THE Southern Area Plan will be brought to Tynwald very soon, the Minister in charge assured MHKs.

Infrastructure Minister David Cretney, replying to a question from David Quirk (Onchan), told the House of Keys that his department was currently reviewing representations received following a public consultation, which ran from June 7 to 29, on the proposed modifications to the area plan for the South.

‘Once they have been reviewed and assessed, any required final changes will be made. Following this, the plan will be adopted by the department and then move via Council of Ministers to Tynwald for approval. At this stage I am not able to specify when this final stage will take place but I am hopeful that it will be undertaken very soon.’

Mr Quirk asked: ‘Does he think the process has taken much too long?’

Mr Cretney replied: ‘A number of elements of planning do take a long time. I understand the frustration of honourable members and it is my clear intention to try and speed up that process in order to facilitate and work with all sectors for the benefit of the Isle of Man and its economy.’

He ruled out having special planning orders brought forward ahead of the Southern Area Plan being adopted.

A MAJOR shake up of the Home Care service is planned.

Social Care Minister Chris Robertshaw said his department was working to rebalance home care and was looking to transfer the service to a new provider next year.

He said to this end, it is working with voluntary sector and non profit making partners.

His department announced a restructuring programme for government-run adult care services in February this year.

This was intended to ensure vulnerable adults, those with learning disabilities and the elderly received the help they needed to remain living at home as long as possible rather than in residential care homes.

Until recently, around 80 per cent of resources had been spent on residential care, with the remaining 20 per cent on home care. Social Care intend to shift that balance.

Earlier this year the announcement was made to close the Glenside old people’s home in Douglas. Since then most of the residents have been moved to other accommodation and staff redeployed to other services or offered support to find other jobs.

The home is now expected to close in Easter 2013. Only 22 of the 57 residents there when the closure was first announced last February remain. Of those, 16 are in the EMI unit and will transfer to Thie Maenagh in the near future. Most staff had secured other employment despite initial fears there could be as many as 10 or 12 redundancies.

Mr Robertshaw MHK said his aim was to ensure services were viable despite the challenges of a growing and ageing population as well as financial constraints.

He said rebalancing domiciliary care would secure the future of home care services in the island and ensure a ‘more flexible, responsive and cost effective service’ is delivered.

The Minister said: ‘I am pleased with the work my department has been taking forward in order to address a number of fundamental issues in the delivery of adult care services. The work to reduce residential capacity is now drawing to a close and we will now be focusing on rebalancing home care.

‘We are determined to ensure that any changes are open and transparent and we will continue to work with partners to make sure there is good information available to service users and their families and carers as well as our own staff.’

In August, staff shortages forced the temporary closure of the Gansey unit at Southlands in Port St Mary. Eight residents had to be moved to the unit at Thie Meanagh in Farmhill. Giving evidence to a Tynwald scrutiny committee, chief executive Chris Corlett said his department had faced a ‘perfect storm’.

But following a successful recruitment drive, the Gansey unit reopened last month.

Southlands’s Surby unit was opened at the beginning of October and five residents have moved in. The remaining beds in the 12 bed unit will be occupied by the end of December.

Reayrt Skyal, the new resource centre for elderly people in the north of the island, is currently recruiting to posts and will open as soon as staff are in place.

Mr Robertshaw said his department had been developing proposals to create a more consistent, fair and transparent process for accessing care services and support for carers.

A public consultation is to take place on the new process in early 2013.

SOME lucky drama students enjoyed a special workshop with a West End director this autumn thanks to the Douglas Choral Union.

The DCU, who produced shows including Les Miserables and Miss Saigon at the Gaiety Theatre, also used the musical theatre event as an opportunity to announce the two recipients of their new bursary for under-25s pursuing further education in drama, dance, music and theatre.

The group’s director Tara Wilkinson, who also works in London’s West End, led the workshop at Ballakermeen High School as a reward to those 15-18-year-old students involved in a production of West Side Story to be performed at the school this week. DCU committee member and dance captain for the production team, Julia Bratty said: ‘We feel it is really important to harbour the talent we have on the island and help develop the skills of our young performers so we thought we’d organise this two-hour workshop so that Tara could pass on her knowledge gained directly from the West End. At the same time we did a formal presentation to the two candidates in receipt of this year’s bursary scheme.

‘They were back from their first term at college so we were keen to learn about their experiences and how the funding has been helping them so far.’

The first recipients of the bursary are Rebecca Lawrence and Matthew Cannell who both needed help with funding for their places at drama school. Matthew is attending Arts Ed in London and Rebecca is attending London School of Musical Theatre.

Both were interviewed by a panel from the DCU committee where they explained how the cash would help them but also how they would use their new skills back in the island.

Julia said: ‘Both candidates have been great assets to our society and their passion for musical theatre is unquestioned. Matty would like to come back at Christmas and hold a workshop to go through audition techniques and encourage males into musical theatre and Rebecca would like to hold one to work on individual’s confidence. This is exactly the kind of thing we wanted the introduction of a bursary to encourage and we are grateful that both candidates are wanting to bring home their skills to encourage the students of the future.’

She said: ‘They both joined in the workshop, which saw Tara lead the group into an adaptation of the famous Barn Dance number from Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.

