More Short Stories: The Changing Scenes

This short story is based on the hymn "Through All the Changing Scenes of Life", and is set in the 1960s, shortly after the publication of John A.T. Robinson's "Honest to God".

The Changing Scenes

Margaret Ellison had placed her husband’s prayer book back on the shelf, but her hand lingered on the spine as though it might still be warm. The house felt cavernous without Harold, every clock ticked too loudly, every floorboard creaked like a reminder. She sat at the dining table with the hymnbook open, the familiar words staring up at her: “Through all the changing scenes of life, in trouble and in joy…” She whispered them, though her voice faltered on joy.

The world outside was changing too. The newspapers were full of arguments about Bishop Robinson’s Honest to God. Margaret had read it in the evenings after Harold’s death, the pages trembling slightly in her hands. The first chapter, “Reluctant Revolution”, felt like a description of her own heart. She had not asked for a revolution in her faith, yet grief had thrust her into one.

She made tea, though she barely tasted it. The kettle’s whistle echoed through the empty kitchen. She sat again, pen poised above her journal.

“O magnify the Lord with me…” But how could she magnify anything when her world had shrunk to a single point of loss?

She turned to the next chapter of Robinson’s book, “The End of Theism?”, and felt a shiver. Harold would have hated the title. He had believed with the steady, uncomplicated trust of a man who never doubted the sun would rise. Margaret envied him now. She wondered whether her own faith had been merely borrowed from him, like a coat she had worn without noticing its weight. Images of God from childhood passed through her mind, the old man with a white beard in the sky, angels singing with harps in the clouds, and they seemed so insubstantial in a world in which mankind was heading in rockets to the moon.

The hymn’s next verse drifted through her mind: “The hosts of God encamp around the dwellings of the just.” She tried to picture angels standing guard around her little house, but all she saw was the empty chair by the hearth.

She opened the book again. “Chapter 3: The Ground of Our Being”. The phrase unsettled her. It felt abstract, slippery. But something in it tugged at her, an idea that God might not be “up there” but somehow beneath everything, even beneath her grief. Perhaps beneath Harold’s death too. But where should she find what Robinson called “The Ground of Being”? Nothing seemed solid now, not even the earth beneath her feet.

The next Sunday she went to church for the first time since the funeral. The vicar preached on “Chapter 4: The Man for Others”, speaking of Christ not as a distant figure but as one who walked into the world’s pain. Margaret felt her throat tighten. If Christ truly entered human suffering, then perhaps He had been beside Harold in those final hours. And perhaps he was beside her too. “Blessed are those who mourn” came to mind, and now it seemed to have new meaning. Christ was there in the midst of the mourners, the Jesus who wept at the death of his friend Lazarus. After the service, she lingered in the pew. The hymn returned to her: “O make but trial of His love…” She had always sung it confidently. Now it felt like a challenge.

At home she read “Chapter 5: Worldly Holiness”. The idea that holiness might be found in ordinary life, washing dishes, writing letters, tending a garden, felt strangely comforting. Perhaps she did not need to feel holy to be held by God. Perhaps Martha had the better part after all, and did not Mary Magdalene meet the risen Lord, tending a garden.

Then “Chapter 6: The New Morality”, the one everyone was arguing about. She found it less shocking than expected. It spoke of love as the guiding principle. Harold had lived that way without ever reading a bishop’s book. If there was not love at the heart of the universe, what was there to hope for? The substitutes for love, power, ambition, possessions so often got in the way, and judgement needed mercy, that balance of love.

Finally she reached “Chapter 7: Recasting the Mould”. She closed the book and looked around the quiet room. Perhaps that was what she was doing, recasting the mould of her faith, reshaping it around absence, around longing, around the stubborn hope that God had not abandoned her.

She opened the hymnbook once more. “Fear Him, ye saints, and ye will then have nothing else to fear.” She remembered the words in “A Grief Observed”, that grief can also be like fear, fear of facing life alone without loved ones. She recalled the disciples, mourning the death of their Lord, hidden away inside that upper room, fearful, and even fearful when he appeared before them once more. And yet beyond that fear came peace, renewal, and hope. 

For the first time since Harold’s death, she faintest stirring of peace, and recast, renewed, the old certainties had to die, as a seed in the ground, to bring forth new life, and the acceptance that the one still point in the turning world, amidst all the changing scenes of life, was God.

To Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
The God Whom we adore,
Be glory, as it was, is now,
And shall be evermore. Amen.

Election Aftermath

I was pondering the election, and thinking of these words from Dr Who: "Things end. That's all. Everything ends, and it's always sad. But everything begins again too, and that's always happy.". That seems somehow to sum things up.

Election Aftermath

It always feels flat, somehow, a long night,
Counting away the hours until daylight;
Sleepless, watching the figures just appear:
There must be trepidation, worry, fear;
And so it grinds on, the results do come:
Everyone added on to Senatorial sum;
Trends emerge, as we get nearer dawn,
And at least some will come to mourn
The demise of a career, the loss of seat,
As they stare down at a bleak defeat;
For others, elation, jumping for joy,
And the youngest, almost still a boy;
And for all we rejoice or not, recall
That those who lost are people all
Cast out into the wilderness for now,
And have to move on to see how
They can make a new life, new hope,
And after disappointment, just cope;
It is always sad when something ends,
But a new beginning somehow mends;
And now the banners are taken down,
And to the victor comes the crown.

1986 - 40 years ago - June - Part 2

1986 - 40 years ago - June - Part 2

June 16-22

THE Public Works Committee announce that they are to give pedestrians priority in many more places and that they have located a number of sites where pedestrian crossings and speed limits could be established.

TV celebrity Anneka Rice visits the Island with a Channel 4 camera crew to film an edition of "Treasure Hunt".

Senator John Le Marquand, a dominant figure in Jersey politics since the Second World War, is made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the Queen's Birthday Honours list.

A motorcyclist,c20-year-old Trevor Beaugie, dies at the General Hospital after a late-night crash into a granite water outfall on the beach at Beaumont.

A poll conducted by the Jersey Evening Post reveals that many Islanders favour a helicopter rather than a minesweeper as a contribution to UK defence spending. Of those who take part in the poll, 4,113 favour a helicopter and only 83 favour a minesweeper.

A former Deputy Bailiff, Mr Francis de Lisle Bois, OBE, dies aged 77.

A labourer who was buried under granite blocks and debris when a 22-ft. wall fell on him in January sues his employees, John J. du Feu Ltd.

Customers of Ile Verte Travel are assured that they will not lose money after the business is declared en desastre.

A total of £7,000 is needed to repair and re-glaze stained glass windows at St Ouen's Church.

June 23-29

TWO men die near the States Farm in Trinity when the bicycle they are riding is struck by a car. The two dead men are named as Mr Shaun Smith (29), and Mr Brian Corps (38), both of whom were from the Newcastle area.

It is suggested that Jersey could make a defence contribution to the UK by supplying British forces with agricultural produce. Chairman of the Jersey Agricultural Marketing Federation Mr Roy Mourant says that part or even all the controversial contribution could be made in this way.

Two more safety officers are appointed at the Resources Recovery Board. The appointments are made against the background of a number of serious accidents involving RRB staff, including one which left an electrician unconscious after he received an electric shock at the board's Bellozanne plant.

An inquest into the death of Trevor Beaugie, the motorcyclist who died after his machine crashed into water outlet on the beach at Bel Royal, reveals that the dead man was in a race with a friend.

A young Glaswegian woman reserves her plea in the Police Court when she is charged with the manslaughter of her boyfriend, a heroin addict. Mary Jane Gourley (19), is alleged to have unlawfully killed Gordon Paul Stewart at some time on 4 or 5 June at Grove House, Grove Street.

