The Isle of Man’s business community is being asked to take an active role in helping government plan for the economic future of the Isle of Man.

‘Vision 2020’, an important new initiative in the government’s strategy for building the economy, will help shape the Isle of Man’s future, said Chief Minister Allan Bell.

He said: ‘It is vital that we have a clear vision of where our future economic growth will come from and how this is going to be achieved.

‘Working together, we will identify opportunities and what steps need to be taken for the island to succeed in the future. We will be looking at all elements including legislation and regulation, tax policy, infrastructure, workforce skills and government’s capabilities. To maximise the island’s economic potential, this significant piece of work should lead to decisions on strategy and the development of associated action plans.’

‘Vision 2020’ follows on from the Economy 2014 Project, initiated in 2004, which considered what the public and private sector should do to help grow and diversify the Manx economy for the decade that followed.

Businesses will be asked to participate by taking part in an online questionnaire which can be found at www.whereyoucan.im/vision202. Additional input will be gathered from the private sector through professional trade associations.

One of the biggest roadworks schemes seen in the Isle of Man in recent years is on target to be completed ahead of schedule.

The £4.3 million project to reconstruct the ‘switchback’ Peel Road was originally expected to take 80 weeks to complete.

Work began in mid-March and highways director Richard Pearson said he was pleased with the progress so far.

He said: ‘It is on target to be completed in less than 80 weeks.

‘The scheme involves a lot of excavation so there is always a possibility of unforeseen ground conditions and also the project will continue through a Manx winter which adds another uncertainty and therefore I would not want to formally confirm an early completion at this time.’

Mr Pearson said work on strengthening Pulrose Bridge and the associated junction improvement is complete and significant lengths of kerb, including the special drainage kerb are already installed.

Traffic is currently flowing one way only into town with vehicles leaving town diverted via Pulrose Road/Groves Road.

The highways director said: ‘We are currently working on the southern side of the road and working away from Pulrose Road in each direction.

‘The next phase will continue on two work fronts, firstly between Waltons Digital World and the Fire Station and secondly between Hills Meadow eastern entrance and the Brown Bobby traffic lights. The current traffic management arrangements will remain during these phases.’

Traffic disruption has been not as bad as first feared.

Mr Pearson said his officers were monitoring the traffic congestion at Groves Road/New Castletown Road. ‘Signal timings have been adjusted to try to better accommodate the higher traffic flows at the junction. Drivers are still encouraged to use alternative routes where practical,’ he said.

He added: ‘The department would like to thank drivers for their continued patience and also remind the public that all businesses remain open and accessible.’

Fours weeks were shaved off the length of the first phase of the project involving the closure of Pulrose Road for bridge strengthening and junction improvement works.

This was reduced from the predicted nine weeks to five weeks following an engineering review - and has taken the overall project time from 80 weeks to 76.

The entrance to Isle of Man Newspapers’ Publishing House headquarters will be closed for a week from Tynwald Day to allow the carriage way and footpath to be reconstructed. Eurocars have kindly agreed to set aside a small number of spaces for visitor parking.

Peel Road has had no major repairs for more than 25 years. The highways director said it had ‘demonstrably the worst ride quality of any strategic route in the island’, with road surface severely cracked, the concrete slab sub-base having shifted and there being significant subsidence as well as drainage problems.

An island-based Christian group has written to the Queen calling on her to refuse to give royal assent to a Bill which would allow same-sex marriages in England and Wales.

A Christian Concern – made up of four business directors, Peter Murcott, Ian Davidson, Christopher James Keig and Michael Justice –sent the letter with their opposition to the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill last month but have yet to receive a response.

In the letter it says that at the Queen’s Coronation she swore an oath to maintain the laws of God and the true profession of the Gospel to the utmost of her power.

It says the Bill ‘obviously and incontrovertibly defies the unchangeable law of God as established since the dawn of creation and re-affirmed by Christ Jesus in Mark 10:6-8’.

