Opinion

Since we closed our borders March 27 2020, the island’s freight companies have kept our supermarkets stocked, our fridges full and provided a link to the outside world. Of them all, the taxpayer owned arms length Steam Packet Company has been heralded by the gov as our lifeline, with the […]

Paul Craine, author of the Isle of Man Population Atlas, has revealed some concerning figures which indicate a poor future for the island’s long term population. He says that not only are birthdays down 35% over the last 10 years, but the number of babies being born on the island […]

Dr Em Mardlin, a former Harley street consultant therapist and clinical practitioner in mind body medicine, has recently relocated to the island and is now working with mental health charity Quing. In the second of two pieces following her appointment, Dr Em tells us why she supports Quing’s work, why […]

We’ve been lucky on the Isle of Man, from the first warning signs of an outbreak on New Years’ Eve, we’ve acted quickly and mostly quite sensibly, but what has happened around us? Just as we’re heading back out of our own Lockdown 2.0, Guernsey is in theirs, with over […]

Adrian Robinson, who travelled to the UK for his Mum’s funeral and is now back on the Isle of Man, self-isolating for at least two weeks. He has been living on the Isle of Man with his wife and daughter for nearly five years. His mother died in the UK […]

“Please read, understand and appreciate the letter in its entirety before commenting.” On the 20th January 2021, a deeply problematic money box was posted onto ‘Buy, Sell, Exchange Your Stuff. Isle of Man’. This particular money box was advertised as a “Jolly Boy” money box. The money box depicted a […]

Adrian Robinson has been living on the Isle of Man for nearly five years. He works as Head of New Product Development at plan.com and lives with his wife and daughter in Santon. His mother died on 17 December after falling down the stairs and being hospitalised with a dislocated […]

Michael Josem Too many people think their tool is a solution to every problem, and too many politicians merely want to be seen as doing something – anything – to combat the current crisis. This risks Manx taxpayer resources being wasted on Coronavirus apps. Such apps might be attractive at […]

Who else is ready to say a fond farewell and f*ck off to 2020? This year has been a shocker globally. However, we’re all about welcoming the #posivibes in 2021 with some New Year’s Resolutions.  Be more creative with our baking While we all missed Mr B’s (other bakeries are […]

Throughout Christmas week, Gef has been talking to people about their experiences of being separated from their families. This woman who contacted us said that difficulties with shared parenting has left her and her daughter in a cycle of isolation. She has shared with Gef the letter she sent to […]

Throughout Christmas week Gef is talking to people about their experiences of being separated from their families. Both these people spoke to us before the newly announced border restrictions. A woman who emailed Gef after reading another person’s experience told us she wanted to ‘encourage conversation on the Island about […]

Gef’s guide on what not to do this Christmas Eve by and for a disorganised man The panic It’s bound to happen, you meant to buy that present but you forgot. You got everything else when you did all your shopping that Thursday night before the office party and you […]

In the days before Christmas Gef is talking to people about their experiences of being separated from their families. Today a woman who moved to the UK tells us how her family has been unable to support her sister through a difficult year with a newborn baby. She spoke to […]

Funny story: I have a very specific fantasy of playing God, and determining who gets into heaven, and who will face eternal damnation. I’m not convinced I’ll ever get to live out my fantasy, so here’s my naughty and nice list instead. Naughty list Five welders from Donny Yeah lads, […]

Failt ort, my fellow Manxies! As you may have noticed, the British media’s portrayal of Muslims has been pretty negative, resulting in a lot of misrepresentations of the Muslim community, both on and off the Isle of Man. Here are five major misconceptions about being a Manx Muslim.   ‘You […]

We all love a festive film this time of year but it got us thinking, what would some of our all time faves look like if they were set in the Isle of Man? Home Alone Home Alone would be a non-starter in the Isle of Man. The McAllisters would […]

After lockdown, we were all just a bit touch-starved. While being single can be sound, when you can’t embrace its freedoms, it’s all a bit lonely. When you’re on your 8th box set, it’s only human to want to have a little cuddle with someone who isn’t your dog (no […]

Anyone remember not being on the Isle of Man? While we love our fair isle, sometimes seeing what the world has to offer is essential for us to really appreciate what we’ve got. While holidays are, undeniably, class, one of the best parts of our holiday happens before we’ve even […]

Naturally, University across the water isn’t for everybody. So let me shed some light on arguably one of the best kept secrets on our fair isle. University on the Isle of Man Unlike my counterparts across the water, I chose to undertake my university education based full-time on the Isle […]

The 500k domestic events fund, announced as part of the 100m Economic Recovery, is now open for applications. This week’s vox pop asked what YOU would do with the money to spice up island life. Here are your thoughts: Festivals Islanders are KEEN for a festival on the island. Whether […]

With A-Level results day comes the next chapter in many students lives: university. Or does it? With the ongoing pandemic this venture is looking very different and has made many re-think their decision to make that next leap. We spoke to Caoimhe Wilson, a keen student who will be attending […]

As the memories of lockdown begin to fade, as do the many weird and wonderful trends which corona brought with it. With so many shared experiences, who’d have thought a global pandemic would have made us more connected than ever? Here we have highlighted what we think are 10 of […]

I am the proud mama of a marvellous little boy. I imagine I’ll refer to him a lot throughout my latest ramblings so as I am incognito, I won’t be using his name. Therefore, hence forth when I refer to him I shall use the name of an action movie hero. Little Apollo Creed would want it kept this way…

1. We don’t talk about death enough Death is scary. Talking about it makes you question your own mortality as well as those you love. We don’t want to bring it up for fear of upset – upsetting ourselves and upsetting our loved ones. Once death occurs, we spend time […]

So that’s it – the end of the school year, and what a whirlwind it’s been. And now, just to rub more salt into the wound that is 2020, we turn our attention to the news that Mr Alex Townsend – aka the computer bus man – has retired.

Like most on our island, I haven’t been to Guernsey and we’re all a little bit sceptical as we’ve been in our respective ‘cells’ for some time now, so we ask, WHO are the Guernsey massive?

I’d ask young Black men why it’s more important to be “gangsta” than it is to be academically successful.