Les Ecrehou: Guide Book 1966

From "Four Square Guide to the Channel Islands", 1966, this piece.

Les Ecrehou

Les Ecrehou are without doubt the most untouched of all the Channel Islands. They consist of a scattering of tiny islands halfway between Jersey and the French mainland, only two of which, Marmourtier and Blanche Ile, are inhabited. Here the islanders live a real Robinson Crusoe existence, dependent on the sea for their livelihood and completely impervious to the attractions of modern progress. ‘

Blanche Ile is just over 250 yards long and the bigger of the two and boasts a most unusual sight for such a small island. - a two storey house. Marmoutier, about 200 yards long, has a row of a dozen little cottages clinging tenaciously to its rocky surface. One of the other islands of the group, Maitre Isle, has been inhabited in the past (there are the ruins of an ancient chapel still visible), but now due to the difficulty of making a landfall it is left to the sea birds who cluster there to nest. 

Fishermen from Jersey are quite frequent visitors to the islands - and they provide the only method of getting to Les Ecrehou for the really determined holidaymaker. The fisherthen come to fish the area which always provides good hauls and stop at the islands for the local seaweed which is particularly good for manure. In the past the islands have served as havens for smugglers and there are also stories that during rumbustious elections on Jersey some of the competing parties were not above kidnapping voters and “exiling” them on Lee Ecrehou and thus nullifying their votes! .

One of the few sights on the islands is the cottage on Blanche Ile which belonged to Philip Pinel. Pinel was a Jersey fisherman who settled on the island in the first half of the 19th century and was soon referred to throughout the islands as the “King of the Ecrehou” because of his substantial trade with Jersey in lobsters and seaweed.

Unquestionably the most striking building in the group is the Jersey Customs Building on Marmoutier, a dignified white building complete with the island’s emblem of three rampant leopards on one wall.

A visit to the two main islands can be most interesting and rewarding (the sea trip is extremely bracing, too). And for the lazy Sightseer there is always the unique fact that whatever he wants to see and wherever it is, he will never have to walk more than 250 yards in any given direction to get there!

Postcript: Now you can get there by RIB voyages

Time for a Government Manual?

Bailiwick Express reported that:

"The signing of a compulsory purchase order to acquire land for the new hospital just days before last week’s election was “outrageous”, a newly elected Member [Philip Ozouf] has said. The land around the People’s Park and up Westmount, leading to Overdale Hospital, currently belongs to the Parish but the government is acquiring it through compulsory purchase powers. "

"Outgoing Home Affairs Minister Gregory Guida, who signed last week’s orders, defended his actions. “We were told by the States Assembly to build a hospital and that is what we are doing,” he said. “I was prepared to sign the second of two notification orders two or three months ago but it had to go through a formal process and things took time. “They landed on my desk in the week of the election but that did not stop me signing the orders.”

Now as in the UK, the States and Government are two separate institutions. The Government does not resign when the States cease to meet at the start of an election period. Government ministers remain in charge of their departments. The role of minister is independent of the role of States Member.  So technically Gregory Guida is empowered to do what he did.

However, in the UK, the "Cabinet Manual" sets out the main laws, rules and conventions affecting the conduct and operation of government, including how to behave once Parliament is dissolved.

"While the government retains its responsibility to govern and ministers remain in charge of their departments, governments are expected by convention to observe discretion in initiating any new action of a continuing or long-term character in the period immediately preceding an election."

It also states that:

"Ministers continue in office and it is customary for them to observe discretion in initiating any action of a continuing or long-term character. This means the deferral of activity such as: taking or announcing major policy decisions; entering into large/contentious procurement contracts or significant longterm commitments"

That is a matter of discretion rather than law, however, it is highly likely that if Jersey had a "Government Manual", it would have the same principles enshrined in it.

After all, it would be a waste of time if a new government promptly rescinded a government decision, which is entirely possible. When Deputy Guy de Faye was in charge of TTS (Transport and Technical Services) as Minister, he made a unilateral ministerial decision to allow a developer to dig up people's gardens and lay sewer networks without their consent. It was rescinded after Senator Ben Shenton brought a proposition against it.

For details, see my blog "Drains and Dictators"
http://tonymusings.blogspot.com/2008/06/drains-and-dictators.html

This latest decision does, however, illustrate a last gasp of the contempt the current government has for the people of Jersey when making decisions, which we have seen on numerous occasions over the past four years when the government has taken as stance as "we know best".

Examples would be decisions on Covid which ran counter to STAC advice, and that of the outgoing Medical Officer of Health, the push for Overdale as a hospital site and the wholly inappropriate use of Les Quennevais school as a site to shove Overdale services (squeezing out some basic hearing resource centre activities), the decision (and fake video) on Plemont Ward, the push-back on revealing the Foreshore maps (and the vulture like activity of Property Holdings).

The arrogance of this government is not surprising, so Gregory Guida's decision to push ahead and "carry on regardless" is not unexpected. Unfortunately, unlike the comedy of the same name, this is more of a tragedy, but I'll leave the reader to decide which Shakespearian play bests fits the bill.

Elections Review part 4 - Do we need the Senators after all?

I know there is at present a clarion call to bring back the Senators, but I think it must be resisted. I was myself a huge fan of the Senators, I looked upon their removal with dismay.... but then I started to look at how the arguments against their return stack up, and I have changed my mind.

A lot of the original rationale for the Senators has now been lost. We have 12 Senators because in the 1948 reforms, they replaced the 12 Jurats in the States. 

They were elected in alternate cycles, 6 every 6 years, on an island wide mandate, where Deputies were only elected for 3 years at a time. The plus was that they could provide an element of long term stability - the minus was that, once Ministerial Government came in, a Chief Minister could be elected mid-term and not face the electorate, which I don't think was healthy. 

Much has been made of the fact that John Le Fondre is the first Chief Minister to lose his seat in an  election, but both Senator Frank Walker and Senator Terry Le Sueur came in mid-term, and left the States at the end of the 3 year period, just at the point when they would have faced the electorate. I don't know how well they would have done, but Frank Walker came in 6th as Senator in 2002, and Terry Le Sueur 5th in 2005. Neither were poll-toppers, and given Terry Le Sueur's crass failure over Bill Ogley's golden handshake, and his attempt to derail the Care Inquiry completely, and his attempt to reduce the Millennium Park to a fraction of its size - he may well have lost his seat if he had faced that challenge. 

The Senators elections also always came before the Deputies, which was a good way for aspiring politicians to get publicity if they were to go on and stand as Deputies - a number did precisely that - and also a back door so that if ejected from the ranks of Senator they could creep back in as Deputies, having two bites of the cherry, and in some cases even getting their old Presidency back despite the Island wanting them out. The notion that they somehow represented the popular will was a nonsense - poll-toppers sometimes were relegated to the back benchers. Those who lost as Senators and returned as Deputies were not given lesser roles as a result, or even moved from unpopular portfolios.

The move to a single day election, and a 4 year election cycle, and a reduction of Senators to 8 meant there was a lot more risk involved for sitting Deputies aspiring to the rank of Senator. John Young failed to get re-elected and was in the political wilderness for four years. 

But it also encouraged all and sundry who had nothing to lose, and we had a number of candidates coming forward who had not the slightest chance of election - the eccentric, those who drank too much, the one who put a cardboard cut-out in his place at some hustings. They wanted their moment of fame, their chance of the limelight, even if it wasted everyone's time. At least once hustings were online on Youtube, you could fast forward past the boring bits!

