The Communication Commission is inviting applicants to propose a new FM radio station to serve the Isle of Man.

The broadcast licence currently held by 3FM is due to expire in September, triggering a public tender process run by the commission.

The successful applicant will be awarded a 10-year licence to use the frequencies for broadcasting from October 1 this year.

There is no legislation that enables a current supplier to renew their contract, so all three of the existing broadcasters – 3FM, Energy FM and Manx Radio – must take part in a public tender process when their respective licences expire.

Ron Berry, 3FM’s boss, confirmed the company would apply to renew its licence.

Energy FM’s licence was renewed in July 2013 after it was the only organisation to submit a proposal.

Applications must satisfy the requirements of the Broadcasting Act 1993, which created the three licences currently in effect.

Key considerations in the process will be the ability for an applicant to maintain the proposed service for the duration of the licence, whether it would broaden the range of programming available to island audiences and whether the proposal would have an impact on existing services.

The commission may also refuse a licence if the applicant is not considered to be a ‘fit and proper person’.

Interested parties have until Monday, March 10, to submit proposals.

A new Communications Bill, which is currently being drafted and is expected to be published for public consultation by the end of the year, may allow for renewals by existing broadcasters in future.

More information and a guide to the application process can be found at the commission’s website www.iomcc.im

Measures to combat phytophthora ramorum or sudden oak death had to be put in place as quickly as possible and for that reason an off-island contractor was brought in.

This was the view expressed by Agriculture Minister Phil Gawne who was speaking in the House of Keys on Tuesday.

Mr Gawne said it was a matter of urgency to tackle the problem fast before the island’s larch trees started to sprout needles again for the coming year and he believed a specialist contractor from the UK was the answer.

‘It’s not fair to say we favoured off-island contractors above local ones and local contractors are also involved in the work,’ he said.

He added the off-island contract was due to finish on May 1 and there would then be a tendering process for local contractors to assist with the work which involves 1,400 acres of larch trees.

The start of the Six Nations usually heralds a gap in the fixture list and 2014 is no different.

With the English National leagues taking a week off, the domestic focus turns to the Shimmin Wilson Manx Trophy and Bowl competitions, with one tie in each scheduled to take place.

In the Manx Trophy, PDMS Southern Nomads face a trip to Vagabonds B for their opening game. Vagas narrowly beat Douglas B a fortnight ago and that result puts them in pole position for a spot in the final.

Nomads will, however, be keen to lay down a marker of their own after a disappointing conclusion to the Manx Shield.

They do of course also have an eye on their Cheshire Plate semi-final which is on February 22 and they’ll want some quality game time under their belts as they build up for that.

Vagas won the Shield earlier this season and, under the leadership of Matt Rockwell, they’ve been going well. A solid pack is the foundation of all good rugby sides and the Vagas B eight is as solid as they come.

Steve Mercer and Chris Neill are the tough men in the front five and the creativity has come from the outstanding Kym Tomlinson at number eight. Get outside the pack and Arno Cruywagen has been supplying the midfield muscle with Jack Rowlands’ pinpoint goal kicking making him a more than adequate replacement for the absent Johnny Beckley.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention the ‘little general’ Leigh Kennaugh who could probably command a spot in anyone’s team sheet from shirt number nine upwards. This is a quality side and no mistake.

Nomads will be looking to go with their Cheshire side as much as possible. They will undoubtedly miss Rob Keelan who is out long term, but in Harry Catlow they appear to have found a scavenging back row in the same (but perhaps a little larger) mould.

Skipper Harry Brereton is his usual combative self and the clash between him and Cruywagen in midfield will be spectacular.

If Vagas can turn out their optimum side, they may just sneak this one.

Saturday’s Fixtures

2.15pm kick-offs

Shimmin Wilson Manx Trophy

Vagabonds B v PDMS Southern Nomads

Shimmin Wilson Manx Bowl

Emerging Nomads v Ramsey B venue tbc

The Isle of Man Examiner is changing its publication date from next week.

Instead of being in the shops from Mondays, it will be in the shops on Tuesdays.

