A look back at the Isle of Man - Part two

Concluding my look back at the four day break I spent in the Isle of Man, almost exactly 10 years ago, we pick up on what happened on the Friday – the day before the CAMRA Conference & AGM kicked off.

The day dawned bright and sunny, but with the conference not due to start until the following morning, we had another whole day in which to explore the island. So, after another excellent breakfast of Manx Kippers, I made my way to Douglas station where I’d arranged to meet friends Iain and Carole, plus colleagues from Maidstone & Mid-Kent CAMRA.

The station is the and is located at the landward end of the quay in Douglas and is an impressive red-brick building. Although it is only about half of its former size, Douglas railway station is still an impressive complex, because as well as being the main terminus of the Isle of Man Railway, a narrow gauge steam-operated railway connecting Douglas with Castletown and Port Erin, it was once the hub to a number of other lines now all closed), that connected to Peel, Ramsey and Foxdale.

Jeff, from MMK was our guide for the day, as not only is he an expert on public transport in the UK, he also knows a fair bit about buses and trains overseas. In recent years he has arranged beer tours to destinations in both the Czech Republic and Germany and is the person behind the now, sadly cancelled visit to Pilsen, that was supposed to take place this May. He is definitely the right sort of person to have as your guide!

Jeff's plan was a tour around the south and west of the Isle of Man, traveling by steam train as far as Port Erin, and then on to Peel, via Castletown, by bus. It’s sometimes good to sit back and let someone knowledgeable take charge of the travel arrangements, especially when like me you’ve a family that relies on you to take care of that side of things, when on holiday.

So, sit back and enjoy the ride I did, right to the end of the line at Port Erin on the island’s south-west coast. From there it was just a short hop from the station to the Falcon's Nest Hotel, overlooking the stunning crescent-shaped bay. The Falcon is an impressive looking free house with two bars, and a substantial number of rooms to let. It also served a good pint of Bushy’s Bitter from the brewery of the same name.

There’s something relaxing about sitting and watching the sea; a fact I was reminded of just a couple of short months ago, when Mrs PBT’s and I stopped of at the Worm’s Head Hotel, at the far end of the Gower Peninsular. That seems like a lifetime ago now!

Ten years ago, we had a schedule to keep to, so it was back up the road and onto the bus for the next stage of our journey. From memory the bus was a double-decker, so we sat on the top deck in order to admire the view. 

The route re-traced our outward route as far as Castletown, before heading north past the Isle of Man’s main airport at Ronaldsway. Because of the disruption to flights caused by the ash cloud from the Icelandic volcano, the airport seemed eerily quiet.

We’d half expected to meet our friend Simon there, as after being unable to fly the previous day from Manchester, he thought there might be a local flight across from Blackpool airport. Unfortunately, there weren’t any, so Simon was unable to make it to the AGM; a real shame as not only did we miss his company, but he was also one of the editors and main driving forces behind our Gateway to Kent Guide – see below for details about the publication picking up the top award.

Our journey continued all the way to Peel passing the Tynwald National Park – historic home of the IOM Parliament since Viking times, on our way. Peel is the third largest town on the island after Douglas and Ramsey and is a seaside town and small fishing port. It is home to a couple of good pubs, but our itinerary only allowed time to visit one.

The pub chosen was the multi-roomed White House Hotel, a pub with an interior of regional historic significance, thereby qualifying for a place on CAMRA’s National Inventory of Heritage Pubs. The White House is a notable free house and has been awarded Isle of Man CAMRA Pub of The Year competition several times.  

With my notes missing, I am unable to recall the beers on offer, but what I do remember is heading off in advance of the bus departure time to a nearby bakery, in order to buy a pasty to eat on the bus. Our next stop was Ballough Bridge, where the Raven provided us with some excellent Okell’s beer. Because of its position on the TT circuit, it is a good pub to stand and watch the riders as they flash by.

The bus then took us roughly east, across the northern neck of the island and into Ramsey, where we again visited the Trafalgar. It was back on the Manx Electric Railway after, as far as Laxey, where we enjoyed some excellent Bushy's in the Queen's Hotel, before finally boarding a bus back to Douglas.

Once back in town,  we went along to the Villa Marina conference centre to register our attendance and pick up our members’ weekend bag of goodies – so good that I’ve forgotten what they were! We then made our way to a café, which a couple of the Maidstone contingent had found the previous evening. I have to say the cod and chips rather good.

Afterwards there were a couple of Okells pubs, close to the Inner Harbour, that we called in at. I can picture one of them in my mind’s eye, a traditional boozer, with plenty of wooden panelling, but again the name escapes me.

Saturday and most of Sunday were spent at the CAMRA AGM, held in the impressive, and recently restored Villa Marina complex in Douglas. Although the last such event I attended had been the 1984 AGM in Edinburgh, I found the debates and speeches far more interesting than I'd expected to. I was particularly impressed with the presentation given by the Campaign's then Chief Executive, Mike Benner.

