Gallery | May 2013 | The Adrenaline Issue by Gallery Magazine

Isle of Man Premier Magazine | vol 03 : no 19 | May 2013 | the [ADRENALINE] issue

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# 19

the ADRENALINE issue

FEATURING

Texas Hold’em Weeeee...! Faster! Faster! Island of Culture 2014 ManXtreme Events Guide Agenda - Offshore Business Al Murray - The Pub Landlord Because Quality Matters

www.gallery.co.im

Official MObile, brOadband & Sidecar SpOnSOr

Great day out on the course today, I’ll upload some more pics later. Only a few weeks to go... Bring on the TT!

Wherever you are, whatever you’re doing, there are some moments you want to share. And with our reliable network, great coverage and no data limits, you can always trust us to connect you to those that matter. So whenever you’re out and about, we’re always there with you. www.surecw.com

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Isle of Man Premier Magazine | vol 03 : no 19 | May 2013 | the [ADRENALINE] issue

edito I

f you’re between the core ages of 25 and 45 and male then you’ll be aware of the film ‘Point Break’. Even if you’re older, younger or female and interested in surfing there’s also a good chance it’s been on your radar. For those of you that don’t know it, shame on you. Look it up. The film was straplined ‘100% pure adrenaline’, perfect for watching whilst browsing our adrenaline issue this month. As those of you familiar with this particular slice of teenage maleorientated cinematic perfection would know; the good guys’ or ‘criminals’ as the film would have you believe, don’t live to rob another day. Being shot then falling to my death from a plane or being beaten to death in Baja both sounded like bad ways to go. I’d like to think I’d have done things differently and Utah wouldn’t have caught me but, let’s face it, I’m not going to paddle to New Zealand. I’d prefer it if the adrenaline came naturally rather than through some snake bite-induced EpiPen incident in the desert. An adrenaline ‘fuelled ‘ lifestyle of recreational action sports is something that’s still newly available to us. It’s been a pretty stable couple of decades for those of us growing up in the 80s, 90s and 00s. If our parents and grandparents wanted to get into skydiving, they’d probably had to have done it in uniform. With a gun. Thrown out over North Africa, Germany or Vietnam. Less appealing right?

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# 19

the ADRENALINE issue

FEATURING

Texas Hold’em Weeeee...! Faster ! Faster ! ManXtreme 2013 Agenda - Offshore Business The Isle of Man Festival Al Murray - The Pub Landlord www.gallery.co.im

BECAUSE QUALITY MATTERS

#19 [ADRENALINE]

Publisher

Gallery is published eleven times a year as a fresh yet discerning guide to all that happens on the Island and beyond, not too arty farty superior or too serious, written by the people of the Isle of Man for people everywhere.

Social Network Shizzle Be our friend and we’ll tell you secrets.

facebook/galleryiom

STEVE REDFORD DD : 249249 steve@gallery.co.im Sales & Client Relations RACHEL MORRIS DD: 209726 rachel@gallery.co.im Design Studio DD: 249249 design@gallery.co.im Accounts LAURA MACGREGOR DD: 249249 laura@gallery.co.im Paparazzi DD: 249249 paparazzi@gallery.co.im Distribution

We have a great environment for getting your adrenaline pumping on the Isle of Man. With the TT just around the corner to kick start the rush, and plenty of adrenaline events planned throughout the year ahead.

DD: 249249 www.gallery.co.im/ ARE YOU IN?

Make this the month to take up a new sport or pastime. If you can’t afford the kit, you can always go planking…

KEY CONTACTS

You can also view paparazzi photos on our facebook page.

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SR Learn more > www.gallery.co.im If you can be bothered scan this with your phone... Published with gusto in the Isle of Man by

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Isle of Man premier magazine

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contributors Contribute

contribute@gallery.co.im Rip it, scrap it, comment, critique, research, report. Opinions wanted on politics, business, news, home, property, music, gadgets, sports and culture. Something annoyed you and you want to tell the island? We’re here for you. If you’d like to see your name in... er... print, get in touch.

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We understand that the medium is the message. The quality of a magazine reflects on the businesses that advertise within it. Gallery is the Isle of Man highest quality magazine and premium print media option for stylish and progressive brands. If you have a business or strategy to promote get in touch. We don’t have pushy sales people and won’t try and badger, coerce, harass or try to sell you something you don’t want. Call us on 249249 or drop us an email...

THANKS Editorial Steve Burrows Michelle Tonnesen Tania Hanson Linda Huxley Anne Berry Jennifer Parkes Lauren Clarke Grant Runyon Grace Ryan Suzy Holland David Lloyd - Jones

Rick Jones Debbie Haynes Rose Hill Rebecca Lawrence Rachel Green Erin Louise Harrison Loonard Rockstein Chris Bell Mimi Bishop Theo Leworthy Ben Clarke Louise Bralsford Jodie Sheppard Liz Corlett

Anne Moorhouse Leon Flemming Kate Bertram Anne Marie Michael Deering Tom Croft Bonzo Slater Ella Pritchard Phil Taylor Bill Carden

Illustrations Russ Atkinson Jon Moore

Ben Robertson Rosie Monks Steve Stock

Design Studio Emma Cooke Steve Redford Russ Atikinson

Photography Peter Kwiecinski Shan Fisher Brian Kneale Clare Payne

Feature

features@gallery.co.im If you are an artist with work to exhibit, an event or entertainment organiser with an event coming up or a business with some exciting news or a new product to feature, get in touch. We’re keen to feature anything of interest that will entertain our readers.

GALLERY .......................... .......................... .......................... .......................... ..........................

Bla

GALLERY

FANMAIL / PIZZA 221 Ltd Quay House South Quay Douglas Isle of Man IM1 5AR This isn’t a private party and there’s no VIP area (there is a jacuzzi though...). Entertain us with jokes, ideas, YouTube clips etc

everyone@gallery.co.im

Recycle.

Gallery recycles all its storage and packing materials, boxes and any old magazines that are returned. We don’t get that many fortunately. We love to know our readers hang on to previous copies but when you move or find that they’re taking up too much space, drop them down to the recycling bins. If you want to find out more about recycling, call 01624 686540. We put this on the green strip to look eco innit... That’s smart!

because quality matters

We Want Your Words

Have you got something to say? A short story, a rant, a profile, a statement? We love to get lots of contributors and freelancers involved with Gallery. If you’d like to write an article, draw an illistration or photograph your own fashion shoot, get in contact. Tel: 249249 or e-mail: editorial@gallery.co.im

Disclaimer.

All rights reserved. Any form of reproduction of Gallery Magazine, in part or whole is strictly prohibited without the written consent of the publisher. Any views expressed by advertisers or contributors may not be those of the publisher. Unsolicited artwork, manuscripts and copy are accepted by Gallery Magazine, but the publisher cannot be held responsible for any loss or damage. All material, copy and artwork supplied is assumed to be copyright free unless otherwise advised. Contributions for Gallery should be emailed to editorial@gallery.co.im. Names have been changed to protect the innocent and no penguins were harmed in the manufacture of this magazine, you can’t prove nuffing. Why are you still reading the small print? How about researching what really makes the best paper aeroplane? Test them with your colleagues and if you send us a picture of yours we’ll send you a Mars bar..

Wilkins Watch of the Month price - ÂŁ6,800

www.wilkinsthejeweller.co.uk

Montblanc Nicolas Rieussec Chronograph Open Home Time No Time for Homesickness For many, a MontBlanc watch simply takes their breath away. But when Swiss watchmakers are perfecting the smallest details of a MontBlanc watch, they actually hold their breath. For just the tiniest breath of wind will blow the delicate parts away. The result: connoisseurs´ pieces of timeless elegance, produced with infinite care. Le Locle. Where Time is at Home Deep within a valley in the Jura Mountains, a very long way from today’s fast paced modern world, in a traditional Swiss villa in the town of Le Locle, you will find the home of MontBlanc Montre S.A. Within this historic villa, MontBlanc’s master watchmakers work to tolerances of hundredths of millimetres. They insist on such meticulous attention to detail that even those parts forever concealed within a watch’s movement must be perfectly finished, whilst using the finest state-of-the-art technology to create timepieces of the utmost accuracy, durability and perfection. MontBlanc’s philosophy from the very beginning has been to combine all the historic traditions of the art of Swiss watchmaking with the very latest technology, and this principle has never been better demonstrated than by the MontBlanc Nicolas Rieussec Chronograph Open Home Time, which pays tribute to Nicolas Rieussec, the man who invented the first-ever chronograph in 1821.

1821 - Nicolas Rieussec invents the chronograph History was made on Saturday, September 1st 1821 when at a Parisian horse race an inventor named Nicolas Rieussec succeeded in recording times of all the horses as they passed the finishing line to an accuracy of a quarter of a second. What made this achievement so remarkable was not the timing of a horse race, which we would take for granted today, but the fact that before the Saturday in Paris time could not be accurately measured at all. Taking the Greek word for time; chronos, and graphein; to write, Rieussec had invented the very first chronograph because his machine literally “wrote” time by using two rotating discs beneath an ink-filled marker. By pushing a button, the tip would come into contact with one of the dials, leaving a visible mark to measure the time. It took another six months of arguing with the Royal Academy of Science and intervention at the highest political level before he was finally awarded a patent that protected his idea and the Rieussec chronograph has received its first official recognition. Chronographs have, of course, evolved considerably since Rieussec’s time, but the original principle of the twin rotating discs serves as the inspiration for the MontBlanc Nicolas Rieussec Monopusher Chronograph and gives this fascinating timepiece its highly distinctive face.

76 Strand Street, Douglas, Isle of Man IM1 2EW Tel: 01624 690450 | Email: enquiries@wilkinsthejeweller.co.uk

A Chronograph with Instantly Recognisable Provenance Most chronographs look more or less alike. Each one usually has a crown on the case’s right-hand side, flanked above and below by buttons to control the chronograph’s functions. The dial typically has a large elapsed-seconds hand and one or two sub dials to tally elapsed intervals. But the Nicolas Rieussec Chronograph Open Home Time, is entirely different. Rather than two buttons flanking the crown, this watch has a single push-piece at “8 o’clock”: as a “monopusher” chronograph, it relies on a single button to sequentially trigger the start, stop and zero-return functions. This lone button is positioned on the left-hand side of the case, where it is both conveniently operable with the thumb of the right hand and well protected against inadvertent triggering should the watch be struck against the edge of a desk or other hard object. Furthermore, unlike most other chronographs, this one has no large elapsed-seconds hand at the centre of its dial, but pays homage to the first Rieussec chronographs from 1821 with a pair of rotating counter discs, one of which counts the elapsed seconds in the lower part of the dial at “8 o’clock,” while its counterpart tallies up to thirty elapsed minutes at “4 o’clock”. When the elapsed timed interval is over, the number of seconds and minutes in the time span can be read from these discs by comparing the position of each halted disc with the immobile indices directly above them. The twin discs on the new Rieussec chronographs are held in place by a bridge that’s plated with red gold and into which ruby bearings are inserted to accept the tips of the staffs of the elapsedseconds and elapsed-minutes hands.

www.wilkinsthejeweller.co.uk

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HIGHLIGHTS Business News UPFRONT EVENTS

I FOLLOWED THE SAFETY BRIEFING TO THE LETTER, AND THEN STRAPPED MYSELF TO A TOTAL STRANGER WHO, REASSURING ME THAT ‘IT WILL BE FUN’, HURTLED OUT OF A TINY PLANE 14,000 FT ABOVE MORECAMBE BAY.

BEAUTY

springclean

BEAUTY

ROUTINE SPRUCE-UP Cleansing should be top of your daily beauty agenda, whether you wear make-up or not. Your skin picks up a surprising amount of dirt and grime making it look dull and congested. A thorough cleanse can even assist with anti-ageing.

We will have automatic exchange of information with the UK, we’re a lower tax jurisdiction and we’re competitive and internationally transparent.

“If you go to bed with a day’s dirt, grime and make-up left on your skin, you will accelerate the speed at which your skin ages as well as clogging your pores and encouraging dull, congested skin,” warns Sarah Strang, UK director for spa brands Cinq Mondes, La Sultane de Saba and Russie Blanche. “Try to spend one to two minutes massaging your cleanser into damp skin using circular motions in an upward direction. This helps to kick-start your blood circulation, deep-clean pores and shift any flaky patches of skin.”

WORDS | Suzie Holland

Lazybones don’t need to panic about triple-step routines with the huge array of micellar water on the beauty shelves. These timesaving solutions don’t require water and combine cleansing and toning in one quick step, but it’s still wise to schedule in a deep cleanse at least once a week.

BRIGHTENING POLISH

‘Adrenaline,’ they said. ‘TT,’ they said. Some connection? Not to encourage speed and recklessness at any time, let alone when the place is heaving with bikes, I think I’ll keep the Island out of it for now.

AS A YOUNGSTER, I WOULD BE THE ONE CLIMBING THE TREES, ON THE WALTZERS UNTIL I FELT SICK, GOING HIGHER AND HIGHER ON THE PLAYGROUND SWINGS – YEP, AS A SMALL CHILD I WAS AN ADRENALINE JUNKY. BUT THEN I HAD CHILDREN OF MY OWN. Ah yes, children. The best way I know to instil fear and caution into any woman. ‘Don’t go near the edge’. ‘Hold my hand’. ‘Do not climb on that first floor window ledge’. A trip to the local park was filled with hazards. Theme parks became a no-go area. It was some years before I revisited Disneyland – what in 1982 (pre-child) was amazing ... first trip to LA, first encounter with ‘proper’ rides, first time on what’s now the very tame Space Mountain - became a forest of unsuitable horrors. Disneyland Paris with one 6 year old adrenalinejunky-in-the-making and one 4 year old wuss, meant that we had to part company – Dad and 6 year old on every ride she was tall enough for, Mum and the wuss sedately revolving to ‘It’s a small world’ time and time again whilst the anxious mother (yep, that’s me) scoured the park for emergency vehicles rushing to rescue the 6 year old from certain death. And it just got worse. At 13 the miniadrenaline-junky thought that shooting up the Big Shot at Stratosphere in Las Vegas was perfectly acceptable. I took

ISLE OF MAN PREMIER MAGAZINE

With scarves and snoods tucked away until autumn, spring is the perfect time of year to boost hydration and unveil radiant skin.

WE’VE SHIVERED THROUGH THE EXTRA-LONG WINTER AND NOW IT’S TIME FOR THE AFTER-EFFECTS - DIRE HEATING BILLS AND DRAB SKIN.

I’d like to think that my adult (mother) self is just looking out for her children, but actually that’s not quite right. I don’t even like roller coasters anymore, I think the TT fun fair is just a disaster waiting to happen, I voluntarily stay away from cliff edges and even the glass lift in the Strand Centre is a horror too far. In fact, I really just prefer to be in charge of my own adrenaline-charged destiny.

HAVING ENDURED ONE OF THE COLDEST WINTERS ON RECORD, WEATHERED COMPLEXIONS MAY BE IN NEED OF SOME TLC.

Even with the most stringent of routines, imperfections can still be visible due to blemishes, hyperpigmentation and dark spots, which require more targeted treatments specific to your skin concerns. “Youthful radiance depends to a great extent on how even the skin’s pigmentation is,” explains Eucerin scientist Dr Yuliya Zielinski. “Only an even skin tone can optimally reflect light, which makes the skin look fresh and energised.”

Interviewed with Tanya Hanson.

Look for active skin brighteners to increase luminosity and help fade sun spots and pigmentation over time.

THAT DOESN’T JUST MEAN UPPING YOUR CLEANSING REGIME BUT DETOXING YOUR MAKE-UP BAG AND BATHROOM SHELVES, BEING ANGELIC ABOUT YOUR BEAUTY HYGIENE - AND BRIGHTENING UP YOUR SKIN UNTIL IT PRACTICALLY SPARKLES. SO FORGET THE KITCHEN CUPBOARDS. GET GLOWING AND GIVE YOURSELF A SPRING CLEAN.

Or do I?

KIT CLEANSE

Which part of me was in charge when I did that skydive a couple of years ago? I followed the safety briefing to the letter, and then strapped myself to a total stranger who, reassuring me that ‘it will be fun’, hurtled out of a tiny plane 14,000 ft above Morecambe Bay. After 16 years of ‘no, I can’t/won’t/don’t...’ my dormant-adrenaline-junky woke up and yes, it was fun, and yes, I’d do it again.

“I always find that spring is a great excuse to give my make-up and skincare a thorough de-clutter,” advises Caroline Frazer, Simple’s skincare expert. “There is a shelf life for cosmetics and skincare products. My way of keeping track of lotions and potions is to write the date that you bought it on the lid so you can see at a glance when its nearing its expiry date.” As a rule of thumb, aim to replace products that you apply close to the eye every six months (more often if you wear contact lenses) as this will help to avoid excess contamination with skin bacteria. For other facial skincare products, throw them away approximately 12 months after opening. Frazer says: “Remember to never use an old applicator in a fresh cosmetic as the applicator will transfer bacteria to the new product.”

New products won’t stay fresh for long if your application techniques are worthy of a serious overhaul. Make-up brushes can swiftly become a breeding ground for bacteria, potentially resulting in skin breakouts.

BIORE WARMING ANTI-BLACKHEAD CLEANSER, £4.99 Boots

Get into the routine of gently cleaning your make-up brushes every one to two weeks to remove bacteria, dirt and debris as well as old make-up and dead skin cells.

PURE DAILY SKINCARE INSTANT RADIANCE HOT CLOTH CLEANSER, £9.50 (www.marksandspencer.com)

JOHN SPELLMAN, DIRECTOR OF FINANCIAL SERVICES

“I love Dr Bronner’s Soaps to clean my make-up brushes, especially the peppermint soap, which leaves them smelling clean and fresh.” Give your skin a fighting chance and ensure hands are freshly washed before applying products to your face.

CLARISONIC MIA 2 SONIC SKIN CLEANSING SYSTEM, £130 (www.clarisonic.co.uk)

ELEMIS LIMITED EDITION ELEMIS PAPAYA ENZYME PEEL, £29.50 (www.timetospa.co.uk)

ISLE OF MAN PREMIER MAGAZINE

The UK signed an agreement to implement FATCA rules in September last year, which was the catalyst in precipitating signatures from the Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey on automatic exchange of information agreements with London. Under FATCA, UK taxpayers with specified foreign financial assets that exceed certain thresholds must report those assets

November/December 2012

John: Early last year, we decided to enter into negotiations with the U.S. on a thing called FATCA, the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act. That was an agreement to share an automatic exchange of information with the U.S. On the 9th December last year, we also agreed with the UK to provide the same information with due changes appropriate for the UK’s tax position, by doing so, effectively providing automatic exchange on UK resident accounts with the UK Government.

Tanya: How is the UK responding?

Tanya: What exemptions are under discussion?

There is a regime - which they can now apply under - which gives them certainty of outcome and fixed penalties. They have been able to sign up from the 6th April 2013 and will be able to until the end of the calendar year, so it gives them the ability to tidy up their affairs.

The April event will be based on fiduciaries and we want to use the technical information that comes from the UK and the U.S. as a bedrock for that presentation. It will cover trust reporting, international company reporting and also the responsibility of firms here, professionally managing assets on behalf of others.

Tanya: How does government believe FATCA has affected industry?

Tanya: How is the bureaucracy being organised?

John: We did consult with each of the trade associations before we announced on the 9th December, so we had reasonably detailed conversations with all industries. When moving from one world to another, change is always feared by some. We expect an impact from certain aspects, but we also expect that impact to be smaller.

John: There is a number of ways that we are looking to address that, one is that the agreement that we are doing with the UK – as much as possible – will mirror the U.S. agreement, with the key difference being that instead of being for U.S. Citizens, it will be for UK Residents only, reflecting on the UK tax system.

John: That is part of the negotiation. We are looking at various things. An example may be when information is already provided to a country in one form, we would simply duplicate that, for example; insurance contract information from the Isle of Man to the UK, we already provide that information under a thing called Chargeable Event Reporting. Another example is where there would be extremely low risk of tax avoidance or tax evasion, such as pension contracts. So, we’re in negotiation on those and also others that could be removed from the regime. We were the first mover, summed up by GORK in the UK as having “shown great leadership”. The Crown Dependencies have also announced that they are going to provide automatic exchange of information. We are comfortable with where we are and that the necessary exemptions and reporting regime will meet the needs of industry.

that information, it offers a flexibility of reporting where the Isle of Man Government effectively collects the data and remits that on to the U.S.

bureaucracy in this type of reporting, an example being; the Manx Disclosure Facility.

John: Very positively, we have a very good and practical working relationship with the UK. We have had representatives from the HMRC over to the Island to assist both ourselves - and industry - in interpreting some of the technical clauses, which was very welcome. The UK Government has also provided what is called an Isle of Man Disclosure Facility for those people who need to regularise their taxation affairs.

On the 13th March, we held a FATCA seminar presented by Deloitte, KPMG, PWC and Ernest and Young, called ‘Preparing for Automatic Exchange of Information’, with which we had over 300 delegates from the Isle of Man and over 100 people wanting to attend on the waiting list.

Not for a moment do I think that Model 1 is an easy reporting mechanism, but what we have done is take the easiest route - or the route of least resistance - to ensure our businesses are well served both locally and internationally. Tanya: So, now that the agreement has evolved, the system is taking shape and Guernsey and Jersey have followed suit, do you believe it continues to be seen as a “bold move”? John: Yes, many may see this as a bold move by the Isle of Man, the Isle of Man Government accepts that this is a bold move, but we believe that automatic exchange of information is not just here for the Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories, in short order, the UK and other developed nations will be asking for exactly the same information. So, we see ourselves at the forefront of transparency and cooperation. This will secure the Isle of Man’s position for the long term. There is a legacy opinion in the UK, but we now see the ability to amend ourselves is when people wrongly call us a ‘tax haven’. We will have automatic exchange of information with the UK, we’re a lower tax jurisdiction and we’re competitive and internationally transparent. So please, do your business here!

Secondly, all of the reporting information that’s reported under U.S. FATCA, we will be looking to mirror. Having the same reporting techniques, same reporting systems under UK FATCA.

We have had feedback from both companies on the Island and also from media commentators off-Island, but they have been remarkably low in number so far. The government understands why people would be concerned about FATCA, but we are doing everything that we can to ensure that we provide the necessary information on how compliance may be achieved, but also on a reduction in

The government has also identified the various means of how you can exchange information – being Model 1, Model 2 or Direct Reporting – we have identified that Model 1 is the easiest way to report

www.agenda.im

November/December 2012

68 John Spellman - FATCA EDITO

APPETITE

WORDS | Kyle Bolger

FOR RUNNERS

SERVES 2

ENERGY FOOD

Dish up some fuel food AVOID RUNNING ON EMPTY WITH CHEF AND TV REGULAR DALE PINNOCK’S TASTY RECIPES THAT WILL KEEP YOU GOING WHETHER YOU’RE TRAINING FOR THE TT TRIATLON EVENT OR JUST HAVE A BUSY DAY AHEAD

“People read in the paper, ‘Red wine is good for the heart’. But they’re like, ‘OK that’s interesting, but what the hell do I have for dinner?’ So I see my role as putting this across in a practical framework that people can incorporate into their day-to-day lives.” “I tend to avoid what you would call highenergy foods [before I exercise] because they are energy robbers,” says Pinnock.

When Mary Berry commends your vegetable chopping skills on TV, that’s the point where your cookery kudos shoots through the roof. For Dale Pinnock, a chef and author of new cook book The Medicinal Chef, this landmark moment happened last year when he was on The Alan Titchmarsh Show. “Mary Berry is lovely lady,” says Pinnock, who didn’t find out that she would be appearing in the same episode as him until the last minute. “It was like I’d been rushed on to The Great British Bake Off without prior warning! “Mary liked the food, so that was good. She waited for me in the canteen area of the TV studios just to talk to me about what I did and she loved the whole concept.” Pinnock cares passionately about his concept. While a believer in conventional medicine, he is also keen to stress the importance of eating the right foods to help the body. “One of the things that doesn’t serve anyone very well is the polarised ‘them and us’ attitude between conventional and alternative medicine,” he says. “If you’ve just been diagnosed with something serious, you need medicine. But it doesn’t stop there. “The food you eat will affect every single cell and every single tissue in your body and, as such, it will make your body function better and will be conducive to getting better.” While Pinnock is well versed in nutrition, he wants to make it as user-friendly as possible for home cooks.

“High-energy foods are very sugary or starchy and give you an initial burst but they make you crash quickly. What you want is to have a sustained release of energy, especially for something like a marathon. “Have good quality lean protein and complex carbohydrates. I’d say have more protein than carbohydrate, because that slows down the digestion of it, so you’ve got a sustained energy level and the added bonus of having a stream of amino acids coming in for muscular recovery.”

an absolute powerhouse when it comes to magnesium. Magnesium is like a relaxant to the central nervous system so it basically stops you getting too wound up. “If you combine that with trying to stabilise your blood sugar levels, then that’s as good as you’re going to get from a dietary point of view. That or a bottle of whisky!” For marathon runners and gentle strollers alike, or for days when just getting off the starting block is a bit of a struggle, these energy-stabilising recipes from Pinnock’s book will help fast-track you to good health.

BAKED SALMON AND HERBED OMEGA CRUST FOR STRESSFUL DAYS

CALMING GREEN SOUP FOR A PLEASANT SLEEP

“It’s the same principles as with the marathon but I would say the two biggies for anyone with a big day ahead of them are going to be magnesium and B vitamins,” he says. “B vitamins are found in whole grains - so brown rice and quinoa - and support the nervous system, adrenal glands and can actually make you feel quite calm while they’re delivering the effect. “Green vegetables are

GOODNIGHT SPICED CHERRY CRUMBLE 52

SERVES 3-4

ISLE OF MAN PREMIER MAGAZINE

A 2013 GUIDE TO COMPETING IN SOME OF THE ADRENALINE FUELED EXTREME SPORTS, EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES HERE ON THE ISLE OF MAN. A full annual calendar of events with course guides and additional information can be viewed by visiting www.manxtreme.com www.facebook.com/ ManXtremeIOM Email: manxtreme@ redpointpr.co.uk Tel: 01624 830 860

Olive oil, for cooking and drizzling 1 white onion, finely chopped 1 garlic clove, finely chopped 350g fresh or frozen peas 1 large courgette, coarsely chopped 1 large potato, roughly diced, skin left on 500ml vegetable stock (made from stock cubes or bouillon powder) 1 x 180g bag of baby spinach Small bunch of fresh mint leaves Sea salt and black pepper

Heat a little olive oil in a large pan, add the onion and garlic and cook for 4-5 minutes, or until softened. Add the peas, courgette and potato, and enough vegetable stock to just cover all the ingredients. Simmer until the potato has softened - about 10-15 minutes. Add the baby spinach a handful at a time, until it has all wilted into the hot soup. Add the mint leaves, setting aside a few small ones. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer in batches to a jug blender and process to a smooth soup. Scatter with the reserved mint leaves and drizzle with a little olive oil to serve.

SERVES 4

RACE THE SUN 18TH MAY

A non-stop team running challenge with 10 legs across a total of 98 miles with a total climb of 14,500ft. The ‘Race the Sun’ relay is a non-stop running challenge that features 10 tough legs across a total of 98 miles with a total climb of 14,500ft. The task is simple. Teams must complete a clockwise lap of the island’s Raad Ny Foillan (‘Way of the Gull’) coastal footpath between sunrise and sunset. The event can feature a team with a minimum of five runners up to a maximum of ten with no one runner able to compete in more than two stages.

A one day adventure race featuring Sea Kayak, Mountain Biking, a Hill Run, an assault course and a ‘mystery challenge’ for Elite competitors on Saturday 15th June with a separate event for fun competitors on Sunday 16th June featuring MTB, Swim, Sea Kayak, Hill run and Rope climb. The emphasis is very much on fun and viewing and experiencing the Isle of Man from a different perspective.

TT TRIATHLON The Island’s terrain will provide the ultimate test for Ultra-distance competitors with a 2.4 mile swim in the Irish Sea (‘Y Keayn Yernagh’), followed by a 112 mile cycle across spectacular mountain scenery, through quiet villages and the Island’s capital, Douglas, before finishing with a full marathon - 26.2 miles - of lung-bursting fresh coastal air. There’s also a short course (1.2 mile swim/ 37.73 mile cycle/ 6 mile run) and a team event on both the long and short course distances.

MICROGAMING LIGHTHOUSE ROAD BIKE CHALLENGE 7TH JULY The lighthouses challenge offers

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15TH /16TH JUNE

A 24-hour endurance mountain bike event held at Conrhenny Plantation. The event tries to run around the weekend of the Summer Solstice (longest day). Competitors ride as long as they can, clocking up as many laps of the course as they can. The format of the event is simple; ride for as long as you possibly can clocking up the most number of laps of the course. From ‘weekend warriors’ to recreational riders and cross-country racing snakes, the Longest Day, Longest Ride will test physical fitness, stamina and mental toughness on a technical, but achievable route.

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4. Remove the stalks and stones from the cherries. You can split them in half and just pull the stones out. Place the stoned cherries in a small pan with about one tablespoon of water and the honey. Simmer over a high heat for 4-5 minutes, or until the cherries begin to soften and turn into a jammy mush. Combine the oats, flour, cinnamon and sugar with the olive oil in a bowl. Mix well to create a breadcrumb-like texture. Place the cherry mixture in a small baking dish. Top with the crumble mixture and bake in the oven for about 30 minutes, or until golden brown. Allow to cool for a few minutes before serving with yogurt.

IOM ADVENTURE RACE

LONGEST DAY, LONGEST RIDE 15TH/16TH JUNE

750g fresh or frozen cherries, thawed if frozen 1tbsp honey 100g oats 100g wholemeal flour 1tsp ground cinnamon 1tbsp high-quality cane sugar 1tbsp light olive oil Live probiotic yogurt to serve

BECAUSE QUALITY MATTERS

EDITO

ACTIVE

THE ONLY WAY IS EPIC TOUR

Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/gas mark 5 and line a baking tray with aluminium foil. Combine the ground flaxseeds, breadcrumbs, herbs, garlic, lemon zest and olive oil in a bowl to make the topping, then season with salt and pepper. Spread the flaxseed mixture over the salmon fillet, flesh side up, and place the fillet on the prepared baking tray. Roast in the oven for about 8-10 minutes (or slightly longer if preferred), or until the crust is golden brown. Serve with lemon wedges and a salad of mixed leaves.

The Medicinal Chef by Dale Pinnock is published by Quadrille, priced £18.99. Available now.

Even if running isn’t your thing, Pinnock thinks slow-releasing energy foods are ideal for keeping stress levels low - especially if you’re facing a tough day or feeling the pressure.

ACTIVE EDITO

3tbsp ground flaxseeds (available in some supermarkets and health food shops) 1tbsp wholemeal breadcrumbs 1tsp dried basil 1tsp dried oregano 1tsp dried rosemary ½ garlic clove, crushed 2 lemons - zest one and cut the other into wedges 1tbsp olive oil 2 large salmon fillets Sea salt and black pepper

30TH JUNE

two course distances, 100 miles and 41 miles, with the opportunity to ride the longer event in a 3 or 4-rider team. The teams will be allowed to changeover at a point of their choice as long as it’s at one of the 6 checkpoints.

