Darkness Rising

From 4th March 1981, a poem from the archive. 

There are years when the light dims not just in the sky, but in the soul of a people. Nineteen eighty-one was such a year. The engines of progress stalled. The promises of post-war hope flickered. And in the silence that followed, something sharp and unspoken pressed against the heart.

We remember the riots  -  Brixton, Toxteth, Moss Side - not just as eruptions of rage, but as cries from communities long unheard. We remember the hunger strikes in Northern Ireland, where young men chose death over silence, and where politics failed to grasp the depth of their despair. We remember the cold war tightening, the assassins’ bullets missing but still wounding the world’s sense of safety. And we remember the quiet unravelling of trust, of solidarity, of the belief that tomorrow would be better.

In such a dusk, idols crumble. Systems we thought eternal reveal their cracks. And we, the ordinary ones, are left holding the box,  Pandora’s box, with only hope flickering faintly inside.

This poem, this lament, is not just about darkness. It is about the moment before the scream, the breath before the prayer. It is about the silken web that falls lightly but binds firmly. It is about the rage that rises not to destroy, but to mourn what might have been.  To say: yes, the light is dying. Yes, the darkness rises. But even now, we pray for a wizard’s spell. Even now, we dare to hope for a fresh tomorrow.

Darkness Rising

Softly, my darling, hear the daylight falling
As our light flickers; now the engine stalling
Stops, and at once becomes most still
Until silence so sharp that it might kill;
Then howling frenzy starts its rage
At loss of air-conditioned cage

Now, my darling, comes the darkness rising
As a dusk of idols crumbles in prising
Open Pandora's box; left alone unseen
Is hope. Alas! That which might have been
Was not to be: the silken web falls lightly
But firm; no space here for the sprightly

Only pray, my darling, for a wizard's spell
To break the enchantment of our hell,
And call forth hope for fresh tomorrow,
That failing there should be no sorrow
But tears of rage against the dying
Of the light, the darkness softly rising.

1965 - 60 years ago - November - Part 2

1965 - 60 years ago - November - Part 2

16.—Over 200 'people gathered in the modernized forecourt of St. Mary's and St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church in Vauxhall Street this evening for the blessing and inauguration of the impressive new church front which was recently completed.—Annual dinner of the Jersey United Services Club, His Excellency the Lieut.-Governor being the principal guest.—Special tea party given for 75-year-olds and their guests at Ideal Homes Exhibition at Springfield.

17.—A St. Helier parish assembly decides to dispose of the Green Street car part to the States for £8,500, conditional on the erection there by the Defence Committee of a multi-storey car park.—Inquest held on the body of Lieut.-Col. C. de M. Wellborne, who died following a fall in which he sustained a fractured thigh-bone, a verdict in accordance with medical evidence being recorded.

19.—St. Helier Municipal Ball held at West Park Pavilion, His Excellency and Lady Villiers and the Deputy Bailiff and Mrs. F. de L. Bois being guests of honour.

23.—At the September Assizes a 26-year-old Londoner, David C. Evans, was sentenced to a total of two years' imprisonment on charges of stealing £700 worth of copper tubing and three electric heaters ; today his appeal on the copper tubing theft was dismissed, but he was acquitted of stealing the electric heaters and his sentence reduced by four months. —At the 13th annual meeting of the Jersey Bulb and Flower Growers' Association it was stated that the local flower industry was valued at nearly 21,000,000.—The four Deputies of No. 1 District of St. Helier met members of their electorate at a public meeting at the Ritz Hotel to answer questions of public interest.

24.—The inquest was opened today on the bodies of the four young men who were killed when their car crashed in a broadside skid into a wall and lamp standard on the Route des Genets between Mont 8ohier•and Woodbines Corner on Sunday night ; the victims were David John Clark (21), of Birmingham, the driver ; Michael J. Murray, of London ; Philip. Thorne, of London ; and Ernest Atkinson (27), of Gateshead; there are two survivors of the crash ; the proceedings were adjourned for these to give evidence.

26.—The guest speaker at the monthly meeting of the Royal Common-wealth Society (Jersey branch) at West Park Pavilion was His Excellency Dr. Carel de Wet, B.Sc., M.B., B.Ch., the Republic of South Africa's Ambassador to London.—The nose wheel of a B.E.A. Viscount airliner collapsed during its landing run at the Airport this afternoon, but although jolted none of the 75 passengers and crew of four was injured. —Jersey Debating Club motion, " That travel gets you nowhere " carried by 30 votes to 29.

27.—Jersey Gleemen's annual celebrity concert held at Les Quennevais School, the guest being the celebrated 'cellist, Margaret Moncrieff.

29.—Watches and jewellery, mainly gold charms, valued at more than £2,000, were stolen in a smash-and-grab raid at Staples the jewellers, Burlington Parade, St. Saviour's Road, during the night of Saturday-Sunday. —Rainfall figures up to today were fast approaching almost double the average for the whole month, varying between 7.23 and 8.12 inches; there were strong winds on Saturday night and Sunday morning, gusting to Force 9 at times.

30.—Annual dinner of local branch of the British Show Jumping Association, it being stated that an effort was being made to form an indoor riding school.—Scottish Society of Jersey annual dinner held at the Royal Hotel, David Place.

More Short Stories: The Ragged Philosopher

The Ragged Philosopher

(based on an anecdote told by G.R. Balleine)

The boy arrived in Athens with dust on his sandals and three worn coins stitched into the hem of his tunic. His name was Cleanthes, and though his clothes were threadbare and his hands calloused, his eyes held the quiet fire of someone who had come to learn.

He had heard of Zeno - teacher of the Stoics, whose words shaped minds like sculptors shaped marble. Each morning, Cleanthes stood at the philosopher’s door, coin in hand, waiting for the lecture to begin. He paid his fee without complaint and took his seat among the students, many of whom wore robes finer than anything he’d ever touched.

He listened. He wrote. He asked questions that startled even the older scholars. And slowly, he began to shine - not with wealth or status, but with understanding.

But brilliance, when wrapped in rags, invites suspicion.

“He must be stealing,” whispered one student, a merchant’s son with a polished stylus and a practiced sneer. “No one so poor could afford Zeno’s fee.”

Others nodded. The idea spread like smoke - thin, insidious, hard to grasp but impossible to ignore. Soon, Cleanthes was summoned before the city magistrate, accused of theft.

He stood in the stone hall, the hem of his tunic still stitched with honesty, his hands still rough from labour. The magistrate, a man with silver rings and tired eyes, asked, “How does a boy like you pay for philosophy?”

Cleanthes bowed his head. “I work.”

“Work?” The magistrate raised an eyebrow. “Doing what?”

Cleanthes turned and gestured to the doorway. A man stepped forward - stooped, sun-darkened, with soil beneath his nails.

“I am a market-gardener,” the man said. “Each morning, before the sun rises, this boy waters my gardens. He carries buckets, digs trenches, and tends the roots. I pay him a wage.”

The magistrate nodded. “And at night?”

A second figure entered - a woman in a faded shawl, her hands white with flour.

“He grinds my corn,” she said. “Every evening, he turns the millstone until the grain is fine. He works without complaint. I pay him fairly.”

The hall fell silent.

The magistrate looked at Cleanthes, then at the students who had accused him. “You envy his mind,” he said quietly. “But you do not see the hands that shape it.”

He dismissed the charges.

From that day forward, Cleanthes walked the streets of Athens not as a suspect, but as a symbol. The ragged boy who laboured by moonlight and learned by day. The one who paid for wisdom with sweat, not silver.

Years passed. Zeno grew old. And when he died, the students gathered to choose a successor. They looked not to the merchant’s sons or the noble-born, but to the boy who had once stood trial for his poverty.

Cleanthes took the teacher’s seat.

He spoke not of wealth or status, but of endurance, truth, and the quiet strength of those who seek wisdom without applause. His lectures echoed through the colonnades, and his name became a lantern for those who walked in shadow.

And though his tunic remained simple, and his hands never forgot the feel of the millstone, Cleanthes became the chief philosopher of Athens.

Not because he was born to it.

But because he earned it - one sunrise at a time.

