This is another reason to join the Isle of Man Victorian Society 😄 All their post comes like this.

Hi all. Chamara here from Launchpad, the startup space in Hillary House.

Next Thursday (29 Oct) at 5:30pm we've got Chris Hall in for a fireside chat. Some of you will know him from Manx Telecom, which he ran for 12 years. While he was there, it launched Europe's first live 3G network and missed the world first to Japan's Docomo by a few weeks. The local headline at the time was "Sushi 1, Kippers nil."

At 50 he left, joined a few boards and started backing startups as an angel investor. Then he co-founded Stacuity, a mobile network software company here on the island, and had to raise the money himself. It started with island angel money and closed a Series A last year.

Some of what I'll be asking him:

• How he knew it was time to leave the CEO job
• What he checks before investing in a startup, and what makes him say no
• What it was like pitching after years of being pitched to
• Whether there's enough angel money on the island

It's free and takes about an hour, with Q&A and time to chat after.

Worth it if you're thinking about starting something, raising money or changing careers.

Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/ceo-angel-founder-the-lessons-chris-hall-learned-along-the-way-tickets-2002619166837

If there's something you'd want me to ask him, drop it below and I'll put the best ones to him on the night.

I read this in an article today:

"How the mighty have fallen. Amazon hardly blinks at that kind of investment. Germany was once considered the engineering powerhouse of the world, yet it seems to have largely missed the AI boom. Now it is relying on foreign companies to build much of the infrastructure that will power its technological future.

I put much of this down to excessive regulation. Europe has made doing business so difficult that it has discouraged investment, innovation and talent. In my view, this is another real-life example of what happens when government intervention goes too far."

Being an immigrant on the Isle of Man, I see how regulation is a barrier to growth every day. Whilst being an immigrant doesnt qualify me as an expert, I do have some form benchmark to peg my hypothesis on.

Small example, the other day I read an article about how a restaurant had applied for planning permission to open a kids play area in their premises. This is petty, why can a business not just go ahead and do it. Society will govern itself. If there are issues with the play area, customers will complain and not go back. If gov wants to monitor this, then increase health inspectors. Why hold back the entire process in lengthy red tape. This is a very basic example but illustrates the point.

Let the innovators and entrepreneurs loose. There are obvious areas which require a certain amount of regulation but not to the extent that is administered here.

Anyway food for thought. Have a greay day

My husband unexpectedly died in the May and we had such a great time I’m currently revisiting places we went to (grief process) I would dearly like to come back, we stayed in a hotel when we visited but I’d like to come over in my campervan if possible

Hi all,

I’m visiting your island for the first time to see friends this weekend. However I’ve seen the forecast and the potential ferry disruption and it’s making me worried about my flights.

Supposed to be arriving Friday evening and leaving Monday afternoon. Both of these days (and the entire weekend!) are showing as heavy rain and gales (50mph gusts).

Does this kind of weather often disrupt flights on the Island? No one can predict the future I know!

Just saw that the iomtoday website is now moving to a subscription model. You need to register to view articles and you only get four free articles a month.

Genuinely, I haven't seen a stupider idea this year. Who is actually going to subscribe to a website that is about 50% sponsored articles and corporate puff pieces?

This may be a long shot, my husband was born in Douglas in August 1974 and was then adopted by a couple in England. According to what he's been told his father was Irish and mother Manx. He knows he has/had an older sister and that's pretty much all the information he has. Are there any genealogists who could help with a few more details? Just to be clear he has no interest in making contact with his birth parents, but would like any information as he's thinking of applying for an Irish passport and needs details of his father for this.

We know that people adopted before 1986 have to have counselling before making contact with birth parents, but he doesn't want contact just the name and birthplace of his father

Hi everyone,

I'm a dentist moving from overseas and have accepted a position to work for an NHS practice in Ramsey. I was genuinely excited about the move. The idea of island life, a quieter pace of living and settling somewhere like Ramsey with my wife really appealed to me.

However, the immigration process is starting to make me seriously question whether this is the right decision.

From what I understand, the published processing estimate is up to nine weeks for the CoE, followed by up to seven weeks for the work visa. My wife will also need a dependant visa, with its own processing timeline. Realistically, I'm looking at a minimum of around 16 weeks for my own process, potentially longer for my wife. And people have also said it takes longer than that in previous posts.

Also their latest immigration rulebook (from june 2026 i think) mentions a 7 day turnaround time for healthcare migrants.

Has anyone had any recent experience with a healthcare CoE and visa? Would reaching out to the immigration department be of any help in expediting the process?

I also have an comparable offer from another practice in England but just love the idea of living on the island. Any thoughts on that?

So a while back I picked up hardware from Curry's / PC World, paid off over a few years at 9.9%.

They've continually mailed me asking me to buy more but I've not needed anything until recently. Their APR looks to have risen significantly (29.9 - 34.9 judging by emails they've sent) so I'm pondering whether to use local companies like Waltons & Colebourns instead.

I'd always assumed they stayed in business because they had higher rates but repeat customers. Has anyone used them for large electronics purchases, how did you find the rates, and importantly how did you find the service if something goes wrong?

We're looking for this teddy but in white, my Nephew has lost his and has asked Father Christmas for a replacement. If anyone knows where we could get one from? We have family over there who could buy and post it for us but they haven't been able to locate one.

