your desk calendar and realise that the next Bank Holiday this year will be for Christmas Day. It can be a depressing thought.

So, to get you through those lean holiday-free months (or to torture you as gaze l ngingl t t e e ind , L ta es a l at some of the more interesting holidays around the world.

MARDI GRAS (WORLDWIDE) Also known as Fat Tuesday and Shrove Tuesday, reflecting the practice of the final night of eating rich, fatty foods before the Lenten fast, Mardi Gras is probably most famously celebrated in New Orleans, Louisiana.

In the Big Easy, Mardi Gras celebrations are based on the slogan “Laissez les bon temps rouler” (Let the good times roll) and see revellers parade wearing masks and brightly coloured costumes and beads, aboard fantastically decorated floats. A lot of booze is consumed.

HERITAGE DAY (SOUTH AFRICA) Heritage Day is a South African public holiday observed on 24 September, when people are encouraged to celebrate the nation’s culture and diversity. It’s also an opportunity for South Africans to indulge in one of their favourite past-times – cooking and eating meat. The moniker Heritage Day has, in recent years, been interchangeable with the title National Braai Day, in recognition of the huge popularity of informal backyard barbecues, or braais.

DRAGON BOAT FESTIVAL (CHINA) The Dragon Boat Festival, also known as Tuen Ng, is held on the 5th day of the 5th month of the traditional Chinese calendar meaning it falls in June. In scenes reminiscent of the RL360° Viking Longboat Races in Peel, the festival encourages eating, drinking and racing dragon boats.

Unlike at the Viking Longboat Races, however, other traditions include wearing perfumed medicine bags, writing spells and trying to make an egg stand at exactly 12 noon in the hope of receiving good luck throughout the year. Then again you never know, what goes in Peel stays in Peel.

NATIONAL PIG DAY (AMERICA) Celebrated on 1 March (by how many people it’s unclear…), the purpose of the day is to “accord the pig its rightful, though generally unrecognized, place as one of man’s most intellectual and domesticated animals”.

WEALTH & INVESTMENT BECAUSE QUALITY MATTERS

Events are held at zoos and schools and there are pig parties where pink ribbon pigtails are tied around trees and pink pig punch and pork delicacies are served.

Given the latter point, it’s questionable whether the point of the day is to honour the pig’s dignity or tastiness.

BLESSED RAINY DAY (BHUTAN) The Blessed Rainy Day marks the end of the monsoon season in Bhutan. On the day, all natural water resources are considered sanctifying and so people take outdoor baths to be cleansed of their sins and bad karma. Families also gather for some porridge at breakfast time and the holiday marks the beginning of the harvest. It’s a far cry from our own regular pleas for a Blessed Dry Day. Plus there’d be an awful lot of Isle of Man Coastguard activity if we Manx started bathing outdoors every time there had been a lot of rain…

DAY OF THE DEAD (MEXICO) Recently featured at the start of 007’s adventures in Spectre, the Day of the Dead is a Mexican holiday focusing on remembering family and friends who have died. As well as taking part in the type of colourful and macabre parade featured in James Bond, some families build altars or shrines in their homes featuring a crucifix, an image of the Virgin Mary, candles and pictures of the deceased. Families pray at the altar and tell anecdotes about the departed. As the late, great Victoria Wood once said, the way some cultures deal with death is a lot more exciting than two women in a kitchen at a British funeral dividing the chores – “72 baps Connie, you slice and I’ll spread” MELON DAY (TURKMENISTAN)

is devoted to festivities to celebrate the country’s muskmelon and takes place on the second Sunday in August. Celebrations are similar in nature to those seen on Carpet Day, also observed each year in Turkmenistan.

NATIONAL TAP DANCE DAY (AMERICA) Fascinating fact: President George H W Bush signed National Tap Dance Day into law in November 2004.

Must’ve been a slow month. It’s celebrated on 25 May each year because it is the birthday of Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, a significant contributor to tap. Enthusiasts celebrate the day with a tap event, which could be a show or a demonstration. Some hard-core tappers head out onto the streets to teach passing strangers the time-step.

It’s a noisy time. Plus, one slip of the keyboard towards the L and it could be a very differently named/celebrated holiday.

PET ROCK DAY (WORLDWIDE) Launched in the 1970s by (bored) advertising executive Gary Dahl, the pet rock was an alternative to a living, breathing pet which, by its very nature, required a bit of attention. No need to feed your pet rock, no need to walk it or get someone in to look after it when you’re away on holiday. Petting your pet rock is, of course, optional. This year, Pet Rock Day was held on Sunday 4 September when owners who hadn’t forgotten they owned their rock could make a fuss of it by….. remembering they owned it or perhaps posting pictures of it on the beach on Facebook and Instagram. Admit it, you’ve seen more ridiculous attention-seeking posts than that today.

SENIOR RACE DAY (ISLE OF MAN) It’s perfectly normal to us but to most people having a day off school or work because we’re closing the roads to allow bikers to race each other at speeds of around 200mph may seem a little odd. It’s one of two extra Bank Holidays we in the Isle of Man get – the other being Tynwald Day – so it’s best not to question it. While some do actually watch the racing, for many locals the traditional way to celebrate Senior Race Day is to drink too much beer at the beer tent, get burned in the sun and have a row with one of the fair workers before being escorted home by a jolly member of the Manx Constabulary, whose patience with the TT spirit at this stage is wearing dangerously thin.

This holiday has dictator written all over it. And if you’re not convinced of that, here is a quote about Melon Day from the then-president of Turkmenistan Saparmurat Niyazov to seal the deal: “Almighty God has turned Turkmen soil into a fertile source of an abundance of the tastiest fruits. Among them are Turkmen melons, which are the Do you agree with our choices? result of farmers’ hard work and which have a unique taste reminiscent of the fruit Email top10@rl360.com with your of paradise.” The annual national holiday alternative top 10s. agenda

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in-business

Words: Les Able Photographer: Matt Mosur

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PENSION TALK SAW VICKY ‘DUMP’ HER JOB AND TURN TO BAKING PIES ON THE AGENDA

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icky Quirk laughingly admits that she “dumped” the security of a well-paid job in financial services to make pies. We aren’t, however, talking any old pies but “posh” pies, including a vegetarian haggis special where the ingredients include whisky and cream.

“I just wasn’t made for sitting at a desk and when someone came in to talk about my pension in 30 years time I knew the time had come for me to get out,” says Vicky. “I went home, said to my husband Benn that I wanted to start something with a food trailer and take it to events where all that seemed to be available were nasty burgers and chips with cheap, horrible ingredients.”

IN-BUSINESS

The couple bought an old, wrecked but much sought after Carlight Casetta caravan on eBay for around £300 which Vicky describes as “really cool and curvy” and had it refurbished and transformed into a “cute” bright green and cream trailer and the Betty Pie Company was born.

Why Betty? “I just thought it was a name that went along with homemade pies,” says Vicky who, with caravan fitted out, wasted no time in setting about making pies using only local ingredients, including flour, sourced direct from producers, with beef from Ballavair and beer and ales from Bushy’s and the Hooded Ram. Today, Betty Pies are a major success story with orders increasing each week amounting to more than 500 pies a month.

“All the pies are handmade by me in what is a three-day process and with Radio 4 playing in the background I just get on with it,” says Vicky. “They aren’t cheap but we only use the best ingredients, we have costed everything out and the result is a great posh pie. You get what you pay for.”

Preparation and baking is done is a small kitchen area at the back of Benn’s Manx Cider Company industrial unit in Peel. With her business growing, 40-yearold Vicky recognises that Betty Pies already needs its own space in the wake of the surging demand.

“Ideally, somewhere in Peel so people can pop in, but I also realise that because of the growing demand I’m going to need help, perhaps for 15 to 20 hours a week, it’s now getting almost too busy for me on my own. Apart from the demand for individual pies we are getting more and more orders for weddings, private and corporate events and are now doing canapés along with puddings, including fantastic gin and tonic meringues.”

Vicky, 40, who spent her early childhood years living in South Africa, added: “When we do an event there is definitely a ‘wow factor’ when we bring the pies in on big trays along with dishes of mash and jugs of gravy. I’m now getting strong arms as a result of carrying all the trays.”

While Vicky is making her pies Benn is busy developing his award winning Manx Cider Company business and if last year’s sales are anything to go by will again be a major hit at this year’s TT. With three children aged five, seven and nine, family life is crucially important to both Vicky and Benn who have known each other since they first met at St Ninian’s High School. This year they are celebrating their 10th wedding anniversary.

They moved from Bristol to Peel a little over two years ago, and with grandparents on both sides living in the island it made family good sense..

While Vicky was working long hours in the finance sector Benn was the main carer and also worked part-time at children’s hospice Rebecca House.

“When I was working in finance I was leaving home at 7.30 in the morning and not getting home until around 6.30pm.

Because of the success of Betty Pies I’m conscious of the fact that I could end up

“When we do an event there is definitely a ‘wow factor’ when we bring the pies in on big trays along with dishes of mash and jugs of gravy. I’m now getting strong arms as a result of carrying all the trays”.

working loads of hours. I can’t let that happen as I want to spend as much time with the children as possible, they grow up so quickly. It’s all about getting the work life balance right.”

Looking back, Vicky goes on: “Yes, we have taken risks, money has never been the prime motivator. I now so enjoy what I’m doing while I was getting more and more miserable working in finance. I’m financially secure through pies, hilarious really.” agenda

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in-business / Career Ready

Career Ready Isle of Man – Student Internship Presentations

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n Friday 2nd September at St George’s Court, Douglas 12 students from Ramsey Grammar School, QE2, Castle Rushen and St Ninian’s presented to a panel of IT industry representatives.

The presentations were watched by Oliver Steriopulos (Noc396), Ian (Noc396), Geoff Moorcroft (DEC), Owen Cutajar (Futuretech & MICTA), Kurt Roosen (MICTA), Jonathan Hall (Canada Life), Andrew Cole (Career Ready), Jo Davies (Career Ready CoOrdinator) and Duncan McLeod (AFD) What is Career Ready?

The Career Ready programme offers practical learning to help young people develop the skills they need for a career in IT and is linked to their academic studies or interests. The Career Ready programme has been running on the Island since 2014 and involves 4 schools: Ramsey Grammar School, QEII, Castle Rushen and St Ninian’s working together to deliver an IT themed Career Ready programme.

Classroom learning is combined with direct contact with the workplace and employers. This makes the Career Ready programme stand out.

