MickyBlue

The ever-so-reliable Manx rumour mill - which is of course never wrong - suggests it's the ship's cook.

But what's the sketch with Island-based IOMSPCo staff? Do they also isolate away from the rest of their family? I suspect not.

KWC reduced the autumn half-term from two weeks to one, to allow another week to be tagged-on to the Christmas break - thus allowing boarders to have two weeks at home and then two weeks in isolation on their return. They were tested on their return - which identified a single case - and then have tested again recently. There are apparently members of staff isolating/living with them. It seems that they are therefore obeying all the rules and being cautious/sensible - which is why this cluster shouldn't represent a risk to anyone else. Micky

We don't have to look too far from these shores to see the result of procrastinating, dithering, faffing and generally hoping for the best. It seems the choice we have is (potentially) too much too soon versus (potentially) too little too late. If nobody's really sure what the true position is, then I think we should be cautious (even if inconvenient) while we work it out. Difficult decisions for our esteemed leaders to make - but hey, them's the breaks!

My dad was unfortunately one of the residents who passed away at Abbotswood. It's very easy, after the fact, to focus on apportioning blame, to advise (from afar) on what ‘should have been’ – and assume that many of the people and organizations involved are incompetent. From our family’s perspective, in the early stages of the crisis, the staff (and management) at the time tried really hard to protect the residents – stopping all visits, sleeping on-site in two shifts to minimize passage in and out of the building and so on. In hindsight, this wasn’t enough to prevent the tragedy – but the world was only just coming to terms with the sheer scale of the issue and understanding what steps and measures would be required. It is much easier to look back and criticise than to look forward and predict how things would unfold. The staff and management are clearly devastated with what has happened – and I believe that much of the criticism is undeserved. The care sector worldwide is struggling to manage the issue – and if Abbotswood ends up being the limit of the care home tragedy on the Island, it will have been a narrow escape for the others. I hope that this is the case. Also, the nature of the residents conditions and behaviour – and I include my dad in this - doesn’t make it easy. Many simply don’t understand what is going on, are difficult or impossible to persuade to follow advise or instructions – and are unpredictable and sometimes unruly. Given how difficult and disturbing this in the best of times, I don’t underestimate how much more difficult it must be in a crisis. In the case of our family at least, we don’t blame the management, staff or the government for dad’s passing. Their response wasn’t perfect – but it’s a global tragedy and fate pays a part too. Micky

It's the third Sunday tomorrow - so the monthly meeting at the motor museum as Jurby. Forecast looks good too! Micky

What Landy thing?

I went for a look around last Sunday and the guy said that it was on - but who knows for sure! Given that this Sunday looks reasonable weather-wise I'll probably go for a run out anyway and may call in for breakfast. They could definitely make more of it by making an effort in terms of publicity - clearly not a strong point of theirs. Micky

The next meet up at the motor museum is this Sunday. It even looks like it may be a reasonable morning in terms of weather so fingers-crossed! Micky

Yes despite the weather it was worth it. Mine was the F430 - and I was the one who nearly died trying to crank that jet engine. An enjoyable Sunday morning - glad I dragged myself out of bed for once. Micky

The forecast is looking cr*p so it's a long-shot. It's a red one which isn't used to our tropical climate! Micky

In case anyone is interested, the monthly 'interesting vehicle' meet at the motor museum is this coming Sunday at 10am. Apparently, irrespective of how it's publicized, it's aimed at all enthusiasts not just classics - and not just those who own such a vehicle. Subject to the weather (and that is a big caveat!) and the car agreeing start, I'm planning on going up for a nosey and a coffee - it would be good to see some other MF petrol heads there. Micky

My personal interest is from the 80s onwards, sports cars and supercars - but it's more about meeting a like-minded social group than any particular era of vehicles. I've recently bought a Sunday toy and it would be good to use it and meet with others rather than just drive around in circles or watch it sit lonely in the garage. Thanks for the suggestion regarding the museum. Looks like it's the third Sunday each month - so I'll go along in November and see who and what turns-up. Micky

Junior dogging? Ha - got your attention :-)

Hi Does anyone know of a local social club for car or bike enthusiasts? There's plenty of online banter - but I was thinking of groups which meet for a run out for breakfast on Sundays, pup nights etc. Google turns-up a few competition-oriented clubs, and a club for classic cars (60s or earlier) - but I can't find anything for enthusiasts interested in modern and sports cars. Any ideas? Micky