Pagan Liturgy: Liturgy of the Tides and Seasons

Pagan Liturgy: Liturgy of the Tides and Seasons
A Fourfold Rite for Circle, Shore, or Hearth

Grief – The Waning Tide (Samhain)

Invocation:
We call upon the West, the element of Water,
Where memory pools and sorrow flows.
We name the tide that has ebbed,
The loss that shapes the shore.

Chant: 

“What is gone is not forgotten.
What is broken still belongs.”

Action:
Place a stone in the circle.
Speak aloud the name of what has passed.

Reflection:
Grief is the tide that teaches depth.
It carves the soul like water carves rock.
We do not resist it. We ride it.

Renewal – The Turning Tide (Imbolc)

Invocation:
We call upon the East, the element of Air,
Where breath returns and dawn awakens.
We welcome the rising tide,
The first green shoot in the frost.

Chant:
“What is new is not unknown.
What is tender shall grow strong.”

Action:
Place a leaf or seed in the circle.
Breathe deeply. Let go of what no longer serves.

Reflection:
Renewal is the tide that turns.
It does not erase - it transforms.
We greet it with open hands.

Prayer – The Rhythmic Tide (Beltane)

Invocation:
We call upon the South, the element of Fire,
Where longing burns and rhythm pulses.
We enter the tide of breath and word,
The sacred beat between silence and song.

Chant:
“What is spoken is heard.
What is offered returns.”

Action:
Light a candle.
Speak a prayer, a wish, or a vow.

Reflection:
Prayer is the tide that moves within.
It is not bound by language.
It is the dance of spirit and intention.

Presence – The Full Tide (Lammas)

Invocation:
We call upon the North, the element of Earth,
Where roots hold and mystery dwells.
We stand in the high tide of now,
Where all things meet and belong.

Chant:
“What is here is holy.
What is shared is whole.”

Action:
Touch the earth.
Share food, drink, or quiet companionship.

Reflection:
Presence is the tide that holds.
It is not a moment - it is a dwelling.
We enter it with reverence.

Closing

All Directions:
We thank the tides.
We honour the seasons.
We walk the spiral path,
Knowing that what ebbs shall flow again.

A Short Story: Silence

Silence

The station drifted in orbit, silent and alone. No crew. No signal. Just the hum of systems maintaining themselves, a ghost of purpose in a place long abandoned.

Inside, the observation deck faced the void. A single chair sat bolted to the floor, its cushions cracked with age. The viewport stretched across the wall, revealing nothing but black—no stars, no planets, no light. Just the blank canvas of space, stripped of meaning.

Dr. Mara Venn had once called this sector "The Quiet Edge". She’d theorized that beyond a certain radius, the universe ceased to echo. No radiation. No gravity. No time. Just stillness. Her papers were dismissed as poetic nonsense. But she’d come anyway, alone, aboard the "Aletheia", seeking the silence she claimed was real.

She found it.

The logs stopped after day 47. No distress call. No malfunction. Just a final entry: “The silence is finite. It waits.”

Now, decades later, the salvage crew arrived. Protocol required a sweep, a scan, and a report. No one expected survivors. No one expected anything.

Commander Rourke stepped onto the deck first. His boots echoed against the metal floor, the sound swallowed almost instantly. He frowned. “No resonance,” he muttered. “Even sound dies here.”

The team spread out. No signs of struggle. No damage. Just dust and silence.

Then the viewport flickered.

Not with light. Not with movement. But with absence.

One of the crew, Lin, gasped. “It’s not black. It’s... less than black.”

Rourke approached. The void beyond the glass seemed to pulse—not with energy, but with negation. A kind of anti-motion. A stillness so complete it felt violent.

“There’s something out there,” Lin whispered.

“No,” Rourke said. “There’s 'nothing' out there.”

And then the silence broke.

Not with sound, but with sensation. The air thickened. The lights dimmed. The systems stuttered. The void pressed inward, not as a force, but as a refusal. A denial of presence. A storm of nothingness.

The crew scrambled. Instruments failed. Communications collapsed. Rourke reached for the emergency beacon, but his hand froze mid-motion. Not physically. Conceptually. The idea of movement had been erased.

Lin screamed, but no sound came. Her mouth opened, her body convulsed, but the scream was negated—unmade before it could exist.

The silence erupted.

It was not chaos. It was the fury of absence. The violent assertion that nothing must remain. The station groaned, not from pressure, but from contradiction. It had mass. It had form. The void rejected both.

Rourke’s last thought was not of fear, but of understanding.

This was not space.

This was the end of meaning.

When the rescue vessel arrived weeks later, they found the "Aletheia" intact. Systems functional. No crew. No logs. No trace.

Just one message etched into the viewport, faint and trembling:

“There exists a deathly calm.
The motionless still. 

Before the Storm of Nothingness 

Erupts with fury. 

And negation.”

The Sunday Archive: The Pilot, July 1997 - Part 3

The Sunday Archive: The Pilot, July 1997 - Part 3

ST PAUL
From PAUL BROOKS Minister

IN June we had a week of prayer for revival. In some ways it seems so inadequate to have only a week, when it is something that God desires. We pray daily, "Thy will be done." God's will is clear from scripture that all people should come to a saving knowledge of Him, through Jesus. Nevertheless we are seeing fruit in the life of the Church as people come to know Him — the visit of Daniel. Cozens was a great encouragement, both for those who know Daniel from of old as well as for those who met him for the first time — his ministry on 11th June led to five people making a Christian commitment.

But revival is not about getting people in. It’s about God's Kingdom being proclaimed in His world by word and deed; it’s about the world discovering God's heart of love — Christians as well as non-Christians.

As The PILOT comes out we will be in the middle of the Island Games. A team — called "Mouth Peace" — from England will be based at St Paul's Centre sharing the Gospel in the streets of St Helier during the week of the games. An opportunity to learn and to share our faith in Jesus with some of the visitors to our Island as well as with some of the local people who wouldn't normally go near a church. There will also be a special Island Games Celebration on Wednesday 2nd July at 8 pm at St Paul's Church. Everyone is welcome as the "Mouth Peace" team lead an evening of worship, music, drama and dance, with the Christian Gospel at the heart of it.

At the end of July a team of young people from St Paul's will be going to Toxteth in Liverpool to share in the ministry of the Toxteth Tabernacle Baptist Church for a week, before some members of that church come to Jersey for a holiday. The Toxteth exchange presents another opportunity to proclaim God's Kingdom and to see God at work in a difficult part of Britain.

In addition to all this we are learning more about the gift of prophecy. These are exciting, but also very challenging times as God invites us to re-evaluate where we are with Him. He asks of all of us: Are we willing to stand up and stand out for Him? Are we willing to be publicly counted as among His people? Arc we available to Him so that he can use us in what-ever ministry He chooses — however public or however private? Or do we say to God — "This far and no further?"

Jesus said, "If anyone would' come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?"

HOLY TRINITY

From
TONY KEOGH Rector

Dear Friends,

I make it a matter of principle, when writing for this august journal, to spend little time and space on the past; however, I cannot let pass the visit of John Osmers, the Bishop of Eastern Zambia. Bishop John was here at the invitation of the Overseas Aid Committee and its president, Senator Ann Bailhache. He attended the Ecclesiastical Court for the Swearing-in of the Church Officers and preached at the Service of Dedication. His sermon, in which he thanked the people of Jersey for their support and described the problems of poverty which his people endure, was awesome in its power and gentle dignity.

On Sunday 8th June we were delighted to welcome at our Family Service Bishop John, Senator Ann Bailhache and members of the Overseas Aid group who will be going to Zambia in August under the leadership of Rowland Heaven, our local headmaster. The group will be working in Msoro which is in Bishop John's diocese. His talk enthralled us all, especially the children, as he described the animals — crocodiles, hippopotami, lions —which live all around him and the people he lives amongst.

Zambia is three times the size of the United Kingdom and is divided into four dioceses. In Bishop John's diocese, he has six priests; that certainly puts our manning levels into their true perspective! We gave him, out of love and respect and in a spirit of family partnership, a cheque for £500. However, there were two other episodes which stood out. One was when he signed the register and saw our weekly collections. He could not help but reflect that one week's collection in Trinity Parish Church constituted the total income for two of his families in Zambia for a WHOLE YEAR. However, this did not prevent him from making his own contribution in our collection plate.

