The Devil's in his hole

The wonderful blog A Holiday in the Sun used to blog in 2008 on political issues in Jersey, sometimes with detailed comments, and sometimes with sharp pithy little notes, such as this one:

A Quick One

At a press conference yesterday Frank Walker spoke of political U-turns, asking "What sort of government and what sort of Council of Ministers would we be if we did not respond to changes?" I think you'll find the answer is simple, Frank. Exactly the same type of government who habitually ignore the views and wishes of the public.

But there were also historical features, which have sadly been lost as the blog is no longer extant. So with thanks to Holiday in the Sun, here's a a re-run of his piece that was presented on that blog in June 2008 on Led Zeppelin in Jersey. It's a vivid and lively story you won't find in Balleine's History of Jersey! And the Rolls-Royce tale unforgettable!

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Led Zeppelin In Jersey
(from A Holiday in the Sun blog)

Here's an interesting fact that most local people seem completely unaware of. Unlikely as it may seem, in 1975 the Rock band Led Zeppelin lived in Jersey. Back in the 70's the island was still a premier holiday destination, and as such (combined with its tax haven status) attracted big spenders and money-makers. Many of the popular stars of the era  holidayed on Jersey, but Led Zeppelin arrived through rather less fortunate circumstances.

In early August of 1975 Zeppelin's vocalist, Robert Plant, was severely injured in a car crash whilst holidaying in Greece. As a result the band were forced into hiatus, cancelling a planned 1975-1976 world tour. Partly for taxation reasons, and partly because Plant had friends on the island, he headed to Jersey to recuperate - with fellow band members John Bonham (drums) and Jimmy Page (guitar) in tow.

At Jersey Airport their time on the island got off to an amusing start. As fellow passengers disembarked the flight in the normal manner, a heavily plaster-castered Plant had to be removed from the aircraft by a fork-lift truck!

The first and only order of business to take place following Zeppelin's arrival on the island was a press conference, given to the international media to announce the cancellation of the forthcoming world tour. With this duty out of the way the band could settle down and relax.

Whilst Plant stayed with friends, Page and Bonham rented accommodation. Bonham lived in the St Peter's area of the island, and liking a drink or ten, frequented the Victoria pub in St Peter's Valley. Richard Cole, Led Zeppelin's Road-Manager, wrote a book about his time with the band which included an account of an incident that took place outside the Victoria. An upper-class gentleman taking a Sunday afternoon stroll saw Bonham washing his Rolls Royce in the pub car park. He paused to chat, making the assumption that Bonham was simply a hired hand cleaning his master's car. The conversation took a downward turn when the gentleman refused to believe that such a long-haired and loutish looking young man could be the owner of such an expensive and prestigious vehicle. According to Cole, the sneered phrase "Well I've never seen a man wash his own Rolls Royce before" flicked a switch in the head of the notoriously wild Bonham. The drummer walked to the boot of the car, removed a hammer, then began to mercilessly pummel the vehicle, pausing only to shout at the astounded gentleman "Well I bet you've never seen a man smash up his own Rolls Rolls before, have you?!". History does not record the response of the upper-class gentleman...

For evening entertainment John Bonham and Jimmy Page would often go to a nightclub on the seafront of St. Helier, just a few of doors up from what is now The Cosmopolitan (The club in question was called 'Thackerays', 'Tigers' and 'The Buzz Bar' in more recent times. I have no idea what is was called in 1975). On one occasion the pair arrived whilst a local band were playing, and spontaneously joined them onstage. That evening the punters had a free performance from 50% of one of the world's most in-demand Rock acts. The impromptu set included Blues and Rock and Roll classics. The nightclub was demolished about ten years ago and a Bank now stands on the site.

In September of 1975 John Bonham and Jimmy Page flew briefly back to London to attend the Melody Maker awards ceremony. At that time Melody Maker was the top selling UK music weekly, and Led Zeppelin scooped an unprecedented seven awards in their annual readers poll. They were voted International Band Of The Year, International Live Act Of The Year, and individual members picked up assorted awards for their vocal, instrumental and compositional talents. 'Physical Graffiti', Zeppelin's then current release, was voted best album of the year.

