Saturday will see the 52nd annual running of the World Championship Viking Longboat Races in Peel, with 65 teams competing for the title.

The event is due to start at 11am with the running order being mens’ teams followed by the ladies’ and finally all the mixed teams.

Last year’s winners in each of the main categories were Farghers Lift Men, Central Young Farmers Ladies and Raven Raiders.

The event is held in Association with Royal London 360, who have been the main sponsors of the event since the early 2000s.

All teams have a nominated Manx charity with the top three teams in the main event winning £500, £250 and £150 going to their respected charity.

Roads close around the Tongue and Weather Glass Corner at 10.30am and are due to reopen no later than 5pm.

The Longboat Races have seen a variety of characters and teams slugging it out for the winning prize.

This year there will be 650 rowers split into 65 teams taking part.

They must row from the harbour mouth to a buoy in the bay and back as fast as possible, though depending on the weather, the route can be changed.

The championship title itself is decided on handicap, whereby the fastest teams each have a handicap imposed, which is calculated on the quickest times recorded last year.

The event has become a massive favourite in the Peel social calendar as well as raising loads for charity with thousands of people gathering at the harbour side and outside the quayside pubs.

Many of the teams dress up for the event and amuse the crowds with Viking hats, cow masks, etc.

For more information visit the Peel Viking Longboats Facebook page www.facebook.com/PeelVikingLongboats

For the results and pictures of the action see next week’s Isle of Man Examiner, in shops Tuesday.

Sixth form students, business mentors, Government partners and interested students gathered at the Manx ICT Association’s offices at The Forum in Douglas to celebrate a successful first year for the IT Career Academy.

The Academy is an initiative that has been backed by the Department of Economic Development and Department of Education and Children. Students from Castle Rushen High School, QE2 High School and Ramsey Grammar School have enhanced their A Level Computing study with Career Academy membership.

This has already provided them with a visit to LinkedIn’s HQ in London, masterclasses from sector experts within their A Level lessons and regular support from business mentors in their place of work.

It was also announced at the event that the Isle of Man’s IT Career Academy programme is also changing its name to ‘Career Ready, IOM’ in line with its parent organisation based in London. The approach has been so successful that the whole charitable organisation is developing to embrace a wider student intake.

Graham Cregeen MHK, the political Member with responsibility for Employment and Skills in the Department of Economic Development said: ‘The Academy provides a great opportunity for the students to rapidly develop their employability skills and experience, which will be key to their success when making job applications.

‘It is vital that we can provide a workforce with the relevant IT skills.

‘Government’s Vision2020 strategy forecast that our economy is expected to grow further over the next few years driven by the creation of hundreds of new jobs to work in the e-business sector, which is expected to represent around a quarter of our economy by 2020.’

Academy students will soon be going out on paid internships during the Summer holidays.

This part of the programme is unique because it provides an extended opportunity for employers to use the developing IT skills of students to complete or support a piece of work.

They also have the opportunity to see the students in the workplace and assess their readiness to enter the sector.

Jessica Swales, student Member of the IT Academy Board said: ‘When I started this programme I was really shy and I would never have believed that I could stand up here and talk confidently to all of you this evening.

‘I would strongly recommend Career Ready to Year 11 students who are considering it because it can dramatically improve your employability level whilst supporting your A level success.’

Graham Kinrade, Coordinating Adviser ICT, Department of Education and Children said: ‘The Department of Education and Children are very pleased to be involved in this exciting initiative that aims to support students wishing to enter the rapidly growing IT Sector on the island.

‘It is excellent to see such positive engagement and we look forward to witnessing the continued success of the Academy.

Isle of Man Friends of the Earth will stage a family cycle day based in Douglas on Sunday.

Participants are invited to gather at 10.30am for an 11am start at the Bottleneck car park, near the Sea Terminal.

There are three different ways to take part: for children, and anyone else who’d like to support them, there’ll be a fun ride to the War Memorial and back; for mountainbikers, the ride will head to Ard Jerkyll Tearooms, via Archallagan Plantation for some off-road fun; road-riders are also invited to ride to Ard Jerkyll. The aim will be to arrive at roughly the same time as the mountainbikers.

