Laxey flooding

[The Phantom]

12 hours ago, Kopek said:

Fish? Isn't Laxey river rather devoid of fish, Trout, because of the lead levels???

(Despite its name.)

Is the flooding historical? Seems to be a more recent phenomena, lack of run off management  in the uplands? What did they used to do back then that they don't do now???

Yes there are fish and yes they are mostly Trout. There are also Salmon at certain times of the year, as the name would suggest. 

There was certainly a really big flood in 1915.  Compared to ye olden days, there is now a fair sized Plantation at Axnfell that was only relatively recently planted where most of the river blocking trees come from.  But also just generally less trees, take a look at any photos from the 1800s of Laxey and to me that's the most notable difference.  I'd guess that most of the houses on Glen Road are less than 100 years old too.  The main housing areas prior, were at the beach for the fishermen and around the mines for the miners. 

[Roxanne]

1 minute ago, The Phantom said:

Yes there are fish and yes they are mostly Trout. There are also Salmon at certain times of the year, as the name would suggest. 

There was certainly a really big flood in 1915.  Compared to ye olden days, there is now a fair sized Plantation at Axnfell that was only relatively recently planted where most of the river blocking trees come from.  But also just generally less trees, take a look at any photos from the 1800s of Laxey and to me that's the most notable difference.  I'd guess that most of the houses on Glen Road are less than 100 years old too.  The main housing areas prior, were at the beach for the fishermen and around the mines for the miners. 

I've never seen a trout in the river but I've seen loads of salmon.  Despite the last three years workings there and despite many of them being caught and transported elsewhere for safety, you can still see loads of them jumping for midges during the summer. Little flashes of siver as they jump. It's quite magical. The plan, I believe, is to bring them all back again when the works are completed, but seeing as they will have grown considerable I'm not sure how this will be attained. Anyway - there are plenty there - even now.

[The Phantom]

2 hours ago, Roxanne said:

You're right, of course. Little of this was actually necessary. The weir needed to come down, river maintenance needed to be carried out and trees felled and removed and the wall taken down by the contractors so the road water could flow back into the river needed to be repaired. Extensive drainwork needed to be carried out.  What has transpired is overkill and it's now going into a fourth year of river work from April to October. And all because HQ couldn't take accountability for the government's mistakes.That said, one might hope that all this money and additional work will help to ensure it doesn't happen again and that one day soon the home owners will be able to get insurance for flood once more - or even just insurance - it's impossible for now home owners to get insurance right now for these postcodes.

The water that came through the hole did most of the damage. The trees that blocked the weir caused the water to back up and overspill. A second hole in the wall was created on purpose by the contractor in order to allow the water that was running down the road, access back into the river. It was at this point that the flood waters receded from the road.

 

To be fair to them, the river through the Glen Gardens and up through Glen Roy does seem to have had some maintenance (or all the trees have just washed down).   They've got that log blocker.  Got rid of the weir.  There is no longer a hole in the wall with a foolishly placed digger.   That covers most of it really.  I've not been up the footpath past the 'Dips' in years, but can assume it's pretty bad from your comments.  That would be the next thing to do. 

2 hours ago, Roxanne said:

 

I'm getting nowhere with this, and trust me, I've tried just about everything,

Except that.

I'm not suprised.  It's linked to the weather station data that is also now awful since the update.  I phoned the Harbour Board to moan about it, they seemed similarly annoyed with it as they used it too.  However nothing appears to have been done and surely it's just a matter for some IT geek.  

If you did a video call, at least you could give them a disappointed look! 

Edited September 15, 2023 by The Phantom

[The Phantom]

8 minutes ago, Roxanne said:

I've never seen a trout in the river but I've seen loads of salmon.  Despite the last three years workings there and despite many of them being caught and transported elsewhere for safety, you can still see loads of them jumping for midges during the summer. Little flashes of siver as they jump. It's quite magical. The plan, I believe, is to bring them all back again when the works are completed, but seeing as they will have grown considerable I'm not sure how this will be attained. Anyway - there are plenty there - even now.

They'll probably be mostly wild brown trout or baby salmon.  Sea trout and grown salmon are migratory.  Sea trout arrive in the summer.   The salmon arrive around now, specifically when the rivers have a bit more water in them so they can actually get reasonably far upstream to spawn. 