It continues: ‘If enacted, the effects of this measure upon the nation will be nothing short of catastrophic; but of even greater importance is that it will set the nation on a direct collision course with the Courts of Heaven, with all the attendant consequences.’

Mr Murcott, a Methodist preacher and former law lecturer, told the Examiner: ‘This Bill doesn’t affect the Isle of Man but once they get legislation in place in the UK, then the next step is for pressure in the Isle of Man.

‘That’s the pattern of these things.

‘We shall of course have something to say if a Bill arises in the Isle of Man.’

He acknowledged that the political pressure on the Queen to give royal assent was very great.

The last time a monarch refused to give royal assent to a Bill was in 1708 .

While a Bill was dropped in 1800 after George III made it clear he wouldn’t give his assent.

Mr Murcott said: ‘The consequences would be very dramatic because if it was refused, the most likely result would be the whole government would resign.’

Under the proposals, religious organisations would be able to ‘opt in’ to holding ceremonies if they want to hold gay weddings.

The Bill specifies the Church of England and Church in Wales would be banned in law from offering same-sex marriages.

The Bill has been passed by the House of Commons and is being progressed through the House of Lords.

Radical changes to the way some government service are run - including the operation of the Post Office and subsequently the airport - are going to be brought in from October onwards, the Chief Minister confirmed.

It is likely that the government will hold back from full privatisation in both cases - but possible privatisation of the Royal Mail in UK may have an impact on proposals here.

Instead a halfway house of ‘corporatisation’, where an organisation remains in public hands but run on a commercial basis, could be considered.

Chief Minister Allan Bell said: ‘It has been suggested that a substantial amount of money could be saved by operating the airport in a more efficient and effective manner. Whether outright privatisation is the answer remains to be seen - a lot of work still needs to be done before we get that far.

‘Privatisation doesn’t necessarily work. Cardiff Airport for example has been taken back into public ownership. The halfway house of corporatisation could be a happy medium. The airport is just one of many examples where government is reviewing its services. I would certainly expect to see some radical changes brought in from October onwards. I would certainly expect to see some announcement on the Post Office and its future by the end of the year.’

Mr Bell said changing the way services are operated had to take place if the public finances were to be rebalanced in the wake of the VAT bombshell.

And hitting out a critics at the proposed £1 minimum airport parking fee, he said: ‘This is typical. Every single change announced by government has been met to a lesser of greater degree by cries of outrage.

‘People forget government has lost a third of its income. There are very difficult challenges that have got to be met. We have to find savings wherever we possible can. The £40,000 saved by introducing the parking fee might not sound much, but similar savings across government start to add up.

‘This might be the only item to come out in the public but it should not be treated in isolation. A great deal of work is going on behind the scenes.’

All government departments and statutory boards have been asked to review the way they operate services as part of the Scope of Government exercise. They have been give until the end of the year to report back but Mr Bell said some had already done so.

Peel Methodist Church will host an evening with Llanwrst male voice choir from North Wales on Thursday, July 4.

The concert starts at 7.45pm in the Atholl Street church with refreshments also provided.

For any further information contact 625408

‘What on earth do you look like?’ he asked in hushed tones.

‘With that suntan of yours you look like a superannuated Greek shipping tycoon, but not one successful enough to have pulled Jackie. What’s your game you old fool?’

He is a long-standing friend of mine who maintains a jaundiced study of my life and times in order to provide himself with a kind of sideshow to enliven his own lacklustre existence.

If anyone was going to take issue with the fact that I was wearing dark glasses it was him.

‘I wear them,’ I told him, ‘only when I am driving my car with the hood down. I do not wear them at any other time. It has never been my practice to wear dark glasses. I am not, let me tell you, a poseur.’

‘You look,’ he said, ‘more like a seedy purveyor of dirty postcards in Port Said. All you need is a fez and a nightshirt.’

He went on his way, chuckling to himself.

I have never worn dark glasses because I like the sun too much.

But the onset of what we have had in the Isle of Man so far this summer has made me take down the hood on the car at every opportunity and, at the same time, my eyes have become inflamed and watery which has convinced a kindly and thoughtful lady I know that this is the result of dust and grit in the open air.

