A BID to complete an independent film in the Isle of Man has moved a step closer as the makers start recruiting cast and production staff for the venture.

The film – Longtails – is the project of actress Elizabeth Arends, whose parents live in Douglas and boyfriend Richard Sanderson.

Penned by author Alex Hamilton, it tells the story of three criminals on the run who hide out in a run down house.

The plan is to use as the location a house in Derby Square in Douglas and the cast and production staff will use Manx talent as far as possible.

Ms Arends said: ‘We would love anyone on the island who wants to get involved to please get in touch with us.’

To make the casting of the film as simple and as accessible as possible they have used a website called Letitcast which gives some details of the film and roles available as well as allowing would-be stars to audition on-line.

The LetItCast site can be accessed at https://letitcast.com/en/castings/2099676557-longtails

Depending on the amount of interest generated, the film could even be expanded with additional scenes, which are referred to but don’t form part of the current screenplay, Ms Arends said.

‘Should there not be a part for actors there, we may be writing in the robbery scene and will have more parts available.

‘We are also looking for a 60-plus actress,’ she said.

In addition to performers, a whole production team will also be required, including sound crew and boom operator, assistant director makeup artists, runner and an art department. Ideally anyone involved in the latter would need to be creative and hands-on to take part in dressing the set of the derelict house where the film is set.

‘We have also started advertising and asking around but, we would love to be able to offer these roles to island professional and anyone who wants experience of a film set to please get in touch,’ she said.

They would like anyone who is interested to email movie@longtails.co.uk and specify if they are from the Isle of Man.

A funding bid was launched for the film on the Kickstarter website in November. This allows interested supporters to pledge sums of money which are then supplied if the film makes its target - in this case £12,000. When this failed the couple revised the budget downwards and relaunched it on their own web site.

She added: ‘We still haven’t got all the budget but we are hoping people will keep funding and pledging on our site www.longtails.co.uk so we won’t have to delve too much into the credit card situation! All fun though.’

Filming is currently scheduled to take place in the Isle of Man from February 17 to March 3 and all being well the makers are hoping to organise an island premier, possibly at the Villa Marina in the summer.

A CENTRALISED outpatient appointments’ reception is set to be introduced at Noble’s Hospital from Monday (January 14).

The service is being established in a bid to improve services for patients across the Department of Health.

The facility will act as a one-stop shop for making, rescheduling and cancelling appointments, as well as providing a check-in service for those arriving at the hospital for clinics.

By centralising appointment services, which currently operate separately for each clinic, it’s hoped greater efficiency and consistency can be delivered, freeing up resources and providing a better service to those visiting Noble’s Hospital and those contacting the hospital in connection with appointments.

Member for Health, Dudley Butt MLC said: ‘When the department gave the public an update on waiting times in November last year, we made it clear that whilst progress was being made, there remained much work to do. The new appointments’ reception is part of this work.

‘By centralising processes and staff that are responsible for appointments into one core team, we believe we can deliver a much more efficient service.

‘We also believe we can create additional capacity within existing resources by ensuring that only this core team of staff deal with appointments, no matter which Noble’s Hospital outpatient clinic is being visited.’

He said: ‘The new system will help to ensure available clinic appointments are not wasted and are allocated to other patients when someone cancels their appointment as well as releasing staff time to improve support for front-line services.

‘For example, at the moment, each consultant’s medical secretary can expect to deal with a large volume of calls from patients, but by taking calls, time that should be spent on helping to manage waiting lists, getting letters out to patients and GPs, and other secretarial work is all being delayed as calls, together with voicemails and messages, are taken, listened to and followed up.

‘We want patients to be able to contact the hospital and get a swift response – so what we’re doing is redeploying our resources to make the system work better, which will hopefully make it much easier and smoother for the patient.’

Director of nursing, midwifery and therapies Bev Critchlow, said: ‘During the initial launch, the hospital’s volunteer welcomers will be on hand to assist patients and the new outpatient appointments’ reception desk will be clearly signed.

‘Obviously, this new system represents a change for both staff and patients and will take a little time to bed in, but it is a change we strongly feel will be for the better. Demand for healthcare is increasing, and we need to use the resources we have to effectively manage that demand.

‘As well as helping us to be more efficient and effective, this will also improve service for our patients. There will be a dedicated phone line for all appointment-related queries, meaning it will be much easier for us to re-allocate cancelled appointments to other patients, making sure we utilise this potentially wasted capacity.

‘We would ask patients to note the number, it is 650103, and ring this number if they have any enquiries about their outpatient appointment or if they need to change or cancel it.’

From Monday, January 14, patients wishing to attend outpatient clinics at the main Noble’s Hospital building (i.e. not those taking place in the day assessment and treatment unit or the diabetes centre) will need to:

• Check-in for their appointment at the new outpatient appointments’ reception desk in the main foyer of the hospital (Welcomers will be available at the old clinic reception desks to welcome and advise patients)

• Return to the outpatient appointments reception desk after their appointment to either be discharged or arrange a follow-up appointment

• Telephone the new outpatient appointments’ reception on 650103 for all enquiries about appointments, including cancellations and re-booking

ROLL up, roll up, come one, come all and delight in the latest spectacle at the Sayle Gallery in Douglas.

Death & Decay may seem a bit doom and gloom for January but with a feast of visual delights including a Cabinet of Curiosities installation this exhibition promises to be anything but. 

The exhibition, which opens tomorrow (Friday), features work from six Sayle Gallery artists and has been put together by the gallery’s curator Hazel Walsh, an artist and photographer herself.