I have spoken to a number of leading figures in the Church to try to persuade the people organising the Lambeth Conference next year that we might have a visit from Bishop John and other bishops with whom we have an ongoing contact.

Bishop John is a great friend of Nelson Mandela; he has suffered for his faith, including the loss of his right hand. It was injured in a letter bomb attack made by agents of the then South African government. Like Nelson Mandela, he has refused to turn his suffering into bitterness and hatred; you only have to be in his company for a few minutes to know that you are in the presence of one of God's special people.

SUNDAY SCHOOL NEWS. The Annual Presentation and Sunday School Festival will take place on Sunday 6th July, at 10.30 am. Please make every effort to support the children and their teachers as this is a way of showing our appreciation for the marvellous work undertaken by our Sunday School Teachers week by week. The offertory on this day is for the work of the Sunday School so please give generously.

SUNDAY SCHOOL OUTING. This will take place on Saturday 19th July. More details will be given on the weekly newssheet.

CHRISTIAN AID. The amount raised in the parish this year was £1,052. This is approximately £200 less than last year but only nine people were able to do their collections so many thanks to them for their "stickability" and willingness to collect for what is not the easiest charity to collect for. Thanks also to everyone who gave so generously.

PAT MILLER, RIP. It is with tremendous sadness that we record the death of Pat Miller. Pat was not only a fine and significant artist and teacher, but also a great friend. I carry in my imagination a book in which I enter the names of those who have had a special influence on me and among those names are Dr Glyn Simon, sometime Archbishop of Wales, Tom Jefferies Jones, the warden of Coleg Harlech when Jill and I were students there more than thirty years ago, George Thomas, now Lord Tonypandy, and John Dorey Richardson, late 'Connétable' of Trinity. Now, Pat joins that list. Her great influence was to make you look at the world in a new way and from a new standpoint and it came out in her work and in her life. She was the best of friends because she told you the truth about yourself; no matter how feisty or terse she sounded, you knew that it was said in love. We send our love and our prayers to Micky, to Frances and to Pat's family in Yorkshire. God bless you, Pat, and thank you.

FUNERALS. 20th May, Pat Miller; 23rd, Giles Evered; 29th, Laura Patterson Mathieson, née Black; 9th June, Joan Mary Starck, née Pallot.

ST PETER
From
BARRY GILES Rector

IN a holiday island holidays could be taken for granted. The fact of the matter is that they are essential. It goes back to the origin of the name. A holy day was a day for reviving one's whole being. Holidays are not simply to get away. There is a reality in that, for those of us who live on a small island, in a large world. They are a time for re-creation. We need that. We need time to do things other than what we do daily. We need time for seeing things other than we see daily. We need time to widen our horizons, culturally, geographically, even gastronomically! Some will do this trekking through deserts or up mountains; others will laze on a beach or by a pool.

Those of us who profess and call ourselves practising Christians have an added opportunity. We may well be on holiday in places which are somewhat different to our own. The church where we are on holiday may not be in the same tradition as we are at St Peter's. This gives us an opportunity. It gives us a chance to widen our experience of the Church. It gives us an opportunity to experience ways of worship very different, sometimes, to our own. It helps us to widen our horizons of the way in which God mediates His Love, and how Christians reflect that in their worship and witness.

There are no holidays from Sundays! Indeed, Sundays are for Christians the holy-day par excellence! It is because of That First Day of the week that we hold the first day to be our holiest of days, every week. There should be for Christians no escaping from, no bypassing of, every Sunday, at home or on holiday. Even in many airports there are chapels for the travellers.

If you are unsure what you may find in the place to which you are to go this year, please ask. Across Europe, the Diocese of Gibraltar¬in-Europe ministers to Anglicans. Further afield, the Anglican Church is in many areas. However, it may be that worship in another church's tradition could be a good thing, developing our understanding of other forms of Christian worship. Presuppositions from our past history are often found to be unfounded, these days.

Whether you are to take advantage of the school holidays for your holidays, or when-ever, and wherever you holiday this year, return refreshed in body, mind and spirit.

Just one little plea: to those who will not be away in July and August — do please remember that some holidaymakers in our Island worship with us every Sunday, and it is good that you are there to welcome them to worship with us! For wherever we are, every Sunday is the day of worship for everyone who professes and calls him or herself, a practising Christian.

CONGRATULATIONS to Jonathan Job and Les Vibert, and to Wendy Banks and Victor Le Riche, on their re-election to serve our church and parish as Churchwardens and Almoners respectively. I am sure that you do support them by your prayers in their work for God's Church and people.

OUR THANKS to the children and teachers of our Sunday School for their sponsored walk at Val de la Mare reservoir on Sunday 8th June. On a rather April-like day of sunshine and heavy showers, they walked and raised £360 for their church. Thank you for your support for them.

Red Flowers on the Field of Battle

Red Flowers on the Field of Battle

Drones and rockets striking terror, falling from above
The innocent are dying: no compassion, and no love
The war that asks no question, the war that brings this test
That lays buildings to rubble, unceasing without rest
The war that never falters, the war that costs such price
The war that takes the soldiers, a final sacrifice

And in every country, both now and long ago
Forgetting not the fallen, we remember and we know
On war zones now so empty, in lamentations sing
The poppies in the grasslands, a sign of suffering
And the rain is softly falling, as the fallen still increase 

Red flowers on the field of battle, a sign of hope for peace

The Morning of the Magician

Something a little different today. I began with a title, and then a tune of a hymn, and this poem just emerged from that reflection, and sort of got away from me. It was always going to be about magic, and then Merlin entered, King Arthur, the sword in the stone, and yet this story, familiar, is seen from Merlin's viewpoint. The last stanza is draws on an old legend about Merlin.

The Morning of the Magician

A dawning new vision, it came from the heart
Of justice and magic, of that fabled art
Reflections of stone, and a fabulous sword
Of a Round Table, knights, Arthur our Lord

A spell is soft sung, Merlin said but one word
Like notes on a harp, such changes were heard
The sword in the stone, now comes a child
A prophecy coming, of hope reconciled.

Now comes the King, with sword for the fight;
A great victory won, and Merlin’s delight.
He gazes below, from up his high tower
At Battle of Bradon, casts spells of his power

Then came the King, whom many did praise
Camelot his inheritance, now and always.
Knights attend him, and pledge him their heart,
Merlin makes him Round Table, of magical art.

And Merlin left them, his victory won,
To sleep far below, far away from the sun
Until great peril comes, Logres to befall,
And he will awaken, and come to us all

1965 - 60 years ago - November - Part 1

1965 - 60 years ago - November - Part 1

1.—The first helicopter service flight between Jersey and Guernsey took place this morning when a Sikorsky S-61 N belonging to B.E.A. Helicopters Ltd. took off from the Airport with her crew of three and full complement of 26 passengers.—Before a distinguished gathering His Excellency the Lieut.-Governor presents to PC. K. J. Crowhurst the Queen's Commendation for bravery and silver laurel wreath emblem for saving the life of a small boy who had slipped over a cliff at Portelet Holiday Camp, St. Brelade, on July 4 last year.—Competitions in the vocal and instrumental music section of the Eisteddfod open at the Opera House.

2.—At the parish meeting held in protest against the pro-posed car taxation by length of vehicle, at St. Lawrence, the president of the Finance Committee, Senator Cyril Le Marquand, announced that his committee had rescinded the proposals in the light of the criticism that had been offered.

3.—Verdict of suicide recorded at inquest on the body of a 29-year-old former B.O.A.C. air steward found gassed in his car on the common near Mont a la Brune, St. Brelade, last Saturday.—Mr. E. J. Egre re-elected Centenier of St. Peter unopposed.—Pilot Industries, the heating firm who were actioned by their accountants to pay the balance of an account, were ordered at the Royal Court to settle the outstanding bill and to pay costs.

4.—The local branch of the Royal Air Forces Association made a net profit of £4,228 8s. 2d. from this year's Battle of Britain activities, beating the record for any branch, which it set up last year, by more than £220.