She bought me the dark glasses.

‘Your eyes were all right when you were younger,’ she told me severely. ‘But you’re not any more. Get used to it.’

I was first dissuaded from wearing dark glasses as a fashion accessory by the example of a journalist I knew in London who worked for one of the more frantic tabloids as a social columnist rejoicing in the byline ‘Mr Midnight’.

This involved him frequenting night clubs wearing dark glasses while in search of juicy material.

As the clubs were dark themselves this involved him walking into furniture, spilling people’s drinks, stumbling down staircases and going to the ladies by mistake.

In time he went to Ibiza to write novels, where dark glasses made some sense.

I have been wearing mine for a couple of weeks now.

I have also taken the precaution of getting some eyedrops. The pharmacist told me I might have hay fever. I have no more ever had hay fever than I have ever worn dark glasses.

Life doesn’t get any easier.

l My granddaughter Grace in London, who is eight years old, has sent me an email for the first time with the added words ‘Sent from my iPod.’

This is often how people do it. The e-mails are ‘Sent from my Blackberry’ and ‘Sent from my Nokia phone.’

Gracie is right up to speed.

I wonder if, when Robin Hood sent a written message to the Sheriff of Nottingham, by way of an arrow fired into his castle door, it ended: ‘Sent from my trusty longbow.’

l This week’s Manx crossword clue from Karl Campbell is: Mans Key? (4) – ISLE (Times Jumbo Cryptic).

A second student from the Isle of Man is being afforded the chance to study in America for a year.

Former Ballakermeen High School student Siobhan Walshe was announced in January as the winner of the 2013-14 Ella Olesen Scholarship to spend a year at the University of Idaho.

The scholarship is awarded annually to a female degree student who has been supported through her studies by the Department of Education and Children.

It is named after the late Miss Ella Olesen, a former registrar of the university who died in 1985. Her Manx ancestry – her mother Margaret Teare was born in Ballaugh and emigrated to America in 1890 – led her to gift the scholarship in 1971.

Siobhan, 21, of Fairway Close, Onchan, who is completing an MA in history at Edinburgh University, was chosen from among six interview candidates.

Now the runner-up candidate, Joanne Durber, 21, will join Siobhan when she travels to the United States in August after the university agreed it could fund a second scholarship this year.

Joanne, of Queen’s Drive, Peel, went to Queen Elizabeth II High School. She is completing a BA in English literature and creative writing at the University of Chester.

She said: ‘I first heard about the scholarship in 2010 when I read in the newspaper that Katie Taylor had been awarded the opportunity. I remember hoping at the time that I would be able to apply after completing my degree and now that I’ve been picked and it has become a reality, I am very excited to be joining Katie in August.

‘I’ve dreamt of living and studying in America for a long time and to be offered the chance to go out as a Manx ambassador is absolutely incredible. I am really looking forward to experiencing the American way of doing things, getting involved with the activities on offer at the university, studying some subjects that I’ve not been able to before and, of course, putting my Isle of Man stamp on things as much as I can.’

Former Castletown and junior island international Danny Hattersley has completed a full-time move to Conference side Southport from relegated Stockport County.

Striker Hattersley, ended last season on loan at the Sandgrounders and new Southport manager Alan Wright has decided to make the move permanent, snapping up the 21-year-old on a long-term contract.

Speaking to the official Southport website this week, former Aston Villa full-back Wright said: ‘Danny did well as a scholar at Myerscough College and continued to progress when he stepped up at Lancaster, likewise at Stockport in the Football Conference. Danny has all the attributes to be a major force at our level and up the football pyramid. We have got real talent on our hands and I am looking forward to both coaching and managing Danny.’

For many islanders, Tiger Years provided the soundtrack to the summer of 2012.

Last year UK-based Manx musos Brian Brough and Jack Wolter brought their Cornish collective (completed by Wilfred Petherbridge, Allister Kellaway and Oli Mason) for a memorable six weeks of performances in fields, glens, festivals, bars and lifeboat stations.