The Career Ready programme consists of 4 pillars – masterclasses, mentoring, workplace visits and internships. It provides the opportunity for schools, colleges and employers to work together in highly productive ways to develop future talent pipelines, to ensure the curriculum is meeting local employer skill needs and to help transform young people’s career pathways.

Internship The Career Ready students were all allocated a 4-6 week paid internship over the summer at one of the following IT Companies: Hansard Global, Noc396, PDMS, DPN Software, IT works, GTS, WiManx, Futuretech, Netcetera and Isle of Man Post Office. The summer internship

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offered the students a unique opportunity to experience working in the IT industry developing their employability and enhancing their skills.

Nathan Hill (Castle Rushen), explained how the Career Ready internship has clarified what he wants from an IT career, ‘ When I started this internship, I didn’t know what career path I wanted to go down, apart from the fact I wanted it to be IT based. During the course of the internship, inspiration came from within GTS’. One of the internship supervisor Owen Cutajar, (Future Tech/MICTA) described his internee, ‘Kristina was just awesome. She has a long way to go!

Notes: Jay Waters, QEII (Photo) Jay Waters (QEII) undertook his internship at WiManx. ‘Week one of my internship was great I raided some old computers for RAM to put into my computer. This didn’t take long but finding me a desk space and monitor was a harder task. Once I had done that I had to make my own Ethernet cable so I could then patch myself into the company network it was is a lot easier than it may sound. I then had to use the PBX which is used to hold details about customers who use the hosted phone system it also allows the support team to provision and update phone systems from inside the office. I also had to speak to customers over the phone as there were a lot of ex customers who still had an email account however weren’t paying for it so I had to call and see if they were still using these accounts and if not I had to delete them. A colleague and I then had to go down into the data center and remove and test servers that were no longer in use’ Presentations All of the presentations were delivered in a professional manner and included an introduction to the employer, job roles & responsibilities, how each intern’s role fitted into the organisation, what they learned about their employer, how they developed during the internship, the contribution each intern made to the organisation – including what they were most proud of, what they found most challenging, the skills they applied and developed, what they learned about business and the world of work and finally IN-BUSINESS

their views on how well the programme prepared each student for the internship.

Businesses Involved on the Isle of Man The Career Ready initiative has been backed by the Department of Economic Development, Department of Education & Children, MICTA and is also supported by employers on the Isle of Man. These include: PDMS, Noc396, Hansard Global, GTS, AFD Software, IT Works, WiManx, Future Tech Ltd, Netcetera, Isle of Man

Post Office, Annexico, Galileo Fun Services Ltd, Isle of Man Government Departments: E-gaming, Project Managers, Network Architects, E-business managers, Lloyds banking group and Caledonia Ltd. Further information: If you would like more information on the Career Ready programme go to www. careerready.org.uk or contact your Isle of Man Co-Ordinator, Jo Davies on cready. im@gmail.com agenda

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in-business/ashgrove awards

Aspiring creatives win big at the Ashgrove Creative Awards

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shgrove Marketing’s Creative Awards ceremony took place at its office in Tromode Estate on Friday 19th August. The ceremony announced winners of the annual competition in 7 categories including photography, design & branding, multimedia, digital & online and innovation, as well as an overall best entry and the “people’s choice” as voted for by Facebook users.

This was the third year that local advertising agency Ashgrove Marketing, in association with gallery have run the competition, which challenges aspiring Manx creatives to develop work that meets a specific marketing need.

Winners of each category were awarded a cash prize of £250, thanks to sponsors Ramsey Crookall, Thomas Patrick, Blue Olive Productions, Matt Mosur Photography, Sure and Boston.

The winner of the Ashgrove Award for Brilliance received a 3-month internship with Ashgrove Marketing.

We are pleased to showcase all of the winning work over the next few pages.

Supported by gallery Supported by

Thanks to sponsors

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Blue Olive Productions Award for Multimedia and Ashgrove Award for Brilliance: Jessica Ward – Admitting that we have a problem

Homelessness on the Isle of Man is something many claim to be a myth but it is a very real issue that requires the support of the community to solve. Jessica’s project focuses on raising awareness of the issue through the charity Graih, which aims to provide the homeless with love and care.

Jessica also had to protect the privacy of the people she interviewed, so cleverly used their absence to accentuate the feeling of loneliness she was trying to portray.

Ramsey Crookall Award for The People’s Choice: Kiara Fleming – The Signature Rooms

Making a brand work both online and offline is not an easy task but Kiara has managed to apply her branding seamlessly to a clean and simple website. The User Interface is clear and she has applied her vintage visuals to a modern medium.

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Sure Award for Innovation: Mary Podmore and Alex Ollier - The Thought Journal

Mental health is an issue that affects so many and is understood very little.

Free Your Mind, a team that was part of this year’s Company Programme run by Junior Achievement Isle of Man; have created a journal to help those dealing with issues affecting mental health. To promote the journal they have created a website, popup and a series of flyers to help raise awareness of the journal and a fantastic cause.

Boston Award for Digital & Online: Callum Staley - Welcome to the OPUS website

Team OPUS was formed in 2015 as part of this year’s Company Programme run by Junior Achievement Isle of Man and went on to win the competition, representing the Isle of Man in Europe. Their website showcases their product, is easy to navigate and has a clean and consistent visual identity. Its primary aim is to explain and sell OPUS’ products and after a quick visit, we think you’ll be placing an order in no time.

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Thomas Patrick Award for Design & Branding: Dan McMurray – Creating a Clothing Brand

Retail branding is no easy task, it isn’t just about the clothes, it’s about the ethos and story of the brand selling them. Dan decided to produce a total rebrand for a clothing line that included a logo, t-shirt designs, and a website. He also mocked up a shop display to present his work ‘in-situ’.

Matt Mosur Award for Photography: Frankie Hedley – Returning to Your Roots

Luna’s Tea is a Lancashire company that has been producing artisan products since 1899. Their original packaging was designed using pictures of local women in stylised poses. As an advertising campaign for 2016 Frankie Hedley has taken a new series of photos in that same stylised, vintage style, capturing the brand’s original identity in a unique and eye catching way.

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IN-BUSINESS

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technology

Setting up a new pension is more likely to get your head aching than your heart racing. Or so I’d thought. For it turns out that my pension provider wants to know all about my first kiss.

Words by: Claer Barrett

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was expecting to answer questions about default funds and my anticipated retirement age when I logged on to the whizzy online portal offered by the new work pension provider. But before I could get on to these, I had to set up online security.

As anyone who performs any kind of financial transaction online will know, a login and password are no longer enough.

People have a habit of forgetting passwords (probably because we keep being told to insert symbols and numbers into them, never write them down and somehow remember a different one for each website we use), so financial services companies have embraced the concept of “memorable words” that we can recall in order to request a new password. Except that, in a lip-smacking twist of irony, these are very difficult to remember.

For example, Apple’s security questions include “What was the first album you ever purchased?” Looking back, I had the hideous realisation that this was probably a Showaddywaddy LP that I bought for 25p at the school jumble sale. I shuddered to admit to this officially. The first new album I bought was Duran Duran (slightly more forgivable) but — if I forgot my Apple ID — would I remember this self-editing of my dubious musical tastes? So I started to type in Showaddywaddy (after googling how to spell it, and noting any irregular capitalisation). And then I realised that this was the name of the band, not the name of the album. Argh.

Try another question. “What was your favourite children’s book?” How could I choose between The Little Prince and Little Women? And with a question that is so arbitrary, how on earth would I remember the correct answer without writing it down, or emailing it to myself? Neither would be particularly secure.

My pension provider had some corkers on its list. What was the name of my first cuddly toy? Where did I meet my significant other? (as no spaces are allowed in the answer, “drunk at a party neither of us can particularly remember” would not cut it). Even “What was the name of the first boy or girl you kissed?” was not entirely straightforward. Did they mean a peck in the playground? Or kissing with tongues?

So I rejected that one too. “Where were you when you had your first kiss?” was the next question the computer offered up. I felt like I was 14 again and being interrogated by my mother.

All of this unexpected emotional tourism was enough to make me long to tick boxes about fund allocation. So why are companies forcing us to do it?

Years ago, if your bank wanted to verify TECHNOLOGY

‘Years ago, if your bank wanted to verify your ID they would simply ask for your mother’s maiden name’

“Most people just reuse the same password on many different websites”

your ID they would simply ask for your mother’s maiden name. Nowadays, with so many silver surfers looking for old school chums on social media, this information is much easier to come by. So they must find more questions to which only you will know the answers (or at least, are harder for hackers to guess).

Of course, nobody wants to be a victim of cyber crime. But there is a balance to be struck. The difficulty of getting through online security, using chip and pin machines and remembering passwords and security questions puts a lot of people off using digital services. It even has an official name — “password fatigue”. And it costs companies money. I have personally abandoned many online shopping baskets because my password won’t work, and by the time I’ve got home to find the drawer with the Post-it note that contains it, I’ve lost the urge to buy whatever it was.

In the future, biometric data and voice recognition software could trump the password. But to get around the problem in the meantime, most people just reuse the same password on many different websites.

From a security point of view, this is nearly as dubious as owning a Showaddywaddy LP. There are millions of hacks online every day, but not all companies encrypt their user data.

If you have used the same password on a hacked website as you have for your email account, or anything linked to a credit card, then you could be in trouble. Once a hacker has control of your email, they can request new passwords to be sent to them. If you have bothered to set up the “memorable words” or two-factor authentication (typically a code sent by text to your mobile phone) this will offer some protection. But how can we remember dozens of different passwords?

Internet browsers frequently offer to store passwords, although the IT boffins I consulted advise against this (it’s not usually encrypted). Instead, they encouraged me to try out password management software which can generate and store highly secure passwords that a hacker’s algorithm would struggle to crack.

LastPass is the market leader, but Dashlane also scores highly in online reviews. I was sceptical at first (what happens if my password manager gets hacked?) but reading up on the subject, this is a much more secure method than using similar passwords for everything, Post-it notes, or emailing yourself. There’s even space to insert notes on what those pesky “memorable words” are. All you need to do is remember is one password.

Remind me, what was it again? agenda

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technology

To be seen or not to be seen

Never mind that it’s more than 40 years since it was first aired on Monty Python’s Flying Circus. The sketch is one of the best parables on the evils of contemporary online messaging platforms.

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Words by: Lisa Pollock (FT)

n “HM Government, Public Service Film No 42 Para 6 ‘How Not to Be Seen’¿”, narrator John Cleese informs us that there are 40 people hiding in the field shown on screen. Among them is one Mr ER Bradshaw of Napier Court, Black Lion Road, London SE5. “Mr Bradshaw,” asks Cleese, “could you please stand up?”

