Inauguration

Having dealt with the capital riots last week, I now turn to the inauguration, and a poem about that. Watching it brought feelings of elation and hope.

Inauguration

A cold wind blew, dignitaries well wrapped
Against the frost, for some hands chapped
By bitter weather, but the sun was bright, 
That day they gathered, that American way, 
Despite all odds, and riots of yesterday; 
Solemn, with dignity, they stood, an occasion:
An opening for reason and calm persuasion; 
Oath taking, an ancient bible held up high, 
Against a backdrop of a bright blue sky; 
Past years, shades of Lincoln, on this place, 
And the battle cry of fight is met with grace; 
A sea change: gone the venom, anger, spite ,
As the last President took departing flight: 
The Thane of Cawdor left his bloody throne, 
And a dark cloud lifted, hate, anger, flown; 
And instead the sign of the dove, of peace: 
That hostility, violent words should cease, 
For today, at any rate, and a promise held, 
At a pageant so brilliant, so unexcelled; 
A day of history and hope and renewal: 
The cause of democracy, precious jewel; 
A time to take a breath, a time to pause: 
The Republic shining in its ancient laws, 
In this moment: for strife will come back: 
The baying of the distant wolf-pack, 
In some form or another, a return of hate, 
Of a false promise of making great; 
And yet for now, hear a singer of the song: 
America, the brave, the honest, the strong; 
Upon this foundation, hallowed ground, 
This land is your land, now the sound, 
Of singing, loud, clear, harmonic note, 
Of the people’s cry, and the final vote; 
And despite destroyers, on a rampage, 
The moment comes upon this stage, 
A sign of the common folk, writ large, 
That democracy should now discharge
Small voices of the ordinary, heard anew: 
The mob rages, but could not subdue; 
And as an inauguration comes to an end: 
Signs of hope and glory now transcend; 
The hill we climb, ascending this day, 
And so we hope, and so we pray

Two New Rectors in 1947

This comes from the April 1947 edition of “The Pilot”.

In St Ouen, the new Rector was Edward James Aubin Richardson Rector, who served from 1947-1976, inducted when 37 years old.

He was born on 28 April 1910 in St. Martin, Jersey, when his father, Philip, was 35 and his mother, Florence, was 34. He married (Molly) Marjorie Florence Rudd on 19 August 1940 in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire. They had three children during their marriage. He retired from Jersey after her death to Shopshire, when he died on 9 February 1995 at the age of 84.

In St Martin, the new Rector was Edward Cecil Lempriére Rector, who served from 1947-1959 until his death that year at the age of 49.

He was born in 1910 in St. Helier, Jersey, when his father, Walter, was 47 and his mother, Agnes, was 44. He had three brothers and two sisters. He died in 1959 when still Rector at a young age.

Two New Rectors
by V.J. Bailhache




At last. two of our vacant parishes are to receive Rectors. The Rev. Edward James Aubin Richardson, M.A., who is coming to St. Ouen’s, is a son of Advocate P. N. Richardson. Born at Gorey in 1910, he was educated at Felsted School and Exeter College, Oxford, where he gained fame as a Rugby footballer and a Rowing man.

He then went as a schoolmaster to the Church Missionary Society’s College at Cairo. Returning on tramp steamers, he visited Palestine and Greece, and then spent a year at Wycliffe Hall, a Theological College at Oxford.

He was ordained in 1938, and became Curate, and then Succentor, of Bradford Cathedral. He is at present Vicar of Denhohne in the Bronte country. One of his enthusiasms is the Boys‘ Brigade. He has a Wife, an Oxford graduate, and three small children. He hopes to be inducted at the end of April. St. Ouen’s is to be congratulated on its new Rector.



The Rev. Edward Cecil Lempriére, A.K.C., who is going to St. Martin’s, is a son of the late Mr. W. C. Lempriére, Manager of the Midland Bank. He had two Jersey Rectors as grandfathers, his father’s father being the Rev. D. M. Lempriére, Rector of St. Clement’s, and his mother’s father the Rev. T. Le Neveu, Rector of St. Martin’s. He was educated at Victoria College and at King’s College, London, was ordained at Exeter in 1933, and for five years was Curate of Tavistock, Devon.

He then went to South America, and became Vicar of St. Saviour’s Church, Georgetown, in British Guiana, the church of the Chinese immigrants, where all the congregation were Chinamen, and for a time he was also Acting-Vicar of St. James-the-Less, Kitty and on the staff of the Bishop’s High School.

For the last two years he has been Ministre Desservant at St. Ouen’s, and the popularity he has won there is a good omen for lie future work at St. Martin’s. Welcome and best wishes to them both.

Narcissus Leaves the Oval Office

As Donald Trump leaves the White House, a poem looking back at the character of the political embodiment of Narcissus.

Narcissus Leaves the Oval Office

Narcissus stared blankly at the empty wall
The mirror, gone, the object of his loving gaze
Unable to understand the happening of his fall
The loss of adulation, the mob’s cry of praise

One last look, and he left the room, last day
He fought the fight, he won, he was so great
But suddenly all his powers swept away
And he was no longer master of his fate

His face, beaming, grinning, ranting, and yet
No understanding of why others turned away
He cajoled, coaxed, resorted to threat
But to no avail: now justice held sway

He used to say: Mirror, mirror on the wall
Is not Trump the greatest of them all!

My Faith and My Job: The Police-Court Magistrate

a

This piece is from a 1947 edition of "The Pilot" .

MY FAITH AND MY JOB: THE POLICE-COURT-MAGISTRATE.

By Judge E.A. Dorey

I feel rather diffident in writing an Article for The Pilot for two reasons, firstly, I am more. used to writing on Political matters than for a Church Magazine, and secondly, though I have been a Jurat for a number of years, it is only a very short time since I was appointed Police Magistrate. I hope, however, that, if I hold that position for many years, disappointments which are occasionally bound to occur will not alter the Opinions that I am expressing now.

The application of Christian principles to our everyday life and work is of vital importance in our distressed and disturbed post-war world. We see around us people who during the last few decades have drifted away from the practice of church attendance and Sunday observance, and a younger generation who appear to have little knowledge or interest in Christian teaching. While church attendance and the acceptance of Christian principles are the foundation of a Christian life, they alone will not produce the structure in which a truly Christian community should live, unless they are applied to everyday life and thought. Our actions must convince the many that Christianity is a living force, the only true Socialism, and that practising Christians form a Brotherhood strong and more united than any Society in the world to-day.