Cregneash and the Sloc, before taking in the Northern plains and then the shorter climbs along the North East coast back into Douglas.

The course will take a clockwise route from Douglas with the short course finishing in Peel. The 100 mile course takes in over 1200 metres of climbing, which includes the stunning climbs to

ISLE OF MAN STYLE MAGAZINE

ROKEN BRITAIN MAY FEEL LIKE IT IS SUPPING THE DREGS OF A LONGSTALE PINT, BUT NEVER FEAR. AL MURRAY, THE PUB LANDLORD, IS RETURNING TO REFRESH OUR GLASSES WITH A FIZZING NEW SHOW.

MANX 100 MOUNTAIN BIKE EVENT 28TH JULY The Manx 100 organised the Manx Mountain Bike Club is a unique mountain bike event that took place for the first time on the Isle of Man in 2012. It involves 100 miles of riding from the Northern most point to the Southern most point. In between is around 15,000 feet of climbing (and descending). There’s also a shorter 100k course that finishes in the middle of the Island. The event was set up to provide people looking for the next step up from the popular End to End race held annually on the Isle of Man. Be under no illusions - this is a tougher event and is for experienced Mountain bikers only.

SALCLEAR IOM MARATHON AND HALF MARATHON

THE ISLE OF MANX TELECOM MAN NATIONAL END2END TRIATHLON MOUNTAIN BIKE CHAMPIONSHIPS CHALLENGE

11TH AUGUST

1ST SEPTEMBER

8TH SEPTEMBER

Running a marathon doesn’t have to mean big cities and thousands of runners. The Isle of Man Marathon has established itself as one of the friendliest and most scenic events on the calendar. Regular locals and visitors return year after year to enjoy the unique atmosphere, fantastic course, and the legendary buffet!

The Isle of Man National Triathlon Championships features standard (1500m swim, 40k cycle, 10k run) and sprint (750m swim, 20k cycle, 5k run) distances. There is also a team event across both distances. The Swim takes place in Mooragh Lake, the cycle goes north to Bride and Andreas and the run is in and around the Mooragh Park area.

Mountain Biking heaven for over 1700 competitors - Your chance to ride from one end of a country to the other whilst conquering some sizeable peaks along the way. The 75km route of the Manx Telecom End2End Mountain Bike Challenge incorporates 1500 metres of climbing with a thrilling mixture of fast fire roads, sweeping moorland paths, country lanes and forest single-track.

Britain’s most ebullient innkeeper is back, serving up his five-star brew of ale-inspired acumen and barroom buffoonery right across the country. He will be dishing out pints and philosophy in equal measure at a theatre near you this spring as he embarks on his monumental “The Only Way Is Epic” tour.

SHOPRITE ROAD BIKE MOUNTAIN CHALLENGE

Meanwhile, The Times declares that he is, “The most consistently exciting live comedian in the land for years.” Time Out enthuses that, “The pub philosopher’s audience banter is still the finest in this beautiful British land.” For its part, The Sun goes for a short and sweet critique: “Actually deserves the tag genius.”

15TH SEPTEMBER Team relay and solo TT Mountain Course Time Trial around the iconic 37 3/4 mile circuit. The Shoprite Cycle for Life event is either a seven-leg team relay or solo Time Trial around the iconic TT mountain course. Competitors set off from Glencrutchery road, in the shadow of the TT Grandstand at 1-minute intervals. Local food retailer Shoprite has put up a prize fund of £3000 if any solo rider is able to break the record of 1 hour 23 minutes and 54 seconds, which was set by Chris Boardman in 1993.taking in the Northern plains and then the shorter climbs along the North East coast back into Douglas.

RAMSEY BAKERY END2END WALK

ISLE OF MAN MOUNTAIN ULTRA RUNNING EVENT

22ND SEPTEMBER

28TH SEPTEMBER

A 39.5 mile walk from the Point of Ayre, the Isle of Man’s most Northernly point to the scenic ‘Sound’ in the South every September. It is held along stretches of paved roads and starts in the north of the Island passing through Bride, Jurby and Peel before climbing up to Cregneash in the south of the island and ending at the Sound. It is an enjoyable but fast route, entirely on public roads, going through villages and breathtaking countryside.

The Isle of Man Mountain Ultra is a challenging 50k Ultra race with a 2500m ascent that takes in some of the best hills and views that the Isle of Man has. The race is one of athletics ultimate challenges covering testing, rugged terrain as it visits 11 of the Isle of Man’s major peaks. The route runs from Ramsey to Port Erin via 13 summit checkpoints. There is also a shorter 28k – 1750m-ascent option.

BECAUSE QUALITY MATTERS

Al is chatting to me in the run-up to this spring’s return journey around the nation. A rare example of a comedian who is just as funny off stage as on it, he has a spring in his step. He just can’t wait to hit the road once again. He explains that on the tour, “I went to places I’d never been before, and it was brilliant fun. The extent to which people really got it and allowed me to run with the joke as far as I wanted to run with it was enough to completely recharge my batteries.” The comedian, whose mantelpiece must be seriously endangered with collapse by the number of awards he has won

over the years, goes on to outline the astonishing rush that he still elicits from stand-up comedy. “What I love is that it’s different every night. I want the audience to feel that tonight’s the night, and unlike any other show. “They know that they are getting a hundred percent effort from me, rather than feeling that it’s just another routine evening. “In a way I’m hugely envious of comedians who have the patience to do the same stuff every night. But God knows how they do it – I’d go crazy. It means much more to make every show unique. That’s what an audience brings to it.” Al adds that, “We were playing village halls in the Hebrides last summer, and what the audience were bringing to the show every night was something incredibly vibrant and different. The audience give every show an extra buzz. Every evening I find something new to latch onto, and that’s amazingly exciting.” One of the reasons why the Landlord works so spectacularly well on stage is because Al knows the character inside out. He reflects that, “I can feed anything into the character now. I know him so well that I know what he thinks about any subject.”

THE KEY TO THE LANDLORD IS THAT EVEN THOUGH HE THINKS HE IS TALKING PERFECT SENSE, HE IS, OF COURSE, USUALLY SPOUTING COMPLETE NONSENSE. “I have no issue with nonsense,” laughs Al. “The Landlord has to defeat himself. He always manages to tie himself in knots with his arguments. Some people say the act is rabble-rousing and think audiences take it at face value. But he is a dribbling, self-contradictory idiot, so I don’t mind if people take that at face value.” Al admits that even now the occasional audience member gets the wrong end of the stick and thinks that the Landlord is the fount of all wisdom. “There are still one or two who don’t get it. You think, ‘what on earth are they agreeing with – all those mental hallucinations and contradictions?’ But if they want to agree with it, good luck to them!” So what themes will the Landlord be tackling in this new show? Broken Britain will, of course, feature very prominently. Al observes that, “The idea of Broken Britain chimes with the Landlord. The Broken Britain narrative

108 ManXtreme Events Guide

BRITAIN’S MOST EBULLIENT INNKEEPER IS BACK, SERVING UP HIS FIVE-STAR BREW OF ALE-INSPIRED ACUMEN AND BARROOM BUFFOONERY RIGHT ACROSS THE COUNTRY.

role as a potential political leader. Al says that, “I’ve made him aware that he’s addressing an audience. Now he’s got a platform and thinks he can make the most of it. I think politicians are funny, and this is picking that apart. “Our present generation of politicians may as well have worked in a bar as anywhere else, for all the life experiences they have. They have only ever been special advisers before becoming MPs. So someone who works in a pub is as likely to get it right as anyone else.”

“He will also tell us why being a dad is the hardest job in the world. He will reveal that he is possibly joining a group of other fathers who are seeking justice. He will let them have a function room, in return for free membership. He’ll also drive their van to Big Ben, but he won’t wear those silly costumes.” In addition, the Landlord will be dealing with the subject of edginess in comedy. Al explains that, “I have been watching the debate about what you can and can’t say in comedy with increasing astonishment. I find it absurd, peculiar, self-serving and nonsensical. There is such ridiculous machismo when comedians declare, ‘I’m going to say something edgier than any of you would dare say’. Oh, shut up, you pompous jackass! “The problem with the idea of ‘edge’ is that if the audience expect you to be edgy, then you’re not being edgy at all. The people who say the whole point of comedy is to push boundaries are wrong. The point is to make people laugh. As a response to this debate, the Landlord decides to say something that will really shock the audience…” As a climax to the show, Al reveals, “The Landlord will attempt to save the country. The audience will end up completely liberated as a new people living in a new Britain. It’s about rescuing Britain from itself. The Landlord thinks that we can’t go on blaming the government for everything. It’s not like football, where you can always blame the manager.” The Landlord is revelling in his new

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48 Energy Food

www.agenda.im

BECAUSE QUALITY MATTERS

42 Spring Clean

Weeeee.... Faster! Faster!!!

Tanya: So, what’s changed?

EUCERIN EVEN BRIGHTER DAY CREAM, £22.50 (Boots)

“So many women forget to clean their make-up brushes, but it is such an important part of maintaining healthy looking skin,” says celebrity make-up artist Jodie Hazlewood.

If you prefer to use fingers to apply make-up and you’re on the move, carry a handy antibacterial gel.

John Spellman updates Agenda with news on how the agreement has progressed since the Isle of Man volunteered to lead the way in widening the net for greater transparency on international tax issues.

HEAVENLY HYGIENE

Before you start on your skin, look to your beauty haul. Out-of-date products can harbour bacteria that’s transferred straight to your skin, so that old ‘cleanser’ gathering dust might be doing anything but.

SO WHAT’S FOR MY NEXT ADRENALINE FIX? I DRAW THE LINE AT BUNGEE JUMPING, BUT MAYBE, JUST MAYBE, I COULD BE PERSUADED TO ABSEIL DOWN A TALL BUILDING. I CAN’T SAY I HAVEN’T THOUGHT ABOUT IT.

BECAUSE QUALITY MATTERS

John Spellman, Director of Financial Services for the Isle of Man Government

Exfoliation is the beauty equivalent of a Mr Muscle polish because it rids the face of dead cells, keeps pores clear and the complexion bright. Aim to exfoliate twice a week, unless you have sensitive skin.

HAS DREARY WEATHER LEFT YOU SPORTING A DULL COMPLEXION, DEBBIE HAYNES REVEALS HOW TO MAKE YOUR SKIN SPARKLE FOR SPRING.

ISLE OF MAN STYLE MAGAZINE

Finally, Al underscores how thrilled he is to be touring once again. His passion for live comedy remains undimmed. He concludes that, “I never think, ‘God, how can I fill the show?” That’s never a problem. If I ever got stuck and had to resort to greatest hits, I would stop performing live. But that shows no sign of happening.” Which is great news for us, as we prepare to go and see perhaps our finest comedian perform live once more.

AL MURRAY THE PUB LANDLORD’S THE ONLY WAY IS EPIC IS ON AN EXTENDED NATIONWIDE TOUR AND WILL BE PERFORMING AT THE VILLA MARINA, DOUGLAS, ISLE OF MAN ON 17TH MAY. DOORS OPEN 6.30PM, STARTS 7.30PM. FOR TICKETS CALL 600555 OR VISIT THE VILLA MARINA BOX OFFICE

BECAUSE QUALITY MATTERS

124 Al Murray - The Pub Landlord

CONTENTS Edito.............................................................................................................................2 Wilkins Watch Of The Month.....................................4 Listings.......................................................................................................................6 Weeeeee Faster! Faster!.............................................................8 Upfront..............................................................................................................11 Things To Do............................................................................................10 Riley’s BBQ Roadshow............................................................12 Our Community..................................................................................15 News In Numbers........................................................................20 Current Affairs.....................................................................................22 Smallholders Blog...........................................................................24 Events..................................................................................................................28 Sure Mobile Bed Push.........................................................28 IOM Swimming Association.....................................29 Manx Food & Wine Circle Dinner..................30 Tynwald Cup Comp Draw..............................................30 Culture................................................................................................................31 Upload...................................................................................................................32 Culture Vulture..................................................................................34 Railways Rush Hour Event.......................................36 Island of Culture.............................................................................38 Swinging Sixties..............................................................................40 Fashion & Beauty.................................................................41 Spring Clean...........................................................................................42 No 52........................................................................................................................44 Great Gatsby Great Style.............................................46

Appetite.............................................................................................................47 Recipes - Energy Food.................................................................48 Altitude Wine...............................................................................................50 Agenda..................................................................................................................61 Business News...........................................................................................64 John Spellman - FATCA........................................................68 KPMG - Right In The Game............................................70 Appointments...............................................................................................72 Director Opinions.................................................................................74 Getting Ahead In The Cloud.........................................78 SURE - Innovation...............................................................................80 ITEX - Manx Cloud..........................................................................82 Manx Telecom 4G Mobile................................. .................84 Offshore News............................................................................................86 China..............................................................................................................................90 APPLEBY - Offshore Reports........................................92 Project Management......................................................................96 The Business Of Marketing..............................................88 Handshakes Kisses And Hugs.............................100 ACTIVE.............................................................................................................103 It’s Hot Up North............................................................................104 KPMG Prom Relay Race..........................................106 ManXtreme....................................................................................108 Tough Mann................................................................................110 Manx Mountain Bike Club..................................113 Hardware.....................................................................................................115 Motoring News.......................................................................................116 Phone Home.............................................................................................119 Gadgets................................................................................................120

Paparazzi.................................................................................................133 Bar George.................................................................................................122 Tesco Party...................................................................................123 Al Murray The Pub Landlord...........................124 Comedy Club Villa Marina..............................126 Nexus.....................................................................................................127 The Crescent.............................................................................128 The Outback.............................................................................130 OFFSHORE BUSINESS

NEWS

EVENTS

COMMENTS

Issue 2

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OFFSHORE BUISNESS NEWS, VIEWS & COMMENTS

2013

BUSINESS

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Protecting Your Cloud & Your Data What’s On The Agenda? FEATURES: TECH - GETTING AHEAD IN THE CLOUD, MANAGEMENT - PROJECT MANAGEMENT IN PRACTICE, LEGAL - DATA & DIGITAL BUSINESS, LAW - OFFSHORE JURISDICTIONS, ICT - BUZZ KILL OUTSOURCING, DIRECTORS - FINANCIAL AFFAIRS PLUS: IOM/JSY/GSY NEWS, EVENTS, JOURNALIST TO PR, EGAMING, BUSINESS MARKETING, 4G, LUXURY LIVING, PROPERTY

61 Isle of Man | Home & Interiors | May 2013

The best place to find a new place in the Isle of Man

THE BEST PLACE TO FIND A NEW PLACE IN THE ISLE OF MAN BECAUSE QUALITY MATTERS

isle of man premier magazine

We all love a helping hand! And we have two great options to help you with your new mortgage. You can make an up front saving of £999 on the mortgage product fee or choose to pay the fee and get a lower rate. Pop into any branch and let us help you enjoy the benefits.

Call in to any branch iombank.com YOUR HOME OR PROPERTY MAY BE REPOSSESSED IF YOU DO NOT KEEP UP REPAYMENTS ON YOUR MORTGAGE.

Isle of Man Bank Limited (IOMB). Registered Company Number: 1 Isle of Man. Registered Office: 2 Athol Street, Douglas, Isle of Man, IM99 1AN. Licensed by the Financial Supervision Commission of the Isle of Man and registered with the Insurance and Pensions Authority in respect of general business. Over 18’s only. Security required. Calls may be recorded. Internet e-mails are not necessarily secure as information might be intercepted, lost or destroyed. Please do not e-mail any account or other confidential information.

upfront

I followed the safety briefing to the letter, and then strapped myself to a total stranger who, reassuring me that ‘it will be fun’, hurtled out of a tiny plane 14,000 ft above Morecambe Bay.

Words | Suzy Holland

As a youngster, I would be the one climbing the trees, on the waltzers until I felt sick, going higher and higher on the playground swings – yep, as a small child I was an adrenaline junky. But then I had children of my own. Ah yes, children. The best way I know to instil fear and caution into any woman. ‘Don’t go near the edge’. ‘Hold my hand’. ‘Do not climb on that first floor window ledge’. A trip to the local park was filled with hazards. Theme parks became a no-go area. It was some years before I revisited Disneyland – what in 1982 (pre-child) was amazing ... first trip to LA, first encounter with ‘proper’ rides, first time on what’s now the very tame Space Mountain - became a forest of unsuitable horrors. Disneyland Paris with one 6 year old adrenalinejunky-in-the-making and one 4 year old wuss, meant that we had to part company – Dad and 6 year old on every ride she was tall enough for, Mum and the wuss sedately revolving to ‘It’s a small world’ time and time again whilst the anxious mother (yep, that’s me) scoured the park for emergency vehicles rushing to rescue the 6 year old from certain death. And it just got worse. At 13 the miniadrenaline-junky thought that shooting up the Big Shot at Stratosphere in Las Vegas was perfectly acceptable. I took

the lift. A year later, mini-a-j found a particularly scary Space Vertigo at Garda Land in Italy – and despite my cries of ‘it’s made by Italians, it’ll break’ had to try it out several times as I covered my eyes, waiting for the almighty grind of crumpling metal. And water parks? What are they for? All those sky high slides torpedoing adrenaline junkies into the air (and into other people)? I’ll just stay in my tyre thanks, bobbing along the lazy river topping up my tan and trying to pretend my children aren’t in mortal danger. I’d like to think that my adult (mother) self is just looking out for her children, but actually that’s not quite right. I don’t even like roller coasters anymore, I think the TT fun fair is just a disaster waiting to happen, I voluntarily stay away from cliff edges and even the glass lift in the Strand Centre is a horror too far. In fact, I really just prefer to be in charge of my own adrenaline-charged destiny. Or do I? Which part of me was in charge when I did that skydive a couple of years ago? I followed the safety briefing to the letter, and then strapped myself to a total stranger who, reassuring me that ‘it will be fun’, hurtled out of a tiny plane 14,000 ft above Morecambe Bay. After 16 years of ‘no, I can’t/won’t/don’t...’ my dormant-adrenaline-junky woke up and yes, it was fun, and yes, I’d do it again.

So what’s for my next adrenaline fix? I draw the line at bungee jumping, but maybe, just maybe, I could be persuaded to abseil down a tall building. I can’t say I haven’t thought about it. 9

upfront

things to do May 2013 10.05.13 - 11.05.13 aladdin //Gaiety Theatre/ A lively and entertaining dance production of the story of Aladdin and his adventures, featuring well-loved characters Princess Jasmine, evil Jaffer and the Genie of the Lamp, as well as Aladdin and his pet monkey Abu. Beautifully costumed and creatively staged this show highlights the talent of young people on the Isle of Man. Original music composed by Mr Nicholas Roberts. A fun fast-paced show for all the family - dance lovers or not. Tickets £14, concessions available 19:30 10 & 11 May - 14:30 11 May TEL: 600555 WWW.VILLAGAIETY.COM

10.05.13 7-9 pm RAW MAGIC //NOA BAKERY, FORT Street, DOuglas //

This event is all about cutting edge nutritional teaching, combined with empowering inspiration and wisdom – for your mind, your heart and your body, it’s all in Raw Magic. In this two hour class, Kate will be cramming in as much as she can of the Raw Magic philosophy. What are the best raw foods to include and which are the best to avoid. There will be a limited time to ask Kate questions so don’t forget to bring a pen and pad. All attendees receive 10% discount on their Raw Living shopping for a month following the event. £15 on the door, £25 for two tickets in advance. FOR MORE INFO CONTACT HEIDI: YOGA@MANX.NET TEL: 461461 WWW.RAWLIVING.EU

10.05.13 - 11.05.13 Big Wheels Blues Festival // Promenade Suite - VILLA MARINA// The Big Wheels Blues Music Festival returns to the Villa Gardens for the weekend. There will be two ‘ticket only’ evening concerts and two free stages in the daytime. Plus free daytime entertainment and family fun activities run by the Children’s Centre in the Villa Gardens. Acts include Larry McCroy, King Pleasure and the Biscuit Boys. Tickets £20 per night, no concessions. TEL: 600555 WWW.VILLAGAIETY.COM WWW.BIGWHEELBLUES.COM

isle of man premier magazine

upfront

11.05.13. GARETH GATES //CENTENERY CENTRE - PEEL // Gareth Gates, the runner up in the first ever Pop Idol is coming to the Island! He has reached many number one single’s, achieved sell out tours and is currently performing in the role of ‘Marius’ in the yearlong production of Les Miserables.

WWW.ETICKETS.IM/CC/ WWW.CENTENARYCENTRE.COM

11.05.13 Isle of Man’s Got Talent // ROYAL HALL - VILLA MARINA// Isle of Man’s Got Talent Final, the only talent competition on the Island! There will be 12 final acts performing at the event with special guest performances. The winners will compete for a £1,000 cash prize. Proceeds on the night will be donated to Hospice Isle of Man & Naseems Manx Brain Tumor Charity.

Tickets £10, Under 16’s and family concessions available TEL: 600555 WWW.VILLAGAIETY.COM WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/IOMSGOTTALENT

17.05.13 Al Murray – The Only way is Epic //ROYAL HALL VILLA MARINA// Broken Britain may be staring into the bottom of an empty pint glass, but don’t lose hope - Al Murray, The Pub Landlord, is back to fill it up again with a brand new show of epic proportions. Parental discretion is advised as the show may contain mature themes and language. All tickets £25.50 TEL: 600555 WWW.VILLAGAIETY.COM TAKE A LLOK AT THE GALLERY INTERVIEW WITH ALL IN THE PAPARAZZI SECTION. LOOK OUT FOR PAPARAZZI PETE ON THE NIGHT.

because quality matters

upfront

Garden & Lifestyle Centre SINCE 1882

A visit to Riley’s Garden Centre, a centre that caters for your lifestyle needs in all areas of the home, inside or outside, starts with the ease of access via the large FREE car park. Since 1882 the underlying concept at Riley’s has been for customers with various home needs to be supplied with quality products and a professional service at all times.

Café Eden Riley’s specially designed Café offers a fresh approach that perfectly combines a stylish and relaxed atmosphere, with a delicious range of healthy creative homemade cuisine using the finest Manx produce. Manx cream, cheese, meats, flour, vegetables, butter and bread. With an extensive range of refreshing coffee’s, herbal teas, hot chocolates and smoothies. Café Eden has created that perfect blend of nutritious and mouth-watering meals and drinks for that complete lifestyle experience. A Gallery recommended dish (we don’t do this often) is the Big Breakfast.

www.rileys.co.im or edenparkgc.com for special offers and promotions,

Take a look at

alternately visit the store and have a look around.

isle of man tyle magazine

upfront

Truly - the biggest Radcliffe Butchers sausage you have ever seen. It beats going into town for a cooked breakfast any day, with the large and FREE car park to start with and a relaxed atmosphere… you simple have to try it.

THE FOOD HALL When you have eaten at Cafe Eden and relaxed for a while take a look around the FOOD HALL at Riley’s, providing a gluten free range of foods, organic lemonades, ginger beers, spicy relishes and organic food for kids.

Lifestyle Furniture For over 40 years Riley’s have been supplying the highest quality garden furniture for relaxing outdoor living. They have extended this expertise to interior styling with a beautiful collection of interior furniture in the homeware range, helping to ensure quality not only in the garden but also in the home.

Garden Makeover Give your garden a makeover with a choice of high quality unique and practical products to enhance any garden. Specialist advice is freely available from the garden team who have years of experience. Improve your garden with stoneware, water features, and decking, plus chic and colourful planter boxes. Also available are various Manx stones, garden status, gravel paving and a range of wooden benches and garden accessories.

Machinery Supported by experienced and knowledgeable staff in sales, spares and services, Riley’s offer the widest range of machinery on the Island. Domestic machines from Honda, Mountfield, Countax, Wolf and Stiga.

greenhouses

Riley’s has the ideal greenhouses to make any garden stand out, whatever the size there is something to suit all styles and tastes available. The staff at Riley’s will help you create the perfect greenhouse space for your garden.

Plants With plants emerging as one of the fashionable lifestyle needs for the garden, Riley’s have something for everyone. The outdoor garden specialist Jan will help you select your plants and create the perfect garden tailored to suit you. With an extensive indoor and outdoor range of plants and accessories it is easy to find something to suit your lifestyle needs.

BBQ Charcoal or gas? This has to be your first decision but, whether you’re in the charcoal or gas barbecue camp, you’re in luck, Riley’s have both ranges in store. Weber Gas BBQs The Weber Gas barbecue range makes it easy to prepare and cook delicious food outdoors, so much so, you,ll never want to cook indoors again. Choose from Weber’s huge range of gas barbecues including the entry level two burner Spirit BBQs through to the colossal 6 burner Summit grills. The options are limitless!

The Weber Experience

BBQ Roadshow 1st & 2nd June Riley’s Garden & Lifestyle Centre invites everyone to come along and join in on the 1st & 2nd June and enjoy the Weber Experience BBQ Roadshow with us. Be inspired and learn how to grill, bake and roast all on the BBQ. The 2-day event promises to be a great experience for all the family. A host of local suppliers including Radcliffe Butchers & Robinsons will be providing a great selection of Manx produce to sample straight from the Webber BBQ. Don’t miss out, check online or in- store for key BBQ demonstration times.

Weber Charcoal BBQs The Weber charcoal barbecue family is so varied there’s a barbecue to suit everyone, whatever the occasion. The diverse range includes the cute and portable Smokey Joe, the standard One Touch Original & Premium kettle grills, as well larger specialist models & Smokers. A charcoal grill for everyone!

South

Q with u

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Deliciou

s recipe

we are here

Cooil Road

Douglas

Professional machines from Honda, Eastman plus brush cutters, hedge strimmers, and chainsaws from Stihl, Honda, Echo, Viking and Bosch.

Cooil Road Spring Valley Industrial Estate IOM Post Office

Riley’s Garden & Lifestyle Centre Cooil Road, Braddan, Isle of Man, IM4 2AF Tel: 01624 616116 • Email: info@edenparkgc.com

because quality matters

Cooking up a storm! 13

upfront

Sail away this summer

Flashlight, Waterproof Camera, ACTION! Pack it up and go

Chances are, by now, you are probably starting to think about that long-awaited summer holiday – or, possibly, the lack of one. For most of us, jetting off to Antigua every summer or backpacking across Thailand simply isn’t feasible, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t experience the thrill of adventure a little closer to home. When travelling with Isle of Man Steam Packet Company, the destinations for an action-packed break this summer are endless. Plus, with no luggage fees, your bags can be bottomless too; you can bring along all the necessary gear for your trip, in your car or crammed into as many rucksacks as your shoulders can carry.

Watersports such as surfing and sailing are great fun, but why not have a go at the more extreme whitewater rafting or kite surfing? And, while Britain might not be blessed with the beautiful coral reefs of down under, there are plenty of opportunities to see what lies beneath the waves across the UK. Places such as Cornwall, Wales and Scotland are fantastic places to enjoy these activities and, with Steam Packet, you can take your wetsuits, surfboards and beach gaming gear without the worry of luggage limitations. Useful links: www.centerparcs.co.uk www.intutraffordcentre.co.uk www.visitcornwall.com www.visitwales.co.uk www.altontowers.com

Center Parcs villages across the UK are popular places for family breaks, with a huge variety of adrenalinepumping activities to choose from at each location. There is something to suit everyone at all Centre Parcs destinations; have a crack at kayaking down rivers and rapids in The Lake District, go horse riding in Sherwood Forest, try abseiling in Suffolk or quad biking in Wiltshire for a truly action-packed break.

Britain is also home to a number of award-winning theme parks packed with all manner of thrilling rides. Alton Towers, Thorpe Park, Blackpool Pleasure Beach and Legoland are all within reach if you travel by car with Steam Packet this summer. With such a vast range of rides and rollercoasters, friends and families can look forward to exciting days out – even those that prefer to keep their feet on the ground!

If you get your dose of adrenaline from intensive shopping expeditions, why not treat yourself to a day exploring the UK’s best high street and high end stores in Liverpool or Manchester? You could even visit the cities’ famous museums and art galleries, host to a number of awe-inspiring collections and artefacts – whatever gets your heart pumping, Isle of Man Steam Packet Company has summer’s hottest holidays in hand. Visit www.steam-packet.com for all offer details.

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Our Community

community

NEW WORLD RECORD ATTEMPT MAY 31 | 6PM - 7PM | NORTH QUAY

M&S BIG BEACH CLEAN - UP AT DOUGLAS BAY BAGS OVER 120 KGS OF RUBBISH and the cast of

Our House by Tim Firth, Lyrics and music by MADNESS

In association with and would like you invite you down to the North Quay to attempt a…

For the world’s biggest group of people Skanking at the same time! Oh yes, and we need all the bodies we can get…

So come along and be a part of TT history! We’ve closed the roads off. The pubs are open! It’s a Ska Party!!!

There will be live music, and a live performance from the cast of OUR HOUSE

Over 40 M&S customers and employees cleaned the beach at Douglas Bay last week as part of the M&S Big Beach Clean-up supported by the Marine Conservation Society. Over 15 bin bags full of litter were collected, weighing in at over 120kgs. The M&S Big Beach Clean-up is part of Forever Fish, M&S’ campaign to help customers and their children learn more about fish, clean our British beaches and protect UK marine life. It is funded by the 5p carrier bag charge in M&S foodhalls. Since its introduction in 2008, the charge has reduced carrier bag use by 80 per cent and raised over £4 million for charity. Find out more www.marksandspencer.com/plana and www.school-of-fish.co.uk.

Not sure how to skank? The Cast from OUR HOUSE will teach you! OUR HOUSE was first produced at the Cambridge Theatre, London on 28th October 2002. Producers were Tiger Aspect Productions, Rupert Lord, Andre Ptaszynskiand and Phil Mclytyre in association with Madness

This amateur production is presented by arrangement with Josef Weinberger Ltd.

NEDBANK PRIVATE WEALTH STAFF RAISE OVER £8,200 FOR CHARITY

SUPER PRIZES FOR MANX TELECOM PARISH WALKERS Entrants in this year’s Manx Telecom Parish Walk won goodies in a prize draw. Wally Saunders won the top prize – a Samsung Galaxy SIII Mini from the title sponsor of the event. David Smith, Manx Telecom Marketing Director, presented the prize to him at the recent ‘Walk Talk’ event held at the Manx Museum. Second prize – a Polar RC3 heart rate monitor with GPS donated by the Intersport store in Strand Street, Douglas – went to Andy Keelan from Peel. Intersport also donated the third prize of a pair of Asics Gel Kayano running shoes which went to Mark Whear from Ballasalla. www.parishwalk.com because quality matters

The staff of Nedbank Private Wealth, working in the bank’s Isle of Man, Jersey and London offices, have been busy raising money for four good causes. Through a wide range of fundraising schemes, including a monthly staff draw, sports sponsorships, themed social events, book and DVD sales, cake sales and dress down days, an impressive total of £8,289 has been raised over the course of a year. The money has been split equally between the four staffnominated charities: Hospice Isle of Man, Wish upon a Dream, Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and Save the Children. While the former three charities do an outstanding job in supporting the local communities in the Isle of Man and Jersey, the latter charity is recognised worldwide for its campaigns promoting children’s rights, providing relief and helping to support children in developing countries.

