The airports and harbours divisions of the Department of Infrastructure have been merged.

Minister David Cretney MHK said despite the change, it would be ‘business as usual’ for staff in both divisions.

He said that initially, the merger will be an ‘interim situation’ while work continues regarding the review of the structure and Scope of Government.

Ann Reynolds, who previously held the position of airport director, will lead the new division as the new ports director from today (Thursday).

Announcing the change, Mr Cretney said: ‘I do believe that bringing these two divisions together under one director is a policy change that fits well with the ongoing work of making Government more efficient.

‘And whilst this is an interim position at the start, I am sure that this will proceed well, given the independent overview I commissioned before taking this step.’

The move follows the retirement of Captain Michael Brew.

He spent more than 30 years as director of harbours.

Mr Cretney said: ‘I wish Captain Brew a happy retirement and thank him for his years within the department, and wish Ann Reynolds good luck with the new Ports Division.

‘I believe that bringing the two teams of people together, under one director, is the right thing to do.’

The Minister said that he had ‘decided to retain political oversight of this change in the time ahead to ensure a smooth transition’.

Island manager Steve Burns has said preparations are going to plan ahead of the Men’s Inter-League Cup first round tie with Cumberland.

Burns and a 20-man squad travel away to the north west this weekend to take on non-league outfits Curzon Ashton and Salford City.

The two friendlies come on the back of Saturday’s 2-0 win over West Didsbury and Chorlton at the Bowl, a result the island supremo was pleased with as the line-up was missing several key regulars:

‘Considering that we only had two meaningful practice sessions ahead of the game and West Didsbury were right at the end of their pre-season preparations we were happy with the result.

‘You also have to take into account that we had a very young and inexperienced team on display with the average age of only 23. There were a host of things we could have done better, but in patches we looked decent.’

The former Corinthians and Rushen coach added: ‘The purpose of these two weekends is to give everyone at least one game, although with unavailability and injury some players are doubling up which is hopefully good for them and it allows us, as a management team, more opportunities to assess them in a match environment.’

The squad is still missing players this weekend namely Dan Bell and James McStay who are both away. Conor Doyle, who is back in the island after completing his studies in the US, also misses out after picking up a knock on Saturday, while Laxey frontman Mark Wolfenden is also sidelined. Rushen centre-back Adam Cregeen is not 100 per cent after a recent bout of illness while Chris Bass Jr is having a short break from the island squad as he prepares for his wedding later this month.

Those travelling will be eager to put in a good performance and stake their claim for a place in the squad ahead of the Inter-League Cup trip to Workington.

Squad: Grant Dawson, Joe Kelly, Julian Ringham, Chris Cannell, Sean Quaye, Louis Thornton, Karl Clark, Johnny Myers, Andy Crennell, Stephen Riding, Marc Kelly, Matty Woods, Frank Jones, Liam Cowin, Josh Thomas, Ashley Webster, Ciaran McNulty, Lee Gale, Sam Caine, Calum Morrissey.

Discussions are continuing to resolve the problem of delayed ferry sailings caused recently by lack of out-of-hours diving cover.

On Monday morning the Ben my Chree suffered almost an hour’s delay after rope became entangled in its propellers. The 2.15am sailing from Heysham last Sunday had to be cancelled because of the problem.

Just over three weeks ago the Ben my Chree suffered a similar problem when discarded fishing gear was found entagled in the boat’s propellers on a Sunday morning.

Again no diving cover was available because of changes introduced by the Department of Infrastructure. On this occasion the ship’s crew called for assistance from the visiting Royal Navy minesweeper HMS Brocklesby, whose dive team removed the tangled fishing gear.

The changes, introduced in March were estimated to produce a £35,000 per year saving after the department decided full out-of-hours cover was not required.

Following the latest incident, Steam Packet chief executive Mark Woodward said: ‘We met the Department of Infrastructure on Monday and the hope is that we can jointly arrive at a solution that works for both the Steam Packet Company and the DOI.’

The former White Hoe children’s secure unit on the outskirts of Douglas was relaunched this week by Social Care Minister Chris Robertshaw.

The unit which is run on behalf of the government by the St Christopher’s charity, offers community-based support and education as well as secure accommodation for children and young people who are in trouble with the police, on remand or at risk of harm.

To mark the reopening it has been renamed Cronk Sollysh, which in Manx Gaelic means Hill of Light.

