Snow
It snowed. The weatherman said it would and it did, covering the ammi majus and cornflowers in a thick, heavy layer.
Planted out at the end of autumn, the plants were looking so healthy and I marvelled at how well they had coped with the frosty December days and the cold of early January. I’m not sure how well they’ll bounce back from their snowy blanketing and am silently cheering for the backups potted up in the greenhouse.
I could weep, not because of snow damage but because the longtails have been at my tulips. It’s taboo to say the ‘R’ word on the Isle of Man, supposedly it encourages them, however the ’R’ word is better than the string of expletives I’d like to use.
Even more annoying is that my deterrent tactics didn’t work. I can’t believe I thought a combination of netting and bramble cuttings was a good idea! I spent hours disentangling the mess.
Note to self: I will plant in crates next year and keep them safely tucked up in the poly tunnel.
Manx Electric Railway
A car club outing took us on a visit to the Manx Electric Railway which is stationed at the very north end of Douglas Promenade. Not somewhere I would ordinarily go, it was a revelation of Victorian engineering achievements and a working museum
At the end of the 1800s, before electricity was available on the island, a clever engineer created electricity to drive the trams uphill to Laxey.
Back in the day, the Isle of Man was a testbed for new ideas and inspired thinking and the Manx Electric Railway is one of the few remaining examples of that.
It saddened me to learn that the MER workshops are on limited funding and the skills required to maintain the workings and old carriages, are in danger of being lost.
Now seems a good time for the Isle of Man to resume its former place on the stage of trialling new ideas and technology. Become proactive again in the quest to design more efficient transport and replace the fossil fuels we are so heavily reliant on.
Aside from the tram sheds, another landmark at that end of Douglas Promenade is the derelict site of what was once a leisure-centre, Summerland. The cliff face is still scarred with it’s tragic history.
I haven’t been down that way for years and instantly thought how the site could be transformed under the guidance of Sir Tim Smit and his team at the Eden Project.
Why The Eden Project should be front of mind was probably down to 3 things:
- I visited Eden for the first time in December last year and the impression it made upon me was immense.
- The development of Eden Project Morecambe, which is just 50 miles east, across the Irish Sea, is going ahead, confirmed in January by the allocation of £50m UK government funding
- Sir Tim is visiting the island at the end of the month, the perfect opportunity for me to share my idea with him – if only I could meet him.