It is distressing to notice the very vague ideas held by many of what is right and what is wrong, and that the determining factor is frequently what is most expedient. Sin and wrong-doing in themselves appear to produce no regret, and being found out is the one great misfortune.

We have all our various duties in a modern community, and there are occasions when it is difficult to determine what is best in all the circumstances. The law imposes certain restrictions, and there are occasions when a Magistrate is faced with peculiar difficulties. All sections of the community are at various times charged with offences of all types, many of a petty nature; but of the more serious offenders some have fallen into unlawful ways of living, because circumstances surrounding their lives have been too difficult for their natures or their early upbringing, while many are just selfish people, who go through life without regard for the feelings and safety of others. For the sub-normal one can only have the deepest feelings of pity and sympathy, and it is regrettable that at the moment there is no means to deal adequately with these unfortunates.

The Juvenile Offender is creating a difficult problem. Whether lack of parental control or unsuitable amusement is producing an increase in this type, it is not easy to determine ; but the lack of religious teaching in the schools and the absence of the well-attended Sunday Schools of some years ago must have a great effect on the rising generation. In most cases help and guidance for a few years may turn a difficult youth into a good citizen, and, where punishment has to be administered, it should be of such a nature, that it will not affect the future wellbeing of the offender. To have a grievance, even if it be an imaginary one, is likely to have a very far-reaching effect on the development of a young man or woman.

Fortunately the modern custom of probation or binding ever, even in sometimes serious cases, is a great step forward; but whether the gathering together in Institutions of large numbers of young persons of criminal tendencies is wise, only long experience can determine; but I am convinced that the imposition of prison sentences on young people is a. mistake.

In a highly organized community the law sets up a standard of behaviour to which all must conform, and provides sanctions to he applied, where there is deviation from that standard. In the not so distant past punishment, often quite unsuitable in the circumstances, was applied without consideration to the effect on the offender and indirectly on the community. The Courts are there for the punishment and prevention of crime, not for the making of criminals; and the unwise and unsympathetic treatment of an offender can often result in the rapid deterioration of an unfortunate person, who might otherwise have again become a decent citizen.

There are, we all realize, a small number of evil persons, who live in an evil way and are the enemies of Society. For the protection of others, and even sometimes of themselves, these must suffer long periods of detention and separation from their fellow men.

Finally, while the Courts are primarily for the purpose of applying such sanctions which the Law has provided, both as a deterrent to others and for the punishment and restraint of the offender, it is well at all times to remember that there is an overriding Law, the principles of which should always be in the mind of the Court. It is better that efforts at redemption should frequently fail, than that one offender should be deprived of the hope of another chance.

A Scientific Approach to Unlocking Jersey

Listened to Press conference, and I happen to agree that the unlocking system, of releasing up just one restriction, waiting for any effect, and then and only then releasing another makes good sense. 

For a scientific experiment to work, when there are a number of initial conditions that can vary, it makes sense to change just one of those at a time, so - in this case - we can determine what can be done safely and what may then cause cases of Covid to rise. 

Of course, as became apparent, there are a number of relaxations of restrictions that have been grouped together - opening retail outlets, opening close contact businesses, and allowing outside group exercise. The order could vary, and as was suggested strongly by the JEP reporter, the economic benefits came before the health benefits.

There are, however, a few potential pitfalls to this way of opening up our society again:

Firstly, it is assumed that each stage is largely independent of the other, so that, for example, if schools opening has had little effect on increasing numbers, it is safe to move to step 2 and open up smaller retail outlets. And then step 3 to close contact business like hairdresser and barber. However, as was made clear, household mixing can cause rapid increases, and where that comes towards the end of the removal of restrictions, it could easily have a knock on effect on others - taking it across schools, for example. Likewise hospitality can cause spread through the already opened up sectors of the economy.

Second, it is assumed that increases or decreases in connection with these steps are relatively gradual, a slowly, slowly approach as the politicians suggested. But sometimes something can change relatively slowly for a while, slow numbers increase, and then rapidly jump higher over a very short time. The mathematics for this is described as a catastrophic surface (part of catastrophe theory, c.f.  Rene Thom), where a small change in one variable can suddenly lead to a rapid change in another.

So there are still a fair few unknowns which may upset the modelling. 

And finally, one of the stupidest remarks that we would never be able to eliminate Covid from within the island entirely. The case of Guernsey, or indeed New Zealand, shows that this is possible, even if it is difficult. We have evidently chosen not to pursue that strategy, but that is a political decision to just suppress Covid and not go the extra mile. Guernsey's initial strategy, looking back, was to suppress it, but when it showed itself to be successful, they decided to eliminate it instead. It's not a question of going in a massively different direction, just going a bit further than suppression. And the strategy is always open to that change, if the opportunity arises. It's simply knowing when to go for it.

Little Things that Don't STAC Up

Economical with the Truth

So now we know that political decisions are being made without reference to STAC

https://www.itv.com/news/channel/2021-01-20/jerseys-stac-committee-wasnt-consulted-over-christmas-gathering-rules

In an extract from minutes dated 7 December 2020, the Independent Advisor for Epidemiology and Public Health is recorded as saying “the advice around Christmas should have been considered by the Cell before being presented to the Competent Authorities.

"Those measures, together with the closure of the restaurants and pubs, were amongst the most significant interventions taken during the pandemic, so it was important that, as much as possible, they were based on scientific evidence. The decision to introduce those mitigations, without consultation with the Scientific and Technical Advisory Cell, brought into question its role.

And yet I'm sure at the public briefings we were told by the politicians that they were following advice!

The Director of Strategy and Innovation said, as the decision had been made by ministers, their input was not needed. Well, I wish the Ministers had said as much! "This is our decision and it was made without consulting STAC.". No, I didn't hear anything like that.

It seems they are no always to be trusted, and in the notable words of Sir Robert Armstrong, the Cabinet Secretary, were being a bit "economical with the truth". At least minutes have now been released up to December, although it would be nice to also see what STAC thought about schools reopening.