The change is being made to improve the paper, editor Richard Butt said.

‘We have been working to a Sunday deadline, which has meant that it has been harder to contact key sources of news,’ he said.

‘Changing our deadline to a weekday (Monday) will mean that our reporters will be able to get hold of people more easily at deadline time and write more comprehensive stories, so our readers will have a better paper.’

Like all local papers, the Examiner relies on enthusiasts for information for sports news. An extra day will also give them more time to help provide good coverage of the weekend’s action.

PwC Men’s Premier

Paragon Valkyrs A will be aiming to return to winning ways when they meet LJ Skye Ramsey A at the Grammar School on Saturday afternoon.

Following defeat at the hands of Bacchas A last week Will Margot will know that his Valkyrs side can’t afford to drop anymore points or their title hopes will be over.

Opponents Ramsey have enjoyed some good results lately but will find this match a much tougher challenge.

PwC Men’s Division One

Fearless Saracens A will try and extend their lead at the top of the PwC Men’s Division One when they meet HQ Harlequins in the lunchtime fixture at King William’s College.

Andrew Winstanley’s Saracens enjoyed a comfortable win over Ramsey B last week and will be hoping for another impressive performance here.

Matthew Shanahan’ s Harlequins secured their first points of the season with victory over Valkyrs B and will be aiming to cause an upset here.

PwC Men’s Division Two

Fearless Saracens B will be hoping to add to their points tally when they meet Vikings Colts in Division Two.

Saracens have made a good start to the season and will be looking for victory here.

Ian Duggua’s young Vikings side play some impressive hockey but will need to convert their chances in front of goal if they are to take the points.

PwC Women’s Premier

IOMA Group Bacchas A meet LJ Skye Ramsey A on Saturday with the former aiming for victory over as they look to close the gap on current league leaders Vikings A.

The Tromode side have made a good start to the season with their only defeat coming against Vikings. Opponents Ramsey will also be pleased with their results so far.

This should be a close game which could go either way.

PwC Women’s Division One

Paragon Valkyrs B could extend their lead at the top of the PwC Women’s Division One if they beat Fearless Saracens.

Alex Jones’s Valkyrs side have made an unbeaten start to the season and claimed victory over title rivals Castletown B last week. Saracens have been in good form in recent weeks but may find this match an uphill struggle.

PwC Mixed U16s’ League

Celton Manx Castletown will be looking to close the gap on current league leaders Vikings when they meet HQ Harlequins at Castle Rushen on Saturday afternoon.

Both sides have been in good form and should play out a close and entertaining match.

After the excitement of the FA Inter-League Cup last weekend, it’s back to domestic matter this Saturday when several cup preliminary round matches take place.

The pick of the bunch sees Laxey travel west to take on Peel at Douglas Road in the Paddy Power FA Cup in what promises to be a hard-fought contest in Sunset City.

The two sides played out a 1-1 draw in the Premier League back in November so it wouldn’t be surprising to see this tie going the distance as they battle it out for a first round clash at Onchan.

Elsewhere in the prelim round of the FA Cup, RYCOB will have their sights set on a giant-killing as they welcome grand slam-chasing St George’s to Scoill ree Gorree.

With 37 points separating the sides in the league, Geordies will be red-hot favourites to progress with ease and it would take an upset of monumental proportions for Youthie to claim a result.

There are also two games taking placing in the preliminary round of the GH Corlett Woods Cup, with Ronaldsway hosting Gymns and Ayre travelling to the Nivison Stadium to take on Onchan.

Like Geordies in the FA Cup, Gymns are overwhelming favourites to claim victory and, having dispatched the Rockets 8-1 when they last met, a comfortable win should be on the cards for the Tromode outfit again.

The other tie should be a closer affair and, although Ayre go into the match as slight favourites as they are eight points ahead in the Division Two table, the Os will be hoping to repeat the result from October when they thrashed the Tangerines on their own patch 4-0.

Kicking off half an hour later is the day’s sole match in JCK Division Two when Braddan travel to Springfield Road to face Douglas Athletic.

