Almost 500 people in the Isle of Man took part in the world’s biggest wildlife survey earlier this year, the RSPB has revealed.

In the Isle of Man house sparrows swooped into poll position after being spotted in 86 per cent of gardens, closely followed by starlings and then chaffinches.

House sparrows are red-listed (of high conservation concern) in the UK and in the Isle Man, so seeing so many in our gardens proves what an important habitat this is.

It was good news too for jackdaws, who made it into the top five, moving up from seventh place last year and collared doves who moved from 10th to eighth.

However, gorgeous goldfinches dropped one place and blue tits fell down to eighth place. More unusual sightings included migrants like redwings and bramblings, as well as goldcrests – the UK’s joint smallest bird.

Manx Birdlife works in partnership with RSPB to conserve the Manx birds and their habitats. For the last 15 years Manx Birdlife has been running a weekly Garden Birdwatch scheme in the Isle of Man.

At the moment the scheme counts with only 73 dedicated birdwatchers.

It would mean a great deal if more people would join the Isle of Man scheme. All you need to do is to send your address details to enquiries@manxbirdlife.im or visit Manx Birdlife website for more details: http://manxbirdlife.im/our-work2/garden-birdwatch/

Amy Colvin from RSPB NI, said: ‘During winter, birds need extra food and water, a safe place to shelter and make their home. Gardens providing these things are an invaluable resource for birds and are likely to have a significant effect on their numbers, perhaps even playing a pivotal role in reversing some declines. We hope Big Garden Birdwatch has helped people understand how birds rely on our gardens, and has encouraged them to take steps to give nature a home all year round.”

Overall more than eight-and-a-half million birds were spotted during Big Garden Birdwatch 2015.

More than half a million people across the UK spent an hour during the weekend of January 24 and 25 watching their garden and recording any feathered friends that made a flying visit.

As part of the Big Garden Birdwatch, thousands of children and young people also took part in Big Schools’ Birdwatch in their playgrounds during January and February, including six on the Isle of Man.

Big Garden Birdwatch and Big Schools’ Birdwatch are a part of the RSPB’s Giving Nature a Home campaign, aimed at tackling the housing crisis facing the UK’s threatened wildlife. To find out how you can give nature a home where you live visit rspb.org.uk/homes

Plans are progressing for a memorial garden at Noble’s Hospital to remember and recognise organ donors from the island.

After almost a year of fundraising the hospital’s organ donation committee is now close to its £12,500 target.

And they are now inviting families who would like to have a loved one who have donated organs remembered in the garden to get in touch.

Committee member Diane Taylor, whose son Daniel’s gift helped to save and improve the lives of four others, said: ‘The garden is to remember donors and give renewed pride to their families.

‘Organ donors rarely save just one life but many lives can either be saved or transformed by a single donor.’

The garden will be made up of various sizes of local stone from Pooil Vaaish quarry. It has an island theme and will feature local landmarks.

Each donor will have a memorial stone inscribed with their name and age.

‘We are now at the stage where we would like to invite families who have loved ones who have donated organs and would like them to be remembered in the garden to contact us,’ Diane said.

‘We understand that for some this may be something they wish to keep private and no donor will be included without written authorisation from their family.

‘There is no time limit and we can go back as far as required even if its up to 20 years or more ago.’

She added: ‘The memorial garden is to be a permanent feature and donor families can contact us at anytime and not just for the opening. In the future, families are welcome to get in touch and request to have a memorial stone made for their loved one should they wish to.’

Fundraisers have included bingo and bowling nights, an 80s disco, walkers in the Parish Walk and a team took part in the Crossroads Charity Shop Challenge

Diane’s employer, Manx Telecom, has held dress down days and cake and bottle stalls.

The Raven Raiders, who won the mixed team event at last year’s Viking Longboat races, donated their winnings.

Barclays Bank has another fundraiser in the pipeline.

Families who would like to have a donor stone should email diane.taylor@isleofman.com or write to her at Glen View, St Jude’s, Andreas, IM7 2EW.

The jury is expected to be sent out to consider its verdict in the Ian Anderson murder trial this week.

The defendant has denied murdering 60-year-old gardener Neil Roberts at the house Mr Anderson shared with his wife in Queen Street, Castletown, in December 2013.

Court did not sit on Friday or Monday and today (Tuesday) prosecution and defence counsel will deliver closing speeches to the jury.

