The Sunday Archive: The Pilot, August 1997 - Part 7

The Sunday Archive: The Pilot, August 1997 - Part 7

Parish Letters

St Clement
JOHN OULESS
Ministre Desservant

My dear Friends,

News at last! By the time you read this, it will have been announced that the Rev David Shaw has accepted the offer of this living, and that he has been appointed to this benefice. He spent eight years in business before ordination, and comes to us from the parish of Wotton-under-Edge with Ozleworth and North Nibley in the Diocese of Gloucester. He hopes to move over here with his wife, who is a solicitor, and their two young children in September and to begin work among us in October - but more of that later, when we have a definite date for his induction.

Several members of our church joined the merry band of early risers from our Island to catch an early chartered flight to Southampton on 21st June for the Deanery Day at Winchester Cathedral, where a long, exhausting but very enjoyable day was experienced, and where they were also joined by Malcolm and Mary Beal, our former Rector and his wife, who had come up from Devon for the occasion, to share the fellowship and the Cathedral worship.

As I shall be away for the first two Sundays of August, the 8 and 9 am services will be taken by the Rev Michael St John Nicolle; on 3rd August the 10 and 11 am services will be taken by the Rev Michael Halliwell and the 6.30 pm service by Mrs Sue Halliwell, while the following week (10th) Canon Lawrence Hibbs will officiate at 11 am and Mr Brian Clarke at 6.30 pm.

Two urgent pleas for your assistance: please contact our Churchwarden Mrs Jean Chapman if you can help with the voluntary work of keeping our Parish Church bright, sweet and clean; and contact Mrs Pat Br& if you can offer to do the altar flowers on various dates.

HOLY BAPTISM. 15th June, Luke Anthony Vetier, Alisha Louise Vetier; 29th June, Liam Andree Gicquel; 6th July, Leah Marie Barrot.

HOLY MATRIMONY. 28th June (at St Lawrence), Martin Peter Emmanuel and Brenda Doreen Rondel.

FUNERALS AND BURIAL OF ASHES. 18th June, Percy John Gosling; 19th June, Eline Gertrude Burman; 23rd June, Jeane Brown Willicombe; 1st July, Leslie Nickels; 3rd July, Edgar Le Vesconte; 10th July, Gwendoline Helena Frampton; 11th July, John Bertram.

All Saints and St Simons

From
GEOFF HOUGHTON Priest-in-Charge

THE month of August traditionally sees many visitors at All Saints, who we look forward to welcoming. In reality, the influx is often matched by the exodus of our own families getting "off the rock" during school holidays, so on the surface it would seem to be a quieter period. But behind the scenes (and in front of church) there will be much activity.

The Late Miss Bessie Pilkington, remembered by many with great affection at All Saints, very generously left a bequest to the church, for which we are very grateful. The amount goes a long way toward meeting the cost of providing a wheelchair and pushchair ramp at the front of the church, which many will recall was part of the redevelopment begun with the 'Link' building. The ramped access will provide a fitting and lasting memorial to Bessie who would surely rejoice at the number of young children currently being wheeled into church! If anyone would like to make a contribution towards this specific project please contact the Vicar in confidence. It is very much hoped that this work will be completed by the end of August.

The Vestry is also long overdue for a fresh coat of paint and general re-organising of a very busy space. Your Church Officers are also keen to take this opportunity to set it up as a proper church office and equip it appropriately with a computer. This will hopefully allow those who are working at home on a variety of machines to work centrally, more efficiently and in the same format. Volunteers with paint brushes would be welcome!

In a growing and increasingly active church, where many of the "new faces" over recent years are very busy people, there is an increasingly evident need for some part-time secretarial and administrative work at the church. Already many people do an enormous amount of much appreciated work for the church in this area, but we need to be sensitive in discerning what is offered with goodwill and what becomes taking advantage of people. On the one hand there would be a cost, but the benefit of taking on such help would lie primarily in the freeing up of your priest to do what he has been trained to do — be priest, rather than administrator. Your Church Officers are currently exploring the costing and practicalities, and would very much welcome your opinions and ideas, please.

Church Photograph. In September 1937, the then Vicar of All Saints and his Church Officers gathered in front of the newly-built church hall for a photograph. Sixty years on, it seems very appropriate to have a fresh photo-graph taken in front of the refurbished church hall, this time to include all the fellowship, young and old. So please make a date in your diary to be with us for a shortened service and fun photograph on the morning on Sunday 7th September.