Members of the Poingdestre Descendants Association from Virginia in the USA visit the Island and meet 35 members of local Poingdestre families at the Ommaroo Hotel.

The Fire Service rescue craft is unable to put to sea at Bonne Nuit because cars block the slipway. Happily, 16-year-old John Bisson is rescued from his overturned dinghy by a passing speedboat.

Housing in Jersey - the Real Challenges

Value Jersey's Aim

The following are taken from their "Purple Book"  

Removing planning barriers, fast-tracking affordable retail, and reducing the cost of apartment development are not just affordability measures, they are competitiveness measures. An Island where workers cannot find or afford decent housing cannot compete for talent against Singapore, Dubai, or Luxembourg. That is true for financial professionals, but it is equally true for the teachers, nurses, and care workers that many Islanders depend on every day.

Value Jersey's proposal is a cradle to grave housing strategy: a comprehensive review of what is being built, where, and for whom, to ensure Jersey has the right number of the right sized homes for its population at every stage of life. From first flats to family homes to properties suitable for older residents looking to downsize, a market that works for everyone at every stage eases pressure across the board for buyers and renters alike, and makes Jersey a place where people can genuinely build a life.

What it does not address

Their platform tries to reframe deep structural problems as purely bureaucratic hurdles that can be solved with the right political will. However, this approach leaves a massive gap between free-market optimism and practical island physics.

The brutal reality of Jersey’s escalating housing crisis can be traced down to three unyielding truths: (1) a punishing island supply chain, (2) a chronic shortage of developable space, and (3) a fierce, ideological battle over the island's green landscape. 

Far from being isolated administrative hurdles, these factors collide daily to make building homes in Jersey slow, prohibitively expensive, and politically explosive.

Building a home here comes with effectively what is a punishing geographical cost. Jersey lacks the heavy domestic manufacturing required for modern construction, meaning virtually every brick, steel beam, and bag of cement must make a costly trek across the English Channel. This reliance on maritime freight, combined with port handling fees, freight cost rates, and specialized local logistics, inflates the baseline cost of raw materials. While corporate developers can occasionally negotiate bulk discounts, the sheer lack of market scale on a small island means that construction costs per square meter remain significantly higher than on the UK mainland, driving up final shelf prices for buyers. The recent war has pushed costs up even further.

Even if you can afford the materials, finding a place to build is a logistical nightmare. In an island with a finite footprint, the days of easy, open-plot building are long gone. Unlike post-industrial Britain, Jersey does not possess sprawling inventories of abandoned factories ripe for conversion. Instead, developers are forced to look at complex brownfield sites, often crumbling agricultural buildings or redundant commercial glasshouses.

Unlocking these sites requires rezoning, a notoriously slow legal process tethered to the island's rigid political cycles. This administrative bottleneck throttles the land supply, creating a high-stakes, artificial scarcity that sends land values skyrocketing.

Compounding this gridlock is Jersey’s fierce commitment to environmental protectionism. Massive swathes of the island’s landmass are ring-fenced under strict Green Zone designations designed to halt urban sprawl and preserve the island's iconic coastlines and agricultural heritage. While this policy successfully safeguards Jersey's natural beauty, it places vast amounts of land completely off-limits to housing. 

This environmental idealism directly collides with human necessity; by refusing to build outward, the government forces all new housing into dense urban infills or sparks toxic, neighbourhood-level battles over every single edge-of-parish field.

So can Value Jersey's vision succeed?

Their call for removing planning barriers and fast-tracking developments directly addresses the problem of land scarcity and slow rezoning, but it does so by attempting to smash through it. Value Jersey is betting that the slow, painful administrative bottlenecks can be bypassed by simply changing the law to fast-track approvals. Drastically cutting down the time it takes to get permission would be an offset to the high costs of island freight. 

However, this supply-side solution completely ignores the physical reality of the Green Zone policy. You cannot fast-track your way onto land that is legally protected from development. By focusing entirely on removing planning barriers for high-density apartments, Value Jersey is subtly admitting that they cannot expand outward into the countryside.

So, although they don't say it, their plan implies a massive push toward high-density urban infills, likely packing apartment blocks into St. Helier. This avoids the political landmine of touching the Green Zone, but it completely ignores the massive infrastructure upgrades that such a dense population concentration would require.

Cramming thousands of residents into high-density urban apartment blocks would probably overwhelm the town's aging physical and social systems. Let's explore this further.

Beneath the streets, subterranean networks face systemic failure as hundreds of new appliances simultaneously drain into Victorian-era sewage systems and strain electrical grids. On the surface, localized traffic bottlenecks paralyze narrow roads, while the sheer volume of concentrated waste disrupts parish refuse logistics.

Now infrastructure can always be engineered out of a crisis, but the real question is who holds the purse strings? This final financial hurdle is where Value Jersey’s free-market rhetoric hits a wall of cold, hard public finance, as the roads are dug up to install high-capacity cables and wider sewage pipes, all of which has to be paid for from the public purse.

Social Media and the Elections

Back in 2025, I started my own Facebook group

https://www.facebook.com/groups/politicsjerseydiscussions

Unlike some others, I have tried to design this to operate as a distinct tightly controlled environment designed specifically to counter the "wild west" nature of open public forums.

Because political spaces in small jurisdictions like Jersey can rapidly devolve into personal vendettas, spamming, and candidate smear campaigns during election seasons, the moderation enforces high-friction, automated, and manual Admin Assist rules.

I have also used post approval and posting limits per day when necessary to slow down posts.

One example was a post detailing the JEP investigation which exposed Terry Le Main behind an anonymous leaflet campaign against Reform. Initially this did not appear online in the JEP, so I bought a copy to verify it before I let the piece through.

The mechanics and reasoning behind how the group works are as follows:

1. The 10-Word Substance Requirement (No Bare Links or Images)

The Rule: Any link to external news sites (like the Jersey Evening Post or Bailiwick Express), uploaded campaign images, or manifestos will be automatically filtered or manually rejected unless accompanied by at least 10 words of context.

The Purpose: This stops "hit-and-run" posting and link-dumping. It forces the member to state their unique angle or question, encouraging constructive, text-driven dialogue over blind sharing or low-effort meme broadcasting.

2. Complete Ban on GIFs and Memes 

The Rule: Visual comment replies using standard GIF keyboards or political memes are forbidden and automatically suppressed.

The Purpose: In heated discussions (such as the performance of Reform Jersey or the Value Jersey movement), GIFs are frequently weaponized to mock other users or derail complex local debates without offering an actual argument. It keeps the visual layout cleaner and more accessible.

3. Profanity Filters and "Bad Language" Settings

The Rule: Native Facebook keyword triggers are heavily utilized to auto-block and flag explicit swear words or highly aggressive vocabulary before they ever appear on the main timeline. [

The Purpose: The platform aims for an elevated standard of civility. It prevents the casual vulgarity often seen on broader social networks, keeping the focus strictly on local policy, housing costs, infrastructure, and election spending.

4. Zero Spam Tolerance and Content De-cluttering

The Rule: Duplicate posting of identical election articles, polling predictions, or media links is strictly policed. If a topic has already been posted, supplementary threads are closed down.

The Purpose: It prevents political organizations, pressure groups, or candidate campaigns from flooding the main dashboard feed to dominate visibility during voting weeks.

5. Automated Gatekeeping (Account Age & Membership Restrictions) 

The Rule: Admin Assist protocols reject or heavily vet joining requests from Facebook profiles that are newly created or have been on the platform for under a certain number of years.

The Purpose: This is a vital shield against sockpuppet accounts and election bot farms. In localized Jersey elections, troll accounts are often spun up overnight to safely slander local politicians anonymously. Requiring an established account profile ensures that participants are real people with a digital track record.

