The new headteacher for Vallajeelt Primary School is returning to her Manx homeland to take on the role.

The Department of Education and Children this afternoon announced that Denise Lyon had been appointed headteacher of the Douglas school with effect from January 2015.

Denise is currently headteacher of both Moredon Primary and Nursery School and Rodbourne Cheney Primary School in Swindon, Wiltshire, where she has been for 12 years.

She will replace Adrian Shorthouse, who has headed the school since September 2008 and who is moving to be headteacher of Kewaigue Primary.

Nick George, currently deputy headteacher at Scoill Vallajeelt will act as head teacher for the autumn term.

Denise graduated from Chester College of Higher Education with a Bachelor of Education (Hons) in 1990 and taught for six years in Rochdale.

She then moved to Swindon in 1996 where she taught in a number of different primary schools before completing her headship qualification.

Denise said: ‘I am really looking forward to coming back to the island to work at a school with such happy, confident children and friendly staff.

‘I am keen to work in partnership with parents, governors and members of the community.

‘I am sad to leave my position in Swindon but I am thrilled to be embarking on a new chapter in my career.’

Denise was born in the island and was educated at Braddan Primary School, Ballakermeen Junior High School and Douglas High School.

Scoill Vallajeelt has 183 pupils on the register.

After the departure of John Shimmin from the Council of Ministers, the first of a mini-reshuffle of departmental members has been announced.

Zac Hall MHK (Onchan) and Chris Thomas MHK (Douglas West) will join the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture with immediate effect.

For Mr Hall, it’s the first departmental job he has had since he was sacked from the Department of Education and Children in April 2012 when he disagreed with then Education Minister Peter Karran’s decision to privatise pre-school provision.

{http://www.iomtoday.co.im/news/isle-of-man-news/hall-and-houghton-sacked-from-isle-of-man-dept-of-education-1-4466648|Read our story from then here.}

For Mr Hall it means he will receive a 30 per cent pay rise.

He was on an MHK’s basic salary of £38,771.

{http://www.iomtoday.co.im/news/isle-of-man-news/why-i-rejected-govt-role-zac-hall-1-4766569|Two years ago he declined another government role.}

As he is already a member of a department, Mr Thomas will not get a pay rise.

Richard Ronan MHK, who became Minister for Environment, Food and Agriculture earlier in the month, said: ‘I’m delighted to welcome Zac Hall and Chris Thomas and look forward to working with them for the benefit of the people of the Isle of Man.

‘With a new minister and new members in post, the Department will have fresh eyes on a number of important issues. There is an experienced and highly professional team of officers in place at the Department and I am confident we can all work together to build on the progress that has been achieved over recent years.’

He added: ‘I’d also like to place on record my gratitude for the contribution made by Juan Turner MLC during his time at the department.’

A new garden commemorating the deaths of five men killed in an air crash on Manx soil during the Second World War, and a memorial to two Canadians among that number, has been unveiled at the Manx Aviation and Military Museum at Ronaldsway.

The garden was opened by Colonel Marc Bigaouette, Air Force adviser to the Canadian High Commission in London.

Also attending the opening was Lieutenant Governor Adam Wood and Ian Corlett, pictured, who was first on the scene when the Avro Anson aircraft crashed at Cronk Ny Arrey Laa on November 13, 1944, killing its five-man crew, namely Canadian pilot and navigator Hugh Eugene McDonald and Charles Bardwell respectively, John Darlington, Percy Henry Hoyle and John David Pratt.

Matthew Quinn, 24, a trainee at Douglas-based law firm Cains Advocates, has passed his Manx Bar exams on the first attempt.

Matthew, who lives in Douglas, was awarded a Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice with Distinction from the University of Law, Chester.

He had previously achieved a 2:1, with honours, in his law degree at Durham University.

He was also awarded a prize for attaining the highest mark in the litigation examination papers while studying at the University of Law.

‘I am extremely grateful to all of the staff at Cains for their help and support, without which the examination process would have been significantly more difficult,’ said Matthew.

