Passengers on board the Steam Packet’s Ben-my-Chree were late to arrive in Heysham this afternoon.

The ferry company says that the ship aborted her entry into the port of Heysham due to un-forecasted high winds.

The vessel eventually docked at 1.34pm, more than an hour late.

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

The Ben also suffered problems {http://www.iomtoday.co.im/news/isle-of-man-news/steam-packet-cancellations-1-7241424|at the weekend.}

Sustainable development of the Manx territorial sea is the theme of a workshop being held this week.

Representatives of government departments, utilities, carriers, tourism, commercial and leisure sea-goers, environmental and conservation groups and educationalists have been invited to attend the event, entitled ‘Biosphere Isle of Man – a Place for Sustainable Marine and Coastal Development’.

The workshop takes place at the iMuseum, Douglas, on Friday.

It will be opened by Chris Thomas MHK, the politician at the Department of the Environment, Food and Agriculture with responsibility for Environment, Safety and Health.

He said: ‘The workshop will bring people together to share information and develop management approaches to ensure sustainable use of our territorial sea. I am looking forward to this important discussion.’

Among the speakers are Dr Sue Kidd, of the department of geography and planning at the University of Liverpool, who will describe the aims of the Celtic Seas Partnership; Dr Ken Milne, director of energy and support Services at the Department of Economic Development, who will discuss potential coastal and marine developments, and Bernard Warden, director of environment, safety and health at the DEFA, who will speak about how the Biosphere Isle of Man bid will recognise sustainable marine policies and practices.

Group discussions will then examine opportunities for sustainable practice in commercial shipping, energy, fisheries, coastal and marine tourism and recreation and coastal protection and adaptation to climate change.

Mr Thomas said: ‘This is the start of a process to develop ideas about sustainable marine use through the UNESCO Biosphere project. Our territorial sea is managed by the Government on behalf of the people of the Island, many of whom have a professional or personal interest in it.

‘It is also a complex and interconnected ecosystem. Inviting stakeholders to inform our future approaches should ensure marine growth is sustainable.’

The workshop is organised jointly by the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture (DEFA), which is behind the island’s bid to gain world Biosphere Region status from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), and the Celtic Seas Partnership.

The latter is a European Commission Life+ project which is led by WWF-UK (formerly the World Wildlife Fund).

The island’s gas supply network is to be regulated for the first time.

The Office of Fair Trading, the Treasury and the Department of Economic Development today announced a historic voluntary agreement with Manx Gas.

OFT chairman David Quirk MHK said: ‘For many years there has been concern from consumers about gas prices and the OFT has been carefully monitoring the market for over a decade.

‘In 2008, the Council of Ministers published an OFT report under the Fair Trading Act 1996 into gas prices.

‘Based on specialist economic advice, the report defined an acceptable range of profitability and concluded that the profits of Manx Gas were not excessive.

‘Since then, Manx Gas has adopted the mid-point of that acceptable range and has been providing the OFT with confidential data, which has confirmed that the company has been complying with its voluntary policy.

‘What we are announcing today is a formal voluntary system of regulation which contractually commits Manx Gas to a level of profitability which is below their previous target; and ultimately that means a better deal for consumers.’

The 2008 report concluded that the most appropriate way of measuring profitability in an industry requiring a high level of capital investment, such as gas supply, was the relationship between profits and the capital cost of the assets used to produce those profits.

This concept (which is referred to by accountants and economists as Return on Capital Employed or ROCE) is widely used by utilities regulators, the OFT says.

The OFT said that ROCE was a measure of profitability; it was not the profit margin. The business would set its prices and margins to achieve the level of profitability.

Many consumers were horrified last year when Manx Gas put up prices because the weather had turned mild and profits were therefore hit.

{http://www.iomtoday.co.im/news/business/mild-weather-blamed-for-rise-in-price-of-gas-1-6804336|Click here to be reminded of that story.}

At the time, the OFT {http://www.iomtoday.co.im/news/isle-of-man-news/manx-gas-s-figures-make-sense-says-oft-1-6810980|justified the situation} by saying that the figures were a part of the agreement with the government.

But even the Chief Minsiter thought that the situation was {http://www.iomtoday.co.im/news/isle-of-man-news/gas-price-increase-does-seem-a-bit-odd-says-chief-minister-1-6817667|’a bit off’.}

Today Mr Quirk said: ‘Up to now, Manx Gas has been targeting a rolling average ROCE of 10.6 per cent.

‘The new voluntary agreement, which came into effect on January 1, will result in a ROCE of 9.99 per cent.

‘The agreement runs for a minimum of four years and we estimate that it will give a saving to the island’s consumers of over £2m over that period, compared to the previous system.