6. The 50-Comment Surge Rule:

One of the most effective automated triggers utilized by the group is an Admin Assist rule that automatically locks a thread if it receives 50 or more comments within a single hour. This immediately halts fast-escalating arguments, giving human moderators time to review the content before a digital "pile-on" occurs.

Group Dynamic vs. Open Platforms

The aim of this highly structured approach is to create a safe space for which in some ways resembles a coffee table discussion group or a letters to the editor page. It is design not to be fast-paced, chaotic, and reactive. 

My aim was to attract detail-oriented voters who want to discuss actual policy and not casual browsers looking for quick local drama.

Post Election Loss of office compensation

The Rules

Former States Members in Jersey do not receive standard redundancy pay; instead, they receive a formal "loss of office compensation" scheme. This package is determined by independent reviews rather than traditional statutory employment rules, as politicians are technically not classed as standard employees. 

Compensation is limited strictly to Members who stand for re-election but fail to secure their seat. Members who choose to retire or voluntarily step down prior to an election receive nothing under the active guidelines. To qualify for any payout, a politician must have served a minimum of two continuous years in office.

Jersey’s loss‑of‑office compensation is defended as fair because it treats the end of a political term in the same way redundancy works for ordinary workers. States Members have no job security at all: every four years their entire income can disappear overnight if voters choose someone else. The payment is meant to soften that sudden drop and give them a short period to find new work, especially since many have left stable careers to serve.

Another fairness argument is that the scheme keeps politics open to people who are not wealthy. Without some protection, only those with private means could afford to risk standing for election. A teacher, nurse or tradesperson might hesitate to run if losing meant immediate financial hardship. The compensation is therefore framed as a way of keeping the Assembly socially broad rather than dominated by the rich.

The amounts are modest. The formula gives one month’s salary for every four years of service, with a minimum of two years. Even long‑serving members receive far less than senior civil servants would get in redundancy. It is rules‑based, predictable and not something politicians can award themselves at will.

Calculations

Eligible politicians receive one month's basic remuneration for every four years of continuous service

[The following calculations are estimates and while they should be accurate, they should be double checked for accuracy]

I have ordered them from least to most.

Following his defeat in yesterday's St Helier Constable race, outgoing Deputy David Warr is on track to receive approximately £4,990 in loss of office compensation as is Raluca Kovacs.

Mike Jackson's loss of office compensation is £9,979. Because Constables and Deputies have historically had slightly different official election and swearing-in timelines, the calculation changes by a fraction of a month.

Following his defeat in the St Helier Constable race, outgoing Education Minister Rob Ward is on track to receive approximately £10,062 in loss of office compensation as is Steve Ahier.

Following his defeat in the June 2026 Senatorial election, Sam Mézec is on track to receive approximately £15,280 in loss of office compensation.

Following his defeat in yesterday's June 2026 Senatorial election, former Environment Minister Steve Luce is on track to receive approximately £18,243 in loss of office compensation.

Following his defeat in yesterday's June 2026 election, former St Saviour Connétable Kevin Lewis is on track to receive approximately £25,650 in loss of office compensation

Combined, the taxpayer-funded cost for all eight unseated politicians totals £103,490.

Final note

Across many parliaments studied by remuneration boards and electoral‑systems researchers, the pattern is similar: there is usually some mix of a lump‑sum severance payment, continued salary for a limited period, or enhanced pension rights, all justified as a way to “smooth the cliff edge” when leaving office. 

The details differ, eligibility rules, caps, and links to years of service, but the underlying rationale is that if you want politics to be a realistic option for non‑wealthy professionals, you need to cushion the risk of sudden job loss.

Set against that backdrop, Jersey’s loss‑of‑office scheme sits toward the modest end: a relatively small, formula‑based payment for those who stand and lose, rather than the multi‑month or multi‑year packages seen in places like Germany, Canada, or Australia. 

Election 2026 - First Look The Senators.

Senatorial Results

Helen Miles: 15,859
Ian Gorst: 15,667
Lyndon Farnham: 14,217
Elaine Millar: 14,208
Serena Kersten Guthrie: 12,588
Tom Binet: 12,584
Alan Maclean: 12,506
Mark Boleat: 11,948
Mary Le Hegarat: 11,571

Sam Mézec: 9,374
Steve Luce: 8,669
Bernard Place: 6,675
Alan Le Pavoux: 6,294
Martin Aliga: 5,390
Alan Breckon: 4,412
Guy De Faye: 2,979
Karl Busch: 1,688 

Helen Miles topped the poll, going head to head with Ian Gorst throughout the night. She will almost certainly bid for Chief Minister. I suppose the big question would be whether she could work with those voted against Kristina Moore, such as Tom Binet, and assembly a broad coalition like Lyndon did, and leave behind any past resentments.

Ian Gorst has said from the start he would like to continue as External Relations Minister, and it is clear the electorate see him both as capable and as someone with real integrity. I make no bones about it: his handling of the Jersey Care Inquiry was one of the best examples of his integrity - countering attempts to stop in through lack of funds, countering attempts to let interested parties see the final report before it was published. He has also been good at looking after Jersey's reputation abroad, not perhaps the most showy of roles, but very necessary for the good of the finance industry and consequently rest of the Island.

Lyndon Farnham came third, which for an incumbent Chief Minister is a very good measure of how well he has done in bringing a broad coalition since Kristina Moore was ousted. I would expect him to stand again for Chief Minister and I hope he does. One must remember it is not just voters popularity that counts, but the judgement of the House.

Elaine Millar has been a steady hand at the Treasury, and personally I would like to see her retain that role. 

Serena Guthrie is an outsider, and it will be interesting to see what she will bring to the Chamber, perhaps some of that sporting energy! I really feel despite the Hustings I don't know much about her.

Tom Binet came a creditable 6th place, and given that his campaign seems to have lacked posters and manifestos, that is an extraordinary achievement. But manifestos often contain a lot of platitudes, and you would never get that from Tom. Hopefully he can continue with Health and the Hospital project.

Alan Maclean made a surprising return to the Senators showing that comebacks are not impossible, or even impossingworth! While the members of the old Government of John Le Fondre tried and failed to be re-elected to the States, it must be remembered it was much longer, stepping down in 2018 rather than being voted out.

Sir Mark Boleat clearly as an independent has thrown off the stigma of the Alliance Party, and I am sure will bring some much needed professionalism to the States. He didn't do as well as expected, perhaps because of that legacy, but I'm glad he is in.

Finally Mary Le Hegarat was also elected as Senator. While the Chamber of Commerce vote excluded women from their "Senators Special" Chamber Lunch, the voters have excluded not one single woman from the ranks of the Senators.

Near Misses

Sam Mezec got a boost from St Saviour and St Helier, but still fell well short of success. Reform will now need a new leader within the Assembly. Sam will be looking for a job outside of politics for the first time since 2014, over a decade ago.

I was sorry to see Steve Luce fail. Steve has I think been a good Minister for Environment, but it is always a gamble to go from Deputy to Senator, and like John Young and Sean Power before him, did not make it.

Bernard Place: 6,675
Alan Le Pavoux: 6,294
Martin Aliga: 5,390
Alan Breckon: 4,412
Guy De Faye: 2,979
Karl Busch: 1,688 

Of the last ranked candidates, both Bernard Place and Alan Le Pavoux gave a creditable performance for outsiders, and perhaps Bernard Place's JEP columns gave him the edge. I had never heard of Alan before.

With just one election banner (outside the Poplar's Tea Room) and only a handful of manifesto cards, Martin Aliga did surprisingly well with an unusual election campaign. The only candidate to have said he wanted to bring love into the States Chamber - but with the factional resentment after Kristina Moore's "Bitter Way" government fell, perhaps the States Chamber does need some reminder of values that often get overlooked.

