A gas leak caused by a long peg used to erect a marquee caused the Buchan school to be evacuated this morning (Thursday).

Engineers are currently on site working to fix the problem. No one was placed at risk and full supplies have been maintained at all times.

Pupils at the Castletown school were evacuated at around 10.15am, and as their day was due to finish at 12.30pm anyway, will not be returning.

The incident arose as contractors set about dismantling the marquee in the school grounds.

When the marquee was put up earlier this week, it appears the peg was placed through the medium pressure main. As the peg was removed this morning, the gas began to escape and the problem came to light.

Manx Gas customer services director Robert Gardiner said: ‘We have stemmed the flow of gas and we are now carrying out pipe repairs, which will be completed today.’

If you think you can smell a gas leak, call the helpline on 0808 1624444.

A portrait of the Rev Canon Brendan Alger, Emeritus Dean of the Roman Catholic community of the Isle of Man, is on public view for the first time at the Tynwald Library in an exhibition of three works by Svetlana Cameron.

The portrait, commissioned by the Church of St Mary of the Isle, Douglas, to commemorate Canon Alger’s retirement and golden jubilee, is on show alongside that of ‘Father Brian’ (Dougherty), which reached the finals in the US 2012-2013 Art Renewal Centre’s International Salon, and ‘Laa Tinvaal’, a painting inspired by the Tynwald Day celebrations.

Of the latter Mrs Cameron explained: ‘The painting is not a faithful depiction of the event but rather my memory of the day as I witnessed it in 2012, its vibrant colours, mesmerising movement and uplifting energy.’

In 2011 the Russian-born classically-trained artist, who works out of her studio in Braddan, was commissioned by the Office of the Clerk of Tynwald to paint portraits of former Speakers of the House of Keys David Cannan and Tony Brown OBE. The portraits are on permanent view in the House of Keys Chamber.

The exhibition is on until July 19, Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm.

Located on the ground floor of the Legislative Buildings in Finch Road the Tynwald Library exhibition space provides schools, youth, community and sporting organisations, as well as private individuals and commercial enterprises, with a secure, easily managed area in which to mount Manx-themed displays. There is no rental charge, only a small commission fee for sales by commercial operators.

THE staff of Nationwide International made a donation to the Agricultural Benevolent Trust after they staged their own ‘Farmers’ Market’ themed raffle in the company’s Douglas offices.

The Isle of Man’s farming community lost thousands of animals earlier this year, during the worst snowstorms for 50 years.

‘This is a wonderful gesture, and a very warmly welcomed donation,’ said Charles Fargher, treasurer and trustee of the ABT, who accepted the cheque at Nationwide’s office.

‘The trust is genuinely overwhelmed by the generosity of the Manx public following the snow storms, and this was a really nice idea of the Nationwide International staff to stage their own farmers’ market event in their office.’

The staff of 50 all brought items into the office, including Manx vegetables, local butcher’s vouchers, locally-made cheeses, chutneys and preserves. All of these items were raffled and £300 was raised. Nationwide International matched this amount to enable a donation of £600 to be made to the trust.

‘We all felt we wanted to make a special effort,’ said Andrea Callow, one of the people behind the idea.

‘We thought it was perfect to stage our own version of a farmers’ market, and it was a major success, enabling us to make a donation to the trust.’

Charles Fargher added: ‘It was a great idea. Every penny of this donation, and all others, will go to farmers across the island, who have been affected by the March snow.

‘Much of what has been raised to date has already been distributed but this is an ongoing process as and when more names are brought to the trust’s attention. The trust cannot provide compensation for loss of livestock but we can go some small way in helping to alleviate business cash flows which have been hit by loss of income.

‘The response from the Manx public has been overwhelming, and covers the whole spectrum of the Manx community. It has been fantastic to see how so many people truly care, and have responded so wonderfully.’

Former Royal Air Force pilot Tom Richards has been appointed a director at Thomas Miller Investment (Isle of Man) Limited.

Tom is responsible for Thomas Miller Investment’s Private Investment Management (Offshore) business, management of client assets and development of strategic professional adviser relationships.

He sits on the Investment Strategy and Private Investment Management Portfolio Review Committees and heads the Collectives Research Team.