So why still aspire to Senator? It was seen as a given, from the inception of Ministerial government, that the Chief Minister would be drawn from the ranks of the Senators, not the Deputies. So there were potentially just 8 candidates rather than a pool of 37 candidates. Excellent candidates would be out of the running just because they didn't have that title. An island wide vote of approval was prioritised  over excellence. Do we really want that again? 

An island wide vote also lent itself to a tendency to favour rural Parishes, so the representation of the Senators did not sit well with the demographic of Jersey. It gave a bias towards country over town, and a cadre of members who often became Ministers but had little understanding of the needs of St Helier. I remember well that Terry Le Sueur, as new Chief Minister, saying that he wanted a broader consensus - before nominating all the other Senators apart from Stuart Syvret to the posts of Ministers. If every there was rampant cronyism, that was during his tenure. That's what you get with less diversity.

More representation to urban districts - where more voters live - mean a more balanced representation, where we have people who understand the issues facing St Helier much better than someone living out in a comfortable house in the country. Yes, you have the extra votes, more votes - reduced to (mostly) 4 and a Constable (5) from 8 + 1 or 2 + Constable = 9 or 10, but the pool of choice is actually diminished island-wide. Look at the cheerful attempt to grab the People's Park as a hospital site.

Remember when the last Chief Minister (as Jersey came out of lockdown) had said that people could meet in a back garden if they had one, and expressed surprise that there might be houses where you have to go through the house to get to the back garden. Indeed the whole tenor of that period - if you are privileged enough to have a garden, you can sit out in lockdown, and later meet friends - ignored the unfairness to those cooped in flats. The same disconnection occurred when Christmas eve was ruled out for family, wholly ignoring the European diaspora for whom Christmas eve is as meaningful as Christmas day. The Chief Minister was not a bad person, by any means - he was (and is) a nice person, but coming from a rural enclave, he seemed oblivious to the needs of a good proportion of the population. Do we want a return to that?

A reduction of the districts to put back 8 Senators would mean the probable loss of a number of last placed candidates, who may have been ill-fitted to stand as Senators - Andy Howell in District  Stephen Ahier in District 4, David Warr in District 6, Karen Wilson in District 8, Rose Binet in District 9 - all of these were elected on a far wide and more representative demographic of the make up of the Island as a whole. An Island wide vote, although we were used to it, encouraged geographical detachment, and a more ungrounded, government, less representative of the whole island.

There's a way of looking at statistics called stratification. An opinion poll, however random it may be, may not have a demographic that represents the island well. It may be weighted in favour of men. It may more be people of a certain age. To get a better idea, what is called a stratified sample, is when you take those results and adjust them to compensate by the proportions there are in the census. So if a census gives, say, a 50-50 split between men and women, but the poll sampled has 70-30, you adjust the results proportionally so they match the census. That way you have a more balanced sample that better represents the island. The Island wide vote of Senators always tended to represent the figures before they had been adjusted. The new districts and loss of island wide vote mean we have a much more diverse representation. Isn't that a good thing? Hasn't everyone been praising it?

The move to districts has also led to less Deputies being elected unopposed, which is also surely a good thing. (I'll deal with NOTA in another post, but I think it was a brilliant idea). And it has meant more even representation, whereas a St Mary Deputy had an electorate barely half the size of the larger urban and semi-urban Parishes.

This new landscape seems strange to us because we are not used to it. The call for the return of the Senators appeals to the populist vote because the changes are so new. When Queen Elizabeth I fixed Anglicanism into what was seen as a muddle, neither one thing not the other, Catholic or Puritan, it seemed like a poor hybrid. It was not popular. And yet a generation or two later, it was seen as part of the fabric of the English church and society. 

Any seismic change always causes unrest, what Karl Popper called the "strain of civilisation". And has he warned there is always a tendency to seek security, a return to what is in fact a more closed and less open society, because that gives reassurance, and we all crave certainty. To give up without even giving the new arrangement time to bed down, seems to me to be, in the words of 1066 and all that, "a bad thing", and I hope that we can have at least some time before we meddle and make further changes.

Also to read:
Elections Review - Part 1: The Alliance Party is Over
https://tonymusings.blogspot.com/2022/06/elections-review-part-1-alliance-party.html
Elections Review - Part 2: Coalitions have a bad track record.

https://tonymusings.blogspot.com/2022/06/elections-review-part-2-coalitions-have.html

Elections Review - Part 3: Reforming Candidate Take-on

https://tonymusings.blogspot.com/2022/06/elections-review-part-3-reforming.html

Elections Review - Part 3: Reforming Candidate Takeon

Reform have done extremely well in this election, doubling the number of members of the States from five to ten. So what has happened here to change from the last election, where they fielded a lot of members but failed to get much headway?

One factor has to be the professional background of the members. While Jersey does like to vote in the odd young newbie - Sam Mezec, Jeremy Macon and Stuart Syvret spring to mind - it doesn't do that a lot. The last election a call went out for candidates to come forward, and they were signed up in drives. It is very apparent that candidates for Reform this time round have been carefully vetted. The appendix at the end of this block makes that very clear - these are people who are well into successful careers To use a cliche, they have "been round the block". And what impressive CVs! The academic qualifications, business ownership, experience of the public sector - and voluntary work. There's a lot of that at Parish and Island Level. 

Is a woman's point of view different from a man's? Yes when it comes to issues relating to raising a family, and most of the women have. They have been working parents, they see the impact of current housing issues, education - because as parents they know how to really put children first, managing the household budget, juggling commitments. There's a lot that in this day and age, men still tend to delegate to woman, and this means they have a voice in the States.

Diversity is also important, and the female candidates also brought that to the table, and they can provide a voice and insights into those who have like them settled in Jersey. 

But two other factors haves proven significant. 

Candidates have been largely match to districts where they might be expected to do well. Beatriz Poree stood in 2014 in St Brelade, which was wildly out in  not her home district.  Alliance did the same with James Corbett QC this time round, and scored the same kind of failure.  This time round, she sat in St Helier, where she was well known - the JEP called her "The founder of the popular Market Juice Bar", and indeed St Helier voters in my office knew her business and put her high on their voting lists.

There have also not been two many candidates. Last time there were lots of candidates, all over the place, leading to a split vote effect. This time, the numbers were judicially balanced to the districts and demographic, and it paid off.

Of those who did not get in, Helen  Evans was only around 50 votes short of victory - not bad for a rural district. Nigel Jones probably faced issues with a split vote both in the Reform vote and in the environmental vote, where he was up against Jonathan Renouf. And St Clement has always been slightly more conservative leading, although Ken Addison beat both the Alliance candidates. Trevor Pointon was probably the weakest candidate, and it was known his home district as Deputy had been St John.

And finally, both luck and the zeitgeist played a part. After the vote of no confidence in John le Fondre's government back at the end of 2020, all Reform members left the government, so they had one and half solid years as an "opposition" party. But they had also experience of working as part of a government in government departments, which showed they were not just outsiders who never had taken part in the difficult business of government.

