Grumbles from the Pulpit: Electronic Voting in the Fullness of Time

"Indeed it is, beyond question, at the appropriate juncture, in due course, in the fullness of time." (Yes Prime Minister)

I'd like to award the last President of PPC, Russell Labey, the 2021 Jim Hacker Award for procrastination. I've just been reading this on the Vote.Je website and am amazed that a proposition was agreed in 2016. 

It is now 2021, just over 5 years since the proposition from Geoff Southern was passed, and "a lot of work and research needs to be done" is almost as good as the quote from Jim Hacker in "Yes Minister" above. It is preposterous that it takes five years to do.... absolutely nothing! 

Let's face it, while Russell was very keen to change the electoral districts and boot the Senators out of the States, when it came to actually introducing a better voting system... and one which would easily allow a single transferable vote, making voting far more fair, you can forget it.

Russell has now moved on to higher things. He's become a Minister. Just like Mr Hacker.

From Vote.Je

You can’t vote electronically at the current time. On the 22nd March 2016, the States agreed to an amended proposition from Deputy G.P. Southern of St. Helier, which asked the Privileges and Procedures Committee, together with the Comité des Connétables, and other government bodies, to research and trial electronic voting systems to introduce a safe and secure mechanism to enable eligible voters to vote electronically. We intend to amend the Law to make electronic voting possible, but online voting gives rise to concerns about the risks of electoral fraud and how the secrecy of the ballot can be guaranteed, because people will be voting outside the supervised environment of the polling station.

An alternative option would be to introduce electronic voting within polling stations. In jurisdictions where this happens, voting machines print a paper receipt every time a vote is registered electronically so that re-counts can be conducted and the electronic count can be compared with a paper count.

A lot of work and research needs to be done before we can introduce electronic voting, to be sure that any such system processes data accurately and securely and to ensure that the voting public and candidates can be confident of the integrity of the voting process.

Grumbles from the Pulpit: Safer Travel and Vaccines

I have heard some people in the hospitality industry on the news suggesting that a vaccine certificate should allow people to travel without the need for PCR tests and self-isolating until the results of the test come through.

Someone on Facebook, and this is therefore a second hand report, said that Lyndon Farnham was endorsing this in an interview on BBC Radio Jersey:

"Heard you on the radio today. Bless you, need to get your facts right..... Mr Farnham was talking about vaccine passports and didn't feel they would be used for pubs etc over here... That's fine. He DID, however, think that when incoming people were coming into Jersey, the passport would mean they didn't need a PCR test. REALLY..... I think Lyndon needs to understand that the vaccine does NOT STOP you catching COVID, it does reduce the symptoms but it can still be caught and transmitted. Please Government of Jersey, DO NOT let this happen."

I hope that Lyndon can tell me that is not the case.

So, let's have some science.

A growing body of evidence suggests that fully vaccinated people are less likely to have asymptomatic infection and potentially less likely to transmit SARS-CoV-2 to others. However, further investigation is ongoing.

This is the really important piece of science:

The risks of SARS-CoV-2 infection in fully vaccinated people cannot be completely eliminated as long as there is continued community transmission of the virus. Vaccinated people could potentially still get COVID-19 and spread it to others.

Vaccines can reduce transmission, but they do not stop it. When travel comes in the 18-40s will not have been vaccinated, and even more critically, the under 18s will not. Testing is currently taking place in the USA on the under 18s, as it is important to have a vaccine roll-out which covers children as well. Before their sudden lockdown in Guernsey, at least 60% of the spread of the virus was in schools.

This means that PCR tests remain the most effective way to block importing the virus back into Jersey.

References:

NCB news notes:

Vaccines can protect against transmission by reducing a person's viral load, or how much virus is present in the body, said Dr. Becky Smith, an associate professor of medicine at Duke University.

"Theoretically, by reducing your viral load, it should prevent your ability to transmit to others," she said. "And even if it doesn't fully prevent transmission, it should lower it significantly."

Nature comments:

In February, independent data scientist Youyang Gu changed the name of his popular COVID-19 forecasting model from ‘Path to Herd Immunity’ to ‘Path to Normality’. He said that reaching a herd-immunity threshold was looking unlikely because of factors such as vaccine hesitancy, the emergence of new variants and the delayed arrival of vaccinations for children.

Gu is a data scientist, but his thinking aligns with that of many in the epidemiology community

A vaccine’s ability to block transmission doesn’t need to be 100% to make a difference. Even 70% effectiveness would be “amazing”, says Samuel Scarpino, a network scientist who studies infectious diseases at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts. But there could still be a substantial amount of virus spread that would make it a lot harder to break transmission chains.

And there's a new danger from Brittany, as Euronews reports:

Now, a new strain of Sars-Cov-2 has been discovered in Brittany in western France. Eight cases have been linked to the new variant which seems to be difficult to detect by the current PCR technique in use.

CR stands for polymerase chain reaction which involves the amplification of the genome of the virus. In this case, Sars-Cov-2 is an RNA virus that is reverse transcribed into DNA and then amplified by using reagents called primers.

The primers are specific to a specific genome sequence. So if there’s a mutation in the sequence that corresponds to these primers, the PCR method just won’t work. Therefore, new PCR methods would have to be developed to target this particular strain- hence the need to develop new testing methods.

Magical World

I was just thinking that how complacent we are, even despite the pandemic. We can communicate with each other across distance... and think nothing of it. We understand how the Coronavirus spreads.. and think nothing of that understanding. We take a vaccine to safeguard us... and think nothing about how wonderful that is. When we look back in time, as this poem does, we have cause for amazement and gratitude that we live in such a magical world... where the magic of science really does work wonders.

