Last year the pages of Times Past erupted in all sorts of argument and dispute about the Three Legs of Man. It didn’t get very far but a lot of people took part, much of the debate focussing on which way round the Legs should run.
I hark back to this because there is a new book on sale which adds a great deal to what we know and don’t know. It is called ‘Three Legs Good’, it has been written by Sara Goodwins, and it has been published by Loaghtan Books at Dreemskerry Hill, Maughold which she runs with her husband George Hobbs.
It is a high quality production in itself as far as appearance is concerned. The research is highly detailed and there are many lovely illustrations, some of which could be new to some Manx scholars.
I have chosen to show one taken in the sunken gardens on Douglas seafront for its stunning colours and imaginative work by one of the gardeners.
As a matter of odd interest there is also a photograph of a traditional Manx roadside milestone standing on the Ballure Road just outside Ramsey. It has a Three Legs symbol on it (clockwise) and, remarkably, it gives the distance to the Point of Ayre as eight-and-one-eighth miles.
Are there other out there with that kind of detail?
Written by Terry Cringle, published in the Times Past section of the Isle of Man Examiner, Tuesday 10 March 2015