Alan Breckon's campaign was I fear, somewhat incoherent. Masses of figures in the hustings and on his manifesto card seem to have swamped the very real desire to tackle out of control public expenditure, and the tiny font did not win any plaudits, except from opticians.

Guy De Faye really should give up. "The Man who Shot Puffin "- never indicted for crimes against hand puppets - just is not going to be elected. 

Karl Busch came last. So much for his much vaunted "Karl Care" (in his manifesto). He had Karl Care. The electorate didn't.

More Short Stories: Our Shelter from the Stormy Blast

Continuing the theme of short stories crafted from hymns, I have set this background against the St Paul's Cathedral in Wartime and the hymn by Isaac Watts, "Our God, our help in ages past.". The world is in a bad way with wars in the Middle East, and Ukraine, and there are echoes of conflict in this story, even though it is in the past, in another conflict almost within living memory.

I also drew on this site:
https://historicengland.org.uk/whats-new/features/blitz-stories/st-paul-s-cathedral

Our Shelter from the Stormy Blast
A Short Story of Endurance under Bombing

The night was a furnace of flame and ash. From the high dome of St Paul’s, the Dean, the Very Reverend Walter Matthews, could see the city burning. The streets he had walked since boyhood now swallowed by smoke. The Blitz had come again, relentless as thunder, bringing the tides of war to dash against the land. Below, the fire crews moved like shadows through the orange haze, their hoses glinting in the infernal light. The cathedral itself stood like a sentinel, its great stone ribs trembling under the concussion of bombs.

He had stayed behind and helped organise a team, he would not flee. “Our God, our help in ages past,” he murmured, the words rising from memory rather than voice. The hymn had been sung here countless times, but tonight it felt carved into the air itself, a prayer for endurance, not victory.

The architect and cathedral Surveyor, WG Allen, and Section Captain RM Wakelin were now ready for the fiery ordeal, in the St Paul’s Watch control room.

In the crypt, volunteers tended the wounded. A nurse with soot‑streaked cheeks whispered that the east transept had caught fire again. Matthews nodded, his eyes fixed on the flickering vault above. “Under the shadow of Thy throne,” he said softly, “Thy saints have dwelt secure.” He wondered if security meant survival or simply faith amid ruin.

Outside, the bells were silent. The Luftwaffe’s droning hum rolled over the Thames, and the city shuddered. He climbed the narrow stair to the Whispering Gallery, each step echoing like a heartbeat. From there, he could see the dome’s lantern glowing faintly through the smoke,  a fragile crown of light. The firewatchers were up there, silhouettes against the inferno, stamping out sparks with sandbags and courage.

He thought of the hills “before they stood,” of the eternal God “to endless years the same.” The words steadied him. Time, he knew, was the enemy of all things built by men, “an ever‑rolling stream” that bore away sons and fathers alike. Yet in that stream, faith was the one unmoving stone, the rock on which the Lord built his church, the City of God of St Augustine..

A blast shook the cathedral. Dust fell like snow. Matthews knelt beside a broken window and looked toward the river. The bridges were still standing, though the warehouses beyond were gone. Somewhere in the east, the glow of another fire rose, perhaps Aldgate, perhaps Shoreditch. He could not tell.

He remembered the faces of the congregation who had sung here last Sunday: a mother with two children, a soldier home on leave, an old organist whose hands trembled on the keys. Were they alive tonight? He prayed they were. “Be Thou our guard while troubles last,” he whispered, “and our eternal home.”

And as he looked out over Paternoster Row, Ave Maria Lane, and the book warehouses, now a sea of flame where the cathedral stood like an island in a burning world, he thought of the three men in the fiery furnace. London too was walking through fire, and the Cathedral stood, a beacon of faith within the fires.

When dawn came, the bombing ceased. The sky was bruised and pale, and the dome of St Paul’s still stood — blackened but unbroken. Firemen leaned against the walls, exhausted, their helmets streaked with ash. One of them looked up and smiled faintly. “She’s still here, sir,” he said.

Matthews nodded. “So are we.”

He stepped outside into the ruined streets. London was a graveyard of chimneys and glass. The Dean paused, reflecting. The hymn returned to him again, not as lament but as promise, that even in the storm, there was shelter; even in the ashes, hope.

Matthews recalled how he and the Watch fought a number of separate battles in which small squads fought incipient fires at different places on and beneath the roof. He remembered how he had managed to extinguish an incendiary bomb himself, alongside Surveyor Godfrey Allen. It had scarred the floor, and yet he held a special affection for the scar left by that bomb on the floor, a mark he saw as a symbol of survival.

And as the sun rose over the dome, its light catching the smoke like incense, he whispered once more: “Our God, our help in ages past, our hope for years to come.”

Election Fever

A poem for tomorrow!

Election Fever

It was the day of election, excitement day,
Unless sunny and then to beach ward way!
Voting with their feet, buckets and spade,
Increased turnout was not well made;
But perhaps they came, took voting slip,
Before the beach and seaside dip,
Past the smiling faces, shaking hands,
Thinking of sunbathing on those sands;
Don’t smile at me they want to scream,
As they think of beach and soft ice cream;
While crosses marked, a time to vote,
But I sadly miss Honest Nev’s tote,
And wonder at the odds he’d set,
And whether candidates themselves would bet;
Throughout the day, they come and go,
The voters, some faster, some very slow:
The hobbling stick, the bent old back,
For the elderly are rarely slack,
But younger folk may stay away,
Politics is for them just for dismay:
High rents, costly living, no night life,
Their world a struggle full of strife;
Then sounds the gong at end of time,
As if the bell of doom does chime,
And counting slips, just one by one,
Until they read out who was won,
And good luck to all who lose and win,
While manifestos go recycling bin!

1986 - 40 years ago - June - Part 1

1986 - 40 years ago - June - Part 1

June 2-8

DISAGREEMENT between Tourism president Senator John Rothwell and the Battle of Flowers Association chairman Mr Graeme Rabet ends when Senator Rothwell accepts an invitation to become Battle of Flowers Association president.

The Civil Aviation Authority is adamant that it wants to ban Jersey flights from Heathrow if congestion gets any worse at the airport.

The Assistant Police Court Magistrate, Mr Robin Short, says that the Island is in danger of being "swamped" by the many small amounts of cannabis being imported.

A section of Bath Street is closed at rush hour when it is feared that the wall of the partly demolished Lancashire Textiles building is about to collapse into the street.

A nurse at the General Hospital, Jersey-born Miss Julie Haywood (22), is chosen as Miss Battle of Flowers.

An ambulance on its way to help an un-conscious motorcyclist overturns after hitting a van and a bank. Neither of the men in the ambulance is badly hurt in the accident, which occurs near La Croix au Lion, St Peter.

Unsupervised children are causing problems at Fort Regent and Fort officials say that three-year-olds have been found left to their own devices in the playground and funfair areas.

A long-term car park building programme costing £181/2 million is planned by the Public Works Committee. The programme will include an underground car park in Castle Street.

Islanders respond slowly to the call for donations for a wedding gift for Prince Andrew and Miss Sarah Ferguson. there is only £75 in the kitty two weeks after the appeal is launched.

June 9-15

THE manager of British Home Stores in King street tells stunned food hall employees that that side of the business is to be closed in September. Although the local food hall is a success, the same has not been true of BHS food halls in the UK.

Measures introduced by the UK Government to control illicit dealing in shares will mean that Channel Island companies will have to co-operate with investigations into irregular "insider" trading.

The Housing Committee reveals that it hopes to set up a sub-committee under the chairmanship of Housing president Deputy Hendric Vandervliet to speed up the acquisition of land for States housing.