A year in the making, their sublime Fuzzy Orange produced debut album (x÷&-) is now out there and making waves; see tigeryears.tumblr.com

‘We’re really stoked to be bringing the band back over,’ said Jack this week from a band rehearsal in their Falmouth den. ‘We want to make it an annual thing, people on the island are so welcoming, and it’s been nice to play the songs again.’

Since last summer the quintet have all pursued separate projects, and Jack’s Manx-based power trio Your Gold Teeth joined Tiger Years at The Crescent in Douglas on Saturday night.

‘We’re all songwriters, the original ideas can be as different as electronic bleepy versions,’ said Jack. ‘We want people to see where the songs came from, and how they evolved with five of us putting our heads into it.’

A little lower key will be a gig at The Bridge tonight (Tuesday). Brian is doing a solo slot, and then the music of Allister’s musical alter ego the Mantis Opera, and then mind-bending jazziness of Choy Dragon, featuring Brian, Oli and Wilf.

Jack said: ‘The good thing about Tiger Years is we have all got our own projects, and as a band we can cover each other’s songs. It’s almost like a musical collective, and Your Gold Teeth is part of that.’

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The Manx Sound Exchange appears in the Manx Independent each week abd is Lee Brooks’ ramblings on the rumblings of the island’s music scene. Help support the scene by emailing lee.brooks@newsiom.co.im or calling 695674 with Manx music news, reviews and photos

The annual Joey Dunlop Foundation memorial ride out has been postponed until tomorrow (Wednesday) evening.

Foundation chairman Kevin Quirk said the decision had been taken in view of the poor weather forecast for today (Tuesday).

Mr Quirk said: ‘After contacting the IOM Met Office the JDF committee decided we should postopone the lap for safety reasons so the lap will now be on Wednesday instead. We want to publicise the change so please forward this message to your friends.’

Riders and pillions wanting to take part should now assemble at the TT grandstand on Glencrutchery Road at 6.30pm on Wednesday July 3 and be ready for a 7pm start.

The event which is a charity fundraiser for the foundation is to raise money for Braddan Bridge House, the disabled holiday accommodation which is to be extended next year.

The government is seeking the public’s views on proposals to change building regulations.

The proposals follow a review of building regulations on the island, and those in other parts of the British Isles.#

The draft proposed changes will deal with all aspects of energy efficiency and performance of our buildings, ventilation, combustion appliances and fuel storage systems, hot water safety and water efficiency and crime detection and prevention.

A consultation launched by the Department of Infrastructure is calling on interested parties to make submissions regarding the proposed changes by August 12.

Laurence Skelly MHK, political member with responsibility for planning and building control, said: ‘We’re mindful of the current economic climate, and we do not propose following prescriptively the regulations that apply in other jurisdictions.

‘Instead, we want to take a considered and measured approach in determining a level of regulations that are both appropriate and reasonable, but bearing in mind the need to raise the standards of workmanship, thermal efficiency of our buildings and overall service delivery to Isle of Man residents.’

Minister for Infrastructure David Cretney MHK said: ‘The overall aim of these changes is to improve efficiency and standards of our buildings.

‘We would like to encourage building owners to improve the energy efficiency and maintenance of their properties, allowing informed choices to be made on types of buildings we would like to live and work in.

‘We need the full participation of all interested parties on this important issue so that we can establish the right balance between the long term needs of our community and best affordable standards and practice for the future to reduce our reliance on imported fuel and high cost of energy to our residents and businesses.’

The consultation will close at 5pm on August 12, and an electronic version of the consultation, including a questionnaire and response form can be found {http://www.gov.im/Consultations.gov|here}

Submissions, marked ‘draft building regulations 2013 consultation’ should be sent to the Department of Infrastructure, Building Control Manager, Murray House, Mount Havelock, Douglas, IM1 2SF or via email to Siamack.Rowaichi@gov.im

Michael Crowe has become the Chamber of Commerce’s new president.

He took over from Mike Shaw, who ended his two-year term at the chamber’s annual meeting.