The hosts are 11 points clear of the Swans in the current standings and could move to within a point of the top four should they get a victory, while the visitors will be hoping to end a run of three successive defeats.

Infrastructure Minister David Cretney MHK has sought legal advice in the light of comments made on Facebook he described as hurtful and unfounded.

Mr Cretney said contributors to a website forum had made comments about ‘brown envelopes’ and ‘bungs’ in relation to the failed negotiations to set up an alternative ferry service.

He said: ‘I am told the comments could be considered defamatory and I would hope editors of websites would be more careful in policing these kinds of things.

‘I know as politicians we are supposed to be thick-skinned but I am someone who has always taken a strong stance on standards in public life. I have played a completely straight bat and tried to do whatever I could to assist.

‘I’m sure the Steam Packet would have wanted us to object but the proposal to use the harbour was legitimate.’

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We invite comments on this story, but users are urged to remain respectful and responsible at all times.

The Paddy Power FA Cup has reached its first round stage for the majority, with a host of Division Two sides aiming to pull off a shock on Saturday.

Four of the weekend’s ties pit second tier against top-flight, with the lower ranked sides hoping to garner some of the prestigious competition’s infamous magic.

A club that have sampled this before are Pulrose, who made it all the way to the 2006 final before losing to Grand Slammers Laxey.

Pully host the Premier League’s bottom side Castletown in a game that looks a potential banana skin for the southerners.

After a slow start to the season, Kevin Cowin’s team have recovered in recent weeks aided by the return to the fold of mercurial front man Dave Skillen.

If he and fellow striker Barry English are on form, Town could be in for another miserable day at the office.

At Garey Mooar, high-scoring Union Mills take on promotion hopefuls Marown.

Silver Boot contender Stuart Morris will be hoping to catch a Mills side that has yet to play this year because of postponements cold.

Just round the corner, Corinthians take on Division Two Colby.

This should be another close game with the top-flight Whites inconsistent at best and the southerners more than capable of a result on their day.

Corinthians’ Ballafletcher neighbours Douglas Royal make the trip over the Mountain to take on Ramsey at Ballacloan.

Ramsey are traditionally strong at home, but Royal have proved no mugs this season their potent strike-force of Paul Whitley, Simon Dooley and Ryan Kelly firing them up to second in the table.

Brian Carney’s hosts should just edge this, but it will be close.

The two all-Premier League ties also look finely poised.

At Croit Lowey, Rushen welcome DHSOB with United aiming to repeat the 6-3 win they recorded in the corresponding league fixture.

The one game that should go ahead, despite the poor forecast, will be St Mary’s tie with St John’s on the Bowl’s all-weather pitch.

The pair drew 0-0 in November suggesting another game that could go the distance.

UPDATED STORY: A report of ‘elevated radiation’ has led to a safety alert at Sellafield, the nuclear plant in Cumbria that’s about 34 miles away from the Manx coastline.

The site has been shut to day workers with only essential staff told to report for duty.

The firm says it is in response to an ‘operational condition’ and the decision to suspend day operations was taken with the safety and the security of the workforce as a priority.

A company statement says: ‘In response to an operational condition on the Sellafield site a conservative and prudent decision has been taken, to operate the site at reduced manning levels, commensurate with safe operations.’

It adds: ‘Levels of radioactivity detected are above naturally occurring radiation but well below that which would call for any actions to be taken by the workforce on or off the site.

‘The site is at normal status and employees and operational plants are continuing to operate as investigations continue. All our facilities have positively confirmed there are no abnormal conditions and are operating normally.’

Director of stakeholder relations Rory O’Neill said: ‘One of the 20-odd site perimeter monitors that we have is registering above normal levels of radiation.

‘It’s not a level that would trigger any kind of activity on or off site. It’s below levels that would demand us to do sheltering or anything like that.”

Part of the plant is being cleared to allow detailed investigations and the ‘relevant experts’ are on site.

The company said it could not rule out that the alarm had detected naturally occurring levels of radiation.

While day personnel, agency staff and contractors have been told to stay at home, oher workers, including transport and utilities personnel, are working as normal ‘in support of plant continuity requirements’.

