Just a few curious things about the Isle of Man.
A true Manxman [ Manninagh dooie ] will never say the R-word...that is, the name of the rodent found everywhere , you know, the one that is quite a bit bigger than a mouse and spelled with three letters. We call them long tails. As I said a true Manxman will never say that word and will cringe if it is spoken in his company.
If you ever hear anyone saying.... 'Hey yisser '...... anywhere in the world....never fear, there is a Manxman close by ..!
When the first World War ended, the Manx , who were involved, were never signatories to the Peace Treaty which every other country signed . Officially we remained in a state of war with Germany and when WW 2 started the little Isle of Man just carried on where it had left off !!
There is a law on the Manx Statute Book that says a Manxman may shoot a Scotsman on sight. This old law was never repealed though I have to admit we don't shoot many Scots these days .
In the heyday of the Manx herring fleet , it was considered very unlucky to be the third boat to leave the harbour for a night's fishing , So, the third and fourth boats left tied together .
In the hills, in the South of the Island, there is a section of road with an obvious slope. Park facing downhill, with the engine off and when you release the handbrake, your car will run backwards up the hill. Its very weird ......but true! Locally , it's known as the Magnetic Hill.
Manx fairies are not the gentle little creatures with wings, waving their wands that you see in children's books. Here, they are not quite so friendly, intent on doing you harm if you do not greet them properly when travelling over the bridge under which they live. Travel on any South bound bus and you will see passengers acknowledging the lil' people.
Mind has gone blank,.... never fear.......... I will think of some more..Ha ha ! Groans all round !
Just thought of another one: The world famous TT races are held the Isle of Man because in 1907, when a reliability trial for motor cycles was suggested, racing on public roads was not permitted in the UK. The Island, being independent from the rest of Britain, and not one to miss a chance, allowed the races to be held here. And so it has been ever since .
Captain William Bligh, of ' Mutiny on the Bounty ' fame had a Manx wife and was married on the Island , in a church in Onchan. Incidentally, this village , just outside Douglas , was where I grew up. Fletcher Christian , the leader of the mutineers, was descended from a long line of Manx gentry and spent his early years on the Isle of Man , when his widowed mother fled to the Island from England to escape debtors. Incidentally. Peter Heywood , a 15 year old midshipman aboard the Bounty, was also among the mutineers,.....and was a Manxman ! After many adventures during the next five years after the Mutiny, he was caught and returned to England where he received the death penalty for his part in the mutiny, but was pardoned and went on to achieve high naval rank.
NB....I had to research that last sentence !
I knew about this next story but I just found a reference to it in 70 year old book I have and have put a page from it onto this blog.
Women were publicly whipped in the village of Onchan [ then called Conchan] probably around 1800. It doesn't say in the picture what their offences were but from what the caption infers, maybe they weren't as faithful to their husbands or boyfriends as they should have been .......I just don't know !! As the caption also says, this stone pillar still stands in Onchan,...... still with the hole for the rope to pass through and now part of the Church wall.
Curiously enough, there is a reference to Bligh [ see above ] on the same page
There is another punishment once used on the Island and only stopped about 30 years ago. This was the birch....adminstered on the bare bottom of young offenders up to the age of 18, by a burly police sergeant . The birch was a bundle of thin birch rods bound together and it's a well known fact that none of these young law breakers ever offended again. Lots of people regret the abolition of the birch as many youngsters can be found now, roaming the streets causing trouble .
A thought has just struck me .....ouch !.......... maybe it would be of interest to some if I published a few pages from the book on this blog, from time to time. Lots of old curious facts about the island ...and of course the picture can be enlarged to be more legible . Any comments???