The new president outlined some of chamber’s priorities for the coming months: to work with government to ensure our workforce is equipped with the skills they need to support the primary sectors of our economy; working to ensure government procurement policy adequately addresses the considerable benefits of keeping their spending on island and maintaining stable transport links.

Issues such as minimum wage, work permits, government spending, town centre planning and economic development are all on chamber’s agenda.

Micky Swindale was elected vice president, which will lead in two years to chamber’s first woman president.

Sarah Sanders was elected treasurer and Bill Shimmins was elected to chamber council.

Douglas law firm M&P Legal has strengthened its legal ranks by the addition of an experienced lawyer and the granting of a training contract to a young legal entrant into the market.

Ilsa Reeves has joined M&P Legal from another Manx firm after 12 ears in private practice in both England and the Isle of Man five of which were as a partner at a practice in England.

She has built up considerable private client expertise in matters of estate planning, wills, trusts and powers of attorney and will also be working on personal injury and other dispute claims in M&P Legal’s litigation department.

Ms Reeves has particular expertise in dealing with estates having acted as an executor in a number of estates and having administered several will trusts. She has also been appointed as a receiver and is currently advising on a large mental health receivership.

Ms Reeves originally qualified in 2001 as a solicitor in England after training with a niche professional indemnity law firm in London.

Ms Reeves has joined M&P Legal as an associate advocate having re-qualified in the Isle of Man this year.

She joins the M&P Legal dispute resolution team which in the independent legal directory The Legal 500 was recently described as providing an excellent service in dispute resolutions.

Meanwhile, former Ballakermeen High School student Carly Wilson has also joined M&P Legal initially working as a paralegal. Carly graduated with an honours degree from Sheffield University and during her period of paralegal assistance with M&P Legal she impressed with her precision and hard work and was offered articles of clerkship with a view to her being admitted to the Isle of Man bar.

Head of M&P Legal’s litigation department John Aycock commented on these new arrivals:

‘This firm has worked hard to establish a reputation of quality and our recruitment policy adheres to the high standards of excellence we set for ourselves. Ilsa has some high-quality experience in the legal world and Carly has shown all the right attributes to train to become a qualified advocate.

‘We are very pleased to have both of them working at M&P Legal.’

The firm has also refreshed its senior associate structure by promoting two of its senior advocates to the rank of counsel.

Advocates Consuelo Suay and Damian Molyneux are both now at the elevated rank of counsel to reflect their considerable legal expertise and experience.

M&P Legal is an established commercial legal practice recommended in independent legal directories such as The Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners. It was established 30 years ago and became known as Mann & Partners with a subsequent re-branding to M&P Legal.

Preparations are under way to allow the next generation of mobile phones to work in the island.

The Communications Commission is now consultuting about its proposals on the licensing of 4G mobile communications services.

While 2G mobile introduced customers to texts and emails from their phones, and 3G supported smartphones and data, 4G is suited for high-bandwidth data services, such as live TV or streaming high quality video.

The introduction of 4G mobile technologies should result in better mobile data services, faster speeds and improved quality of service.

Broadband delivered over 4G mobile networks could be as good as or, in some circumstances, even better than broadband delivered over the fixed network.

An operator seeking to offer 4G mobile needs to have a Telecommunications Act licence issued in the Isle of Man, which allows it to offer mobile services in the island, and a Wireless Telegraphy Act licence issued by Ofcom in the UK, which allows it to use specified spectrum bands.

The consultation sets out the process proposed by the Commission for awarding 4G licences, and explains the reasoning behind the commission’s proposals.

The commission has opened its proposals for consultation for one month, after which it will consider responses and invite expressions of interest from potential operators.

A spokesman said: ‘The commission’s aim has been to design a process which is efficient and timely, with a view to awarding licences as soon as possible so that new 4G services can be introduced.’

Responses should be received by August 1.

Responses in writing should be marked ‘4G Consultation’ and either posted to the Communications Commission at 2nd Floor, St Andrew’s House, Douglas, IM1 2PX; or emailed to yoav.harel@iomcc.im.