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community

CHARITY TEAM AIMS TO CLIMB FOUR MOUNTAINS IN FIVE DAYS

ACCESS ALL ARIAS: TENORS’ TRIUMPH BOOSTS FUNDS FOR JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT

A team of charity fundraisers aim to walk to the top of the four highest points in Britain and the Isle of Man - and cycle hundreds of miles in between. The nine man team is hoping to raise £5,000 which will go towards The Children’s Centre’s charitable projects across the Island.

With their effortless vocal skills, silky-smooth charm and a neat line in self-deprecating humour Tenors Un Limited wowed their audience at the Gaiety Theatre on Saturday April 13th in a show sponsored by Celton Manx to help raise money for Junior Achievement.

It all starts at the Sea Terminal on May 2 with the group cycling to the tram stop on the mountain and then walking to the top of Snaefell. Then it’s back on their bikes to the Sea Terminal before jumping on board the ferry. The next day they drive to north Wales and then walk to the top of Mount Snowdon. Day three sees them cycle 140 miles to Lancaster. After a well earned night’s rest it’s a 40 mile cycle to the foot of Scafell Pike before walking to the summit - the highest point in England. But the day’s not over even then as they will have to cycle 100 miles to get to Gretna Green. Next day there’s another 120 miles to ride to Fort William and the following day the challenge concludes with a 20 mile cycle to the foot of Ben Nevis before walking to the summit and enjoying the views from the top of Britain’s highest mountain.

Celebrating their 10th anniversary during 2013 Tenors Un Limited – Scott Ciscon, Paul Martin and Jem Sharples, billed as The Rat Pack of Opera - supported by musical director and pianist Kennedy Aitchison, put on a sophisticated show of much-loved classical arias (think Nessun Dorma and Pearl Fishers’Duet) enduring favourites, (You Raise Me Up, Time to Say Goodbye) three numbers from Les Misérables and several songs written by the talented threesome themselves.

The four peaks challenge team are John Knight, The Children’s Centre Chief Executive, Matthew McSevney, Chief Inspector Kevin Wilson and Inspector Phil Drowley, both from Isle of Man Constabulary, David Isherwood from Isle of Man Post Office, John Swindlehurst, Manager of Legal and Administrative Services at the Department of Education and Children, Juan Owens from Zurich International, Andy Gosland from RBSI, Paul Warburton from Coutts, and Rob Parker who has completed four Ironman triathlons. The team will be supported by Bill Collister, the former CEO of Isle of Man Post Office.

When they turned up their charm to white-hot and got down among the audience one not entirely shy and retiring female was whisked away from her front-row seat and escorted on to the stage. There she had an opportunity to get up close and personal and enjoy her very own Strictly Come Dancing moment with Scott and his colleagues as they performed Amore. These talented tenors give good aria but they also know how to camp it up, bringing Naples to Douglas and performing a deeply cheesy, yet polished nonetheless, rendition of O Sole Mio. Great voices. Great looks. Great evening.

A team from Boston Limited put their business skills to good use by winning The Children’s Centre’s Fifty Quid Think Big Challenge. In the process the winners raised £1,375.34 for the charity by holding cake sales, selling breakfast baps, holding collections and organising a pub quiz. The team also set up an in-house tuck shop and held a competition to guess the number of sweets the team sold, as well as organising dress down days and a raffle. This was the third year that The Children’s Centre has organised the Think Big Challenge which involves corporate teams or individuals being given £50 ‘seed money’ and then asking them to ‘grow’ this money - in any way that is legal and ethical over a six-week period. Paragon Recruitment again generously supported the Challenge by providing the seed money to start off the fundraisers. All proceeds raised from the event go to support The Children’s Centre’s charitable projects including Out2Play, Mobex, Child Contact Centre and Philip Christian Centre.

BOSTON WIN THE CHILDREN’S CENTRE’S THINK BIG CHALLENGE 16

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TEAM MICROGAMING-ISLE OF MAN JUNIORS OFF TO SOLID START Team Microgaming-Isle of Man’s junior squad put in a solid performance in the Tour of the Mendips - the first race in the 2013 British Junior Road Race series. The three-man team was 18-year-old Jake Kelly, a second year junior, and two first year juniors - 16-year-olds Leon Mazzone and Jamie Dudley. The two day event started on Saturday (April 6) morning with 8 laps of a fairly flat and fast 13km circuit, making 104km on the roads around the Chew Valley Lake. Day two was one of the hardest 96km of racing the juniors will do all season, with a total of 932 metres of climbing on 4 ascents of the Mendip hills.

CAN YOUR TEAM SHINE IN RACE THE SUN? Teams are being urged to sign up for The Children’s Centre Race The Sun, one of the Island’s toughest and most popular team challenges. It is a relay race which raises money for the charity with teams running a clockwise lap of the Island’s Raad ny Foillan 98 mile coastal footpath before the sun sets. Starting from Peel Promenade at 5am on Saturday May 18 teams will aim to complete the lap of the Island and finish in Peel before the sun goes down. It is sponsored by Mann Made Group and the average distance for each leg is 10 miles based upon a maximum number in each team of ten. The minimum number allowed in each team is five and the entry fee is £300 per team.

The Tour of the Mendips is part of the nine round of the highly competitive, National Junior Road Race Series which take place all round the UK. The next event in the series is the Hog Hill GP in Essex on April 21. The Isle of Man will host round five with the Youth/Junior tour on May 3-5.

To secure your place in Race the Sun 2013 go to: www. thechildrenscentre.org.im and click on the ‘Events’ section, or contact Mark Eastham by emailing markeastham@ thechildrenscentre.org.im or by calling 01624 631917.

For more information about Team Microgaming-Isle of Man go to www.iomcycling.com

CHILDREN’S CENTRE TEAM TAKE ON TT TRIATHLON CHALLENGE

Hospice Isle of Man presents

An evening with

Lord Michael Howard The Rt Hon Lord Howard of Lympne CH QC An opportunity to meet the man - a politician, a lawyer and so much more... The Hon Steve Rodan SHK will be presiding over the proceedings and maintaining order during question time!

Saturday 18th May 2013 Mount Murray Hotel & Country Club

Arrival drinks 7.30pm • Dinner 8.00pm • Carriages Midnight Tickets £45.00 For more information on this event and to book call 647432 or email francesmoore@hospice.org.im

/hospice.iom

/hospiceiom

www.hospice.org.im because quality matters

A team from The Children’s Centre are training hard in preparation for one of the toughest events in the Island’s sporting calendar. The TT Triathlon is a new event and takes place on June 30. It involves a 2.4 mile sea swim followed by a 112 mile cycle based around three laps of the TT Mountain Course, followed by a full marathon distance 26.2 mile run. The race, which is organised by a local board working in partnership with one of the UK’s leading sports event administrators, will raise funds for The Children’s Centre and Hospice Isle of Man. Three staff from The Children’s Centre have entered the race as a relay team to raise funds for the Island’s leading charity for families and children. Jim Murphy, Residential Care Worker, will tackle swimming leg, Andy Bell, Residential Care Worker, will cycle the second leg, and Phil Knox, Accounts Assistant and Playworker, will run the 26.2 mile final section. As well as the full event, there’s also a short course (1.2 mile swim/ 37.73 mile cycle/ 6 mile run) and team events on both the long and short course distances. For full details about the event and online entry go to: www.TTTri.com or www.manxtreme.com/ event/tt-triathlon

Pumpkin Patch

Open Day Saturday 15th June 2013 10am - 2pm • Free Registration for all children who enrol on the day

• Free entry into our prize draw for all who enrol - winner will receive one month’s free childcare! • HOT meals provided Terms and conditions apply*

A Home from Home with over 19 years experience The Pumpkin Patch is located at the heart of the community. Parents comment on how homely the nursery is and they are delighted with the dedicated baby and pre-school rooms. Exciting new developments have been made with a brand new pre-school conversion due to open in Summer 2013!

Open Day Attendance Confirmation Please make contact with MISS SHARON to book a time to visit on Saturday 15th June in the morning or afternoon.

If booking by email Please supply:

✓ Your Name

✓ Child/ren’s Name

✓ Child/ren’s Age

You can email the information: beehive@mcb.net, or give us a call on Tel: 629690. We look forward to welcoming you. The Pumpkin Patch 14 Hailwood Court, Governors Hill, Douglas, IM2 7EA

ÇŤ 5 %*# ,! % ( Ăť!. Ä&#x2030; ) ÄĄ Ä&#x2021;,) !2!.5 5 "+. +*(5 ÄšÄ Ä&#x160;Ä&#x20AC; ,!. 3!!' (Terms and conditions apply) ,,%!/ Ä&#x2019; %,!/ * (1 ! Ä&#x2018; ĆŤ1..% 1(1) %#$(5 +0%2 0! .+"!//%+* ( . 0%+*!./ ! /+* (Ä&#x152; !.) %)! Ä&#x2019; 1(( 5 ĆŤ .! Ćľ2 %( (! OUR BABIES ARE AGED BETWEEN BIRTH AND TWO YEARS OLD. YOUR BABY WILL FLOURISH IN OUR LOVING HOME-FROM-HOME ENVIRONMENT THAT ENCOURAGES EXPLORATION AND INVESTIGATION THROUGH PLAY.

The baby wing is bright, cheerful and equipped to a very high standard with a large diverse selection of toys available. All areas of the baby wing are continuously monitored by our team of qualiďŹ ed and highly motivated staff and a strict code of practice covering all aspects of baby care is in place. Your little one will be cared for in an enriching and loving environment. THE PUMPKIN PATCH 14 HAILWOOD COURT GOVERNORS HILL DOUGLAS IM2 7EA Ä? Ä&#x2021;Ä&#x201A;Ä&#x160;Ä&#x2021;Ä&#x160;Ä&#x20AC; EMAIL: BEEHIVE@MCB.NET

UPFRONT

in NUMBERS NEWS The 9th Annual Bra Dash in aid of Breakthrough Breast Cancer Isle of Man saw around 215 people (mainly ladies) dashing around the Island on 26th April 2013.

2013

Residents’ horse tram season tickets for the 2013 summer season are now on sale. The tickets permit unlimited travel throughout the season and can be purchased at Douglas town hall, from the Strathallan terminus and online at douglas.gov.im. Prices are £20 for Douglas residents and £25 for non-Douglas residents. Senior citizens £15, children (16 years and under) £10. The service, now in its 137th year, will run from May 13th to September 15th 2013.

The Bee Gees childhood home in the Isle of Man has been celebrated with the installation of a blue plaque. The plaque was unveiled at 50 St Catherine’s Drive in Douglas by Robin Gibb’s son, Robin-John.

12.5

A minimum £12.5k was raised for Rebecca House with the 61 teams in the KPMG Promenade Relay race.

2015

The Isle of Man is the 5th best place to go kayaking in Britain! The Isle of Man was found to be among the top 10 ‘UK’ locations, ranking in at fifth. The other locations were made up of three Scottish locations, the Lake District, two Cornish spots, Devon and Pembrokeshire and Dorset.

The Isle of Man’s status as a Fairtrade Island has been officially renewed until 2015. The Island was first awarded the status in 2008 and reapply’s every two years. Fairtrade aims to ensure food and drink producers are paid a fair price wherever they are in the world.

The house was home to all three Gibb brothers before the family moved to Manchester in the 1950s.

500

Around 500 Isle of Man homeowners have registered for the government run TT homestay scheme ahead of this year’s event. Last year, about 800 homeowners let rooms to TT tourists with 3,224 beds being taken up over the fortnight.

Members of our Islands Athletics Team have been chosen to play for the Island games and will be travelling to Bermuda with their team manager Anthony Brand.

ISLE OF MAN PREMIER MAGAZINE

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uPfront

current affairs

I noticed there were a few tax cuts recently in the UK to stimulate growth, do you anticipate similar reductions to be made here?

Welcome, dear reader, to Current Affairs, the latest Gallery feature which aims to bring you closer to business. Every month, we’ll give you the chance to pose any number of questions to a representative cross section of the Island’s business sector and on the issues that affect you the most. Ask anything from how to get the most from your tax status or which savings options would suit you best, where to start when setting up a business or how to get involved in contributing to the Island’s economy. This month, we’re pleased to introduce a new set of questions posed entirely by your fellow reader. Shall we begin?

One of the main strategies of the current UK government to stimulate growth in the UK economy is to cut the main rate of corporation tax. It was announced in the recent UK budget that the main corporate tax rate will be further reduced to 20% from April 2015 onwards, which should make the UK tax rate for companies the lowest in the 20 major world economies, the ‘G20’. The explanation being used by George Osborne in relation to these cuts is it sends a message to the world that the UK is open for business. However, the reality is that the UK tax system involves a range of highly complex tax legislation which places a considerable compliance burden on corporate taxpayers. And this tax code is getting longer, not shorter. The Finance Bill 2013, for example, contains 232 sections and 49 schedules!. If you have the lowest main rate of corporate tax in the G20, but you also have one of the longest legislative codes, does that really mean you are open for business? I am not convinced and I certainly hope that the IOM does not introduce similar “tax cuts” in the future.

Your chance to pose any number of questions to a representative cross section of the Island’s business sector and on the issues that affect you the most.

Kevin Loundes

Tax Manager, KPMG

KPMG

Ian Crawford

Mortgage Manager, Edgewater Associates Limited

In any event, most IOM companies pay tax at a rate of 0%. Whilst we are not part of the G20, the UK has a way to go before they catch up with our headline rate of corporate tax.

Tracy Duncan

Manager, Fiduciary, Boston Limited

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The CurrenT Affairs Panel

edgewater associates limited

I am a first time buyer seeking a mortgage – how can I prepare in advance, and how do I get the best deal?

Qualifying for a mortgage can be a complicated affair and first-time buyers may find it daunting. It is important to choose the correct lender and not to pay a higher rate than necessary. By getting to know the process of how a mortgage works and what is required by the lenders, it is possible both to secure a lower interest rate and to increase the chances of being accepted for an appropriately sized loan. For many first-time buyers the support of their family may make the difference between getting a mortgage or not. This relates to the size of your deposit which determines your monthly mortgage payments and the interest rate that you pay. Virtually all lenders use a loan – to – value banding system which means you pay much more if you have a smaller deposit. Key aspects: • Demonstration of affordability – a monthly budget showing a surplus of income over expenditure. The surplus needs to cover monthly mortgage payments and a margin to cover unforeseen costs and potential interest rate rises. • Purchase costs – typically legal fees, valuation and lender’s arrangement fee. • Deposit – how much will you put towards the purchase price? • Credit history – lenders will be discouraged by defaults recorded by credit reference agencies and disproportionate unsecured loans and credit card borrowing in relation to income. • Employment history –lenders may be discouraged by applicants who change jobs regularly; self-employed applicants will need to provide financial accounts confirming their income.

BOSTON GROUP

I work for a local corporate service provider, should I be concerned about an upcoming wave of mergers and acquisitions in this sector?

Activity in the mergers and acquisitions sector can take place for a number of reasons, many of which now concern the growing cost of compliance, changes in regulations and the increased complexity of foreign taxation initiatives like FATCA. These added burdens may lead a group to consolidate its business in to one location or a company to return to its core business by selling off other, less cost efficient business streams. A few of my colleagues and I have recently had first-hand experience of this and I hope that by highlighting some of the key aspects of the move I can put your mind at rest. We were all part of a Business Sale process and have come out of the other end with our jobs still intact! Of course, when the news first broke we were worried but tried to look for the positives. In the early stages we did not know whether our jobs were safe, however confirmation that a number of staff would be transferring with the business to Boston Limited was a huge positive. A good deal of emotion flowed during the period of transition, but my advice would be to keep working with the process. My top tips include: • Don’t be frightened to ask questions of your future employers. • Find out what your new terms and conditions of employment are. • Find out what opportunities are available to you in the new organisation. Whilst it is still early days in Boston I am enjoying the new work environment and experience. Change does not suit everyone initially but embracing it and working with your new firm and employees can help you to settle in quickly.

• Insurances – lenders strongly recommend you have sufficient life insurance to cover your mortgage and you may wish to consider income protection, critical illness and/or mortgage protection cover. Adequate building insurance will generally be a condition of any mortgage.

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upfront

m r a F y n n fu

Tales from the

Words | Linda Huxley illustration | Steve Stock

hat an idiot I am! Why on earth did I tempt fate by announcing that Spring was here at last… Having just endured the coldest Easter on record, been buried under umpteen feet of snow and shivered my way through four days without electricity or a husband to help out, I have decided that there are no actual proper seasons on this Island anymore, just the very cold and wet bit that runs into the less cold and wet bit, with occasional days of sunshine to stop you going entirely nuts! Mind you, I should have known… when my husband announced that he was off on another little holiday and wanted the same week as last year when he had 70 degrees and short sleeves all the way, I did think he was being a bit hopeful, but I thought that the weather would get him, not us… and when he glumly rang to say that he was cutting short his trip and going to my mother’s a day earlier because of the forecast, I admit I did make some comment about them never being right, and it would probably be nothing.

A Smallholders (Followup) Blog Still one can’t be too careful, so I nipped out and changed the big ponies lightweight rugs for their warm, snuggled up to the ears ones, then, just in case, I got out the Shetlands lovely little outdoor rugs and put them on too. Now I should point out here that Shadow, Rowan and Nipper are real tough guys despite their size, with coats like polar bears, so not only do they look faintly embarrassed wearing smart blue numbers that, especially in Rowans case, practically trail on the ground, but they are in real danger of meltdown in anything other than freezing conditions… they stayed in them for the next week!

joined in I knew it was hopeless and left the only warm spot in the house –my lovely bed- to feed them.That is, after pointing out that catgut is a very useful product... Then I went in search of the camping kettle. I needed tea. When we first moved into our little cottage in the back of beyond, I insisted on two things, that we have a full gas cooker run on tanks and we keep the open fire… I blessed that decision over and over again, by leaving the two front burners on low with the trusty camping kettle and a saucepan of water on them, I had a little background heat and hot water to hand, I needed them both, the cold was intense.

My first indication of problems to come was a mechanical voice that woke me from a deep sleep with the words ‘Answering machine on’ over and over. In my befuddled state I couldn’t understand why it would be switched off, then it dawned, the power was flickering, an hour later, I had no power. I could hear the wind howling in the trees outside, it was bitterly cold, so I hastily retrieved some old blankets and carefully wrapped up the dog and cat as they huddled together for warmth, then crawled back under my own duvet.

That first day is a blur of struggling to get hay and water to the horses and keeping the chickens fed, while clinging to fences, gates, anything to keep myself upright in the wind and driving snow. Then my husband rang to tell me his weather was bad…Yeah, that went down like a lead balloon!

5.45 am and that same damned ungrateful cat jumped on the bed demanding breakfast…when the dog

However, I am a smallholder, inventive, resourceful, hardy. I dug out my 1980’s glasses with their massive lenses, to protect my eyes from ice in the wind, found the snow chains for my boots, prudently bought in the Lakes a couple of years ago and chucked in a cupboard as it hadn’t snowed since, and worked out how to put my padded over trousers on over my boots as I had so many layers on under my outdoor gear (and bearing a strong resemblance to the Michelin tyre man!) that I could no longer bend over to tie the laces! The whole process of getting ready to go outside was taking so ridiculously long that I quickly abandoned it and simply wore the same clothes inside and out, including boots and snow chains! First day survived, candles found, fire laid, paraffin lamps at the ready… a final painful foray outside to settle the animals and like all good ex Girl Guides, ‘Be Prepared’ and all that, I dragged the snow shovel from the feed room and put it behind the front door. Ha! I can deal with anything! Hmmm, lesson number one, Keep the stupid shovel on the inside, especially if your door opens outwards… Not a great start to the day, both doors blocked by snow and a dog desperate for a pee!

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The chicken houses were under a snow drift. I carefully dug them little tunnels and ramps to the pop holes and opened the doors. They were not impressed. After a degree of encouragement, they finally dragged themselves out, pecked morosely at the corn then determinedly stomped back in their houses. Oh, but where were the strong, he-man cockerels??? Hiding in a corner! They were unceremoniously picked up and shoved outside with their breakfast. The horses were even more morose, they don’t really do the ‘stay in the stable’ thing and I rather got the impression that they felt that the service was lacking and my attempts to clear some of the yard were a bit feeble. A large breakfast and some nice hay redeemed me a little, but I was horribly aware that my intelligent little

because quality matters

ponies were likely to invent their own games when they got bored, and they wouldn’t be for my benefit… In those strange and difficult four days I got cold (very), a little frightened, totally exhausted, and rather grubby. I saw familiar places so changed by the snow that I could have been standing in the Arctic, and so bleakly beautiful that I just had to photograph it so that I would never forget . I witnessed crazy things like the sheep that had spurned our efforts to move them the day before, munching their way happily through my neighbours palm tree whilst stood on top of his buried greenhouse, and the surreal sight of two people skiing into the village! I was deeply saddened by the emerging tales of dying animals, and witnessed first hand the awful reality

of finding a beautiful donkey, upright, frozen solid buried in the snow. But, I also rediscovered how great my neighbours are, how uplifting it is to have someone offer and give unasked- for help, and how deeply satisfying it is to help others. It has strengthened the friendships in our little area and reminded us that we are all, to some extent, dependant on one another.

It has also taught me to leave the snow shovel inside… next time!

upfront

ME & MY PET

me& mypet

names Pet: Cello Human: Emily

species

Age

Dislikes

Cello: 12

Cello: The hedge monsters!

Emily: 27

Emily: Staying onboard whilst Cello is spooking at ‘the hedge monsters!’

Favourite past times Cello: Munching grass in her field next to all her other horsey friends. Emily: Bringing my 4yr old daughter to the yard to help mummy fill hay nets.

Likes

cELLO: Irish Sports Horse

Cello: Rolling in the mud after being groomed!

EMILY: British

Emily: A nice long hack after work through Ballaugh countryside!

Interesting Facts Cello: Cello is scared of clippers but not of the dentist?! Emily: I run a mobile DJ business, ‘Sound in Motion DJ’s’ along with my dad and brother.

isle of man premier magazine

intro

EVENTS

GALLERY AD_PRINT.pdf

30/04/2013

08:48

hey BOOK NOW

6TH JULY 2013 Douglas In association with

Primal Scream • Paloma Faith

CMY

Johnny Marr • Wretch 32 • Laura Mvula • Davy Knowles • Kassidy • Toseland • Loveable Rogues • Ebony Day • More to follow... Plus The Ministry of Sound Dance Tent

www.theisleofmanfestival.com because quality matters

events

Sure Mobile Bed Push - Strand St, Douglas

On Saturday 20th April, Sure assembled six teams to push a hospital bed in a sixmile loop from their Strand Street store. Featuring teams from Sure, Vagabonds Ladies, Vagabonds First XV – who had the hardest task of pushing the bed up Summerhill towards the Grandstand – the ApeMann Project, Ramsey Grammar School staff and the TT Marshals’ Association, the paparazzi@gallery.co.im teams raised money for Rebecca House,

the Hyperbaric Chamber and the Hogg Motorsport Association.

TT, committing to a further three years as Official Mobile and Broadband Partner.

The bed push coincided with an event at the Sure store to drive recruitment for the TT Marshals, where visitors to the shop were treated to a display of the magnificent TT Sidecar trophy, along with two racing bikes and a sidecar. Photographer Sure also announced Photography: Peter Kwiecinski | Peter Kwiecinski their continuing sponsorship of the IOM www.dollsfactory.net

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events

Isle of Man Swimming Association Presentation Evening - Football Clubhouse, Union Mills

On Saturday 13 April at the Union Mills Football Clubhouse, the Isle of Man Swimming Association held their annual Championships Presentation evening. The evening celebrated the achievements of all involved; swimmers, staff and organisers for another successful year of the Isle of Man National Swimming Championships, which this year were generously sponsored by

because quality matters

AXA Wealth International. The Championships races were spread over three weekends throughout February and March and highlighted many impressive performances from all age groups. Mike Foy, Managing Director of AXA Isle of Man, commented â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;With a magnitude of talented swimmers, Isle of Man Swimming looks set to have a bright and prosperous future

ahead of it and we wish those selected for the Island Games in Bermuda this summer every successâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;.

Photography: Peter Kwiecinski www.dollsfactory.net

events

Manx Food & Wine Circle Spring Dinner - Portofino, Douglas

Tynwald Cup Competition Draw

View photos on

/galleryiom

- The Sefton Hotel, Douglas

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6TH JULY 2013 Douglas In association with

Primal Scream • Paloma Faith

CMY

Johnny Marr • Wretch 32 • Laura Mvula • Davy Knowles • Kassidy • Toseland • Loveable Rogues • Ebony Day • More to follow... Plus The Ministry of Sound Dance Tent

www.theisleofmanfestival.com because quality matters

culture

photo upload

The Monthly Upload Want to win £50? All you have to do is email your entry with the subject ‘upload’ to: upload@gallery.co.im Try to follow a time of the year theme, make the files nice and big though, about

2MB is a good size to aim for. We do try to print every photo following the guide but we can’t get them ALL on the page full size unfortunately - they just wouldn’t fit!

£50 r

winne

Matthew Scott Matthew Scott

Graham Smith Matthew Scott

Paul Dougherty

Isle of Man premier magazine

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Matthew Scott

Pauline Guest

Paul Dougherty

Pauline Guest

Kirree

Luke Phair

Michael Wallraf

Jeff Kirby

Luke Phair

Kirree Janette Phair

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Michael Wallraf Janette Phair

Peter Kwiecinski

culture

CULTURE VULTURE 27.05.13 - 08.06.13

NOW - 18.05.13

Junk, Gems and jellyfish

TT DISPLAY

FLOURISH

// iMuseum//

// MANX MUSEUM//

// HODGSON LOOM GALLERY//

MNH Curators are on hand to identify your mystery objects and possessions. If you have a family heirloom that you would like to know more about, a curio which excites your interest, a painting you have found in a charity shop, or even a fossil or insect you would like to be identified bring it along.

A special display of TT machinery, leathers and other memorabilia on show for the TT fortnight, where visitors can also try their hand at the TT superbikes Playstation game.

An exciting and exuberant collection of contemporary work by artist.

Admission: Free

2..06.13

16.05.13

17.05.13

10am-7pm

230pm

The first of three curator walks led by MNH Field Archaeologist Andrew Johnson of sites which played a role in the Great Civil War of 1642 - 1651, marking the anniversary of the death of Illiam Dhone (William Christian). This first tour of Peel Castle and the neighbouring northern tip of Peel Hill will specifically look at the Civil War period fortifications which were constructed in an effort to modernise the earlier medieval castle. Tickets: £6 available from the House of Manannan or call 648000. Places limited - book early to avoid disappointment. Wear sensible outdoor footwear.

18.05.13 - 04.08.13 ISLE OF MAN PHOTOGRAPHIC SOCIETY - 75 YEARS OF PHOTOGRAPHY // House of manannan// The Isle of Man Photographic Society presents a celebration of photography through the ages to commemorate their 75th Anniversary. The exhibition includes an extensive display of camera and darkroom equipment from the past 100 years. Members of the society have selected works for display including landscape, portrait and wildlife images that best demonstrate their passion for photography and involvement with the subject.

Admission: Free

NOW - 18.05.13

NO ORDINARY PASSENGER

FRAGMENTED MEMORIES

// MANX MUSEUM//

// THE SAYLE GALLERY//

A fascinating insight into the daredevil tactics of side car racing with former world champion Stan Dibben and TT legend Dave Molyneux who talk about the thrills and spills of side car racing from the 1950s to today. This special event includes the premiere of Cabell Hopkins short film ‘No Ordinary Passenger’ and marks the 90th anniversary of sidecar racing at the Isle of Man TT Races. Tickets: £10

2.05.13

3pm - 4.30pm

THE ISLE OF MAN TT: A DANGEROUS ADDICTION // MANX MUSEUM// The Isle of Man TT is described as the world’s most dangerous race. Yet every year more and more motorcycle enthusiasts come to the Isle of Man to race in the event. Enjoy this fascinating documentary film by Al Jazeera, directed by David Niblock and presented by Simon McGregor-Wood, followed by racing banter in an interactive Q&A session with the filmmakers who will be joined by team managers Hector Neil and Wilson Craig, TT racer John Ingram and the Isle of Man’s very own TT winner, Milky Quayle. One or two very special guests are also hoping to attend, subject to their other commitments. Tickets: £10*. Tickets available from the Manx Museum Shop and online.

Janet Corran

// peel castle & colonel aston’s battery//

11am - 12.30pm

BRIGID STOWELL | GEORGINA WRIGHT

Vici Blackburn

curator walk

Admission: Free

ELIZABETH ORCHARD | CAS POWLES |

The Sayle Gallery’s latest exhibition is of work by two of its newest artists, Vici Blackburn and Janet Corran, who in 2010 were the first Isle of Man College students to gain first class honours in the BA (Hons) Fine Art degree offered in conjunction with Liverpool John Moore’s University. ‘Fragmented Memories’ invokes scenes, real and imagined, from their lives. Vici’s thin figures and shadowy images are archived memories, layers of history to be interpreted by their audience, turning personal experiences into collective ones. Janet’s installation relates to the way costume can play a significant part in our personal modification and can become the insignia’s of a life and she uses an eclectic mix of materials that are influenced by drama and the theatre. The past both colours and informs Vici and Janet’s work. Narrative – precise or implied – is important to both artists: Vici’s ghost-like structures hold stories within to be interpreted, and Janet questions how the markers in life, may be active in the building and decline of a person’s confidence, notion of self and their perceived worth. Admission: Free

All proceeds to Isle of Man charities: The Rob Vine Fund, The Joey Dunlop Foundation and Manx Museum and National Trust.

Admission: Free.

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24.05.13 - 9.06.13

22.05.13 - 14.06.13 SAYAKA GANZ // ISLE GALLERY - TYNWALD MILLS//

‘SPACE MOUNTAIN’ TT Zero Sponsor SES Satellite Exhibition //The sayle gallery //

Sayaka Ganz, a Japaneze scupturist who was recently commissioned to work in the Isle of Man is returning to exhibit her work in the Isle gallery, Tynwald Mills. Her work is incredible where she builds sculptures solely from used and discarded objects and forms them into beautiful artwork. As an artist she looks at this reclamation and regeneration as a form of liberation and its through these sculptures that Sayaka aims to transmit a message of hope.

24.05.13 - 8.06.13 FIVE WAYS Isle of Man College BA Fine Arts Exhibition //The strand shopping centre// An exciting, eclectic and exuberant collection of art from five local artists graduating from Isle of Man College with a BA (Hons) Fine Art Degree. Their creativity, passion, determination and tenacity is evident from their work which is guaranteed to leave an imprint on your heart and fire your imagination. The five students have recently completed a two year Higher National Diploma Course and the extra third year extended the qualification to degree level, validated by Liverpool John Moore University. Students whose work will be on display at the exhibition are: Gary Bennett | Pauline Berrie | Jade Boylan | Karl Garrett | Jennifer Wood

A replica Sputnik, bikes and the mountain course will all feature heavily in an exhibition of photographs and images from both the history of TT and telecommunications at Douglas’s Sayle Gallery. Archival photographs from the history of the TT will be juxtaposed with satellite images and a Sputnik replica which are sure to excite visitors to the Gallery. And there is also a new calendar - ‘Milestones revisited: Bootlegs & B sides’ - from Rachael Clegg, who produced last year’s best-selling ‘Milestones’, featuring new images based on the hidden history of the TT. Admision FREE TEL: 674557

27.05.13 - 08.06.13

2.06.13

TT LEGENDS FILM

MAD SUNDAY VINTAGE RALLY

// MANX MUSEUM//

Pauline Berrie

An exclusive film following the Honda TT Legends throughout the 2012 race season. Tickets £10 from Manx Museum Shop. Showing hourly from 10am until 4pm.