Mike Balfour, chief executive at Thomas Miller Investment, said: ‘Since Tom joined our Isle of Man team in 2012 he has demonstrated an excellent understanding of financial markets.

‘His lateral approach to analysis and understanding of key catalysts in asset class markets has significantly contributed to investment strategy at Thomas Miller Investment.

‘His appointment to director is in recognition of his dedication and experience. His contributions to the team have played a significant role in growing our offshore private client bank and driving the excellent investment performance experienced by TMI’s institutional and private clients.

‘I am excited to work closely with Tom as we expand and strengthen our services across our private client and institutional bases.’

Thomas Miller Investment has funds under management of approximately £2.7 billion and manages tailored investment portfolios for insurance mutuals, charities, pension schemes, governments and private clients.


The 2013 Isle of Man Track and Field Championships, sponsored by Celton Manx, took place over two action-packed days of competition at the National Sports Centre at the weekend.

At a time when the island’s top athletes are preparing for the forthcoming NatWest Island Games in Bermuda, it was clear that the future of Manx athletics is in good hands as a succession of superb performances from the younger age group athletes lit up the island’s premier sports venue.

A most welcome innovation to the first day of competition on Saturday was the Dursley Stott Sprint Challenge. The former Isle of Man sprint champion, who represented the island in the 100 yards and 220 yards at the 1958 Commonwealth Games, sponsored the under-15 and u17 100 metres finals to the tune of £900. In each of the four races, £100 went to the winner, £75 to second place and £50 to third, with the money to be used for the athletes’ continued development in the sport.

The u17 men’s race was a cracker, Kai Petterson getting the verdict over Joel Padi by a whisker. Both athletes were given the same time of 11.6 seconds, with Jacob Callow in third.

Bermuda-bound Charlotte Bawden took the honours in the u17 women’s race with a speedy 12.9s, which will give her lots of confidence going into her Island Games debut. Kate Teare took second place narrowly from Isla Quayle.

The u15 boys’ race was convincingly won by the supremely talented Josh Hewett in a very impressive 12.7s, the start of a magnificent weekend for him.

There was a close finish to the u15 girls’ race, with just 0.6s separating the first five athletes, the highly talented all-rounder Aimee Cringle taking the victory.

The fastest 100m time of the day was set by u20 Jack Lemaire, with a typically determined and aggressive run of 11.2s. He will go to Bermuda in good heart next week for his Island Games debut.

Middle-distance specialist Rachael Franklin warmed up for the Island Games by stepping down to the 400 metres and setting a new personal best time of 60.4s.

The closest event of the entire championships came in the u13 girls’ long jump competition. After the first of three rounds there was a remarkable four-way tie, with Ashleigh Yates, Leah Goddard, Megan Lockwood and Millie Palmer all jumping 3.77 metres. The situation remained unchanged after the second jump, and with just two jumps remaining of the third and final round there was still deadlock. Goddard then jumped 3.79m to take the lead, but with the very last jump of the competition Yates jumped 3.80m to win by just one centimetre.

Megan Lockwood took third from Millie Palmer on countback, and just 7cm separated the first five athletes – what a contest.

The veteran athletes showed that they too have plenty to offer. Multiple Island Games medallist from the 1980s and 1990s Gordon Crowe, now in the V45 category, showed that he is still very rapid by clocking 12.1s for 100 metres, while in the women’s 1,500 metres event two age group IoM records were set. Gail Griffiths completed her preparations for Bermuda with an excellent run of 4 minutes 57.6 seconds, a new V45 record, while Caroline Mayers took 18s off her personal best to record a new V40 record of 5:07.1.

New Manx 800m record holder Ryan Fairclough (see story on page 56) ran an impressive 4:02.2 to win the men’s 1,500m event, although he was pushed hard by his Isle of Man team-mate Ollie Lockley who finished just four seconds in arrears. There was a close battle in the u20 men’s race, Stephen Garrett edging out Shaun Moore by a few metres with Jason Moore not far behind.

Another outstanding performer over the weekend was Jessica Hill, who had a great race with Angela Aumonier in the u13 girls’ 1,500m. Hill took the race out hard and established a big lead, only to be gradually reeled in over the second half of the race. Aumonier nosed in front coming into the home straight but Hill showed good finishing speed to pull away again.

