1986 - 40 years ago - February - Part 2

1986 - 40 years ago - February - Part 2

February 17-23

THE Swimarathon sets yet another record. Over 2,000 participants raise £53,875 for charity, most of the money being earmarked for intensive-care equipment for the General Hospital.

A young St Brelade couple celebrate the early arrival of a daughter. Rebecca Claire Fisher is safely delivered by her father, Mr Mark Fisher, before the ambulance arrives to take his wife, Mrs Caroline Fisher, to the Maternity Hospital.

Welfare critic Mr Alexander Robertson is ejected from the Town Hall when he tries to prevent the unopposed re-election of the Constable of St Helier, Mr Fred Clarke.

Senator John Le Marquand, the longest-serving Member of the States, is discharged from hospital after receiving six weeks of treatment for a rare virus disease.

The States approve in principle the law which actually authorises the building of a reservoir in Queen's Valley, but the small print of the legislation leads to yet more delays.

The Parish of St John seeks a third Centenier because of the pressure of work. Centenier Philip Rondel says that he is almost certain to quit when his present term of office ends if something is not done about the workload.

A seaman who dies on board a Libyan freighter sheltering in St Ouen's Bay is brought ashore by the St Helier lifeboat

An inquest into the death of Mr Joao Sapeta, the 32-year-old Portuguese waiter who was found on St Ouen's beach in January, reveals that he died of a fractured skull.

An increase in the allowances payable to Members of the States is approved by the Legislation Committee.

February 24 - March 2

AN 18-year-old youth, Darren Le Cocq, escapes from the Young Offenders' Centre at La Moye Prison, but is at large for only four hours before he is recaptured in St Lawrence.

Three inches of snow falls and disrupts flying at the Airport. The wintry conditions last only a day, however, before a thaw sets in.

Over 700 premises in town are without electricity for an hour when contractors working on a gas main in Conway Street damage a power cable.

Centenier Denis Langton, whose term of office is shortly to expire, describes the role of the Honorary Police in St Helier as "a never-ending paper chase".

One of the main submarine telephone cables linking the Channel Islands and the UK is severed. It is not known whether a ship's anchor is to blame but a cable ship leaves at once to make repairs.

Former coach dweller Mr Richard Manning is given time to obtain legal aid and the case which may result in his eviction from Westley Lodge, St Saviour, is adjourned.

Mr Billy Walker, the former heavyweight boxer, buys St Ouen's Rectory for more than £1/4 million.

Figures released by the Economic Adviser's office show that milk and fish cost more in Jersey than anywhere in the UK.

Applications are lodged with the Island Development Committee and the Licensing Bench for a new pub in Grenville Street.

Christianity in Action: Lesson 17: Self Sacrifice

Lesson 17: Self Sacrifice
By G.R. Balleine

[Warning: Balleine was writing in the 1920s and 1930s, and his views and language reflect many at that time. However, as a time capsule of the prevailing beliefs, this can be very useful for the historians of that period.]

LESSON FOR PALM SUNDAY.

PASSAGE TO BE READ : St. Luke xxiii. 33-47.
TEXT TO BE LEARNT " Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others " (Phil. ii. 4).
HYMNS : " There is a green hill " and " Ride on! ride on in majesty !" COLLECTS for Palm Sunday and Good Friday ( 1).

Aim : To arouse an enthusiasm for self-sacrifice.

I. PROPERTY SACRIFICED.

(a) We have been speaking about Self-control. But there is something finer, and that is Self-sacrifice. To-day we will adopt a very simple method. By stories of minor acts of Self-sacrifice, we will prepare the children's minds to appreciate the Supreme Sacrifice of Holy Week.

(b) A Japanese farmer lived on the top of a little hill near the sea. The village was at the foot of the hill by the seashore. One day there was an earthquake. They are so common in Japan that no one took much notice of it. The houses rocked, and then all was still again. But the farmer, watching from his doorway, saw that the sea was running back a long way from the land. He was old, and had seen this happen before, and knew what it meant. There was no time to run down the hill to warn the village of its danger. His voice was not nearly strong enough to carry so far. So he seized a torch, and set fire to his own rice stacks. They made a tremendous blaze. All the villagers came running up the hill to see the fire. Then the sea came rushing back in a tremendous wave. It dashed over the village ; it roared over the fields. But the people on the hill-top were saved. The old man had saved them by sacrificing his property.

