Black Eye Friday # 54 My World

It all started out so well......

What can I tell you about the curiously named "Black Eye Friday" that you can't actually surmise from the title. Don't let the costumes (though this one inside was an angel) pic fool you. After a beer or several the residents of the town usually end up brawling. So what's it all about then?

Once a year this strange phenomenon happens, the last main pay day for most folks before Christmas a little earlier than usual. Now most of us are used to being relatively civilised and seem capable of going on a Friday night, let your hair down pub crawl, end of the working week type of thing we normally do. Costumes, hats whatever maybe worn week in week out. So no change there. Black Eye Friday though all hell breaks lose, and the younger folks tend not to be the idiots involved. Oh no, it's those middle aged men who go out once a year, can't hold their beer, miffed at their lives who are fully intent on causing a brawl....ending up with mass punch ups, a few smashed windows, pubs barring people and probably more arrests than for the last six months. Also the next day you will pass these shame faced idiots sporting the badge of dubious honour....the black eye.... hence the name "Black Eye Friday." Thankfully this idiotic behaviour occurs once yearly but does make me wonder is this sort or event unique to our island?

For more dips into other peoples lives around the world see here after 8pm.

The Stanley Karaoke - # My World 51

You can even find us on Facebook he is saying.

You will always find me in The Stanley on Fridays, and lots of other pubs along the way, but there is a special reason for hitting this one on this particular night...... Karaoke. Some you who know me personally will know it has a different name, but that is not something we shall go into here. So you know I have a love /hate relationship with the one horse town I live in.... I do with Karaoke too.

No, I do not take part in in. Never, ever. No, No, No. I go to get drunk and take photos of the people I know taking part as they love it so much. " The Bibles" as they are known get passed around containing the artists whose songs you can murder....... Meatloaf for some reason seems to suffer the most. I am still severely traumatised by a Minnie Mouse on helium strangling the life out of Bat out of Hell. For that rendition alone she is going there. I almost threw myself into the harbour that night. I mean it was the full version. I walked out the pub after hiding in the toilets, couldn't bear a minute longer to stop and get my cigarettes, headed for the door, resisting the urge to punch her for her sacrilegious destruction of an iconic song and took solace alone on the quayside until it was done.

Really though it is a laugh, and you do get some cracking singers there, many of who I know and if you are on Facebook you can find me "Babooshka" (click the bird) or "The Stanley Karaoke"

For more posts not like this, but around of other people's world they inhabit see here

Bring Back Ramsey Carnival - My World

Where's our Carnival?

The image above is not from the carnival. It's from Ramsey Rocks, apart from the TT, The liveliest event we have North of the island. Why no carnival images? Well for one thing I had never even heard of this event. Big reason for that. The carnival has been over for years. Long before I arrived, last one being 1990. Big news though. There is a Facebook Campaign, Bring Back Ramsey Carnival, and for once this isn't one of my madder ideas, I am not a lone voice. Over 500 people already joined within days. You don't have to be an islander to join. All comers welcome. We are just looking for support. If you are an ex islander who remembers the event or has photos and can share stories get on Facebook and join. Now for those of you who are going to say I'm not on Facebook, that's where I step in. This blog for one. You got my email. We are looking for support, images, stories and most of all ideas. What you would have included in the carnival? Now most of you out there from the images I've seen get a carnival at some. So get ya thinking caps on. You know me. My ideas are a little too wacky, (my humour doesn't always travel well) and the Ramsey isn't quite ready for some of my alternative ideas. As it's been suggested.- Stick to the photography and write up. That I can do.


The campaign we hope will reach further afield, like newspapers, other local media and business. Always wanted to show you more people enjoying Ramsey life this and this would be a fantastic opportunity. Otherwise it will be the beach, the park, the nature reserve and that bloody bridge for eternity. So help me stay sane if nothing else. Everyone after all loves a carnival. Cheers.


Other My world post can be seen here.