She explained: ‘Following on from the work I completed for my photography project Mann, Abandoned during my time as artist-in-residence at the gallery, I have continued to explore themes of decay and degeneration, ageing and death. This exhibition brings together both my own work on the subject and that of selected gallery artists.’

She said: ‘I have been working as curator at the gallery for some time now but this is the first show I have brought together myself and I am excited to see the other artists’ work and how it will all interact.’

Hazel will be showing her portrait series Memento Mori, which was exhibited at the Crypt Gallery in London in July. She will also be creating a Cabinet of Curiosities installation for the exhibition.

French artist Bruno Cavellec has become well-known for his moody landscape images since moving to the island in 2011 but in this exhibition he includes oil paintings, linocuts and drypoint etchings which reflect mortality, ageing and dying.

Alongside watercolours and etchings on the theme, Charlotte Jane Henry will be showing a new DVD called Lease of Life. Mixed media artist Rosi Robinson’s contributions include a 6ft textile wall hanging.

And Vici Blackburn has created a series of ceramic wall hangings while Margaret Claydon will also be contributing to the show.

The exhibition continues until January 27. Admission is free.

The gallery, which is in the Villa Marina Arcade on Harris Promenade, Douglas, is open 1pm-5pm on Mondays, 10am-5pm Tuesday to Saturday, and 1.30pm- 4.30pm on Sundays. For more information call the gallery on 674557 or visit www.saylegallery.com

THE bus drivers’ union and the politician responsible for the island’s bus service have been explaining their positions after the announcement of a further bus strike

As {http://www.iomtoday.co.im/news/isle-of-man-news/next-bus-strike-announced-1-5301979|we reported yesterday}, a half-day stoppage, between 1pm and 6pm, will take place next Thursday (January 17).

Unite regional officer Eric Holmes told iomtoday.co.im that the aim of the half day stoppage was to reduce disruption to the public.

He said: ‘This was decided by the workforce.

‘The public were getting upset at the disruption at the time of the three day strike. This doesn’t affect the public as much.’

But he warned: ‘We will continue as long as it takes until we see some sense. The Chief Minister needs to get involved and start negotating.

‘At the moment there is no negotiation. It has got to go to arbitration.’

Unite national officer for passenger transport, Bobby Morton, warned the travelling public could be left stranded as buses will stop at 1pm on the dot, even if they have not completed their route.

He said industrial action had to be taken within 28 days of the first strike.

Mr Morton said he had ‘virtually begged’ the department to go to binding arbitration but this has been refused. He said there had been a ‘very hostile’ meeting with the department on Wednesday.

He said that the union had decided on further industrial action in February and March but was not prepared to divulge the dates.

Mr Morton said future industrial action could be mixture of one-, two-, three-day or longer stoppages.

‘We are not doing this to help the public, we are doing this to help the bus drivers,’ he added.

Minister for Community, Culture and Leisure Graham Cregeen MHK said: ‘When the original notification was given, the department was advised that drivers had voted for discontinuous action, so we knew it was possible that additional strikes could be called.

‘However, I am disappointed by the fact that the union feels another strike is justified, particularly on an exam day for many in the island’s GCSE, AS and A level students.

‘Unite the Union appear to be seeking to cause maximum disruption to the public whilst ensuring minimum damage to their members’ wages. The department learnt valuable lessons from the strike over the Christmas period and is ready to put contingency plans into place.

‘We will prioritise school services and will provide further details on revised timetables as soon as we can but hope that the public will understand that a half day strike has a major impact on the full day’s service.’

The Minister added: ‘While we were hopeful that further negotiation on some points would deliver an agreed solution, this has not yet been possible. Unite the Union appear reluctant to understand that any reduction in the savings that have now been secured by issuing new contracts have to be funded by changes to working practices.

‘The department is happy to reduce the impact of the loss of the paid lunch break on take home pay but needs to balance anything paid out with savings from improved efficiency. Finding new money is not an option. Striking will not resolve this situation; the Department cannot concede funds it does not have.’

He continued: ‘The department’s position on arbitration has been made clear to the union but appears to be equally difficult for them to accept. Like all departments, this department operates to a set budget with funding approved by Tynwald. I do not believe that the role of Tynwald should be replaced by unelected lay members in arbitration. If we went to arbitration, we may find ourselves in a position of having to accept a settlement that we cannot legally fund. That would be untenable.’

‘Following the first strike, the department has employed an increased number of qualified casual bus drivers. However, any Manx workers who hold a valid PPV and are available for work during strike periods are invited to apply to work as a casual worker with the department.

‘Anyone wishing to register an interest should contact the Office of Human Resources on ohr@gov.im or telephone 686300.’

NORMAL service should hopefully be restored in JCK Division Two with a full programme of fixtures scheduled to take place on Saturday afternoon.

Courtesy of several weather-induced postponements and last week’s FA Cup bonanza across the island, only a few sporadic games have taken place in the second tier over the past few weeks but attention will now turn to the race for promotion to the Premier League.

Leaders Michael United travel south to face Ronaldsway hoping to bounce back from their heavy cup defeat at the hands of ‘northern’ rivals Ramsey last Saturday.

With the Rockets lying 11th in the league, the Balleira Road will be expected to claim all three points on offer but the southerners have taken points off the likes of Colby already this season so should not be underestimated.

The race for the other promotion spot could take an interesting twist when the sides currently lying second and third, Colby and RYCOB respectively, do battle at Schoil ree Gorree.