‘Judging by the laughter, everyone enjoyed themselves which confirmed our desire to repeat a similar workshop for the students of the island in the future.’

Tara has just finished as associate director on the tour of Sister Act and is currently resident director for the new tour of Nine to Five. She was in the island for four days to work on the DCU’s new show Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, sponsored by Dougherty Quinn, which will be staged at the Gaiety Theatre from February 2-9.

www.douglaschoralunion.im

THE Port Erin Commissioners bye-election was won by Barbara Guy.

She beat Jolinda de Beer in last night’s poll.

Barbara Guy won 399 votes while Ms de Beer attracted 266.

The turnout was 24.68 per cent.

TONIGHT’S lecture at the Manx Museum has sold out.

Dr David Caldwell will present on the Kingdom of the Isles 1079 to 1266.

Using archaeological evidence and historical sources, he is to show that there was more to the Kingdom of the Isles than previously thought, and discover more about a heritage lost in Manx history.

Dr Caldwell is an archaeologist, former Keeper at National Museums Scotland and co-writer of the ‘The Lewis Chessmen: Unmasked’. His visit to the island coincides with ‘The Forgotten Kingdom Exhibition, which is currently on display at the Manx Museum.

For those of us who know and love the elegant resort of Southport, it is hard to believe that at the end of the 18th century, the town did not even exist.

All that could be seen on the stretch of coast between Blackpool and Liverpool was a beach with sandhills and a few fishermen’s homes.

It was only when William (‘Duke’) Sutton, landlord of the Black Bull pub in Churchtown, a village two miles from the seashore, recognised its potential to attract visitors that the future of Southport was sealed.

Drawing on his own extensive collection of picture postcards and memorabilia, Jack Smith takes us on a nostalgic trip back in time to show how the popular resort has changed over the last 100 years.

The wide range of photographs illustrates not only the picturesque centre with its distinctive boulevard-style Lord Street but also many of the surrounding areas of the town, including people at work and play, and views of the streets and buildings in which they lived.

The sequence of images takes the form of a journey through the borough, contrasting old and new images to offer a unique historical perspective on the town and the effects of the inevitable increase in the number of vehicles on the roads.

Long before cars took to the roads, early 18th century visitors would arrive at nearby Scarisbrick thanks to the building of the Lancaster Canal, and the arrival of the railway in 1849 further boosted the development of houses and hotels, including the Victoria Hotel on the promenade.

That same year, Lord Street was developed on both sides but as the area was still surrounded by sandhills, the street was prone to flooding.

The baths were built, bathing machines were sited by the shore and in 1860 a 1,200 yards long pier (later extended to 1,400 yards) was built, providing a mooring place for steamers plying between Barrow, Blackpool and Llandudno.

Things were really looking up for the town, now called ‘Southport,’ especially as a new Winter Gardens complex had been opened in 1874, followed by the two marine lakes, new businesses and shops and the building of the prestigious Royal Hotel, today’s Royal Clifton.

In the 20th century, the sea’s retraction from the north seafront allowed a large area to be reclaimed and used for golf links, housing and limited industry. More recently, the pier has been rebuilt, Marine Way has a new suspension bridge and the Town Hall and civic gardens have been refurbished and upgraded.

Smith’s beautifully presented and nostalgic book is packed with fascinating pictures and information, and is the perfect gift for people who live in or near Southport, and those who love to visit.

(Amberley, paperback, £14.99)

DUE to an administrative ‘hiccup’ there was no blog online last week, and inboxes at Blog HQ have been overflowing with hundreds of teary letters, sobbing phone-calls and emails about the lack of a blog.

In all seriousness, if the same thing happens in the future, it would be nice to have more than a response from just Hydey. Still, we’ve doubled up, with two Katy Stopfords and a double week of predictions...I bet you can hardly contain yourselves!

LOOK-A-LIKEYS

Picture above gratefully nominated by Chris ‘Smiler’ McKernan of our first Manx Hockey look-a-like. Whether Smiler is still smiling after Katy sees this blog remains to be seen! Apologies for the lack of a caption but we’ve spent many hours in various public houses across the island studying the photo and are still not entirely convinced which one is which...I think one of them was in Dr Who?

MATCH REPORT AWARDS

If you’ve not yet had the pleasure of experiencing them, it’s well worth reviewing the match reports on fixtures live for some fairly epic match write-ups. Most of the clubs put together some top quality reports of matches, scoured through each week by Pasty and Thad before ridiculing the finer points on these very pages.

Top award, though, has to go to Jon Allen who each week writes the tale of each match as though it were an epic thriller. It’s hard not to get captivated by the twists and turns, subplots and apocalyptic scenarios of each Castletown Cushags Colts game.

Particular highlights in recent weeks have included engine analogies (‘We were miles better than last week when we were firing on one cylinder – the engine was running fine but just a little out of tune.’) and an in-depth breakdown of how Cushags drove league leaders Valkyrs C to their closest game of the season. Very enjoyable.

We feel it would only be appropriate to challenge Jon to fit some words into his blog and would award Jon suitably with the new blog mega-prize, details of which are below. But first, the words ‘platypus’, ‘liquorice’ and ‘Barack Obama’ will need to appear in his write up.


