Mannifest Live – Music and Film Garden Party

If you’re looking for something to do this weekend, you probably don’t know about Mannifest, the music and film garden party that’s taking place at The Nunnery on the 14th and 15th August. With talent like Kosheen, Easy Stars All-Stars and local talent like Planes Over Paris, the festival is designed to be a celebration of art and energy, right here in the Isle of Man.

So, “What will there be to do?” you may ask. Well, without any further ado, here’s the line-up:

Friday Main Stage

• 17:00 Maldune
• 17:50 Chris Beauman
• 18:05 Zara Sophia
• 18:30 Jeceris
• 19:20 Paul Freeland
• 19:40 Good times with henry wood
• 20:25 Laura Goucher
• 20:40 Planes Over Paris
• 21:30 Orca
• 10:30 Kosheen (live)

Saturday Main Stage

• 12:00 The Lotus Project
• 12:30 Helen Morrison
• 12:50 Camden sporting arts and social club
• 13:30 Curious Turtles
• 13:50 Dub Heart
• 14:35 Strengyn
• 14:50 Nigel Williams
• 15:30 Ryan Inglis and friends
• 16:00 Anthony Battersby
• 16:15 Vex Mama
• 17:15 Grambo
• 17:45 Tommy Cole
• 18:05 The Behavers
• 18:55 Dave from The Zutons with Tony Davis
• 19:25 Uber Room
• 20:15 Paul Wright
• 21:05 Lost Soldiers
• 22:00 Easy Star All-Stars

Friday Dance Tent

• 17:00 Day of Hugs DJ’s
• 19:00 Remedy DJ’s (Jungle)
• 20:00 Kosheen DJ’s
• 21:30 Jay Bessant Vs 7Quidstudio
• 10:30 Kosheen (played through rig)

Saturday Dance Tent

• 12:00 Magnus the Massuer
• 12:40 NA NA Matt Shepard
• 13:00 Sonic Jihad
• 14:00 DJ Cav
• 15:00 Nick Lowe
• 16:00 Christian Claige
• 17:00 Barry Fearon
• 18:00 Bill Norman
• 19:30 The Head Gardener
• 21:00 Stiff Kittens (Sonia)
• 10:30 Easy Star All-Stars (through rig)

An Adult 2-day ticket starts at £50 if you book it online (subject to a booking fee), but if you’re not sure you can make it, you can take a chance and try and get them at the door. They’re more expensive here and you may not get a ticket if the event sells out. Have a great time!

Recipe: Manx Queenies and Stilton

The Manx Queenie, or Queen Scallop, is one of the delicacies that one can savour on the Isle of Man. And once a year, the Isle of Man Queenie Fesitval is held to celebrate this delicate and savoury morsel that can be prepared in a variety of ways. Here’s one recipe that they have offered us to add to ManxVoice:

Ingredients:

• 454g Manx Queenies
• 100g Stilton
• 250ml Double Cream
• 100ml White Wine
• Salt and Pepper
• Vegetable Oil for Cooking

Method:

1. Place a frying pan on a high heat and add small amount of oil.
2. Add Manx Queenies to the pan and cook quickly for 2-3mins.
3. Place Manx Queenies in a dish , then place pan back on heat and add white wine.
4. Reduce wine by half, add cream and bring to the boil.
5. Reduce heat and crumble in stilton. Do not re-boil as it will split.
6. Return Manx Queenies to the pan allow to heat back through, season to taste.
7. Serve in a dish with crusty bread and salad.

That sounds really yummy, and you’re all welcome to try it. And, if you have a Queenie recipe you’re proud of, you can submit it to their Queenie Recipe competition for a chance to £100 worth of seafood.

The Queenie Festival starts on the 29th June this year. We’ll bring you more details closer to the event.

