AN event will honour TT legend Steve ‘Hizzy’ Hislop during race week at the VIlla Marina.

This summer will mark the tenth anniversary of the death of the former British Superbike champion and 11-times winner of the TT.

Steve’s former partner, Kelly Bailey, and their two sons Aaron and Connor have arranged a charity event in association with Creechurch Capital

On Tuesday, June 4, a panel of TT riders, past and present, who will take part in a half-hour Q&A session, along with an auction of motorsport memorabilia. The night will also include a raffle and music.

The evening will be raising money for the Hyperbaric Chamber and the MGP Helicopter Fund. Tickets for the evening are priced at £20 and can be bought at the government’s website. VIP tables can be bought directly from Kelly on 07624 220220.

Ramsey beat Old Boys in Premier League, while Michael keep promotion hopes alive with big win over Malew

Saturday, May 4

Canada Life Premier League

DHSOB 3-5 Ramsey

JCK Ltd Division Two

Foxdale 2-3 Pulrose Utd

Malew 1-9 Michael Utd

Canada Life Combination One

St George’s 1-0 Peel

St John’s 5-2 Castletown

DHSOB L-L Rushen Utd

JCK Ltd Combination Two

Foxdale 4-5 Braddan

Onchan 7-1 Malew

THE beach cleaning volunteers in Beach Buddies will this morning be meeting at Glen Mooar, near Kirk Michael.

They will get together at 10.30am.

There is lots of parking close to the beach and a good, flat stretch of beach to cover. This is an easy beach to clean, with good access so it’s good for all ages and very flat and safe.

There may be a few nesting birds, so please beware of the chance of finding oyster catcher eggs, which can easily be mistaken for pebbles.

Beach Buddies provides litterpickers, gloves and bin bags and disposes of the rubbish afterwards and recycles where possible.

A nine-year-old boy fell 12 feet from a car park and impaled his leg on a metal reinforcing bar on Friday night.

Crews from Douglas fire station were sent to help an ambulance crew at the scene on Westmoreland Road, Douglas.

The boy had landed in a confined space between the car park and a steep embankment.

The boy received medical treatment from paramedics, however he could not be moved due to his leg being impaled.

Fire crews used hydraulic cutters to cut the section on which the boy was impaled.

A short section of the reinforcing bar was left in the child’s leg and was removed later at hospital.

Crews used specialist line rescue techniques along with a basket stretcher to bring the casualty up a steep incline and back on to ground level where he was transferred to a waiting ambulance and taken to Noble’s Hospital for further treatment.

It thought that the child’s injuries are not life threatening.

A three-year-old child is undergoing treatment in hospital in England after being involved in a serious traffic collision.

The accident happened at about 5.15pm on Saturday on Derby Square, Douglas.

A red Peugeot car was involved.

The child was taken to Noble’s Hospital with what have been described as serious injuries.

The toddler has now been flown to Alder Hey Hospital, Liverpool, for further treatment and remains in a serious condition.

The police are investigating and anyone who has information about this incident should contact police headquarters on 631212 or talk to any police officer.

MARK Cavendish claimed his 100th professional win in fine style to capture the maglia rosa on the opening day of the 2013 edition of the Giro d’Italia on Saturday afternoon.

The Manx Missile avoided a late crash towards the end of the 130-kilometre stage through the streets of Napoli in south-east Italy to contest the sprint against the likes of Elia Viviani, Nacer Bouhannin and former team-mate Matt Goss.

Having been safely delivered to the finishline by Omega-Pharma Quick-Step team-mates and led out by Gert Steegmans, Cav was forced to sprint on the outside but used his trademark burst of speed to surge past his rivals before pipping Viviani to the line by half a wheel.

Fellow Briton Adam Blythe also managed an impressive seventh place finish while Bradley Wiggins came home 18 seconds behind but on the same time as his general classification rivals.

More in Monday’s Isle of Man Examiner.

Strictly Come Dancing stars Anton Du Beke and Erin Boag will host an Evening of Dance and Music at the Villa Marina on Wednesday, June 12.

The pair, who have both appeared in the BBC dance show since it began in 2004, have just finished their fifth national British tour together – Anton and Erin go to Hollywood - which was a virtual sell out. They have been dancing together since 1997.

Anton has been dancing since he was 14 years old, and has since collected a number of worldwide and British awards and achievements in Ballroom Dancing.

He has also trained in ballet, contemporary, jazz and modern theatre dance.

On the BBC show, he has made ballroom queens of celebrities including Lesley Garrett, Esther Rantzen, Ann Widdecombe and Nancy Dell ‘Olio.