Schools Statistics: 0/10 for not trying

https://www.itv.com/news/channel/2021-01-20/more-le-rocquier-students-to-learn-from-home-due-to-teacher-shortage

"More students at Le Rocquier will now have to learn from home. Year 8 and 9 students are already attending school on alternate days, due to a shortage of teachers. Now, Years 7 and 10 will also have to stay at home on alternate days for at least the next two weeks, as the number of absent staff is expected to rise due to illnesses and contact tracing."

But how many cases have arisen in schools, and how many students and teachers have had to self-isolate as direct contacts of active cases? We simply don't know. This important statistic is just missing, and any cases are pushed into "cohort screening" (which also includes families) or "seeking healthcare", and no separate figures are given.

The Generals and the Front Line: Ignorance at a Distance 

https://www.itv.com/news/channel/2021-01-20/jersey-student-i-dont-want-to-wipe-out-my-vulnerable-family

Meanwhile, we have a student who is concerned because she lives in a house with parents and grandparents. What's the policy on return to school and shielding if that is the case? She's naturally very concerned, and notes that "she, and other students in a number of schools, have witnessed examples of pupils not heeding the hygiene, mask and distancing guidance."

Jersey's acting Minister for Education is passing the buck: "Headteachers can provide reassurance about the measures that schools have put in place and have the ability to consider alternative arrangements in exceptional circumstances."

But why hasn't this scenario been discussed with STAC? Shouldn't there be general guidance provided in such particular circumstances rather than an ad hoc way of doing things? STAC is there as a sounding board, so why doesn't the Education Minister put the problem to them, to get some useful scientific guidance to pass on to head teachers. 

Incidentally, this also shows the mantra from Ministers that schools are safe is based upon no real-life observations from within the schools to see that guidelines are being followed, and clearly they are not. The generals are far from the front line troops, issuing orders with invincible ignorance of conditions there. 

A Preview Brains Trust

A Preview Brains Trust

In 1955, Wynford Vaughn Thomas met various celebrities for a convivial evening called “The Preview Brains Trust” for a feature in a magazine . Present were English stars Kenneth More, Anne Crawford, Kay Kendal and Rex Harrison, one American, Larry Parks, and lastly a “Continental sophisticate”, Hildegarde Neff. It took place in a luxurious private suite at the Dorchester.  Here's a short snippet from a transcription of the event.

Question Master (with a look at Mr. More who was telling yet another of his extremely funny, but scarcely printable stories) : Now to get down to serious things. Our first question this evening is : What was your first film role and how did you feel when you first saw yourself on the screen ?

Rex, how about you starting off for us ?

Rex Harrison : My earliest film was Men Are Not Gods, one of the first batch of Alex Korda’s London Films productions at Denham Studios. Miriam Hopkins and Gertrude Lawrence were starring, and I had a small part as a newspaper reporter—~about four days’ work, as I remember. There was an absolute galaxy of stars at Denham at that time. Henry Fonda, Annabella, Edward G. Robinson and Marlene Dietrich were all making films there.

Eric Warman (to the rescue): And how did you feel when you first saw yourself?

Rex Harrison : Quite simply—loathing!
(Cries of incredulity from the others.)

Question Master : But surely the feeling hasn't persisted?

Rex Harrison (firmly): Yes, it has. I hated seeing rushes of myself then—and I hate seeing them now. (Closing his eyes at a prospect you or I would gladly pay one and ninepence to witness any day of the week.)

Question Master: What about you, Anne? What was your first film role?

Anne Crawford (with engaging promptness) : A film called Prison Without Bars. There were three thousand women in it—and l was one of the three thousand.

Kenneth More: Darling, you're one in a million.

Anne Crawford : . . . or I thought I was one of the three thousand. Along I went to see the rushes. all keyed up—and found that every scene in which I had appeared had been cut.

Question Master : Then what?

Anne Crawford : I walked round the block and was horribly sick - either from disappointment, or relief!

Eric Warman : That’s a sad story. Still, you’ve made up for it since.
(Short pause for assembled stars to brood on their early struggles.)

Question Master : Larry, you look as though you've remembered.

Larry Parks: My first film, believe it or not, was a Biblical short about St. John the Baptist. So unimportant that it wasn't even recognised by the Screen Actors’ Guild, and it has to be pretty crummy for that to happen. I remember we were working at a place called Chatsworth and it was nasty and cold. I got the princely sum of three dollars a day. John the Baptist, higher up the scale, got fifteen dollars. But the really big money was earned by the camel. He (or was it she ?) got fifty.

Question Master (with astonishing lack of tact) : How did you like yourself? Or should we be putting that question to the camel ?

Larry Parks: Well, I’ll tell you. My problem is that I never see myself. I’m busily looking for a good-looking guy of six foot four inches, a cross between John Wayne and Gregory Peck. Some- how or other, I always miss the five-foot-ten-and-a-half guy that's me!

(The ladies at this point hastened to assure Mr. Parks that he has absolutely nothing to worry about.)

Kenneth More (hastily putting his spoke in) I remember my first film part. It was in School for Secrets, written by that one and only genius of the profession whom I solemnly salute, Peter Ustinov. (Here Mr. More raised his glass and emptied it.) My agent, a nice little man, said, “ Kenneth, here's your big chance—a part just made for you—this is the break we've been waiting for. Go ahead, boy! " (Dramatic pause.) I worked at Denham. Two days—seven pounds. I was the Bomb Aimer. During the whole scene my face was completely covered by an oxygen mask. And my dialogue was equally scintillating. I had to keep repeating " Bombs Away " at appropriate intervals. So—unless my ears were recognised—l don’t think I made any lasting impression on the public.

Question Master : Your turn, Kay.

Kay Kendall (dolefully) : My first film role was a terrible flop. It was in London Town and I was fired the night after it came out. I was miserable and mad—a very unhappy girl.

Kenneth More : Well, everything has its compensations. Eric, this is excellent brandy.

Question Master : Miss Nefi, when Kay talked of being “ fired ” it seemed to ring a bell in your memory.

Hildegarde Neff : A bell? I heard nothing.

Eric Warman : Just ignore him. i

Question Master: Miss Neff will, I hope, do nothing of the kind. Now, Miss Nefi, what do you remember about your first role ?

Hildegarde Neff : Oh, I loved it. It would have been a great success. But I never saw it.

Eric Warman : Really ?

Hildegarde Neff : No-one did. The negative was destroyed during a raid on Berlin. Everything to do with the film was lost in the fire.