A man gets to his feet from behind a pile of hay and is abruptly shot dead by someone off camera. This, Cleese informs us, “demonstrates the value of not being seen”. It’s something that has been lost to us in the realm of online communications.

The hoodies running Facebook, who recently announced a surge in mobile messaging, apparently have a complete disregard for the value of not being seen.

The social network’s “seen by” function, introduced in 2012, allows users to see when a message was read. So you can ponder why a friend hasn’t replied about seeing the new Star Trek even though he read your message.

Facebook isn’t the only messaging service offering this feature. Your computer can tell you: “He saw your Facebook message at 2.43pm, was on WhatsApp at 4.05pm and is now on Google Chat.”

Thanks, Hal. Wait right there while I overthink that.

Read receipts and delivery reports made sense when we were less connected, say, a decade or two ago. There were still

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“The next battleground will be biometric data such as thumbprints, iris or voice” big holes in the mobile phone network.

A friend could be out in the boonies, and knowing if your message got through was helpful. But now we’re always online. And knowing that she knows that you know that she read the message but hasn’t replied yet has itself become a conversational layer.

Previously there was just receiving a message and sending a message. Now there is seeing that someone is typing a message, receiving a message, reading a message, selecting one of a billion different animated panda gifs to send back, and sending an actual message with words.

I suppose all of this is in the name of making our online interactions more like real life — or even better. But while I concur that pandas are more expressive than me, I don’t consider “seen by” to be an improvement to the online medium.

Indeed, I value not being seen. Especially when the alternative involves feeling obligated to start messages with a rundown of life between viewing a message and replying to it. “Sorry for not replying earlier, I was working, eating, breathing and downloading panda gifs.”

There are people who never think about any of this. There are also people who walk into the office and don’t hold the door open for someone who is 2ft behind them. The rest of us have coping strategies. Some use the previews that display as part of message notifications on most phones.

These “peekers” note the context of the message before taking any action that may mark it as read.

“Armchair hackers” install technological workarounds to disable “seen by”. This usually violates various terms of service, but power to the people. My favourites, though, are the “settings archaeologists”.

These online Indiana Joneses dig around for recipes to follow, like flipping their phones in and out of flight mode in order to read a message without it being marked as seen. Archaeologists also know how to switch off the “seen by” functionality in a platform such as WhatsApp and do so at opportune moments.

Where do we go from here? It could get better. A platform that values not being seen could hit the mainstream. Or it could get worse. Most messaging apps already have permission to read your contacts, lease your soul and see what other apps are running. The next iteration of “seen by” could say: “She saw your message three hours ago, then was on Twitter for ages and is currently reading reviews of tofu on Ocado.”

If that happens, just shoot me.

ON THE AGENDA

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technology

How a bogus business became an online sensation Social Bites won awards and was feted by social media ‘influencers’ but it was a fake

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Words by: Federica Cocco (FT)

nder normal circumstances, a chief executive might be delighted to receive an email with the subject line: “Congratulations, your business has won an award!”

Marc Cowper was horrified.

Social Bites, his Sydney-based catering company, had collected hundreds of positive reviews on numerous websites and one of those sites had granted the company a customer service award. But there was a snag: Social Bites had no customers because it did not exist.

Anyone looking at Instagram posts and tweets by “influencers” would have believed otherwise. One tweet, which included a picture of a professional-looking waiter serving a platter of what appeared to be quails’ eggs and grilled courgettes on peppered crackers, was accompanied by the caption: “Best catering company”.

The compliments continued. “If you want a stress-free party,” stated one rhapsodic review, “pick Social Bites.” “Love love love :),” gushed another. “My boss was so impressed with them we made them our preferred caterer for all work functions.”

It went on. “Thanks for a job well done”, “Sydney’s best catering company¿.¿.¿.¿the one everyone is talking about!” declared a series of blog posts, reviews and aggregator sites.

Mr Cowper, an entrepreneur, set up the bogus Social Bites in January to prove a point. He wanted to demonstrate that a reputation can be bought easily in the world of influencer marketing, in which advertisers pay individuals with large followings on social media to promote their products.

His small team of marketing experts designed a logo, then set up a company blog and a Twitter account. They quickly gained a following of 24,000 enthusiasts.

The cost? A mere AU$30 ($22).

The team then Photoshopped a company logo on to a few stock images and sent them to a couple of “influencers”

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to share with their thousands of followers, which cost AU$25.

They registered their business on two review sites and paid reviewers to post comments endorsing Social Bites.

Those posting reviews, Mr Cowper says, achieved high review scores, which coaxed algorithms on the review sites to regard them as genuine. The entire experiment cost them AU$154.

In reality, Mr Cowper was about to launch Recomazing, a social network that enables people to review, share and find reviews from their real-life network of friends and relatives. But while he has a commercial interest in drawing attention to the Social Bites experiment, he is not alone in worrying about the scale of the clandestine market built around deception, fake online endorsements, likes, follows and ratings stars.

The problem has grabbed watchdogs’ attention. In the UK, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) led an inquiry last year, which found that some companies were breaking the law by posting flattering reviews to boost their rankings or disparaging reviews of their rivals, and offering money, free product samples and other “rewards” to social media influencers.

The CMA has estimated that as much as £23bn a year of UK consumer spending is open to the influence of online reviews on websites such as TripAdvisor, Amazon and Checkatrade.

Mr Cowper believes many reviews are fake: “People take advice¿.¿.¿.¿and go on to make business decisions. We wanted to see how easy it would be to game the system.”

Social Bites’ cautionary tale may lead doubters to ask what is real and question who they can trust in the online world.

Even the Social Bites customer service award was generated by an algorithm, which weighed the volume of positive and genuine reviews. In this case it failed miserably.

The irony is that with a mere 530 followers, Mr Cowper’s legitimate business is rather less successful than his nonexistent one.

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wellbeing

I

t’s estimated that around 9.9 million work days in the UK are lost each year due to stress. Last year alone 17 million days were lost, costing the economy at least £2.4bn. And it doesn’t seem to be stopping there. 2015 saw a rise of 25 per cent over the course of the year.

The Health and Safety Executive found that ‘the total number of cases of work related stress, depression or anxiety in 2014/15 was 440,000 cases, a prevalence rate of 1380 per 100,000 workers.’

A study carried out by the Trades Union Congress in 2015 revealed that every two minutes, one person in the UK is made ill from work, whether that is from anxiety, depression or stress.

Work induced stress is often pushed to one side by employers; as long as the work is being completed then why worry? What is more interesting is the fact that now most workplaces claim to value the wellbeing of their employees and put schemes in place to try raise colleagues’ morale. Work induced stress is now higher than it ever has been. Why is that? Surely more stress busting schemes should mean less stress?

I spoke to Nick who works in finance.

“I think about work from the moment I get up to the minute I manage to fall asleep, worrying if I’m going to meet the deadlines set for me. I worry about my job security, the financial sector is a little rocky at the moment and the uncertainty definitely has an impact”.

Despite employers efforts in which they offer discounted yoga sessions, or implement a wellbeing programme for one week of the year, where an informative email is sent each day does not mean employers are doing all they can to help their employees. Sure, discount yoga is a nice perk but that’s not going to help the pressures of long working hours, low job security and being treated like a robot.

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agenda

, m l a C , Cool ed Collect This is the mantra so many of us mutter on our way to work, trying to psyche ourselves up for yet another day. Or if you’re like me, upon hearing your alarm blare to life at 6:45am while safely swaddled inside your duvet cocoon.

Words: Chelsea Woodward

If you’re feeling the pressures of work and the yoga isn’t working, here are some tips provided by the NHS: Be Active : Honestly I can think of nothing worse to do after a long day in work, especially when there is a bottle of wine in the fridge and GBBO starts in a hour . However we all know that exercise releases endorphins – which trigger a positive feeling in your body. If running isn’t your thing maybe try walking or spend some time using a punching bag to really get it out your system.

Take Control – Now this is easier said than done. I understand this may sound like a laughable concept. Especially when the reason you’re feeling this way is likely because you feel you have no control. But as they say, ‘Rome wasn’t built in a day’.

Start off by buying yourself an organiser, write down your appointments, meetings, deadlines and don’t forget the most important – social activities and ‘me time’.

Organising what you have going on will start to make you feel like you have more control, being able to visually see what you have to do and when will give you time to set out deadlines and work to them.

Connect with people – If like me you’d rather go home, run a bath and lie there till you can no longer tell the difference between yourself and your Great Aunt Hilda then socialising is probably something you feel you ‘don’t have time’ to do (realistically, if you are like me you could probably shower in 15 minutes rather than bathe for 3 hours and then complain it’s too late) sometimes catching up with friends or family that you haven’t spoken to in a while can make a big difference, you probably feel you don’t have the time to sit around chatting nonsense over coffee, but often that’s exactly what you need. Connecting with people can make you feel less alone and take your mind off other matters, such as work. Maybe even try one of the discount yoga nights (proudly supplied by your employer) with one of your friends and kill two birds with one stone.

Have some ‘me time’ – Last but not least, my favourite. Don’t feel bad giving in to that glass of wine when it calls you, or binge watching an entire series of Prison Break, having down time between all that exercise, socialising and work is need for everyone and there is nothing wrong with wanting to hide away for the evening, enjoy it, relax and wallow in it.

ON THE AGENDA

Isle of Man | Home & Interiors | October 2016

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HOME

DANDARA GROUP WINS NINE TITLES AT PRESTIGIOUS PROPERTY AWARDS

T

he awards recognise Dandara’s high standards of architecture and design on projects across the British Isles, including Slieau Whallian View in Peel.

The Dandara Group has claimed nine titles for its developments in the UK stage of the prestigious International Property Awards.

The level of awards received – highly commended or 5-star – will be revealed at a gala presentation in London next month, when Dandara will also learn if it will go on to represent the UK against international competition.

Submissions are judged against strict criteria and assessed by a 70-strong expert panel of respected professionals from throughout the industry, with judging focusing on design, quality, service, innovation, originality and commitment to sustainability.

At conclusion of a rigorous assessment, Dandara’s Slieau Whallian View development was named best Residential Development for the Isle of Man. In the UK South category Knights Wood in Royal Tunbridge Wells was awarded best Residential Development, with The Golding at Knights Wood named best Residential Property. In Scotland there were a further six awards for Dandara’s developments in Aberdeen, where the Group’s Hazelwood and Stoneywood developments triumphed in the Architecture Single Residence, Residential Development, Residential Property, Residential High Rise Development, Apartment/Condominium and Development Marketing categories.