Homage to Henri Cartier Bresson - My World

Reality check

Anyone who knows me knows I have a thing about Henri Cartier Bresson. Well he was French( I am a Francophile too) and his photography is most definitely the single biggest inspiration of mine. Even before I knew the images I actually wanted to captured reflected his way of seeing the world. Considered the Godfather of modern street photography and photo journalism that is he captured the image as it was. No cropping, no desaturation, no tweaking in Photoshop. If it was blurry so be it. If someone wasn't quite in the best posed position does it really matter? In the real world, people are sitting around waiting for you to capture their image airbrushed, the sunset doesn't always looks beautiful and slush from that beautiful snowfall can make an equally interesting real image. Does every image have to be perfect, beautiful, geometrically balanced. The world is slightly askew, shoot it that way. You can always hold the camera at at different angle to capture the relatively dull scene to add your own creative twist. As he said he trapped life. Each image, especially the people I capture, traps that specific moment in time. The lone walker in the scene, unawares, whoever they were, braving what I can tell you now was a bitterly cold day midweek trapped through the lens. A moment never to be repeated. The pretty colours of Parliament Street reflected in the slush pools, the grim reality that when snow melts it's really quite miserable and horrible captured as it was. The way Bresson did.......



......Of course we all know that I am also barking mad. Throw in that element of quirkiness then all the above goes out the window and I can show you my very none Bresson images. Pics when I have specifically coaxed people to play the fool for the camera, or purposely shot the same inanimate object from quirky angles, waiting for sunlight to hit the bridge, because it seemed like a good idea at the time. 100 times, that being the abridged version of a very long story!

For more My World posts, Click here after 8pm.

Three's company - My World

Or three's a crowd

Well of course I could have gone for the obvious title of Swan Lake, but that would have been a bit of a lie. I'm not averse to bending the truth, well blatantly lying on this blog to illustrate an image with the text when I'm bored, or feeling mischievous but today, play it straight. The three little swan gliding into view are the real part not stuffed but the water is the swizz. It's not the lake but the Harbour inlet. If you look closely at the top half of the image you can see darker contrasting lines reflecting upon the lighter coloured water of the sail masts of the moored boats. Swans always look beautiful to photograph, but don't get two close. For such elegant creatures they have a nasty hiss and can break your arm if they don't want their photo taken. One for the zoom lens and run.


Still on a borrowed laptop, so posts as and when. For other My World images, click here.

Same bridge, different day - My World

It's snow different to all the other bridge images

For those still counting.... No 24

My world just wouldn't be complete without the legendary Ramsey Swing Bridge capture. Well it's iconic to this blog and it's stalkers, I mean followers. The challenge to photograph a single standing item, building, whatever goes on and I chose the bridge and I'm stuck with it now until I finally nail that 100th shot. Actually I have probably taken over a thousand but as this blog is supposed to be about the whole of this one horse town then it would be unfair for me to inflict upon you daily images of the bridge from numerous angles. I do try and stagger them, no more than one a week and do try and show you those dreaded cliche photography words... from a different perspective, dontcha just love that composition, the occasionally juxtaposed person to bridge and of course good use of rules of thirds. Today you just get a carbon copy of the very first image I posted to kick off the blog with one fundamental difference.... you got it covered in a whole lotta snow, reeal snow not photoshopped in. I may be taking the urine with the writing, but the photography I do mostly take seriously.


If you really want to know more about the bridge, see it swing, and how and why I started this challenge in the first place then look out below at the rotating images from the annals of the blog. One of those will tell you all you need to know. For other offering around the world, bridges may feature but not compulsory, click here

Snowdrops - My World

Not what you were expecting?

If you are a regular visitor you will no doubt be wincing at the bad pun. Well it's your own fault you asked me to start blogging again. If you have wandered here looking for gardening tips like say, when is the best time to plant your snowdrop bulbs ( I presume bulbs as opposed to seeds, but I'm sure some green fingered enthusiast who has wandered here will let you know) then sadly you are most definitely in the wrong place. Nah, that above is a little slice of creative photography representing my weird little part of the planet. I honestly didn't gather clumps of snow and place them strategically amongst the bare twigs. I'm not that dedicated to the blog. No. I came across this lucky image out and about with the camera, on our one and only snowy day (and yes you are going to see a lot of those images because I'm sick of rainy day ones) and just couldn't resist capturing it, against that palest of cool blue skies. Simple as that.

Other images around the globe can be seen here.

Sunlit river bed - My World

Mud glorious mud!

My World

This is typical. I had this image planned for Blog Action Day, something I very much wanted to be part of. You were all going to get a rant about looking after the place you live re Climate change but of course Blogger was not being at all cooperative and decided my scheduled post just wouldn't get published. However many times I tried to re submit it get kicking the image out. Never mind you get the image of the Sulby River, riverbed at it's lowest I've seen it for a very long time. Go back over my previous image and you will see this is usually quite a swollen river. Well will do get more than our fair share of rain here. Normally I wouldn't be able to actually walk this far down and sink into the mud but I just couldn't resist those delicious golden golden and bronze tones bouncing around off the sunlight, leaving that tiny patch of blue in the centre puddle. That's how you can tell this is afternoon, not evening, the blue sky. Trick is shoot with your back to the sun, and the image will naturally darken and you can just bounce the light around in those watery puddles. Image is a little bigger than normal so you can have a better view. Who say mud isn't pretty? A pain to clean off thought. Photography dirty job, but someone has to do it.