This will be followed tomorrow (Wednesday) by Deemster Alastair Montgomerie’s summing up of the evidence, after which he will give instructions to the jury.

The case continues.

This week’s Examiner is in the shops now.

It has the latest on the Peel silt saga on page one.

Inside, it also reports on leachate being removed from the old Raggatt tip.

The paper also includes a local authority’s complaints about the chief minister and finds out why the UK Labour Party’s policy on non-doms might be bad for the Isle of Man.

There’s also a story about problems at the beer festival and tributes to motorcycle star Gary Carswell.

Josh Kelly has one hand on the Canada Life Premier League’s Golden Boot after his five-goal haul against Ramsey last week.

The former Rushen forward now has 39 goals for the league season, putting him 13 ahead of nearest challenger Steven Priestnal.

The St Mary’s man only has two rearranged games left to make up the deficit against Laxey and ironically enough Peel.

Golden Boot holder Ciaran McNulty sits a further three goals behind Priestnal in the standings on 23.

Golden Boot standings (top five)

1, Josh Kelly (Peel)39 goals

2, Steven Priestnal (St Mary’s)26

3, Ciaran McNulty (St George’s)23

4, Calum Morrissey (St George’s)19

5=, Conor Doyle (St George’s)18

5=, Frank Jones (St George’s)18

5=, Danny Oram (Corinthians)18

The Silver Boot is sewn up, with Malew’s Andy Glover having hit 38 goals, 20 more than Pulrose’sBarry English.

JCK Division Two’s top scorer last season, Stuart Morris, is joint third in the standings with Braddan’s Ben O’Neill.

Silver Boot standings (top five)

1, Andy Glover (Malew)38 goals

2, Barry English (Pulrose)18

3=, Stuart Morris (Marown)17

3=, Ben O’Neill (Braddan)17

5, Alex Crawley (Castletown) 15

Manx Telecom has shown a ‘good, solid performance’ with reported profit before and after tax for the year at £5.7m from £0.4m a year earlier.

Revenue was £79.3m from £76m, an increase of 4.2 per cent.

And the final dividend for shareholders was 6.6 pence, taking the total to 9.9pence.

There was a small decline in EBITDA, (earnings before interest,taxes, depreciation and amortization) from £27.5m to £27.1m but the company said this was as a result of the additional costs associated with being a public company.

And the underlying operating profit was reported at £17.6m, down from £18.1m, a decrease of 2.8 per cent

MT chief executive officer Mike Dee said: ‘Looking back at our achievements in 2014 I am pleased to say we had a busy and successful year.

‘Following the IPO (initial public offering) in February 2014 we have continued to focus on our core business of providing a wide range of communications services to consumers, businesses and the public sector on the Isle of Man.’

Mr Dee added: ‘We have made good progress over the year, with revenue growth driven by strong sales in global solutions, as well as positive take-up of high speed broadband on the island.

‘After a slower than anticipated start the Greenhill Data Centre now has a number of new local customers ready to move in.

‘This, and the continuing success of 4G, gives us confidence that the underlying strength in the business will continue in the year ahead.’

Mr Dee was in London today as Manx Telecom released its full year results, the first year in which the telecommunications company ‘went public’ and has been a member of AIM, the junior arm of the London Stock Exchange.

This is Mike Dee’s final year with the company after 31 years service.

He told the Manx Independent: ‘It has been a good, solid performance.’

And he said the results proved that it had been the right thing for Manx Telecom to ‘go public’ by joining AIM.

He also said Manx Telecom’s share register included a good number of local people.

The company paid its maiden interim dividend of 3.3 pence per share in November 2014 and intends to pay a final dividend of 6.6 pence on June 25.

The full year dividend of 9.9 pence represents a 7 per cent yield in line with the policy communicated when the company was admitted to AIM.

Manx Telecom’s fixed network connected some 37,000 residential customers and more than 4,000 business customers at the end of 2014.

It had 50,900 voice lines, 25,500 retail broadband customers out of a total broadband base of 32,000 customers.

In mobile, the operator had approximately 35,100 prepaid customers, compared to 36,000 a year earlier.

Postpaid customers stood at 28,900, up on 28,700 at the end of 2013.

l Also today Manx Telecom announced the Isle of Man Government is now the ‘anchor tenant’ ie the leading tenant for phase one of the Greenhill Data Centre.