Gouray Church
From
BILL MATTHEWS
Honorary Curate

PLEASE look out for the visit to Jersey of the Apollo Male Voice Choir in the week beginning 5th October. They are one of the finest choirs in the UK and will be singing in Gouray Church at the 10.15 Morning Service on 5th October. There is also a Concert together with the wonderful Harmony Men at 8 pm that same evening in the Great Hall at Victoria College. Other concerts and events have been organised during the following week.

Keep an eye open for the events of One World Week (19th-25th October). Please join in the spirit and fun of this special week. There is more about the 'Week' in the first part of this edition.

RECENT ENTRIES FROM GOURAY

REGISTERS

HOLY BAPTISM. We welcome into the family of God Lucy Hope Lacey Banks (29th March); Jenessa Star Vickers (24th May); Lucy Maria Jouault (1st June); Thomas Edward Wagstaffe (27th July).

HOLY MATRIMONY. Congratulations to Christopher and Karen Clark (14th June) and Paul de la Haye and Natasha Gilmour (21st June).

FUNERALS. We offer our love and condolences to the family of Thora Phyllis Uniacke and especially to Joe, her husband, to whom she was happily married for 65 years.

The Cailleach at Imbolc

Rather like the legend of St Swithun's Day, there is an old Pagan story about the 1st of February, traditionally called "Imbolc", and here it is presented in a poem.

The Cailleach at Imbolc

I saw her, an old woman in a black shawl:
And there was swift silence, no bird call,
But all was still, a moment within time,
In which I watched her slowly climb,
The hill, shrouded in leafless trees;
After a mighty storm, the branches fell,
And even whole trees, so they do tell;
And she wonders, gathering firewood,
This old women, dark dress and hood;
And I remember the tales long told
Of Imbolc, kept in winter’s iron hold;
Of the Cailleach, and her gathering:
For it is now, at the very dawn of spring,
If she makes weather bright and good,
She will gather plenty of the firewood;
And the winter will last cold and long:
So I was told by druids in bardic song;
But if Imbolc weather is very foul,
She will be asleep, and never prowl:
That means winter is nearly done,
And we can welcome lambs and sun

The Victorian December 1983: Activities Section

The Victorian December 1983: Activities Section

ACTIVITIES SECTION

THIRD YEAR INTRODUCTORY COURSE

DESPITE intense pressure from the Follies, attempts at sabotage by the Skins and the Woodpeckers, and even a late dash by the Mobeymen who carried off the honours on our last field day, Fortun's Multiracial Morons managed to hang on to their position at the top of the table and finally proved to be decisive winners of the cup.

The year began with an interesting lecture by Mr. Derek Hart of the Le Geyt Centre explaining the aims of the Centre and describing the work done by the trainees. Subsequently each group visited the Centre on five separate occasions during the year, accompanied by Mr. du Feu, and took a very active part in their Friday afternoon activities. Our weekly football matches have become a sporting highlight at the Centre and since our visits began almost seven years ago the Centre has started taking touring sides to Guernsey for annual championship matches. The team are eagerly awaiting fresh opposition from our new groups in the coming year.

This year saw the end of Mr. O'Donovan's reign as the master in charge of visits. Over the years he established and maintained a wide and varied programme of trips to local firms and places of interest. Mr. Hamel takes over from him in September and will no doubt seek to maintain our contents and expand their scope still further.

After the success of her course last year, Miss Sheila Squibb, the Health Education Officer, returned to College with an extended series of talks. This time each group followed a two-week course in basic first aid which included a tape-slide presentation on safety in the home. This was later supplemented by a joint session in the Science Lecture Theatre with the States Ambulance Service. After a very informative lecture on resuscitation, all 50 boys were given the opportunity to put into practice what they had learnt with the life-size mannequins which had arrived in the States ambulance.

The following term Sheila presented two well documented films graphically illustrating the dangers of smoking. After some disturbing scenes the boys were treated to a lengthy discussion on the harmful effects of tobacco. This was complimented in the summer term by a visit from the Police Duty Squad whose film and illustrated lecture gave an even more disturbing picture of drug abuse. We are again grateful that the Chief Inspector of the C.I.D. was able to send his man to us for an afternoon.

