Isle of Man... miscellaneous comments

[fajrdrako]

After supper this evening, I decided to go for a walk by the sea. Which is one of the reasons I am here - that beautiful sea. Navy blue in the evening light.

Then I got onto one of the horse-drawn trams that go alone the Douglas Promenade, along the shoreline of Douglas Bay. It was included in my transportation ticket - which was a great deal: and I used it well - on two electric trains, one steam train, five inter-town buses and a horse tram.

• I can't pin down a Manx accent. Some people sound English to me, some Irish, but that might be because they are Irish or English. And some people sound strange, but it's an individual strangeness, not generic.
  
  
• I don't see much evidence of the Manx language except in place names, where they seem rather like Irish place-names. On a few signs, especially offical tourist things, and some unofficial tourist merchandise.
  
  
• The ubiquitous motorcycles that are so much the symbol of this island are starting to get to me. I found myself considering getting a TT jacket, and not because I was cold. I've discovered I have some fond motorcycle associations in my head, like Bodie, and Ewan MacGregor.
  
  
• There are beautiful, beautiful gardens here. Not more beautiful than Ottawa's, but more than most places.
  
  
• There aren't a lot of churches. There are a number of buildings that used to be churches and are now office buildings. There's a big one in Castletown is an insurance company now. There's a tiny cathedral in Peel - and I don't say 'tiny' to compare it with the huge Liverpool cathedrals, but because it is small by the standards of most modern urban churches. Best thing about it: it had a labyrinth outside it. But it's just mown into the grass, a little hard to follow - yes, of course I walked it. Beautiful! But small.
  
  The other churches I've seen that are still operational mostly seem to be Methodist. The tourist film on the history of Man said that John Wesley was here, and he said the people were "admirably plain and simple, unaffected". I'm not sure I'd be flattered if someone described me and mine that way. It sounds a lot like calling them unsophisticated rustics. Maybe that's what he thought. Or maybe he really did mean a nuance of 'simple' that I heartily approve of - minimalist.
  
  
• I was curious about a historical point that the history film raised in my mind, and found an opportunity to ask it at Rushen Castle. The first guide I asked didn't know, but she found another guide to ask, so I got my answer. The film talked about the Tynwald, the parliament of Man which is said to be the world's oldest continuously-operating parliament, dating to c. 900 A.D. Fair enough. But it also talked about the long, autocratic feudal rule of the Stanley family on Man from the 14th to 17th centuries. I asked how the Lords of Man, the Stanleys, got along with the Tynwald. I wasn't sure whether they were at odds with the Tynwald (being the local government) or whether they just co-opted it. Turns out, unsurprisingly, it was the latter: the Stanley's appointed their own people to the Tynwald throughout those centuries. Not every parliament is democratic. This may explain why the local heroes are freedom-fighters who fought the lords for people's right. That, and lifeboat operators.
  
  
• Most places I've been are full of Japanese and American tourists. Not the Isle of Man. Almost all the tourists are from England, Scotland, or Wales. A few from Ireland. Only today did I see an American couple, who sort of stood out and non-British.
  
  This isn't to say there isn't ethnic diversity. There is, both among the tourists and the locals. But they're just about all British.
  
  An exception: I was looking in the guest book at the cathedral in Peel. Everyone there was from the UK (the furthest being from Surrey) except for one man two days ago: from Toronto.
  
  
• In researching the Isle of Man last year, I came across numerous indications that the islanders have the reputation of being homophobic. During his concert, John Barrowman asked whether there were any gays in the audience. There were a couple of replies, not much, and he said, "Oh. It's like that here, then," and went on to other subjects. Making a joke about it, but making a point, too. Me? I didn't answer because my brain immediately goes into a "if you're bi does that mean you're gay?" loop that I've yet to resolve. Mostly I say 'yes', for political solidarity if nothing else.
  
  
• A friendly woman from London asked me what brought me "all the way from Canada" to Man. ("And here I thought it was a long way from London!" she said. Well. We all know about the different attitudes to distance in the UK and Canada - and that being said, the British are some of the most intrepid world travellers I've known.
  
  Anyway, I told her that I loved islands and I love the sea and I wanted to go somewhere I'd never been. Why didn't I say I came here to go to a John Barrowman concert? That's no less true. But I wasn't sure she'd know who he was. Considering how often he's on TV in the UK, maybe everyone here knows him.
  
  
• I saw TV Times has an article and pictures of Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor. Yay! I didn't buy it because my pack already weights too much, but I was thrilled to see it.
  
  
• I was hoping for seafood, traditional Manx food. Kippers, that kind of thing. And there was a kipper among other items in my supper last night, though the main dish was roast pork. The restaurants here seem to be mostly:
  • pizza
    
  • Indian
    
  • Chinese take-away
  And the hotel fare seems traditionally British. Except for the curious national treatment of toast, it's all pretty much what I'd be eating at home. I did have some very good fish and chips in Peel yesterday.
  
  
• I got an almost-private tour of the House of Keys in Castletown today - that's the house of Parliament of the early Manx democracy in the 19th century. (Mind you, they had a democratic parliament in the 10th century, not bad. Took them almost a millennium to get that back, it seems.) I was the only one who wanted a ticket to the show - they have a thing with voting on issues and a film and audio-visual stuff, very high-tech. But they don't do it for only one person. So the man who runs it said he'd show me around for free - and he did, though "around" is a bit misleading, because it's really only one room. It was extremely interesting.
  
  During the usual show, people vote on issues. The guide said they always vote against the EU. I asked why - since I think the EU is a wonderful thing, and I wish Canada could join. (And look what it did for Ireland.) The answer for Man is really self-evident: the first thing they'd have to do would be to change the laws that make them a tax haven, which have given them all this modern prosperity.
  
  
• To go to Castletown, I took the Steam Train from Douglas. Each car is set up with sets of seating, each section meant for maybe 6 or 8 people. I was the only one in my section when a wedding party came in, with a cheery "you don't mind, do you?" I was delighted. They were a lively bunch.... reminding me of Gwen Cooper's hen party, in fact. Young and pretty. The American in the other section of the car joked that they were "drunk and disorderly" but they really weren't, for all they were drinking champagne all the way to Ballabash - they were just loud. One girl had a big sash that said 'bridesmaid', another was "chief bridesmaid' - don't they have the phrase "Maid of Honour" here? The very attractive woman sitting across from me had a big cartoonish pink button that said THE BLUSHING BRIDE. I don't think she was blushing, she was enjoying herself too much. Bridesmaid said she'd offered to stoke the train man's fire, and when he walked by on the platform outside, she let out a wolf whistle. He was young and long-haired, in a rather Beatle-like style - I think he smiled, but I couldn't be sure.
  
  
• I also saw the Castletown Grammar School today, the one in use all through the 19th century. It looked like all the 19th century schoolhouses I've ever seen, and brought Jane Eyre to mind - not Mr. Brocklehurst's big nasty establishment, but the simple school she founded and ran for St. John Rivers.
  
  
• Speaking of schools - it was exciting to see King William's College, familiar to me from the annual Quiz, and looking just like it does in its pictures.