There is no active nuclear reactor at Sellafield but the site stores and reprocesses waste.

One worker has been reported as saying an air sampler on a perimeter fence had detected a problem, which led to all non-essential staff being told to stay away. It is understood nothing has been detected inside the plant.

He said employees had not been given any details of what had happened at Sellafield.

There was speculation that safety staff were checking to see if there was a malfunction in the air sampler.

Prof Richard Wakeford, professor of epidemiology at the University of Manchester, told the Daily Telegraph’s website that the elevated level of radiation would not pose a risk to health.

‘From the information currently available, it appears that an elevated level of radioactivity has been detected at the north of the site, but that it is at a low level above normal,’ he said.

‘Such a level would not pose a risk to health that is more than encountered in everyday life, but until the cause of this increase has been identified (for example, what type of radioactive materials are responsible), the Sellafield management have told non-essential staff not to come into work.

‘This is a prudent precaution until the cause is known and the situation rectified.’

A Department of Energy and Climate Change spokesman confirmed the elevated levels of radioactivity but said they were ‘well below levels of concern’.

The Manx government has long campaigned for the plant to be closed.

{http://www.iomtoday.co.im/news/isle-of-man-news/closure-of-nuclear-plant-is-welcomed-1-3647095|Click here to read a recent story about the issue.}

The annual Young Farmers’ Concert will take place at the Gaiety Theatre on three nights, Thursday, March 13, Friday, March 14, and Saturday, March 15 at 7pm.

The hugely popular concert, sponsored by Isle of Man Bank, is now in its 43rd year and tickets are expected to sell out very quickly, especially for the Saturday night, so make a note in your diary if you want one.

There are four Young Farmers’ clubs in the island – Central, Eastern, Northern and Southern – and all take part in the concert over the three nights.

Isle of Man Young Farmers secretary Angela Teare said: ‘The concert is the highlight for many of the members, from early January.’

‘People have been known to queue up for tickets at 3am just to make sure they get the seats they want, especially for the Saturday night performance as this is when the results are announced and the cup is presented.

‘Most people want to go on the Saturday night and like to get the same seats they’ve always had so certain people have been in the queue at 3am, usually the same ones, then others join them at around 6am.

‘It’s not so bad now because the Welcome Centre opens at around 6am but we used to sell them from Gaiety Box Office so it wouldn’t be open for ages.

‘Tickets sell out really quickly and all three nights are always a sell-out.

‘Rehearsals and meetings take place in various church halls throughout the island and all thoughts and plans are top secret until the show night itself.’

Asked how the concert works Angela said: ‘All the four clubs perform a show lasting around 35 minutes.

‘The performances are judged by different judges on each night and on the Saturday night the scores are totalled up to decide who wins the Marketing Society Cup.

‘We have more than 200 members, most of whom will be on stage. The Young Farmers is a fantastic rural youth movement and this year two of the clubs are celebrating their 80th anniversaries.’

Southern Young Farmers will be aiming to win the Cup for the eleventh time in a row at this year’s event.

Tickets for the concert will go on sale on Saturday (February 1) at 9am from The Welcome Centre in the Sea Terminal in Douglas.

Telephone bookings will be taken from 11am by calling 600555 and if there are any tickets left by Monday, February 3, online sales will also be available.

The Isle of Man Young Farmers is the island’s leading youth movement.

It is an organisation that enables young people to meet, participate in activities, both socially and competitively, with the opportunity to travel, both nationally and internationally.

Anyone between the ages of 10 and 36 can become a member of Young Farmers.

For more information visit their website, www.youngfarmers.co.im, or Facebook page www.facebook.com/pages/Isle-of-Man-Young-Farmers/173360389380037

Since the start of the academic year last September the Manx government has invested almost three quarters of a million pounds in new laptop computers for the island’s teachers.

Education Minister Tim Crookall told the House of Keys 946 new laptops had been bought at a cost of £742,000 to replace the old ones which are now four years old.

‘Laptops are an essential item for teachers and are used both to prepare and to deliver teaching materials, to update records and reports as well as for such things as completing the registrations of pupils,’ he said.