3.—Fire which could have been started by lighted fireworks dropping on to the wooden balcony forming part of the roof, or by intruders, caused damage estimated roughly at £25,000 at Hotel Ellerslie, Clarendon Road, during the night. — Guy Fawkes night proved to be especially hectic for the States Fire Service and a busy one for the staff at the Casualty Department at the General Hospital, where several people were treated for burns and two admitted to the wards.—Final evening of the vocal and instrumental section of the Eisteddfod at the Opera House, their being a very poor attendance.—The total value of exports of produce and flowers from the Island during October amounted to £511,285, the greater proportion of this sum coming from tomatoes, which totalled £496,809.—Members of the Society of Jersey Gardeners hold their annual dinner and celebrate their 75th anniversary at Hotel de France.

6.—Opening sessions of the speech and drama section of the Eisteddfod at the Opera House.

8.—Details of an accident which occurred nearly four years ago were given in the Royal Court today, when the Court decided that the cyclist who was involved, Mr. S. J. Mayled, had failed to establish that the motorist concerned, Mr. A. F. Chapman, was negligent.

9.—Over 250 tons of machinery to be used in connection with the new power station at La Collette was put ashore from an Army tank-landing craft which beached at La Haule slip on the high tide this morning.

10.—On the recommendation of the Home Secretary, the Queen has approved the appointment of R. Goff, Esq., Q.C., R. H. Forrest, Esq., Q.C., and P. H. R. Bristow Esq., Q.C., as Judges of the Court of Appeal, Jersey, and the Court of Appeal, Guernsey.—Arts and Crafts Exhibition in connection with the Eisteddfod officially opened by Lady Villiers.—Members of the Honorary Police of the Island hold dinner and social at Hotel de France, the Police Court Magistrate, Mr. M. Newell, being one of the guests of honour.

11.—Service of remembrance and dedication of the Field of Remembrance held at the Cenotaph, the Very Rev. A. S. Giles (Dean) officiating. —Dancing Section of the Eisteddfod commences at the Opera House.

12.—Second charter anniversary dinner of the Lions Club of Jersey held at the Hotel de France.

13.—The first Ideal Homes Exhibition, sponsored by " The Evening Post " in its 75th anniversary year, officially opened at Springfield by Mr. D. W. Ryan, Constable of St. Helier.

14.—Annual Remembrance Sunday homage at the Cenotaph led by the Lt.-Governor, the Deputy Bailiff and the Consul de France ; because of rough weather, a guard of honour of officers and naval ratings were unable to come ashore from the anti-submarine frigate H.M.S. Dundass.

15.—Last night was the coldest November night in Jersey for 50 years, the temperature of 28 degrees Fahrenheit equalling the coldest local November recording made at Maison. St. Louis Observatory in 1915.—Festival of Remembrance organized by local branch of British Legion held at The Forum Cinema.

Priority Zones for Fast Charger Infrastructure

Priority Zones for Fast Charger Infrastructure

🔌 High-Density Urban Areas (St Helier)

• Why critical: Most rental flats and older homes rely on on-street parking.

• Current coverage: Public car parks like Pier Road (8 chargers), Patriotic Street, and Minden Place have some EV points.

• Upgrade need: Reinforce underground cabling and add substations near residential blocks to support curbside fast chargers.

🏘️ Suburban Growth Zones (St Brelade, St Saviour, St Clement)

• Challenge: Mixed housing with limited driveway access.

• Current status: Sparse public chargers (e.g. Red Houses, Woodford).

• Action: Install new feeder circuits and expand transformer capacity beneath key roads like La Route Orange and Rue du Crocquet.

Rural and Coastal Parishes (St Peter, Grouville, Trinity)

• Issue: Long cable runs and low-voltage networks.

• Example: Goose on the Green in St Peter has 11 chargers, but surrounding areas are underserved.

• Solution: Use smart load balancing and solar-backed hubs to avoid costly trenching.

Electricity Network Upgrades Underway

Jersey Electricity’s £120 million “Big Upgrade” includes:

• Doubling annual cable laying from 7km to ~15km

• Upgrading 10% of the low-voltage network to handle EV and electric heating demand

• Using smart meters and a “digital twin” of the island’s grid to pinpoint stress zones

This will support a projected 25% increase in peak electricity demand by 2030.

📈 Estimated Charging Point Growth

To meet demand by 2030:

• Jersey may need ~2,000 public chargers, up from ~100 today

• That’s ~250 new chargers per year, with a mix of 7kW, 22kW, and 150kW units

• Fast chargers (50kW+) will require dedicated circuits and transformer upgrades, especially in St Helier and St Brelade

1 www.gov.je2

2 www.jec.co.uk

New Wine, Loose Threads: Prayer Ministry Beyond Canon and Consent

New Wine, Loose Threads: Prayer Ministry Beyond Canon and Consent

In many New Wine Anglican churches, the openness to Spirit-led ministry creates a participatory atmosphere. Lay people are often encouraged to pray with and for one another, and this can be seen as an expression of the priesthood of all believers.

However, when individuals begin to minister regularly outside the discerned structures of licensed Lay Ministry or ordained oversight, a quiet shift can occur - one that risks forming an informal hierarchy of spiritual influence. This echoes C.S. Lewis’s warning in his famous essay “The Inner Ring”, where the existence of an unspoken circle of insiders can subtly erode integrity and accountability.

Lewis describes how an informal network can exist, and in a New Wine context, this would be where those seen as spiritually significant or especially gifted can be part of an informal network without office, and recognition within that informal “inner ring” without responsibility. In a church context, this can lead to certain individuals becoming de facto lay ministers, not through discernment or commissioning, but through social proximity or perceived charisma. The result is often a blurring of lines: between vocation and visibility, between calling and clique.

This dynamic also raises serious safeguarding concerns. When prayer ministry is offered by those outside formal structures, without clear oversight or training, the church becomes vulnerable - not only to spiritual confusion, but to emotional or pastoral harm. Without proper boundaries, consent protocols, or accountability, well-meaning ministry can become intrusive or even manipulative. Safeguarding is not just about preventing abuse; it is about creating a culture of safety, clarity, and trust for all who come seeking prayer.

Canon law in the Church of England requires that all public ministry - including prayer ministry - be exercised under the oversight of the incumbent and within authorized structures. Informal or unsupervised ministry risks breaching both ecclesial order and safeguarding responsibilities. In New Wine Anglican contexts, where lay participation in prayer ministry is often encouraged, it’s vital to remember that Canon Law is not suspended by charisma or spontaneity.

To honour both the movement of the Spirit and the dignity of the Church’s ministry, there exists a proper protocol for lay participation which ensures that all who minister do so within a framework of discernment, training, and oversight. This protects the vulnerable, affirms those called to serve, and resists the quiet pull of the inner ring. True spiritual authority is not claimed - it is entrusted. And the Church flourishes not through hidden circles, but through visible, accountable service rooted in love.

So to recap on safeguarding obligations: All ministry - especially involving vulnerable individuals - must comply with national safeguarding policies. These includes: (1) ensuring lay ministers are known, trained, and accountable (2) avoiding unsupervised or spontaneous prayer ministry by individuals not formally recognized (3) maintaining clear boundaries and consent protocols

When prayer ministry is offered by those outside these structures, even with good intentions, it can undermine the discerned authority of licensed ministers, create confusion about who is acting in a pastoral role and importantly, breach safeguarding expectations, especially if vulnerable individuals are involved.

Canon law exists not to stifle the Spirit, but to protect the dignity of ministry and the safety of the flock. It ensures that all who minister do so with clarity, accountability, and communal trust.

Background Notes:

The New Wine Practice Guide (2025) states: “We have an expectation that prayer ministry would be offered at every possible opportunity.”

New Wine’s theology supports lay involvement in prayer ministry, and many Anglican churches affiliated with the movement do include non-licensed individuals in ministry settings. However, this must always occur under proper oversight from the incumbent, with clear safeguarding, and without undermining the integrity of licensed ministry.

Safeguarding training is mandatory for licensed lay ministers, but for non-licensed individuals involved in prayer ministry, oversight must ensure they’ve completed appropriate training—even if not publicly listed. Displaying safeguarding status on church noticeboards is not required, but clear internal records and visible team identification are strongly recommended.