He added: ‘I look forward to completing the remainder of my training contract and to being called to the Manx Bar towards the end of next year.’

A farmer has been refused retrospective planning approval to landfill an area of Earystane plantation, Colby.

Richard Costain of Moorhouse Farm Ltd, of Mount Gawne Road, Colby, had applied (13/00369/B) to dispose of inert waste for farmyard purposes at the plantation.

But the planning committee has refused the retrospective application on the grounds that it did not ‘satisfactorily demonstrate that the continued use of the land for tipping would not result in a harmful impact on the road network, the environment or the landscape or have an adverse visual impact’.

In his application, Mr Costain said the area was being infilled to provide a new farm yard – and planning consent had previously been secured for the whole site. He said: ‘We are genuine full-time farmers of longstanding. We achieved planning permission for this whole site. We have had the usual difficulties from people who do not understand our farming operation.’

He explained that the area that has been infilled had proved its worth and had been the only dry farm ground during the winter of 2012-13.

Mr Costain said: ‘The site is the ideal position for our new farm yard for the area. We farm cattle, sheep and crops.

‘We are actively progressing a building programme with the advice and agreement of the local agricultural field ofiicer. Farming is a long term business, it is essential that we obtain permission to infill the land on our planning application for future needs. Inert infill material can only be obtained when available. The finished level will equate to the present infill.’

Mr Costain said the area had been bog until the 1970s when it was planted with conifers as a crop.

Moorhouse Farm Ltd also farms a considerable acreage at Ronague, Round Table, Glen Rushen and Cronk ny Arrey Laa.

Manx swimmer Charlotte Atkinson has an exciting summer ahead of her, starting with next week’s Commonwealths and finishing with the Youth Olympic Games.

After heading to Glasgow next week with the rest of Team Isle of Man, the 17-year-old will then compete at the National Championships before making her debut for Great Britain at the Youth Olympics being held in China next month.

Charlotte is thrilled to have been selected by the British Olympic Association to be one of only four female swimmers aged 15-18 to represent Great Britain at the event based in Nanjing.

This follows an impressive season where she has recorded many new personal bests and several senior island records.

This has helped placed the former Ballakermeen student at the top of the UK national rankings for 17 year olds in the 50m, 100m and 200m butterfly.

Charlotte, who now studies at a speciallist swimming college in Plymouth said: ‘It is amazing to be selected as one of only four female swimmers to represent Great Britain at the Youth Olympic Games.

‘This will be my first time representing GB, so I’m really excited to have been selected.

‘I’ll be swimming all the butterfly events, because that’s what I specialise in, and hopefully the relays as well.

‘I can’t wait to get to Nanjing and compete against the best young athletes from all over the world.’

Team GB consists of 33 athletes aged 15-18 who will compete in 14 sports against 3,600 young sports people from more than 200 nations.

As well as swimming, Charlotte will be involved in activities with the Games’s cultural and education programme. The Games, which take place between August 16-28, will also feature in specials on both BBC One and Blue Peter.

Earlier this year Charlotte propelled herself into the top 10 world rankings in the 100m butterfly following an exceptional swim at the Sheffield Premier Meet where she recorded a time of 58.68 seconds.

The talented teen added: ‘I’ve had an amazing season and a big thank you has to go to everyone involved.

‘Swimming for GB is amazing and has always been my goal, but it’s nice that I can also represent my home country at the Commonwealths.

‘I’m extremely grateful to Isle of Man Swimming, IoM Sport, the Gubay Chase Your Dream scheme and also Mark Cavendish for their ongoing support which has been invaluable in helping me progress my swimming career.’

Leonie Cooil team manager for Isle of Man Swimming at the CG said: ‘Everyone at Isle of Man Swimming is extremely proud of Charlotte’s achievements and we all look forward to following her progress in China. The experiences that Charlotte will get this summer in both Glasgow and China will help her as she continues to progress to even bigger events.’

l The 20th Commonwealth Games begin on Wednesday evening with the opening ceremony taking place at Celtic Park. Full preview in Tuesday’s Examiner.