For more images from the globe click here for My World.

Poyll Dooey - Attack of the Killer JCB - My World

Look at what has happened to The Poyll Dooey Nature Reserve

A Killer JCB is on the loose in Ramsey...

In the name of Progress!

Let the images do most of the talking tonight. I have many more be warned. I did warn you last week that the beautiful nature reserve is being torn and apart, for what we don't know? Housing supposedly. We need houses in the town. We need a wildlife haven here. Not that complicated an idea to grasp is it? Even heard a suggestion it could be a Supermarket. What next paving paradise for a car park? So if you know what the hell is happening to this heavenly area, apart from the land being savagely destroyed let us all know, as the people ripping it up don't seem to know either. Just "doing their job." Now where have I heard that before. MHK's, anyone in charge, anyone know anything- answers here. Now! You know I won't shut up about it until you do, and neither will my readers.

For less belligerent images from My World click here

Artist captures artist - My world

Murial it's a mural

My World

It has finally stopped raining, but I did say I would be treating you to some point and shoot camera work rather than the fancy footwork of the big almighty bow down to the power of the Nikon images. So I had better stick to my guns (camera ones, obvioulsy) hadn't I. So my world this week is photographing the artist at work.

You may recall this place from way back last year. on Parliament Street. At the time it was an empty space made way by the demolition of a building with hoarding around which the the school kids had painted on see here for that shot. Rumours abounded as to what this plot was to be, a hotel to replace the grand, a restaurant, a picnic garden. Well it has been turfed over(grass to you) and there are benches. Always full at lunchtime and seems to be a regular meeting place now. One thing having the little point and shoot is you can whip the thing out slyly, take a pic, and pop back in the handbag before anyone is aware. Here is the artist at work on whatever that mural will turn 0ut to be. Luck would have it I was this way, and got to snap the ongoing job at work. Of course I will bring you the finished article, well I will if I can sneak another incognito pic.


More works of my world art can be found here

Taking some time out to concentrate on a couple of little projects and catch up with friends. Let's just say one involves a camera and self portraits and the other the past and hunting for photos. Both involve my time, and my alcohol.

September Theme Day - Big - Queens Pier - My World

Peer at the Pier

September Theme Day Big, My world

Has it been a month already since our last theme day. It appears so. As I reside in a teenie tiny town beside the seaside, which I do like to be by I had little option but to choose, the bridge, the beach or the pier for the image of big. Not my usual lateral thinking involved today for the theme, play it straight down the line with a simple long shot towards the horizon with the illusion of the pier going on forever and cutting through the sky. I have already used the pun from"from pier to eternity before" so I won't say it again. Oops just have. Went for a black and white today too which suits the aging old queen, the pier that is.


You may have noticed I have been awol again from the blog, well net in general. It has rained everyday since my return from hols and no way does my camera go out and play in a down pour. More than two raindrops and the merest hint off a breeze seems to affect the server too. I kid you not it's been hellish here and I will be using archives for a while as I realky have no places of interest to show you inside. Not unless I do a pub tour of course. Well if you really want me too....

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants for the Theme Day. Go on you know you want to.

For more My World see here


Is it me or has this been the most dreadful UK Summer?

Name the alien finger plant. Monochrome. My world

Pizza!

Monochrome

My World

Most of you know as this post is published I am on my way to Merry Old England overnight, then onto wonderful, wonderful France for a week. Hallelujah. Can't wait. In the meantime just leave you with a few simple images. Today I am killing two nemes with one stone, Monochrome Weekly,
My World. I'll obviously not be around to catch up with you, but I may just take a break from the French sunshine and find an internet cafe.


Following on from yesterday, another question for you. Can you name this plant. I know it's in black and white, which it not the best for identity purposes, but do your best. It was a creamy yellowish colour with sage greenish colours stems. It was also covered in a very peculiar red insect, which I will show you another time. It could of course just be an alien outstretched finger. Phone home anyone.

