Loaghtan Books

Sorry about the long silence.  This is a particularly busy time of the year for us, so blogging has taken a back seat. Busy time or not, we can't control the weather and Storm Darragh caused a LOT of disruption on the Isle of Man.  Most of the beach at Peel was blown into the town - diggers are trying to shovel it all back again - landslides blocked roads and undermined buildings, and large numbers of trees were blown over bringing down electricity wires as they fell.  Loaghtan Books and the houses around it were without power for ten hours. Being without electricity was strangely pleasant!  No work could be done of course, but then we couldn't feel guilty about not working as there was nothing we could do about it.  A log burning stove made sure that we didn't freeze and we had enough food to make sure we didn't go hungry either.  Rather to my surprise, the real bother was only having cold water to drink.  In the evening, when it's dark and, despite t...

Calling all recipients of our quarterly newsletter! Before you all get in touch, we know there is a mistake in the October version.  Not a serious one really, but galling.  Read on. We've been having problems with our email system so we're a few days late sending the newsletter.  Our web expert managed to sort things out so - hurray - we were able to send it. Clang!  The draft version of the newsletter contained a mistake.  We spotted it, we did really.  And corrected it.  Then the un-corrected version got attached to the email by mistake.  Expletive deleted. If you're wondering what the error is, the title of our booklet about the Manx triskelion, Three Legs Good , is a nod to George Orwell's Animal Farm (obviously!) and not 1984 as the newsletter states. Sorry everyone. (On the other hand, if you enjoy finding mistakes, then this one is for you...!)

OK, it's not the most brilliant picture in the world, but this was the view from the office window last Saturday night. I was working late and saw a HUGE fire on the other side of the valley - bear in mind this is at least a mile away.  I knew there was a farmhouse over there and the fire was easily house sized, although in the dark I couldn't see what was actually burning.  I rang the fire brigade. I don't ring 999 very often. Most of the Manx firefighters are volunteers, as the island isn't big enough to support several crews of full-time firefighters.  Even so, two engines from Ramsey arrived remarkably quickly.  We watched them speed up to the fire, lights flashing. Then we watched them turn round and go away again.  (Oh dear.) It turns out that the farmer was burning rubbish in one of his fields, had people on hand supervising, and everything was under control. My call out was what they term 'a false alarm but with good intent'.  The fire service was k...

No, the photograph is not the senior partner at home.  Nor the junior partner, either, in case you're wondering (cheek!). The gorgeous model library above can be seen in the model village at Bourton-on-the-Water in Gloucestershire.  We visited the UK earlier in the year for various family events, and found time to visit Bourton and model Bourton. It struck me that home libraries are becoming increasingly rare.  I live happily surrounded by books both professionally and personally.  However, people I visit seem increasingly to be divesting themselves of their book collection.  To me that's like throwing away old friends.  As I type this (not in a posh library like the one above, but in an office full of mis-matched furniture) I have books on shelves behind my desk, just like the red-faced gentleman above.  Most of them are of use to me in my work, but I'm strangely reassured by their presence. At home I've still got books which I've owned since childhoo...

I hate rudeness. Yesterday we had a business meeting in Ramsey so thought we'd take the opportunity to have lunch out.  We went to Gopher's; nice place with excellent freshly-prepared food.  The only problem, if it is one, is that customers often have to share tables.  Gopher's is rightly popular. So there we were eating our baguettes (warm, with gooey cheese and salad - delicious) and a couple of scruffy-ish men asked if they could join us.  No problem with that and we'd nearly finished anyway.  Then they started to talk to us. Now I like a good skeet (Manx = chat/gossip) as much as anyone, but I've rarely come across anybody as rude as one of these two men.  He gave his order to the waitress in a bored voice while playing with his phone and without  having the courtesy to look at her.  He quizzed us loudly about Loaghtan Books, didn't listen to our answers, and seemed to think that we were second-hand book sellers, remarking that he'd have to ge...