In June last year the Manx Independent reported the unit was reducing its bed spaces and Unite union regional industrial organiser Steve Salter said he believed vulnerable youngsters could be put at risk as a result. After writing to St Christopher’s to outline his concerns, Mr Salter said St Christopher’s had told him the Department of Social Care had asked them to look at ways of making savings.

He told the Manx Independent: ‘The fact this is a service we may need at some point in the future and it may lead to vulnerable young people not getting the care they require.’

But the latest statement from the Department of Social Care said there had been a reduction in the number of young people needing secure care and the new service was to provide secure accommodation along with education and support to reintegrate them into society.

The new facility offers three bed spaces but it can be increased to a maximum of seven – the capacity of the original unit – at short notice if demand dictates.

St Christopher’s head of children’s residential services Steve Taylor said the unit had housed no more than three young people between 10 and 18 in recent years so it made better practical sense to use the space more productively.

The new services offered for children in care and other vulnerable youngsters, as well as those resident at the unit include family mediation, restorative justice programmes, where offenders put something back into the community, group work on personal safety and building self confidence.

There is also support from teaching staff giving help with homework, careers advice, further education choices and accredited lifeskills training covering everything from time management to cookery.

Mr Taylor said the alterations had been designed to allow them to revert easily to seven beds if required.

‘The key now is community work and kids who are not resident can benefit, not just a select few.’

The Isle of Man’s Post Office is the first in the world to produce Royal memorabilia stamps to commemorate the birth of Prince George .

The main item will be a limited edition of 500 Postal Tribute, which contains a cover with gold-foil postmark, birth announcement card and a mint sheet of stamps, priced £25.

There is also a silver-foiled special commemorative envelope available for £8,50, which features stamps of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge accompanied by details of the birth of HRH Prince George of Cambridge.

A special feature of this product is that there are two unique postmarks, namely ‘Royal Avenue’ and ‘Windsor Road’.

Enclosed in the cover envelope is a dedicated information card with a specially commmissioned text by leading royal journalist and biographer Claudia Joseph.

The stamps and birth announcement are also available on a sheet priced at £8.

The general manager of Isle of Man Stamps and Coins, Maxine Cannon, said: ‘As this is such a historic occassion we wanted to issue royal baby souvenirs in celebration.

‘The products are bound to be popular with collectors of Royal memorabilia around the world and I’m sure the news of the royal baby will be one of those moments in your life when you will always remember where you were when you first heard it,’ added Ms Cannon.

‘We will be sending a special cover to William and Catherine’s home at Kensington Palace as well as to the parents of the four babies who were born on the the Isle of Man on Monday, July 22, in celebration that the birth of their child coincided with the much anticipated delivery of the Royal couple’s baby boy.’

George Alexander Louis Cambridge was born in the Lindo Wing of Queen Mary’s Hospital, Paddington, at 4.24pm on July 22 and weighed 8lbs 6oz.

To buy the stamps or for more information visit www.iompostoffice.com/stamps/Issue.aspx?productid=1206&categoryid=270

Customers can also buy the special products at the post office on Regent Street, Douglas, although it won’t be available at the island’s other post offices.

l What do you think? Is this a good way of raising money and the island’s profile?

opinions@newsiom.co.im

Kathryn and Reggie Berrie, proprietors of the Victorian guest house, Aaron House, won Isle ofMan Newspapers’ Awards for Excellence Quality of Customer or Client Offer in 2007.

As nominations flood in for this year’s event, they explain how quality and high standards have been key to the success of their business…

‘Friendliness, care, anticipating their needs and using the best Manx produce we can possibly find,’ is how Kath Berrie sums up their award-winning customer offering.

Aaron House is like a little time capsule, a step back in time to the days before Facebook and mobile phones and meals bought ready-prepared in a foil tray. Overlooking Port St Mary’s Chapel Bay, it harks back to the days when people sat down around a table to eat home cooked food and life was somehow a lot simpler.

These views are stunning, all the rooms are immaculate, the welcome is delightful and the food is top quality – it all adds up to a recipe that makes guests want to come back for more.

Kath, who does all the cooking, uses locally-sourced, organic, where possible, and sometimes home-grown produce and everything from the bread and cakes to the jams, marmalade and cordials is made in her kitchen.

She and Reggie greet guests in Victorian dress, Kath in black with a white mob cap and apron, Reggie in a waistcoat and bow tie.