Magical World

Distant viewing, a magician’s dream
The ancient books gave such spells
None worked as they would deem
Yet we are linked with Zoom cells

The plague came, the Black Death
How it spread, no one yet knew
A world in agony, a drying breath
But I know a virus reaches you

Prayers, leeches, spells, all failed
No cure for the dying, no hope
Medicine unknown, still veiled
Vaccines work and help us cope

Truly, we live in a magical world today
So be thankful, now and every day

Edward Le Quesne: Our Policemen

Edward Le Quesne (1882-1957) was elected a Deputy for St Helier No 2 district in 1925 and held the seat until he stood successfully for the new office of Senator in 1948. This is an extract from a journal he wrote entitled “50 Years of Memories”, written sometime around 1949.

Our Policemen

The paid police in the early years of this century were mostly men of middle-age, one or two of them had beards and appeared to us boys as very old men. There was one sergeant I well remember, who was also the caretaker of the Savings Bank, and, living almost opposite to my home in New Street, he was the terror of my life, as he was to all the boys attending New Street School.

One of the policemen was a huge man named Macfarlane, nicknamed “Mac-Fat”. When on “the Beat”, his wife used to arrange with him to be at a certain place at a certain time, and seeing her good man in the distance, used to attract his attention by calling “Cuckoo Georgie. I’ve got your coffee”. This became known to the “ boys of the village ’.’, and Georgie’s life was made almost unbearable by continuously hearing from around the corner “ Cuckoo Georgie ”. The poor old chap was so fat he couldn’t run, but woe to the boy that he recognised as one of his tormentors if by chance he managed to find him unawares.

There was no Fire Brigade at that time, but an antiquated man-handled fire-engine was kept at the Town Hall, and when a fire occurred this was taken to the scene of the outbreak by horses supplied by a local carter. Arriving, it was under the orders of a Centenier or failing him of the senior honorary police officer present.

The fire engine was manned by a gang of men recruited on the spot who received 2/- per head for their work. Four or six men were at the pump-handles on either side of the engine, and inasmuch as no hydrants then existed, water was provided from the brooks, which were then as they still are in many cases, both sewer and water courses. I remember one occasion at a fire at the Town Mills, when a strike took place, the men engaged on the pump striking for 2/6 instead of the 2/- normally paid. Whilst the strike went on so did the fire and eventually the Mill was completely gutted. 

A humorous incident connected with the police that .I well recollect, my uncle and father both being Centeniers at the time, occurred at what was then known as the Irish Yard in Dorset Street. A death had occurred in one of the cottages in the Yard. It was decided to hold a “ Wake ”, the corpse was laid in a coffin and placed upright against the wall.

Friends were called in. and plentifully supplied with liquid refreshment in order to drown their sorrow, and to wish the dear departed “ bon voyage ”. Eventually, as often happens when a number of the “ Boys ” meet for a “ jollification ”, fighting commenced and the police were summoned.

Knowing with whom they had to deal, several policemen and one or two members of the honorary police proceeded to the “ Yard ” in the Police-van. One after another the Irishmen were bundled into the van, and seeing one who appeared more drunk than the others lying across the table, he was also picked up and loaded into the van.

Imagine the consternation when the police became aware that the drunken Irishman was actually the corpse who had fallen out of the coffin on to the table!

Grumbles from the Pulpit: More on Mixing Vaccines

Just read the following and wonder where is the evidence of this "endorsement" and what precisely did it say? I would like to see the documentary evidence by email or letter, with any caveats, as there appear to be plenty in the UK and elsewhere.

I'm not - please be clear - saying mixing should not take place, as the UK permits it "on extremely rare occasions". I'm just concerned that what we are being told is an "endorsement" is in fact misleading. Jersey can make a decision, but if it has any endorsement, it must be a special dispensation by the JCVI, since that is not that body's current policy.

Historically, combining doses from different vaccines is not unprecedented. For example, there have been clinical trials testing the mixing of different influenza (flu) vaccines. There are many potential benefits to being able to combine COVID-19 vaccine candidates, which is why scientists are eager for more data to evaluate this.

But studies in the UK are still under way, and not expected to be complete until the summer - although so far no adverse indications have been given, but we haven't had any reports on efficacy either.

I would also encourage anyone who can get a vaccine to get a vaccine - it is our major weapon in the fight against coronavirus.

Bailiwick Express: 8th March 2021

Mixing covid vaccines should be allowed when the same manufacturer as an individual’s first dose is unavailable, Jersey’s senior medics have decided.

The measure will mostly apply to individuals who are vaccinated at home and who received the Pfizer vaccine for their first dose, and not those who receive their vaccines in Fort Regent.

Deputy Medical Officer for Health Dr Ivan Muscat, Chief Pharmacist Paul McCabe and Associate Medical Director Dr Adrian Noon decided the measure was safe for islanders. It follows an endorsement of the approach by the UK’s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation.

Gov.Je Information:

This delivery model will be used in low numbers in the community and will not be the model of delivery at the Vaccination Centre at Fort Regent where the transport of vaccine is not necessary.

BBC News: BMJ: 2 January 2021


The editor of the British Medical Journal has asked the New York Times to correct an article that says UK guidelines allow two Covid-19 vaccines to be mixed.Ms Godlee said the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) does not make any recommendation to mix and match - in other words, having a shot of one vaccine and then a different one 12 weeks later.