IoM FoE’s Cat Turner said: ‘The event’s free to all, and it could be the perfect way to meet some new friends and find out more about biking on the island.’

For more information, email iomfoe@manx.net, see IoMFoE’s Facebook Event page or drop into the Green Centre on Wednesday or Saturday for details.

A LibVan MHK is urging Tynwald members to take the lead – and pay for their government parking spaces.

Douglas South MHK Kate Beecroft has tabled a motion for next week’s Tynwald sitting calling for all MHKs and MLCs to pay for their parking in the reserved car park in Tynwald from the start of the next parliamentary session.

Mrs Beecroft told iomtoday: ‘We are told that we are all in this together and yet Tynwald as a whole is not making a real contribution. I just think it’s wrong.

‘We are not talking about huge sums to charge for car parking but we will be leading by example.’

Mrs Beecroft said she would happily pay for the convenience and security of using a reserved parking space.

‘It might not raise a lot of money but if we looking at departments to save £10K then you have to consider everything,’ she said. ‘I certainly hope the majority of members would not have a problem - they should be paying.’

The Manx Independent and iomtoday reported last month that senior civil servants have slammed the brakes on plans to end free reserved space parking in central Douglas for government staff and Tynwald members.

A £275-a-year fee for an allocated parking space in the central Douglas disc zone was to have been brought in from April 1 as part of a package of measures to raise money for the cash-strapped Department of Infrastructure.

But following an internal consultation, a working group of Cabinet Office and DoI officers reported back to Ministers to say the issue was more complicated than first thought – and the plan would be put on hold pending a further review.

The internal consultation with Tynwald members, the judiciary and public servants carried out over four weeks in January and February attracted 126 responses. Some suggested there are anomalies in the current system for allocating spaces, with some staff having spaces they don’t use and others not having a space when they need one.

There were also concerns that charging would penalise front-line staff such as health workers – while others said it was not fair staff would have to pay to park in central Douglas when they would not have to if their office was just down the road out of town.

The draft policy recognised current provision is neither ‘fair nor defensible’.

Douglas Council currently has 53 empty council properties despite a 367-strong waiting list, though this compares favourably to last year (462) and 502 in 2014.

Councillors were told the vacancies had arisen mainly because some tenants had transferred to the new Hazel Court sheltered housing complex vacating a number of larger family houses,

However, these will need money spending on them before they can be relet. An ideal managable level of empty properties was 20, councillors heard, whereas the current level of 54 made it ‘very difficult ever to catch up’.

Councillor Betty Quirk pointed out money was being lost while ever the properties were empty and Councillor John Faragher asked for a list of empty properties and the reasons for this.

Housing committee vice chairman Carol Malarkey said the major limiting factor on making the houses rentable again was lack of money. She said a team of three worked on the properties but some needed extensive work which could not always be done while they were occupied.

An MHK who quit his cabinet post in protest at the pace of change in government is calling for an emergency Tynwald debate on pension reform.

Former Policy and Reform Minister Chris Robertshaw says he is astonished that plans to raise the minimum retirement age for public sector staff to 58 were dropped – on the same day it was announced the rest of us will have to work longer to collect our state pension.

The Douglas East MHK told iomtoday: ‘More and more people are taking the view that government is working for government instead of for the people.

‘The government is trying to deal with some really difficult issues relating to the state pension. On the same day of the announcement we become aware that the Public Sector Pensions Authority had indicated they were content that the early retirement age remains at 55.’

Mr Robertshaw’s emergency motion calls for the PSPA’s joint working party to ‘review and reconsider its position regarding the early retirement age, and to report back to the October 2015 Tynwald.’

Treasury Minister Eddie Teare announced last week he would be seeking Tynwald support for a package of measures aimed at reforming the ‘unsustainable’ state pension and welfare system.

These include a new £180-a-week flat-rate pension, phasing out the Manx pension supplement, raising the retirement age, a £25,000 cap on benefits and replacing working age benefits with a single Manx benefit. Under the plans someone born today would have to work until they are 74.

