Women Today

On 26th Jan 2018 our guest on the Conister Rock was the Island's very own 'starman' and astronomer Howard Parkin, an Onchan resident with his sights firmly set on the Dark Skies. Howard’s life seems to lead him on adventures at every turn – from live links with astronauts on the International Space Station, to the time when, in an attempt to have a fairly laid back family holiday, he actually found himself caught up in the mourning of notorious political figure Fidel Castro! But today, we settled back and listened in awe as he talked about the universe, about other life forms, light pollution and - of course - the Origins of Howard himself. With music ranging from the The Eagles to King Crimson, it was a fascinating hour and well worth listening back.

Beth and Christy have started 2018 by tackling something new, or educational, or creative, or community based or just plain fun, every week for 50 weeks! For Week 2, they took on a Beach Buddies Beach Clean in Smeale. This is the full length edit of what happened. Many thanks to Bill Dale and his wonderful Buddies. Tune in Mondays and Thursdays between 2 and 3pm to find out what the next challenge is - and feel free to join them in their weekly quests. If you do, we'd love you to send us photos or even audio or video of your challenges to [email protected]

Christy was joined in the studio on January 5th 2018 by Christine Collister, whose reviews speak volumes about her creative talent: according to Q magazine, “boundary breaking is routine for Collister and makes her one of the finest grown-up vocalists on the planet” ; Mojo says “she can sing the birds down off the trees and send them back with a tiny flick of her vocal chords.” While the Times tells it straight, with the simple statement “she has a voice personally delivered by God.” But as you’ll know if you’ve heard her on the programme with us before, or been to any of her concerts, Christine Collister is so much more than just a voice - and she proved as much in this special programme, sharing memories of her career and also some of the music that has really meant something to her.

Christy was joined in the studio on Dec 1st by Dhamma Master Michael Kewley (DhammaChariya Pannadipa) who shared fascinating memories and music with us about his spiritual journey, from a simple life beginning on Palatine Road through to being a guru and teacher at major spiritual centres around the world. You can find Michael's new book 'A journey to Awakening', which is a wonderful, funny and (unsurprisingly) insightful read, via his website PureDhamma.org.

We were joined in the studio on Dec 1st by Dhamma Master Michael Kewley (DhammaChariya Pannadipa) who shared fascinating memories and music with us about his spiritual journey, from a simple life beginning on Palatine Road through to being a guru and teacher at major spiritual centres around the world. He stayed behind after the programme to talk to Christy about his own Teacher, share his thoughts on happiness and how we can be more loving in our lives. You will also hear his final music choice - which we didn't have time for on the show - James Taylor's You've Got A Friend. You can find Michael's new book 'A journey to Awakening', which is a wonderful, funny and (unsurprisingly) insightful read, via his website PureDhamma.org.

This time of year, the days are getting shorter, meaning of course that the afternoons and mornings are darker - and so are the roads. So a question raised in UK Government recently is perhaps more pertinent now than ever as a consultation, announced following a series of high-profile incidents involving cyclists, looks to examine a raft of potential measures – including the consideration of mandatory wearing of helmets and high vis clothing. Christy spoke to the Isle of Man Constabulary’s Road Safety Manager, Samantha Heard, who is very well aware of the consultation, to find out what she thought of the idea of us making helmets and high vis compulsory for the Island's cycling population

We were joined on the programme on 10th November by 9 year old Lula Brown, who has been raising money and awareness of water based charities since the age of 7; she has now created GUSHGUSH to promote her work and the issues faced by millions of people less fortunate than herself all over the world. She spoke maturely, articulately and passionately about what she does and why she does it - and she melted our hearts! She even sang to us... Many thanks also to Dad Alex who sat in with Lula, and couldn't help but express how proud he is of his daughter. If you would like to find out more about GUSHGUSH, or contribute to PROJECT 10 - Lula's latest fundraising campaign - find out more here https://www.facebook.com/Gushgushwaterprojects/ You can also watch her wonderful videos on the website too: http://gushgush.strikingly.com/

Marian Kenny has been in the radio industry for more than 30 years, starting in 1984 at Radio Hallam, Sheffield where her first job was reporting from colliery picket lines during the year-long miners’ strike. She 'scooped' some incredible interviews in her time - miners leader Arthur Scargill and Terry Waite’s mother when the hostages were freed from years of imprisonment in Beirut to name just two, before moving to the IOM in 2003 looking for a quiet life... Luckily for us, she was soon sucked into Manx Radio, where she was appointed News Editor in 2008. Despite all the varied news stories covered in the UK, she describes the Isle of Man as "by far the most varied and challenging ‘patch’ I’ve ever worked in" - in this interview she tells us why, and shares many other fascinating stories and insights, in a special programme broadcast on her final day at the station.

November 24th was a chance for us to have another Conister Rocks special, where we spent a wonderful hour in the company of 89 year old George Davison. George shared his memories with Beth along with some of his favourite pieces of music - including a beautiful recording of himself with the Regal Singers. While sharing music ranging from Les Miserables to La Boheme, George spoke with Beth about what brought him to the Island, about his various appointments such as President of the Caledonian Society, about his time running the Marathon Court Nursing Home with his wife Joan and, of course, about the award winning family business of Davison's Ice Cream. 

If you missed the programme, you can listen again here now.

When he was just 11 years old, Ben Grainger scooped 5 medals - including two golds - in the National Para Swimming Championships, where he was the youngest in the Under 14 category. He went on to compete in the British Disability Championships in 2015, winning 3 golds and 2 silvers. Last year, aged just 13, Ben was selected for the British Swimming Para Academy where he is one of 49 athletes in the programme set to develop talent for the 2020 Paralympics in Tokyo.

An Ambassador for Microgaming’s PlayItForward initiative, Ben is also a former winner of the Dreamcatcher Heroes in the Community Award, received the Responsible Business award in September for Positive Role Model and, just a few days ago, landed another as Young Achiever at the Isle of Man Awards for Excellence.

Christy managed to distract Ben from his rigorous training routine when he returned to visit the Island in October, and he and his Mum Sonia came to speak about his plans and many achievements...