Dr Mary Ramsay, Public Health England's head of immunisations, said: "We do not recommend mixing the Covid-19 vaccines - if your first dose is the Pfizer vaccine you should not be given the AstraZeneca vaccine for your second dose and vice versa."

Dr Ramsay added that on the "extremely rare occasions" where the same vaccine is unavailable or it is unknown which jab the patient received, it is "better to give a second dose of another vaccine than not at all".

CDC: 5 March 2021

The safety and efficacy of a mixed-product series have not been evaluated. Both doses of the series should be completed with the same product.

Health Desk: 10 March 2021 (UK report)

Researchers are still learning about the outcomes of mixing a first dose of one vaccine with a second dose of another. In the clinical trials that have led to emergency authorization of COVID-19 vaccines, combining doses from different vaccines has not yet been tested. This means that scientists do not yet know if combining doses from different COVID-19 vaccine candidates will be as effective or safe.

To help provide more data, a clinical trial was announced on February 8, 2021 to begin testing the combination of one dose from the AstraZeneca vaccine candidate with one dose from the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine candidate. This clinical trial, dubbed Com-Cov, is being led by the University of Oxford and is considered the first in the world to test the combination of different COVID-19 vaccine candidates. Enrollment of 820 participants over 50 years of age is starting, and scientists hope this clinical trial can provide more data and insights by the summer of 2021.

BBC: 18 March 2021

Vaccine Mixing: Nadhim Zahawi said the government's taskforce had given about £7m to fund the study, but that findings would not be available until the summer and therefore "at the moment, we're not changing anything at all"

Gov.UK: March 12 2021 - note the JCVI recommendation which is current while Jersey is saying the JCVI endorses mix and match.

Frequently asked questions answered by Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Professor Jonathan Van-Tam

It is current UK policy that you will get the same type of vaccine for your first and second doses. The NHS keeps a very careful track of the type of vaccine you got the first time in the National Immunisation Management System (NIMS). When people are called back for their second dose the NIMS tells staff what vaccine to give. The NHS and PHE are managing stock levels very carefully so that the right vaccines are available locally for second doses.

JVT adds: “Please don’t worry about getting the right vaccine on your second visit. The NHS has very tight control of this and the JCVI does not currently advise mixing and matching. However, it is true that we are currently performing mix and match research studies. You are not in one of these studies unless you have volunteered and given written consent. But these studies are important and may give us greater flexibility in the long run.

Grumbles from the Pulpit: The Census

The Census - Poor Questions Part 1: Cultural or Ethnic Background

Some of the census questions seem to be poorly written. For instance, under cultural or ethnic background, we have "Asian, Asian British or Asian Jersey", but the options below don't include those and you have to answer in the text box. And then there's "Mixed" which includes "Other mixed background, write in...".

Last time I wasn't sure that cultural or ethnic background was a really solid scientific category, and this time I'm just as convinced. I know we hear in the USA, for example, of African-American as a category, but I don't think that makes a huge amount of sense in Jersey. And what precisely is "White" anyway? Do Italians or Greeks or Turks count as "White"? Do Arabs, and if not why might Israelis?

And is race actually lurking as a hidden category behind some of these supposed categories.

Kid's in the House has a clear definition of differences, and while I might not wholly agree with it, at least it provides some solid definitions:

"Culture, ethnicity and race are terms that we often confuse and think mean the same thing, but they are actually different. Culture is something we're taught by other human beings. That's how we learn culture, and generally speaking by elders. People who are older than us, that are passing something down, generation to generation. Ethnicity has to do with nationality. Where we come from, so I might be .. someone is Asian, but their different ethnicities would be a Korean person, a Chinese person, a Filipino person. All Asian, but different ethnicities. Race is the most loaded term of all. And that's because race is actually not something that's genetic, although we like to think that it is. It's something that has to do with power hierarchies. We've used race in this country to make one set of people have more privilege and power than another. And that's kind of an ugly little truth that we don't like to talk about. But the reality is race matters, and in families where we are more than one race, or raising people of color who've been in targeted groups, we have to learn to talk about this. Or we are not going to be able to learn and help children learn how to feel good about who they are, and understand that they don't have to be victims to racism."

What we have in the census is pure muddle - conflating culture and ethnicity, and I suspect also including race. Why else is "White", which is nether cultural nor ethnic background, heading one segment? I'd like to see the hard science behind creating these categories which seem very fuzzy to me. Why is Jersey only listed under White? How is Asian Jersey (of maybe several generations) different from White Jersey? What is this information going to be used for? It seems to me more a legacy of an imperial past than of current importance.

Where were you born, on the other hand, is a far more solid question. You can only be born in one place - even if born on board a ship or plane, it is one location.

The Census - Poor Questions Part 2: Legal Marital Status

This question is so limited. It ignores the number of cohabiting couples who live in Jersey. Is there a question relating to that? No. And so while useful perhaps for assessing pensions, tax provisions, etc etc, in terms of building up a picture of how many couples there are cohabiting, some of whom may even have children, there is a black hole. We don't know and won't know the size of that hole, because
no questions address it. Why is it important? The USA report on their census explains why:

"As cohabition has become increasingly common and accepted in the United States, statistical agencies face an increased need to gather data on cohabition as well as marital status in order to get a more complete picture of family structure. Statistics on unwed births often include cases where biological parents are unmarried, but cohabiting and planning to raise the child together. Cohabiting couples with children often function much like families that have married parents, but are often categorized as single parents in statistical analyses. Additionally, gay and lesbian couples with children also often fuction as family units, without being married. These households may look like single parent families, with no indication that the child has two parents in the household. Many researchers are interested in the impact of cohabitation on children's well-being. In order to study this, we must be able to identify cohabiting couples with children."