II. ENJOYMENT SACRIFICED.

(a) We all know the story of Elizabeth's courtier, who, when Philip Sydney, Queen wounded at the Battle of Zutphen asked for some water to drink. When at last a water cup had been brought, he heard a dying trooper groan faintly. " Take it," he said," thy need is greater than mine."

(b) But have you heard of the soldier who gave up his water to a plant ? Early in the eighteenth century a tiny plant in a pot was handed to a French ensign to carry to the West Indies. It was a coffee plant from the East. If it arrived safely and flourished in its new home, it would bring trade and prosperity to all the islands. The sailing-boat which carried him was becalmed in mid-Atlantic. Every day the captain doled out a smaller and smaller ration of water. The ensign grew so thirsty that he longed to drink bucketfuls. But no ; he drank a tiny sip, and then poured the rest daily on his precious plant. He sacrificed himself, and endured thirst, in order to help others.

(c) A little cripple lives in a back street in Hoxton. Her mother is a cripple too, and her father is a drunkard. A lady from the Church visited her, and saw that what she needed was clean country air and clear country sunshine. All arrangements were made for her holiday, and then the child drew back. For long she would give no reason ; but at last she said, "When father gets drunk, he pitches into mother, and then I get in between." She sacrificed her holiday to protect her mother from her father's drunken blows.

III. LIFE SACRIFICED.

(a) During the Plague of London (1665) a box of cloth was sent from London to the Derbyshire village of Eyam (pronounced Eem). The plague broke out in the village. The Rector called the people together, and they pledged them-selves not to leave the village (though they were sorely tempted to fly), so that they should not carry the plague to other places. On Sundays they held their services not in church but in the open air, and the Rector encouraged them to be true to their pledge. Of the 350 people in the village 259 died in twelve months. The villagers sacrificed themselves for the sake of the rest of England.

(b) Plancus was a famous Roman in the days of Julius Cesar. One day he offended the Government, and was condemned to death. The officers came to arrest him, but he hid behind a sliding panel ; so they seized his slaves, and began to torture them to make them reveal his hiding place. The slaves loved him, and would not speak ; but he heard their groans, and slipped back the panel, and stepped out, and gave himself up. He faced death rather than allow his slaves to suffer torture.

(c) In the French fleet there is always a battleship called the D'Assas. It preserves the name of a young officer in the Seven Years' War (1760), who was taken prisoner by the Austrians. They were creeping forward through a wood to make a night attack. " Silence," they whispered, " or you are a dead man." " To arms," he shouted at the top of his voice, " here are the enemy." In a moment he was dead, but the camp was saved.

(d) Five men were trudging through a world of white. They had reached the South Pole, and were journeying home. Taking turns they harnessed themselves to the sledge that carried their tent and food. At night they put up the tent and slept. One day the biggest man of the party fell ill. His comrades put him on the sledge, and pulled him till he died. His weight slowed them down terribly. Winter was fast coming on. Every day the going was more difficult. Hundreds of miles of white wilderness still separated them from their ship. Every sixty-five miles a week's food was stacked ; but to reach it meant travelling over nine miles a day. Then another fell ill. He was attacked by frost-bite in his hands and feet. He slogged along as long as he could, but now they were only doing four miles a day. He knew he was keeping them back. One night he quietly said, " I am going outside." He walked out of the tent into a snowstorm, and never came back. He hoped that without him his three friends might win through to the next stack of food, which was still thirty-one miles away. Can you tell me his name ? In most classes one child will know of Captain Oates.

(e) One story more, the story of the man who died for Prince Charlie. We have learnt in history how Bonnie Prince Charlie, as the Scotch called him, came from France to Scotland to claim the throne for his father ; how his cause at first met with success, then with failure ; then was utterly crushed at the Battle of Culloden. For six months Prince Charlie wandered among the Scottish hills. Then one of his followers made it possible for him to escape. In build and face he was rather like the Prince. He got himself arrested by the soldiers. They carried him to London. For a fortnight the search ceased. The real Prince was able to slip out of the country, but his substitute was executed.

IV. THE SUPREME SACRIFICE.

(a) We have seen people sacrificing their property, their ease, even their lives for others. But this week commemorates the Greatest Sacrifice of all. We call it Holy Week, because it reminds us that Some One sacrificed His life for us.