‘Company accounts information and other data will be supplied to the OFT and with assistance from Treasury accountants, we will be able to rigorously monitor compliance with the agreement.

‘Manx Gas will still set its tariffs and prices as it has always done, but under the agreement those will have to achieve the agreed ROCE of 9.99 per cent.’

Tony Nicholls, managing director of Manx Gas said: ‘We are pleased that a formal voluntary regulatory agreement is now in place.

‘For the first time, stakeholders will have a clear framework within which performance will be measured.

‘The terms of the agreement are challenging but fair and will enable us to plan for future investment in the network.

‘We look forward to working with the OFT and Treasury to ensure the new regulatory environment delivers benefits to all stakeholders.’

So why is this a voluntary agreement rather than one that could be enforced in law?

Mr Quirk said: ‘We could have looked to introduce statutory regulation but it would have been costly, probably confrontational and would, at the end of the day, have most likely only produced a similar result – any savings achieved for customers would be offset by the cost to tax payers of fully regulating the market.

‘Ultimately, however, prices are always going to be driven by the forward purchase cost of gas on the futures market.’

The OFT will publish the agreement on its website at {http://www.gov.im/oft/gas_reg.xml|this site tomorrow}

Related story:

{http://www.iomtoday.co.im/news/isle-of-man-news/tynwald-approves-163-23-5-gas-pipeline-loan-1-1747605|The government bankrolls Manx Gas’s pipeline.}

It’s time for tea this week as award winning business partners Mark Davison and Jason Larrosa unveil a new venture.

The enterprising entrepreneurs scooped the small enterprise accolade at the last Isle of Man Newspapers Awards for Excellence for their Segway Isle of Man business.

Now they are preparing to launch the Tea Junction in Castle Street, Douglas on Friday (May 8).

loose leaf

It will offer a selection of 22 loose leaf teas served in surroundings that they say can only be described as distinctly European; innovative, quirky and elegant but also fun.

Mark’s passion for tea was aroused nearly 10 years ago when he started drinking green Sencha tea on a visit to Japan.

He said: ‘We wanted to create a trendy but urban environment where people can sit down and relax over a cup of tea, perhaps with a pastry or a buttered crumpet or maybe later in the day a glass of wine or one of our stimulating gin infusions.’

The Tea Junction has sourced Pekoe Tea in Edinburgh as its supplier of loose leaf teas and herbal infusions.

Pekoe, which has its own tea shop in Edinburgh, has supplied The Tea Junction with 20 of their most frequently ordered teas.

Mark, who recently gave up his job as IT manager with law firm Appleby after 15 years there to devote all his energies to The Tea Junction said: ‘We are, first and foremost, a ‘‘tea shop’’ in an environment saturated with coffee shops and cafes. The tea bag market is shrinking as people’s tastes are becoming more discerning and the market for speciality teas is on the increase.

‘No one here in the island is taking tea as seriously as we are, we certainly believe there is a gap in the sector for a dedicated tea shop.

‘Our goal is to establish a small business which stands out from the crowd in several ways. We plan to have a separate tea menu and to display the teas in a fancy wooden presentation box which customers can take to their table so they can see and smell the actual tea before they order.’

Jason said: ‘For more than a year we have scoured tea shops across the UK for ideas in addition to our own in what we believe is an exciting new concept for the island.

‘We have researched and know about the teas we are serving and will be more than happy to share our enthusiasm and knowledge with customers. We will also offer a range of light lunches and our cakes will be home made, many of them by Mark.

‘His Rocky Road is pretty phenomenal.’ In October 2012 Mark and Jason set up Segway Isle of Man, bringing something new to the island.

The business has been a soaraway success leading to Jason giving up his career in the finance sector because of the demand for the extensive Segway tours on the beaches, forests and promenades.

Actor Brian Blessed is to talk about his life an an event in the island in the summer.

Z Cars star turned mountaineer and cosmonaut, Brian Blessed, will speak on July 16 at the Palace Hotel and Casino in Douglas.

Brian was born in 1936 and grew up in the mining village of Goldthorpe in South Yorkshire. His father was a miner who wanted a better life for his son. Brian lost three uncles in the pit.

At a young age, he displayed an acute talent for acting in school productions, but also had a penchant for boxing, a direction that would be short-lived. Always passionate about drama, he trained at the Old Vic Theatre School, and embarked on what was to become one of the most colourful and successful careers of a generation.

On television, Brian has starred in I, Claudius; The Three Musketeers, the Black Adder and Aliens V Wizards for the BBC, among numerous other shows.