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 ...

This is the main road between Douglas and Ramsey if you don't go over the mountain.  It's the Manx A2 and runs within a mile or so of the office.  OK, the photograph was taken earlier in the year - not even on the Isle of Man do daffodils flower in July - but the amount of traffic it gets is fairly accurately shown. We recently visited the UK and were horrified by the volume of traffic.  All the time!  We're what the Manx call 'come overs', in other words immigrants, so, moving from the UK, we were not unused to UK traffic.  But surely it's got a lot worse?  It's dangerous.  It's noisy.  It smells.  It wrecks the countryside.  It's unhealthy.  I had an asthma attack when we were there because of all the pollution.  The last time I had an asthma attack was nearly thirty years ago. It's not for me to say what should be happening in a country I no longer live in, but... come on!  How many ordinary people voted for turning Eng...

Last weekend was the island's Parish Walk.  It's always held as near to the longest day as possible as the walkers need all the help they can get. Visitors often think that 'Parish Walk' sounds like a pleasant stroll:  it isn't.  Walkers must visit every parish church in the Isle of Man - that's seventeen parishes - along a designated route which is 85 miles long.  They have 24 hours in which to do this, hence the need for as much daylight as possible.  The Manx Parish Walk is considered one of the most gruelling walking challenges in the world. Hundreds start, few finish and, while there is a lot to see at the start with hundreds of people, some in costume, by the time they get near here the field is sparse and very spread out.  This year 1,009 people started, 100 finished. The race begins at 8.00 in the morning at the National Sports Centre, Douglas, so walkers get to us about 12 hours later, or slightly less if they're in the lead.  This year's race...

I used to be a fan of the post office.  On a Junior School trip we were taken to see how the main post office in my home town worked.  Even this length of time afterwards I remember being ushered into a basement and the excitement of seeing tens of thousands of letters whizzing through machines being sorted and franked.  When I was a student, back in the early eighties (we're talking 1980s, by the way, not my age) I saw another aspect of the post office when I became a temporary Christmas postman.  THAT was hard work! Such 'back stage' views created a fondness for the post office which has lasted up until very recently. Unfortunately the post office itself has killed the respect I've had for it for decades. I'll give give you an example.  On 3 April a regular customer ordered one of our books.  We sent it out the same day.  On 3 June the book was returned to us, still with its original paperwork.  The recipient's UK address was correct.  The ...

The TT is upon us!  And before eagle-eyed readers of this blog get in touch, the combination speeding through Ramsey (above) is not from this year.  Similar scenes took place yesterday evening with local team the Crowe brothers emulating their Dad and winning in spectacular style. I've never understood why the acrobatic member of the combination is called the passenger.  It seems to me that he or she does most of the work. In a very real sense the Isle of Man's year revolves around TT.  Supplying books to our customers on the island we frequently hear 'we need to get stocks in before TT', or, occasionally (and sadly), 'we won't need the books until after TT'.  Delivering during racing week (this week!) is almost impossible due to road closures, and many businesses, like delivery firms, just shut for the week.  We don't have their excuse! Scheduling deliveries of supplies from across (i.e. the UK) is also interesting.  Senior race day - it's the most ...

Our farming neighbour thinks that the finest May tree on the island stands outside our office.  He estimated that it's probably carrying at least a million blossoms.  It's a lovely tree, particularly at this time of the year. The Hawthorn, as it's more usually called, is traditionally thought to guard one of the gates to the realm of the little people, and is also considered as a protection against evil spirits.  In Celtic cultures - and the Isle of Man has a strong Celtic tradition - it is treated with particular respect, with gifts hung on the branches to propitiate the fairy guardians. Perhaps because the trees are thought to belong to the little people, in some areas it was considered very unlucky to bring hawthorn blossom into the house.  Or perhaps it was merely because the blossom looks spectacular but smells 'like death' if cut - almost literally.  The chemical in hawthorn blossom is the same one as is in bad meat.  It was also unlucky to cut hawtho...

