There were 180 fewer people registered as unemployed last month than in August 2015.

The total number of people recorded for this August was 596, which equates to a 1.3 per cent unemployment rate. It marks a fall of 0.1 per cent from July and is the lowest unemployment figure since September 2008, just after the island was gripped by the global economic down turn.

The figures are the latest to be released by the government and cover the economically active section of the population who are registered as unemployed.

Construction was the sector with the highest number of people (53) seeking work. Catering and entertainment, with 103 vacancies, offered the highest number of work opportunities.

In the catering industry there were 34 people unemployed and in retail, 31. Curiously, at 94, retail also had the second highest number of vacancies registered at the job centre.

Medical (79), e-gaming (38) and manufacturing (21) were the other sectors with most vacancies.

Almost twice as many men were unemployed as women with 394 (66 per cent) men out of work compared with 202 (34 per cent) women.

The month of August saw 160 new people signing on while 184 people left the unemployment register.

Not included in the figures are 40 people under 18 who are registered as unemployed but not claiming benefits.

From 2005 until the crash in 2008, the unemployment figures for the island remained consistant at around the 500 to 600 level. They started rising at the end of 2008, peaking in March 2013 at just over 1,200. In January 2010 they topped the 1,000 mark for the first time since September 1996. The total in January 2016 was 873 and it has fallen every month since then.

Numerically, the east of the island has the largest number of people unemployed, 415, which is almost 1.4 per cent of its population. In the north, almost 1.8 per cent of its active workforce is unemployed and this equates to 147 people,

Is your wardrobe filled with unwanted vintage clothing and accessories that could be given a new lease of life?

Maggie Harding, of Greta Harding Theatrical Clothing Company, will be visiting the island later this month to buy vintage clothes and accessories to supply theatres, museum exhibitions and TV companies.

Maggie has been visiting the island for 41 years, following in her mother Greta’s footsteps, on the hunt for timeless treasures.

In particular she is looking for 1940s and 1920s clothing and accessories.

During her most recent visit to the island in February, Maggie managed to buy numerous items which have been showcased in the Fashion on the Ration: 1940s Street Style exhibition at the Imperial War Museum in Manchester.

‘It’s all about the clothing bought with clothing coupons during the Second World War when clothing was rationed,’ Maggie said. ‘They were looking for 1940’s items that still had the clothing coupon symbol.

‘I bought a man’s suit from somebody in Laxey that was used in the exhibition. It was called a demob suit and it was given to people when they’d done their turn and were released from the army - they’re very special.’

Other items including women’s dresses and a pair of shoes were also showcased in the exhibition.

‘I’m also looking for 1920’s items because there’s going to be a remake of Thoroughly Modern Millie so when that comes out people will want 1920’s clothing for parties and events.’

Maggie, who lives in Manchester, will be visiting from September 20 to 25.

Numerous accessories and clothes from the Isle of Man have been used TV shows including ITV period drama Downton Abbey, BBC shows Mapp and Lucia and Foyle’s War, and theatre productions such as Dream Boats and Petticoats.

She added: ‘I’m always happy to visit anywhere on the island. We do very well on the Isle of Man, it’s never let me down.’

If you have any items that you think would be of interest call Maggie on 07734798522 to make an appointment.

Hear all the latest updates about the Ramsey forest project at a talk next week.

The Manx Wildlife Trust will be holding a talk with project officer Andree Dubbeldam on Thursday, September 15.

It will take place at Ramsey Town Hall at 7.30pm.

Attendees will hear how the plant juniper has been re-introduced to the island, how the project plans to help people reconnect will nature and the latest updates. The event costs £2.50 including refreshments.

A series of free weekly charity concerts on the wurlitzer in the Villa Marina Arcade in Douglas continues tomorrow (Wednesday).

Peter Norris will perform in aid of Breathe Easy between 1pm and 2pm, following which a collection will be taken.

Sarah Goldsmith will play on Wednesday, September 21, in aid of the Salvation Army while Keith Simpson will perform on Wednesday, September 28, in aid the Manx Youth Band.

The Manx Festival Chorus is looking for new members to join the group.