The Census - Poor Questions Part 3: Transport

The transport question doesn't ask if alternative forms of transport are available from the person's location. Clearly, someone who is elderly and/or infirm can hardly be expected to use public transport in remote locations, some distance from the nearest bus stop, and it doesn't even include mobility scooters either.

There are a number of reasons why people use different modes of transport to get to work including the availability of affordable and effective public transport options, the number of motor vehicles available within a household, and the distance travelled to work. The census is a very blunt instrument on this question.

The Census - Missing Questions Part 4: Disability

There is nothing on disability, which would really be more useful than ethnic or cultural background in assessing needs of islanders. For example, there's nothing on the deaf community, some of whom communicate only in British Sign Language, or whom it is the first language. For that matter, there's nothing on first language or whether people can speak English well.

The HOH (Hard of Hearing) population in jersey is potentially 1 in 6. that’s a lot of people becoming deaf and needing support, and the statistics are sometimes missing. If an individual uses the hearing resource centre, it may be picked up, but not otherwise, either because they can't use a hearing aid anyway, or have obtained one privately.

Resourcing disability is I think more important that knowing if someone is white.

Belonging

Belonging

From the dust of the Island soil, I came:
Here my roots, my beginnings, my name;
Once I tried to settle in a foreign land,
But dying through lack of sea and sand,
I returned to once more regain my strength,
In my Island home, where its short length,
Shores bounded by the restless sea
Enfold me, make me and create me;
My boundaries this Island set in place,
And through it I see myself face to face;
In ancient times, at La Cotte, by the fire,
Not then settled, but later returned, retire,
And build the great monuments of stone,
Honour the ancestors, lay shards of bone;
Come farm the lands, and tame the soil,
Creating a home through hard won toil;
With the shaman, and the sacred song,
Enfold me, make me, here I belong;
And came the Christians from overseas:
They settled here, prayed on their knees;
Thin places discerned at the end of space,
Enfold me, make me, with their grace;
Here I belong, and here I find my being:
With wave and rock, listening, seeing

Edward le Quesne: The Jersey Militia

Edward Le Quesne (1882-1957) was elected a Deputy for St Helier No 2 district in 1925 and held the seat until he stood successfully for the new office of Senator in 1948. This is an extract from a journal he wrote entitled “50 Years of Memories”, written sometime around 1949.

The Jersey Militia

Finishing my recruiting, I was posted to C company of the Royal Jersey Artillery. Our Captain was Mr. Hawksford, in civil life a Hill Street English Solicitor, and the regular sergeant-major, Charlie Davis.

Senator Carlyle Le Gallais was one of the sergeants of my company and for the short time I served in C company, I was his gun loader on the old 64-pounder muzzle-loaders that existed under the Round Tower, La Collette. There were four companies of garrison artillery in those days and two field batteries, and great rivalry existed, this being proved by the keenness shown when the annual competition took place.

Discipline in these militia regiments was very lax. Sergeants were chosen, not because of their ability, but because they could subscribe a five-pound note to the funds for the annual outing. Officers had to be scions of the local gentry, rarely had any military knowledge or training, and had to depend entirely on the regular adjutant and staff sergeants. 

An unpopular officer had a rough time and could only regain his popularity by being liberal in his supply of liquid refreshment to the men of the company to which he was attached. Instances are on record of a whole company halting when near an inn and refusing to move until refreshment was provided by their officers.

The Grand Review, held on the 24th of May, Queen Victoria’s birthday, was a great day for the Royal Jersey Militia. The parade was generally held on the sands of St. Aubin’s Bay opposite Millbrook station. The review consisted of an inspection of the troops, a march past the Lieut.-Governor and a feu-de-joie. The march past was headed by the regular battalion stationed at the time in the Island, then came the artillery horse and foot, and then the infantry regiments of the Militia. 

The first regiment was the West consisting of men from the parishes of St. Ouen, St. Peter, St. Mary, St. Brelade, St. Laurens and St. John. The second was the East, consisting of men from Grouville, St. Martin, Trinity, St. Saviour and St. Clement. The third regiment was formed from men living in St. Helier.

Great stress was made in seeing that the regiments passed in proper procedure before the Lieut. Governor, and on one occasion the West regiment refused to march because by some misunderstanding they were placed behind instead of‘ in front of the other regiments. No persuasions could induce them to move and the review ended without the West passing His Excellency. Several of the ringleaders were arrested and were condemned to imprisonment. On their release they were met outside the prison by charabancs, and proceeding through the town headed by a band were eventually entertained to dinner by their fellow-militiamen at one of the local hotels.

But if discipline was lax, among the regiments could found numbers of experts with a rifle and at the local Bisley, militiamen invariably beat the men of the regular battalion and the Jersey team, consisting of militiamen and ex-militiamen, always gave a good showing at the NRA meetings at Wimbledon and later at Bisley.

A regular infantry battalion was always stationed at 'Fort Regent and St. Peter’s Barracks, and a company or two of artillery at Elizabeth Castle. Details were sometimes posted at Rozel and Greve-de-Lecq and sometimes, but rarely, at Bonne Nuit.

The Annual Militia Ball was the great social event of the year and kept the local dressmakers and tailors busy for many weeks, for apart from smart dresses for the ladies, officers and sergeants had to be provided with proper dress uniforms for the occasion. The venue was always the Oddfellows’ Hall in Don Street and carriages drawn by two horses with coachman and footman in attendance brought the distinguished guests to the Ball.

