Moves to end the farce over LegCo election delays won support in the House of Keys.

But some MHKs expressed concerns at the proposal to allow ‘maximum flexibility’ to ensure seats in the upper house are filled.

It took no fewer than three elections and multiple ballots to fill four LegCo vacancies earlier this year.

After the second election ended in without two of the remaining four seats being filled, Speaker Steve Rodan called for a review of voting arrangements.

The standing orders committee has now reported back with its recommendation to arrive at a more workable and more flexible system for electing members to the Legislative Council that aims to avoid the problems of repeated delays that have dogged the process in the past.

Under the current system, introduced in 2008, a lot of the procedure is set down in statute including the requirement that a candidate must secure a majority of 13 votes to win a place in the upper house.

The standing orders committee’s report says this has prevented variation of the process to reflect changes in circumstances, such as there being fewer available MHKs as happened this year as a result of two by-elections and one member being absent for personal reasons.

Committee member Alfred Cannan (Michael) told the Keys it was recommended that the Isle of Man (Elections to Council) Act 1971 be repealed and replaced with a provision that places the rules relating to LegCo elections in Keys Standing Orders rather than statute law.

This, he said, would afford ‘maximum flexibility’.

But a number of MHKs were uneasy at the proposed changes. Leonard Singer (Ramsey) suggested it would lead to decisions being made ‘on the hoof’.

Kate Beecroft (Lib Van, Douglas South) agreed: ‘We should not be giving maximum flexibility. We need safeguards.’

Fellow Lib Van Peter Karran (Onchan) claimed the report reflected ‘naivety’, and the rules on electing to a national assembly should be in statute not in standing orders.

‘I’m not the greatest fan of LegCo. It’s a medieval redundancy scheme for unelectable MHKs to dodge the public,’ he said. But he said the proposed changes were ‘making it up as you go along’. He urged fellow members to vote against them.

Committee members Juan Watterson (Rushen) said members’ concerns were genuine but ‘somewhat premature’ as there would still have to be a Bill. He suggested the outline principles would be in statute and members could debate what elements could be in the standing orders.

The report and its recommendation was approved by 15 votes to seven.

He may have missed out on the chance of walking out at Twickenham, but Western Vikings under-11 starlet Tony Poole-Wilson insisted he had still loved every minute of his Land Rover Premiership Rugby Cup experience.

Launched during the 2008-09 season, the cup is the first national grassroots tournament officiated by Premiership Rugby and run in conjunction with all 12 clubs.

Last week Sale Sharks hosted the first event of the new season, as the top local u11s and u12s mini rugby teams met at Manchester RC.

In total more than 7,000 children will participate over the course of the campaign as they go in search of a spot in the ‘Parade of Champions’ during half-time of the Aviva Premiership Grand Final.

And while Poole-Wilson was not able to lift the u11s cup for a spot at Rugby HQ, his team performed well in their pool matches and the 11-year-old remained proud of his side.

‘The tournament’s been good,’ said the Marown Primary School pupil.

‘I think we’ve just had our spirit drop within the team recently. Just playing rugby is great - I like using energy and I do also like playing with my team-mates.

‘It would have been really good to get to Twickenham - we’re not there yet, but I think a couple more years and we might still have a chance.

‘We’ve got a fairly new team – for some people it’s their first time on tour and for others it’s their third time I think, so tournaments like this are helpful.’

Sale Sharks were out in force to support the day, with four of their players – including Danny Cipriani and Mark Easter - casting an eye over proceedings.

Cipriani insists it was amazing to see the game alive and well and says he saw plenty of potential in the young guns. ‘It’s nice to see the kids because it’s what it is all about really and when I was younger you didn’t really see too many senior players around so this is an honour,’ he said.

‘It was always an inspirational thing for me every Sunday to meet up with my mates playing rugby and that’s what got me into it.

‘A lot of the England team are northern and there is a big influence on the game up here and it’s amazing to see so many kids out here today.’