Admission: Free.

Jade Boylan

Gary Bennett

10.30am - 5pm

// PORT ST MARY// Vintage engines, tractors, steam vehicles, bygones Threshing, vintage cars, bikes and various stalls. Car parking and food. Tel: 01624 824135

1.06.13 - 08.06.13 METZELER TT VILLAGE // National sports centre// The NSC will be hosting the Metzeler TT Village during TT Week (1st - 8th June). At the end of the races on Friday 7th June, there will be a rock event to celebrate Metzelers 150th Anniversary. It will take place at the Villa Marina Royal Hall with the incredible DC/AC. Please telephone 01455 818269 or go to http:// roadracing.metzeler.com/en/en/reach-the-legend-tab/

Karl Garrett

Jennifer Wood

because quality matters

Tel: 01455 818269 www.roadracing.metzeler.com/en/en/reachthe-legend-tab/

culture

Words & Photography | David Lloyd-Jones

Isle of Man Railway’s

2013 Rush Hour Event

The IoM Railway’s now annual ‘Rush Hour’ over the Easter weekend has become a popular event. The star of the four day show for 2013 was without a doubt the recently restored Manx Northern Railway (MNR) locomotive ‘Caledonia’ back in action with an MNR train featuring the ‘Foxdale’ coach and a MNR covered van. Isle of Man Railway’s locomotive No.8 ‘Fenella’ started the event hauling an engineering train on Good Friday against a backdrop of snow on the hills after the 2013 ‘Big Snow’ which left the centre and the west side of the Island cut off for days. The main Rush Hour event on Saturday featured five locomotives in steam operating an intensive timetable for the day including ‘Caledonia’ driven by well know retired driver Jeff Kelly. In addition,

there was vintage road vehicles on display at Castletown station. A special Easter Sunday lunch on the summit of Snaefell had to be cancelled as the Snaefell Mountain Railway was unable to run due to the heavy snow still lying on the mountain and the numerous damaged poles en route to the summit. Guided shed and museum tours at Port Erin, a special talk and dinner inside the workshops at Douglas, and two art exhibitions at both Port Erin and Douglas stations featured the work of Michael Starkey and David Lloyd-Jones respectively on Easter Sunday. Easter Monday featured a driving experience taster where the public could enjoy a five minute ride on the ‘Caledonia’s

footplate for £10. The engine is going to be used for all day steam driving experience during the summer.

See a short video clip of the event here: www.youtube.com/ watch?v=OzI3xZXWLfU www.trainsofmann.com

Next big event: The Manx Heritage Transport Festival between 24-28 July features steam and electric railways, vintage bikes, classic cars, buses and more.

isle of man premier magazine

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RAILWAY

PHOTOGRAPHY

COMPETITION

Would you like to see one of your photographs within the Isle of Man Railways 2014 calendar, or how about winning a footplate ride and travelling with the driver on one of our steam locomotives, then why not enter our 2014 calendar competition?

2014 will be the fourth consecutive year Isle of Man Railway’s have released a calendar, consisting of great images of our three heritage railways and beautiful Manx scenery, supplied by residents, visitors and rail and photography enthusiasts. If you would like to see your photo in next year’s calendar and be in for a chance to win a footplate ride, submit your entries on a standard computer disc to: Anji Street, Transport Headquarters Banks Circus, Douglas, IM1 5PT Entries must be clearly labelled with the entrant’s name, address and telephone number and image file must be at least 2MB. Closing date for the entries is 31st May 2013, judges are looking for photographs of the Steam, Electric or Mountain Railway and entrants can be as creative or as classic as they like, it could be a photo of a steam train with picturesque rolling hills and Manx gorse, a tram getting prepped for use inside our workshop or a scene from one of our many events, the options are great. Copies of the current calendar are still available at the Welcome Centre for only £5. For more information about the Islands heritage railways, timetables, special events and money saving season tickets, visit www.iombusandrail.info or follow us on at www.facebook.com/ isleofmanrailways

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culture

jason evans

he Isle of Man Arts Council are planning in earnest for the Isle of Man being an Island of Culture in 2014. Joint Patrons are Hon Clare Christian MLC, President of Tynwald and Mark Kermode, BBC Film Critic and the Arts Council also has support from some young Manx people already finding success in the arts professionally. Lloyd Mayor and Jason Evans are both Cultural Ambassadors for Island of Culture. These young men are making considerable waves in their chosen careers of dance and music on the international stage. LLOYD MAYOR Lloyd Mayor

In 2009 at the age of fifteen Lloyd won the Arts Council’s Young Dancer of Mann competition, at sixteen he began studying at the Martha Graham School in New York and whilst there was awarded an apprentice student position which meant he began to work semi-professionally. Lloyd was made Principal dancer in the Martha Graham Company’s revised production of Achilles Heel and danced the role of Achilles for the Martha Graham Season which ran in New York from 20th February to 2nd March this year. Lloyd was educated at Ballakermeen High School. Lloyd said:

My personal experience of the arts on the Isle of Man has been fantastic. The Arts Council gave me the opportunity and the initial finances which began the four year journey that I have made so far.

Jason Evans is currently Principal Trumpet with the London Philharmonia.

Jason was born on the Isle of Man and studied at Chetham’s School of Music in Manchester from the age of ten. He was a member of the National Youth Orchestra for the final two years of his studies at Chethams and Principal Trumpet for the last. Jason’s emerging career has led to him performing with the Hallé, London Philharmonic Orchestra and SuperBrass. Being appointed to the position of Principal trumpet of the Philharmonia Orchestra makes Jason one of the youngest principal trumpets in the UK, and possibly the world. Jason said “The arts movement on the Isle of Man is one filled with excitement and diversity, and this has been my foundation to build on through interesting opportunities that I have been exposed to in the music world while studying and performing in London, and around the world.”

samantha barks

Samantha Barks has also taken time out of her busy schedule to lend her support to Island of Culture.

We’re now familiar with Samantha’s meteoric rise to fame starring as Eponine in the film Les Misérables last year, but before moving to London to realise her dream she was very active in the performing arts on the Isle of Man.

isle of man premier magazine

CULTURE

THERE IS CLEARLY SOMETHING HERE THAT NURTURES THE ARTS AND PROVIDES OPPORTUNITIES FOR THOSE WHO CHOOSE TO TAKE THEM.

E CONTINUE TO HAVE AN ENORMOUS POOL OF ARTISTICALLY TALENTED PEOPLE, MANY OF WHOM HAVE MADE THE ARTS AND CULTURE THEIR CAREER.

The Arts Council is seeking people who were educated on the Isle of Man and who now work within the creative industries. We would like to find past pupils who would be interested in returning to the school they attended on the Isle of Man to share their knowledge and experience with students who may be seeking a similar career path. Governments and creative sectors across the world are increasingly recognising the importance of this industry as a generator of jobs, wealth and cultural engagement. This is an important part of what the Arts Council hopes to achieve on the Isle of Man with Island of Culture.

Samantha said “I feel very fortunate to be Manx and to have grown up on the Isle of Man. The desire to perform is formed in your early years. All across the Island that desire is encouraged and when I look back on my childhood, I know that I was never told that something was impossible or couldn’t be achieved. Being Manx is very special. Where ever I go people want to know more about Island life and what it was like growing up and of course the TT races!”

Laurence Skelly MHK, Chairman of the Arts Council said “On the Isle of Man we have a huge number of young people involved in the arts, whether through school or outside groups. We’re seeing increasing numbers of people choosing a cultural career path and one of the best ways we can help them is to give them the benefit of the experience of others. We are very keen to get past pupils back in their old schools to inspire current students, share how they achieved their own creative careers and the invaluable lessons they learnt along the way.” IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO GET INVOLVED CONTACT THE ARTS COUNCIL ON TEL: (01624) 694598 OR EMAIL IOMARTSCOUNCIL@GOV.IM FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT ISLAND OF CULTURE 2014 VISIT WWW.ISLANDOFCULTURE.IM

our ate r b ele e, to c danc nd r a a h e a y hroug l arts e t a b u l ilm wil ulture e v is als, f e a 4 h v 1 v sti 20 d of C tre, t lea the l fe a n nd Isla c, the ultura ion, a y and c t it si mu ture, nnova reativ a i c r l e r . lit digita fo Man acy and g leg Isle of in last on the s art

For news, information, and to get involved with Island of Culture 2014

visit www.islandofculture.im

Find us on facebook and twitter

Island of Culture 2014 • Second Floor • Illiam Dhone House • 2 Circular Road Douglas • Isle of Man • IM1 1PG Tel: (01624) 694598 • Fax: (01624) 686709 • Email: iomartscouncil@gov.im

BECAUSE QUALITY MATTERS

culture

ISLE OF MAN

BUS AND RAIL

his May see’s the return of Isle of Man Railways cool ‘n’ groovy Swinging ‘60s weekend. The hippy camp will be bringing their tepee and making banners, face painting, storytelling and playing live music, so come along, bring the kids and join in. They will also be putting on a number of fire shows throughout the weekend.

Holly Golightly will be taking a break from Tiffanies and visiting the railway to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Dr Who, the good Dr himself will be investigating reported Cyber Men activity!!! There will also be a great selection of memorabilia and vehicles from the era and there will be additional evening entertainment on the Saturday.

So ride the tram to Laxey and step back to the ‘60s, half price travel for those in their ‘60s gear. Swinging ‘60s is at Laxey tram station on 18th and 19th May. Visit www.iomrailways.info for timetables and information. To view footage from last year’s event visit www.youtube.com/isleofmanrailways.

SATURDAY 18th & SUNDAY 19th MAY Ride the tram to Laxey and be transported back to a family friendly 1960s weekend. See displays of memorabilia & groovy vehicles from the era. Celebrating 50 years of Dr Who: The Doctor investigates Cybermen at the Summit.

6Os EVENING AT SNAEFELL SUMMIT

More info at www.iombusandrail.info or call 662525 for details HALF PRICE TRAVEL FOR THOSE IN SWINGING SIXTIES DRESS

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fashion & beauty

GALLERY AD_PRINT.pdf

30/04/2013

08:48

hey BOOK NOW

6TH JULY 2013 Douglas In association with

Primal Scream • Paloma Faith

CMY

Johnny Marr • Wretch 32 • Laura Mvula • Davy Knowles • Kassidy • Toseland • Loveable Rogues • Ebony Day • More to follow... Plus The Ministry of Sound Dance Tent

www.theisleofmanfestival.com because quality matters

beauty

springclean Has dreary weather left you sporting a dull complexion, Debbie Haynes reveals how to make your skin sparkle for spring.

We’ve shivered through the extra-long winter and now it’s time for the after-effects - dire heating bills and drab skin. Having endured one of the coldest winters on record, weathered complexions may be in need of some TLC. That doesn’t just mean upping your cleansing regime but detoxing your make-up bag and bathroom shelves, being angelic about your beauty hygiene - and brightening up your skin until it practically sparkles. So forget the kitchen cupboards. Get glowing and give yourself a spring clean.

Kit cleanse

Heavenly hygiene

New products won’t stay fresh for long if your application techniques are worthy of a serious overhaul.

Make-up brushes can swiftly become a breeding ground for bacteria, potentially resulting in skin breakouts. Get into the routine of gently cleaning your make-up brushes every one to two weeks to remove bacteria, dirt and debris as well as old make-up and dead skin cells. “So many women forget to clean their make-up brushes, but it is such an important part of maintaining healthy looking skin,” says celebrity make-up artist Jodie Hazlewood. “I love Dr Bronner’s Soaps to clean my make-up brushes, especially the peppermint soap, which leaves them smelling clean and fresh.” Give your skin a fighting chance and ensure hands are freshly washed before applying products to your face. If you prefer to use fingers to apply make-up and you’re on the move, carry a handy antibacterial gel.

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beauty

Routine spruce-up Cleansing should be top of your daily beauty agenda, whether you wear make-up or not. Your skin picks up a surprising amount of dirt and grime making it look dull and congested. A thorough cleanse can even assist with anti-ageing. “If you go to bed with a day’s dirt, grime and make-up left on your skin, you will accelerate the speed at which your skin ages as well as clogging your pores and encouraging dull, congested skin,” warns Sarah Strang, UK director for spa brands Cinq Mondes, La Sultane de Saba and Russie Blanche. “Try to spend one to two minutes massaging your cleanser into damp skin using circular motions in an upward direction. This helps to kick-start your blood circulation, deep-clean pores and shift any flaky patches of skin.” Lazybones don’t need to panic about triple-step routines with the huge array of micellar water on the beauty shelves. These timesaving solutions don’t require water and combine cleansing and toning in one quick step, but it’s still wise to schedule in a deep cleanse at least once a week.

Brightening polish With scarves and snoods tucked away until autumn, spring is the perfect time of year to boost hydration and unveil radiant skin. Exfoliation is the beauty equivalent of a Mr Muscle polish because it rids the face of dead cells, keeps pores clear and the complexion bright. Aim to exfoliate twice a week, unless you have sensitive skin. Even with the most stringent of routines, imperfections can still be visible due to blemishes, hyperpigmentation and dark spots, which require more targeted treatments specific to your skin concerns. “Youthful radiance depends to a great extent on how even the skin’s pigmentation is,” explains Eucerin scientist Dr Yuliya Zielinski. “Only an even skin tone can optimally reflect light, which makes the skin look fresh and energised.” Look for active skin brighteners to increase luminosity and help fade sun spots and pigmentation over time.

Biore Warming Anti-Blackhead Cleanser, £4.99 Boots

Pure Daily Skincare Instant Radiance Hot Cloth Cleanser, £9.50 (www.marksandspencer.com)

Clarisonic Mia 2 Sonic Skin Cleansing System, £130 (www.clarisonic.co.uk)

Elemis Limited Edition Elemis Papaya Enzyme Peel, £29.50 (www.timetospa.co.uk)

because quality matters

Eucerin Even Brighter Day Cream, £22.50 (Boots)

beauty

Welcome to No 52, a salon that offers an extensive range of treatments and products, from advanced specialist skincare, hair styling, body treatments, and essential beauty maintenance, to Non Surgical procedures in a stylish and contemporary salon on Strand Street, Douglas. A sanctuary in the middle of town in which one can be pampered and relax.

No. 52 is now recruiting, if you are interested in joining our team please email us at info@no52.co.uk

Don’t miss our Gallery competition to win our fabulous treatment package! For more details and to enter you must like and share our ‘No52 Hair Beauty Nonsurgical’ facebook page.

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beauty

Exclusive Treatment at No 52

The dynamic team of professionals consisting of: • • • • •

Exclusive to the salon and performed by Dr Lunt. A Radio laser for removal of warts, skin tags, moles etc, and thread veins cryotherapy for solar keratosis and verrucas.

Hair stylists Junior hair stylists Beauticians & aestheticians Registered nurse (Aesthetic) Private doctor

Visiting professionals: Wendy Smith – Semi permanent make up

Each member of the team at No 52 provides a speciality treatment alongside regular services. Keelin – Specialises in great lengths hair extensions (the celebrities choice)

Leanne Limmer – Crystal teeth whitening (non-peroxide) can obtain up to 9 shades. Now taking bookings 15th, 16th and 17th May for just £99

Andrea – Specialises in hair and colour for weddings, proms and special events

Wendy Andrews – Wake up to make up & Image matters

Mark – Colouring & Kerastraight evolution in smooth hair Alex – Specialises in HD brows 7 step procedure, threading & makeup advice & application, Shellac & OPI for nails Della – Advanced waxing specialist & exceptional at facials, massage and pamper days Karen – Experienced aesthetic Nurse for skin consultations & non-surgical treatments & advice Dr Jeff Lunt – Specialising in dermatology, non-surgical & minor surgical procedures.

Give us a call sometime, or drop in when you’re passing. 52 Duke Street, Douglas, IM1 2AR T: 01624 617452 E: info@no52.co.uk www.no52.co.uk

Extensive range of products for in house treatments & retail: John Masters – Organic hair & skin Alterna – Hair products organic Skin Ceuticals – Medical skin care Please call for details of visiting professionals over the next couple of months.

A sanctuary in the middle of town in which one can be pampered and relax.

because quality matters

fashion

Great Gatsby Great Style

Words | Jennifer Parkes

Topshop: Metallic pleat cami, £14.00

Topshop: Pearl embellished vest, £42.00

Miss Selfridge: Embellished flapper dress, £129.00

Topshop: Limited edition flapper dress, £160.00

Words | Jennifer Parkes Following the delay of its initial release to cinemas, Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby is one of the most hotly anticipated films of 2013. The glamour and glitter of the jazz period will certainly offer a fantastic cinematic spectacle, with critics ready to rave about the music, the politics, and the sheer affluence of the age. But, in the world of fashion, the real hype is all about the elegant, exquisite costumes that are so central to both book and film, expressing the depth of the characters and dripping with symbolism. Offscreen, the twenties trend doesn’t need to be quite so serious; here are some key ways to channel this silverscreen style and just have fun with flapper fashion! One of the first rules of this trend is ‘Think Metallic’. For standout evening style, go for dropwaist dresses in subtle silvers or muted shades of cream and black, embellished wherever possible with

River Island: Gold tone semi-precious stone ring, £8.00

sequins and beads that sparkle in the spotlight. For a more everyday take on the trend, pretty blouses and camis in light shades with a smattering of pearlescent beads are perfect for work and weekends. Try Topshop’s pick of metallic and delicately embellished vests for an easy ‘new woman’ look to rival even Daisy Buchanan. If you think the outfits were opulent, they had nothing on the accessories! The Roaring Twenties were characterised by ensembles that screamed expense and excess, and nothing shouted excess like a few pieces of statement jewellery. Chunky collar necklaces are ideal to inject some Deco into your daytime look, but what could be better for a cocktail party than a

River Island: Silver tone diamante square ring, £10.00

Accessorize: Metal daisy bando, £7.00

cocktail ring? You might not be able to afford fingerfuls of white gold and emeralds but, luckily, the high street is full of quality costume pieces for Spring. River Island have a beautiful selection of semi-precious and gemstone studded rings for around £10, guaranteed to draw attention to immaculately manicured hands (remember to keep nails classic in nudes or dark, wine reds). And nothing says Gatsby better than a truly great headband. The style staple of the 1920’s, headbands shouldn’t channel the weave and flowers style of the seventies, instead keep an eye out for structured headpieces encrusted with diamonds, glitter and beads. Head to Accessorize for a crystal Alice band or metallic headchain, put on your dancing shoes, and you’re ready and Roaring to go!

Accessorize: Sienna flower statement Alice band, £17.00

Accessorize: Lacy pearl Alice band, £8.00

isle of man premier magazine

appetite

Words | Kyle Bolger

ENERGY FOOD

Dish up some fuel food Avoid running on empty with chef and TV regular Dale Pinnock’s tasty recipes that will keep you going whether you’re training for the TT Triatlon event or just have a busy day ahead

The Medicinal Chef by Dale Pinnock is published by Quadrille, priced £18.99.

Even if running isn’t your thing, Pinnock thinks slow-releasing energy foods are ideal for keeping stress levels low - especially if you’re facing a tough day or feeling the pressure. “It’s the same principles as with the marathon but I would say the two biggies for anyone with a big day ahead of them are going to be magnesium and B vitamins,” he says. “B vitamins are found in whole grains - so brown rice and quinoa - and support the nervous system, adrenal glands and can actually make you feel quite calm while they’re delivering the effect. “Green vegetables are

isle of man premier magazine

appetite

For runners

Baked Salmon and Herbed Omega Crust For stressful days

Calming Green Soup For a pleasant sleep

Goodnight Spiced Cherry Crumble because quality matters

Serves 2

Serves 3-4

Serves 4

750g fresh or frozen cherries, thawed if frozen 1tbsp honey 100g oats 100g wholemeal flour 1tsp ground cinnamon 1tbsp high-quality cane sugar 1tbsp light olive oil Live probiotic yogurt to serve

appetite

Words | Anne Berry | The Wine Cellar

Altitude Wines M

any of the world’s greatest wines come from grapes grown on slopes of varying degrees. It is widely accepted that flatter, more fertile vineyards give bigger yields but generally of a lower quality than those where the vines have to work harder to get the nutrients they require to ripen the grapes. The other consideration now is the effect altitude has on wines. In regions like Ribera del Duero in northern Spain and Mendoza in Argentina, the vineyards lie at around 800m above sea level, but are planted on relatively flat plains. The most important benefit of altitude is the temperature. The higher the altitude the cooler the temperature allowing slower more gradual ripening of the vines, but just as important is the extreme difference in temperature between day and night. This has a significant influence on the colour and aromatics. In lower altitude vineyards and warmer regions with less diurnal temperature variation, vines take nutrients from the soil twenty four hours a day to survive. In more extreme conditions when the night time temperature is cold, the vines almost go to sleep and when the sun rises and they ‘wake up’ again, the nutrients are still in the soil allowing more to be taken into the grapes during the day, resulting in increased aromas, flavours and structure. Sunlight intensity also increases with altitude and this too has an effect on the grapes. Using experimental vineyards, it has been shown that the aromatics in Malbec grapes are enhanced with sunlight

intensity. Ultraviolet light levels are also higher which causes the skins to be thicker, giving a greater tannin content, which in turn helps to produce wines with immense depth and structure. With their great structure and concentration of flavour, these wines can be well balanced and remarkably easy to drink, both with and without food. For a Ribera del Duero, perhaps the perfect partner is lamb, which you will often find slowly cooking away in the oven in the corner of a bar in one of the small villages in the region. In Mendoza, it just has to be beef!! Ribera del Duero Vineyards Legaris Roble – this is a young, lightish style of Ribera del Duero, produced from 100% Tempranillo grapes, known locally as Tinto Fino. Legaris is a relatively new winery, established during the region’s big expansion period in the 1990s. Their aim is to produce a modern international wine but by traditional techniques using gravity to move the wine around rather than pumping. This is a more gentle process leaving the wine vibrant and fresh. Priced at £9.95, this is excellent value and a perfect introduction to the wines of this quality region. Corimbo is a brand new winery with 2009 being only their second vintage. Owned and managed by the prestigious Bodegas Roda in Rioja, the emphasis is on sustainability and quality. Only 90,000 bottles have been produced in this vintage and they are intending to reach a maximum of 150,000 in 2014.

This is a complex wine, aged in mainly French oak barrels for 12 months. It has red and black fruit flavours, some black cherry, blackberry and spice, along with hints of cigar box and leather. A wine to be savoured. £23.95. The Obra Prima Malbec comes from grapes planted at 950m above sea level and is aged in French oak for 12 months. Deep in colour with spicy blackberry character. This is produced by the Cassone Family, who moved here from Italy in 19th Century and began making wine in very small quantities in the 1950s. Now in the hands of the third generation, they have begun to make wines of superb quality that are being recognized world wide for their quality. At just £12.95, this is an excellent example of quality high altitude Argentine Malbec and ideal to serve with your roast beef next Sunday. Bramare Malbec is grown in vineyards that are planted at over 1000m in a semi desert climate. Aged for 18 months in French and American oak, this is a serious premium Malbec with immense structure, body, depth and character. Unfined and unfiltered it is a real treat for Malbec lovers to enjoy with a fine Manx fillet steak. Good for drinking now, but probably best decanted as, being unfined and unfiltered, it will throw a sediment. It will also continue to develop in bottle for at least another 5 years so worth keeping a few in the cellar, if you can wait! £25.95.

The Wine Cellar • Tennis Road • Douglas • IM2 3QW Telephone: 01624 611793 • Email: anne@thewinecellar.im

isle of man premier magazine

Isle of Man | Home & Interiors | May 2013

The best place to find a new place in the Isle of Man

because quality matters

Ballavartyn Lane, Santon - £950,000 ‘Westmoor’ at Ballavartyn Lane, Santon is a substantial detached dormer bungalow that has recently been extended and modernised to a very high standard throughout and is set in a beautiful rural residential area of the Island.

Offering stunning countryside views, the property boasts a 29’ dining kitchen featuring exposed beams and an excellent range of quality contemporary Oak and cream wall, display and base storage units with soft close doors. A recently added feature to the dining kitchen is a new ‘Morso’ freestanding wood burning stove.

isle of man premier magazine

places

This impressive family home also offers a spacious 17’6” lounge plus a 38’ x 16’ family room, as well as a utility room and the much needed study to meet the modern family needs. The sleeping accommodation is taken care of with four double bedrooms including the master bedroom enjoying a luxury en-suite bathroom. A separate family shower room is impressively fitted to the highest of standards.

Outside the front of ‘Westmoor’ has a drive with off road parking for two cars and then a second entrance leads onto a long driveway and large parking area with space for multiple vehicles to park. At the rear of the property is an attractive sunken patio leading to a delightful lawn. In addition to the main bungalow, there are also enclosed paddocks incorporating a newly built stable block comprising three stables and an additional large storage area.

www.harmonyhomes.co.im

because quality matters

Viewings are highly recommended on this comprehensive and impressive family home. Call our DOUGLAS OFFICE 616200

places

Avantgarde landscape has been providing a comprehensive range of services for both the domestic and commercial sectors since 2005. These services include

• • • • • • • • •

Hard/Soft landscaping Groundworks Drainage Patios driveways block paving paths gravel areas decking and raised / lowered beds

The company was founded by Malcolm Cafearo, who has over 20 years experience in landscaping. At Avantgarde we believe the outdoor space, at home or in the workplace is as important as the indoor. Weather you are sunbathing on a hot summers day or looking out of the window when it is raining. We can provide our customers with bespoke designs tailored to their specific needs. Avantgarde Landscape are professional installers of hardwood, softwood, and composite decking in the domestic and commercial environment. We specialise in multi-level and raised decks with steps, landings and balustrades. We also install a wide range of paving, paths, driveways etc; we proudly finish all our work to the very highest specification and quality. The process usually begins with a site visit and consultation to establish the needs and dreams of our client. Once we have set out our goals then we can start to think about the design. Some of our clients know exactly what they want from the beginning whilst others are happy letting the design evolve to fit perfectly within its surroundings. We work closely with our customers from start to finish of all our projects to ensure complete satisfaction.

Take a look at our online portfolio www.avantgarde.co.im Email: info@avantgarde.co.im Tel: 07624 403573 54

isle of man premier magazine

HAVE YOU WON * a ÂŁ15,000 Kitchen? Visit our facebook page to find out who won. You can also meet the winners in the June issue of Gallery magazine.

/gallery.im

yes, the rumours were true... A lucky winner can now revamp their kitchen thanks to our makeover competition.

T: 610531 E: sales@jollygoodkitchens.com

/jollygoodkitchens jollygoodkitchens.com

Terms and Conditions: *Value of kitchen is up to ÂŁ15,000. Full Terms & Conditions available on request.

The best place to find a new place in the Isle of Man WYBOURNE DRIVE - ONCHAN

ÂŁ475,000

A substantial detached family house, which offers additional accommodation with a one bedroom annexe. Set in a popular residential area of Onchan, this property offers two reception rooms and a uPVC double glazed conservatory which overlooks the rear lawned gardens and views. The downstairs accommodation also comprises a well-stocked breakfast kitchen, a utility room and shower room. Upstairs the property boasts four double bedrooms (one en-suite) and a family bathroom. An attractive feature is the large balcony to the front of the property for the family to enjoy. The property also has a driveway leading to a double integral garage. The annexe enjoys a separate entrance door and comprises a lounge, double bedroom, kitchen and shower room.

01624 616200

www.harmonyhomes.co.im

ÂŁ610,000

BALLAKILLOWEY - COLBY

01624 835252

www.harmonyhomes.co.im

This deceptively spacious detached bungalow situated in Odins Way, enjoys lovely sea, rural and coastal views, which you can enjoy from the spacious lounge, sun room and rear garden. As well as having a sun room with underfloor heating, there is a lounge, study, kitchen with dining area, utility room, three bedrooms and a bathroom. The master bedroom has a luxury en-suite with a stand alone bath and corner shower and also benefits from underfloor heating. Outside there is a garage with storage above and parking for three vehicles. There is a good sized garden at the property which has been lovingly maintained and delightfully landscaped with areas laid to lawn and raised flower borders, as well as decking from which you can enjoy sea views.

NO 88 QUAY WEST

WATERFRONT LIVING AT ITS VERY BEST Award-winning architecture and interior design combine to create the ultimate city retreat in the heart of the island’s capital. Providing almost 3,000sq.ft. of luxurious accommodation, this stunning duplex penthouse apartment occupies an enviable waterfront location at the heart of the island’s capital and financial centre. With an interior created by one of the world’s leading designers, No 88 features many bespoke details and is furnished to an exceptional standard. Available fully furnished at £1.995 million. Viewing by appointment.

For details and viewing appointments please call:

01624 615000 22- 24 Victoria Street, Douglas, Isle of Man, IM1 2LE premierproperty.im To scan the code, download a QR code reader app for your mobile phone. Prices correct at time of print. All images indicative only.

places

The best place to find a new place in the Isle of Man FARMHILL - DOUGLAS

£625,000

An impressive detached property set in over half an acre of beautiful private gardens on the outskirts of Douglas. The property offers two spacious reception rooms plus a study, a superb newly fitted breakfast kitchen overlooking the garden and a utility room. This superior property has four double bedrooms with the master en-suite enjoying a newly fitted ‘Kohler’ bathroom suite. Outside there is a large double garage and a driveway which offers parking for up to six vehicles. The large rear garden has a lovely side decked seating area, as well as a timber storage shed and a timber workshop shed. Viewings are highly recommended.

01624 616200 www.harmonyhomes.co.im

BRADDA WEST LANE - PORT ERIN

01624 835252

www.harmonyhomes.co.im

£649,000

A spacious detached house with lovely panoramic rural and sea views. The property is situated at Bradda West, a semi rural location, yet only minutes from Port Erin town centre. At the property you will find a large lounge with sliding doors onto a patio area, a dining room which enjoys pleasant garden views and also has access to the patio area, a spacious kitchen and utility room, study/bedroom 5 and a family bathroom. There are three double bedrooms (one with an en-suite bathroom), as well as a master bedroom which has a dressing room, en-suite bathroom and balcony. Outside there is a detached garage and a flagged patio area where you can enjoy the stunning views.

Jersey’s style magazine

home cinema home automa on ligh ng and hea ng control

whether you are looking for a simple easy to use home cinema installa on, or a smart home solu on including all aspects of home automa on; hea ng, ligh ng and audio visual systems, we can make it happen!

tel. 623979 sales@cleervu.com www.cleervu.com @cleervu

Supply & Installation of Ceramic, Natural Stone or Porcelain Wall/Floor Tiles and Wooden Flooring. Over 100 porcelain tiles to choose from The best quality tiles with expert knowledge and experience in this specialist trade guaranteed.