PRIIIIZES

As promised, there are some blog mega-prizes up for grabs in the form of Pasty and Thad ‘Inspiring A Generation’ headbands and these sought-after items have been known to fetch big bucks at the various hockey mhelliahs up and down the island. We are looking for nominations of who you think deserves one of these beautiful blog spot prizes, so please let us know any worthy recipients at pastyandthad@manx.net

(Plus we really need to start shifting some of these, the garage at blog HQ has got now got more Pasty and Thad sweatbands than it has Robson and Green singles, and that’s saying something.)

As an example of the sort of behaviour that may land you with one of these treats, read on for Giggsy’s tale of woe below. Unfortunately, Giggsy has already got one of our mega-prizes from beating us both in the predictions a few weeks ago and we can’t imagine he’ll do anything else quite so stupid for the rest of the season (although we may stand corrected) but get your nominations in now!


A BIT B-READ IN THE FACE

Epic confusion was noted this week at Vikings headquarters, as Michael ‘Giggsy’ Moore took several minutes trying to explain to Hayley Crowe and Jen Dougal how he had recently succumbed to an episode of concussion on the golf course. For several minutes Hayley and Jen questioned Giggsy on how exactly he had managed to concuss himself half way through a round of golf with a sandwich.

Slightly annoyed by having to explain the story for a third time to the rare specimens afore him, Giggsy once again outlined that he had attempted to extricate his putter from his stick bag with intimidating flair (no, we can’t visualise it either), but had, in the process, accidentally pulled out not only his putter but also his sandwich which had flown in the air and come down to hit Giggsy square in the forehead, at which point stars had appeared around his head.

A bit like in a Tom & Jerry cartoon (we’re not sure which one Giggsy is...answers on a postcard, please).

What type of sandwich could possibly create such an eventuality? Where did Giggsy source such weighty bread? Why were Jen and Hayley asking bread-related questions? After several minutes of questioning, Giggsy realised the problem. He was, of course, referring to his sand wedge. The hilarity which ensued allegedly lasted for several seconds.

When Giggsy told us this story, it was clear that he wished to be depicted as a hero of the tale. However, Giggsy, there’s no getting away from the fact that you still managed to hit yourself in the head with your own golf club. It’s a pity you have already won our blog mega-prize (with a value approaching £3.46), because this eventuality would earn it for you.


WHOSE BRUISE?

In the absence of finding any amusing pictures of Giggsy with either a sandwich or a sand wedge for our Facebook page, we have resorted to posting yet another picture of an impressive hockey bruise to our page, which surprisingly belongs to a team-mate as our original bruised socialite. Prizes for guessing the owners of the bruises and add your vote for the best one...

We can’t work out whether this is because of an increased level of competitiveness at Saracens for the best bruise, or they simply don’t teach ‘running out of the way’ at Saracens shooting training but either way we’re impressed by the injury!

FOR FLICK’S SAKE...

Some entertaining goings on in Plate matches last week, prompting several clubs to spend swathes of training practicing penalty flicks over the next few weeks. An epic Vikings/Ramsey match down at the NSC resulted in a quite stunning 4-4 draw.

A much less epic Valkyrs/Saracens match ended in a much less stunning 0-0 draw out west (although we’ll take nothing away from Valkyrs performance in that game). The NSC match started off well with three penalties being scored before the final seven were missed. Saracens only managed to scratch a lead in the ninth nail-biting round of penalty flicks out west.


BRATTISTICS

‘Before feeling too sorry for the Saracens and Valkyrs goalkeepers and fans, I remember back to my youth growing up in Argentina. In the 1988-89 Argentine Championship, penalties were taken after drawn matches for an extra point. In one match on November 20, 1988 between Argentinos Juniors and Racing Club which had finished 2-2, 44 penalties were taken before Argentinos emerged as 20-19 victors.’

PREDICTIONS

We were expecting big things two weeks ago in the predictions, after Sarah Blackman took the Mystic Mog league title last year while predicting the first round of the cup/plate matches. Due to the fact that in the first round there are often teams from different divisions playing each other, this is often easy to predict, or at least should be...

Shame on Thad then, who broke records by scoring just two points from the 27 on offer, gaining the lowest weekly score ever seen in the two years of the blog. Pasty didn’t perform too much better in an unpredictable week with five points, but topping Tops as the most successful northerner yet, Vicky showed formidable skills beating us both with an impressive score of seven out of the nine games, helped by forecasting the correct score in the Valkyrs B vs Vikings B match.

Congratulations Vicky, not only have you become the pride of Ramsey Hockey Club, you’ve also won yourself a glorious blog mega-prize to wear to training each week!

Last week it was time for another of the all-whites to have a go, with Bacchas supremo Niamh Goddard to pit her wits against us for the chance to win our prize...and sure enough she’s also in line for a mega-prize, forecasting two perfect results on the road to an impressive 12 points out of the 14 games, just trailing behind Giggsy and Phil the Thrill for the league lead. Pasty and Thad failed to impress with eight and nine points respectively.

On to this week’s predictions and we’ve got somewhat of a blog heroine to forecast them, step forward Katy.