Had they been members of government closer to the election, it is unlikely that they would have fared so well - just look at the Liberal Democrats in the UK and their working with the Conservatives. This is where their luck came in. They would have had some degree of taint from the criticisms by others - instead of which their party policy both within the States and in their new manifesto - could be critical of the mistakes of the government and highlight where it had failed to address the needs of ordinary people - housing, cost of living, education, all areas where the government had failed or was failing significantly. And the Jersey people were fed up with platitudes, secrecy and mantras such as "putting children first" which failed so miserably.

Appendix: Some Professional Background of Candidates

Tom Coles

I am 40 years old, Jersey born and raised. I have worked for a large private company for the last 18 years, currently holding the position of Operations manager. In my time at the company I have been part of the employee and health and safety forum, and the Union rep.

Catherine Curtis

I founded and own two local businesses, and I’m the founder of an international brand which has won multiple design awards. It was listed in Sir Richard Branson’s top twenty UK and Irish businesses. I stepped down as Managing Director in 2020, and a new team took over. I gained great knowledge and experience while running this venture, learning much about management, negotiation, and risk.

I have held many voluntary positions and I’m a Rates Assessor for St Helier. Through the pandemic I also worked night shifts as a carer, primarily to spend time with my mother, who was resident at St Joseph’s Care Home, and still do some night shifts for Positive Steps. While working at St Joseph’s I gained a level three Diploma in Adult Care. I have also been a foster carer for about five years. We had many lovely children come to stay with us, and it was a great benefit to my own children.

Lyndsay Felham

I have over 15 years of public sector experience in Jersey and Australia. This experience has given me the skills to be an effective States Member. I understand public administration and governance, as well as being able to help people with their individual concerns. I was born and educated in Jersey, and lived and worked in Western Australia for 11 years. I have an honours degree in Enterprise Management, and a masters degree in Cultural and Media Studies.

Raluca Covacs

I live in the parish with my husband and two young daughters, where we also run a popular restaurant located in Howard Davis Park. I am British Romanian and have advanced qualifications in business, management, finance, accountancy, project management and experience of working in Public services.

Beatriz Poree

Employment is an area of particular importance to me. Over the years I have gained a wide range of experience working in different industries in Jersey. From hospitality to farming, finance, education, health and more recently, as a business owner.

Nigel Jones

I worked in electronics factories and in control system design and sales in England, then came back to Jersey in 1987 and taught Science and Technology at De La Salle for twelve years.I am a big believer in lifelong learning. In 2000 I went back to university and gained a master’s degree in Applied Computing. Back in Jersey, as a self-employed software developer, I spent nearly a decade designing and writing software for local businesses.

Helen Evans

Training as an accountant at the National Audit Office gave me an in-depth knowledge of the management of public money in the UK. In 2011 I joined Moore Stephens in London and worked for five years, in various roles from Audit Senior to Senior Manager, on international public sector audit and consultancy engagements, including the audit of procurement processes, mainly on behalf of the European Union and United Nations.


I returned to Jersey in 2018 to take up a post as Finance Operations Manager for Ports of Jersey based at Jersey Airport and left that post in October 2021 to spend more time on my Open University work teaching mathematics and statistics following the introduction of a new data science degree.

Ken Addison

A FORMER member of the Royal Air Force who now carries out volunteer work in St Clement has announced he will be standing for election as a Reform Jersey candidate in his home parish.



Ken Addison, who moved to Jersey in 1975 following a six-year career in ground communications in the RAF,

Mr Addison worked mainly in finance and IT and since his retirement has been active in the local community.






This has included helping vulnerable residents while volunteering as a member of the Parish Support Team; working with Christians Against Poverty to help Islanders struggling with debt and other financial issues, and supporting residents of the Little Sisters of the Poor retirement home with Milo, his pets-as-therapy dog.

The Parting of the Ways

I’ve weaved in and out a borrowing of lyrics from Darren Everett Criss song “Status Quo”for the musical Starship for this poem.

https://musikguru.de/starkid-productions/songtext-status-quo-1088531.html

This poem is, of course, about the sea change in the 2022 general election in Jersey this June.


The Parting of the Ways

The election came, and I was expecting the status quo
The regulars voted in, not many told to go
Despite the status quo giving so many disasters
It starts with not questioning the answers
And giving up before you've begun
But as it turns out, there was a smoking gun
Another pipe dreamer, stuck on the bottom floor
And so many leaving as if by a revolving door
The Chief Minister is gone, suffering a defeat
And this new song goes on, a strident beat
And the voters said “I might have made it so”
The new lyrics: “When I said no, no, no”
Time to look upwards, at the Sky at Night
I am a Starship Ranger, and the stars are bright
The parting of the ways, the old order ousted
The knight sallied forth, ready, but was jousted
The battle lost, a falling army see
And I kick down the walls around me
They don't know how strong I am
Time for the old guard to go, depart, scram
Failing votes, ballots on lower extremities
I'm not defined by boundaries
I'm gonna do everything I can
A new hope, and a fresh plan

Elections Review - Part 2: Coalitions have a bad track record.

The coalition between the Liberal Conservative party and the Progress party failed to make any headway in the election, with only two LCP members elected and only one Progress candidate. Sitting Progress candidate Steve Pallett failed to be elected.

It was a peculiar combination in many ways. Part of the coalition was certainly born of integrity. The UK had shown how when two parties formed an coalition after an election, manifesto promises can be sidelined or discarded in the process. 

Notoriusly, the Liberal Democrat pledge not to raise tuition fees for Universities was reneged on, and had a serious impact on the fortunes of the party at the next election. So the two Jersey parties, looking ahead, decided to join up before an election and provide a joint manifesto rather than one afterwards, with all the horse-trading and problems that might raise. It was an act of integrity, but it made assumptions which were questionable.

The first was the political leanings of the parties. As Sir Philip said after the election - Reform was centre-left and needed a centre-right party to balance it. That was clearly the position of the Liberal Conservatives, but Progress seemed in many ways to be not as far to the left as Reform, but still more to the left of centre than the right. That meant it was a marriage of opposites in some ways, and with a leader (and potential Chief Minister) in Sir Philip Bailhache, the voters who were likely to vote for Progress might well have decided against it. 

That's probably part of the reason why Steve Pallett failed to be re-elected. Steve is a conscientious, hard working member of the States, whose pragmatic approach always was in favour of improve the lot of ordinary people, boosting sporting facilities, and who was very critical of the current government. But he failed to get re-elected, even in his home Parish, and part of the reason must surely be a degree of taint with the coalition with Liberal Conservatives.

Another reason, of course, for Progress having a poor showing in St Brelade was fielding two candidates. Unless you have a very solid core, this will almost certainly split the vote. I gave one of my votes to Steve, but not to Steve Bailly - however, given Mr Bailly's core constituency in St Aubin's and the old St Brelade No 1 district, he probably took votes off Steve Pallett down there. When there are a number of exceptional candidates, you may well (as I did) vote for a solid independent, and vote for a candidate despite being a member of a party or coalition.

There were also a lot of new candidates without perhaps the experience of voting, and they didn't all do badly. David Benn was only 50 votes short of beating Lyndon Farnham. But the successes drew on established already well known candidates. Malcolm Ferey had a high profile from Citizen's Advice and Headway. Sir Philip was well known from a previous election. And Steve Luce had solid support in St Martin (reflected in his taking around 50% of the vote in the combined district)/

Neither party managed to get much momentum either - unlike Reform or Alliance, they had a bare handful of candidates, which could have been another reason for a coalition, to boost their profile. Nevertheless I suspect they would have probably done better had they not joined up.