Witty, charismatic and a natural entertainer, Anton’s skills in front of an audience extend far beyond his exceptional ballroom talents. He is now a well-known presenter of popular daytime BBC Two series Step up to the Plate and BBC One’s Hole in the Wall. And he has made many guest appearances on TV shows, including Test The Nation, Celebrity The Weakest Link, Question of Sport Christmas Special and Loose Women.

In 2006 he choreographed the hit live show Simply Ballroom with Erin. The pair reunited in 2009, for a hugely successful live show of dance and music Anton and Erin – Cheek to Cheek which toured the UK and was part of the London Dance Festival at the London Coliseum. This was followed by annual tours - Steppin’ Out with Anton and Erin in 2010, Anton and Erin – Puttin’ on the Ritz in 2011 and Let’s Do It last year.

Born in New Zealand, Erin started dancing aged three. At 15 she visited Australia to watch a big ballroom competition and the die was cast – three years later she became New Zealand Ballroom and Latin 10 Dance Amateur Champion. She later moved to Australia and then London, where she met Anton. Together they won many international competitions, including titles in the UK, New Zealand and Canada and taking them way up in the world rankings.

Erin is the only female professional to have competed in all 10 series of Strictly Come Dancing. Her leading man last year was TV entertainment journalist Richard Arnold. She has also danced with comedian Julian, athlete Colin Jackson, England goal keeper Peter Shilton and impressionist Rory Bremner.

She came third with Julian Clary and second with Colin Jackson who gave her the name of Miss Whiplash.

The show starts at 8pm.

Tickets start at £20. Call the box office on 600555 or visit www.villagaiety.com

PUPILS at one island primary school have been learning the guitar in a project that will be extended to other schools.

During the spring term, Mark Whear, head of guitars with the Department of Education and Children’s music service, taught a class of 25 nine- and 10-year-olds at Arbory Primary School the rudiments of the instrument.

Over 10 weeks, and playing guitars loaned to them by the music service, the children learned about the instrument’s parts, the correct posture to adopt to play it, playing techniques, music notation and performance etiquette.

‘Each week I had 50 minutes to work with the class, which included tuning everyone’s guitar and ensuring that everyone had made some progress by the end of each session,’ Mr Whear said. ‘Our aim was to perform five pieces of music, in different styles, including rock ’n’ roll, jazz and classical. The music became more complex to play as children progressed.’

Pupils showed off their new-found prowess, performing at an awards assembly watched by the entire school.

‘The pupils performed brilliantly and they made me and their class teacher, Daphne Snidal, and headteacher, Jonathan Ayres, proud of them,’ said Mr Whear.

Mr Whear and his guitar colleague Phil Jennings have held similar courses at Manor Park and Cronk-y-Berry primaries and are now rolling them out to more schools, among them St Thomas’ CofE, where Year 5 and 6 pupils will begin learning the guitar this month.

There’s a similar, successful project to introduce whole classes of primary pupils to the violin.

The projects form part of the an initiative, launched in 2009 to raise the profile of music in schools and develop teachers’ skills. Soundstart – whole-class instrumental teaching – was introduced as part of the scheme, initially with short courses on ukuleles and traditional whistles, the latter written, devised and delivered with the Manx Heritage Foundation.

A more ambitious programme at Anagh Coar School, initially sponsored by the Malcolm Scott Dickinson Trust, now sees every Year 5 pupil learning a wind band instrument for the whole school year. Soundstart now has two wind bands and two whole class string projects in different schools and more projects (including a whole-year guitar scheme) starts in September 2013. In all Soundstart projects, the class teacher learns alongside the children, developing their own musical skills.

After their courses, pupils have the option to continue learning their instrument.

Many of the musical skills learned in Soundstart can be easily transferred to other instruments should a child wish to learn one in the future.

THE Sayle Gallery, on Harris Promenade, Douglas is looking for a full-time manager/curator and an artist in residence.

Director Damian Ciappelli said: ‘As the job title ‘manager/curator’ suggests, it’s a very varied role, encompassing admin, sales and liaising with the gallery’s artists, patrons and the general public, as well as curating exhibitions and the shop - so the ideal candidate will have great time management skills and an enthusiastic, unflappable and welcoming approach.’

The successful candidate will play a key role in continuing the development of the gallery.

The Sayle Gallery opens seven days a week and the manager’s 36-hour contract would involve some weekend and evening work – as well as liaising with the volunteers who assist at the gallery.