Perhaps the two best performances of the day came from the aforementioned Josh Hewett in the high jump and Amber Sibbald in the 75 metres hurdles, both in the u15 age group. In his first year in the age group, Hewett came within 6cm of the IoM age group record with a stylish clearance of 1.74 metres. The record has been held since 1998 by his sponsor and mentor Martin Aram, who is the island’s best-ever high jumper. On this form, the record may not last much longer.

Sibbald, likewise in her first year as an u15, shaved another 0.1s off her own island record set earlier this season, with a time of 11.8s in the 75m hurdles. She looks to be a wonderful prospect and also set a new PB in the long jump of 4.82m.

The hurdles events saw some fine performances across the age groups, with Stuart Rushmere and Glen Quayle both going close to the Manx u13 record set by Hewett last year. Quayle’s performance was a huge PB, and he also added new bests in the 100 metres and high jump.

The u13 girls’ race featured outstanding performances from Megan Pitts and Angela Aumonier with 12.7s and 12.9s respectively.

It was a fine weekend for the Quayle family, with Glen’s elder sisters Kirree and Isla also performing extremely well across a variety of disciplines.

The youngest age groups also saw some great performances. Callum Sherry was not too far away from the u11 IoM record in the cricket ball throw, likewise Michael Webber in the under-nines’ 600 metres. The u11 girls’ 75 metres final was a cracker, with Kira Perry, Anna Lashley and Breeshey Stringer all within a second of the island record.

Many thanks go to all the officials, and Mike Stanton of Celton Manx. A report on day two of the championships will appear in Monday’s Examiner.

Full results from the event are available at iomaa.info

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Twenty-three bus drivers who were docked a day’s pay after being locked out by Bus Vannin management during a strike have had their claim for compensation rejected by the employment tribunal.

A total of 63 drivers are claiming for unfair dismissal in the long-running dispute over changes to their terms and conditions including the loss of paid lunch breaks.

Lawyers for both sides are to identify tests cases for a tribunal hearing to be heard in due course.

But following a pre-hearing review, the tribunal ruled it had no jurisdiction to hear the claim of 23 of the drivers who alleged unlawful deduction of their wages.

The majority of the claims related to the official industrial action on March 6 this year when two two-hour stoppages were organised by the Unite union between 7am to 9am and from 3pm to 5pm.

Union members who were rostered to do a shift that day said they were available to work but were effectively locked out by the management which chose to use relief staff instead for the whole of the day.

One of the Unite drivers, who had claimed for unlawful deduction from pay of £69.74, wrote in his claim form: ‘My employer chose to run a Sunday service and chose not to pay me for any hours at all even though I was available for work at the premises on this day.

‘There were scheduled services on bus runs outside or within the strike action hours on my rota that I could have carried out. I understand the employer is obliged to pay for any hours I am available for outside the industrial action or strike periods. Instead my employer effectively locked me out which I understand to be unlawful and therefore is obliged to pay me for any hours that I was available outside of the strike action periods or the entire day.’

But the Department of Community, Culture and Leisure pointed out that if the Unite drivers had stopped work at the precise moment the strike began and then resumed their job when the stoppage ended, it would have meant buses being abandoned and passengers left stranded.

It said it was ‘wholly impractical’ to rearrange schedules to allow striking bus drivers to resume their work between the stoppages and it had been decided the only reasonable option was to use only the drivers willing to do full duties and run a Sunday service. The department said it was therefore entitled to deduct a full day’s pay from those who took strike action that day.

But the tribunal ruled it had no jurisdiction to hear the claims and directed the 23 claimants instead to the Small Claims Court.

Meanwhile, an employment tribunal claim against Unite lodged by the union’s former regional industrial organiser Steve Salter, who had claimed for unfair dismissal and unlawful deduction from pay, will not now go ahead after the case was settled out of court.

Mr Salter, who went on to become the mastermind behind the Ape Mann adventure park in South Barrule, said he was unable to comment about the case.

Christmas comes early at the Saddle Inn in Douglas every year.

As part of a tradition going back more than 20 years the pub celebrates an extra Christmas Day on Tynwald Day.