Is this the end of the road for the coalition? I suspect that Steve Luce will revert to being an independent. Malcolm Ferey already comes across as more of an independent than a party member, so I think it is likely it will fade away, like other parties in the past. The Centre Party sported a number of candidates, including Paul le Clare and Kevin Lewis, but once Kevin was the only one elected, he quickly dropped the party tag. The JDA reduced to Geoff Southern, and vanished as he stood as an independent in the next election.

Also to read:

Elections Review - Part 1: The Alliance Party is Over
https://www.blogger.com/blog/posts/9095270985170721876

Elections Review - Part 1: The Alliance Party is Over

Jersey Alliance

The Jersey Alliance crashed out of the election with only on sitting candidate, and that being a Constable who only had to face NOTA, rather than a real person. Even there, there were a number of NOTA votes against him. So what went wrong?

To understand this, I think you have to go back to the history of the Alliance party. Founded by Gregory Guida, it boasted other sitting States members as founders - John le Fondre, Lindsay Ash, Rowland Huelin, Susie Pinel, Judy Martin, Scott Wickenden, Richard Buchanan, Phillip Le Sueur - all of those being Ministers or Assistant Ministers with the exception of Philip Le Sueur.

It contained, therefore, a good many members of the Council of Ministers and Assistant Ministers, and in those early days, part of its declared remit was to carry on the unfinished business of the Government. In a situation where the status quo was criticised a lot by the general public, that was not good for voting. 

However, it is always difficult to gauge criticism - is it a few vocal people sounding off, or a general consensus? And of course given the make up of the Alliance in these early days, how could it stand for any radical discontinuity - that would mean its members were critical of the policies they themselves were largely responsible for bringing in.

Sir Mark Boleat then came on board as the director of policy, and after that things began to change rather rapidly. John le Fondre - as Chief Minister the natural leader - did not stand, and Sir Mark was elected unopposed. Richard Buchanan was the first to declare he was not standing again, followed by Susie Pinel and Scott Wickenden, and then Judy Martin left the party, followed by new candidate Piers Sangan. 

Now people do decide not to stand for all manner of reasons, but for Judy and Piers it was obvious that they no longer saw themselves aligned with the new direction of the party. And some of the others by this time may well have concluded that even under an Alliance banner, they would probably be voted out, so better to retire gracefully and with dignity. Who can blame them?

The party was now shaping up very much as one directed by and with policy supplied by its new leader - and he also made it clear that he hoped to put his hat in the ring for Chief Minister. 

Some of the changes did not seem too good - cutting out questions without notice from the States, curtailing the number of questions members could ask and shrinking question time. A slimmed down States also featured, but it was vague on where the slimming down should be - as the Constable's were to remain. Was St Helier to become imbalanced again and lose Deputies? Would it be even across the board? In the words of the song, it's a mystery.

The new policy coming out had  taller housing in St Helier, and more flats without parking in St Helier - and that alone made it feel like a party of the country enclaves, where it was fine to have plenty of parking outside of St Helier, especially with large properties having drives, but the proletariat didn't really need it. An article by former St Helier Deputy Jennifer Bridge close to election date, which made some very sharp criticisms of this idea, can't have helped.

So on the one hand, the policy direction was in some respects quite centre-right, and in terms of "improving" the States sittings, quite authoritarian in tone, and on the other - even though it had haemorrhaged members, it's founding was very much a part of the current government completing what it had started.

The party also fielded candidates in almost every district. Reform had learned a lesson last time when candidates were signed up at short notice, and mostly failed. This time there were a lot of professionals aligned to their policies. Alliance's new candidates - such as Philip Le Claire and James Corbett - were fighting seats in districts which they had no real affiliation with, and that showed, despite some very creditable performances. I know someone who had been looking for vote for James Corbett, for example, as his CV was impressive, but whose lack of knowledge of Parish issues proved too much of a stumbling block.

And finally, Sir Philip Bailhache's Liberal Conservatives came across as in many ways - as Sir Philip himself said after the election - as a "centre right" party. Split votes, as the UK has shown, are never good for parties, and this can't have helped either.

So, in summary:

• Legacy link to government with agenda of "unfinished business"
• Loss of founding members
• Marginalisation of Chief Minister and ascendance of Sir Mark Boleat
• Recent return to Jersey of new leader - and push to be next Chief Minister despite recent arrival in Jersey
• Proposed changes to States which would push out backbenchers more
• Candidates assigned to districts just to get them in almost every district regardless of fit
• A competing party of the centre-right

Any one of those would be a factor against doing well at the polls, but together it is clear they created a powerful reaction against the Alliance.

Postscript: St Mark Boleat's election roots.

It also was apparent that Sir Mark was renting in St Helier, standing in St Clement, and claiming "he had always regarded it as his home", had kept very quiet about that. 

He had researched his family tree extensively in the past, and the Boleat family came over as immigrants from France in the late 19th century and did settle in St Clement, where Sir Mark would have been born - his father was Parish foreman. I think he missed a trick there in not emphasising the Parish connection enough in a semi-rural Parish like St Clement where that would click with the older population.

That was the Month in Jersey: August 1966 – Part 2

Some more from Jersey Life, 1966.

That was the Month in Jersey: August 1966 – Part 2
By Phyllida Campbell

Mini-Sky-Scrapers in the Town?

After long and exhaustive research and planning by the City Fathers who guide our destiny, the States have given enthusiastic approval to the project of building three lots of mini-sky-scrapers or States Flats at a cost of nearly £800,000—the Windsor Road Development Scheme. The daily press has had two-inch headlines and many people ask ‘where is Windsor Road and what is all the excitement about?’

For the benefit of the curious who are not too au fair with our capital city, a drive from Trinity Road along Val Plaisant towards the town will bring them to a large, unsightly but none-the- less handy car park on the right. Turn there and see Windsor Road, a dull but respectable thoroughfare, with the buildings at that end practically backing onto the car park, already empty and due for demolition.

Far from being the Dickensian-type hovels of Old Street or Dumaresq Street, they are quite solidly built little dwellings, though not first-class properties. Surprisingly, many of the occupiers seem to have walked out and left doors and gates unlocked behind them, providing splendid free (loss-houses for Jersey’s much publicised ‘destitutes’. Periodically the police have been along to flush them out, but the people opposite still occasionally see them sneaking in, and there are signs of recent camp-style occupation.

The car parks and these buildings form Phase One of the Scheme, and later on part of Garden Lane, a dark and dreary passage running through Windsor Road to Dorset Street, will have to be scrapped completely and the present occupants housed elsewhere. Looking at the artist’s conception of the whole plan, now at the States Engineer’s Office and soon to be on display to the general public, the three huge blocks of flats, each unit with a roomy balcony, enlivened by sculptured concrete panelling, make an attractive picture. They are well set back from the road, indeed can hardly be seen from Val Plaisant, and the car parking area is well screened by pillars supporting a huge podium, which will have flower tubs, seats and amenities for children.

The scheme is in a sense the joint brain-child of the Housing Committee whose original idea it was and whose job it is to carry it out and the Island Development Committee whose function it is to plan such urban re-development to add‘ to the beauty and dimity of the town.