He has also hosted Have I Got News for You, and played The Narrator in a Tour of Prokofiev’s Peter and The Wolf.

On the big screen he starred opposite Katherine Hepburn, Sophia Loren, Irene Papas and Vanessa Redgrave in Talthybius; played Vultan in Flash Gordon and Lord Locksley in Robin Hood Prince of Thieves with Kevin Costner.

Brian has published five books including Nothing’s Impossible and Blessed Everest, which was born from his love of mountaineering and his insatiable desire to stand on ‘the top of the world’.

He has climbed Everest and reached a height of 28,000 feet – the highest a man of his age has achieved without oxygen.

Brian has also completed a trek to the North Pole, an expedition to The Lost World in Venezuela, a climb to the summit of Mount Ararat in Turkey at 17,000 feet and has climbed Mount Kinabalu in Malaysia.

The evening will include an audience question and answer session.

John Wannenburgh of the Isle of Man Sporting and Dining Club, which has organised the event, said: ‘We are thrilled to welcome the hearty and king sized, Brian Blessed, one of the UK’s most cherished theatrical and movie icons, to the Isle of Man. Once again, we are all looking forward to another excellent evening.’

To book, call 617049.

Tickets are £60 per person, for members of the club, or £65 for non-members. Price excludes VAT.

The event is sponsored by SpecSavers.

An entrant in the Guild made a public protest against the festival’s new sponsor, Dandara.

Manx speaker Stewart Bennett, of Peel, was entered in Saturday’s Bible in Manx (Years 11 & over) class.

But he only took to the stage of the Villa Marina’s Promenade Suite to announce, in Manx, that he was withdrawing from the competition ‘in protest at the organiser’s choice of sponsorship’.

It’s the first time in the Guild’s 123-year history that it has had a corporate sponsor.

Festival secretary Dr Jacqueline Yates said there had been broad support for the sponsorship deal with Dandara and that Mr Bennett was the only competitor to have complained as far as she was aware.

‘No one else has complained at all about it,’ she said.

‘They are very pleased to find out there’s this support for the festival.

‘It’s very much needed. Our costs are rising and we needed to find a way to make the festival sustainable.’

It is understood that Mr Bennett made the decision to withdraw from the class in protest at Dandara’s developments in the west of the island.

He was supported by the Celtic League, whose director of information, Bernard Moffatt, said: ‘There are still those who love the language “lesh annym as cree” (with heart and soul) rather than with cheque book and bank account.

‘We don’t need a competition propped up by private interest to speak it.’

Dr Yates said there was no evidence that other withdrawals were linked to the sponsorship deal.

She added: ‘Dandara provide a valuable service to our community and do so in accordance with the government’s planning policy. The festival committee is grateful to Dandara for its support.’

We contacted Dandara for a response but no one was available at the time the Examiner went to press.

Pictured are the committee members of the the island’s branch of the Everton Supporters’ Club donating a cheque to Mary Doyle, of Hospice Isle of Man.

The funds were raised by the club at a recent dinner and speaker function attended by former player of Everton Football Club Duncan McKenzie, who gave a humorous and illuminating talk about his life in football and Everton FC.

The club donated to Hospice following the passing of the father of committee member Kevin Shannon in recognition and gratitude of the care, consideration and expertise shown to family by Hospice during this time.

Island entrepreneur Andrew Jervis, has told of his delight after securing financing of £320,000 for his start-up business called Click Mechanic.

The money is coming from angel investors led by former

Just Eat CEO Klaus Nyengaard.

The investment will be used to fuel ClickMechanic’s growth, make new hires and accelerate product innovation.

Since launching in 2012, ClickMechanic has had users generate more than 150,000 car service and repair quotes through the site and since early 2014 the company’s growth has been between 20-40 per cent month-on-month,says Andrew.

The investment is more than three times the £90,000 secured through previous investment.

It is another step on the road to success for enterprising Andrew, 30, who is from Ballasalla. The young entrepreneur attended Buchan school, followed by King William’s College. His parents David and Jo live in the island and Andrew loves his occasional breaks here from his base in London.

ClickMechanic is an online marketplace for car repair, making it quick and easy for drivers to get online quotes and book a vetted mechanic. Andrew said it is currently unavailable in the island and is busiest in urban areas of the UK. But it could come here in the future, he said.

Andrew, co-founder of ClickMechanic, with Felix Kenton said: ‘It’s well documented that the automotive repair industry suffers from a lack of transparency which has created a large amount of consumer mistrust.

Entry forms are still available for the Friends Provident International Harbour 2 Harbour Walk which will take place on Sunday.

