The Good Things On The Iom

[Gladys]

So as i see it the isle of man is this :

 

1. Has great countryside

 

2. The tax structure is better

 

3. The crime is not as bad as the UK

 

 

 

Three things is not much for a place that is meant to be so good.

 

The problem with the isle of man is its a island, this means you have so many people with closed minds to the bigger world.

 

We are all able to have an opinion thats the great thing of being is a free thinking world.

 

Like is said closed minds make people give two or three word answers like "There is a boat in the morning"

 

 

 

I personally think that the isle of man is unmatched for what it is, just a shame about the people.

 

Now a thread on this topic would be incomplete without a contribution from one who is almost a pathological lover of things Manx, so...

 

As Silky said, those are three very general pros, to which you could add the slower pace of life, the open honesty of most of the inhabitants and the accessibility of the elected reps. I know its not national government on the scale of the UK, but our Ministers/MHKs can't hide behind the kind of Whitehall machinery that the UK bods do; they are there walking down Strand Street, filling up their cars etc. etc. They are part of the same community. Now, as for how effective they are is a topic for another thread, but that is one aspect I like. Who knows I may stop one I see quite regularly on the way to work to ask him to reply to my e.mail of a month ago!

 

As for narrow-mindedness, I don't agree that people are any more narrow-minded here; seems to be the same mixed bag of personality types as anywhere else. One thing is clear, and that is the general good disposition and wonderful sense of humour! I like the people alot!

[Rog]

There’s so many good things on the isle of Man.

 

Take the closeness of government to the people. What a shame that the elected members so often ignore the real interests of those who elect them.

 

And what a pity there are some people who are not only a disgrace to the Island but also to humanity. And those who knew what needed to be done yet as soon as they got their noses in the snout turned more porcine than most. Listening, Alex?

 

Then there’s the wonderful opportunities to get involved in the things that add quality to life, the fresh air, the soft water from the tap, the sunsets at Peel, the winter storms on the South Western facing beaches as the breakers roll in driven by a strong gale, the topology of the land that encompasses almost all of the British landscape in a package roughly 40 miles by ten, the archaeology that you can simply go and touch, the industrial archaeology of Foxdale and Laxey – something that so many take as eyesores when elsewhere such things would have preservation orders slapped on them and razor wire surrounding them.

 

Douglas bay. Second only to Naples in my opinion. The view over Ramsey and the Ayres as you climb up the mountain road.

 

And the food and drink. The beer and Ice Cream – is it still made to what amounts to a Manx equivalent to the Reinheitsgebot? Where only the purest of natural ingredients can be used with NO artificial additives as it used to be? Although now long gone Manx Ices ice cream was amazingly good as was Felices and Castletown Beer straight from the wood was brilliant.

 

Manx grown vegetables are something else, especially when ‘nicked’ from a field! The taste of a freshly purloined swede with Manx potatoes and Manx lamb beat the finest of world cuisine when Clair cooked it --- many years ago now when we were on a short break and staying at Groudle Cottages.

 

Then there’s the summer. The smell of the gorse flowers in August when you’re cycling along the Groudle road by the old Howstrake Camp that hit me 45 odd years ago is still with me even now and gorse isn’t a thing easily got rid of so my guess is it’s still there on warm summer evenings.

 

And the sea. Gin clear as the rowing boat you’re in grates onto the shingle at Gatwick beach.

 

And the morning boat.

 

When in spite of all the things that you value and that mean so much you have to take to have any future at all, at least that’s how it was in the late 60’s for me.

 

Funny thing that boat. Unlike any other boat from the Island you can never get a return ticket when you really get ‘The Boat In The Mornin’. It’s a one way journey. I do hope that the're not so many people who have to take it these days.

[Dontlookbehindyou]

Well said mollag but can you name anymore good thing other than the three i stated, Anyone?

 

Davidson's ice cream

[rallybug]

So as i see it the isle of man is this :

 

1. Has great countryside

 

2. The tax structure is better

 

3. The crime is not as bad as the UK

 

Three things is not much for a place that is meant to be so good.

