The Valley of Eagles

Isa 40:31 Those who trust in the LORD for help will find their strength renewed. They will rise on wings like eagles; they will run and not get weary; they will walk and not grow weak.

And yet we all grow old and we do get weary.

As Charles Aznavour sang:

Yesterday when I was young
The taste of life was sweet as rain upon my tongue
I teased at life as if it were a foolish game
The way the evening breeze may tease a candle flame

The thousand dreams I dreamed, the splendid things I planned
I always built, alas, on weak and shifting sand
I lived by night and shunned the naked light of day
And only now I see how the years ran away



And on our journey, people fall by the wayside, those who are strangers, those who are friends, and those whom we loved. For me, this time of year especially, when I lost Annie is a time of memory and grief. To use the words of Aznavour again, in "C'est fini":

I can't detach my eyes of your face
And I can't stop thinking about tomorrow
Which is already like a bad storm
Which will wash our laughters
In the water of my sorrows

My heart is torn
And I hate to understand
That the words you utter
All Want to say "goodbye"
I look without seeing
I listen without hearing
Grief surprises me
Silent stands up



Last week's Doctor Who also dealt with grief in a mature way, and while the children no doubt appreciated the monsters, it was the very poignant funeral oration at the end that I found wonderful, heartfelt, and true:

GRAHAM: Lots of you knew Grace longer than me, so I can't stand here and pretend to know everything about her. I wasn't her first husband, but she said I would do for a second attempt. I can only tell you about the Grace I met, when I thought I didn't have much time left. The... the Grace that showed me life had more to offer, and... And I know if she was here now, she'd tell us not to be so sad. You see, I can hear her saying to me, Graham, we had three glorious years, what're you complaining about? I'm complaining because I wanted more. You see, Grace was a better person than I could ever be. And I should have gone and... Grace should still be here.

[Outside Ryan's home]

DOCTOR: What did you mean in your speech, you thought you'd run out of time?

GRAHAM: Oh, well, er, I had cancer and er... Well, strictly speaking, I'm still in remission, three years gone. And Grace was my chemo nurse. That's where we met and fell in love. So by rights, I shouldn't even be here.

YASMIN: Have you got family?

DOCTOR: No. Lost them a long time ago.

RYAN: How do you cope with that?

DOCTOR: I carry them with me. What they would've thought and said and done. I make them a part of who I am. So even though they're gone from the world, they're never gone from me.

GRAHAM: That's the sort of thing Grace would have said.

How do we cope with grief? We can either bury the grief, pretend it doesn't happen, lock it in a box, or we can carry those we loved with us, as the Doctor says here. And this is not the first time we have been reminded of memory and grief:



DOCTOR: You miss him very much, don't you?

VICTORIA: It's only when I close my eyes. I can still see him standing there, before those horrible Dalek creatures came to the house. He was a very kind man, I shall never forget him. Never.

DOCTOR: No, of course you won't. But, you know, the memory of him won't always be a sad one.

VICTORIA: I think it will. You can't understand, being so ancient.

DOCTOR: Eh?

VICTORIA: I mean old.

DOCTOR: Oh.

VICTORIA: You probably can't remember your family.

DOCTOR: Oh yes, I can when I want to. And that's the point, really. I have to really want to, to bring them back in front of my eyes. The rest of the time they sleep in my mind, and I forget. And so will you. Oh yes, you will.





In the film, "Valley of Eagles", a pastoral people live in the shadow of a mountain, and hunt with eagles because they fear the snows above. The valley is a refuge, but is under constant threat of avalanches from the mountains which overhang it. This is why the hunters hunt defend the village from wolves by hunting with eagles, not guns, and why the children in the village can never laugh or play. Fear overhangs all.

But at the end, they overcome their fear, and joy returns. The avalanche comes, and it is not as fearful as they thought. They do not die. Their hope is renewed.

This is the true meaning of Isaiah, not that our bodies and minds won't grow old, because of course they will, but that we do not let our spirit die though fear or despair. We mourn, and we ourselves will be mourned, but for now, we face the future with our spirit renewed.

Isa 40:31 Those who trust in the LORD for help will find their strength renewed. They will rise on wings like eagles; they will run and not get weary; they will walk and not grow weak.

Ascension

At the moment I am watching Enterprise with my youngest son. This was the show that Annie and I had begun to watch in 2009, little knowing that she would never have time to see it all. There is something bittersweet about watching those early episodes again, reminding me of this time of year, of today, October 13th 2009, when I received a fateful phone call while out at a client.

Grief is the price we pay for love, but all told, it is a price that I think is worth paying. Like C.S. Lewis and Joy Davidman, we only had a bare 5 years together, but that was a joyful time that I will never forget.

At All Souls day, at the end of the month, I shall be going to the annual church service at St Brelade's Church, where the names of the dead are read out, and where we can go forward and light a candle for them. At the end of that service, the empty tray of sand is full of candles shining brightly, each one an expression of love.

And I may well go tomorrow to the cliff top at Beauport, if it is not too windy, and recall how I went there with friends (and their dog Milly, now also dead), and we scattered her ashes so that the wind would take them out from the rocky cliffs and lift them high up over the sea. She ascended.

Ascension

It is that time again, the time of ending

The phone call on that fateful day

My beloved lost to me that way

Torn apart in death’s own rendering

Fate’s fabric torn, beyond all mending

Tears, heartbreak, and grief’s dismay

It is that time again, the time of ending

The phone call on that fateful day

  

Memories of such joy now attending

Life together, but love’s price to pay

Lighting a candle, I weep and pray

Ashes above cliff top, she is ascending

It is that time again, the time of ending

This is Jersey - 1979 - Part 13

From 1979 comes this holiday guide - "This is Jersey". This is a flat brochure which is larger that the later glossy designs, and it doesn't have nearly as many pages - 16 double sided in all, including front and back covers.