[John Wright]

2 minutes ago, The Phantom said:

  I phoned the Harbour Board to moan about it, they seemed similarly annoyed with it as they used it too.  However it's still awful. 

If you did a video call, at least you could give them a disappointed look! 

Government and IT and other fails and lack of join up is par for the course.

Had an appointment at the passport office this week. They have limited opening hours, and even more limited phone hours.

Having lost my passport they wanted to check I hadn’t flogged it, and that I really existed before issuing another.

Appointment 14.30. Arrive. Doors locked. A4 printed notice says open 11.00 to 14.00. The screen on the wall said 11.00 to 15.00. Waited. Spotted phone on pillar. There was a passport office direct dial number short cut. Phoned. Automated message to ring back 09.00 to 12.00. Banged on door. Disembodied voice shouted we’re closed.

Banged again, and again. Eventually let in. Interviewed. They’d had my application 10 days but not started processing. I’m travelling again before end September. So, paid extra for temporary passport, thinking that as I’d paid for a full one already and paid the fee that would arrive as well. But no. I now have to apply again. And pay again at the new increased rates in October. Emergency passport from Embassy/consulate €100, temporary passport IoM £170, new full passport £100. Excuse my cynicism, money making exercise.

I pointed out the discrepancy between the A4 notices and the screen. Different bit of government controls screen content. Been like that for 4 months.

Got home. E-mail received. They’d not got/couldn’t find my temporary passport application form, which I was handed, filled in at the counter and handed over with my payment.

[Newbie]

I think MR have reported it slightly incorrectly. The plan for the backs of the houses towards the Shore Hotel end of Glen Road is to rebuild the wall so that it is 1.2m above ground level (rather than an extra 1.2m above existing level). Apparently it doesn't need to be that high in some parts of the river purely for flood defence (based upon their calculations), but if they build a wall at all, it has to be a minimum of 1.2m above ground level for Health and Safety reasons.

[Roxanne]

25 minutes ago, The Phantom said:

If you did a video call, at least you could give them a disappointed look! 

My son just told me that look is wearing thin…

[The Phantom]

26 minutes ago, John Wright said:

Government and IT and other fails and lack of join up is par for the course.

Had an appointment at the passport office this week. They have limited opening hours, and even more limited phone hours.

Having lost my passport they wanted to check I hadn’t flogged it, and that I really existed before issuing another.

Appointment 14.30. Arrive. Doors locked. A4 printed notice says open 11.00 to 14.00. The screen on the wall said 11.00 to 15.00. Waited. Spotted phone on pillar. There was a passport office direct dial number short cut. Phoned. Automated message to ring back 09.00 to 12.00. Banged on door. Disembodied voice shouted we’re closed.

Banged again, and again. Eventually let in. Interviewed. They’d had my application 10 days but not started processing. I’m travelling again before end September. So, paid extra for temporary passport, thinking that as I’d paid for a full one already and paid the fee that would arrive as well. But no. I now have to apply again. And pay again at the new increased rates in October. Emergency passport from Embassy/consulate €100, temporary passport IoM £170, new full passport £100. Excuse my cynicism, money making exercise.

I pointed out the discrepancy between the A4 notices and the screen. Different bit of government controls screen content. Been like that for 4 months.

Got home. E-mail received. They’d not got/couldn’t find my temporary passport application form, which I was handed, filled in at the counter and handed over with my payment.

That sucks.  I was in there twice over a week last month and they didn't seem too shambolic.  Although it was just a standard renewal for the wife's (although she didn't complete the form correctly first time, hence I had to visit twice).  I did have one aborted effort where I went in and there were over 10 people queuing.

[John Wright]

5 minutes ago, The Phantom said:

That sucks.  I was in there twice over a week last month and they didn't seem too shambolic.  Although it was just a standard renewal for the wife's (although she didn't complete the form correctly first time, hence I had to visit twice).  I did have one aborted effort where I went in and there were over 10 people queuing.

My fault for allowing myself to get mugged in Sofia!

Passport is the only outstanding thing, cards, driving licence, 2 x phones, ipad, kindle, all replaced. ( but setting up online banking and credit card apps is proving problematic and I wasted 45 minutes yesterday on Tobi chat with Vodafone trying to activate my new phone sim. )

It’s very poor service. The public, their customers, don’t seem to matter, just an inconvenience.

limiting phone and counter hours does not deliver better service, nor does it free up staff in the afternoons because they are overwhelmed by calls and drop ins in the morning.

