Andy Onchan

6 hours ago, Hairy Poppins said:

Basically undoing the damage inflicted but Longtail

Not just Longtail. It would have required someone from Treasury to have signed off on all of the above. I don't think it was just down to Longtail.

1 hour ago, Fred the shred said:

I don’t remember any of our previous Bishops coming to the Island six months before they took the post up on a charm offensive which this obviously is to try and swing votes.

The last four did. Perhaps you missed them.

53 minutes ago, Gladys said:

To put it more bluntly, it is from a time when religion was used to control the population through fear and the threat of eternal damnation. 

Most of which was in the name of the Monarch of the day, especially tolls & tithes... If they hadn't got your heart then they would certainly get your money or it was paid pay for in other ways.

1 hour ago, P.K. said:

I thought she was on a C of E stipend?

Could be wrong.

The stipend is paid from York, I think. Absolutely no cost to either Diocese or Tynwald. Been like that for yonks.

1 hour ago, Fred the shred said:

The lady in question is still a lady in waiting until October but she was on MR this morning touting for a vote in Tynwald.    It was done with charm but would she not be better employed getting some punters in the churches she will be taking responsibility for which are really depleted and those attending are elderly there are very few young people interested.    She will also be responsible for the maintenance of the churches and cathedral which are fine buildings in their own right but not easy or cheap to run, heating and repairs must be a nightmare.    With all this to manage how has she got the time to sit in Tynwald ?    This is the job she is paid for she should concentrate on that.

She's not responsible for the maintenance of any church fabric, not even the Cathedral. The parishioners/members & wardens (legally) are. Hence the endless fund-raising that goes on. But you're absolutely correct about maintenance costs, it is a headache.

2 hours ago, Gladys said:

Tynwald has had a series of specialists from each side of the debate, including local medics,  to help inform them of the issues.  It is a very complex matter with many ramifications, but having brought the bill for consideration, who else should consider it, amend it and decide whether or not it should be enacted, but Tynwald? 

That is the role of the MHKs and MLCs.  How else should the legislature operate? 

None of the MLCs or MHKs are 'qualified' in the technical understanding to comment on this topic and that is why they have brought the experts in.  Possibly Dr A is the best 'qualified', but he has brought the bill so could not be said to be impartial, although after listening to both sides of the debate his view may change. 

However, all MHKs are qualified in the sense that they are the elected representatives of their constituents, and the wider population.  I really do not think their academic qualifications are entirely relevant in this debate.

Or do we expect each to shrug and 'I don't know' and not fulfil their role to debate and approve/reject? 

There is also Royal Assent to consider.  I don't know what criteria is applied in that process, but you would think that if a bill as important and fundamental as this had not been subject to full and informed debate, it may not get that assent. 

Don't disagree with any of the above, just simply saying that the bigger picture transcends even elected representatives. If it was that easy to deal with most countries in the world would already have this on their statute books and we would already be years behind. I don't subscribe to the body of opinion that says just because IOM would be first in the UK to legislate for it, it would be good for us.

As I've said earlier up the thread, I'll be surprised if it gets as far as Royal Assent.

I'm not a fan of Alf but on this I think he's right. The idea needs testing to see if there's an appetite for it. I believe Tynwald, the Keys in particular need some form of mandate.

Just now, Gladys said:

Qualified by virtue of having been elected as a MHK. 

If it was just politics I'd agree. It's more than that, much more.

If I understand correctly the issue doesn't have overwhelming support from the Island's medical profession.

On 5/15/2024 at 2:05 PM, Mikimoto said:

With all due respect, Kate Lord-Streetflats is barely 40 with a Leeds degree in EU studies...never sure how these people are suddenly qualified to comment on such key issues.

As qualified as you and me.

2 hours ago, John Wright said:

MX is currently burning about 40% more than Ben. See my post above. That’s as limited at 17knts, due to the resonance.

Im reliably advised that the excess fuel consumption wasn’t anticipated and is, as yet, unexplained. 

You’ll notice that SPCo are remarkably silent and don’t issue mythbusters when they’re trying to be opaque.

If fuel is £800/tonne that’s 3.4 million extra litres ( 3,400 extra tonnes ) and £2.4 million extra cost.

I wonder if they've thought to push the choke in!

Seriously though, of the three issues you mentioned this could be the most serious because all the trade press info about the Wartsila 31 engine is very positive.

I'm not an engineer at all but I wonder if the issue of the increased fuel burn and the shuddering are connected, ie torsional vibration??

39 minutes ago, WTF said:

but now we excess capacity for more of the year with excess fuel costs, docked boats dont tend to burn much fuel

Where is the evidence of "excess fuel costs"? What are the comparators? Same fuel type or different more expensive fuels to reduce carbon? 

I can't see this getting past westminster or as far as Royal Assent.

2 hours ago, yorik said:

Not really. Gelato is made with milk, ice cream with something else but can't quite remember what.

Although having dug deeper, I've been misinformed...

Gelato still has lower butterfat content than standard ice cream and less air whipped into it though

Gelatine??

