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I bought a replacement weather station quite soon after we decided to stay on the island, but it has been unusable for the most part. The biggest problem was the mounting, and I have been continuosly searching for an appropraie mounting pole (Spain used an old curtain pole mounted on the top balcony), but with little success. When sil Anne was here, she spotted some poles in the hardware warehouse, which I intended to use. I picked one up and went to the cashdesk, holding it like a knight at a joust. "You´ll not be so happy when you hear the price" said the grumpy cashier. It was just a pole very similar to the white painted stuff everyone uses in spain as a curtain rail, so I couldn´t realy see it being more than a tenner - but if he wanted to upset me, maybe 20. That would be £48 quid he said. What the...? I replied. Thought I´d tell you as it is expensive. So expensive I rode my hobby-horse back to the originationg slot and put it back. What about a similar square piece? I inquired. 2x2 would be about 3 quid said the man. Having picked up the piece, I told the counter man I would round it off and come back and sell it to him for 30 quid. So, eventually I went home with a two and a half meter long square pole, wondering how I could manufacture a mounting. Anyway, with a bit of judicious sawing and hacking, I rounded off the last two inches and managed to make the system fit - and there it stood in the garage, broadcasting to the world that the Isle of Man had zero wind and that the outside temperature was about 10º warmer than the reality! This morning I went out and fastened the pole to the shed and clipped on the wind speed and direction indicators, so at least it now reflects reality. The "Bart Simpson" effect is a load of wire ties fastened around the rain collection bowl to try to stop birds landing on it and treating it as a toilet! It amuses me and will be interesting to see just how strong the winds are (although it might have been more effective it had been sited 5m higher and well away from the house and shed). It runs to an app named "Ecowitt "which displays data from systems all over the world. I think there are about ten on the island, so only a small community here (but pal Mark helped his neighbour to install one - said neighbour also being an ex-Shelly, so it seems we are all strange in a similar way!) If the wind gets really strong I will know now - but probably as it will knock the whole shed over.

Well, we achieved the goal of getting out of a (very) clean 1 Vic (thanks Anne for coming over and helping), and getting into 11CC. Strangely, the speed of the hampster wheel has not really stopped as we are doing all the little things that need to done once you are in-situ and see the reality of requirements. One major-ish thing that was completed more or less as we moved in was "the Shed" - which came to a very rapid conclusion as once the location was agreed, the guys came and did the plinth - so I finalisied the orderwith the garden centre, then the shed was delivered within a few days and came alongside my shed-builder new best mate Richie - who put it all together and painted it all within about 4 hours. So here it is in all its glory. Primary rationale is that the gear from the garage (bike, mower, tools etc) can be shoved in here and free up space in the garage to actually (gasp) put in the car! The insurance people always ask if the car will be garaged, which is an absolutely pointless question on the Island as everyone has their cars on the drive alongside the caravan, while the garages are all full of junk. But still they ask, and still everyone claims all their cars are garaged in their single garage / store! Anyway, I will try - and if nothing else, it will give me something to which to attach my weather-station pole. Oh, and typically the week after Anne was here, we finally got the guest bed delivered, so the upstairs is furnished. (not talking shed now) Todaay I ordered a cabinet which is ntended for use for glasses and other booze-related gear. Strange process at Ikea, as they will not allow it to be collected, but insist on delivering it. Unfortunately not to the Island, but luckily to the Ikea freight man´s warehouse. More screwdriver´s wrist on the way next week. Oh - and the mower I bought from the previous house-owner works! It is a cheapish MacAllister battery job, but is actually not bad - especially on slightly too long dampish grass having its first cut of the year. Major drawback is that the battery can only cope with enough hoursr to do about 40% of the total area, so overnight pauses while waiting for the charger. I did actually do the final 12m2 with the strimmer as I thought it prudent it case it rained and caused a major delay. It made me realise that I will have to dedicate one pair to being gardening shoes. Maybe a(nother) pair of Grensons, so I will be shoeing a Syrian tramp and a myself as a gardener in style. While Anne was here, she and I dropped into the local pub down the road. Very welcoming barman / landlord in the Whitestone hailing from Hollywood in Northern Ireland, so I might have to start jumping on the bus down and back on a regular basis (only two stops down the hill, but certainly too far for me to walk). Of course, the main hassle of moving is in now having to do all the formal address changes - with the banks (even WIse) being the usual pain in the a**. Some parts are remarkably easy - today we went down and sorted out our (required) change to Manx driving licences. Photo was required and supposedly countersigned by "someone who has known you for two years". When I pointed out the inherent problem for an Island newcomer who knows no-one, the girl just laughed and said bring your passport and that will do! I like the style. Next we have to do the UK social security - who actually are fairly pragmatic when they know we are both in the same room and they are asking us questions to check our I/ds, knowing that we are prompting each other. Strangely that has to be done by telephone, whereas the Dutch version requires a written letter. I sent Shell the appropriate forms attached to an email, only to get a response about trying to use the online system they set up for such a purpose. I didn´t have the heart to tell them that it is the worst, most complicated and security-strangled piece of interactive software I have ever experienced. Maybe they already know that as everyone continues to send them forms! Must go and screw a few more bits onto doors (or was it walls?) - at least it is nice to be able to drill into the property as we own it.