The Grand March that began the evening was always headed by the Lieut.-Governor, partnered by one of the Island’s prominent ladies. '

Class distinction was very rigid. Professional men did not mix with trades people, and various clubs in the Island did not permit membership to people engaged in trade. Employees were very respectful to their employers and were expected to raise their hats to them when meeting in the street, and the man or boy who failed to add the word “ sir ”, when addressing his employer, was considered wanting in .respect. 

Trade unionism was non-existent, and wages and conditions of employment were decided by the individual employer. Whilst many employers treated their employees with consideration, there were many exceptions and men had to put up with much that would not be tolerated to-day.

Grumbles from the Pulpit: Constables, Resignations and the Law

 

I recently read this on Bailiwick Express

"The recently elected chairwoman of the Privileges and Procedures Committee, Deputy Carina Alves, outlined the potential process for replacing Mr Taylor. ‘We are expecting the court to direct that a by-election be held quite soon,’ she said. ‘He [Mr Taylor] remains a Constable, and hence a States Member, until the new person is sworn in. It is my understanding that this is because the Constable has responsibilities to his parish, which means the post cannot be vacant. This is different from Senators and Deputies, whose posts are vacant as soon as their resignation is announced.’"

I disagree – there is no reason why the law could not be amended so that the Constable leaves office on resigning. His responsibilities would simply be taken over by another Parish official, outside of his States duties.

In support of this, I would note that a bi-election was held for the Parish of Grouville after the sudden death, during his term of office, of Constable Dan Murphy.

Clearly in that instant the post was vacant until a successor was elected – (which was in fact a contested election). So all that is needed is to change the law so that an election is held on a resignation of the existing Constable.

[Extra note: since writing this, Deputy Alves has issued a press statement:

The judgement comments on some discrepancies between the States of Jersey Law and the Connetables Law. PPC is already reviewing the law in this area and will study this complex judgement and will bring forward changes if they are needed]

As far as Parish duties are concerned, in the absence or incapacity of a Constable, their Parish duties devolve to the Procureur. This could equally apply on the resignation of a Constable.

https://www.jerseylaw.je/laws/revised/Pages/23.080.aspx#_Toc397428658

It should be noted that since 1998, the law relating to elections for Procureurs du Bien Public has been changed so as to require a public election – as opposed to an election merely by the Parish Assembly – to be held if the position is contested.

Article 5 duly provides for the senior Procureur to deputise for the Connétable in the latter’s incapacity (inability to discharge the functions of office) or absence from Jersey; but it also provides for such deputisation whilst there is a vacancy in the office of Connétable.

The law also notes that for a Constable, “an inability to discharge the functions of office means an inability for any reason, be it illness, injury or otherwise.”. I would have thought that being found guilty and told to resign would come under "or otherwise".

And finally... the law regarding the Constables not leaving office when they resign has been in place for ages, and some of the States members - not Deputy Alves, who is a new States member - have been in the States for some considerable time. 

One Deputy has been in the States since 2008, and yet has not seen fit to bring any proposition to correct this anomaly. It seems very slack that they have simply not bothered to look at this before. 

The simplest solution is for PPC to amend the law and close the loophole.

I would also note that no one has sought to change the position regarding Crown appointments either, despite the fact that a relief Magistrate was found guilty in the Royal Court and sentenced to prison, and yet still was allowed to retain his position and salary because there was no fast-track mechanism for removing him.

Grumbles from the Pulpit: Ideology, Translation, and Imperialism

Lost in non-translation

Amanda Gorman's The Hill We Climb stole the show at Joe Biden's presidential inauguration but when a renowned Dutch author was asked to translate her work there was an outcry because the translator is not black.

Critics said it was not just about skin colour but identity too. This was not simply about translation but whether Gorman's poetry could be accurately reflected, interpreted by someone of a different ethnicity, genre, and mother tongue.

(BBC News)

Good luck to anyone translating the Iliad and Odyssey, as they will clearly not be able to translate Homer's poetry - for how on earth could that be accurately reflected, interpreted by someone of a different ethnicity, genre, and mother tongue - and one might add, another time?

It seems that the world has gone mad, and common sense has been pushed out of the window of the top floor of a very high, and probably American, skyscraper.

But it makes a nonsense of any kind of translations of works of the distant past. How on earth could one translate and make any sense of the oldest work of literature, the Epic of Gilgamesh?

The reason why the same argument has not been applied to translations of ancient worlds is, I believe, twofold.

In the first instance, no one has thought what the logic of that position on translating Gorman's poem would be if applied universally, and hence to all works of literature, past and present. Once you think about that, you can easily see the nonsensical nature of that stance.

And secondly, Amanda Gorman is very much alive, while Homer is, of course, long dead. In other words, this attitude has less to do with ability to translate, and more to do with a particular ideology of segregation, forcing its way onto the contemporary world, who really know little or nothing about translation, but know a great deal about their own particular idée fixe.

And what is that? It is saying that people of one colour and mother tongue and culture cannot be understood by another, that there is too great a divide for any connections to be made. It likes to put up barriers, and has a pathological hatred of any notion that there can be communication across such a divide, which it sees as a vast chasm.

As someone who has followed with interest Voyager, and the plaque devised by Carl Sagan, and sent out to the stars to seek contact, so full of hope, this is opposed to all those values that I hold dear. 