Led Zeppelin's residence in Jersey came to an end in October of 1975, whereupon they relocated to Malibu to continue a combination of resting-up and working on material for their next album.

In December the band returned to the island to play a surprise free gig at Behans (more recently known as The Inn On The Park), a venue situated on the seafront at West Park. Their set lasted 45 minutes, with Robert Plant on crutches and a stool, still suffering from his car crash injuries. Just 350 islanders were lucky enough to attend the gig.

The show was the band's first in 6 months. They performed a mixture of their own material and Rock and Roll covers, with a friend of the band,
Normal Hale, sitting in on keyboards for renditions of Jailhouse Rock and Blue Suede Shoes.

Speaking of Behans in a later interview, Robert Plant said "It was like a dance hall that was like some place 10 years gone by, in the best old English tradition. Guys with dicky-bows and evening jackets ready to bang your head against a wall if you stepped out of line, and chairs and tables lined up in escalation. Chicks wearing suspenders and stockings....and a lot of rock and roll."

Just a handful of months later, in March 1976, the band released their seventh album, 'Presence'. It made number 1 in the both the US and UK charts. Its opening track, 'Achilles Last Stand', contains the line "the Devil's in his hole". A Jersey reference? You decide...

As for Behans, after having operated under a number of names, the venue permanently closed its doors in the mid 1990's. Following what can only be described as a case of disgustingly wilful neglect, over the next decade the building fell into a state of dereliction. Despite heavy protest from locals, it was demolished, and the land sold to a property developer. Expensive art-deco style apartments now grace the location.

The band returned briefly to Jersey in 1980. On September the 25th of that year John Bonham had been found dead at Jimmy Page's home in Windsor. His death was alcohol related, he was just 32 years old. Shortly after the funeral the surviving 3 members of the band met on the
island to discuss the future of Led Zeppelin. Upon returning to London they released an official statement:

"The loss of our dear friend, and the deep sense of harmony felt by ourselves and our manager, have led us to decide that we could not continue as we were".

Blogwatch: James Rondel

I'm doing a brief look at a local blogs today, and this one is fairly recent:

http://jimwillfixit.blogspot.com/

This is by James Rondel, who tells us that:

"I am 21 years old and have a real passion for politics, and in particular the politics of Jersey, (in the Channel Islands). I currently study History & Politics at the University of Reading and am the President of the University's Debating Society as well as the Student Representative for Politics & Causes. All thoughts are my own as others probably don't agree with them!"

Recent posts include:

Condor Ferries: The Unsinkable Monopoly

Here he notes that a change in regulations means that Condor has increased its fares significantly, and suggests that competition is needed:

"Interestingly, at the same time as celebrating its anniversary/one time offer, (with a commemorative mug) BBC Jersey reported of how the Jersey Kennel Club had been quoted more than double for using Condor, in comparison to last year. "

And he asks what the States are doing to ensure that fares are not excessive for what is, in essence, a monopoly business, which also suffers from a poor record with regard to breakdowns and delays:

"By increasing the costs so significantly, it certainly makes it difficult for Islanders on a budget to continue their favourite past times that take place off Island, or to holiday without breaking the bank. So where are the States of Jersey in all of this? How can a company be allowed to continue to demand so much from its consumers without delivering a fair service. Fair I define as: for the majority of the year, sailings depart on time, on a fully functioning vessel. (Preferably one that isn't on fire). "

He also notes that the Daily Mirror reported that by registering vessels elsewhere - in the Bahamas - Condor allegedly have been paying Ukrainian employees £2.35 an hour!

Other matters dealt with in the blog over the past weeks have been:

Sir Philip Bailhache, the United Kingdom, and the independence question

If the States of Jersey can find an equilibrium whereby our interests are not undermined, and we can maintain a relationship with the Crown, then this may well be the most satisfying result.