For more Monochromes see here
For more My World see here

Church of Our Lady, Star of the Sea - My World

Hands up all those who said it was a Catholic Church

My World

Actually that is not the full name. That would be, Church of Our Lady, Star of the Sea, and St Maughold - Ramsey. As you can see that would have been a rather long title so I went with the slightly abridged version. So who guessed from yesterday's image of the front that this was actually a Catholic Church? I said some of you might be surprised and my reading the comments I see some did however get it. Just where the man turning the corner is would be the part of the church I showed in black and white at such an angle this top flattened. That may have fooled some. It doesn't look as austere in colour though does it?

A snippet of history.In 1863, a disused warehouse was converted into a what was then a small chapel. Fundraising was organised by Father Barton who tried to gee up the parishioners to cough up the pennies. Unfortunately he died before work on the church could begin. His efforts in raising the funds for the church though went ahead. The new church was designed by Giles Gilbert Scott with work starting 1909 and completion in 1910.The princely sum total for £3,000. Wonder what that would relate to now? Structural repairs where made to the facade in the 1980's mainly due to the coastal damage from the salty sea air and occasional wave crash. Did I mention this church literally is on Queens Promenade sea front. How about that for a wedding backdrop? Especially on a blue sky day like this.

So there you go. A little bit of spirituality that is not the bottled kind. Well at least it's a change from the beach. For more from others My world images see here.

After the show

Time to go home

Sometimes you just can't photograph everything that goes on in a town, especially here. Nothing for ages then events and photo opportunities just appear like 3 buses at a bus stop after there have been none for the last hour. All or nothing. Doesn't mean though there isn't anything to photograph. On the contrary. Here is one of those events that I wasn't able to shoot from the start. Earlier you would have seen bands, a mini fashion show of organic and Fair Trade clothes sampled the local spices from the local curry house or even have a fair trade coffee. You would also have seen stands for One World and Tradecraft. What to do, how to join, what they are. You may even of heard the local member of Government speaking. Of course you just have to imagine this today or instead weave a story around the image above.


Never walk away without taking a photo even if you can't photograph the main event. By turning up late I got some far more interesting images than the usual standard shots the local papers tend to do in these situations.. You always have good old fashioned street photography. The girl now free to run around, the kids tumbling in the centre, generations chatting, the strange orange organic material adorning the normally sedate Courthouse. This is not how Parliament Street looks on a Saturday morning usually. To be fair I did get a few images of the dying embers of the band playing and the stands, just not the fashion show. Can't be in two photos ops at once. I did however get to chat to a fellow local and Mrs local who indulge in the odd rambling under a cloak shall we say if you click here . They were also modeling a little organic clothing ensemble and I did get a pic of them at a distance. So never walk away even if everything has been dismantled and people are leaving. Photos to be had if you just look.


For more of My world contributions coincidentally from around the world click here

MY WORLD IS A WILD ISLE OF MAN MEADOW

Welcome to the jungle!

Wild isn't it? I mean really wild, overgrown get yourself lost in meadow. Gorgeous isn't it. Not if you have hay fever though I suspect or a phobia to creepy crawlies or bigger things like beetles, spiders, worms and dare I say it RATS. I mean longtails. Superstition shh we can't say the R word, but now and again you can hear one scuttling past. Fortunately(or not you can't actually see them with the wild look above. For those of you who have virtually walked this way before and skywatched you may have guessed this is Nature Reserve, leading towards the River. In the distance is the hint of a Barrule, and the industrial building you can see where the Post Office has it's depot.. What you can't see what I'm talking about, due to the wild, wild, grass. Then I'll just have to show you on a clear day. Click the coloured links below to reveal the hidden wonders.



NB
On A clear Day
BS
Looking at the big sky
"Curioser and Curioser"
Depot
Springing the Blues



So when life gets a little too much, take yourself off to the meadow where you can get lost amongst the mini jungle.

LAXEY BLUES FESTIVAL 2009 - MY WORLD

Sax appeal!

My World

Laxey Blues Festival 2009 images finally here. Yes, this is why I have been off the blog, because of little men like this playing with their instruments that just had to be captured. So with Jack Daniels in one hand and camera in the other, 193 images later my work was done. Well the first part. Next is sorting out which are the sales ones. As usual, a good time was had by all into the early hours over the Bank Holiday Weekend. The festival as I have said before is the pre curser to the Isle of Man TT Road Races. It's become such a national(well small island) institution visitors could be forgiven for assuming the event is older than it's 11 years. Attracting international( yes not just Manx folks, all colours and creed) and local musicians it's a must see event for islanders and any wandering visitor. Yes people do come over just for the blues but not get the blues. Held at various venues throughout the village of Laxey, the day events free and evening line up priced accordingly, the music extravaganza therefore includes all budgets and caters for all ages. If you like rock, blues, a touch of folk, but definitely live music, then this is the event for you. Tips would be take the kids in the day, leave them at home at night and book a taxi in advance to take you home, otherwise you will end up sleeping on a park bench in Laxey.We've come close. Other tips would be if your kids throws stones, rocks at other kids and are generally little son of a bi... then I will(as I did) tie up their rope swing and teach you a lesson. Little brats bang out of order. Throwing rocks with the intent of causing pain is assault. Never ever p..s off a photographer when they are working. Never con their guest into buying a warm milkshake that is supposedly served cold either.