Katy Stopford (born Katy Stopford on 12 May 1968) is an English actress, writer and comedienne. She has won numerous awards for her work on the sketch comedy series The Katy Stopford Show as well as being nominated for an International Emmy Award and seven BAFTA Awards. Following the success of The Katy Stopford Show, Stopford played Donna Noble in the 2006 Christmas special of Doctor Who and later reprised her role, becoming the Doctor’s companion for the fourth series in 2008.

Have a good ‘un!

Pasty and Thad

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KATY’S PREDICTIONS

Premier Division

Castletown Celts 3 v 2 Vikings B

Bacchas A 1 v 1 Vikings A

Valkyrs A 3 v 1 Bacchas B

Valkyrs B 0 v 3 Ramsey A

Division One

Castletown Cushag Colts 1 v 4 Bacchas Colts

Bacchas C 1 v 4 Valkyrs C

Harlequins A 0 v 3 Vikings C

Saracens Sabres 0 v 2 Castletown Cammags

Division Two

Castletown Cosney 3 v 2 Valkyrs D

Bacchas D 2 v 4 Saracens Sharks

Ramsey Ravens 3 v 0 Castletown Southerners

Under-16s

Harlequins U16 1 v 5 Bacchas U16

Ramsey Rascals 8 v 0 Castletown U16

Ramsey Rogues 2 v 2 Vikings U16

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PASTY’S PREDICTIONS

Premier Division

Castletown Celts 1 v 1 Vikings B

Bacchas A 4 v 1 Vikings A

Valkyrs A 6 v 1 Bacchas B

Valkyrs B 2 v 2 Ramsey A

Division One

Castletown Cushag Colts 2 v 2 Bacchas Colts

Bacchas C 4 v 3 Valkyrs C

Harlequins A 2 v 0 Vikings C

Saracens Sabres 5 v 1 Castletown Cammags

Division Two

Castletown Cosney 1 v 2 Valkyrs D

Bacchas D 1 v 2 Saracens Sharks

Ramsey Ravens 5 v 1 Castletown Southerners

Under-16s

Harlequins U16 2 v 4 Bacchas U16

Ramsey Rascals 3 v 3 Castletown U16

Ramsey Rogues 2 v 2 Vikings U16

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THAD’S PREDICTIONS

Premier Division

Castletown Celts 2 v 1 Vikings B

Bacchas A 4 v 2 Vikings A

Valkyrs A 4 v 1 Bacchas B

Valkyrs B 0 v 3 Ramsey A

Division One

Castletown Cushag Colts 3 v 2 Bacchas Colts

Bacchas C 1 v 2 Valkyrs C

Harlequins A 4 v 0 Vikings C

Saracens Sabres 4 v 2 Castletown Cammags

Division Two

Castletown Cosney 4 v 3 Valkyrs D

Bacchas D 2 v 1 Saracens Sharks

Ramsey Ravens 3 v 1 Castletown Southerners

Under-16s

Harlequins U16 0 v 4 Bacchas U16

Ramsey Rascals 2 v 1 Castletown U16

Ramsey Rogues 3 v 1 Vikings U16

ALMOST 70 per cent of long-term incapacity benefit claimants have had their payments stopped following the introduction of fitness to work assessments.

Social Care Minister Chris Robertshaw was quizzed in the House of Keys about the Atos Healthcare consultancy which has been brought in to carry out medical assessments on benefit claimants as part of a six month trial.

Mr Robertshaw revealed that of 106 assessment cases that have been completed so far, 33 had signed themselves off before the assessment even took place, 33 had their benefits confirmed and 40 were found to be capable of work.

John Houghton (Douglas North) described the figures as ‘rather staggering’. He said Atos in the UK had got a reputation for ‘bullying people who are unable to go to work’ and asked why the Department of Social Care hadn’t carried out its own checks if it believed some were claiming when they should not have done.

Mr Robertshaw replied: ‘This is a very sensitive and specialist area.’ He said the island was not in the business of jumping into using specialist services until it was absolutely satisfied they were appropriate.

The Examiner revealed in September Atos had been brought in to carry out face-to-face personal capability assessments of long-term claimants on incapacity benefit.

It is currently two thirds of the way through the six-month pilot.

Campaigners in the UK have called for it to be stripped of its £100m a year contract with the Department of Work and Pensions in protest at its ‘flawed’ approach which they claim has left thousands denied the right benefits.

Kate Beecroft (Lib Van, Douglas South) asked the Minister if he was satisfied with Atos’s performance and questioned whether suitably qualified medical professionals in the island could have undertaken this work.

Mr Robertshaw said: ‘No, there was no suitable local specialist, because this is very much a specialist area. Yes, I am satisfied with the performance.’

The Minister declined to give the Keys details about how much Atos Healthcare was being paid for its services. He said to do so would prejudice the department’s future dealings with Atos or other service providers and would compromise any tender process Social Care may be required to undertake in the future.

But he added: ‘I can advise the department is being charged by Atos Healthcare the same, on a pro rata basis, as is charged to the Department of Work and Pensions and that I am satisfied we are getting excellent value for money.’

Mrs Beecroft asked how many complaints had been received from those who had been assessed.

Mr Robertshaw replied that every person who goes through the assessment process is entitled to appeal but there had not been one single appeal so far.

Brenda Cannell (Douglas East) questioned whether, bearing in mind the ‘extensive criticism of this organisation’, the Minister is seriously considering going into a contractual arrangement with Atos at the end of the trial.

