Family doctors across the island are to upgrade their patient IT system.

A Department of Health spokesman said that the new system, called EMIS Web, would improve efficiency in patient care within GP practices and help to deliver the department’s vision of having ‘the right patient, with the right record in the right place’.

The introduction of EMIS web will enable GPs to share appropriate clinical data with other clinicians where it is lawful to do so, for example with the Manx Emergency Doctor Service (MEDS), a hospital out-patient clinic or for an attendance at Accident and Emergency.

The upgrade requires all GP patient data to be held securely in the UK by EMIS. Currently, patient information is held in the Isle of Man.

A group of prison officers and inmates undertook a sponsored walk from Jurby Prison to the old Victoria Road prison site in Douglas to raise funds for Rebecca House children’s hospice.

The route was mostly cross country, ascending the challenging Ballacobb and round the back of Beinn-y-Phott.

The group followed the Millennium Way for a short while, passing behind Carraghan, and then into the East Baldwin valley. Finally it was back on the roads to St George’s Bridge and along Ballanard Road into Douglas, concluding at the old prison site.

The walkers covered just under 20 miles and ascents of more than 2,500 feet. A total of eight prison staff and eight selected inmates completed the walk, which was co-ordinated and led by senior officer Mike Pacey.

Mike said: ‘I would like to thank the staff for donating their free time, staff and inmates for their efforts, everyone who sponsored the walkers and Prison Officer Bernard Bateson for providing back up during the event.’

Cronk-y-Voddy sports ay will be held on today (Tynwald Day, Monday) offering competitions for both children and adults.

The popular event takes place at the sports field at Cronk-y-Voddy Straight, starting at 2pm, although the marquee offering food will be open from 12.30pm.

Sports will be available for children aged five to 14 years, such as running races and egg and spoon races.

Adults can also tackle a cycling race for the Brian Quirk Memorial Shield.

In addition there will be dog shows and racing throughout the afternoon.

Admission is £1 for adult and is free for children.

Proceeds raised from the afternoon will go to the Manx Stroke Foundation.

The Isle of Man’s inter-Celtic festival, Yn Chruinnaght, will take place from July 16 to July 20.

Performers will include Manx blues-rock star Davy Knowles, James Taylor and Frankie Archer, and The Friel Sisters plus many additional free events.

Davy will kick off the festival at Peel’s St German’s Cathedral on Wednesday, July 16, at 7.30pm.

Visit www.ynchruinnaght.com or call 425957 for more information.

Tickets are available from Peter Norris in Douglas, Celtic Gold in Peel, Thompson Travel in Port Erin or Shakti Man in Ramsey.

A festival pass covering all events is available for £35.

All roads will be leading to St John’s today as Manx residents come out in force to celebrate Tynwald Day.

Updates will be provided during the today here on iomtoday, and this week’s Isle of Man Examiner, which will be in shops from first thing tomorrow morning, will feature comprehensive coverage.

For a preview of what’s in store, click the following links:

Tynwald Day celebrations at St John’s

Eleven acts passed by Tynwald to be officially proclaimed

For those unable to make it along, the ceremony is being broadcast live online on the Tynwald website from around 9.30am to 3.30pm: www.tynwald.org.im

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How are you celebrating Tynwald Day? Email newsdesk@newsiom.co.im with your stories and pictures or contact us through Facebook or Twitter.

Firefighters tackled a blaze in a house in Douglas on Friday night.

At about 5.40pm on Friday, two engines from Douglas went to the fire in Palatine Road.

The initial call had confirmed that the owner was not in the premises and on arrival crews were confronted with a developing kitchen fire.

Crews remained in attendance until about 8upm removing fire debris and making the premises safe.

Port Erin’s lifeboat crew were called out to deal with an emergency soon after the village’s Lifeboat Day fundraising event ended yesterday (Sunday).

The lifeboat had just re-housed after completing displays for the crowds in the bay when the volunteer crew were paged after reports of a kayaker in trouble below Bradda paths.

The boat was launched at 4.3 pm and arrived at the casualty minutes later to find that a person that had been kayaking had capsized and suffering with the effects of cold water immersion, was helped onto the rocks with the assistance of coastal path walkers.

