Film premiere to open new season of talks for Rushen Heritage Trust

Screening to take place at Erin Arts Centre on 4 November

The premiere of a film charting the history of the Colby River will open a new season of talks for Rushen Heritage Trust.

Commissioned by Arbory and Rushen Commissioners, Romance of a River: The Beauty and History of the Colby River is narrated by Phil Gawne.

The 42-minute film, supported by Culture Vannin, tells the story of the Colby River, from where it enters the sea at Kentraugh, to its source on the slopes of Cronk ny Arrey Laa.

It will be screened at 7.30pm at Erin Arts Centre in Port Erin on Monday 4 November.

Jane Glover, Chairman of Arbory & Rushen Commissioners, and Phil Gawne will introduce the film, and field questions afterwards.

Phil said: "The Colby River has for centuries been seen as a physical boundary between the parishes of Arbory and Rushen. 

"When the opportunity came to make this film three years after the parishes merged, it seemed fitting the subject should be the Colby River, a feature common to both. 

"The film captures the beauty of the river as well as its history and the folklore associated with it."

Romance of a River kicks off RHT’s new season, with each of the six talks through to April 2024 taking place at the Erin Arts Centre in Port Erin.

The other dates are:

• December 2 – Ivor Ramsden – Amateurs Can't Run a Museum: 24 years of the Manx Aviation and Military Museum
• January 6 – Paul Costain – Fields of Time: Exploring Moorhouse farm and the Isle of Man’s agricultural heritage
• February 3 – Julie Blackburn – Collinson House: A History of one of Port Erin's most iconic buildings
• March 3 – Allison Fox – Balladoole/Chapel Hill: 8,000 years of life and death
• April 7 – James Franklin – Folklore of Port St Mary

Tickets for each talk are £7 – or £5 for Friends of Rushen Heritage Trust – and available online here or from Erin Arts Centre, Bridge Bookshop (cash only) and Rushen Heritage Centre in Port Erin.

Tickets for each talk will go on sale after the previous talk has taken place.

For more details, contact RHT Coordinator John Quirk at rushenht@gmail.com or on 464634.