News

We all know the eternal struggle of how to balance out arguably the best two weeks of the year on the Island, and your work responsibilities.Your heart tells you to camp out down Bushy’s tent for the entire TT festival and drink to a point where your body becomes 70% […]

Ahhh the TT. The only time of year you’ll gladly get up earlier than the birds to walk for miles through fields, only to sit yourself on a grassy verge for the day.We’re blessed with 37.73 miles (to be exact) of TT course to watch the bikes from…so we’ve put […]

Some people live and breathe the TT, while the rest of us Island residents lap up the buzz and try to get out to watch to watch the racing at least once during the week. There are loads of great vantage points around the 37.7 mile course and many are […]

The famous TT races, a marvel to everybody else but mere normality to us island natives. Fascination, global appeal and visitors have grown year on year but here’s the issue though, as the TT grows, the Isle of Man needs to grow with it and well I’m not sure it […]

Just less than a month now until you can grab a crate of beer, roll up your mum’s favourite picnic blanket and hitch yourself onto a hedge in the middle of nowhere. Everyone seems to forget the feeling until the first bike of the year flies past, leaving only shocked faces, burnt […]

Did you know there has to be a minimum of 526 active marshals situated around the TT course before a bike can leave the Grandstand? That’s quite a number isn’t it!The guys and gals in orange that you see during TT & MGP/Classic TT fortnight are all volunteers, and without […]

The Isle of Man often flies under the radar to a lot of the outside world or is known as a backwards land on which inhabitants are part of a cult that sacrifices all mainlanders in a Wicker Man type situation.In reality, this has only happened once to a person […]

Manx olympic legend Peter Kennaugh this morning announced an indefinite break from professional cycling. In a heartfelt Instagram post, the cyclist expressed his reasons for taking the break; “The time has come where it is now necessary to become one with my decision to take a break from professional cycling.After […]

In our latest edition of Gef’s Good News, as usual, the people of the Isle of Man have been kicking some metaphorical a$$… From Olympians to breweries, and bake off (oh my!); we celebrate everything Isle of Man!!   Newfield sponsor Isle of Man Athletics’ five Manx Track and Field […]

#1 The record breaking RACING! Just a casual 135.452mph lap for Hicky in the Senior TT race… Unbelievable Gef! The boys sure put on a show last year didn’t they?! #2 The ‘Battle’ of the Beer Tents (and arguably, the best TT beer tent offerings we’ve ever had!) Photo Credit: […]

Remember when you first started working and you imagined actually taking home the lion’s share of your salary? Before you realised tax was a thing. The moment you start paying National Insurance and tax, you leave behind your carefree student days and enter the bitter world of adulthood… But it’s […]

The importance of being first is embedded in our culture. That urge to win, to be an innovator and a pioneer in your field is drummed into us. Whether it is over-zealous Dads on the touchline barking tactics at their 6 year olds or Alan Sugar pouring molten hot buckets […]

Poor Theresa May. Since the Brexit referendum announcement of June 2016, Aunty T has been there to lead negotiations with those big, bad, faceless Eurocrats. And now, crestfallen and brow-beaten, she bears the wearied expression of a ghost somehow haunted by its own horrors. Whether you’re a leaver, remainer or […]

Six students from University College Isle of Man are creating a night to remember with favourite game-shows from the past to help those who cannot remember… Or something like that 🤷‍♂️ As part of their Events Management and Marketing degree, students have to plan, produce and stage a charitable event. Their […]

It is becoming more and more common in the news to see sportsmen and women getting caught out for using performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs). There is such a “win at all cost” mentality put onto sportspeople that they often feel an absurd amount of pressure, so much so that they will turn […]

January. It happened and we made it through. Well done, yessirs! Despite being the most painfully tedious month of the year, a mountain of goodness still went down. setting us up nicely for a fabulous 2019…   Manx Harriers Our very own Manx Harriers ladies became the Lancashire Cross Country […]

You left our little island to venture into the big wide world (the adjacent Isle) and get a degree. Go you, you fearless beast! After 3 or 4 years of living in a place where trains aren’t powered by steam, a cheeky Nandos is always on offer, and you can choose […]

The Manx Xtreme Triathlon is an event shrouded in mystery. A visit to the event’s website shows a video showcasing the island’s wild landscape. A wetsuit clad athlete swims through the Irish sea and runs panting across a sandy beach.  A geared-up cyclist speeds along the top of a cliff edge […]