Just one point separates the sides going into the weekend’s fixture so it’s hard to chose between them. With four wins and two draws in their previous six games, form favours Youthie but Colby won the reverse fixture 2-1 so will be confident of completing a double over them.

Sitting 10 points behind Youthie but with two games in hand are Ayre United who host bottom-of-the-table Malew, the first in a double header of games against the southerners ahead of the meeting in the Woods Cup next week.The Tangerines can ill afford too many slip-ups if they are to catch the sides above them, however Malew pushed them close when the two sides met in September, with only a last-minute strike earning Ayre a 4-3 win.

Breathing down the neck of the Tangerines are Douglas Royal who host lowly Onchan at Ballafletcher. Royal produced arguably the performance of the weekend when they defeated Premier League side Union Mills on their own patch in the FA Cup last Saturday thanks to Paul Whitley’s late strike and that result could be the catalyst for a fine second half of the season.

Elsewhere in the league, Douglas Athletic will be looking to build on their impressive 2-1 win over Foxdale in the sole Division Two game last week when they travel to Braddan while Douglas and District visit Billy Goat Park to take on Foxdale.

COLIN McMullin rolled back the years by playing a starring role in St Marys’ victory against St John’s in the Paddy Power FA Cup at the weekend and has been rewarded with a place in the latest Isle of Man Newspapers’ Team of the Week.

The veteran Saints custodian, who was man of the match in the 1994-95 FA Cup final, was at his best as the Bowl outfit edged the Johnners in the preliminary round match at the weekend and the 47-year-old’s heroics have not gone unnoticed by Eric Clague’s esteemed ratings panel.

Lining up in front of the experienced shot-stopper in a traditional back four are Nigel Beattie, Brett Allcote, Martyn Murphy and Alex Maitland.

Beattie enjoyed another fine game at the back for Laxey as the Miners smashed 11 goals past Division Two side Malew at Clagh Vane, grabbing a goal to aid his side’s progress to the first round proper.

Rushen were also dominant in their prelim match at home to another second tier side, Ayre United, strolling to a resounding 7-1 victory at Croit Lowey.

Amongst the top performers for the Spaniards was Maitland and he is joined in the TotW defence by Castletown’s Allcote who helped the Stadium outfit earn a narrow 2-1 win against fellow top flight strugglers Marown.

Also winning by one goal was RYCOB who edged fellow Division Two side Onchan by two goals to one at the Nivison Stadium where the standout performer for Youthie was club stalwart Murphy.

One the results of the day was arguably at Glencrutchery Road where defending champions St George’s thrashed Corinthians 9-0, therefore it’s no great surprise to see two Geordies players selected for the latest TotW.

Leading the way for the Saints was Frank Jones who continued his rich run of goalscoring form by netting a hat-trick, while alongside him in the St George’s engine room was James McStay who produced another typically industrious performance in the heart of midfield.

Slotting in with the Geordies duo are St John’s and island midfielder Nick Hurt and Douglas Royal’s Nick Ford.

Hurt was the top performer for the Mullen-e-Cloie outfit and netted a consolation strike for the visitors as they went down 2-1 to St Mary’s.

Ford was the star of the show for Royal as the Division Two side upset the odds to defeat Premier League opposition in the form of Union Mills at Garey Mooar.

The midfielder was a constant threat down the right wing during the first half and grabbed an important goal for his team as the Ballafletcher side won 4-3 thanks to Paul Whitley’s dramatic injury-time winner.

Leading the line for the latest Team of the Week are two players who, between them, managed to find the back of the net no fewer than five times in the FA Cup at the weekend. Steven Priestnal continues to cut through opposition defences seemingly at will and grabbed two match-winning goals in the aforementioned 2-1 victory for St Mary’s against St John’s.

Going one better and helping himself to a hat-trick was Peel’s Andy Quirk who fired a treble to help the westerners brush aside Division Two side Braddan to the tune of 8-0 at Victoria Road.

Collecting the refereeing honours this week is Stuart Kneen who impressed in the middle during the Onchan v RYCOB game at Nivison Stadium.

Team of the Week

Goalkeeper

Colin McMullin (St Mary’s)

Defence

Nigel Beattie (Laxey)

Brett Allcote (Castletown)

Alex Maitland (Rushen)

Martyn Murphy (RYCOB)

Midfield

Frank Jones (St George’s)

Nick Ford (Douglas Royal)

Nick Hurt (St John’s)

James McStay (St George’s)

Attack

Andy Quirk (Peel)

Steven Priestnal)

--------

Referee

Stuart Kneen (Onchan v RYCOB)

DESPITE being only the second week of the year, St George’s could take a big step toward retaining the Canada Life Premier League title on Saturday when they face nearest rivals Laxey at Glencruchery Road.

The Miners trail their Grand Slam chasing opponents by two points, but crucially have played a game more than their championship rivals.

A Geordies victory would give Chris Bass Sr’s side a healthy lead going into the league campaign’s final third.

The Glencrutchery Road outfit have triumphed both of the sides’ two encounters so far this season, triumphing 0-3 in the pair’s Railway Cup semi-final and 1-6 in the return league fixture at Glen Road.

These previous results and Geordies’ current sparkling form would suggest another win for the recent Railway Cup victors.

Third-placed St Mary’s outside hopes of league silverware will face another stern test this weekend with the visit of the only side to beat St George’s this season, Rushen, to the Bowl.

The Spaniards are a capable outfit and may deliver another decisive blow to Sam Kenny’s charges hopes of being crowned champions.

At the foot of the table Gymns could put some space between themselves and the division’s bottom two if they take three points from the visit of a Union Mills side still reeling from last week’s Paddy Power FA Cup exit.