(b) Think of what the journey up to Jerusalem meant. For three years Jesus had been hated by the Rulers. They were envious, because His teaching was so much nobler than theirs. They were ashamed, because His life made theirs look mean. He had hardly begun to teach, when " the Pharisees took counsel with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him " (St. Mark iii. 6).

(c) This did not matter so much, while the people were on Jesus' side. While He was popular, the rulers dared not touch Him. But there came a time when the people forsook Him. They were disappointed because He would not start a revolution. They found much of His teaching hard to understand. " Many of His disciples went back and walked no more with Him " (St. John vi. 66). Then Jesus realized that, if He went near Jerusalem, He would be put to death. " The Son of Man shall be delivered unto the chief priests, and they shall condemn Him to death, and shall deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify."

(d) Three courses were now possible. He might drop His public ministry, and return to the carpenter's shop, and live in quiet obscurity.

(e) Or He might turn to the Gentiles. A Gentile ministry would have been delightful and easy. " If the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes " (St. Matt. xi. 21). But the Jews were the prepared people who alone knew enough to make good missionaries.

(f) The only other alternative was to come to Jerusalem in spite of His enemies. It meant death. But either of the other courses meant the failure of His work. He chose to die rather than allow His work to fail.

Ride on! ride on in majesty!
In lowly pomp ride on to die.

(g) The artist Stenburg had an order for a picture for a Church. He hired a gipsy girl to be a model of the Virgin standing by the Cross. She knew nothing of the Bible, and he had to explain what the picture represented. She listened, and then said, " You must love Him very much, when He has done all that for you." The words haunted him, until he became a real Christian.

Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were an offering far too small ;
Love so amazing, so Divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.

Mark Boleat on Election Challenges

I've been reading Mark Boleat's opinion piece in the JEP and this is a summary of part of what he says, with my comments.

The cost of living is expected to be a major issue in Jersey’s 2026 election. Surveys by the Policy Centre Jersey and Vote.je show that residents consistently rank it among their top concerns. However, Sir Mark argues that the real issue is not prices themselves but living standards - people’s ability to meet costs with their income. While costs have risen, real incomes in Jersey and the UK have barely grown for over 20 years, which is why households feel under pressure.

“The issue is not so much cost of living but rather living standards…”

This is a very succinct analysis but cost of living is important because higher inflation erodes the income of those on pensions, and eats away at their savings. In 2022, during the UK’s cost‑of‑living crisis, Major argued that without strong government support, the poorest households would be left “penniless” and could lose trust in the state. Pensioners, many of whom rely on fixed incomes, fall squarely within the group he was concerned about.

Major has also long emphasised that inflation erodes the real value of income and savings. As far back as his time as Chancellor in 1990, he described inflation as a direct threat to economic stability and to people’s ability to maintain their standard of living. For pensioners, this effect is particularly sharp: when prices rise faster than pensions, their purchasing power falls, and essentials such as heating, food, and rent become harder to afford. As a pensioner, I think this is important.

Jersey’s inflation closely follows the UK’s because the Island is tied to the British economy and monetary system. Jersey does not control its own interest rates, and its inflation rate has moved almost in parallel with the UK’s over recent years. Inflation rose sharply in 2022 but has since fallen, with forecasts suggesting a modest rise again in 2025–26.

“Statistics Jersey’s quarterly reports… show that they are closely correlated.”

Sir Mark stresses that government has limited ability to reduce the cost of living directly. Cutting GST or duties on alcohol, tobacco, and fuel would reduce prices temporarily but would create a £200 million gap in public finances, requiring tax rises elsewhere. Removing GST from food has been repeatedly rejected because it complicates the tax system and is less effective than targeted support. Jersey already provides direct help through the Community Cost Bonus.

“If these taxes were abolished… the £200 million hole… would need to be financed by tax increases.”

While Sir Mark emphasises that government has limited tools to reduce the cost of living directly, there are other avenues worth exploring beyond tax changes. One possibility is reducing the cost of imported goods through measures such as bulk‑freight coordination, shared logistics hubs, or streamlined port handling, all of which could lower the overheads that make Jersey’s food prices higher than the UK’s.

I do agree that removing GST from food would create a large gap needing a significant rise in GST. If GST were removed from food, the government would lose a substantial portion of the £132 million that GST currently raises, because food is one of the largest areas of household spending. 