Mr Robertshaw said he would not pre-judge a decision.

A FORMER minister who blew the whistle on a costly TT sponsorship deal said he had been ‘shocked and appalled’ by the terms of the contract.

And the Public Accounts Committee investigating the Signature Sponsorship deal revealed that they had still not found a copy of the signed contract.

The lucrative deal with Signature, which aimed at transforming the TT into a more viable commercial prospect, saw the company paid a basic £70,000 a year, plus £15,000 in expenses and 22.5 per cent in commission.

It left government with a £750,000 liability – on top of the £900,000 the company had already been paid – as it couldn’t afford to break the contract.

Martyn Quayle, who was Minister for Tourism and Leisure between August 2008 until the restructuring of government departments in April 2010, told the committee that he had instigated an internal Treasury audit of the Signature deal because he ‘wanted to ensure no department or entity of government could end up in similar circumstances again’.

He said Signature had secured a deal where they had effectively been able ‘to write their own cheques’.

‘I was shocked and appalled that the department had somehow ended up in a position where they paid 22.5 per cent commission on gross income rather than take into account various costs in achieving increased revenue.’

Committee chairman Alfred Cannan asked: ‘Did you see the contract?’

Mr Quayle replied: ‘A signed copy could not be found.’ He said there had been 50 versions of the contract with 100 additions or amendments.

Committee member Leonard Singer questioned how the signed contract had ‘mysteriously disappeared’. He said: ‘I find it unbelievable that a signed copy of the contract could not be found in the department.’

Mr Quayle said he had been shocked when he was appointed DTL Minister to find a department which was ‘not fit for purpose’, with no full-time chief executive, a director of tourism on sick leave, and staff moved around from ‘pillar to post’.

He said the Council of Ministers had discussed in March 2009 how the deal could be terminated but the DTL did not have the £605,100 to pay Signature a one-off exit fee. Instead, the contract had been allowed to run out at a cost of £250,000 a year.

The former minister, who was ousted as Middle MHK in the last general election, claimed an opportunity had been missed to terminate the contract after 18 months, which was a clause contained in the deal Treasury allowed to progress without a tendering process in December 2005.

Also giving evidence to the committee was Mr Quayle’s predecessor as minister, Adrian Earnshaw, who said he had been in the post for about three months when he discovered the Signature contract had not been signed.

He said he didn’t know a contract had not been signed until about Easter 2007.

Mr Earnshaw, who was MHK for Onchan until he lost his seat at the last election, recalled the then chief executive Carol Glover had produced the contract and said they were ready for it to be signed. ‘I was astonished at getting this news.’

He added: ‘I think there was a degree of panic when I said I wasn’t signing the contract. I wasn’t happy and not prepared to sign the contract that had been operating so far retrospectively.’

He said subsequently the contract was split, with him signing one covering the period from May 2007 and Mrs Glover signing the one covering the period before.

Mr Earnshaw said: ‘I don’t know what happened to the contracts. Have you seen them?’

Committee chairman Mr Cannan said: ‘No we have not seen the contracts at all.’

Mr Earnshaw was asked about £330,000 that was owed to the department which was kept by Signature in the company’s private account.

The ex-minister said while there had not been massive figures involved at Easter 2007, he had ‘serious concerns’ by the end of that year.

Mr Cannan asked: ‘When you signed that contract do you recall the clause giving Signature 22.5 per cent commission on television revenue?’

The witness replied: ‘There was confusion as to whether it was net or gross. I can’t recall the detail of that. I was aware of the 22.5 per cent.’

VOLUNTEER beach cleaning moves to Douglas Promenade this weekend for the latest in the series of ‘Big Team’ beach cleaning sessions organised by volunteer group Beach Buddies.

Douglas Corporation is giving its backing to the first ever visit to Douglas by Beach Buddies and its squad of volunteers who have made a big difference to a number of beaches all over the island in the last two months.

So far, more than 200 bags of rubbish have been collected in eight weeks - covering the north, south and north west of the island.

Anyone wishing to join in should meet at the slipway opposite the Palace Hotel at 10.30am on Sunday. Beach Buddies provides litterpickers, gloves and bin bags, and Douglas Corporation is arranging for the disposal and recycling of items afterwards.

Children are welcome, but must be supervised by an adult. All volunteers are advised to wear decent walking boots or wellies.

Last weekend 37 volunteers from the north carried out a ‘Big Team’ beach clean at Ramsey North beach, collecting 18 bags of rubbish. The volunteers included a large team from 2nd Ramsey Guides who are the first group in the Isle of Man to officially ‘adopt’ a beach in the island.

There’s no need for volunteers to register, even if you’ve never been to a Beach Buddies cleaning session before. To receive further information on Beach Buddies volunteer sessions go to Beach Buddies on Facebook or by e-mail: beachbuddies@manx.net

BOTANY, zoology and human biology – see them all in the latest Sayle Gallery themed exhibition.

Eight Sayle Gallery artists have taken the theme of the new exhibition Biological Forms to diverse extremes, using their own fascination with the natural world as a starting point to produce works of huge variation, in both media and subject.