From the Horses’ Mouths

Deputy Letto, Chairman of the IDC [Island Development Committee] was readily available to talk to Jersey Life about the Scheme. Weren’t these houses waiting for demolition rather far from being slum dwellings?

‘Yes, indeed, but this is one of the big difficulties in re-development. In the Island Re-development Plan, you will see little black pockets which are slum properties that should come down.

Unfortunately these areas are not always suitable for the erection of new housing units and some alternative has to be found’.


Won't three nine-storey buildings slap in the middle of the town look rather incongruous? 

‘That is another difficulty the LDC. had to contend with. At the rate the town and population is growing, there seems only one way to build residential properties in St. Helier and that is upwards. A solitary building might look clumsy, but a group of three with the car parking space and podium above and a certain amount of land- scaping, should be quite acceptable'.

How long will it take? 

‘I would like to see the whole thing completed within five to seven years’.

Turning from the particular to the general, Deputy Letto said a word or two about I.D.C. plans since he took over the Chairmanship on February 1st. ‘What we are trying to do as a matter of policy is to ensure that future planning of the Island is compatible with the best interests of the population as a whole. It is the population that matters, we can’t afford to spoil the natural beauty of the Island for the sake of the individual'.

The small lee-way now allowed to property owners for minor alterations and extensions had pleased the public? 

With a slightly wary look the Chairman agreed. ‘Yes, we have extended the exemptions in development which allow for minor works within limitations. If the public take advantage we shall have to reconsider the matter’. A veiled threat Sir? ‘Well’, with a smile, ‘no rickety little huts made out of tea chests built in front gardens—or anywhere else, please!’

What did he think of Mr. William Barrett‘s remark on his recent visit to Jersey that the IDC was short of planning staff? 

‘I think he’s right. We're short of office space at the moment, but we are advertising for an assistant planning officer, and we are hoping that in time we can get Jersey boys and girls coming out of school and help to train them’.

Senator Gaudin, Chairman of the Housing Committee, endorsed all that Deputy Letto said about the Windsor Road Scheme. ‘Nine storeys are not too high. Look how nice the Green Street flats look and how they blend in with the background. They are sixteen storeys high and no one is grumbling about them’.

He is convinced that when all is completed a tremendous improvement will be seen in what is now a shabby, sprawling part of the town.

Hustings and Hearing

Jersey's election day today, and I just thought I'd mention issues for those deaf or hard of hearing.

Bailiwick Express reported that:

Serving Deputy of St. Lawrence, Kirsten Morel, spoke first and seemed to decide that the people at the back of the room didn’t need to hear what he had to say, proclaiming: “I prefer not to use the mic if possible.” It appeared that he might possibly have a bad history with that particular microphone, which for some reason made a loud screaming noise every time he went near it.

St. Lawrence's other representative, Gregory Guida, spoke next and also seemed to decide that he was opposed to using the microphone. His joke about having to defend Jersey against his home nation of France last year received very few laughs, but it was not apparent whether this was because most of the audience couldn’t hear it or that they simply didn’t find it funny.

This is a total lack of respect for those who cannot hear. One thing which should be standard, and publicised, is the use of a microphone and a hearing loop system. None of this was done.  I don't know if a hearing loop was in use at any venue - vote.je didn't mention that. The deaf and hard of hearing community - because their disability doesn't show, are just marginalised.

The person introducing the hustings didn't say either - we have a hearing loop system in place - and it has been turned on. Hearing loop systems can be like tick boxes, people forget to turn them on, and they get installed but not always tested.

This situation has not really improved much since 2018, where there is a video of a hustings meeting where candidate Deputy Graham Truscott is seen to refuse to use a microphone, saying he would prefer to “project” over a protest by Mike Dun, who points out that one in 6 people has a hearing impairment (it's now one in 5). The caption for the video is Deputy Truscott, Assistant Minister at Social Security "ignoring the deaf". And by the way - the hustings back then were held in a hall with no hearing loop system.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0s5l5yIjBw

At Les Quennevais school, microphones were used, but the candidates had to speak very close to them, obscuring their mouths. Watching lips - even not for expert lip-readers - is a way in which hearing can be improved.

At one Constable's hustings, the Constable stood up to answer questions. More engaging? Not to those who can't hear when the microphone is about two feet below on the desk!

Of course there is always Youtube recordings, but the sound quality is not always accurate. The Q&A showed faces clearly. The hustings - look at the St Lawrence, St John and Trinity one - had a fixed camera on one side. It's hard to even see the face of John Le Fondre, who is furthest from the camera - and it is so angled that faces are hard to see, let alone lips.

There are always subtitles.... but as the warning says "Please note that the transcription has been auto-generated, so will not be 100% accurate."

So in St Brelade, we had thanks given to the Pregnant someone, the Jessie Alliance, and Steve Patch, as well as a surreal concoction which would not have been out of place in a Monty Python sketch.

For the next election, I would like to see at the very least:

• The use of hearing loops widely publicised for hustings on Vote.Je. 
• Loop systems tested in advance of using venues.
• Candidates for election given a brief note on the day to speak clearly, and not to stray from microphones.

Father’s Day

This has been a bittersweet time, as I pass all the cards in the Supermarket, marking Sunday. I used to buy those cards; I probably have a few spare at home. But... no more. It's sad.

Father’s Day

Father’s day, coming up soon
No celebrations this time round
That sun has set. A silenced tune
His ashes lie beneath the ground

Happy days: laughter, games, fun
Still there somewhere in the past
Walking distance beneath the sun
Time alive: all there, all will last.

Old, coughing, a shambling gait
Don’t get old, you once told me
That is ending, that is cruel fate
There is honey no more for tea

I shall light a candle this Father’s Day
Stand in silence a moment, pray

That was the Month in Jersey: August 1966 – Part 1

Some more from Jersey Life, 1966.

That was the Month in Jersey: August 1966 – Part 1

By Phyllida Campbell

With the summer at its height it is now or never for all those who make their living from tourism. Oceans of paint applied last winter, tons upon tons of concrete blocks rising to form annexes and extensions to buildings, thousands of land and sea miles covered in the search for new stock, shoe leather worn away on visits to the Bank Manager, hard bargaining for red-branded ‘H’ cars—if all that effort is not paying off now, then lessons will have been learned for next time.

Shopkeepers, like farmers, are wary of admitting to an exceptionally good season. However thronged their premises, they voice only modified rapture at the fact that they are rushed off their feet. Still, there are few grumbles this year so far. The shipping strike was more than nuisance value, but most wholesalers and retailers ordered their stocks well ahead and made good use of parcel post and air freight.

[The National Union of Seamen went on strike in May 1966 for better pay and condions. The strike continued until 1 July 1966]

Inevitably the big departmental stores with winter trade ahead must be the losers to a certain extent. Mr. G. F. Voisin, owner of Voisin and Company of King Street explained ‘Although sales were affected very little, autumn will be the time when we are bound to feel an echo of the strike. The small boarding and guest house proprietors who will be our customers will have less money to spend’.

The Unlucky Ones

He was right. It is the ‘little people' in the world of Jersey tourism who have taken the rap. Mr. and Mrs. Guesthouse Keeper with such a short time in which to take money, regarded their empty bedrooms in an agony of dismay. Away went the hope of working off the mortgage this year.