To fill that gap, the overall GST rate would need to rise sharply—likely from 5% to somewhere in the region of 7–8% depending on how broad the exemption was and how consumer behaviour shifted. In other words, the tax would have to increase for everything else in order to compensate for removing it from food. 

 If government tried to compensate for the lost revenue by expanding household support, it would still need to raise substantial funds through higher GST on all other goods and services, meaning most households would end up paying more overall.

Housing is the biggest contributor to household costs, but its impact varies widely. Those with paid‑off mortgages or income‑support‑covered rents pay little, while private renters and recent buyers face the highest burdens. Mortgage rates in Jersey are about 1% higher than in the UK, meaning homeowners pay around 25% more in interest. Sir Mark suggests the government should investigate why this is the case and consider options - including the radical idea of government‑backed lending - to reduce the premium.

“Jersey home buyers are paying 25% more in mortgage interest…”

For renters, Sir Mark argues that rent controls are ineffective and risk reducing supply. Instead, Jersey should focus on increasing housing availability by reforming planning processes and allowing more flexible development - such as small units without parking - to meet the needs of younger residents.

“The solution is not rent controls… the concentration should be on increasing supply.”

Sir Mark is right that rent controls often backfire by reducing supply, but that doesn’t mean other interventions are irrelevant. Requiring a percentage of new developments to be affordable can help, though only if the targets are realistic enough not to stall projects; otherwise, supply shrinks and prices rise further. 

I am also concerned about a two‑tier island: encouraging small, parking‑free units risks creating a divide between those who can afford cars and those who cannot. 

 As for rent controls, there are places where they have helped in limited, carefully designed forms, such as stabilisation policies in Germany or parts of the US that cap the rate of increase rather than the rent itself, but even these work best in markets with strong, steady supply. The lesson from elsewhere is that rent controls can protect existing tenants in the short term, but they are never a substitute for building more homes, ensuring fair access to them, and designing policies that avoid deepening social divides.

A Vegan Future? A Polemic
Guest posting by Gregor Wellow

It is one of the curiosities of modern life that the people who speak most loudly about “liberating” animals are usually the ones who have never had to depend on one. The vegan, like so many well‑meaning reformers, begins with a sentimental picture of the cow as a sort of pastoral invalid,  a creature whose chief desire is to be left alone in a meadow, preferably organic, and whose only misfortune is the existence of farmers. This is a view that could only be held by someone who has never mucked out a cowshed.

The truth is that the vegan’s cow is as imaginary as the socialist’s proletariat or the fascist’s nation: a convenient fiction. Real cows are the product of ten thousand years of human labour. They are not wild animals waiting to be “returned” to nature; they are domestic creatures whose very survival depends on the people who feed them, shelter them, and, yes, milk them. To speak of “animal liberation” in this context is like speaking of “liberating” a bicycle from its owner. The bicycle, if left to its own devices, will simply rust.

Veganism thrives in societies where the business of living has been hidden behind supermarket glass. It is a philosophy of abundance, not scarcity. Only a well‑fed person can afford to moralise about the ethics of butter. The labourer who has risen at five in the morning to milk a cow does not have the luxury of debating whether milk is “exploitative.” He knows only that the cow must be milked, the children must be fed, and the rent must be paid. The vegan’s moral universe begins where his labour ends.

There is also something faintly authoritarian in the vegan’s insistence that his diet is not merely a preference but a moral imperative. Every moral crusade begins with personal virtue and ends with public enforcement. Today it is “I choose not to eat meat.” Tomorrow it is “You must not eat meat.” The logic is as predictable as a government circular. Once you have declared a thing immoral, you cannot rest until it is illegal.

And yet the vegan imagines himself a rebel. He believes he is striking a blow against cruelty, when in fact he is participating in the oldest bourgeois pastime: the pursuit of purity. It is the same impulse that once led people to abstain from alcohol, or dancing, or laughter. The vegan does not eat meat for the same reason the Victorian did not show his ankles - not because it does any good, but because it makes him feel clean.

The real obscenity is not that people drink milk, but that millions of people have been taught to feel guilty for doing so. The cow does not care whether her milk is consumed by a calf or a child. She cares only that she is fed, watered, and treated with the ordinary decency that any working creature deserves. The vegan, in his zeal to save her, forgets that she is not a symbol but an animal, and that animals, unlike ideologues, do not thrive on theory.