However I believe that we should not be afraid to go it alone, and I am glad that we have someone of Sir Philip Bailhache's calibre in leading the Island abroad, representing our interests.

I'm not wholly convinced how well Sir Philip does represent our interests. On the matter of low value consignment relief, despite being "foreign minister", he seems to have left most of the running to Senator Alan Maclean, and taken a very low key (if not invisible) position - the cynic in me thinks it is because he was probably bright enough to see that the legal challenge would fail, and if he was involved, it wouldn't do his reputation as a statesman of high calibre much good.

There's been a lot of talk from Sir Philip on independence, and some nice column inches in the JEP, but it's not clear that anything substantial apart from verbal sabre waving has taken place.

Golden Handshakes - A catalyst for change?

How can there possibly be a defence against the cutting of sports grants or the scrapping of school milk if this secret stash of money which the public are unaware of can keep bailing out these silly school boy errors in the case of the euro, and petty squabbling in the case of the golden handshakes?

He makes some good points, and notes that there seems to be almost a total lack of accountability by the States. Of course, the prime movers in this, politicians like Frank Walker, have moved on (and out) and can enjoy sailing round the Med in a luxury yacht while others are left to deal with the muddy waters that the deal left behind.

Review of the Economist: Crime and Democracy

One criticism heard too often is notion of megalomaniacs ruling roost in the Honorary Police Force. This is simply not the case. Obviously there are always going to be a small number who may have ulterior motive for volunteerism, but the vast majority are hard working, honest people. A real credit to the society which we live in.

It's nice to see a positive attitude to the honorary police. So often they are attacked, and while there have been one or two rotten apples in the barrel - Roger Holland springs to mind (his appointment was a result of judgement by Sir Philip that didn't exactly demonstrated much fine calibre) - the honorary police should not be judged by that, any more than all trust companies should be tarred by the rogue element (who usually ends up in prison for embezzlement), or teachers tarred by the relatively few cases of children being abused (e.g. the Sharp report).

The honorary police are not power hungry, and they regularly provide much needed extra manpower. Moreover, there is a procedure for training new recruits, so that it is not simply a case of being elected and getting on with it; there is a learning curve involved, so that honorary police can work alongside their States of Jersey police counterparts.

And there are a few other postings - Esplanade Development, Ian Gorst, States members expenses. This is an interesting blog because it is not too tightly focused but looks over a whole range of Island issues, exploring them very well, and making some very pertinent comments.

As the blog has progressed, it has seemed to me to widen its scope, from just looking at States matters, to looking at subjects like the honorary police and Condor. I'd like to hear what he would have to say about buses, and traffic congestion, or tourism and the high cost of getting to Jersey.

It would also be interesting to see what his fellow students at Reading make of Jersey. Do they know where it is? (Surprisingly, when at Exeter, quite a few people thought the Channel Islands were off the coast of Scotland). Do they know how it is run? What do they think of it as a holiday destination (camping, back-packing?), and of its reputation as a tax haven? Something for another day.

In the meantime, here are some snippets, but I'd advise looking at the whole blog. It's well written, flows well, and is not averse to the odd moment of humour.

Esplanade Development

Accumulating 460,000 square feet of offices and creating a £100 million development for the construction industry, the States have passed the development without keeping the check and balance of deciding how/what is going to be constructed.

Ian Gorst - The Route To Chief Minister

So just how did he become Chief Minister? My opinion is that, by not being risk averse and through sticking to his guns, he has now reaped the rewards.

States Members (2008-11) out of touch

Seeing the rise in politicians expenses by 10% last week made me feel bitter-sweet. Bitter in the sense of witnessing yet another example of just how out of touch our politicians are, but sweet in the fact that the current Assembly has little shelf life left.

