In this first programme of the new series, David Callister talks with Inkerman Faragher and with Ellen O'Brien (also known as Cissy) Born in 1924 and 1922 respectively, they both spent the majority of the childhood in the Children's Home in Douglas, following the death of their parents. Here they share memories of their childhood, including being f…

This programme has extra content, not in the broadcast edition! A potted history of the TT Races - from journalist and race commentator Geoff Cannell, teaches us that, in its early days, it didn't involve bikes at all, and even when the bikes did join in, the race was never about speed! Manx Radio's first Managing Director, John Grierson, explains …

From the shelf marked TOURIST TROPHY in the Manx Radio Archive Room ..... Johnny Gelling shares stories of marshalling at the Highlander in his native Crosby Felix Gale explains how he built up a flourishing camping business in Glen Wyllin Politician Jack Nivison discusses how the Island's road surfaces were improved - and how it affected the road …

In this episode of The Archive Room, we take a closer look at the tourist industry on the Isle of Man in the years between the two Wars. In 1919 the Falcon Cliff Hotel was deemed a white elephant - it couldn't make money - but that was before Mr and Mrs Kane bought it in 1919 - and in the early 1920's turned its fortunes around. Tonight we find out…

We're on the move in The Archive Room this week ..... The Curator of the Marown Motor Museum tells David Callister about some of more unusual vehicles on display there; Alfred Duggan talks taxis - reminiscing about the early days of his business when he drove stars and sporting heroes around the Island - and Geoff Cannell and Charles Webster tell D…

In The Archive Room this week ..... Politician and former Speaker of the House of Keys, Victor Kneale CBE and his wife Thelma chat with David Callister (recorded in around the year 2003) about the need to keep the Manx language alive, and share some of the Manx words they use in everyday conversation. Leslie Garrett (born in 1932) reflects on the y…

In The Archive Room this week - a young Dot Tilbury showcases her natural talent as a topical and hilariously funny entertainer - sharing all the behind-the-scenes adventures when Manx Radio first began live broadcasting of the TT Races: We make a first visit to the Baldwin Valley in the company of Manx Radio's Charles Webster talking with Tom Cowe…

As part of Manx Radio's special series of programmes to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the founding of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, in The Archive Room this week we explore the life of Sir William Hillary, a Yorkshireman who came to live in the Isle of Man, and having seen at first hand the significant and regular loss of life throu…

In The Archive Room this week, I'm selecting some gems from the shelf marked TRAVEL - David Callister talks with Wilson Gibb who, for the last 20 years of his working life, was Manager of the Douglas Horse Tram Service - but that wasn't how he started - the full and fascinating story is here! Celia Joughin and Edith Cutsforth joined the staff of Pe…

In The Archive Room this week, Eva Kane remembers a wartime royal engagement at the Howstrake Hotel in Onchan, Irene Shimmin recalls teaching in the 1950's, and her connection with the Douglas Carnival, and The Majorettes; we have our first meeting with Alfie Duggan - caddying at the Fort Anne Golf Links at the tender age of 8 - and Wilson Gibb sha…

In The Archive Room this week .... Irene Shimmin recalls a fascinating family history, shares some memories of her own childhood, and describes the start of her teaching career. Laurie Davies tells how wonderful childhood holidays in Ramsey filled him with a love for the Island which later shaped his life as a teacher and Jean Skinner (nee Corkish)…

Victor Kneale was born in 1918 and grew up in central Douglas - he recalls a happy childhood, and a time when the Island was over-run with holidaymakers - and every home welcomed them in. Mrs Nancy Mills takes John Kennaugh by surprise with her story of the Doctor and the monkey - and listen out for the mention of the donkey who liked to stop for a…

Legendary entertainer Dot Tilbury reflects on her childhood and shares some precious Christmas memories - there's also stories from Dot's working life in London in the Swinging 60's, and stories from her homecoming to the Island - and discovering the joy of working with the very talented and amusing Ian Qualtrough. There's a couple of stories from …

The Three Wise Men of Manx Radio - Bernie Quayle, David Callister and Terry Cringle sit down round the table to share Christmas memories from their respective childhoods. Mother and Daughter Mary Radcliffe and Claire Quayle reflect on life on a poultry farm - for Mary, raising geese and turkeys, and preparing them for the table at Christmas, was ve…