Lady Isabella (Great Laxey Wheel)

There are few images more iconic of the Isle of Man than that of Lady Isabella, the massive water wheel in Laxey. Erected in 1854, this is still the largest operational water wheel in world, a title which is unlikely to ever be challenged again. The Great Laxey wheel was mostly the product of Manx endeavour. Although the wheel’s axle was forged in Liverpool, it was designed by a Manx engineer (Robert Casement), the iron rims were made in Douglas and the timbers were shaped by Manx artisans. As you can imagine with something this size, it was assembled on the Island and commissioned in September 1854. This was cutting edge technology at the time and it’s awesome to see that it is still maintained and operational to this day.

The wheel was commissioned to pump water from the nearby Laxey mines when they were used to mine lead, copper, zinc and even silver in the past. When the mines closed in 1929, Mr Edwin Kneale, a Laxey builder stepped in to buy the wheel which was scheduled to be scrapped. He operated the wheel as a tourist attracting until the cost of maintaining the wheel meant it was no longer commercial viable to do this. It was then purchased by the Manx Government in 1965 when it was then restored to its former glory and handed over to the Manx National Heritage to operate as a National Heritage Site.

Here are some facts and figures about the Laxey Wheel:

• The wheel has a diameter of 72 feet 6 inches (22.10 m).
• The wheel has a circumference of almost 228ft (69.43 m).
• The wheel is 6 feet (1.83m) wide.
• The wheel as 48 wooden spokes.
• The wheel has 168 buckets.
• The wheel produces 200 horse power.
• The Great Laxey Wheel took 4 years to build.
• It’s peak operating capacity is 250 gallons per minute from a depth of 1500 feet.
• The wheel was nicknamed Lady Isabella after the wife of a former Lieutenant Governor, Charles Hope.

Laxey Wheel

Lady Isabella is usually open to visitors between April and October, though it’s worth keeping in mind that it’s best to visit in good weather as there’s little shelter and climbing to the top of the wheel can be tricky in windy weather. There are a number of rambling trails through Glen Moar where visitors can learn about the mining history of the area and even stop for a picnic.

If you don’t have the opportunity to visit the wheel, you can find a panoramic view of the Laxey Wheel on the Manx National Heritage site.

(Laxey Wheel photo courtesy of ManxScenes)

Manx Athlete in Mr Britain Competition

It’s always great to see the Isle of Man being represented on an international stage and this year we will have an entry in a prestigious body building competition. Nuno Figueira, a local gym instructor will be taking part in the Mr Britain competition later this year, a challenge which could also give him a shot at participating at the prestigious Mr Universe contest.

Nuno has been living in the Isle of Man for the last 5 years during which time he started training and became a qualified gym instructor. He is originally from Madeira, a Portuguese island slightly larger than the Isle of Man but much more densely populated. He currently works at Body Shack, a fitness centre in Kingswood Grove, Douglas, and you can also find him minding the door at Bordello over the weekend.

The initial event is scheduled for the 17th May which consists of the NABBA (National Amateur Bodybuilder’s Association) qualifier in Southport. If Nuno is successful in this competition he could proceed to the Mr. Britain competition two weeks later on the 30th May and could also potentially qualify for the WFF Mr. Universe.

Nuno can be seen here flanked by Richard and Steven from Body Shack who will be helping Nuno in his efforts by sponsoring his health supplements and personal training.

ManxVoice would like to add our best wishes to that of Nuno’s fans and supporters and wish him the best of luck in his forthcoming competition. We’ll keep you posted with any news we get.

Ellan Vannin

Have you ever heard the poem entitled Ellan Vannin by Eliza Craven Green? It’s a lovely poem written in the 1800s that embodies the beauty of the Island and has sometimes been referred to as the alternative Manx national anthem.

When the summer day is over
And the busy cares have flown,
Then I sit beneath the starlight
With a weary heart. alone,
And there rises like a vision,
Sparkling bright in nature’s glee,
My own dear Ellan Vannin
With its green hills by the sea.

Then I hear the wavelets murmur
As they kiss the fairy shore,
Then beneath the em’rald waters
Sings the mermaid as of yore,
And the fair Isle shines with beauty
As in youth it dawned on me,
My own dear Ellan Vannin
With its green hills by the sea.