However, the Millers will be eager to bounce back after last week’s loss to Douglas Royal and may just edge this one.

A timely 1-10 Cup win over Michael may just spark a revival in second-bottom Ramsey’s Premier League fortunes.

The northerners take on Corinthians this week a side that themselves were on the wrong end of a cup thrashing last weekend, losing 9-0 at St George’s.

With spirits revived, Ramsey should claim at least a point from the Whites’ trip to Ballacloan.

Rock bottom Marown face a tougher test when they host in-form DHSOB in Crosby.

The Blackberry Lane outfit are unbeaten in their last seven and should claim the spoils on offer from this encounter.

Finally, or rather firstly, St John’s host Peel on Friday evening under the floodlights of Mullen-e-Cloie.

The pair drew 1-1 in September and another tight game should be on the cards.

Lancashire children’s author Steve Hartley has been voted ‘Coolest Dude of the Year’ for five years running, so it’s always best to expect the unexpected when you open one of his amazing books.

The madcap mastermind behind the astronomically popular Danny Baker Record Breaker series is on a mission... to get boys reading. And Oliver Tibbs (better known as Oliver Fibbs) could be just the anti-hero to make those reluctant young males turn over a new leaf.

Oliver is not brilliant at anything except telling fibs (and that’s no lie!) and his hair-raising adventures, played out in hilarious comic strip style, are full of that all-important touch of anarchy that will appeal to mischievous boys.

Attack of the Alien Brain is the launch pad for the first series and is aimed at the seven to nine age group in which reading alone is becoming an important step.

Steve Hartley is heading to various Lancashire schools, including Ormskirk’s West End Primary and CE Primary School on Thursday January 17, to spread a few home truths about his fabulous, funny and fibbing new creation.

And Oliver Fibbs really is a boy that many youngsters can identify with. Everyone in his family seems to be super-brilliant at something, whether that’s chess, ballet, brain surgery or architecture, but he’s not brilliant at anything.

Show and Tell (or as he calls it, Pain and Torture Time) is his worst nightmare. He hasn’t got a black belt at karate or made a mega-powerful electro-magnet. All he’s good at is reading comics and eating pizza, and he’s fed up with being Dull and Boring, so he’s hatched a plan.

He’s been telling the class about his adventures as a Defender of Planet Earth, battling against the evil Alien Brain Drain who wants to take over the world. Everyone loved it, except Miss Wilkins who gave him a detention for telling fibs. And now his parents think he’s ‘going bad’ even though he keeps telling them they’re not fibs, they’re just stories!

With its easily accessible text design and its key comedy content, Hartley’s exciting and inventive new series is the perfect way to get boys interested in reading... and to keep them glued to the story well beyond the first page.

(Macmillan, paperback, £5.99)

Vagabonds B will be looking to continue their climb up the Shimmin Wilson Manx Shield standings when they travel to QEII School to face Western Vikings on Saturday.

Matt Rockwell’s team languish near the bottom of the table at present but have several games in hand which could potentially see them finishing runners-up or perhaps better depending on other results.

The Vagas men were in great nick last Saturday in an epic game against Ramsey B.

They were comfortably ahead, lost the lead but showed great strength of character to fight back and steal the game.

If the same personnel are available this Saturday Vikings will have a tough job.

With injured Viking Darryl McGeown now back in the Isle of Man, however, the westerners may just be able to up their game and give him a lovely welcome home present.

Elsewhere in the Shield, Douglas B travel to King William’s College to play Emerging Nomads.

Douglas won the earlier game easily and should do the same again as they try to win their first Shield in a long, long time.

Saturday’s Fixtures

South Lancs/Cheshire Division Two

Ramsey v Sefton @ Mooragh Park ko 2.15pm

Vagabonds v Southport @ Ballafletcher ko 2.15pm

Marple v Douglas @ Marple

Shimmin Wilson Manx Shield all ko @ 2.15pm

Western Vikings v Vagabonds B

@ QEII School, Peel

Emerging Nomads v Douglas B

@ King William’s College

Friendly Match

Southern Nomads v Ramsey B

@ Poulsom Park, Castletown

2E2 DOUGLAS Rugby Club travel to Manchester this weekend to take on Marple in South Lancashire and Cheshire Division Two.

Marple are near the bottom of the table much to the surprise of all at Port-e-Chee as in previous seasons the Greater Manchester side have been near the top.

Douglas will need to apply the same ruthlessness to Marple as they did in the second half against Moore last week if they are to be in with a chance of claiming maximum points this time out.

Skipper Scott Goodall has been able to select the same team pretty much with just a few positional changes.

Bryn Snellgrove moves to scrum-half and Goodall to fly half with Hebden and Maddox in the centres.

Andy Evans goes back to university and so Liam King will fill in on the wing.

Douglas have been able to take a strong bench this week with Niall Killey, Craig Lea and James Wood completing the side.

All these players are capable of changing the game and this is a strong Douglas side.

Marple, similarly to Moore earlier in the season, has proved a difficult hunting ground for Douglas in previous seasons and the Manx side have not won there for four years.

It was at this point last year that Douglas visited Marple and were sent packing by the hosts and this was the beginning of last season’s downfall causing Douglas to narrowly miss out on promotion.

This is another hoodoo that Douglas will want to banish and the coaches feel that the side selected and the consistency within it gives them a good chance to do just that.

If Douglas want the points then they cannot afford to be complacent in any facet of their game.

Marple have not lost at home since late October and this shows what an outfit they can be.

