I’ve been writing for the lovely Gef website again. This time I’m looking at (or rather, not looking at) something currently noticeably absent from the Isle of Man, and finding homemade ways to fill the gap. https://gef.im/2021/06/02/keeping-those-tt-vibes-alive/
Tag Archives: Isle of Man
Moonrise Memory
To paraphrase the best line ever uttered in a 007 movie, the Memories feature on Facebook appears with the tedious inevitability of an unloved season. Mercifully, they’ve tweaked the algorithm to stop people being jauntily reminded of the post they made that got a personal best of 248 reactions – when it was announcing theContinue reading “Moonrise Memory”
This Is Not Bliss
Some time ago, a few friends and I were out for a hike in the north of the Isle of Man. We met in the grand sturdy village of Kirk Michael and set off on an upward ascent, towards the Northern Hills of the Island. It was a fine clear day, with sunshine powerful enoughContinue reading “This Is Not Bliss”
Seasons of the Tholtan
As we emerged, blinking like bush babies from the latest lockdown, a friend suggested using our rediscovered freedom to go for a walk in the Manx countryside. As I live in the middle of Douglas, and therefore hadn’t left the town boundaries for eight weeks or so, this seemed an excellent idea. A bit ofContinue reading “Seasons of the Tholtan”
The Train Now Departing is Arriving
It was only very recently that I wrote this article for Gef about the relationship between the Isle of Man and tellybox programmes. https://gef.im/2021/04/10/give-me-more-manx-tv/ Then I discovered this blast of steam from the past, available on the BBC iPlayer. It’s the Manx episode of a series called The Train Now Departing about vintage railways aroundContinue reading “The Train Now Departing is Arriving”
Book review: ‘Until the Manxmen are driven away’.
UNTIL THE MANXMEN ARE DRIVEN AWAY – The Selected Poems of Paul Lebiedzinski Ramsey poet Paul Lebiedzinski has finally had his work published in book form, 25 years after his death at the distressingly young age of 43. Culture Vannin have continued their interesting and vital work in expanding the popular idea of what ManxContinue reading “Book review: ‘Until the Manxmen are driven away’.”