This year saw the introduction of a new activity. Miss Jan Wheeler, Yoga instructress at Highlands College and the Jersey Arts Centre, gave a number of talks and practical lessons in the art of Yoga. Anyone passing the de Carteret Building on a Friday afternoon would have been delighted to see some of the 'louder' elements in Year 3 grimly endeavouring to untangle their knotted limbs as they silently writhed across the floor.

Mr. Shaw again welcomed us into Eden and each group benefited from a three-week course in computing. Field days were enjoyed by one and all and the overnight camp as always provided staff and boys with an excellent excuse for a weekend in bed. My thanks to all who helped, especially Messrs. du Feu, Simpson and Gilson. Thanks also to Edward Devenport for conducting the groups in their lunatic antics across the fives courts and for running 'observation and memory', a truly audio¬visual delight. And finally to Messrs. Fortun, Fauvel, Skinner, Woolley and Postlethwaite, the group leaders, who grinned and groaned their way through some horribly dangerous activities! It warms the wrinkles of my heart to see a new batch of smiling, eager sixth formers each year ready and willing to take up the challenge.

G.D.B.

Computing

THE computing activity is now run by Mr. Simpson; I have transferred to the Naval section of the C.C.F. I am sure new blood is a good thing!

Boys new to the activity have spent time recently getting to grips with the Video Genie and its graphics capabilities whilst old hands have continued advancing to better things.

It is hoped we will follow up recent Science Fair successes and that we will get some enthusiastic entries to this year's Fair.

The Hubbard report has now been approved and we can look forward in hope to more central support and finance.

P. B.

COMPUTING CLUB

THE club started well this year with many Year 2 lads coming to join in spite of (or because of) their introductory computing course last year.

The BBC machine continues to be a great success and we all look forward to a proper monitor and disk unit for it.

Despite providing three sessions a week after school and lunch-time use, overcrowding remains a problem: we try to ensure all pupils have a fair time on a computer during a club session so numbers do have to be restricted.

Mr. Le Quesne has also started a "Computing for Electronics" club, especially to get programs written for peripheral devices — this is both important and exciting.

P.B.

Cine/Video Group

THE group wishes to record its thanks to Mr. R. A. N. Biggar who has always supported its activities with the loan of equipment and has now made a donation to help with the cost of nine film processing. The group is also indebted to Mr. A. L. Le Masurier for the loan of his portable video recorder on Field Day. This enabled all members of the team to try their hand at 'cameraman', under careful supervision with such valuable apparatus. The results, viewed later, showed some of the C.C.F.'s activities, including 'abseiling' at St. Catherine.

Modelling

SADLY the group has contracted considerably this year and we are almost devoid of experienced modellers. Nevertheless, we are hoping to resurrect the model railway board from its state of confusion arising from numerous changes of plan; two radio-controlled boats are nearing completion and we are indebted to Mr. Rothwell for the first completed model this year — a beautifully finished sailing yacht. Control-line flying is still in the picture with a scale model Fokke-Wulf 190 under construction.

Sadly the technology revolution has brought sophisticated radio-controlled 'toys' within the scope of most young people and the satisfaction of a long-term modelling project is becoming less attractive.

AB.L.

Electronics

THE summer term is traditionally a quiter one, with the outdoors providing a greater attraction. The majority of projects in progress were completed and a number of devices for attachment to the BBC microcomputer were constructed and tested. We shall be sorry to lose Andrew Binnington, Ian Wilson and David Speight, all members of the activity since it started, but look forward to the new generation of enthusiasts in the autumn.

E.G.LeQ.

Sailing

AS the sailing season comes to a close we now have time to reflect on a reasonably successful year.

The navigation activity have undertaken a number of cruises throughout the summer term. The longest was a week's cruise around the Brittany coast on board the Nantucket Trader. On the theoretical side a 100 per cent pass was achieved by those who took the R.Y.A. Dayboat Skipper theory examination.

Now that dinghy sailing has moved to St. Helier we are able to go out in most weather. Unfortunately the problem of damaged boats has also come to a head, so a new system of two people being responsible for a boat for the year has been introduced.

Once again we achieved a fine victory over Elizabeth College to win the Brennan Transom for the eighth year running. The race was held in Wayfarers in St. Aubin's Bay in light winds, with Elizabeth College determined to win. This led to some very close racing which showed that next year we will have to be on our guard.

G.M.J.H.