But that same day it emerged a joint statement had been issued by the employer and staff side representatives of the PSPA’s pensions committee - chaired by John Shimmin, who replaced Mr Robertshaw as Minister for Policy and Reform.

This announced that the July timescale for reaching agreement on public sector pension reforms is ‘unrealistic’ and is being put back until the end of the year.

And it revealed two key proposals have been removed altogether, with the approval of Council of Ministers – raising the normal minimum retirement age from 55 to 58 and taxing lump sums above £200,000.

The committee, which is made up of employer and staff side representatives, claimed the cost savings were ‘only marginal compared to their contentiousness and potential to obstruct progress towards a more sustainable scheme’.

But Mr Robertshaw says it is about perception of fairness in the short term - and these measures will produce savings in the long term.

The public sector pension scheme is an unfunded ‘pay as you go’ scheme. There’s no pot of money set aside or invested to pay for an indidual’s pension. Instead, contributions of existing members and the employer paying for the pensions of those who have retired.

The problem is that with government shrinking and more people taking early retirement or opting to transfer their pension entitlements, more money is going out than is being paid in. The shortfall between expenditure and income, picked up by the taxpayer, has risen from £10.7m a decade ago to an estimated £30.7m this financial year.

In the last financial year alone, £10.5m has been paid out in lump sums to government or ex-government employees. The biggest lump sum was more than £420,000.

The number of people out of work at the end of June was exactly the same as at the end of May.

There were 768 people registered.

However, the drop from 12 months earlier was 150, making it the lowest June unemployment figure in the Isle of Man for seven years. It’s 304 fewer than two years ago, when the jobless figure peaked.

During June this year 148 people signed on the register and 148 signed off.

The unemployment rate, the proportion of the economically active population registered as unemployed, is 1.7 per cent.

That’s a figure that compares well internationally. The UK’s equivalent was 5.6 per cent in May. The June figure has not yet been published.

In the USA it’s 5.3 per cent; Germany 4.7; Republic of Ireland 9.7; Spain 23.8; Greece 25.6.

During June 674 vacancies were notified to the Job Centre in Douglas. At the end of the month there were still 421 vacant positions.

However, as usual, a look deeper into the statistics reveals a big skills gap.

There were 55 vacancies in health at the end of the month but just 17 people with health qualifications out of work.

E-gaming, which has continued to grow, has 17 vacancies, but there are only four with a background in that industry looking for work.

But for people who’ve worked in construction, the situation looks poor. There were 112 of them looking for work at the end of the month and only 27 vacancies available.

The number out of work in June 1995 was 1,390.

The figures include 14 people who need work permits, 35 people under 18 and 50 who are signing on for credits only.

People aged under 18 and not claiming benefit are not included. There were 43 of them.

Action in the Premiership returns on Saturday with the top game set for Mullen-e-Cloie.

Champions Peel and St John’s, currently second in the table, face Crosby who are one point behind.

There are just four games left, so neither side can afford a slip-up as defeat could spell the end of their title hopes.

The Saints will remember only too well what happened when the sides met earlier in the season.

Then the Marown club rattled up 191 for 4 with Danny Kniveton hitting 75 not out. Crosby then dismissed their opponents for 120 to take all 20 points. This must show how dangerous this side can be.

However, that defeat will probably stir the Saints to serve up something really special for this encounter.

Top-of-the-table Cronkbourne cannot afford to relax. Their lead is a mere three points and a visit to Castletown could be testing. The home team are in fourth place, but well adrift of the top trio. The hard grass track at King William’s College has in the past suited the batsmen.

However, the pitch is now offering more assistance to bowlers and the top Premiership total on the ground this year is only 174.

In a very close match at Tromode earlier in the season, Castletown made 104 and Cronkbourne replied with 105 for 8. Nic Kieswetter took five wickets for the Douglas side.

They will be hoping for a repeat performance from him on Saturday.

Valkyres and Ramsey meet in a bottom-of-the-table clash. Valkyres have yet to win this season and Ramsey’s one victory so far was against the Douglas team.

Ramsey ran up 155 and then bowled out Ryan Windell’s team for 107. Andy Ball starred with 54 and Will Moffatt took 5-34.

