Minister for doom and gloom – Isle of Man

I was sad to recently hear that the Manx Electric Railway will be closed between Laxey to Ramsey after a report to the Minister for Tourism and Leisure highlighted some disrepair to the line and the track. To which the minister took the decision to stop the service based on safety grounds. I later read in a local paper a letter from the ex manager of the steam railway who pointed out a number of recommendations that would allow the service to continue such as a reduced speed limit. In his view the condition of the track has never been so good! Why is the decision then taken by the Minister for Tourism and not someone more qualified to make the decision? And why does the minister seem hell bent on closing things down and ruining any form of tourism on the island?

Good website by the way Mr minister! visitisleofman.com. The first impression you get of the Isle of Man is fantastic….not!

All this raises the question as to how qualified an ex banker is to make decisions on the future of our tourism or lack of it for that matter!

But don’t worry everyone because the Radisson his here to bail us all out and as the minister said and I quote ‘ for them to be based in the Isle of Man will be a real feather in our cap and something we can be rightly proud of.’

Don’t get me wrong I am all for developing the quayside of Douglas (they should have gone further and banned the car, but hey that was an earlier post I wrote!). It will be nice to open the curtains and stare across at the building suppliers opposite and the lovely bus station on the other side.

So called redevelopment of Douglas Promenade!

Last Friday the new plans to redevelop Douglas promenade were unveiled to a select few (well the manx media), the proposed cost being estimated at more than £10 million pounds!

Apparently what I can gather so far is that this will basically entail resurfacing of the roadway from the Sea Terminal to the old Summerland site as well as the creation of a reservation with palm trees from the Villa Marina to the sunken gardens alongside the pavement. And wow heres the really clever big idea, one of the sunken gardens could be fitted with a roof to create a winter garden. Oh my god thats so groundbreaking and money well spent in my book!

Er hello………

Any one out there…?
I know we live on the Isle of Man, a small island with such a great heritage, but we do also have a great history of wasting a hell of a lot of tax payers money!

We have some great people on the island, how about talking to them, getting them involved?

Its the 21st century, lets be creative, ground breaking, bold even. Lets do something for the people of Douglas, the Isle of Man, lets bring life back to the promenade, make it somewhere for all ages, all backgrounds to mix and mingle.

It could be skateboarding or drawing, rock bands to brass bands, five aside to bowling, curries or queenies? Who cares!

I do. Thats the problem!

But not palm trees and winter gardens (well this could be incorporated if the people wanted it! )

Do you think people would care about the road surface if all this was going on down on the prom? Would they care about the disruption for a few years if the end product was worth it? I guess not. So come on locals, lets not settle for boring and wasted money lets strive for better, we deserve it!

Tesco’s – you patronising t**ts!

I went to Tesco this evening to grab a few bits and pieces that I needed. It wasn’t a weekly big shop, just one of those top up shops you need for fresh stuff like milk and vegetables.I don’t like supermarkets at the best of times but hey our choice is limited these days especially on the Isle of Man due to the sheer power and influence they have over farmers and suppliers. I do where possible try and buy from local butchers and suppliers, but without making excuses it isnt always possible!After rushing around the store I filled my trolley (you always do) and headed for the checkout where the very pleasant check out girl asked if I had a club card, scanned my items and totalled up the bill. As this was an uncalled for shop I wasnt organised and so had to use the plastic bags that are always supplied at the end of the checkout.What really wound me up was the fact that when some bananas I purchased (wrapped in plastic I might add) didn’t have a barcode on them, the supervisor headed off to find the price and during this time the checkout girl said, and I quote, ‘ you do realise you can get double your points if you brought in your own plastic bags and didnt use the ones provided.I said, ‘yes I realise that’ fuming inside! Not at the checkout out girl, just at the people who run Tesco!I am sorry Tesco, but do not fuckin patronise me and make out that its me that ruining the planet and not you! Your the twats that wrap everything up in packaging totally unnecessarily and then fly it all over the fucking planet before it lands back in the store two miles from where it originated! How Tesco have the cheek to tell me its double points for recycled plastic bags is beyond words! Dont tell me to try and change my habits when you should be changing yours.So pull your finger out and do something with meaning and not some shitty double points promotion to try and makes us as consumers feel guilty about the environment!And dont give that bullshit about ‘every little helps!’ Do something major!

Douglas Quayside Isle of Man – could do better!

The sun is shining, the weather is great on the Isle of Man, what better place to go, chill out and relax, have a drink and a meal down at Douglas Quayside right – wrong! Whoever planned and spent the Isle of Man tax payers money for this half cocked job should be fired!