Name:  Joseph Reid Age:  22 Interesting fact:  Guinness World Record Holder for double Dutch skipping Describe yourself in three words:  Positive, ambitious, powerful For a young Port Erin lad being the fastest for his age was never going to be enough. Joe Reid has always had his sights set far higher and […]

Last weekend we were treated to a behind the scenes insight into the life of Olympic Gold medalist Peter Kennaugh, as he prepares for the season ahead in California.The majority of articles concerning our very own Olympian begin with a brief lesson on the correct pronunciation of Kennaugh. We’re pretty […]

As with most matters of philosophy, it was Whitney who put it best. “I believe the children are the future. Teach them well and let them lead the way”. Oh sweet Whitney, how right you were: The leaders of the future are the mere younglings of now. It’s high time […]

Eleven-year-old Gemma Kerruish will be distributing presents to youngsters in Noble’s Children’s Ward today, bought with a voucher she won in a competition.Gemma scooped the £100 prize at the opening of The Entertainer in Douglas, as one of the first customers through the doors of the new toy store in […]

#1 SUCCESS FOR THE SILVER SHOOTER When it comes to sport, the Commonwealth Games is the highest possible standard for Manx athletes to represent their country. 2018 saw the event held on Australia’s beautiful Gold Coast – the stunning beaches and sweltering weather some 10,000 miles from the murky climes […]

Research conducted by the World Health Organisation shows that cervical cancer is the fourth most prevalent cancer in women, representing 6.6% of all female cancers.Cervical cancer is caused by the papilloma virus (HPV), and to the knowledge of cervical cancer experts, it is the initiator for every case of cervical […]

The Big One A fixture that’s been played for over 40 years between two young Manx sides that have an intense long-held rivalry.The friendly feud between the teams was born from both their close geographical locations and the laughable ‘trash talk’ that’s passed from school to school during the buildup […]

GUYS! It’s November! We’ve dived headfirst into the 11th month of the year, seriously tho – wasn’t it just June?!October was filled with some gloriously autumnal days, and QUITE A FEW POSITIVES. Here’s your Good News round up for the Isle… George Blackwell Last month, George completed his (second!) 12-day […]

Cycling event to return in 2020 After 3 very successful years of Isle of Man Cyclefest, the organisers have decided to take some well deserved time off in 2019.In a statement released on the event’s Facebook page, the team have promised they still intend to deliver some ‘major cycling events […]

Offshore natural gas drilling has many pros and cons, and either way it’s a subject that inspires a passionate response.Crogga, the Isle of Man-based hydrocarbon exploration company, has today announced it has been awarded the licence by the Isle of Man Government for the appraisal and production of natural gas […]

Blimey folks! Here we are, month 10 of 12…October is upon us.What a September we had here on the Isle!We love September in the Gef office, mostly cos the kids go back to school – but other than that it’s just a dead nice month.The autumnal vibes start slowwwly creeping […]

Thriller in the Villa has quickly cemented itself as a flagship event in the Island’s sporting and charity calendars.The events have raised tens of thousands for The Hospice and Rebecca House and tickets for this year’s event sold out in just a few hours.We take our hats off to all […]

The winner of the new National Dish for the Isle of Man has been revealed this weekend as Queenies, congrats!While we all love Queenies, we were of course expecting it to be CC&G. We can only put the loss down to Canada f*ckin the job up for us by calling […]

It was announced last week, in the final week of the Manx Grand Prix, that there’s a possibility Manx Radio TT may not return next year.The Manx Radio TT posted an emotional farewell announcement, complete with a picture of the team on their Facebook page.Naturally, the motorbike fans on the […]

Hailed by many as the greatest sprinter of all time and known affectionately as the Manx Missile, Mark Cavendish has this week been forced to take an indefinite break from cycling due to Epstein-Barr virus. He took to social media to announce it… Announcement on my current health situation. More […]

And just like that, August 2K+18 is up.We have to say we’ve loved the summer months, some of the best we young Geffers can remember. August was a belter, the sun continued to shine and so did some brilliant Manxies… The Red Box Project Isle of Man was launched The Red […]

Hi Adam! Fantastic achievement and a huge well done to you! Tell us, how did you hear about the competition? I heard about the MOS (Microsoft Office Specialist) exams through my school: we originally had an assembly where our teacher, Mr Hunter told us that we could do this exam […]