Marple will expose Douglas if they are allowed and they have some strong runners who can punch holes for their speedy backs to get time and space.

Douglas must control the contact area and the set piece, this will help the the Port-e-Chee outfit’s backline get clean ball and with Snellgrove barking orders from scrum half the Douglas forwards are in for a busy afternoon come Saturday.

Full round-up of all the weekend’s rugby

in Monday’s

Isle of Man Examiner

THE visit of league leaders Sefton to Mooragh Park this Saturday will provide Ramsey with a very stiff test as the Manx side look to regain some of their pre-Christmas momentum in South Lancashire and Cheshire Division Two.

Sefton have lost just once this season and that was away at Dukinfield just before Christmas.

They bounced back last weekend with a 70-point thrashing of Oldershaw and appear to be in the mood for points.

Despite the Dukinfield defeat they’ve got an excellent away record including a win away at Vagabonds earlier in the season.

Statistically the Merseyside outfit are averaging almost 30 points a match on the road, so Ramsey know right from the start that this is going to be a battle.

Ramsey are no strangers to pulling off big results despite their league position. Wins against Vagabonds and Liverpool Collegiate have shown that this campaign, while in previous seasons Oswestry and Ruskin Park have both had promotion chances ruined by the Mooragh men.

Despite last week’s defeat at Southport, confidence remains fairly high at Mooragh Park.

Centre Craig Long may make the teamsheet after struggling with a back problem for several months.

Max Singer and Rory Nicholson will, however, remain on the casualty list.

Mark Oldfield should be available and could drop back into the squad and Dan Bonwick is also back from his travels and he’ll give options just about anywhere out of the front five.

I suspect, however, that we’ll see a Sefton win.

A TOTAL of 155 people struggling with debt approached the Office of Fair Trading for help last year.

They owed an average of just over £19,000 each.

The majority of people who approached the OFT had accumulated their debts on credit cards and loans.

In total, more than £3 million was owed by debtors who contacted the OFT for assistance between January and December 2012.

In the last three months of the year alone 35 people contacted the OFT for advice.

Advice centre manager Andrea Tabb said: ‘The biggest trigger cited during 2012 as the reason for their debts was bad budgeting (41 per cent), with other factors including illness, relationship breakdown, redundancy, business failure and gambling.’

Of the people who contacted the OFT, more than a quarter of people were aged from 41 to 50, and more than a quarter had also heard about the OFT’s debt counselling service from their friends.

Andrea said: ‘The number of people struggling with debt in the Isle of Man appears to remain relatively static at the present time.’

In 2011, the OFT helped 160 clients manage a total debt of £3,185,755.57. It worked out as an average debt of £19,911 per client.

In 2011, credit card debt accounted for almost 42 per cent of the total owed during this period with almost 54 per cent of clients seen sighting poor budgeting as the reason for their debts.

The OFT believes compiling a realistic household budget is therefore important for anyone trying to gain and stay in control of their finances.

The debt counselling service works with clients to enable them to prioritise their debts and make affordable repayments to their creditors.

Residents can speak to one of the counsellors in confidence by calling 686510. Alternatively, self-help information is available at www.gov.im/oft/money/debt_counselling.xml

SURE-SPONSORED Vagabonds welcome Southport to Ballafletcher this Saturday in South Lancashire and Cheshire Division Two.

The Manx side were involved in a battle last weekend so will be more than ready for a renowned physical team like Southport.

Jonny Beckley and Ross Pulman miss this week’s encounter though through injury.

Pulman will unfortunately miss the next five to six weeks of the season after sustaining knee ligament damage.

His loss will be temepered by the return from injury of influential duo Kevin Birchall and Leigh Kennaugh.

The Vagas’ pack will be hoping for a big performance this weekend so that the likes of Ross McCulloch, Sam Brennan and Tom Gascoyne can be released out wide.

Vagabonds will be looking for a home win and confident performance this weekend before they make the trip off-island to face league leaders Sefton the following week.

I’ve said before how proud I am that this island, despite its small size, manages to set such a good example in terms of meeting international standards on a range of issues.

Financial services is the example with which I’m personally most familiar, having worked in this sector for the past 30 years or so – but there are many others.

However, there’s one key area – and it’s not over-stating the case to say that it may be the most important set of issues mankind has faced for many thousands of years – where we fall shockingly short.

This is in the area of sustainability and, specifically, anthropogenic (manmade) climate change. Whilst most major economies, including our near neighbours over the water, are taking concrete action despite the troubled economic times, our local leaders show very little sign of even being alive to these issues.

I’ve yet to see much, other than passing references to climate change in local legislation and strategy, and nothing implying that our government is determined to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with other countries, large and small, on this matter.

Nor has there been any real engagement with the public on the issue, despite the likelihood that it’ll affect your life and mine, and those of our children, more than almost anything else on the horizon.

It’s hard to see this lack of acknowledgement as indicative of anything but either a) a pitiful level of awareness and understanding or b) a blatantly selfish determination to pursue antiquated measures of economic welfare at the expense of, well, just about everything and everyone else, really.

Neither option’s very cheering, so let’s hope I’m wrong and that there’s a third option. Perhaps the Tynwald astrologer has told LegCo that it’s all going to turn out fine, uh....y’know......somehow?.

Hmmmm.

At the very least, we could ensure that the sector which has historically underpinned so much of the island’s growth doesn’t contribute to further problems.

I’m referring, of course, to the finance sector – including the company management and incorporation services which form a substantial part of this.

