Will Halsall

Has it really been good for the island though? It's certainly increased the population (and boy, a few farmers have benefited from selling land that should never have been sold for residential development to support the rental need of these industries), but perhaps not the reputation? I would argue that there is equal 'dodginess' in Gambling/Finance/Banking, but do three wrongs make a right? People (usually people who have arrived post 2000) occasionally ask me 'would you prefer the Spuds and Herring days' - they weren't anywhere near as bad as you may think tbh! I'd argue that the IOM Gov has been dancing with the Devil of immorality for far too long by embracing the gambling sector, and now there is no turning back. There will be a lot of negative equity on this island if ever this unscrupulous industry gets a good offer to relocate to warmer climes, taking their associated hangers on with them. Many people working within the Gambling sector on good salaries will inevitably defend the indefensible to protect their own life style, but I worry that IOM Gov have unwittingly potentially created a dialectical materialism type of situation that will one day bite this beautiful isle in the arse!

Thank you John and Albert, much appreciated!

Do any of our wonderful members know the origins and history of the name 'Ohio Forest'? I have been advised that it may have gained its name from Miners who emigrated to Ohio in the 1800's, in a similar way to the Cleveland Medal in the Guild, which was created by Manx people who emigrated to Ohio. I have researched but am non-the-wiser. Thanks in advance, Will

Indeed, I forgot about his time arson around at BV.

Aye, between Crookall, Cregeen, Longworth and Black it's been some feckin cost though!

Aye, these wankers diddled me out of £20 - I wouldn't recommend them!

By the old classic: Speak with authority and stupid people (Cregeen, Crookall, Black, CoMin, Procurement Dept., Work Permits, Treasury etc) will believe the yarn you spin! Unfortunately, he has cost us a feckin fortune and ruined a few (drivers) lives in the process! He should never have been employed, but he was more savvy than his predecessors - which wasn’t difficult.

Or maybe it’s a ruse to justify their own reliance on low paid workers and Zero hours contracts etc? 🤔

Apologies, I am with you now👍

That’s them!

Thank you, I had know idea. I note that that it is a tourist bus though, and I wonder exactly who is running it? Arriva finished in 2014/5 from memory (not sure if it was because of their Bendy Bus debacle) and Malta nationalised the network and then chose a subsidiary of ALBA to run everything, and I was under the impression that they modernised the fleet completely. Again, I stand to be corrected but can’t be arsed researching as I am in the garden drinking an Estrella - Shoprite PE were selling 10 for £12.99 yesterday or 20 for £13 - more you drink more you save!

Why - because there have been too many spurious answers from Bus Vannin that each and every minister seems to have spun to the great house and taxpayers since Brown created DCCL. Dim Tim first spun a yarn in his first appearance as Minister for DCCL, he didn’t learn and spun a yarn again a couple of months ago. Probably realised and hounded Alf for the DfE job as he knew BV were extracting the Michael out of him. Then after a month he resigns - what a prick, and what an absolute joke Longworth, Black, Cregeen et al have created with BV, I have been saying this since the Bendy Buses and Strike episodes many years ago. It’s all been a successful vanity project of Ian’s, helped by the incompetence of the ministers signing his fantasies off. BV is a national embarrassment, and Black and Longworth are laughing all the way to the bank!! On a separate note, and I stand to be corrected, I don’t think Malta took any of our buses, my understanding was that they wanted to move away from the old privately owned charabancs to a new modernised fleet. There was some amusing Bendy Bus incidents during this transition however.

Cross 4 ways has lights, St Marks from Ballasalla is closed but you won’t know until you are up past Abbotswood by Phildraw Road. A bit of a pain in the arse when I discovered that. Advance notice at Ballasalla stores would have been considerate.

Thank you 👏👏

Morning Stu, Indeed I agree, if the CS have lied or been selective in the information requested then there absolutely should be a remedy, but this has been going on probably since 979, and over a millennium later there still isn't a remedy for these failures! I am not (and I suspect this applies to most posters on MF) suggesting that every Tynwald question should be checked and double checked, but with specific reference to Bus Vannin which has an unacceptable history of misinformation, the answers from Longworth et al should be treated with a degree of caution. Even more so as this was Tim Crookall's second spell overseeing BV! Crookall has nearly 20yrs experience as an elected member for Peel. Importantly, he specifically requested the ministerial post of DoI, and stated in his manifesto that that department needed a shake-up, indicating that the public were being misinformed. You can't possibly deny that he should have taken these obvious lies at face value before presenting them to Tynwald and the public, and he should have clarified the facts first? It was so obvious to everyone that the answer was total horseshit, it makes a complete mockery of our whole political process - as an elected member you should be embarrassed about the perception this gives the public! To reiterate, in his manifesto he stated that the DoI needed shaking up, he then requested to be minister of the DoI, then he ignores everything he said about the department 10 months ago (when seeking election), and let's Longworth tickle his tummy while feeding him with 'duff gen'! To make things even more ridiculous, he then asks to run the DfE and resigns within 2 months - the guy is a fuckin disgrace!!!!!