I haven´t posted anything since New Year - and for good reason. We are now committed to moving out of our temporary house and into 11CC atthe end of February - and it has been a constant blur of activity as things get delivered from suppliers, coupled with us taking carloads of stuff every time we go or pass by. I am the one holding on - G is powering it all So far we have had a new carpet in the lounge, the pair of 2-seater settes / sofas in there too, 2 double beds, a dining table and 4 chairs, 2 (breakfast) bar chairs delivered - then a bunch of Ikea chests and cabinets for the bedrooms and a (rather fancy I think) TV cabinet - all of which I have assembled amidst a volley of foul language and curses against useless designers or instruction-writers. Oh, and dont forget the most useful feature of all which is the electric garage door motor. ....and I forgot to mention the major reason for delay in occupancy which was the lack of blinds and curtains - now recitified with a full suite of venetians and curtains. (except for sunlounge "bifolds" which I insisted had vertical blinds). Re the Ikea furniture, we had to bite the bullet on that one and pay a company who collect and bring stuff here from the Warrington store. Actually very good value (less than 20% of cost) and pretty quick too. That still made all these bits and pieces about a third of the cost of stuff here. Crazy prices like £275 for a small bedside cabinet in the sales. I actually moved the (bought from previous owners) patio table and chairs from the garage into the sunlounge to free space for the car(!), but have found the table a perfect workbench for the Ikea assembly line. Notice I have not so much as mentioned the freight we still have to accommodate at some time (or maybe just leave it in storage as seems much easier). Roll on February - well, that is regarding physical moving, as then I have to get on with all the address change and associated legal stuff of being here on the Island. The wheel keeps spinning

There will be no resolutions for me, in fact there will probably not even be a salute to the New Year as I will be in the land of nod well before the witching hour. What the hell can you hope for as a resolution? Peace, Happiness and Love are the key to most of the mantras I know, but I don´t think the warmongers recognise the words, let alone the spirit. A bit of empathy from the politicos might be a good one, but not much chance of that either. Basically the world is going to hell in a handcart - and there is nothing we can do about it. I particularly dislike all the "net zero" nonsense. Global warming is probably happening as part of the cosmic cycle - we might have hurried it along by a microsecond, but all this garbage about going electric is just a joke. The chinese are producing all the electric vehicles that we are going to have to buy, but their industries are driven by coal fired power stations. Go Figure. There is just a political, rather than an altruistic, motive behind it (and that idiot millipede in charge of net zero things in the UK is a total lunatic. A lunatic being chauferred around in a gas guzzler, I´ll be bound). If the greeny climate change people really gave a toss about the planet, they would switch their focus to the oceans and try to stop the plastic that is rapidly poisoning one of our major food sources. You read about mercury in tuna, but the microplastics they are finding in everything we eat and drink are far more disturbing in my opinion. Oops, mentioned opinion. I´m not sure opinions are allowed in the west any more. (well, not unless they coincide with the prevailing woke orthodoxy and don´t include anything about the zillion unmentionable issues blighting the western countries). I was looking at the Isle of Man´s green roadmap (can´t actually think they would have called it that, so it must be my inventive memory). They cover most things except petrol cars, where there is a vague bit of phasing-out to placate the UK government people (or maybe the King). Now, funnily enough, the island is probably about right for electrification of the roads as most people live in houses rather than apartments, the whole place can be driven round about 5 times on a tank of petrol and the wind blows often enough to spin a few windmills for "pure" electricity - the big problem is, of course, that the biggest money-spinner and tourism generator here is the TT - a veritable orgy of petrol consumption (if only of the two wheeled variety). Oh, and there is a great love of old cars and high powered cars and any sort of vehicles in reality. Most families seem to have twice the number of vehicles as there are people to drive them. Electric vehicle take-up is going slower even than on the mainland over there (and that is saying something). Going back on the electric vehicle kick, one thing I learned in my (IT) project manager incarnation was to think in terms of lifecycle - and that had to include disposal. Now I chanced upon an article a few weeks ago where it mentioned that on the Island there were about 130 electric vehicles which had been taken out of service and which were awaiting disposal - but we don´t have any sort of disposal site (or plan it seems). Funnily enough, not something they touched on in the green plan. Knowing the way