Bookshop

SUPPORT for the bookshop continues to grow, perhaps in response to the widening range of stock. The junior school, as always, is most enthusiastic, but there is a pleasing increase in the number of browses from the upper school. Best sellers at the moment are undoubtedly the 'Fighting Fantasy' books, latest editions of which sell out within a day of appearing on the shelves. Over 100 boys have accounts, and anyone else who would like one should see Mr. Thorp. The bookshop is open Monday, Tuesday and Thursday lunchtimes near the sixth year changing rooms.

Chess

JONATHAN DAVIS prefers playing himself, Martin Grimshaw distracts attention with his chess computer and young Buesnel never wins. Ten chess players, of varying abilities, snarl at each other over chequered boards every Friday afternoon and some lunchtimes. Despite the wide range of standards some good games are had by all.

Physical Education and Recreation

A WIDE range of activities were covered by the group of about 25, culminating in a new experience for many in the performance of an interpretation of "I Don't Like Mondays" by the Boomtown Rats in the form of educational movement.

This course is run for fourth year boys and above and includes many different aspects of physical education including fitness and health, competitions and serious lectures, all of which combine to make a very entertaining Friday afternoon activity.

Good performances throughout the year were maintained by D. Omissi and M. Gallichan (Year 7), G. Manger and K. Henley (Year 5). However, it is unfortunate that many of the older better boys are taken out of the activity before the end of the course in order to help with other activities.

Photography

THIS will be my last report for 'Photography' in The Victorian, but no doubt Chesham Grammar School's equivalent will soon be ringing with pleas for colour printing facilities! The last six years have put the College well and truly in a forefront position in this activity. Standards have fluctuated with pupils' abilities, but always excellence has had its place.

Recently we have seen the charming unflux of a dozen ladies from our sister college to our activity group. We have, therefore, had to expand our facilities. With five black-and-white enlargers, and our colour processing, we are stretching our darkrooms to the limits. It would be of tremendous help if another darkroom could be established. This would be my hope for the future. A couple of interested staff will be taking over from me —and believe me it certainly is a two man job! I wish them, the club, and activity group every success and look forward to reading of your winning entries in the national Press.

A.J.V.

Christianity in Action: Lesson 15: Control of the Tongue

Lesson 15: Control of the Tongue
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 THE FOURTH SUNDAY IN LENT.

PASSAGE TO BE READ : 1 Peter ii. 19-25.
TEXT TO BE LEARNT : " If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue . .. this man's religion is vain ' (St. Jas. i. 26).
HYMNS : " Oh, for a thousand," and " Angel voices ever singing." COLLECTS for Third Sunday after Easter and St. John Baptist.

Aim : To show the power of the tongue and the danger of its misuse.

I. AN UNBRIDLED TONGUE.

(a) The Japanese have a little carving. It represents three apes. One has its hand on its eyes ; one on its ear ; one on its mouth. The first means, " I control my eyes and am careful what I look at." The second means, " I control my ears and am careful what I listen to." The third means, " I control my lips and am careful what I say." It is the third ape's message that we are to think of to-day.

(b) What is the most dangerous thing in the world ? Rattlesnakes ? Lyddite ? Cholera ? No, they only come second, third or fourth. The most dangerous thing is a tongue. Slandering tongues, mischief-making tongues, tempting tongues destroy more lives than any high explosive. Snakes and infectious diseases only destroy the body. Tongues have power to destroy souls as well.

(c) Imagine a crowded theatre. Some idiot shouts Fire. What follows ? Panic. Stampede. Men's clothes torn from their backs. Women trampled underfoot. Hundreds of well-dressed folk fighting desperately at the doors. What caused this ? A single click of a fool's tongue. There is no limit to the mischief that a tongue can do.

(d) A scolding tongue makes everyone in its neighbour-hood miserable. In old England every parish kept a scold's bridle, two iron hoops padlocked round the neck and head, holding in position a flat plate, which pressed down the tongue. Villagers who perpetually scolded their neighbours were condemned to wear this for so many days. If they could not bridle their own tongues, their tongues were bridled by the parish.

(e) A blasphemous tongue brings sacred things into contempt. Nearly every Roman Catholic Church has a branch of the Confraternity of the Holy Name, a Society founded in 1274 to secure greater reverence for the Name of God. Its millions of members are pledged not only to speak reverently, but to do all in their power to restrain others from taking God's Name in vain. It would be well if every Church had something of the same kind.