At international level, we’re seeing increasing concerns about the contribution of ‘offshore financial centres’ to a number of environmental problems, climate change amongst them.

The perception is, rightly or wrongly, that companies incorporated and managed from lower-tax locations such as the island are outside the direct purview of rules being introduced to protect Earth’s fragile ecosystem.

Notably, many worthwhile pieces of environmentally-helpful law have come out of UN and EU initiatives, and as far as climate change is concerned, these aren’t being reflected locally.

So whilst many companies operating in (say) the UK have to meet laws on reporting and reducing their carbon emmissions, the rafts of companies domiciled here often fall outside the net.

On December 18, 2012, the UK’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) held a major ‘workshop’ session in London. Its aim was to thrash out draft guidance on what will be new mandatory reporting requirements for UK quoted companies, about their Carbon Dioxide (CO2) and other ‘greenhouse gas’ (GHG) emissions.

These cover a total of six GHGs, including the best known, CO2. There’s a possibility that a seventh, nitrogen trifluoride, will also be added.

This new legal obligation will be introduced under the (now draft) Greenhouse Gas Emissions (Directors’ Reports) Regulations 2013, and it’s a mark of how seriously the UK Government takes the manmade element of climate change, and its duty to play a part in the global effort to deal with this.

It’s an obligation that Defra has been given under Section 85 of the Climate Change Act 2008.

This required the UK government, by 6 April 2012, either to make regulations requiring directors’ reports to cover their companies’ GHG emissions, or to lay a report before Parliament explaining why it wasn’t doing so.

In the event, the government opted to make industry take on this extra work, despite the additional effort and cost that would be involved; it was seen as a worthwhile step despite any impact on Britain’s international competitiveness.

In the next few years, a decision will be taken as to whether to include all large companies and not just quoted ones – but for the time being, focusing on quoted companies makes the new requirements applicable to many major contributors to GHGs, and it’s reasonably policeable and enforceable.

International centres such as the Isle of Man come under fire for all sorts of things: harmful tax practices, potential for abuse by money launderers, terrorist financiers and fraudsters.

We do well in meeting these challenges, and making changes to our regimes where need be. We should be considering the introduction of a regime, perhaps implemented through the existing regulatory framework for fiduciary services providers, whereby locally incorporated or managed structures also have to account for their contribution (where it’s proportionate) to the biggest challenge we’ll see to the global economy and wellbeing in our lifetimes.

For all sorts of reasons, let’s not be the bad guys!

MANXMEN James Jones, Eddie Shimmin, Mark Durkin (Team All Show No Go) and Ben Watterson and Juan McGuinness (Team Traa Dy Liooar) left the Isle of Man on Monday for Indonesia where they will attempt the dangerous and high risk adventure Bajai Rally 2013 - dressed as wrestlers.

The fundraising challenge will see the five men travel 3,000km from the city of Medan through the dense Sumatran jungle, over mountain tracks and volcanic peaks, to the beaches of Bali - in an auto rickshaw and all during the monsoon season.

James explained: ‘Take the smallest, least practical vehicle available in Asia, shoe-horn a motley crew of adventurists into it and hurl yourselves across several thousand miles of Indonesian archipelago - what could be a better way to spend all your annual holidays?’

‘There’s no guarantee of us making it to the finish line, no set route and no back-up,’ he added, ‘It’s just us, half a horse power of engineering genius and two glorious weeks facing every obstacle Indonesia can put in our way.

‘We will get lost, stuck, lost again, more stuck and waist deep in mud and mangroves.

‘We’ll be driving a three-wheeled auto-rickshaw which is loud, uncomfortable, prone to breaking down and completely useless at protecting us from the elements. They are possibly the least suitable vehicles for crossing most of Indonesia in two weeks, let alone during the rainy season, which makes even the current Manx rainfall look like the Sahara in comparison.’

And as if that was not challenging enough, the guys will simultaneously embark upon a childhood dream and become professional wrestlers for the duration of the trip.

‘We will be battling each other across the country to win the coveted championship belt and end the rally crowned the Bajai Wrestling Champ,’ explained James. ‘We’re also hoping to raise as much money as possible for our two nominated charities - BirdLife International and the island’s hyperbaric chamber.’

Birdlife International is a global partnership of non-governmental conservation organisations. And the Isle of Man Hyperbaric Medical Facility on Peel Road in Douglas is operated by the Kevin Gray Memorial Trust and provides hyperbaric oxygen therapy to divers and a wide range of patients suffering from injuries and chronic medical conditions. The Friends of the Hyperbaric Chamber was set up three years ago to ensure the charity has enough funds to keep the chamber open.

The group has created a Just Giving page at {http://www.justgiving.com/James-Jones6|www.justgiving.com/James-Jones6} where people can donate directly to each charity online.

‘And if you leave us a message or request for wrestling action we will do our best to oblige while we are out there,’ said James. ‘So if you are as desperate as we are to see Mark, aka The Durkinator, tapping out to a sharpshooter then donate away and let us know.’

For more information and to follow their progress visit {http://www.twitter.com/traadyliooar|twitter.com/traadyliooar} and {http://www.twitter.com/all_show_no_go|twitter.com/all_show_no_go} or go to {http://www.theadventurists.com/bajai-rally/the-what|www.theadventurists.com/bajai-rally/the-what}

Team All Show No Go:

• James Jones aka Munkii Magic (31, Douglas)

An aerospace designer living in Douglas, James is most looking forward to visiting the monkey forest in Bali and a village that has been completely taken over by spiders as large as your hand - he may well be going to the village by himself however. James has been psyching himself up for adventurist lifestyle by growing a handlebar moustache since September, he now resembles an evil Victorian genius and hopes to impress the locals by twirling his tache in a thoughtful fashion at every opportunity.