It does provide a very interesting snapshot of the tourism scene in 1979, just as it was more or less at its peak, just before Bergerac launched, and before the package tour market and cheap holiday destinations abroad made Jersey's prices suddenly more expensive and the bottom fell out of the market.

Tourism is today rebuilding a new approach geared to the lifestyle of the modern tourist. It still has plenty to offer, but the old style of tourism probably won't sell today. But here's a chance to capture that flavour.

The guide says

"Jersey is definitely a place with plenty to offer in the way of nightlife. Shows range from the slick, sophisticated cabarets to the singalongs, crazy nights and discos. There's bound to be something for everyone."

Hotel de L'Europe was rebranded and changed to "Chambers". But in 1979 before it changed, it had become part of a lively nightclub scene, what I suppose Montfort Tadier would say was part of a "vibrant" night life in Jersey..

Before it's 1979 time as a night spot,  Karl Marx stayed there in 1879, writing in a letter.

"To-morrow we move to the Hotel de L'Europe, in St. Helier. We are giving up St. Aubin's because Jessy and I have a horror of a monotonous dally lamb and mutton diet, as a result of which I have become a reluctant vegetarian over the past few days"

Pedro's Restaurant has also gone, but I'm not sure if it didn't relocate to St Aubin where there is a restaurant there now with the same name. Perhaps someone knows?

The Tartan Bar has gone. The floor of the bar was covered with a tartan carpet! The Seagrove Hotel was built on the cliffside at Corbiere.  It's all gone now.

At Behan's at West Park is the lovely Mary Mason whose glamour alone would give her a billing on any programme even if she did not also possess a truly great voice

The Big Night Out at the New Mediterranean, Five Mile Road, certainly lives up to its name. The show stars the irrepressible comic impersonator Dustin Gee.

Appearing at Behans is 18 year old Russ Stevens, winner of the "young magician of the year" award and, despite his tender years, a veteran of theatre and club shows with some of the countries top show business names.

Also at the New Mediterranean, is another laughter maker Dave Ismay,



And the visually and vocally delughtful Gai Dunlop

and the highly professional song and dance routines of Joe Chisholm.

The show line up is completed by the Tommy Tucker Dancers and the Barry Taylor Sound.

Whatever your mood at the start of the evening, a visit to the Sunshine Hotel, Havre des Pas, will soon put a smile on your face. It's called the Laughter Show and stars two of the funniest comics in show business - Eric Prince and Tony Maiden.

To give your rubs (though not your eyes) the occasional rest the show also features John Paul Hames with Amour and the Sunshine Lovelies.



Also at the Sunshine Hotel is the attractive BirdcageBar, where comedy vocal guitarist provides free
entertainment nightly.



Providing music for shows and dancing is the Dave Baldwin Duo.

For a fun night out with minimum damage to your pocket, visit the Chateau Plaisir, or castle of pleasure on the Five Mile Road. An evening of dancing, party games and spot prizes is supplemented by a cabaret starring Sandi Gold, Jimmy Mac, Laurie Montgomery, Calypso and Shorties

And so to bed.

My weekly compilation of quotations with which I end the day on Facebook, with added photos or pictures. The theme for this week was the sea and oceans.

And so to bed... quote for tonight is from Gary Paulsen:

I spent uncounted hours sitting at the bow looking at the water and the sky, studying each wave, different from the last, seeing how it caught the light, the air, the wind; watching patterns, the sweep of it all, and letting it take me. The sea.

And so to bed... quote for tonight is from E. J. Pratt

There is no silence upon the earth or under the earth like the silence under the sea;
No cries announcing birth,
No sounds declaring death.
There is silence when the milt is laid on the spawn in the weeds and fungus of the rock-clefts;
And silence in the growth and struggle for life.
The bonitoes pounce upon the mackerel,
And are themselves caught by the barracudas,
The sharks kill the barracudas
And the great molluscs rend the sharks,
And all noiselessly--
Though swift be the action and final the conflict,
The drama is silent.

And so to bed... quote for tonight is from Tilicia Haridat:

There is something about the ocean that never fails to amaze me, the way she never fails to kiss the shores even though she is sent away, the way her waves can be both calm and terrifying and the way she never fails to sooth my soul.

And so to bed... quote for tonight is from Susan Casey:

The waves move across a faint horizon, the rush of love and the surge of grief, the respite of peace and then fear again, the heart that beats and then lies still, the rise and fall and rise and fall of all of it, the incoming and the outgoing, the infinite procession of life. And the ocean wraps the earth, a reminder. The mysteries come forward in waves.

Defective Headlines

Defective Headlines

The main headlines for the JEP said “Half of vehicles stopped during Jersey road safety campaign are issued with defect notices”

But the text underneath gave the real picture.

HALF of the 50 commercial vehicles stopped during the first few hours of a road safety campaign were issued with defect notices – and one was in such poor condition it was taken off the road.

It doesn’t say if only commercial vehicles were targeted, but these clearly seem to be the main miscreants when it comes to driving defective vehicles.

It is interesting to look at other reports. The official reports, where the exists – press releases by the States of Jersey Police, give far more detail whereas the JEP tends to go for the headline figure, and often does not tell how many vehicles were in the check.

In 2010, there was a check and it was reported on the police website that “a number of vehicle registration and driving licence problems were found in the 191 vehicles that passed through a St. Clement road check on Tuesday 8 June 2010..

It noted “One large commercial vehicle with a number of serious defects, was taken off the road and fourteen other drivers were issued with defect notices.”

In 2007 another check gave this:

“A further five vehicles were impounded in a St Peter road check bringing the total number of vehicles impounded, in one week, to nine. Three commercial vehicles were impounded; Two were sent directly back to a workshop for repairs to oil leaks and to replace tyres. One large commercial vehicle was impounded with defective brakes.”