(f) A tattling tongue can do endless mischief. " Thou shalt not go up and down as a tale-bearer among thy people " (Lev. xix. 16). An Indian Prince had a daughter. " I must find for her," he said, " an intelligent husband." So he had two statues set at the door of his palace. They were exactly alike in size and face and dress ; and he proclaimed that no one should marry his daughter unless he could discover the difference between the statues. Scores of young nobles examined them, measured them, weighed them, but they seemed as alike as two peas. At last came a youth who inspected them for a long time ; suddenly he looked closely at their ears and lips ; he pushed a straw into the ear of one, and it fell out of its mouth ; he pushed the straw into the ear of the other, and it remained inside the head. " Tell the Prince," he said, " that I have discovered his secret. One is the statue of a wise man and one is the statue of a fool. A fool pours out of his mouth everything that comes in at his ears. A wise man keeps what he hears inside his own head." A little girl announced one day, " I am a child of God." When asked how she knew that, she replied, "'Cos I'm a peacemaker. I heard something about a girl at school, and never told anyone." We can often show that we are children of God by keeping our mouths shut. " My duty is to keep my tongue from evil-speaking."

(g) A merely chattering tongue can make itself a terrible nuisance. Sir Walter Raleigh got so annoyed by a man who would not stop talking that he flung him on the floor, and sealed his moustache to his beard with sealing-wax. Does no one ever say to you, " Oh, do be quiet." " Do hold your tongue for five minutes " ? There is only one proverb that has found its way into every European language, and that is, " Speech is silver, silence is golden." Our Lord gave a solemn warning, " I say unto you that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgement." A Persian proverb says, " Great trees burn silently ; it is only thorns that crackle." Miss Soulsby, the famous writer for girls, says in one of her books. " I have known a Lenten resolution against chatter do wonders in deepening the character."

II. GOLDEN SILENCE.

(a) Think now of some fine types of silence. There is heroic silence. We know the picture entitled, " When did you last see your father ? " The Roundheads have raided the manor house in which a Cavalier is hiding, and are questioning his little son; but he is closing his lips firmly and refusing to answer for fear of endangering his father's safety. At the entrance of the Acropolis in Athens was the statue of a lioness without a tongue. It was erected in honour of Lemna, a woman who bit out her tongue for fear that torture might make her reveal a secret that had been entrusted to her.

(b) There is a dignified silence. When Saul was made King, " the children of Belial said, How shall this man save us ? But he held his ,peace " (1 Sam. x. 26). When Sennacherib's captain made insulting speeches before the walls of Jerusalem, “the people held their peace and answered him not a word, for the King's command was, Answer him not " (2 Kings xviii. 36). But the best example of this is our Lord Himself. At His trial before Caiaphas " He held His peace and answered nothing " (St. Mark xiv. 61). Herod " questioned Him with many words, but He answered nothing " (St. Luke xxiii. 9). To Pilate at first He spoke freely, but when He saw that Pilate meant to act against his conscience, " Jesus gave him no answer " (St. John xix. 9). On the cross He made no reply to those who taunted Him. " As a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so He opened not His mouth " (Isa. liii. 7). Read Passage.

(c) There is a discreet silence. There are some subjects it is best not to talk about. There are many subjects it is best not to talk about before strangers. In every railway carriage in Germany there used to be a notice : A soldier must not only be able to fight, but also to keep silence for his Fatherland."

(d) Madame Montessori, who has revolutionized the teaching of younger children, puts the Game of Silence in a prominent place in her scheme of education, teaching tiny children to love silence, to move silently, to breathe silently, to rejoice in the silence that they themselves have created.

III. THE USE OF THE TONGUE.

(a) Some religious people have felt the danger of the tongue so keenly that they have taken vows never to speak at all There are Indian Fakirs who have sat in silence for fifty years. Some put earth between their lips and sow mustard seeds in it to show that they never open them. In the Roman Church there are Orders of Silent Monks and Nuns (Carthusians, Carmelites, Trappists). But this is clearly a mistake. If God had meant us to be silent, He would not have given us tongues. It reminds us of the man in the parable who was afraid to use the talent entrusted to him.

(b) There is a cowardly silence. On Good Friday there were plenty of witnesses for the prosecution, but not a single witness for the defence : all the disciples were afraid to speak up for their Master. Are we never like that ? In cases like this control of the tongue means forcing it to speak.