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{http://www.iomtoday.co.im/news/isle-of-man-news/isle-of-man-to-mark-tynwald-day-1-5811518|Isle of Man to mark Tynwald Day}

{http://www.iomtoday.co.im/news/isle-of-man-news/road-closures-in-place-in-st-john-s-on-tynwald-day-1-5823555|Road closures in place in St John’s on Tynwald Day}

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Pub landlady, Christina Maccuish, explained why: ‘It was something that was started by the old landlords, Mick and Sue McGovern around 20 years ago.

‘They wanted to do something a bit different for Tynwald Day and in those days pubs weren’t allowed to open on Christmas Day, so they decided to hold their own Christmas Day celebrations in the pub on July 5 instead.

‘Some of our regulars used to mention the tradition to us, saying how much they enjoyed it, so about five years ago we decided we should start it up again,’ says Christina.

‘This year we’re going a little bit further, we’re celebrating Christmas Eve as well, so we’re doing it even earlier, the decorations will probably be up from Wednesday night in fact.

‘We’re having a Christmas karaoke on Thursday night for our Christmas Eve celebration and over the ‘festive’ period we also hold raffles and draws, with presents and prizes,’ adds Christina.

The quirky tradition gives people something else to do after the Tynwald Day celebrations as well as providing fun for those who can’t wait for Christmas to come, and raising money for good causes.

‘We choose a different charity each year to give all the money raised to, so it’s all in a good cause as well as being fun for people,’ says Christina.

‘Last year we raised £650 and donated it to Age Concern.

‘This year we’re donating it to Gareth Cowin’s charity, the Special Olympian who tragically died while in South Korea with the Manx team,’ she added.

Gareth was a Manx Special Olympics floor hockey player who passed away, aged just 25, on January 30 after contracting a deadly virus during the trip. He had previously won a gold medal in football for the Isle of Man at the World Summer Games in Athens.

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The One World Centre Isle of Man will have a Global Village at the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture headquarters in St John’s for Tynwald Day visitors.

At this year’s national celebrations they can experience an international dimension completely free of charge at the village.

The Global Village will include a variety of entertainment, activities and stalls drawn from the island’s diverse population as well as Manx charities that work overseas.

Visitors will be treated to delights such as a didgeridoo performance and Bulgarian folk dancing.

The One World Centre aims to encourage an understanding of how people around the world are all connected and dependent on each other as well as the importance of respect for different cultures.

Send A Cow and Amnesty International are just two of the Manx-registered charities that will be represented at the event.

Information on fair trade will be handed out by the Manx Co-operative and there will be facts on ‘Point1’ and ‘Enough Food If’ – campaigns to increase overseas aid and end world hunger.

The new boss of the government’s Department of Community, Culture and Leisure has been announced.

Colin Kniveton will take over as chief executive following the appointment of Nick Black as chief cxecutive at the Department of Infrastructure.

Mr Kniveton is taking on the responsibility in addition to his current role under the ‘business change steering group’ supporting the comprehensive Scope of Government review of public services. This is an interim arrangement pending completion of the review, which is due to report by the end of this year.

He was previously chief executive of the Department of Economic Development.

However, he took a break from his civil service job in the Isle of Man and went on secondment to Sark in the Channel Islands.

{http://www.iomtoday.co.im/news/isle-of-man-news/key-government-official-seconded-to-isle-of-sark-1-4961967|Click here for a story about his secondment}

He was previously the chief executive officer at the former departments of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and Tourism and Leisure.

At the top of his new in-tray is the long-running bus dispute.

His department is responsible for the nationalised Bus Vannin service.

There will be two flights to London City Airport a day from the Isle of Man from March 2014, the government this afternoon confirmed after representatives held talks with airline BA CityFlyer.

On Monday, the Isle of Man Examiner revealed that BA CityFlyer had decided to cut the number of daily flights on the Isle of Man to London City service to one a day, with effect from September.

Officials from the Department of Economic Development and Department of Infrastructure have been working together in discussions with the airlines over the London routes.

A spokesman said: ‘In summary, it is expected that from March 2014 BA CityFlyer will provide two return flights per weekday to London City while easyJet will provide two return flights per week day to Gatwick.

‘These flights will be on larger jet aircraft than the turboprop aircraft currently utilised by Flybe to Gatwick and BA CityFlyer to City. As a result, good air links and capacity should be maintained.’

BA CityFlyer have been operating the London City service for just over a year and currently operates the route by leasing a Saab 2000 aircraft (50 passengers) and crew from Eastern Airways.