that lithium batteries catch fire with alarming regularity, I can´t believe that the ferries are going to be too keen about taking dodgy battery packs aboard, even if we could get the manufacturers to take them back for disposal* My local pal who sold me the car laughed when I said they should start on electrifying the commercials first - he claims that the islands biggest transport company had tried to show some leadership by buying an electric powered pantechnicon - but it had a very, very limited range which turned to almost (net?) zero when it was loaded with goods, so had proved totally useless. Not a good EV advert for a very expensive partially-mobile storage unit. And while I am on the subject, windmills are all very well, but the paraphenalia that goes to transport the power thus generated is not. I have always hated pylons for their impact on the lanscape (yes, windmills too), but the only way to do "wind-power" is to put them all in one hidden windy glen close to an existing distribution network - or better still, use the 6m twice-daily tide to create a few amps. Funnily enough, there was not a lot in the green report about the four or more rubbish incinerators which currently resolve our rubbish and power problems. Just don´t buy a house down-wind. * when I was working in Sy...a we received an edict from the greeny buffoons in central offices telling us we had to have a documented plan in place to dispose of old printer / copier cartridges in a suitable (described in great detail) manner (which did not allow for their being taken and used for any further purpose by the locals). I solved the problem by telling the central people that as they prescribed exactly what we should use, and actually supplied most of them, I would make use of their obviously wonderful life-cycle system and return the empties to them. Which I did. God I bet they hated me. On that happy note, have a Happy New Year when (and if) it arrives!

... and finally (well, in good time by Isle of Man standards), we have completed on our new house. It all happened quite quickly in the end, as I knew the owner was going to be on the Island at the beginning of December, so I deliberately drove past, saw his car, and went and introduced myself. We both agreed that we would push our lawyers (sorry, advocates), to get their respective fingers out and try to complete before Christmas - actually Friday 20th, and they would come and clear the place on the 18th. Pressure was thus applied from both ends - which was obviously something unusual over here - especially for completion so close to Christmas. In a display of sheer bravado, I then went into my car insurance people and set up the house and contents insurance to start at midnight on 19th/20th. Mark and Vickie, the "old" owners, managed to get here despite the weather and got the place cleared out - but not before selling me the mower, strimmer and patio table and four chairs (not expecting to get much use out of any of them, but what the hell. Anyway, my advo/solic/lawyer asked us to go into her office on Wednesday 18th and we found out that that was the signing (once we got there). Luckily had passports with us, so not too long (luckily as zero parking nearby). 11 Christian Close Reayrt Mie Ballasalla IM9 2BG Isle of Man Thence to the bank to make the payment (as online Barclays cannot cater for anything more than 100k per day.). Boy what a performance. Copies of passports, bank cards, both signing everywhere, triple check the account, etc etc. Annoyingly I had made a test transfer to the account a few weeks ago, but they (Barclays) were unable to take the payee data from my account (or even see it from the main account as it was on the current account, it meant we were at serious risk of the old "digital transposition" error.) Oh, and a £38 charge for the transfer. We were "lucky" that she agreed and then arranged to do the transfer on the same day as apparently there is a 1200 deadline for transactions like that (something the manager failed to mention when I set up the transfer meeting for 1200). So, much later than expected we left Douglas in a weird limbo of having spent the money and signed, but not having completed. Completion meant another trip into the no-parking area at 1230 on Friday and with Gill scurrying in in the pouring rain to collect the keys - then me having to leave the car and do the same (sign that is). Must mention that the lawyer / conveyancer was actually a very pleasant South African lady. I asked why there were so many of "them" here and the answer was a bemused stare and "crime" - in Jo´burg especially. We actually waited until Saturday afternoon to go in to the house (both experiencing "buyers panic", but after the event. G even sent me down on my own at first! Luckily the place was immaculate, and just as when we sold ours in Spain, we found this on the counter for us. I think we might have bought from the right sort of people! Needless to say, G is down there purging everything, despite it being as clean as any house can be. Not sure when "the move will take place - I guess it depends on sourcing the furniture we need and whether we can wriggle out of our lease on the place we are living right now - but that is a problem for the New Year   . so, a Merry Christmas to all!!!