 How can we hope to understand and make contact with other alien civilisations, if we put in place barriers to even attempting to translate a poem from one language to another? For surely, par excellence, those arguments stated against the renown Dutch author would apply even more to some intelligence who came from a truly alien culture?

I remember when Sagan arranged for a photo to be taken of Earth from the fast receding and distant Voyager, when it appeared as a pale blue dot. If ever there were posturings and imagined self-importance, we see them in this furore over translation:

"Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the Universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves."

"It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known."

The Double Edged Sword of Imperialism

I must be getting old, and more like Victor Meldrew, because there is a particular annoyance which I come across increasingly, and it is a kind of reverse Imperialism. This is the position which not only takes British Imperialism as all bad, but also seeks to blame anyone who is white and British for what their ancestors did - and in particular the slave trade. It often goes hand in hand with a mantra which declares we are guilty of that past, or at least guilty by proxy because of our past ancestors, who were part and parcel of the British Empire.

Against that, I find the words of Nye Bevan (from "In Place of Fear"), just the remedy, and just right to put this nonsense in its place.

He is commenting on the House of Parliament, but his words could apply equally to the common person's involvement in the British Empire:

"The first thing he should bear in mind is that these were not his ancestors. His forebears had

no part in the past, the accumulated dust of which now muffles his own footfalls. His forefathers were tending sheep or ploughing the land, or serving the statesmen whose names he sees written on the walls around him, or whose portraits look down upon him in the long corridors. It is not the past of his people that extends in colourful pageantry before his eyes. They were shut out from all this; were forbidden

to take part in the dramatic scenes depicted in these frescoes."

Assuming that someone is white and hence must somehow be held responsible for the wrongdoings of the British Empire (because of their ancestry) is actually a kind of Imperialism itself, imposing its attributions upon those who, as Bevan notes, "were shut out from all this".

Conversations by a Well

Time for a rondelle, a French poetic form, for today's poem.

Conversations by a Well

Drink your fill of the water of life
As your tears fall, in sorrow weep
You have no pail; the well is deep
Grief cuts deep, like a knife

A world of pain, a world of strife
Time to awaken from your sleep
Drink your fill of the water of life
As your tears fall, in sorrow weep

Past wrongs cut deep like a knife
What we sow, so shall we reap
A road so rugged, and so steep
Time for an ending of your strife
Drink your fill of the water of life

Edward le Quesne: I see Winston

Edward Le Quesne (1882-1957) was elected a Deputy for St Helier No 2 district in 1925 and held the seat until he stood successfully for the new office of Senator in 1948. This is an extract from a journal he wrote entitled “50 Years of Memories”, written sometime around 1949. This part of his memoir looks at an encounter with a very young Winston Churchill.

I see Winston

In 1898 and 1899 I was at school at “ Parlett’s Collegiate School ”. This school, which was considered one of the best in the Island, was situated in Victoria Crescent, and was always a great rival to Victoria College.

My brothers were all educated at the College, but as my father had always intended that my career should be the Ministry; immediately I had passed my first-class College of Preceptors exam, then considered the equal of the London Matriculation, I was sent to a denominational College at Caterham in Surrey. 

For the next seven years I was only infrequently in Jersey for, abandoning the idea of becoming a minister, I went to London to learn my trade as a plumber. Quite a number of young Jerseymen were in London at the same time; and several of us lodged together and formed a small colony in the neighbourhood of the Elephant and Castle and the Walworth Road.



Winston Churchill, circa 1900


Whilst at Caterham I remember an occasion when Winston Churchill, then a correspondent of one of the London dailies, came down to report on the departure of a reserve artillery regiment then proceeding to the South African War. This was my first sight of the man who eventually was to become perhaps the greatest Prime Minister of all time. Few of us at that time could have even imagined the possibility of that eventuating.

Before going to Caterham I had completed my recruit’s drill for the Militia, and can remember being drilled in the Arsenal Yard, now the Fire Brigade Station. My Sergeant Instructor was a regular soldier named Brint, and although he stood no nonsense from his recruits, a good deal could be done with him by means of the wherewithal to obtain liquid refreshment, for which he had a great partiality, and it was probably my ability to provide that wherewithal that secured me the silver spoon. presented by the States for the best recruit of the year. I cannot by any stretch of imagination think of any other reason!

Grumbles from the Pulpit 3: Mixing Vaccines: Mixed Messages

Mixing Vaccines: Mixed Messages

As far as I can tell, studies are underway but not complete on the efficacy of mixing vaccines.

So why is Jersey saying “It follows an endorsement of the approach by the UK’s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation.”

When clearly there is NO endorsement to support it. In fact, quite the contrary – until trials are complete, later in the summer!!!

Essentially Jersey should sign up to trials if we are going to do this, and people should be made aware of that.

"This approach has been endorsed by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation."

If they did endorse it, it is extraordinary, given that trials are not due to give preliminary results until the summer, and they have stated quite clearly it can only be "a last resort" at present. Moreover, when they did consider mixing vaccines, back in January, the JCOVAI very quickly backtracked after criticism that they were not following proven science.

The Facts of the Matter

https://www.nihr.ac.uk/news/worlds-first-covid-19-vaccine-alternating-dose-study-launches-in-uk/26773

Study on mixing vaccines began in February

The study will run for 13 months and patients will be recruited over the course of February via the NHS COVID-19 Vaccine Research Registry. Vaccinations are expected to start towards the middle of the month and initial results to be made available over the summer period.