Organisers say numbers are already considerably up on last year’s inaugural event and are advising people to download a form from.hubclubsci.im

The scenic nine-mile coastal route from Port Erin to Castletown will be rounded off with in a family fun event in the grounds of Castle Rushen, and will include a special community art project.

Registration for the event begins at 9.15am with walkers setting off from The Bay on Port Erin promenade at 10am.

The three southern charities to benefit are Men in Sheds, Southern Befrienders and Sport Erin.

Liberal Vannin MHK Peter Karran is calling for the Office of Fair Trading to investigate complaints of ‘profiteering’ by air and sea carriers.

But his letter to OFT chairman David Quirk, which also includes the inaccurate claim that new restrictions have been placed on bikes being carried in the back of vans on ferry sailings, has earned him a swift rebuke from the Steam Packet.

In his letter Mr Karran wrote: ‘I feel if this matter is not addressed soon the TT will be adversely affected.’

Steam Packet Company chief executive Mark Woodward said: ‘Mr Karran is simply wrong; there has been no change to our policy regarding motorcycles being carried in vans. A simple phone call or email to us could have established the facts, but at no time has Mr Karran attempted to contact us before making inaccurate claims.’

He said it would have taken only a moment to establish he was wrong before sharing his ill-founded and damaging assertions.

Mr Woodward added: ‘Mr Karran has also charged the OFT with “looking into the level of prices”, which shows a complete lack of understanding of how our fares are already stringently controlled. Our fares are set and approved by government, in advance, every year, ensuring our passengers are protected from any so-called “profiteering”.

‘Mr Karran has asked government to investigate a pricing structure which is set and approved by government; this surely cannot be a good use of time for an MHK or the OFT. Again, Mr Karran could have established the situation by simply speaking to us.

‘Our pricing has been subjected to scrutiny by a Tynwald select committee, which found our passenger fares were “very competitive” with other similar ferry companies, an OFT investigation, and more recently an Irish Sea price comparison exercise conducted by TravelWatch which again demonstrated our passenger fares are genuinely very competitive. Each of these inquiries has established there is no case to answer.

‘It is a great shame Mr Karran decided not to just speak to us about his concerns, rather than requesting an OFT investigation, on nothing more than baseless hearsay.’

A planning application has been submitted for the silt storage facility at Poortown.

The application has not been labelled as retrospective – despite dredged silt having been dumped at the site for the past three weeks.

Planning application 15/00447/B for the construction of a facility for the temporary – maximum five years – storage of dredgings from Peel Marina was lodged by the Department of Infrastructure on April 24.

Because the applicant is the DoI, the application will automatically be referred to the Council of Ministers for consideration. A spokesman for the planning department said it wasn’t a requirement for an applicant to list an application as retrospective.

Bernard Moffatt, director of information for the Celtic League, said: ‘There is not a snowball’s chance in hell that this plan will be given either proper scrutiny or rejected.

‘While CoMin deliberate, the operation to remove the toxic brew from Peel Harbour is getting into its third week and the glorified hole in the ground – sometimes referred to by government as a specially ‘engineered site’ – is steadily filling up.’

Mr Moffatt claimed the plans had changed– with the application showing the site extending into a second field off the Poortown Road to accommodate further ‘settlement lagoons’.

Controversy has dogged the project since work was first carried out to excavate a pit on land next to Poortown quarry one weekend at the end of March.

In Tynwald last month, Infrastructure Minister Phil Gawne defended the decision not to seek planning consent first. He said his department had been issued with an emergency direction under the Public Health Act but he had decided it would be in the best interests of the public and his department to apply for planning permission anyway, albeit retrospectively.

Environment Minister Richard Ronan MHK told the court that Peel marina had faced imminent closure unless it was dredged.

But a trial disposal of 4,000 tonnes of silt at sea last summer had shown it would be damaging to the marine environment as it was contaminated with heavy metals – so the decision was taken to go for land-based disposal.

The Chief Minister has insisted the regeneration fund has not run out of money.

Allan Bell said funding would be made available to complete works on Douglas’s main shopping thoroughfare.

He was responding to claims made by a candidate in the forthcoming Douglas North by-election, Ralph Peake, who claimed the scheme is only half-finished and is calling for the regeneration budget for Douglas to be reinstated immediately.

Work began on the long-awaited revamp of Strand Street and Duke Street in January last year. In total £6m has been spent on regeneration of the capital’s pedestrian ways.

But an extra £2.5m will need to be found to continue the new-look granite paving and street furniture along Castle Street at one end and down Market Hill at the other.

Mr Bell said: ‘Douglas has benefited enormously from this. It is completely wrong to suggest we’ve run out of money.’