MT said that after a competitive tender the Government signed a five year contract from February 1 which saw it take 25 racks at the centre to ‘ support a variety of front-line Government services.

This agreement became operational in March 2015 after a ‘complex and successful migration from existing Government premises’.

The company is also looking to develop Phase II of the GDC data centre later in 2015, following interest from another prospective anchor tenant.

Mr Dee said: ‘This agreement with the island’s Government is the highest form of validation for the quality and security that we can provide to customers in both the public and private sectors.

‘Our data centre operations continue to represent an important area of growth for Manx Telecom and we look forward to developing Phase 2 of the Greenhill centre later this year.’

Seventy years ago, in April 1945, the Isle of Man had seen its share of the tragedy and waste of war.

The Second World War had been disrupting people’s lives for five and a half years but it was not to last much longer. The end of the war in Europe was less than a month away.

People knew that peace was coming and they were beginning to hope that their loved ones might soon be returning home and things might be returning to normal once again.

The island had an astonishing total of more than 400 aircraft accidents recorded during that time. Not every accident was serious but many of them involved loss of life; the island’s hills and Mannanan’s cloak took a grim toll of over 200 young men.

Seventy years ago today, April 14, an aircraft flew into a field overlooking Perwick Bay near Port St Mary.

Nobody knows why it crashed there and nobody ever will. All we can do is tell the story and wonder why such a peaceful scene was transformed into a blazing, smoking inferno; a place of devastation with twisted and unrecognisable metal strewn across the field with ammunition exploding and debris flying through the air.

The aircraft that crashed was an American Flying Fortress bomber, a large, four-engined machine designed for killing, capable of carrying several tonnes of bombs and armed with 12 machine guns.

On this day the bomber was on a peaceful mission; it was heading to Northern Ireland to pick up supplies of whisky for a party at its home base at the United States Army Air Force station at Thurleigh in Essex.

This flight in itself was an example of the sheer madness of war. While men were dying in torpedoed oil tankers carrying aviation fuel across the Atlantic Ocean, other men were using the precious petrol for all kinds of apparently unnecessary purposes like this.

Having said that, are we right to moralise about this from the comfort of our 21st century homes?

Most of us weren’t around at the time and we simply cannot imagine what it felt like to have struggled through those long, dreary years of rationing, hardship and fear.

Eleven people were on board the Flying Fortress. They were all Americans. Four of the five flight crew were members of a crew who flew together regularly on operations but most of the others were just there for the ride. One of the passengers was a woman who was responsible for setting up the Red Cross Clubs where American servicemen could relax and have a reminder of their far-away homes. They were aged between 21 and 35 and it seems fitting to include their names here. They were:

The Crew

Pilot: 1st Lieutenant Robert Arthur Vieille, 23

Second Pilot: 2nd Lieutenant Collins Edward Liersch, 22

Navigator: Flight Officer Howard Edgar LeCompte Jr, 24

Engineer: Technical Sergeant Earnest Earl Gallion, 21

Radio Operator: Staff Sergeant Chester Frank Smalczewski

The Passengers

Captain Wilber Bradley Butterfield, 24

Captain George E. Cubberly, 32

2nd Lieutenant Austin J. Parrish, 28

Master Sergeant Derrell Sevier Jones, 35

Technical Sergeant William C. Starbuck, 27

Emiiy Harper Rea, American Red Cross, 33

Some of the names and spellings might appear unusual but they reflect the diverse origins of the people of the United States at the time.

The details were thoroughly researched by the volunteers of the Manx Aviation and Military Museum for inclusion in a memorial which was erected in 2012 in another combined operation, this time by Rushen Parish Commissioners and the Museum, near the site of the accident.

The crash site has been visited by several family members and friends of the victims. The late brother of the pilot, Robert Vieille, visited once and his sister, his niece and her husband have visited several times.

They have been instrumental in carrying out research in America into the events surrounding the crash.

Sadly Robert’s brother died before the memorial was built but it was unveiled by his sister and niece. The second pilot, Collins Liersch’s, hometown girlfriend and his best friend married a couple of years after he was killed and several years ago they were taken to the site by me.

I have been privileged to have been able to help many people visit the places where their relatives died in aircraft accidents but this was the most special visit of all.

These two people knew Collins Liersch better than anyone and they flew thousands of miles from their small farming community in Wisconsin to visit the place where he died. To see them, two people in their mid-80s, standing close together with heads bowed in that peaceful green field overlooking the sea where Collins died so long ago was the most moving and humbling experience. I can’t begin to imagine what thoughts were in their minds but my thoughts were of sadness at the waste of it all.