Isle of Man Tile Company

Tel: 677754

iomtileco@manx.net

SPANISH & ITALIAN TILE RANGES IN STOCK: Argenta Baldocer Cifre Marazzi Porcelanosa Ragno Venis and many others

ADHESIVES AND GROUTS IN STOCK: Ardex Granfix Mapei Sovereign

Everything sold at trade price for all customers

UNIT 14 | HILLS MEADOW | PEEL ROAD | DOUGLAS | IM1 5EB

The best place to find a new place in the Isle of Man SQUEEN MEADOW - BALLAUGH

£425,000

An immaculately presented detached property sitting in well established and secluded grounds on the outskirts of Ballaugh Village. Squeen Meadow is a small and exclusive development built by Heritage Homes in 2000, with number 5 being at the end of the close. The bright and spacious accommodation briefly comprises: living room, dining room, sitting room, modern breakfast kitchen, utility, cloaks, four bedrooms (one en-suite), family bathroom and integral double garage. The larger than average and secluded gardens are mainly laid to lawn and complemented by an abundance of mature plants and shrubs.

01624 818222

www.harmonyhomes.co.im

£439,000

ST STEPHENS MEADOW - SULBY

An extended executive detached family home situated in a sought after location in the village of Sulby. The property was constructed by renowned local builders, Hartford Homes in 2005, with number 11 being an ex-show house.

01624 818222

www.harmonyhomes.co.im

The beautifully presented accommodation briefly comprises a dual aspect living room, dining room, modern breakfast kitchen, utility room, cloakroom, four bedrooms (master with en-suite), family bathroom and two double garages, with games room above one. The south facing and well maintained gardens are mainly laid to lawn and stocked abundance of mature plants and shrubs, which can be enjoyed from the superb ‘Breeze House’ situated in the centre of the garden.

O f f s h or e B u s i n e s s

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Getting Ahead in the Cloud Offshore Reports Features: -MAnx cloud - Fatca - Project Management in practice, right in the game - The business of Marketing - Handshakes, Kisses & Hugs. Plus: Business News IOM/JSY/GSY

The Victory watch L I M I T E D E D I T IO N

www.wilkinsthejeweller.co.uk 76 Strand Street, Douglas, Isle of Man IM1 2EW Tel: 01624 690450 | Email: enquiries@wilkinsthejeweller.co.uk

In the Agenda... PLACES

Business News

KEY CONTACTS EDITORIAL & DESIGN Steve Redford DD : (+44) 7624 249249 steve@agenda.im

ADVERTISING SALES Rachel Morris DD: (+44) 7624 209726 rachel@agenda.im

in the CLIENT RELATIONS

Laura Macgregor DD: (+44) 7624 249249 Laura@agenda.im

Disclaimer: All rights reserved. Any form of reproduction of Agenda Isle of Man Magazine, in part or whole is strictly prohibited without the written consent of the publisher. Any views expressed by advertisers or contributors may not be those of the publisher. Unsolicited artwork, manuscripts and copy are accepted by Agenda Magazine, but the publisher cannot be held responsible for any loss or damage. All material, copy and artwork supplied is assumed to be copyright free unless otherwise advised.

Getting Ahead in the Cloud

Read almost any

business magazine or contents

Starting off with what it is: for IT providers Cloud is a rental / outsourcing business model whereby instead of buying and operating your own IT you instead put it into the hands of an IT provider, either having them host and run your IT within their datacentres somewhere on the Internet, or using their IT delivered to you over the Internet. I t can take several forms; public cloud, private cloud and hybrid cloud (a combination of the two). You don’t need a server room, and you don’t need systems operators; your IT personnel needs are reduced to those who actually make the IT work within the business. You access your IT over an Internet connection using ordinary desktop and laptop computers. Ideally, but not always, you buy access to the IT on a Pay As You Go basis.

and Software as a Service (SaaS Software applications delivered via the Internet, typically in a web browser).

So why the Cloud? As a business website and there will proposition for IT suppliers it’s great; be articles exhorting they get to rent you services instead of you buying the hardware and software business people to and rolling your own IT. Once you’re in it IngetThe News-IOM ..................................... .. 64difficult and painful Manx Telecom 4G Mobile ................... .. 84 is logistically to get into “The Cloud”. out, so you become a sticky customer Cloud technology providing the business with a reliable forward income stream. Organisations has been............................................................... the latest . 68 about IT, alwaysChannel FATCA are demanding needing Islands News ........................... 86 and possibly greatest changes, so there are many opportunities to sell additional services and you are IT fad for the past largely tied in to the supplier. The standard ................. 70 KPMG Right In The Game charges typically include the services that Capita International Group ................ 88 few years, and looks you need in order to use the supplier, but like continuing any services you might need to ensure your independence or to protect yourself The Cloud can also be delivered at several .............................................. 74 Appointments that way for many ................................................................. 90 China against the failure of the supplier are levels: typically these are Infrastructure as extra. For your business the Cloud offers a Service (IaaS - basically naked servers years to come - but obvious financial benefits: typically and their networking), Platform as a why, what is it and reduced Capex, you don’t need to buy Service (PaaS - servers with operating .................................. ... 76 Director Opinions Offshore Reports ................... 92 server hardware etc., where it Appleby exists the systems, databases, web servers etc.), what’s it good for?

Getting Ahead In The Cloud ............... 78 76 Agenda

Sure C&W Innovation ............................. 80 ITEX - Manx Cloud .................................... 82

Project Management In Practice .... 96

JERSEY’S STYLE MAGAZINE

The Business of Marketing ................. 98 Handshakes, Kisses & Hugs ............. 100

Right in the

Game

68 Reliable solutions to your small business accountancy problems Contact Ian Gribble - Tel:432452 E-mail: enquiries@sigma-iom.com

100

www.sigma-iom.com 63

In The News IOM

PWC Encouraging Entrepreneurs to the Isle of Man

IOM Law Society Provides IP Refresher Training

Patricia Barclay Entrepreneurs with organiser Charlotte Mason (front row, second from left), Kevin Cowley, PwC Partner (front row, third from left) and Peter Craig, PwC Partner (back row, second from left).

PwC was delighted to sponsor the latest in a series of events which encourage entrepreneurs to consider locating to the Isle of Man and give them the chance to network with Isle of Man business people and influential residents. The events are organised by Isle of Man resident Steve Hawkins and his UK-based colleague Charlotte Mason, and attract companies based around Europe. Each event, held at the Claremont Hotel in Douglas, offers six to eight entrepreneurs the opportunity to visit the Island, explore what it has to offer, present their businesses to potential investors and entrepreneurs and then network over supper. Previous events have already led to several off-Island companies relocating to the Isle of Man and several more considering it. For this event there was representation from two Isle of Man start-ups too.

Equiom jetting ahead in the Aviation Sector!

Dr Who, Bacardi Breezer and Ferrari were among the references employed by solicitor Patricia Barclay of Edinburghbased firm Bonaccord when she gave two seminars on intellectual property (IP) organised by the Isle of Man Law Society. Drawing on her experience from her years with pharmaceuticals company Pfizer and working with scientists, often in Central Europe, in other commercial sectors, including chemicals and cosmetics, Ms Barclay explained that her seminars were designed to give ‘a flavour’ of the legal implications of trademarks, copyright, patents and licensing. As an example, referring to nostalgia articles featuring old photographs, she said: ‘Just because it’s old, doesn’t mean it’s copyright free’. Ms Barclay gave two seminars over two days and met representatives of the Department of Economic Development in anticipation of collaborative projects between the jurisdictions involving advocates’ clients. This was against the background of the Law Society’s wish to act as a catalyst to business to benefit the island’s economy and legal profession.

Minister encouraged by 2012 visitor figures Equiom, a leading Aviation services provider will be exhibiting at the 2013 European Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition (EBACE) event in Geneva from 21st to 23rd May. Mr Steve Cain Representatives from the company will travel to Geneva to promote the Isle of Man as the premier jurisdiction for business aviation and to showcase the market leading services that Equiom provide. Attending this year will be VAT Director, Steve Cain, Aviation Consultant, Captain John Hills, Tax Director, Ali Stennett and Manager of Yachting and Aviation Services, Lisa Osland.

Speaking ahead of EBACE, Steve Cain commented; “EBACE is an essential business aviation event for Equiom, providing a global platform to meet industry friends, colleagues and clients in addition to seeking out new opportunities. EBACE which is jointly hosted by the EBAA and the NBAA (National Business Aviation Association) is Europe’s premier aviation event and regularly attracts over 12,000 attendees and 500 exhibitors from around the world. The 2013 show is set to be the biggest to date with an extended exhibition area in addition to the usual features which include a static aircraft display.

The Equiom team will be located at EBACE in Hall 6 at Stand No: 1067.

THE Minister for Economic Development John Shimmin MHK has expressed his satisfaction at the 2012 visitor figures which are contained within the 2012 Passenger Survey Annual Report. ‘Overall visitor expenditure increased by just over 5% to £103M over the figures for 2011. Of this, the expenditure by Leisure Visitors increased by 14% to £47.7M. This is particularly impressive as the figures in 2011 were boosted by the highly successful Commonwealth Youth Games. The Department published its ‘Visitor Economy Strategy 2012-2015’ on 1 March 2012. This set out the need to drive up quality and exploit new markets to develop the Island as a year-round, distinctive and unique visitor destination. The Tourism Strategy can be downloaded at: www.gov.im/lib/docs/ded/ isleofmantourismvisitoreconomy.pdf

Introducing Canaccord Genuity Wealth Management Canaccord’s global wealth management division has been rebranded Canaccord Genuity Wealth Management Canaccord Financial Inc. (‘Canaccord’, ‘the Company’) are pleased to announce that its global wealth management division has been rebranded Canaccord Genuity Wealth Management. Accordingly, the Company’s wealth management businesses in the Isle of Man, the UK and other offshore locations, previously known as Collins Stewart Wealth Management, are now known as Canaccord Genuity Wealth Management.

Isle of Man adds Monaco and Switzerland for yacht ownership The Isle of Man Ship Registry can now take vessels with ownership structures in Monaco or Switzerland thanks to legislative changes which were passed in Tynwald this week. This is a strategic move in terms of superyachts which was introduced in response to requests by the yacht industry on the Isle of Man, which sees great potential for new business opportunities as a result of these changes. The latest regulations extends the list of qualified owners already approved, to include citizens, bodies corporate incorporated in Monaco or Switzerland, or limited partnerships with their principal place of business in Monaco or Switzerland, as persons who are qualified to be the owners of Manx vessels.

As a result of this initiative, the Company’s wealth management operations in the UK, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man, Switzerland, Canada and Australia now share the same brand. In the last two years Canaccord has grown its wealth management platform into new markets. Today, the Company has formed an integrated global wealth management division that includes businesses previously known as:

Mr Alex Downie

‘I am delighted to have been able to establish regulations to extend our ownership criteria to include the important financial centres of Monaco and Switzerland. The yacht management companies in the Island see great potential in this latest move and I hope to see more yachts financed in these countries flying the Manx Ensign in the future.’

• Collins Stewart Wealth Management (UK and Europe) • The wealth management business of Eden Financial (UK) • Canaccord Wealth Management (Canada) • BGF Equities (Australia) This branding initiative culminates the global integration of all wealth management businesses on Canaccord’s platform. The name Canaccord Genuity Wealth Management also better aligns the division with the brand of Canaccord. Genuity, the Company’s investment banking and capital markets division.

Strong representation for Isle of Man in “start-up launchpad” event at major us gaming show

The Department’s Political Member with responsibility for the Ship Registry, Alex Downie OBE MLC, said:

Dick Welsh, Director of the Isle of Man Ship Registry said:

Mr Dick Welsh

‘This is a very useful piece of legislation and a great example of the public/private partnership which exists in the Isle of Man.

to a panel of expert judges in front of an audience of industry leaders. With a showcase b2c site operated by an Isle of Man based licensee, ISIS Lab was described by GiGse organisers as ‘a b2b and b2c social gaming network providing a low barrier for game developers to enter the iGaming business and offer their games for real money’. The other companies with Island links shortlisted from 17 applicants were: Buddybet and Ever Adventure.

A social gaming network with strong links to the Isle of Man has won a prestigious contest at a major e-Gaming conference in San Francisco. The recent conference was an all-round celebration for the Island gaming industry as three of the five finalists at the 2013 GiGse event have close connections with the Isle of Man and SMP Partners, one of the Island’s leading providers of professional services to the sector.

GiGse San Francisco is a major event in the calendar of many of the world’s top level gaming executives and the Start-up LaunchPad competition is designed to showcase and spotlight innovation at the intersection of gambling, social, mobile and other trends that might influence the future of gaming across the international stage. This is the second year Start-up LaunchPad has featured at GiGse. www.gigse.com/gigse-start-up-launchpad

ISIS Lab was selected as the winner after making a successful pitch

In The News IOM

New Smart Number Technology Cuts Roaming Charges

Captive Association’s spring 2013 Educational seminar highlights the sector’s continuing success

Sure are helping Isle of Man businesses slash their roaming costs by launching a new app that promises to reduce roaming charges by placing voice and video calls over the Internet. Smart Number is available for iOS, Android and Windows and Mac PC devices. It enables business travellers, when abroad, to make and receive video and voice calls on their mobile phone or via their laptop using a Wi-Fi connection, rather than the local mobile network. The Smart Number application is intrinsically linked to a customer’s mobile number and call package, so calls made using Smart Number are charged as though the customer was on their home network, and are deducted from the customer’s call minutes allowance in the usual way. When Smart Number users are not in a Wi-Fi zone, the call is placed over the mobile network, as normal, so there is never any danger of missing a call. As well as cutting roaming costs, Smart Number customers make and receive voice and video calls using their normal mobile phone number. This is a huge advantage over Skype and other Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) platforms which need separate accounts to be created, resulting in calls often having to be arranged in advance. On top of the accessibility that Smart Number offers, it also provides complete flexibility because it can be loaded onto multiple devices so the user can choose whether to use a smartphone, tablet or PC when making or receiving a call. The launch of Smart Number is the first stage of its development and it is hoped that in the future, instant messaging, presence identification (letting other users know whether you are available, busy etc) and BlackBerry and Windows Mobile versions of the app will be available.

Celton Manx and West Ham reach finishing straight

Over 100 members and other practitioners attended the recent Isle of Man Captive Association (IOMCA) Spring 2013 Educational Seminar at the Villa Marina in Douglas, sponsored jointly by Barclays Wealth and Investment Management and KPMG. The seminar highlighted the sector’s continuing success, with industry experts discussing developments in the economic, legislative and regulatory climates to ensure key stakeholders are up to date with topical issues of interest and relevance. The event, co-ordinated by IOMCA Executive Committee member Mark Willis, and featuring a range of presenters from organisations including Barclays and KPMG, was opened by Chief Executive of the Isle of Man Insurance and Pensions Authority, David Vick, who provided regulatory and legislative updates.

and Matt Jarvis and many of the non-playing officials to the event held on Monday April 22nd. Mike Stanton, Head of Business Development said: ‘The club’s schedule was such that a good number of players were able to attend. Around 40 guests in total enjoyed the hospitality and race programme. With some of West Ham’s leading players out on a balcony watching the racing there was great excitement among the 4000-strong crowd of spectators, one of whom was selected from a prize draw to visit the hospitality suite, meet the players and be presented with a framed signed West Ham shirt by Sam Allardyce.’ A competition for players to nominate their preferred horse for each of the six races on the card raised £1000 for Bobby Moore Fund for Cancer Research UK, a charity to which SBOBET has lent long-term support.

To mark the conclusion of its four-year sponsorship of West Ham United Football Club Celton Manx, operator of the global sports book SBOBET, hosted a race day at Royal Windsor racecourse. Members of the Celton Manx Management team welcomed club manager Sam Allardyce, players including Andy Carroll, Joe Cole

The occasion also saw Executive Director Bull Mummery, present the prize to the owner of the horse that won the feature race, one of four sponsored that evening by SBOBET.

Treat your Event to a professional makeover with the help of ELS and G-Force Displays When it comes to putting on a conference or event there are two Manx firms who stand out from the rest for providing innovative audio visual support and event branding solutions.

ELS (Event Lighting Services) and G-Force Displays have been working together for over 5 years to provide the Island’s conference and events industry with professional solutions incorporating lighting, sound, staging, banners, large-format graphics, back-drops and display stands, projection screens and custom-built conference sets. ELS celebrates its 8th year of business and remains the Island’s premier hire company specialising in the supply of professional lighting, sound, staging and audio visual equipment for the conference and events community. The company was set up by local lighting technician Justin McMullin, who has dedicated over 22 years to the lighting and sound industry both on and off the Island, including projects successfully delivered in London and the Channel Islands for clients within Financial Services and e-Gaming sectors. Justin is joined by two highly experienced and motivated directors; Ricky Rooney and Craig Brown, who between them have access to a comprehensive resource of local freelance technicians who offer support with the larger scale events that happen on the Island such as the various Music festivals etc.

ELS are constantly investing in the latest

equipment and hold some of the most advanced lighting and sound technology available on the market; names such as Marshall and Martin for example. As Justin explains ‘We only buy the best

fittings as it is a false economy to buy cheap technical equipment - it’s just not reliable enough and a failure during an event is the last thing anyone wants. We have the Island’s only stock of battery powered wireless-controlled high-power LED up-lighters which have proved invaluable for lighting areas where there is no access to mains power or where running cables is not an option; at popular venues such as Castle Rushen and in glens. The lights will run for 24 hours on a single charge and can be controlled remotely from our lighting desk via wireless link. Being waterproof they’re perfect for all occasions whether indoor or outside’ ‘Also new in our hire stock are the very latest LED gobo projectors which are ideal for corporate clients who want to project their logo or image onto a wall or the side of a building’ G-Force specialises in the design and installation of modular and custom-built exhibition stands and conference sets for Isle of Man based organisations who exhibit internationally. G-Force was set up in 2008 by Greg Pye and since then has supplied design, manufacture, installation and project- management services to clients within the Pharmaceutical, Financial Services and e-Gaming industries at trade shows in countries including France, Germany, Spain, UAE and USA.

Equipment for sale or hire includes indoor and outdoor lighting, sound and PA systems, staging, large format LCD flatscreen displays, lecterns, projectors, front and rear projection screens, modular and custom-build conference sets, banners, pop-up displays, dry-ice machines, lasers, search-lights ... and more!

enquirIES: EVENT LIGHTING SERVICES LIMITED www.elsiom.com info@elsiom.com or call 07624 200101 / 499248

G-Force displays www.gforcedisplays.com – info@gforcedisplays.com – or call 07624 225770

As budgets are squeezed, ELS and G-Force together strive to maximize return on investment, by offering a range of high quality market leading products at competitive prices, as well as advice and service with a smile.

Feature

John Spellman, Director of Financial Services for the Isle of Man Government Interviewed with Tanya Hanson.

n the UK, The Treasury estimates that tax evasion costs HM Revenue & Customs £4bn a year in lost revenues, which has prompted their championing of the U.S. Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). FATCA is a pivotal development in U.S. and UK efforts to improve tax compliance concerning foreign financial assets and offshore accounts. The UK signed an agreement to implement FATCA rules in September last year, which was the catalyst in precipitating signatures from the Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey on automatic exchange of information agreements with London. Under FATCA, UK taxpayers with specified foreign financial assets that exceed certain thresholds must report those assets John Spellman updates Agenda with news on how the agreement has progressed since the Isle of Man volunteered to lead the way in widening the net for greater transparency on international tax issues. Tanya: So, what’s changed?

JOHN SPELLMAN, DIRECTOR OF FINANCIAL SERVICES

We are the first jurisdiction in the world to agree that type of exchange of information with the UK. Since then, we have been under negotiations both with the U.S. and the UK, formalising what is called a Model 1 inter-governmental agreement, which we feel is the best solution for the automatic exchange of information. We’re at an advanced stage with Annex 1, which defines the type of information we exchange and Annex 2, what is exempted from that automatic exchange. Tanya: What exemptions are under discussion? John: That is part of the negotiation. We are looking at various things. An example may be when information is already provided to a country in one form, we would simply duplicate that, for example; insurance contract information from the Isle of Man to the UK, we already provide that information under a thing called Chargeable Event Reporting. Another example is where there would be extremely low risk of tax avoidance or tax evasion, such as pension contracts. So, we’re in negotiation on those and also others that could be removed from the regime. We were the first mover, summed up by GORK in the UK as having “shown great leadership”. The Crown Dependencies have also announced that they are going to provide automatic exchange of information. We are comfortable with where we are and that the necessary exemptions and reporting regime will meet the needs of industry.

We will have automatic exchange of information with the UK, we’re a lower tax jurisdiction and we’re competitive and internationally transparent.

Tanya: How is the UK responding? John: Very positively, we have a very good and practical working relationship with the UK. We have had representatives from the HMRC over to the Island to assist both ourselves - and industry - in interpreting some of the technical clauses, which was very welcome. The UK Government has also provided what is called an Isle of Man Disclosure Facility for those people who need to regularise their taxation affairs.

bureaucracy in this type of reporting, an example being; the Manx Disclosure Facility. On the 13th March, we held a FATCA seminar presented by Deloitte, KPMG, PWC and Ernest and Young, called ‘Preparing for Automatic Exchange of Information’, with which we had over 300 delegates from the Isle of Man and over 100 people wanting to attend on the waiting list.

Tanya: How does government believe FATCA has affected industry?

Tanya: How is the bureaucracy being organised?

Secondly, all of the reporting information that’s reported under U.S. FATCA, we will be looking to mirror. Having the same reporting techniques, same reporting systems under UK FATCA. The government has also identified the various means of how you can exchange information – being Model 1, Model 2 or Direct Reporting – we have identified that Model 1 is the easiest way to report

that information, it offers a flexibility of reporting where the Isle of Man Government effectively collects the data and remits that on to the U.S. Not for a moment do I think that Model 1 is an easy reporting mechanism, but what we have done is take the easiest route - or the route of least resistance - to ensure our businesses are well served both locally and internationally. Tanya: So, now that the agreement has evolved, the system is taking shape and Guernsey and Jersey have followed suit, do you believe it continues to be seen as a “bold move”? John: Yes, many may see this as a bold move by the Isle of Man, the Isle of Man Government accepts that this is a bold move, but we believe that automatic exchange of information is not just here for the Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories, in short order, the UK and other developed nations will be asking for exactly the same information. So, we see ourselves at the forefront of transparency and cooperation. This will secure the Isle of Man’s position for the long term. There is a legacy opinion in the UK, but we now see the ability to amend ourselves is when people wrongly call us a ‘tax haven’. We will have automatic exchange of information with the UK, we’re a lower tax jurisdiction and we’re competitive and internationally transparent. So please, do your business here!

Feature

Right in the

Game

On 11th April 2013, Gibraltar played host to the sixth in a series of KPMG eGaming summits that, for the past three years, have sought to build upon the eGaming industryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s already excellent reputation for cross-industry discourse by providing a forum within which key players can discuss the future of eGaming, its challenges and opportunities.

Russell Kelly Director, eGaming Services KPMG Isle of Man & Gibraltar

This was just the latest event in an initiative which, since early 2010 when the release of our global publication ‘Online Gaming – A Gamble or a Sure Bet?’ clearly signalled our presence in the market, has seen KPMG work increasingly closely with and for the gaming sector both on and off the Isle of Man.

KPMG in London since 2006 and before this was with BDO in London, where he worked on the public listings of 888, Playtech and PartyGaming, amongst others.

he Isle of Man, having become one of the world’s first jurisdictions to introduce legislation specific to the eGaming industry in 2001, has remained at the forefront of eGaming, establishing itself as a pioneer in regulatory and licensing practises which place consumer protection and private/ public sector cooperation as key drivers for change. These commitments, coupled with a competitive taxation framework, world leading telecoms and power infrastructures, and a responsive commercial environment, have created a culture of growth and innovation that has resulted in eGaming and, now more broadly, eBusiness, becoming the second largest contributor to the Island’s GDP. The Isle of Man is now home to the headquarters of some of the world’s most prominent operators, software developers, and hosting and service providers, while its international renown and commitment to licensing only the best and most socially engaged companies has resulted in its becoming one of the world’s most respected jurisdictions for eGaming.

Archie was instrumental, along with Micky Swindale, in organising the first KPMG eGaming Summit in November 2010, and this has since been followed by a series of annual summits in Gibraltar and the Isle of Man, which may also extend to Malta in future years. The focus of each Summit has been driven by key events and issues affecting the sector and, as such, a revisiting of the Summit reports, each kindly sponsored by Continent 8 Technologies, , provides the reader with a fascinating potted history of the sector from November 2010 onwards – and it has certainly been eventful. At the time of the first Summit, the key trends for the sector included:

Increasing recognition and regulation in Europe: We were starting to see a shift in online gaming regulations in Europe; with state monopolies slowly giving way to privately owned websites, albeit only through pressure from the European Courts.

Last 12 months Licences:

Industry consolidation: The much-

45 10 4

Licence Holders Approved Applications being considered

heralded increase in online gaming related M&A activity was beginning.

Economic Benefit: Licence fees (2011/12) Duty (2011/12 online online only) Other taxes* Local Spend* Employees*

Business-to-business expansion:

£1.7m £2.9m £13.3m £164m 688

Established gaming sites were looking to license their software and services platforms to establish new revenue streams and gain market presence.

* MeGA Survey 2012 forecast © 2010 KPMG LLC, an Isle of Man limited liability company and a member firm of the KPMG network of independent member firms affiliated with KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"), a Swiss entity. All rights reserved.

GO HEADER & FOOTER TO EDIT THIS TEXT

1/23/2013

Table 1 – Tim Craine’s (former Head of eGaming, Department of Economic Development) licences and economic benefit of eGaming in the Isle of Man

Key to the success of KPMG’s initiative to become the preferred provider to the sector locally was the recruitment of Archie Watt, KPMG’s Head of eGaming for the Isle of Man and Gibraltar, in July 2010. Archie came to us from KPMG in London where he was working in IT Advisory for the Information, Communication and Entertainment practice with a focus on online gaming clients. He had worked for

Land to web: The land-based industry

body, the American Gaming Association (AGA), stated in March 2010 that it supported legalised, governmentregulated online gambling. Given that the AGA listed among its members Harrah’s, MGM Mirage and Las Vegas Sands, it seemed reasonable to take this statement as a statement of the major land-based casinos’ intent to capitalise on their brand recognition and expand into the online market.

Emerging platforms: Gaming had

started moving to the same mobile and social platforms that were exploding for casual games.

Right in the Game

Here in the Isle of Man, a key issue was the attitude of the local banking community. It had become increasingly hard for operators to access the local banking services they needed, so our delegate list and speaker programme for that first summit in late 2010 reflected a desire to educate service providers about the extent and effectiveness of the regulation of the gaming sector, particularly with regard to KYC and player protection.

The year that followed was certainly an eventful one for the sector both globally and here on the Isle of Man. The official consummation of the bwin/PartyGaming merger at the end of March 2011 was rapidly overshadowed by the actions of the US Department of Justice (DoJ) on what quickly became known as “Black Friday”. The seizure of all internet domains of three online poker companies – Absolute Poker, Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars was the most cataclysmic event to hit the online gaming sector since the US passed the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act (UIGEA) in 2006 (making it illegal for financial organisations to process banking transactions on behalf of online gaming companies).

recognition of the potentially seismic effect on several offshore gaming jurisdictions.

While Absolute Poker collapsed immediately, and the demise of Full Tilt was drawn out over the six months following Black Friday, PokerStars continued to hold its place as the world’s favourite online poker site, and the Isle of Man regulator was credited with having provided the environment which supported Pokerstars to operate in a manner which protected its players where others had failed to.

We were fortunate enough to have the Head of Gambling Taxes from the UK Treasury speak at our Gibraltar eGaming Summit in April 2012, and the industry greatly welcomed the opportunity to hear first-hand the reasons behind their move. However, even before the consultation period closed on 28 June 2012, it was apparent that there would be widespread resistance to it being introduced. Since the closure of the consultation period and the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement announcement it has become apparent that, regardless of the representations made, the UK Government intends to implement this Regulation (and hence tax).

2011 also saw the long-awaited take-off of mobile gaming and many of you will now be accustomed to seeing live odds being displayed around the grounds at Premier League football matches. We soon heard operators reporting that up to 80% of wagers placed were coming from mobile devices, with most of these wagers on higher margin in-play offerings. There was little doubt that it was mobile that was driving growth for the sportsbooks – and industry observers were keen to see what mobile might do for other sections of the online gaming world. However a shock to the sector came with the UK announcement in early summer 2011 that it was intending to move to a point of consumption basis of taxation (ie. tax is levied where the gaming customer is based rather than in the location from which the service is supplied) – and there was immediate

There was, as a result, a great deal to cover at the 2nd Isle of Man summit in 2011, and there was keen interest in the views of the regulator on how the fallout from Black Friday was handled locally, how they maintained the focus on player protection, and the impact this has all had on the IOM’s reputation as a “blue chip” regulatory regime. It was clear by November that the reputational impact both on Pokerstars and the Isle of Man had been overwhelmingly positive. After the ups and downs of 2011, anyone hoping for a quiet 2012, however, was soon to be disappointed.

Later in 2012, the EU announced their action plan for online gaming, which was a hopeful sign that consistency may be about to enter the regulation of gaming in the EU. Commissioner Barnier and his team have expressly acknowledged that EU member states may restrict or limit the cross-border supply of all or certain types of online gambling services on the basis of public interest objectives – usually following the line of “protecting consumers, ensuring a fair and transparent offer, preventing fraud and protecting the integrity of sports”.

Map 1 – Pierre Tournier’s (EU Advisor, Remote Gambling Association) Memoranda of understanding between states (since this presentation was created, an agreement has also been formed between the Isle of Man and Malta)

However, the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (also known as the Treaty of Lisbon) expressly forbids (in Article 56) member countries introducing restrictions on the freedom of companies from other member states to provide services to recipients in other member states: “Restrictions on freedom to provide services within the Union shall be prohibited in respect of nationals of Member States who are established in a Member State other than that of the person for whom the services are intended.” From the materials published on 23 October 2012, it would appear that Commissioner Barnier has reservations about the justifications being used by some EU countries in their attempts to restrict the supply of gambling services by companies based in other EU states. Their approach has generated a fragmentation of piecemeal regulation and introduced much additional cost to operators with little or no apparent improvement in any of the public interest objectives listed above.

Map 2 – Pierre Tournier’s regulatory status of Europe

It is to be hoped that the establishment of the expert group heralded by Commissioner Barnier’s announcement will indeed facilitate exchanges of experience on regulation between member states and develop a “well regulated, safer online gambling sector in the EU”. This must surely be the objective of all responsible operators in the sector. As we moved into 2013, the KPMG eGaming team remained busy – 6 of us attended ICE in February, joining 18 other local providers on the Isle of Man stand. This is the first time we have attended as an exhibitor rather than a delegate, and we found it a very positive experience being on the Government stand - we hope to be stand regulars in future years, at ICE and similar events. As this year has progressed, we have seen further developments regarding the UK’s intentions to introduce their point of consumption tax, as other key jurisdictions have begun to take public stances against it. The statement issued by the Gibraltar Gaming and Betting Association in late January appealed to the UK’s Department

of Culture Media and Sport to call off its plans to introduce the new regime - and it gave notice that it is serious in its intention to fight the bill, advising: “In the event that the Government determines to proceed with the proposed legislation and fiscal reforms, the GBGA will regrettably have little alternative but to institute judicial review proceedings to challenge these measures.” The Association has the necessary financial clout to make good on this threat, having raised a £500,000 war chest from its 24 member companies for the fight. The GBGA characterised the proposed changes as discriminatory and disproportionate, saying they were based on a flawed perception of the competitive threat to British-licensed companies. On a similar note, the Gibraltar Government also raised objections to the UK’s intentions, with Phill Brear (Head of Gambling Regulation) claiming that the proposals contradicted “reality, research and the evidence base”.

been made public, is believed to argue that implementing a law such as the proposed UK point of consumption tax would be against EU legislation because it would give an unfair advantage to genuine UK ventures over companies based outside the UK, thereby undermining the European principle of free movement of services between member states. Shortly afterwards, on 4th March, the European Commission announced it was extending its review period for the proposed tax.