Rex Harrison : I bet it was one of Kenneth’s “ Bombs Away! ” that did it!

The Cell

Quarantine, self isolation, and the psychology of solitary imprisonment led me to this poem:

The Cell

Locked in a cell, no escape
Marking days, one by one
This way life is given shape
Until the end of days is done

Through the bars, a different sight
I espier a meadow wet and green
Dappled bushes in weak sunlight
Trees bare, their leaves unseen

Now is the winter of the soul
Snow begins to fall, so white
A time that slowly takes a toll
In isolation: my poor plight

Cold and dark inside the cell
And I retreat inside my shell

Reverend Thomas Henry Labey (1894-1947)

One of the curiosities which delving into old records uncovers is the odd obituary which tells you quite a lot about someone but misses out something which is not mentioned because, at the time, it was taken as common knowledge. Such is the obituary of the Reverend Thomas Henry Labey (1894-1947), Rector of  St Clement, who died in an accident on 20 February 1947, aged only 53 which appears in the April 1947 edition of “The Pilot”.

Try as I might, and I have searched far and wide, I cannot find anything out about the accident, and hope some of my readers may throw some light on the matter. Unfortunately my regular haunt at the library is out of bounds because of the pandemic, so the JEP archives are not present to view.

He had also been here during the Occupation, where it is noted that on his card that he was Rector of St. Clement, single, with brown hair, and brown/hazel eyes, and a old scar on his left leg. Perhaps that dated from his experience as a Private in the Border Regiment from 14 March 1917-5 August 1918 in the First World War. He then had a commission in the Royal Garrison Artillery until demobolised on 1 January 1919 as a temporary 2nd Lieutenant. Curiously his wartime experience is missing from both obituaries.

There is another curiosity: his will stipulated that all his written sermons should be burnt. 

Incidentally, there was not the hiatus of around 6 months or longer before a new incumbent can be appointed. The London Gazette that year has:

"Whitehall, April n, 1947. The KING has been pleased to approve the presentation of the Reverend Raymond Sefton Hornby to the Rectory of the Parish of Saint Clement in the Island of Jersey, vacant by the death of the Reverend Thomas Henry Labey, M,A."

In Memoriam: Thomas Henry Labey—Priest.

We have all been inexpressibly shocked by the tragic passing on February 20th, as the result of an accident, of the Rector of St. Clement’s at the early age of 53.

He was in very truth a man greatly beloved, one of those truly good men who made friends wherever he went and never made an enemy.

During the fifteen years of his incumbency he did very valuable spiritual work, which went; deep, the results of which will remain for many years to come.

Shrewd, level-headed, versatile, and holding decided opinions of his own, he was always kindly in his judgements, while his wise counsel and sound common-sense will be greatly missed in more than one quarter. At the same time his thoughtful consideration for others and his generous heart led him to perform many acts of kindness for those who would have received help in no other way. The whole island is the poorer by his passing.

M. Le Marinel.

Obituary

A tragic accident has deprived the Parish of St. Clement of a Rector, and many persons, both in the parish and beyond, of a true friend.

The youngest son of the late Dr. Julius Labey the Rev. Thomas Henry Labey had a. career of usefulness and service on the mainland before deciding to settle in his native island.

He was educated at Victoria College, and later at. Selwyn College, Cambridge, where he graduated in 1916. Three years later he took the degree of Master of Arts.

Having decided to take Hon Orders Mr. Labey was trained at Wells Theological College, and was ordained Deacon in 1920 and Priest in 1921.

His first curacy was at Crewkerne; thence he was transferred to Frome, where he remained until 1928. Subsequent promotion took him to Weston, and later to West Harptree, where he was Vicar from 1930 to 1932.

The strong call that appeals to so many Jerseymen impelled him to apply for the living at St. Clement’s, when it became vacant; and in 1932 he was inducted as Rector of that parish.

Mr. Labey was then in the early prime of life, and came to Jersey endowed with the valuable experience that contact with Church life in England must give.

Jersey has been called a backwater in the stream of ecclesiastical life; it is, therefore, the more important that we should welcome those who have felt the sway of new thought on the mainland

Although Mr. Labey introduced into his Services some variants from the accustomed ways of his predecessor - for the new Rector had come under the influence of the modern trend of the Anglican Communion—he shewed his strength of character and sweet reasonableness by not attempting to impose his will upon an unwilling community. He adapted his Services to the wishes of his congregation without abandoning his principles. It was a noble effort and earned him the affection and respect he undoubtedly deserved.

As the spiritual pastor of his flock he was ever ready to aid and advise. He visited the sick and suffering and accordingly always took a strong interest in the work of the St. Clement’s District Nursing Association.

His duties as Rector were particularly arduous in that besides the parish church he had sole care for many years of the Church of St. Nicholas after the death of the Rev. Mr. Lee. Yet he never shirked those duties.

He was ever anxious to maintain and improve the choral part of his Services, to increase the popularity of the Sunday School, and he remained counsellor and friend to the young people who passed from the school into the larger Church life. In short he served his God in his generation in accordance with the best tradition of the ministry to which he had dedicated his life.

St. Clement’s mourns his loss, and will ever keep green the memory of one who was a tried servant and a faithful Priest.

We offer our deep sympathy both to his mother, whom he loved with an unbounded devotion, and to his two brothers ; the bond of affection between them all was an inspiring example of family unity.

May his soul rest in peace. This is the devout prayer of all who knew and loved him.

V. J. Bailhache.

Protecting Confidentiality: A False Global Premise

1,912 staff tested (of whom 1,351 were teachers) – *fewer than 5 were Covid-19 positive
1,510 15-18-year olds tested – *fewer than 5 were Covid-19 positive

(*When a figure is less than 5, we do not publish the exact number to protect confidentiality)

It is annoying that the school attendance figures do now show the number of staff or pupils that are Covid-19 positive These are very small numbers, and taken from a large dataset, with no other characteristic - for instance a breakdown by age or gender or school. 

If the numbers were small, identification would be a risk factor. For example, if a breakdown gave schools as an added dimension, it would break down the figures to the point where identifications would be easier, although even there the people most likely to know from the statistics that someone is away because of Covid will probably know that fact anyway.

But with large numbers, there is no way someone can easily be identified. If I was told that 1,2 or 3 teachers had tested positive for Covid, out of all the teachers in Jersey, how could I identify them? And close colleagues will already have been notified as direct or indirect contacts, so they will know anyway. 