It also goes on to state: "Seventeen drivers were issued with defect notices requiring them to present their vehicle at DVS, with defects rectified. Defects included bodywork, exhaust systems, oil leaks, mirrors and lighting."

From a statistical point of view, however, this is a disappointment. We don't know how many had just defective lights - a brake light not working, perhaps? I once was stopped and needed to get a rear number plate light fixed. A defect in bodywork or an exhaust or oil leak needs a lot more work done that just changing a bulb, and what this report does not give is a breakdown of the different kinds of defect.

2007 also had a good report on a Victoria Avenue check:

“2 commercial vehicles were taken off the road as they were extremely defective 1 vehicle owner agreed to scrap his vehicle” 79 vehicles were checked, so the percentage here taken off the road is higher at 3%.

It also says:

"18 defect notices were issued requiring drivers to repair their vehicles and come back to DVS for a recheck. The main defects spotted were defects in bodywork, tyres, oil leaks, and incorrect registration details."

I wasn't aware that a defect included incorrect registration details, and I'm not entirely sure how that was spotted either, but that classification alongside physical attributes of the vehicle as a defect seems strange to me.

And one in St Mary in 2007:

“Between 7 am and 9 am, 534 vehicles were stopped. Some minor offences were noted. These included cracked glass on headlights, rust spots, and leaks from engines. In total, 14 minor defects were dealt with by DVS, and ten minor offences were dealt with by Police.”

None were taken off the road. Again there's no breakdown of the different kinds of defects.Or for that matter any indication as to when a rust spot is significant, as for instance if the metal is corroded and unable to withstand ‘thumb’ pressure without crumbling or permanent distortion

A 2012 report is also detailed of a check near Jersey Bowl:

952 vehicles passed through the check with 11 cars warned to repair the damage to their cars and present them at DVS within a week. Two further cars were taken off the road because of serious structural defects including holes in the bodywork, unsecured batteries and bald tyres. That’s 0.2% taken off the road.

This report, although from the Jersey police, is very sparse on details - nothing is given in the report of what the "damage to their cars" entailed.

2009 noted that:

“Of the 1200 vehicles that passed through a St Peter road check, six vehicles were impounded, eight drivers, including two without valid driving licences, were reported for various offences, and 22 drivers were issued with defect notices.”

This is the best reporting in the check, as it gives a sense of perspective. 6 from 1200 is 0.5%, so it gives a sense of how widespread the problem is, unlike most of the other reports.

It also gives details of the kinds of problems:

Two vehicles, a medium sized van with defective brakes and bodywork and a car with defective bodywork, tyre and excessive oil leaks, were impounded to DVS for further inspection. A small van was impounded at the check until a defective tyre had been replaced, whilst two motorcycles with defective brakes, and a pick up van with two defective tyres, were impounded to a workshop for repair.

"Defects included oil leaks, bodywork, lighting, tyres, mirrors and windscreen wipers. "

"Inspector of Motor Traffic, Alan Muir said: “This was another very busy check, where more commercial vehicles were found with defects that should have been spotted and rectified during routine maintenance or driver checks. Fortunately for one driver and his passenger, a potentially serious crash was prevented. His van suffered brake failure in the process of officers investigating a brake defect, identified during initial inspection of the vehicle. I cannot emphasise enough the importance of regular maintenance. "

In conclusion

Reporting of vehicle defects in road checks is widely variable, which makes it almost impossible to conduct what is really needed - a proper statistical analysis of the percentage of vehicles with defects, the kinds of vehicles (commercial / private), and a detailed breakdown of the numbers of different defects found.

As far as can be seen from the reports, the more serious problems seem to lie with commercial vehicles, and some kind of proper checking regime, an MOT light, would certainly address that problem.

When it comes to private vehicles, the kinds of defects - such as one brake light not working - may well not in fact be the kind of defect picked up in an MOT. If one had some statistics on the kind of defect, and whether most were of this nature, it would be helpful in a periodic educational programme to get drivers to check their vehicles, and get others to help them. Rear brake lights are especially hard to spot if defective. 

Doctor Who Review: The Woman who Fell to Earth

The new Doctor Who seems to have been a big hit with reviewers, long time fans, and outsiders. The last is a demographic which became increasingly marginalised over the final years of the Moffat era. When Russell T Davies brought it back in 2005, he used the “Time War” as a plot device for ridding himself of as much baggage as he wanted.

He could, and did, let the old monsters come back, on a gradual basis, and so we had the return of the Daleks, the Cybermen, the Sontarans, the Master, the Time Lords, and later under Moffat, the Ice Warriors and the Silurians.

But under Moffat, and partly as a result of the story arcs, the stories became increasingly referential to their past, either the post-2005 past, or even back to a more distant past, which made it increasingly difficult for the casual viewer to follow.

Story arcs first appeared in the Russell T Davies era, more or less by accident with “Bad Wolf”, and then planned with Torchwood, and the return of the Master, with the Harold Saxon parts. But under Moffat they became increasingly complex and so it could be difficult to follow, and the storylines themselves became convoluted.

It was rather like the difference between a word search puzzle and a fiendishly difficult crossword puzzle and it led to some very unwatchable episodes for the outsider, who after all, is the main demographic Doctor Who should be aiming at.

Russell T Davies had experience in writing for soaps, so his characters, and even the more marginal characters were recognisable as real people – Rose Tyler, Micky Smith, Jacqui Tyler were all ordinary people from a London council estate, the kind of people who might even have turned up in Eastenders. Martha Jones family was more on the margins, not as well fleshed-out, but she herself was very much so. And the lower middle class family of Donna Noble – her mother, her grandfather – were so well drawn that the grandfather Wilfrid Mott would even feature as a companion himself.