The Chief Minister said the £3m put in the Town and Village Regeneration Fund in this year’s Budget had been allocated to other schemes in Castletown, Peel, Port Erin and Port St Mary.

But he said new money would be found in next year’s Budget to complete the works on Castle Street.

He said the scheme on Market Hill had been ‘put on ice’ because of potential disruption if major redevelopment on Lord Street got underway.

Other candidates standing in the Douglas North by-election on May 21 are Douglas councillor David Ashford and shipping officer Maire Booth.

Planning policy has got out of balance – to the detriment of the economy.

That’s the view of Chief Minister Allan Bell as he elaborated on comments he made in the House of Keys last week that the Strategic Plan was one of the ‘biggest mistakes’ government has made in recent years.

Mr Bell said the Strategic Plan, introduced in 2007 and now being reviewed, has been applied too inflexibly and has also diverted resources away from the much needed Eastern Area Plan.

He said: ‘The last thing I want is the Isle of Man concreted over and the rights of people trampled over in the pursuit of that. But this has to be balanced with a recognition that the needs of the economy have to play a part in planning policy as well. It’s got out of balance at the moment.’

Mr Bell said he did not want to discuss specific examples of where he believed the Strategic Plan has been too strictly applied.

But he said: ‘The concept of the Strategic Plan while good in principle is not being applied in the way it was originally intended. When it was brought in there was a clear expectation that the new approach would be flexible and could be adapted to changing circumstances. That hasn’t happened.’

Mr Bell said the island had enjoyed 30 years of unbroken economic growth but continued growth could not be guaranteed.

He said a degree of complacency had crept in at all levels.

The Paddy Power-sponsored Isle of Man senior men’s bowls team broke new ground on Sunday as they took part in their first Senior County Championship Match.

Their historic inclusion into the Endleigh Insurance-sponsored Crossfield Cup was the culmination of so much work by so many people, which started way back in 2012, and drew a capacity crowd for the home leg at Peel Sunset Bowling Club.

Logistically and financially this is the biggest and most complex project in the history of crown green bowls, not just in the Isle of Man but in Britain as there are four flights and UK travel to contend with.

While there are always learning points from a venture like this, the day could not have run any smoother.

It ended up a day in the sun, not only for the Manx men but also for their opponents Shropshire who did their part in making this the most momentous day in the history of the local game.

If organisational lessons were learned, there were also some handed out on the bowling green with Shropshire in devastating form in both home and away legs.

They are one of the favourites to win the entire competition and certainly pulled no punches against the Manxies.

The island lads can be extremely proud of how they played though and, while they didn’t win the match, they certainly raised a few eyebrows with some scintillating performances of their own.

In fact after four games in the away leg, they actually led by three points.

The home side played well and, despite some extremely close matches, only picked up two wins, with Trevor Quayle recording a great 21-15 win over the talented Andrew Moss and young Adrian Skinner winning Endsliegh Insurance man of the match with his terrific 21-16 win against Andrew Judson.

This is crown green bowls at the highest level and, like all sports at elite level, games are won and lost by fine margins and but for the rub of the green it could have been a very different story win the locals recording two 20s, a 19 and two 18 defeats.

Indeed, 10 more points from five games would have seen the draw 6-6 on games.

In Shropshire, as mentioned earlier, the team started superbly winning two of the first four matches and narrowly losing out 19 in the others to take a slender lead.

John Kennish and Phil Kerruish led the way with good wins and Glynn Hargraves can be pleased to have played really well at this level.

For me though, David Bradford was the star of the show in the early stages and, despite trailing 19-10 to arguably the best player in the Shropshire home side, he showed us what county bowling is all about having the resolve to fight his way back to narrowly lose out 21-19.

The adventure into the unknown was always going to be difficult and their strength in depth really showed in the mid order, however the Isle of Man saved the best to last with Phil Kelly stealing the show with a mouth-watering 21-11 victory over Peter Farmer.

Overall Shropshire won the 24-game match 477 to 358 but the local lads should be very proud of what they achieved in their first outing on the big stage. I cannot emphasise enough how much work has gone in the background to make this long standing dream a reality, and not just the players but the organisers and anyone who had had an association with local crown green bowls should be very proud of what was achieved on Sunday.

Shropshire may have won the match but without question the real winner was crown green bowls in the Isle of Man.

Home leg at Peel Sunset Bowling Club: Isle of Man 182 v Shropshire 241 – Colin Kelly 18, Martin Lloyd 21; Kevin Quirk 20, Richie Goddard 21, Neil Withers 18, Glyn Herbert 21; Paul Skelly 8, Darren Welling 21; Dean Kipling 20, Wayne Phillips 21; Stuart Garrett 8, Clay Flattley 21; Adrian Skinner 21, Andrew Judson 16; Jerome Surridge 16, Michael Beer 21; Chas Grills 5, Callum Wraight 21; Trevor Quayle 21, Andrew Moss 15; Peter Collister 8, Kiah Roberts 21; Barney Kelly 19, Wayne Rogers 21.

