In The Archive Room this week ....

Louise Quirk talks with Captain Corteen in 1971 as the Lady of Mann made a farewell trip to the Calf of Man before leaving the Isle of Man for good.

Historian Peter Kelly talks to David Callister about the very early days of the Gaiety Theatre - and we get a first taste of electronic music from the Sulby Phantom Band!

And it's not just the interviews that are vintage - listen out for some vintage advertisements too!

Leslie Bannan was an energetic young salesman between the two Wars, keen to get his drapery business off the ground - and he paints a vivid picture of rural life, and selling textiles to the farming community, in conversation with John Kennaugh

And Tom Cowell is in his beloved Baldwin Valley - taking a walk round the village and chatting with Charles Webster.

In The Archive Room this week, we use a vintage episode of The History Makers, and an episode of Kelly's Eye, to recall the inspiring story of Nellie Brennan - the "Mother" of Manx nursing.

Then we go North to Ballaugh - where a young Laura Briggs spent 4 years as a member of the Manx Women's Land Army during the Second World War - but this isn't a straightforward tale of farm life - there's recreation, rioting, and recruiting too!

And we meet husband and wife Kenny and Connie Brew - who remember a very different Ballaugh village to the one we know today - cart tracks instead of a road between the two churches, and no less than EIGHT shops in the village - and then there's the story of Connie's brush with The Law .... !!

And listen out for a 1970's Manx Radio jingle, and a vintage advertisement too!

The year is 1980 - the 150th anniversary of the IOM Steam Packet Company - General Manager Sydney Shimmin shares stories from past and present; Teacher Irene Shimmin gets a surprise new career when she goes to hire a hall, and Advocate Martin Moore shares memories of childhood and early working years - but please don't take the vintage adverts too seriously!

In The Archive Room this week - Dee Lewis reflects on 16 very varied years working at Manx Radio; we discover just how difficult it is to make a radio commercial, and a Governor tries his hand at ploughing at Cronk-y-Voddy.

Plus - two very different poems - one by Patsy Everett and another by Ronnie Fell - offer snapshots of Island life

In The Archive Room this week - Charles Guard reports on the 1982 flood - the worst the Island had ever experienced; former Lt Governor Sir Laurence New shares some Tynwald Day thoughts; inventor and adventurer Jack Carine is remembered by his two daughters, and Radio Isabella takes to the air - from its studios in Laxey Primary School!

Kathleen Morrey recalls the time her home was used as a film set - John Kelly recalls his years as a butcher in Peel - residents of Glenside are full of tales of family life - Group Captain David Scouller talks about an airship - and we celebrate a very famous song that would never have been written, had it not been for our own John Kaneen ..... it's all in The Archive Room this week.

In this first programme of the new series, David Callister talks with Inkerman Faragher and with Ellen O'Brien (also known as Cissy)

Born in 1924 and 1922 respectively, they both spent the majority of the childhood in the Children's Home in Douglas, following the death of their parents. Here they share memories of their childhood, including being film extras on George Formby's 'No Limit' and meeting the star himself.

There are stories of their experiences during the Second World War, and they reminisce about their working life which, for Inkerman, meant 40 years in the world of politics, including many years as a Councillor in various Douglas Wards, and a year as the Mayor of Douglas. Cissy had a full working life, but also managed to raise a family of 7 children.

This programme has extra content, not in the broadcast edition!

A potted history of the TT Races - from journalist and race commentator Geoff Cannell, teaches us that, in its early days, it didn't involve bikes at all, and even when the bikes did join in, the race was never about speed!

Manx Radio's first Managing Director, John Grierson, explains the mysterious means by which the first race commentaries were broadcast, and there's interviews with race veteran Stanley Woods, and Formula 1 racing car and motorbike champion John Surtees.

David Mylchreest talks about the years he spent doing one of the most sought-after tasks in the TT Festival - driving the Roads Open car - a task he took over from his father Brian, in 1977.

And finally - one of the most original and entertaining additions to any TT Festival was the arrival of the Purple Helmets. In this extended interview, recorded in 2007, Purple Helmet Jim Davidson tells David Callister how they came into being - and other stories!