This grounding in the everyday (or what some critics unfairly called "soap opera") gave it a good deal of strength. One of the scenes deliberately in “The End of the World” is set among crowds back on the return to the present time, and they smell chips and go off to get chips on a sunny London afternoon. That short vignette grounds the far future alien world they have visited.

But that kind of grounding became increasingly thin with Stephen Moffat. While there was a nice cameo by Mark Williams, the characters of Rory and Amy were not quite as well fixed in the present day as Rose Tyler or Donna Noble. 

And Clara was a very poorly drawn character, suffering from the same problems as Turlough back in the 5th Doctor’s time once her basic story had revealed why she was “the impossible girl”, and an attempt was made to give her a boyfriend, who is cursorily killed off in an unseen road accident. The final season with Bill Potts did see an attempt to address this grounding better, and she was probably by far the best companion of the Moffat era.

Chris Chibnall has brought the Doctor back to earth with a thump. Like the Russell T Davies era, it is grounded in a realistic time and place, in this case Sheffield, with characters who would not be out of place in Broadchurch or even Law and Order UK, two of the other shows Chibnall has worked on.

 That gave it a very real feel, and the Doctor’s amnesia also meant an opportunity to discard some of the baggage. Cleverly, losing the introduction sequence gave extra minutes for story time, and the Doctor, when she does appear had a wonderful way of improvising solutions, working things out as she went along, which we haven’t seen for a long time.

And along with that went a funeral. On the whole, Doctor Who has avoided funerals – people die and vanish from the story. But in this case, there was a wonderful speech from Bradley Walsh’s Graham, which was thoroughly realistic, and perfectly delivered by Bradley.

Where in the past have we heard a character tell us how he was in remission from cancer, and how he met and fell in love with his oncology nurse? This was another example of how good the new Doctor Who promises to be, and how far it has come.

New Email Scam uses Leaked Passwords

A common scam in the USA has been trending in the UK since July 2018.

The emailer says that he has placed a keylogger on your computer and has evidence of you “playing with yourself” while visiting a porn site. He also states that he has stolen your contacts list. He asks for $350 in bitcoin, otherwise he will send the “evidence” to 5 names on your contact list. There was no tracking pixel in this email. The email may contain your email address and a password used at some time in the past.

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/beware-of-extortion-scams-stating-they-have-video-of-you-on-adult-sites/

SecGuru told BleepingComputer that the extortionists are finding leaked account credentials from data breaches and using those leaked passwords when contacting the victim. This adds a sense of legitimacy to the emails as the victims will see passwords that they are currently using or have used in the past. The most common souce of breached passwords is LinkedIn (see below).

Once again, this is a scam, nothing has been installed on your computer, and they do not have any video of you doing anything. Therefore, do not be concerned if you receive one of these emails. At the same time, if the passwords sent in the email is one that you are currently using, I strongly suggest you change it immediately.

https://krebsonsecurity.com/2018/07/sextortion-scam-uses-recipients-hacked-passwords/comment-page-13/

KrebsOnSecurity heard from three different readers who received a similar email in the past 72 hours. In every case, the recipients said the password referenced in the email’s opening sentence was in fact a password they had previously used at an account online that was tied to their email address.

However, all three recipients said the password was close to ten years old, and that none of the passwords cited in the sextortion email they received had been used anytime on their current computers. 

https://www.businessinsider.com/new-email-scam-uses-old-password-fake-porn-threats-webcam-video-bitcoin-2018-7

Basically, the attackers don't actually have video of you or access to your contacts, and they haven't been able to install malicious code on your computer. In reality, they're taking a password from a database that's available online, sending it to you, and hoping you're scared enough to believe their story and send them bitcoin.

Databases have been stolen from LinkedIn, Yahoo, and eBay, for example.

LinkedIn 

LinkedIn: In May 2016, LinkedIn had 164 million email addresses and passwords exposed. Originally hacked in 2012, the data remained out of sight until being offered for sale on a dark market site 4 years later. The passwords in the breach were stored as SHA1 hashes without salt, the vast majority of which were quickly cracked in the days following the release of the data. Compromised data: Email addresses, Passwords

Action to take: If you have registered with LinkedIn and used your password for that site elsewhere, change it on LinkedIn and ensure you have a different password for other sites.

Memories of St Mark's Church

St Mark's was our "family church" when growing up in St Helier. We lived in Roseville Street, but my mother's parents lived in St Mark's road, and that had been her church. Both she and her sister were married there.

My mother remembers Francis William Killer, Vicar from 1938 – 1950. He was one of the early adopters of the revival of Mothering Sunday in his previous parish in Nottingham, and also introduced the ancient ceremony of Clipping the Church (often linked to Mothering Sunday) which my mother recalls taking part in. He seems to have been both a traditionalist, and keen to revive ancient traditions which could speak to today's world.

(see http://tonymusings.blogspot.com/2011/04/clypping-church_04.html for its origins; it has also been revived recently under Mark Bond at St Brelade's Church)

And in the fullness of time, when I turned up, I was baptised by Maurice Godfrey who was Vicar from 1951 – 1966. I also vaguely remember Geoffrey Baker, 1966 – 1973, who later became careers teacher / advisor at Victoria College. Geoffey also served as Prison Chaplain, and you can read his account of what it was like here:

http://tonymusings.blogspot.com/2013/05/geoffrey-baker-on-being-prison-chaplain.html

The old St Mark's Hall, beside the church, now long demolished (in the time of Christopher Buckley, 1993-2006, was where Sunday school took place. It had lots of noisy screaming kids, and although I myself was a youngster, I hated that kind of thing, so eventually my parents took me out of Sunday school, and I sat through the main service.

I have only sketchy memories of that. I liked the hymns, and of course being able to read well at a fairly early age, I could follow the service, although I didn't really understand much of what was going on. I can remember no sermons whatsoever, but then I can remember very few sermons anyway! I suspect that is not uncommon.