The move is planned because the committee feels there is a lack of co-ordination in present efforts to purchase housing land in the public sector.

Three people are rescued from a French cabin cruiser when it hits rocks at the Paternosters and starts to take in water. The craft is towed to St Helier Harbour after being pumped out by the lifeboat.

The Telecommunications Board announce plans to spend over £17 million on a five-year plan, but even before the proposals are debated they are opposed by the Finance and Economics Committee.

Former coach-dweller Mr Richard Manning is sent to jail for contempt of Court. His arrest is ordered when he fails to turn up for a resumption of a hearing in the Royal Court relating to alleged debts.

 

Cheaper Supermarkets in Jersey: Barriers to Overcome

The Claim

During the 2026 Jersey election campaign, independent candidate and Value Jersey figure Samantha Gleave has stated that budget supermarkets like Aldi and Lidl are "knocking on Jersey's door" and that she would fight to let them in by resolving local planning and site barriers.

But when you look at the facts, matters are not nearly so clear. The Chief Minister of Jersey has explicitly stated that neither Aldi nor Lidl has made any official approach or proposal to the island's government regarding opening stores.

Aldi and Lidl's discount structures rely heavily on high-volume, centralized supply chains, and low-cost regional HGV distribution networks by road. But Jersey has sea to cross! The high cost of un-subsidized freight shipping to the Channel Islands, alongside the 12-hour ferry transit times that tie up delivery trailers, makes Jersey financially unviable under their current operational models. Cancellations due to changes in the sea conditions also put extra pressure on distribution.

While local campaign groups use the promise of budget supermarkets as a major talking point to address Jersey's cost-of-living concerns, the assertion that these chains are actively trying to enter the market is a myth used for political leverage.

So how could it work?

Aldi or Lidl would first need a suitable site in Jersey, and this is widely seen as the biggest obstacle. Discount supermarkets require a large footprint, good road access, and substantial parking, but Jersey has very limited commercial land that meets these criteria. Previous political discussions have repeatedly highlighted that identifying a viable location is the main barrier to progress. 

Samantha Gleave has not identified any such sites, which is hardly surprising, as there really are not any. Existing mainland chains such as Waitrose and Morrisons solved the issue by taking over existing supermarkets with existing locations. That leaves just the Channel Island Co-Op for viable sites, and I don't think that is on the cards - if there was an offer, it would have to be approved by members!

They would also need to be convinced that the Jersey market is commercially viable. With a population of around 110,000, the island is small for a discounter’s business model, which depends on high footfall and tight cost control. Although a 2023 FOI confirmed there are no regulatory barriers preventing them from entering the island, Aldi and Lidl would still need confidence that they could compete on price despite higher shipping and operating costs.

A further requirement is solving supply‑chain logistics. Both Aldi and Lidl rely on centralised distribution hubs and high-volume deliveries to keep prices low. Operating in Jersey would require dependable shipping routes, cold‑chain capacity, and either a local distribution point or a direct‑to‑store delivery model. Other retailers manage this, so it is feasible, but it adds complexity and cost that the discounters would need to factor in, especially if they wanted to sell as cheaply as in the UK, making margins very tight.

Finally, any development would need political and planning alignment. While there are no legal restrictions blocking Aldi or Lidl, planning approval would still be required for whichever site is chosen. This means the location must fit the Island Plan and pass traffic, environmental, and community impact assessments. Politicians have expressed interest in attracting a discount supermarket, but no formal proposal has ever been submitted by either company.

A More Grounded Theology of Healing and Brokenness

A More Grounded Theology of Healing and Brokenness

There is often in Christianity a warm and sincere desire to encourage prayer for healing, and it reflects a genuine confidence in God’s care for human wellbeing. Yet the theology it presents can be somewhat narrow, leaning toward an optimistic expectation of healing that does not fully reflect the breadth of Christian tradition or the lived experience of many believers. A more balanced approach would hold together the hope of God’s Kingdom with the reality that suffering, illness, and disability remain part of the Christian journey, and that God’s presence is often known most deeply within those very conditions.

This approach is right to affirm that God longs for wholeness and that healing is part of the Christian story. Scripture contains many accounts of Jesus healing the sick, restoring the broken, and bringing peace to troubled hearts. Christians have always prayed for healing, trusting that God listens and responds in love. The reminder that ultimate healing belongs to the fullness of God’s Kingdom is also true and important. Revelation’s vision of a world without death, mourning, crying, or pain is a central Christian hope, and it rightly shapes our prayers and longings.

However, this theology tends to frame healing as something we should expect in the present, at least in some measure, and this can unintentionally create a sense that healing is the norm while ongoing suffering is an exception. Many faithful Christians live with cancer, chronic illness, disability, increasing deafness, neurological conditions, or the long-term effects of stroke. For them, healing does not come, and yet their lives are no less held by God. Christian theology has always recognised that God’s action is not limited to physical restoration. Sometimes God heals, sometimes God strengthens, and sometimes God simply remains present in ways that do not remove the burden but make it bearable. This is a truth found in the Psalms, in Paul’s letters, and in the experience of countless believers across the centuries.

Writers such as Frances Young have helped the Church to see that God’s presence is not only found in the removal of suffering but also in the midst of it. Her reflections on life with her profoundly disabled son remind us that God does not stand at a distance waiting to fix us. Instead, God accompanies us in our vulnerability, and that companionship is itself a form of grace. Healing, in this deeper sense, is not always about cure. It can be about dignity, acceptance, endurance, or the discovery of love in unexpected places. It can be about the Church learning to carry one another’s burdens, to sit with pain rather than rush to resolve it, and to recognise Christ in the wounded and the weary.

There is also an important theological detail that we should not miss: Jesus rose from the dead still bearing His scars. The resurrection does not erase woundedness but transforms it. This is a profound truth for those who live with permanent conditions. It means that scars, limitations, and brokenness are not signs of spiritual failure. They are places where Christ Himself has gone before us. A theology that remembers the scarred Christ is less likely to slip into triumphalism and more likely to honour the experiences of those who do not receive the healing they long for.

A more robust theology of healing would therefore affirm that God can heal and sometimes does, but it would also acknowledge that God’s presence is not dependent on the outcome of our prayers. It would make space for lament as well as hope, for unanswered questions as well as confident faith. It would recognise that the Church’s calling is not only to pray for healing but also to accompany those who suffer, to offer practical care, and to embody the compassion of Christ in ways that do not depend on miraculous change.

The K2 Scheme and Value Jersey: The Morality of Exploiting Loopholes

Jimmy Carr and the K2 Scheme Loophole

The K2 tax scheme used by Jimmy Carr was fully legal at the time, falling under tax avoidance rather than tax evasion. It exploited a loophole in UK law that allowed high earners to route income through offshore trusts and receive most of it back as “loans,” which were not taxable. Because the structure complied with the letter of the law, Carr faced no criminal charges, but the arrangement was widely viewed as aggressive and ethically questionable.

The mechanism itself relied on a Jersey‑based trust. Carr’s UK earnings were paid into this offshore vehicle, which then returned the bulk of the money to him as a repayable loan rather than income. Only a token salary was taxed normally. Since loans were not treated as taxable income, this allowed him to shelter millions each year from HMRC. More than a thousand high earners used similar structures, making K2 one of the most prominent avoidance schemes of its era.

Public reaction in 2012 was swift and severe. Then‑Prime Minister David Cameron publicly condemned the arrangement as “morally wrong,” turning what had been a niche tax‑planning strategy into a national scandal. Under intense scrutiny, Carr withdrew from the scheme, apologised, and later repaid the tax he had avoided. He has since said that the reputational damage and repayments meant he ultimately gained nothing from participating.