I suppose that out of the tragedy some good has come because many people in America appreciate the way in which we commemorate these people who died so far from home and the island now has many friends over there.

The aircraft itself was unusual. Many American aircraft were given names and this was no exception; it was called ‘Combined Operations’.

It was so called because it was an aeroplane which had been put together from two severely battle-damaged Flying Fortresses. In effect it was built from scrap; the front end of one and the tail end of another were joined together with great care by the ground crewmen at Thurleigh in their spare time.

It was those men’s way of giving Hitler an extra kick in the pants and it got its name because it was the result of the combined operations of airframe mechanics, engine fitters, electricians and the many other trades whose unsung efforts helped to achieve the victory over evil. Their attention to detail made this a very special aeroplane which was well known in its squadron for being a ‘fast ship’.

Research by the Manx Aviation and Military Museum has revealed that the aircraft flew on more than 80 bombing missions over Europe so its quality was not in doubt, despite its unusual origins.

The victims were taken back to England for burial in the American Military Cemetery at Madingley near Cambridge. Some were returned to America after the war for burial near their families.

The scene of the accident is now a quiet field once again but even after 70 years a small patch of bare soil remains to indicate the exact spot where those eleven people met their deaths. Close by, the polished black granite memorial tells passers-by of the tragedy and it is probably correct to say that because of it more people know about the accident now than ever before.

This tragedy was not to be the island’s worst air accident for long. Only nine days later, April 23, 1945, it would be overtaken by another terrible event when another Flying fortress flew into North Barrule killing 31 American servicemen. Let us hope and pray that these two forever remain the worst air accidents on the island’s soil.

The Manx Aviation and Military Museum has displays which tell the stories of both these accidents plus many others. It is open every Saturday and Sunday and bank holiday from 10am to 4.30pm and during the summer it is open every day from TT Practice Week to the end of September.

There was a bottleneck at the fourth CAMRA beer and cider festival when a large number of visitors arrived all at once on Friday evening.

By early evening only those with advance tickets were being admitted and some drinkers already inside the venue reported queuing for up to 40 minutes for their drinks

Alan Cooper of the island’s branch of CAMRA said an unprecedented number of people arriving in a very short space of time as offices and businesses closed around tea time had caused the delays.

Organisers had expected the move from the Masonic Hall to the larger Villa Marina would ease the space problem but drinkers had been unwilling to leave the bar area and move into the other rooms where bands were playing or food was being served.

‘We are fully aware of all of people’s comments,’ Mr Cooper said. ‘We take them entirely on board and we will be considering them seriously in the coming months before next year’s festival.

‘There was plenty of room for people but it’s human nature that people tend to want to congregate at the bar.’

He said there was to be a debriefing session held with the Villa Marina officials.

Bands used the large hall and stage area and tables were set up for people to sit and listen but many drinkers stayed mainly in the bar area which was not much bigger than that at the Masonic Hall.

On Saturday there were similar visitor numbers to Friday but spread out during a longer period, avoiding the congestion of the previous day.

This year’s festival attracted around 3,000 visitors over the three days, 1,000 more than last year, with around 400 coming to the festival from off island.

There were 132 real ales, ciders and perries, twice as many as at the first festival in 2012 but many of the ales had run dry, particularly the lighter coloured ones, by Saturday night.

‘We wanted to get a range of speciality flavoured beers and those tend to be darker in colour but for next year we will again be ordering more,’ Mr Cooper said.

On Saturday twice as many people visited the fstival as on that night in 2014 and more than 10,500 pints of ale and cider were drunk.

Mr Cooper said organisers were sorry about the queuing and that some people were turned away on Friday but he said the planning for the 2016 event would look at all options for increasing the bar area to alleviate the problems.

Peel can overtake St George’s at the top of the Canada Life Premier League on Wednesday evening if the westerners come away from a testing trip to DHSOB with all three points.

A win would leave Steve Falconer’s men on 65 points, two ahead of Geordies with both having one game left to play against St Mary’s and Laxey respectively next Wednesday.

The mid-week action kicks off tonight, Tuesday, with games in combination one and two.

Aside from the big game at Blackberry Lane, Wednesday also sees the promotion race in JCK Division Two take centre stage.

