craggy_steve

I don't think the IoM Superyacht business will die overnight, the island has built up expertise and services which go beyond VAT, but that would be to miss the point anyway. Boats of 10 metres to 20 metres are not really Superyacht territory, they're either small commercial or mostly owned by the well to do, not the mega-rich. The costs of playing with 50 meter ++ Superyachts are in a totally different league, £millions p.a., and I really don't see Ramsey or any other IoM port becoming the Cannes of the Irish Sea. The type of customer M A is talking about is more likely to be a well-heeled professional who can afford to send his kids to boarding school (such as King Bill's), and to whom the cost of keeping a 15 metre boat for the family is an affordable luxury (and probably cheaper than a cottage in France or villa in Spain).

I think Dilli that it's clear you don't have much experience playing with big saily boats. According to ex UK PM Ted Heath ""It's like standing under a cold shower tearing up five-pound notes.". Big motor boats are probably worse, 1,000HP engine power gets through lots of fuel. Can't remember how much I used to pay to keep my saily boat in Liverpool, but moving it to Fleetwood was cheaper and moving to the IoM was an absolute bargain by comparison. Messing about in boats can be big money - which is currently not being spent on the IoM by willing customers because we don't have (enough) facilities. Dunno what the waiting list is for a pontoon berth in Douglas or Peel now but it was more than a year, and those are only accessible at high water. So I think he has a good point.

If David Dorricott is on board, as the website claims, then I'd say it's a credible proposal. Good luck to them with what could be a fantastic initiative.

The entrance to the Friary Park estate.

It would be amazing if there were not one.

Define "good". If MR were not in receipt of public funds I doubt we'd be having this discussion. There's little wrong with MR that couldn't be fixed by better directors / board. They have brought down all this controversy and opprobrium upon the station and its staff by over-egging the value of MR to the nation and demanding ever-more subvention, without which we wouldn't really give a toss. It's understandable in a way, they have a very conflicted role directing an organisation which relies on both gov't and commercial funding, but they've misread public sentiment.

And your point is? Personally I couldn't see any point in the new speed restriction other than possibly to reduce stress on the surface. I was surprised to see bald patches seemingly so soon after it was last surface-dressed, but I didn't regard them as being a threat to my safety or a justification for a reduced speed limit - all road surfaces erode and need re-making / re-dressing from time to time and that is what will likely be needed again on Richmond Hill. Are we going to have a temporary speed limit on there for a few weeks until the re-work can be arranged?

Driving up it today I noticed that there were several bald patches where the resurfacing had seemingly come away, not just loose chippings.

I was involved in the Sams (across) at the time the national number went live. As I recall it was, as much as anything, about load distribution because if, for example, the two volunteers on duty in a branch were at a point in time both engaged then a third caller would not get a response from the local branch. The advent of the national number meant there was a higher likelihood that someone would be able to pick up the call even if not from the local branch. This didn't suit everyone because some callers were "regular" and frequently chose / wanted to speak to the same Sams each time they rang in order to avoid having to explain their problems afresh, but it probably did help to ensure that more calls got answered promptly. And yes, the Sams are wonderful.

It was of course the year in which IoMG started cutting back on services due to the first tranche (£114M) of VAT share reduction. No idea whether those service restrictions / extra eligibility tests etc. had any impacts on some of the more vulnerable which contributed to the increased number of suicides in 2009 and the following years - but it's a plausible coincidence.

Unfair to slugs.

I suspect life as an MHK is inane. Hence the general reluctance of the other parliamentarians to tell us what they spend their days doing ...

It's certainly not a greasy spoon, although the greasy spoon cafés on the island seem to do OK. As for whether it is what is wanted - not by you perhaps but clearly by the many loyal customers who keep returning to it and recommending it. Horses for courses, diversity in a free market etc.

TBH I'd choose the Cosy Nook, as is now, over Bradda, the Sound or Niarbyl. It's simple but reliably excellent at being what it is.

Yay. Listened this morning and this afternoon, on the way to work and back, and the sound levels seemed fine in the speech, adverts and music. Maybe they've cracked it!

I'd stopped listening. I'll give MR a try in the morning.

Might just be a mode setting on the desk given that you're all digital. My 1970's Neve broadcast desk had lovely slow VU meters, which I used to run at 100% for speech and c. 70% for (compressed, pre-recorded) music to get a perception of equivalent loudness.

I see if Juan Turner had his way we would replace Manx Radio with BBC Radio Isle of Man - and he reckons that the BBC would do a better job. With due respect to Juan, I think this is a terrible proposal. The BBC isn't really interested in local / regional radio, it caved in at the beginning of the 1980s and started properly rolling out local radio in the UK only due to the impact of local / community pirate radio stations stealing the BBC's audience in the '70s, just as it only caved in and started playing pop due to competition from the offshore pirates of the 60's. The BBC as an institution is a puppet of the UK Gov't and will remain so as long as the license fee system remains. We should hang on to control of our own Public Service Broadcasting, but fix the model. It would probably make more sense to separate the PSB content creation into a separate entity under MNH or similar, convert Manx Radio into a 100% commercial broadcaster without any state aid, and allow all the local stations to license the PSB content appropriate to their audience segments. That way we get a level playing field for commercial competition and retain the PSB content which the subvention is supposed to provide.

Best topic on MF for years. Thanks.

Yeah. They came to the studio in Berlin beginning of '79 before their concert. Genuinely nice guys (and gave us complimentary tickets )

As far as I'm concerned they can play Status Quo Again and Again

It'll be the Chimichurri Dressing ...

What's the problem? Website seems no better or worse than before (pretty awful) except that it looks nicer on mobile phones ? I presumed it was the old website (functionality, navigation, content) with a new coat of paint?

Looks the same as this 2010 video! (Which, as the comments make clear, is not actually the Isle of Man ferry)

'twas actually technically an 11 blowing across the Mersey, took two tugs to push the boat up against the Birkenhead mooring and hold her there while we unloaded and the return passengers boarded. I had a marine VHF handheld with me, most enlightening listing to the Captain instructing the tugs.