• Eddie Shimmin aka Shimbo Slice (27, Douglas)

The assistant manager of Sure’s shop in Strand St, Eddie is a lifelong Liverpool fan and is looking forward to visiting the home of the majority of Liverpool fans – East Asia. He is hoping to combat his hatred of getting wet during the many monsoons of Indonesia’s rainy season by taking umbrellas and ponchos with him to create a small cocoon in the back of the rickshaw, this is anticipated to survive all of five minutes.

• Mark Durkin aka The Durkinator (27, Douglas)

An accountant from Douglas, Mark has previously been to Bali while travelling across Asia in a gap year. This sort of local knowledge will make a welcome change to the usual reliance upon a battered Lonely Planet guide. He is also no stranger to acts of bravery. When in 2010 while on holiday in Turkey he saved a young lady’s life by pushing her out of the way of a speeding moped, being hospitalised himself in the process with multiple broken bones.

Team Traa Dy Liooar:

• Juan McGuinness aka The Big Slow (30, Ramsey)

A compliance manager for Alliance & Leicester Intl, Juan plays rugby for Western Vikings RUFC and is hoping his time in the scrum will get him used to pushing heavy objects in ankle deep mud. Juan is a veteran of really stupid adventures in motor vehicles, having first driven to Gambia in a Renault 19 in 2004 three weeks after passing his driving test. However, he is quietly confident this will prove to be his stupidest adventure yet.

• Ben Watterson aka Watty 2 Hotty (30, Douglas)

A civil servant, Ben plays drums for island cover band the Caution Runners but is steeling himself for the heavy beat of rain on the roof of the auto-rickshaw being the only drumming he will experience for the month of January. Ben has previously completed the Parish Walk which should stand him good stead as he will no doubt be walking great distances in search of help when they break down.

THE Steam Packet’s computer system developed a glitch after the company launched a special offer this week.

One reader told iomtoday: ‘Yesterday they released an offer of 50 per cent discount on sailings for cars, drivers, etc.

‘Together with several other friends, I tried to access the website to book a sailing. From 6pm until 10.30pm the booking system constantly timed out.

‘This morning from 7am, the same problem.

‘If the offer does exist then their website needs some serious attention as it is not fit for purpose because it could not have attracted many thousands of hits that normally causes transactional websites to crash. It is the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company, not Ticketmaster or similar.’

A Steam Packet spokesman told iomtoday: ‘The new offer was set up on Monday morning and immediately attracted considerable interest, and both the website and telephone reservations systems were very busy with large numbers booking the new offer.

‘Unfortunately, there was a technical problem with the website on Monday night (January 7) but this is being worked on by the company’s technical suppliers. In the meantime, bookings can still be made by calling telephone reservations on 661661 (from the Isle of Man) or 08722 992 992 (from the UK).’

The Steam Packet’s January sale offers a 50 per cent discount off standard vehicle fares for travel during 2013.

The discount applies to all vehicle types, excluding freight/commercial vehicles, for bookings made between Monday, January 7, and Thursday, January 31.

Passengers need to use January sale fare codes:

CJSF – 50 per cent off car and driver and any additional passengers standard return fare

DJSF – 50 per cent off car and driver and any additional passengers standard five-day return fare

Steam Packet chief executive Mark Woodward said: ‘Many people wait until Christmas and the New Year are out of the way before planning their trips for the year ahead, and this offer gives customers an ideal opportunity to get their bookings in early and make some substantial savings.

‘The offer applies to anyone using the January sale fare codes – so it could be island residents arranging a trip to the UK or Ireland during the summer, or visitors looking to make a trip to Manx shores, perhaps for one of the numerous festivals and events held here during the year.

‘We also hope that the offer provides the opportunity for people to visit friends and family for a special occasion, such as a Christmas gathering, wedding or birthday celebrations.’

Terms and conditions apply and subject to availability.

To make a booking, visit {http://www.steam-packet.com.steam-packet.com} and enter the fare code.

EDUCATION chiefs have moved to allay fears that a number of UK universities will charge considerably more than the £9,000 funding cap.

iomtoday has received letters from a number of readers concerned that students could be left with a huge bill to pay as a result.

If Education Minister Tim Crookall’s proposals are approved it would herald the end of free university education.

The controversial move to introduce tuition fees and a student loan scheme is due to be debated at next week’s Tynwald sitting.

A woman working within secondary education in the island, who asked not to be named, said: ‘For UK students their government has capped fees at £9,000 per year, for Manx students this is not the case. Over a third of Russell Group universities are currently charging more than this for Manx students, many are charging significantly more.

‘The charges for Manx students and their parents to pay from their own pocket is massively more than their UK counterparts in many, many cases.’

But the Department of Education and Children says more than 200 institutions have agreed to the new fee arrangements which mean that island students would pay the same for a course as an English student.

It says that three universities – Imperial College London, Cambridge, and Warwick – will be charging international rates to island students in 2013.

In addition, for certain courses at Cardiff the fees will be £12,000 rather than £9,000.

And there are a number of universities which are charging £1,500 on top of the agreed £9,000 maximum for laboratory/workshop courses.

These include London School of Economics, Lancaster, Durham, Bristol, East Anglia and Nottingham. The position with York has yet to be confirmed.

Five of these seven are members of the Russell Group of leading universities as are the three charging international rates and Cardiff.