Marown, who sealed the championship last week, will receive their trophy when they host a Colby side still harbouring feint hopes of joining them in the top-flight next season.

Douglas Athletic and Douglas Royal can still mathematically also make the Premier League’s Promised Land, the two in action against Onchan and Foxdale respectively.

The Kirby Estates Cowell Cup continues Thursday evening, while on Friday Colby A meet Peel in the Paddy Power Masters’ FA Cup final at the Bowl.

Tuesday, April 14

Canada Life Combination One

6.30pm Laxey v Corinthians

6.30pm St Mary’s v St George’s @ Groves Road, Pulrose

JCK Combination Two

6.30pm Foxdale v Marown

-------------

Wednesday, April 15

Canada Life Premier League

6.30pm DHSOB v Peel

6.30pm Laxey v St Mary’s

6.30pm Michael v Ramsey

JCK Division Two

6.30pm Douglas Royal v Onchan

6.30pm Douglas Athletic v Foxdale

6.30pm Marown v Colby

-------------

Thursday, April 16

Kirby Estates Cowell Cup Group A

6.30pm Rushen v Rycob

6.30pm Corinthians v Ramsey

6.30pm Union Mills v Braddan

6.30pm Laxey v Peel

Group B

6.30pm Douglas & District v Ayre

6.30pm Marown v Colby

6.30pm St Mary’s v Onchan

-------------

Friday, April 17

Paddy Power Masters FA Cup Final

7.30pm Colby A v Peel @ Bowl

Plans to open a Tesco Express shop in Douglas town centre are progressing.

Proposals for the new store will be shown at an exhibition on Thursday, April 23.

The convenience store would be located in the former home of the Manx Electricity Authority in The Strand Centre – which has been empty since 2012.

The public exhibition is being held at the vacant shop unit on April 23 from 2pm until 7pm.

As well as viewing information about the planned store, residents will be able to discuss the proposals with members of the project team working for the {http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/mar/24/tesco-faces-us-lawsuit-over-profit-overstatement|troubled} retailer.

The Douglas Tesco Express store would be the company’s second shop in the island.

Its attempt to {http://www.iomtoday.co.im/news/business/tesco-have-no-plans-to-pursue-plan-to-open-store-in-castletown-1-7134484|open in Castletown was thwarted} over licensing issues and {http://www.iomtoday.co.im/news/isle-of-man-news/tesco-extension-plan-refused-1-1747499|an attempt to expand the Lake Road shop} was denied.

Tesco employs more than 290 people at its Douglas supermarket, which opened 15 years ago.

Supermarket critics {http://www.foe.co.uk/sites/default/files/downloads/tesco_every_little_hurts.pdf|claim} that big shops such as Tesco kill off more jobs than they create because of their impact on smaller businesses.

The Lake Road store, which is one of Tesco’s busiest, raised over £12,000 last year for charities and groups in the island and it claims it works with a growing number of Isle of Man suppliers.

However, it supplies far fewer Manx products than its principal island rival, Shoprite.

Related story:

{http://www.iomtoday.co.im/news/business/tesco-targets-douglas-town-centre-store-1-6868961|Tesco targets Douglas town centre store}

RL360°’s first full calendar year since its management-led buyout delivered 31 per cent growth in new business across the board.

In total, sales in PVNBP (Present Value of New Business Premiums) terms hit £591m in 2014, up from 2013’s year end figure of £452m.

The results (PVNBP) for 2014 also reveal confidence is returning to the single premium market, with sales up from £332m in 2013 to £450m in 2014, a 36 per cent increase.

Regular Premium (RP) sales were strong too, up 18 per cent from £119m in 2013 to £141m last year.

The Far East was by far the biggest region for RP, with almost half of the sales coming from that region.

Audited operating profits were 180 per cent of planned target and RL360°’s overall increase in the embedded value was 222 per cent ahead of its 2014 set target.

The company was in the envious position of having all of its five key regions hit revenue target and finishing the year strongly.

Chief executive David Kneeshaw won the business person of the year award at the 2014 Isle of Man Newspapers Awards for Excellence.

He said: ‘2014 was a momentous year for RL360°.

‘We celebrated our first year since the management buyout and have delivering a fantastic first set of results. 2014 saw new opportunities opening up in Africa and in the Latin American market our most recent market entry.

‘We have set ourselves some ambitious sales targets for 2015 and we’ve made good headway already, with a record number of new business applications in the first two months of the year.’