A Short Story: The Fool of Assisi

The Fool of Assisi

In the sun-drenched hills of Umbria, a young man named Francis dreamed not of prayer, but of glory. He listened to troubadours sing of knights and valour, and saw himself among them - armoured, noble, destined to right wrongs. With a heart full of fire, he rode to Perugia, seeking war and honour. But the battlefield offered no triumph. Captured and imprisoned, Francis sat in a stone cell, his dreams crumbling like the mortar around him.

When he was released, he wandered aimlessly through the countryside. The songs of knights no longer stirred him. He sought something deeper, though he did not yet know what. One day, on a dusty road, he saw a leper approaching. The man’s face was ravaged, his gait slow and painful. Francis recoiled, fear rising in his throat. But then - something stirred. A voice, not his own, whispered: Face your fear.

Francis stepped forward. He embraced the leper, held him close, and gave him alms. The man’s eyes shone with gratitude. Francis walked on, changed.

Soon after, he came upon the ruined Church of San Damiano. Its stones were crumbling, its altar bare. As he knelt to pray, a voice echoed through the silence: Repair my house. Francis looked around. He understood. He pledged himself to the task, giving up his fine clothes and family wealth. With bare hands, he lifted stone after stone. Others saw his devotion and joined him.

But Francis was not meant to stay in one place. He set off to preach - not with sermons of grandeur, but with stories of holy poverty, of tending the sick and loving the poor. In every village, he brought warmth and humility. In Gubbio, he heard of a wolf that terrorized the town. The villagers begged him to stay away.

Instead, Francis walked into the woods.

He found the wolf - massive, snarling, eyes like fire. But Francis did not flinch. He spoke gently: Brother Wolf, you are hungry. But you must not harm. The wolf paused. Something passed between them. From that day, the wolf lived peacefully among the people, fed and cared for.

Another time, Francis stood in a meadow and preached to birds. They gathered in silence, wings folded, heads tilted. When he finished, they flew off in a flurry of colour, as if carrying his words to the sky.

Years passed. Francis grew frail. His sight dimmed - Brother Sun no longer warmed him, Brother Moon faded into shadow. He withdrew to pray alone. That night, something miraculous occurred. His hands bore the marks of Christ - the stigmata - visible signs of holy suffering. Those who saw them wept, not in sorrow, but in awe.

He died not as a ruler, but as a fool - God’s fool. The little man of Assisi who had embraced lepers, tamed wolves, preached to birds, and rebuilt broken churches. He changed far more than those who ruled kingdoms.

And in the quiet places of Umbria, his spirit still walks - barefoot, humble, and radiant.

Whiskers and the Candles: A Church Mouse’s Reflection

Whiskers and the Candles: A Church Mouse’s Reflection

Whiskers had lived beneath the chancel steps of St Adwen’s Church (which is in the village of Advent near Camelford in the County of Cornwall) for many winters. He knew the creak of every pew, the scent of old hymnals, and the way the light fell through the stained glass just before evensong. But this All Souls felt… thinner.

Last year, the candles had come slowly. One by one, lit with trembling hands and whispered names. Whiskers had watched from his usual perch behind the organ pedal, where the dust was warm and the echoes kind. Each flame had seemed to carry a story - grief, love, memory - and the silence between names had been thick enough to nest in.

But this year, it was different.

The humans came forward all at once, bustling like squirrels before rain. Candles lit in clusters followed by names (already written on leaves of card), hung on the tree. The list was read in batches - no pause, no breath, just a few seconds hush between the names to hang the leaf. Whiskers twitched his whiskers in confusion. Where had the stillness gone? Where were the dimmed lights that let the candles blaze in glory?

He missed the old rhythm. The way the vicar used to kneel. The way Mrs. Penrose always lit two candles - one for her husband, one for the son she never spoke of. The way the silence used to stretch long enough for Whiskers to imagine heaven as a place of listening. The gentle words sung between each lot of names.

Now, it felt like a checklist. Efficient. Kind, yes - but hurried. The candles flickered, but they didn’t seem to speak.

Later that night, when the church was empty and the moon hung low over hillside, Whiskers scampered up to the tree of light. He sniffed the leaves. Names. Many names, but not as many as last year. He sat beneath them and listened - not to the humans, but to the memory that lingered in the card.

And he whispered, in mouse-language, the only prayer he knew:

Kindle a flame to lighten the dark,
And take all fear away.

The tree didn’t answer. But one candle, still flickering in the dark, gave a little sigh. And Whiskers knew that somewhere, the silence still held.

The Sunday Archive: The Pilot, July 1997 - Part 2

The Sunday Archive: The Pilot, July 1997 - Part 2

PARISH LETTERS

ST LUKES
From DAVID JONES Priest-in-Charge

LOOKING AFTER THE ROOTS

UNDER the trees in the Vicarage garden previous owners have cut out borders and beds for shrubs and flowers. Under the great oak, by the front wall, a semi-circular border around the tree is shaded and cool. The gardeners amongst you will know that it is also dry from the shade of the tree. It is a lovely place to sit but needs some plants with simple colour and beauty, but most of all it needs some good compost to nourish and feed the little plants throughout the summer with its hot sun. Well, the work has been done and the plants are growing well. I hope they look a picture for our Church Summer Tea and later our Fun Day in August for all ages. Looking after the roots makes such a difference.

How true that is for our faith as well; the "feeding" of our friendship with Jesus. It is always sad to see someone who has become a Christian lose their grip on faith. However, Jesus warned that it could happen and his words act as a warning to us all. He gives us, like a good gardener, three "tips" to help us be fruitful (or if you prefer, blooming) Christians.

First, we need to hear His word. Committed to a regular encounter with Him in the Scriptures and the nourishment of the Sacrament. But sadly those who meet with Him in the reading of the Bible each day are in a minority in the church today. Just like those who meet him in the Sacrament in one of the six other days of each week. Is there someone you could encourage to become a regular Bible reader and attendee at a weekday service? If you don't hear Him, you don't grow!

Second, we need to understand what we read, hear and pray. Jesus gives us gifted Bible teachers and priests. Many of our churches have Bible groups, prayer groups and "prayer schools" to help us grow in understanding as well as help each other.

Third — and vitally — we need to allow this nourishment and feeding of God to "produce a crop" in us. Good feeding will be seen. Good well-fed "Roots" will produce good, joyful and "colourful" Christians who will stand out. Jesus has harsh words to say about "hearers" who were not also "doers."

Well, how are your Christian roots? Do you need some good God-given "Compost" so that you can "Bloom" better for Him? Then take the opportunities all around, services, groups, books, and don't be barren unproductive "soil" for Jesus. Feeding the roots makes all the difference.

DIARY DATES
1st: W.I. Concert, 8 pm in church.
9th: Jersey Senior Girls Choir Concert, 7.30 pm in church.
11th-12th: 'The Water Babies' by St Luke's Community Theatre, 7.30 pm in the church hall.
13th: Sunday School Sports Day at Green Island, 2 pm.
15th: St Cecilia Concert, 8 pm in church. 19th: St Luke's Summer Fayre, 10 am
20th: Songs of Praise in support of Help the Aged in Jersey.
24th: Millennium Brass Concert, 8 pm in church.
25th: Barn Dance, 8 pm in the church hall.

REGISTERS

HOLY BAPTISM. 4th May, Lucy Jane Bevis, Travis Lee Berthou; 1st June, Alexander John Lopes.

HOLY MATRIMONY. 24th May, Mark Coxhall and Emma Pini.

FUNERAL. 12th May, Colin Veitch.

ST HELIER
JOHN SEAFORD Rector

THE social highlight of May was undoubtedly the Georgian Evening at the Assembly Room in the Town Hall, attended by the Constable. It was an enjoyable evening with an amusing and fascinating talk by Peter Le Rossignol about life in a grand house some 200 years ago, including some of the naughtier bits! Hopefully, when all the financial arithmetic is settled, the profit should allow us to close the special project fund for the time being. The screen to enclose the narthex area should be in place before the end of the summer.