If - to take another example - the statistics gave a breakdown by school, and one teacher was positive at St Trinians, then students and parents alike could probably discover who that was, even if it didn't affect them at all. 

But as it currently stands, it is another example of a blanket policy which requires no statistical judgment and in fact is not made on any sound basis whatsoever.

The Office of National Statistics in the UK adopts a far more nuanced approach, considering a variety of factors. The Jersey figures are what they would term "single dimension" statistics, and given the numbers, they would almost certainly give an exact figure.

Statistics:

School attendance figures on 11 January 2021
Primary schools
The average figures for primary schools show that 93.6% of primary school students attended on Monday, 11 January 2021.
Authorised absence: 2%
Unauthorised absence: 1.9%
Covid-19% absence: 2.5%
Secondary Schools
The figures for secondary school show that 83% of secondary school students attended on 11 January 2021.
Authorised absence: 3%
Unauthorised absence: 4.1%
Covid-19% absence: 4.7%
PCR Covid-19 swabbing data
The figures for secondary school students and nursery, school and college staff for the voluntary PCR testing undertaken between 1 January – 10 January:

1,912 staff tested (of whom 1,351 were teachers) – *fewer than 5 were Covid-19 positive
1,510 15-18-year olds tested – *fewer than 5 were Covid-19 positive

(*When a figure is less than 5, we do not publish the exact number to protect confidentiality)

Compare with the UK office of national statistics:

https://www.ons.gov.uk/methodology/methodologytopicsandstatisticalconcepts/disclosurecontrol/policyonprotectingconfidentialityintablesofbirthanddeathstatistics

Example:

Deaths from cystic fibrosis, England, 1990 to 2013
Three dimensions (individual age by year by sex at national level).
Number of deaths from unusual cause of death.
Relatively sparse table.
Most deaths occur in late childhood or early adulthood.

There are many low counts where there is some possibility of identification but little or no risk of attribute disclosure. This table can be published.

Wolf Moon

Wolf Moon

The mob: listening and beguiled
The man speaking rants and raves
Now the wolves are running wild
Violence erupts like waves

Trial by combat: the call goes out
The wolves howling at the moon
On the rampage, now they shout
The terror is beginning soon

They storm the building, breaking in
The wolves seek blood, a fever rage
With teeth, and smile and savage grin
Like marauders from another age

This month the wolf moon shining bright
And wolves are ready for a fight

Our Younger Churches: St Martin’s, Gouray

In the 1960s, a series of articles were written for "The Pilot" , the Jersey Church magazine for the Church of England in Jersey by G.R. Balleine. This is one of them.

Our Younger Churches: St Martin’s, Gouray

Gouray Church owes its existence to the oysters.

For centuries an oyster-bed lay not far from the shore. In 1606 the Royal Court decided, in a case in which the Governor claimed this bed as Crown property, that by ancient custom every islander had a right to dredge there. In 1685 Dumaresq wrote in his Survey of Jersey:—“Athwart the Bay lies a small bed of very large and good oysters.” In 1755 the Court prohibited dredging between 1st September and 80th April. For years this trade was confined to local fishermen; but early in the 19th century it attracted the attention of fishing companies in England.

Till then Gorey had been a very insignificant spot, a few taverns for soldiers from the Castle and for sailors on the small-boats that come in from France (for from the 13th century there had been a pier here), an office for the Customs officer, and little more. But now the hamlet began to grow apace.

A Report in 1880 said :—" Messrs. Alston & Co., Messrs. Martin & Co. and six or seven other firms at Sittingbourne, Chersham, and other places in Kent, employ upward of 250 boats, eat-h manned with six men.” In addition there were 70 boats from Colchester and others from Portsmouth, Shoreham, and Southampton.

At least 2,000 men were employed, and the oysters they brought ashore (over 300,000 bushels in 1834) were sorted and packed by hundreds of women and girls. To accommodate this new population rows of cottages were run up, and the States built the present pier to give shelter to the oyster fleet. Oysters were then so plentiful in Jersey that they were served free at all hotel meals.

Many of these new-comers were rough customers, who began to encroach on the French oyster-beds off the Isle of Chausey. The French had never objected to occasional visits by our local fishermen. There were oysters enough for all. But, when large fleets arrived, they naturally ordered them off. In spite of warnings from the British Government that they must not expect protection, the men continued to poach in French waters at night ; and this more than once led to fighting.

In March, 1828, the Sunday Times reported:"‘ An unpleasant affair has taken place between English fishers and two French vessels of war, man)- lives having been lost. About 300 English vessels are engaged in oyster-fishing on the coast of Jersey, and have been repeatedly warned not to approach within a certain distance of the French shore. These warnings have been disregarded, and two French vessels of war captured an English boat. On this news reaching Jersey all the fishing-smacks proceeded to the French coast, boarded the vessels of war, retook the English boat, and brought her back in triumph to Jersey. But several boatmen lost their lives, and a number were taken prisoner.”

A serious clash took place later with the island authorities. To assist the fishery the States laid down new beds in Grouville Bay at a cost of nearly £4,000. But these had to be preserved, till they were ripe for dredging. In April, 1838, 120 boats set out to raid the forbidden beds. The Constable or St. Martin’s followed in a rowing-boat, but the men merely jeered. Next morning he arrested the ring-leaders. But four days later the men raided the beds again. So the Constable appealed to the Lieutenant-Governor, who called out the Garrison and the Town Militia. A couple of cannon-balls dropped among the boats brought them back to port, and 96 Captains were arrested, and each fined £17.

The arrival of these hordes of unruly strangers proved a perplexing problem to a quiet country parish like St. Martin‘s. The French Services in the Parish Church were unintelligible to the new- comers; so in 1830 George Balleine, the. Rector, borrowed a room in the Castle, and held an English Service there in the afternoon. This proved a success, and the room was soon overcrowded: so in July, 1831, he called a Meeting in the Rectory, which passed a resolution:—“This Meeting is impressed by a deep sense of the duty of providing spiritual instruction for the numerous seamen yearly employed in the oyster fishery and strongly recommends the erection of a Chapel of Ease at Gorey for the benefit of this long-neglected class of people.”