Land Rover is a proud supporter of grassroots rugby and a partner of the Land Rover Premiership Rugby Cup for nearly a decade. Land Rover’s ‘We Deal In Real’ campaign aims to champion grassroots rugby on the global stage during Rugby World Cup 2015. Follow @LandRoverRugby on Twitter #WeDealInReal

SPORTSBEAT

Well the deed is done and the decision has been made.

The Hon Phil Gawne MHK, Minister in charge of whatever his department is called these days, has publicly pronounced the Douglas promenade scheme is going ahead.

Now when I first put finger to keyboard, I called my literary efforts, ‘Life as seen through the eyes of a cynic’.

I can honestly say that nothing has changed. I will believe it when I see it. Not withstanding the fact that I am in my mid 70s, and let’s face it, I may not even see tomorrow’s breakfast, but if I am given the chance of a few more years on this earth, I repeat, I will believe it when it happens.

The Hon Phil has done his best to satisfy all interested parties and their needs.

He has assured the visually impaired gang that his mission in life is not to have them all run over by fast traffic.

The shopkeepers have been appeased with the parking arrangements for their customers, although the length of time that the re­making of Duke, Strand and Castle Streets has taken to complete would not convince me that shopkeepers come high on his list of priorities.

The heritage transport enthusiasts will still have the horse trams. I think the plan is to put the tracks on the walkway. I hope the visually impaired gang have made a note of that. It would be ironic if they were to be safely guided across the busy road to be mown down by a horse tram.

The pedestrians, the pram pushers, cyclists, roller skaters and skate boarders, the wheelchair jockeys, and last but not least, the mobility scooter tearaways, will have to take their chances with what space is left.

Most wheelchairs and mobility scooters are designed to be driven at a sedate pace, and I think that most of them are, but have you seen those skateboards when they have a following wind. They can fly.

And some of the cyclists... well, enough said. But people are normally quite good at sorting themselves out, and I think all things being equal, it will be a fine job when it is finished. But, I hope the powers that be don’t forget the original object of the exercise is to repair the road.

I can imagine the boys sitting round this big oval table in the boardroom, sighs of relief all round and a general feeling of a job well done, when one of them coughs and says: ‘Excuse me, do you think that we’ve forgotten something?’

But the good news is that it is only going to cost £21 million. TWENTY-ONE MILLION QUID!

We’re strapped for cash, is the cry from every department. The next time you go for a run in the car, have a drive up Johnny Watterson’s Lane, from the Ballanard Road roundabout to the junction with the TT Course at Cronk ny Mona.

Check out the state of the white lines. They are so worn, they are practically non existent. If we can’t afford a couple of tins of paint, where are we going to get £21m from?

And you know what is sure to happen? The unexpected.

It always comes up trumps. It could be the discovery of a colony of rare frogs in the sunken gardens; a nesting pair of peregrine falcons on top of one of the lamp posts; or a collection of ancient human remains at the bottom of Mona Drive.

Trust me, I don’t know what it will be, but it will happen.

If the Hon Phil wants my advice, he just needs to give me a call (or read the Independent). This is what I would do.

I would take the top couple of inches off the road surface with that planing machine, and re­chip the whole length from the Sea Terminal to the tram sheds. Then I would ask the Chief Minister for another job.

We would end up with a decent-looking road that should last at least until the General Election. Then he could stand for re-­election in a grateful constituency such as Douglas East. Or put his horse-drawn ploughing skills to good use and get a job on the horse trams.

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

A decade ago Pullyman – aka Michael Cowin – was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease, a condition that affects people in different ways. Michael discovered writing and Island Life is featuring some of his musings. Sometimes topical, sometimes nostalgic, read about life as seen through the eyes of Pullyman

It’s time to go ice skating again at Tynwald Mills!

The Christmas ice rink reopens there on Saturday, December 5, and will remain place until Sunday, January 3.

Tynwald Mills marketing and project manager Matthew McSevney said: ‘Once again, the Christmas ice rink has been made possible through the support of the PokerStars Helping Hands programme.

‘Without them, it would not be possible to put this on and we are very grateful to them.

‘The Christmas ice rink is a great seasonal community event for all the family to enjoy and it fits perfectly with the festive atmosphere at Tynwald Mills at this time of year.