Our thanks to all who have contributed in any way to ensure that this scheme has been so successful. The support of the Constable and assistance of the Town Hall staff has been much appreciated. The generosity of one or two major donors, and the ongoing financial support of many others over many months, with the administrative skills and innovatory enthusiasm of a few, particularly Dina Sewrey and Helen Seaford, and the steady efforts of cake-makers, musicians, barbecue chefs, et alia, have all combined to provide our Parish Church with a greatly admired aesthetic and practical improvement. Thank you, all.

This month includes St Helier Day. The traditional annual Pilgrimage to Elizabeth Castle for an ecumenical service, and a visit to the Hermitage, takes place on the preceding Sunday. Many churches in the Island are now supporting this event, and it would be good if a larger number of our own congregation sup-ported our choir, which always turns out in great numbers. You can either join the procession, or go across in your time, on foot or by transport. Because of the tides, the pilgrimage procession leaves the Town Church at 4.30 pm. Why not take a picnic tea, and enjoy fellowship after the service with others as we all commemorate our patron Martyr.

On his feast day, 16th July, the anniversary of his martyrdom, there will again be a short service of Holy Communion out in the Hermitage at 1 pm. Because of the tides it will be impossible to walk out at that time: and our main parish celebration will take place in church at 7.30 pm, followed by a reception at the Deanery. All members of the congregation are invited.

Over the following days, the Town Church will provide the setting for a Flower Festival, "A Pocketful of Posies", to celebrate the centenary of the work of the Children's Society in Jersey. The theme will be nursery rhymes. Please tell your friends about it; and do come and see it. I know it will be worthwhile; and the work of the Children's Society will benefit greatly.

We are becoming more conscious of the needs of others. After small beginnings with various shoe-boxes, the call for handbags received a splendid response. Nearly 100 handbags, all crammed with necessities and luxuries, were provided by the ladies of the congregation, and their acquaintances at work and play, for their displaced and deprived "sisters" in Bosnia.

Next month, on Friday 1st August, we shall be pleased to host a concert by Heidelberger Kammerorchester (The Heidelberg Chamber Orchestra) who are on tour. They will perform works by Vivaldi, Mozart, Purcell and Telemann.

REGISTERS

HOLY BAPTISM. 25th May, Ryan Jordan Cheshire, Taylor Jay Hooson; Mia Traynor; 1st June, Georgia-May Catherine Gabb; 8th June, Charles Felix Zaman.

FUNERALS. 13th May, John Sheehan; 15th May, John Albert Botrel; 3rd June, Euphemia Neasham.

ST LAWRENCE
From
ALASTAIR FORMAN Priest-in-Charge

WE have made some good progress with our Restoration Project at St Lawrence. After the Ecclesiastical Assembly of 28th April, an Appeal Group was formed to manage the financing of the work. The group consists of the following: Myself as Chairman, Steve Meiklejohn (Deputy Chairman), Duncan Baxter (Treasurer), Anne Bougourd (Secretary), Anne Binney (Events), David Edwards (Publicity) and Julie Reeves (Parishioners Abroad).

Members of the Appeal Group will be looking for help in their particular tasks, and we hope to involve as many church members as possible in this long term project.

At the Ecclesiastical Assembly we committed ourselves to the first two phases of the project, at a cost of £150,000. The overall "ball park" figure, however, is £285,000. Although substantial help is coming from the Parish (£100,000 this year), we need to begin work on raising the rest.

The Appeal will be launched on 19th July at a Summer Party at Domaine Des Vaux, by the kind invitation of Marcus and Anne Binney. A Buffet Supper in a marquee will be followed by dancing to live music. Tickets can be bought from Anne Bougourd (Tel. 862649) and Julie Reeves (861241) at a cost of £15 each. We look forward to seeing as many as possible there - bring a friend!

The Ecclesiastical Court sits at St Lawrence on 14th July at 10 am. The Court's approval of the project is required before we can begin the work. We would value your prayers for wisdom and goodwill.

We hope to have much enjoyment in working towards this project. I'm sure that there will be great side benefits in terms of fellowship and increased faith. My prayer is that as the project develops, so God will be shaping our lives individually and corporately, and creating a building and a people to be used together in gathering many to the Lord Jesus Christ.

ST MATTHEW

THERE is much to thank God for at St Matthew's, not least the fact that about 40 per cent of our congregation is made up of young people under 16. The work, however, is not confined to the church site on a Sunday. There is a thriving JAM (Jesus and Me club) for 7-10 year olds meeting at the St Lawrence Community Centre on Fridays, from 4.30 to 6 pm (further details from Pam Hewlett on xxxxxx). Many of the children who come are not churchgoers, but they are introduced to the gospel through the friendship of the leaders, and through a short talk from a guest speaker each week. Activities include sports and games, craftwork and cooking.

Some of our Pathfinders are involved in the Oasis Youth Club at the St Paul's Centre on Saturday evenings. Their faith has grown considerably through this work, and they have developed friendships with other Christian young people in the Island, which must be a good thing.

It is good to open our doors to one another, and to the non-church going community. Our Tuesday Evening Celebrations (2nd and 4th Tuesdays in the month at 8 pm in St Matthew's Church Hall) are open to members of other churches, and also to those who are interested in Jesus, but who find the formality and traditions of much Christian worship difficult. Our belief is that, although the message cannot be changed, the methods by which we express it and preach it can. Different sections of the community are reached in different ways, and the church is duty bound to find every way possible, and not to be bound by side issues. The particular style of Tuesday evening is informal and relaxed. The worship is lead by a band: it is followed by teaching and ministry in the power of the Holy Spirit. Coffee and buns are on hand throughout, and all are welcome

Samhain Feasts

Clans gather on Tara’s Hill under moonlight for Samhain, marking the year’s end with firelit feasts, bardic tales, and ancient rites. Magic stirs, heroes ride, and dawn breaks as the old year dies and the new begins.

Samhain Feasts

We gather on the hill that night
The clans are called to Tara’s Hill
The soft and sweet moonlight
Blesses ancient Samhain still

Fires in the fall, flames leap high
Joyful feasts this quarter night
Baked the bread of barley rye
Quaffed the mead by fire light

Tales of old, the Bards do sing
Ancient chieftains’ might deeds
Fey enchantments, magic ring
And galloping on mighty steeds

The old year dies, the new is born
Samhain night, and breaking dawn

Graveyards of the Mind: A Samhain Story

Graveyards of the Mind: A Samhain Story

The veil was thin that night.

She walked alone beneath the ash trees, their branches bare and whispering. The air held the scent of peat smoke and damp earth, and somewhere beyond the hedgerow, a bonfire crackled—its flames licking the sky like tongues of memory.

It was Samhain, the hinge of the year. The time when the living remembered the dead, and the dead remembered the living.

She carried no lantern. Only a bundle of votive offerings: a lock of hair, a folded letter, a shard of broken pottery. Each one a fragment of love, of loss, of promises made and never kept.

At the edge of the field stood the dolmen—the ancient stones, hunched like elders in council. She knelt before them, placing her offerings in the hollow where rain pooled and moss grew thick. Her breath rose in clouds. Her heart beat like a drum.

“Bone of my bone,” she whispered. “Joy and sorrow both. I remember.”

The wind stirred. Shadows gathered. And from the dark came the flicker of second sight.

She saw them—not as ghosts, but as echoes. Her grandmother, weaving by firelight. Her brother, laughing in the surf. A lover, long gone, eyes full of apology. They did not speak. They did not need to.

She wept - not from fear, but from recognition. The ache of parting, the cost of love. And as her tears fell, she lit a candle and placed it among the stones.

The flame danced. The veil shimmered. And something lifted.

Not the grief. That would remain. But the fear - the fear of forgetting, of being forgotten.

She stood, lighter now. The bonfire still burned in the distance, and the stars blinked overhead like ancestral eyes.

She walked home slowly, through the graveyards of the mind, knowing she was not alone.

Visitors Guide to The Channel Islands 1967 - Eating Out - Part 2

ROTISSERIE DU GRAND HOTEL

Grand Hotel, St. Helier. Tel. Central 22301— opposite West Park Pavilion.