Brigid Stowell will be exhibiting what she calls ‘portraits’ of trees and plants, allowing these forms to take centre stage instead of being just part of a greater landscape, and Jelena Benson has used the unusual, natural objects which she has collected to provide a starting point to a series of collages.

Renowned local wood sculptor Gavin Carter will be exhibiting a number of works and former Sayle Gallery artist-in-residence Hazel Walsh has submitted both photographs and canvases exploring the biological forms we can’t see - the organs which keep us alive and functioning.

Frogs and tadpoles make an unexpected appearance in the works of two very different artists - Colleen Corlett’s ceramics and Brigid Stowell’s paintings. Colleen has taken this opportunity to interpret the theme in various media, including a glass panel which juxtaposes the recreation of a delicate cabbage leaf in heavy glass.

Other Sayle Gallery artists taking part in this exhibition are Charlotte Jane Henry, Christine Williams and Rosi Robinson.

The exhibition opens tomorrow (Friday)and continues until December 9. The Sayle Gallery is in the Villa Marina Arcade in Douglas.

It is open between 10am and 5pm Tuesdays to Saturdays, 1.30pm – 4.30pm on Sundays and 1pm – 5pm on Mondays. Admission is free. For more information call 674557 or visit www.saylegallery.com

Ramsey will be aiming to continue their November to remember this Saturday when Liverpool Collegiate visit the Mooragh Park for the first time in South Lancashire/Cheshire Division Two.

Collegiate are currently sitting in fourth place in the table and have a pretty good record at home but look slightly more vulnerable away.

They’ve lost just four times so far this season and only against the more fancied teams like Douglas, Sefton and Ormskirk.

Ramsey will be on a little high this week after their dramatic win at Vagabonds last Saturday which was the first time the club had ever beaten Vagabonds in a competitive match.

With that monkey now well and truly off their back, the northerners will be looking for some points to try and climb away from the league’s relegation zone.

Missing this week will be second rower John F. Watling who has university commitments and is struggling to shake off a dead leg in any case.

His starting berth is likely to be more than filled by man mountain Max Singer.

Skipper Davide Mazzone also returns but the big question is whether he will impress the selectors enough.

Orry Watterson and Rory Nicholson did an impressive job last Saturday and the skipper may yet find himself on the bench.

In the backline, James Wren also returns but he too may find himself warming the bench this week after the backs worked well against Vagas.

With the top two, Douglas and Sefton, playing each other this week, Collegiate will fancy their chances to close the gap at the top and it will need another big Ramsey performance to hold them off.

With league leaders PDMS Southern Nomads out of action again this week, second-placed Douglas B could go top of the standings with a win over Vagabonds B at Port-e-Chee on Saturday.

For a variety of reasons, Vagas B haven’t had a fixture for a few weeks and this could just play into Douglas’ hands.

Chef du team Seb Jeanneau seems to have inspired Douglas and while they were a little lucky against Ramsey a fortnight ago, they haven’t reached these lofty heights by accident.

Vagas put in a solid if under strength performance in their last outing against champions Nomads and if they can harness the commitment shown by the team that day, this should be a tight scrap.

I suspect, however, that the Douglas steam-roller may just be too much for them.

In the only other Shimmin Wilson Shield game this weekend Ramsey B travel south to meet Emerging Nomads.

Ramsey won the last meeting by a huge score and Nomads, with no first team match will be a much tougher nut to crack this week.

Ean Mousely and Jimmy Cubbon both played for the Emerging Nomads side last Saturday and their big game experience should lift the rest of the side.

Ramsey B side has been stripped of talent somewhat with first team call ups going to Tom Kinrade, Orry Watterson and Mikey Craine.

That will put a little pressure on Jim Lantry’s team and I suspect Nomads may just sneak this one.

Saturday’s Fixtures

South Lancs/Cheshire Division Two

Vagabonds v Marple @ Ballafletcher ko 2.30pm

Sefton v Douglas @ Sefton

Ramsey v Liverpool Collegiate

@ Mooragh Park ko 2.15pm

Shimmin Wilson Manx Shield 2.15pm kick-offs

Emerging Nomads v Ramsey B

@ King William’s College

Douglas B v Vagabonds B @ Port-e-Chee

2E2 Douglas travel to West Derby this Saturday to face table toppers Sefton in South Lancs/Cheshire Division Two.

At this early stage in the season both teams boast 100 per cent records with the two seperated by the one bonus point more Sefton have claimed.

There are many clichés that fit with this match, clash of the titans and something’s got to give to name a few but come Saturday one thing this match won’t be is stereotypical.

The two sides are fairly evenly matched in terms of how they structure their game and how they like to play rugby, so a fast open game is on the cards should the weather fine.

Douglas have made a few tactical changes for this week but by and large the starting 15 has remained intact.

Ben Pote travels up from uni to bolster the front-row options, Carl Markl-Ferns returns from injury and Andy Evans has made himself available in the centres.

Skipper Scott Goodall has made sure that Douglas stay grounded this season and so far so good.

This weekend Douglas, however, must turn up with the intensity that was shown at the Old Firm clash two weeks ago when Douglas clicked for the first 20 minutes.

Sefton will certainly have a lot to do with the outcome of Saturday’s game and over the seasons these two sides have been pretty close in terms of results and scorelines.