This is the last in the present series of The Archive Room Hollantide Day survives largely in name only nowadays, but once the 12th of November was a hugely important date in farming life - we explore the centuries-old traditions in conversation with two great countrymen - John Kennaugh and Harvey Briggs - with a little Manx history from Dr Fenella…

In this week's episode, David Callister talks to Walter Clarke about his work in the late 1940's recording the last native Manx speakers. Walter explains the challenges of working with an American tape recorder and an unreliable electricity supply - but nevertheless managing to collect some wonderful stories of Island life - including various diffe…

From the Manx Radio archives this week- David Callister talks with Mrs Daphne Corlett about her well-equipped Manx cottage kitchen, full of vintage items from the Edwardian and Victorian era. Euan Kelly of Kelly's Souvenirs explains how a passing interest became a very successful business, and Louise Quirk visits the Manx Museum to talk with techni…

In this episode we go to Peel - to hear memories of fishing for herrings and producing kippers, as David Callister talks with Eddie Leece - famous as the founder of a museum devoted to Peel history, which became known as The Leece Museum. John Kennaugh chats with Callin Hudson to find out how herrings came to Dalby, and Peter Canipa, who ran Devera…

In this episode, it's Harvest time in The Archive Room, as the late John Kennaugh takes us on a nostalgic trip to farms on the Island, in an era when bringing in the harvest was done with very little machinery and a lot of manual labour; when there was no harvest thanksgiving until the harvest was completely in, and when Mill Days and Tea Fights we…

Welcome to the first episode of our autumn amble around the Manx Radio archive - eavesdropping on conversations with more wonderful characters. On this programme, we meet Mrs Mabel Bean, the very first female resident to move into Cummal Mooar on Ramsey Promenade, when it opened its doors in 1981. Despite being over a hundred years old when this co…

We're all aboard the steam railway in this episode - with stories from people who devoted their working life to the smooth running of the trains that were such an important part of Island life in years gone by. Cyril Mylchreest recalls his days as Station Master in Port Soderick and then at Union Mills, in conversation with Charles Guard. And when …

David Callister talks to Mike Ventre about a lifetime working in the Isle of Man Fire Service - from the days when recruitment depended upon your shoe size, and a small number of dedicated firefighters worked very long hours - to the lighter side of the work - involving a disappearing fireman, and a bottle of rum that wasn't quite what it seemed to…

Master storyteller (and natural comedian) Ian Qualtrough introduces us to a host of characters in this edition of The Archive Room - family members, neighbours, staff in the family business and great characters he came to know through a lifetime spent in the south of the Island. There's Willie Sayle, Aunt May, Albert 'Alfonso' Craine, Dick the Bumb…

The 1935 comedy film No Limit tells the story of a Wigan chimney sweep determined to ride in the famous TT Race. Starring George Formby and Florence Desmond, it was a massive international success, and screening it in all the Island's cinemas became an essential part of the TT festival each year. In The Archive Room this week we hear from locals in…

It's an entertainment special this week - with stories from Manx Radio's Archive Room from the days when the Island's cinemas were 'packed to suffocation'. Charles Kelly recalls his childhood visits to the cinema during the First World War years - Charles Draper and Laurie Kissack discuss their years as cinema managers, Eddie Leece remembers a Peel…

Another trip down memory lane, using material from the Manx Radio archives. As well as being a prominent figure in Island life, Donald Gelling is also a great storyteller, and in conversation with David Callister he looks back over his childhood - he was born in 1938 - his schooldays and getting his first job. And transport expert Robert Hendry joi…

In The Archive Room this week, we've been finding stories of policing on the Island in the 1930's and 1940's as told to David Callister by Arthur Underhill and Hector Duff - who both spent the majority of their working life serving the community as members of the Island's police force. Next week's programme will include a selection of stories on a …

In this nostalgic meander down Manx Memory Lane, FRANK DOWNWORTH recalls leaving school at the age of 14 in 1946 and spending the first five years of his working life on the railway at Ramsey Station. He has fond memories of the staff - and a fund of stories - some frightening, and some funny - from his time there. Harry Kelly's thatched cottage is…

In past times on the Island, the Christmas period was known as The Foolish Fortnight and ran from Black Thomas' Eve - 21st December - and ended on Old Christmas Day - 6th January. Much like today, it was a time for socialising, eating, music and dancing! It was also a time for traditional Manx customs, and who better to talk about them than MONA DO…