Six months later it was reported that £585 had been subscribed, and a Building Committee was appointed to select a site. Mr. George Asplet then gave the ground on which the church now stands, and the first stone was laid by General Thornton, the Lieutenant Governor. in 1832. The church was opened on 2nd April, 1833, the morning sermon being preached by Dean Corbet Hue; and on 12th October, 1885, it was consecrated by Bishop Sumner of Winchester.

For more than forty years it remained merely a Mission Church in the parish of St. Martin, and the Minister-in-charge was licensed as Curate to the Rector. But in 1875 an Order in Council was obtained constituting Gouray an independent Ecclesiastical District. Then however unexpected legal difficulties arose. Methodism could build new Chapels when and where it liked ; but the Church, cribbed, cabined, and confined by its ancient links with the State, found itself fettered right and left by innumerable Acts of Parliament. To create a new Ecclesiastical District in England no less than fifteen separate Acts of Parliament had to be brought into play ; and not one of these had ever been registered in Jersey, nor could they be, for they laid duties on Archdeacons and other officials who did not exist in the island. The result was an absolute deadlock.

Meanwhile the Rector of St. Martin’s had signed a deed resigning the patronage to the Bishop and the Crown alternately, and the Bishop actually exercised his right, when be appointed Edouard Luce as Curate-in-charge in 1875. But, when he was made Rector of St. John‘s (later he became Rector of St. Saviour’s, Canon. and Vice-Dean), the Crown refused to appoint, till the legal difficulties were removed.

A new Rector of St. Martin‘s then stood stiffly on his rights, and in 1879 sued Hogg Harding, Minister of Gouray, before the Ecclesiastical Court, because since 1875 he had not registered his baptisms in the Parish Church Register. The Court ordered him to do so, and forbade him to take any further baptisms without the Rector’s sanction.

So matters remained for another quarter of a century ; but toward the end of that time Sir George Bertram, the Bailiff, who lived in Gorey and worshipped in the church, began to stir up the Crown officials to find some way out of this impasse. At last in 1899 the States agreed to register the fifteen Acts of Parliament with the verbal alterations necessary to adopt them to the island’s constitution; and on 17th September, 1900, a new Order in Council freed the church from all dependence on its mother parish, and allotted to it an ecclesiastical district taken partly from St. Martin’s and partly from Grouville.

The old name, which the Vikings had given, as they sailed down the Channel, to the little creek formed by the Castle rock, must have been something like the Norman name Gourock in Scotland. In 1180 Gorey was spelt Gorroic in the Norman Exchequer Rolls. It was Gorryk in the 1274 extente, and Gourroic in 1331 (in old Scandinavian ‘ vik ’ meant a cove. Compare Runswick, Loop Wyke, Maw Wyke, Blea Wyke, etc., all along the Yorkshire coast). In time Gourroic got softened to Gourret, Gouray, and Gorey. The last has become the accepted form of the word ; but, since the Order in Council spoke of “ the church of St. Martin, Gouray,” this slightly archaic spelling is still retained in ecclesiastical matters.

Now that the congregation had possession of its own church, improvements were carried out. In 1909 a new organ was given. In 1915 the church was partially rebuilt, and vestries and a new Sanctuary added, the latter being consecrated by the Bishop of Southampton on 18th May.

The Dark Charisma of Donald Trump

Donald Trump was an unlikely leader but he still formed a connection with millions of American people, generating a level of charismatic attraction that was almost without parallel. After the riots in America yesterday, it is a stark warning of the dangers of such a character gaining the levers of power.

At the heart of the story of Donald Trump is one gigantic, mysterious question: how was it possible that a character as strange and personally inadequate as Trump ever gained power in a sophisticated country, the United States of America, and was then loved by millions of people?

Trump is an archetypal "charismatic leader". He is not a "normal" politician - someone who promises policies like lower taxes and better health care - but a quasi-religious leader who offers almost spiritual goals of redemption and salvation. He has been driven forward by a sense of personal destiny.

And when Trump spoke in the endless mass rallies across the country, suddenly his weaknesses were perceived as strengths.

His prejudices chimed with the feelings of thousands of Americans who felt excluded by the Washington elite. His inability to debate, but simply to rabble rouse with simple slogans like "Make America Great Again" was taken as strength of character, and his refusal to concede he could ever wrong about anything was considered the mark of a "great man" who lived apart from the crowd.

More than anything, it was the fact that Trump found that he could make a connection with his audience that was the basis of all his future success. This kind of connection has been named by historians - "dark charisma".

Trump told millions of Americans that they were "special" and "better" people than everyone else, something that helped cement the charismatic connection between leader and led.

He does not hide his hatred, his contempt for democracy or his belief in the use of violence to further political ends from the electorate, although he backs away from public endorsement of the fires that he sets burning. But, crucially, he speaks out only against carefully defined enemies like the Chinese, immigrants, and the political left.

Since the majority of ordinary Americans were not in these groups, as long as they embraced the new world of Donald Trump, they were relatively free from persecution and his anger - at least until the political landscape started to go badly for him, and then he has turned on his allies in the Republican party.

Millions of people suddenly decided to turn to an unconventional leader they thought had "charisma" because he connected with their fears, hopes and latent desire to blame others for their predicament. And the end result has been disastrous for America.

Mixed Messages

JEP yesterday

Easing Covid-19 restrictions in Jersey will need to be done gradually, the deputy medical officer of health has warned. "We must not ease measures across the board, but rather we must move gradually and monitor the effects of each move to avoid a sudden rebound."

JEP today

SCHOOLS in Jersey remain on track to reopen next Monday, the Education Minister has confirmed.

Senator Tracey Vallois said yesterday that scientific advice was still that the risks to the health, welfare and education of children from a prolonged absence from school continued to outweigh the risks from Covid-19.

Although she said the matter would remain under review, with the ‘Competent Authority’ group of ministers due to meet today, Senator Vallois said preparations for reopening were proceeding well.

An enhanced testing regime for teachers and pupils in Years 11, 12 and 13 has been introduced, with around 2,200 of the 5,000 eligible individuals having booked tests by yesterday morning.

Opening all the schools at once is not something I would call "gradual". 

And will we get any data about how many of the 2,200 test positive, surely a key factor in any decision making? Or will it be behind closed doors, just being told about "the scientific advice" but not actually allowing any transparency on the subject?

What is the Covid Strategy in Jersey?