Safety concerns, poor facilities and a failure to meet latest Home Office guidelines are among the reasons given to Tynwald to support spending up to £2.795 million on a new custody block at Douglas police headquarters.

Minister for Home Affairs Juan Watterson said the current block, built in 1979 had awkward corners not covered by CCTV and it also lacked disabled facilities.

Latest food hygiene standards were not met, prisoners could shout to one another and facilities for seeing advocates were poor. In addition space was inadequate, particularly as the option of using extra cells at Lord Street is to be lost, Mr Watterson said. The new cell block will be modular, partly constructed off island before being positioned behind the current police station. The possibility of transferring the modular block erected 20 years ago at Victoria Road prison had been considered but that, too, was outdated and not financially viable.

The death of a prisoner in custody - Michael Joseph Davidson, in 2012 - had brought matters to a head, he said.

Douglas Athletic are hosting a seven-a-side football tournament at the Bowl this Saturday.

Sponsored by Capital International, the Capital Cup is for men’s senior teams based in and around Douglas and is in aid of Manx Cancer Help.

New JCK Division Two side Governor’s Athletic will make their debut alongside the hosts, Braddan, Corinthians, Douglas and District, Douglas Royal, Douglas High School Old Boys, Pulrose and Union Mills in the tournament that takes place between 10am and 4pm at the national stadium. For more info contact Ste Cowan on 323737 or email stecowan@hotmail.co.uk

WOMEN’S SUMMER LEAGUE STARTS jULY 25

The Isle of Man FA’s Women’s Summer League starts on July 25.

The six-week competition takes place at the Bowl every Friday evening between 6 and 7.30pm.

The league is open to football, hockey and netball teams, businesses and groups of friends. For more information contact the FA’s Michael Baker on 613750 or email Michael.Baker@ isleofmanfa.com

fa LOOKING FOR NEW WOMEN’S ISLAND COACH

Isle of Man Football Association are looking to recruit a new manager for the island’s senior women’s representative team.

If you are interested in the role submit an application to: Frank Stennett, chief executive officer, IoM FA, The Bowl, Douglas, Isle of Man IM2 1AD

All interviews will be conducted at the IoMFA headquarters at the Bowl.

The deadline for applications is 5pm on Friday, August 1.

St John’s agm on July 30

St John’s FC is holding its AGM at the Mullen-e-Cloie clubhouse on Wednesday, July 30.

All members are encouraged to attend and an agenda for the meeting, which starts at 8pm, can be provided in advance by contacting Brian Leece on 486348.

Isle of Man GOvernment Ministers stand accused of attempting to push though major policy changes without Tynwald debate.

There were no fewer than nine statements made by Ministers in Tynwald this week – a situation described by both Tynwald President Clare Christian and Speaker Steve Rodan as ‘unprecedented’.

Among the statements was one by Education Minister Tim Crookall announcing that the island will break away from the English GCSE system.

Mr Rodan questioned why such a ‘momentous’ change in policy had been made by way of a ministerial statement. He said this was an issue, well trailed in advance and subject to extensive consultation, which will ‘radically affect every child in this island’.

Mr Rodan queried why no report had been laid before Tynwald with a motion for debate.

He said: ‘This is turning into an extended question time – except we don’t know what the questions are going to be. It’s unprecedented – I’ve never seen anything like it.’

President of Tynwald Clare Christian suggested CoMin should consider whether statements were the best vehicles to convey some of these points.

Other statements covered regularising of loans to Sefton Group, collective responsibility, £2.08m extra funding to cover a pay award and future funding of care for the elderly.

Mr Crookall admitted the number of statements was unprecedented but insisted in his department’s case, ‘speed was the essence’ to give schools time to implement the new IGCSEs.

He said all that was changing was the exam board, not the curriculum.

David Knight has parted ways with French off-road bike manufacturer Sherco and is likely to be back on KTMs in the very near future.