  As many of you know, the Tower of Refuge stands on Conister Rock in Douglas Harbour.  The rock is sneaky in that it lies just underneath the water when the tide is in.  Boats which don't know the waters - and a few which do - have been known to ground or even wreck on Conister Rock.  The Tower of Refuge acts as a marker so that skippers of incoming boats know where the rock is. The Tower is usually only accessible by boat, and then only by boats whose occupants know what they're doing and have permission to do it.  However, at Spring tide it's just possible to walk to the Tower, if you don't mind getting your feet wet.  The walk is organised by the RNLI (its founder, William Hilary, built the Tower) whose members supervise to make sure people don't do anything daft, or at least can be rescued if (when) they do do daft things. Last Thursday was the day, and getting on for two thousand people enjoyed the unusual sunshine (remember that large round yellow th...

Pictured above is His Excellency Sir John Lorimer, Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man, and King Charles' representative on Mann. Yesterday Loaghtan Books was honoured by a visit from Sir John and Lady Lorimer. ....... The King's representative came here. Here. ARGH! His visit was of course a huge honour, but it did bring with it some difficulties.  As our delivery drivers will testify, vehicular access to the office is, frankly, awful.  While I was sure that His Excellency's driver could cope, I had visions of the official limousine getting scraped on our famously hostile hill. Tentatively I suggested to Sir John's PA that he and Lady Lorimer might arrive on the Manx Electric Railway, and we would meet them at the Dreemskerry tram stop.  Rather to our surprise, they not only came on the MER but on an ordinary service tram.  Good for them!  In Sir John's position he could have requested the Royal trailer, if not a 'Special', and it would of course have be...

Spring finally seems to have arrived, even though the sun has forgotten how to be warm.  With the spring has come some unusual visitors to the area around the Loaghtan Books office. Many of you know that the Isle of Man is home to a troop of wild wallabies, descendants of escapees from the Curragh Wildlife Park (our 'zoo').  The Wildlife Park is in the north west of the island, so most of the mob remain roughly in that area. Numbers have been growing of late, however, and some of these antipodean refugees have been venturing further afield.  Loaghtan Books is in the north east of the island and last year we saw the first signs of wallaby incursion.  The senior partner almost ran into one as he was walking up Dreemskerry Hill.  I'm not sure which was more startled. Incidentally, the collective noun for wallabies is a troop, mob or court.  Which you use obviously depends on what mood they're in.

One of the oddest questions retailers ask us is 'what's your minimum order?'. Well... one.  Of course. Obviously we can't sell less than one book; can you imagine it?  'Thank you for the part payment Bookshop X...' snip, snip, snip... 'here is a third of your book'.  Having said that I suppose you could arrange something like that with e-books, but, with one exception ( What Nobody Sees , if you're interested), we don't sell e-books. Come to think of it, books in bits are called serialisations, aren't they? Anyway, I know that some businesses do have a minimum order, but we take the view that the customer is (mostly) always right, so if retailers want one book, we sell them one book.  They can always come back for more, and we do offer discounts for bulk (hint, hint...)

It has been growing more and more difficult to do the work we needed to do on our ancient computer equipment, so we recently re-kitted ourselves. I almost wished we hadn't. Why do computer people change things so much?  I'd transferred all the files and gubbins from the old machine to the new one and just wanted to access them to continue work.  But how to find them?  Nothing looked the same, everything was in different places, and none of the icons looked like they used to. Tentative clicking brought up a box which invited me to personalise my experience.  What exactly does that mean?  If it's my experience surely it's personalised.   I just want to look at my files.   Another box popped up and explained excitedly how the screen was now something-or-other with extra graphic wotsits.  Presumably that's good. I just want to look at my files. A menu dropped down to explain that I could express my mood with different theme colours (what's t...

 The Mangelwurzel cutting carbon output.