The fallout accelerated major changes in UK tax law. The 2013 Finance Bill introduced the General Anti‑Abuse Rule (GAAR), designed to shut down artificial arrangements created solely to avoid tax. HMRC also pursued promoters of successor schemes, issuing fines and challenging similar loan‑based structures in court. As a result, the type of offshore loan mechanism used in K2 is no longer viable under modern UK tax rules.

Value Jersey and the Political Loophole

Value Jersey’s approach is structurally very similar to a legal political loophole in the same way Jimmy Carr’s K2 arrangement was a legal tax avoidance scheme. In both cases, the actors follow the exact letter of the law while bypassing the clear spirit of what the law was designed to prevent. The contexts differ, taxation versus elections, but the underlying strategy is the same: use a carefully chosen organisational form to avoid triggering the legal definitions that would normally restrict or regulate the behaviour.

The first parallel is the distinction between avoidance and evasion. Carr did not illegally hide income; he used an artificial offshore structure to ensure his earnings no longer counted as “income” under UK tax law. Likewise, Value Jersey is not breaking Jersey’s Public Elections Law. Instead, by presenting itself as a “community movement” rather than a political party or regulated campaign entity, it avoids the legal definition of a candidate expense or a regulated third‑party campaigner. Both cases involve compliance with the letter of the law while sidestepping its intended purpose.

A second similarity lies in exploiting gaps in legislation. The K2 scheme worked because UK law had not yet closed the loophole around offshore trusts and repayable loans. In Jersey, the Public Elections Law contains no framework for third‑party campaigning, a mechanism that exists in the UK and many other democracies to prevent outside groups from spending large sums to influence voters. Because Jersey has never updated this part of its legislation, Value Jersey’s activities remain lawful even though they occupy a regulatory vacuum.

A third parallel is the use of general principles to justify the structure. Carr’s advisers argued he was simply receiving “loans,” which under financial definitions are not taxable income. Value Jersey similarly argues it is promoting broad policy ideas rather than supporting specific candidates. Because its central materials do not name individual candidates, the organisation maintains that its own spending does not count toward any candidate’s strict £3,500 cap. In both cases, the defence hinges on technical definitions rather than the broader intent of the law.

Finally, both situations triggered significant moral and political backlash. Carr’s scheme, though legal, was condemned as “morally wrong” for undermining the tax system while benefiting from it. In Jersey, critics argue that Value Jersey’s anonymous funding and undisclosed donors are “democratically wrong,” potentially allowing wealthy backers to influence an election without transparency. Opposition politicians have raised concerns about the integrity of the electoral process and the lack of public accountability.

The ultimate parallel is what typically happens next: the law changes. Carr’s scandal directly led to the UK’s General Anti‑Abuse Rule, which shut down artificial tax schemes. In Jersey, the Electoral Authority and several States Members have already indicated that the law will likely be rewritten after the June 2026 election to ensure that “non‑party political movements” cannot campaign anonymously in future. As with K2, the loophole remains legal only until the political system catches up.

In conclusion...

Just as the Jimmy Carr scandal exposed a gap between legal tax code and public morality, Value Jersey has exposed a gap between Jersey’s written election laws and the community’s expectations of democratic transparency.

Most democracies regulate third‑party campaigners by imposing registration, spending limits, and transparency rules designed to prevent hidden influence while still allowing legitimate civic participation. Jersey must do so too.

More Short Stories: Be Still, My Soul

This short story builds on the hymn by Kathrina von Schlegel (1752) within a Jersey wartime setting.

Be Still, My Soul

The winter of 1944 pressed hard upon the island. Food was scarce, tempers thin, and hope thinner still. In the narrow lanes above St Peter’s Valley, Elise Hamon walked with her head down, her basket empty except for a few limp carrots. It was late November, and the moon rose high above the hedgerows. The curfew would soon start. Patrols may come. She quickened her pace.

The Germans had taken her father in the autumn. No explanation. Just a knock at the door and the cold certainty that she would never see him again. Since then, the world had become a place of shadows, soldiers at every corner, hunger gnawing at every hour, fear settling like frost on the heart.

Be still, my soul! the Lord is on your side;
Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain;

Yet that morning, as she left the house, her mother had whispered the old hymn under her breath: “Be still, my soul; the Lord is on your side.” Elise had almost snapped at her. How could anyone speak of stillness now? Her thoughts were of despair: “Life is not worth living, we are so worried and distressed, we are starving, there is no food or fuel, and the cold seeps into our souls.”

A gust of wind swept through the valley, carrying the smell of woodsmoke and something else — something metallic. She rounded the bend and froze. A German soldier lay slumped against the stone wall, half‑hidden by brambles. His uniform was torn, his face pale beneath streaks of mud. Blood darkened the granite dry stone wall around him. He looked barely older than she was.

Elise’s first instinct was to run and leave him, to let the war claim one more life. But then he opened his eyes: blue, frightened, scared. She saw not the enemy, but a fellow human in pain. “Hilfe…” he whispered. “Please.” She stood trembling. Helping him felt like an act of treason. It would be so easy to leave him as he lay. But something in his expression, not the fear, but the weariness, struck her like a blow. It was the same hollow exhaustion she saw in her mother’s eyes each night.

Slowly, she knelt beside him. “What happened?” she asked. “Patrol… mine…” He winced. “I did not want this war. I only wanted to teach. My students… Berlin…” His voice cracked. “Bombs fell on our street.” Elise felt her breath catch. Loss recognised loss. The hymn rose again in her mind, unbidden: “Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain…”. She hated that it comforted her.

She tore a strip from her apron and pressed it to his wound. He gasped but did not pull away. “You shouldn’t be here,” she murmured. “I know.” His eyes fluttered. “But you stopped.” Elise swallowed hard. “I don’t know why.” “Because you have a good soul, eine gute Seele” he whispered. “Even in darkness.” She knew curfew was close. She had minutes at most.

Be still, my soul! your best, your heav’nly friend
Thru' thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

She helped him to his feet. He leaned heavily on her, each step a struggle. They moved through the valley like ghosts, keeping to hedgerows and shadows. At last they reached an abandoned farmer’s hut, half‑collapsed but sheltered from the wind. “You’ll be safe here for tonight,” she said. “I’ll bring water. Maybe bread.”

He caught her hand. “Why risk this?” Elise hesitated. The truth surprised her. “Because if I let you die,” she said softly, “I lose the last piece of myself that the war hasn’t taken.” His eyes shone with gratitude.

When disappointment, grief, and fear are gone,
Sorrow forgot, love's purest joys restored

As she slipped back into the night, the promise of the hymn’s words echoed within her: “When disappointment, grief, and fear are gone.” An encounter with a stranger, reminding her of the words she had learned in Sunday school many years ago: “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me." Compassion reached across barriers and boundaries.

Your hope, your confidence, let nothing shake;
all now mysterious shall be bright at last.

For the first time in months, Elise felt the faintest stirring of hope, and hope was to come later that month, when the Red Cross ship Vega arrived, bringing supplies and succour to the starving Islanders. She did not know it then, but the Allies had now long liberated Normandy, and by May next year, the war would end, and the Islanders would be liberated themselves from German Occupation. The day before, the prison gates would be opened to release their captives, and she would be reunited with her beloved father, frail but still alive, and the final line of the hymn would ring true for her: “All safe and blessed we shall meet at last.”

Be still my soul! when change and tears are past,
All safe and blessed we shall meet at last.

The Day the Earth Caught Fire

Taking the title from the movie of the same name (an excellent film even if it was Nuclear test rather than climate change which caused the heat wave, this looks at the recent heat wave in Jersey, and sets the frame to a well known hymn.

