Jamesq

Got out with JK for a loop out on the mountain bike around Injebreck. This is a cool loop door to door and great for a quick ride out. Got a good max speed too but still not broken the 40mph mark.

About a month back I noticed an advert in the paper announcing the “Velvet Lobster, coming soon” or words to that effect. No mention of what the Velvet Lobster was or where it was going to be. A couple weeks back I noticed a piece of paper in the window of a building being done up with the words Velvet Lobster on. (All a bit Derren Brown I thought!!)

Well the building is now open and a new coffee shop, “The Vevet Lobster” sits there. So we tries it, we do. It’s fair to say the Island, Douglas in particular, has more than its fair share of cafes and my first thoughts were another one??? But the Velvet Lobster seems different, the menu is different, they served us at our table, they are looking to get a license and the prices seem really reasonable. What’s more it’s right on the Quay in Douglas overlooking the Marina which feels a little bit removed from the town centre.

I’m off there again today just to magic sure it’s as good as I thought first time and have to say looking forward to it. I’ll definately be going for their Coffee Banoffee shake again too. A much more chilled vibe to this place and really hope it does well.

It doesn’t seem a year ago that the TT celebrated its 100th anniversary. But the Bushy’s beer tent is now up and on Saturday the sound of the first practice session filled the air around Douglas. Continue reading

What!!!! Make the old Summerland site at the end of Douglas Promenade a bus terminal, who’s idea was this???

Nobody’s actually. Well mine I guess. But think about it. It would make a lot of sense. Perhaps only developing the ground floor as a bus terminal and building something worthwhile above like an entertainment complex or a TT Museum with top floor Cafe/Restaurant with views over the Bay. Something a little more imaginative than a car park.

The bus routes could be changed so that buses from the South of the Isle of Man finish at Summerland, opening up the entire Prom to effective convenient public transport, routes from Ramsey and the North of the Isle of Man could travel through Onchan, down Prospect Hill, Victoria Street and along the length of the Prom also. This would help rejuvenate the Prom and what has become an eyesore at the end. The Steam Packet buildings would also be opened up for buses North South and West making it more convenient for Visitors to the Island. Win, Win, Win.

It would also get the buses away from Lord Street so something worthwhile could be done there at the first bit of the Island visitors see as they get off the boat.

We’ll probably make it pretty gardens or a car park and then moan that kids hang around it.

Got up this morning and fancied getting out for a bit of fresh air before starting the days jobs. Don was still in bed so had a cuppa and watched a bit of snowboarding on the box before digging out the trainers. A quick blast of Fabreeze and I was ready. I thought about heading out in the car and going for a run in the hills but decided that if I wanted to go for runs more regularly it had to be easy and from the doorstep. Left the house and ran down to Douglas promenade. It was a great morning to get my first run in, not a breath of wind, overcast and mild with views out over the sea to the single ray of sunshine breaking through on the horizon. I took my iPod Touch for the journey which was a bit bulky and bounced around the whole trip. Just sold my Nano on eBay, typical to find a use for it now! Don might not notice if her iPod Shuffle goes missing in the week…

Hit Douglas beach with the other dog walkers and the odd jogger and followed it over to the old Summerland building. I really hope something is developed here soon. It would be a great spot to put a sports facility to offer kids an alternative to the traditional sports at the NSC. Skateboarding, climbing, BMX, Indoor skiing??, Ice skating. Lets hope a bit of forward thinking goes into whatever is developed there. Anyway there was an older dude out running and I couldn’t catch up so I ran along the other side of the road for a bit so I didn’t feel quite so unfit.

I took a detour on the way back around the back of Promenade T Shirts and up past the entrance to the old funicular railway that ran up to the Falcon Cliff hotel. Although not really steep, by this stage of my run heart-rate was pretty heavy so didn’t get much pace going up the hill. Came out just below Shoprite on Victoria Road and cut back to Broadway and home. Didn’t time it but I reckon it was probably around 30-40mins.

Hopefully start to get out a bit more often now. Makes you appreciate what we’ve got here on the Island. To be in the capital and to be able to go on such a beautiful run. This was only a short run but if I get my fitness back then there’s Douglas Head and the Marine Drive Coast road round to Port Soderick. The bike’s almost ready to come out too so will get a couple of longer routes in then.