The Phantom

She's Baroness of Knightsbridge or something isn't she? And a member of the House of Lords (to which she rarely shows up to allegedly). To maintain these 'titles' would she not have to stay resident in the UK?

If you're planning on setting up a business when here (if MF trolls haven't discouraged you) there is a different visa possible - the Tier 1 Entrepreneur Visa. https://www.gov.im/categories/travel-traffic-and-motoring/immigration/invest/tier-1-entrepreneur/

Both Mark Cavendish (on Instagram) and the winner of the Fondo (on Manx Radio) confirmed there were tacks on the course. Pretty horrendous behaviour by someone to be honest. It's unlikely that they'll ever find out who did it, but sabotaging an event like this is pretty serious. If the tacks were on a downhill section at speed, puncture + loss of control + wall = serious injuries (look at Chris Froome recently) or even death. There have actually been quite a lot of sabotage incidents over the years on cycling events here. The end2end course was 're-directed' the night before by some prankster. Some ramps etc in Laxey for the one of the Enduros have been destroyed. There have even been planks with nails in on some mountain bike tracks.

7 gates track is just after Greeba on the old railway track. The turn off is at Kerrowgarrow Farm Cottages and it heads up to the NW side to Archallagan. Great track both up and down if all the gates are open!!!

Yeah I think the bubble burst around 2010/2011. Prices came right down (although not at the Estate Agents - it just seemed that lower offers were going in and being accepted). Prices went down, levelled out for the past 7/8 years and lots of houses stayed on the market for a long time. In the last year properties seem to be moving a lot quicker and prices now have started to come back up (a little). Although I think they are a lot more realistic now. Earlier this year I sold a house I bought in 2009 for the same price I paid for it (although i did sell first day on the market at full asking price - so maybe it could have been priced higher). I've now just bought another place for what i thought was a decent price, although the previous owners spent about £50k on extension etc and sold it for the same price they paid approx 10 years ago too. To be honest you can only burst a bubble once! I think it's actually an ok time to buy at the moment and so do a lot of people judging by the amount of 'SOLD' signs around.

There is a difference between an electric bike and an electrically assisted bike. The first you don't need to pedal and you have suggested this is the intention. I don't think you are actually legally allowed to ride an electric bicycle on the road unless it is taxed, insured etc etc. There is a weird point in UK road laws about this and it covers things like Segways etc - you're not allowed them on the pavement and you're not allowed them on the road. So only for use on private land. The second is what you commonly see around and referred as an 'electric bike', but you actually have to pedal. The motor assists this pedaling (but only up to 15mph). So he would have to pedal home. Albeit very lightly and with the engine assisting.

Interesting article in the Guardian relates to this: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jul/05/how-britain-can-help-you-get-away-with-stealing-millions-a-five-step-guide If you want to launder your money you go to London (or New York). It interestingly even states that the offshore jurisdictions have been bullied into creating the public beneficial ownership registers (which are then verified) but the UK doesn't do any of this.

You'd think so wouldn't you, but I think under 2's are just a pain in the ass from a business point of view, as you need additional staff to cover. I don't know exact numbers, but it's something along the lines of one staff member per three children under 2, whereas for over 2 one staff member can look after five children. I don't think the returns are that huge for the extra staffing. Baby Phantom pays £50 per day and I think when over 2 this goes down to £40 You might get a small injection from the Govt on their generic business start up scheme, but I don't think they provide any direct contributions to nurseries.

Also with wheels on? Like a trailer or a train? Yeah, sounds completely impossible. Can't say I've ever had to drag a 23kg case to a gate either. Pretty understanding airline you fly with if that's your carry-on allowance

Frankly I would love a set of the adult heely things when travelling through airports. Imagine how much fun/quicker it would be to get to your gate on those beautifully smooth floors....

Age of child? If under 2 there are very few places available and you have to reserve a place way in advance (almost before even getting pregnant).

But do you want to live longer if you are not ageing slower? We are just being old and almost dead for longer. It's not like you can do much other than sit in a comfy chair and stare out a window.

Is this anything to do with the alleged new VAT windfall I've heard mutterings about?

I'm actually looking at something similar in the office too. My understanding is Skype is due to be completely phased out in the next year or so and replaced by Microsoft 'Teams'. One option I've heard about but not yet tested is Whatsapp. Apparently if you have this on your phone already you can use it on your computer, but you will need to download an 'Android emulator'.

Yep it's local. I see it driving into Douglas from daan saaf every now and then.