This strong start to 2015 comes on the back of some key product changes made at the end of 2014, including a revamp of RL360°’s regular savings product Quantum.

‘We also invested heavily in technology.

‘For example, we launched online dealing for Portfolio Bonds, meaning that online dealing is now available to all products, old and new.

‘We are now looking ahead to the launch of our online applications this summer.

‘We are grateful for the commitment of our financial backers and supporting advisers, as well as to the entire RL360° team, as we continue to push hard across all our markets’.

Dan Sayle has announced a surprise return to the sidecar paddock for this year’s TT.

The Sulby man Tweeted on Tuesday afternoon that he will passenger for John Holden at this summer’s event.

Sayle, who has won eight TTs with Tim Reeves, Dave Molyneux and Klaus Klaffenbock, looks set to replace Andrew Winkle in the chair of Holden’s outfit, the latter pair having won in 2011.

More in Thursday’s Manx Independent.

The £4 million neonatal intensive care unit at Noble’s Hospital opened its doors today.

It is the first major extension to Noble’s Hospital since it opened in 2003.

The facility is located on the first floor of the east wing of the hospital, next to the Jane Crookall Maternity Ward.

Enabling works started in June 2013 and Tynwald voted to approve funds for the construction in October 2013 with building work under way that same month.

The facility was topped out by Health and Social Care Minister Howard Quayle in June 2014 with completion and handover to the department in March this year. The facility was delivered to budget and on time.

The unit has the same capacity of nine cots, as there has been in the special care baby unit, while providing more space for each one – a key requirement of current standards and ‘best practice’. There is improved overnight accommodation for parents.

The new unit allows for improvements in the treatment of terminally-ill babies and benefits from an enhanced floor plan layout to provide more privacy, as well as assisting in isolating babies, carrying out resuscitation, and in providing more storage space for vital equipment.

Consultant paediatrician and neonatologist at Noble’s Hospital, Dr Prakash Thiagarajan, said: “The new neonatal facilities are first class. Meeting constantly evolving standards and advances in medicine is a challenge and the team is very grateful for this significant investment.

‘We can now boast the best possible neonatal facilities for a level two unit and continue our focus on providing excellent care for critically-ill babies and the necessary support for their parents and families.’

A Manx Road Safety Motor Meet for 16 to 25 year olds will take place in Peel on Friday (April 17).

It will run from 6pm to 10pm at Marine Parade at the northern end of the promenade.

The event offers young drivers the chance to receive road safety advice, watch videos, look at cars and talk to representatives from the police and Department of Education.

It is part of a series of events being held around the island with the aim of encouraging safer driving and reducing the number of serious incidents on the island’s roads.

Organisers hope that holding events outdoors with a more interactive element will make them more appealing.

Students and pensioners have been learning about the different ways to look out for potential online and telephone scams, following a number of presentations hosted by Isle of Man Bank.

Events have taken place for lower sixth form pupils at the QE2 School in Peel, the Onchan Pensioners Club and members of the Towns Women’s Guild in Peel.

feedback

The positive feedback following these sessions has led to the bank planning to host more events for the Isle of Man community.

James Tummon, the Bank’s fraud prevention manager, has developed the half hour presentation in which some of the recent telephone and online frauds experienced by members of the local community are highlighted.

Advice is also given on how to identify suspicious communications as well as helpful insights into how customers can protect themselves from fraud and stay safe online.

Key messaging of the event included:

l Don’t give your full PIN and password to anyone

l Never tell anyone your card reader codes or use them when logging in online

l Never click on a link to another website or call an unknown number.

l Keep your PC security up to date.

help and support

Bill Shimmins, managing director, Isle of Man Bank said: ‘As a community bank it is important for us to offer our help and support to the Isle of Man community where we can.

‘These sessions give us the opportunity to raise awareness of scams that have developed in recent times, whilst also being able to offer advice on how the public can protect themselves.

‘To date around 150 people have attended the sessions and we are pleased the feedback has been very positive.

‘We now plan to deliver more of these presentations, so that we can reach and support even more of the Isle of Man community.’

Any organisation that would like more information about arranging a session should contact James.Tummon@iombank.com.

Further guidance on staying safe from fraud is also available from the Bank’s security centre online at www.iombank.com/security

Gardeners will be giving their advice at an event in Dalby on Friday.

A panel will be chaired by Brian Rae and include Steven Whittaker, Ian Smith and Michael Killey.