The next summit, in the Isle of Man is booked for Tuesday 12 November – so the game goes on...

Gibraltar’s David v Goliath stance was augmented by Malta’s recent filing with the European Commission of a complaint which, whilst the detailed content has not

Director Opinions

inBusiness

Director Opinions Nathan Cafearo | Director | Best Group

I’m optimistic about the Isle of Man’s economic future, very optimistic. I can feel a real buzz as I speak with technology companies around the Island. Over the last twelve months I’ve met with a number of new business owners in the technology industry from e-gaming, app development, finance, cloud hosting, internet trading and many more. In fact, I host of weekly meeting of business people who get together to discuss new ideas and how they see things in the future. We’re all very positive about the next few years and working hard to do our bit for our Island’s economy.

In your view, why is the Island is so well placed to take advantage of the technology revolution? Three reasons. Firstly, the Isle of Man government has an extremely helpful and “quick to act” attitude towards the promotion of companies across the board. This is particularly advantageous to technology companies where the boundaries change on an almost daily basis. I would urge anyone working in business on the Isle of Man to make themselves known to the Department of Economic Development, they are there to help and really do so but can only help if they know what business exists on the Island. Secondly, there are a few groups of business people who are now beginning to come together to unite towards the common goal of making the Isle of Man a centre for technology excellence. I’ve noticed things like access to investment for technology projects, more active Angel Investor networks and increasing number of networking events. I spend a reasonable amount of time in London and there is an area around Shoreditch which has been dubbed “Silicon Roundabout”. There is a real buzz there, some big international companies, you can feel it in every coffee shop and bar. It would be great to see a “Silicon Island” atmosphere over here and I can already feel it happening. Finally and let’s be honest...the taxation environment is a big advantage. The larger economies of the world could learn a lot from the Isle of Man. Allowing higher earners to keep more of their income doesn’t lead to massive social problems, it leads to greater investment and more incentive for everyone to work hard. I’m certain that tax avoidance is not an issue for the Isle of Man government at all...all high earners would view 20% to be a fair contribution to society and would pay their taxes in entirety.

Reasons to be Cheerful

Nathan Cafearo | Director | Best Group

1-2-3

Exactly what is this revolution that you talk about? Well...most people will be aware of the “.com” boom and bust that happened around the late nineties. I believe that was essentially caused, not by over excitement, but premature excitement. The technology just wasn’t quite good enough then...and people weren’t ready for it en mass. We are now at a point where the kinds of technologies that created such a fuss back then are now becoming part of our everyday lives. Although I trained as a computer programmer, I’m actually personally quite a late adopter of technologies. But even I now have a Windows phone, use skype to speak to friends around world, buy everything from Amazon and I only ever watch TV on iPlayer. In a business context, and this is the part that I feel is relevant to the Isle of Man, my group of companies (Best Group) is totally focused around digital technology. We are now able to perform some pretty complex arrangements for clients who find us through our internet marketing, engage with us through a telephone conversation, supply us with all of their financial records and all without ever having physically met anyone from our office. We use cloud technology to host our server functions, all based on the Isle of Man. We spend somewhere in the order of £1m per year marketing the group digitally through PPC, social media, sponsorships etc and all of the business generated is transmitted down a phone line and dealt with on the Isle of Man. The Isle of Man has long transacted financial business around the world, but the “traditional” business model has always involved a long an expensive supply chains of introducers, agents, processors etc. Our clients come to us directly so our commission payments are low and we have very low overheads for IT infrastructure due to early adoption of cloud technology. I believe that any companies on the Island who embrace these changes and aim to set the standard, as we do, will be at a huge competitive advantage over those in other jurisdictions.

What is the Best Group? I have put together a group of companies based around the mantra of “Digital, Digital, Digital!”. We have incorporated an Internet Marketing business which has a very unique business model. A company can become a client of ours without any upfront cost to themselves at all. We will create a marketing platform for them free of charge, test it, bring in business, and if successful...and only then will we look to an arrangement whereby we can work for that client. It’s a zero risk strategy for them. A “no win, no fee” if you like. This Internet Marketing arm feeds business into the group; Best Practice Accountants, Best Corporate Services, Best Recruitment, Best Marketing, BestPay, Victoria Claims.

I was actually given a book about 6 years ago called ‘Rich Dad, Poor Dad’ by Robert Kiyosaki. It is an interesting book to read about his life and how he made his millions but the real underlying theme is the maths around money and business. It’s maths that’s so simple that it’s almost entirely overlooked. Let me give you an example (using approx calculations): You earn £10,000 in your salary and I generate £10,000 of revenue in my company. We both want to invest that money. You take your £10,000 of salary which after Tax and NI gives you about £7,500. You put that in a fund which gives you 10% annualised (not bad). After 12 months you’ve got £8,250.

There’s a real buzz in the office, we’ve taken on 25 new people in the last 12 months and are looking forward to the next few years having an involvement in eGaming, App funding and development, “Cloud” and “Crowd” ventures.

I take the £10,000 of revenue, reinvest that into online advertising with is fully tax deductable so I get £10,000 worth of advertising. Now I know that kind of advertising returns me over 100% but let’s say it only returned 25%. So I have at the end of the year either £12,500 to reinvest in more advertising or £9,375 if I take it as earnings.

If anyone would like to know more about what we do please do contact me, Nathan@bestpay.co.uk

That’s great...but the interesting thing happens when you compound the calculation over 10 years.

What’s the best investment you’ve ever made? This is a really interesting question and one that I get asked all of the time. I spend 5-10 hours a week researching and studying different investments and types of investment and have done for a long time. My advice would be before you invest any money in anything you need to invest an equal amount of time to learn about it. You really do. To answer your question my best investment and the best investment that anyone can ever make is to buy your first book in the area that you wish to invest in. If you’re interested in that area then you’ll follow it with a second and third.

After 10 years you would have £19,453 in your well performing investment fund. But I would have £93,132 in my business account. And that’s the simple maths that is explained in ‘Rich Dad, Poor Dad’ and that’s the reason why business owners make more money. And that knowledge came to me for an investment of £7.99. I am now working with the Isle of Man Angel Network. If you are either a potential angel investor or a business person looking for support with a new venture please contact me either by email or on 07624 201140.

Contact Nathan with questions or to request information: Nathan@bestpay.co.uk Would you like to express your views in Agenda? Email: myview@agenda.im

Appointments

began his career in telecoms in 1982 with an engineering apprenticeship at British Telecom where he worked for six years. His CV also includes technical roles with British Airways and Barclays Bank Group. Commenting on joining Manx Telecom, he said:

Manx Telecom appoints new Chief Technology Officer and Customer Service Director Manx Telecom has appointed a new Chief Technology Officer and Customer Service Director who has a CV that includes senior roles with eircom Group and Vodafone UK. Kevin Paige has more than 30 years’ experience in the telecoms and IT industries and joins the Island’s premier telecoms provider having spent the last two and a half years in Dublin with eircom - Ireland’s principal provider of fixed-line telecommunications services. He was eircom’s Director of Access Networks and Director of Central Technology Operations, managing approximately 700 staff with significant budgetary responsibility for investment and operations. Among key achievements at eircom he established Ireland’s first mobile network sharing agreement, defined and commenced execution of eircom’s fibre based broadband rollout to one million homes, and led the business transformation of eircom’s group technology function.

From 2007 to 2010 Mr Paige worked for Level (3) Communications as Senior Vice President Technology Services Europe. As part of the European board he managed a team of more than 200 staff spread across 42 European markets in more than 20 countries. During three years with the company the European business achieved industry leading growth of more than 20% YOY. He worked as Chief Technology Officer and Chief Network Officer during a year with Bulldog Broadband (now Cable and Wireless Access), Bulldog were the pioneers in offering broadband services via Local Loop unbundling building an extensive network across 800 BT exchange areas and prior to that spent five years with Vodafone UK. Senior roles with Vodafone included Director of Telecommunications Systems, Executive for Core Network and Transport Services, Head of Enterprise IT Network Services, and Head of IT Systems and Infrastructure Services. He

“I’m delighted to join Manx Telecom as a member of the operating board. Manx Telecom is very well recognised for industry leadership and innovation and I’m looking forward to continue to grow that reputation alongside ensuring that our products and services continue to deliver high levels of customer satisfaction. With the responsibility for all technology aspects of Manx Telecom’s product development, and service delivery on and off Island, this is an excellent opportunity to contribute to the growth of an interesting and successful business.”

Isle of Man Advertising & PR welcomes new team members Isle of Man Advertising & PR is delighted to welcome two new faces to its team. Philip Thomson has joined as Account Manager, while Hannah Francis has been appointed as an Account Executive. They will play key roles in helping to oversee a broad portfolio of the agency’s major clients.

Philip, 38, joins Isle of Man Advertising & PR from Duke Marketing, where he spent six years as Copy Editor responsible for everything from website and social media content to writing for catalogues and DVD sleeves. Before that, Philip worked as a reporter at Isle of Man Newspapers for 10 years, building strong links with key figures on the political and business scenes.

New MD for Scottish Widows Isle of Man Juan Clarke has been appointed managing director of Scottish Widows in the Isle of Man. Mr Clarke, who was appointed to the boards of the CMI Group of Companies in March 2012, joined the company in 1991 when it traded as CMI. It later became part of the Lloyds Banking Group and subsequently rebranded as Scottish Widows. Mr Clarke, who joined CMI after nine years with Barclays Private Bank, said: ‘While at Barclays I forged a valuable working relationship with CMI colleagues running the CMI High Income Fund. In 1991 I moved to CMI which had been operating for just four years to lead its flourishing fund administration function. As the company continued to grow I was afforded a broad range of opportunities to develop my skills in a variety of disciplines and in management and leadership.’

After completing his A Levels at King William’s College in Castletown, Philip achieved a Joint Honours degree in Ancient History and Archaeology at the University of Durham and studied journalism in Sheffield. Hannah, who was appointed in February, brings a strong marketing background having worked for major businesses including Microgaming, CMI and, most recently, Friends Provident. The former Ballakermeen High School student completed a marketing degree at Leeds Metropolitan University before returning to the Island to pursue her career. Managing Director, Helen Summerscales said: “I am confident that Philip and Hannah will be a big hit with our clients. They bring with them some hugely valuable and complementary skills to our team that will undoubtedly help us to grow the business. Philip and Hannah have hit the ground running – I’m delighted with our new management team line-up and feel we are well-positioned for the future.”

The Isle of Man’s Premier Business Venue For conferences and exhibitions, the Villa Marina offers unrivalled facilities and expertise. The Royal Hall is the only venue in the Island capable of hosting over 1000 delegates and offers an impressive arena to represent your brand on a large scale. Flexible enough to host dinners, exhibitions, lectures or any other function you require, the Royal Hall is the ultimate business venue in the Isle of Man. With great views of Douglas Promenade, the Colonnade Suite and Promenade Suite are impressive venues to host exhibitions, events, meetings and conferences. Hosting up to 200 delegates, both suites have internet access, flexible layout options and are serviced by their own dedicated bar. As well as our larger rooms, the Noble Suite is perfect for small meetings or a breakout room from a large conference. It is fully web enabled, fitted with an LCD television and can  wifi comfortably seat 20 delegates. The Broadway Cinema is the Isle of Man’s ultimate presentation venue. Capable of hosting up to 150 people, nothing makes a big impression at presentations than a cinema screen, HD digital projector and the best surround sound system in the Island. So whether you need to give and impressive presentation, hold a major conference or just need a fully equipped and comfortable room for an important meeting, the Villa Marina is the perfect venue for your business. To make an enquiry about hosting your event at the Villa Marina, call us on 01624 694578 or email enquiries@villamarina.gov.im.

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technical support

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dedicated bars expert support team

Feature

WORDS

STEVE BURROWS

Getting Ahead in the Cloud

Read almost any business magazine or website and there will be articles exhorting business people to get into “The Cloud”. Cloud technology has been the latest and possibly greatest IT fad for the past few years, and looks like continuing that way for many years to come - but why, what is it and what’s it good for? 78

and Software as a Service (SaaS Software applications delivered via the Internet, typically in a web browser).

So why the Cloud? As a business proposition for IT suppliers it’s great; they get to rent you services instead of you buying the hardware and software and rolling your own IT. Once you’re in it is logistically difficult and painful to get out, so you become a sticky customer providing the business with a reliable forward income stream. Organisations are demanding about IT, always needing changes, so there are many opportunities to sell additional services and you are largely tied in to the supplier. The standard charges typically include the services that you need in order to use the supplier, but any services you might need to ensure your independence or to protect yourself against the failure of the supplier are extra. For your business the Cloud offers obvious financial benefits: typically reduced Capex, you don’t need to buy server hardware etc., where it exists the

a third party rarely works except for the least demanding businesses who can use the system “out of the box” without customisation or configuration. The Pay As You Go model also doesn’t work very well with most enterprise systems because the licensing model of the software was never intended for Cloud or rental.

Use theirs. This is not to say that you

Using the Cloud has the potential to revolutionise the way we look at IT in business

can’t successfully have CRM or ERP in the cloud - you can, but probably not using “your” systems. There are several very good suppliers of Cloud based enterprise systems, and what they all have in common is that they have created their own enterprise system offerings designed from scratch to work in the Cloud. Instead of running your IT in the Cloud, you migrate to using their IT. For example you might choose to move from using the Goldmine CRM system on your own servers to using Zoho CRM in the cloud, or at a more sophisticated level move from Microsoft CRM to Salesforce.com. Because these Cloud based enterprise systems are explicitly designed for the Cloud they are set up to allow customers to tailor them to their business needs without access to the servers, and to provide a genuine Pay As You Go service whereby you only pay for what you use or need. There can be no doubt that this Software as a Service approach works very well. It has downsides, perhaps limited functionality compared with the most sophisticated and expensive “in-house” systems, and your data is in their hands, but the reality is that most organisations don’t need or use the most sophisticated systems, and the location and format of your data is only an issue when you want to move to another system.

What’s Cloud good for? It is easy Pay As You Go model means that you can reduce costs during quieter periods and increase capacity during peaks, you don’t need an army of server specialists, and the supplier takes responsibility for keeping the services available and up to date.

Don’t use “your” systems. The reality is that for all but the most basic services - email, file storage etc., the cloud is a difficult place to run your own IT. When you look at more sophisticated IT systems, such as CRM (Customer Relationship Management) or ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning), trying to host your own systems in the cloud is fraught with issues. The more sophisticated business systems require significant expertise and tailoring to make them suit your business, and most Cloud suppliers are not in business to understand your business. It is common to find that businesses which move their CRM, ERP or other “enterprise” systems into the Cloud reverse their decision after a year or two; having these complex systems under the control of

to see that if the way it is exploited has been well thought through the Cloud can offer real financial savings to businesses, reducing the cost of their access to technology. Is this a good reason to adopt the Cloud? Probably not. In most organisations the cost of IT is marginal, under 10% of operating costs. A 20% reduction in IT cost might, at some risk, yield a c. 1% improvement in profit margin, nice to have but not worth significant risk and disruption. Nevertheless there are several very good reasons to look seriously at Cloud. Location and mobility. An organisation with its IT in the Cloud can work almost anywhere - in the office, at home, on client premises, in an hotel ... Staff are empowered to work wherever they are, where the demands of business take them..They are not disadvantaged or disenfranchised by being out of the office, it is entirely reasonable that an organisation can exist and work without any physical premises other than a correspondence address for snail mail.

Business Continuity. So the office goes up in smoke, a helicopter falls upon it or the nearby gas main breaks... So what? With the organisation’s IT safely stored in the cloud the staff can carry on working from home, book into an hotel or rented office. Apart from the water cooler conversations the life of the business can carry on as before. Flexibility and scalability. We need another 20 people to handle the response from this campaign... With in-house IT there must be the provision of additional capacity, which has to be scoped, purchased and installed. In the Cloud we merely add extra accounts for the new staff, in a few minutes, and our monthly bill for Cloud services goes up a bit. Similarly when we no longer need them we close the extra accounts and the bill goes down. If we launch a special offer on our website and happily get massively more demand than anticipated we can simply tell the Cloud provider to give us more computing power so that the website doesn’t crash under the load.... instead of having to give public apologies in the press. Collaboration. Many Cloud services have been explicitly designed to be used by workers who are geographically scattered. It is possible for multiple people, in different places and on different computers, to work on and edit the same document or spreadsheet at the same time, while discussing it by phone or video conference. Collaboration and cooperation between the head office in Douglas and the Hong Kong branch office or the travelling relationship manager visiting Chicago becomes feasible and productive in a way that has never been possible with traditional productivity tools.

Using the Cloud has the potential to revolutionise the way we look at IT in business, to make our businesses more agile, more distributed, more resilient and more productive. These are the real benefits of the Cloud, and they have great value, so in making a decision about Cloud computing we should be looking at the positive benefits it may bring if we exploit it thoughtfully, and not merely the marginal savings we might make in reducing some in-house IT costs. And yes, this article was written in the Cloud.... (Steve Burrows is principal consultant with SBA Ltd., and a widely respected expert in business exploitation of IT. He is a Chartered Director, Fellow of the Institute of Directors, Chartered IT Professional and Fellow of BCS The Chartered Institute of IT. www.sba.co.im)

Tech News

Building on a foundation of innovation Innovation is the bedrock of the technology industry and Sure has been at the forefront of bringing the latest innovations to the Isle of Man. This history of innovation is set to be enhanced following the sale to the Batelco Group of Cable & Wireless Communications’ Channel Islands and Isle of Man business. Andy Bridson, Chief Commercial Officer of Sure, Isle of Man, looks at some of the innovations past, present and future that Sure has and will be championing in the Island. That Sure has been a pioneering organisation in the Isle of Man is a bold claim but it is also one that has strong foundations. Sure was the firm that created a sustainable competitive market in network services in the Island. This was at a time when many believed that the Isle of Man was too small to maintain a truly competitive marketplace. Not only have we proven that competition can be successful but we have shown that it delivers enormous benefits in terms of price and choice of services. The initial investment that Sure made in its mobile network is continuously increased as we upgrade the network and launch new services, continuously seeking to provide our customers with true Islandwide coverage. Sure however, has always looked beyond the mobile space, believing that it is only by providing the whole suite of telecom services, that we are able to give our clients the best prices attached to the best and newest services. Looking beyond the infrastructure, you

can also see that Sure has delivered new ideas to Islanders and Island businesses, helping everyone to make the most of technologies that were previously unavailable in the Isle of Man. Innovation that cuts costs In the world of mobile, we have recently launched a service aimed at cutting the costs of roaming for our business customers. Smart Number is a new service available for iOS, Android as well as Windows and Mac PC devices. It enables business travellers, when abroad, to make and receive video and voice calls on their mobile phone or via their laptop using a Wi-Fi connection, rather than the local mobile network. The Smart Number application is intrinsically linked to a customer’s mobile number and call package, so calls made using Smart Number are charged as though the customer was on their home network, and are deducted from the customer’s call minutes allowance in the usual way. As well as cutting roaming costs, Smart Number customers make and receive voice and video calls using their normal mobile phone number. This offers a huge advantage over Skype and other Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) platforms which need separate accounts to be created, resulting in calls often having to be arranged in advance. On top of the accessibility that Smart Number offers, it also provides complete flexibility because it can be loaded onto multiple devices so the user can choose whether to use a smartphone, tablet or PC when making or receiving a call. Innovation isn’t however, just about the services that we offer. It’s important that we also look at ways to push our whole industry forward and in terms of green energy, this is something that our business clients also welcome. As a result, we have begun trials of a hydrogen fuel cell portable energy device. The device, which generates clean energy, has been designed to meet a growing demand for portable power driven by an

ever-increasing need for greater amounts of power for “on-the-go” electronic devices, such as smartphones. Over the next few months, Sure will ask selected customers to trial the device and provide feedback that will provide our partner, Intelligent Energy, with key data for the fuel cell’s future development. Ultimately, Islanders will be playing a crucial role in developing a product that has the potential to transform the environmental footprint of mobile devices. Batelco and Beyond At the beginning of April, we received confirmation that Sure had been acquired by Batelco, the Bahrain-based telecommunications provider. This is an exciting step forward for Sure as Batelco has a long history, dating back almost 140 years, of delivering high quality communications services to its customers, who remain the focal point of the company’s mission. It is the desire to bring the latest products and services to its clients that has driven Batelco as an innovator in the jurisdictions in which it operates and it does so in a number of ways. As well as having launched Bahrain’s first 4G mobile network, Batelco supports a “Technovation” competition in the Kingdom. This is designed to encourage young people to showcase their innovations within the field of ICT. The winning teams and individuals will be given the support they need to further develop and commercialise their ideas through admittance to Batelco’s own Entrepreneurs’ Zone and via incubation services provided by the Bahrain Development Bank. Initiatives like this are helping to transform Bahrain’s economy and it is through community engagement as well as customer-focused innovation that Batelco and Sure will help our Island build a vibrant and prosperous future.

Complex network?

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Tech News

Manx Telecom

leads the way with 4G mobile 4G (LTE) mobile broadband + The Cloud were both hot topics at the Mobile World Congress expo in Barcelona. The congress is an annual international gathering for the mobile communications industry, and it always gives a unique glimpse into how technology will develop in the year ahead.

With both 4G + The Cloud high on Manx Telecom’s agenda, delegates from the Island’s premier telecoms company returned from the Congress with an even greater commitment to push forward with these technologies. Mervyn Harvey, Manx Telecom Mobile Product Manager, commented: “4G LTE is a very exciting thing for the Isle of Man as the next generation of mobile network. It will give customers mobile broadband speeds equivalent to our superfast broadband services when out and about, allowing faster access to social media, the internet, downloads and emails. We have been surprised and delighted by how many customers have taken up our offer of a free trial of Cloud services and the many varied ways they are now using the Cloud as part of their overall business solution. Smartphones have changed the way people do business, organise their lives and communicate with others and this would never have happened without 3G

mobile networks. These two elements changed the communications industry but we believe that 4G LTE + The Cloud has the ability to change every industry. As operators move to all IP networks, 4G mobile networks + The Cloud will allow for an enhanced user experience, faster access to content anywhere and richer communication services as part of your monthly package. In order to successfully deliver this, we will have to focus our investment in the 4G mobile network and in cloud services that add real value to customers.” Manx Telecom’s commitment to 4G began in November 2011 when successful trials were held here on the Island. The company’s technical preparations for 4G are already well advanced and, depending upon the allocation of radio frequencies, Manx Telecom plans to launch a 4G network later this year.

places

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Channel Island In The News

Jersey Jersey In Moscow Delegates at a major financial services conference in Moscow last week heard about the opportunities Jersey offers as a stable international finance centre and the role it plays as a gateway to accessing markets around the world. Gary Hales, Jersey Finance’s Business Development Representative for Russia and the CIS, attended the two-day Moscow Financial Innovation Forum at the Russian Chamber of Commerce Conference Centre, taking to the stage on 20th March with a talk entitled ‘Jersey: integrity, quality and service’. Highlighting Jersey’s geographical proximity to Europe but position outside of the EU, Gary outlined the opportunities Jersey offered as a stable finance centre in facilitating investment in and out of Europe. In addition, he pointed to the strong links Jersey has with key growth markets including the Gulf, the Far East, India and Africa.

New Name, New Year, same strong story for Nedbank Nedbank Private Wealth announced a strong year of growth for 2012 and encouraging continued growth levels into the first quarter of 2013. Since changing its name from Fairbairn Private Bank in October last year, it has also won an award for its relationship management and been named the Best Private Bank for High Net Worth Clients (US$1m to US$10m) in Jersey in the global Euromoney Private Banking Awards.

double-digit percentage growth in the number of new client accounts during 2012. Greg Horton, managing director of Nedbank Private Wealth, said: “It is very pleasing to see that the strong progress made in 2012 has continued through into 2013.” Horton reported that total holdings on its award-winning integrated banking and investment platform, Focus, were continuing to grow strongly and were up a further 6% in the first quarter of 2013, having comfortably passed through the £2 billion (US$3 billion) mark for the first time”

Year-on-year profit in the bank after tax was up 33% in 2012, but when one-off revenue factors are excluded underlying year-on-year profit growth still remains impressive at 15%. The business continues to see strong new business flows with

Hawksford Wins Best Offshore Trust Company Award HAWKSFORD has won the Wealth Adviser best offshore trust company award. Readers of the publication, which are made up of banking, legal, accountancy, private client, wealth advisory and tax advisory firms, nominated entities they believed to be ‘best in class’ in 30 categories. Hawksford received the greatest number of votes in the best offshore trust company category.

‘I am delighted that Hawksford has been recognised with this award. Our success is testament to the hard work and continuing dedication of our whole team,’ said Peter Murley, chief executive, Hawksford. ‘It is great that as a Jersey based company we are able to represent the Island and its trust sector in such a positive way through our high standard of work, and that it has been recognised by our peers.’ The awards took place in Mayfair, London on Friday 22nd March

Guernsey Chinese Ambassador pledges to work with Guernsey The Chinese ambassador to the UK has pledged to work with Guernsey on a range of initiatives which could be of mutual benefit to the two jurisdictions. His Excellency Liu Xiaoming spent four days on the Island in April. During the visit he pledged to assist with a number of initiatives that Guernsey has been developing with the Chinese market, including those culturally as well as commercially orientated. Fiona Le Poidevin, Chief Executive of Guernsey Finance – the promotional agency for the Island’s finance industry internationally, said: “We had a series of very productive meetings with the ambassador and his officials during their time in Guernsey. The result is that there are a number of cultural and commercial initiatives which we all recognised could be of benefit to both jurisdictions and therefore both parties have agreed to undertake further work on these so that they can be progressed as quickly as possible.

Funds industry squeezed by EU and Competitors GUERNSEY’S funds industry is being challenged by a combination of EU regulation and aggressive offshore competition, a senior figure in the industry has warned. Joe Truelove, head of business development, fund administration at Kleinwort Benson and vice-chairman of the Guernsey Investment Funds Association, told a conference on the impact of onshore regulation, organised by Offshore Professional Conferences, how the local industry was being impacted.

The Guernsey funds sector, which employs some 2,000 people, might still be doing relatively well and is certainly a buoyant part of the wider financial services industry. But Mr Truelove warned that times were changing. He said that there was still an overreliance by industry on London for new business when the Island could be attempting to do more in the emerging ‘Bric’ markets. And he questioned whether the sector had been too pre-occupied in hanging on to ‘legacy business’, which may have stifled growth.

places

Capital International Group pedigree with instinctive ďŹ nancial agility

INSTINCTIVE FINANCIAL AGILITY The regulated activities detailed in this editorial are provided by Capital International Limited, Capital Treasury Services Limited, Capital Financial Markets Limited or Capital Fund Services Limited who are all members of the Capital International Group of companies and are all licensed by the Isle of Man Financial Supervision Commission

Customer Service - empathy or indifferent calmness? In a world of uncertainty, particularly over recent years in the matters of finance and the economy, we have seen companies consolidate, retrench and turn to tried and tested solutions. We have also seen a move to safety as people increasingly look to deal with companies that provide security rather than risk, and consistency rather than efficiency. In times like these, clients turn to the well-known brands, large companies and more established global players. While large companies tick many of the boxes in terms of security and consistency, they often seem inflexible, indifferent to people and constrained by procedures. This disparity between service and size is often because in the world of large companies, the watchwords become commoditisation, standardisation and automation. So, while low prices, financial security and consistency are available from these large companies, as soon as a customer seeks some flexibility around the product or service they require or they seek a personalised solution to a problem or complaint, difficulties and issues can arise rapidly. A Harvard Business Review blog from a few years ago described the two best customer-service practices as “empathy over indifferent calmness and common sense over standard operating procedure”. So, is it possible to bridge the two? To offer the security and comfort of a global player, as well as the service of your local specialist provider? At the Capital International Group, we like to think so. We provide a wide range of financial services to businesses and also some high net worth individuals, both locally and around the globe. Our clients are focused on reducing risk and cost, but they struggle to access the investment services they need, or a basic level of customer service, from the large global institutions. It is often simply not practical for them to access these institutions directly but they want the security they offer coupled with good customer service. Our solution is to provide our clients with a flexible customised service built on our excellent IT platform and utilising our global network of relationships. What does that mean in practice? It means our clients benefit from world class clearing, settlement and payment services via our institutional relationships. In addition to being able to exploit this global infrastructure, we can also offer clients access to non-standard transaction types which can be tailored to our clients’ specific requirements. This enables us to provide a complete service, including many additional services that the majority of global players are unwilling or unable to match. However, we never forget the importance of personal contact and the human touch. We always ensure direct and immediate access to senior management which enables a rapid response as issues arise in a way that simply cannot be achieved by a remote global institution.

The Capital International Group of companies (the Group) specialises in the provision of financial services. Initially founded in 1996 as a stockbroker, over time the company has developed into a diversified Group offering a customised and integrated range of international financial services solutions. • Trading & Stockbroking; Dealing & Advisory Services, Foreign Exchange, Bullion & Precious Metals • Custody & Administration; Fund, Payment & Card Services, Global Custody & Portfolio Administration • Cash & Investment Management; Treasury Management, Managed Portfolio Services & Discretionary Investments • Investment Structuring; Spread Bet Services, Fund Formation & Administration We mainly focus on providing our services businessto-business; largely to life assurers, pension schemes, fund and wealth managers, corporate and trust service providers as well as financial intermediaries, third sector organisations and the Isle of Man Government. As an organisation founded on innovation, integrity and excellence, the Group delivers the highest quality of customer service, in addition to being mindful and proactive to the changes experienced by our customers within their industries. Consequently our overall goal is to deliver tailored and flexible services and products that meet the requirements not only of our direct customer but their underlying clients too. We achieve this by listening to our clients, being flexible and working closely with them to better understand their business.

Capital International Group Capital House, Circular Road, Douglas, Isle of Man, IM1 1AG

Antony Kelsey Group Head of Marketing & Business Development Email : a.kelsey@capital-iom.com Telephone : +44 (0) 1624 654230 Website: www.capital-iom.com

So in a world where big may not always be beautiful, but is often sought after, we believe that our local specialist expertise combined with global reach provides the best of both worlds.

Feature

China The Isle of Man Proposition WORDS

tanya hanson

The Department of Economic Development’s (DED) strategy for developing business in China has identified effective ways of accessing the growing Chinese economy with the aim of helping reinforce the geographic diversification in the Island’s own economy. The positioning and acceptance in China of the Isle of Man as a reputable international business centre is partly dependent upon building relations at government level to demonstrate economic benefits of the Isle of Man’s EU import/export capabilities. The facilitation of bilateral trade can also dispel any negative preconceptions associated with the perception that the Island may be ‘just another offshore centre’.