Anyone who was affected by noxious fumes at Mount Murray earlier today (Tuesday) is being urged to go to the accident and emergency department at Noble’s Hospital.

This morning, an incident at the leisure complex in Santon left a number of people in hospital after two chemicals were accidentally mixed together.

The ambulance service has advised anyone who was exposed to the fumes to seek medical advice.

A Department of Health spokesman said anyone who was exposed to fumes should seek medical advice at Noble’s Hospital casualty unit.

Anyone who does not believe they were exposed to the gas and left the area should be vigilant over the next 36 hours for possible symptom which include eye or nose irritation, sore throat, chest tightness, wheezing or breathlessness.

Again, anyone suffering symptoms should present themselves for assessment at the hospital.

Fire crews were called out to deal with the incident which happened soon after 8am.

A spokesman for the fire service said firefighters used breathing apparatus and chemical protection suits to deal with the accident which produced chlorine gas, closing the swimming pool and gymnasium areas for a time.

The three people who received treatment after inhaling the fumes were not thought to be seriously injured but were detained in hospital for observation.

Fire crews were able to evacuate people from that area of the complex and fans were used to disperse the gas and ventilate the building before the public was allowed back in.

The chemical solution was analysed and neutralised to make it safe.

The fire service and ambulance crews left the scene at Mount Murray soon after midday and the leisure complex is now open again.

The Isle of Man’s under-19 schools football squad began its 17th annual trip to California today, Wednesday.

The squad, which consists of 18 students selected from the island’s secondary schools and the IoM College, are heading to America to take part in the California State Games, held in Chula Vista on the Mexican border and the Crusader Cup played in San Diego.

The annual pilgrimage to the Golden State represents an incredible opportunity for the Manx lads to experience football at a very high level and much more besides. Staying with American families in the beautiful seaside resort of Carlsbad, the boys will have the trip of a lifetime.

The players were selected after a trial process, which initially saw 60 boys nominated by their schools for the first trial back in September. After six sessions the numbers were eventually whittled down to the lucky 18.

For the last eight weeks the squad have been training on Friday nights and Sunday afternoons at the excellent new astro pitch at Bemahague. They have played some six warm-up games, against teams from both off and on island, winning all but one and losing that to an IoM U19 Old Boys All Stars team by just one goal.

Chris Starkey and Matty Kelly’s squad therefore head Stateside with high hopes of lifting one or maybe even both trophies. In each of the last three years the Manx have won one of the two tournaments that they have entered and the aim is to keep this run going.

Island squad Alex Maitland, Tom Wood, Dan Corkill, Josh Dunlop, Dale Corrin, Toby Hedges, Rob McCowliff, Shaun Kelly, George Rawlinson, Jackson Brown, Matthew Kelly, Chris Biddulph, Ste Whitley, Alex Holden, Joey Morling, Ruairi Poole (Captain), Jordan Kelly, Connor Gorman and Graham Kennish.

Thanks go to the IoM Department of Education and Children, the head teachers of all the island secondary schools, especially those of RGS and St Ninian’s for their support. Thanks also go to Mannlink Travel for their much-appreciated sponsorship, the supportive parents of the players and the generosity of the host families who make the trip possible.

Three district civil registry offices will close.

It means that residents will have to travel to Douglas to register births, deaths, civil marriages and civil partnerships.

The phased closure will see Ramsey’s office close on September 4, followed by Castletown on December 31 and Peel on March 1, 2014.

Carol Dowd, director of public services in the General Registry, said: ‘Centralising the registration service in Douglas will enable the Civil Registry staff to focus on delivering a consistent and professional service to all its customers.

‘Although the changes will result in some cost savings for the General Registry, the primary driver has been the need to modernise our service. In particular, we are seeking to improve customer service through the way in which registrations are undertaken and copy certificates and information are accessed and provided in the future.’

• Read the full story in Thursday’s Manx Independent.

Royal Navy warships HMS Somerset and HMS Brocklesby will be visiting Manx shores from tomorrow (Thursday) in support of the Tynwald Day ceremony and associated events.