Away leg at Sinclair Bowling Club: Shropshire 236 v Isle of Man 176 – Scott Haries 21, Glynn Hargraves 19; Spencer Clarke 16, John Kennish 21; Colin Beaman 21, David Bradford 19; Alan Davidson 20, Phil Kerruish 21; Phil Emery 21, Matthew Keggen 17, Alex Jones 21, Jordan Cain 8; Rich Lawson 21, Dido Kelly 7; Glyn Picknell 21, John Gelling 15; Alin Palin 21, Peter Slinger 6; Jamie King 21, Ewan Cooil 9; Peter Grimston 21, Paul Kelly 13; Peter Farmer 11, Phil Kelly 21.

Geoff Duke OBE, a naturalised Manxman who was one of Britain’s best-known sportsmen of his generation, has died at the age of 92.

The six-time motorcycle road race world champion had been in failing health for some years and spent the last few months of his life in Elder Grange Nursing Home on the outskirts of Douglas.

Born in St Helens in March 1923, he moved to the Isle of Man in 1955, having married Pat Reid, of a well-known Manx family at the height of his career.

The couple, who married at St Thomas’s church in Douglas in September 1951 had two sons, Peter, who was born in Southport in 1953 and Michael who was born at the Jane Crookall in 1961. Sadly Pat died at quite a young age in January 1975. He would later remarry.

Regarded as the first superstar of motorcycle racing, Geoff Duke made his Snaefell Mountain Course debut in September 1948, retiring after his 350cc Norton suffered a split oil tank and seized.

The popular Lancastrian rose to prominence in an unprecedented 12-month period when he won the 1949 Senior Clubman’s TT, the 1949 Senior Manx Grand Prix and 1950 Senior TT in swift succession (as well as finishing runner-up in the Junior). It was a feat never again achieved.

The factory Norton star became a double 350cc/500cc world champion in 1951, after which he was voted Britain’s Sportsman of the Year.

He retained the 350cc title in 1952 prior to controversially switching to the Italian Gilera team the following year when he regained the 500cc crown. He won the title three years in succession – it would have been four but for a lengthy ban in 1956 when he and Reg Armstrong, amongst others, supported a strike to secure better start money for the GP privateers.

He retired from Grand Prix racing in 1959, having etched his name in motorsport history as one of the greatest motorcycle road racers of all-time.

Alongside bike racing Geoff dabbled in car racing with considerable success, having also been a very good off-road motorcyclist in his younger days.

After retiring completely he remained involved in racing on a consultancy basis with a couple of factory developments, not least BSA and Royal Enfield.

In 1963 he managed the private Scuderia Duke team of John Hartle and Derek Minter after persuading Giuessepe Gilera to let him run the mothballed machines last raced in 1957.

It was an attempt to challenge MV’s then dominance of the 500cc class. The bikes were updated with new dolphin fairings, the latest Girling suspension struts and Avon tyres. The bikes appeared competitive in testing at Monza, but the hoped-for sponsors didn’t all come onboard and Geoff had to share the brunt of the costs himself.

Minter was hurt in a serious crash when riding his own Norton at Brands Hatch, putting him out for most of the season, so Duke recruited up-and-coming Phil Read to take his place.

But a distinct lack of cash meant a shortage of testing and other vital components to make the seven-year-old machines truly competitive.

The bikes lapped quicker than they did in 1957, but it was not enough to see off Mike Hailwood on the factory MV and Hartle had to settle for a distant second with Read third.

Hartle also finished runner-up in the Junior on the scaled down 350cc Gilera, this time to Jim Redman’s Honda.

The season was to end in ultimate disappointment for Geoff and the Scuderia Gilera team.

He was heavily involved with the organisation of the 1965 International Six Days Trial staged in the island, as clerk of the course. He remained involved in the off-road sport as president and latterly patron of Ramsey Motor Cycle Club. Both of his sons competed off-road.

An astute, charming and extremely popular man, Geoff Duke was involved in several business ventures, including purchasing and running the former Arragon Hotel on the Old Castletown Road in the late 1950s.

He established a successful motor parts distribution company on Peel Road, Douglas and headed the Manx Line shipping company launched in 1978 as opposition to the Isle of Man Steam Packet.

Geoff was also a director of Duke Video which his eldest son Peter set up in 1981, a company that still exists.