Alongside this role, there is an artist in residence role available which is open to arts graduates who wish to develop their work in a gallery environment. The role attracts a £10,000 bursary for the applicant.

Damian said: ‘our two most recent artists in residence – Sarah Hendy and Hazel Walsh – were able to juggle their own work whilst dealing with the challenges of a hands on role within the gallery.’

‘Working in the Sayle Gallery, both on my own wearable art and in other roles, means that life is never dull,’ said Sarah.

‘It’s been fun talking to visitors about my art and then shifting into another gear to talk about some of the other artists who display and sell work through the gallery. I’d recommend the artist in residence post to any artist who would like the space to develop their own work, but still have the company of other staff and visitors.’

Details of the manager/curator role and the artist in residence are available from the Sayle Gallery at saylegallery@manx.net and the closing date for both is May 20.

THE number of livestock lost as a result of the snowfall in March now exceeds 15,000, the Manx National Farmers’ Union has said.

It includes more than 6,500 sheep and 8,000 lambs which have been collected by the Department of Infrastructure for disposal since March 25.

The number of dead animals has continued to rise as they are recovered from under the deepest snow drifts in remote areas.

MNFU general secretary Belinda Leach said that ‘consequential losses’ – such as animals aborting the lambs or calves they are carrying – were still happening.

But she added: ‘We are not now expecting that number to rise at all significantly.’

She praised the DoI’s ‘swift response’ in waivering the fee for collecting dead animals – the charge comes back into force this afternoon (Friday).

Mrs Leach said farmers were ‘exhausted’ after the extra work to trace and recover their livestock during what is always a busy time in the farming calendar.

And the weather – in particular the slow rise in ground temperature – has continued to pile pressure on farmers.

Cattle are being kept inside because there isn’t enough grass for them outside, and cereal crops ‘are way behind in development’.

Mrs Leach said fodder was harder to find, and that farmers were working cooperatively.

She said the looming TT festival was also putting pressure on farmers – while they always try to get the first cut of silage done before the surge in visitors to the island so their tractors and trailers aren’t on the road at the same time, this year, the crop won’t be ready until then.

She added: ‘They’re also trying to get fencing in a sound condition before the TT and the general increase in traffic it brings.’

‘There’s quite a lot of pressure at the moment,’ she said.

Government support to the industry will be direct emergency support, interest-free or low interest loans and support for the Meat Plant.

A couple whose flowers were stolen from their chuch the day before they were due to marry were given lots of offers of help.

The flowers were taken from inside Kirk Braddan Church on Thursday afternoon and the got married on Friday.

Priest-in-charge Rev Daniel Richards said: ‘Thankfully, Kirk Braddan’s flower ladies handled the situation superbly and the whole day went very smoothly.

‘I believe the bride, groom and whole wedding party were very pleased with the result.

‘Thank you to all those who offered their help, but special thanks go to Gail Macadam for rescuing the situation and Robinson’s the florists for replacing the missing flowers.’

Twenty avalanche Roses and 20 blue roses were taken from inside Braddan Church between 12.30pm and 3pm on Thursday.

The dyed navy blue roses can leave traces of dye on hands.

Anyone with information is asked to call Douglas police or Kirk Braddan on 675523.

The Chinese government sees the Isle of Man as a ‘bridgehead’ into Europe, says the Manx government Minister who led a recent trade mission to the Far East.

During a five-day visit to Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai, the Manx delegation had a series of meetings with Chinese government officials and decision makers in major Chinese businesses and key business associations.

During the trade mission, Mr Shimmin exchanged a signed statement of co-operation with the chairman of the China Banking Regulatory Commission, Shang Fulin, in Beijing.

This document, which was presented on behalf of the island’s Financial Supervision Commission, is a necessary first step to enable Chinese banks to establish an operation in the Isle of Man.

Mr Shimmin spoke about the visit in the regular ministerial press conference with journalists last week.

He said that the Manx government was committed to forging stronger links with China, one of the world’s fast growing economies.

It hoped to build on the Isle of Man’s unique Customs relationship with the UK and EU to allow us to become a conduit for Chinese imports into Europe - a view shared by the Chinese authorities.

Mr Shimmin told the Examiner: ‘The Chinese government sees the Isle of Man as bridgehead into Europe.’

He said Chinese businesses had shown ‘enormous interest’ during the trade mission in the island’s ability to provide a ‘one-stop shop’ for Chinese exporters seeking to establish a trading hub for the UK or Europe.

Last month, the island welcomed the Chinese Ambassador to the United Kingdom, His Excellency Liu Xiaoming on a three-day visit.