I expect much the same this weekend. If Douglas click again they will be a match for their free-scoring Sefton opponents.

With Douglas boasting the league’s best defence and Sefton the most potent attack, this will be an interesting match.

THE fixtures computer has thrown up several interesting matches in JCK Division Two this Saturday as the league season resumes after last week’s break for the Isle of Man under-18s’ FA County Youth Cup game with Staffordshire.

With half of the 2012-13 season already gone for most teams in the league the table has seemingly split into three sections, with five teams battling out for a place in the top four, a quartet sitting right in the middle and another four teams all level at the foot of the standings.

Of course there is still plenty of time for these to completely change but it’s hard to look past the mighty Michael United for promotion. The western table-toppers face a tricky trip to Billy Goat Park to face a Foxdale side who are perhaps the best placed side to break free of that mid-table quartet and challenge for a place in the end-of-season Paul Henry Gold Cup.

With at least two games in hand on all the teams around them, Alan Lemaire’s men could close the gap on fifth place Douglas Royal with victory this weekend but face an uphill task to do so against a Michael side who have won 10 of their 11 games thus far this season. Barney Kelly’s men should have enough about them to make it 11 wins in 12.

Waiting in the wings in case the leaders slip-up are Colby who travel to Springfield Road to face Pulrose.

No fewer than 20 points separate the sides in the table but Pully should not be underestimated, especially as they are the only team to have taken any points off Michael after securing a 1-1 draw with the westerners last month.

Colby have been one of the surprise packages this season and lie just three points off first place so they will be firm favourites to record victory on Saturday.

A further three points back are RYCOB who have enjoyed a steady start to the campaign following their relegation from the Premier League and travel to Victoria Road to go head to head with Braddan.

The northerners recorded an emphatic 4-1 victory over the Swans on the opening day of the season thanks largely to a hat-trick from island u18 player Jamie Brew and form suggests that a similar result could be in store this time around, with Braddan having lost their last three games on the bounce.

The closest game of the day should take place at Ballafletcher where fifth place Douglas Royal take on the side above them, Ayre United. With just two points and one goal separating the duo, this one is too close to call and could go either way,

Elsewhere in JCK Division Two, Douglas and District could find themselves in the top half of the table by Saturday tea-time should they get the better of bottom side Malew and other results go their way, while two of the other four sides level on points at the foot of the table, Douglas Athletic and Malew, go face to face at Springfield Road.

THE Canada Life Premier League all but makes its turn for home this Saturday, with the division’s first set of return fixtures.

In a repeat of the season-opening weekend, the big match sees title contenders Laxey host Peel at Glen Road.

The Miners, who are currently level on points at the table’s summit with league leaders St George’s, were dealt a massive blow last week when it was confirmed Neil Brogan had broken his leg during their recent match with Castletown.

Since his summer switch from St George’s the island international has become a vital part of Steve Falconer’s defence and his lengthy lay-off will be a massive blow to the Miners’ title ambitions.

The news of Brogan’s second leg break in 12 months has been componded by the fact that midfielder Danny Foulis is likely to be sidelined until Christmas with injury.

Both will be missed starting with this weekend’s visit of the in-form westerners to Glen Road.

Rick Holden’s side are unbeaten since they lost to Laxey 3-4 in August and have made a late charge for one of the division’s four Railway Cup spots.

This momentum will mean they will push a Brogan-less Laxey hard and the Miners may have to settle for a point.

With this round of matches not counting towards Railway Cup qualification attention turns to foot of the league where bottom side Marown still remain without a point.

This unfortunate runs looks likely to continue for another week with a St Mary’s side averaging four goals a game the visitors to Crosby this Saturday.

With Dave Brew’s hosts managing just six goals from their 10 top-flight fixtures a Saints win looks a pretty safe bet.

Second-bottom Ramsey will also do well to collect all three points this time out with St John’s the visitors to Ballacloan.

Brian Carney’s men will take some solace in the fact that all of their points thus far have come at home, but you’d have to favour the Saints to triumph despite the suspension of skipper Andy Glover.

There’s two mid-table clashes of sorts as Corinthians host Rushen and DHSOB welcome Union Mills to Blackberry Lane.

The Whites drew 3-3 with the Spaniards in August and another high-scoring encounter could be on the cards at Ballafletcher. Old Boys triumphed 1-5 at Garey Mooar on the opening day of the campaign and will be marginal favourites to complete the league double against Mills who have lost their last two.

League leaders St George’s will also be confident of claiming their first double of the term when they host Castletown. Geordies will be without James McStay (suspended) and Gary Quirk (holiday) while Johnny Myers is a doubt with injury, but their absence shouldn’t stop the Saints from claiming a ninth win in a row.

SURE-SPONSORED Vagabonds will look to get back to winning ways this Saturday when they welcome Marple to the island in South Lancashire and Cheshire Division Two.

The Manx outfit will be looking to get over the disappointment of a three-match losing streak and regain some confidence.

Vagas had five backline missing last weekend and the good news is they should welcome back at least three to face Marple.

Mark McGreal, Jonny Beckley and Tom Gascoyne should feature and free up Manx star Leigh Kennaugh to slot back into his preferred position of scrum-half.

The pack, who performed so well last weekend, will look for more of the same against a strong-scrummaging Marple outfit.