‘Over the last two years it has been open, the Christmas ice rink has raised more than £35,000 for local charities and this year we are again working with Wooden Spoon to raise even more.

He added: ‘Last year, funds raised by the Christmas ice rink meant that Wooden Spoon was able to make a £20,000 grant to Manx Miracles towards the new sensory unit at the Pre-School Assessment Centre in Pulrose.

‘This year Pokerstars are working with Wooden Spoon again to raise even more money for good causes.’

The charity has a selection of corporate nights available at the ice rink as well as a dinner with a rugby legend to be confirmed in January.

For more information contact allan at allant@manx.net

Matthew said: ‘This year, we hope to get even more people coming to enjoy the fun at the Christmas ice rink. And don’t worry if you are a complete beginner as we will have some new, fun skate aids to help you get on the ice.’

You can book tickets for the Christmas ice rink online. The booking system is now live at www.iceskate.im

Prices for online booking are £6 a child and £8 an adult.

You can also pay at the door, (£7 child and £9 per adult), and skate subject to availability but you are advised to check opening times and availability before you arrive.

Peel anglers dominated this year’s Whittaker Trading Open which was held on Peel Promenade and Beach in perfect conditions on Saturday.

After a fishless competition in flat calm seas the previous Sunday, the prayer mats were out for favourable weather and they were answered as a nice swell brought the fish on the feed.

There were lots of undersized fish about but there were also a good sprinkling of keepers and finally a decent fish has won the event.

For the second time in four years a Peel AC junior won the competition and took home the £300 first prize.

Eleven-year-old Josh Gleave was the lucky young man who managed to land a nice four-and-a-half-pound bass from the promenade end of the venue.

He is also having a good run in the club competitions so hopefully he’s well and truly hooked to fishing now!

Wealthy Douglas butcher Stuey Littlewood was next, also with a bass caught just a couple of pegs away from Josh. He has only fished four competitions this year and has come away with some winnings on each occasion.

Local golfer Mark Chatel enters the event every year and almost always picks up some winnings. He was at it again as his 2lb 3oz calig gave him third position and one of the pools on offer.

Mark Leece was next with a nice flounder that also won a pool, while Fred Crowe was fifth with a half decent flounder, with Michael Rycroft coming in sixth also with a flounder.

Results: 1, Josh Gleave 4.46lb - £300; 2, Stuey Littlewood 2.72lb - £150; 3, Mark Chatel 2.20lb - £115; 4, Mark Leece 1.94lb - £85; 5, Fred Crowe-1.66lb - £30; 6, Michael Rycroft - £1.41lb-£20.

Many thanks go out to sponsor Whittaker Trading for their continued support and to all the competitors who made it a great event on a perfect evening.

On Sunday, it was back to club competition and the first leg of the Lawrence Gell/Charlie Greggor Winter Cups. The Grand Island end of the Vollan was the venue and with a nice choppy sea, expectations were high.

However, the venue didn’t fish as good as it can, not even the minimum 20cm catch and release size limit was much of a help as some of the small pin whiting were minute.

Ian Rycroft and Paul Wisbey were into early flounders but it was Paul Chatel who took the early lead with a dogfish and a coalfish.

John Christian denied him the win though, as he caught two dogfish to draw first blood in the series everyone wants to win.

Garry Reid was next, also with two dogfish caught in between having a deeply embedded hook removed from his thumb by Mark Leece!

There was also the small matter of four weeks’ heaviest other fish pool money on offer and for the second night running it was a Gleave who cleaned up. It was Jon this time though, his last-gasp mackerel giving him the pot.

It was met with lots of good-spirited banter at the weigh-in, but he brushed it aside and collected the £46 to make it a good weekend for the Gleaves.

Results: 1 John Christian 106 points; 2, Garry Reid 94; 3, Paul Chatel 69; 4, Paul Wisbey 40; 5, Ian Rycroft 31.

The Manx Aviation and Military Museum will open its doors this autumn half term to celebrate its busiest season yet.

The museum, situated at Ronaldsway airport, will display a new collection of medals awarded to RAF Sergeant Fred Corlett to celebrate receiving over 6,000 visitors this year.