 

The problem with the isle of man is its a island, this means you have so many people with closed minds to the bigger world.

 

We are all able to have an opinion thats the great thing of being is a free thinking world.

 

Like is said closed minds make people give two or three word answers like "There is a boat in the morning"

 

I personally think that the isle of man is unmatched for what it is, just a shame about the people.

 

And there aren't closed minds in a UK land-locked town? That's a tad naive - I know that there's some bad feeling in my home town in Somerset about Londoners moving down and buying houses, pushing the prices beyond reach of local people.

 

I'm very similar to previous posters, loving the general way of life, the scenery, the fact that there is very little crime compared to other countries.

[Albert Tatlock]

Ok folks, as frankly Im getting sick of a load of whinging halfwits constantly moaning about how bad everything is on the Island I thought I'd try a thread about what people like over here.

I would not have taken exception to your post if had you kept it to the good things about the island of which of course there are many, however, I disagree with your assertion that anyone unhappy here is a ‘whinging halfwit’.

 

Don't forget that some of these 'whinging halfwits' are those that are fighting tooth and nail to make sure the island retains its benefits and uniqueness. If it wasn’t for some of these ‘whingers’ we’d already be paying the same level of tax as they do in the UK, have complete freedom of movement between the island and the mainland, automatically have imported many more of the fears you feel so protected from, and have little culture left to speak of.

 

Of course people from the UK prefer the Isle of Man, as the island has many of the benefits they once had and allowed to be destroyed. IMHO it is because we do not have enough 'whingers' and debate, that we are ending up automatically adopting the ‘half-witted’ legislation and the opinions of the ‘half-witted’ lobby groups that have made the UK the place it is today.

 

As for those ‘whingers’ that complain about facilities and the lack of opportunities, a great deal of money gets wasted on this island, which could be better spent addressing the needs of the young and those entering the world of work. The consistent failure to address these issues has caused many a Manx born person to move away from the island to seek a quality of life they cannot find here - though often to return later in life. These people tend to be the brightest, the most able and most entrepreneurial, who at their peak could have done a great deal of good for the island had they the opportunity to develop themselves here.

 

As a dependency the island has a fragile existence within the UK, thinly differentiated by its culture and the legislation currently in place required to protect that culture. The Manx people need to be on their guard at all times to ensure the island does not become just 'another county' of England. If people are complacent enough to think culture is unaffected by legislation and race, they have another think coming, and demonstrate a lack of understanding of the consequences of democracy and the market economy that follows it. Such complacency is currently allowing the islands culture and uniqueness to be destroyed at an accelerated rate. Complacency also breeds false perceptions, and statistically, from the United Nations 1996 Demographic Yearbook published in 1998, people on the island had a greater chance of being murdered or committing suicide than in the UK.

 

Long live the ‘whingers’ I say, and as far as I am concerned, the phrase ‘there is a boat in the morning’ applies equally to any complacent Manxman.

[Ean]

There’s so many good things on the isle of Man.

 

Take the closeness of government to the people. What a shame that the elected members so often ignore the real interests of those who elect them.

 

[snip]

 

Funny thing that boat. Unlike any other boat from the Island you can never get a return ticket when you really get ‘The Boat In The Mornin’. It’s a one way journey. I do hope that the're not so many people who have to take it these days.

 

What an eloquent post, thankyou Rog.

[mollag]

Well said mollag but can you name anymore good thing other than the three i stated, Anyone?

 

Davidson's ice cream

I can only speak for myself but the feeling i get after being away for a period, when the IOM appears on the horizon, over the bow of a ship, its like no other i have ever experienced. It is indeed a very good feeling.

[Gladys]

Well said mollag but can you name anymore good thing other than the three i stated, Anyone?

 

Davidson's ice cream

I can only speak for myself but the feeling i get after being away for a period, when the IOM appears on the horizon, over the bow of a ship, its like no other i have ever experienced. It is indeed a very good feeling.

Seconded!