Manager: Mr. L. L. Sangan, F.H.C.I. Chef: Hans Kleis (Continental-trained and experienced in the leading hotels in Germany, Switzerland, England and the West Indies. He has been at the Grand for five years).

Continental dishes—with specialities varying from week to week--are offered in a freshly-decorated dining room. The emphasis in decor is on the contrast in texture of natural materials, wood, copper, jute cloth and brickwork against sharp colours. The theme is based on copper sculptured murals, which in turn are based on the Tassily Frescoes.

Lunch: 12.45-2.30 p.m. Dinner: 7-11 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and until midnight the other days of the week when dinner dances are held.

MARINA GRILL
Portelet. Tel. 42561.

Proprietor. Mr. Clement Faria. Chef: Antonio.
Head Waiter: Bruno.

A Continental atmosphere with a superb view of the south coast of the Island greets diners at the Marina Grill. A first-class international cuisine is available, with such specialities as Mignonettes des Gourmets and Shish Kebab. Mr. Faria was, until this year, the chef at another leading restaurant in the Island, and he is now assisted in attending to customers by his attractive Dutch-born wife, Joke.

Lunch: 12.30-3 p.m. Dinner: 7-11 p.m.

WOODVILLE

St. Saviour's Road, St. Helier. Tel. 21212. Manager: Mr. Ismo Brogi.

Chef: Hans Kubert (a German with wide Continental experience).
Head Waiter: Giacomo Pini.

English and Continental meals are served in an intimate Spanish-styled restaurant. A favourite dish amongst Island diners is the Black Forest Cake. An international range of wines are available from the cellar, and each night there is dancing to the Sophisticats.

Prices are exceptionally reasonable—lunch 12s.6d. and dinner 15s.6d.

Lunch: 12.45-2 p.m. Dinner 7-9 p.m.

THE OLD COURT HOUSE

St. Aubin. Tel. 41156 Proprietor: Ronnie Ronald.

Chef: Antonio Correia (who has been at the Old Court House for seven years.).
Head Waiter: Rino.

Silver candelabras fitted with red candles on each table do much towards creating the intimate atmosphere for which this restaurant is famed. Alongside St. Aubin's Harbour, the restaurant offers a very wide range of Continental dishes and an excellent selection of sea food. There is also an extensive wine list.

Lunch: 1-2. p.m. Dinner: 7 p.m.-midnight.

St. Brelade's Bay Hotel, St. Brelade. Tel. 43281.
Proprietor: D. J. Brecknell.
Chef: A. Steigenberger (he has been with the hotel for eight years).
Head Waiter: Darco Calanchi.

After dining in the hotel restaurant with its French cooking and wide range of wines, diners are recommended to move through to The Bay, Jersey's smartest night-spot and home of the "In-crowd." Swinging music is provided in the club—open from 8.30 to midnight—by The Soul-Cousins.

* THE SWIMMING POOL—where we offer membership facilities.

Open from 8 a.m.-11 p.m. May to October. Heated to a delightful 70 degrees.
Cocktail Bar with Waiter Service.
Adequate changing facilities.
Supervised by a professional life-guard. Apply for membership.

THE STEAK HOUSE
Charing Cross. Tel. 30886.

Manager: Karl Heinz.
Head Waiter: Franco Ghatti.

Olde-worlde surroundings in the heart of town and a wide range of Continental foods—with the emphasis on steaks—are available at The Steak House. This year a new cold buffet and grill have been added to the excellent facilities which include selecting one's own steak by weight and having it cooked on an open charcoal grill. A new wine list has also been prepared, and diners can choose from 41 different wines.

Lunch: 12.30-3 p.m. Dinner: 6 p.m.-midnight and 1 a.m.

Inflationary Feedback on the DFDS Flat Rate

Inflationary Feedback on the DFDS Flat Rate

The JEP Reports that: “THE government’s deal with DFDS has been published – which reveals that the fee the ferry operator must pay for its exclusivity is performance related, mean average fares are capped, and prices can only go up by inflation, except under exceptional circumstances.”

Minister Kirsten Morel was very pleased about this. Examining the redacted agreement, I note that Clause 20 and Schedule 3 of the DFDS–Jersey concession agreement establish a flat-rate freight pricing model, define inflation-linked adjustments, and outline how DFDS sets and reviews its charges. These sections are central to understanding the cost implications for retailers and consumers.

Clause 20 governs how DFDS sets prices for its ferry services. Key points include:

- Flat-Rate Charges: DFDS applies a fixed price per lane metre for freight - £56 for standard freight and £45 for non-time-sensitive goods.
- No Volume Discounts: Unlike the previous Condor model, DFDS does not offer bulk shipping incentives. All customers pay the same rate per unit of space, regardless of shipment size.
- Transparency and Review: DFDS must publish its pricing structure and notify the Island Authority of any proposed changes. However, the clause does not require approval for price changes unless they breach performance or inflation caps.

Also important is Schedule 3 – Pricing and Mean Average Pricing. This schedule expands on Clause 20 with technical details:

- Mean Average Pricing: DFDS must ensure that the average fare across all bookings remains within a defined range, preventing excessive price hikes.
- Inflation Adjustment Formula: Prices may be adjusted annually based on a weighted blend of:
        - 50% UK Consumer Prices Index (CPI)
        - 50% Jersey Retail Price Index excluding mortgage interest (RPIX)

- If inflation is negative, the adjustment is capped at zero - no price reductions required.

What are the immediate implications for Jersey

- Loss of Economies of Scale: Retailers who previously paid less per unit for larger shipments now face uniform charges, eroding margins. Morrisons reported a 6.1% cost increase within five months of implementation.

- Price Inflation Risk: Higher freight costs may be passed on to consumers, especially for food and household essentials.

The Inflationary Feedback Loop

The Minister argues the flat rate improves transparency and fairness, and importantly is fixed to rises no higher than the RPI (as per the calculation details above). However because the flat rate is linked to RPI there is a feedback loop which he does not mention.

Recent statistics on the RPI show a local rise in inflation. It should be noted that food and non-alcoholic beverages account for approximately 11.6% of Jersey’s RPI basket as of the 2024 update. This makes it one of the most influential categories in measuring inflation and cost-of-living changes on the island.

Now freight costs directly affect food prices, especially in Jersey where most food is imported. So if DFDS’s flat-rate model raises food import costs, it can disproportionately impact the RPI due to food’s high weighting. And since DFDS freight rates are partly indexed to Jersey RPIX, this creates a self-reinforcing loop:

Higher freight flat rate → higher food prices → higher RPI → higher freight flat rate again.

This is part of the equation which has not been made public in all the hype by the Minister over the advantages of having a flat rate limited to RPI. This means that there are two key factors at play:

- Structural Inflation Risk: The model embeds a self-reinforcing mechanism that could drive cost-of-living inflation, especially in an import-reliant island economy.
- No Downward Adjustment: If inflation turns negative, the agreement caps reductions at zero—freight rates don’t fall.

So if Jersey RPI rises sharply due to local food inflation (e.g. from freight costs), but UK CPI remains lower, the overall increase in DFDS rates is dampened. But this is only a partial break. Jersey RPI is more sensitive to local food and freight costs, so it captures the inflationary impact of the flat rate more directly. Also the formula doesn’t include a cap or smoothing mechanism, so even modest UK CPI increases can still allow for significant freight rate hikes when combined with rising Jersey RPI.

An example:

Let’s say:
Jersey RPI rises 6% (due to food and freight)
UK CPI rises 3%

Then the freight rate increase would be:
(0.5 x 6%)+(0.5 x 3%) = 4.5%

So the UK CPI tempers the increase—but not enough to break the feedback loop if Jersey’s inflation is being driven by the freight system itself.

In conclusion

A flat rate mechanism can lead to less rises than, for instance, the large price rise created by Condor in one year, but to say that it is capped by RPI is disingenuous as this ignores the effect of an inflationary feedback loop.

Also to consider...

What about exceptional circumstances - DFDS can formally propose a pricing variation if operating conditions change materially. In a future blog, I will consider what would count as this kind of change, and the mechanisms in the agreement which come into play.

And finally... the agreement was published as a scanned and unsearchable PDF. Publishing a redacted agreement may be transparent, but it is not really as helpful as it could be. 