Central to the Isle of Man offer is our established Entry Processing Unit (EPU) which given our efficient Customs and VAT office - provides us with a distinguished standard of customer service compared to our competitors; with the UK’s Treaty of Accession to the EU; ensures our free trade access for goods and agricultural products produced or supplied by the Isle of Man; tax neutrality, benefitting those seeking an attractive base for operations. In addition, the Island has a wealth of financial and professional services, helping facilitate

trade into the EU and the option of virtual ‘turnkey’ solutions for import/export administration. By establishing this type of business in the Isle of Man, the Island may ultimately grow into a European sales base, which sits well with the Chinese ‘Going Global’ policy. In addition, such business and its shareholders may well use the Island for other well-established propositions, such as listing on stock markets, wealth management or asset structuring (subject

to the legality of capital movements and any necessary approvals in China). Importantly, the Isle of Man is within the EU indirect tax area, allowing market access and customs clearance from a well-positioned trading base in the centre of the British Isles and on the doorstep of Europe. In the next three to five years, the European Union (EU) will be implementing a free trade agreement between the member states of the Customs Union (CU) and the countries of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), strengthening existing trade relations and creating new opportunities for co-operation.

To aid this growth in China, the DED now has a representative in China, who is helping to cultivate and target companies, entrepreneurs and creating networking opportunities to build awareness of the Island. We have also built Mandarin webpages and resources adjacent to our Isle of Man Where You Can website to support our communications. In January, the first of several businesses being cultivated by the Isle of Man Country Strategy Team confirmed their intention to set up a subsidiary business on the Island to manage exports from China. The DED’s most recent visit to China in November 2012 highlighted the possibility of working with a broader network like government and chamber bodies in Shanghai and Guangzhou, which may help the Isle of Man to draw on SME manufacturing and exportation membership opportunities from those areas. There have already been a number

of Chinese delegations of entrepreneurs who have been attracted to visit the Isle of Man. In April 2013 a mini trade mission headed by Economic Development Minister John Shimmin – was undertaken. Isle of Man industry attendees who participated in the trade visit to China were able to showcase one or more propositions to sell which they have already established as being a ‘good fit’ with Chinese opportunities. Hong Kong is an important market for Chinese Initial Public Offers (IPOs) and the Isle of Man can help foreign companies list overseas on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange since 2010 when we gained acceptance there. However, the Island‘s track record is best illustrated by the number of companies it has on London’s AIM market. Presently such market activity is quiet, but may present some opportunities in the future. Beijing is the pre-eminent and established centre in China for a diverse range of commerce and head offices, but Shanghai is key for financial services, banking and technology exportation and other cities like Guangzhou and Shenzhen are also key centres of activity such as manufacturing for export. In January, Shanghai officials stated their intention to create Mainland China’s first free trade zone in a three-year development project – approved by the central government. The Shanghai Pudong Free Trade Zone is expected to offer foreign-denominated offshore banking; financial leasing; cross-border financing; and international trade settlements, yielding considerable economic and political benefits. This may improve relations between the Isle of Man and organisational head offices in Shanghai, who already have long-established relationships for other partnering and overseas activity. The Isle of Man scores over the BVI, Cayman Islands and the Channel Isles by offering a practical physical base for real Chinese operations. Improving our business relations with China will help us to fight for a share in the world’s fastest-growing consumer and B2B markets. The Department of Economic Development is already playing its part in the improvement of business relations with China which could emphatically become linked to the success of Manx businesses and growth to support the Island’s glowing future.

Comments: Chief Executive Officer of The ILS Group, Chris Eaton said: “With offices in 10 locations around the world, ILS understands the importance of building global relationships. With three offices in China, Asia is a core focus for the Group and the continued development of good relations between the Isle of Man and those within the Chinese marketplace is essential to do business successfully in China. Guanxi, commonly defined as personal connections between people doing business, is a distinct element of Chinese business culture. Asia will continue to welcome more members into its UHNW club, which brings with it tremendous opportunities for the Isle of Man’s wealth professionals to help Asia’s future generations amass their wealth and grow their fortunes for their legacy. As such, ILS is committed to promoting its services and the Isle of Man as an established platform for business success and prosperity in Asia.”

Steve McGowan, Chairman of SMP Partners, said: “SMP Partners are a geographically diversified organisation, and would benefit from continued organically nurtured IoM relations with those within the Chinese marketplace. SMP have an office in Hong Kong, which currently provides services to clients from China and other Asian countries. We have identified that there is significantly more potential to come from this region, hence we have the strategy and appetite to expand further into Asia by increasing the size of our office”.

Sean Dowling, Managing Partner at Appleby (Isle of Man) LLC, said: “China has been a significant market of interest to the Isle of Man for some time. With access to the European VAT network and zero per-cent corporate tax rates, the Island is in a perfect position to offer unique services to Chinese individuals and businesses. As a Group, Appleby is unique in its ability to provide fiduciary services through our dedicated experts in the key offshore jurisdictions. In April 2012, we expanded this reach with the opening of a new representative office in Shanghai, which has allowed us to not only grow our business, but to also enhance the first-class service we offer to our existing clients, many of whom are interested in China as a fast growth, dynamic centre. We already have a solid base with our office in Hong Kong, which has serviced Appleby’s local and international clients in Asia for over 20 years. Our strategy is to focus on offering fiduciary and administration services from Shanghai, the commercial and financial centre of Mainland China. We feel there is a genuine need for these services in the PRC, given the economic environment there.”

Offshore News

Annual offshore deals 2012

BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS

BERMUDA 351 US$ 35,163m

359 US $72,476m

387 Director, eGaming Services US $42,588m Russell Kelly

KPMG Isle of Man & Gibraltar

Value of all deals

497 US$ 45,923m

JERSEY

US$211bn

CAYMAN ISLANDS

Va l

196 US$ 6,374m

117 US$ 4,849m ISLE OF MAN

86 US$ 2,269m

SEYCHELLES

7 US$ 20m

MAURITIUS 47 US$ 1,297m

HONG KONG

GUERNSEY

3 pe 8 $ r wo r k ing da y U S

Appleby Reports Offshore M&A Activity for Q4 2012 Isle of Man experiences healthy uptick in M&A Activity to round off 2012 Isle of Man, 19 February 2013 The offshore markets experienced their largest quarter-toquarter rise in M&A transactions in the last three years, according to a report released today by Appleby. The latest edition of Offshore-i, the groupâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s quarterly report which provides data and insight on merger and acquisition activity in major offshore financial centres, focuses on Q4 2012 while providing a review of the year as a whole and predictions for 2013. NICK VERARDI, HEAD OF CORPORATE & COMMERCIAL, APPLEBY GLOBAL

Whilst there is no doubt that 2012 was another challenging year for the M&A market as a whole, the steady increase in Isle of Man based deals and activity is testament to the strength of this jurisdiction.

Isle of Man continues steady growth path The Isle of Man witnessed a small uptick in M&A activity this quarter, with the jurisdiction being the target of 25 deals against 20 in Q3 2012, worth a cumulative value of USD193m. While values were down from last quarter’s USD425m level, it is encouraging to see that deal flow has been rising gradually over the course of the year. “This latest report is encouraging for the Isle of Man,” said Nick Verardi, Partner and Head of Corporate and Commercial at Appleby (Isle of Man) LLC. “Whilst there is no doubt that 2012 was another challenging year for the M&A market as a whole, the steady increase in Isle of Man based deals and activity is testament to the strength of this jurisdiction.” Acquisitions of minority stake transactions continue to dominate deal activity, accounting for 17 of the 25 deals completed in the Isle of Man in Q4 2012. Of particular significance was the USD63.9m issuance of new shares by New Europe Property Investments plc, the Isle of Man based commercial property investment company, which follows the Group’s USD55m issuance of shares in Q2. Where Isle of Man companies were acquirers, the report notes that the jurisdiction completed nine deals worth a combined value of USD884m this quarter, up from USD38m in Q4 2011. This significant increase is largely attributable to Douglas-based GVC Holdings takeover of Sportingbet plc, the online and telephone sports betting company.

Global Offshore Market: Q4 2012 The key themes emerging from the report show that in the fourth quarter of 2012: The number of deals involving offshore targets amounted to 590, up 27% over the previous quarter. This is easily the biggest rise quarter-to-quarter in the last three years. The cumulative value of offshore deals was USD101.8bn, up 202% on the previous three months and 282% on Q4 2011.

The average deal size was USD173m – by far the largest average of the last 12 quarters. The financial services and insurance sector continues to dominate offshore M&A activity, accounting for 30% of all deals completed. This sector was considerably busier in Q4 than the preceding quarter, with 14 more deals and spending up USD14.5bn. Minority stake transactions remain the most popular deal type by volume. However, acquisitions overtook them in terms of value, accounting for 70% of the money spent. There were just 28 IPOs recorded – this compares to 43 in the same quarter of 2011. Cayman remains the most attractive destination for investors looking offshore, with BVI being the busiest market by value. The value of deals was also up significantly in Hong Kong and Guernsey. Where offshore companies are acquirers, BVI continues to lead by volume, with 139 deals recorded. The offshore region ranks fifth globally by value of M&A deals, on par with that of Eastern Europe, the Nordic States, Africa and the Middle East combined.

Significant uptick in M&A Activity to round off sluggish year Both the volume and value of deals involving offshore targets increased considerably in Q4 as against the preceding three months, with volume up 27% and value up 202%. While the substantial increase in value is largely attributable to the biggest transaction of the quarter - the USD56bn sale of British Virgin Islands-listed oil exploration business TNK-BP to Russian state-owned oil company Rosneft – it is encouraging to see that if this deal is excluded from the data, the quarter still boasts a deal value of USD45.8bn, placing it as the third highest three-month period of the last three years. Nevertheless, despite the surge in activity for the last quarter, 2012 overall had 14% fewer deals than 2011, and 26% fewer than 2010.

“2012 was peppered with uncertainty, most notably around the Euro crisis, the US presidential election, and changes of leadership in China and elsewhere,” said Cameron Adderley, Global Head of Appleby’s Corporate & Commercial department. “Moving into 2013, the outlook is far from clear and the very real questions remain around the single European currency, America’s challenges related to the so called Fiscal Cliff and China’s continuing growth.”

“We are optimistic that the M&A markets in which we operate will gradually strengthen, not least as a result of the relative health of strategic buyers, the emerging markets and the energy sector,” said Frances Woo, Appleby’s Hong Kong-based Chairman. “Offshore jurisdictions generated two of the world’s largest transactions in 2012 – that of TNK-BP and Jersey based Glencore’s USD33bn purchase of Xstrata. We have plenty of reason to be cautiously hopeful going forward, with general robustness returning to deal value as well as the number of deals coming out of our region growing faster than any other world region apart from the Nordic States this quarter.”

Average deal sizes, meanwhile, illustrate a depth slowly returning to the marketplace. The average deal size this quarter stood at USD173m, outstripping averages over the last 12 quarters, while average deal size in 2012 surpassed the preceding two years, coming in at USD103m as against USD63m in 2011 and USD71m in 2010.

TARGET COUNTRIES BY VOLUME AND VALUE British Virgin Islands

Isle of Man

102

60,294

193

Cayman Islands

Guernsey

142

123

9,598

2,693

18,604

Bermuda

Hong Kong

Jersey

101

9,990

519

Seychelles 2 8

KEY Location Cayman Islands No. of deals

Mauritius 10 46

104 19,074 Aggregate deal value (mil USD)

Cayman Islands continues to attract investors offshore

The Cayman Islands remain the most attractive market in the offshore region for M&A targets, with 142 acquisitions of Cayman-incorporated businesses in the fourth quarter of 2012, as against 102 of BVI-targets, in second place.

In terms of value, the BVI tops the table, accounting for USD60.2bn or 59% of dollars spent offshore in the fourth quarter; this compares to 9% in Q3 2012 and 23% in Q4 2011. Hong Kong, meanwhile, continues to attract investors to it shores, and in the fourth quarter of 2012, saw an uptick in deal activity as against the preceding three months, with volume up 41% and value up a considerable 123%. Moreover, examination of yearon-year growth reveals that value was up 245%, with USD18.6bn deals generated in Q4 2012 as against just USD5.3bn in Q4 2011, signifying a general robustness returning to the Asian marketplace. Looking ahead to 2013, Ms. Woo notes: “We expect that the Cayman Islands, closely followed by Hong Kong, will remain the driving forces for offshore M&A activity, with both jurisdictions plugged tightly in to the Asian economic growth story, while the Asia Pacific and Latin America will remain the most attractive world regions for M&A targets.”

We expect that offshore financial centres will continue to perform strongly and relatively robustly on the international stage.

Financial services dominates offshore market volume in 2012

There are also 14 planned IPOs in the pipeline, suggesting that conditions may improve in 2013.

The financial services and insurance sectors dominated activity in the fourth quarter of 2012 and were considerably busier than the previous quarter, accounting for 178 of the 590 deals done, worth a combined value of USD23.2bn.

“We hope to see IPO activities accelerate through 2013, initially with smaller offerings but probably gathering depth as the year progresses,” said Mr. Adderley. “There is no doubt that the outlook for 2013 is uncertain however, in view of the strengthening US economy, combined with reduced stock market volatility globally, assertive action from central banks and brightening economic prospects in both Europe and Asia, we are cautiously optimistic that companies will be tempted back to fundraising on the public markets.”

Across 2012, financial services deals accounted for almost one in four dollars spent on offshore transactions (24%), and a third of the volume (32%), with both proportions up on the year before, when the sector made up 19% of deal values and 29% of volume. Appleby predicts financial services will continue to dominate M&A activity in offshore markets in 2013.

BVI and Hong Kong markets continue to top deals by acquirer

Behind financial services, manufacturing was the next busiest sector of the quarter with 96 transactions, worth a combined value of USD3.3bn in Q4.

Looking at acquirers based offshore, the numbers are up significantly both in terms of volume and value, suggesting that buyers from the offshore markets are in rude health.

Meanwhile, the professional, scientific and technical services sector saw the highest deal value this quarter, with USD62bn worth of deals, attributable in large part to the TNP-BP acquisition. This deal, along with the USD2.4bn acquisition of the subsidiaries of iron miner and ore wholesaler Wuhan Iron & Steel Group Mining by Chinese parent Wuhan Iron and Steel, highlights the ongoing importance of energy and natural resources as a generator of transactions in the region and around the world. Insatiable demand from emerging markets continues to fuel activity, along with shale gas discoveries and technical innovations in the industry.

The BVI continues to produce the largest number of deals involving offshore acquirers, with 139 deals recorded in Q4 2012 as against 164 in the same period last year.

Minority stake transactions and IPOs Yet again, acquisition of minority stakes led by deal type this quarter, accounting for 58% of all deals done, or 342 out of the 590 transactions recorded in the period. “It is indisputable that minority stake transactions remain the deal types of choice, and that appears to be a clear function of the macroeconomic uncertainty facing investors as they embark on deals,” Adderley said. Acquisitions overtook minority stake transactions in terms of value, accounting for 70% of the money spent, or USD71.1bn. This dramatic increase in the amount of money being spent on these deals, from USD13bn in the third quarter, is again largely attributable to the two TNK-BP transactions which both saw 50% stakes change hands. IPO’s suffered a slight decline in Q4, with only 28 IPOs and planned IPOs recorded as compared to 43 in the same quarter of 2011. It is worth noting, however, that the money raised in IPOs in Q4 was over double that raised in the preceding quarter – USD992m as against USD450m - showing a general robustness returning to these listings.

The Crown Dependencies, meanwhile, showed a considerable increase in acquisition value compared to a year ago, with Jersey topping the table by value this quarter at USD34.7bn. This value, however, was largely attributable to the Xstrata deal.

Global market comparison The offshore M&A market continues to fare positively against other global markets, with offshore this quarter ranking ninth on the list for deal volume activity and fifth by value, with an aggregate value of USD101.8bn. “It is encouraging to see that the offshore markets average deal size for the quarter, at USD173m, far outstrips those of North America, Western Europe and the Far East and Central Asia and is second only to South and Central America’s ,” said Ms. Woo. “The region’s cumulative deal value is on par with that of Eastern Europe, the Nordic States, Africa and the Middle East combined.” Ms. Woo continued: “We expect that offshore financial centres will continue to perform strongly and relatively robustly on the international stage. That said, as and when a deeper global recovery takes hold of the M&A market, we will not be surprised to see the performance of our markets rapidly eclipsed by the larger relative growth of onshore jurisdictions and bigger economies.”

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Project Management in Practice

Project (noun): A series of activities completed against agreed time and cost targets to produce an end product or result. The product/result should provide benefits exceeding the required return on investment and satisfy a business need. WORDS

Michelle P. Tonnesen

Most people have been involved in projects at some point in their lives – professionally or privately. Weddings, loft extensions and technology implementations – projects come in all shapes and sizes.

One project may consist of 50 tasks; another may have 1,000. One may be completed within a month, while another may span years. In organisations, projects are often initiated due to internal changes, such as in strategy or structure, or environmental pressures like deregulation or technological developments. We have all seen one of the many property renovation shows on TV, where everything goes horribly wrong – often due to the lack of proper project management.

So what is project management all about? In theory, the concept can be defined as: “Planning, organising, directing and controlling resources for a specific period to meet a specific set of one-time objectives”. Basically, structured project management means managing a given project in a logical, organised way, following defined steps. Several frameworks and methodologies have been developed to assist organisations with managing projects successfully.

PRINCE2 is the dominant one, particularly in the public sector, but numerous company specific frameworks exist too. Let us simplify it all with a metaphor – think of yourself as setting out on a journey: • Strategy and plans outline the route you are travelling • Organisation, objectives and business needs make up the vehicle you are travelling in • Controls (such as progress reports, steering committee meetings and risk logs) constitute your navigation

Here are some examples of common pitfalls and how to avoid them when planning a project and managing schedules: “We’re not doing it that way now” Keep the plan up to date “Just dump that under the heading Project Management” Avoid non-specific activities

Project management problems usually arise when putting theory into practice. The flexibility of frameworks and tools is soon challenged by the unpredictability of markets, organisations and perhaps hidden agendas of stakeholders.

“I’d guess 60 days for software development”

Implementing project management successfully requires equal knowledge of and emphasis on the people, the process and the task. With tight deadlines and pressure from management, clients and regulators alike, it is tempting to focus solely on the task at hand. However, to obtain the desired results it is necessary to apply a holistic approach and also consider engaging the right people, ensuring high performing teams and engaged stakeholders, as well as designing a sustainable process to fulfil the objectives of the project.

“But I didn’t know that was in the plan”

Project failure is often caused by a lack of clarity of what is to be delivered, how and by whom. Whenever we decide we want to do something, go somewhere, build something, achieve something, we need to know the answer to some questions:

“But that was supposed to be delivered by them!”

• • • • • •

What are we trying to do? When will we start? What do we need? Can we do it alone, or do we need help? How long will it take? How much will it cost?

These are the usual questions asked at the start of any project, and the answers are the building blocks of project management. Based on these answers, developing a concise project management plan and governance structure from the start is essential to project success. Ensure that your pick a format and level of detail that suits the project. Particularly in terms of managing schedules, it is often the case that for smaller projects a list of deliverables with target dates will be more effective than a fullblown schedule. For larger projects, phased planning is handy in which immediate phases may be planned in detail and later stages in summary.

Watch out for hard-to- measure activities

Involve the team in the planning “I don’t know what to do first” Make the logic clear – what drives each task “We’ll put it back another week” Be aware of the trend of slippage – consider a milestone chart

Ensure dependencies are understood and owned Additionally, targeted stakeholder management and communication are essential throughout the project lifecycle. The importance of these elements are often ignored or reduced to line items within a project plan. The fact of the matter is: communication promotes commitment. Thus, you have to communicate to improve the quality and reliability of the project outcomes: • Upwards – to gain commitment from top managers who can then make informed decisions • Inwards – to help the teams to manage and to understand the whole context of the project • Outwards – to end users and stakeholders to ensure the proposed result meets their expectations • Outside – to manage information about the project to the press, customers and the general public when necessary In sum, project teams cannot work in isolation. A competent project manager builds a strong understanding of all the project stakeholders; establishes their viewpoints and level of influence over the project; uses communication

Put the effort in up front and it pays off in the long run. to win over the opposition; and keeps track of the stakeholder dynamics throughout the project. Finally, projects exist to create value – whether it is in terms of financial, non-financial or intangible benefits. The importance of benefits management seems obvious. Yet most projects fail to deliver their expected benefits, as these are not actively managed. Think about some of the projects you have worked on: • What were the deliverables, and what were the expected benefits? • Did the project deliver its expected benefits? • What difficulties were experienced in managing benefits? Benefits can be hard to measure. Projects often focus on deliverables rather than the benefits, and ownership for benefits delivery is often confused. Be realistic when defining benefits at the initial stage, and ensure ownership for benefits delivery is embedded within the organisation. The morale of this article – and the essence of project management – is:

In the equation of effort versus time, it may be harder work in the beginning of the project to develop a sound project management plan, structure and process, but it saves you significant efforts in the end. Put the effort in up front and it pays off in the long run.

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Establish clear goals and find a key message, monitor your progress relative to your objectives, create a long and short term PR plan and be ready to adapt very quickly to what remains a changeable and dynamic corporate and media landscape. 98

theBusiness

of Marketing

WORDS

LAURA BRYAN

Welcome to this first installment in which Ashgrove Marketing examines the subject of PR and advertising and its impact upon the business world. This month, Laura Bryan discusses the measurement of PR and the Advertising Value Equivalent rating, or the AVE.

onsidering the time of year and, indeed, the current state of the nation, it seems fitting that our inaugural discussion on the mechanics of marketing and its impact on business in real terms should surround the all-important, although penultimate, topic of return on investment. For years now, one of the greatest obstacles we’ve faced in the advertising and PR industry has been the measurement of its effectiveness or, more precisely, its justification. Most other professions have recognised tools for calculating ROI, but when it comes to public relations and advertising (notice that the two are different), discussions remain slightly

divergent, even within the industry itself. As such, the efficacy of public relations and advertising is now gauged using a range of different methods, with differing levels of effectiveness, and for a variety of different reasons – allow us to elaborate. In measuring the effectiveness of any PR or advertising campaign, it is important to remember that each can only be accounted for using a range of subjective variables. These are based upon factors such as audience judgement and time sensitivity as well as placement, form, tone and quality, and each influences output measurement in four key areas: Media Content Analysis, Cyber Space Analysis, Event Measurement, and Public Opinion Polls. Traditionally, the emphasis here surrounds tone and placement i.e. whether the material is positive, negative or neutral and, in turn, whether it can be considered to be favourable, unfavourable or balanced. However, further complications arise when we factor in the likelihood that tone and placement are values which are again subject to the interpretation of the individual. In answer to this, it seems logical that an entirely objective approach to media content analysis be adopted if we in the PR industry are to establish any formal criteria for the value of content placement. There are many different tools available to the PR practitioner and, with the boom in online sharing over recent years, many more arriving each week. But for the purposes of this article, we have decided to focus upon the ever present and ever contentious method of the Advertising Value Equivalent rating, or the AVE. Traditionally, AVEs are calculated by measuring coverage in column inches, in the case of print, or seconds, in the case of broadcast media, and multiplying these figures by the respective costs to advertise in that medium. The higher its circulation or esteem, the higher the cost to publish with a given magazine, newspaper or website; so the ROI of a PR activity can be directly measured by taking the cost to produce an article against the value of its placement, assuming that the value of the placement by circulation or esteem correlates to the rate of conversion. Unlike our good selves, some agencies go further and multiply the resultant value of a placement by a factor of 3, 5, or sometimes (in the case of less scrupulous concerns) 10xvalue, to account for ‘PR factor’. This is based on the

assumption that news is more persuasive than advertising, for example, or that ‘word of mouth’ (which should not be underestimated) is a quantifiable element. Some, meanwhile, go further still and add the total revenue of a client over a given period to the calculated AVE, and attribute the sum total to their own valuation – a questionable practise to say the least. The ramifications here are self-evident and some have, as a result, called for the discrediting of AVE practises overall. Many contend that AVEs cannot possibly take into account audience reception at source, which for printed media, of course, is true - for the time being. Whilst some also contend that the effectiveness of a given article in terms of generating conversions or sales is also unquantifiable and therefore impossible to place a value upon, which is also true, but far besides the point of AVE calculations. As many more have pointed out, calculating AVEs is not the problem in itself; rather, it is their misuse, miscalculation and misappropriation that serve to muddy the waters for our industry. The key is to take the AVE for what it is – which is a means of gauging tangible costs and returns prior to sales and not of gauging overall brand value - and the most fundamental tangible to measure when it comes to PR (for the purposes of brand exposure), is prominence. AVEs remain the best way to calculate visibility in relation to both circulation and credibility. These are the fundamentals. What you have to rely upon next is the suitability, penetration and resonance of your brand as it appears within certain targeted publications, however, these intangibles lie within the realms of the press officer and copywriter. Establish clear goals and find a key message, monitor your progress relative to your objectives, create a long and short term PR plan and be ready to adapt very quickly to what remains a changeable and dynamic corporate and media landscape. And the intangibles? We’ll get around to those soon.

Feature WORDS

LES ABLE

Handshakes, Kisses and Hugs! Greetings etiquette in the working environment is becoming ever more complicated, Les Able looks into what is and isn’t acceptable.

andshakes are the only acceptable physical contact for men and women in a business environment but hugs and kisses are definitely taboo. So says one investigative survey at a time when the ABCs of handshake etiquette and other styles of greeting in business networking are coming under scrutiny as never before. We’re talking sweaty palms, bone-crushing grips, the feeble limp lettuce handshake and is it appropriate for a man to forego the handshake when meeting a woman in a company’s corridors of power and, heaven forbid, kiss her or, for that matter, she him! To the horror of some traditionalists, the sometimes noisy ‘Mwah, Mwah’ is becoming ever more commonplace as we British menfolk follow the lead of our European compatriots and become more continental in behaviour when pressing the flesh. But then should it be a kiss on one or both cheeks? A mere peck of a cheek perhaps! Indecision which can sometimes result in amusing, even embarrassing zig zagging, coupled with a few nose bumpings. There are those enthusiastic males who will skip not only a handshake but even the kisses and go for a hug, often to the surprise of the women in their bear like clutches. Personal research shows that the majority of women who were quizzed prefer a firm handshake in the business environment while socially a kiss is acceptable, but preferably on just one cheek. “I would never ‘mwah, mwah’ a client on a day to day basis or ahead of a normal business meeting, but might if meeting up on a more social basis ie a lunch,” was the response from one woman with a marketing background. A personal assistant of more mature years was more equivocal. “I don’t think a kiss is right, either before or after a business meeting. A confident handshake is all that’s needed, but not too limp and the crusher is just daft, and in my experience is usually confined to men who are relatively short in stature and feel they have something to prove.” A hug? “Definitely not,” was the steely, grimacing reply. “NEVER a kiss,” says Abby Johnson, whose former roles have included deputy chief executive of East Midlands Development

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Agency and more recently chief executive of Plymouth Culture Board. “In the public sector I would say it’s almost never acceptable for a male business colleague to kiss a female on the first meeting, or any subsequent meeting. This is the case for anyone in a position of power or influence over the colleague’s career – absolute no no and runs risks of harassment and assault.” She adds: “This only generally changes if said colleagues have met subsequently at a social event and their relationship has taken on a slightly more informal role and then a couple of pecks on the cheeks might be acceptable. In my experience, attempting to kiss a female colleague, unless they have known them for a fairly long time, is usually confined to men of a certain age, younger men do not, in my experience, move in for a kiss. “Yes, in the private sector things are slightly less constrained (although not by much in the under 55s I would say) and in the arts world, well, much more of a free for all but one I still resist. I have to confess though, as I’m now nearing 50, I find it gets easier as the attempts to kiss me get less and less frequent, in all circumstances!!” Oh for those halcyon days when shaking hands was just so simple, a standard greeting, two hands meet, shake and that was it. Today the handshake is almost forensically analysed; it can shape a career and messing up at the interview stage might even cost a much wanted job.

So in business circles the best advice is: A handshake. Firm, but brief coupled with eye contact and a smile. End the handshake after three or four seconds. Remember, a handshake is not a show of physical strength. Avoid offering a limp ‘fish hand’. Avoid the urge to handshake with two hands, seen as intrusive and too personal. Finally, if shaking hands with someone with sweaty palms don’t immediately wipe your hands on your coat but discreetly wash them later to avoid embarrassment. Les Able is head of PR and Media Relations at Home Strategic.

ACTIVE

GALLERY AD_PRINT.pdf

30/04/2013

08:48

hey BOOK NOW

6TH JULY 2013 Douglas In association with

CMY

Primal Scream • Paloma Faith

Johnny Marr • Wretch 32 • Laura Mvula • Davy Knowles • Kassidy • Toseland • Loveable Rogues • Ebony Day • More to follow... Plus The Ministry of Sound Dance Tent

www.theisleofmanfestival.com

IT’S HOT UP

north

active

They say the weather is always hotter up the North end of the island but even if it isn’t, there’s no excuse for winter blues hanging about with The Gym’s newest addition to it’s class schedule. This massively popular class draws in clients from all around the island for its many beneficial health, weight loss and feel good properties.

The Gym has always been known for it’s innovative personalised service and now it’s the first on the Island to offer “Hot Yoga”.

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It’s a 60 min flowing type of yoga in a studio heated with special ceiling mounted infra-red heaters to 40.5’C (105F) and from the outset you can let yourself go for a minute and imagine you’re away on holiday. Passersby would not be mistaken to think something weird and wonderful is happening as they see the windows

steaming up. Hot Yoga has you sweating almost instantly but luckily everyone else is concentrating on their own puddle of exertion on their mat that you can “centre” yourself or resist “reaction” under the gentle but firm guidance of your Hot Yoga instructor. By elevating the heart rate, the body is allowed to work at a deeper more intense level. The sweating allows an awesome detoxification and in no time at all the toxins will be flushing their way onto your waiting towel.

isle of man premier magazine

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techniques slow the brain and allow an escape from the everyday rat-race. After a class, you’ll find a relaxed brain more able to concentrate and focus as well as your newly toned body. Post class euphoria is commonplace “it’s the achievement you feel after completing the class and the amazing feeling your body has from the huge cleanse and how great your skin and body feels that makes me feel good” one Hot Yogie said.

This class gives a great opportunity to shake up your workouts and ease out all the kinks and knots from everyday life. Along with a cardiovascular workout, it develops tone, strength and a deeper, safer way to increase flexibility. Because of the intensity of the workout, correct relaxed breathing is essential and it’s amazing how quickly you realise you weren’t taking in as much oxygen as you could and how refreshing it is to fill every corner of your lungs. The simple breathing

So if you’re yearning for warmer climates, head north to “The Gym’ in Ramsey and heat up your evenings. Bookings on line www.thegym.co.im or by calling reception 812100.

Gonna make you sweat...

INFRA RED HEATED YOGA Sensational new Hot Yoga now classes at The Gym in Ramsey - the only place on the Island where you can enjoy the benefits of infrared heated yoga that include: Cardiovascular conditioning Decreases joint stiffness Relief from muscle pain Increase blood flow Soft tissue recovery Weight control ...and much more.