Difficult to predict a winner in this match, but Ramsey’s all-round strength should swing the outcome in their favour.

Thursday July 16

U15 Six-a-Side Tournament (6pm At Tromode)

Friday, July 17

U11 League (6pm)

Nedbank Private Wealth Crosby

v Baker Tilly IoM Cronkbourne

Ramsey v Colas Finch Hill A v

Under Nine Festival (6pm At Tromode)

Saturday, July 18

Isle of Man Premiership (1pm)

Newfield Castletown

v Baker Tilly IoM Cronkbourne

Shimmin Wilson Peel and St John’s

v Nedbank Private Wealth Crosby

Conister Bank Valkyres v Ramsey

Sunday, July 19

U11 Festival (1pm At Ballafletcher)

The iconic Millennium Way Relay Race is back for a second year as a summer event this Saturday, starting from the foot of Sky Hill, on the approaches to Ramsey, at 9.30am.

The event covers a total distance of more than 26 miles over the Millennium Way footpath to Castletown, finishing around 2pm at the Sidings.

The event, which is a fundraiser for The Children’s Centre, can be tackled solo, but generally runners are in teams of four with the longest and most arduous being the first from Sky Hill to Brandywell Road.

Leg two is to Crosby (via St Luke’s track and West Baldwin); leg three from Crosby to St Mark’s on the road and leg three to Poulsom Park, Castletown.

More details at www.thechildrenscentre.org.im

Fixtures at a glance

Wednesday, July 22 - Veterans Mile Race, NSC track. Registration 6.30pm for 7pm start – free entry for IoM Veteran Athletes’ Club members. All veterans welcome, but non-IoM Vet Club members will incur a £3 entry fee.

Saturday, July 25 and Sunday, July 26 - IoM Track and Field Championships, sponsored by Celton Manx at the National Sports Centre, Douglas, for all athletes from under-nine upwards.

Full details can be found at www.iomaa.info - entries are now closed.

Saturday/Sunday, August 15-16 - Tower Insurance Isle of Man 100-mile Walk, Castletown (incorporating the RWA National Long Distance Race Walking Championship). Entries close July 31. Also included will be 50 and 20-mile events on the same course, plus a community walk. More details soon, see www.isleofman100milewalk.co.uk

Sunday, August 9 - Microgaming Isle of Man Marathon and Half-Marathon (including walkers on the 13.1-mile distance). Based at Ballacloan Stadium, Ramsey. Visit www.isleofmanmarathon.com - entries close July 30. Email iomvaclub@yahoo.co.uk

You can read this week’s Isle of Man Courier here.

Our electronic version of the paper means you can turn pages, just like the paper version.

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Law and professional services group Cains are celebrating the announcement of their law librarian, Kristie Jelfs, joining the website committee of the leading UK and Irish body of legal information professionals.

It is the British and Irish Association of Law Librarians, known as BIALL for short.

Kristie was approached by the chairman of the association’s web committee, Maria Robertson, at the British and Irish Association of Law Librarians conference.

She was delighted when Kristie showed an interest in this. Maria said: ‘On behalf of the website committee I can safely say we are all pleased to have Kristie on board’.

Kristie was delighted to accept the important position.

‘I am excited to have this opportunity to play an active part within a BIALL committee.’ said Kristie.

‘At the recent BIALL annual conference in Brighton, I was able to network with legal information professionals from law firms and universities in Britain, Ireland and further afield and I had many interesting discussions with members who knew little of Isle of Man law.

‘I look forward to making a positive contribution to the committee and to working with other committee and council members.’

Andrew Corlett, Cains managing director, said: ‘This is a great opportunity for Kristie and we are very proud that her efforts have been recognised by the leading professional body in our industry.’

Manx Harriers Catherine Reid has made the girls’ 400m final at the IAAF World Youth Championships in Columbia.

Island Games gold medallist Reid will be in action at 2.10am (GMT) tomorrow morning, Saturday, after running a PB of 53.20 seconds and finishing second in her semi-final in the early hours of Friday.