Confidence is the key word for Vagabonds. If they find that then they will be hopeful of a much-needed home win to catapult them back up into third position in the league. Kick-off at Ballafletcher is 2.30pm.

MICHAEL Rutter qualified on pole for Saturday morning’s Macau GP with a lap of 2min 27.545sec.

He was less than a fifth of a second quicker than initial practice pole-setter John McGuinness.

Conor Cummins qualified well n the Tyco Suzuki, fifth quickest, and Dan Kneen was also pleased with his time in ninth place, placing him on the third row of the grid for the race. He said: ‘Will make a few tweaks to the bike for warm-up, very bumpy this year which is making it hard work.’

The full list of qualifiers is as follows:

1, Michael Rutter 2:27.545; 2, John Mcguinness 2:27.763; 3, Martin Jessopp 2:29.287; 4, Gary Johnson 2:29.497; 5, Conor Cummins 2:30.075; 6, Horst Saiger 2:30.203; 7, Simon Andrews 2:30.256; 8, James Storrar 2:30.851; 9, Dan Kneen 2:31.680; 10, James Hillier 2:31.787; 11, Didier Grams 2:31.850; 12, James McBride 2:32.402; 13, Riko Penzkofer 2:33.550; 14, Steve Mercer 2:34.204; 15, Branko Srdanov 2:34.669; 16, Mark Miller 2:35.117; 17, David Johnson 2:35.269; 18, Steve Heneghan 2:38.030; 19, Rafael Paschoalin 2:40.298; 20, Davy Morgan 2:41.138.

Non-qualifiers: Yoshinari Matsushita, Brandon Cretu, Joao Fernandes, Jamie Hamilton, Nuno Caetano, Stephen Thompson, Fernando Costa and Sou Sio Hong.

THE swimming pool at the National Sports Centre in Douglas will close on Monday (November 19) for up to five weeks for planned maintenance and improvement work.

It is anticipated that the pool will reopen around the weekend of December 22.

All other NSC facilities are fully open.

Centre manager Carl Glover said: ‘To keep the facilities at a high standard, periodic maintenance is essential. We are also taking the chance to improve the flumes and when the pool reopens swimmers will enjoy faster and more exhilarating rides. It’s not just adults and older children that will benefit from the improvements though. The small “toddler” slide in the leisure pool will be replaced with an exciting new slide and play equipment will be fitted to the beach pool area.’

To keep up with the latest information visit the NSC Facebook page (facebook.com/NSCIsleofMan), contact NSC reception by calling 688588 or email nsc@gov.im

A RATE rise in Douglas next year is not inevitable despite the proposed investment in a £12 million library and multi-storey development, council leader David Christian has insisted.

He said it was his aim to keep any rates increase, if there was to be one at all, to the bare minimum.

Councillor Christian said the authority’s advisory committees had been set a target to keep increased expenditure to no more than 2 per cent.

But he said this did not translate to a 2 per cent increase in rates.

‘It’s not a fait accompli, it’s not necessarily the case at all,’ he said. ‘We’ve had three good years where we’ve had no increase in rates or just 0.5 per cent.

‘Times are still difficult and we still maintain our intention to keep Douglas rates as low as possible.’

Mr Christian said that with inflation at 3.1 per cent and the corporation looking to have to fund wage increases for both white collar and manual staff, the pressure on budgets would be intense.

But he said the committees had been instructed to come forward with schemes that were realistic and affordable.

‘In the past, we have schemes proposed costing a couple of million pounds. That sort of money is not available now,’ he said.

How, then, can the Corporation justify proceeding with a £12 million scheme to build a new library and multi-storey car park at Cambrian Place, opposite the bus station on Lord Street?

The borough is petitioning the Department of Infrastructure to approve the purchase of a parcel of land at Cambrian Place for £2.5 million and to borrow £12,072,000 for the development.

Mr Christian said: ‘People will ask why we are going ahead with a £12 million scheme in the current climate. But we can’t stay still.

‘That site has been crying out for development for the last 30 years. We believe it will kickstart the regeneration of that area.’

He explained that the project would result in the Corporation owning an asset rather than having to rent library and office premises. The authority will also get income from the car parking in the new 447-space multi-storey.

The council leader said the scheme would add 1.8 per cent on to the rates overall but this had already been built into last years’ budget and allowed in the level of rates set.

Cumbrian-based Time & Tide submitted a detailed planning application (12/0831) in June for the development at Cambrian Place, presently a car park between Fort Street and Lord Street.

Following some amendments to the original plans, it was readvertised.

Once it is considered by a planning inspector, recommendations could go before the Council of Ministers in December or early in the new year.

If planning consent is given, the project could be completed by the end of 2013.

Time & Tide is also the preferred developer for the Sefton’s Middlemarch site next door to Cambrian Place.

Outline planning consent for a 190-bed hotel and casino on the Middlemarch site was approved in 2006 but the consent has since lapsed.

Across the road, there are long-standing plans for a 120-bedroom four-star quayside hotel, serviced flats and restaurants on the former bus station site.

Tynwald approved changes in the summer to the agreed terms with developer Askett Hawk to reduce the amount of retail and leisure space from 72,000 sq ft to 40,000 sq ft.