Sympathy is extended to Geoff’s second wife, Daisy, his sons and their respective families at their extremely sad loss.

A schoolboy who lost a leg following a road accident while on holiday in Turkey is planning to complete a fund-raising walk of Douglas seafront.

Mark Lalor-Smith, a pupil at Foxdale Primary School, has already raised more than £500 in donations ahead of his daunting challenge, which is scheduled for tomorrow. All money he raises will go to Nepal earthquake appeal.

Mark was struck by a car on June 3, 2013, while on a family holiday in Calis Beach near the town of Fethiye in Turkey. He was 10 years old at the time.

Mark spent two nights in intensive care in hospital in Antalya, Turkey, before he was transferred by air ambulance to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool.

There, doctors had no choice but to amputate his right leg above the knee during a 20-hour operation.

He spent three months in Alder Hey children’s hospital.

His left leg was able to be saved but was very badly injured and so Mark currently relies on his wheelchair or Didi-car to get around.

He’s managed to walk the short journey from home to school a couple of times but his goal to walk as far as he can along the two-mile length of Douglas Promenades will be a huge achievement.

Cara Wilkinson at the school said: ‘This will be massive for him. Your support and donations would help him immensely.’

In total, Mark has had 20 operations since his accident, 19 of which were at Alder Hey. During that time, his parents Julian and Sara spent nearly three months living at Ronald Macdonald House, while their other children, 12-year-old twins Terence and Courtney, were looked after by family and friends at home.

Mark’s recovery wasn’t helped by a life-threatening infection he picked up, which meant he had to spend 13 weeks in isolation at Alder Hey.

Foxdale Primary School held a cake sale and dress down day last Friday to raise fund for the Nepal crisis.

Mark’s Just Giving page for donations can be found {https://www.justgiving.com/Cara-Wilkinson2|here}

Related stories:

{http://www.iomtoday.co.im/news/isle-of-man-news/manx-boy-flown-back-to-the-uk-after-accident-in-turkey-1-5740090|Boy flown back to the island.}

{http://www.iomtoday.co.im/news/isle-of-man-news/back-home-family-rebuild-life-after-horrific-car-crash-1-6063628|Family rebuild lives.}

Peter Hickman is targeting the TT after being forced to withdraw from the North West 200 as a result of the injuries he sustained in a crash at Oulton Park on Saturday.

Having sustained two broken ribs in the 150mph spill on the approach to Druids, the 27-year-old has subsequently been diagnosed with two breaks of the C4 vertebrae in his neck meaning both he and the team will be unable to participate in the first International road race of the season, which gets under way next Tuesday.

The Louth-based rider enjoyed an excellent debut at the NW200 12 months ago, comfortably being the best performing newcomer and also recording the fastest ever lap by a circuit debutante and both he and the team are bitterly disappointed at being unable to return. However, the nature of his injuries mean it simply isn’t possible to ride and the aim now is to be fully fit for the TT which start on Saturday, May 30.

Briggs Equipment BMW team owner Lee Hardy said: ‘It’s deeply disappointing for Peter and everyone connected with the team that we’ll be unable to take part in the North West 200 but his injuries from the crash on Saturday are a little bit worse than we first thought.’

‘The goal now is to support Peter as best as we can and ensure he gets the best possible medical support with the aim of being ready for the TT. He needs to get as much rest and recuperation as he can and the final decision will ultimately lie with his surgeon but we’re very hopeful of being ready for practice week at the Isle of Man. I’d also like to publicly thank the on-site medical team at Oulton Park for all their excellent treatment and support given to Peter after his accident.’

Hickman enjoyed a sensational debut at the TT in 2014, finishing as the fastest newcomer in the event’s history.

Simcocks has appointed Nick Woolard as its practice and compliance manager assisting in the organisation of the business including regulatory compliance, professional standards and risk management.

Nick is an associate of the Chartered Institute of Bankers (ACIB) and a Member of the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (MCSI).

After many years in international banking he has gained wide ranging experience as a compliance officer with trust and corporate services, pensions administration, fund administration, online stockbroker and fund management businesses.

Nick also has experience as a non-executive director of some junior public companies on ISDX and AIM.

Chief executive Phil Games said: ‘This position is a key role in the strategic growth and development of Simcocks.

‘We work in a constantly evolving environment and we have robust procedures in place to ensure our regulatory compliance.

‘Nick’s background and expertise will help further manage, monitor and report on Simcocks’ methods and future objectives. We are delighted to have someone of Nick’s calibre on our team.’

Nick Woolard said: ‘To stay ahead all companies need to ensure they embrace change and stay at the front of all new developments and regulations.