I remember watching the film - the original, not the remake - of "Invaders from Mars" - which is very much seen from the perspective of a small boy - camera angles are deliberately placed to look upwards much of the time, and buildings seem large. I mention this because, as a young boy, St Mark's seemed very large and grand, and yet going back, it seems so small compared to my memories of perhaps 8 or 9 years old.

It was not brightly lit - church lighting in those days was poor in most churches - and did not have a lot of colour, apart from the Victorian stained glass. The service was quite ornate, choir robed up, Vicar in his robes, and I remember the service would end with a hymn, and a solemn procession led by someone carrying the tall processional cross.

The photo below shows a much lighter and more colourful church that I remember, but it is interesting because it shows the pulpit and the choir stalls. It is not clear whether this is the change made under Christopher Buckley, 1993-2006, or his successor.

1994 saw the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the Church of St. Mark and a major re-ordering and refurbishment of the building. The principal alterations were the removal of a number of pews, the addition of a raised nave altar, the re-positioning of the font against the southwest wall of the nave and the laying of carpet to the whole of the ground floor. The anniversary was celebrated with a Sung Eucharist, Reverend Buckley being fairly high Anglican. 

And with that has come more change - as the photo I took shows, the choir stalls have gone, along with the pulpit. As readers know, I usually try to take a "pulpit shot" of myself in the pulpit of churches I visit, but that was not possible. Huge screens have images, words (for hymns and services) projected on them, and there is a modern musical band area with electronic keyboard and microphones where the old choir stalls used to be. The far altar is currently blocked off with a screen. 

These seem to be further changes that took place under Marytn Shea, who is the Chairman of the Jersey Evangelical Alliance, who was appointed Vicar in 2006.  St Mark's Church was then taking a decisive change towards conservative evangelicalism, perhaps for the first time in its history.

As leader of the Evangelical Alliance in Jersey, Mr Shea was reported in the news last year when he led a fight to try and prevent a civil Gay Marriage law going through without special "conscience clauses". While clergy and churches are exempt, he said:

‘We have had a number of Christian photographers, professional musicians and organists who have raised with us their growing concern that if they were to turn down an invitation to play at a same-sex marriage they could face a fine or a charge of discrimination.’

As I left St Mark's Church, I couldn't but note the irony of the message on the poster:

"We want to be a place where everyone feels welcomed and accepted"

In Memory of Postman Pat

John Cunliffe, creator of Postman Pat and Rosie and Jim, has recently died. Those were the shows that my children loved - Rosie and Jim on BBC children's TV, and Postman Pat on a set of four VHS cassettes. It was so brilliantly animated by Ivor Wood, and told simple tales, full of charm of the countryside, of the small village, the rural houses and farms dotted around, and Pat with his cat Jess delivering all his letters and parcels. Later it was updated to reflect the modern world in ways which didn't really sit well with the concept of the series. It would have been better to have left it alone, a lost world, as post offices in rural areas closed, and even the job of a postman underwent changes.

And yet... we are in Jersey rolling out a scheme Islandwide after a 3 Parish trial of a new service:

Elsie (aged 81 years) has lived alone for over 5 years, Norma (aged 72 years) has lived alone for seven years and George (aged 78 years) has lived alone for most of his adult life. So what do these three people, along with many others, have in common? The answer is that they all have a visit from their postman, Ricky, two or three times a week to check how they are and if they are in need of any help, be it medical or social. This service is called “Call & Check” and was developed by Jersey Post.

A new service... well, yes, but one being done by Postman Pat, and other real rural postman for many, many years in times gone by. Perhaps the new service is more formal, but it is building on an honourable tradition. John Cunliffe would be pleased.

In Memory of Postman Pat

Oh, Greendale, those leafy lanes
My children so loved that place
But so little of that now remains
So hurried now, so rushed the pace

And Jess was his cat, on rural roads
Small cottages, chimney smoke
A past glory, we loved it loads
Little Post Van, and country folk

Postman Pat, time to rest in peace
And even Mrs Goggins has retired
It is a story’s end, a time to cease
Farewell John Cunliffe, so inspired

Postman Pat, dear PostmanPat
Delivers letters, stops to chat

This is Jersey - 1979 - Part 12

From 1979 comes this holiday guide - "This is Jersey". This is a flat brochure which is larger that the later glossy designs, and it doesn't have nearly as many pages - 16 double sided in all, including front and back covers.

It does provide a very interesting snapshot of the tourism scene in 1979, just as it was more or less at its peak, just before Bergerac launched, and before the package tour market and cheap holiday destinations abroad made Jersey's prices suddenly more expensive and the bottom fell out of the market.

Tourism is today rebuilding a new approach geared to the lifestyle of the modern tourist. It still has plenty to offer, but the old style of tourism probably won't sell today. But here's a chance to capture that flavour.




The Guide has this to say about night life:

Jersey's nightlife has become a byword with holidaymakers and has become an integral part of the island's popularity. You'll find more entertainment per square mile than seems remotely possible. For the young (and the not-so-young) the dancing and disco scene is simply superb.

For instance, out in the east of the island LES ARCHES is really the only place to go. That's what the local disco fanatics will tell you and they should know. The musical policy is simple. LES ARCHES import the best English groups and also provide the finest sounds around from D.J. Rocco. That, added to the hotel's super setting, makes Les Arches one of .Jersey's top dancing venues.

Back in town the SKYLINE rules. You'll find this most popular disco nightspot at the Lido de France in St. Saviour's Road. It's a must for disco enthusiasts. Relax in sophisticated surroundings and listen to music purveyed by the SKYLINE'S own living jukebox Mick Musgrove.

