My Manx
Memories
On a beautiful
summer’s day in 1995 I stood on Maughold Head, on the east coast of the Isle of
Man, with a friend of mine from school days. We cast our eyes southward across
Laxey Bay; eastward - past the lighthouse and across the Irish Sea to the Mull
of Galloway and the Cumberland Mountains; northward to Ramsey; and then inland
to North Barrule and the chain of hills that form the ‘backbone’ of the Island.
Nearby was Maughold church, where the Island’s largest collection of Celtic
crosses is housed, and just outside the churchyard were some lovely red fuschia
bushes. As I drank in the view I was filled with a sense of gratitude that I
had been born on this wonderful Island.
When you are
born and brought up in a place you don’t always appreciate what you have at the
time. Looking back at my childhood now, I realise that I was just so fortunate
to have grown up on the Isle of Man.
I came to
Australia in 1966 but it wasn’t until about 1990 that I first had contact with
the Queensland Manx Society. At first I was amazed at the enthusiasm of other
members. They were just so interested in their Manx heritage, and so keen to
get, and to share, any knowledge of the Isle of Man. It’s been such a pleasure
to get to know so many of the members - I value their friendship and I’m really
grateful to them for passing on their enthusiasm and for stirring up in me so
many memories of the Isle of Man and the days of my youth spent there.
Whilst I lived
in Douglas, the capital, we were really on the outskirts of the town, with
fields stretched out behind us. With my friends I spent many happy hours
playing in those fields. We would run through
them, down to the river at Tromode - where my Father used to fish. Over the
years he caught some lovely salmon there and in 1954 he caught a record-breaking
salmon (15lbs. 10ozs.) His name was recorded in the Douglas and District Angling
Club’s Year Book and his record still stood in 1995. As there is far less water
in Tromode River these days it is unlikely that his record will be
broken.
When I was about
eleven we moved out to Signpost Corner (on the TT course) on the road from
Onchan to Hilberry. There were only half a dozen houses there in those days and
we were surrounded by fields where we were able to gather mushrooms and
blackberries. Today those fields are all gone and those few houses are lost in
the midst of a huge housing estate.
The Island
really came to life in the summer months and of course we always looked forward
to that season. It started with the T.T. races – first practice week at the end
of May and then the actual race week. It was an exciting time for us as
children – we would be at the pits for the early morning practices, hoping to
get some autographs from the riders. There was no school during race week so we
were able to go out for the day to watch the races – usually from a vantage
point on a hedge near Signpost Corner.
In those days
Tourism was still a major industry on the Island and many visitors from England
came over for their holidays. This included my cousins from Scotland and
England and we had a great time together through those summer months. For our
own holiday we sometimes travelled all the way to the west coast of the Island,
where we stayed at Glen Wyllin.
Mum and Dad
loved to get out and about on weekends in the summer and we would go all over
the Island. We always took a picnic with us but of course the weather could
never be guaranteed even in the summer and many a time we would end up having to
sit in the car to eat our picnic. It was all part of the fun! Mum loved to go
to a beach and have a swim in the sea and it was at Ramsey one year that she
taught me to swim. The water was always too cold for Dad but he was happy to
just relax on the beach while we swam.
Summer meant
such things as enjoying plenty of Manx kippers, walking along the Promenade at
Douglas at night-time so that we could see the lights festooned along the
‘prom’, and dancing at the Palace ballroom (now the Casino). The sunken gardens
on the ‘prom’ were in full bloom for the summer and the fountain would be
going.
These all seem
such simple things, yet they were all a big part of summer on the Isle of Man
for me – things to be looked forward to from year to year and now things to look
back on - all part of my memories of a wonderful childhood on the Isle of
Man.
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