Rehearsals for its 49th season will begin on September 15 at 7.30pm at the new rehearsal venue of Union Mills Methodist Church.

The Chorus will be performing Handel’s ‘Messiah’ at St George’s Church in Douglas on Sunday, December 11 at 2.30pm.

New members are especially being encouraged to take part in this performance.

Any singer who would like to join just for the Messiah performance is welcome to attend the rehearsals on October 6 and 20, November 17 and December 1.

Other works to be performed in the season include Mozart’s ‘Requiem’ and ‘Vesperae Solennes de Confessore’, and Maunder’s ‘Olivet to Calvary’. Visit www.manxfestivalchorus.com

A Peel woman has been convicted of benefit fraud after admitting working in a pub and a shop while claiming benefits.

Kate Amanda Kelly, of Ash Close, pleaded guilty in magistrates court to three counts of making a false statement to obtain benefits.

Her deception resulted in an overpayment of benefits of £7,462.20.

The 27-year-old will be sentenced on October 19 after the preparation of a probation report.

The court heard how Kelly had been claiming Income Support since 2012.

However, in November 2015 information was received from an anonymous source that Kelly had been working and not declaring it.

An investigation discovered that she had been working at the Peveril Hotel on East Quay in Peel since April 2015.

Kelly was also found to have been working at the convenience store Gales Fayre Limited since May 2015.

Both employers confirmed that Kelly had been working for them.

She was interviewed by Social Services and told them that she had split-up with her partner.

She said she played darts at the Peveril and had been offered a job there.

Kelly said that she thought any work under 16 hours did not need to be declared and could be put on her tax form.

She said she had seen an advert in Gales Fayre window and applied for a job there also.

The court heard that Kelly could have legitimately claimed Employed Person’s Allowance (EPA) but had continued claiming Income Support.

She told Social Services that she was a single mum who received no help from her child’s father and that she was willing to repay any debt.

Defence advocate Roger Kane asked for an adjournment before sentencing to allow time for the probation report to be prepared.

Magistrates ruled that the report should consider all options, including custody.

Bail was granted with conditions that Kelly reside at her home address and attend probation meetings.

The first day of the new school year can be exciting for some and daunting for others.

But 300 pupils at the brand new Henry Bloom Noble Primary School certainly took it all in their stride.

No sooner had they hung they coats up, the students were settling down to the task of learning in their smart new classrooms.

The £9.5m school replaces the ageing Ballacloan Infants’ School on Demesne Road and Fairfield Junior School on Tynwald Street.

Head teacher Ian Walmsley praised the staff for ensuring that it looks and feels like a school rather than a ‘sterile’ new building.

Speaking on the first day on Thursday, he said: ‘It’s been a positive start – 300 children are in and settled. It’s all gone very well.

‘Moving two schools into one has been a mammoth undertaking.

‘It’s quite interesting in that we are moving 130 years of history. Both sites had a specific character which it was important to try to replicate. That’s what staff have done. We wanted to focus on the learning environment. The teachers have worked very hard over the summer so that the children weren’t coming into a sterile new building but into somewhere that looks like and feels like a school.

‘It’s little things like when the children came in, their names were on the coat pegs.’

He said that thanks to the hard work of staff, the children had settled in their new classrooms and were ready to get down to the task of learning within two to three minutes of putting their coats on their coat pegs.

A number of artefacts from the old schools have been retained and a lot of photos which will be put on display in the school in next few months.

The new school offers top class facilities for students and community use including a two-court sports hall, an artificial all-weather pitch and outdoor play areas.

The general manager of the Villa Marina and Gaiety, Dawn Maddrell, has been suspended.

The move comes as claims concerning the staging of a loss-making music festival are investigated.

Those allegations have been made by Lee O’Hanlon, chief executive of private music promoter tinyCOW.

The Department of Economic Development says the allegations will be investigated thoroughly and there will be an external investigation.

Mr O’Hanlon and his company are involved in a legal dispute over the Tom Jones concert in Noble’s Park this summer. But his most serious allegation, involving claims of collusion to prevent details of losses being disclosed, concern an earlier gig, by 1970s music legends The Jacksons, which was booked by tinyCOW and staged at the Villa in September 2014.