New Blogs

A few weeks ago, I heard on BBC Radio Jersey that Geoff Cook, of Jersey Finance, had begun a blog

http://mail.jerseyfinance.je/News/Comments-from-Geoff-Cook/

Alas! It's a more like a selection of personal press releases; it has no place for comments.

http://sthelier.blogspot.com/

The above - Simon Crowcroft's - is much more of a standard blog. And a most interesting opening. Where is St James Wine Bar? Where is St James Street? And is it the same as James Street? If not, where is that? I never realized street names in St Helier could be so confusing, and I'm going to have a look in the Almanac to see if there are any others. A great insight into a small part of the quirky matters that crop up for a Connetable, and it is not frivolous either, despite the entertaining way in which Simon - clearly a good writer! - presents it. I look forward to more!

Media Presence 2

http://voiceforchildren.blogspot.com/2009/01/deputy-hill-calls-time-on-crown.html

Just a note that Voice for Children (see above) is doing his bit for democracy by another good interview with Deputy Hill.

The link is above; it is a 2 min 40 seconds interview which asks the Deputy to explain the background behind his proposition.

"Voice" is providing a unique service that we don't otherwise get. True, there are video interviews about topical high-profile issues on Channel Television, but there are often other propositions which go through the States, and we don't get the chance to hear about the background of those. Voice provides an opportunity for the States member to explain the proposition to the public,  and this is a small-scale, but potentially wide distribution that helps us understand the issues. And we can come back to it in a weeks time, or just before the debate. It is what a blog can do very well, but other media outlets, being more ephemeral in the duration of their material, cannot do. A notable voice not just for children, but for the public at large!

Phil Rondel next please, on P181/2008/Ministerial government: review?

Media Presence

On Radio Jersey today, Professor Adrian Lee of Plymouth University was commenting on the rise of the expansion in local blogs (as in the UK), and questioning whether the number of hits actually represented the popularity of the blog.

I use two - Blogpatrol and Statcounter.

Blogpatrol records the number of "hits" on the site, but some of these can be historic. If someone has a link to your site, that seems to be also reflected in the blogpatrol statistics, so while it is a reflection of popularity - after all, why would someone link to you if they had not read your blog - as a real-time statistic it is going to increase over time. This is why the site Holiday in the Sun noted with some astonishment that his older blog was still getting more hits than his new one!

That is not to say that Blogpatrol cannot be useful. If you log in and look at the detailed information, this can be broken down on a day by day basis, so gives a better reflection that mere "hits", although I notice that if people have permanent links to your blog, of the kind that grab a snapshot of the blog, these are reflected in the "hits".

The Statcounter that I use shows only visitors not hits, and so is quite a lot lower. Then again, if people have a snapshot, or have signed up to get any postings automatically this will not be reflected, so the Statcounter is likely to be lower than it should be. But it is nevertheless more accurate than Blogpatrol in this respect, and has the additional advantage that it can be set up so that anyone can see the details on a day by day basis, so that it is open and transparent to others.

Regarding the effect the blog has on the political landscape, I would say probably about as much - and as little - as a hustings meeting. Blogs have their supporters, who often give a misleading account of popularity.

 

Likewise, political hustings often give the prospective candidate a false impression, because they may reflect more support for the candidate than is really the case, and indeed after the last elections, I have been struck by the comments made such as "but there was a good response from the hustings" almost in disbelief as results came in. Yet it is hardly surprising, because who is going to attend a hustings, particularly on a cold and wet winter evening? Surely the candidates most fervent supporters, and he or she may also glean support from other supporters who are voting for another candidate who has similar manifesto ideas, hence the likelihood is that the hustings represent activists rather than the bulk of the voters, who will often vote quite differently. The real purpose of the hustings is to get your face shown and known, and show how well you perform compared to other candidates when written up (in a summary form) in the media.

In cases like the Senatorial elections, the hustings probably had less immediate effect than a blog, because of the number of candidates, but in the longer term, the benefits of this - and posters, interviews, leaflets - raised the candidates profile so that they were not so much of an "unknown" when it came to the Deputies elections - although this is not an absolute guarantee of success - Nick Palmer and Cliff le Clerq both failed to be elected there.