The 17-year-old from Port St Mary will line up with Great Britain team-mate Hannah Williams in the event’s finale in Cali after the latter also ran a PB of 53.52s in her semi.

An air accident investigation has been launched after a helicopter owned by a Manx-based company crashed into a canal-side pub in Ireland.

The Westland Gazelle crashed into the back of the Rustic Inn in Abbeyshrule, Co Longford last Wednesday night.

Two men on board the Gazelle were lucky to walk away from the wreckage with only minor injuries. No one in the pub was badly hurt.

The pilot was detained on suspicion of endangerment but later released without charge.

The UK Civil Aviation Authority records the helicopter’s registered owner as Mannifest Live Ltd, based at Hills Meadow, Douglas. Its permit to fly expires on August 4.

Dramatic video footage filmed captured the helicopter hovering a few feet above the Royal Canal before part of its propeller clipped the pub.

Teddy and Betty McGoey, owners of the Rustic Inn, had gone into a back function room to investigate after hearing the helicopter hovering low overhead - and were standing on the dancefloor when the crash occurred, blasting a 10-foot wide hole in the wall and shattering a window.

Mr McGoey was reportedly hit below the eye by glass.

Gardaí said the arrested man, aged in his early 60s and from the UK, was detained at Dublin Airport on Thursday afternoon as the Isle of Man-bound flight he was on was taxiing for take-off.

He was later released without charge. A file is now being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.

The second man on board was David Bruton, an award-winning aerobatic pilot and owner of Midland Aviation which is based at Abbeyshrule Aerodrome, about one mile from where the crash happened.

Wreckage has now been removed from the canal towpath by the Irish Air Accident Investigation Unit.

The AAIU said its investigation is on-going and a preliminary report will be issued in due course.

Separate investigations are being carried out by the Garda and the Irish Aviation Authority.

Just under £130,000 was raised for Rebecca House, the children’s hospice, at a garden party.

The event was the idea of the chairman of SMP Partners, Steve McGowan.

Steve wanted to raise funds for the hospice as it marks 10 years on the island of specialist paediatric care for children facing a life-limiting or life-threatening illness.

The event was sponsored by Microgaming and included entertainment from opera singer Alfie Boe.

Five hundred guests enjoyed a evening in the grounds at Billown Mansion, Malew, courtesy of John Whittaker, the multi-millionaire behind Peel Holdings.

The chairman of Hospice Isle of Man, Sir Miles Walker, said: ‘This event will live on for a long time in the memory of everyone who was there on such a special occasion.

‘Most importantly the difference this amount of money will make to our patients is phenomenal.

‘Hospice and Rebecca House looks after patients and their families from the first point of diagnosis onwards.

‘The team are with them every step of way providing a wide range of essential healthcare and support for them and their families – this amount will help all the 33 families that currently require the type of specialist care that Rebecca House provides - this amount is truly staggering.’

Hospice Isle of Man says that 85p from every pound is spent directly on patient care.

Alfie Boe, who visited Hospice and Rebecca House during his time on the island, has volunteered to be patron/ambassador for the charity.

Hospice and Rebecca House thanked Microgaming and John Whittaker and Adam Cooke from Billown Mansion.

It also thanked James Gale and his team from Switched On, Creechurch Capital, Barclays Bank, Mary and Jerry Linehan, Sarah Linehan (Port St Mary Sports Therapy Clinic), Rachel Grace and Gemma Wild of Genesis Gallery, Bob Bennett, Bernard Gallacher, Newfield, Sleepwell Hotels, Douglas Rugby Club, William Hill, Dave Armstrong and Truman Falls, The Sefton Group, Heath Craig and colleagues from Salt Bar and Kitchen, Ron Berry from 3FM, Roger Dean, Triskelion Polo Club, Elle Boutique, Sure, Saba Glen Yurts, Douglas Council’s parks and gardens staff, Anne Duggan and Claire Quayle, Stephen Dedman and the Regency Hotel, Pandora, Marco Leonetti, Utopia, Thomas Cook, Claremont Hotel, RBSI, Cubbon and Bregazzi, Elaine’s Florist, Samphire, Grenaby Estates, Ramsey Crookall, Bill Dale, Vincent Campbell, Equiom, Appleby, Shoprite, Intersport, Charles Alexander, J.D. Faulkner, Katie Gilman, Annette Murtagh, Sarah Radcliffe, Geoff Corkish MLC and Nigel from Star Services.