It takes place at Dalby schoolrooms at 7.30pm and admission is £7.50, which includes a Manx broth and bread, with tea, coffee and cakes.

All proceeds after costs go to good causes.

The new policy requiring pensioners to pay half fare on trains has been criticised by Castletown commissioner Colin Leather.

He said: ‘It’s scandalous when you have paid all your life, to pay half fare when everywhere else it’s free after 9.30am.’

Pensioners must also pay half fare to travel on buses before 9am and between 4pm and 5.30pm during the week. At other times travel is free.

Mr Leather added if grandparents wanted to bring their grandchildren to town on the train it would cost around £20.

With new businesses such as an Italian restaurant and the promise of a branch of Costa Coffee opening in town, he said: ‘It is becoming a place to eat – this is just the thing pensioners are looking for.’

The charge is ‘detrimental at this stage of their lives. They are already suffering having to pay for a TV licence [another change] from 75 – it’s a double whammy. We should write we do not support his.’

Alwyn Collister said: ‘The [train[ coaches will still run if they [pensioners] are in it or not.’

Dorothy Faragher pointed out a train season ticket for pensioners costs £30.

Acting chairman Andrew Thomas said that should be more widely publicised.

Four commissioners – Mr Leather, Mr Collister, Peter Hill-Heaton and Kevin Weir – voted to complain to the department; the remaining members, Ms Faragher, Mr Thomas and David Parnell, were against the proposal.

The opening weekend of Manx Hockey Association’s centenary celebrations set the bar high for the island’s top youth teams in an under-16s tournament sponsored by First Names Group.

Blessed with good weather, the round-robin tournament involved Deeside Ramblers Hockey Club and two UK Lions teams consisting of top, hand-picked individuals from the adjacent isle.

Isle of Man fielded three teams of its own under-16s, most of them drawn from within the First Names Single System - an elite development plan that feeds into the British elite development framework.

This has seen several successes over the past years, with some individuals sitting on the cusp of England selection.

UK Lions have a much larger pool of individuals to select from so brought a slightly younger age group of players, making for evenly-matched and entertaining matches. The highlight of the weekend was the 2pm fixture on Saturday where the local team beat UK Lions A 4-0.

Individual performances also shone through with a number of familiar names from the senior domestic hockey scene on the scoresheet, including Thomas Tsistos, Tom Evans, Oliver Grice, Macklin Wilson, Robin Masson and several more. For the visitors, Ben Nicholson stood out as being a name to watch for the future.

Deeside Ramblers also put forward creditable performances when the club pitched itself against the might of the rest of the UK and the island.

Manx Hockey Association chairman Tim Leeming thanked the visiting clubs and sponsor First Names Group, commenting that the event had been an outstanding success.

He said that he hoped an elite youth tournament could become part of the island’s hockey calendar.

Tim also noted that it was especially pleasing that the island will now be invited to the UK Lions selection tournament, an offer made on the strength of the local performances over the weekend.

Full results in this week’s Examiner.

Peel Commissioners have written to chief minister Allan Bell voicing their frustrations with government policy and accusing him of a ‘failure to engage with local authorities’.

The letter has prompted a response from Minister for Policy and Reform, John Shimmin MHK, as Mr Bell is away.

In the commissioners’ letter, addressed directly to the Chief Minister, they said: ‘We feel it is incumbent to write and pass on our feelings and resentments of a large proportion of our population (about 25 per cent of the island according to government figures) that bear the brunt of economic cuts and costs.

‘The ability of local authorities to assist is severely limited by government’s apparent reluctance in reality to properly engage with us, and actually pass on meaningful control of some issues (not just the costs), and work in proper partnership with us.’

Talking about food banks the commissioners said: ‘We are discussing the provision of food banks to assist those struggling with the extra financial pressure put on them by this government.

‘The apparent lack of concern and assistance from central government is striking. The fact that the commissioners need to discuss such issues in the 21st century is appalling and should be a cause of embarrassment for those in government. The last budget failed to assist those at the lower end of the pay scale.’

Moving on to housing the commissioners said: ‘Rents have continued to rise by a large percentage over the last few years causing great hardship to those on low pay and fixed incomes.

‘In addition they have to pay the extra charges of waste disposal, water rates, sewage charges, higher electricity prices.’

‘Great emphasis has been placed by government for the need for the reform of local authorities.