In addition to scoring numerous individual successes on Sherco machinery over the past seven months, the 36-year-old Manxman finished runner-up in the SuperEnduro World Championship.

But he had latterly been disappointed with the amount of direct support he was receiving from the factory and it would appear that both parties have come to an amicable agreement.

In a statement issued by Sherco this week, the company announced the end of their partnership with Knight and their decision to refocus on the Enduro World Championship for 2015.

Although Knight had a two-year contract with the team, it is likely that he will be released immediately and has already returned the Shercos he had in his possession.

There are one or two seats available in the world championship at the moment (standing in for injured riders etc), and David was approached by Husqvarna to ride in this week’s Red Bull Romaniacs event in Romania. But there has to be a certain period of discretion and instead Knight rode his own 300cc KTM two-stroke in an event at Ashby-de-la-Zouch last night.

He is now travelling over to Northern Ireland for the HTM Off Road EnduroCross in Glenarm this evening (Thursday), where he will ride alongside his old mate Paul Edmondson.

Commenting on his split with Sherco, David said: ‘Thanks to Sherco, we had some great results with second in Indoor World Championship and first in British Extreme Championship. I understand that Sherco want to concentrate on the Enduro World Championship and they can’t fully commit to Extreme Enduro, which I need to compete at the highest level. I wish the team all the best for the future.’

Sherco’s Jordan Curvalle said: ‘Working with David Knight was a good experience, he brought us our first World Indoor success and a beautiful vice-World Champion title. We wish him all the best for his future projects.’

Two members of Tynwald have been given new departmental jobs.

Juan Turner MLC and Chris Thomas MHK (Douglas West) are joining the Department of Infrastructure.

They will be working alongside John Houghton MHK (Douglas North) and Kate Beecroft MHK (Douglas South and Liberal Vannin Party leader).

Leonard Singer MHK (Ramsey) is leaving the department.

The department’s minister, Phil Gawne MHK, took over at the department after the {http://www.iomtoday.co.im/news/isle-of-man-news/ronan-is-new-government-minister-1-6706090|mini ministerial reshuffle following John Shimmin’s resignation.}

He said: ‘I am very pleased to welcome Chris Thomas and Juan Turner and would also like to thank Leonard Singer for his input. The department is facing some major challenges and we will work together to try to secure a more sustainable future for our key services.’

He added: ‘The Department of Infrastructure is at the very forefront of efforts to make the savings required to achieve the national priority of rebalancing public finances.

‘We must also continue to focus on delivering a high quality infrastructure that allows the Isle of Man to attract new investment and generate economic growth. We need to be bold and creative and I look forward to working with the members and officers to drive forward the department in the time ahead.’

Political members of departments take responsibilities in certain areas. Those responsibilities have not yet been announced.

{http://www.iomtoday.co.im/news/isle-of-man-news/a-government-job-and-a-pay-rise-for-zac-hall-1-6736054|Yesterday, the political members for the Department of the Environment, Food and Agriculture were announced.}

The DoI and DEFA have been working below their usual membership quota following Richard Ronan MHK’s appointment as DEFA Minister.

The memberships of the other departments will be confirmed later this month.

The Manx Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is running out of money.

Writing her regular column for the society in this week’s Isle of Man Courier, Margaret Mansfield outlines the situation.

She says: ‘We are dipping so deep into our reserves that we are running out of money very quickly.’

She says that work on Ard Jerkyll had come from ringfenced money designed for specific purposes.

‘Even the most generous trust or corporate supporter is reluctant to provide funds for running costs as they like to sponsor a specific project, which is wonderful and enhances the living conditions for the animals in residence but, with running costs at an all-time high we need day-to-day help.’

The bulk of the team representing the Isle of Man in the 2014 Commonwealth Games left the island on the Ben-my-Chree on Friday morning.

The party of 26 was led by general team manager Trevor Taubman and the individual team managers, plus two female physiotherapists.

The remainder of the athletes are either based in the UK or, as in the case of most of the shooters, already in Carnoustie preparing for their individual events.