Sergeant Corlett was involved in 25 bombing operations over enemy territory and was the first Manxman to be awarded the distinguished Flying Award. The set of medals will be on temporary display over half term before a new exhibition about the RAF Sergeant will open in the new year.

Museum director Ivor Ramsdem said the museum had been receiving ‘excellent’ reviews this year and is now number 12 of 90 top things to do in the Isle of Man on the TripAdvisor website.

He said: ‘We seem to be getting much better reviews than many far better-funded attractions in the island and that makes our hard work very worthwhile. We try to have something that is of appeal to everybody and that’s paying off because a lot of visitors comment on our wide range of exhibits.

‘We’ve been very pleased with visitor numbers this year and pleasantly surprised that they have continued to increase. Many of the island’s attractions are closed at this time of year, so we are hoping to provide a bit of extra interest for local people and visitors to the island.’

The museum is open during half term and every weekend through winter from 10am to 4pm. Admission is free.

For more information call 822695/454596, email airmuseum@manx.net or visit www.maps.org.im

People with sensory hearing loss are being invited by the Department of Health and Social Care’s audiology service to take part in a four-week trial to improve conversations when using a mobile phone.

The audiology service, in collaboration with Goshawk Communications in the UK and Manx Telecom, are preparing to launch the trial.

The new technology aims to make the sound quality coming through a telephone handset clearer and easier to understand.

Stephen Griffiths, principal audiologist at Noble’s Hospital said: ‘Anyone with a sensory hearing loss who uses a Manx mobile number can volunteer to take part in the trial.

‘The trial aims to create a personalised phone signal for voice calls based on the volunteer’s specific hearing needs. Volunteers will be asked to report during the trial whether there is a difference between the processed and unprocessed signal.

‘If you are hearing impaired with a mild, moderate or severe sensorineural loss, and would like to take part, please contact us on 650407 or at the Noble’s Hospital Audiology Clinic for an informal chat to learn more about the trial.

‘You will be invited to Noble’s Hospital’s audiology clinic to have a series of hearing tests over the mobile phone you regularly use. Your mobile phone signal will be set up by Manx Telecom to receive the individually modified signal by Goshawk Communications that matches your hearing tests.

‘You will have two to six weeks to try out the improved signal with the calls you make.’

You will be contacted by an independent researcher once a week during the trial to monitor your experiences. At the end of the trial your mobile signal will return to normal. Taking part in the trial will not increase your mobile phone costs.’

A group of year six pupils have been shown around the Manannan boat to help them learn about ships.

The 10 and 11-year-olds from Victoria Road Primary School in Castletown visited the fast craft ship as part of a school project.

Class teacher Suzanne O’Reilly organised the visit to help the students learn about the materials from which the ship is made, how they are designed and the technology used on board.

They also learned how ships carry cargo safely and how boats have changed over time, and studied the role of the captain and navigation for their maritime project.

Pupils were shown around the vessel by passenger services assistant Stacey Murphy, who demonstrated the on-board safety equipment, and Captain John Pirrie, who explained to the youngsters how the ship is sailed and about his job.

Boss of the Steam Packet Company, Mark Woodward, said: ‘It seems our visitors enjoyed their tour and I hope they found it useful for their school project.

‘Perhaps one day we’ll be welcoming some of them back as members of Isle of Man Steam Packet Company crew.

‘Manannan has a busy sailing schedule so it isn’t always easy to arrange tours. However, when it is possible to assist an Isle of Man school with a project, especially one as important as building and sailing ships, we’re pleased to be able to help.’

All primary schools and libraries in the island are being presented with a copy of a new publication highlighting the risk of plastic bags to marine life.

Following the success of the marine litter travelling road show run by the Manx Wildlife Trust over the summer, the Society for the Preservation of the Manx Countryside and Environment (SPMCE) sponsored the copies of the book ‘Somebody Swallowed Stanley’.

Pictured are Peel Clothworkers’ eco-group with representatives from the MWT and SPMCE receiving the first copy. MWT biodiversity officer Dawn Dickens read out the story, which illustrates the issue in a non-complicated and informative way.

Christmas must be coming.