Stuart Shield, president of the International Property Awards, said: ‘The UK’s developers have really taken up the gauntlet and submitted a number of outstanding developments. These projects

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are attractive to the eye, highly functional, eco-friendly and feature the latest state-ofthe-art technology.

‘The architecture categories also attracted a number of exemplary designs which had been meticulously planned not only to prove functional, but also to be aesthetically pleasing and highly sustainable, creating the perfect environments in which to live, work or play.’

Dandara Managing Director Seamus Nugent added: ‘We are extremely pleased to once again have received overwhelming recognition in such highly competitive awards, where submissions are subjected

to thorough assessment by an expert panel and the entire process is extremely rigorous.

‘Our projects are judged by strict criteria and standards, as well as against other leading developments from across the UK, so we can confidently say each award is well deserved and has been earned. It is also pleasing to see recognition for a diverse range of residential development which celebrates the high standards of both design and architecture.’

Representatives from the Isle of Man will be presented with the awards at the London Marriott Hotel Grosvenor Square, Mayfair, in October.

ISLE OF MAN PREMIER MAGAZINE

AULDYN MEADOWS Ramsey, Isle of Man FA B U L O U S FA M I LY H O M E S

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THIE DROMMEY, CRONK RUAGH, LEZAYRE, RAMSEY, IM7 2ED Thie Drommey is an executive six bedroom detached house in an elevated position with stunning views of the north of the Island.

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for equestrian facilities including a manege, stable block and paddocks. The property also benefits from a superb extension to the rear, comprising of bespoke kitchen and family room. With large skylights and doors onto the garden an illusion is created of bringing the outside in!

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ISLE OF MAN PREMIER MAGAZINE ISLE OF MAN PREMIER MAGAZINE

ROCKMOUNT

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Ecodan could also qualify for the ‘Comfy Heat’ electricity tariff from Manx Utilities, bringing further cost savings.

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FASHION

FASHION NEWS

VELVET REVOLUTION The undisputed fabric of AW16, velvet was fashioned in louche, rock star-style at Roberto Cavalli; given a sporty spin at Opening Ceremony; and rouched to perfection at Preen.

Your essential purchases?

A two-piece suit (the high street is full of homages to Alberta Ferretti’s sublime pink, pyjama-esque set) and a midi dress in a jewel or pastel tone - this season, black velvet takes a back seat. n Dorothy Perkins Velvet Dress, £45; Top, £26; Shoes, £32 (www.dorothyperkins. com)

BREAK WITH TRADITION Tweeds and woollens return pretty much every winter without fail, but this season it’s all about how you style these countrified fabrics.

Forget prissy skirts or fitted jackets, and instead opt for mannish check trousers (3.1 Phillip Lim’s highwaisters are uber cool) and generously-cut coats, a la the Gucci and Isabel Marant collections.

Take a tip from the Burberry catwalk and team a tartan coat with a thigh-split dress and biker boots, for flawless boy-meets-girl cool. n Anthropologie Maurizio High-Neck Blouse, £78; Noelle Tweed Trousers, £118 (www.anthropologie. com) n Dickins & Jones Coat, £199, House of Fraser (www. houseoffraser.co.uk)

AUTUMN FASHION FORECAST

The last of the sad, unwanted sale items have been cleared away, the first drops of winter coats have landed - on Planet Fashion, autumn is officially here.

This month is easily the most enjoyable in the shopping calendar, but before you go splurging on the first frock that catches your eye in the window, it’s time to cast your mind back to February, when the AW16 catwalk collections were revealed.

Designers took a largely dark turn, as

96

black lace, moody woollens and lashings of velvet ruled the runways. But there was brightness, too, with eye-catching textures and embellishments, and flashes of Eighties excess.

Choose your favourites and let the high-end trends guide your high-street shopping list...

ISLE OF MAN PREMIER MAGAZINE

FASHION

WALLPAPER PACE This autumn, you’re going to have to wallpaper your wardrobe - but that doesn’t involve any DIY. Instead, you’ll be rolling out shining, swirling brocades and dense florals, just like the ones on the Dolce & Gabbana, Gucci, Miu Miu and Prada catwalks. n Glamorous Pink Floral Brocade Skirt, £28 (www.glamorous.com) n Monsoon Florence Top, £79 (www.monsoon.co.uk)

THE DARK SIDE The phrase ‘gothic glamour’ is bandied around a lot in fashion, but for autumn/winter we got oodles of exactly that, thanks to the Marc Jacobs, Erdem and Simone Rocha collections, all of which featured masses of black lace, tulle and feathers and had a high-necked Victoriana feel.

It’s a bit of a tough sell on the catwalk, but in the real world, a long-sleeved black dress or burgundy pussy-bow blouse couldn’t be easier to wear. n SimplyBe Lace Trim Dress, £55 (www.simplybe.co.uk)

n Miss Selfridge Blouse, £35 (www. missselfridge.com)

BECAUSE QUALITY MATTERS

THE CAPE CRUSADE If you buy one coat this winter, make sure it’s not a coat at all, but a cape.

From military (Dsquared2 and Mulberry) to minimalist (Chanel and Marni) to ornate (Roberto Cavalli and Marc Jacobs), the runways were covered with caped crusaders, and it’s time to join their ranks. n Evans Cape, £70 ( www.evans.co.uk)

THE SILK ROUTE Summer’s silk slips and camis get a new lease of life, as Celine and Alberta Ferretti make the case for languorous fabric in the cooler months.

Considered layering - a strappy vest over a roll-neck, or a knee-length dress over trousers - will let your silk shine in the dead of winter. n Atelier R Best Quality Pure Silk Camisole in Dark Green, £49, La Redoute (www.laredoute.co.uk)

EIGHTIES ENCORE If all this talk of gothic glam and moody hues leaves you cold, try the sequin-covered, power-shouldered, skinny-waisted stylings of the Eighties renaissance heralded by Isabel Marant and the ever-influential Hedi Slimane at Saint Laurent (his last collection before parting ways with Saint Laurent earlier this year).

It may seem a little brash right now, but come party season, we’ll all be hankering after one-shoulder super-short minidresses and 10-denier black tights. n Little Mistress Zig Zag Dress, £62 (www.little-mistress.com)

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BEAUTY

BEAUTY NEWS

THE EXOTIC ESCAPE Conjuring the fragrant air of a hot, humid paradise, frangipani and ylang-ylang are front and centre in Prada La Femme Eau de Parfum, £69 for 50ml, Selfridges.

Married with creamy beeswax and vanilla, tuberose and vetiver round off this seductive fusion. (www.selfridges.com)

THE MODERN REDUX Offering a fresh take on the house’s eternallyadored perfume, Chanel No5 L’Eau, £68 for 50ml, Boots, opens with a blast of bracing citrus, making way for familiar wafts of jasmine and ylang-ylang, and a masculine finish courtesy of cedar and vetiver. (www.boots.com)

SCENTS OF SUCCESS? THE HERBAL REMEDY Basil is a key component in one of Jo Malone’s bestselling scents, but the new Basil & Neroli Cologne, £86 for 100ml, is like nothing else. A gorgeously green aroma inspired by London’s gardens, it blends two varieties of the distinctive herb with an orange note and white musk, bringing depth to the verdant bouquet. (www.jomalone.co.uk)

It’s that time of the year when major beauty brands and fashion houses unveil their biggest fragrance launches.

The product of months - if not years - of famous ‘noses’ beavering away in their laboratories, mixing and modifying hundreds of ingredients until their creations are ready to be revealed, the hope is that one of these scents will make it onto your dressing table very soon.

And what a selection there is, with more than a few worthy of signature scent status.

THE BOHEMIAN DREAM Part of the Les Extraits Vert Private Blend Collection, Tom Ford Vert Boheme Eau de Parfum, £148 for 50ml, House of Fraser, is a Seventies-inspired scent that opens with evocative notes of Sicilian mandarin before drying down to a heady magnolia heart, underscored with Gustavia wood - a rarely used ingredient from the plant known as the ‘Tree of Heaven’. (www.houseoffraser.co.uk)

These are the perfumes vying to hit the sweet spot this year.

THE BIG SMOKE Dreamt up after years of horse-riding trips in Montana, Jo Loves Smoked Plum & Leather, £65 for 50ml, mingles firewood facets with warm plum liquer and rich leather - one whiff and you can practically hear the creak of a saddle and the whinny of an ebony stallion. (www.joloves.com)

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ISLE OF MAN PREMIER MAGAZINE

BEAUTY

THE BERRY BURST A tangy trio of blackcurrant bud, red ginger and bergamot lead the charge of Liz Earle’s Botanical Essence No.9, £49 for 50ml, with rose, patchouli and vanilla fleshing out this dark, spicy composition. (www.lizearle.com)

THE FRESH FLORAL One of seven simultaneous new releases, Louis Vuitton Roses des Vents, £180 for 100ml, pays tribute to the Queen of Flowers, the beloved floral buffeted with pepper, iris and cedar in a delicately feminine amalgamation. (www.louisvuitton.com)

THE SWEET TREAT Undeniably rich and sophisticated, like a perfectly packaged box of Laduree macarons, Michael Kors Midnight Shimmer Eau de Parfum, £79 for 100ml, Boots, falls firmly in the gourmand category.

Emanating vanilla and amberwood, this warm, enveloping aroma will satisfy any sweet tooth. (www.boots.com)

THE EIGHTIES HOMAGE Inspired by the decade of shoulder pads, perms and excessive eye make-up, Floris 1988 Eau de Parfum, £140 for 100ml, is a thankfully more tasteful affair.

Sparkling citrus notes are joined by the savoury tang of rosemary and thyme, with musk and amber imparting an androgynous edge. (www.florislondon.com)

THE POWDER PLAYER Powdery and proud of it, Amouage Lilac Love Eau de Parfum, £260 for 100ml, Harrods, frames the classic floral in swathes of jasmine and rose, with tonka bean and sandalwood providing a smoothly sweet finish. (www.harrods.com)

BECAUSE QUALITY MATTERS

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BEAUTY BEAUTY

Aesthetic Medicine

Tracey Bell and Karen Miller have been involved in Aesthetic Medicine for over 13 years; starting with the original Kensington Aesthetic Clinic to the present day, with the brand ‘Tracey Bell’, which has 5 clinics in the group.