Then mem’ries sweet and tender
Come like music’s plaintive flow,
Of someone in Ellan Vannin
That lov’d me long ago,
So I give with tears and blessings,
And my fondest thoughts to thee,
My own dear Ellan Vannin
With its green hills by the sea.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I have. If you’re musically inclined you can find the words of Ellan Vannin set to music by J. Townsend on the Manx Notebook.

Kind thanks to Peter Killey from ManxScenes for the lovely photos of the Isle of Man shown alongside the poem.

Planes Over Paris – The Trafalgar 24/01/09

When a band is called something such as this, it invites too many puns based on their name. I think to do this to a band of this calibre would be doing them a complete disservice. Planes’ have been together in this format for about a year now, previously going by the name of Gratiz 3 and raising quite a decent following on the Manx music scene. But now with the new name and new material, also with the addition of keys/synths and a tweak of their sound to a more atmospheric direction, there’s no reason why this band cannot achieve great things away from the Island. Last night’s show to a packed out Trafalgar went a long way towards proving this…

From the outset, you can tell that is a band that has made every effort possible to rehearse every note to the point of perfection and this is evident in the way that their songs are put across. With material of the quality of Someone Else’s Sun and Hospital Patio (both incidentally available to listen to on the Planes Over Paris MySpace page) you can hear the rare sound of 4 musicians playing as a single unit. Over the top of Ben & Martyn who are one of the tightest rhythm sections you’ll have the pleasure to hear are some wonderfully subtle synth sounds from new recruit Steff that for once in a band don’t overpower you and actually add to rather than detract from the overall melody. Topping this off is a rhythm/lead guitar combination from Paul that actually bucks the trend for most vocalists/guitarists, in that he doesn’t take control of the overall sound and treats the band as an extension of his instrumentation!

The gig itself was played to practically a full house in the Traf, in which Billy had had the foresight to move the tables out of the band room and into the green room, so for the first time in living memory, it actually felt like a gig in there and not someone playing at the top end of a furniture shop (now about moving that pool table out of there…). One thing that shows through is that, as intricate as these songs are, they are meant to be played live, but through a decent PA with a competent engineer as for the most part for the instrumental “post-rock” (a genre I know nothing about and had to be told what it meant!) passages, you need to be able to hear the individual instruments each playing their own lines, that’s not to say that what they play is indulgent noodling, but rather, an overall sound where all 4 (or 5 if you count the vocals) instruments contribute to the overall feel of the song.

Musically this is a band that has taken a variety of influences from the last 2 decades and managed to make disparate sounds somehow fit together. Last night I heard, amongst other things, old school goth, new wave, the late 80’s Manchester & Leeds sounds and (so I was told) the new post-rock style. It’s a very hard thing to explain in terms of what they sound like, but the closest I can get is an overall feel that The Bravery were a pastiche of, The Cult used to try to sound like around the time of Dreamtime & Love, The Sundays made commercialised and The Sisters Of Mercy had for a short while before they reinvented themselves as The Pet Shop Boys go to a funeral. Throw in some Mars Voltaesque time changes and that about sums things up (see what I mean!)

The only thing I can actually suggest is to go and see this band yourself as they defy description, but I can assure you that you will come away not unhappy and in these days of too many complaints about no gigs to go to and no venues to go see these non-existent gigs in, that can’t be a bad thing at all.

Here are some photos from the gig:

Photos by Martin Critchley

Isle of Man Limo

Picture the scene. You’re lying on your back staring up at the stars with your partner lying next to you, champagne at your hand and soft music in the background. You take a deep breath, rise to your feet and walk your partner slowly back to the stretch limousine waiting for you down the road. It’s your wedding anniversary and you wanted to surprise your loved one with a moonlight picnic in a secluded corner of the Island. Your limousine picked you up from home took you for a peaceful trip around the Island, then left you to your privacy at a romantic spot, alone with a glass of chilled champagne. It’s now time to go back home, and your ride is waiting to take you home in style.