The opening ceremony takes place in Celtic Park, Glasgow on Wednesday evening. The ceremony will be broadcast live on BBC One starting at 8pm.

The Isle of Man’s team of 46 competitors is the largest to have attended the Games, which commence in earnest on Thursday, July 24 and continue until Sunday, August 3.

Team Isle of Man will be represented in athletics, badminton, boxing, cycling, gymnastics, lawn bowls, shooting, swimming and triathlon with the first Manx competitor in action being Andrew Nash in the triathlon on July 24.

Isle of Man Newspapers will be covering the Games extensively, online and in all three newspaper titles. There is also an official Team Isle of Man app which can be downloaded for smart phones. Taubman added: ‘We’re very grateful to 3FM for sponsoring the app which is available for free on Android and iOS phones. It has profiles of all the team with statistics about previous Commonwealth Games achievements by Manx competitors, and details of the times and dates for all the events, and results when the Games begin.’

Tuesday’s edition of the Isle of Man Examiner will carry a full preview of the event.

The pressure is on Castletown and Cronkbourne in the Standard Bank Premiership.

These sides, second and third in the table, meet on Saturday knowing that for one team defeat will end their title hopes.

With three matches left, Peel and St John’s lead the table by 24 points. The Saints must surely win their home game to bottom-of-the-table Ramsey and so Town need to take all 20 points available in this fixture.

That, however, could be very difficult. Cronkbourne have won their last four Karran games and are playing with a great deal of confidence. The return of Matt Ansell from university has boosted the bowling attack and Max Stokoe has run into top form.

Both clubs know that if they are to have any hope of coming first in the Premiership, then the Saints will have to slip up. This would appear unlikely as they have won all seven of their matches so far.

Their batting line-up is the most formidable in the island. The bowling attack is accurate and has plenty of depth, while Greg Hawke is having a marvellous all-round season.

It would be a brave man to bet against them on Saturday, but Ramsey, despite their lowly ranking, could pose a problem or two. They are clearly the underdogs and have nothing to lose.

This could lead to an aggressive batting display, led by Shaun Kelly. So far this season he has scored 476 runs at an average of 60 with two centuries. He is clearly a danger as is Tom Howard who has hit 430 runs.

Against Castletown Ramsey totalled 251 – a similar performance at Mullen-e-Cloie could cause major difficulty for the Saints.

Click here for this week’s cricket fixtures.

A team from Ballakermeen High School in Douglas will represent the Isle of Man at the Junior Achievement-Young Engterprise Europe Company of the Year competition in Estonia later this month – and they’re looking for your vote.

Simple Minds - Rio Allison, Nick Collins, Lewis Daly, Andrew O’Neill and Jasmine Marsh - won the Junior Achievement 2014 Boston Group Company of the Year award in March for their product Need a Hand, a sealable polythene glove for cleaning up after dogs, which they promoted with the strap line: ‘Tender glove and care for your dog and the environment.’

They will now be competing against ‘the best of the best’ in Tallin, Estonia, in a challenging series of presentations that will culminate in a team being named JA-YE Europe Company of the Year on July 24.

As they prepare to fly out to Estonia people in the Isle of Man can support them by voting for Simple Minds in the People’s Choice award. Just log on to Simple Minds’ website - www.5simpleminds.com - and cast your vote.

Since they lifted the Company of the Year trophy in March, Simple Minds have been busy.

Team member Nick Collins said: ‘We’ve had to up our game, holding extra meetings and heightening our commitment, which requires much more effort.

‘In the run-up to the competition in Estonia our preparations went well. We submitted the company’s presentation, video and report all ahead of our set deadline, and that’s given us more time to devote to improving our presentation.

‘Competing in Estonia will be a fantastic experience; we can’t wait to see the other companies and meet new people. Also it will be a great experience to travel to Estonia, not somewhere we ever expected we’d be visiting.