On 1/4/2021 at 8:04 PM, Banker said:

Anyone for a laugh, jet ski knob apologies!! Probably got a few bob for you interview 

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/jetski-romeo-who-broke-covid-23252484

Is there a connection I wonder?: https://news.sky.com/story/man-dies-after-two-jet-skis-crash-off-coast-of-dumfries-and-galloway-13134551

On 5/2/2024 at 1:14 PM, Derek Flint said:

Uplands ranger has always been a job, and they always worked hard to keep the place straight, enforce byelaws and the like.

The carbon stuff - it's already locked in. Don't dig it up and it will stay like that. Not sure how the position is sustainable?  (See what I did there?)

There's got to be something to show for any of these posts in terms of tangible outputs.

I thought these "rangers" were employed by MWT?

3 minutes ago, Happier diner said:

Yeah maybe we get free replacement batteries but we have to dispose of the knackered ones by sending them to China at a cost of £30M

Chuck 'em down Foxdale mines, isn't that what usually happens?

13 hours ago, Roger Mexico said:

It has to be admitted that the Steam Packet's reaction to the Which? survey is probably more revealing that the survey is.  In its long whinge in response (all helpfully printed by Manx Radio) there's very little about striving to improve things or taking all criticism seriously.  Just prolonged and bombastic self-justification, repeating all the same points we hear from them all the time and holding up things they are legally obliged to do as some sort of badge of excellence.

They also claim "Steam Packet journeys are classed as short international voyages between the Isle of Man and the UK/Ireland, rather than domestic services as outlined in the Which? Survey" as if meant they should really be compared with those.  But the worst performing by far of those is P&O on the Dover-Calais route who get 55% (no one else is below 66%).  Compared to the Steam packet's 56%.  So they'd still be down with the worst.

It's also quite revealing that they haven't even looked at the Which survey properly - even though that might have helped their case.  So they say it "was undertaken in December 2023, in the middle of the worst weather there's been for a number of years" but if you look at the survey it was based on "1,953 experiences of taking a ferry from the UK in the past three years"[1].  If they had been bothered to understand this, they could have claimed things would be improved with the arrival of the Manxman.  Similarly the tables show now rating in some categories (eg Food and Drink) as "too few responses to rate"[2].  Clearly not that many people actually responded and they could claim it was unrepresentative.  It also took them a fortnight to respond and then only after local media had reported on it.

It's telling too that they have no customer satisfaction surveys of their own to respond with.  Either they're truly dreadful or they think actually asking the public how things are going is beneath them.

 

[1]  I suspect this means that the number of people who responded will be even fewer, as some people who did will have made numerous ferry journeys over the time, possibly with numerous operators.  For all we know 1,900 of the 'experiences' could be from John Wright.

[2]  It's not clear what limit Which? used, but normally something in the range 30-50 is considered sensible.

So all 1,953 experiences travelled to the Isle of Man and all the other destinations? Who paid for these journeys?

9 minutes ago, Roger Mexico said:

Incidentally I suspect the Club has been in that location for rather more than the last 20 years as she seems to think.

I might be wrong but I'm pretty sure that building has been the home of the Peel Sailing & Cruising club since I moved to the Island +40 years ago.

5 hours ago, IOM said:

Am not sure when you have been but every time I go through the airport ( and that’s reasonably frequently) I personally find the Costa staff are always pleasant . 

Depends on what time you go through there.

9 minutes ago, Jarndyce said:

Don’t forget the “head meat”, steamed off the carcass.

You been watching too much Hacker! 🤣

2 hours ago, P.K. said:

You can't beat the voice of experience...

Beat me to it.

2 minutes ago, Jarndyce said:

Four years ago!?   I thought IOM had their finger on the pulse where Tesco were concerned!

Ho, ho, ho, ho, ho!

2 hours ago, Mr. Sausages said:

Bag rips when picking it up.

transfer of poo from bag to hand when tying knot in bag

dog poos on twigs, twigs end up in bag and cause bag to rip.

poo is runnier than expected, meaning it just can’t realistically be picked up

There speaks the voice of experience!

5 hours ago, Roger Mexico said:

I don't really know.  I have raised this several times with people at various meetings over the years and never got a sensible answer or indeed any answer at all.

There's some information and links on this Reddit thread about how a transport authority can make its data usable and sign up to be a "Transit Partner":

https://www.reddit.com/r/GoogleMaps/comments/175bxq2/how_to_add_my_citys_public_transport_routestimes/

and I suspect it's simple enough - an awful lot of places seem to manage it.  Presumably it's felt that doing this will only benefit the transport users rather than the bureaucrats.  It will also need a commitment to keeping things up to date and we know that while (sometimes) effort and (always) expense will go into new things, maintenance and keeping things going is frowned on by those in charge.

I thought IOMG employed someone specifically to make sure that we are fully engaged with the likes of Google. It's not as if we have submarine or aircraft shelters to hide from those who would wish us harm.

Digital Isle of Man, my arse!

I'm afraid we just don't eat out these days. Keeping the larder, freezer & fresh cupboards/fridge stocked up without spending a king's ransom is a challenge. 

21 hours ago, TheTeapot said:

Quite what is 'finest' about that Tesco product claiming to be tea remains a mystery.

 

You can say that for a good number of their 'finest' labels.