Roger, am I mistaken here - I was always under the impression that the Department Minister was able to (maybe through CoMin) have his CE removed if he had lost confidence in him/her? ETA: https://www.gov.im/media/1359547/the-government-code-february-2017.pdf 4.20 Where in the rare event that a Minister finds that he cannot work reasonably with a particular official in a key position, it is open to the Minister to bring this to the attention of the Chief Executive Officer of the Department (or to the Chief Minister or Chief Secretary if the official concerned is the Chief Executive Officer). In such circumstances, every effort would be made, involving the Public Services Commission where appropriate, to secure a satisfactory resolution to the situation.

Over Longworth's dead body!

I am not anonymous on this forum Stu, and I post under my own name. I can confirm that in the Passenger Transport sector I have significantly more managerial experience than both you and Tim Crookall added together - I owned a company that specialised in several areas of the Passenger Transport industry from 1991 - 2015, with a client list including MerseyTravel/Rail, GMPTE/TFGM, Metro Link, Northern Rail, Network Rail, Virgin Rail, Bucks, Links, York, Cheshire etc. etc. Your analogy (telling Simon Kneen that Mrs Quilliam didn't get a post card from her daughter in Benidorm) is akin to climate change denial. Cregeen misled HoK and Crookall has misled us all too with that statement, he really should have double checked because he is paid handsomely to furnish Tynwald and the public with honest answers - ffs, there is plenty of history of ministers falling on their swords due to 'duff gen'! Just because you like the fact that he is a 'no bullshit type of guy', it doesn't make him a suitable minister, and again this has been proven by his actions. Congratulations are in the post for your new role btw, if you don't receive them, tell Simon CEO!!!

Likewise, I normally agree with you too, but I don't share your stance on this one, though I respectfully understand your reasoning. There is so much to this story, particularly the 'split purchase' of the hotel and the Links (including roads and lodge); my understanding is that the owners of the Links were miffed that they missed out on the hotel too as it happens, hence the attempted tinkering of the Area Plan and subsequent court case that was granted in favour of Heritage/Dandara/FIDL. If you read into all of the planning applications over the past 5 years around the Derbyhaven area, along with who objects to what and the vanity projects such as illuminated geese etc. I think it gives a good insight into some people treating the area as their own personal fiefdom; the constant objections to the hotel development are more to do with this attitude than the betterment of the area.

I am sure he didn't, and if he did he was at best extremely naive! For goodness sake, there has been plenty of 'duff gen' from that department, so he should have checked and double checked!

asitis, I do think that is the one good thing that Dandara/FIDL are not at fault for, their behaviour has actually been exemplary, it's the behaviour of the Golf Links owners and the DHRC that has let the area down. Here is another example of the Golf Links owners bad behaviour: https://www.iomtoday.co.im/news/reinstate-right-of-way-family-told-554411

@daisyI must be a narrow minded racist cxxd too then 🤔

Born in Phurt le Moirrey 1964 Michael! That 88% NEEDS retaining as undeveloped green land! Knock Rushen, Ballakilley, Ballawhattleworth are all blots on the landscape, Dandara's Kirk Michael debacle will need some coastal erosion defences in a few years too. I am very aware of the regional area plans, but as a passionate Manxman I do not under any circumstances want this island to be over developed, particularly at the pace it has been, and importantly not simply to suit speculators!

I respectfully disagree with you Roxy x

Stu, Is it because in TC's mind the shit will literally be hitting the fan by the next election: https://www.manxradio.com/news/isle-of-man-news/further-16-5-million-approved-for-sewage-works-in-peel-and-garff/ He may well be a straightforward, no BS bloke but I seriously question his integrity, and I have done so since his spell in the DCCL - he authorised the Cabbage and continued to defend the indefensible actions of Black and Longworth. He was hugely unpopular with the Gobbags and knew he wasn't going to be elected in the previous campaign, so he became an MLC (chosen ahead of the esteemed Mr Moyle ffs), then at the next election when even a Dogfish (see what I did there) would have beaten Boot and the other fella, he gave this illusion that he would rise like a phoenix from the ashes, threatening to take the bull by the horns and completely shake up the DOI. However, at the first opportunity he grabs Alf and asks for the DfE job, somehow, Alf in his infinite wisdom thought that Crookall would make a good DfE Minister and Thomas a good DOI Minister - one can only assume that Alf was pre-occupied 😉 and inadvertently got their jobs mixed up.