Reggie is the talker. He loves nothing better than welcoming guests and encouraging them to chat to one another at meal times. It’s not just socialising, he explains, it enhances their holiday experience because they tell each other where on the island they have each been that day, and where they recommend.

Reggie is also the one who keeps all the authentic Victorian bedrooms immaculately clean: ‘I love cleaning!’ he says.

When he and Kath bought Aaron House it had been used for many years simply as an annexe providing extra bedrooms for the guest house next door. That meant that little had been done to the décor and fittings so it still retained all of its original Victorian charm and atmosphere. Reggie and Kath have added some carefully chosen detail to this, with authentically aged wallpaper and collections of old black and white and sepia photographs on the walls.

They also brought the extra ingredient of hospitality. The welcome begins the moment a guest walks up the steps in through the front door. Reggie and Kath will be there to greet them and Kath will have the kettle on and home-made cake at the ready.

In addition to the bread and cakes, Kath is also responsible for making the award-winning Berrie’s Christmas pudding – as sold by Fortnum and Mason – and their son, Karl, is a chocolatier with his own brand of exclusive chocolates, Cocoa Red. The care that is taken in sourcing the ingredients reflects in the quality of the finished product.

Reggie says: ‘If you go that extra mile for the customer, it’s well worth it. Kath puts herself out 100 per cent to give guests the best of what’s here..’

Are you proud of the quality and standard of your company’s products and services? Why not let everyone know by entering this year’s Awards for Excellence?

The 16 categories include awards for businesses, public sector and charitable organisations. Then there are the individual categories, for Business Person of the Year, Young Achiever of the Year and Volunteer of the Year – maybe you know someone whose contribution to the local community deserves to be recognised?

Every year, the standard of entries is consistently high and the prestige of winning even higher. To say nothing of the glamour of being part of such a glittering occasion, with comprehensive newspaper coverage both in the lead-up to the prize presentation and on the night itself.

This year’s Awards night takes place on November 21. The event will be compered by Hugh Dennis, star of the hit TV comedy ‘Outnumbered’, and screened live via the web to a worldwide audience.

For further details on how to enter the awards, contact Trudi Williamson at Isle of Man Newspapers on 695695.

iomtoday.co.im/afe

A batch of fake Manx £20 notes are in circulation in the island.

A police spokesman said: ‘The notes are printed on inferior quality paper and the edges are not cut uniformly.

‘On some of the notes there is a visible, black vertical line evident down the right hand edge of the note (when viewed from the rear side).

‘Please contact us at police headquarters via 631212 if you have any information or are passed one of the counterfeit bank notes.’

The island’s ports bosses have issued a warning about ‘tombstoning’.

The ports division of the Department of Infrastructure has issued a press release urging members of the public to be aware of the dangers of playing near harbours, particularly if this involves jumping into or swimming in a harbour.

It reads: ‘The department is concerned that members of the public, particularly children and young people are unaware of the dangers from boats manoeuvring, the shock that can occur from entering cold water suddenly and the hazard presented by not knowing the depth of water.

‘Jumping from harbour breakwaters or piers is sometimes referred to as “tombstoning” because of the risky nature of this activity. Although we have been fortunate in the Isle of Man not to have had any serious accidents, this is not the case in the UK where there have been several well publicised incidents of people suffering severe injury or worse, as a result.’

Rowany golfer Tom Gandy produced an outstanding performance when competing in the qualifying rounds of the English Amateur Golf Championship at Frilford Heath Golf Club in Oxfordshire.

A total of 288 of the top amateur golfers contested the 36-hole qualifying from which only 64 would progress to the match play stages.

With rounds of 70 and 69 for a five-under-par total of 139 over Monday and Tuesday, Tom finished in 13th place to easily make it through in a quality field which includes England’s top amateur golfers.

Also contesting the event was Castletown Golf Club’s Tom Harris who had rounds of 74 and 76 to finish in 173rd place .

Another player with Manx connections reached the matchplay as well, Seb Crookall-Nixon (now of Workington Golf Club) with rounds of 69 and 72.

In the next stage of the event Gandy was drawn to play Matt Kippe while Crookall-Nixon was drawn against Nick Marsh.

After a closely fought battle at the New England Forest Rally Manx rally driver David Higgins came up just 6.5 seconds short of victory, settling for second place and valuable Rally America Championship points.