‘Those who constantly look at ways to improve what they do and how they deliver it will always be more attractive to clients.

‘At Simcocks we are clear about how we want to move forward and I see my role very much as an enabler for this.’

There is to be a review of voting arrangements for elections to the Legislative Council - as a second attempt to fill two vacancies in the upper house ended in farce today.

Speaker Steve Rodan appeared resigned from the outset there would have no result - telling the House of Keys the proposed dates for further nominations and elections.

And he added: ‘Whatever the outcome of the election today I shall refer the matter to standing orders committee for consideration and report back to this House.’

He said he was recommend the committee examine afresh the requirement for successful candidates to get 13 votes rather than a simple majority. It will also look at the practice of ‘plump voting’ - where votes are cast for just one candidate even though there are two seats available. And the committee will also look at the secrecy of the ballot itself.

‘All these need to be examined,’ Mr Rodan told the Keys. He was right to predict an inconclusive outcome.

Three candidates were initially vying to fill the two vacancies - Glenfaba MHK David Anderson, Treasury member Phil Braidwood and Peel MHK and Education Minister Tim Crookall.

With all well short of the magic 13 votes after two ballots, they were joined by a fourth candidate, lawyer Paul Beckett, who was unsuccessful last time round. Mr Beckett once again, however, failed to pick up any more than five votes.

After four rounds of voting, Mr Speaker said; ‘It seems pointless to go any further.’ He called for fresh nominations no later than 4.30pm on June 5 with the next election taking place on June 22.

Mr Rodan said if there are still vacancies then, there would be another election on August 5.

Michael MHk Alfred Cannan said: ‘I don’t think this is just about the process - I think it’s about the Keys really questioning the role of LegCo and being unwilling to put people up there at a time when we are expecting the nation to tighten its belts. This needs to be addressed by politicians at the highest level. I think MLCs have a role to play but it is highly questionable whether we get full value for money.’

Well, it seems to have gone on for ages but the end is in sight for the General Election and soon we will all know the fate of the candidates.

They include two South Yorkshire-based party leaders, Doncaster MP Ed Milliband and departing coalition Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, so this region will be in the limelight more than usual come tomorrow night.

According to the Collins English dictionary: “The history of the word ‘candidate’ goes back to ancient Rome, where people who stood for political office would wear specially whitened togas while campaigning.

“These men came to be called candidati (‘whitened men’), a name derived from the Latin word candidus, meaning ‘pure white’.

“The same Latin word is also behind two other English words: ‘candid’ (pure and unbiased) and ‘candida’ (a type of parasitic fungus).”

We’ll leave you to make the obvious jokes about the other meanings…

Incidentally, the dictionary’s newsletter reports that Milifan - meaning someone who’s keen on the Labour leader is one of the top new words of April.

Here, however, we’re looking back to some past election campaigns and there are some well-known faces on these pictures for Sheffield voters, including two MPs who are no longer with us, Labour’s Bill Michie and the Tory Sir Irvine Patnick.

Hallam MP Patnick was credited with coining the phrase “socialist republic of South Yorkshire” when he was leading the Tory charge against the city’s left-wing policies.

In later years, he had to apologise for passing on what he said was “inaccurate, misleading and plain wrong information” about the behaviour of Liverpool fans in the Hillsborough disaster, which he said had been given to him by South Yorkshire Police.

Bill Michie was a popular MP for the Heeley constituency and was part of the left-leaning Socialist Campaign Group of Labour MPs.

He joined demonstrations against the Iraq war in 2003 which was being waged by his own government.

Thirty years ago, he was at the centre of the city council’s fight against rate capping by the Thatcher government, addressing a rally of 15,000 when the city council refused to set a rate.

Eventually the rebellion petered out when 15 rebels councils were forced to set a rate.

In local elections, Sheffielders have only been able to vote for their councillors since 1843, when the city won its charter and became a borough.

Only ratepayers of three years’ standing were allowed to vote in those days – and male ratepayers at that.

In those days, the now genteel Paradise Square at the edge of the city centre was the place where many political debates and discussions took place.

In September 1838, a crowd of 20,000 heard Chartist leaders argue for political rights for working class people.

The demands of The People’s Charter of 1838, which was a giant petition to Parliament, included a vote for every man aged 21, a secret ballot to protect the elector in the exercise of his vote, no property qualification for MPs, allowing anyone to serve, equal constituencies, securing the same amount of representation for the same number of electors, and annual Parliamentary elections to bribery and intimidation.

A pitched battle was fought in the square with soldiers from the Dragoons and protesters were arrested.

Political hustings continued to take place there until the 1890s. It’s hard to imagine such goings-on there these days.