Mr Shimmin said his department was committed to facilitating more trade delegations to China as well as hosting further visiting delegations to the Isle of Man.

There will be four Chinese delegations to the island in the next three months alone, he revealed.

Levels of staff sickness absence across government have been cut by nearly 10 per following a crackdown.

The move has been welcomed by Chief Minister Allan Bell who launched a review 12 months ago of high levels of sick leave which was costing government nearly £14 million a year in lost productivity.

Latest figures show that in the 12 months to the end of March the average number of days lost per employee had fallen from 7.68 to 6.94, a reduction of 9.6 per cent. This had resulted in a saving overall of £1.3 million.

Figures for 2012-13 show that the average number of days lost per employee was highest within the Public Transport division and Whitley Council.

Some 29 per cent of absences started on a Monday.

The most common reasons for absences were stress, anxiety, depression, operations, hospitalisation and ‘musculoskeletal’ which together accounted for 46.4 per cent of days lost. Long term absence accounted for 59 per cent.

Mr Bell said: ‘It is clear the action I requested to address staff sickness issues is having an effect. The vast majority of our staff are dedicated and conscientious, and most cases of absence are genuine. But there has been concern about the system being open to abuse by a minority.’

A boarding house keeper found that travel agents in England knew very little about the Isle of Man when she did her own market research.

She was so frustrated she went to Newcastle city centre to try to drum up business.

Today’s Isle of Man Examiner, which is in the shops now, has the full story.

The paper also features a news story about an author who has written a book about Osama Bin Laden. He wanted to give a talk about it in Onchan Library but he is not being allowed to. Find out why in today’s paper.

The Sefton debate continues to dominate the news and we have more from Economic Development Minister John Shimmin MHK about the issue.

This week’s Big Picture is of the linkspan after it was damaged by the Ben-my-Chree. We’ve devoted a whole page to it so you’ll be able to see the extent of the damage.

As another bus strike looms, possibly during the TT, we talk to both sides of the dispute.

The back page is dominated by Mark Cavendish’s latest success.

The paper also has the latest Guild results and news about the winner of the Cleveland Medal.

It might be a bank holiday today, but the Examiner is in the shops as usual.

Ramsey resident Cal Crutchlow showed his fighting qualities to battle to a fifth place in Sunday’s MotoGP in Jerez, Spain.

Despite suffering two heavy crashes during practice and qualifying, the Yamaha Tech3 rider was still able to qualify on the second row in fourth place.

Although he lost a place to Valentino Rossi and temporarily lost out to Alvaro Bautista, Crutchlow hit back late on in the race and claimed fifth, a result which keeps him fifth in the overall chanpionship.

Contrary to popular belief, chiropractic care is not all about cracking bones.

It is in fact ‘the art, science and philosophy of restoring the body’s innate ability to self-heal’.

‘Aches and pains are signs that your body isn’t working correctly,’ explained chiropractor Neil Thompson of the Family Wellness Clinic Align 4 Life in Lake Road, Douglas.

‘Your brain, spinal cord and all your nerves control how your body works. Any physical, chemical or emotional stresses produce a defensive posture where muscles contract, locking spinal joints that pinch or irritate nearby nerves. This garbles nerve communications between your brain and your body and therefore sets the stage for disease and ill health.

‘When your nervous system doesn’t work correctly, you don’t work correctly. And when you don’t work correctly, you’re sick! Simple as that.’

Neil, who attended Durban University of Technology in South Africa to become a doctor of chiropractic, said: ‘A thorough examination helps chiropractors find these “subluxations” and applying a precise force to stuck spinal joints they help the body correct itself.

‘Health usually returns as repeated visits restore nervous system integrity. That’s why chiropractic care has helped millions get well and stay well.’

He continued: ‘Distorted nerve communications can be an underlying cause of many health problems beyond just headaches and back pain. For example, they can interfere with nerve impulses going to or from your stomach, causing stomach problems.

‘Your nervous system controls every cell, tissue, organ and system of your body. These nerve impulses travel through your spine. So having a spine free of subluxation is essential for optimal health.’

Chiropractors use various techniques to adjust the spine. Sometimes a specific thrust is used or it can be a slow, constant pressure. Several areas may be adjusted, or just one. Sometimes a popping sound is heard but most patients report a sense of well-being and ease. Everyone can benefit from treatment including newborns, children, seniors and even back surgery patients.

Align 4 Life is a state-of-the-art spine, posture and stress clinic, with a special emphasis on family wellness, although sports injuries are also treated.