The big hotels, most of their clientele airborne, came off much better. ‘One could put our loss at that time at about five per cent‘ said Mr. Brian Packer of the Dolphin Hotel on Gorey Pier. ‘We have so few people who come by sea, but it was awkward not being able to get supplies of English draught beer’.

That amazing mushroom, the car hire industry, did not escape entirely unscathed. ‘We had some mid-week cancellations’ said Group Captain Thomson, a partner in Hallmark Cars who are in the hire business in a big way. ‘Competition is so keen now that even the odd cancellation can hurt us. So many small outfits start up each season, make a little money, then pack up’.

All the same, the verdict of all those who serve the tourists, from the humble deck-chair concessionaire to the luxury hotelier, is ‘a good season and long may it last!’

The Farming Scene

While holiday-makers explore the bays and crowd the night spots, the agricultural community who form the true backbone of the Island, work quietly on with their army of Breton labourers, occasionally slipping out to sea in the small hours for a bit of trawling by way of relaxation. Although disinclined to undue optimism, growers cautiously admit to a good potato season despite the  sharp drop in prim at the beginning of July. They went as high as 106/- per cwt. in early June and cropping was heavy, averaging 8 tons per vergee. Thanks to the cargo ships that carried on by special dispensation the strike had precious little effect. The heavy rainfall early in July was bad luck as it did affect the seed crop for next year to a certain extent.

Indoor tomato growers did reasonably well with an increased income per plant and prices higher than last year. Outdoor tomatoes look well except in some cases of early planting in bad weather, broccoli planting is going on apace and the gladioli crop has just about come to an end. Their trouble has been shortage of moisture and a certain percentage of Thrips, but the price has been steady.

A great deal of capital on this island is tied up in the daffodil crop, and with the Scilly Isles in hot competition, heavy rainfall from now on could be a hazard. 

Particularly versed in daffodils is a new arrival in Jersey, Mr. Peter Bastion, an able and amiable young Yorkshireman who has been seconded to our Department of Agriculture from the National Agricultural Advisory Service. He has had a good deal of experience in the Scillies where he specialised in farm management and daffodils. After many awful warnings before his arrival, he is delighted by the kindliness and friendliness of the farming community.

Strange Thefts

How pleasant it is that the Beatniks, with their long dirty hair, skin-tight ragged jeans and moronic-looking girl friends, have almost deserted us this year. Perhaps that is the one good thing for which we have to thank the shipping strike. There weren’t any passenger ships when warm weather began, so perhaps they decided to take their dubious custom elsewhere. 

Even without this undesirable element, strange and sometimes pointless thefts occur here all through the summer. To mention only a few this month, two tortoises disappeared from the Zoo, eight ladies’ blouses vanished from the British Railways unloading quay, a trumpet was snatched from one parked car, a sewing machine from another, and last but not least in Guernsey the Union Jack was filched from the Castle Cornet.

Wits of the Month

Mr. Michael Newell, Jersey’s Police Court Magistrate, about to give judgement on two Irish roisterers, who were alleged to have almost torn each other’s trousers off in a scuffle, remarked: This is not a Breach of the Peace, but a piece of the breeches’.

Lord Stanley of Alderley, a keen sailor, proposing the bride's health at the Hardy-Brett wedding in Gorey, wound up by saying ‘I shall conclude with the last words of another famous sea-faring man who died 160 years ago—Kiss me Hardy!’ And this he proceeded to do.

New Batch LFTs - Are they accurate?

A correspondent of mine recently tested positive for Covid (via a PCR), but the lateral flow tests differed in results. The photos show 2 occasions where a lateral flow was taken, on each occasion with a new style LFT (with the blue writing) and an older style LFT. In each case, the older LFT showed a clear positive, while the new one showed not even a faint positive line.

Anyone seeing this, please can you tell me if you have shown symptoms but not tested positive on the newer LFTs to detect Covid?

I wonder why the tried and clearly tested older LFTs have been changed to the newer (and apparently less accurate) ones!

This is obviously of concern because the early symptoms may have been mistaken for hay-fever and Covid spread more widely as a result. Health Minister. Deputy Renouf has recently suggested taking more LFTs as cases have increased substantially recently, but is he aware that the newer LFTs may be less able to detect Covid?

Hearing and the Vote: Discrimination in Jersey

Hearing and the Vote: Discrimination in Jersey

Professor Claire de Than, chair of the Jersey Law Commission, hit the nail on the head in her piece in the JEP:

Let us take the example of the right to vote from home in Jersey by an officer of the Greffe visiting your home to enable you to cast your vote. It is admirable that Jersey allows for this, since it provides access to voting for those who might otherwise be unable to do so because of illness or disability. However, the procedure falls just short of the inclusion it seeks to achieve.

Those who wish to vote in this way are required to complete a form requesting pre-poll home visit. They have to provide a contact telephone number on this form, even if they have no way of using a telephone because of a disability, such as being deaf.

Further, there is nowhere in the form that they can state that they cannot use a telephone, and people who cannot complete the form are also instructed to telephone for assistance.

This form seems to be designed only for those who can use the audio functions of a telephone without difficulty. However, forms like this (and all policies and procedures) should be inclusive by design.

Those in charge of creating them should consider, on the basis of evidence, the ‘who ‘, ‘why’ and ‘how’ of inclusive thinking: who might have difficulty complying with what we are asking them to do; why are we asking them to do it that way; and thus how should we modify our procedures in order to enable them to participate and uphold their rights?

A Taste of Heaven

Today's poem is occasioned by a rather scrummy salad from Pat. I didn't mention the beetroot which you can see above or the cheese - I only had a limited number of words! And I don't drink wine any more but that's poetic licence!!

A Taste of Heaven

Mango and chicken, the taste divine
Jersey Royals, garlic mayo, avocado pear
And then perhaps also a little wine
A taste of heaven, I do swear

Salad days, when I was so very young
Lettuce, limp, doused in salad cream
Pickled onions, vinegary on my tongue
And over hard boiled eggs. A bad dream

Food these days has so much more taste
Vegetables boiled to death, terrible
Liver like leather soles. Oh what a waste!
Everything grilled. It was unbearable.

I remember enjoying watching Keith Floyd
Fun, irreverent, tasty, and filled that void

St Brelade's Election: Focus on Karl Busch

I have nothing against people coming from the UK and standing for election. But I do wonder how much knowledge and experience of local matters they have if they've only been here for a few years, as is the case with Karl Busch.

I also wonder about this commitment if their political record elsewhere does not suggest a good commitment to those who elected him.

Here are some public domain stories which are about his resignation as a district councillor in the UK before he came to Jersey. I can see on the hustings that he is very likeable and affable, and obviously his tea dances - which he mentioned at the hustings - are good for an aging population. But based on his past track record, I do wonder if despite any assurances given, he would be as committed to the States.

Karl Busch

https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/news/tory-councillor-who-missed-75-per-cent-of-meetings-because-he-was-running-dance-events-is-to-stand-down-123821/

A district councillor who missed 75 per cent of meetings because he was 200 miles away running dance events is to stand down.

Karl Busch, 54, met the legal requirement of attending one meeting every six months, but his absence sparked criticism from overwhelmed colleagues.

The Mid Devon councillor for Cullompton North split his time between his home in Exeter and the Channel Island of Jersey.