Higgins, the defending champion, was locked in a head-to-head fight with key rival Ken Block throughout the event.

Driving his BFGoodrich Tires-shod 2013 Subaru WRX STI rally car Higgins and co-driver Craig Drew mounted a late rally surge and went fastest on seven of the nine stages held on the final day of competition but simply ran out of stage miles, ending the event just seconds behind the leader.

Representing round five of the Rally America National Championship, the New England Forest Rally featured 120 miles of technical gravel forest roads along the Maine-New Hampshire border.

The event is notorious for its challenging combination of both smooth high-speed roads as well as very rough rocky roads, which can test the limits of durability and strength of competitors’ cars.

‘It was a really good battle,’ explained Higgins who now lives in Wales.

‘Our Subaru was perfect all weekend and we only lost time on the roughest stage of the rally where we maybe drove too conservatively. We simply ran out of stages as we reeled Ken (Block) in. I’m happy to have the points toward the championship and really looking forward to the next rally now!’

Higgins and co-driver Drew spent the majority of the rally within 16 seconds of gymkhana specialist Block before dropping time on the longest and roughest stage of the event mid-way through the final day. Higgins and Drew then began charging back, beating or tying Block on each of the final five stages and lowering the deficit from 43 seconds down to just six and half seconds. But the duo ran out of stage miles, settling for second overall and remaining atop the championship standings.

Higgins and the Subaru Rally Team USA will tackle the next round of the championship, the Muscatell Ojibwe Forests Rally, on August 23-24.

Before that Higgins will join fellow Manxie David Knight at this weekend’s Los Angeles X Games.

Ballaugh man Knight has confirmed that he’ll take his place on the Enduro X start line for the final stop of the X Games world tour after recovering from a troublesome wrist injury.

‘I’m looking forward to racing again,’ confirmed Knight to Enduro 21.com.

‘It’s been a long couple of months recovering from my injury but I’m happy to back on a bike.’

‘Unfortunately my injury was a little more complicated than I first realised.’

‘Everyday I’ve been having physio on it and gradually we’ve got it back to a stage where it’s ok to race again.

‘I’ll have some pain when I ride but I can deal with that.’

The event will also mark the first time he’ll race in Los Angeles – the birthplace of the X Games.

‘X Games Los Angeles is the big one.

‘It’s where it all started so I’m really looking forward to getting there.

‘I honestly don’t know where I’ll fit in. I haven’t been racing whereas these guys are very much on the pace.’

Higgins’ brother Mark won the second round of the Chinese Rally Championship recently. Mark’s victory the Zhangye Rally keeps up his 100 per cent record in this year’s series, the Manxman coming home 64 seconds ahead of former World Production Champion Niall McShea.

The rally was suspended for a time on day two when a microlight aircraft hit power lines and crashed, killing a press photographer.

While some of their team-mates competed in the NatWest Island Games in Bermuda, the island’s women’s tennis team of Lucy Kerr, Laura Gardner, Hannah Snidal, Rosie Manuja, Justine Torry, Kirree Ronan and Sarah Breed travelled to Altrincham to compete in the Aegon Summer County Cup.

The Manx team faced Herefordshire and Worcestershire on the first day and produced some good grass-court doubles from the first pair of Kerr and Gardner. This play was matched by the second pair of Manuja and Torry and third string of Ronan and Breed.

Manuja and Torry played particularly well in their second match of the day against Herefordshire and Worcestershire’s third pair and convincingly won the first set 6/3.

Despite the Manx pair fighting back after losing the second set 6/1, Herefordshire and Worcestershire clinched the match by taking the final set 6/4, winning the tie 9-0 overall.

The second day saw the Manx team take on Durham and Cleveland who proved to be very tough opposition. Although each match was closely fought, the island’s players were unable to secure any rubbers and were defeated 9-0 overall, with Durham and Cleveland going on to be eventual group winners.

On the final day of play the Manx team faced Cumbria, and although rain caused some delays and prevented play on the grass courts, the matches were able to go ahead on artificial grass courts instead.

The first pair of Gardner and Snidal got the team off to a great start against Cumbria’s seconds winning the first set 6/2. The second set was much tighter and was narrowly won by Cumbria 7/5, but the Manx pair showed their determination to secure a victory coming back from 5/2 down in the final-set tie-break to win the match 6/2, 5/7, 7/6(7/5).