In passing, I would note that Parish Assemblies, insofar as they resemble hustings, are often not good ways to represent the popular vote. Like hustings, they bring out the regular activists in the Parish, and it has not been unknown for a Parish Assembly of possibly ten or less to elect a Constables Officer, Procurer or Centenier, which when one considers the population of a Parish, seems very a very poor kind of representative democracy. Another deficiency is that they can be hijacked by lobby groups or commercial enterprises, who can "pack" the assembly with their supporters, and thereby secure a vote on matters which may effect hundreds or thousands of Parishioners. At least now some extra elections, such as those for Procurer, are beginning to have proper voting during the day and early evening, rather than just at an assembly, and I myself availed myself of this to vote in St Brelade.

Speaking of Procurers, I would just like to finish by noting that the other kind of media presence is making an impact, that of the poison pen writer. The recent campaign of hate against John Germain is quite horrific, and this kind of activism - unlike blogs - runs counter to democracy and debate. He has received abusive phone calls and post, and had his house sprayed with cream. This is a kind of activism the Island could do without, and I can only hope the culprit is caught.

http://www.thisisjersey.com/2009/01/05/abusive-calls-force-former-constable-out/

Blog Reviews 1

This is horribly incomplete, but at the rate they are expanding, if I don't put something down, I'll never do so. More to follow later....

http://peterhanning.blogspot.com/

This is the Constable of St Saviour's blog. Don't expect much comment about the States here, it is all about Parish events, like the St Saviour's entry in the Battle of Flowers, Jeux Intervilles, St Saviour in bloom etc. But very well done as a celebration of those aspects of Parish Life. We need these "glimpses of eden", life does not revolve around politics all the time. Although it is a little strange to have quite such an omission of anything political!

http://st-ouennais.livejournal.com/

The informed and intelligent rural scene from someone at the cutting edge. This has an interesting variety of articles, from those about farming - from the farmer's perspective - to GM food, waste disposal, the environment, global warming and Imagine Jersey. For events like Imagine Jersey, or the The Jersey Care Leavers' Association public meeting, expect meticulous detailed reports that are a boon to those whom, like myself, are unable to easily attend, and who do not like relying on the inadequate precis of the Jersey Evening Post. These reports remind me of the old days when the JEP would devote pages and pages to States debates, meetings etc, before the era of the quick "sound-bite". The other comments, on GM Food, Global Warming etc are also well reasoned, with lots of useful links to primary sources. Interwoven with this, are his personal stories, the farming year, planting chestnut trees, stories of how St Ouen folk rally round when flooding strikes. Wonderful!

http://krakowcrapaud.blogspot.com/

A Jerseyman in Poland. A mixture of comments from afar, some interesting stuff on Poland, and how the news appears from far abroad. As well as the manifesto he would have given if he had been in Jersey and eligible for election; being in Poland for so long disqualified him. A very strong environmentalist from St Ouen who comments a lot on those matters, and is appalled how little consideration is given to that by the Jersey States.

http://www.benjaminlanglois.net/jersey/

The State of Jersey. An infrequent poster, mostly critical of GST, but a good clearing house for information with his directory at:
http://www.benjaminlanglois.net/jerseydirectory/


http://blog.cameronharris.org/

Cameron Harris' Blog
A combination of posts on computer technology, computer games and robotics intersperced with traffic issues. The traffic issues are local, the others are more general, but very interesting. If you want to see one vision of the future as seen by a young man, look at "Brains in Jars", a thought-proving and intelligent posting. Good stuff on the deficiencies of Jersey transport by someone who uses the buses.


http://crapaudmatic.blogspot.com/

Really good photographs of Jersey, with a cluster of photos for each theme - e.g. Moonlight Parade, La Coupe Lookout Tower, and several on "Nite" which are really classy views of parts of St Helier by night.

http://debcarrs-daydreams.blogspot.com/

Mostly about writing, but the odd Jersey theme like the Battle of Flowers

If your're not there, I haven't forgotten you - this is only part 1!

Jersey Blogs

Another interesting blog at:

http://www.stateofjersey.co.uk/2008/05/predictable-start-to-demonstration.html