Terri Cook, corporate event coordinator, added: ‘The night was epic – it will live in our memories forever.’

Steve McGowan said: ‘I am proud of this event, raising this kind of funds for a very worthy cause that touches so many lives on the island has been hard work but enjoyable.

‘It was a great team effort – I would like to thank everyone that supported me in bringing this epic event to fruition. Listening to Alfie sing Run by Snow Patrol was spine-chilling. A terrific evening hopefully enjoyed by all.’

Island Games gold medalist Nathan Draper continued his fine form with an impressive victory in the Hatherleigh Junior Road Race on Sunday.

The South Devon event formed round seven of British Cycling’s Junior Road Race series over two laps of a tough 30-mile circuit.

It proved to be far from straightforward for the talented RST rider as Draper was suffering from a heavy cold during the race.

As such, it was doubtful that the Manx cyclist - who celebrated his 18th birthday one day earlier - would even finish the race and, at one point, he was hanging onto the back of the peloton.

However, a small group of riders produced a big effort to reel in an early three-man breakaway which allowed Draper to recover before a late assault on his rivals.

He orchestrated a couple of attacks, one of which eventually split the field and left a small group of five off the front which stuck until the last mile when the main bunch got back to within around 10 seconds.

There was drama late in the final kilometre when a touch of wheels in the breakaway saw a couple of riders go down, with Draper having to brake hard to avoid the crash.

At this point with the peloton almost upon them and a long climb to the finish, Draper somehow dug deep to find some extra energy to launch one final attack which proved decisive as he held off Catford’s Louis Modell to win by three seconds.

Rob Scott (VCUK PH-MAS) completed the podium in third, with the main bunch finishing immediately behind.

Speaking afterwards, a tired Draper said: ‘I didn’t find it an easy ride at all, my health isn’t 100 per cent at the minute. I’ve had a heavy cold recently and think I’m still suffering with that.

‘I was on my own today, my team-mates Joey Walker is at the track championships and Joe Fry picked up an injury, so it was about boxing clever and it worked out pretty well in the end.

‘Only having two laps to race is never easy, you have to use the first lap as a sighting lap.

A few corners were a bit slippy and there were a lot of potholes on the back of the course which you had to avoid but there were a couple of punchy climbs towards the finish that helped me.’

He may be virtually half the man he used to be, but Colby resident Mark Terris is about to take on his first Ironman challenge to raise money for diabetes sufferers.

Mark, who is 26, has lost a third of his body weight since 2011 when he weighed in at around 20 stones.

He set himself the challenge of completing an Ironman event and since then he’s taken matters in hand, slimmed down to a svelt 13 stone and so far completed three marathons, in Edinburgh, Manchester and the Isle of Man.

The death of his grandmother, Sigrid Guthrie, aged 88, in January this year provided an extra spur for his Ironman challenge which will see him cycle 112 miles, swim 2.4 miles then run a full marathon.

‘For at least 30 years of her life she suffered from diabetes and she didn’t let it get her down. She was a tremendous woman who had lots of interesting stories to tell (sometimes repeatedly) and so I want to do this in her memory - hopefully raising significant money to help fight diabetes,’ he said.

With the event now looming on Sunday, he’s winding down his training to conserve energy but up to last week he was rising at 5.30am and spending up to 20 hours a week swimming, cycling or running.

‘I tried to focus on the bike because it’s six or seven hours in the saddle so I often cycle the Parish Walk course which is good because there are lots of hills, as well as doing laps of the TT course: it’s quite hard to get a run of 100 miles in the Isle of Man,’ he said.

‘I’ve also been combining activities so I did a 100-mile bike ride followed by a 10-mile run.’

The event itself takes place around Bolton with contestants starting off at 6am, aiming to finish in under 17 hours, before 11pm.