Second pair Manuja and Torry almost forced their match against Cumbria’s second pair to a third-set decider, but despite some great play they were defeated 6/2, 7/5.

The Manx third pair of Ronan and Breed played some excellent tennis throughout the day but were unable to convert this to a victory, with Cumbria taking an 8/1 win over the Manx team.

Having been promoted last season the opposition this year proved too strong for the Manx. The team are looking forward to next year’s event, determined to win back their place in the higher group.

Isle of Man Football Association’s Centre of Excellence under-11 to u15 boys’ squads recently competed in the Keele International Cup 2013.

The event offered a competitive tournament challenge for teams from home and overseas who play at Centre of Excellence, academy, elite and development club standard.

The 2013 tournament had more than 300 teams participating from 25 nations.

All Isle of Man age groups squads competed very well over the week in the boys’ youth section.

The u11s team topped their group, only to narrowly lose out 4-2 to a strong and experienced Beechfield FC team in a very exciting final.

It was a very close affair and strong performances from a range of North West Academy-based players (playing for Beechfield in the tournament) gave them the edge in a hotly- contested final.

The u12s performed well and most notably had strong results against several UK clubs and a Nigerian team.

The u13s produced extremely good displays as a squad participating against teams in strong international group.

After impressive performances against an Italian and a Canadian team, the squad were very unfortunate to lose out to a Welsh team in the plate final.

The u14s showed strong character and spirit in a difficult group and produced their strongest performance on the final day against a team from Ottawa in Canada.

The boys u15s performed brilliantly over the course of the week, with very strong performances against UK club sides and a Norweigan outfit.

The best tactical battle and win came against a well experienced Palm Beach Soccer Academy from the USA. The Manx u15s squad went on to win on finals day against Maddeley Whitestar from the UK with a convincing 3-0 victory in the final.

IoMFA Centre of Excellence director Lewis Qualtrough commented: ‘A special thank you has to be directed to all the squad coaches and parents who have taken the teams during their coaching program throughout the year and whilst away at this tournament.

‘This trip proved again to be an excellent experience for the players and coaches alike. It is great to see all squads outdoing their previous performances from last year with three of the squads making the finals.

‘I would also like to thank the sponsors who contributed to the trip, most notably Kreston Isle of Man for their extended support’.

It is going to be an important weekend for Peel and St John’s.

On Saturday the western side will be hoping to narrow the gap on Cronkbourne at the top of the Standard Bank Premiership.

Then the next day they start as favourites to win the Twenty20 President’s Day at Tromode.

In the last few weeks the trophy cabinet at the Mullen-e-Cloie club has seen the arrival of the Standard Bank Tinker Cup, the Blincoe Cup and the award for coming first in the Cain League.

The team were in awesome form for last week’s defeat of Ramsey and take on Crosby in Sunday’s T20 semis. The winner goes through to the final against the victor of the Ramsey versus Cronkbourne clash.

The northern side will need to dig deep to overcome a buoyant Tromode team. They are riding high in the Premiership, holding a 20-point lead with four games left.

However, danger lurks for Cronkbourne with a tricky Karran game against Castletown. Lose this and their lead could be cut to 10 points.

Town’s Wicus Wessels has 924 runs to his credit, including one century and eight 50s, while Andrew Ronan has taken 40 wickets.

Cronkbourne could be in some difficulty and defeat would be disastrous as second-placed Peel and St John’s are expected to beat Valkyres. This might not be simple as the Douglas batsmen have passed 200 on several occasions. Tom Reader has scored 423 runs while Abdul Khan and Chris Langford are above the 300 total.

The Valkyres bowling has been a cause for concern, relying heavily on Andy Coulson whose 27 wickets are almost double that of the next highest wicket taker.

The Saints’ batsmen will punish any wayward deliveries as in the Tinker Cup final when they smote 301 for eight.

Ramsey meet Crosby in the Premiership on Saturday and the result could hinge on team selection.

Will either club hold back their key players for Sunday’s T20 finals or risk them being injured in the league?

Both teams are out of contention for the title, but are neck-and-neck to finish in the top four and gain entry into the end-of-season League Cup matches.

A difficult choice awaits the selectors.

l Island cricket has been saddened by the recent tragic deaths of Stu Curphey and Harold Faragher.

Both had played for Grasshoppers and Stu was also a former chairman.

His after-dinner speeches at the club’s dinners were the stuff of legends.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of both these fine men.