We were sitting in the car having a cup of tea down by the seashore (as you do) and watching the variety of seabirds as the tide was out and the rocks were clear of the water. I took a couple of photographs and noticed that in the distance there was a house that A bit blurred, but the big one looked like a jacket with silver buttons on the front. Using the binoculars, I could see it was indeed a house and that it actually looked to be round. Then G realised what I was looking at, and told me it was our closest neighbour in a northwesterly direction from 11CC. The legendary home of Dr John C. Taylor OBE, a very famous philanthropist, inventor (self-switching electric kettle plus lots more) and horologist. His self-designed house is for sale ( a snip at £30 million) and the estate agent even shows photographs of the interior. OK, the house is actually 1km from us, but there is almost nothing in between, so neighbour he is! Slightly better photograph If he pops over with a plate of cakes when we move in, I will endeavor to get a selfie (never done one yet, and unlikely to start on him I guess). That actually epitomises the Isle of Man. Wherever you drive, in any inconspicuous little lane, there will nearly always be a grand set of gates, usually with a gatehouse, and somewhere in the distance will be a large imposing house (if you can see it at all for the large trees or landscape features). Boy there are some (actually lots) of fabulous properties here. (I would happily buy the gatehouses of most of them, they look that good, but not, I guess ever for sale). But back to the beach and the birds. No gannets diving and no cormorants drying their wings, but a grey heron became G´s favourite, while I was watching a fluffy chick (bigger than a pigeon) on the weedy rocks and eventually identified it as a baby mallard (mainly as accompanied by distinctive dad and mum). Usual suspects were around with plenty of oyster catchers, eider ducks and canada geese. There was a large flock of "something fluffy" on the far mudflat, but unable to discern anything even with the bins. Probably curlew or possibly snipe, but not sure (and not sure I could tell them apart anyway). Currently sitting at home awaiting delivery of our new tv. I did my usual, whereby I did lots of research (to the point of total confusion), then just jumped in and bought something that was half price on black friday at Amazon. (not that daft, it was one of the models I had on the "possibles" list, but I realised the bargain was more important than the technical specs - for now anyway).