The man was then transferred from the rocks to the lifeboat, was then given first aid, before being taken back to Port Erin jetty to be assessed by paramedics and coastguards.

A lorry damaged a pedestrian crossing, exposing live wires.

Police was the traffic lights on Johnny Watterson Road, Douglas, were damaged on Thursday, July 2.

A spokesman said: ‘It seems that a heavy goods vehicle may have clipped the lights which have caused them to become lose while exposing live wires.’

Twelve large round bales of hay have been stolen from a farmer’s field.

They were taken from the area of Begoade Road in Onchan some time between Wednesday, July 2, and Friday, July 5.

The bales are heavy, wrapped with black plastic and it would have required a large farm vehicle to remove them.

Police are investigating.

It’s now under six months till New Year and the Manx Wildlife Trust has published of its calendar for 2015.

Showcasing spectacular Manx wildlife and scenes, the calendar has been sponsored by PokerStars through its corporate giving programme, Helping Hands.

Sue Hammett, PokerStars’ head of corporate giving, said: ‘Giving back to our communities and supporting our people has been at the heart of PokerStars since we first began and Helping Hands focuses our charitable activity on those two key areas of our business.

‘We were delighted to have the opportunity to sponsor the Manx Wildlife Trust’s 2015 calendar, given that all proceeds from the sale of the calendar will go to fund the charity’s vital work to benefit the wonderful wildlife of our island.’

To promote the sponsorship arrangement, the Manx Wildlife Trust recently held a photographic competition for PokerStars’ local staff.

The two winning images – ‘Fantastic Fungi’ by Zandi Dezman, senior manager, planning and reporting, and ‘Snow in Laxey Valley’ by Lynne McMenemy, director of people pelations – both appear in the calendar.

Zandi’s photo was taken one morning early in 2013, in the hills north above Crosby, when the vivid orange fungi really stood out against the dark winter landscape.

Taken in March 2013 during that month’s heavy snow, Lynne’s photo shows the view from the Mines Footpath in Agneash looking east towards the Laxey valley.

The Manx Wildlife Trust thanked PokerStars for its support and Zandi, Lynne and everyone else who has allowed their images to be used in the calendar.

The calendar is available now from the Wildlife Shop in Market Place, Peel, and various other local outlets.

One of the island’s leading advocates has paid tribute to a pillar of the Ballasalla community who had a remarkable relationship with one of the leading lights of the Manx legal profession.

Helen Kinvig, who died peacefully last week aged 83, was instrumental in the founding of Simcocks Advocates and spent more than 60 years with the company.

After leaving school she joined local law firm Kelly, Moore and Kelly in 1947 to assist Howard Simcocks, then a law student who was preparing to take his final exams despite being blinded in action at the Battle of Monte Cassino in 1944.

She would spend most of her working life acting as Howard’s ‘eyes’ as he progressed through the fields of law, politics and government.

Simcocks’ chief executive officer Phil Games described their unique working relationship.

‘Each morning she would collect Mr Simcocks from his house and they would catch the bus into Douglas,’ he said.

‘They shared an office and he relied upon her to take clients’ instructions, read his mail and the latest law reports and run his office.’

They made a striking pair when, during the 1950s, St Dunstan’s School for the Blind gave Mr Simcocks a tandem bicycle to travel between his home in Ballasalla and Simcocks’ Castletown office.

Helen described the challenges of riding the tandem during an interview in 2009.

‘It was an old fashioned bike and very heavy,’ she said. ‘I couldn’t start it unless I was at the pavement edge, sitting on it ready to push off. I was so relieved when it went back. The amazing thing was that people used to ask if I rode at the back.’

When Howard entered the world of politics, Helen accompanied him around the Parish of Malew as he canvassed the electorate as a candidate for the commissioners. Eventually becoming an MHK and a member of the Legislative Council, it was Helen who helped draft Bills and devised a complex form of notes and prompts for him to take into the Chamber.

She continued to work with the firm as a conveyancing manager after Howard’s retirement in 1990, passing the astonishing milestone of 60 years of service in 2009.

Mr Games said: ‘Despite the demands of her career Helen become widely regarded as a pillar of her community as church organist in the parish of Malew, as a member of the WI, a lifelong badminton player, demon knitter, dressmaker and devoted aunt.

‘She will be sadly missed by us all at Simcocks.’

