VikingRaider

For those who are wondering why Episode 2 wasn't as billed it was because that episode featured someone who has been hauled back inside so it can't be shown until his case is dealt with.

Haven't they completely forgotten about the existing RNLI boathouse ... exactly how will they be able to launch when the beach is no more ?

No they can't ... these ex-BMI slots are ring fenced for domestic fllights.

Just tried that and won't let me access the site at all ... they are obviously blocking proxy servers as well which is a bit odd.

Does anyone on the island have an IHG account which they are able to login to and view their account ? I haven't been able to use mine for months (since their Q1 software upgrade) but it works fine when I'm in the UK. I've done all the obvious things so I think IHG must be blocking IOM IP addresses. Up until a few days ago I could use the IHG app on my mobile but now that doesn't even allow me to log on at all let alone look at my account.

MBNA pulled all their affinity cards (Virgin, Lufthansa, AA, United, etc.) this week, if you have one you are ok for the moment but they will disappear eventually. It was rumoured that it was something to do with the loss of their Amex licence but I don't think so as they pulled AA as well which was Visa only, its more likely to do with the Lloyds takeover. If you have an M&S card it will still work atm but they are not accepting any applications from IOM, this is also true of Tesco and Barclaycard.

As someone said on the radio yesterday ... these so-called savings from not issuing free bus passes will only happen if said individuals then go on to pay for their journeys ... this simply won't happen ... most will use their cars so the 'savings' are totally spurious. Quite frankly anything which persuades half blind pensioners who shouldn't have a licence in the first place to use a bus rather than drive should be encouraged, whatever the so-called cost.

As I understand it the £50 will be collected as part of the rates bill and as most people I assume pay monthly the amount decided by the rating authority, to choose to pay less than this amount will render the occupant liable to paying the entire amount for the year immediately. Alternatively for those more fortunate souls who pay in one lump sum, any deduction of the £50 will mean they will lose the early payment discount as the bill hasn't been paid in full. Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe this means any idea of people withholding the £50 is a non-starter.

Things change quickly ... Had an email from BA this morning and lo and behold the schedule until April next year has appeared overnight. Just booked a 5hr linked ticket to somewhere that normally takes an overnight both ways ... very happy bunny.

Just had an interesting conversation with the BA helpdesk : The IOM-LCY timetable only goes up to 26/10/12 but I need to book a linked flight over the Christmas period (all the other BA routes have had a published winter timetable for some time). The operator thought this was odd and went away to check with a supervisor, he came back and said that this route was only available under a Summer timetable and there were no plans at present to continue it into the Winter. Hopefully this may change but I wonder ?

As the MER is involved I'm sure this may be another of Mr Longworths rather frequent 'emergencies' that seem to arise from rather mundane things like leaky buses, diesel train engines needed to cut hedges, or payrises being needed to avert strikes. The guy has cried wolf so many times I'm amazed that any politician is prepared to stand up and justify any spending anymore. Long millions spent on new buses and the laughable need for a diesel loco etc when we are cutting student fees and nursery support. Maybe Gawne fell for this latest 'emergency' on the grounds of it's suggested significant impact on the Manx tourist industry? It would be a real bugger if those 100 elderly tourists we get turned up at Easter and couldn't get a tram to Laxey to buy an ice cream. Never let the truth get in the way of a good story ... Just for the record the MER actually caused the problem as the re-laying of the track a few years back has caused the new ballast to act as a french drain funnelling the run-off water to one point at Ballure instead of letting it seep through the tracks at multiple points (it's also caused some streams to dry up and others to massively increase flows further up the track). The real issue here however is why the work wasn't done while the MER was closed, instead of that the work was done each evening after the MER was finished (H&S won't allow them to work under live wires with excavators for obvious reasons) meaning that a number of DOI workers were working evenings to get the job done before TT (very laudable I'm sure but I'm assuming they were suitably compensated). Apparently the cost of the job was coming out of DCCL budget but the job was done by DOI staff who were (I assume) earning all the overtime, nice work if you can get it but the real question is that if it was so urgent why wasn't the job done earlier to save money before the MER re-opened ?

I'd thought of that thanks but I couldn't find it.

Go to WWW.GOV.IM/REGISTRIES/COURTS/ENTBOOKS.XML Anyone have any idea where this list is now please ?

why ?, are you not affected by force 10 storms ? are the MEA embarrassed at using cheap overhead lines and have trees fall on them rather than use underground cables which are not affected by the weather ? I think it's disgraceful No I think he means that the bow thruster should have been fixed long before the situation got to this stage and he is absolutely right. Had it been fixed I and hundreds of others would not have had to spend 6 hours (and counting) on the BMC today. The staff on board have been great and the company has been giving away free food and drinks but it shouldn't have happened in the first place. The situation today is not due to the weather but to a faulty boat that any competent company should have fixed months ago or if it couldn't be fixed should have made sure in plenty of time that another vessel was available.

Any idea if the Ben docked today. Its just that AIS is showing that it is circling the bay. No still here ... hopefully we are only waiting for the Mannanan to leave and release the berth.