We had decided to celebrate my birthday by going to the Shore Hotel - our restaurant of choice, not least as we can get a bus down there and it only takes 10 minutes door to door (literally, door to door) The problems started overnight when a storm-front swept across the Irish Sea (=us) and it rained and the wind howled all night. I lie, as problems actually started when the shortage of bus drivers meant that the Sunday service between our house and Ganzey was "modified" to accommodate the lack of drivers - and I am stil trying to work out how the schedule was changed - as it certainly wasn´t improved or advertised. We had even got to the stage of considering driving down there, but almost exactly at 10 am, the winds dropped and the rain stopped - the skies turned blue and all was well with the world (except for the bus schedule) I was monitoring the buses using the app which is supposed to show where any bus is at any given time - but I couldn´t even see the bus which was sitting at the stop outside (the app was "having problems"). In the event we decided to be ready for the usual bus at 1350 and be prepared to run across the road 2 minutes before. This we did, the bus arrived, we went on our merry way. As we passed the harbour, I noticed it was a (very) high tide (over-topping as they call it here - work it out for yourself) and, as we continued driving, the wind picked up and, the next time we saw the sea, it was rough . Now the Shore Hotel,is, as its name indicates, on the Shore Road, which is on the shore. The waves were also on the shore - and the waves were "over-topping". The road was wet. The sky was wet. The bus was wet. I jokingly suggested to the driver that he might pull into the hotel car park, but he went one better and pulled over to the wrong side of the road to let us out (or as he said, "stop the bus filling up with sea water". What a good omen from a working driver! The sea about to "over top" We went int restaurant and had a good meal - improved only by people-watching and sea- watching (through the salt-stained side window). When we had finished, and upon checking the bus app, I could see the bus was leaving Port Erin 5 minutes away, and, trusting the restaurant´s wifi, we paid and went to the door, then 2 minutes later ventured outside. G was (wisely) hiding behing the corner of the hotel and I was holding onto the entrance gate-post (honestly - I kid you not), the wind was howling and the sea was definitely over-topping, with the spray covering us both every few seconds. I swear that at one point I could see the bus at the other end of the bay - but then it never materialised at the bar. A guy who had joined us said they must have closed the road and he was going to walk as he he didn´t have time to make the train. Due to some previous house-hunting, I actually knew where the local station was (I think it was a request stop if you can have that on a train), but it was at least 700 yards the wrong way up a side road - so we weren´t going to make it either. I went in and called a taxi Sunday afternoon. Filthy day Beach-front roads closed Buses diverted. Do the British thing and get a pot of tea. Halfway through first cup, a taxi arrived - turns out they run a round-robin system and he was first one available. Any driver who ignores police "road-closed" sign to pick up a stranded fare will always get my business in future. Kevin from CastleCars is my new super-hero. .

One of my pet hates is when there is no feedback or information update on something you are waiting for from a supplier. Definitely not a pet hate When I was working, and setting up helpdesks as one of the activities, I always emphasised "keeping the user informed". I remember one local member of staff under training telling me "There was no point as nothing had changed" and another telling me "it was embarrassing telling the user nothing had happened". What I knew was that as a user, it really was a pain. Anyone will accept lack of action due to lack of parts, skills, or staff - but just tell them . There is nothing worse than living in hope and expectation. Now try buying a house here on the Isle of Man (actually anywhere I guess, but we are here). The word on the street is that conveyancing is "slow" and you can expect it to take "about 3 months". Now, we are cash buyers with no chain or issues and the vendor is out of the house (and off the island) and keen to sell (and keen enough to drop the price). The house is almost new and under housebuilders guarantee , they are still building on parts of the site, and my surveyor told me it wasn´t worh him assessing it as there was nothing he could add. So, effectively, we are going to be a test case for just how quickly a place can be transacted. Feedback on progress? Don´t make me laugh. I sent the conveyancer the information that we are now residents, as I have read that there are now additional taxes on non-residents buying property - but not even an acknowledgement. Now I cannot believe that the process just is a single activity, so why don´t they send an update giving an idea of progress? Why indeed. (and it is not just lawyers , sorry advocates, who are woeful at giving information. The only service that gives updates seems to be the NHS! (strange when most businesses would probably say providing information would be an additional cost issue - or maybe that is why the NHS is in such dire straits). Anyway, Grrr.

