Mr Bear Posted January 3, 2017 Share Posted January 3, 2017 Lucky Star has indeed closed but is due to reopen as (another) pizza outlet. I was hoping it was going to be kept as a traditional seaside arcade-cafe, but it doesn't look that way. There goes another bit of history. And I've not actually found a place in Ramsey that sells the same style of food. Down to earth greasy-spoon cafe stuff with decent crispy chips. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Bear Posted January 3, 2017 Share Posted January 3, 2017 This has got chuff all to do with the Commissioners who with one notable exception are a bunch of clowns. yeah to be fair the chairman is a good guy the bald fella with a big beard though (it's a common look) is a right c**t I don't want to start rumours, but I think that very guy has blown the entire commissioners budget on cookies and up-market teabags (Tetley gold-bag max.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doc.fixit Posted January 3, 2017 Share Posted January 3, 2017 Lucky Star has indeed closed but is due to reopen as (another) pizza outlet. I was hoping it was going to be kept as a traditional seaside arcade-cafe, but it doesn't look that way. There goes another bit of history. And I've not actually found a place in Ramsey that sells the same style of food. Down to earth greasy-spoon cafe stuff with decent crispy chips. ............quite like the Trawlerman for fish and chips, don't know if they do sausages etc............ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notwell Posted January 3, 2017 Share Posted January 3, 2017 Lucky Star has indeed closed but is due to reopen as (another) pizza outlet. I was hoping it was going to be kept as a traditional seaside arcade-cafe, but it doesn't look that way. There goes another bit of history. And I've not actually found a place in Ramsey that sells the same style of food. Down to earth greasy-spoon cafe stuff with decent crispy chips. It is remaining an arcade. I think the food side is doing more than just pizza. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisenchuk Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 ...................well I think Ramsey is a great place to shop, the shop's are just full enough to be friendly without being too busy, folk are friendly, there's enough good parking and there seems to be a big enough variety of shops and food and coffee outlets for my needs................and then of course there is the Mooragh, oh yes, love the place............so there!! There's rumour you swim naked in the lake every dawn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Bear Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 Lucky Star has indeed closed but is due to reopen as (another) pizza outlet. I was hoping it was going to be kept as a traditional seaside arcade-cafe, but it doesn't look that way. There goes another bit of history. And I've not actually found a place in Ramsey that sells the same style of food. Down to earth greasy-spoon cafe stuff with decent crispy chips. ............quite like the Trawlerman for fish and chips, don't know if they do sausages etc............ Trawlerman is definitely good, but tends to serve chip shop style chips (soft) mainly because it is in fact a chip shop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manx Bean Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 IMG_0563.jpg Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not knocking Ramsey, I recently moved there and I like the place. However, when walking down Parliament Street (the main shopping street) I was struck by the number of closed down shops. I counted about 7 on Parliament Street itself, plus another three in Parliament Square at the top end of the street, plus I don’t know how many in the covered shopping mall off the street. In fact, there seem to be almost no shops open in the mall, which people just use as a short cut between Parliament Street and the Co-op. I did a Google search for “Ramsey Regeneration” and found a web page on the Ramsey Town Commissioners site entitled “Regeneration” and informing me that “The Ramsey Regeneration Committee has issued its fourth newsletter”. I downloaded a glossy newsletter with a smiling picture of Allan Bell on the front, “Ramsey Regeneration Update Issue 4 ... Improving Ramsey ... Looking to the Future with New Confidence” which all looked good until I saw the date on it - October 2012. The Ramsey Regeneration Updates seem to have stopped after that date, with no indication why. I’m having a bit of difficulty getting my head round this. Can anyone explain what (if anything) is wrong with Ramsey, what needs to be done about it and why nobody seems to be doing anything about it? Unfortunately, the Isle of Man Government seem to completely misunderstand the meaning of the word Regeneration. Paving 200 metres of road in cheap granite and road bumps, accompanied by a couple of new benches is not going to regenerate the place. I've yet to hear anyone say to me "Oh I know, let's go to Ramsey today because they have a nice bench outside the old Courthouse." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notwell Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 They've done a decent job up that end of the street. The market square looks better as does the old Courthouse area and Costa has been a positive addition to that end of the street. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piebaps Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 IMG_0563.jpg Unfortunately, the Isle of Man Government seem to completely misunderstand the meaning of the word Regeneration. Paving 200 metres of road in cheap granite and road bumps, accompanied by a couple of new benches is not going to regenerate the place. I've yet to hear anyone say to me "Oh I know, let's go to Ramsey today because they have a nice bench outside the old Courthouse." Sorry but that's not correct. Central gubmint are a little limited in what they can do. The buildings are all privately owned and the only thing they could do was give the road etc a bit of a makeover. They've also installed proper crossing points for wheelchair users, which double up as speed bumps. I don't have an opinion on Market Square but it doesn't seem to have been as apocalyptic as some made out. I can get through it easily enough and the odd occasion when I've needed to, I've found a parking space. I suppose the alternative could have been to leave as was and give the fund to the property owners by way of improvement grants or loans. I'm not so sure about that however and given the comments about property owners in this thread, it seems they're all a load of greedy barstewards. The street improvements seem to have been the only real option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doc.fixit Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 ...................well I think Ramsey is a great place to shop, the shop's are just full enough to be friendly without being too busy, folk are friendly, there's enough good parking and there seems to be a big enough variety of shops and food and coffee outlets for my needs................and then of course there is the Mooragh, oh yes, love the place............so there!! There's rumour you swim naked in the lake every dawn. ......thank the lord there's not any fish with big gnashers in there! lol ............. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doc.fixit Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 Lucky Star has indeed closed but is due to reopen as (another) pizza outlet. I was hoping it was going to be kept as a traditional seaside arcade-cafe, but it doesn't look that way. There goes another bit of history. And I've not actually found a place in Ramsey that sells the same style of food. Down to earth greasy-spoon cafe stuff with decent crispy chips. ............quite like the Trawlerman for fish and chips, don't know if they do sausages etc............ Trawlerman is definitely good, but tends to serve chip shop style chips (soft) mainly because it is in fact a chip shop. ......hmmm, I prefer chip shop chips to crispy ones. Was just suggesting that the Trawlerman might be the closest to a greasy spoon in Ramsey...........I've used many Transport cafes in UK during the 60's and 70's so I do know the difference!.......My youth wanted to eat in a Transport café so when he was around five years old we stopped in the one that used to be on the road up Shap, the old one. For the next 20 miles I think he was sick about every 5 of them!! I suppose an old Scammel isn't too helpful to someone feeling a bit queasy..........For some reason he's nevere really taken to Transport cafes since....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
notwell Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 Isn't the Mad Hatter a bit of a greasy spoon? The food is great in there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Bear Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 Unfortunately, the Isle of Man Government seem to completely misunderstand the meaning of the word Regeneration. Paving 200 metres of road in cheap granite and road bumps, accompanied by a couple of new benches is not going to regenerate the place. I've yet to hear anyone say to me "Oh I know, let's go to Ramsey today because they have a nice bench outside the old Courthouse." I'm not sure I'd recommend sitting in those rugged granite seats in this weather. It would be the anal equivalent of licking a lamp post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mission Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 Lucky Star has indeed closed but is due to reopen as (another) pizza outlet. I was hoping it was going to be kept as a traditional seaside arcade-cafe, but it doesn't look that way. There goes another bit of history. And I've not actually found a place in Ramsey that sells the same style of food. Down to earth greasy-spoon cafe stuff with decent crispy chips. Court Cafe? There's fuck all wrong with Ramsey, some shops have expanded into bigger premises and the buildings they have vacated are either in the process of being fitted out for other use or due to be used by other interested parties. Some properties have been empty for many, many years (even in the boom times of retail) and will probably always remain so due to the owners not wishing them to be used. The Mall could be nice if someone else bought it, I have a great idea for it but the euromillions just won't be kind to me - if it ever does, I'll make the guy an offer he really can't refuse and do something philanthropic with it. As to the regeneration, people could apply to have all manner of work done to the fronts of their buildings and have government pay 50% of the cost. Some people took advantage of it, some didn't but the offer was there. St. Paul's isn't doing too badly, the bookshop is a big empty unit but I believe there are interested parties looking at it and we did get a replacement bookshop in Parliament Street anyway. One of the empty properties in the street is in the process of being refurbished and will be offices (with a tenant already lined up). There's no issue with parking at all, people are just fucking lazy and expect to be able to park right outside whichever shop they visit (try doing that in Strand Street!). I've lived and worked in Ramsey for 21 years now, it may not be as busy as it was in the 90's but it's far from being on its arse. It does have some issues but there are improvements happening all of the time. It might not be the grand schemes that some would like to see but baby steps here and there will make a difference over time and the stream of new businesses setting up can only help with that. I feel very positive about the towns prospects at the moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolley Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 Great positive post, Mission. A happy new year to you!! I like Ramsey. Not sure about the new road layout to be honest, and there are still parts that could do with sprucing up a bit, but you have so much there for the size of the town. Plenty of places in the UK five times the size without half of the amenities. And to top it all you have the jewel that is Mooragh Park, a model of how municipal parks everywhere should be tended. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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