Today sees the arrival of The Chapel Society who seem to have been successful with prayers for good weather this weekend.
More good news for them is that they have secured the services of the reputed 'Blue Badge Guide,' Frank Cowin who I'm sure will utilise his usual expertise to give them a superb weekend.
Friday 29 April 2011
Monday 25 April 2011
Look Away Now If You Don't Want To See The Score...Or Baby Photos Bore You.
Incredibly, little Harry is one whole week and half a day old and now back past his 'born' weight and the current score is 3lb 14oz! That's 1.76kg to any continental or younger blogophiles. He is very small but seems to be strong and he grows bigger by the day. Granddad was even allowed a cuddle Sunday when he escaped the incubator for afternoon tea.
Mummy Lucy has been discharged from hospital and is coping very well but it isn't easy as she is in a constant cycle of expressing milk and visiting the 'Special Care Baby Unit' to feed him.
As Harry was born seven weeks prematurely, this will be the way for the foreseeable future, though we are very lucky that it's only five minutes drive/cycle from home to Nobles.
Christopher's funeral will be this week but it will be a private service and though Lucy doesn't want any flowers sending, she greatly appreciates all the sympathy and messages of support that she's being given.
Monday 18 April 2011
Harry & Christopher Sieze the Day
Many of you will already know that our daughter, Lucy who has worked here since she was about 3 years old, though more regularly part and full time for the last couple of years was pregnant with twins.
Lucy had her two babies, Harry & Christopher by c-section last night at 21:13 which came as a bit of a surprise, as despite having been in the Jane since Saturday night after going into labour, it was thought that everything had resettled and yesterday morning, we were told that it wouldn't happen that day.
Christopher died shortly after being baptised but Harry who weighed in at 3lb12.5oz is thriving and breathing unaided, although he will be in SCBU for the next few weeks it is expected.
I must thank all the staff at the 'Jane Crookall Maternity Unit' who have been magnificent throughout Lucy's pregnancy but really excelled last night. They showed brilliant professionalism, allied with a such touching humanity and personal skills that they were able to help greatly allay the fears, for Lucy, Lee and their families, during what was such a traumatic, yet also happy occasion.
Dee-Dee, the Hospital Chaplain also displayed great empathy and I'm told that Christopher's baptism was very moving but perfect in the circumstances.
Lucy, this morning was going to see Harry for the first time since the birth and when I phoned earlier and she is a little sore but well.
We are also very grateful for all the messages received.
Should be able to get some pics on later but I forgot to bring any of the cameras into work with me. Pics now on as you can see. Top one is of Harry, middle of Lee (Daddy,) Irene (Ninna Nanna)holding Christopher and bottom is of Christopher.
I'll just reproduce Lucy's post from Facebook:
I would like to thank everyone for their support. I had a c section last night and delivered two beautiful boys Harry Stephen and Christopher Dale at 21:13.
God has gained another angel, he blessed me with 37 minutes of my son's presence. So proud to call myself mummy to two beautiful boys. Harry came kicking and screaming out of my belly. I will get to meet Harry properly tomorrow. thanks everyone. x
Didn't take her long to get back online did it?
Tuesday 12 April 2011
April Fool? The Joke Will Be On Me If I'm Not Careful
I did think that no one had really been taken in by the April fool joke but gradually more and more people are wishing me luck with the election.
Well, I'd better not get carried away here. By more and more, so far I mean about three and now two of the staff.
Then, it occurred to me that the only mention I'd made in this blog that it was an 'April Fool' was in a the 'Comment' section which might not noticed too easily. The other thing was that in my haste to make sure that everything was set in place, the 'Post' in question was actually made 31st March rather than the day itself.
Any confusion may have be further compounded by the fact that I was also asked my opinion by Stuart Peters of Manx Radio on the removal of the Director of Tourism from his post and subsequent streamlining of the marketing within the Department of Economical Development.
I really must have sounded like a politician when I failed to answer a direct question!
For what it is worth, I only actually met Mr Nipper (former Director of Tourism) once and found him to be very personable and was impressed by his thoughts on improving the profile of the Island and how he was intending to use the limited budget he'd been given.