In a full statement made to the Isle of Man Examiner yesterday, the DED said: ‘A number of allegations have been made directly to the department by tinyCOW chief executive Mr Lee O’Hanlon as well as via a social media page falsely claiming to be a “Newspaper, Douglas, Isle of Man”.

‘In the public interest the department wishes to respond to those allegations.’

There is greater detail on this story in this week’s Isle of Man Examiner.

Cal Crutchlow eventually finished the San Marino and Rimini Riviera Grand Prix in eighth and top independent team rider after a hard-fought battle.

After starting from the third row of the grid in seventh, the LCR Honda rider had spent much of the race in the same position while scrapping with the factory Ducati of Michele Pirro.

Having lost out to the Italian right at the end of the race, Crutchlow was initially dealt a blow when he was given a 1.5 second penalty, which would relegate him to ninth.

This decision came after the FIM MotoGP stewards saw that the Briton, who was suffering with visor problems, had transgressed the bounds of the track at turn one on five occasions.

Having gained an advantage in the first sector on three of those laps, the subsequent penalty was applied and the results were revised, demoting him to ninth.

However, Dorna Timekeeping advised the stewards of differences in the sector times which were not evident at the time the penalty was made.

The stewards requested on-board data from the LCR Honda Team for further analysis, and upon studying this extra data as well as video evidence it was discovered that Crutchlow had deliberately slowed through the second sector of the track in order to give back the time gained.

As a result, it was decided that the initial penalty would be revoked, and Cal would be reinstated back to eighth place.

The race was won by Spain’s Dani Pedrosa who became the eighth different rider to have won a Moto GP race this season.

With another eight points added to his account, the British rider remains in eighth place in the series standings.

The championship travels to north-eastern Spain for the Grand Prix of Aragon over the weekend of September 23-25.

In the Moto2 race, Onchan resident Sam Lowes crashed while in fourth place.

This result leaves him 57 points behind championship leader Johann Zarco with five rounds remaining.

Mark Christian and Mark Cavendish both enjoyed successful Tour of Britain campaigns last week.

Christian, riding for Team Wiggins, was well placed throughout the eight-day race and eventually finished 12th overall, the leading Wiggins cyclist and third-highest Briton in the event.

Cav, while not contesting the stage wins himself, helped his Team Dimension Data colleague Stephen Cummings to win the race overall.

Onchan resident Ben Swift also had an excellent race, ultimately finishing eighth in the general classification, while Castletown resident Ian Stannard claimed a superb solo victory on the third stage.

Swift and Stannard’s Team Sky colleague Peter Kennaugh showed great character and resilience to finish the Vuelta a Espana on Sunday.

The Manxman suffered with ill health during the final week of the race but perserved valiantly to finished 42nd overall.

More on both races in this week’s Manx Independent.

British marathon mountain bike champion Ben Thomas won the End2End Challenge for the third year in succession on Sunday.

The Mountain Trax-Vauxhall rider from Windlesham in Surrey only took charge of the race in the closing stages of a tough 46-mile slog over mixed terrain made all the harder by a savage head wind in the southern half.

At the close, less than 80 seconds covered the top three with locals Nick Corlett and Elliot Baxter again second and third.

More than 800 riders contested the 20th annual event, sponsored for the fourth year by Manx Telecom.

More in today’s Examiner and Thursday’s Manx Independent.

The boss of Manx Telecom is reporting a ‘solid six months of trading’ after the company’s half yearly results were published today. (Tuesday).

Gary Lamb, chief executive officer, said: ‘We are confident in the long term outlook for the business which continues to trade in line with the Board’s expectations for the full year.’

Today’s results cover the six months ended June 30.

Among the highlights:

Underlying profit before tax of £8.3m (£8.2m same time last year)

Fixed line, broadband and data revenues were up 1.3 per cent driven by good take-up of high speed broadband.

Core mobile revenues up 4.7 per cent offset by lower roaming charges related to the TT.