35 days being quoted now for standard passport and no express service.

[Andy Onchan]

1 hour ago, The Phantom said:

But also just generally less trees, take a look at any photos from the 1800s of Laxey and to me that's the most notable difference.  I'd guess that most of the houses on Glen Road are less than 100 years old too.  The main housing areas prior, were at the beach for the fishermen and around the mines for the miners. 

Photos - there's an interesting correlation between the properties on Glen Road and the houses on Old Laxey Hill, the road where the (2?) houses have been undermined by the landslide after recent rainfall. If you look at old photos of Old Laxey Hill taken at the turn of the last century you will see there were very, very few houses along that road. Most of them were built 1920's onwards until we have a situation today where virtually the whole road (on both sides) has been built on.   

[The Phantom]

44 minutes ago, Andy Onchan said:

Photos - there's an interesting correlation between the properties on Glen Road and the houses on Old Laxey Hill, the road where the (2?) houses have been undermined by the landslide after recent rainfall. If you look at old photos of Old Laxey Hill taken at the turn of the last century you will see there were very, very few houses along that road. Most of them were built 1920's onwards until we have a situation today where virtually the whole road (on both sides) has been built on.   

Yup.  My brother's house is actually in this photo! 

https://imuseum.im/search/archive_record/view?id=mnh-museum-449841&type=archive&tab=all&from=&page=&term=laxey&size=20&sort=&filter=&view=&images=&ttmgp=0&rfname=&rlname=&machine=&race=&raceyear=&linked=0&pos=6

Edited September 15, 2023 by The Phantom

[Barlow]

21 hours ago, GD4ELI said:

I'd never buy a house in a valley such as Laxey, Glen Auldyn, ...

Roads with names such as The Mill Race and Pond Street etc sound very quaint but are usually self-prophesizing. The next big thing will be Shore Road in Kirk Michael. I wonder how much that will cost the taxpayer, while Dan has spent decades luxuriating in his Barbados villa.

[The Phantom]

40 minutes ago, Barlow said:

Roads with names such as The Mill Race and Pond Street etc sound very quaint but are usually self-prophesizing. The next big thing will be Shore Road in Kirk Michael. I wonder how much that will cost the taxpayer, while Dan has spent decades luxuriating in his Barbados villa.

Glen Road doesn't suggest too much of an aquatic venue. 

Another good one of the valley...

https://imuseum.im/search/archive_record/view?from=0&id=mnh-museum-449832&tab=all&page=&term=laxey&size=20&sort=&filter=&view=&images=&ttmgp=0&rfname=&rlname=&machine=&race=&raceyear=&linked=0&pos=19

[Barlow]

1 hour ago, The Phantom said:

Glen Road doesn't suggest too much of an aquatic venue. 

 

Actually, I think it does.

[WTF]

6 hours ago, John Wright said:

Government and IT and other fails and lack of join up is par for the course.

Had an appointment at the passport office this week. They have limited opening hours, and even more limited phone hours.

Having lost my passport they wanted to check I hadn’t flogged it, and that I really existed before issuing another.

Appointment 14.30. Arrive. Doors locked. A4 printed notice says open 11.00 to 14.00. The screen on the wall said 11.00 to 15.00. Waited. Spotted phone on pillar. There was a passport office direct dial number short cut. Phoned. Automated message to ring back 09.00 to 12.00. Banged on door. Disembodied voice shouted we’re closed.

Banged again, and again. Eventually let in. Interviewed. They’d had my application 10 days but not started processing. I’m travelling again before end September. So, paid extra for temporary passport, thinking that as I’d paid for a full one already and paid the fee that would arrive as well. But no. I now have to apply again. And pay again at the new increased rates in October. Emergency passport from Embassy/consulate €100, temporary passport IoM £170, new full passport £100. Excuse my cynicism, money making exercise.

I pointed out the discrepancy between the A4 notices and the screen. Different bit of government controls screen content. Been like that for 4 months.

Got home. E-mail received. They’d not got/couldn’t find my temporary passport application form, which I was handed, filled in at the counter and handed over with my payment.

i'm sorry to say they're just that fucking useless  , sounds like you got mugged in douglas too , what an unlucky year you're having.