A slightly different style of entertainment is to be found at St. Helier's HOTEL DE L'EUROPE. Sure, they have dancing, but in addition you'll enjoy-cabaret, and singalongs. Their talent nights have become renowned in Jersey. The HOTEL DE L'EUROPE in Mulcaster Street believes in family entertainment and that is just what they provide – entertainment to suit every taste. You'll have fun at the L'Europe but he sure to give them a ring beforehand to book a table.

Also in the northern parish of St. John is DANIELLA'S a vibrant discotheque much loved by the island's dancing fans. The luxurious atmosphere and the delightful decor makes DANIELLA'S the perfect place for devotees of the insistant rhythms of 1979's disco music.

For a drink with gentler music and without. dancing, the place to know about is the CARIBBEAN BAR. Music is supplied by singer/guitarist Tony Heart who is making a welcome return visit to Jersey. The CARIBBEAN BAR is part of the celebrated Hotel de la Plage at Havre des Pas.

[A correspondent writes: Tony Heart moved to Jersey and set up a charter fishing company on Anna2, and still sings/ plays guitar at various venues several nights a week.]




In the north of the island two discos reign supreme. At the first, SCAR LETS, the man in charge is D.J. OXO, recently voted the island's number one disc jockey. SCARLETS disco is to be found in the parish of St. John adjacent to L'Auberge de Nord. Their proud boast is that every night is fun between 8.30 and 1.00 a.m. with Oxo providing exactly the right sort of music forevery sort of audience from his incredible stock of records.



The quality and amount of showbusiness talent that can be seen in action in Jersey during the summer season is little short of astounding. In theatres, clubs, cabaret rooms and bars entertainers abound.

Topping the bill, for instance, at the Hawaiian, Portelet are Wild Oates, a comedy trio with an enormous reputation around the clubs in the north of England. Wild Oates consists of Glen, Colin and Mick. Glen founded the group and plays guitar and banjo; Colin vocalises extraordinarily well and, in addition, plays bass and several brass instruments. And then there's Mick. Behind a seemingly mountainous drum kit, you can occasionally catch a glimpse of his 3 foot II inch form - the smallest professional drummer in the world.

But Wild Oates aren't just about music, good though they are, they're possessors of truly amazing talents, and their hilarious antics have to be seen to be believed

At the Lido de France, St. Saviour's Road, the show is headlined by vocal personality Tommy Hunt. Not only is Tommy a particularly exciting soul singer but a larger-than-life, complete, entertainer.

Joining Tommy is Teddy Peiro whose utterly visual and show stopping act has been a talking point in theatres and nightclubs the world over.



Compere for the evening is that zany cockney comic Martin Jackson....




... and your evening will be completed by the glamorous quintet First Experience - a group of delightful dancers.

The Piazza at Fort Regent will be featuring a selection of speciality acts including among many others, magic, high wire skills, and performing dogs and during the peak season, especially for children, will be seen the musical show Rupert The Bear, a new edition with twenty new and very catchy songs and, of course, all the favourite characters from the ever popular cartoon strip.

Country and Western music is the order at the Beau Vallon Hotel in Trinity Road. Supplying it in their own blue grass way are the Tennessee Three, for many years regarded as the doyens of that musical genre in the Channel Islands. And it's not just music while you munch, to their repertoire of melodies the lads in the ten gallon bats have added a great deal of comedy.



Candlewick Green are established as the leaders of Britain's comedy showband groups and Behan's at West Park will be their home for this summer. That they're fine musicians is unarguable, that they're unequalled laughter raisers is also unquestioned.

And so to bed...

And so to bed... my regular "sign off on Facebook" quotations, with this week on the theme of autumn.

And so to bed... quote for tonight is from J.R.R. Tolkien:

He found himself wondering at times, especially in the autumn, about the wild lands, and strange visions of mountains that he had never seen came into his dreams.

And so to bed... quote for tonight is from Leo Tolstoy:

The extraordinary autumn weather always comes as a surprise, when the sun hangs low and gives more heat than in spring, when everything shines so brightly in the rare clear atmosphere that the eyes smart, when the lungs are strengthened and refreshed by inhaling the aromatic autumn air, when even the nights are warm, and when in those dark warm nights, golden stars startle and delight us continually by falling from the sky.

And so to bed... quote for tonight is from Karen Finneyfrock:

Autumn stomps around outside the house
like an annoying little sister, tapping
on all the shutters, kicking up the piles
of leaves you rake, pretending to howl
like a wolf. But I'm glad she's here,
so we can cuss at Summer together,
pretending we don't even remember her name.

And so to bed... quote for tonight is from Gerald Durrell:

The gold and scarlet leaves that littered the countryside in great drifts whispered and chuckled among themselves, or took experimental runs from place to place, rolling like coloured hoops among the trees. It was as if they were practising something, preparing for something, and they would discuss it excitedly in rustly voices as they crowded round the tree trunks.

And so to bed... quote for tonight is from William Shakespeare:

That time of year thou mayst in me behold
When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang
Upon those boughs which shake against the cold,
Bare ruin'd choirs, where late the sweet birds sang.
In me thou seest the twilight of such day
As after sunset fadeth in the west,
Which by and by black night doth take away,
Death's second self, that seals up all in rest.

And so to bed... quote for tonight is from Lailah Gifty Akita:

The fullness of life is wrapped in all sacred times: plenty and scarcity; happiness and sadness; planting and harvesting; sunrise and sunset; winter and springtime; summer and autumn; beginning and finishing; birth and death.

And so to bed... quote for tonight is from Sanjo Jenday:

In life, we plant seeds everywhere we go.
Some fall on fertile ground needing very little to grow.
Some fall on rocky soil requiring a tad bit more loving care.
While others fall in seemingly barren land and no matter what you do; it appears the seed is dead.
Nevertheless, every seed planted will have a ripple effect.
You could see it in the present or a time not seen yet.
So be wise about where you plant your seeds.
Be very mindful of your actions and deeds.
Negativity grows just as fast if not faster than positivity.
Plant seeds of kindness, love and peace
And your harvest will be abundant living.