During his absences, fellow councillor Nikki Woollatt said she has been overwhelmed with her workload. She said: “I kind of feel that the council taxpayer has been subsidising him while he pursues other projects.

“He’s drawing an allowance, but not putting in the effort.”

https://www.bailiwickexpress.com/jsy/news/watch-dancing-councillor-shuffles-out-role-after-spending-too-much-time-jersey/#.YqOOv3bMLIU

UK district councillor is making quicksteps out of his role after being accused of letting his council work pile up while he waltzed off to Jersey to run a tea dance club.

Mid Devon councillor for Cullompton North, Karl Busch (54), made the announcement that he wouldn’t be running for election again last week.

It came after it was revealed that the Conservative had only met the legal minimum of one council meeting every six months, spending 75% of his time 200 miles away running dance events in St. John Parish Hall.

https://www.devonlive.com/news/local-news/councillor-accused-not-pulling-weight-2625113

Councillor Nikki Woollatt (Cullompton North, Independent) was not swayed.

She said: “I'm very pleased to see my fellow ward member here today. As I'm sure he knows, I'm one of the people that have been complaining about his lack of absence.

“I commend him on the work that he's doing, but that work isn’t carrying out the councillor role.

“He doesn't even have a telephone number published for his constituents to contact him on, but he does have a telephone number published for his tea dance clients.

“I get complaints from constituents that he hasn't replied to emails as people write to both of us. I can only report what I'm told. I've even had an officer tell me that he doesn't reply to his emails so while he may have been very busy on very commendable work he has not been carrying out, in my view, the role of a ward councillor.

“I've noticed in the last couple of years how much my casework has increased since his absence.”

The Revere

From Jersey Life, 1966. This has now been sold to Andium Homes for conversion to housing.

The Revere

A subtle ambience, an exotic yet dreamlike something in the atmosphere, making an evening to recall later with nostalgia; this is what all young lovers, lovers who are young in heart, incurable romantics, and those whose everyday life is encompassed by dull routine, long for when searching for the perfect place for dining out.

Marshall Doran and his wife Joyce evidently understood this all too well when fifteen years ago they created The Revere in Kensington Place Transforming the original tumble-down building into one of Jersey‘s smartest hotel-restaurants was a long job. 

Fortunately Mr. Doran was just the right man for the task, for like many sailors. he is one of the handiest people that ever breathed. In his youth (he is still only on the threshold of middle age), he was at sea for many years as a ship‘s deck officer. He served in the United States Navy during the war, but always nursed a longing to return to Jersey. an island he knew well from his boyhood days.

First task was to make the exterior look attractive, sited as it was in this rather dull little side street off St. Helier's beaten track. Today the hotel looks very much as it did when he finished it at that time, rather like a recherche French auberge with its well pointed granite porch, white jalousies and gay flower boxes. In the charming lounge, the French decor and huge granite fireplaces provide a symbol of gracious living, particularly in the winter when the log fires glow!

A Panelled Bar

The building of the bar was quite an achievement. It is made entirely of mediaeval hand-carved oak panels, acquired in one way or another from many parts of the world. There is also an alcove in the grill room displaying twenty-eight exquisitely carved panels from Langley Castle in Derbyshire. How they got from there to the Revere is quite a story, but unfortunately lack of space precludes the telling. The grill room itself is a symphony of wrought-iron, silver candelabra and rich furnishings. All the old oak dining tables are of Mr. Doran's own making, likewise the beautifully upholstered dining chairs.


Husband and Wife team

This two-year operation was not a one-man affair, Mrs. Doran, a keen collector of antiques and a woman of great imagination, worked with her husband all the hours there were, and she still paints the artistic ‘King Salmon‘ menus by hand, showing the rosy monarch with a crown on his head and a cigar in his fishy mouth.

Born in Cumberland, her family at one time owned Blenkinsop Castle on the borders, where she lived. Castles must be in her destiny, for now she and her husband own another, this time in Eire, in the form of a stone-built Gothic castle at Ballina on the River Moy, now to be transformed into a seventy-bedroom hotel with the accent on ‘the Good Life‘.

'We want to break away and start this' says Mr. Doran, ‘and the two places will complement each other‘.

New Management

For this reason, a new manager with complete responsibility has been appointed to The Revere. Mr. Peter Weaver was previously manager of the East Arms Hotel at Hurley near Maidenhead and has been in the hotel business all his life, as assistant manager, then manager, having trained in every department. A man of great charm and ability, Mr. Weaver is delighted with the Revere and Jersey. He feels there is excellent potential for a first-class restaurant here, with the finest French cuisine and the very best of service.

He is already becoming quite well known among Jersey's more discerning diners out. He feels that it is a very important part of his business to welcome each and every guest, to get to know his clientele and to ensure that they are really well looked after. In fact he is to be found in some part of the hotel at almost any hour of the day, from 7 am. until the small hours.

The granite wine cellar which Mr. Doran excavated and made by hand in those early days and its splendid collection of vintage wines particularly please him. On the residential side he has accommodation for ninety guests and intends to keep one floor open during the winter.

A Loyal Staff

No one realises better than Mr. Weaver that he is extremely fortunate in his staff. Lucien, the French chef who is certainly one of, and perhaps the best chef on the Island and who has spent nine years in Jersey, has formerly been to Bermuda or Jamaica each winter as chef to one of the luxury hotels. Rudi the barman, an Italian, was previously at the White Hart at Sonning-on—Thames and will stay on for the winter season. Peter. the quiet and courteous head waiter, is an Austrian and has filled this post for three years, while Manuel the wine waiter is from Portugal.

Mr. Weaver has already thought up some bright ideas and put them into operation. He has a doorman on duty parking cars for the restaurant and has introduced a 25x- dinner dance on Saturday nights. It is hard to think of anything pleasanter than dining in those beautiful surroundings while the candles, in silver candelabra or perhaps an old Bristol bottle, flicker gently, and elegant silver, glass, mirrors and objet d’art catch the reflection from shelves or alcoves all around the walls.

On the dance floor the Mary Carlyle Trio play soft dinner music and Mary may be heard singing in her own quiet, sophisticated manner. Then, with bass and drums she swings to a lively tune and the diners glide onto the floor. The escargots, the coquilles Saint-Jacques or the Homard Thermidor is abandoned for the moment, the wine sparkles in the goblets, soft music, golden candlelight, beautiful gowns—yes, that subtle and so elusive ambience is found at The Revere.

Faith, Elections and the Church of England

In the St Saviour's Hustings, Rob Averty’s question on whether faith in God, specifically the God witnessed to by Jesus Christ, would influence their thinking on issues received a mixture of responses from those with faith and those with none.

Deputy Montfort Tadier, who was there with other members of Reform Jersey to support their candidate, tried to raise a point of order: “How can you allow a question about God, who may not exist, and a lot of people don’t believe in, when you don’t allow a question about child protection?”

It is ironic that a report about the church in Jersey in 2013, noted of a churchwarden that:

"He is too tactile, stands too close to women, touches too much/inappropriately. His manner was deemed to be inappropriate to such an extent that he was chaperoned within the church when in close proximity to women."

No action was taken against the churchwarden, but clearly it was inappropriate for him to be in such a position of trust within the church.

Indeed, some lay readers and female members of clergy were warned to be on their guard on being alone with him, no doubt in case he demonstrated his tactility!