Whether the reasons for his redundancy are entirely as stated, I am unable to conject but I really hope that the new structure is successful, as our industry can ill afford to be shunted to the sidings of the Government's greater marketing strategy.
I just re-read all that. Perhaps there's a career in the House of Keys for me after all?
Well, I'd better not get carried away here. By more and more, so far I mean about three and now two of the staff.
Then, it occurred to me that the only mention I'd made in this blog that it was an 'April Fool' was in a the 'Comment' section which might not noticed too easily. The other thing was that in my haste to make sure that everything was set in place, the 'Post' in question was actually made 31st March rather than the day itself.
Any confusion may have be further compounded by the fact that I was also asked my opinion by Stuart Peters of Manx Radio on the removal of the Director of Tourism from his post and subsequent streamlining of the marketing within the Department of Economical Development.
I really must have sounded like a politician when I failed to answer a direct question!
For what it is worth, I only actually met Mr Nipper (former Director of Tourism) once and found him to be very personable and was impressed by his thoughts on improving the profile of the Island and how he was intending to use the limited budget he'd been given.
Whether the reasons for his redundancy are entirely as stated, I am unable to conject but I really hope that the new structure is successful, as our industry can ill afford to be shunted to the sidings of the Government's greater marketing strategy.
I just re-read all that. Perhaps there's a career in the House of Keys for me after all?
Monday 11 April 2011
Groudle, Clay Head and Laxey
What a beautiful day, yesterday 10th April was and luckily for me, unlike the previous week I didn't have to work.
Myself, having dispensed with the day's serious challenge that morning in the Manx 10k Championships at the National Sports Centre and Irene having transformed our conservatory at home into sparkling whiteness, we were able to see a little more of the Island's spectacular coastline.
One of the many great things about living on the Isle of Man, is that if you travel for a few minutes in any direction, you're either in the countryside or swimming.
Yesterday, we set off along the Promenade at Douglas, heading north up towards the Manx Electric Railway Terminus and the old White City site. You can actually follow the line of the cliffs there and then off road in front of the former Majestic Hotel but on this occasion, we elected to go straight along King Edward Bay Road towards the Groudle Glen.
It was at this point with the vista looking north towards Clay Head, resplendent in the sunshine that I realised that as usual, I hadn't brought my camera. Rather than just give up and swipe one of someone else's photograph as I did after our last little wander, I decided to use the mobile phone. Unfortunately as yet, technophobe as I am, I haven't quite worked out how to extract them from the said device and reproduce them here. By the time you read this, I hope to have it illustrated but don't hold your breath.
Although the Groudle Road is hardly the M1, for me it's always a pleasure to leave the main thoroughfare and onto the country lanes or public footpaths and with this in mind after crossing the Old Toll bridge, we took the next right about 1/2 mile further along, signposted Lonan Old Church. This takes you towards the sea, not too far from The Sea Lion Pool, then turns left at a right angle, over the 2003 bridge, passing St Adamnan's and on to Ballanette.
Ballanette is a wetland nature reserve that has been created by the Clague Family in memory of their daughter Anette who died at a young age. They also supply the use of their toilet, fresh water and even offer the chance to call in for a 'cuppa' which would have been much appreciated. It is a truly peaceful and beautiful part of the Manx countryside which takes you across to Clay Head, where they have created another circular pathway down to the sea at which point, there is a flagpost and a bench to rest your weary limbs.
No such lazy ideas for us though as this is part of Irene's Parish Walk training, so it's a brief pause to enjoy the view and off up the steep hill, back to the tarmac. A few hundred yards along, there is a path down to Garwick Bay, alongside a stream.
Another steep ascent back to the main road and then it's downhill almost all the way into Laxey. This week's much needed lemonades were taken at the Mines Tavern which is a wonderful place to sit out in fine weather and this time round, we met our daughter, Lucy and took the bus home.
With our off road detours, it was probably about 10 miles and took us three hours or so.
Myself, having dispensed with the day's serious challenge that morning in the Manx 10k Championships at the National Sports Centre and Irene having transformed our conservatory at home into sparkling whiteness, we were able to see a little more of the Island's spectacular coastline.
One of the many great things about living on the Isle of Man, is that if you travel for a few minutes in any direction, you're either in the countryside or swimming.