The teachers’ old laptops are to be used to update the oldest of the pupils’ computers and also boost the number available for pupils to use during general lessons.

Extra laptops will also be provided for pupils with special needs, providing them, for example, with dictation software.

Once completed, the process will mean the department has 165 old laptops – more than six years old – which would have needed maintenance to replace hard drives or batteries, he said.

These computers are to be sold to offset the money spent.

Mr Crookall told the Keys he did not know the value of the old computers but they were to be offered by tender as a job lot. However, he said enquiries would be made about possible use by charities.

Reigning champions of the Amber Battle of the Bands and local indie heroes Your Gold Teeth have just arrived back on the island after a seven-date jaunt to the UK.

The tour saw them taking in Liverpool, Cardiff, London, Brighton, Bristol and Falmouth.

The band comprises Jack Wolter on vocals and guitar, Steve Henthorn on drums, Lily Wolter on bass and Brian Brough on keys and vocals. I caught up with Jack this week to get his views on how it all went.

‘The tour was awesome and was great fun to do what we love doing,’ he said. ‘We’ve played a lot on the island in the past 12 months, so it was great to venture off, play some new venue, and to see some old friends. Among the highlights was the Liverpool show as a fair few Manxies came across to see us, which was really overwhelming. It was amazing to see so many familiar faces there.

‘We also have an album coming out in late February/early March called Mega Lo Down. We’ll see how the sales go with that and we’ll look to go away touring again in a few months.’

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Following his headline show at the Northern Lights Community Centre last Friday, I also caught up with Chris T-T for some post-gig analysis. Sitting in a cold backroom, within the confines of Port St Mary town hall, and having just played to a particularly tough crowd at a Babbagroove event as part of his whirlwind jaunt to the island, Chris had this to say.

‘Last night was pretty amazing and pretty busy. There was a PA system but I felt that, as it’s quite an intimate space, I’d try it unplugged and it worked perfectly. It gave it a much more natural sound, which was really nice. I’d only played in Ramsey once before and there were very few people there, so it was really nice to go back and play and find that it was really busy.

‘The next time I tour with my band in the UK and in Europe, which might not be until the autumn, I also want to include the Isle of Man in those dates.’

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A new monthly club night called The Drop starts on Saturday (February 1) at Amber on Loch Promenade in Douglas. It’ll feature two rooms – one playing funk, soul, indie, 80s and basically anything else while the main room will focus on rock, metal and punk. The Drop will take place on the first Saturday of every month and is free. The night starts at 9pm and finishes at 1am.

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Steve Leach has taken up the baton to bring readers the rumblings, murmuring, news and views on forthcoming events in and around the Manx music scene following Lee brooks’ departure. Email newsdesk@newsiom.co.im

The man behind the bid to set up a new Isle of Man ferry service has hit out after comments made in the House of Keys by Infrastructure Minister David Cretney MHK.

Captain Kurt Buchholz of the Ellan Vannin Line also said he wanted to challenge the user agreement, which gives the Steam Packet preferential treatment to use the linkspan in Douglas harbour.

He said he was looking at more options.

Captain Buccholz said he felt comments made in the Keys had sought to make him look incompetent.

‘We kept getting asked if we had a boat yet but we couldn’t get a boat until we knew what service had been approved as that affected what sort of vessel we acquired,’ he said.

‘First option was a side-loading service from the pier. We abandoned that because loading and unloading is affected by the high and low tides making it unreliable – you can’t have customers waiting for goods they are expecting.’

The only other option was to use the linkspan but that has restricted access. He said such a monopoly was questionable.

‘There is no public tender process – it’s shrouded in secrecy. It has been extended twice so why no tender process? We think this should be in the public arena.’

Another exception to the user agreement allows boats operating from more distant ports – beyond Liverpool and Heysham, such as Fishguard – to use the linkspan but it would be impractical he said to provide a competitive service with a sailing time of around 10 hours.

He said the user agreement was not in the public interest or the island’s interest.

‘We have thousands of people that have registered an interest and we told them we hoped to have information by the end of January. We waited three months for a reply from the government.’