While passenger numbers are meeting their forecast expectations and are significantly higher than was previously achieved to London City, the average income per passenger is well below BA CityFlyer’s target levels at this stage.

From September 2, it is expected that BA CityFlyer will operate one midday flight, Sunday to Thursday, and a morning flight on Fridays and Saturdays, using one of their Embraer 170 jet aircraft from London City, which carries 76 passengers.

The government says that there will be a minimum of six flights a day on weekdays to London during the autumn and the beginning of 2014.

These are the four Flybe flights to Gatwick, one easyJet flight to Gatwick and one BA London City flight.

In addition, on some week days there is also a seventh flight to London Luton with Flybe. At the weekend, there is one fewer Flybe flight to Gatwick each day.

The departments are in discussions with easyJet regarding a second flight into Gatwick from the end of March next year, when the Flybe slots are transferred to easyJet. EasyJet have already offered some timings on a second rotation each day, however they are looking to try to improve upon them.

A government spokesman said: ‘For for next summer, from the end of March, it is expected that there will be four jet flights per weekday to London (plus a Flybe Luton flight on some days), two flights to Gatwick and two flights to London City.’

Minister for Infrastructure David Cretney MHK said: ‘Naturally I am disappointed that the London City route is not doing as well as hoped, and I understand the complicated background to this, however I fully understand BA CityFlyer’s decision to reduce flights during the winter. I am encouraged that they are already developing plans for next spring and I am sure both residents and visitors will be pleased to see a jet on the route.

‘The department is still waiting for finalised timings from easyJet regarding flights into Gatwick next year, however London City is vital for our business connections to London so we are working closely with the Department of Economic Development and BA CityFlyer regarding these flight changes. In addition, we are working together on trying to secure the start of a Glasgow service and I hope that there will be more news on this opportunity very shortly.’

Minister for Economic Development John Shimmin MHK said: ‘We appreciate that air links to London are vital to the island and for the business community the link to London City at convenient times is key.

‘I share David’s disappointment about the reduced service to London City this winter, but we are confident that the plans we are discussing with both BA CityFlyer and easyJet will ensure the Isle of Man continues to have the air links to London we need with at least four flights every week day. I am also keen to see a service to Scotland resumed shortly. We are working with the airlines to finalise plans so that we can make further announcements to reassure the travelling public soon.’

It is expected that BA CityFlyer will use the leased Eastern aircraft and crew on another route from the end of August, and it is hoped that the spring/summer 2014 schedule will be released in a few weeks’ time.

At the same time, both departments are involved in discussions with an airline regarding starting a Glasgow route, operating one flight a day initially from the autumn, with the intention of moving to two flights per weekday from the end of March. Loganair stopped operating the service from the end of June.

Flybe has also confirmed this week that it is shortening the summer seasonal route to Southampton.

This route does not operate in the winter, so Flybe’s decision is to bring forward the date when this route will end for this year, not to cease the route entirely.

The government spokesman said: ‘The decision is disappointing, however it is only operating three days a week and passenger numbers have been low.

‘Passengers will be offered a refund or routing through Manchester. Discussions are ongoing with Flybe regarding Southampton for summer 2014, when it will no longer operate on the Gatwick route, as there are many business passengers who route through Gatwick and onward to the south coast.’

The government hopes to have confirmation of timings by the end of July.

Mark Cavendish’s hopes of a Tour de France double were dashed by Andre Griepel as the Lotto-Belisol man sprinted to stage six victory on Thursday.

Cav, who had claimed his 24th TDF stage win just 24 hours earlier on Wednesday’s stage from Cagnes-sur-Mer to Marseille, ended up finishing fourth after his green jersey rival’s well-worked leadout gave him the edge at the conclusion of the 176km dash between Aix-en-Provence and Montpellier.

The Manx Missile had done well to get himself back into contention for the stage honours after getting caught up in a crash with just over 30km left to go.

After a rapid bike change and some sterling work from Omega Parma-Quick Step team-mate Jerome Pineau, Cav was soon back up with the peleton and it wasn’t long before the OPQS hit the front ahead of the expected sprint finish.

However, as the finish in the southern French city approached, Lotto jostled into prime position as Cav’s leadout began to fragment.

