Isle of Man News, 16 March 2010 – A couple are this year not only celebrating their 30^th wedding anniversary but also  the achievement of  clocking up  between them a total of 78 years working  in the same jobs for Manx Gas and its forerunner Douglas Gas Light Company.

Sue Garnett was just 15 when she joined Douglas Gas Light in 1973 as a showroom junior.   Two years later romance blossomed when she and the company’s then storeman John McCoubrey started going out together.

“We went to the pictures a lot,” recalls 53-year-old sales administrator Sue while John, 62, remembers her for the way she looked.  “It was short, short skirts and platform shoes,” he volunteers, with a nostalgic glint in his eyes. Continued

Popularity: 2% [?]

Isle of Man News, 16 March 2010 – Irish Life & Permanent plc, the parent of Irish Permanent International the Isle of Man offshore banking subsidiary, has raised €2 billion through the issue of a new public fixed rate bond.

The bond, which was issued for a term of five years, was priced at a margin of 160bps over mid swap rates and was significantly oversubscribed, attracting strong international support from in excess of 130 investors which included leading institutions primarily in Europe.

The bond was the second issued by Irish Life & Permanent plc under the terms of the Eligible Liabilities Scheme (ELG) which commenced in December 2009.  The first bond issued under the ELG Scheme raised US $1.75 billion back in January of this year. Continued

Popularity: 2% [?]

Isle of Man News, 16 March 2010 – King William’s College pupils recently handed over a charity donation to Age Concern, to support their CHAT bus appeal.  The money was raised by the pupils as part of a non-uniform day, and a cheque for £520 was handed over to Gillian Harvey, Business Development Officer for Age Concern.

Ms Harvey advised that the funds donated would be used for purchasing a lap top computer for use on the CHAT (Community, Health, Advice and Training) bus.  The CHAT bus is a result of two years of fundraising activities by Age Concern, the Isle of Man Newspapers and local businesses in order to provide the over 50s living on the Island with a facility that supports the more isolated residents within the community.  The bus will be out on the road 365 days a year, and will help to support elderly residents in a variety of ways, including health checks, IT training, help, support and as a regular social meeting place. Continued

Popularity: 2% [?]

Isle of Man News, 15 March 2010 – PERMANENT repairs by Manx Gas to a large diameter gas main outside the Villa Marina on Harris Promenade in Douglas are likely to be completed by Thursday.

“A temporary repair was carried out as soon as the source of the gas escape was located to ensure public safety and every effort has been made to minimise the disruption,” emphasised Manx Gas engineering manager Robert Gardner.

“However, there has unfortunately been a slight delay in completing the work. Due to the nature and configuration of the affected main it was necessary to order several non-standard fittings from the UK; these are scheduled to arrive tomorrow (Tues) and will enable the permanent repair to be carried out on Wednesday.” Continued

Popularity: 2% [?]

Isle of Man News, 15 March 2010 – The Island’s leading independent financial advisor MAC Financial has joined forces with the Isle of Man Post Office to offer life insurance to residents and their loved ones.

MAC Financial Director Nigel Gregg said: “As the Island’s largest corporate financial advisors, we are delighted to be working with Isle of Man Post Office on this exciting initiative and look forward to this becoming a long and successful relationship. We are extremely optimistic this life insurance will prove an invaluable addition to Isle of Man Post Office’s portfolio of services and will be of great interest and benefit to people living in the Island.” Continued

Popularity: 3% [?]

Isle of Man News, 15 March 2010 – The final step of the HPV vaccination programme for the Isle of Man, e.g. the injections of the vaccine to girls aged 12- 17 will commence from Monday, 15th March 2010.  There has been a preceding campaign to raise awareness and provide information about HPV in particular and sexual health issues in general targeting school staff, parents and children aged 12 – 17 years.  This is based on evidence that a well conducted awareness raising/health education campaign followed by administration of the HPV leads to the reduction in the number of sexual partners and delay in the age of first sexual contact amongst young people.

Dr Kishore, Director of Public Health said “For the first time we have a vaccine which will prevent a potentially fatal cancer, namely Cervical Cancer. It is extremely important that as many girls in the eligible age group receive the vaccine.” Continued

Popularity: 2% [?]

Isle of Man News, 15 March 2010 – Britannia International staff are substituting their cars and opting to commute to and from work by cycling, running and walking as part of a new green initiative called the Britannia International Mileage Challenge.

The Mileage Challenge was the brainchild of Britannia International’s John Galbraith, who began cycling to work from Port Erin to Douglas on a daily basis back in February 2009. After clocking up 5,070 miles last year, John thought it would be a great idea to involve other members of the business and offset the green miles travelled against the company’s business mileage. Each member of staff taking part has set themselves a mileage target for the year and all the green miles are recorded against the company’s business miles. Continued

Popularity: 2% [?]

Isle of Man News, 15 March 2010 – Leading Island-based marketing agency Mainstream Financial Media & PR has formed a strategic alliance with The Gate, an international marketing communications agency. The move signals a new direction for Mainstream, one which the company claims will bring a significant extra dimension to the range of services it can offer to Island-based clients.

Announcing the move, Craig Wolstencroft, Managing Director of Mainstream, said, “Mainstream has been established for over ten years.  In that time, a lot has changed.  Now, as we go into a new decade, globalisation, new media, changing demographics, recession and recovery, all combine to make life more challenging, but arguably more fun.  At Mainstream, we are finding that clients in the public, private, and the third sector are increasingly demanding an approach which goes wider and deeper than conventional marketing; something which we feel has been lacking on the Island – until now.  Therefore, in response to what we believe are unprecedented times – and unprecedented opportunities – we have teamed up with The Gate, an award winning agency, with a unique approach.” Continued

Popularity: 2% [?]

Isle of Man News, 15 March 2010 – Manx2.com is flying high after announcing its support for a local charity, which helps people with severe learning difficulties living in the Isle of Man.

Manx2.com, which is based in the Island, has donated 21 gold class return tickets to Project 21, to be used as the charity sees fit throughout 2010.

To celebrate Manx2.com’s support for the charity, a special event was held at the Centre in Greenfield Road, Douglas, on Wednesday. Continued

Popularity: 2% [?]

Isle of Man News, 15 March 2010 – Microsoft Gold Partner designation recognises Netcetera’s Managed Web Hosting expertise

Netcetera (www.netcetera.co.uk), one of Europe’s leading managed hosting and datacentre providers, today announced the renewal of their Gold Partner status with Microsoft in line with the companies Corporation’s Partner Network. The Microsoft Partner Network, formerly the Microsoft Partner Program, is a community born from the continued commitment to serve the needs of partners and to help them and their customers reach their maximum potential. Continued

Popularity: 2% [?]