Not a clue who the saxophonist is or the group. So many groups so little time, so drunk. Anyone care to fill in the blanks feel free. Obviously I will be showing you the obligatory black and white close ups and long atmospheric images, but why start off obviously? Instead a vibrant colour one. Gotta love that funky shirt to start with, the warm golden tones of the sax and the guitarist red shirt adding depth and layering. How perfectly manicured are those nails too gals? Sometimes colour really is the way to go. As usual image as taken, no alerations, crops or othewise, just resized and low res for blog. It's My World, it's what I do photography and My World is the sales of the images. So please permission sort use, otherwise you will starve this photographer and I'll get more than the blues.

Klaus, Imac, Fishing Guy, Ivar, Tom, Louise, Wren, Sandy and others are to thank for the My World neme. Click here for more my world's just for fun again of course.

More Laxey Blues to follow including a few cheeky images. All I'll say for now.

B.

MY WORLD IS BLOOMIN' MARVELLOUS

Cherry Blossom is in the pink

My World

I don't usually show flowers, not really my favourite thing to photograph, but Cherry Blossoms in Spring are a particular favourite. Especially the ones we have along the main high street, Parliament Street. In fact these bloomin' lovelies are right outside a building that used to be a shocking soft pink. Now soft pink isn't shocking you might say? It is when the pink building in question is the local Police station! It's now a dull sedate cream and I wasn't in the mood to show dull cream, on a sizzling blue sky day. We needed hot pink petals and cheeriest of cherry blossoms. If you're good I'll show you the Pink Police Station of the past sometime. That is if you're all on your best behaviour and I can find the file which is definitely not named "hot pink police stations of Ramsey." No life is never that easy.

Finally a day off. Yippee.

Ramsey is famous( in a very small circles obviously) for it's blooms, often representing the island in competitions, and the North of the island for island wide(wide my ar..) floral showdowns. Fastest finger on the Geranium, and tulips at dawn. I'll stick with motorbikes and Rugby, which is not very girlie I know, but they are more my photography world and certainly more challenging. If really want to see some pretty flowers and the odd arty one of Ramsey Blooms from my wee colletcion, click below. This image was taken with the little point shoot not the big nikon. You can still get soft focus with a point and shoot, just work the little bugg.... and have fairy magic.


Marsh Orchid

Narcissus

Black Tulip
Shellan

Peek A Boo Tulip

Water Lillies

Daffodils

A change from my usual My World posting,s more a generic petal power than a specific to the area. Cherry Blossoms afterall are not exclusive to the island, unlike the fairies of Man, the Manx ones.

Klaus, Imac, Fishing Guy, Ivar, Tom, Louise, Wren, Sandy and others are to thank for the My World neme. Click here for more my world's just for fun again of course

COLOUR BLIND - MY WORLD

Red & green should never been seen except upon a fool

My World

Only nature can get away with diametrically opposed colours and blend them together so well. That red & green saying under the image has many variants, such as blue and green and extra verses with political or maritime connections, which made me curious.
I've found many reasons for the saying, but I'd be interested to know if you say either, and why? Back to the image. Would you be surprised if I told you this was the same place as last week, the meadow? No you wouldn't would you as it's my staple calling for "images I need in a hurry." or the other reason it's pi..... I mean persisting down with rain and the camera doesn't like rain, bless her. So not quite slippers and kimono, but a wander over in my proverbial "scruffs" click and all back before the kettle boils.

I think this is a maple, but as I have said I'm pretty crap at naming those blooms and trees. It's a sapling, I can see that. It's shot in really fierce direct sunlight,which casts a lovely hazy feel, without the dreaded moisture( hello just straightened hair!) In the meadow amongst a blanket sea of green this lone shaft of red stood defiantly alone in the corner, bending slightly but not cowered. Now that was a very poetic(pretentious moi?) way of describing the image, but if you are colour blind and these are the two colours you can't distinguish, well I may as well have shot this in mono and waxed lyrical about the textures. My world is photography. I see colours, form, shape, perspective,.. oh you know blah di blah but I am genuinely interested in knowing if any of bloggers out there are colour blind and what you see? For more tricksy red(dish) and green colours click the pretty colours below, or should I say the words in bold.