Between 7am and 7.30am today (Thursday), a man on Main Road, Colby, disturbed a dog attacking chickens in the rear of his garden.

The dog, described as a white springer spaniel type with a black patch on its back, had entered the garden twice and killed five chickens.

An additional chicken also had to be put down. The chickens were family pets and their loss has distressed their owners.

If you have any information that could assist, contact Constable Hills at Port Erin police on 832222 or contact the anonymous Crimestoppers line on 0800 555 111.

The ‘toughest 10km the island has ever seen’, the inaugural Tough Mann Adventure Race, takes place at the weekend

On Sunday Ballamoar Farm in Ballaugh will be home to the gruelling circuit, with hundreds set to pit themselves against the 20-obstacle ‘Dragon’s Head’ challenge.

It’ll be all hands on deck every day this week putting the final touches to the course, which will include scrambles through abandoned cars, hill climbs, hay bales, cargo nets and muddy bogs.

‘The worst of it is the climb at the start, non-stop for 2km, which is pretty horrendous,’ said co-organiser Richard Cryer. ‘But that’s the climbing done, it’s all down from there. The views at the top are unbelievable, you can see the whole island. It’s somewhere the public never get to see.’

The organisers were inspired after racing in a similar event in the Lake District last year. ‘It was superb,’ recalled Richard. ‘Super tough, but we were gutted when it was over. We thought the terrain in the island would be brilliant for it.’

This year is the test run, with a three to five year plan pencilled in. Thanks to public interest and help from the land owners and from Bushy’s, Manx Independent Carriers and 3FM, year one looks to be in good shape, and the event will also donate individuals’ sponsorship to Hospice. There were concerns that the ‘Tough Mann’ moniker may have left people assuming it was a male-only event, but they need not have worried, as the first 40 entries were all women, and the total entry is now about a 50/50 split.

There is parking on site and the ‘arena’ will have children’s entertainment, food vans, live music, and shower and toilet facilities. The course veers back towards the spectators at several points, so friends and family will see more than just the start and finish line. Runners will be set off in waves of 25-30, to avoid ‘bottlenecking’ at obstacles, with the first wave heading out at 1pm sharp.

‘The super fit will get around in about an hour and a quarter/hour and a half,’ predicted Rich. ‘Most will do it between two and two and a half hours.’

Upon crossing the line competitors will receive their victory Bushy’s beer and t-shirt, before the live-music festivities kick in. See www.facebook.com/ToughMannIOM for more.

An exhibition entitled ‘Getting to Know Printworking’ began at the Isle Gallery in Tynwald Mills, St John’s, this week.

It includes work from a handful of island artists demonstrtating printmaking.

The Isle Gallery is run by professional artists.

The Gallery was loaned to the Artists by Tynwald Mills management at the end of 2011. Due to its popularity and success the gallery will continue into 2014 with many exhibitions and workshops planned.

Among the artists currently showing work at the Isle Gallery, there is a diverse media ranging from oil, acrylic, painting, wood carving, clay ceramic, glass, limited and unlimited prints by local and international artists. There is also a wide selection of locally-produced artist greeting cards on display.

As well as monthly exhibitions The Isle Gallery also hosts children’s and adults’ painting and printmaking workshops throughout the year.

A ‘summer boot camp’ for children aged five and over is currently running on Mondays and Tuesdays till August 27, from 10am to noon. It is covering topics such as the Masters including Monet, Picasso, Georgia O’Keefe and Vincent Van Gogh.

Starting at the end of the year, there will be an exhibition of new work from two of the island’s established artists Nancy Corkish and David Byrne.

The Houlgrave family will also be exhibiting with new and retrospective works as well as Artists Catherine James, Colleen Corlett, Petrina Kent and others.

The first-ever animated film in Manx Gaelic is to be a major feature at the Festival Interceltique de Lorient in France next week.

Caarjyn as Fenee (Friends and Heroes - in English) will be shown on Thursday next week in the Auditorium du Cercle St Louis.

The unique Manx translation of the award-winning TV series is the culmination of a five-year project, only made possible with the help of many local Manx speakers on the island, who became voice-actors for the cartoon characters in the film.

‘This is “yindyssagh erskyn towse” (fantastic above all measure) and is a real breakthrough for Manx Gaelic (Gaelg),’ said Adrian Cain, Manx language officer for the Manx Heritage Foundation.

