Derek Flint - has left us

[Rhumsaa]

this thread feels like people taking a factual event and using it to support their predetermined position on Covid

and.... even if Flinty appears and confirms that, all you have is one person who shared that view and acted upon it. Nothing more.

[Lxxx]

25 minutes ago, Rhumsaa said:

this thread feels like people taking a factual event and using it to support their predetermined position on Covid

and.... even if Flinty appears and confirms that, all you have is one person who shared that view and acted upon it. Nothing more.

Imagine an internet forum taking an event and putting their own interpretation on it for gossiping purposes.....

[Rhumsaa]

17 minutes ago, Lxxx said:

Imagine an internet forum taking an event and putting their own interpretation on it for gossiping purposes.....

I bet it's filled with all sorts of "anonymous" people too....

[Boris Johnson]

I see this as the final move in a very very clever plan...............Cunning is not the word.

Remember all the house burglaries a few years ago? No one caught, no items returned to their owners?

And now we have someone who was involved in those cases, okay as a copper, now seen leaving the island with a van full of household goods, using a Pandemic as cover.

Yes very clever that Mr Flint............ 😁

[PaulJ]

6 hours ago, TheTeapot said:

That's a shame

Delightful sarcasm.

[Scotty]

1 hour ago, Boris Johnson said:

I see this as the final move in a very very clever plan...............Cunning is not the word.

Remember all the house burglaries a few years ago? No one caught, no items returned to their owners?

And now we have someone who was involved in those cases, okay as a copper, now seen leaving the island with a van full of household goods, using a Pandemic as cover.

Yes very clever that Mr Flint............ 😁

Cunning stunt ?

[Derek Flint]

8 hours ago, victorian dad said:

F**k he was an expert on everything.

Still am!

5 hours ago, thesultanofsheight said:

Quite a few house sales in his price bracket seem to be the same. People selling up and moving back because of the restrictions and because for the first time in many years there’s demand to take their houses off their hands in that price bracket. 

We were on for about 15 months. Definite upturn in serious enquiries after lockdown - but that seems to have been reflected in the UK too. Stuff was going before we could get over to view. We’ve done OK thankfully.

5 hours ago, Barlow said:

I take it there is a Covid undercurrent to your post.

Do you really want to live in Covid Kingdom just now?  

Do you know when you have to wear a mask? Do you know what you can buy and where? Do you know who you can speak to, where and when? etc. Do you know anything you can say, do, to whom and why etc? The place is hell just now.

Let's wait to hear back from Derek, see what he reckons.

So, the story so far....

 

[Barlow]

Look forward to your updates Derek. Warts and all.

 

PS always remember, you ain't nuthin' on this Island unless you've been the subject of a Manx Forums thread...

[thesultanofsheight]

3 hours ago, Rhumsaa said:

this thread feels like people taking a factual event and using it to support their predetermined position on Covid

Not at all I was relaying a conversation I’ve had with a few people in DFs position recently. House has been on the market for ages weird buying activity picks up in a part of the market that’s been flat for years and you can’t see them for dust off the IOM for various family reasons linked largely to restrictions on keeping in touch with off island family and friends. Little was speculation. 

[Gladys]

25 minutes ago, Derek Flint said:

Still am!

We were on for about 15 months. Definite upturn in serious enquiries after lockdown - but that seems to have been reflected in the UK too. Stuff was going before we could get over to view. We’ve done OK thankfully.

So, the story so far....

 

Good luck, I hope it works out well for you and your family. 

[Derek Flint]

So, here we are. Why, and what next?

To contextualise, I love the Island dearly. It has been a huge decision to leave. We had 22 generally excellent years there, and I believe it is one of the best places on earth to bring up kids. I loved being a police officer there, despite a force culture that at times was very difficult to work in, and without doubt contributed to a significant episode of depression. But the privilege of serving the community, and hopefully making a bit of a difference along the way, is something I hold dearly.

Upon leaving - which was a bit earlier than expected, I struggled to get into the right groove. Some of the vitriol on here about being a 'double dipper' (which I understand to a point) when I was up at Nobles, was a bit hard to deal with, but having the opportunity to try and get Supertours, and the scoping of another potential distillery was a good year internally, but ultimately scuppered where the interface with Government occurred. Both projects were holed below the waterline by decisions taken within, or not a million miles from the DOI. That was a bit of a wake-up call. I think some of it was personal (I was told as much by a trusted internal source) and that was pretty much the turning point.

Earlier in the year, before lockdown, I had turned down two decent job offers in the UK, which suggested there might be better opportunities ahead. I qualified as an executive coach last year too, and that is a market the Island really hasn't cottoned on to the benefits of yet. I've also been offered a publishing contract on a book I've written on decision making, so being on this side of the water makes a degree more sense.

Add to that the family angle, and the argument for staying started to diminish. Although my auntie still resides on the Island, everyone else is away now. Beckii runs a really successful marketing agency in London, and bizarrely it is Ryan who has ended up working in Japan! The rest of our family is in the Fylde, and as things tightened down, it honestly made the decision a little bit easier.

We've bought something a bit similar to what we have in a village called Elswick, and hope to complete in about a month. Camping out at mothers in the interim. We will take a hit on tax, of course, and council tax is comparatively about a third dearer. But cheaper food, utilities, fuel, broadband and other elements should bring us out at least 'cost neutral'.