The Red Box Project is a nationwide, community initiative that works through schools to help fight period poverty. Red Box Project was first established in March 2017 by Liesl Rose, Jo Willoughby and Anna Miles. In less than 2 years, the project has seen a huge uptake and there are […]

Today sees a major milestone in the proposed redevelopment of the former Lord Street bus station. The exciting £25 million pound project has today been submitted for planning approval and if approved, will see the transformation of the site into a multi-purpose leisure complex boasting; World class 7 screen Omniplex […]

Do you ever agree to do something after a few beers and wake up with a hangover stinkin’ of regret?Well that’s kinda what happened with 6 local lads when they decided to raise money for charity by completing a challenge. There’s no regret in raising money for causes close to […]

Douggie Butties – you have an opportunity to participate in the Douglas council democratic process!A Douglas council by-election is taking place tomorrow, Thursday (9th August). The election is an opportunity for a representative to grab a seat on the council to represent Derby Ward after Mr Ferdinand Pabellan recently stepped […]

Life is good. The Ben might be broken, Tesco’s shelves might be empty, you can’t water your plants BUT lest we forget all the magical happenings of the past month.School’s out for the summer, the rain Gods have provided and the opportunity of a whole, new, summer month lies ahead. […]

Local Athlete and World Youth medallist Catherine Reid has been overwhelmed by support following a crowdfunding appeal to get her back on track following 3 years battling an ongoing knee injury that has held back her development since her remarkable breakthrough year in 2015. Catherine, also known as Coob following […]

If you’ve never had the pleasure of meeting David Castro, you’re missing out.Local hero David has already been crowned the people’s favourite worker, after winning the Douglas Borough Council’s Customer Service Champion awards two years in a row.Not content with being crowned the ‘nicest guy in town’, he has now set his […]

The Isle of Man government are revamping the Criminal Justice strategy and they’d like ideas and feedback from the taxpayer. One objective of the consultation is to see fewer people entering the criminal justice system, reducing the number going through the courts and of re-offending. Specifically, the Department of Home […]

Improvements to the Island’s cervical cancer screening programme will offer better outcomes for women, with the introduction of a new test which will find more of those who are at greater risk of cervical cancer.The Isle of Man is to be one of the early adopters of human papilloma virus […]

So England may be out of the World Cup, but that doesn’t mean Sunday has to be miserable.There’s loads of things going on around the Isle today…HERE’S A LIST (we like lists) #1 World Cup Final Heartbreakers Croatia take on France for a chance to become World Cup title holders. […]

With World Cup hype currently at fever pitch, you’d have been forgiven (until now) for thinking that the Tour de France would pass you by rather inconspicuously.However, thanks to the freshest events space on the Island, Cycle 360, you have the perfect place to get your French on in the […]

So as we continue with, possibly, the best summer EVER, we had a quick chat in Gef HQ about how it could be made better…Now although we are a FIERCELY independent nation, we do have high number English folk on our fair shores and as much as we love the […]

Local lady, Jane Subachus, from the north of the Island has made a desperate plea for stem cell donors.Jane, who suffers from the rare blood disorder Myleofibrosis, a type of chronic leukaemia, needs a bone marrow transplant and has launched an urgent appeal for people to sign up as donors […]

Following my previous article (which if you haven’t already read, you should totally go and read right after this!), I wanted to follow on the theme of motivation.I thought it would be a great idea to talk a person who motivates me to do better on a daily basis. That […]

In a press release sent by the Government this morning, it’s been announced that students who sat this year’s IGCSE English Literature exam at Castle Rushen High School (CRHS) are to be given special consideration by the exam board.This comes after Year 11 students at the school studied the 2017 […]

I know for a fact that it can’t just be me who doesn’t understand the attraction of football.I don’t know what it is, but football has never really appealed to me and with the World Cup taking over homes, shops and offices, it can be quite hard for us ‘footie-foes’ […]

The fair is on the ferry and the pop-up drinking holes are nothing but a distant, slightly fuzzy memory.TT 2018 is definitely over.But before we return to humdrum of life without Bushy’s TT Village, let’s remind ourselves of the highs and lows of the last fortnight via Twitter. The stage […]

With the World Cup 2018 just 24 hours away, it has got me thinking about the conundrum we Manx have to face every four years.Whilst the 32 nations preparing to venture to Russia have all the excitement and anticipation leading into the tournament, here on the Island, it’s almost like […]