‘My aim is to do it in under 12 hours. My mate, and training partner, Elliott Moore did it in 11 hours 57 minutes so I have to beat him now,’ he said.

He thanked Matt Tyrer of Inferno Fitness for his support, his employer Friends Provident and also his girlfriend Alice who ran the Edinburgh marathon too and has been inspired to take up triathlons.

Any money can be pledged through Mark’s Just Giving page at www.justgiving.com/Mark-Terris1/

An update to Noble’s Hospital’s main IT system was completed at the weekend, with the project delivered on time and under budget.

Tynwald had agreed to spend £3.2m on it but the cost was less, although finance chiefs are still working out exactly how much was spent.

The Minister for Health and Social Care, Howard Quayle MHK, said: ‘The upgrade provides a wide range of enhancements, but importantly provides a solid foundation for future updates to our systems to make care safer for patients and its delivery more efficient.”

‘This upgrade has been a major undertaking with thousands of hours of work by staff within the department and the Cabinet Office as well as the supplier System C.

‘Over 1,200 staff have been to training sessions to support the transition.

‘The migration from the old system to new went well, all while services continued to be delivered to patients. We are only a couple of days into the new system and there is a huge amount of change for staff directly involved to absorb and it will take some time before everyone is fully familiar with the new system.

‘To successfully achieve the migration however is a significant achievement and I would like to extend my thanks and congratulations to all involved in this project and importantly all of our front line and administration staff who are impacted by this change and are working through the new system.’

The software represents the first major upgrade to the island’s patient administration system, called Medway, since it launched in 2008. The upgrade not only makes significant strides in modernising the software’s functionality for staff, but also provides opportunities for further digital services to be launched, such as electronically tracking a patient’s condition, digitally managing clinical risks, electronic prescriptions and a new electronic document management system - all of which form part of government’s new “digital strategy”.

Mr Quayle added: ‘It’s taken 12 months of hard work, but we now have a springboard for the future. The Medway upgrade represents not the end but the beginning of a journey to ensure that we can maximise technology with the clear goal of improving care for patients and freeing up our front line staff to devote their time on front line activities.’

A plan by Port St Mary Commissioners to build a residential development between Cronk Road and Bay View Road has provoked objections from a raft of residents.

The plan (15/00552/A) is for approval in principle for the development – shown as either a terrace of four houses or six flats – with associated car parking.

Several residents wrote to planners – one letter had 19 signatures - and said at present up to 28 cars can park on the land and this will be reduced to 17 in an area where lack of parking spaces is already an issue. They also asked if there is a need to provide more accommodation ‘in an area which already has new builds lying empty’. It would lead to more congestion and more traffic and concerns over pedestrian safety, particularly children.

Others said visibility is poor at the entrance to the road leading to the site.

Objectors include Rushen Parochial Church Council, worried about the impact of the loss of parking on those attending services and events at St Mary’s church and church hall.

Some also raised concerns about how the application had been advertised. A notice was only posted in Bay View Road, even though it also affects Cronk Road. One objector was told by the commissioners’ office this was ‘an innocent oversight’.

Notices in both roads had been issued to advertise a previous plan (13/00611/A) for approval in principle to build two town houses on the site, this application was subsequently withdrawn.

Manx tourism could benefit from a boost paid for by the European Union.

An EU Creative Europe Culture grant of €1.96m (£1.38m) has been paid to the Shetland Amenity Trust for its ‘Follow the Vikings’ project.

Shetland Amenity Trust is the lead partner in this project, which has 14 full partners and 11 associate partners, including Manx National Heritage, with a geographical spread over 13 countries.

The four-year project, which started on July 1 and will carry on till June 30 2019, will celebrate Viking heritage throughout Europe and will have a particular emphasis on creativity and culture, including the creation of a website and an international touring event.

There will also be an emphasis on training volunteers.

All this will raise the visibility of the Council of Europe’s Viking Cultural Route, which includes the Isle of Man.

The Council of Europe’s Viking Cultural Route is managed by the Destination Viking Association, of which Manx National Heritage is a founder member.