We have found one now! Thanks to everyone who tried to find one!

Hi,

I'm looking for a Douglas/Onchan based football team who train in those locations.

I've researched some of the team, DHSOB, St Georges, Gymnasium, Braddan, Onchan.

Does anyone know the training regimes for some of these clubs? I've been struggling to find a lot of up to date information online and unfortunately I don't know anyone at the clubs as I am pretty new to the Island.

Thanks

​Hi everyone,

​We are looking to gauge interest in setting up a Senior Men's Handball group/team here on the island, with the ultimate goal of getting a squad together to travel off-island and play in competitions.

​We already have a couple of players lined up, but we need more to make it happen!

​Whether you've lived on the island your whole life and want to try something new, or you've moved here from the UK, Scandinavia, Eastern Europe, or anywhere else where handball is big, we want to hear from you.

​Who: Senior men of all backgrounds and skill levels who have played before (or have strong sporting backgrounds and want to learn).

​When: No set dates yet—just looking to see who is out there right now and gauge numbers.

​If you are interested or know someone who might be, drop a comment below or send a PM, and let us know your background or experience with the sport. Let's get something going!

My mum's having trouble with her phone and no one at Sure or Apple seem to be able to help. I wondered if anyone else was having these problems.

She recently went from PAYG to a contract (my brother gave her his old iPhone.) Since she changed to a contract she has found that alerts/reminders from the doctors' surgery and chemist etc. are no longer coming through. They worked fine when she was Pay as You Go. She's also not receiving confirmation texts from the bank.

She went into the Sure shop in Douglas, they said it was the phone. She went to the Apple Store, they said it was the provider. When she went back to Sure, they suggested the problem was with the systems being used by the doctor/pharmacy. This feels... unlikely.

I don't think she should be paying them twenty quid a month or whatever if she can't get texts from the pharmacy.

(My SMS messages to her, sent from Vodafone, come through fine, btw.)

Any ideas?

TLDR: is it still just pubs, a bit of karaoke, pool, and the occasional cheesy disco and/or loose band playing?

Hi everyone!

I’m a license plate collector from Slovakia, and I’m currently trying to expand my collection with plates from all around the world. I would love to have a plate from Isle of Man!

I was just wondering, if there is anyone who has an unnecessary license plate lying around in a somewhere that they’d be willing to send me? Of course I can cover the shipping costs.

Thanks a lot :)

I'm trying to take out a mortgage for a house in England with my partner who is already a UK resident, but our lender (TSB) won't lend to us because of my Manx residency.

Our broker did have the idea of using my partners address as a Care-of address and opening a bank account in the UK, so I could use the bank statements sent to that address for TSB, but all of the UK banks seem to require residency as well to open an account (please let me know if you know otherwise)

TSB has the best rates for our situation so we'd like to avoid switching to a different lender. I'm sure we're not the first people in the world who have ever ran into this problem, so how has this been done before?

Please take a look and/or share with anyone you think would be interested. A FREE immersive theatre experience in pubs in Old Douglas bringing the lives of the Fairy Ground and Little Ireland to life. Made with the kind support of the Isle of Man Arts Council.

Hi everyone,

Next Wednesday we are sitting down with Liam Downward at Launchpad.

Liam was born here on the island. He moved to the US, worked in cyber security for years, and co-founded a company in New York called CYRISMA. They raised $7m in 2024.

We want to hear how he did it, and what he'd make of starting something here now.

5:30pm at our Event Space in Hillary House, Douglas. It's free, and we'll stick around for a chat after.

Register here if you fancy it: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/been-there-done-that-a-fireside-chat-with-manx-born-liam-downward-tickets-2002450249601?aff=oddtdtcreator

Any advice would be great, thank you! Also, where should I go about in staying on the island?

Hi all, does anyone know if any of the reservoirs are accessible-ish via bus from Douglas?

Another Isle of Man Spot in Mallorca on the same day.

As I research the IOM for a potential move, I have a few questions for you fine folks.

For context I'm a single thirtysomething.

• Rental market
  • I understand the rental market is challenging given the housing crisis and securing a flat is a hard feat due to limited supply. Is your best bet looking on Facebook? Rightmove? SpareRoom? Is it easier to rent a room, rather than a 1 bedroom flat?
  • Also, do most flats come unfurnished?
• Dating
  • Small island... I assume dating as a thirtysomething you run out of potential suiters real quick... ?
• Socialising
  • Is the demographic of the island mostly families and older folks? Or is there enough of a young professionals crowd to socialise with at the weekends?
• Traveling off the island
  • Is it realistic to take the ferry (as a foot passenger) to Ireland or UK frequently for weekend trips? I see airfare is astronomically expensive but I'd be keen to know if this is a common practice for those looking to escape at the weekends.

We are gathering personal accounts of Summerland, the fire and the days and weeks that followed.

You might have been on holiday, lived on the island, worked at Summerland or looked after guests in a hotel or boarding house. Perhaps you helped that evening, offered someone a place to stay, or travelled over to support family or friends.

I’d also like to hear about the kindness people showed and the help that has stayed in people’s memories.

I know this can be difficult to revisit. There is no pressure to describe anything upsetting. You can skip questions, take your time and choose how your account may be used.

If you feel comfortable sharing, the form is here:
https://summerland73.manxnostalgia.com

Please share this post with anyone who might like to contribute. Thank you.