Valerie Caine's blog

All roads lead west on the 9th and 10th August when this year's Royal Manx Agricultural Show opens the gates for yet another fantastic day out for all the family - whatever the weather.

Firmly established as one of the highlights on the rural calendar, the Royal Manx Agricultural Show, now held at Knockaloe Farm just outside Peel, is the culmination of months of hard work from both show participants and committee members, led by Secretary Carol Kennaugh.

And this year Mrs Fiona Moore has been nominated as the first woman President.

The forty ninth edition of the Lorient Interceltique Festival will this year focus on celebrating the region of Galicia, recognised for its language, culture and traditions, with a strong Manx contingent alongside during the ten day event.

Hailing from Prince Edward Island, the smallest province of Canada, Gordie MacKeeman and His Rhythm Boys have just finished their latest UK tour and appeared for the second time at the Centenary Centre in Peel, where a packed auditorium tapped their feet in unison with the unmistakable vitality of fiddle player and dancer Gordie MacKeeman.

Now in its forty first year, the Yn Chruinnaght Celtic Gathering is firmly established in its role as an annual celebration of music, song, dance, language and culture in Peel, and is recognised as one of the longest-running Celtic festivals in Europe - which later this month will present a packed programme of entertainment from both at home and abroad.

Last year's inaugural Oie Voaldyn Manx Fire Festival in Peel was literally a spectacular success which returned with an even bigger display during the early May bank holiday weekend.

The late Nigel Kneale is considered to be the Island's most successful radio, television and film scriptwriter, subsequently immortalised by his creation of the cult BBC TV science fiction series Quatermass during the 1950s. But a rarely heard play entitled The Road, recently aired on BBC Radio 4, revealed another side of his work.

He was born in Dalton in Furness in 1922, but the Kneale family returned to the Isle of Man six years later, when his father, a journalist, joined his brother to run the Mona's Herald.

The blossoming of early snowdrops often provides a lifeline into better days, with early birds scouring sheltered gardens and country nooks for signs of change in the final days of winter.

The Celtic festival season bursts into life this weekend with Cwlwm Celtaidd, a family-friendly festival which retains strong links with the Isle of Man and presents a packed weekend programme of concerts, dances, workshops, street displays and legendary bar sessions in the seaside town of Porthcawl.

Returning after a year's hiatus to assess the festival's future strategy, Cwlwm Celtaidd has gone into partnership with TRAC Cymru, an initiative which promotes and encourages the participation and development of the folk music scene in Wales.

With the rise in feminism and raised awareness of the environment dominating the headlines, advocates may look towards an inspirational leader to guide them through their campaigns, but historically St Bridget, who has links with the Isle of Man, may well tick all the boxes.

Local six-piece band Clash Vooar (Big Groove) has been breaking new ground on the Manx music scene with their extraordinary powerful mix of songs, tunes and languages, which has been described as Manx Gaelic gypsy jazz blues, with their debut album hot off the press,