Andium in the Spotlight

Andium in the Spotlight

STAFF in States-owned ‘arm’s length’ companies have received salary increases that failed to keep pace with the rising cost of living while executives were awarded inflation-busting rises, it has been revealed.

Andium chairman Frank Walker said that Mr Gallichan and Mr Hamon’s pay rises that year were a ‘one-off’ as staff at the former Housing Department transferred to market median rate wages, and the pair would receive pay rises comparable to other staff in future. ‘The only two people in the organisation who were underpaid, according to the median pay scales, were Ian Gallichan and John Hamon,’ he said.

(Jersey Evening Post)

So according to Mr Walker, all the other staff, who transferred from the old Housing Department, were actually overpaid, so their pay could slip relative to the cost of living? I’d like to see the figures to justify this statement. Quite frankly I find it incredible.

But where did the JEP get their figures? And how can we assess figures from the accounts for 2016 and 2017 – which have broken links on the Andium site, but can be found via google. Webmaster, take note!

Looking at staff costs in the 2017 accounts, wages were £2,890,000 in 2016 and £2,930,000 in 2017 including directors’ emoluments

The average number of persons employed in the period was 48 (2017) and 51 (2016), while the average full time equivalent number of persons employed in the period was 47 (2017) and 49 (2016).

The total salary of the directors in 2018 was £458,000, while in 2017 it was £370,000. Ian Gallichan’s pay increased from £150,000 to £189,000, while John Hamon’s went up by £120,000 to £141,000.

So number crunching, wages apart from directors were £2,472,000 in 2017 compared to £2,520,000 in 2016, which is a drop in total salary.

However we also have to take into account the reduction in staff, so average pay per annum is £51,500 in 2017 compared to £49,412 in 2016. This gives an increase on the average wage of around 4.22%

If, however, we take the average full time equivalent number of persons employed, this gives us £52,596 compared to £51,429, an increase of only 2.27%.

Which no doubt is why the JEP can say: Andium’s staff did not receive a pay rise in 2016 and were transferred to market rate contracts in 2017, when a two per cent award was made.

The retail cost of living calculator between December 2016 and December 2017 comes out as a 3.6% rise.

Now one would really have to look at medians and the percentage on that to get a better picture and of course the accounts do not give us that information. However, they do suggest that the picture the JEP paints is by taking the lowest possible figure from those available.

Some more clarity from Andium would be helpful, and of course it is notable that as soon as Chief Officers become CEOs of Quangos, their pay suddenly jumps up.

The rationale behind the increase in the top executives is given in the company report:

"The salary and benefits of the Executive Directors and the Company Secretary are reviewed annually by the Committee with recommendations made to the Andium Homes Board, with material changes being subject to the prior agreement of the Guarantor. The Committee endeavours to ensure that the value of remuneration packages of these roles matches the Board’s policy on market position and sits appropriately against comparable organisation benchmarks. "

The Guarantor is the States of Jersey, so and this was just signed off for approval at the AGM by Senator Alan Maclean as Treasury Minister at the time by Ministerial Decision. No reasons were given in the decision, which is I suppose what one expects of politicians.

Part of the problem with all these kinds of figures is that what is essentially meaningless verbiage is bandied about, and it looks fine, but says nothing. For instance, “sits appropriately against comparable organisation benchmarks” sounds good but there are no details of what these are, and how they are used to arrive at the value of remuneration packages, although in fairness it should be noted that the Andium bosses do, as Frank Walker notes, come far below the other quangos.

Salary benchmarking should involve making comparisons of figures between a large number of other businesses. As part of the analysis, for example, the research should determine the overall mean, as well as lower and upper quartiles, of the value of each component of directors’ overall compensation packages. These then give a clear indication of how their directors’ pay compares with the market.

But unless there is a degree of transparency, it is difficult to judge how it was done, and what assumptions were made during this assessment. Where are the “market median rate wages” to be found? What other businesses were the basis for this comparison? And was the same assessment applied to all staff members or only to those at the top? And if not, why not? Some clarity would be welcome.

Instead it is like someone giving the answer to a mathematical problem where not only is there no working out, there is also no clear definition of what the question is. That’s not satisfactory, and unless it is improved, there is some justification in the headlines we see in the JEP.

RNLI and JLA: Spot the Difference

Here is a photo of the recently retired, ex-Bembridge based, Max Aitken III at Poole 11/02/09

And here is the same boat last week in Jersey harbour.

The RNLI has commented that:

‘We are aware that there are issues with people potentially being misled because of similarities of logos and branding. We are currently collecting and considering evidence before making a final decision with regard to our legal options.’

The revamped Max Aitken has a few white stripes along the side, and a few smallish JLA logos, but apart from that it looks much the same. It is hardly a major change of livery and I can see how people could easily be confused.

There is a covenant on use of the boat as a lifeboat, but earlier this year, the RNLI said it was likely to waive the covenant so long as the JLA repainted their boat to avoid any visual confusion. I'm not sure that a few stripes and small logos really counts as avoiding any visual confusion.

And there is more confusion because the JLA boat has "Jersey Lifeboat" painted on the back. At the moment that is very misleading, not least because it is just a boat in the water, and not a lifeboat. Before it is operational as a lifeboat, it must be insured as a lifeboat, and it must be accredited as a lifeboat by the Jersey Coastguard as an operational resource. And that's not going to happen in 2018.

I think one of the key issues will be the cursory way in which they have tried to "rebrand" the JLA boat with logo an a few stripes. To the man on the Clapham omnibus that is not changing the look of the lifeboat! It seems a very cheapskate attempt to comply. I notice the JLA logo has a particular shade of red and white. I'd expect the boat to be repainted in the same livery.