The Day the Earth Caught Fire

The heat so stifling, still this night,
Waves of warm air in daylight
Keep me cool, above all things
With gentle breeze as beating wings

Come end the heat, for this I pray,
The rising temperature throughout the day
When will it end, when will that be
Before my sleep restored to me.

The endless hot air, comforts few
So hard to sleep the whole night thro'.
I toss and turn, and dreams forsake
And barely slumber till I wake.

O Earth, from whom the hot winds flow
O Earth, preserve us here below
O Earth, burning times you host
O Earth, the cool days seem a ghost

Difficult Decisions by John Henwood, 24/7 Magazine

Difficult Decisions: Policing, Polls and Popularity

By John Henwood
From 24/7 Magazine, 2006

The 24/7 magazine was launched in October 2005 and was a staple for Island entertainment news, events, and leisure listings and ceased publication in January 2011, following a strategic decision by its parent publisher, the Jersey Evening Post (JEP), to consolidate its lifestyle and entertainment coverage into a single monthly title called LifeStyle.

In his latest Look at public life in Jersey, John Henwood says it is time for our elected representatives to start making difficult decisions.

Shortly after he took up his post as Chief Officer of the States Police, Graham Power gave a short talk to a group of Institute of Directors members. In a fairly wide-ranging exchange after his address he was asked for his views on zero-tolerance policing, about which there was considerable publicity at the time.

Mr Power's response was that a zero-tolerance approach was only appropriate in circumstance where authorities had lost command of a situation and needed to win back control.

Fast forward to another business meeting, this time of members and guests of the Chamber of Commerce with Mr Power, now fully acclimatised to Jersey, again the speaker. Once more he was happy to take questions, one of which was about motoring: why did the police devote so much of their resources to relatively minor offences like speeding? Mr Power's answer was unequivocal; the police concentrate on matters that are important to the public and their surveys showed that the public was particularly concerned about speeding.

These two occasions came to mind recently following public debate about the alleged heavy-handedness of the policing of motorists over the Christmas and New Year holiday period and their apparent lack of success in curbing hooliganism and making the streets of St Helier safe to walk at night.

I am a little uneasy about the suggestion that the police marshal the use of their resources according to what is popular with the majority of us. Surely their task is to uphold the law and, in so doing, keep the community safe from the effects of wrongdoers. Inevitably there will be times when in so doing they have to take unpopular measures - well alright, for the greater good we accept that.

The question of police-run public surveys is also a cause for some concern. The problem with opinion polls is that you tend to get different answers depending on how you ask the questions. Indeed, it is not unheard of for organisations to decide upon a preferred agenda and justify it by framing a survey in such a way as to be most likely to get the answer required.

I'm not suggesting that this has happened, but in inexpert hands a survey can be an unreliable tool. If our police are going to deploy their resources according to the real wishes of the people I strongly suspect they will spend much more time, effort, manpower and money on making it safe to walk the streets of St Helier at night and tackling hooliganism and vandalism than on prosecuting speeding motorists.

Perhaps they would say they already do just that, but if so why is there a continuing perception that street violence is a growing problem and that it isn't too clever to be walking through certain parts of St Helier at night?

How much lawlessness of this kind has to be tolerated before a judgement is made that we are on the point of losing control and that possibly, just possibly, it's getting close to the time when the incidence of violent assaults and vandalism does call for a zero-tolerance approach?

The definition of government is a body of persons authorised to administer laws and rule or direct the state. In our case, as a democracy, we the people of Jersey have chosen those upon whom the responsibility for directing us and passing laws and regulations falls. Why then do our elected representatives so frequently insist on overlooking the authority we have vested in them by asking us what we want them to do?

The current trend started with in 1998 when the President of the Employment & Social Security Committee launched 'Fair Play in the Workplace'. It was the first time we had seen anything that looked like the equivalent of a UK Government green paper, in which plans for legislation were set out and all interested parties encouraged to offer their views. I was at the meeting at which the Committee's plans were spelled out and I remember welcoming the move and the openness of approach. Since then it seems no change is possible without lengthy and detailed consultation.

Now let me be quite clear, I'm all for consultation on matters of great significance which are likely to have a material el of the majority of the population. In the “Fair Play in the Workplace” it paved sweeping changes in our employment law. Whatever one thinks about the outcome, it would be unreasonable to criticise Employment and Security for failing to take the mind of the public before enacting changes to the way we employ and are employed. Similarly, we were consulted, almost to exhaustion, over to the island's fiscal strategy. Again, appropriate as the effects will be far-and felt by us all.

However, consultation is not an alternative form of government. Recently the Minister of Transport & Technical Services, Deputy Guy de Faye, announced that he would carry out a poll among all users of all the island's car parks to determine how they should pay. Within 24 hours the Minister of Planning & Environment, Senator Freddie Cohen, announced another round of consultation on the further development of the Waterfront.

Let's look first at the parking issue. The choice seems simple enough. either we stick with scratch cards or we go back to barriers and ticket machines. Some people prefer one method, some the other. It was ever thus. So what is the Minister going to learn apart from whether there might be some preference for one over the other? Sooner or later the Minister is going to have to make a decision; it is bound to be unpopular with some and no amount of consultation is going to change that fact. Instead of government by plebiscite I would encourage the Minister to go on and do what he was elected to do and make a decision!

As for the Waterfront, we have been in consultation over the way it should be developed for the best part of two decades and sometimes it feels as if each new round moves us one step back then one step forward. Perhaps that’s not surprising as a second generation of opinion is expressing their view. I don't know about anyone else, but I’m just about “consulted-out” on the topic Of course, the future of the Waterfront is hugely more important than the scratch card or barrier question but the principles remain the same. Government is there to govern and those who accept the burden of office should have the courage to use the authority we have given them.

More Short Stories: Vigilia Pentecostes, Anno Domini 876

Continuing my use of hymns as the seed for short stories, here is "Veni Creator Spiritus", or as it is more popularly known "Come, Holy Spirit, Creator blest". It is set in the Parish of St Mary. The year is 876. The theme is Pentecost.

The Chronicle of Brother Iudocus

Entry: Vigilia Pentecostes, Anno Domini 876

The sea mutters angrily tonight. I ponder St Paul and his shipwreck. Even from my narrow cell I hear it grinding against the rocks below the monastery of Our Lady. Brother Riwallon says the gulls fled inland at dusk, a sign he claims foretells danger. I laughed, as if to ward off the feelings of terror, but my heart was not steady.

We have prepared for the Feast of Pentecost. Brother Marcellus has arranged the altar linens; Brother Samsonius rehearsed the chant with the novices. Tomorrow we will sing “Veni Creator Spiritus”. May the Spirit shield us.

Entry: Pentecost Morning

We sang at dawn, our voices trembling the rafters the old words of the hymn. They rise like incense through the abbey - “Accende lumen sensibus… “, “Kindle our senses with Thy light”

As the final note faded, a thick sea‑mist rolled in swallowing the horizon. Our island is prone to such mists, cold and biting. This time, they seemed to be an omen, of dark times to come. When we stepped from the chapel, Riwallon came running, breathless. “Longships,” he said. “Three. Cutting through the fog.” Abbot Judicael closed his eyes for a moment, then said only: “To the chapel. Pray.”

I write this quickly. The bell is sounding the alarm. The mist feels like a burial shroud.

Later, though time has lost meaning...

I have only a dim memory of visions and sounds that overwhelmed the senses and destroyed our peaceful vigil. I recall the fire, the blazing tongues of fire. The screams, and the crash of axes. Words, rough, savage, spoken in an unknown tongue. They came like wolves. These were the Northmen, the Vikings, the much feared raiders of blood and iron.