Claims there was insufficient trade to support a second shipping line he dismissed as ‘complete rubbish’, adding: ‘When a line has a monopoly you expect them to use that to allow the island to flourish.

‘In their (the government’s) opinion we did not qualify within the user agreement to use the linkspan. We can’t challenge this in court but we are continuing to look at other options and we want public support to review the user agreement.’

Mr Cretney told the Keys this week that sustained efforts were made to accommodate EVL’s proposals.

He said the plans went through repeated changes and everything possible had been done to support their application but they had to operate within the constraints of the user agreement.

He said early in 2013 the Ellan Vannin proposal was to use a side-loading vessel for a regular freight service.

According to Mr Cretney, in October last year Ellan Vannin said it was waiting to secure the use of the MV Cometa and the proposed freight service would have a delayed start in March 2014.

‘In October, Ellan Vannin Lines changed its proposal again. The company now wished to operate two ferries. This proposal involved the somewhat surprising plan to unload a roll on/roll off cargo vessel through the stern ramp onto a double ended ferry. Both ships were to be moored behind each other,’ Mr Cretney said.

Two further applications were also made in October to use the linkspan, he said, one as part of a roll on roll off passenger and freight service from March 2014 and the other under a clause in the user agreement which allows ferries to call in the Isle of Man en route between two other ports – in this case Holyhead and Dublin.

Concluding, Mr Cretney told members: ‘The department would like to state that it has not prevented access to EVL to Douglas harbour but has advised EVL on the options that are available.

‘With seemingly no intention to operate a freight service of any sort despite the many proposed variations of service and a clear statement about the user agreement, I can only ask honourable members to draw their own conclusion.

‘Whatever the views of members, recent years have seen both the Mezeron freight service introduced and subsequently closed and a legal challenge to the user agreement, subsequently settled.

‘I confirm that there is no reason why EVL cannot operate a ferry service from Douglas using a non-linkspan berth – as my department had expected for many months.’

The public consultation on a Freedom of Information (FOI) law for the island will start early next month, Chief Minister Allan Bell MHK announced today.

The consultation on a draft Freedom of Information Bill will start on Monday, February 10, and run for six weeks, he said.

More details in Tuesday’s Examiner.

Maths teacher Davoud Taghinejad has been found guilty on all 10 charges of indecent assault and one charge of rape.

The 58-year-old, who lives in Mountain View, Douglas, had denied all the charges in a two-week trial.

The offences were committed on five teenage girls between 2011 and 2013.

The jury was sent to consider the matter this morning and returned its guilty verdict early this afternoon.

Deemster Alastair Montgomerie has remanded Taghinejad in custody.

He’s due to be sentenced next week.

There will be a fuller report in Tuesday’s Isle of Man Examiner.

A 15-year-old singer-songwriter has won Junior Achievers talent contest The Next Big Thing 2014.

Mae Challis took the title and £500 first prize after performing her own song and playing guitar and keyboard.

The prize for the contest, which is for 10 to 17-year-olds, was sponsored by the Isle of Man Steam Packet.

Mae is a member of Douglas Soundcheck which provides local musicians over the age of 13 with a place to meet up, organise gigs, make recordings and videos, and offers practice facilities.

Junior Achievement’s chief executive Sue Cook said: ‘In the run up, 162 acts auditioned and it was a really hard job for the judges to reach their decision on the final 15.’

Runner-up was 12-year-old singer Christian Cooper, whose rendition of Time to Say Goodbye won the £250 second prize donated by Manx Professional and Educational Services Limited, while third place went to drummer Callum Davies, aged 13, who won £150 donated by MC Locksmith Services Limited.

The evening was compered by James Turpin and 2012 X-Factor finalist Chris Maloney, who opened the show and was the guest judge for the contest that saw 15 acts compete in the final before an audience of around 800.

There were guest appearances on the night from Gena’s Dance Academy and East London rap duo G.T.F.

The bad weather means the Steam Packet will not sail from Douglas to England tomorrow.

Tomorrow’s 8am service to Birkenhead and its 2pm return have been cancelled.