Calculating the limits of active cases

The number of cases is falling significantly, but seems at present to be hitting an average of 20 new cases per day. This means there will be a plateau around 14 x 20 = 280 cases, where new cases match those falling off the system.

How is spread occurring?

Given that most shops are closed, and households are closed to mixing, it would be useful to alert the public as to how these cases are spreading.

Those from inbound travel should be fairly safe given the 10 day and three test quarantine regulations. But where are those seeking healthcare popping up from? What are the key routes of transmission? Are they within families, or offices (with essential workers), or supermarkets, or DIY or garden stores? If retail outlets that are still open, are they among staff or from and to the boundary between staff and customers? Are they people still involved in household mixing?

In other words, some degree of granular investigation would help to yield a more informed strategy, and while such information may be redacted in part from the public domain, it would be helpful to know that a scientific strategy is being applied.

Can granular investigations determine safer occupations and businesses?

On closed premises, barbers and hairdressers had to take contact details for 21 days and operate under 2 metre rules and mask wearing when they opened. Given the decision to shut them down, was there any evidence of transmission within them, or was this just a blanket "small businesses" close down by the government?

The contact tracing requirement should, in theory, if done properly, allow some analysis to be done and to inform the closures of such premises. That we have not been given any such information in press briefings suggest more of a "blunt instrument" with closers. 

Outside - Social Distancing is ignored

While the virus does spread less outside, I found it disquieting to see a number of catering venues outside where very little social distancing (if any) was observed. The kiosk at Bel Royal seems particularly bad in that respect.

As these are areas when people may be removing masks, it's not particularly helpful. I do understand the human need to socialise, but is this safe? Again some granular information on contact tracing and whether people may have frequented these venues would be useful.

Schools and the New Mutation

Schools start next week in Jersey, and if year groups have to all self-isolate in secondary schools, this will put the pressure up again on contact tracing which certainly did not help the spike in cases. When a whole year group has to self-isolate and be tested, this brings in delays to more small scale contact tracing, even if the number of school cases is relatively small.

Also a bit of direct observation might be helpful. I know from correspondence that there is closer mixing, often without masks, at break and lunchtimes, and schools also release all the students at the end of the school day at once rather than staggered.

Once outside school, they chat and are often in close contact, often not wearing masks. Given the rationale for children schools was that they would meet outside if not in school, this rather defeats the government objectives, which seem to be guided by an ideal of behaviour rather than direct observation.

Because the transmission of the new mutation of Covid-19 seems to be highly infections and also spreading among younger people, the UK and elsewhere are now moving to remote learning. Will our Government heed the lessons from this?

As Prospect Magazine reported:

"B117 seems to be more prevalent than the older variants in children and young people aged 0-19 years. The reasons aren’t yet clear. It’s possible that the variant is better at infecting young people than previous strains, but also possible that this increase reflects the fact that schools remained open during the lockdown, so more spreading went on there than elsewhere."

"Children can act as conduits for B117 to be passed on to adults, who are at far greater risk of illness and death. Given this, it was unconscionable that the UK government was even thinking, before its U-turn on 1st January, of opening any schools in London. And given the rate at which B117 is spreading elsewhere, it was deeply irresponsible to open schools anywhere else in the country today (other than for children of key workers or those who are at serious social or educational risk if kept at home). Scotland has announced full closures, and it now appearsEngland and Wales are likely to follow suit within hours."

Follow the science, and you close schools and implement remote learning. Otherwise we will almost certainly see another rise.

Janus

From the back catalogue today, from 10th January 2007, a look back and forward for the year.

Janus was the god of beginnings and transitions in Roman mythology, and presided over passages, doors, gates and endings, as well as in transitional periods such as from war to peace. He was usually depicted as having two faces looking at opposite ways, one towards the past and the other towards the future

Janus

Facing forward, looking back

Janus, looking at beginning

On time’s wandering track 

Mysteries hidden in Almanac

Janus, looking at the ending

Facing forward, looking back 

Love kiss, sweet aphrodisiac

Janus, ecstasy and singing

On time’s wandering track 

New Year coal, luck in black

Janus, laughter and weeping

Facing forward, looking back 

A grain of sand in an outback

Janus, a transition in timing

On time’s wandering track 

Waves break on rocky stack

In our end is new beginnings

Facing forward, looking back

On time’s wandering track

Kenneth More In Jersey and the Railway

[Image by permission of https://kennethmore.com]

Kenneth Gilbert More, CBE (20 September 1914 – 12 July 1982) was an English film and stage actor.

Initially achieving fame in the comedy Genevieve (1953), he appeared in many roles as a carefree, happy-go-lucky gent. Films from this period include Doctor in the House (1954), Raising a Riot (1955), The Admirable Crichton (1957), The Sheriff of Fractured Jaw (1958) and Next to No Time (1958). He also played more serious roles as a leading man, beginning with The Deep Blue Sea (1955), Reach for the Sky (1956), A Night to Remember (1958), North West Frontier (1959), The 39 Steps (1959) and Sink the Bismarck (1960).

Although his career declined in the early 1960s, two of his own favourite films date from this time – The Comedy Man (1964) and The Greengage Summer (1961) with Susannah York, "one of the happiest films on which I have ever worked."[2] He also enjoyed a revival in the much-acclaimed TV adaptation of The Forsyte Saga (1967) and the Father Brown series (1974).

He was born in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire, the only son of Charles Gilbert More, a Royal Naval Air Service pilot, and Edith Winifred Watkins, the daughter of a Cardiff solicitor. He was educated at Victoria College, Jersey, having spent part of his childhood in the Channel Islands, where his father was general manager of the Jersey Eastern Railway.

For more detail, and a fascinating account of Jersey to a new immigrant family in 1924, here’s a snippet from his autobiography, “More or Less”, which is available second hand, and I would recommend as a really good read.

https://smile.amazon.co.uk/More-Less-Kenneth/dp/034022603X

There is also a new book out, which I would also recommend, revisiting his acting legacy called "More Please", and a BBC Radio interview

.

https://smile.amazon.co.uk/More-Please-personal-Britains-successful/dp/B08N9DLL3K 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0008jdz

Kenneth More is remembered by his wife Angela Douglas and Nick Pourougides, founder of the official website dedicated to the actor's movies [https://kennethmore.com]

And finally, nothing beats watching those great movies again in the Kenneth More collection (which has subtitles):

https://smile.amazon.co.uk/Kenneth-More-Collection-DVD/dp/B000VA3J6Q

Genevieve
A Night to Remember
Chance of a Lifetime
North West Frontier
Reach for the Sky

Kenneth More's Account of his childhood in Jersey

Kenneth's father was offered a job as general manager of Jersey Eastern Railways in the Channel Islands, which commanded a salary of £500, and also had income from investments on the stock exchange. On July 29 1924 he recorded in his diary that they crossed to Jersey on the S.S.Reindeer, which is pictured below, with no more than the possessions they could carry with them.