[Paul H]

We winging Manx halfwits have more to complain about at the moment given some of the fundamental issues that are likely to irreversibly change our way of life. In my opinion, the only good thing about the Isle of Man this year is we have a general election. And, if the people of the Isle of Man want to protect anything good that is left over once the current administration have finished with it, we need to make some alterations to the way things are being run.

 

Whereas England is no longer run by the English, the best thing about the Isle of Man is it is still run by the Manx. If you don’t like it, tuff!

[Port Erin]

I personally think the island is what you make it. Because we only have a small population every seems to know everybody that knows somebody (Did that make any sense?) And because of that the crime rate is a lot lower and the few bad people are almost always weeded out.

 

The 3 points mentioned before are perfectly valid and is what makes the Island up, So why not say you enjoy it?

 

One thing i'd like to say i most enjoy is the slower pace of life, Its just a lot more relaxed.

 

The great things I like are the morons who play Mexican stand off / shoot straight through on the QB roundabout and any other roundabout you care to think of, R plate boy racers, the great climate, paying through the nose for everything, dire customer service, lack of choice and Manxies that can't think of anything to say other than to trot out that there is a boat in the morning.

 

The 3 points are valid but it's a big world out there - it doesn't begin at Ramsey and end in PSM.

[Port Erin]

We winging Manx halfwits have more to complain about at the moment given some of the fundamental issues that are likely to irreversibly change our way of life. In my opinion, the only good thing about the Isle of Man this year is we have a general election. And, if the people of the Isle of Man want to protect anything good that is left over once the current administration have finished with it, we need to make some alterations to the way things are being run.

 

Whereas England is no longer run by the English, the best thing about the Isle of Man is it is still run by the Manx. If you don’t like it, tuff!

 

You whinging Manx halfwits have a lot to thank the English for. How many Manxies do you see heading up the corporate institutions? You wouldn't have a finance sector for starters and you would still be running round on penny farthings living off the land.

[Speckled Frost]

We can choose what football team, both domestically and internationally, we jolly well like to support, that's good.

 

We can have tailors, bakers and candle-stick makers as our MHK which, while disturbing, is also comforting.

 

We have a country dance where women get to slap men.

 

We have sheep with four horns which is cool.

 

We have a road where you appear to be rolling up hill.

 

People still say hello to each other when out for walks rather than greeting each other with a look of 'Don't kill me, I have too much to live for'.

[Pat Ayres]

Some good things about living in IOM

 

You get water from the Water company, gas from the gas company, power from the electricity company, you cannot buy a council house, the roads are fixed by the transport department, buses are run by the bus company.

So much simpler than other places and less complicated.

Just some of the reasons to be grateful we live in IOM.

 

Oh yea, stop arguing.

[iomcombat]

Dear me, aren't some people arseholes! I try and start a positive thread about what is good about being here and my thanks go out to those of you who contributed to that side of things! My condolences go out to those of you who just whinged on regardless however. Don't get me wrong, I don't have a problem with people who see a problem and deal with it, who act to change a situation that is wrong or injust.

What I have a problem with is childish whinging and ranting by people who have no real regard for the stuation or they would get of their collective arses and actually do something about it. All they generally try to do is make themselves seem intellectual/well read/important by ranting.

Again, dont get me wrong, there are people who raise genuine issues on the forums and genuinely want to get things changed and will act appropriately. But there are several (and Im pretty sure we could all name a couple) who just do it for childish needy attention and who have no real grasp of the situation or circumstances and jump on any oppinionated bandwagon they can.

Who knows, perhaps their need for attention stems from a lack of hugs from their mother as a child. Perhaps they are just ugly and can't get laid. All I can say for sure is that there you can either see the positive things in life and be happy, or you can constantly niggle and cry about the injustice of the world until you are a sad old loner with no company other than your computer.

Having just had a v nice walk to Douglas head and past the camera wotsit Ive again restored my faith in why I live here.

[manxchatterbox]

I agree 110% with iomcombat - also the Manx Pension Supplement is a very good thing and whinging comeovers who don't qualify for it and who constantly complain about not getting it and how much better it is "back home" should be sent a one way ticket for the morning boat.