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ver the years’ Aesthetic Medicine has gained in popularity and today is a £17 billion market worldwide. We recently spoke with Dr. Tracey Bell who commented on the exceptional growth. Tracey said: “What I have seen is the move from a ‘Done’ look to a more ‘natural result’ and of course combination therapies.”

At Tracey Bell we provide a whole variety of treatments, Botulinum Toxin, Dermal Fillers, Sculptra (Facial Volumisers), Lasers, Ultherapy (Skin tightening), CoolSculpting/Cool mini-ie medical treatments that are proved to work. We certainly do not provide beauty treatments or provide treatments with no clinical efficacy. Our treatments are proven, can only be provided by medical/dental practitioners & nurses and are certainly not ‘copy cat’ machines.

AESTHETIC MEDICINE TREATMENTS

LATEST 2016 TREATMENTS

- Botulinum Toxin - Juvederm Dermal Fillers - Thread Lifts - Non Surgical Face Lift Laser - Hair Removal - Facial Treadvein Removal - Tattoo Removal - ACNE Treatment - Sun Damage Removal/ Pigmentation - Wrinkle/Scar Reduction - Facial Skin Tightening Body - Coolsculpting (Fat Reduction) - Cellulite Treatment - Skin Tightening

Coolsculpting - Ideal for those with a BMI under 25. Enables bodies to be sculpted and excess fat and tissue removed non-surgically. £750 per treatment.

Ultherapy - The holy grail of skin tightening. Adapted by the young ‘Age preventors’. 28+ for preventative treatment and used in combination with facial volumisers, together with other lasers for lift and tightening.

The neck, lower face, décolleté and full face are all treatment options.

Coolmini - For sagging and Double chins, suitable for both men and women. FDA approved for 20-30% reduction in Fat and Skin retraction. £750 per treatment.

8-point lift - Both Tracey and Karen have recently attended advanced training in London and Manchester with Brazilian Mairicio D’Maio – the master of the 8-point lift. Treatments - Lifting, tightening & producing age defying results. Can be spread over 1-12 months. From £2,000.

Watch treatments on you tube www.youtube.com/users/traceybellchannel

Book a FREE consultation at a Tracey Bell Clinic Tel: 01624 613323 www.traceybell.co.uk

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LOCAL FOOD PRODUCERS OUT IN FORCE AT ISLE OF MAN FOOD AND DRINK FESTIVAL Words: Simon Crellin Photos: Shan Fisher

Local food producers were out in force at the end of September showcasing their wares at the annual Isle of Man Food and Drink Festival in the Villa Marina Gardens.

The show featured a wide range of companies large and small from well established local outfits such as Laxey Glen Mills through to producers that were taking their first steps in the long journey to become established on the Island’s local food scene and beyond.

However, they are all linked by a passion to produce great tasting, premium quality food and drink from within the Island’s shores. And local food retailer Shoprite is committed to supporting their drive and enthusiasm by giving them a platform to market.

John Speakman, Senior Buyer, Shoprite said:

“It was really great to see so many local producers at the Festival and the quality and volume really demonstrates both the strength and potential for the local food market.”

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being tasted. The judges then savour, confer and re-taste to decide which products are worthy of a 1-, 2- or 3-star award.

There were 10,000 Great Taste entries this year and of those products, 141 have been awarded a 3-star, 878 received a 2-star and 2,520 were awarded a 1-star accolade.

Shoprite stocks Isle of Man Food and Drink Festival products all year round.

Anyone who enjoyed the food on offer from local producers at the Isle of Man Food and Drink Festival will be pleased to know that many of the products on offer can be bought all year round in Shoprite’s stores.

As well as larger companies such as Isle of Man Creamery and their award-winning range of cheeses, milk, cream and butter; Shoprite also works with smaller artisan producers to help them get their products to a wider audience.

The panel of judges included TV chef and author, Valentine Warner, MasterChef judge and restaurant critic, Charles Campion, fifth generation baker, Tom Herbert from Hobbs House Bakery, and Great British Bake Off winner, Frances Quinn; food buyers from Harrods, Selfridges, Fortnum & Mason, Harvey Nichols and Waitrose and chefs including James Golding, chef director of THE PIG Hotels, and Kevin Gratton, chef director of HIX Restaurants.

The 2016 winners of a Great Taste award are: n Hooded Ram n Noa Bakehouse n Laxey Glen Mills n Berries Luxury Pudding Makers and Confectioners n Manx Cider Co n Kella Distillers Ltd n Roots Beverage Co n Ballakarran Meat n Paddy’s Hooked on Fish by Robinsons n Isle of Man Creamery Ltd n Manx Ices

Recent local producers who now sell their range in Shoprite stores include Noa Bakehouse who have dedicated shelves in store to display their great tasting range of fresh bread. Other local artisan producers that Shoprite stock who appeared at the show include Andreas Meat Co, Staarvey Farms, Hooded Ram, the Manx Fudge Factory and Ellerslie Oils with the delicious Roots Beverage Co range of drinks joining the list very soon.

“The Festival is a great opportunity for people to sample some of the great local products that are available and, as a local retailer committed to the local market, we stock a number of them on our shelves so that people can buy them all year round.”

John Speakman, Senior Buyer, Shoprite said:

“The Great Taste Awards prove what a number of people on the Isle of Man already know which is that buying local produce not only has the benefit of supporting the local market, traceability and low food miles but also in many cases represent a better tasting product than some of the established brands.”

He continued:

“We are always happy to discuss any ideas with local producers and are keen to help them to establish themselves in the local market.”

palates, belonging to food critics, chefs, cooks, restaurateurs and producers as well as a whole host of food writers and journalists, Great Taste is widely acknowledged as the most respected food accreditation scheme for artisan and specialty food producers.

Isle of Man Food Producers reco nised in reat Taste wards Great Taste, the world’s most coveted blindtasted food awards, which celebrates the very best of food and drink in the British Isles, has announced the Great Taste stars of 2016. Out of 10,000 products that were judged, 11 Isle of man food producers were recognised with ‘Great Taste’ awards.

Judged by over 500 of the most demanding BECAUSE QUALITY MATTERS

As well as a badge of honour, the unmistakable black and gold Great Taste label is a signpost to a wonderful tasting product, which has been discovered through hours and hours of blind-tasting by hundreds of judges. Recognised as a stamp of excellence among consumers and retailers alike, Great Taste values taste above all else, with no regard for branding and packaging.

Whether it is bread, honey, salami or cereal being judged, all products are removed from their wrapper, jar, box or bottle before

Shoprite Manx Startisan to be revealed next month In next month’s issue of Gallery we will be revealing the local food producer who has been chosen as the winner of Shoprite’s Manx Startisan initiative. As well as a guaranteed listing in Shoprite, the winner will also receive marketing support and advice from Shoprite’s specialists.

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APPETITE NEWS

TOP UK CHEF TAKES OVER KITCHENS OF ISLAND’S RESTAURANTS Up and coming young chef Joey O’Hare, who made it to the semi-final stage of BBC2’s ‘Master Chef: The Professionals’ last year, brought her vegcentric culinary ethos to the Isle of Man when she took over the kitchens of Douglas-based restaurant Little Fish and NOA Bakeshop.

Joey, currently making a name for herself as a result of her Hare on the Hill supper clubs in South London, was invited by Phil Taylor, of Rock Food Concepts,’ the company which owns Little Fish, along with 14 North and Bath and Bottle.

Phil and Joey first met some 10 years ago as students at the internationally renowned Ballymaloe Cookery School in County Cork.

“We worked together for a time after we left Ballymaloe and then when I saw Joey on ‘Master Chef: The Professionals ‘ I got in touch and asked if she would come over to the island take over as guest chef in both Little Fish and NOA Bakeshop for a few days,” said Phil.

He added: “It proved to be a major success and I now want to invite more up-and-coming names in the industry as guest chefs. Not only can they introduce new dishes to our restaurants here on the island but also go back to the UK as ambassadors for the outstanding quality of restaurants and produce we have here and encourage visitors to the island.”

FOOD AND DRINK PRODUCERS INVITED TO SIGN UP FOR OPEN-AIR CHRISTMAS FAIR Local food, drink and craft producers and caterers are invited to take part in an openair Christmas fair in Douglas town centre.

The food and craft fair will be held in Strand Street and Regent Street on Saturday 10th and Sunday 11th December from

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9.30am to 5pm.

Douglas Town Centre Management will host the fair and, for this inaugural event, allow local food and drink producers to have stands, gazebos and electricity supplies free of charge.

‘If the fair is successful, it’s hoped it will be replicated at different venues and towns throughout the year and repeated at Christmas 2017.

To apply for a stand, contact Oliver Cheshire. E: ocheshire@douglas.gov.im T: 01624 696304 ISLE OF MAN PREMIER MAGAZINE

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SHOPPERS FOOD AND DRINK SURVEY

90% Purchase Manx milk, vegetables, eggs, cheese and bread

Shoppers actively seek out Manx food and drink are increasingly opting for convenience, a survey has revealed.

The survey, commissioned by the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture (DEFA) and conducted online in May, attracted 949 responses – nearly double the number of previous market research.

Respondents were asked how much they spent on food and drink per week, where and how frequently they shop and what factors influence this.

More than 90% of those who responded say they purchase Manx milk, vegetables, eggs, cheese and bread, while 70% buy local beef, lamb, pork, flour and artisan foods. Only 2% say they purchase no Manx produce.

70% Buy local beef, lamb, pork, flour and artisan foods

Quality, freshness and the fact it’s local entice more than half of respondents to buying Manx produce, while convenience, price, traceability and low food miles are factors for just under 20%.

Improved price, quality and availability could lead to greater spending on Isle of Man food and drink, the survey found.

Participants in the survey identified locally reared chicken and locally fermented wine among products they would buy if available.

The survey also revealed a change in shopping habits since the last research, conducted in 2010.

More than half of respondents shop when they need to, rather than to any fixed pattern.

A third of respondents say their households spend more than £100 a week on food and drink shopping and a quarter spend £71 or more.

Only

2%

say they purchase no Manx produce.

Overall, and not just in relation to Manx produce, quality, price and freshness remain the three most important factors when buying food but convenience is also influential.

A summary of the survey results can be found at www. iomfoodanddrink.com BECAUSE QUALITY MATTERS

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COCKTAILS & & DREAMS DREAMS” “COCKTAILS

by Jamie Lewis FoH & Beverage Manager – Rock Food Concepts @jamielewislewis

I recently asked a budding new recruit, during his interview, why he wanted to learn the art of tending the bar. He told me that he’d watched Tom Cruise slinging drinks in Cocktail (circa 1988) and he instantly knew it was his calling. I chuckled to myself – more of that later – who was I to stand in his way?