Douglas Council has announced that parking will be free on Thursday evenings from 5pm and all day on Saturdays in Chester Street, Shaw’s Brow and the Bottleneck car parks from Thursday, November 26, to Thursday, December 31.

Earlier this week, the council announced free parking from 3pm on weekdays at Chester Street and a £2 flat rate on Saturdays.

A motorist was trapped in her car after she lost control of it on the main Kirk Michael to Peel road.

The incident happened at about 9pm last night.

The woman rang 999 from inside her Suzuki Swift car after it landed on its side in a field.

She was unsure of her location. Further questioning of the driver pinpointed the area to be near the Switchback Road junction where police managed to find the vehicle in a field on Knocksharry Farm.

Officers from the fire and rescue service removed herfrom the vehicle where paramedics assessed her injuries and removed her by ambulance to Noble’s Hospital for further treatment.

Station officer Colin Kirkham praised the team work involved from all services and made special mention of the emergency services control room staff.

He said: ‘The professional manner in which the call was answered meant the control room staff gained all the right information, from the driver, to allow us to locate her. Having initially been told that the driver did not know where she was they continued to ask the right questions to narrow down the search area.

‘The incident must have been a frightening experience for the driver as she was trapped in a vehicle which was leaking petrol, in a dark unlit field, in a location she was unsure of. She did however manage to remain calm till help arrived.’

The driver had been fortunate not to have received more serious injuries.

Post-crash investigations revealed that once the vehicle left the road it managed to miss a number of large trees as well as a telegraph pole before dropping two metres into the field.

Southern Nomads five-season run in the Cheshire county competitions came to a shuddering halt at King William’s College when they lost out 20-3 to Dukinfield on Saturday.

After an impressive start Nomads took the lead through a Mark Young penalty in the ninth minute. Gaz Callan pulled one back to level the scores 10 minutes later and a penalty try late in the half, which Callan converted, gave Dukinfield a 10-3 lead at the break.

After beating off a Nomads’ second-half fightback, Dukinfield edged further in front with Callan’s second penalty of the game. With five minutes to play the Cheshire (South) outfit killed off any feint Nomad hopes when tight-head prop Dermot Nolan finished off a catch and drive lineout with a try which Gaz Callan converted.

Full report in Tuesday’s Examiner.

Results: Saturday, October 31

Cheshire Bowl semi-final

PDMS Southern Nomads 3-20 Dukinfield

Fog is causing problems for travellers this morning.

Check {https://www.gov.im/categories/travel-traffic-and-motoring/isle-of-man-airport/flight-departures/|here} for departures from Ronaldsway Airport.

Check {https://www.gov.im/categories/travel-traffic-and-motoring/isle-of-man-airport/flight-arrivals/|here for arrivals.

Douglas lifeboat was called out on Thursday in the search for a missing person.

It was launched 4.27pm at the request of Douglas Coastguard following a person being reported as missing.

The RNLI all-weather lifeboat Sir William Hillary was under the command of volunteer Coxswain Neal Corran.

It conducted a shoreline search southwards from Douglas as far as Santon Head and back.

The lifeboat made a complete sweep of its assigned search area without success and was about to begin another sweep of the same area when its crew were stood down just after 6pm.

Douglas Coastguard informed them that the missing person had been located safe and well.

Liberal Vannin leader Kate Beecroft has issued a statement to deny that her party is anti business and against economic growth.

It comes after criticism of the party from Chief Minister Allan Bell in a radio interview.

In an interview with Energy FM the Chief Minister listed the following issues, which he said proved Liberal Vannin were anti-growth:

· Dec 2013 - £3 million construction for engineering facility at IOM College.

· Nov 2014 - Sale of the Nunnery to establish a an ICT College

· June 2015 - Digital strategy for improved government services

· October 2015 - Economic Development Fund

· Dec 2013 - £3,000,000 construction for engineering facility at IOM college

· Nov 2104 – Sale of the Nunnery to establish an ICT college

· June 2015 – Digital strategy for improved government services

· Oct 2015 - £50m economic development fund

Mrs Beecroft gave the following comments about each

Engineering facility

Peter Karran MHK has previously been Education Minister until he was sacked for voting with his colleague, Kate Beecroft MHK, against the Pinewood deal. We were in favour of an engineering facility but whilst Education Minister, the professionals had advised Mr Karran that this was the wrong site to use. There were sites better suited to the proposal and there were concerns that by using this site it would hamper the college’s future plans.