I'd like to keep contributing to these forums. What happens to the Island really matters to me, both because of my long term investment in the place, but also because many of my friends still live there! I think I will remain restless until the very best is achieved for them.

Whilst sailing over this morning, I penned a bit of a love letter to the Island. I was wondering about posting it on here, but John's thread has sort of compelled me to. I'll drop it in a little while.

 

[Derek Flint]

0845: 4 Nov 2020

 

My Dearest Ellan,

 

By the time you wake up, take the envelope off the mantelpiece and read this, I will have gone. I couldn’t handle the big ‘goodbye’. It would have been just too hard. There’s stuff that needs saying though, and a letter can be a better way. It takes the emotion out of the moment, and gives us both time to reflect on what has been, what might have been, and what is still to come.

I fell in love with you at first sight. A single day in your company, a fleeting encounter, led to us spending more and more time together. As we grew closer, It was clear we could commit to a long term relationship. It took nearly two years to organise, but on the 22^nd May 1998, we moved in together.

It was brilliant, exciting. The more time I spent intimately in your company, the more beguiled I was by your beauty. Times we had to spend apart were hard, and when I returned that first sight of you from the window of the aeroplane, or the top deck of the boat filled my heart with joy. You were rich, and generous with it. Lavishing gifts without a care in the world. And you were strong, and safe to be with. It was pretty much perfect.

But even in those early days, you had a sinister side. Because I wasn’t from round your parts, sometimes it was hard to fit in with your closest friends. Hey, I’m not perfect, but sometimes, they were just downright unpleasant. Others though were warm, welcoming and as protective as you. The ‘money’ always worried me though. Where was it all coming from? You seemed to just get richer and richer, but rather than salt some away for a rainy day, you just wanted to keep spending. I saw people try and tell you, but you didn’t want to listen. You knew best.

Then, seemingly without warning, your rich uncle had money troubles of his own. And with a stroke of the pen, he cut off a huge chunk of your allowance. It was a brutal act, and one that would have led many to reflect on their life so far and what lay ahead. But you seemed to respond like a petulant child, making lots of noises but actually achieving nothing. It was difficult to watch. And then some of your friends started to move away, and set up home with your sisters in warmer climes. You tried to remind people of how pretty you were, but still they went.

As well as being your lover, I actually worked for you for a long time – keeping you safe and defending your honour. When it was time for that part of our relationship to end, it was difficult to see where we were going together. With more time on my hands and a new perspective, I found out more about you than I ever could when in your arms. And there were bits I still loved, but others I felt really uncomfortable with. The spending habit was still there, along with a bit of gambling. You sometimes seemed to forget you are only a Duchess, and not the Queen, but even so, you seemed unable to control your household. Minions, doubtless encouraged by your example, would replicate your profligacy, adding more and more adornments to your palace. And to pay for it, you began to reap from the poor, making it harder for them to buy and maintain their own castles. But no matter how strong the protest, you carried on regardless.

And then there was your stubbornness. So many chances to fill the coffers through new and exciting opportunities would wane simply by your predilection for talking, rather than doing. Where would we be now if just one tenth of change had been brought about? You have been lucky; despite your age, your deeper beauty hasn’t faded, but your insistence on adorning yourself with Victorian jewellery regardless of cost perhaps is part of the reason you keep one foot in the past and fail to step forward bravely into the future?

So, I have had to leave. It has been the hardest decision to make, and whether it is ultimately the right one remains to be seen. I’m going to live with your rich uncle I mentioned earlier, though the timing is far from perfect. He has a considerable number of health issues at the moment, and I can see why you’ve distanced yourself from him. But he is a big lad, and will get better in time. And people still listen to him, rightly or wrongly. I do worry that sometimes people are starting to forget about you such are their own worries.

I love you dearly, Ellan. This isn’t farewell, but au revoir, and I promise I will visit as often as I can. Your beauty still enchants me, and I truly believe as we remove some of the complications of our relationship my love will grow stronger. I will defend your honour in your uncle’s household, and to his wider circle of friends for evermore. But it can’t all be one way. You need to have a real look at yourself in the mirror, and have a big, grown up conversation with yourself. Beauty these days has to be more than skin-deep. I promise I’ll do the same, and I hope the next time we meet we can look back and smile at the good times we had, and talk with passion and excitement of the good times ahead.

 

With love, xx

[PaulJ]

Your hat sir

[pongo]

14 minutes ago, Derek Flint said:

having the opportunity to try and get Supertours, and the scoping of another potential distillery was a good year internally, but ultimately scuppered where the interface with Government occurred

I had an idea that both of those separate projects were effectively companies under the umbrella of / supported by the same patronage?*

Was government the only issue? What were the problems with govt? What would you have wanted which government did not give?

* I might be wrong about that - but I think I'm basing that idea on a search I did at the registry site about 2 years ago

Edited November 4, 2020 by pongo

[joebean]

We know each other Derek and have some shared, frustrating, experiences. I wish you well in your life "across". I understand the reasons for leaving; the difficulty in doing so and the currently increasing allure of returning to the homeland. Good luck.