We spent both those lunchtimes at the Conference Beer Exhibition. where there was a good selection of beers to enjoy, as well as friends and colleagues to meet up with. The highlight of the weekend came on the Sunday, when the Gateway to Kent Guide; a collaboration between WK, MMK and G&D branches, picked up the award for best local CAMRA guide for 2009! This achievement was a fitting reward for all the hard work that went in to producing the guide. The photo shows Jeff, who was MMK chairman at the time, with Iain, our sadly departed and much-missed friend. Iain was chairman of WK CAMRA, back in 2010.

In summary, I had an excellent and most enjoyable four days on the Isle of Man.  The excursions we made to Castletown and Port Erin in the south, Peel in the west, Ramsey in the north, plus of course Douglas and Laxey in the east, enabled me to see most of the island.  The pubs we visited at these destinations, and points in between, were also good, although I must confess, I grew a little tired of Okells’ beer. 

With the bonus of good company, nice surroundings, busy and unspoilt pubs and beer at up to £1 a pint cheaper than it was at the time in Kent, there was nothing not to like, I’d certainly give my hind teeth to be experiencing something similar, at the moment!

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Making the most of the peace and quiet

Thursday was my only day physically at work this week, as primarily I’ve been following government advice and working from home.  You can achieve quite a lot working remotely, but every now and then it still requires someone in authority to be present to sign off completed batch sheets and move things on to the next stage of the manufacturing process. 

I was quite happy to be that person, and to provide the necessary QC cover; after all other members of my team had done their share earlier in the week. So, despite the diminished output at present, there was still a large pile of paperwork for me to sort out. Quality management systems rely on carefully specified checks at each stage of the process, especially where accountability and lot traceability are concerned.

I had one of the quietest journeys into work I’ve ever experienced. There were almost more cyclists than motorists on the road; a situation that’s unheard in normal times. We have taken advantage of the government’s furlough scheme by laying off our production and packing operatives, leaving just a skeleton crew to keep the place ticking over. This meant there were only nine of us in the building, rather than the usual 30 plus. So, with little to distract me in the way of phones or other colleagues, I was able to get plenty done, whilst alternating between my desk upstairs and the QC laboratory downstairs.  

I even did some product testing, not just to keep my hand in, but because production were looking to fill the two batches I passed today. Demand for normal dental restorative materials may have plummeted, (put bluntly drilling a patient’s teeth with all those tiny droplets being aspirated, is a risky procedure, particularly when Corona virus is an ever present threat), so with many dentists dealing with emergencies only, there’s been a huge demand for over-the-counter, temporary filling materials and other DIY remedies.

The time passed quickly and at lunchtime I headed off for a short,  30-minute walk – making full use of my government prescribed exercise period and the fact the roads were practically deserted. It made a real change not having to throw myself into the nearest hedge to avoid being mown down by a speeding motorist. In addition, silence reigned. With few cars, and no aircraft overhead, birdsong and lambs bleating were the order of the day. 

The village where the company is based, is on the flightpath into Gatwick and normally there are planes flying over at two-minute intervals.  You get used to the whine of jet engines overhead, so it’s only when they’re not flying (as at present), that you start to miss them. It’s likely to be some time though before any of us are flying off to foreign parts, so in the meantime it’s nice to make the most of the peace and quiet.

It was also nice to make the most of the fine weather, on what must have been the warmest day of the year so far. Having worn my usual thick coat to work that morning – it was chilly when I left home, shirtsleeves were the order of the day by lunchtime!

I noticed a few changes since I last walked that route – the best part of a week ago. For a start there were the odd clump of bluebells poking their heads up in shady areas at the side of the road. Also, the lambs which, just a few weeks earlier were skipping about, seem to have bulked  up and are now looking remarkably mature in comparison.

Apart from a couple of dog walkers and the occasional cyclist, I saw few other people out and about. A new-build barn-conversion was still being worked on, and there were others out tending their gardens on the outskirts of the village., but all things considered it was one of the most enjoyable walks I’ve had in a long time, even though it’s one of my regular lunchtime walking routes. 

We’re into Easter now, and normally I would have been heading off on the annual Good Friday Ramble. This year’s event has been cancelled for obvious reasons; the first time in over 40 years, but needs must and all that. I’ll be taking a walk out later, as I’ve got a letter to drop off for a work colleague, but on what looks like being one of the most glorious Good Fridays we’ve had for a long time, in terms of weather, it seems a real shame not to be heading out to somewhere more exciting.

I’ll leave it at that, and wish everyone a happy and relaxing Easter under the current circumstances, and here’s to a return to some semblance of normality in the years to come.