Crane day

My first boat goes in the water, scrapes her keel, dodges the tide, and drags us out at midnight. Sailing!

Dinosaurs on the Promenade

The Jurassic Sprint brings hundreds of inflatable tyrannosaurs to Douglas Promenade, all in a very good cause.

Aboard Dar Młodzieży, Poland’s national sail training ship, during her weekend call at Douglas.

Watching the National from the Lord Daresbury roof, then an unplanned bonus day in Liverpool.

Raiding the Pokémon pop-up at the Natural History Museum, then an Island collectors’ fair finishes the job.

St Patrick’s Day in Belfast, a warm welcome at Ark Lodge, and two Titanic souvenirs banned from the boat.

John Lydon on the Island: my mother reliving her era, my girlfriend none the wiser, and me somewhere between.

The International Bankers’ annual banquet beneath the chandeliers of the Egyptian Hall, with toasts, venison, and a carpet guard from HMS Belfast.

From Benidorm to Edinburgh by first class train, for the oldest lodge in the world and a reply to the visitors’ toast.

Mark Masons in the tallest hotel in Europe, port at the secretaries’ table, and lunch in Altea.