HMS Somerset will anchor in Douglas Bay from tomorrow for a three-day visit before returning to sea.

HMS Brocklesby, meanwhile, will be alongside at No.2 berth on Victoria Pier in Douglas from tomorow until Monday (July 8).

She will be open to visit from 11am to 5pm on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Personnel from the two ships’ companies will be taking part in the Tynwald Day ceremony, which will also be attended by HMS Somerset’s Commanding Officer Commander Mike Smith and his counterpart on HMS Brocklesby, Lieutenant Commander Stuart Yates.

Lt Commander Yates said: ‘We are very much looking forward to spending time in the Isle of Man and I hope as many local people as possible will come and see the ship for themselves during our open to visit hours.

‘It is a privilege to visit Douglas and an excellent opportunity to strengthen the ties between the Royal Navy and this historic maritime island.’

Sports therapist Sarah Linehan is going places with her expanding business.

Sarah has seen the Port St Mary Sports Injuries and Rehabilitation Clinic go from strength to strength.

Now the ambitious 26-year-old is opening a second clinic to run in tandem with the one in the south of theisland.

It is in Douglas in space at the Carrefour gym in the centre of town and business starts there from next Monday (July 8).

Sarah started out in business in Port St Mary three and a half years ago, in January 2010.

She said: ‘It’s a sports injury clinic but we deal with any muscular, skeletal injury.’

She said postural problems are common with people who hunch over their office desks at work.

Sarah, whose parents Mary and Jerry live in the island, completed a degree in sports science and then a Masters in sports therapy in London.

She gained useful experience in London working as part of a team of people with members of the famous London Irish rugby team.

‘It was the team I supported as a kid so I was really star struck,’ Sarah told Business News. ‘We used to live in a house backing on to their ground in Sunbury.’

‘They play in Reading now but they still have their training ground in Sunbury. Some of the players are with the British Lions.

‘I managed to build up my strength pretty quickly.’

The business in Port St Mary has grown and grown.

‘I work between 50 and 60 hour weeks so it’s been going really well,’ said Sarah, who still finds time for leisure interests including running and playing netball for Ballasalla.

She has a partner called Chris who is a buyer for Dandara.

Sarah moved to the island when she was five with her family.

She is setting up a second venue on top of the Port St Mary operation because she says there is a lot of opportunity in Douglas.

She is going in to Carrefour gym next door to Marks and Spencer, above Abode.

She will be renting a therapy room. She plans to split her time between Douglas and Port St Mary.

She has taken on another therapist, Sam Brennan and he plays rugby for Vagabonds in his spare time.

Sarah said she has clients who telephone her in pain mainly with back and neck problems.

Her clients have been all ages and they have also included an actor who needed some therapy while filming in the island.

‘It’s all going really well and I have a loyal customer base.’

Ministers should intervene quickly if there is a fundamental breakdown in the working relationship of senior department managers.

That’s the view of the Council of Ministers which has accepted the recommendations of a damning Public Accounts Committee report into the costly mismanagement of the Signature TT sponsorship deal to be debated at next week’s Tynwald sitting.

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.

But the report found a series of basic errors exacerbated the financial risks of the deal which 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.

The PAC inquiry uncovered evidence of a ‘fundamental breakdown’ in the relationship between the DTL’s former chief executive Carol Glover and director of tourism Geoff Le Page which it said directly affected the management and control of the project.

The report concludes that Mrs Glover – ‘although well intentioned’ – did not follow proper procedures in appointing Signature as TT marketing consultants.

As a result, processes and procedures were over-ridden, there was a lack of control over the management of this and possibly other contracts – and communication broke down within the department and with external suppliers.

In one of five recommendations, the PAC suggested that Ministers and senior civil servants should be made aware of the risks presented by such fundamental relationship breakdowns in the working environment and that such matters are reported to the Chief Secretary for immediate investigation.

CoMin in its response accepted all the recommendations. It said it will request Ministers and chairmen of statutory boards to ‘intervene pro-actively’ in such cases.