In the end, veganism is not a revolt against cruelty but a revolt against reality. It is the refusal to accept that life feeds on life, that comfort is purchased by labour, and that the world is too complex to be purified by diet. It is a philosophy for people who believe that the world can be made kinder by rearranging the contents of their plates.

If the vegans ever succeed in abolishing the dairy cow, they will discover too late that they have not liberated her. They have merely abolished her.

Let a Smile Be Your Umbrella

“Let a Smile Be Your Umbrella” is a cheerful 1927 song that encourages optimism in the face of gloom, using the metaphor of a smile as protection against life’s rainy days. 

Composed by Sammy Fain with lyrics by Irving Kahal and Francis Wheeler, it was first published in 1927 and quickly became a popular standard. 

Its uplifting message and jazzy tone have inspired numerous recordings over the decades, including notable versions by Roger Wolfe Kahn (1928), The Andrews Sisters (1949), Bing Crosby (1957), and Perry Como (1959).

Once I met a happy little bluebird
I was just as blue as I could be
In a little while I began to smile
When he sang this merry song to me

Just let a smile be your umbrella
On a rainy, rainy day
And if your sweetie cries just tell her
That a smile will always pay

Whenever skies are gray don't worry or fret
A smile will bring us sunshine and you'll never get wet
So let a smile be your umbrella
On a rainy, rainy day

Let a smile be your umbrella
On a rainy, rainy day
And if your sweetie cries just tell her
That a smile will always pay

Whenever skies are gray don't worry or fret
A smile will bring us sunshine and you'll never get wet
So let a smile be your umbrella
Be your big umbrella on a rainy, rainy day

The Sunday Archive: The Pilot, August 1997 - Part 8

The Sunday Archive: The Pilot, August 1997 - Part 8

St John
From
ANDY THEWLIS Priest-in-Charge

THE twelfth chapter of Paul's first letter to the Corinthians contains some wonderful imagery and some sound teaching. Interestingly, it was the chapter from which the lay Chairman of Synod read, during the opening act of worship at last month's Deanery Synod meeting and consequently it is a chapter I have been pondering as I continue to contemplate the Pastoral Committee's recommendations for reducing the number of clergymen in the Island by two.

The chairman of the Pastoral Committee exhibited a degree of courage and great wisdom in amending the proposal that was before Synod, requesting that members receive the report, but that discussion and voting be postponed until later in the year (18th November) to facilitate further reflection on the part of his Committee and to enable full consultations within the Parishes that the recommendations will affect.

The recommendation received by Synod states that "the living of St Mary be suspended from presentation when the incumbency falls vacant, and at that time, the clergyman in post at St John would become Rector of St John and Rector of St Mary."

Although, the heat has been taken out of the fire that burned when these recommendations were first made, the report has been received and decisions will be made in November. Therefore, it is essential that we do not waste the time before us and perhaps begin by pondering 1 Corinthians 12.

In the opening verses, Paul reminds us that there are different kinds of gifts, "given to individuals for the common good" (v7). Surely this is an important factor in our current plans for pastoral reorganisation, for not only do we have church buildings, congregations and parishes of various sizes, but we also have a gifted workforce of clergymen and women. We have a responsibility and duty to encourage and develop all God-given gifts and never to stifle the move of his Spirit. In planning for the future, let us ensure that we do not end up with round pegs in square holes.

In the latter part of the chapter, Paul draws an analogy between the Church, the body of Christ, and a human Body, in which "though all its parts are many, they form one body." (v 12) and comments, "those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable." (v22). The historic foundation of the Island of Jersey is its twelve Ancient Parishes, which over many centuries have reflected a unique relationship between Church and Municipality. It is imperative for our Island that a positive way forward is found that respects and builds upon these links and can be embraced by all.

Please continue to pray for members of the Pastoral Committee and all Synod members as we wrestle with this difficult task of managing a reduction in clergy numbers. I would also ask you to be creative and send your own proposals to me indicating your suggestions in respect of a positive way forward.

HOLY BAPTISM. 22nd June, Daniel James Vibert; 29th June, Emily Alice Renouf; 6th July, Hannah Victoria Couriard.

FUNERAL. 28th June, Mary Elaine Dick.