Strong growth in what MT describes as Global Solutions revenues up 12.4 per cent.

Interim dividend was 3.7 pence from 3.5 pence a year earlier.

But data centre revenues were down 15.7 per cent because of low margin kit sales and consolidation by one former centre customer.

The company discloses an unrealised loss on interest rate swaps of £2m covering £50m of the £70m drawn from a loan facility, ‘primarily due to decreases in market interest rates following the BREXIT referendum. This charge does not form part of the underlying results and has no impact on cash.’

There will be a full report on the Manx Telecom half year results in the Manx Independent on Thursday.

A little dog’s resolute pursuit of a cormorant led to the launch of Port St Mary lifeboat.

The dog, Spike, was being walked by owner Jess Marshall, 12, and friends.

‘He saw a bird then he went after it,’ said Jess. ‘We panicked when he wasn’t coming back.’

Jess jumped into the sea to rescue him, but someone told her to stop, so she did and called the lifeboat.

Meanwhile resident Dawn Kila ran to help. She said: ‘I saw about 10 youngsters, jumping and screaming. This dog swam and swam, he was way out.’

The 59-year-old took action. ‘I went to the end of the pier got the life belt on and jumped in,’ she said. ‘He was so far out, about 200m. I saw him go under the water. I thought: “Oh no, that’s it”.’

She swam back. But Spike was carried to the other side of the harbour wall and the lifeboat brought him to safety.

‘The lifeboat doesn’t like you going after dogs,’ she said. ‘But I had a lifebelt on, and it stopped the kids going in.’

Dogs proved to be the most pious of pets at the inaugural pet service held at St George’s Church in Douglas on Sunday.

The canine congregation ranged from spaniels to border collies for the event hosted by Archdeacon the Venerable Andrew Brown. The service included a short talk by a representative from the Guide Dogs for the Blind and was followed by refreshments at the end. Members of the Isle of Man police dog team also attended. Money raised from a raffle and refreshments was donated to the Guide Dogs and to the MSPCA. A total of £148 was raised. Sophia Leonard Morgan, of the church, said they were delighted with the result and would definitely repeat the service next year.

‘It was just a lovely atmosphere, with the dogs running around and playing,’ she said.

A 20-year-old man from Andreas has been convicted of handling cash stolen by his mother worth £2,625.

Thomas Kristian Atherton, of Kiondroghad Road, pleaded guilty to the charge in court and will be sentenced on October 19.

The court heard how between November 2014 and May 2016 Atherton’s mother, Michelle Atherton, also of Kiondroghad Road, had been working at Spar in Parliament Street in Ramsey and was in charge of banking the daily takings six days a week.

During her time working there it was discovered that there was a discrepancy in the takings of £2,625.

She was quizzed and admitted she had taken the money because she had been having financial problems.

Her son, Thomas, was said to have been in debt, due to having bought a number of vehicles he could not afford, bank loans and insurance, a phone bill and bills for work on the vehicles.

He was said to have turned to his mother for help. She then started taking money from the shop’s takings to give to him.

The court heard that Atherton knew that his mother had been taking ‘£20 here and there’, but sometimes up to £100.

By May 2016 Atherton knew that the police were speaking to his mother and went to police headquarters voluntarily.

He fully admitted the offence to police and confessed that he was aware his mother gave him money taken from the shop.

Bail was granted in the sum of £500.

Michelle Atherton is scheduled to be sentenced for theft on Thursday.

Young cricketers have been able to develop their skills after the Isle of Man Cricket Association received a Celton Manx Recognition award to fund a series of summer camps.

Held at Peel St John’s and Finch Hill cricket clubs and at King William’s College the camps were a mix of day-long introductory (Kwik Cricket) and ‘hard ball’ sessions for children between the ages of six and 14.

Cricket development officer Greig Wright said: ‘The Recognition award from Celton Manx has made a very real difference. To have this sponsorship made the camp fees all more the affordable, therefore accessible to more young people, and also meant we were able to provide T-shirts bearing the Celton Manx and the association’s logo for the first 40 who signed up.