For the latest from the Steam Packet, {http://www.steam-packet.com/LatestSailings|click here.}

Average pay increases are not keeping pace with inflation in the Isle of Man.

The Treasury’s annual earnings survey has found that average pay for full time employees rose by 1.3 per cent, to £620 per week (£32,240), between June 2012 and June 2013.

The annual rate of inflation in the Isle of Man, as measured by the Retail Prices Index (RPI), showed an increase in December to 2.9 per cent up from 2.5per cent in November.

{http://www.iomtoday.co.im/news/business/cost-of-living-rises-in-the-isle-of-man-1-6363820|Click here to read our report on that.}

On average full-time employees worked 38.9 hours per week.

Among other results were that:

Median earnings (the earnings level which half of the full-time workforce exceeds) decreased by 1.5 per cent to £504 (£26,208 per year).

Manx average earnings across the whole economy rose slightly less than in the UK (1.3 per cent compared to 2.2 cent) to now stand at exactly the same as the UK figure.

There was a slight widening of wage differences between the sexes, with the rates of average weekly earnings between males and females falling from 115.4 per cent in 2012 to 115.7 per cent.

Female average earnings are at 105.5 per cent of those of the UK.

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

Two concerts held to raise money to help farmers hit by last year’s devastating snow, raised a total of £18,534.

The money was handed over to the Isle of Man Agricultural Benevolent Trust at the Isle of Man Bank in Douglas.

The trust will use it to replenish funds set aside to help farmers after weeks of snow last year caused massive loss of livestock and extensive damage to farm buildings and equipment.

With much more work needed to help the agricultural industry’s recovery, it is a huge boost.

The concerts – performed by the Isle of Man Federation of Young Farmers at the Gaiety Theatre, Douglas, in October – were organised by Angela Southern, a former Young Farmer herself.

She thanked Isle of Man Bank and NFU Mutual for sponsoring the shows and said: ‘I wanted to do something to help after the snow, so I thought about getting past and present Young Farmers together to put on a concert for two nights.’

Packed houses enjoyed the concerts, said Angela, while performers relished the chance to go on stage without the competitive element that accompanies the annual Young Farmers’ concerts.

‘This time they all joined together – it was a good laugh for everyone, both back stage and up front,’ she said.

The Isle of Man Agricultural Benevolent Trust was set up as a charity 18 years ago to assist members of the agricultural community in need.

Treasurer Charles Fargher said: ‘As a result of the snow in March last year, we have had an amazing response from the public and we raised a considerable amount of money that has been distributed to people in the farming community who suffered as a result of the exceptional snow. This additional amount will go into our snow fund.’

Trust secretary Jonathan Corlett said the impact of last year’s extreme weather was still being felt in the farming community.

‘The losses were devastating,’ he said. ‘We lost 10 per cent of our breeding flock and you don’t just replace those sheep overnight. Of course the sales from the livestock are missing now. The effect will be continuing for quite a while yet.’

Isle of Man Bank held collections in aid of farmers in its branches last year and, together with the bank’s contribution, raised £9,500 for the trust.

John Lindon, head of community investment for the Isle of Man Bank said: ‘Farming and heritage is one of our focus areas of community support. Year on year, we sponsor various activities in the farming community, including the regular Young Farmers’ concerts, Farm Conservation Awards and support for the agricultural shows.’

Pictured: Isle of Man Agricultural Benevolent Trust secretary Jonathan Corlett, Isle of Man Bank Regent Street branch manager Stephen Radcliffe, concert organiser Angela Southern, Isle of Man Bank head of community investment, John Lindon, and trust treasurer Charles Fargher

Today, SATURDAY

LINGFIELD: 12.10 Gaelic Silver 12.40 Norman’s Star 1.10 Passing Star 1.45 One Way Or Another 2.20 Dark Lane 2.55 Emerald Wilderness 3.30 Blue Wave (NAP) 4.05 Sea Soldier

WOLVERHAMPTON PICKS: 2.50 Daring Indian 3.25 Fat Gary 4.0 Sewn Up 4.35 Dontpaytheferryman 5.35 Daniel Thomas