Aren´t we all moving ever closer to God. Last week, exactly 6 months after we arrived here, we had a bid accepted on a house. Nothing to do with the offer of full price we made on another place that has never been accepted  (owned by an off-islander, boo), but this time owned by a couple who came to the island to work, but the jobs just didn´t delievr what they expected so they decided to leave - despite having bought a brand-new house. We had actually seen the place for sale on many occasions as it is on the road between Casteltown and Douglas - and we had even been down into the newest part of the estate, which is still being developed (and rejected it out-of-hand). The house is actually on the top-end corner of the deleopment, so doesn´t have passing neighbours or a through road - perfect for an anti-social "B" like me. When put against our initial list, it fitted most requirements : We thought that the perfect place would be: 1 Bungalow <550k£ 2 3 beds and 2 baths. 3 Good condition 4 Central heating / double glazing. 5 2 car garage and parking 6 Mature shrubby front garden and pref paved rear / minimum maints. No nearby large trees 7 Fibre optic in or available 8 Near public transport. 9 Proximity to shops / bars / restaurants. 10 Nice neighbouhood, not estate, no Airbnb letting around 11 Sea front / view not necessary, 12 Pref away from tourists and neighbours other than other owners / residents but caveats and deviations are : it is a 4 bed / 3 bath house within the budget ( who ever mentioned downsizing? ) it is 18 months old and still in 10-year house-builders certification and in perfect condition it has gas central heating, loft insulation and has double glazing a single garage ( bit of a pain, as it is a small saloon car size garage, but plans are afoot for a summer-house shed ) plenty of private standing parking at the front grassy garden ( no trees, but garden which will require a few more shrubs ) fibre-optic is installed on the same bus route as we are now ( Douglas to Port Erin ) nowhere on the island (except the centre of Douglas) is near shops bars and restaurants - so learn to live without them nice neighbourhood , edge of new-build estate, no Airbnbs on map (yet) unnecessary, but you can see the sea from the front door, and lots of fields (ok, and the main road) tourists are for the TT, but we are nowhere near the course Anyway, the owners have acccepted our offer (after a brief negotiation). Apparently they were struggling to sell as it is next to the "main road"and had already considerably dropped the asking price from what they paid, and I guess most people who buy houses like this have families and pets - but we know that the estate will have a by-pass around Ballasalla within the next couple of years- and we can live with the traffic after what we have at our current house. On the completion front, the common expectation here is that completion takes 2 or 3 months, but we shall see what happens when buyer and seller are chain-free and ready to go. We still have 6 months lease to run on the current house, but definitely need 3 of those, then we will negotiate (or have a vacant house to use!) There is no "deposit to seal agreement" as there was in Spain - so the sale is actually in a box with Schrodinger´s cat until the final signature by both parties. A bit nerve-racking, but we have done everything so far on hope and fate, and so it will continue! Now the dog days of planning (and, of course, buying. We have already been out and ordered essential furniture for the lounge, dining room and bedrooms). Maybe add prayer to hope and fate.

We have at least ound a great place to eat - especially for Sunday lunch. Luckily G´s birthday fell on a Sunday this year, so we went for the 2nd time as we tried it a couple of weeks ago wihen G´s sister was here. It is called the Shore Hotel and is in a place called Ganzey - which is a bay about 2 miles from our current abode. 2 miles and about 5 bus stops, as the real beauty of it is that the Sunday bus service is such that we can walk out of the house and cross the road at 1340 and be in the bar by 1350 - and again walk out of the bar at 1544 and stop the bus to take us home. Add to that reasonable wine, very pleasant young staff and good solid pub grub (with a bit of bistro flair thrown in). Excellent (and we hear the rooms are pretty good too). ... and like almost everywhere, it is for sale, but at £3.5 million, is not quite in the range we are looking for.

Well, we did think we had found somewhere we wanted to buy - and offered the asking price - but the owner (who is in the UK and can only be contacted by email) decided he wanted to "think about it"... and that was 10 days ago. I have chased the agent, but they are as unhappy as we. So? - who knows? Anyway, today I went and did a drive-by on another place. It could be ok, so we are going to see it tomorrow, but they are asking top-dollar and I have a feeling that even if it is ok, G will want some changes - so if it IS what we want, they will have to come down in price*. The property market here is frustrating. (well, I guess it is pretty frustrating everywhere), but with the positive being that we are sitting on the money and in a pretty nice house while we search. The sequence of hunting is that (in theory) G is on the list for each of the agents, and gets email when something comes up. I, in the meantime, go onto the web-crawler house-sales sites that piggy-back on the agents´sites. These mega-sites show what has just come on the market anywhere and actually contain some data that beats the actual agent sites - like the date the property came to market and date of changes to price. It is a good job these mega-sites exist, as the agents are pretty poor when it comes down to doing business. The agents also have a technique of running