What do you think of this latest non-event on face page or whichever social media that you follow?

Apparently (surprise, surprise) someone has realised that not everything you read on your distraction of choice is true.

Would you believe that some tweeters actually tell lies and spread false rumours? And, worse than that, some other tweeters actually believe them! Never!

In the Isle of Man, that sort of thing has gone on for years. We have our own version of tweet. We call it ’skeet’.

Some short time ago I was relaxing in the cocktail lounge of the Manx Legion club when an old school friend and fellow pullyman John Reilly happened to mention a reference book that he thought I might be interested in.

A few days later the Borough of Douglas Directory’ arrived.

The book is what we would call today a trade and business directory.

It also describes, in some detail, the constitution of the Isle of Man, the Government and the Boards of Tynwald. No ministers in those days.

You can see a parish by parish breakdown of the population of the Island, with a grand total at the last census in 1951 of 54,499.

As you would expect, a publication with the title of ’Borough of Douglas Directory’ includes a list of some of many of the attractions to interest and entertain the summer visitors to the Island’s capital.

For example, the Palace Ballroom, which had been known to have regular audiences of up to 7,000 at the Sunday evening concerts.

If you fancied a quick twirl in the ballroom with one of the top dance bands of the day, you could meet about 2,000 like minded souls on any night of the week.

Ballroom dancing enthusiasts were certainly well catered for.

In addition to the Palace Ballroom there was the Derby Castle, capacity 3.000, the Villa Marina Royal Hall, capacity in excess of 2,000, and the Palais de Danse in Strand Street.

As an aside, the ’Pally’, as it was known to the locals, had just re-opened as a dance hall after a three year stint as a temporary Woolworths (Woollies had been destroyed by a fire in1951).

And in another quickstep back into nostalgia, the Pally, which, after eventually closing it’s doors as a dance hall, enjoyed a spell as an amusement arcade, a fitness centre, and one of the Island’s first supermarkets, the Maypole.

Ironically, the Maypole itself suffered severe damage when it went on fire in 1967.

But back to the Douglas Directory. There is a comprehensive business section that’s something like today’s yellow pages.

Just opened at random to page 63 and you can buy a bathing cap, a blanket or find a bookbinder. You name it, if you wanted it in 1955 and you lived in Douglas, it would be in the book.

There is only one snag with old books and newspapers. If you pick one up, you can never put it down.

Did you know that in 1955, the Steam Packet had a fleet of eight passenger and three cargo ships? This did not include a new passenger ship still under construction.

This is all very interesting, I hear you say, but what’s the point? Well I’ll tell you.

The final section in this fascinating book is simply called ’residential’. It is a list of every house in every street within the Borough of Douglas. It not only lists every property, it tells you if the the person who lives in each and every house is the owner or the occupier.

And there it is in black and white. Pulrose Park, 52 Cedar Grove. Mr R.P.Cowin. Occupier.

We are from Pully. The real Pully. Red roofs, outside toilets, and privet hedges.

Not like those softies in top Pulrose, or the Pully Wanabees in Spring Valley.

It’s official. It’s in the book.

We are Pullymen.