Yesterday, we set off along the Promenade at Douglas, heading north up towards the Manx Electric Railway Terminus and the old White City site. You can actually follow the line of the cliffs there and then off road in front of the former Majestic Hotel but on this occasion, we elected to go straight along King Edward Bay Road towards the Groudle Glen.
It was at this point with the vista looking north towards Clay Head, resplendent in the sunshine that I realised that as usual, I hadn't brought my camera. Rather than just give up and swipe one of someone else's photograph as I did after our last little wander, I decided to use the mobile phone. Unfortunately as yet, technophobe as I am, I haven't quite worked out how to extract them from the said device and reproduce them here. By the time you read this, I hope to have it illustrated but don't hold your breath.
Although the Groudle Road is hardly the M1, for me it's always a pleasure to leave the main thoroughfare and onto the country lanes or public footpaths and with this in mind after crossing the Old Toll bridge, we took the next right about 1/2 mile further along, signposted Lonan Old Church. This takes you towards the sea, not too far from The Sea Lion Pool, then turns left at a right angle, over the 2003 bridge, passing St Adamnan's and on to Ballanette.
Ballanette is a wetland nature reserve that has been created by the Clague Family in memory of their daughter Anette who died at a young age. They also supply the use of their toilet, fresh water and even offer the chance to call in for a 'cuppa' which would have been much appreciated. It is a truly peaceful and beautiful part of the Manx countryside which takes you across to Clay Head, where they have created another circular pathway down to the sea at which point, there is a flagpost and a bench to rest your weary limbs.
No such lazy ideas for us though as this is part of Irene's Parish Walk training, so it's a brief pause to enjoy the view and off up the steep hill, back to the tarmac. A few hundred yards along, there is a path down to Garwick Bay, alongside a stream.
Another steep ascent back to the main road and then it's downhill almost all the way into Laxey. This week's much needed lemonades were taken at the Mines Tavern which is a wonderful place to sit out in fine weather and this time round, we met our daughter, Lucy and took the bus home.
With our off road detours, it was probably about 10 miles and took us three hours or so.
Saturday 9 April 2011
Update on Visa Electron
I am indebted to Martin Bell (that's the IOMVAC ATHLETE not the former MP for Tatton) who stopped by the Hotel for a quick chat yesterday to inform me that he had tried Barclay's Wealth and had been informed that they couldn't provide him with a Visa Electron card.
That's a big disappointment to me and any others who were hoping to avoid unfair 'Flybe' charges for buying their tickets.
So if you are aware of how to obtain one on the Isle of Man, please post a comment or contact me through e-mail or telephone and I'll let the rest* of you know.
*Shockingly, 1500 page views have now been made of this once almost unread 'Blog,' so that would help quite a few of us if you do know how we could lay our hands on one.
Martin pointed out that he had been or would be charged £90.00 this year.
Not that I can claim any hand in the victory but it was announced that VillaGaiety has now withdrawn their £1.00 handling fee, so we can only hope that this is the beginning of a landslide. Of course, I'm not cynical enough to believe they'll find another way of relieving us of our money. Maybe.
That's a big disappointment to me and any others who were hoping to avoid unfair 'Flybe' charges for buying their tickets.
So if you are aware of how to obtain one on the Isle of Man, please post a comment or contact me through e-mail or telephone and I'll let the rest* of you know.
*Shockingly, 1500 page views have now been made of this once almost unread 'Blog,' so that would help quite a few of us if you do know how we could lay our hands on one.
Martin pointed out that he had been or would be charged £90.00 this year.
Not that I can claim any hand in the victory but it was announced that VillaGaiety has now withdrawn their £1.00 handling fee, so we can only hope that this is the beginning of a landslide. Of course, I'm not cynical enough to believe they'll find another way of relieving us of our money. Maybe.
Winners of Welbeck Guest Survey Draw
Oops! It was beginning to look like I was going to face an inquiry on the scale of the ITV TV votes scandal as I realised that we hadn't done the 'Guests Survey Draw' in nearly six months when I had promised it would be drawn quarterly and therefore with the assistance of regular lunch time guests, Peter & Pat Quine, we drew two yesterday.