Fall into Autumn

Berried Sunset

The fuschia's bright
Dead or alive
Red Panda


Klaus, Imac, Fishing Guy, Ivar, Tom, Louise, Wren, Sandy and others are to thank for the My World neme. Click here for more my world's just for fun again of course.


FOSE

IN THE MEADOW - MY WORLD

Go wild in the country!

My World

This was definitely not taken today. It's been pis... I mean persisting down all day. A very grey day. We seem to be having one gorgeous day followed by one crap day. Obviously this was one of the better days, not the best but getting there. Spring certainly has spring here in the meadow. Yep this is one of the wild and wonderful meadows of the Poyll Dooey nature reserve. No I didn't wander over there in my kimono and fluffy mules all before the kettle boils. Yes it is close enough to do this but I don't want to carted away by the neighbours for being slightly potty. Anyway back to the meadow.

Poyll Dooey has a series of nature trails running through it. It also has a few of these wild meadows. As spring gets underway I'll show you the wild flowers that bloom while we follow the trails passing many wonderful birds, rabbits, dragonflies, ladybirds (ladybugs to some of you) and dogs. It is doggie heaven,( no white dog poo to report though.) Take a step off the nature trails and walkways and you will find yourself wading through overgrown scrub land. Another turn to the pond lillies featured before Wild grasses and wild flowers a plenty to be found here in the meadows such as this. A beautifully maintained picnic area sits in lovely secluded area. Click pretty coloured links below for some rather different sunset meadow images. It is dark in the meadow!

Fenodyree colours
Berried Sunset
Sunset Strip
Fairy Magic


Klaus, Imac, Fishing Guy, Ivar, Tom, Louise, Wren, Sandy and others are to thank for the My World neme. Click here for more my world's just for fun again of course. I am back in the loop again. Blog spost sometimes just take a back seat to work.


All About Eve anyone?

LONGTAILS AND BRIDLE PATHS - MY WORLD

What no longtails?

My World

Following on from yesterday I continue the path past the stumpy tree and find myself on the bridle path leading into town. Until as recently as two weeks ago this path was a sorry sight, submerged in muddy puddles, threadbare grass and desolate. Spring has sprung, the grass is seeding( and as you can see freshly mowed by the council) and the foliage is spouting in the meadow to the left. Even the archway of tree has sprung to life again on the right hand side of the image. Soon there will be birds on berries wild, wild, rabbits frolicking (yes definitely lots of frolicking of rabbits here) and of course longtails scurrying. What you don't know what a longtail is? You may know them as a different name. If I said Pied Piper would you know now? Ah yes you do, but why do we call them Longtails here?


Longtails are better known as Rats. One of the first things you learn when you move here is do not under any circumstances say the word Rat or Rats out loud.


The origins of this barmy superstition date to sea-taboos. Certain words and practices were not allowed to be mentioned aboard ship, for fear of attracting bad luck (or worse, bad weather.)This particular sea-taboo is one amongst many and never used to apply on land. It has become a popular modern myth that the word is somehow "unlucky" and has been adopted by some as a typical Manx weird saying, even though older Manx generations had no qualms in using the word, or its Manx Gaelic version "roddan". In modern times, even non-local and non-superstitious people will refrain from using the "r" word. They take it very seriously here you know. Other alternatives for the superstitious also include joey, ringie, queerfella, iron fella and roddan. Perhaps you know these.


Until I moved to the island I used to say the R. word. Not anymore. I have seen 3 since I moved here( which I have called all Basil of course!) but none when I lived on mainland Great Britain. Newcomers to the island can often be found laughing at the cheeky squirrel they nickname stumpy as they think it's lost it's tail. They are even known to feed them. We have no squirrels on the island, just cheeky longtails that you will sometimes see darting about the bridle path being chased by cat. Yes we can call a cat a cat but a ra.... is a longtail. Don't even get me started on what a longhair is!



Klaus, Imac, Fishing Guy, Ivar, Tom, Louise, Wren, Sandy and others are to thank for the My World neme. Click here for more my world's just for fun again of course.

One more thing before I go.

RATS, RATS, RATS!

No one said I couldn't type it!