The project will seek to develop audiences through a variety of new technologies, build business models through sharing best practice and will strengthen the international network of professionals and institutions working in the field of Viking heritage. This will include demonstrations of Viking crafts and arts, Viking games, and shows combining drama, poetry, stories, music, dance and re-enactment and will involve local participation and youth engagement.

Jimmy Moncrieff, general manager of Shetland Amenity Trust, said: ‘I am absolutely delighted that the trust has been successful in securing this funding on behalf of our Viking colleagues.

‘We and our partners including Manx National Heritage have been working towards this for a number of years to make transnational Viking heritage more accessible and understandable to a worldwide audience.

‘This is our fourth attempt to secure EU culture funding support and this shows that a good project plus tenacity can ultimately succeed.

‘The award is all the more gratifying as competition for funding was extremely intense with only 16 applications being approved from the 127 considered.’

Edmund Southworth, director of Manx National Heritage, said: ‘This project represents a major boost to the Isle of Man’s profile worldwide and will give us a significant platform to promote the Isle of Man as a tourism destination within the Viking Cultural Route.

economy

‘Working with other destinations and partner organisations is a vital part of the work that Manx National Heritage does in contributing to the visitor economy and our role within the project team will ensure that the Isle of Man is properly and appropriately represented within the project and the high profile content that is created.’

The Isle of Man is outside the EU so wouldn’t normally be expected to benefit from grants.

The Investasure-sponsored Isle of Man Ladies’ Golf Championship will this year be played at Douglas Golf Club, with the qualifying rounds being held on Sunday, July 19 and the final a week later on July 26.

This will be the 79th championship contested by the women and the draw for the 36-hole qualifying rounds was made earlier this month.

One disappointment is that, due to the total entry not exceeding or obtaining the required number to allow 16 qualifying places, this has now been reduced to only eight qualifying places from the entry of 24 players received.

The defending champion is Ana Dawson from Peel Golf Club and she continued the success being achieved by the younger members of the NatWest Island Games women’s golf team, following on from the six consecutive wins by Emma Harris who this year, like last year, has not entered because of other commitments.

It is still a strong entry though, and in the line-up are many past finalists and past qualifier as well as two former champions - Ruth Pigott who was champion in 2004 and Dee Lewis who won her title in 2000 at Ramsey.

With women’s golf on a high after that silver medal-winning performance in the Island Games in Jersey, you would expect to see, along with the defending Champion Ana Dawson, both fellow team members Kayleigh Dawson and Christina Skelly among the match play line-up.

Team captain Catherine Cassidy, who was tireless in her efforts for the team at the Games, would be expected to be in among it as well but you can never discount the regulars each year, those being Joy Morris, Jane Gaines, Heather McKenna and Shirley Price (formerly Glover).

Could the ‘youngsters’ take over in total, with the talent and enthusiasm of both Breeshey Jansen and Lea Dawson, both of whom qualified at their home venue of Peel last year.

The host club has two possible qualifiers in Jackie Murley and Lindsey Tickell but having those two women short in the qualifying line up, it may mean that some of the higher handicap entries may not make it through to the match play as in the past, which will be disappointing for them.

They will be playing on a course which will be in excellent condition and a good and fair test from the red tees.

Douglas lady captain Rosalind Byers and her team of helpers will make sure everything runs smoothly and, given good weather, it is hoped that a good crowd of spectators will be in attendance to see some exciting golf.

Qualifying round tee times: 10am and 3pm - Ana Dawson, Shirley Price and Catherine Cassidy; 10.10am and 3.10pm - Kayleigh Dawson, Christina Skelly and Breeshey Jansen; 10.20am and 3.20pm - Lindsey Tickell, Joy Morris and Heather McKenna; 10.30am and 3.30pm - Ruth Pigott, Jane Gaines and Lea Dawson; 10.40am and 3.40pm - Anne Gundry, Dee Lewis and Jackie Murley; 10.50am and 3.50pm - Irene Waterhouse, Joy Platt and Lynda Jackson; 11am and 4pm - Gail Corrin, Mair Gardner and Muriel Cain; 11.10am and 4.10pm - Jessie Perry, Pauline Kennish and Mary Manuja.