Book online or call 812100 Monday 18:30 s Tuesday 07:00 s Thursday 18:00 and 19:30 s Saturday and Sunday 10:00 and 11:30 Members £8.00, non-members £9.00 if booked in advance, or £10.00 on day of class, subject to availability

Call Reception or visit our website for details of all classes and facilities.

because quality matters

6)#4/2)! "5),$).'3 s 0!2,)!-%.4 342%%4

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KPMG Prom Relay

Raises £10,000 for Rebecca House

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Walkers on Douglas Promenade were treated to an unusual sight on Friday 5th April as more than 220 runners from across the Island took part in KPMG’s inaugural Promenade Relay to raise funds for the firm’s chosen charity of the year, Rebecca House.

event awards ceremony hosted at The Claremont hotel followed shortly afterwards during which entrants were treated to drinks and canapés before congratulating the winning team ‘Twin Power’, consisting of twin brothers Shaun and Jason Moore, on their impressive winning time of 34:46 seconds.

66 teams of athletes from local businesses, athletics clubs and even Tynwald took on the 10k relay course in front of hundreds of supporters to raise over £10,000 for the children’s wing of Hospice Isle of Man. A post-

The first girl team to finish (53) was, Stacey Bairstow, Lindsey Cassidy, Liz Colley, and our very own Gallery Client Relations, Rachel Morris, in a winning time of 45:35 seconds.

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A 2013 guide to competing in some of the adrenaline fuelled extreme sports, events and activities here on the Isle of Man. A full annual calendar of events with course guides and additional information can be viewed by visiting www.manxtreme.com www.facebook.com/ ManXtremeIOM Email: manxtreme@ redpointpr.co.uk Tel: 01624 830 860

Race the Sun 18th May

15th /16th June

Longest day, Longest ride

TT Triathlon

The Island’s terrain will provide the ultimate test for Ultra-distance competitors with a 2.4 mile swim in the Irish Sea (‘Y Keayn Yernagh’), followed by a 112 mile cycle across spectacular mountain scenery, through quiet villages and the Island’s capital, Douglas, before finishing with a full marathon - 26.2 miles - of lung-bursting fresh coastal air. There’s also a short course (1.2 mile swim/ 37.73 mile cycle/ 6 mile run) and a team event on both the long and short course distances.

15th/16th June

From ‘weekend warriors’ to recreational riders and cross-country racing snakes, the Longest Day, Longest Ride will test physical fitness, stamina and mental toughness on a technical, but achievable route.

Microgaming Lighthouse Road Bike Challenge 7th July The lighthouses challenge offers

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IOM ADVENTURE RACE

30th June

Cregneash and the Sloc, before taking in the Northern plains and then the shorter climbs along the North East coast back into Douglas.

The course will take a clockwise route from Douglas with the short course finishing in Peel. The 100 mile course takes in over 1200 metres of climbing, which includes the stunning climbs to

isle of man premier magazine

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Manx 100 Mountain Bike Event 28th July The Manx 100 organised the Manx Mountain Bike Club is a unique mountain bike event that took place for the first time on the Isle of Man in 2012. It involves 100 miles of riding from the Northern most point to the Southern most point. In between is around 15,000 feet of climbing (and descending). There’s also a shorter 100k course that finishes in the middle of the Island. The event was set up to provide people looking for the next step up from the popular End to End race held annually on the Isle of Man. Be under no illusions - this is a tougher event and is for experienced Mountain bikers only.

Salclear IOM Marathon and Half Marathon

The Isle of Man National Triathlon Championships

Manx Telecom End2End Mountain Bike Challenge

11th August

1st September

8th September

Shoprite Road Bike Mountain Challenge 15th September Team relay and solo TT Mountain Course Time Trial around the iconic 37 3/4 mile circuit. The Shoprite Cycle for Life event is either a seven-leg team relay or solo Time Trial around the iconic TT mountain course. Competitors set off from Glencrutchery road, in the shadow of the TT Grandstand at 1-minute intervals. Local food retailer Shoprite has put up a prize fund of £3000 if any solo rider is able to break the record of 1 hour 23 minutes and 54 seconds, which was set by Chris Boardman in 1993.

Ramsey Bakery End2End Walk

Isle of Man Mountain Ultra Running Event

22nd September

28th September

because quality matters

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Adventure Challenge

Sunday 4th August 2013

Tough Mann will be the most amazing, challenging, and fun event you will ever do

The idea of Tough Mann started back in August 2012 when Richard Cryer, Sarah Jewell and Kez wardell competed in a Tough Mudder style event in the UK. They enjoyed it so much they couldn’t wait a whole year to compete in it again, and with such amazing scenery back at home in the Isle of Man,they thought it’s about time this type of event was held on home soil. The hunt was on to find an amazing piece of Manx countryside that would be an ideal location. As a lover of the End2End mountain bike race, Richard had an idea of some areas of the Island that might be good as a possible venue, and then by chance, a close friend of Kez suggested his farmland in Ballaugh, and so the perfect location for Tough Mann was born. As luck would have it, Ballamoar Farm in Ballaugh couldn’t have been any better, with a fantastic mix of steep hills, large ravines, flowing rivers, and plenty of muddy bogs. The team put together ideas of what other obstacles could be built, which could also be used along side the natural parts of the course. Then the huge task of holding an event on this scale really kicked in. To accommodate all of the competitors, and their supporters would be a big enough job in itself, so it has been a steep learning curve, but now, 6 months later, everything is coming together nicely.

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Along with an amazing 10-kilometre course, including 20 obstacles for the competitors, there will also be live music, hot & cold food vans, a Bushy’s Beer tent, and bouncy castles for the kids. On site parking, toilets and showering facilities are also provided.

Sunday 4th of August a date not to be missed

an amazing 10-kilometre course, including 20 obstacles.

Enter now: entries being taken upto the 29th July.

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Challenges on the 10k course will include scrambling through abandoned cars, a ‘zigzag’ hill climb, clambering over hay bales, under cargo nets and through muddy bogs. Competitors will also face the ‘rope scramble’, then tackle ‘the telegraph poles’, and the ‘gator crawl’ and face the possibility of being jet washed, while they can also expect to become tangled in the woods, encounter a ‘gunk’ tank with ice blocks, monkey bars and a gorse maze as they traverse the course.

because quality matters

The event is open to individuals as well as teams of three. There will also be a corporate prize for the first company to cross the line. Entry fees will then be £30 for individuals and £80 for the team event. The price includes a ‘victory’ Bushy’s beer & T-shirt for all competitors.

Entries Open: Saturday 23rd March 2013

Entries Close: Monday 29th July 2013 Enter online: www.manxtreme.com/event/ tough-mann

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Erin Bike Hut is the new cycle shop located at 32 ChURch Road, Port Erin offering a wide range of bikes, accessories, clothing, helmets, spare parts and servicing to suit all ages, abilities and budgets.

Erin Bike Hut are also pleased to provide a bike hire service and their fleet of brand new 29er hardtail mountain bikes are perfect for enjoying the quiet local roads and exploring the wealth of exciting trails the local area has to offer making the most of the long evenings.

The shop stocks a choice of leading quality bike brands including Whyte, Marin, Genesis, Wilier and Ridgeback. Also Erin Bike Hut are proud to announce that they are now the official Isle of Man dealer for Felt bikes! It has been a particularly good year for Whyte bikes with their T-129s recently being crowned ‘Trail Bike of the Year’ by What Mountain Bike magazine and a number of other bikes in their range receiving class-winning reviews in other mountain bike publications. Every Whyte bike is designed and tested in the UK and feature class-leading mud clearance, lifetime-warranty bearings and choice of UK proof components. If you are a road rider, Erin Bike Hut stock a range of high performance Wilier and Felt road bikes with options of alloy or carbon frames and a choice of quality Shimano and Campagnolo components. Felt’s entry-level F95 road bike offers unmatched value in terms of build quality and component choice. With it’s 6061 alloy frame, carbon blade forks and 18-speed Shimano Sora groupset making it a perfect introduction to serious road riding at just £649.00 For riders looking for a more relaxed ride there is a wide variety of hybrid and touring bikes available as well as cyclocross bikes if you want to mix on and off road in one package! Also in stock are popular British brand Ridgeback, offering a variety of quality, individual bikes for both children and adults across the range. The shop offers a wide selection of children’s bikes including quality brands such as Cuda, Bumper and Ridgeback plus a range of Slamm scooters together with a choice of helmets and accessories for kids of all ages. An additional asset for the Erin Bike Hut is having one of the Islands leading cycle mechanics on board, enabling the shop to provide servicing, maintenance and repair to a high standard. The staff at Erin Bike Hut are also keen cyclists both on and off road with a wealth of experience to offer advice on bikes, accessories and even the best places to ride!

You can follow Erin Bike Hut on Facebook www. facebook.com/ErinBikeHut and on their new website www.erinbikehut.im where you can see the latest stock and offers or contact them on 835484

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Manx Mountain bike club The Manx Mountain Bike Club was founded in 1985 so that cyclists wishing to engage in this new sport could race and ride together on a regular basis. Since that time the club has gone from strength to strength organising events which regularly see numbers of competitors greater than 100.

As we have moved into the spring months, the club launched off with the first of the Summer Enduro races on Sunday 14th April. Originally this was to be ran over an extended loop above the hills of Glen Rushen but the recent heavy snow meant a last minute venue change to the ever popular South Barrule Plantation with its established mountain bike trails. With the race due to last 3 hours, heavy rain and strong winds on the day yet again meant last minute changes and the race duration was cut in half to 90 minutes for safety reasons. Almost straight away the course offered up really challenging conditions, with flooding and deep mud almost a constant companion for the duration of the race. There is an Elite class for those riders at the peak of fitness and challenging for the top spot, the overall winner in this class was Ed Perry, closely followed by long time mountain biker Julian Corlett. The second of the categories is Expert for those who have been riding for many years though not up to racing with the Elite, this was won by easily by Paul Renshaw, with Stephen Collins grabbing second place. The next category is Sport which caters for those who have been riding a short time and looking to improve their fitness and gain more racing experience, Glynn Thomas and Les Corran both raced very well to secure first and second respectively. The last of the adult classes is Novice, designed for those who are new to the sport wishing to have a go, Jon Pearson being the only Novice rider on Sunday put in a solid performance. Before the adults race the Juniors take to the course over a vastly shortened and fairly easy route, cheered on by Mums and Dads. For both girls and boys there are classes for juveniles, under 12â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, under 10â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and under 8â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s. Josh Smith and Kaitlin Slack both won the juvenile classes along with many other riders who all enjoyed the event despite the weather. Refreshments are available at all events and the Red Cross are in attendance to provide medical cover. For more information on the club and its activities please visit www.manxmtb.com.

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Downhill Adrenaline Junkies

21st April 2013 ROUND 1 OF THE 2013 MMBC Downhill Series at Colden Plantation

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s w Ne Motoring

Aston Martin Rapide S You get nowhere by standing still, especially not in the car-making game. And Aston Martin, an icon of British style and performance, is going all out in its centenary year; the whole range has either been refreshed or is brand new.

The latest model to get the treatment is the Rapide. First introduced in 2010, it has now turned into the Rapide S. It’s easy to tell apart from the outgoing car by virtue of its much more prominent grille. As well as echoing that of the blockbusting One-77 hypercar, the bigger grille gives the Rapide S more presence, and thanks to some clever engineering also improves its pedestrian impact performance to boot. Elsewhere, the Rapide S gains a discreet rear spoiler to balance the bigger front splitter, and there is a choice of a new 19in wheel design too. These are relatively minor visual tweaks for what was already a stunning piece of design. The stretched proportions of the Rapide may seem exaggerated at first but no other rival seamlessly blends an extra pair of doors into a coupe shape.

The Rapide S also benefits from a revised suspension set-up, with new specification dampers tailored to its demanding requirements. But even with this 190mph four-door GT, you start slowly. Slide into the driver’s seat and the cabin is a familiar blend of tasteful design and lush materials. If it’s not leather or chrome, then you don’t need to touch it, and although there are few changes from the previous Rapide, it is a layout that works well, particularly thanks to the improved satnav system. You still have to perform the deliberate starting ritual, slotting the sapphire glass ‘key’ into the slot before the mighty V12 fires up. A punch of the D button on the dashboard and with a squeeze of the throttle, the automatic handbrake releases. In the first few hundred yards a number of things become immediately apparently. Firstly, the increase in power and torque has made the Rapide S exceptionally effortless to drive at normal speeds. In the standard mode, the long travel throttle allows careful applications of performance but you never need very much to gather speed comfortably. On the other hand, punch the Sport button and the throttle is sharper, giving you access to all that grunt even more easily.

There are mechanical enhancements too, with the Rapide S gaining the new AM11 spec V12 engine already seen in the new Vanquish. Admittedly, it has slightly less power than in that installation, but the output is anything but small; 550bhp, a full 80bhp more than the previous Rapide. As before, drive is taken to the rear wheels through the six-speed Touchtronic transmission that offers automatic, sport and manual modes.

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The next thing is how impressively the revised suspension performs.

an ideal location for the rear air conditioning controls and a natural divider of the space.

Aston Martins have always managed that most difficult of tricks, blending a ride comfortable enough for long distances but without sacrificing handling, but the Rapide S takes it even further.

The Rapide S is undoubtedly competing in a rarefied sector, but that just means that the standards are exceptionally high.

Helped by being the longest car to come from the company, it is remarkably supple and fuss-free, yet never floats or feels anything other than well tied down over bumps. Hit the damper button once and you switch into Sport, and even on lesser Spanish roads it still rode with deeply impressive composure. There’s even a Track mode if you hold down the damper button for a few seconds, and while that proved a little too stiff on smoother surfaces, it refuses to be upset by bumps.

Yet this latest Aston takes the alreadyimpressive Rapide and moves it to another level. No competitor can offer quite the same blend of performance, composure, comfort and elegance.

And yet when you sharpen the Rapide S up for a challenging set of bends, it is more than up for it.

Facts at a glance

Regardless of the suspension mode, it is composed, diving between bends with remarkable ease and managing to shrink around you; from the driver’s seat you would have no idea that there were two seats and a sizeable boot behind you.

Engine: 6.0-litre petrol unit producing 550bhp and 457lb.ft of torque

The steering offers plenty of feel but isn’t hyperactive at a cruise, and the brakes are strong even after repeated hard use. Best of all you can have two friends in the back to enjoy the ride. Those rear seats are sculpted buckets more than the kind of flat chair you get in a normal car, and the big transmission tunnel through the centre of the car is turned to its advantage, providing

because quality matters

Aston Martin Rapide S, £149,995

Transmission: Six-speed automatic gearbox driving the rear wheels Performance: Top speed 190mph, 0-62mph in 4.9 seconds Economy: 19.9mpg combined Emissions: 332g/km of CO2

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BIG BOYS GADGETS TRIROD’S F3 ADRENALINE The F3 three-wheel motorcycle weighs 340 kilos, is powered by a 2.0-litre Harley-Davidson v-twin, through a 6 speed gearbox with an optional electric reverse spinning a belt secondary and final drive. Carbon fiber fenders and body panels are matte black which offsets the billet and chrome elsewhere. Wheels are 18 inches up front with a single 20 incher rear, and costs around $55,000! TriRod say that the F3 has been created using ‘advanced technologies from Formula 1 racing, aerospace and motorcycles,’ and that it offers ‘unparalleled performance. The F3 Adrenaline is geared for street and track use. It features Penske Racing shocks, Pirelli tires, carbon fiber bodywork, and billet aluminium parts throughout. A 20 inch rim with a 325 rear tire coupled to a 120 cubic inch racing motor might seem like overkill to some - its standard issue for this unit. The exotic design and nonconforming layout is a function of the underlying performance engineered into the vehicle. Graceful and yet unapologetically raw, the F3 Adrenaline turns heads even just standing still. The F3 Adrenaline is geared for those who live life full throttle and love the thrill a machine and the road can offer. Ride it like a motorcycle, corner it like a race car. The best of two very intriguing worlds.

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Affordable immaculate pre-owned Cars Finished in Sparkle Silver with Full Black Leather, Massive spec inc Heated Seats, Xenon Lights, Satellite Navigation, 18in Alloys, Camera, Park Distance control, Cruise, Immaculate, Reg November 2007... £13,250

Under New Ownership

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Honda CR-V i-Vtec Executive Automatic

Coupe Diesel, Fired Iron Met with Leather, Auto headlights, 17in alloys, CD, Cruise, Dual 2010 Suzuki Grand Vitara SZ4 5 door 4WD Graphite Grey Pearl with Charcoal upholstery. Climate 59,000 miles.............................. £6,995 Climate Aircon, 6 Disc CD, Alloy wheels, Only 2007 VW Polo 1.2 SE, Deep Black Pearl with 18,000 miles, like new.......................... £11,495 Multi spoke Alloy wheels, CD, Aircon, Remote 2011 Ford New Focus 1.6 TDCI Eco Zetec S locking, Very clean example, low insurance 5dr, Moondust Silver Met, 17in Alloys, Only 31,000 miles.................................... £5,850 Climate, Body styling kit, Bluetooth, Very low 2012 Hyundai i10 1.2 Active, 5door, Crystal miles, 67mpg! Save ££s........................... £POA White, Alloy wheels, Aircon, CD, Remote 2010 June VW Golf 1.6 TDI 105 locking, Balance of Hyundai Warranty, Only 5 door, Deep Black Metallic with Alloy wheels, 1,700 miles! As new................................ £7,495 Aircon, Full electrics, CD, Remote locking, 2010 Hyundai i10 1.2 Classic, 5door, Satin Superb mpg, Only 16,500 miles........... £11,995 Silver Metallic with CD Stereo with Ipod Aux, 2007 VW Golf Plus 2.0 GT TDI Diesel 5 door Air Conditioning, Electrics, So economical! Reflex Silver Metallic. The Plus version has more Low mileage and only............................. £5,950 space and offers easier access than a regular Golf 2009 Toyota Urban Cruiser 1.4, 5door, Satin hatchback.This one comes with the 103 kW / 138 bhp Turbo Diesel Injection engine offering superb Silver Metallic with Chrome Wheels, Full performance,reliability and mpg.......... Just £7,250 electrics, Air conditioning, CD System, Only 2003 Oct Porsche Boxster 2.7 Sports Convertible 9,700 miles, As new................................ £8,995

ESTABLISHED 15 YEARS

Small selection of our current stock

Seal Grey, Red Leather, Park Distance Control, Climate, Multi CD, Porsche Emboss Headrests, 44,000 miles......................... £9,995 2006 Dec Mercedes Benz C200 CDI SE Sports

2009 Toyota IQ2 1.0, Black Metallic with Chrome Wheels, Air Conditioning, Full Electrics, CD System, Superb town car! Massive mpg! Only 14,000 miles........... £6,995

Call in or phone 672705 or 494985 www.dwcars.info

MINI VALET £40.00 - BOOK NOW! Exterior wash and dry Trims or alloys cleaned Door shuts / sills cleaned Interior vacuum to carpets and seats Windows washed and polished inside and out Dash and surrounding area dusted Boot vacuumed Tyres blackened

FULL VALET £59.00 - BOOK NOW! as MINI VALET plus: All interior plastics pre sprayed and cleaned All exterior plastics dressed Wheel arches jet washed Full hand polish/wax to body work

Gift vouchers available

SHOWROOM VALET £79.00 - BOOK NOW! as FULL VALET plus: Interior wood/chrome polished Shampoo all fabric areas, seats, carpets, headlining and panels Clean and feed entire leather covered areas (where applicable) Exterior tar spots removed T-Cut to faded paint scratches Deep clean to boot space

Corporate and loyalty discounts available All Island coverage • We come to you

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PHONE HOME

SONY XPERIA Z The follow-up from Sony’s original Xperia model, the Xperia Z is up to date with all the features that a modern consumer is looking for in a smartphone handset. One of the real bonuses with the Xperia Z is all the benefits it receives from being part of the Sony family, with expertise in sound and picture. The Xperia uses the same technology that Sony use in their TVs and with the high pixel count and full HD screen, the Xperia Z provides a truly sharp colour which boasts the use of an extensive colour spectrum. Distortion and noise is also reduced when streaming low-quality video from online sources, such as YouTube.

AVAILABLE FROM £70 ON PAY MONTHLY AND £579 ON PAY AS YOU GO FROM MANX TELECOM. FOR MORE INFORMATION GO TO WWW. MANXTELECOM.COM/SHOP. TEL: 624 624 OR POP INTO THE STORE IN STRAND STREET. BEST PRICES GUARANTEED BY MANX TELECOM’S PRICE MATCH PROMISE.

The next element that stands out where the Xperia Z is concerned is its camera. With High Dynamic Range (HDR) imaging technology for photos and videos, the Xperia captures natural colours in any light. The Superior Auto function means you can take the best pictures available to you without having to fiddle about with different functions, perfect for when you need to take a quick snap of that perfect picture moment. We all know how crushing it can be when you drop the phone in the sink or a puddle and not even a bowl of rice

can dry it out! Well with the Xperia Z, there is no need to panic about little accidents like this, as the new model is water resistant to 3m even after 30 minutes! Not only will it be OK if it’s dropped in a puddle but it can even withstand water jets, meaning you can use your phone in the rain, pool or even keep it in pristine condition by washing off dirt and grime. With the Xperia Z, sony have drawn on all their resources to create a smartphone handset that matches their performance in other markets, delivering truly quality picture and sound. With a slim and stylish exterior, the Xperia Z is a truly beautiful and durable handset that will provide you with a sharp, detailed, multimedia experience. Key Features: • 13 megapixel camera with 16x digital zoom • Sony Mobile BRAVIA Engine 2 • Dust and water resistant • 5” 1080 Full HD progressive scan screen – the highest level of HD available • Superior Auto – a camera mode where the camera combines Scene Recognition with HDR and noise reduction technology to automatically shoot with the optimal settings.

HTC ONE - THE SMARTPHONE REDEFINED There can be no doubt that the HTC One is a step forward in the evolution of the smartphone. Not only is this a drop dead gorgeous gadget but it’s a media management and production tool that sits in the palm of your hand. The 4.7 inch screen packs immense picture quality with a pixel density that outplays the slightly larger screen of the Galaxy S4. This superb display is wrapped in a sleek aluminium body that not only feels fantastic in your hand but gives the phone a rugged feel that many smartphones can’t match. We all know that it’s not just about looks and the HTC One doesn’t disappoint when you take a peak under the bonnet. The Android Jellybean operating system and the 1.7GHz processor are put through their paces with features like

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HTC Zoe, a living photo gallery which captures 20 frames and a three second video every time you hit the shutter button on the phone’s Ultrapixel camera. If an unwanted passer by manages to sneak into your picture, that’s no problem, object removal takes them out of the frame, leaving you with the perfect image. On the front of it, HTC has redesigned the HTC Sense user interface, giving you a home screen that constantly updates with the social media and feeds that you want to see at any given moment. Where HTC Sense was good, HTC Blinkfeed is truly great! Add to all this, superb sound clarity, interactive TV guides and remote control capabilities and you’re just beginning to scratch the surface of a smartphone that really has raised the bar.

THE HTC ONE IS COMING SOON TO SURE. PRICING IS YET TO BE CONFIRMED, BUT LIKELY TO BE FREE ON SMART ULTIMATE FOR £46 PER MONTH. CALL IN STORE FOR DETAILS OR TO BE NOTIFIED WHEN IT

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GADGET TOY OF THE MONTH

TECH GADGETS OF THE MONTH Smartphone Camera Accessories Sometimes one gadget is all you need - for calls, GPS, MP3 and the web. And usually all those features can be neatly tied up in a smartphone. Plus mobile cameras seem to be getting better with each new release, some even rivalling dedicated compacts. But even with an impressive megapixel count on most smartphones and tablets, there is room for improvement.

Step into the world of the VMX 1/4th scale dirt bike. With true to scale details, the realistic Motocross performance will leave you thinking that you’re a Supercross hero as you clear the triple and blast the whoop section on your own backyard track. The latest VR3T 2.4Ghz 3 ch fully programmable radio system controls the VMX 450 while a powerful V Series 540 class brushless system puts the power to the ground via the miniature steel roller chain. To top it all off, a highly detailed Neocell foam rider figure completes the package. Venom has spared nothing to create this scale yet functional specimen of engineering.

Here’s a selection of camera accessories to squeeze a bit more from your back-pocket snapper.

CLOSE UP - IPHONE 4 EYE SCOPE - £29.95 www.red5.co.uk When it comes to zoom, smartphones have a bit of catching up to do. But to get up close and personal without distortion, the answer is here, well for iPhone 4 users at least. This lens simply clicks on to your handset and with the included tripod, you can enjoy a whopping 8x optical magnification.

OLD-SCHOOL - LOMOGRAPHY SMARTPHONE FILM SCANNER - £49.99 www.firebox.com

The Islands leading model shop recently celebrated their 10th year anniversary! To join in the celebrations in conjunction with Gallery Magazine we welcome you to a free bottle of fuel with any nitro car bought in May. Please quote ‘Gallery’ in store. Products include: • Ready to fly aircraft including helicopters • Ready to ride off road bikes • Ready to drive cars

The Venom VMX450 is available in store It’s awesome! Check it out on YouTube.

• MARVEL Avengers figures • Range of plastic kits including paints and glues Modeltech, First Floor, The Strand Shopping Centre, Douglas

Remember actual physical photographs? Take a trip down memory lane with this 35mm film scanner that allows you to develop your negatives as if in your very own dark room. Compatible with both iPhone and Android, scan your slides straight on to your phone and then upload them to the digital world. Plus some clever technology means you can create all manner of films, slideshows and panoramic productions.

STILL AMAZING BUBBLESCOPE - £49.99 www.bubblescope.com Available for Android, iOS and Blackberry, this lens attachment gives you the ability to take panoramic shots of your surroundings in still and video. Grab the BubblePix app to capture the world around you and get sharing your ‘Bubbles’ on social networks, or print out amazing 360-degree pictures to put up in your abode - it’s a brilliant bit of kit.

/ModelTech t: 01624 666045 E: enquiry@modeltech-iom.com

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APRIL PAP PHOTO OF THE MONTH WINNERS SPONSORED BY MANX TELECOM PRIZE: Free cinema tickets for Telecom Tuesdays at the Palace Cinema. ARE YOU IN?

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The Only Way is Epic Tour

roken Britain may feel like it is supping the dregs of a longstale pint, but never fear. Al Murray, The Pub Landlord, is returning to refresh our glasses with a fizzing new show.

Watching the Landlord in action is a fantastic experience. Rarely in a theatre will you have the same electrifying feeling that you get witnessing the saloon-bar sage at his coruscating best. He sends a vital charge through his audience in a way that few other comics can manage. But please don’t just take my word for it. The critics agree that the Landlord has few rivals as a stand-up. Reviewing the show, The Daily Telegraph calls it, “Wickedly witty stuff”. While in its piece on “The Only Way Is Epic”, The Independent describes Al as, “A bona fide British institution” and a “champion rabble rouser.” Meanwhile, The Times declares that he is, “The most consistently exciting live comedian in the land for years.” Time Out enthuses that, “The pub philosopher’s audience banter is still the finest in this beautiful British land.” For its part, The Sun goes for a short and sweet critique: “Actually deserves the tag genius.” Al is chatting to me in the run-up to this spring’s return journey around the nation. A rare example of a comedian who is just as funny off stage as on it, he has a spring in his step. He just can’t wait to hit the road once again. He explains that on the tour, “I went to places I’d never been before, and it was brilliant fun. The extent to which people really got it and allowed me to run with the joke as far as I wanted to run with it was enough to completely recharge my batteries.” The comedian, whose mantelpiece must be seriously endangered with collapse by the number of awards he has won 124

The key to the Landlord is that even though he thinks he is talking perfect sense, he is, of course, usually spouting complete nonsense. “I have no issue with nonsense,” laughs Al. “The Landlord has to defeat himself. He always manages to tie himself in knots with his arguments. Some people say the act is rabble-rousing and think audiences take it at face value. But he is a dribbling, self-contradictory idiot, so I don’t mind if people take that at face value.” Al admits that even now the occasional audience member gets the wrong end of the stick and thinks that the Landlord is the fount of all wisdom. “There are still one or two who don’t get it. You think, ‘what on earth are they agreeing with – all those mental hallucinations and contradictions?’ But if they want to agree with it, good luck to them!” So what themes will the Landlord be tackling in this new show? Broken Britain will, of course, feature very prominently. Al observes that, “The idea of Broken Britain chimes with the Landlord. The Broken Britain narrative

is to say simultaneously that this is the greatest country in the world and that we’re rubbish. “The Landlord can hold that contradiction in his hand. I admire the backflip required to achieve that. It lets you approach things from any angle, and proves itself over and over again. You can contradict yourself in back-to-back sentences, and contradictions are always funny.” What’s more, Al adds, “The idea of us being rubbish doesn’t seem to have gone away. Even the Olympics haven’t managed to wipe out the idea that we’re not very good at things.” In “The Only Way Is Epic,” the irrepressible innkeeper will also be giving us the benefit of his expertise on the subject of parenting. Al says that, “The Landlord believes that children are our future, which is why he is so terrified. He realises that kids these days don’t know the meaning of hard work anymore. They look at work and think, ‘Oh God, that looks difficult. I can’t be bothered with that.’ “He will also tell us why being a dad is the hardest job in the world. He will reveal that he is possibly joining a group of other fathers who are seeking justice. He will let them have a function room, in return for free membership. He’ll also drive their van to Big Ben, but he won’t wear those silly costumes.” In addition, the Landlord will be dealing with the subject of edginess in comedy. Al explains that, “I have been watching the debate about what you can and can’t say in comedy with increasing astonishment. I find it absurd, peculiar, self-serving and nonsensical. There is such ridiculous machismo when comedians declare, ‘I’m going to say something edgier than any of you would dare say’. Oh, shut up, you pompous jackass! “The problem with the idea of ‘edge’ is that if the audience expect you to be edgy, then you’re not being edgy at all. The people who say the whole point of comedy is to push boundaries are wrong. The point is to make people laugh. As a response to this debate, the Landlord decides to say something that will really shock the audience…” As a climax to the show, Al reveals, “The Landlord will attempt to save the country. The audience will end up completely liberated as a new people living in a new Britain. It’s about rescuing Britain from itself. The Landlord thinks that we can’t go on blaming the government for everything. It’s not like football, where you can always blame the manager.” The Landlord is revelling in his new Isle of Man premier magazine

EDITO

Britain’s most ebullient innkeeper is back, serving up his five-star brew of ale-inspired acumen and barroom buffoonery right across the country.

Al Murray The Pub Landlord’s The Only Way is Epic is on an extended nationwide tour and will be performing at the Villa Marina, Douglas, Isle of Man on 17th May. Doors open 6.30pm, starts 7.30pm. For tickets call 600555 or visit the Villa Marina Box office because quality matters

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Sushi Sushi bar bar •• Wines Wines •• Beers Beers •• Spirits Spirits Cocktails Cocktails •• Russian Vodk a Russian Vodk a

Look out for our weekly deals and monthly offers get get papped papped at at

Lunch Lunch and and evening evening menu menu available available • Kids eat for £1 • Build your own burger • Sushi Saturday £20 Platters plus Free Vodka Shot!

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Nexus, 28-29 Loch Promenade, Douglas, IM1 2LY T: 01624 613010 or 676728 • E: info@nexus-bar.com

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Buy six Lavazza coffees and get your seventh free, pick up a loyalty card today! for a fantastic all day breakfast

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Open for 8 years in the Centre of Douglas, we commend ourselves to be most up to date in all aspects of hair and nail designs and beauty treatments.

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