(c) There is an unkind silence. " Comfort ye, comfort ye My people, saith your God." It means a lot to a boy in trouble, if you let him know that you are awfully sorry for him. " God hath given me a tongue," said St. Paul, " that I should speak a word in season to him that is weary."

(d) There is a selfish silence, if we know good news and do not pass it on. The lepers of Samaria found that the enemy had retreated, and left their camp empty. While helping themselves to plunder, their consciences pricked them. " They said one to another, We do not well. This day is a day of good tidings, and we hold our peace '.' (2 Kings vii. 9). Good news should be shared with others, specially the best of good news which we call the Gospel.

(e) A well-controlled tongue speaks when it ought, and also says what it has to say in the pleasantest way. A king consulted a fortune-teller. " Sir," he said, " every relation you have will die before you." The thought of this long succession of deaths seemed so dismal that the king condemned the seer to death. He summoned another who said, " Sire, you will outlive all your relations." This prospect was so pleasing that the king gave him a large reward. Both had said the same thing, but they had put it in a different way. One had made the king angry ; the other had made him grateful. Tactless words are " as vinegar upon nitre " (Prov. xxv. 20). But " a word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in baskets of silver " (xxv. 11, R.V.).

A summary of Bernard Place's argument.

https://jerseyeveningpost.com/voices/2026/01/15/jersey-needs-a-political-culture-that-can-differentiate-between-frustration-and-corrosive-fatalism/

Bernard Place’s essay in the JEP argued that Jersey’s political culture must learn to distinguish between legitimate frustration and corrosive fatalism.

He frames what some dismiss as “pitchforks and torches” politics instead as a “politics of impatience,” rooted not in malice but in care for the Island and its institutions. This perspective is a strength of his argument: it acknowledges the emotional intensity of local debate without trivialising it, and it recognises that impatience signals civic attachment rather than disengagement. 

Place highlights how Jersey’s small scale amplifies emotion—failures feel personal, decisions seem opaque, and accountability appears diffuse. By treating these sharp-edged voices as an early warning system rather than a threat, he positions impatience as a democratic resource.

Another strength lies in his call for listening carefully and responding with clarity. He insists that politicians should hear the underlying concerns behind blunt statements, translating “nothing ever changes” into worries about slow implementation or poor communication. This approach encourages empathy and constructive engagement, rather than defensiveness. His emphasis on transparency, accountability, and visible progress provides a practical antidote to drift, offering Islanders the reassurance of direction rather than slogans.

However, Place’s argument also has weaknesses. While he rightly cautions against dismissing impatience, he underplays the risks of oversimplification. He admits that impatience can flatten complex systems into single villains, but his essay does not fully explore how this dynamic can corrode trust or fuel populist scapegoating. 

His optimism that impatience can be harnessed as renewal may overlook how quickly frustration can harden into cynicism, especially if expectations for “visible, measurable progress” are not met. Moreover, his call for clarity and deliverables, though appealing, risks sounding abstract without concrete examples of how Jersey’s institutions might achieve this balance in practice.

In sum, Place’s essay is strongest when it reframes impatience as care and insists on listening as the first step toward renewal. It is weaker when it assumes that frustration can easily be channelled into constructive energy without acknowledging the structural and cultural obstacles that make such translation difficult. His vision of a political culture that turns sharp voices into catalysts for confidence is compelling, but it depends on whether institutions can move beyond rhetoric to deliver the progress Islanders expect.

A Short Story: The Oak’s Long Memory

A Short Story: The Oak’s Long Memory

Three centuries had passed since the acorn first split its shell in the sandy soil above St Brelade’s Bay. The church was already old then, its stones weathered by salt winds and prayers. The oak grew slowly, year by year, its roots threading into graves, its branches stretching toward the bell tower. It had watched tides rise and fall, generations kneel and depart, caretakers come and go.

The caretakers were curious creatures. They came down and vanished into the church, mostly on Sundays, when the bells rang out to call people to church, but sometimes other days. Some evenings they used to go to the nearby Fisherman’s Chapel instead, but this was not as often of late, only once a month. Something of a pattern had been lost, reflected the oak, sadly.

For the tree knew their rhythms: a season of tending, then silence. One would vanish, another arrive. Always transient, always earnest. Their task was simple, to care, and then move on. The oak respected that. It too had its task: to endure.