So why has Jersey not mentioned that the science is not yet robust?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-55924433

The vaccines minister said no changes would be made to the UK's current approach until at least the summer.

Currently, official guidance from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) says anyone already given the Pfizer-BioNTech or Oxford-AstraZeneca jab as part of the UK's approved immunisation programme should get the same vaccine for both doses.

There is no suggestion this will change, although in very rare circumstances a different vaccine can be used - if only one vaccine is available, or it's not known which was given for the first dose.

And further back, some red flags:

NHS England’s vaccine deployment chief commercial officer Emily Lawson told MPs at a House of Commons public accounts committee meeting on 11 January that she did not expect mixing to occur - and stressed it should be done only as a ‘last resort’.

https://www.itv.com/news/2021-01-02/mixing-vaccines-not-recommended-public-health-england-say

England's health agency has warned against mixing vaccines from different suppliers after a US newspaper reported an update to Public Health England's Covid handbook that would allow for a "mix-and-match" vaccine roll out. Updated advice PHE Covid guidelines say: “It is reasonable to offer one dose of the locally available product to complete the schedule” if the same vaccine used for the first dose is not available.

Later, the agency's coronavirus 'green book' adds: “There is no evidence on the interchangeability of the Covid-19 vaccines although studies are under way.”

Commenting on reports on mixing vaccines, Dr Mary Ramsay, Head of Immunisations at PHE, said: “We do not recommend mixing the Covid-19 vaccines – if your first dose is the Pfizer vaccine you should not be given the AstraZeneca vaccine for your second dose and vice versa.”

She added: "There may be extremely rare occasions where the same vaccine is not available, or where it is not known what vaccine the patient received.

"Every effort should be made to give them the same vaccine, but where this is not possible, it is better to give a second dose of another vaccine than not at all."

Dr Ramsay was forced to defend the UK's vaccine regimen after an article in the New York Times report accused Britain of deploying a "mix-and-match" approach to the vaccine roll out.

The report quoted virologist Prof John Moore from Cornell University in the US who accused the UK of having "abandoned science completely now and are just trying to guess their way out of a mess”.

Prof Anthony Harnden, the deputy chair of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “Our current advice is that you use the same vaccine for both doses. However, we have studies that are ongoing at the moment to look at mixing vaccines and when we see the data for those and are secure about the data for those, then we may be recommending mixed dose strategy.”

Signposts

Signposts

A dark world, wracked with pain
Pandemic still rides across the land
The first horseman, whitest mane
Plague stretched out from his hand

A dark world, wracked with pain
Wars without end, no sign of peace
Red horse rider brings mark of Cain
Strife, conflict, death never cease

A dark world, wracked with pain
Crops fail, wildfire’s burn fierce
Black horse rider steals the grain
Hunger likes a sword does pierce

A dark world, wracked with pain
Death comes to the infected poor
Fourth horseman, a pale reign
Vaccine calls meet shuttered door

A dark world, wracked with pain
It seems so ever hard to cope
Mourners weeping for the slain
But candle light is sign of hope

A dark world, wracked with pain
Dark these shadows on this day
But dawn comes, night will wane
Hope abides, as now we pray

Edward le Quesne: The Newfoundland Trade

Edward Le Quesne (1882-1957) was elected a Deputy for St Helier No 2 district in 1925 and held the seat until he stood successfully for the new office of Senator in 1948. This is an extract from a journal he wrote entitled “50 Years of Memories”, written sometime around 1949. This part of his memoir looks at late Victorian Jersey and the declining years of the Newfoundland Trade.

Chapter 3: The Newfoundland Trade

One of my earliest recollections is that of frequent visits to the harbour to see the ships being made ready for their annual visit to Newfoundland for the cod fisheries.

As a general rule these wooden ships left Jersey at the end of March or the beginning of April and returned during October or November. In the winter months they filled what was termed the Old Harbour, e.g. the harbour in front of what is now named Commercial Buildings. The scene in those days was one of great activity, dozens of carpenters, shipwrights, sail makers and smiths being employed preparing the ships for the next season’s voyage.

Almost every store along Commercial Buildings contained businesses engaged in industry connected with shipbuilding, ship repairs and revictualling. A large wooden dry-dock was moored alongside the Quay and ships were placed in it one after another for repairs to their hulls, and the tapping of the hammers wielded by the Shipwrights caulking the seams with tarred hemp could be heard continuously.

Just before leaving for their voyage the placing of foodstuffs on board took place. Barrels of salt pork and huge tins of ship’s biscuits were the principal items, and large tanks of fresh water were also carried. I well remember a bakery at the bottom of Pier Road that supplied most of the ships’ biscuits and where bakers worked night and day for some weeks previous to the departure of the ships.

These biscuits were about six inches in diameter and about an inch thick, all right if soaked in hot milk as I have often had them for breakfast, but eaten as they had to be on the voyage, only soaked in hot water, and often flavoured by myriads of weevils, they can hardly, by any stretch of the imagination, have been even slightly appetising. ‘

But men were more easily satisfied in those days, and hundreds went year after year, knowing full well before they went of the hard life facing them, including very often a voyage to the fishing grounds of fifty to ninety days, with small pay, poor food, poor accommodation and some months of dangerous and hard work on the Newfoundland Banks, before returning for a few months to their native land.

Again, many failed to return, for almost annually returning ships brought news of accidents whilst fishing, of men who had decided to settle down in the new land, or of shipwrecks with the loss, in some cases, of all on board.