‘These camps give a good introduction to the game – not only the playing of cricket, but also the rules and code of behaviour expected – and over the course of the sessions we saw significant improvement in standards.

‘It’s also emerged there’s a keen appetite to carry on with the camps indoors over the winter. Additionally, with the Isle of Man Cricket Association being a not-for-profit organisation, we’ve been able to donate any surplus money made through fees to our hosts, so there is very much a lasting legacy to our Recognition award.’

Christian Webster, 11, attended four summer camps. He said: ‘The camps were very good. It’s helped to improve my batting skills a lot and also my catching technique’s got better, too. You also get to know everyone else on the camps and make new friends, which is great.’

Celton Manx executive director Bill Mummery said: ‘In holding these camps the Isle of Man Cricket Association is helping to create more personal development opportunities for a wider audience of young people of all playing abilities.

‘This mirrors one of the core aims of our Recognition scheme which seeks to benefit as broad a cross section of the community as possible.

‘It is also commendable that Greig and his colleagues are doing much to integrate the island’s cricket clubs and reinforce the fundamental sporting values of fair play, respect for others and teamwork.’

The talented McCanney brothers grabbed a podium place apiece in the final round of the Maxxis Enduro World Championship at Cahors in France over the weekend.

Returning to the championship following a four month lay-off because of injury, Jamie McCanney landed back on the E1 podium in third place on Saturday with his Miglio Yamaha.

Elder sibling Danny was runner-up in the same class on Sunday to fellow Brit Nathan Watson, although it is Finland’s Eero Remes who lifts the class title.

Danny did more than enough to secure third overall in the final standings behind Remes and Watson. He was 14th in the overall inaugural Enduro GP series.

Jamie McCanney ended up 10th, despite missing five of the eight rounds.

Rally Isle of Man organisers have laid on 20 stages covering 163 miles across the island from Thursday evening to this Saturday afternoon.

There will be a shakedown stage at lunchtime on Thursday in the Glen Rushen Mines area.

There will be spectator friendly stages each day, starting that evening on Douglas promenade with the spectacular side-by-side opening stage. Excellent viewing is available from Villa Marina gardens and the promenade seafront, with the first cars likely to be in the stage by 7pm.

Two further stages complete the night, the daunting high-speed run down Tholt-y-Will (SS2 ‘Five Ton Bridge’) and Pond Road in the north of the island taking crews well into darkness.

Friday is traditionally the meat of the challenge, with crews facing a 13-hour, 11-stage marathon. Six daytime tests begin with the rapid Sloc hillclimb at 9.58am. This was last used in 1980 but is now on a fresh, somewhat contrversial strip of supersmooth Tarmac!

Friday night is headlined by the double run of the famous harbourside Castletown spectator stages from 7.08pm. They form part of a real endurance test on a leg that takes in five tests across the island without any opportunity for service.

Saturday is no easy run to the champagne either. The last three stages are all over 13 miles in length, part of nine 11-mile or longer tests across the event.

The late afternoon finale is the Classic at 3.47pm, encompassing all that is best about the famed Manx stages and a favourite of many drivers including Mark Higgins.

It crosses the island, starting on the infamous Druidale, takes in the familiar landmarks of Brandywell Cottage, Injebreck and Abbeylands jump and then joins the TT Course at Cronk-ny-Mona for the final dash back to Douglas and the TT start/finish line.

One other innovation organisers are trialling this year is WRC-style flexi-service for international crews. This allows teams to decide within an overall timeframe when to use their allotted service time, helping with logistics at the end of each leg.

The event is based throughout at the TT Grandstand. More in Thursday’s Manx Independent.

Two young men breached their bail conditions by attempting to leave the island because they wanted to go to a music festival, Douglas magistrates were told.

Emanuel Jay Kaneen of Switzerland Road, Douglas, and Davis Keith Taylor, of Palatine Road, were both arrested by police who boarded the Ben-my-Chree as it waited to set sail for Heysham on Thursday morning.

For the prosecution, James Robinson told the court Kaneen and Taylor, who are both aged 21, were both bailed with a condition not to leave the Isle of Man without first gaining the court’s permission.

Despite this, he said, they were found by police on board the morning sailing on September 8.