The Manxman did his best to overhaul Griepel and sprint rivals Peter Sagan and Marcel Kittel in the final 500m push for the line, but he was left with too much to do as he had to settle for fourth.

Sagan, who finished second remains in the Green Jersey as the Tour heads into the mountains, Cavendish trailing him in the sprint standings by 40 points as the event heads towards the Pyrenees.

Cav’s stage win on Wednesday means he is now just one behind Andre Leducq - who won the Tour twice in the 1930s - in the all-time list of stage wins and moves the Manx Missile to within 10 of the legendary Eddy Merckx.

Cav’s Isle of Man compatriot Peter Kennuaugh continues to impress during his first tour.

The Onchan man has been a key member of the Team Sky outfit trying to secure the Yellow Jersey for Chris Froome. The latter is seventh in the General Classification standings, while Peter is inside the top 20 of the White Jersey standings for the best under-26 rider.

The Isle of Man cricket team flies to England on Saturday to compete in the ICC Europe Division One Championship which is being held in Sussex.

This is a massive challenge for the Manx who last year were promoted to the top flight when they won Division Two in Greece.

There are six changes to that squad, some caused by injury and players being unavailable. The newcomers are Matt Ansell, Chris Hawke, Jaco Jansen, Luke Lacey, Adam McAuley and Carl Wagstaffe.

On Sunday the side have a warm-up match against Middleton, which is just outside Bognor Regis.

The tournament begins the next day and the Manx could not have been a tougher start. Their opponents are Denmark, who won Division One last time out and are one of the favourites to take the title again. Two years ago the Isle of Man met the Danes in the final of the ICC Under-19 Division Two.

This was played at King William’s College and Denmark won by 60 runs.

The Isle of Man did very well to bowl them out for 140, but in reply some great spin bowling led to their dismissal for 80.

It is interesting that four of the Manx players from that game are in the Sussex squad as are four of the Danes. Notably Raja Javed is selected and many will remember he bowled eight tight overs to take 2 -11.

The Manx members from that final are Dan Hawke, Alex Stokoe, Carl Wagstaffe and Matt Ansell. He is still only 18, while Adam McAuley is 17.

There are 12 nations competing in what will be an exciting and prestigious tournament.

This is the highest level at which an Isle of Man team has competed and will be an enormous test.

The games are on first class grounds with the final going ahead under floodlights at the county ground at Hove.

The top two nations progress to the World T20 qualifiers in the United Arab Emirates during November.

l Don’t miss our interview with island cricket coach Gareth Dawson in Monday’s Isle of Man Examiner.

CRICKET RESULTS

Standard Bank Cain League

Castletown A 141 for 6 (Gayan Dissanayke 44, Richard Corke 31 : Floris Venter 2 -34, Harry Rothwell 1 -9); Crosby A 142 for 7 (Danny Kniveton 37, Cristo Roelofse 33 : Andrew Ronan 3 -24, Mark Williams 2 -25). Crosby won by three wickets (in the last over).

Ramsey 137 A (Eddie Cleator 30, Grant Atchison 18 : Phil Littlejohns 2 -10, Tom Gascoyne 2 -21); Peel and St John’s A 128 (Chris Hawke 42, Greg Hawke 20 : Tom Moffatt 2 -13, Brian Arnold 2 -22). Ramsey won by nine runs.

Peel and St John’s A v Castletown A/Ramsey A v Cronkbourne A abandoned without a ball being bowled (rain). One point to each side.

Standard Bank Forrester Division Two

Castletown C 176 for 2 (Dave Griffiths 73no, Mark Finnie 63no : Graham Roberts 1 -27); Grasshoppers 116 for 5 (Graham Roberts 46no, Chris Wade 31 : Andrew Ronan 1 -1 [from four overs], Stephen Eppleston 1 -15). Castletown won by 60 runs.

Under-14 League

Cronkbourne 268 (Matty Kneale 36, Sam Mills 31 : James Raatgever 2 -29, Seth Aycock 2 -42, Jack Humphries 2 -42); Castletown 125 (Charlie Beard 9, Ruben Harris 7, Alex Watson 7 : Jack Gerrard 3 -5, Nick Wild 2 -6). Cronkbourne won by 143 runs.

St John’s kicked off the inaugural Tynwald Hill International Football Tournament in style with a 3-0 victory over Raetia on Thursday afternoon.