A DEC spokesman said: ‘Three universities are intending to charge island students full international fees for courses starting in 2013-14 and one is charging higher fees for certain specific courses.

‘We currently have 30 students at various stages studying a variety of undergraduate degrees at these universities.

‘The basis on which current students at these universities are charged is unaffected.

‘Seven universities are seeking to charge an additional amount for laboratory/workshop courses. Five of these are members of the Russell Group, one of which is yet to confirm that it will be charging an additional amount for these courses.’

The spokesman said: ‘In total we have 32 students currently studying three to four year laboratory/workshop courses at these universities representing an average of 10 new students starting each year.

‘We have 254 students studying at the remaining Russell Group universities of whom 46 are studying laboratory/workshop courses.’

At next week’s Tynwald sitting, a petition against the changes by two sixth form students from St Ninian’s High School – Sam Turton and Ben Ingham – will be laid before members on their behalf by Onchan MHK and former education minister Peter Karran (Lib Van). It has 2,500 signatures.

Since the deadline passed to submit the petition at the end of December, students have continued collecting signatures and they have now collected more than 3,000 names.

When the petition is laid before Tynwald on their behalf, it will be the first time the rarely used procedure under Tynwald standing orders has been used since 1998.

At that time, Garff MHK Steve Rodan presented a petition on behalf of 440 Laxey residents against planning approval for the Total garage in Laxey.

Students protested outside Tynwald last month – when the Student Regulations were initially set to be debated – and they hope everyone opposed to the plans will join a protest, again outside Tynwald, on Tuesday afternoon.

Sam Turton, aged 18, of Mount View Road, Onchan, said: ‘We hope they (Tynwald members) will see sense and democracy will prevail as opposed to the tyranny of those in the Council of Ministers.’

Under the DEC plans, all students would contribute £2,500 a year towards their degree courses for the first time, from 2014, with those whose parents earn more than £80,000 a year contributing more on an incremental basis.

A government loan scheme would allow students to borrow the £2,500 a year contribution.

St George’s open up five-point lead at top of Canada Life Premier League

ST George’s moved five points clear at the head of the Canada Life Premier League standings this afternoon after a 1-0 win over second-placed Laxey.

Ciaran McNulty scored a scrappy game’s only goal midway through the second half, tapping in Chris Bass Jr’s cut back after Conor Doyle’s shot had been repelled by Laxey keeper Andy Perry.

Geordies, who have a game in hand on their title rivals, must now be firm favourites to retain the top-flight title they won last term and become the first club to secure back-to-back Grand Slams having already won the Railway Cup in December.

Full report in Monday’s Examiner.

Friday, January 11

Canada Life Premier League

St John’s 3-2 Peel

---------

Saturday, January 12

Canada Life Premier League

Gymns 1-1 Union Mills

Marown 0-5 DHSOB

Ramsey 0-5 Corinthians

St George’s 1-0 Laxey

St Mary’s 0-3 Rushen United

JCK Division Two

Ayre United 7-1 Malew

Braddan P-P Douglas Athletic

Douglas Royal 2-4 Onchan

Foxdale P-P Douglas and District

Michael United 9-1 Ronaldsway

RYCOB P-P Colby

Canada Life Combination One

Corinthians 8-3 Ramsey

DHSOB 4-4 Marown

Laxey P-P St George’s

Peel 4-4 St John’s

Rushen United 4-1 St Mary’s

Union Mills 4-2 Gymns

JCK Combination Two

Colby 5-1 RYCOB

Douglas and District 1-4 Foxdale

Douglas Athletic 1-5 Braddan

Malew 0-6 Ayre United

Onchan 2-1 Douglas Royal

Ronaldsway 3-7 Michael United

Ramsey nearly pull off a shock in South Lancashire and Cheshire Division Two

South Lancs/Cheshire Division Two

Marple 7-39 Douglas

Vagabonds 24-6 Southport

Ramsey 26-29 Sefton

Shimmin Wilson Manx Shield

Emerging Nomads 0-24 Douglas B

Western Vikings 0-45 Vagabonds B

Friendly

Southern Nomads 62-0 Ramsey B

Staff at an island bank proved that getting healthy and helping the environment can be as easy as taking one step at a time when the company’s sustainability forum hosted a competition to raise awareness on reducing carbon emissions.

As part of the Nedbank Private Wealth (formerly Fairbairn Private Bank) sustainability forum’s campaign, each member of staff received a pedometer to encourage them to reduce their carbon emissions by walking more. Staff had two months to venture out and use their pedometer to its full potential.

They then submitted photographs of themselves out and about and the best photos with the best backdrops won prizes.

‘In these times of climate change, we recognise that reducing our carbon footprint and being more environmentally friendly is vital for our organisation and the world we live in,’ said Greg Horton, managing director.

‘The bank is proud to be raising its game regarding greener initiatives and the education of our employees on these important global issues.’

When Nedbank Private Wealth changed its name, it recycled its old stationery and the equivalent of 14.3 trees was used again in other formats.

In addition, the Fairbairn Private Bank-branded corporate hospitality gifts were either sold to staff to raise funds for the staff-nominated charities or donated to local charities for their use, and all the golf items were sent to NSPCC Children’s Golf Academy.

Nedbank Private Wealth’s sustainability forum, which was set up at the beginning of 2012, is a platform to raise awareness of sustainability among staff within the organisation.

Each quarter the forum introduces a new campaign to promote awareness of different issues and how staff manage their own impact by focusing on environmental issues, understanding how each of them can reduce carbon emissions, and promoting sustainable living.