‘Each programme features a full Manx soundtrack as well as English and Manx sub‐titles, making a fantastic teaching and learning resource and helping give Manx Gaelic a much higher profile both on the island and internationally.’

Each episode of Friends and Heroes is set in the first century AD and follows the adventures of two children, Macky and Portia. As they engage in countless escapades and fight for justice across the Roman world, they share the timeless stories of the Bible and learn lessons that help them through many trials and tribulations. Each episode uses a combination of traditional hand‐drawn and stunning computer generated animation to bring the stories to life.

Caarjyn as Fenee officially launched last month as part of the annual Yn Chruinnaght festival, held on the Isle of Man.

All 13 episodes (more than five hours) of the first series are available in Manx in a four-DVD set at £20.

The Festival Interceltique de Lorient, or Inter-Celtic Festival of Lorient, is an annual Celtic festival, located in the city of Lorient, Brittany, France.

Founded in 1971, this annual festival takes place in the heart of the city every August and is dedicated to the cultural traditions of the Celtic nations, highlighting Celtic music and dance and also including other arts such as painting, photography, theatre, film, sculpture, traditional artisan as well as sport and gastronomy. To find out more about the festival go to http://www.festival-interceltique.com

With direct flights out of Ronaldsway being lost or cut back, it can sometimes feel we’re increasingly cut off here in the Isle of Man.

But that is certainly not the case, as we discovered as we set off for a whirlwind weekend break to the New Forest and Dorset’s Jurassic Coast.

Flybe withdrew direct flights to Southampton in July, just two months after the three times a week service had been relaunched.

The airline had already announced it is pulling out of Gatwick from March next year, while franchise partner Loganair last month dropped its IoM to Edinburgh and Glasgow routes.

Flybe is looking to focus its regional operation on its Manchester hub and our South Coast sojourn provided an opportunity to see how practical that is.

It was an early start for us to check in for our 7.05am flight to Manchester. Some 40 minutes later we touched down at Manchester where we had a wait of less than an hour before our onward flight to Southampton. By just after 10am, we had picked up our hire car with Enterprise Rent-a-Car and were heading west towards Dorset.

First stop was Lulworth Cove, where, under blue skies and glorious sunshine, we set off from the giant visitors’ car park to join a steady stream of walkers on a section of the white chalk switchback that is the South West Coast Path.

A stiff one and a half mile up and down hike afforded dramatic clifftop views out to a shimmering azure sea with kestrels hovering alongside and the chalk grassland alive with polka dot-patterned moths and bright blue butterflies.

Our destination was Durdle Door, the spectacular natural limestone arch which is an iconic landmark of the Jurassic Coast.

It was created as a result of softer rocks being eroded behind a hard limestone cliff. Holes in the rock around the top of the arch are the remnants of a fossilised forest where cycad trees grew 147 million years ago.

It’s a popular spot for swimming, sunbathing or clambering across the rocks – in flagrant disregard of the signs warning people to keep off the dangerous cliffs.

It’s no empty warning, walkers have to be diverted around a large fenced-off section of the coastal path nearby that slipped into the sea in a huge landslide back in April.

Retracing our steps, we took a stroll around Lulworth Cove with a well-deserved honey and stem ginger West Country ice cream.

The cove itself is a perfect horseshoe-shaped bay created, in a similar fashion to Durdle Door, by the sea hollowing out the soft clays to reach the harder rock behind.

Close by is Stair Hole, an embryonic cove in the making which in a few thousand years will be as big as its neighbour.

Here the folded limestone strata known as the Lulworth Crumple, formed by the collision of two continental plates about 30 million years ago, have been documented in countless school geology text books.

Feeling peckish but conscious of the time, we headed off again, stopping off at Corfe Castle where we tucked into a delicious Dorset cream tea in the Model Village tea room.

Having negotiated the rush hour traffic around Bournemouth, we arrived at journey’s end for the day, elegant and well-heeled Christchurch.

Our base, sadly for the one night only, was the 4 star Art Deco-styled Captain’s Club Hotel located right on the banks of the sedate River Stour.

Specially designed to take advantage of its setting, each of the hotel’s 29 bedrooms boasts a river view. Our air conditioned room was cool and comfortable, and luxuriously furnished.

Before dinner we had time to amble along the river bank at Christchurch and explore a little of the town which has been dominated by the Priory Church for more than 900 years.