My father plunged into his new job with the enthusiasm of a schoolboy with a new mechanical toy. 

His position as a manager meant he was in charge of several steam locomotives, with rolling stock. At that time the Jersey Eastern railway  consisted of 12 stations over nine miles of track from St helier to Gorey where passengers could catching the boat for France. There were also through tickets to Paris.

Until we could find a house, we lived in a small private hotel. My father bought a Chevrolet car, and then a house, Ellengowan, at Le Fauvic, half-way up a hill. 

The actual address is Ellangowan, La Route des Cotils, Grouville, and the rather grand house is shown above.

This is confirmed by an agreement dated June 30th 1924 between Alfred Speller attorney of Alfred Gardner Speller and Doris Ida Speller of the first party, Alfred Speller and Ida Smith, his wife of the second party, and Charles Gilbert More, 10, Heddon Street, Westminster, England of the third party. It recites the sale from 1 to 3 Ellangowan, Grouville - for the sum of £2,215 sterling, and the condition that 2 abandons their life interest in the property.

Jamie Beckford commented that "My great grandfather Alfred Hill was a stationmaster at Fauvic. My grandfather Moggie Hill played with Kenneth More in their childhood."

More notes that:

We lived in Ellengowan for about a year and then moved to another house in Green Street, St. Helier. 

This was in fact  35 Green Street. His autobiography doesn't give the number. It has been developed and is now the Panama Apartments, 35 Green Street.

Their grandmother's flat was close by and overlooked the local sea water swimming pool [Havre des Pas], where he and his sister swam on most warm days during school holidays. His grandmother would give them a biscuit and glass of port to help warm them up after the cold sea water. As now, there is no heating in the pool!

Havre des Pas Swimming Pool was opened on 22 May 1895, built on a plot of foreshore leased from the Crown. It consisted of a large pool attached to a circular granite tower high above the water mark. The tower contained changing booths and a club room. It was connected to land by a steel and timber bridge which enabled bathers to get ashore at high water.

According to Cliff Le Maistre, the famous bodybuilder Oscar Heidenstam, who was living in Jersey at the time, taught him to swim.

On Christmas Eve he would accompany his father on the train from one end of the line to the other, travelling in in the cab of the engine with the driver and fireman., stopping to greet the twelve station masters in turn, and wishing them a Merry Christmas. His father would also distribute gifts of whisky, turkey and cigars as a Christmas present, paid for out of his own pocket, to each of them.

I remember Mr. Drury, the station master at Le Fauvic, our local station, coming out of his house with tears in his eyes to receive his Christmas box. ’Oh, Major,’ he said. ’There has never been anybody like you.’ 

There may be some confusion there about names as the Stationmaster at Fauvic at this time was Alfred Hill [pictured above]

The railway connection remained strong, as later in life, as an actor, Kenneth More compered the "RAIL 150" celebrations in 1975 at the Royal Albert Hall - where all the music had a railway flavour, and he began his welcome speech by noting that  "he himself was the son of a former manager of the Jersey Eastern Railway" [Mentioned in The Railway Magazine, Volumes 120-121]

His father later took up a post in England with the company Sentinel, as his investments had performed poorly and funds were short, and the viability of the railway seemed uncertain. He was quite right.

In 1923 the Jersey Motor Transport Company started a bus service carrying passengers all over the Island. The Jersey Eastern Railway tried to counter the fierce competition by running their own bus service in 1926, but this was not much of a success, and declining profits led to termination of both the bus and train services on 21 June 1929. The company itself was liquidated in 1932.

Most of the land was sold to adjacent landowners, but part of the route can be seen near Fauvic (the district where the More family lived), where it has been preserved as a footpath.

More attended Victoria College Prep during this time and later moved up to Victoria College, and once his father was working and living the England, board ding with a friend of his father, Captain Oldham, in his house, Brookhill Farm, St Saviour. The farm has now been further developed to incorporate residential units but the basic granite structure remains.

However, we know that at the time he moved to Victoria College, as "Entrances Third Term 1926", his address listed as "Son of Major C.G. More, 35 Green Street". His number in the school register [1852-1929] is 3907.

Natalie Cousteils told me that : "My dad (Eric Pead) told me Kenneth More was in his class at Victoria College.", and he was an 3957, entrance second term 1928, so a year below him at school.

It was here that Kenneth More developed a taste for acting, and there is still a Kenneth More Drama Prize at Victoria College, and the later register [1930-1956] simply has "born 20.9.14, left 1931. Well known cinema actor." 

In his autobiography he notes that his first school play in which he played a male was J. M. Barrie’s The Admirable Crichton, which he would film years later and also perform as the lead in the musical.

The critic in the "Victorian" (the school magazine) wrote of his performance: "Watch Mr. More. He should go places." 

Reflecting on that Kenneth More commented: 

Just what places, and when and why, I had no idea, but I was glad someone believed I was on the move.

A few years back, the school Twitter feed posted a photo of the young Kenneth at school:



Although he left Jersey to various different careers - for details see "More Please" mentioned above - before he went into acting, he did keep a connection, narrating a 16mm Colour film reel for Jersey entitled "Island of Surprise". The blurb for that reads

Tourism Committee film narrated by Old Victorian Kenneth More, the famous screen actor who starred as Douglas Bader in the film "Reach for the Sky".

He also returned when Ronald Postill was headmaster as a guest at the Old Victorians' annual dinner, by which time his fame had been established in "Reach for the Sky"

He also later donated a portrait of King Charles I to Victoria College in 1957 and it hangs in the great hall [noted by Raoul Lemprière, "Customs, Ceremonies and Traditions of the Channel Islands"]. It was painted by Edward Bower and is titled "King Charles I at His Trial, Wearing the Garter Ribbon".