Sale of the Nunnery

It had not been available on the open market and was sold at £2mless than the value placed on it by the government valuer. Indeed no expressions of interest had even been sought never mind going out to public tender.

Four acres of ‘Sangster’s field’ were included in the deal and an option was given for twenty years at a cost of £120,000. Again, there were no calls for expressions of interest or an open tender process.

Perhaps the Chief Minister could confirm if all the parties are still involved and what progress has been made to date?

Digital Strategy

We are in favour of utilising technological progress but had concerns about the protection personal data in the proposal. Government does not have a particularly good track record in that area and just prior to the debate had released in error many email addresses via the taxation computer system. It was also clear that this policy was an introduction to the Single Legal Entity being proposed by the then Minister Robertshaw. We have concerns about this as it further concentrates power to a few at the centre of government.

Economic Development Fund

As previously stated the main reasons that we voted against this are;

· The proposed terms were too flexible and one instance of this is that they “expected” the maximum invested in any one proposal to be less than £1,000,000 but stated that the fund managers needed the “flexibility” to invest more if there was a suitable venture.

· There is an anticipated failure rate of between 30% and 50% of all investments but the expected aggregate rate of return is only 5%.

· We believe it should be managed by a committee rather than a single fund manager to minimise the risk of actual or perceived conflict of interest.

In addition to the concerns that we already had from studying the papers given to us for that sitting of Tynwald, when we returned to the Tynwald chamber after lunch we found new papers regarding this proposal on our desks. There was insufficient time to read these and ascertain any changes before the debate.

We believe that there is evidence to show that the Chief Minister and his CoMin Party have adversely affected economic growth and will state why.

Mount Murray

Will potential investors have confidence in a system that is so easily influenced by developers?

Mr Bell was Minister of Tourism at the time and was guilty of ‘handing over the reins of government to a private developer’.

MEA

Mr Bell was Treasury Minister at the time when a £120m was made to a subsidiary of the MEA without sufficient oversight by the Treasury. Later this had to be ratified by Tynwald for it to be a legal debt of the government regardless of the fact that Treasury and Tynwald as a whole had no prior knowledge of the loan.

The Sefton bail out

Why would investors in the island have confidence in a government that bails out its competitors in what could be classed as anti-competitive practices? All CoMin members publically supported this.

Manx Gas

Allowing a binding agreement of voluntary regulation where Manx Gas may make a profit of 9.99% regardless.

If the Chief Minister would like more of our proof we will be more than happy to provide it although we would rather concentrate on the benefits that LibVan can and will bring to assist business and create money for everyone’s benefit.

Mrs Beecroft add that LibVan believes that some of the direct measures to improve business confidence and investment include:

· Restoring justified trust and confidence in government

· Ensuring that energy prices are at a level competitive to our neighbours in as short a time as possible

· Finding a solution to our exorbitant transport costs

· Ensuring a level playing field for all in respect of any assistance from government

· Ensuring that where government assistance is given, there are adequate safeguards

· Removing confidentiality clauses from any contract with government unless there is a proven need

· Ensuring that any tender process is open, honest and transparent and taking action against any digression

· An Ombudsman who is truly independent

· Having robust systems of governance

She said: ‘We need to ensure that our people have what is needed to enjoy happy and productive lives. If we cannot achieve this for people already living here we will not be able to attract others to relocate.

‘So there are also measures that do not appear at first glance to have a direct bearing but that, in reality, are very important.’

She added that the following will play a vital role.

· An education system that encourages all young people to achieve their aspirations

· A first class health service together with an independent health regulator

· Ensuring our elderly are able to stay warm and well fed

· Caring for the less fortunate

· Maintaining our low crime rate

· Retaining our wonderful countryside and seascape

· Measures to phase in a living wage for all

· Having a definition for fuel poverty

She said: ‘I hope that I have shown that LibVan is definitely in favour of economic development but that this has to be achieved in the right manner and with the right safeguards for public funds.’