It’s that time again, The FIFA Football World Cup, which means… OFFICE SWEEPSTAKE.Gef is here to help you and your office out with a free downloadable sweepstake kit and some suggestions on how to make it a bit more interesting. Download your Office World Cup Sweepstake Here Now, football isn’t […]

Each year for two weeks, out of nowhere, we see the return of the classic TT stereotypes. There are a few, and you’re guaranteed to know someone who fits the bill of each one.Here we’ve listed the usual suspects… ‘Suzuki Steve’ TT’s answer to a ‘full kit w*nker*. Wears a […]

TT IS SO CLOSE, WE CAN SMELL IT. We’ve listed the practice and full race schedule below, which is of course, subject to change due to Manannan, Mother Nature and well, every other weather God around!Pass us a beer…our bodies are READY! QUALIFYING PROGRAMME 2018 SATURDAY 26TH MAY 18:20 – […]

We’re really sad to be sharing Leo’s heartbreaking story today.Much loved Leo, sadly passed away on the 10th April following an asthma attack, aged 12.Leo lived in Ballaugh, with his Mum, Julia, and sister Robyn. Leo was described by his family as a caring big brother and young comedian, who […]

After months of hush hush speculation, today, Gef can exclusively confirm that our beloved Island shall be undergoing a re-branding. A dogged social media campaign by the likes of UK based gender charity group Mermaids seems to have finally been heard by our Government.As such, plans are afoot to change […]

Gef the Mongoose has become the first Manx media brand to be a shortlisted for the British Media Awards.The Island’s fastest growing media brand is a finalist in the ‘Regional Media Brand of the Year’ category at the 2018 British Media Awards, other finalists for the category include the Liverpool […]

The Nation is up in arms today after a successful businesswoman asked for payment for doing her job.Local crabs are out in force on social media, as they try and tarnish the reputation of this nice lady, for outrageously expecting to be paid.We stopped a member of the public in […]

Everyone dreams of having their 15 minutes of fame but what happens when this backfires?This is a cautionary tale about how a simple picture placed me in a social media nightmare.The story begins February last year, when myself and my Dad managed to get front row tickets to Manchester United […]

Looking for something to do this Easter weekend? We’ve got you covered. Register your interest for IOM Ginfest 2018 here.More info coming soon.🍸var bannersnack_embed = {“hash”:”bv1cituzy”,”width”:672,”height”:280,”t”:1548757254,”userId”:38193901,”responsive”:true,”type”:”html5″};//cdn.bannersnack.com/iframe/embed.js

Following another raft of postponements this week, resulting from the inclement Manx winter weather; the fixture makers at the IOM FA find themselves circa 200 games behind schedule.This scenario has become the norm and is a growing problem as clubs become more protective of their pitches and Island representative commitments […]

Last night, Sharon Suwinski shared a link to a Just Giving page on her Facebook, in the hope to raise £4,000 to bring her ill father home.Sharon is a Manx resident, and her father lives alone in Birmingham. Before Christmas, Sharon was told that her father had cancer, and his […]

Been seeing a lot on Facebook and in the local news lately about the Handmaids on the Isle of Man? You know, those figures that dress as Handmaids from Hulu’s latest, Emmy Award winning hit TV show? So have we, so when we sent Gef to stand with them for […]

Isle of Man Commonwealth Games Association is excited to announce Team Isle of Man for the 2018 Commonwealth Games, which is being held in Gold Coast, Australia.The team of 32 comprises: Joe Harris – Athletics – Javelin Erika Kelly – Athletics – 20km Walk Kim Clague – Badminton – singles […]

We catch up with Manx born Phil Cringle, a current prop with Rugby team London Scottish FC in the IPA Championship. Q. Tell us about yourself Phil Cringle, 23, Born in the IOM and currently living in London. Q. What school did you go to on the island? On the island […]

Photo by Vannin PhotosNo matter who you are you know something about football, you may hate it but you do know something. But how much do you know about Manx Footy? Well, that’s where I step in. There probably isn’t a better person to explain the ins and outs of […]

Living the dream. Doing what many young aspiring Manxies aim to achieve. How did local footballer Liam Doyle become a Professional ‘Soccer’ player for Swope Park Rangers?  Q. Summary: name, age, birthplace & current location. Liam James Doyle, July 1st 1992, Douglas, Isle of Man. Currently living in Kansas City Missouri, USA Q. […]