The Isle of Man Photographic Society was once again delighted to welcome Ray Kelly as its guest speaker.

Ray is the author of two books on Manx tholtans, which have been the subject of an exhibition at the Manx Museum as well as being featured in a set of stamps for the Manx Post Office.

Ray is a true Manxman and, in his professional career, he has had opportunity to visit many of the farms on the island, to build his knowledge of our countryside and to photograph much of its landscape - in particular, the tholtans, which are such a temporary feature.

The farms, once unoccupied, rapidly deteriorate and collapse.

As a photographer, his images form a rich and important part of our island heritage and history.

The subject of his presentation was the Sulby valley, and the tholtans occupying the heights overlooking the valley.

We started at the southern end of the Sulby reservoir, at a lovely and very isolated location called Crammag, traversing round the eastern end of the reservoir to Llergyrhenny, which lies just below the Tholt-y-Will road, and then along the eastern side of the Sulby valley, taking in Tholt-y-Will farm, Ballaskella, Ballamish and ending at several tholtans around the Cluggid.

Thereafter, we crossed the valley to Killabregga (now owned by Manx National Heritage) and ended our tour at Montpelier on the Druidale road.

The presentation was well illustrated and included many anecdotes of life on the farms - for example, the brothers who fell out and would not speak to each other but passed notes across their kitchen table, the remains of the horse mills (used for threshing the oats) still to be found on many of the farms, the farmer at Killabregga who at the age of 80 would daily climb the steep hillside of the Sulby valley to feed his animals, and even one farmer who simply upped-sticks and departed his farm leaving a note saying ’gone to America’ - all evoking an image of hardship and a lifestyle now disappeared.

It was an evening much enjoyed by an enthusiastic audience - the club president, gave a well-deserved vote of thanks.

Chris Blyth