We knelt in the chapel as Abbot Judicael prayed aloud, his voice shaking but unbroken. The doors burst inward. Brother Riwallon fell first, struck down where he knelt. I saw his blood spread across the stones like spilled ink across a manuscript. The Abbot was dragged outside. I followed, though terror clawed at my belly. The courtyard was a furnace. Flames devoured the scriptorium. Smoke stung my eyes.

Their leader, clothed in furs, a giant in wolfskin, raised his axe over Judicael. I heard myself shout the words from the hymn: “Hostem repellas longius!”, “Drive the foe far from us!”

The fire was thick with smoke, and it was hard to see. Only outlines of shapes moving could be seen. One of the raiders stumbled into the blow meant for the Abbot. The axe split his helm. Confusion erupted, shouts, curses, a moment’s chaos. We fled toward the cliffs, dragging the wounded. Judicael collapsed in my arms. His last words: “The light, Iudocus… the light must not die…” I wept bitterly at our loss.

Entry: The Morning After

Dawn revealed only ashes. The chapel roof is gone. The scriptorium is a blackened skeleton. The relics, our precious fragments of saints, are lost. The golden chalice and the silver communion plate have been stolen by the raiders. We buried Abbot Judicael beneath the charred stones, and carved a figure on a granite stone to mark the place. We few who remain sang softly over his grave: “Deo Patri sit gloria…”, “To God the Father be glory…”. But we have lost our own dear Father Abbot, and our voices cracked with smoke and grief.

Already the brothers call this place the Burnt Monastery of our Lady. A fitting name, though it wounds me to write it.

Entry: One Week After the Burning

We have begun clearing the ruins. The air still smells of soot. Yet today, beneath a fallen beam, I found a single page of parchment from the Psalter, the edges scorched and black but the words intact: “ Dominus lux mea et salus mea.”, “The Lord is my light and my salvation.”

The Vikings destroyed only wood and stone. The light remains. We can rekindle the flame and rebuild, and pray that one day those Norse men will come to know Christ, and their tongue will no longer be unknown. A church will be built by them, and perhaps as a sign of repentance, they will call it “St Mary of the Burnt Monastery”.

Let these words stand as witness to the fire, the terror, the blood, but also the Spirit who did not abandon us. We will gather again, and for now, as at Pentecost, we learn the message of those words of wisdom and consolation, those of the frightened disciples in the upper room so many years so. Wait and hope.

Caiaphas' Lament

This is a poem about the gospel story, but with a difference, it is taken from the viewpoint of  Caiaphas, the High Priest.

Caiaphas' Lament

I learned of him, a murmur like a breeze
Beginning one day. It seemed his abilities
Grew, and word spread around, crowds came:
The poor, the sick, the possessed, the lame;
All followed him, and there were also near
Followers, twelve disciples, now did appear.
And I did nothing, watching, biding my time,
Until he might perchance commit a crime
Against our Roman overlords. But not to be,
Until at length I had to stretch out, to see
What account he would give. So I contrived
To hand him over for execution, and strived
To wipe him out, to destroy all the rabble
Who followed him, who now did scrabble
To condemn, to call to Pilate for his death
With crucifixion, suffocation, loss of breath;
And I thought that would be the end. But then
I heard against all reason, that some women
Had seen him, then the men too told a tale
Of how he had returned, how he did prevail
Even against death. Yet still he was a man
Limited to one place at a time, in this span
He was bound. But then I came now to hear
That which I dreaded, which caused most fear,
That he was no longer bound, but ascended
Beyond our world. Now it will not be ended,
Because he is everywhere, not in one place,
But in all places, not with but one visible face
But with many faces, as he comes to greet
All who welcome him, them does he meet.
And I have failed, for on the day of Pentecost,
I listened, in fear and rage, learning I had lost,
Heard his Spirit speak to each and every nation,
Bringing life and hope, and joy and salvation.

Memories of Le Riches, Red Houses

It is hard to remember now, but the Le Riches building was demolished and rebuilt as "Checkers", part of the Sandpiper group. They had a Waitrose franchise, and then eventually, the store was wholly taken over by the Waitrose chain.

Le Riches Stores Limited was one of Jersey’s most historic brands, dating back to a grocery shop opened in 1818. Over the generations, it grew to dominate local commerce, establishing supermarkets and department stores across the island, including prominent hubs like the Red Houses Department Store in St. Brelade.

Responding to the UK's massive shift toward out-of-town supermarkets, Le Riches launched its own local superstore format in 1993, called Checkers. The larger, modern Checkers locations at Rue des Pres (St. Saviour) and Red Houses (St. Brelade) replaced older Le Riches structures.

In the 2000s, the parent company merged and evolved, eventually being acquired by SandpiperCI. Sandpiper maintained the Checkers superstores and used them to introduce UK-branded goods to islanders. For a couple of years, Sandpiper actually ran a supply agreement where Waitrose own-label products were sold on Checkers shelves.

This franchise trial paved the way for a permanent change. In 2010–2011, Sandpiper sold its entire large-supermarket division directly to the John Lewis Partnership. The final Checkers super-stores closed their doors for good in early 2011. The properties were completely refitted and opened as the Waitrose branches that islanders use today at Red Houses and Rue des Pres. Curiously there are still at least one Checkers store still open. And the checkered brick design is still present in the Red Houses underground car park.

The Upper Level: This floor was designed as a destination for services and leisure. It hosted the hairdresser, dentist, and a café where locals met for coffee. The toy department on this floor was a major attraction for local children, especially during the holidays.

We used to go there regularly with our young children, especially on rainy days, usually to enjoy coffee and tea cakes, while the kids had soft drinks and rusks, and later tea cakes. There is nothing like a buttered tea cake! Toys were an added occasional bonus if the children were good!

We also took our son Martin (who is autistic) to the hairdresser when they were not quite so busy as back then it was easier than a more noisy and longer waiting time at a barber. The hairdresser (Debbie?) later moved to Industria House ground floor (over the road at Red Houses).

Upstairs for a time was the offices of National Westminster bank, where as I student, I opened my very first bank account and saw the Bank Manager. Nowadays that moniker has long gone out of fashion, replaced by various "Financial Directors"  but in its day, that personal touch counted. The main bank with counters was at Les Quennevais Precinct, until it closed. The legacy of the bank remains in the cash point machine at Waitrose.

The Ground Level: This floor focused on high-traffic retail. It featured a dedicated travel agent, a record department for music lovers, and the original food hall.

I think the travel agent was Troys. The record department had lots of LPs and in my early 20s, I used to spend many a happy half hour browsing seeing what was there - ABBA, Kate Bush, the Carpenters and many more. Those were the days of 33 1/3 rpm long playing records - vinyl, now making a come back, and the record sleeves art work or photographic montages were also often amazing. I also bought some 45rmp singles. All gone now, which is a shame, as vinyl is making a comeback.

I nearly forgot - the Post Office! The postmaster was a rather grumpy fellow who tended to make hours more to suit himself that the customer. I remember dashing over from my work place at 3.50 pm to make it before he closed at 4.00 pm. Sadly he had already shut shop early.

The foodhall was fairly small and always had an odd smell around the cheese counter which suggested some of the French cheese was rather over ripe.

The original food hall occupied only a fraction of the ground floor. When the building was demolished, the new Checkers structure consolidated all those scattered specialty departments into a single, massive, open-plan supermarket floor.

I remember being volunteered for a Lions Club trolly dash - going round with a number of pensioners, and grabbing as much stuff as they wanted off the shelves. It was rather fun. My work (a firm of accountants) was on the top floor of Centre Point across the road (where M&S is now, but had before we moved in a light fittings sales area above the House of Jerome on the ground floor).

Back in the day, they also had their own brand carrier bags! I took some to University.