Gradually, fewer and fewer ships were engaged in this industry and eventually none remained, the old harbour became deserted, the stores changed over to potato and tomato stores, the old dry-dock was broken up and part of the harbour filled up to make what is now a parking place for cars, unthought-of of in the days of the wooden ships. To see the ships go out in the early spring was an experience never to be forgotten.

The sailors were paid a month or two’s wages previous to sailing, presumably to provide their families with spare cash during their absence. Many of them spent a good deal of those wages in having a good old drinking bout the day before sailing, and many had to be taken down to their ships on a police truck and placed on board.

The ships were taken by a tug out into the roads behind Elizabeth Castle, and we boys often manned the capstan, that until quite recently was at the end of the Albert Pier, in order to assist the ships proceeding out of the harbour mouth. The apprentices on the ships did their best to assist the skipper whilst the seamen recovered from the effects of their carousal.

The Annual Swimming matches of the Jersey Swimming Club were held in those days in the Harbour. The Quays of the Albert Pier were lined with marquees and seats for the spectators and barges were moored for the use of officials and competitors. I well remember, inasmuch as I was a competitor, when the English champion Tyers came to Jersey and used, for the first time locally, the Trudgeon, two-arm overhand stroke.

Radmilovic, the Welsh and English champion also made an appearance and competed in, and won, the two races inwhich he took part. This was considered one of the annual red-letter days and the event was always well patronised.

Another important annual event was the Cycling Club’s Annual Gala that took place at the Cycling Track that existed where are now the Florence Boot Houses at Greve d’Azette. English champion cyclists always crossed over for this event and on several occasions the whole of the local spectators were thrilled to see our local champion secure the victory from the visiting champions. Apart from the racing cycles similar to those of today there were events for the penny-farthing and tricycle machines.

The track was well banked and was an ideal place for these events, and the pity is that for financial reasons it eventually was demolished and sold.

My Postscript on the text:

The trudgen is a swimming stroke sometimes known as the racing stroke, or the East Indian stroke. It is named after the English swimmer John Trudgen (1852–1902) and evolved out of sidestroke.

One swims mostly upon one side, making an overhand movement, lifting the arms alternately out of the water. When the left arm is above the head, the legs spread apart for a kick; as the left arm comes down the legs extend and are then brought together with a sharp scissor kick. The right arm is now brought forward over the water, and as it comes down the left arm is extended again. The scissor kick comes every second stroke; it involves spreading the legs, then bringing them together with a sudden "snap" movement.

The swimmer's face is underwater most of the time; the only chance to breathe is when the hand is coming back and just as the elbow passes the face. The trudgen developed into the front crawl.

Grumbles from the Pulpit 2

It's Child's Play, Minister

Question Will the Minister explain what assessment was made of the risk factors in terms of exempting children under the age of 3, versus children under the age of 5, in the restrictions on gatherings?

Minister for Health Answer The risk factors considered were that, in broad terms, many children under 3 years of age are less independently mobile than children aged 4 to 5 years, making it easier for parents / carers to ensure safe distancing between the child and others. Furthermore, children aged 4 and 5 years old are more likely to use the toilet independently of parents / carers, which potentially increases the risk of poor hand hygiene. Clearly this can vary from child to child.

Where on earth did they get this notion from? Most children are able to walk alone by 11-15 months.

Kid's Health notes that:

Toddlers — it's hard to imagine a more fitting name for this stage of development. Between the ages of 1 and 3, toddlers are literally scooting away from babyhood in search of new adventures. They're learning to talk, to walk and run, and to assert their independence. For many in this age group, "outside" and "play" are becoming common requests. As a parent, you're focused on keeping your little one safe. Supervision and safety precautions, such as gates and electrical outlet covers, are important.

Less independently mobile? It doesn't sound like it.

There are various news stories which are easy to find on google about two year olds wandering off and these demonstrate clearly, the notion that children under three years of age are "less independently mobile" and - without adequate understanding - can understand "social distancing" is a chimera.

A BBC report highlighted the issues - and this is with a six year old's understanding!

Lara Crisp, editor of the grandparents' social networking website Gransnet, said users of the site had been expressing concerns about how the changes will work.
"One grandmother said to me that she had recently met with her six-year-old granddaughter who just couldn't get the social distancing," she said.
"She wanted to hold her hand and help her climb a tree.
"It ended up with the grandchild bursting into tears, upset and confused at what was happening.
"Many older children get it, but for younger children it is hard."

So how is a two year old to be taught to behave at a gathering?

That's not to say they can't be taught about social distancing. Help is at hand! But the Minister should be aware of the difficulties.

How do you explain social distancing to a 2-year-old girl who just wants to hug her grandparents?

Benjamin Lindquist, MD, a Stanford clinical assistant professor of emergency medicine, gave it a try when he brought his daughter Kiley to see relatives soon after the COVID-19 outbreak began.

To help other parents in the same situation, he wrote a children's book entitled I Love You When You're Close and When You're Far Away. Lindquist is donating proceeds to GetUsPPE.org, a group that is collecting personal protective equipment for health care workers during the pandemic.

But as far as gatherings go, the Health Minister should meet some two year old toddlers and see just how independent they are! We really could do without this nonsense. And instead of that, perhaps give out some advice on how to keep toddlers - who are very independent and pushing boundaries all the time - can be kept safer.

References:
https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/exploring.html.
https://www.ibtimes.com/2-year-old-child-found-wandering-unsupervised-louisiana-mother-didnt-notice-missing-2982590
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-52851927
https://scopeblog.stanford.edu/2020/05/21/social-distancing-through-the-eyes-of-a-toddler/