The Isle of Man has been enjoying the sunshine over the bank holiday weekend.

Yesterday, we went on to the promenades in Douglas to capture some of the sights and sounds of the capital in the sunshine.

It was quite windy, so there is quite a bit of wind noise on the video.

A total of eight people presented their petitions for redress of grievance at Tynwald Day.

They included Stephen Holmes, from Ballabrooie, Douglas, who was there for a fifth year.

He wants an investigation into alleged failures relating to Manx children in the general registry.

For more details about all the petitions, see Tuesday’s Isle of Man Examiner.

A cheque for £4,050.29 was presented to the Isle of Man Parkinson’s Disease Society, during a Parkinson’s Awareness Week lunch at the home of the chairman, Pamela Shimwell-Mayo. The money was raised by Cathy Ashton, who ran the Edinburgh Marathon. She chose the charity as the recipient after meeting some of the members at a Christmas party. Cathy thanked all who sponsored and supported her.

The money raised stays on the island and is used for the welfare of people with Parkinson’s.

The society helps with items such as specialised wheelchairs, for example, or social support. It also holds regular drop-ins, outings and lunches for members and their carers.

Pictured is Cathy Ashton (second right) presenting the cheque to, from left, Pamela Shimwell-Mayo, Michael Cowin and Rob Farrer.

Picture: Mike Proudfoot MP140610 (3)

They’re meant to give fit and healthy people extra energy when they’re exercising but they can be bad for your health too.

Sports drinks have come under fire from health bosses in the Isle of Man because they can rot teeth.

The Department of Health and Social Care has issued advice encouraging the public to consider their oral health when participating in exercise.

With more people increasing their level of exercise and training to compete in sporting events over the summer, Nigel Armstrong, lead clinician for the salaried dental service, suggests thinking before reaching for the sports drinks.

Mr Armstrong, himself a veteran Manx Mountain Marathon winner, has a keen interest on the effects of sports nutrition on teeth.

He said: ‘The combination of high levels of sugars, acid and additives in sports drinks can cause damage to tooth enamel leading to decay.

‘They also offer little performance benefit over plain water if someone is constantly exercising for less than 90 minutes. The hydrating effects of simply sipping water according to thirst should not be ignored.

‘The body stores sufficient carbohydrate to run about 18 miles, and workout in a gym or walk quickly for approximately 3 hours. Sports drinks are often used incorrectly by many unsuspecting people, leading to increases in tooth decay and poor oral health.’

A recent report investigating the oral health of Olympic athletes at the London 2012 games showed that their oral health was poor. with high levels of tooth decay, erosion and other dental diseases.

Poor oral health can affect wellbeing through pain and interference with eating, drinking and sleep. For the athletes, this impacted their training and performance. This is likely to also be reflected in other athletes, such as those soon to be competing at the Commonwealth Games in Scotland.

Nigel added: ‘Athletes competing in endurance events such as our contingent at the Commonwealth Games or people recovering from a strenuous training session do require supplementary carbohydrate and protein. In these circumstances, they should take particular care in sipping water after eating or drinking products containing these nutrients.

‘Best practice is to follow eating and drinking with a cleaning regime such as tooth brushing or using dental mouth rinse kept with their sporting kit.’

Carolyn Lewis, clinical director for salaried dental services said: ‘It is essential that we raise awareness about the importance of good oral health on overall wellbeing. We aim to encourage people to have regular dental check-ups, to maintain a good oral health routine and to limit their sugar intake – for example by not using these sports drinks.’

A version of Rudyard Kipling’s Jungle Book has been made in the Manx language and is now available as an animated ebook.

The ‘Giglets ayns Gaelg Lioar yn Jungle’ features a read-along soundtrack with each sentence highlighting in time with the audio track to enhance the reading and learning experience.

The ebook also features full-colour animations to bring the classic story to life.

This ebook, the translation for which has been supported by Culture Vannin, is available via iTunes.

Manx language development officer for Culture Vannin Adrian Cain said: ‘At Culture Vannin we are constantly looking for new and innovative ways to develop resources for Manx speakers and learners and following the success of the first ebook it’s been great to work on a second.

‘Given the Island of Culture celebrations this year it’s an appropriate time to bring out a Manx version of such a classic publication and we hope to produce some more exciting material in Manx over the next few months.’