It wasn’t until 2010, in my third year of university that I first stepped behind a bar.

I remember the day well, because instead of attending a lecture on American Politics (sorry Alan), I stayed at home and watched Cocktail (see above) and googled classic cocktail recipes instead.

There is a fantastic scene in the movie where Cruise’s protagonist, works his first shift behind the bar. The chaos that ensues is reminiscent of my own, and I’m sure many a bartender’s first time – the less said about that, the better. I’ll spare you the grizzly details of my ill-fated maiden voyage, but the two pieces of advice I will impart are; Don’t ever lie on your CV If you choose to ignore the first piece

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RECIPE: NEGRONI

Ingredients n 1oz Tanqueray Gin n 1oz Campari n 1oz Punt e Mes Method: n Stir all ingredients over ice n Strain over fresh ice in a rocks glass n Garnish with a big rugged pink grapefruit peel twist

of advice, and do end up working the busiest part of the bar, on your first shift, without any prior training, then please, be humble and politely run for your life!

They say, a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, and in hindsight, there was one thing I certainly had lots of on my first shift; and that was very little knowledge. I just about survived the first half hour of my ordeal, before being pulled to one side and was asked again about my previous experience, to which I replied with a half apologetic half cheeky smile; “sorry I’m a bit rusty, it’s been a while”.

For the record, I was 20 years of age and I paid dearly for my arrogance, being

demoted and sentenced to the next three months busing tables and cleaning bathrooms. To this day, I’m unsure as to whether my boss was attempting to indirectly fire me, or whether he was merely testing my resilience. Regardless, I buried my head in the sand and carried out my punishment, until, fortunately for me, I finally had the opportunity to prove myself when one Saturday evening the scheduled ‘bar-back’* called in sick, and, my education began. *For those of you unfamiliar with the term ‘bar-back’, they are the heart and soul of the bar and absolutely no bartender could operate without them. They are the person filling up your ice, juicing your fruit, prepping your garnish and stocking your fridges. They are the Watson to your Sherlock and the Luigi to your Mario. And every bartender worth their weight earned their stripes being one.

I would like to pretend that this month’s recipe is the first drink I ever served, but quite frankly I can’t remember what that was and, knowing the clientele that frequented the bar I first worked in, it was probably a pint of Stella. So, instead here’s a recipe for one of my all-time favourites, the way I like it. Enjoy.

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JABALI - AFRICAN STREET FOOD FOR THE ISLE OF MAN Words: Suzy Holland Images: Edinam Kotoka

For festival and event-goers the idea of a street food pop-up is hardly big news, but Jabali brings the idea to the Isle of Man with an authentic and delicious African menu which sells out wherever its stall appears.

Lydia Kotoka originally hails from Ghana, learning to cook at her mother’s knee. The eldest of a large family, by the age of 10 she was preparing the traditional slow-cooked meals from scratch for them all. But it wasn’t going to be Lydia’s choice of career – she trained as a nurse and eventually ended up at Nobles, where she still works.

But with the encouragement of friends and family, including daughter Edinam, who is studying business management and has been able to offer practical support, Lydia started to cook for small events, including for 75 guests at her own 50th birthday party, and signed up for the DED ‘Small Business Start-up Scheme’ (now Micro Business Grant Scheme) and gained the essential food hygiene certification.

In September 2015 Jabali – as the business was now called – pitched its stall at the Food & Drink Festival where its food was a roaring success: on the Saturday had sold out of the mainly vegetarian curries by early afternoon and then, after a long night preparing and cooking for the next day, sold out again on the Sunday by 3pm. It was all the encouragement Lydia needed. and now Jabali is popping up everywhere including the Douglas Lord Mayor’s banquet, this summer’s Tynwald Day Fair – BECAUSE QUALITY MATTERS

where the queues crept around the Global Village - and the Dark Horse music festival, and of course a triumphant return to the Food & Drink Festival a few weeks ago.

But what about the food? It’s authentic, it’s tasty, it’s fresh, it’s healthy and – it should go without saying – delicious. Lydia sources as many ingredients as possible

locally (even to the extent of educating a certain vegetable supplier that plantains should NOT be kept in the fridge where they go black). But there’s one essential ingredient she can’t get here – the kebab spice she buys direct from the Hausa tribe in North Ghana. For Lydia, this is the ‘secret’ ingredient in her cooking and although local and UK spice blenders have tried to replicate it, no-one has come even close. All dishes are cooked from scratch and depend on what’s available on the day, and she now includes recipes from other parts of Africa, particularly Nigeria and South Africa – cooked with the help of friends who were brought up there. This diversity has led to a new element to the menu – sweets. In Ghana, the abundance of different fruits meant that as a child Lydia was taught that sweets were for very special occasions only, but the Jabali menu also includes Nigerain Puff Puffs (deep-fried sweet doughnut-type balls known in Ghana as Bofrot or togbei) and South African inspired pastries, which have added a new dimension to the Jabali ‘experience’.

Although Lydia hasn’t yet given up the ‘day job’ at the hospital, Jabali is also available for parties and corporate events, and holds a monthly African buffet night at Bordello in Douglas. The next of these is on 29 October and tickets can be booked by contacting Lydia via her Facebook page www.facebook.com/Jabaliom or on 471490.

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Recipes ‘NDUJA AND CRUSHED ROAST POTATO HASH (Serves 4) n 10 leftover cold roast potatoes n Oil for deep-frying, plus a little extra n 1 onion, thinly sliced n 50g unsalted butter, plus a little extra n 100g ‘nduja (Italian sausage, available in Waitrose) n Juice of 1 lemon n 4 duck eggs n 2tbsp chopped parsley n Maldon salt

Break up the potatoes into smaller pieces - not too small and not too even. You want random chunks. Heat some oil in a deep-fat fryer or deep pan to 180C. Deep fry the potatoes until they are crispy. Drain.

Cook the onion in a hot frying pan with a little oil until soft and a good dark colour. Add the potatoes and then the butter. Toss the potatoes in the butter as it melts and foams. Add the ‘nduja and stir it in until it melts and coats the potatoes. Season with salt to taste and add a squeeze of lemon. Transfer to individual serving bowls or plates.

Using the same pan, quickly fry the eggs in a little extra oil or butter, keeping the yolks nice and runny. Place an egg on top of each serving of hash and sprinkle with parsley. Serve immediately.

BOMBAY OMELETTE (Serves 2) n 1/2 a red onion n 2 small vine tomatoes n 1/2 a bunch of coriander n 1 green chilli n 4 large eggs n 1/2tsp ground turmeric n 1/2tsp garam masala n 1/2tsp ground cumin n Salt and freshly ground black pepper n 50g baby spinach leaves n 1/2 a lemon n 2 knobs of butter

Peel and finely chop the onion. Halve the tomatoes, scoop out the seeds with a teaspoon and discard, then finely chop the flesh.

Finely chop the coriander stalks and leaves. Halve the chilli, deseed and finely slice.

Whisk the eggs together until well combined, then season generously and whisk in the onion, tomatoes, coriander, chilli, turmeric, garam masala and cumin. Put the spinach leaves into a bowl, squeeze just enough lemon to coat, toss together, then leave to one side.

Melt half the butter in a medium non-stick frying pan over a medium heat and ladle in half the omelette mixture. Swirl the eggs around for two minutes, pushing them to the middle and tilting the pan so that all the mixture has a chance to set. Leave it for a minute, then slip the omelette on to your serving plate. Top with half the dressed spinach and fold the omelette in half. Serve straight away, and repeat with the remaining butter, omelette mix and spinach.

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THRICE-COOKED PORK LOIN (Serves n 1.5 kg4-6) 8-10cm boned and rolled loin joint n Salt Start the recipe the day before you want to eat it. Put the joint in a pan and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and leave to cool in the water for 15 minutes. The pork should reach an internal temperature of around 55C. Place the pan in the sink under running cold water. When the pork has cooled down so it can be handled, lift it out and dry with a tea towel. Salt the skin, then leave in the fridge overnight, uncovered, to dry slightly

BECAUSE QUALITY MATTERS

and chill.

Once it’s chilled, set your oven to 140C. Cook the loin from fridge-cold for 40 minutes. On a probe thermometer (meat thermometer) it should read no more than 60C internally.

Remove the pork from the oven. Cool slightly, then leave it in the freezer for two to three hours, or overnight in the fridge, to chill completely.

When you’re ready, set your oven to 220C. Roast the pork from fridge-cold for 30 minutes, placing the meat on a rack with a

tray to catch any fat underneath. The skin should puff up like a balloon. If it goes too dark, pull the pork out and turn down the temperature, then put it back in.

The final internal temperature should be no higher than 63C - if it’s lower, don’t worry, as the core temp has already been reached during the previous cooking stages. n Meat temperature is very difficult to gage without gadgetry. Try a probing thermometer to accurately measure the temperature of your food.

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WORDS | Anne Berry | The Wine Cellar

ALTHOUGH VINEYARDS ARE ALMOST ALWAYS LOCATED IN RURAL AREAS, THE WINERIES AND CELLARS WHERE THE WINE IS ACTUALLY MADE ARE NORMALLY IN MORE URBAN LOCATIONS.

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n the last two decades, the wine industry has seen many changes and improvements. Consumption of fortified wines has fallen and table wines are becoming more popular. If you had tasted the still red wines from Portugal 30 years ago, you would be very hesitant to try another one. They used to be aged in ancient dirty old wooden barrels and were so tannic that you could almost taste the musty staves! Other than a sweetish Vinho Verde on a hot day, the white wines were best avoided completely.

With greater understanding of winemaking techniques and vineyard management, the wine industry is seeing steady improvements each year. In the Douro, this was driven partly by the fact that it is illegal for a Port producer to sell more than 30% of his Port each year. With the clearly fabulous quality of the fruit that makes these long lasting vintage Ports, producing still wines was an obvious step to help improve cash flow.

Further south in the Alentejo region, situated inland from Lisbon there has been substantial investment in wineries and the arrival in the area of a number of talented and passionate winemakers has led to a transformation of this region’s wines as well.

The Portuguese have always produced more blends than single varietal wines. Despite modernisation they still use mostly indigenous varieties that have adapted to their climatic and soil conditions over centuries, rather than choosing to use the so called international varieties. This means the Portuguese have managed to make high quality wines but retain distinctive character. It is also one of few countries where grape treading still takes place as a matter of course. It is a gentle method of extraction and helps retain the aromatics. On a recent visit, I volunteered to help out in the vat!