Christianity in Action: Lesson 6: Humility Shown in our Treatment of Strangers and Foreigners

Christianity in Action: Lesson 6: Humility Shown in our Treatment of Strangers and Foreigners
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 FIRST SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY.

PASSAGE TO BE READ : St. Matthew ii. 1-15.

TEXT TO BE LEARNT: “God hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth “(Acts xvii. 26).

HYMNS: “As with gladness men of old " and " Jesus shall reign."

COLLECTS for Palm Sunday and Ninth Sunday after Trinity.

AIM: To lead the class to think in a friendly way of foreign nations and to support foreign missions.

1 PRIDE OF RACE.

(a) Last week we spoke of Humility. For three weeks we will see some ways in which this Christian virtue improves the character. One common form of Pride is Race Pride. Patriotism is good. If a boy said he loved the women of Timbuctoo as much as he loved his own mother, he would be talking nonsense. If he said that he loved Brazil as much as he loved England, he would be talking nonsense also. It is natural to love best the country that we know best, the country that produced us. But, if we get rude and contemptuous to foreigners, and treat them as though they were inferiors, this is a most objectionable form of conceit.

(b) Punch had a picture of two village louts watching a passer-by. This was their conversation : " Who is that ? " " A stranger." " Then heave half a brick at him." Why should they want to treat him badly just because he was a stranger ? Yet most races have felt the temptation to do this.

(c) The ancient Greeks called all foreigners “Barbarians." Whether they were speaking of educated Egyptians or conquering Romans or savage negroes, it made no difference. If they were not Greeks, they were barbarians.

(d) The Eskimo say that first God made a white man, but He was not satisfied. So He tried again, and made a perfect man, and this perfect race is the Eskimo.

(e) Illinois is one of the states of the United States. This is the Indian word for " Man." The Red Indians of that district used to regard all other tribes as animals. They themselves were the only true " Men."

(f) The Chinese till quite recent times spoke of all other nations as " Foreign Devils," and were prepared to murder foreigners on the smallest excuse.

(g) The Jews were often the worst offenders in this respect. They despised and hated Gentiles. One of their famous Rabbis taught : " The best of snakes ought to have its head smashed. The best among Gentiles deserves to be killed " (Simon ben Yohai).

II. THE OLD TESTAMENT AND THE FOREIGNER.

(a) Yet many of the stories in their Old Testament were written to rebuke this spirit. In the Wilderness Moses married a “Cushitic woman “(Num. xii. 1). Now, the Cushites were Ethiopians, and the Ethiopians were negroes. (The word Cush means " black.") Miriam, Moses' sister, strongly objected to a negress as her sister-in-law. She took Aaron with her, and began to scold Moses violently. But God showed that He had no objection to Moses' black wife, for Miriam was punished by being struck with leprosy.

(b) In the Wilderness two brothers came to join the Israelites. They were Kenezites (Joshua xiv. 14), and the Kenezites were a clan of the Edomites (Gen. xxxvi. 40). They did not get much of a welcome. The Israelites called the elder brother Caleb, which means Dog. Yet Caleb rose to be one of their leaders. He and Joshua were the only two spies who were faithful. When the land was conquered, he was given the country around Hebron, and his descendants became one of the chief clans of the tribe of Judah: so a large section of the leading tribe were not Jews but Edomites. Othniel, the other brother, became the first Judge.

(c) A better known story is the story of Jonah. God called him to go and preach to the heathen city of Nineveh, the capital of Assyria. But Jews hated Assyrians, and were often at war with them ; so to escape this call Jonah pretended that he had urgent business in the opposite direction, and took ship for Spain (Tarshish). When the great storm turned him back, and he had to go after all, he just marched through the streets shouting that Nineveh would be destroyed; and, when the Ninevites repented, and God pardoned them, he was furiously angry, and he said: “I do well to be angry even unto death." But the prophet who tells us this story (the Book of Jonah comes among the Minor Prophets) makes us feel all through how wrong Jonah's attitude was. The story was his way of teaching the Jews that they must not hate foreigners, but do all that they could to help them.

d) In the Jewish Law-book there stood the very clear command : " God loveth the stranger. Love ye therefore the stranger, for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt."

III. THE NEW TESTAMENT AND THE FOREIGNER.

(a) When we turn to the New Testament, we find it full of the teaching of Christ, Who came to be “a Light to lighteth the Gentiles." In the very first chapter St. Matthew goes out of his way to show that our Lord had foreign blood in His veins. In the list of His ancestors he only mentions four women, but two of these are foreigners, belonging to nations whom the Jews specially hated—Rahab, the Canaanite woman who hid the spies in Jericho, and Ruth, the Moabitess.

(b) In the second chapter we reach the Epiphany story. Christmas was past. Joseph had found a house for Mary and her Baby. One night there came a knock at the door. Mary opened it, and found a group of dark-skinned foreigners who asked if they might come in to see her little Child. They were Magi, Wise Men who thought they could read messages in the stars. In their distant home in the Far East they had seen a star, which seemed to them to mean that a wonderful King had been born in Palestine. They had saddled their camels, and travelled for months, and now had arrived. Did Mary slam the door in their faces ? Did she say that she was not going to have any nasty foreigners in her house ? No. She welcomed them in, and the Baby Christ stretched out His Hands to greet them. Read Passage. Notice the other name for Epiphany in the Prayer Book—" the Manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles." Later tradition made one of the Magi a European, one a Negro, and one an Asiatic, to picture all races meeting round our Lord's cradle.

(c) Later in the New Testament we find a big struggle going on. The first Christians were all Jews, for our Lord spent His life in Palestine, and, when the Church began to spread through the world, some of these Jewish Christians said, " We are not going to have any foreigners in our Church." But St. Paul withstood them. Quote text. Christ had said, " Make disciples of all the nations " (St. Matt. xxviii. 19). And St. Paul was so clearly right that in later years the Church took as its name the Catholic Church, which means the Church for every nation.

IV. OUR DUTY TO THE FOREIGNER.

(a) Let us now learn three practical duties. Be courteous to Foreigners. When Edward VII visited Italy, he greatly

pleased the Italians by a little act of courtesy. The carpet laid down from the yacht to his carriage was not long enough. There was a nasty patch of mud in which the King would have to tread. A harbour official covered it with an Italian flag. When the King saw it, he stepped on one side into the mud, and saluted the flag. He would not hurt the feelings of the Italians by treading on their national colours.

(b) Be friendly to Foreigners. In 1920 the Boy Scouts held what they called a Jamboree in London. Ten thousand scouts were there from twenty-five different nations. There were Scouts from Denmark, Spain and China, Chile, Persia and Japan, Holland, Hawaii and Honolulu. They lived together in a great Camp in Richmond Park. Did they quarrel because they belonged to different nations ? No ; they were the best of friends. " Every scout a brother " was their motto. The same year a much more important meeting was held in Paris to form the League of Nations. There had been plenty of national Parliaments, but now there was to be one Parliament of all the nations, meeting at Geneva. There in a big house facing the snow mountains officials are working every day. to help all nations to understand each other better, to smooth away causes of quarrel, to prevent war. The League wants all nations to be like the Scouts in Richmond Park.

(c) Be ready to help Foreigners. The Foreign Missionary movement is the finest thing that England has ever done to help other nations. Think of the thousands of English men and women who have left home, and gone to live among Negroes and Chinamen and Red Indians, to open schools and hospitals, to lead them away from cruel customs, to teach them how to be better men and women. Two hundred years ago there lived in Germany a boy named Nicolaus Zinzendorf. Some boys are fond of forming gangs, and Nicolaus formed his playmates into a society. They said, " A society must have a name," and they called theirs The Order of the Grain of Mustard Seed, for they said, " Though we are small now, we hope to grow very big, and Christ said, A grain of mustard seed is the least of all seeds, but it becometh a tree." Next they said, " We must have a pledge," and at last they chose, " Members of our Society promise to love the whole human race." Then came the question, " What shall we do ? " Nicolaus said, " If we love the whole human race, let us collect money for the missionaries." It was a splendid answer. The Order of the Grain of Mustard Seed became the first Children's Missionary League on record.