This is just one of the many types of trips that can by organised by Chauffeur Drive, a Manx company that specialises in high quality transport that can be booked for trips, parties, outings or airport pick ups. Whether you’re collected with the top-end Jaguar or with their stretch limousine you can be guaranteed a pleasurable trip, in the highest quality transport available on the Isle of Man.

The limo is the ultimate in luxury on wheels. It can accommodate 8 people and boasts laser and mood lighting, 2 TVs, CD, DVD, PS2 and Karaoke. All these can be configured to your liking and can be adjusted to suit any mood and occasion. The vehicle can also be rented for a booze cruise around the Isle of Man. This is a 4 hour trip around the Island stopping anywhere you wish. Complimentary bubbly, ice and glasses are provided as part of the package. It’s also available for weddings, parties and any other occasion that you may require.

If you don’t want to splash out, the company also has an executive Jaguar available for private hire at standard taxi rates. This has a really smooth ride and offers a luxurious journey which won’t break the bank. It’s fully air conditioned, with a tasteful leather interior and a really comfortable ride.

Chauffeur Drive are always happy to adapt their services to whatever you need, so if you are looking for a stylish ride, send them a message on their website or give them a call on 07624-472658.

Milner’s Tower

Standing on Port Erin’s sandy beach, one of the landmarks that is clearly visible is Milner’s Tower, sitting proudly upon Bradda Head. Milner’s Tower is easily accessible from Port Erin just by following Tower Road all the way to it’s end. Once you reach the tower you can climb up the 40 steps inside it and enjoy amazing views of the surrounding landscape, and breathtaking view out to sea.

Milner’s Tower was built in 1871 in honour of William Milner, known as “The Godfather of Port Erin”. Milner, a safemaker from Liverpool, who moved to the Isle of Man shortly after 1860. Milner came to the Island following a tragic accident in Burnley where a public demonstration of the strength of one of his safes resulted in the death of a young boy. Milner, full of remorse, retired to the Isle of Man and set up a number of charities to help local residents, particularly poverty-stricken fishermen. The tower was built out of local slate as a memorial “to his many charities”. To commemorate Milner’s heritage, the tower was built in the shape of a key, with a spiral staircase inside.

The tower was meant to be built in secret as a surprise, but once Milner found out he donated much of the building cost. Milner contributed to Port Erin even after his death, St. Catherine’s church in Port Erin was erected around 1879 with money from Milner’s will.

Milner’s Tower

Milner’s Tower is only a short walk from Port Erin and if you’re visiting the south of the Island, it’s well worth a visit. After you have taken a look, you can walk through Bradda Glen along the coastal path or explore the surrounding area.

A new beginning

Welcome to ManxVoice. This is a website devoted to the Isle of Man, to Manx culture and to the people who call the Isle of Man their home. Our aim is to produce and collect a number of different posts and articles centred around the Isle of Man which will hopefully prove interesting both to locals and those who reside far from our shores.

This website was originally started as a blog where we could post views and reviews about the Isle of Man, but it has the potential to grow into an exciting source of information and opinions. To this end, we took the decision to open up the website, asking other people to contribute in order to make the site more interesting to a wider audience. We would like to give a Voice to anyone who would like to use this medium to publish their own content, as long as it relates in some way to the Isle of Man.

We’re also planning on trying to bring together other resources from all around the Internet. Whether it’s a collection of feeds from Manx bloggers, links to other Manx websites, photos of the Isle of Man from Flickr and anything else that the Web allows us to mash into this website. Once again, if you have any ideas of things you’d like to see, we’re always happy to listen to feedback. Together we can turn this into an amazing website.

At this point in time, we’re not planning to stick to a regular schedule in the same way traditional magazines operate. Instead articles will be published on an ad hoc basis so there will always be fresh content on the website. If you want to be notified when this happens, you can subscribe to our RSS feed or subscribe to email alerts in the top right corner of this page.

We hope you enjoy reading ManxVoice and will take the opportunity to contribute some material. If you have something to share, please contact us and we’ll set you up as an Author on the site.