It's a festive special from the Manx Radio archives today - this collection of Christmas stories, woven into other memories of Manx life, features the voices of John Kennaugh, Noel Cringle, Mrs Pat Corrin, Keith Teare, Mrs Nancy Mills, Hubert and Doreen Kermeen of Ballacraine, Howard Hampton, and the Aeg Threshlyn Children's Choir…

In this programme, we're taking a collection of stories, thoughts and reflections from the shelf marked CHRISTMAS in the Archive Room. Three Wise Men of Media - Terry Cringle, Bernie Quayle and David Callister - share childhood Christmas memories; Mary Radcliffe admits that turkey farming is hard work for adults - but for her daughter Claire it was…

In this episode drawn from recordings in the Manx Radio Archives .... NORMAN BARRON recalls his early years, growing up in Kirk Michael as the eldest of nine children, starting work at 14 years of age, and eventually finding the career that suited him best - delivering the mail - and so much more! We return to Ballabeg as Mrs IRENE CURPHEY recalls …

We're back in The Archive Room to bring you another series of nostalgic looks at Island life in years gone by, through stories told by the people who were there. In this episode, we meet a former Head of Michael School - Tom Cashin - who remembers the harsh winter of 1962/3 but also has a great story of determination, from 1895 ! Mrs Irene Curphey …

Douglas Buxton's massive contribution to music on the Isle of Man - as a singer, a teacher and a choral director - can never be understated. But in this Episode 6 of The Archive Room, we hear DB - as he was affectionately known - talking about his early years, and the influence of another legend - his Father, Fred Buxton, and of his experiences gro…

Music is - and always was - a huge part of Manx life, and we celebrate that, in this selection of stories from The Archive Room. EVA KANE - who grew up in the Falcon Cliff Hotel - recalls her own life in showbusiness, and all the celebrities who made the hotel their Manx home; Norah Moore shares stories of her own life, and of her father Noah Moore…

Once again we open the door to The Archive Room, and meet up with Victor Kneale, Archie Gilmour, Lewin Cain and Hilary Guard. As they chat with David Callister and Bernie Quayle, we'll step back into the 1900's - to a childhood powered by pure imagination and boundless energy ... we'll meet a troublesome parrot and some other interesting animals,..…

In this visit to The Archive Room, ALFIE GILMOUR shares memories of working at Todhunter and Elliot, and later with the Gas Company - work was hard, and there was little job security - but there was certainly a lot of fun to be had ..... KATHERINE COWIN tells how tennis came with great style to Douglas, and shares a few secrets about becoming a pub…

For episode 2 of The Archive Room, we're in old Douglas - in the company of Archie Gilmour, Katherine Cowin, and Lewin Cain, we explore the North and South Quays in the early 1900's and discover an entirely different world to the one we know today. Archie, Katherine and Lewin share stories of their past- the fun they had, the jobs they did, the cha…

Using material from the Manx Radio archive, we take another look at the evidence (or possibly lack of evidence!) for the existence of the Dalby Spook. Another chance to hear David Callister in conversation with Alec Karran, Reggie Bell, Ian Corlett and Kathleen Green - who all have their own story to tell.…

From the archives, full commentary of the Formula One race from 2000, one of Joey Dunlop's final victories on the Mountain Course.By Manx Radio

From the archives, full commentary of the 2019 Sidecar Race 2.By Manx Radio

From the archives, full commentary of the 2010 Superstock Race.By Manx Radio

From the archives, the full race commentary of the 2004 Senior TT.By Manx Radio

Chris catches up with John McGuinness in an exclusive interview recorded for Manx Radio's Mountain Memories.By Manx Radio

Chris catches up with Dominic Herbertson in an exclusive interview recorded for Manx Radio's Mountain Memories.By Manx Radio

Chris catches up with Ryan Farquhar in an exclusive interview recorded for Manx Radio's Mountain Memories.By Manx Radio

Chris catches up with Dean Harrison in an exclusive interview recorded for Manx Radio's Mountain Memories.By Manx Radio

Chris catches up with Matthew Rees in an exclusive interview recorded for Manx Radio's Mountain Memories.By Manx Radio

Chris catches up with Ian Lougher in an exclusive interview recorded for Manx Radio's Mountain Memories.By Manx Radio

Chris Kinley in conversation with John McGuinnessBy Manx Radio