So, congratulations to Lou Cartledge & and Claire Buckle from England Athletics for having their survey forms pulled from the bag.
Wednesday 6 April 2011
Sometimes the Manx Rain does fall on One Man's House
Apart from the fact that the Island is a different country, with different culture and even a different language albeit not so widely spoken these days, one of the most difficult concepts for our visitors to wrap their heads around is Isle of Man weather.
The first hurdle to negotiate is trying to explain that the forecast on television is often very unlikely to be relevant here. Having persuaded them to accept that piece of information, we then have to point out that just because things are looking a little miserable in Douglas doesn't necessarily mean the day must be written off.
Yesterday, perfectly illustrated the point. Whilst we in the capital were shivering in the strong wind with grey skies above and temperatures barely registering double figures, the northern plains were baking in 19 degree sunshine.
It has to be said that the introduction of the Department of Infrastructure webcams are a wonderful addition to our armoury when making a decision about where to go and though they are probably somewhere on the IOM Government site and definiteley, some of them are on www.manxradio.com, there are more on www.manx.net, crucially including Ramsey Harbour.
Our meteorological officers are also very accessible and it is possible to talk to a real live one who tend to be very helpful on 0900 624 3200 for a very reasonable sum, listen to their general weather recording on 0900 624 3300 or their shipping forecast on 0900 624 3322.
My own personal favourite story about the imbalanced manx conditions happened a few years ago. It had been said that there was a possibility of some rays up the top, so with typical optimism, I packed my protesting family into the car, complete with towels etc. and tried to persuade them that we were going to have a great time in Mooragh Park. The sky looked horrendous, a kind of grey, tinged with black. It was so bad that I didn't even attempt to go via the Mountain and there was no improvement on the other side of Laxey.
The kids were still giving me their usual, 'What a wally' look and as we approached Maughold, even I was starting to have my doubts when we were able to see the part of the coast by the Point of Ayre and there was certainly nothing in the way of improvement.
However, on the descent past the 'Rest and Be Thankful,' the vista of Ramsey opened, the houses and the lake glinting in the sunshine.
In those days, they still had the paddling pool instead of the 'Health & Safety' sprinklers that there are now and we sat there basking, while the children splashed around. There was a cirle of blue in the sky above us, totally surrounded by the aforementioned angry clouds.
The first hurdle to negotiate is trying to explain that the forecast on television is often very unlikely to be relevant here. Having persuaded them to accept that piece of information, we then have to point out that just because things are looking a little miserable in Douglas doesn't necessarily mean the day must be written off.
Yesterday, perfectly illustrated the point. Whilst we in the capital were shivering in the strong wind with grey skies above and temperatures barely registering double figures, the northern plains were baking in 19 degree sunshine.
It has to be said that the introduction of the Department of Infrastructure webcams are a wonderful addition to our armoury when making a decision about where to go and though they are probably somewhere on the IOM Government site and definiteley, some of them are on www.manxradio.com, there are more on www.manx.net, crucially including Ramsey Harbour.
Our meteorological officers are also very accessible and it is possible to talk to a real live one who tend to be very helpful on 0900 624 3200 for a very reasonable sum, listen to their general weather recording on 0900 624 3300 or their shipping forecast on 0900 624 3322.
My own personal favourite story about the imbalanced manx conditions happened a few years ago. It had been said that there was a possibility of some rays up the top, so with typical optimism, I packed my protesting family into the car, complete with towels etc. and tried to persuade them that we were going to have a great time in Mooragh Park. The sky looked horrendous, a kind of grey, tinged with black. It was so bad that I didn't even attempt to go via the Mountain and there was no improvement on the other side of Laxey.
The kids were still giving me their usual, 'What a wally' look and as we approached Maughold, even I was starting to have my doubts when we were able to see the part of the coast by the Point of Ayre and there was certainly nothing in the way of improvement.
However, on the descent past the 'Rest and Be Thankful,' the vista of Ramsey opened, the houses and the lake glinting in the sunshine.
In those days, they still had the paddling pool instead of the 'Health & Safety' sprinklers that there are now and we sat there basking, while the children splashed around. There was a cirle of blue in the sky above us, totally surrounded by the aforementioned angry clouds.
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