an open-house on places on a particular date, or bunching viewings to suit their schedule. The actual owners are almost never available, and the agents haven´t done their homework, so there is a constant frustration of their not knowing information required. This isn´t esoteric information either, but the sort of data you would think would be in their initial questionnaire for the vendor - stuff like date of original construction, materials used and changes / additions made (as almost every bungalow on the island has been extended). Luckily, there are a number of corporate and / or government sites that are available and which can be checked - so they have records of the property previous sales - (even including price!), details of when / if fibre has been installed, flood risk of locality, bus routes and timetables, a map of airbnb and lettings - and a few more (a bit Singapore-big-brother in some ways). Throw in google maps and street view and you are writing-off most places without having to move more than a mouse. "Slightly off the beaten track" One thing the agents do have in common is a VERY good photographer - one who can make any place look acceptable by judicious use of angles and lenses - and omission of areas you might want to see (I want to see the garage more than anything, but they are very rarely shown). G meanwhile can spot a milllimeter of mould in a bathroom from 50 feet! Despite having the time, we do not really want to get into buying somewhere that needs work doing - mainly as we just don´t know the "good" tradesmen, other than they are the ones who are fully booked! We have decided we would prefer to live on the south and preferably near Castletown (where we are at the moment). The north of the island seems to be dismissed as uninhabitable by everyone who doesn´t live there - and the northern half of the island also is where the TT runs (and the Manx GP for that matter). Down here we have the "Southern 100" but that is shorter and less days, so can be (almost) ignored . The Major issue with the TT is not so much the noise as the inconvenience, because if you live within the course (all 40 miles of it) you are pretty much trapped while the TT is on - with only a very narrow, very, very congested, lane to get under the course to the "outside). Having said that, I was looking (online) at a place yesterday which actually backed onto the course at a corner where it comes down to a roundabout as the riders come off the mountain section. The agent couldn´t really not mention that, so listed it as having a good view of the TT!! One thing that we have changed is what we are looking for. We started wanting a bungalow (for my knees), but realised that pretty much every bungalow has been extended upwards, thus has some stairs. And once you accept stairs, you might as well just look at houses, for they are actually better value than bungalows! Any chance we might go full-circle and start looking at apartments? (answer, probably not) well, we went and saw it this morning, and when we got back in the car, I just said to G "No, no, no, no, no - and I don´t think I like the Port St Mary area either". It was awful, with so many faults you could only admire the elderly lady estate agent who kept commenting about the "amount of space" and "quality flooring". I called it floorboard-printed-linoluem, which didn´t go down well - a bit like the flooring which was rucked-up in a couple of places. It was generally tatty (eg a few taps were dripping), had neighbours windows overlooking the bedrooms, not enough drive space to even turn a car and the ever present smell of, well I leave that to your imagination. No, a thousand times no.

Most local Manx people we meet here seem to have a very low opinion of the health service on the island, but our experience is that it is pretty good (and very good compared with spain) and very proactive (so thats how the NHS spends all its funding). As an example, I received a letter about having a new vaccine for a respiratory virus - and I phoned the number to check if it was available on the day when I drive Gill into the hospice. It wasn´t, but the girl suggested I should send our vaccine history to them so that our records could be updated. A bit of a pain, but I dug out the ´photos of screenshots (really) from the spanish system and entered them in a spreadsheet and emailed them in. Within an hour, I received a phone call from a guy asking me for a couple of extra details, then offering us both the covid booster jabs, and specifically at our local health centre, and in a couple f weeks time - and even setting up flu jabs at the same time. Amazingly pleasant, efficient and helpful (and I told him so). Apparently the extra jab they were offering in the letter is a brand new thing that is only available to people between 75 and 80 (no older or younger - go figure) and not done in conjunction with any other jabs. WIth two arms likely to be full, I told him I would sleep on that one. On the house-hunting front, we are still looking, but have pretty much exhausted all the ones that fitted our original (and then expanded) requirements - so I am casting my net further afield. A bit too far last week, as the cottage (newly built and even with underfloor heating) was a bit too rural for G, who thought the "village " services were a bit lacking (post box and phone box - not even a pub or corner shop) and the bus services were a bit sparse (3 tiimes per day to Peel - a bit like the one above Casa D which was 3 times a day to Coin or Fuengirola). Despite my particularly liking the shed in the grass patch at the back (shed with a bench installed already) it was voted a "no". (Actually I was a bit wary after seeing the spider´s web near the shed - a web which was full of midges - I hadn´t realised it was that close to Scotland).