The stand out red variety of Portugal is Touriga Nacional. This variety is a key component of Port but it also makes exceptional dry red table wine.

Occasionally used as a single varietal, most winemakers agree that it is usually at its best when blended with Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz or Alicante Bouschet.

Traditional varieties are also used in the production of Portugal’s new wave white wines.

Fonte de Serrana Branco from Monte de Ravasqueira is a superb example of an Alentejo white produced from Antao Vaz

and Arinto. The Arinto brings aromas of grapefruit and lime, while, on the palate, the Antao Vaz adds depth of flavour with stone fruit character and it finishes fresh and crisp. At £8.25, this is a great value, interesting alternative to a Sauvignon Blanc.

A wonderful classic Douro red is Portal Colheita Tinto from Quinta do Portal, based high up in the Douro Valley. Produced from a blend of Touriga Nacional, Tinto Roriz and Touriga Franca and aged in oak for 9 months, it is smooth, well balanced and structured with a lovely fresh acidity. If steak is on the menu or you just want a red wine to enjoy with a platter of cheese, at £12.45 a bottle, this is well worth every penny and more!

Don’t be afraid of these indigenous grape varieties or the fact that the wines are blends. This is what the Portuguese do best!

THE WINE CELLAR • TENNIS ROAD • DOUGLAS • IM2 3QW TELEPHONE: 01624 611793 • EMAIL: anne@thewinecellar.im

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ACTIVE

COMMONWEALTH GAMES ASSOCIATION FUNDRAISING GOLF DAY AT RAMSEY GOLF CLUB

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he Isle of Man Commonwealth Games Association held a corporate golf day at Ramsey Golf Club recently, supported by Standard Bank. The team prize was claimed by Mann Link, Ed Walter from Wilton won the longest drive competition, Nick Kelly, also from Wilton, won the closest to the pin competition and the SMP Partners team won the yellow ball competition. The event raised over £3,500 for the association, which needs to raise around £100,000 to send teams to the next Commonwealth Games on Australia’s Gold Coast in 2018.

Chris Till Managing Director at Standard Bank, said: ‘Congratulations to Wilton and SMP for winning various competitions at the golf day, and to Mann Link for winning the overall competition; the day was very enjoyable. I’d like to wish the Island’s Commonwealth Games Association the best of luck in raising the money they need to send our national team to the games.’

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ACTIVE NEWS

BEN STRIKES AGAIN TO WIN MANX TELECOM END2END BIKE RACE!

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ore than 700 riders took part in the 20th anniversary Manx Telecom End2End Mountain Bike Challenge over the epic 46-mile course from the Point of Ayre to Port Erin. Some were racing to win, but most were riding to achieve personal fitness goals or raise funds for charity. As always, it was a fantastic day with a carnival atmosphere once again showing why it has become so popular with riders from both on and off Island.

Ben Thomas from England made it three wins in successive years, but the Mountain Trax/Vauxhall team rider had to fight off a determined challenge from Manx riders Nick Corlett (Manx Mountain Bike Club) and Elliott Baxter (Team Bikestyle) who finished second and third respectively. Anke Dannowski (ESV Dresden MTBO) won the women’s race with Cheri Mills (One Planet Adventure) in second, and Kathryn Priest (Manx Mountain Bike Club) in third. There was also a half-distance race from St John’s to Port Erin – the winners in the adult category were Paul Renshaw and Liz Bigwood, and Max Walker was the first junior.

Hundreds of riders opted to have action photos of them in the race automatically uploaded to their Facebook accounts thanks to a free Pic2Go service provided by Manx Telecom.

Voirrey Barron, Manx Telecom Marketing Communications Manager, said: “Congratulations and thanks to all of the riders who took part this year. We must also say a big thank you to all of the organising team, volunteers, and supporters who cheered the riders along the route – they all play a vital role in making the Manx Telecom End2End Mountain Bike Challenge such a great event.”

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MILLY’S A SHOOTING STAR

Top Island striker Milly Dawson has been selected for the Everton Football Club Regional Talent Squad – at just 8 years old.

Words: Suzy Holland Photos: Dom Dawson

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illy, who is in Year 4 at Cronk y Berry primary school, plays for Union Mills girls, Corinthians U9s boys team, the Isle of Man U10s and at the last Manx Youth Games in May scored 22 goals in just one day. Little wonder that when the Everton Ladies Team came over earlier this year, the coaches and scouts they brought with them they were captivated by this little blonde striker, and after watching videos of her performances invited her to go over for Everton Ladies Regional Talent Squad trials at the beginning of the summer holidays. And even though she was away on holiday for the first two dates, her performance in the last one impressed so highly, that as the school holidays started she began training at Everton once a week.

Dad Dominic couldn’t be more proud – even though he’s a staunch Man U fan.

“Milly has swapped red for blue and is now an Everton fan, but I really don’t mind!

She’s always loved her football and playing and scoring goals comes so naturally to her.

The coaching she’s getting at Everton is exceptional and, most of all, she loves it.”

Much of the coaching is centred on fitness and technique but, like any player, Milly would rather be playing matches. So, in BECAUSE QUALITY MATTERS

after Christmas when Milly hopes she’ll be selected for the U10s, and like any parent, Dom, who is self-employed, wants the best for her. “I can’t thank Rossborough Insurance enough for its help towards the travel costs, and of course the Steam Packet who have a special ‘sports’ package,” he tells me, “and thanks should also go to Milly’s Nanna Lynn who lives near the Everton training ground and puts us up every week.” If you’d like to follow her progress, she even has her own facebook page www. facebook.com/millyEFC/?fref=ts But it will be a whole different ball game now the school term has started: Cronk y Berry has been very supportive and allowed Milly Monday afternoons off, so Dom and Milly will flying over to Liverpool at lunchtime, attending training all afternoon and then will be back on the last flight before school the next day.

between telling me her plans for her 9th birthday party (and wearing light-up shoes for her disco) Milly told me that she’d scored in her first match for the U10s team last week and plans to play football for England one day like her heroine, Everton midfielder Jenna Dear.

The next step towards this goal is trials

“Even though we’re booking the flights as early as possible – and hoping for no delays or cancellations – this is going to be really expensive, even with family help across,” says Dom. “So if there’s anyone out there – perhaps an Everton fan – who would like to join Rossborough in helping with these costs, just drop me an email at dawseydom1@yahoo.co.uk or use the link below, and thank you.” https://crowdfunding.justgiving.com/ dominic-dawson?utm_id=92&utm_ term=XmNmeKdzm

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PWC ISLE OF MAN CONTINUES SPONSORSHIP OF MANX HOCKEY LEAGUES PwC Isle of Man is proud to continue its long-running sponsorship of the Manx Hockey Association for the forthcoming season.

The sponsorship covers several of the leagues that come under the MHA’s umbrella – Ladies, Men’s, Mixed Under-16,

Junior 11s and Junior 13s, and most recently the Summer 6s.

Anyone interested in getting involved with hockey, visit www.manxhockey.org or email Debbie Shimmin, Hon Secretary of Manx Hockey Association, at mhasecretary@ manx.net for more information.

PwC’s Paul Jones (back row, third from right) and Manx Hockey Association Chairman Tim Leeming (back row, second from right) pictured with representatives from Island teams – back row, from left - Steven Crowe, (Vikings), Keith Corkill (Ramsey), James Russell (Saracens), and James Cadamy (Castletown); front row, from left - Emma Leeming (Bacchas) Imogen Manning (Valkyrs), and Karmina Kovanda (Valkyrs)

MANXMAN WINS GUERNSEY CHURCH TO CHURCH WALK In his first off-Island competition race walker Samuel Fletcher secured victory in the Guernsey Church to Church Walk at the weekend. The event is celebrating its 80th birthday.

Samuel, from Manx Harriers, completed the 19.4-mile undulating course in 3 hours

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7 minutes 45 seconds to take the win becoming only the second male Manx winner of the event after Michael George in 2010 and 2012. Many other Manx walkers have contested the race in the past, including Vinny Lynch, Jock Waddington and Steve Partington. Marie Jackson secured the ladies title in 2010 and 2011.

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RUST IN PIECES WORDS Russ Atkinson

Inspired by the memory a beautifully shot and edited video posted online years ago of a chap in Japan casually popping out to a 24 hour petrol station for a can of Red Bull in his Rothmans liveried Group C Porsche 962, I had envisaged this article to be an exploration into what drives people like the mystery man in the Porsche driving down Japan’s highways in an ex-endurance racing prototype car to collect, their backgrounds, the roots of their passion.

Then I discovered that the Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah, has a collection of over 7,000 cars. Just because he can. And he does. You read that correctly; 7,000 exotic cars, many of which are in fact also unique. In Brunei, the tiny 2,000 square mile sovereign state just by Borneo down there in Southeast Asia. Sadly, the tropical equatorial climate does this extensive car collection little favours. It’s no wonder

Dauer 962 Le Mans

Produced from genuine 962 chassis supplied by Porsche, the Dauer Sportwagen produced version benefitted from not only a handful of creature comforts, including more than one seat to allow you to scare your contemporaries absolutely shitless on the way to the pub, but also a bit of extra power given they didn’t have to include the turbo restrictor to satisfy ACO regulations.

730 horsepower is probably about right for a road car weighing a smidge over a tonne, anyway. Nice choice, Sultan, I’d definitely have one of these. It’d be rude not to, it’s the car that inspired the article after all.

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Jay Leno’s chin can’t stand him. He’s also a totalitarian dictator, which doesn’t help. The Sultan of Brunei, that is, rather than Jay Leno’s chin.

With a mere two pages with which to sum up this collection of over 7,000 vehicles I’ve decided to focus on just a small handful of the rarest as well as a couple that I’d quite like in my garage at home.

FERRARI MYTHOS CONCEPT

Looking like something derived directly from the minds of the artists behind the original Need For Speed games, Ferrari never intended any of the small handful of functioning Mythos’ for public consumption. Naturally, the Sultan has two of them stashed away somewhere.

Coachbuilder Pininfarina also have one which they keep in their museum having created the vehicles on Ferrari’s behalf ahead of the Tokyo Motor Show in 1989 using Ferrari Testarossas as a base.

