I love Manx characters.

They have interesting stories to tell about our island over the years.

My old friend Willie Kneale was such a person as he would compère Castletown Metropolitan Silver Band concerts and share stories and jokes.

I’m really pleased that Culture Vannin has recordings of him and other interesting people which can be accessed online.

It’s so good to listen to his voice as he recalls memories. I can imagine his wide grin and sparkling eyes as he remembered times from long ago with no doubt a spoonful of artistic licence!

There are a number of other Manx characters whose voices have been recorded by the cultural organisation.

The late David Callister from Manx Radio also spent a great deal of time archiving voices from the past and it’s always interesting to hear about often difficult times from long ago.

David spent one term in the Legislative Council in Tynwald after reporting proceedings for many years.

I proposed him in the election and his primary motivation was to try to make all Tynwald members more democratically accountable. He was also well known as the writer of ‘The TT Hall of Fame’, which he recorded, accompanied by Athol Moore on banjo in the 1960s.

I spent a couple of hours with John McCormick recently and he certainly had lots of memories to share.

Much of his career was driving all sorts of vehicles for a number of different employers.

He recalled learning to drive before he was legally old enough to do so and went on to share a number of stories.

His recollections were as fresh as if they were yesterday and I apologise for not putting them in chronological order as it took me all my time to make notes.

I recently attended a very interesting talk by Dudley Butt, another person who served on the Legislative Council, which I will come back to some time but one of the reasons he made progress as a young police officer was that he could type quickly and properly.

That would have been helpful to me as my typing is still with one finger, shorthand nonexistent and my notes from the meeting with Mac are scrawled in an A5 notebook!

Mac worked at the Isle of Man Dairy, later to become the Milk Marketing Association, in Spring Gardens off Sydney Street, Douglas.

He felt sorry for the neighbours immediately adjacent as the dairy was a noisy place from early in the morning.

He remembered Peter Corkhill, as do I, who lived latterly at Ellenbrook, and would come to work on his scooter.

Also Tommy Brew, Tubby Kneale and Tommy Fayle among others. When he worked at the dairy there were still five horses used to convey the milk to customers.

The dairy then moved on to electric vans (ahead of their time or what?) and Mac recalls customers coming out with bread for the horses to keep them sustained.

The milk delivery men would have to carry a bit of bread to encourage the horses if no one was around.

He remembers this particularly in Demesne Road and Tynwald Street, which would be very busy areas in the summer months as most of the houses took guests in.

Ahead of their time the electric vehicles may have been but on snowy days in Willaston a sled had to be used to move the milk deliveries as the electric vehicles struggled.

Mac worked at the fat stock for five years as a foreman and among others remembers Roy Slann, who has recently passed away.

I remember Roy showing really good border terriers and he could often be seen walking them around Douglas.

Roy lived in Peel Road and Mac tells me Roy used to live on the Quay when he lived in 77 Lord Street.

I’ve been told before and he confirmed that some residents of South Quay and Leigh Terrace used to benefit from coal which fell off the wagons on their way past.

Among others Mac worked for Bert Watterson and Bert and Ray Cretney as well as with Ray Purvis.

He drove a number of flat-deck wagons and recalls taking heavy oil tanks to Peel power station.

He had an ‘all groups’ driving licence and he passed his test with Norman Radcliffe.

One interesting story was when Mac went over to Liverpool with George and Margy Sutcliffe in a private plane and was handed the controls for a time.

He ended up on a boat sailing for Australia delivering wagons, an eight-week voyage. He stayed in Australia for two-and-a-half years driving very long mileages and got on well with the drivers whom he described as good friends who would always help each other out.

He would sleep in his wagon and recalls seeing a dishevelled Yorkshire terrier by the side of the road, obviously abandoned.

He became his travelling companion and best pal.

Mac drove double-decker buses for a time and he told me how they used to be transported to the island after being loaded in Liverpool by the Mersey mammoth and were able to drive off this side of the Irish Sea when the tide was right.

He worked for the National Coal Board as a coal man and he worked with the late Ernie Kelly as his mate.

He recalls working with Jerry Kneale and Peter Cowin and delivering to Willaston.

He also delivered to Douglas Lighthouse as did Dennis Watson and would carry two 1cwt bags then return back up the steps.

This was not his only experience with coal as he remembers as a schoolboy having every Saturday to bring the coal to his mum in Lord Street up three flights of stairs!

Around that time he reminded me of the shops in Quine’s Corner, such as Frank Hudson the grocer, later taken over by Ken Taubman whom I remember very well and who was a competitor in the Clubman’s TT.

Next door was Mr Sparkes the electrician (what an appropriate name).

Another character was Arthur Hall, the diver who some will remember for his large diving helmet and suit.

Mac was a ‘floater’ at the Harbour and Highway Board and would drive whatever was required.

From gulley sucker, gritter, roadsweeper for road traffic accidents, snow plough to a bulldozer, cleaning and keeping level the harbours of Douglas, Castletown, Laxey, Peel or Port St Mary.

He was also able to retrieve some of the coal from the harbour bed for his mum. He worked on the construction of the breakwater.

He drove the steam roller for the Highway Board and had to keep the fire going and steer as the vehicle slowly went along. He remembers the late Frank Karran (Peter’s dad) and Taffy Sayle. He was involved in the erection of bridges on the TT course.

He is though perhaps best known as a crane driver for the Harbour Board being the first heavy crane driver.

The last driver of the steam crane he would attend at 5am to steam up and when working was accompanied by stokers Charlie and George Cowell.

He was involved lifting large vessels out of the water or other places including for Nicky Keig, Freedom Yachts and Odin’s Raven in 1979. He transported the replica Viking vessel around the island and all the way to London!

It was a pleasure to meet him again and I hope I’ve done justice to a hard working, talented and interesting Manxman.