Perhaps Mr Avery should have been asked what he thought about that kind of situation, and how it managed to fit into a framework of faith in God!

God: An Anatomy - A Review

He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just.
A faithful God who does no wrong,
upright and just is he.

Francesca Stavrakopoulou in her book "God: An Anatomy" produces a startling different image of God. This is her description of how she came to look at the texts of the Jewish bible differently:

"While I was studying theology and religion at university, there was a broad assumption among lecturers and students alike that the God of the Bible is without a body. This was a formless, imageless, invisible deity, who in the Hebrew Bible (the Old Testament) revealed himself in words mysteriously uttered through his prophets, and then in the New Testament became flesh (“incarnate”) in Jesus Christ, in order to die for the sins of humanity before resurrecting and ascending back to the heavens. But as I looked closely at the books comprising the Bible, I couldn’t find this bodiless God. Instead, these ancient texts conjured a startlingly corporeal image of God as a human-shaped deity, who walked and talked and wept and laughed. A god who ate and slept and felt and breathed. And a god who was distinctly male."

"I vividly recall protesting in the question-and-answer session at the end of the lecture, “But lots of biblical texts suggest that God is masculine, with a male body.” “The problem isn’t God,” replied the professor — a highly respected Christian theologian, and a man of the cloth. “The problem only arises when we take the Bible’s descriptions too literally.”

And though a process of taking what other interpreters have taken as metaphorical, she constructs this image of God, taking the descriptions as literal not metaphors.

“The God revealed in this book is the deity as his ancient worshippers saw him: a supersized, muscle-bound, good-looking god, with superhuman powers, earthly passions, and a penchant for the fantastic and the monstrous”.

In some ways, her approach is almost like the Creationist, who takes a literal Adam and Eve, and a God walking in the garden, and presumably a talking serpent as well.

William Lane Craig notes that:

"The question naturally arises, are the narratives of Genesis 1-3 meant to be taken literally? I argue that there are two factors which weigh strongly in favor of a non-literal reading of these narratives: (1) The narratives contain many fantastic elements, where “fantastic” is a technical term meaning “palpably false if taken literally.” Moreover, these elements are not just fantastic to us moderns but would have seemed fantastic as well to an ancient Israelite. It’s worth noting in passing that I do not categorize as fantastic miraculous elements in the narratives, since divine supernatural causation is perfectly plausible. (2) The narratives contain inconsistent elements which cannot both be true if taken literally. It is characteristic of myths, by contrast, that those who tell them are untroubled by different versions of the stories which are inconsistent with each other, since they need not be taken with a sort of wooden literality. The author of Genesis seems utterly unconcerned to iron out the inconsistencies between chapters 1 and 2 that commentators have struggled with for centuries. He doesn’t seem to care that they’re inconsistent, an attitude suggestive of an intended non-literal interpretation"

In fact while there are many similarities between Jewish texts and near Eastern texts of the time, as she correctly points out, but while we may discern remnants of older stories, what is significant is that they have been altered though the prism of Jewish belief. For example, it is almost certain that the two flood narratives (conjoined in the Jewish Bible) come from something like the epic of Gilmamesh, but the writers have taken that as a starting point, and changed it to fit in with Jewish beliefs.

In fact, her approach only works if you take other descriptions of God as metaphorical. The opening verse above describes God as a rock, so perhaps some of the Israelites worshipped a kind of Silicon Avatar, a kind of living rock.

As Marc Z. Brettler points out, in Isaiah, God is a mother giving birth, and a male warrior, and "a real person cannot simultaneously be both".

Rabbi Toba Spitzer notes that:

"Like their ancient Near Eastern neighbors, the authors of the Hebrew Bible used metaphors from the human and natural world to describe their experience of the divine, including Voice, Fire, Warrior, Eagle, Parent, Lawgiver, Water, Rock, and many more."

So is God some kind of shape changer? Obviously if we are going to take these pictures of God literally, according to Stavrakopoulou's theory, we should do so. Surpisingly, she doesn't follow her own logic, and only selects those bits of imagery that suit her project. 

Or it is of course possible that all these depictions may be metaphorical! Indeed, after looking at how different metaphors for God (not all as a man!) are given in the  Hosea, Göran Eidevall proposed that the purpose of such a “plurality of perspectives” is not simply stylistic variation:

"The effect is radical relativization. No model is given a monopolistic position….which hints at the insight that all kinds of “anthropomorphism” are, in the final analysis, hopelessly inadequate as representations of the deity: “for I am God, and not human” (Hosea 11:9)."

While I am impressed by the associated texts she quotes, I remain unconvinced that she really understands the nature of language. The God that she sees, seems to be to be a reflection of her own ideas of God, and anything which contradicts that is variously excluded.

On the Occasion of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee

I've always liked Derek Jarman's Jubilee with its idea of juxtaposing the present (the 1977 Jubilee) with that of Queen Elizabeth I. That landscape - the decaying Punk-era - is now far distant, but there is still mileage in the idea of looking back and forward, as can be seen with the beacons, now lit in celebration, and then lit as a warning. 

There's a nod to the Sex Pistols notorious single here as well, but written to point out that if there is a fascist regime, it is not in England but elsewhere. The tyrannical  and absolutist aspirations of Putin can again be seen as a reflection of King Philip of Spain, not least (although not mentioned in this poem) because of their endorsement by the religion of their times. 

I also wanted to get a bit of Blake's Jerusalem in, and something of both the Tilbury speech, and the prayers for the Queen in the book of Common Prayer. And finally I wanted some kind of reference to that wonderful beaming smile that I think is a defining image of this Jubilee.

On the Occasion of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee

Queen Elizabeth and Court Philosopher John Dee,
Walking into the present day, amazed to see,
Beacons lit, from hill to hill, across the land;
Many years before, torches in flaming hand,
Bonfires lit, warning seen from town to town;
The Spanish peril, the threat to the crown,
The approaching Armada of King of Spain;
But now all we have to worry about is rain,
As the beacons burn, blazing away the night,
Monarchy: in times of darkness, sign of light;
God Save the Queen. And a fascist regime,
Is not here, but where Putin’s forces teem,
And invade Ukraine, like Philip, King of Spain:
Dark days threaten of destruction, death, pain;
But Drake saw off the Armada with ships on fire:
England rejoice! Bring me my arrows of desire;
Our Elizabeth, our Sovereign Queen, indeed:
The Defender of the Faith, Anglican in creed;
Oh England, our Lionheart, seventy years,
In laughter and smiles, and sorrow and tears:
Philip died last year, could not be here today;
Common Prayer commands, let us now pray:
We and all her subjects may faithfully serve her,
As she herself obeys the Lord her true Seigneur;
As Elizabeth the First, the oath on Tilbury Hill,
To lay down for her God her life, as she will,
And for her kingdom, and her sovereign people,
Let church bells ring out from every steeple:
Long to reign over us, rejoice and pray!
The first Elizabeth spoke on Tillbury Hill did say
“My honour and my blood, even in the dust.”
And platinum is indeed treasure not to rust;
Constancy: even when there is hardship, strife,
True to her coronation oath, and that for life
Now hear the chimes ring out from Big Ben,
And she smiles. Thank you majesty. Amen.

Grand Channel Television Ball - 1966

From Jersey Life, a photo-feature on the Grand Channel Television Ball - 1966.

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