‘They had both boarded the boat and the gang plank had actually been removed ready for departure,’ Mr Robinson said.

Both admitted the breach.

Mr Robinson said both men were facing charges of causing grievous bodily harm with intent in June, and were due to reappear before the court on September 29. He said both were subject to a recognisance and bail conditions of residence, not to leave the island, not to contact witnesses and not to enter certain areas of Douglas. He said permission had been sought and was granted previously during August.

‘Both were fortunate to get bail but they did not even attempt to get permission to go away for this current trip,’ he said.

On behalf of Kaneen, Paul Rodgers told the court: ‘They were going to the Isle of Wight Festival and only managed to get tickets confirmed at 10pm last night. They only made the ferry booking at 5pm last night so they had not got permission. It was naive of them.’

Taylor’s advocate Louise Cooil said it had been a last-minute booking and this was the first breach. She said the men were £400 out of pocket and sought formal permission to do the trip.

Chairman Kenneth Faragher declined permission but allowed bail to continue with a stern warning about future breaches.

A whole host of vegetables, flowers, confectionery and art were showcased at the Ballaugh Horticultural Show on Saturday.

Despite the recent windy weather, there was an abundance of flower entries and garden flower arrangements, as well fruit and vegetable entries.

The children’s decorated cakes and fruit and vegetable models proved popular and there was a display of art, poetry and creative writing by Ballaugh school pupils.

The show, which was opened by Clare Christian, former president of Tynwald, raised £1,133.80 to help children’s groups in the village and ended with the auction of produce.

Organisers say residents of Ballaugh should feel proud of producing an ‘excellent village show’.

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RESULTS

Children’s section:

FOBS Award, creative writing - Leo Berry

Ann Kelly Memorial Book, poetry - Leo Berry

Art Cup, best entry from reception - Charlie Quayle

Create-a-Scape Cup, art (excluding reception) - Elsie Hyett

Photography Award - Lucy Field

Derek Harper cup, best in children’s cookery - Meredith Creighton

Ruth Quirk Cup, floral arrangement - Grayse Teare-Kermeen

Nigel Hull Shield, children’s miniature garden - Lucy Field

1st Ballaugh Scout Group Cup, fruit/veg model - Rebecca Radcliffe

Charles P.Gill Memorial, most points, child of the parish - Lucy Field

H.M Queen’s Golden Jubilee Cup, best in children’s section (opener’s choice) - Elsie Hyett

Adult section:

Charles C.Craine Memorial Cup, best onions, resident of the parish - Will Radcliffe

Greenhouse Cup, best veg, excluding onions - Willie Kaighen

Jean Kaighin Shield, best collection of vegetables - Willie Kaighen

Howard Crowe Memorial Plaque, best potatoes - Willie Kaighen

Davison’s Ice-Cream Prize, the heaviest spud - Rachel Radcliffe

Ruskell Cup, best fruit - Voirrey Oates

The Howland Cup, best gladioli - Gill Dixon

Kelly Brothers Trophy, roses - Gill Dixon

Maureen Mcdonald Memorial Shield,best rose in show - Jane Teare

Northern Motors Trophy, Dahlias - Janet Kennish

Francis Goldsmith Memorial Cup, best flowers - Gill Dixon

Gillham Cup, floral arrangement, resident of the parish - Linda Cowin

Victoria Sandwich Cup, victoria sandwich - Kellie Keenan

Ballamoar Campsite Trophy, best chocolate cake - Kellie Keenan

Talbot Wood Goblet, best sweets/confectionery - Kellie Keenan

Marjorie Widdas Cup, best preserve - Janet Boothby

Ruth Quirk Plate, best adult craft - Judy Greenhouse

Millennium Cup, most points, resident of the parish - Willie Kaighen

25th Anniversary Show Cup - best entry in adult classes (opener’s choice) - Jessica Egelnick

The Kaighin Award, presented by the committee for effort and contribution to the show - The Kelly family, Kate, Darren, Erin and Joe

Davisons, best craft - Joe Kelly

Davisons, arts/crafts - Charlie Quayle