‘We came up with the concept of the “Need a Hand?” glove so dog owners could clean up after their pets in a user-friendly way that was also kind to the environment. Currently dog owners use plastic bags, which can be messy and difficult to seal after use and can fall off your hand very easily. We recently developed our glove in black biodegradable polythene with a drawstring for easy seal. We’ve now found manufacturers and got costings for Need A Hand to go into production.

‘All that’s needed now is for people to vote for us in the People’s Choice category. We’d love to have the support of the Island, come back from Estonia as winners and do our Island proud so we’re asking people to visit www.5simpleminds.com and vote for us.’

Simple Minds will be heading to Estonia on Sunday, July 20, with Junior Achievement’s chief executive Sue Cook and programme manager Joy Spence, business mentor Damon Warr of PwC and Ballakermeen High School’s key stage 5 (sixth form) head Ian Kay.

Friends Provident International Ltd has funded T-shirts for the team’s challenge as well as materials and transport costs for the Simple Minds exhibition stand.

The Company of the Year programme, which challenges students to form and run a company with the support and advice of teachers and mentors drawn from the local business community, is sponsored by the Boston Charitable Foundation.

To find out more about Junior Achievement Isle of Man visit www.jaiom.im.

The island is making a radical break from the English education system for 14 to 16 year olds and opting for International GCSEs instead - in a move that will cost £600,000 to implement.

Treasury Minister Tim Crookall made the announcement in Tynwald on the same day that Michael Gove, architect of the reforms that had forced the island’s hand, lost his job as UK Education Secretary.

‘It was not choreographed that way but there’s a fair degree of irony in it,’ admitted education department chief executive Dr Ronald Barr.

He said Mr Gove’s departure had been portrayed in some UK media as a victory for militant teaching unions - but the island’s example showed there was little public appetite for the English reforms here and broad support from teachers, students and businesses for a break-away.

Some island high schools, including QEII, St Ninian’s, Ballakermeen and Castle Rushen High School, already offer IGCSEs – set by Cambridge University’s international examination board and used by more than 14 countries – in certain subjects.

From September 2015, all the high schools will offer IGCSEs in English and maths, with other subjects to follow including sciences, geography, history, art, music and PE. Dr Barr said it would take ‘two years tops’ to roll it out.

Those students starting their GCSE courses this September will continue to use the current English system.

Mr Crookall told Tynwald by 2017 80 per cent of GCSE entries will be through the IGCSE but there were ‘compelling’ reasons why schools believe it was not the best way in some subjects. For those subjects - design and technology, modern languages and RE, schools will follow GCSEs offered by the Welsh Board instead.

Both the IGCSE and Welsh GCSEs will be graded A*-G - unlike the new look English system where exams will be graded nine through to one. Again, unlike the new English model, coursework will continue to contribute to the final mark.

Dr Barr said the IGCSE will cost £600,000 to implement in terms of teacher training and new text books. ‘It’s a big operation but we only need to do it once,’ he said. He said a bid for extra funding from Treasury had been made on the basis this was change forced on the department but no decision had yet been made. Changes required under Gove would have cost £400K-£500K. Opting for the Scottish model would have been the dearest.

The loans made by the government to the Sefton Group in 2012 and 2013 have now been ratified and placed on a secure legal footing.

Chief Minister Allan Bell told Tynwald this week that legal advice suggested Treasury had an existing power granted by the Financial Provision and Curency Act of 2011 to place the loans on a sound legal footing or enter into an agreement with the Sefton to secure repayment.

During the June sitting Mr Bell said a commitment had been given to report back on the Sefton loans once legal advice on how to rectify the situation had been considered.

‘I am pleased to report that since then, not only has the original legal opinion been considered but government has also taken the necessary steps required to bring this matter to a conclusion,’ he said.

Advice from advocate Richard Moules, taken after the June Tynwald sitting, suggested three possible strategies to regularise the loans.

The first strategy – the one taken – was to use existing powers under the 2011 act. Alternatively new legislation could have been enacted to validate the loans retrospectively. A third possibility, Mr Moules said, was simply not to seek restitution, but this was not recommended and would not regularise the original transactions.