The clinic has a special interest in improving the patient’s nervous system by improving their ability to cope with stress and therefore help reduce chronic illness. Its main purpose is to help families reach their optimal health potential. The clinic therefore also offers coaching on how to Eat Well, Move Well and Think Well.

Neil explained: ‘The established health care model sees the body as a machine. With parts that wear out or need attention. It has spawned a variety of disciplines that look at your “parts” such as urologists, cardiologists and orthopedists. Intervention often involves drugs to change the function of the body by artificially changing blood chemistry.

‘But the emerging model is more holistic and recognises the interactivity of the mind, body and spirit. ‘Because you are self-healing, you are greater than the sum of your parts. Care is designed to help restore your body’s balance and integrity. Aches or pains are merely signs of some other underlying problem. In our practice we observe the mechanics of the spine, but see the whole-body effects of a compromised nervous system.Most people associate chiropractic care with headaches, neck and back problems. But we’ve had personal experiences with those suffering from various complaints including bedwetting, asthma and colic.’

He added: ‘Being a classic sceptic I would never have believed 15 years ago that conditions such as indigestion, migraines, depression, alzheimer’s and infertility could be helped, and in many cases overcome, by improving nervous system function, diet, exercise, and right thinking. ‘However, it was having the pleasure of witnessing miraculous changes in the lives of many of my patients that eventually convinced me this was true!

‘I myself get adjusted on a weekly basis, and I have not needed to take medication of any sort in almost five years.’

To find out more call the clinic on 629444 or visit www.isleofmanchiropractor.com

A long-awaited reshuffle of political posts in government will be unveiled this week by Chief Minister Allan Bell.

He insisted that this will not be a major reshuffle, suggesting that there will no changes in the cabinet line-up.

Mr Bell announced back in February that he was considering a reshuffle in the spring after the Legislative Council elections.

Those elections saw Geoff Corkish elevated to the upper house, sparking a by-election in the Douglas West constituency.

Mr Bell said he had used the election as an opportunity to review the positions of a number of members.

He said he was looking at Ministers as well as political members of departments.

Mr Bell said he had now spoken to all members.

He joked: ‘We are now close to white smoke!’

But he added: ‘This will not be a major reshuffle. It’s a fairly limited review based on the obvious consequences of the Legislative Council election.

‘This has been an opportunity to review the positions of a number of members to ensure they have the right level of experience and are making the right level of contribution.

‘I’m considering the whole of government, looking at all members including Ministers. I have now spoken to all members and I will be making an announcement early this week.’

Four candidates will contest the Douglas West by-election which takes place on Thursday May 23.

They are Clive Phillip Dawson, a semi-retired consultant, social worker Quintin Gill, John Skinner, a retired fire officer and financial analyst Christopher Thomas.

A fifth candidate, taxi driver Martin Moore, decided to withdraw his name before nominations closed.

Elections to fill four vacant seats in LegCo took place on March 18. Tony Wild and Juan Turner won back their seat with new members being Geoff Corkish and Manx Labour Party member Michael Coleman.

CORONER of inquests John Needham has said the Isle of Man should introduce a national speed limit.

His call came during the inquest into the death of motorcyclist Davy Jones, who died last May when he hit the back of a bin lorry on the Cronk-y-Voddy straight.

Mr Needham said that the island’s stance of having derestricted roads could be contrary to article two of the European Convention on Human Rights.

For the full story, see this week’s Isle of Man Examiner, on sale now.

Whites beat Douglas Royal 4-2 in Sunday’s final

CORINTHIANS have won the 11th Warehouse Fitness sponsored women’s FA Cup after defeating Ballafletcher neighbours Douglas Royal 4-2 in Sunday’s final.

The league champions led 2-1 at the break, Lisa Costain (2) Anna Dillon and Kiera Morgan finding the target. The opposing response came via efforts from Leanne Quayle and Rebecca Cole. This is the first time Corinthians had retained a cup competition.

A full report will appear in the Manx Independent.

POLICE are appealing for witnesses to an accident which occurred shortly after 4pm on Sunday in the area of the Mountain Mile.

The collision resulted in the death of a local man who was riding a motorcycle. His name is not being released at this time to allow for all family members to be notified.

The Mountain Road was closed for several hours between the Bungalow and the Hairpin following the incident to allow for initial investigations.

Enquiries are ongoing and the officers would like to speak to anyone who was in the area at the time and saw anything that may assist in the investigation.

If you can help, contact police headquarters on 631212.