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

Commissioned by Arbory and Rushen Commissioners, ‘Romance of a River: The Beauty and History of the Colby River’ is narrated by radio presenter and former Rushen MHK Phil Gawne, who is now clerk to the Commissioners.

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.

The premiere takes place at 7.30pm at the Erin Arts Centre in Port Erin on Monday, November 4.

Jane Glover, chairman of Arbory and 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.’

The Colby River event will kick-start a new season of talks from the Rushen Heritage Trust, with five more talks being scheduled up until April next year.

These talks include: Ivor Ramsden’s ‘Amateurs Can't Run a Museum: 24 years of the Manx Aviation and Military Museum’; Paul Costain’s ‘Fields of Time: Exploring Moorhouse farm and the Isle of Man’s agricultural heritage’; Julie Blackburn’s ‘Collinson House: A History of one of Port Erin's most iconic buildings’; Allison Fox’s ‘Balladoole/Chapel Hill: 8,000 years of life and death’; and James Franklin’s ‘Folklore of Port St Mary’.

Robert Graham, chairman of the Rushen Heritage Trust, said: ‘We are thrilled to have lined up yet another season of high-calibre speakers. We open with something a bit different – the story of Colby River will be told on screen by Phil, and we are honoured that Arbory and Rushen Commissioners agreed to premiere the film to launch our new season.

‘Looking ahead, we welcome back Ivor Ramsden, who is museum director at the Manx Aviation and Military Museum, along with Allison Fox, curator of archaeology at Manx National Heritage.

‘The other speakers are new to our season of talks – farmer Paul Costain and renowned journalist and writer Julie Blackburn. We’ve tried to get as diverse a range of topics as possible and we hope there will be something to pique the interest of everyone.’

Tickets for each talk are £7 - or £5 for Friends of Rushen Heritage Trust – and available online at www.ticketsource.co.uk/whats-on/isle-of-man/erin-arts-centre 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 [email protected] or on 464634.