‘Local authorities were willing both individually and within the Municipal Association to engage on this issue. Since these meetings the government have remained silent until recently when Phil Gawne met with local authorities to take over services from central government.

‘With regard to any meaningful debate about future reform the political member responsible, Juan Turner, has failed to meet with local authorities or the Municipal Association.

‘Your failure to engage with local authorities has also been noted.’

Mr Shimmin said that a full response to the letter was being finalised but added: ‘In accusing the government of a “lack of concern and assistance” the commissioners are clearly unaware of what is being done to help the least well off in our community, and it is worrying that a major local authority should be so ill-informed.

‘This year’s Manx budget includes £100 million for benefits payments and paves the way for lifting 10,000 lower paid people out of the tax net next year. Meanwhile the production of the island’s first joint strategic needs assessment has given us a clearer picture of patterns of social need in local communities to support the effective targeting of resources.

‘In case anyone has forgotten, the public finances of the Isle of Man have taken a big hit in recent years with the loss of a substantial portion of our VAT revenue. Government has worked hard to minimise the impact on the public by reducing our salary budget by £53 million in real terms, delivering £15 million in internal efficiency savings, and refusing to increase personal income tax rates, but inevitably some charge increases have been passed on to the public.

‘It would be interesting to hear what Peel Commissioners have done to contain their costs to minimise the financial burden on their ratepayers.’

Peel’s marauding striker Josh Kelly is the Canada Life Premier League’s Player of the Month for March.

The former Rushen man hit an astonishing 12 goals in the title-chasing westerners’ three top-flight games last month to help clinch the award.

Kelly’s haul of eight player rating points saw him edge the accolade from Matty Skillicorn.

The Ramsey winger accrued 7.5 points over the period for the northerners.

Skillicorn was in turn half a point ahead of Peel winger Lee Gale who helped his side to three wins as the campaign gets to its business end.

Gale’s Peel team-mate Andrew Crennell was fourth in the standings, with DHSOB’s influential midfielder Robbie Ward completing the top five.

Union Mills midfielder Ronan McDonnell picks up the young player accolade award for a second successive month after impressing in the Mills’ engine room as the Garey Mooar outfit completed their great escape from the Premier League’s relegation zone.

March Player of the Month standings (top 14)

1, Josh Kelly (Peel) 8 points; 2, Matty Skillicorn (Ramsey) 7.5; 3, Lee Gale (Peel) 7; 4, Andrew Crennell (Peel) 6.5; 5, Robbie Ward (DHSOB)6; 6=, Sam Caine (St George’s) 5.5; 6=, Nick Leung (St John’s) 5.5; 6=, Sam Taylor (Rushen) 5.5; 9=, Darren Cain (Corinthians) 5; 9=, Ronan McDonnell (Union Mills) 5; 9=, Danny Oram (Corinthians) 5; 12=, Ciaran McNulty (St George’s) 4.5; 12=, Iain Ramsay (DHSOB) 45; 14=, Conor Doyle (St George’s) 4; 14=, Frank Jones (St George’s) 4.

Kelly’s March performances have seen him return to the top of the overall player ratings standings.

The Peel attacker holds a slender half a point lead over St George’s Conor Doyle, with the race for the Gordon Clague Memorial Trophy set to go to the wire.

Doyle in turn holds a couple of points advantage over club-mate Frank Jones who sits third overall in the seasonal listings.

St Mary’s player-manager Steven Priestnal sits fourth just ahead of Ciaran McNulty (St George’s) and Andrew Crennell (Peel) who complete the current top six.

Seasonal player rating standings (top 13)

1, Josh Kelly (Peel) 34 points; 2, Conor Doyle (St George’s) 33.5; 3, Frank Jones (St George’s) 31.5; 4, Steven Priestnal (St Mary’s) 30.5; 5, Ciaran McNulty (St George’s) 29.5; 6, Andrew Crennell 29; 7, Lee Gale (Peel); 8, Furo Davies (Rushen); 9, Karl Clark (St Mary’s) 25; 10=, Sean Quaye (St George’s) 24.5; 10=, Robbie Ward (DHSOB) 24.5; 12, Nick Leung (St John’s) 23; 13=, Martin King (DHSOB) 21.5; 13=, Steve Riding (Rushen) 21.5; 13=, Jonny Shields (Laxey) 21.5; 13=, Matty Skillicorn (Ramsey) 21.5.