Isle Of Man Dubbed A 'cultural Desert'

[VinnieK]

If the article is bad, some of the comments on the website are terrible. The last one in particular is a peach:

 

"Well like what mistake im 22 years old and female and there is nothing to do over here theres only so many times you can visit the manx museum or the house of mannanin."

 

Again, the question must be asked: What exactly do people expect from a community of 80,000, in which the biggest town has a population of 26,000? In terms of population that puts us on a par with Rochford, Runnymede, and Stevenage, none of which are particularly awsome when it comes to arts and leisure (although I'm sure some places of equivalent size are nice enough places to live).

 

"the goverment has removed everything from the island i mean summerlands gone, the cresent which has been there for many years has gone"

 

I never really thought of the act of slapping ten pence pieces into a gambler, surrounded by slack jawed chavmos trying to win enough pennies to fork out for a gloriously crass rear spoiler for their souped up shitmobiles, as a cultural experience, but fair play: if culture is flashing lights, loud noises, and squatting down trying to stare over the reels whilst some lonely boozehound relentlessly drones on about the secret and mystical workings of gambling machines ("nah mate, you want to hold that, pressdown those two buttons, tap that button seven times, then press gamble!"), then yes, the Island has gone down the pan.

[triskelion]

VinnieK, I was just about to make a similar post. Whilst "Amy's" post was typical of "nothing to do" brigade, my personal favourite was Stu Shaw, from Laxey who clearly feels he has outgrown his village roots:

"As a young Manx resident who has been to university in the UK and experienced first hand what it is like to live in the 'real world'"

 

Bullshit you have, mate. University is far removed from the 'real World.' People at university either spend their time at university, watching tv or out drinking. Some also do sport whilst they are there, but the Island has better sports provision than anywhere in the UK except Leicester, with the benefit in that case of being somewhere people might actually want to live.

 

Ironically, the response to any criticism the Island receives to is now dominated by people who claim the Island is actually like that and that people need to stop taking offence.

[Joe Public]

Locallife seems a bit of a piss poor site to be honest, and as this story was first published in the Edinburgh Evening news, who really gives a feck?

 

I thought John Gregory's response in the Examiner was hilarious though. It's one thing defending the Island, but

 

" pro rata, I would say our culture, arts etc is the BEST in the British Isle"

 

"We have countless museums, venues etc"....COUNTLESS?

 

"in such a small geographic area, if there is a live music scene as diverse and talented as ours anywhere in the world, I would love to see it"....boat in the mornin fella

 

Talk about bigging us up.

[VinnieK]

my personal favourite was Stu Shaw, from Laxey who clearly feels he has outgrown his village roots:

"As a young Manx resident who has been to university in the UK and experienced first hand what it is like to live in the 'real world'"

 

University is far removed from the 'real World.' People at university either spend their time at university, watching tv or out drinking.

 

Stu was magnificent, I agree. He also fails to realise that the very small area of the real world that he's spent 30 weeks of every year living in for three years is (in all likelihood) a fairly large city that benefits from the presence of the university (with its own bookshops, drama productions, screenings, and, in some cases, museums/galleries), and has good transport links.

 

On the other hand, as Joe Public mentions, the counter argument can get a bit silly as well, claiming countless opportunities catering to one and all. All in all I think the Island's pretty good for its size, but lets not get carried away.

[Ean]

I think my favourite comment from Stu was 'Most people I know my own age (myself included) intend to leave the island at the first available opportunity'. He doesn't know many people his own age then, there are loads of them knocking about! He then goes on to suggest that because he and his friends intend to leave asap that the Isle of Man has no future.

 

I believe the phrase is 'delusions of grandeur!'

[feelslikeitshould]

Stu was magnificent, I agree. He also fails to realise that the very small area of the real world that he's spent 30 weeks of every year living in for three years is (in all likelihood) a fairly large city that benefits from the presence of the university (with its own bookshops, drama productions, screenings, and, in some cases, museums/galleries), and has good transport links.

 

Yep, I would say that most cities in the UK with unis only have so much going on because there is a uni. I haven't stayed in a uni city outside term time but I have friends who have and they say everything seems to stop. There are only so many times you can shop in Primark and Virgin Megastores or have a Pizza Hut before you get bored or too skint.

 

The 'real world'? That place where you live with your friends, paying £50/wk rent and getting your parents to bail you out when you spend all your money on getting pissed on vodka and red bull?

[Lonan3]

All in all I think the Island's pretty good for its size, but lets not get carried away.

Sensible posts like that can kill a thread like this stone dead.

I insist that we're living in a cultural desert if we don't have a 24-hour, 25-screen multiplex cinema; at least two ice-rinks, several mountains that are snow covered all the year round for skiing on, two Pizza Huts, two Burger King outlets, a dozen nightclubs and the legal age for drinking in pubs reduced to 9.

[Sharp]

. . . . . because Manx Radio were reporting on A Celebration of Cultural Diversity

 

From IoM Newspapers website Isle of Man dubbed a 'Cultural Desert'

 

 

 

Ah well, I s'pose there are always two sides to a coin.