In the light of this advice, Mr Bell said a three party agreement had been entered into between the Treasury, the Department of Economic Development and the Sefton Group.

‘Acting on the advice of counsel, I can now report this agreement is now in force and the new agreement does not change the terms of the original agreements in any way and is therefore neutral on all parties,’ Mr Bell said.

Mr Bell also told Tynwald members steps were being taken to discover how the situation had arisen.

‘I believe the mistakes were made in good faith and we are now in a position where the issue is resolved,’ he said.

Michael MHK Alfred Cannan said he was concerned the act which was passed to deal with a £2 million discrepancy on the airport runway extension was now being used as a ‘carte blanche’ to justify the Sefton loans.

This Saturday and after around a 20 year absence, Douglas Carnival brings the town alive once again.

Among some of the events taking place, the main Villa Marina building and gardens play host to inaugural TinkerMann Festival. With a line up that’s headed up by Turin Brakes, making their first visit back to the island since their appearance at The Garden Party back in 2012. The line up for the indoor stages are also complimented by Dan Donnelly, who headlines the acoustic stage, Kings Of Lyon who are on their second visit to the island, 2014 Next Big Thing Winner, Mae Challis, Dublin songstress Ailbhe Reddy, The Quakers (think Mumford and Sons), blues band Della Grants, The Andy Steel Band and Mark Cleator.

The free outdoor stage in the gardens will feature local bands and artists; including Ian Thompson between 5pm and 6pm playing a set that will feature both Ian’s original material and some covers thrown in.

Further up the promenade towards the Sea Terminal, a stage will be erected once again in the Bottleneck car park. The Douglas Carnival After Party will feature other local bands and singer/songwriters from 7.30pm onwards and also includes Chris Gray performing between 9.20pm and 10pm among others.

Among all the carnival related shenanigans, the fine young cavaliers of The Gentleman’s Musical Emporium will bound up to The Amber Bar in Douglas for an appearance on Saturday night. Support for this event comes from the brilliant acoustic four piece, Birds and The Beards. Doors open at 8pm.

Indie band, Final Cut are out and about for a couple of shows over the two forthcoming weekends. The band hit The Station in Port St Mary on Saturday night. You can then also catch them the following Friday at The Bay in Port Erin. I’ve also received a copy of their recent EP ‘Erased From Memory’ which I’ll be reviewing here in the column in the next couple of weeks.

I’ve also received word that Davy Knowles is back on the island for an acoustic show at Noa Bakehouse, Douglas, this Sunday.

The information that I have is that the show will feature a more traditional slant musically from Davy, who’s known more for his blues based tunes.

Davy will also be bringing up special guests to jam with him at various points during the show.

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Steve Leach brings the latest rumblings, murmuring, news and views on forthcoming events in and around the Manx music scene. Help support the scene by emailing leachsteve@hotmail.com

Firefighters freed a distressed and trapped horse today.

At 8.55am crews from Douglas fire station to the report of a trapped and distressed horse at Ballavartyn Equestrian Centre in Santon.

The horse had become trapped between a fence and a hedge.

Firefighters worked with a vet at the scene and freed the horse.

Crews used a winch, slings and various hand tools to effect the rescue.

The organisers of Douglas Carnival are hoping it will stop raining in time for the parade along the promenades.

The carnival is being revived tomorrow (Saturday) about 20 years after the annual event ended.

However, the forecast tomorrow is for heavy rain.

A spokesman from Douglas Development Partnership and Douglas Council said: ‘We have received several inquiries whether Douglas Carnival is going to proceed tomorrow in view of the forecast for heavy rain.

‘We have been liaising with the Met Office and the good news is that although the rain is likely to be heavy during the middle of the day, we expect it to have passed in time for the carnival parade to proceed at 6.30pm as planned, followed by the After Party.

‘ All parts of the event, including the Fun Day during the afternoon, will therefore proceed as planned.’