We passed the beautiful green known as the Quomps, the perfect spot to soak up the sun on what was the hottest day of the year, and explored the nearby ruins of Christchurch’s Norman Castle and the delightfully restored Anglo-Saxon watermill Place Mill.

Back at the Captain’s Club, we enjoyed a fabulous meal in the Tides restuarant overlooking the riverside terrace. Service was friendly and attentive, the food first class and the Churned God cocktails ordered from the piano bar next door truly top notch.

Following breakfast, we had an appointment to keep the next morning at Norley Farm outside Lymington on the Hampshire side of the New Forest.

Here retired vet Annie Pollock devotes her time to looking after scores of giant Baudet du Poitou donkeys as well as miniature donkeys, rare breed cattle, alpacas, pigs and ponies.

With their astonishingly shaggy coats and massive ears, Baudet du Poitou are one of the oldest breeds of donkey and were once the backbone of French agriculture, used to breed giant mules. But there are now fewer than 800 in the world and it’s Annie’s aim to bring them back from the brink of extinction, Norley Farm being the only stud for these giants donkeys in the UK.

We headed off through the New Forest to Brockenhurst, taking pictures of the native ponies – including one that appeared to be waiting at a bus stop.

These animals roam freely but are not wild in the true sense as they are owned by the Commoners. There are curently around 300 Commoners who have the right to graze livestock in the open forest, a traditional right dating back to Medieval times.

Large swathes of the New Forest national park are not woodland at all but heath. The term ‘forest’ originally meant hunting ground - William the Conqueror having created the New Forest in 1079 as his giant royal pleasure park for the pursuit of deer and wild boar.

Next stop was the Tall Trees Trail at Blackwater where we wandered among towering Douglas Firs and California Redwoods planted in the late 1850s to create the Rhinefield Ornamental Drive. Here signboards point out the superlatives of the arboreal world – the tallest tree and the heaviest tree.

Back in Christchurch, we found the town heaving with trippers and with all the car parks full, we set off for Hengistbury Head, a heath and dune covered headland jutting out into the English Channel with views across to the Isle of Wight on one side and to Christchurch harbour on the other.

A land train trundles up to the head but we chose instead to walk on the path through the dunes which are peppered with archaeological remains, passing Iron Age earthworks known as the Double Dykes and the site of a Stone Age settlement on Warren Hill.

The headland ends at a narrow sandbank known as Mudeford Spit famed for its string of beach huts that command astonishing prices - one was on sale during our time there for £160,000, a price per square foot making it among some of the most expensive properties in Britain. A brisk walk back to the car and we were off again, back to Southampton airport to drop off our hire car and catch the 6.45pm flight to Manchester, landing back at Ronaldsway at 9.10pm.

That’s less than two and half hours to get back home - certainly proof that a weekend break to Dorset and New Forest is possible even with the demise of direct flights to Southampton, although of course a longer stay would always be preferable.

Manx cult duo Quarter-Pounder are releasing an album today to mark the 40th anniversary of the Summerland disaster.

The acoustic duo of Charles and Robert Peacefull are described as having a ‘penchant for relentlessly sombre tunes’.

Their album, Summerland, will be free to download from their website www.quarter-pounder.co.uk/songs.htm

On their website, they explain: ‘To mark the 40th anniversary of the disaster and in memory of the victims, Quarter-Pounder are releasing a new collection of songs.’

They began writing songs as Quarter-Pounder in 2005.

It was in part as a recovery aid for Robert, who had a long struggle with manic depression.

A service of remembrance and dedication of a memorial to mark the 40th anniversary of the Summerland fire disaster takes place tonight.

Douglas Mayor Carol Malarkey will preside over the proceedings at the Kaye Memorial Garden, in Queen’s Promenade, Douglas.

The service will be led by Archdeacon of Man Andrew Brown.

The memorial takes the form of three granite columns set into a circle of paving.

It bears the names of the 50 people – including nine children – who died.

The memorial will join the site of a stone laid by Douglas Council in August 1998 to mark the 25th anniversary of the tragedy. The service starts at 7.45pm.

A spectator area has been set aside and the Summer Hill slip road will be closed to traffic from 7pm to 9.30pm.

The fire led to the island’s biggest death toll in peace time since 1929. An inquest returned a verdict of death by misadventure, while a public inquiry found there were ‘no villains’.