Yet the oak remembered them. The ones who helped drag the Parish cannon in and out of the large doors of the Fisherman’s Chapel. The one who took out the cannon for good and blocked up the door, and had workmen paint the walls. The one came when and arranged the plain windows of the church to be replaced with stained glass windows. The one who paraded with young people and their drums each February. Each left a trace, like rings hidden in its heartwood.

The last but one caretaker was different. He noticed the oak’s weariness. Rot had crept into its limbs, heavy branches sagged dangerously over the graves. The oak felt shame, was it failing in its duty to stand? But this caretaker did not abandon it. He summoned men with ropes and saws, tree surgeons who climbed into its canopy and cut away the sickness. The oak trembled at each wound, yet felt lighter, renewed. Sunlight reached places long dark. For the first time in decades, it breathed freely.

That caretaker lingered often. The oak saw him outside the church, dressed in flowing robes, speaking with Parishioners as they left Sunday service. His voice carried warmth, his hands blessed children, his eyes lifted toward the sea. The oak thought: “Strange, for a caretaker to wear such garments. Perhaps he tends both tree and stone, both earth and soul.”

Seasons turned. The oak healed. New shoots sprouted where rot had been. It remembered listening to the caretaker’s words drifting across the churchyard, words of hope, of remembrance, of quiet courage. The oak wondered why this one stayed longer than the rest. Caretakers were meant to move on. Yet he remained, week after week, year after year, his robes catching the wind like sails. He was a steward of paths and pews. He was the heart of the parish, the one who carried its burdens and its joys, who prayed beneath its branches and spoke of resurrection beside its graves. Until, at last, it was time for him to leave too. But the oak endured.

One evening, as dusk settled over the bay, the oak reflected on its long memory. It saw caretakers as shadows passing through time, each entrusted with the church for a while, then gone. And each left their mark. And now there was a new caretaker. The oak watched her arrival, and its branches and leaves rustled in welcome.

The oak understood at last. What it had called a caretaker was in truth the rector, the parish priest, the shepherd of souls, the guardian of tradition, the one who tended not only the tree but the people who gathered beneath its shade. Their care was woven into the life of the parish itself.

The oak shivered in the evening breeze, humbled. For three hundred years it had stood sentinel, believing itself the witness and the caretakers the passing ones. But now it saw: each rector was no shadow. They were also an enduring presence, as rooted in the parish as the oak itself. Together, tree and rector shared the same task, to care, to endure, and to remind the living that even in change, there is continuity.

They were the faithful guardians of the legacy of St Brelade, entrusted with a sacred duty of care. Each caretaker would care for the Parish and Church, and hold that legacy in trust for a while, and then pass on their task to another. So it had always been, from when St Brelade landed here, long before the oak was planted. For out of small acorns do mighty oaks grow.

And so the oak stretched its branches toward the stars, whispering gratitude into the night.

Fact Checking Manifesto Promises: Richard Honeycombe

‘I’d like to see a fact checker introduced ahead of the elections to check whether politicians have kept their promises’ (Fiona Walker).

Your support is essential to the role of Connetable. The Connétable is your voice in the States Assembly. If elected I would like to see more involvement by all Parishioners, I would be expressing your views in the States Chamber this is why I would need to know what they are. I would hold regular Parish Assemblies, meetings and working parties to gain your views on important propositions. It would be wonderful to fill the Parish Hall to have lively discussions and for you direct me on how you want to go forward. Maybe even stream some meetings and have online input.

If elected, I would hope to move forward on the following:
• Homes for the elderly
• Low cost housing for the young people of our Parish
• The extension of main sewer system to all properties
• Mains water available to the whole Parish
• Kerbside re-cycling

Waiting at the Bus Stop

A rather inconsequential poem today, but then life  is mainly full of inconsequential moments.

Waiting at the Bus Stop

It is a very dark morning, as I set off
And the cold air makes me cough
And sometimes Venus shines above
Bright the Roman goddess of love

Other days the clouds are thick
And my pace is fast and quick
Later leaving, as rain is falling
And the wind is quite appalling

Timing right to arrive just so
To miss the bus is such a blow
But standing in rain is not nice
Or worse, ground frost and ice

Then the lights coming round
I hear the heavy diesel sound
Now the bus turns the bend
And so my wait is at an end

The bus stops upon the road
At the painted bus stop node
My appointed travel meet
And I alight and find my seat

No more waiting, time to read
As the bus now picks up speed
Along the coast, heading down
And I am onwards off to town