St Paul

From PAUL BROOKS Minister

OUR friends from Toxteth arrive this week. A wonderful opportunity for Christians in one part of the British Isles to see how the other live, and to learn from one another. Our Youth Group will be returning on 2nd August, having worked for a week in Toxteth, and 30 members of their congregation (The Toxteth Tabernacle Baptist Church) will arrive here for a week's holiday with members of St Paul's.

The two communities are very different and the insights into how we follow Jesus in these different places will be something very helpful. There is a special evening on Wednesday

6th August at 7.30 pm in St Paul's Centre, to which all are welcome, both from St Paul's and elsewhere, to discover what life in the inner city is like.

Last month you may remember we had a team over from England wanting to share the Gospel on the streets of St Helier during the very successful Island Games. Hugo and Sharon Anson and the Mouth Peace team spoke to literally hundreds of people during the week and many discovered Jesus in that time. Conversations were had with people from Sweden, Aarland, Greenland, as well as various parts of the UK and other Channel Islands. The team made contributions to the worship of St Paul's, St Ouen's, the Elim Pentecostal Church and Oasis at Le Squez. 

Further, the two events on the Tuesday Lunchtime and Wednesday evening were very well attended and many people professed a commitment or recommitment to Jesus. One person who comes to mind is a young lady training for youth work in the Church in Scandinavia. This is her second year here with students and during the Wednesday evening she met with God in a very real and profound way — it was glorious.

Youth Keswick was also a highlight for many of our young people and a big hank you to the team for providing such a great opportunity for our youngsters with God.

Highlights are all very well, but God's desire is that we should walk with him in good times and bad, and in the midst of all that is happening it is good to remember that God doesn't change. We don't know what may be around the next corner, but we do know that there is a living, loving God who walks with us around the corner.

Excitement in events is all very well, but God wants us to be excited in Him, and our delight to be in Him. "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." (Psalm 37: 4).

From Martin Inman
Hospital Chaplain

IN common with many young people at the present time my son and daughter are awaiting their GCSE and A-level results. It can be a very trying time. So much hangs on how well they do.

For many the next few weeks will be a time of triumph as they see a bright future opening up for them and the world looking very much like their oyster. For others there will be disappointment as they have to revise their expectations, possibly quite radically.

Many of those who suffer disappointment will, for a time at least, be quite unable to see a way ahead. They have set hearts on a particular goal, they may have done their very best to achieve it, and they have been thwarted.

It is my sincere hope and prayer that those who find themselves in this situation will come to understand that this is not the end of every-thing. Admittedly this is not an easy realisation to make in a culture such as ours which, on the whole, looks upon failure with contempt. However, it is worth noting that, in a sense, our Christian faith is based on an event which, viewed in purely worldly terms, was a catastrophic failure.

A young man endowed with the greatest gifts of eloquence and spiritual insight who seemed to have so much promise and so much to offer ended his days executed like a common criminal with his followers scattered. However, from this abject failure there came the greatest outpouring of life, love and power that the world has ever known.

This, I believe, teaches us that in God's world no failure need ever be a total catastrophe. In Jesus he brought life out of death, glorious success out of crushing failure. If we have faith in him and, of course, do our best there will always be a way forward.

Wetlands

Since the start of 2026, England has been drenched by relentless rain. January brought 50% more rainfall than average to the southwest and South Wales, with some areas seeing rain every single day. The Met Office described it as a “stormy January,” marked by persistent downpours and saturated ground.

February has offered no reprieve. The first week continued the pattern, with yellow weather warnings issued across the West Midlands, southern England, and Wales. Forecasters warn of ongoing instability, with no clear end in sight.

The impact is stark: rivers have burst their banks, fields are waterlogged, and crops are rotting. While some regions—like Sussex and East Anglia—have seen drought recovery, the broader picture is one of flooding and disruption. This excess rainfall is not just a seasonal anomaly; it’s a sign of shifting climate patterns.

Wetlands

Dry land and sun is shining
Just a cloud in the distance
Now jet stream misaligning
Change brings new existence

Dark skies, the cloud overcast
And so the rain begins to fall
Winds come, strong and fast
We are in this weather thrall

Ground sodden, and crops rot
Rivers break banks, flood land
Climate change is now our lot
The god Auster’s mighty hand

Now is the time of Noah’s bane
And strident turning weather vane