Following an opening ceremony in which the visiting islands were treated to some Manx culture, the hosts got the competition underway at a sun-kissed Mullen-e-Cloie and wasted no timing in stamping their authority on the game.

While there were no clear chances during the opening throes of the contest, the game sprang into life just before the quarter-hour mark when the Saints went close no fewer than three times.

First Stephen Glover rose to meet a Nick Hurt free-kick but headed wide at the back post before, moments later, a poor clearance from Raetia goalkeeper Patric Theus went straight to the striker but his effort was superbly repelled by the visiting shot-stopper.

And less than a minute later a scuffed shot found its way to marauding centre-back Craig Dolman inside the box but, just when he looked certain to score, Theus somehow diverted the ball past the post.

However, it wasn’t long before the first goal of the tournament arrived. Another set-piece from Hurt, this time a corner, was met by the head of Andrew Chadwick who nodded it goalwards where John Wrigley was on hand to glance it past the Raetia No1.

The Saints doubled their lead right on the stroke of half-time and again Wrigley was heavily involved. The veteran midfielder latched onto a loose ball inside the area and was brought down by Raetia full-back Simon Fontana, thus referee Neshko Marinov had no choice but to point to the spot.

Up stepped player-manager Hurt who coolly sent Theus the wrong way to give his side a two-goal cushion at the interval.

After the break, though, Raetia came out fighting and were given a golden opportunity to pull a goal back when they were awarded a penalty of their own when striker Mirko Osvald was bundled over by Dolman and Nick Leung.

However, Fontana sent the resulting spotkick high and wide of Damyan Petkov’s goal and the Saints remained 2-0 to the good.

A raft of substitutions by both teams disrupted the flow of the game somewhat, but Raetia continued to take the game to the hosts a lot more than in the opening half. Standing in their way, though, was a resolute St John’s defence and goalkeeper, the latter of which did well to keep his goal intact on several occasions following efforts by Cafer Yildirim.

St John’s put the result beyond doubt with 12 minutes remaining when another corner reached Johnny Holland near the penalty spot and, despite his effort being inadvertently blocked by team-mate Glover, substitute Ste Martins was on hand to rifle the ball into the back of the net,

Raetia’s - and particulary Fontana’s - misery was compounded late on when the full-back was given his second yellow card and his marching orders following a mistimed tackle on Tony Duggan.

Despite that, the visitors still mustered up a few late chances through Yildirim, Sandro Dietrich and Alistair Jarvis but Petkov was in fine form and kept all their efforts out superbly as St John’s ran out comfortable 3-0 winners.

An excellent day all around for Malcolm Blackburn, Nick Hurt and everyone involved in St John’s. If you get a chance, get down to Mullen-e-Cloie, soak in the sun (hopefully) as well as the atmosphere and enjoy a feast of football over the next few days.

The police are looking for patriotic thieves.

Two Manx flags from the area of Strathallan Crescent, Douglas, between 10pm on Wednesday and 9.30am yesterday (Thursday).

Police say they are particularly looking for witnesses who may have been in the area at around midnight.

Anyone with information should to contact Constable Will Blitcliffe or any police officer at the Lord Street police station on 631426.

Two injury time goals, including one from the penalty spot, got Tamil Eelam’s Tynwald tournament campaign up and running in dramatic fashion with an entertaining 5-3 win over Sealand on Thursday evening at Mullen-e-Cloie.

Tamil’s pacey front line spearheaded by Panushanth Kulenthiran gave the South Asian outfit the majority of the group A encounter’s early pressure. The former AS Roma striker soon making his presence felt producing a sublime finish to give his side a ninth-minute lead.

Tamil continued to look composed on the ball, but Sealand gradually settled and the imposing figure of Jamie Williams began to pose a threat at the other end of the pitch.

Sealand’s more direct approach paid off in the 28th minute when Sam Churchman’s deft header drew the principality level.

Tamil hit back and dangerman Kulenthiran again underlined his predatory skills in and around the box with a lovely curling finish that put his side back in front just after the half-hour mark.

Ragesh Nambiar’s team’s lead lasted barely a minute, however, as debutant Dave Lee turned in Josh Killen’s knock down.

The two sides turned around level, but with the words of manager Julian Dicks ringing in their ears it was Sealand who began the period on the front foot and edged in ahead after just five minutes of the half.