It’s the second time within a week that Mrs Beecroft has hit back at comments from Mr Bell.

{http://www.iomtoday.co.im/news/isle-of-man-news/beecroft-hits-back-after-bell-s-criticism-1-7541817|Click here to read about the first time.}

Junior Achievement Isle of Man has appointed Lisa Morris as primary programme manager.

‘This is the job I’ve always wanted,’ said Lisa who will be working in all the island’s primary schools delivering, with volunteer support, the Junior Achievement ‘Our World’ programme to year six children.

She said: ‘I love the material and have been so impressed by how quickly the children grasp and retain information about how countries are interdependent in terms of resources and how soon they begin to understand the rudiments of global trading.

‘Our World also teaches teamwork and communication skills and prepares children for the transition from primary to secondary school. But what’s so valuable about the work Junior Achievement is doing in schools is that it goes beyond the academic, preparing young people for the world of work.’

Originally from Yorkshire, Lisa has lived in the island for 17 years and comes from an accountancy and financial background.

She added that for her new role she would be drawing on her communication and time managements skills born out of the ‘logistical and organisational demands of being a mother of four children aged between eight and 14.’

Junior Achievement chief executive Sue Cook said: ‘As a mother Lisa recognises the importance of challenging and stimulating young minds, broadening children’s horizons and equipping them with life skills.

‘We are delighted to have Lisa join the team.’

To find out more about the work of Junior Achievement, contact Sue Cook, 666266, sue.cook@jaiom.im

Police are hunting for a vandal who attacked a bus stop in Douglas early this morning (Monday).

The incident happened between 5.30am and 6.15am at the bus shelter next to the Brown Bobby filling station in Peel Road.

During this time, damage was caused to a pane of glass measuring 3ft by 4ft.

Anyone with information is asked to call investigating officer Constable Darran Loader at Lord Street police station on 631212.

Weather forecasters have been crunching the numbers for October.

The month was a lot drier and sunnier than normal.

The dry spell at the end of September lasted through much of the month, with only 12mm ( half an inch ) of rain measured by the 19th.

More unsettled conditions arrived after that but even then the majority of the rain was overnight.

The total rain for the month was 53.6mm, close to half the October mean of 102mm.

There were 128 hours of bright sunshine, the third highest for October. Only 1981 and 1986 had more with 128.5 and 132.4 hours respectively.

The sunniest day was the 1st, with a record-breaking 10.6 hours, beating the previous October record of 10.1hours recorded on October 5, 1979.

The mean wind speed measured 11.7mph compared to the long term mean of 15.6mph. Only October 1993 had a lower mean speed of 10.7mph.

There were no gales during the month.

The clear skies meant warmer days and slightly colder nights than average. Overall the mean temperature for the month measured 11.5°C, 0.3°C above normal.

The warmest day was the 6th with a maximum of 17.2°C and the coldest morning, the 15th saw the air temperature drop to 5.1°C.

There were three grass frosts during the month.

Fog was observed at Ronaldsway on the 31st but there were no thunderstorms or hail.

The Ben-my-Chree is currently stuck outside Heysham.

The Steam Packet vessel cannot dock in the Lancashire port due to dense fog.

For the latest about Steam Packet’s sailings {http://www.steam-packet.com/LatestSailings|click here}

One of the wards at Noble’s Hospital is to remain closed throughout the winter.

Ward 20 has already been shut for the past three months.

The decision was taken following a review of the impact of the temporary closure announced in July.

Ward 20 is a rehabilitation ward which stands apart from the main hospital building.

Health and Social Care Minister Howard Quayle MHK said the continued closure had been recommended by care professionals after discussions with colleagues.

He said: ‘Patients requiring beds in the acute hospital for rehabilitation, and staff from the ward, have been successfully accommodated elsewhere in the hospital in a way that enhances patient care while making the best use of available resources. Changing working practices at Noble’s are also expected to have a positive effect in reducing pressure on bed spaces as the winter months draw on.’

Mr Quayle said the position would be further reviewed in the spring.