Giglets Limited, a start-up media enterprise based in Ayrshire, published the book. It is the award-winning company behind the development of SmartReads enhanced ebooks. SmartReads are classic stories by writers like Shakespeare and Dickens that have been shortened, modernised and animated to create interactive learning experiences. Giglets also develops ebooks in Scottish Gaidhlig, Irish and Welsh.

Our most-read story online last week (June 29 to July 5) was a story about the recovery of a TT motorcylist from an accident.

The top ten for the week were:

1. {http://www.iomtoday.co.im/news/isle-of-man-news/millimetres-away-from-death-1-6695697|Millimetres away from death} 8,015

2. {http://www.iomtoday.co.im/news/approval-for-144-dandara-homes-given-1-6706782|Approval given for 144 Dandara homes} 4,403

3. {http://www.iomtoday.co.im/news/isle-of-man-news/civil-servants-who-get-free-parking-1-6702749|Civil servants who get free parking} 4,062

4. {http://www.iomtoday.co.im/news/isle-of-man-news/horse-tram-tracks-to-move-as-part-of-prom-redevelopment-1-6703558|Horse tram tracks to move as part of prom redevelopment} 3,512

5. {http://www.iomtoday.co.im/news/isle-of-man-news/grim-reading-for-the-council-of-ministers-1-6706634|Grim reading for the Council of Ministers} 3,078

6: {http://www.iomtoday.co.im/news/isle-of-man-news/woman-injured-in-collision-1-6701249|Woman injured in collision} 2,873

7: {http://www.iomtoday.co.im/news/isle-of-man-news/sefton-group-weighs-up-options-over-potential-developments-1-6698166|Sefton weighs up options over potential developments} 2,362

8: {http://www.iomtoday.co.im/news/isle-of-man-news/ronan-is-new-government-minister-1-6706090|Ronan is new government minister} 2,352

9. {http://www.iomtoday.co.im/what-s-on/manx-entertainment-news/problem-at-the-nsc-pool-1-6701873|Problems at the NSC pool} 1,841

10. {http://www.iomtoday.co.im/news/isle-of-man-news/inquest-into-death-of-10-year-old-to-open-1-6702792|Inquest into death of 10-year-old to open} 1,705

It was a bug’s life at Ramsey Stepping Stones pre-school last week.

Children have spent three weeks learning all about minibeasts and even got the chance to get up close to some thanks to Manx Wildlife Trust biodiversity education officer Dawn Dickens.

Dawn introduced the three and four-year-olds to everything from water beetles, snails and worms, to a giant spider carrying eggs.

As well as being able to touch some of the creatures, they looked at them through magnifying glasses.

It all started with them reading a range of minibeast-themed books including The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

The children have also been busy outside at the pre-school, which is adjacent to Bunscoill Rhumsaa.

They have planted up tubs with a variety of insect-friendly plants.

More than 1,000 year six (aged 10 and 11) pupils learned important life skills at the annual Crucial Crew event.

Held at Isle of Man College, the representatives from each of the emergency services and Manx Telecom gave a variety of presentations.

Police spoke about taking personal responsibility while the Coastguard talked about the dangers of ‘tombstoning’.

Manx Telecom gave tips on staying safe online.

Pictured are Cronk y Berry School pupils, representatives of the organisations taking part as well as Andy Sweetman of sponsor Ellan Vannin Fuels.

One child’s jaw was fractured in a party organised on social media.

Today’s Examiner has more on the craze in which hundreds of youngsters are invited to parties on Facebook or other social media.

The front page photo is of 94-year-old war hero Hector Duff, who was honoured by Tynwald yesterday.

We have more details on all eight of the petitions for redress of grievance inside, plus a two-page spread of photos from the event.

Our business coverage reveals that Elle Macpherson has dropped her Manx legal case.

Inside, we have a feature about Lonan’s West End star, Sam Barks, and her charity work in Madagascar.

After his disappointing crash in the Tour de France, our sports reporters wonder what effect that will have on Mark Cavendish’s hopes for the Commonwealth Games.

With all the rest of the week’s news, letters and our social calendar, the Isle of Man Examiner is a great read this week.

The island’s favourite paper is in the shops now.