Skipper Luke Wilson, who had impressed at the heart of the Sealand back four, drilled in a free kick from 25 yards to give his side the lead for the first time in the encounter.

Two fine saves from Sealand keeper Thomas McIntosh kept his side’s nose in front until the 73rd minute when Tamil’s Germany-based Majouran Jeganathan turned in a corner from the left.

At 3-3 the game looked finely poised with both sides looking to gain the initiative in an frantic and open last 10 minutes.

A draw looked on the cards until the game entered injury time when Tamil were awarded a penalty kick by Manx referee Ian Fisher. Sealand’s stern and vocal protests fell on deaf ears and substitute Mathanraj Uthayanan coolly slotted home from the spot to send the passionate Tamil support into raptures.

Sealand surged forward in search of an equaliser, throwing keeper McIntosh forward for a late, late corner. However, Tamil broke clear Ragvan Prashanth running the ball into the unguarded net to rubber stamp his side’s win.

The Tynwald tournament continues today, with hosts St John’s facing Alderney at 3pm and competition favourites Occitania taking on Sealand at 7pm.

Police are appealing for residents of Lonan, and in particular Croit-e-Quill Road, to check their vehicles and outbuildings to see if anything is missing.

Officers say they are now in possession of property suspected to have been stolen in the area overnight last night (Thursday/Friday) and are urging residents to report any suspected loss.

Members of Tynwald will next week be asked to approve up to £750,000 repairing and refurbishing Ramsey’s swingbridge.

More on this story in Monday’s Isle of Man Examiner.

The Wizard’s Express returns on Saturday, July 14, when Junior Achievement holds its second Harry Potter charity event at Hogwarts-for-the-day King William’s College.

A potent mix of potion, wand making and transfiguration classes, sorting hat ceremony, golden snitch hunt and care of magical creatures sessions will make for a wizard day from 10am to 4.30pm when Harry Potter fans are invited to come dressed as their favourite character.

Junior Achievement chief executive Sue Cook said: ‘The 2012 Harry Potter event was a great success but this year it’s going to be even bigger and better. Once again Isle of Man Bus and Rail and King William’s College have been tremendously supportive and we’re also grateful to the volunteers who’ve come forward to help create what’s going to be a fantastic atmosphere.’

A £10 ticket for children or £15 for adults buys a seat on the Wizard’s Express, courtesy of Isle of Man Bus and Rail, the ‘knight’ bus from Ballasalla and all activities at King William’s College. (Entry into King William’s College excluding train and bus transport costs £7 per person).

Tickets available from the Welcome Centre at the Sea Terminal or call 600555.

A family from the South West of England made a holiday trip to the island especially to sail on the pleasure boat Karina.

Seventy-six-year-old Michael Turpitt, his wife Doreen and with daughter and son-in-law Tricia and Andy Mugridge travelled from Plymouth, Devon, and Frome, Somerset, for a holiday in the Isle of Man.

Michael Turpitt’s mother, Winifred, was the company secretary of the firm that had the Karina built in 1946, the Oreston and Turnchapel Steamboat Company Ltd of Plymouth.

Michael’s grandfather, Mr C C Elford, was chairman of the company and his uncle Harry Elford the managing director.

The Karina was originally called the May Queen and she was built at Dartmouth in 1946, to replace an earlier steam-powered May Queen which was sunk at Plymouth during the war.

Michael was on board for the maiden voyage at Plymouth in July 1946, when family members, friends and shareholders made a trip in the new boat.

He is pictured as a nine-year-old boy with his brother and sister, leaning against the rail on the May Queen’s maiden voyage (just to the left of the name board). In the second picture, taken 67 years later, he is standing in the exact same position, with his family, and Captain Stephen Carter, head of the Laxey Towing Company Ltd which owns the Karina today.

Michael Turpitt presented Captain Carter with a painting of the May Queen at Plymouth Hoe, which he had painted himself.

The trip was organised by his daughter Tricia Mugridge, who the previous year had done much ‘detective’ work, having heard that the May Queen was still afloat and working in the Isle of Man and had made contact with Captain Carter.

Michael was surprised at how few alterations had been made to the boat since 1946 and complimented the owners the still excellent condition of the vessel.