FERRARI 456 ESTATE

The Sultan’s brother asked Ferrari for seven of these but only went through with purchasing six at a rumoured $1,500,000 per car. Personally, I quite like it. The 456 is a stunning stallion to start out with but this one’s got plenty of room for all kinds of things; dogs, golf clubs, shotguns, a number of balthazars of Dom Pérignon or my favourite, a few lengths of 2x4 and a couple of sheets of plasterboard. Perfect, I’ll take eight please. Oh, hang on, I’m a few quid short. Could I possibly change that to, er, none?

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MERCEDES-BENZ CLK GTR

Few people know this, because it isn’t important, but aged 13 I physically touched a road-going one of these from the other side of a rope at the London Motor Show when nobody who semeed that bothered was watching. I remember this clearly, because it had one of those little for sale signs with the slot-in numbers on the roof that read £1,000,000, which was a mind boggling amount of money for a 13 year old to get his tiny head around. Plus my dad dared me to touch it.

The CLK GTR was so costly, in fact, that it held the Guinness World Record at the time for the most expensive production vehicle ever.

Not satisfied with simply ordering one of the 35 road cars to roll from the production line though, the Sultan ordered the only two that were produced in right hand drive; a coupe and a roadster. The coupe even had a tartan interior! I think I’d have wet mysef with excitement if I’d have witnessed such a marvel aged only 13. To be fair, I’d probably struggle to hold it together even today. An exquisite choice, Sultan.

HARDWARE

BMW NAZCA C2

Another example of a vehicle so absurdly low volume that despite being an undeniable full-on petrolhead I’ve still never actually seen in real life, so it stands to reason that the Mr Bolkiah has one of the three examples that Italdesign constructed in the early nineties in his collection. They never made mass production when BMW got cold feet after an intern presumbaly piped up and reminded the decision makers that despite how badass the BMW M1 had been, they really didn’t need another financial failure of such epic proportion in a hurry and they moved all of the V12 engines earmarked for the Nazca C2 back onto the 8 Series production line. You remember the 8 Series, don’t you? Achieving the lowest number of units sold as well as the longest production run in BMW history at the very same time. It’s a good job that the 750iL was so popular in certain circles or they’d have never found a home for all of those spare V12 engines...

Cizeta-Moroder V16T

Here’s one that few people will have heard of and even then, the handful that have were probably enlightened by computer games rather than witnessing one of these contraptions in real life. And frankly, contraption is probably the most appropriate term to use when speaking about a hypercar with two sets of pop-up lights and a transversely mounted V16 engine. Sort of. Because in reality it used two V8s that shared a crank. Still, you can’t knock the group of ex-Lamborghini engineers behind the project for giving it a go. Incidentally, it uses the originally proposed design for Lamborhini’s famous Diablo, sketched out before Chrysler took over and softened things up a little. Twenty were made between 1991 and 1995 but you could still order one up until 2006 for a mere $649,000, or $849,000 if you were after one that’ll allow you to risk melanoma on the top of your head.

BENTLEY DOMINATOR

In the days before Bentley’s Bentayga and the Autobiography series of Range Rover that allowed you to lavish disgusting amounts of money on what was essentially a chopped down Land Rover 110 with leather seats and a slightly bigger yet adequately asthmatic engine, if you wanted an odd looking off-roader then you had to ask nicely. Or throw stacks of cash around in a way reminiscent of the end of each episode of the Crystal Maze. That’s exactly how I imagine it going down at Bentley headquarters in Crewe the day the Sultan requested six of these TX1 taxi lookalikes at a rumoured £3,000,000 per car, anyway. So little is known about them that the world only became aware of their existence when a photographer happened upon two of them being loaded onto an aircraft destined for Brunei.

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In a display of incredible security effort, an Autocar photographer managed to take this photograph whilst standing directly behind a police officer. On an airfield.

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Collective Gadgets WORDS Taylor Jones

The noun “collective” is defined by Google as “a cooperative enterprise”, or “a collective farm”. For the purpose of this magazine, and so that I don’t have to review combine harvesters and the latest John Deere products only to be berated for not appreciating the sedulous grit of the agricultural business, we will focus on the first of these definitions.

The “cooperative enterprise” is far from a foreign concept, however what you may not know is that they have provided us with more than a supermarket that lies somewhere just enough north of the line of mediocrity to be able to charge standard Jersey prices. The effects of cooperative enterprises shape and move the way we live our daily lives; CoBrA (pre G.I. Joe), was a European art collective who have influenced many modern and contemporary artists today, and I would be remiss in my duty if I didn’t mention the monumental inspiration that is the Wu Tang Clan. Technically a musical collective, Wu Tang changed much in the rap business and especially paved the way for newer groups like A$AP Mob, who are actually doing their best to ruin and destroy the music industry. Swings and roundabouts.

One collective that may have allowed limited success to nurture their hero complexes is the society of impassioned entrepreneurs that take to Kickstarter, the crowdfunding website, to get the ideas and concepts that come to them in their dreams to become a reality. The website is

awash with ideas that, like Socialism, sound and look fantastic but don’t quite have the funding to work. These people rely on the collective kindness of the masses to fund their work and create such gems as the Thomas the Tank Engine Themed RPG

There are indeed people out there who are working to advance the human species, and don’t just want to watch the world burn. These are the people making the gadgets that you see here, and what brings them all together very conveniently for the

“The website is awash with ideas that, like Socialism, sound and look fantastic but don’t quite have the funding to work.” (raised £0), a movie named Twerk Island ($30), and Little Eatz, the treat that both you and your dog can enjoy ($251). Needless to say, finding anything on this website that even comes close to being innovative or indeed useful requires the perseverance of Atlas whilst wading through the conflagration of nugatory, mind-numbing embarrassments, however like that one good scene in the final Matrix movie, the sky is clearer when you break through the clouds (minus a dead girlfriend/wife).

“Collective” issue of Gallery? They are at the mercy of the collective giver. Can you feel the power coursing through your veins?

*Disclaimer: I’m not going to put where to find these inventions, as I feel it would either insult your intelligence, or prove to me that you haven’t read this introduction. Shame on you.

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OLO Portable 3D Printer

3D printers seem to be waiting to fully capture a mainstream audience, but I do like the idea of OLO. It’s cheap, portable, and it uses the light from your smartphone’s screen to print 3D objects. Sensibly, it works with Android, iOS and Windows, and you can grab things to print from OLO’s library when you inevitably realise that the software required to actually use a 3D printer to make your own dreams become reality is only 3 arbitrary steps below the software used to encode the Pentagon’s secret information. A suggestion: print a ‘smartphone’, so you don’t get withdrawal symptoms when yours is tied up 3D printing all the time.

The magical thing about this device is you won’t have to 3D print your own

Air Bonsai

There’s something quite beautiful and poetic about this Kickstarter, its creator talking of a galaxy of little stars, on each of which you can make a wish. Mostly, though, I watched the Kickstarter video and three words stuck in my head: levitating tiny trees.

Essentially, the ‘little star’ is a mossy magnet, ready for a bonsai to be transplanted. Below sits an ‘energy base’, which keeps the moss ball and tiny tree passenger floating in mid-air. Brilliantly, it can also lazily rotate, thereby making every other shrub in the vicinity green with envy rather than chlorophyll. I know I said earlier that utility was important here but come on. Floating trees.

Unfortunately, levitation comes at a price, and that price is $200.

Some people will pay through the nose for serenity and peace.

Ruggie

Alarm clocks are rubbish, because they can be snoozed/immersed in water/hurled out of the window. Ruggie cunningly urges you towards a better morning routine due to not shutting up until you’ve stood on it for a few seconds.

Not going to work because you’re the sort of person who’d then fl op back into bed? Programme the foamy alarm to have you lurk for longer, all while chirruping motivational speeches from important people in your general direction.

Short of the Gun/Target gadget I featured a long time ago (hands up the Gadgets massive), this is probably the best alarm system that I’ve seen whilst writing this section. Is it worth $115? When you add up the cost of all the alarms that you will inevitably smash in your life, yes.

Bento Lab

It says something about the march of technology that we’re this month featuring Bento Lab, whose breezy catchphrase is “a DNA laboratory for everybody”.

This would only years ago have been an April Fools’ Day gag, but here you really can take a biological sample, extract its DNA (using a tiny centrifuge), and conduct genetic analysis.

It’s not cheap, but then this is serious kit. The fi rst person to successfully use one to bring back a T-Rex will subsequently be blamed for the apocalypse. I’ve avoided watching Jurassic Park enough times to know that playing God only exposes the fl aws in his omnipotence.

In order to feel the pleasure of fi nding DNA results that will mean absolutely nothing to you unless you have a Masters Degree in Biology, you will be paying £699. Privatise the NHS then come back to me on this one BECAUSE QUALITY MATTERS

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HARDWARE

PHONE HOME

SONY XPERIA XA ULTRA

at a glance

Get your selfie game on!

With a 16 megapixel front camera, you can create a sharp, blur free selfie every time. Along with this is the 21.5 megapixel Hybrid Autofocus back camera which is perfect for freezing action in a bright, blur-free shot.

With its 6” screen, barely there frame and curved screen edge, the Sony Xperia XA Ultra is easy on the eye and the hand. The larger screen allows for easier use of the device and is ideal for viewing those sharp selfies!

Even though this is a powerful device, it doesn’t affect the battery life. 2 days of battery life from a single charge is ideal for people with a busy lifestyle.

The Sony Xperia XA Ultra is available from Manx Telecom – the island’s leading 4G network – from FREE @ £35 per month over 24 months on Smartphone 300 includes 300 minutes, 10,000 texts & 3GB 4G Data.

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6”

touchscreen

16GB internal storage

up to 256GB MicroSD

21.5MP

plus 16MP front camera

Android OS

ready

from FREE

@ £35 per month over 24 months on Smartphone 300 plan

TURNING UP THE HEAT The Cat S60 is a top-end phone with a difference. The world’s first phone to come with a thermal imaging function, it has been designed for people working in the more rugged professions like engineering or construction.

Thermal imaging may not strike many people as a key feature but if your work means you need to be aware of leaks, energy efficiency or on the lookout for construction faults, then it’s an incredibly useful app to have at your fingertips.

The Cat S60 has been certified as military grade for its toughness – dustproof, drop proof and waterproof to five metres, and useable with gloved or wet hands, it’s a phone that’s hard to break but which also does everything that you’d expect of a high end smartphone.

Running Android 6.0 Marshmallow and equipped with a 13MP main camera, a 5MP camera on the front and a 4.7 inch HD display, the S60 is as capable of keeping you connected via social media as it is able to keep you on top of your work.

You can check out the Cat S60 in the Sure stores today, just pop in to take a look.

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