Loaghtan Books

Spotted in Ramsey yesterday (20 August) was this Royal Navy Bomb Disposal vehicle. Seven mortars dating from the Second World War were discovered on 18 August near a footpath in the south of the island running between Cregneash and Calf Sound.  Unsurprisingly the Isle of Man does not have its own bomb disposal squad, so the area was cordoned off while specialist help was obtained from across. Bomb Disposal experts from Faslane destroyed the ordnance in a controlled explosion near The Chasms, just round the corner from Cregneash, either yesterday or earlier today. All this is well and good, but what were the Bomb squad doing in Ramsey, forty miles away at the other end of the island?

Now you see me... There have been developments since the last blog post.  Apparently the stones of the Three Legs had not been removed, but had been painted over to blend with the hillside and so not stand out. Deciding that its disappearance was not acceptable, four friends from Ramsey have trekked up the shoulder of North Barrule and painted the Three Legs white again.  Each had to carry two large and heavy tins of paint - popping to the shops if they ran out wasn't an easy option from Mann's second highest peak. The job took about four hours but when they had finished, the Three Legs was again displayed over the north of the island. How long will they be allowed to stand firm?  Watch this space!

For those of you who don't know, the above is the largest Three Legs of Man in the world. Or it was. With a diameter of 100 feet, the Three Legs perched on the north-west shoulder of North Barrule, the Isle of Man's second highest peak, and was clearly visible from Ramsey and the North.  The design was created out of local rocks by Bryan Callister over twelve weeks in 2019. Unfortunately he didn't have planning permission, or whatever it was he needed.  Many people liked the proud display of the Manx emblem, but some objected and kept objecting to what they saw as illegal man-made items defacing the landscape. On 9 August 2024 the Department of Infrastructure removed the Barrule Three Legs.  They had to close the mountain road to do it.  It seems a poor use of tax payers money. Now the only place to see Mr Callister's creation is in historic photographs.  Or the second edition of our book Three Legs Good .

The Isle of Man's heritage railways have just finished a week of special events to celebrate... well, their existence really.  Nowhere else in the world has public transport still using its Victorian and Edwardian rolling stock. The heritage railways really pushed the boat out (pushed the tram out??) and showed off all sorts of vehicles which the public rarely see.  Above is a back view of car 34 towing trailer 51 and heading north round Bulgham; definitely NOT a normal combination. Car 34, sometimes known as the Flying Banana but officially called Maria, is a very odd vehicle not only to look at, but also in how she works.  She's powered by diesel - the only rail vehicle dedicated to the Manx Electric Railway which is - but is operated using the same sort of electric controller as all the tramcars.  The thinking is that anyone who can drive a tram can drive her without additional training.  She's a works car so can travel along the line when the electricity is switched off