 

Things are a LOT better over here for entertainment than they were 15, 20 years ago. Decent bands come over and play (who'd have thunk than we'd have had Lou Reed play two nights at the Villa the other year? Shame the night I went to was half empty, mind!) and big, decent comedy names come over and sell out venues. Anyone old enough to remember the really awful entertainment that we had to put up with in the 80s really appreciates what we have now, I'm sure.

 

Have to dispute that, I can remember the Palace Lido having Top bands on every Sunday, Queen, Stones, The Who, ELO, The Move, Slade Bay City Rollers,Status Quo, plus many many more and that was on top of what the Villa put on.

God they were the Good old days.

 

Oh and I forgot Hot Chocolate playing five nights a week down the local Pub.

 

Alice Cooper and I think T Rex started their world tour of from the Lido in 74/75

[VinnieK]

Yep, I would say that most cities in the UK with unis only have so much going on because there is a uni. I haven't stayed in a uni city outside term time but I have friends who have and they say everything seems to stop.

 

That's certainly true for a lot of smaller towns, in larger cities it's a bit more balanced because of an influx of students coming home from university. York for instance dies outside of term time, and it's a pretty dismal place at the best of times anyway, while places like Leeds and Bristol are a little bit quieter, but still manage to tick over at a fairly brisk place.

 

Ean: that's a lovely Stu quote there, in addition to his experience of the "real world", he's also the spokesman for his generation. I'm getting more attached to him the more we discuss his comment - I hope they give him his own column, anything's better than Speller, and it'd be funnier to boot.

[WTF]

and why haven't we got our own army and navy with tanks and submarines and a space station too? cos 80'000 people can't fund it and don't warrant it. we hear all about how everthing is in douglas and it's all wrong etc, but if this 80,000 town was in England, we'd all be moaning about having to travel to a city of 100's of thousands to visit a theme park. it's all a question of scale, and this place is tiny, so it has what tiny places have, not a lot really, and not enough for those who have seen or had better facillities at their disposal. that said, a roller coaster and an ice rink would get us well above what's available in 80'000 population villages elsewhere and we probably have more than most anyway. what we lack is the abillity to drive 50 - 100 miles and be at a suitable location for our desires. what we have is a slow and expensive ferry 'service' ( service indeed ) or an even more expensive flight. and most of the desired attractions require atleast an overnight stay. it is just a fact of where we choose to live, and we can't expect paying meagre tax's to have our wants at our fingertips, it just can't happen.

[Gladys]

But I think the IOM provides more than a town of 80,000 would in England. There is plenty to do and much is culture of one sort or another, not just boozing. It is just a case of being interested and looking for what you want. A girl at work who moved here from London about 18 months ago is an enthusiastic 'joiner' and has been to ballroom dancning classes, choir, tap classes, badminton and more that she probably hasn't mentioned, as well as enjoying the outdoors during the summer.

 

She is a gregarious type, has found plenty of outlets and has never once complained of 'nothing to do', she just finds and does it!

[Sneaky Dolores]

. . . . . because Manx Radio were reporting on A Celebration of Cultural Diversity

 

From IoM Newspapers website Isle of Man dubbed a 'Cultural Desert'

 

 

 

Ah well, I s'pose there are always two sides to a coin.

 

Things are a LOT better over here for entertainment than they were 15, 20 years ago. Decent bands come over and play (who'd have thunk than we'd have had Lou Reed play two nights at the Villa the other year? Shame the night I went to was half empty, mind!) and big, decent comedy names come over and sell out venues. Anyone old enough to remember the really awful entertainment that we had to put up with in the 80s really appreciates what we have now, I'm sure.

 

Have to dispute that, I can remember the Palace Lido having Top bands on every Sunday, Queen, Stones, The Who, ELO, The Move, Slade Bay City Rollers,Status Quo, plus many many more and that was on top of what the Villa put on.

God they were the Good old days.

 

Oh and I forgot Hot Chocolate playing five nights a week down the local Pub.

 

Alice Cooper and I think T Rex started their world tour of from the Lido in 74/75

 

Yeh but I was trying to frame things in most people's living memory, grandad

[Lonan3]

Yeh but I was trying to frame things in most people's living memory, grandad

Tch! Kids!

[Mij]

I've been able to find out very little about the survey, and as someone else suggested on here, it is a bid for some publicity by a website no one has ever heard of. That said, culture is far more than museums and theatres etc, but how people choose to spend their time. I (maybe mistakenly) got the impression that the IOM has lots of clubs, groups, societies concerning sport, the arts, hobbies, interests etc. As for the youngsters who can't wait to get off the island, well the grass may not always be greener - I live in a UK city with above average provision of parks, sports facilities, university students, arts venues, cafes, shops, pubs, clubs etc. Yet we still have young people complaining that they have nothing to do. As someone said to me once, people who moan that they are bored are usually boring themselves.

[sarahc]