So why the sudden urge to garner publicity by going to sea? I suppose it is to boost fundraising, but another factor could be the press release by the RNLI released recently:

St Helier lifeboat has launched 42 times in 2018 - 12 x inshore lifeboat, 30  x all-weather lifeboat (statement as at 31st August). St Catherine lifeboat has launched 20 times in 2018 (statement as at 31st  August). A joint management group (including long-serving volunteers from St Helier and St Catherine lifeboat stations) has been established.

There will be joint training exercises with the two lifeboat stations and the lifeguards as well as other search and rescue services throughout the summer. The current RNLI volunteer Jersey crew is made up of new and existing volunteers as well as some who have returned to the RNLI from the former St Helier crew. 92 people came to the volunteering open day at St Helier lifeboat station at the end of 2017; 40 of those applied to join the RNLI.

It appears the RNLI are now fully operational with an all weather Tamar class boat back in action, and a local crew, and nothing seems to have been progressing much with the JLA apart from a few fundraising events. Clearly putting the boat in the water is a good way to rally the faithful.

Fund Raising

In my last blog on the subject

http://tonymusings.blogspot.com/2018/06/the-little-figures-that-arent-there.html

I said:

I would like to see a fund raising “thermometer” on the JLA website so everyone can see how much has been raised, and how much is still needed.

I have no problem with the JLA having an independent boat, but I would like some better transparency with regard to their finance costs. At the moment, there are too many figures that are missing. There's a lot of good people fundraising for them. Let's have their contribution appreciated.

John Baker, Fundraising Manager, The Jersey Lifeboat Association, told me:

"We have plans to put a fundraising thermometer on the web page and also some exciting plans to extend our membership program."

That was back in June 2018, three months ago. I'm still waiting for that thermometer to appear on their website. I am really rather disappointed.

At the St Brelade Parish Rates Assembly this year Mr Richard Haycock made a plea for the Jersey Lifeboat Association and suggested splitting the RNLI grant between the two associations. He was advised that the association must submit a copy of its accounts before a grant could be considered. That's true of all organisations receiving a grant from the Parish. 

But it does raise a question: when the JLA has been operational for a year - next February or March - will there be published accounts available in the public domain?

Preserving the subsidiary sovereignty of the Parish

The Constables in Jersey: Preserving the subsidiary sovereignty of the Parish

"Just as it is gravely wrong to take from individuals what they can accomplish by their own initiative and industry and give it to the community, so also it is an injustice and at the same time a grave evil and disturbance of right order to assign to a greater and higher association what lesser and subordinate organizations can do. For every social activity ought of its very nature to furnish help to the members of the body social, and never destroy and absorb them." (Quadragesimo anno)

This piece is an argument that the Constables being in the States (to speak and vote) preserves a degree of independence of the Parish from the States, and acts as an important counterweight to ensure that smaller Parishes cannot be easily be dominated by the larger ones, or too much power is taken by central government against the smaller administrative units of the Parishes.

The Jersey system whereby the Constables sit in the States is not bicameral, and indeed it is weaker than perfect bicameralism, but nevertheless it preserves elements of bicameralism within a unicameral parliament. It is however, as a result, weaker than perfect bicameralism, and yet from those roots it can nevertheless justify its existence.

The Justification for a Perfect Bicameral Legislature

So what is a bicameral legislature? It is one which divides the legislators into two separate assemblies, chambers, or houses. Often, the members of the two chambers are elected or selected by different methods, which vary from country to country. This can often lead to the two chambers having very different compositions of member.

Enactment of primary legislation often requires a concurrent majority – the approval of a majority of members in each of the chambers of the legislature. When this is the case, the legislature may be called an example of perfect bicameralism.

It forms part of a “check and balance” which can – as a side-effect - help prevent the passage into law of ill-considered legislation. Walter Bagehot, writing in "The English Constitution", noted that:

“A formidable sinister interest may always obtain the complete command of a dominant assembly by some chance and for a moment, and it is therefore of great use to have a second chamber of an opposite sort, differently composed, in which that interest in all likelihood will not rule.”

However, the House of Lords is not a good example of a secondary chamber as its members are not elected to office. But other countries such as the USA (“House of Senate”) and Pakistan (“House of Federation”) have second chambers where members are elected to office.

In both these, the second chamber allows equal weight to regional differences. In the USA, each State elects two members to the Senate, unlike the House of Representatives, which is elected on a basis of population in each State. In Pakistan, there is also equal representation from all four federating units. This was created in 1973 to ensure that interests of smaller provinces are protected.

In Pakistan, no legislation can become an effective law without being passed by both houses of the parliament. In the USA, no bill becomes a law, unless it is passed by a majority vote of both the House and the Senate, and then signed by the President

So there are two justifications for bicameralism. It provides a check against power to protect the rights of smaller political regions against larger ones and also provides opportunities for second thoughts about legislation.

Both are cited by James Madison of the USA system that "the government ought to be founded on a mixture of the principles of proportional and equal representation". Due to this, each state has equal power in the Senate, which in turn protects smaller states from being overpowered by larger states.

Why the USA chose Perfect Bicameral Government.

The history of the USA is interesting in this regard.

This original Congress was made up of members elected by each of the states, which were represented equally. However, it soon became clear that this form of government was inadequate in many ways—namely, the more-populated states complained that they should have greater representation in the government than their smaller counterparts and that the unicameral legislature did not provide adequate “checks and balances” against potential abuse of power.

With the writing of the U.S. Constitution, which was ratified in 1787, the framers effectively “went back to the drawing board” and created a bicameral legislature.

The Constitution established the two houses of Congress, with the Senate featuring two members from each state, appointed to six-year terms, and the House of Representatives made up of varying members from each state, based on population, elected to two-year terms.

The framers of the Constitution created the United States Senate to protect the rights of individual states and safeguard minority opinion in a system of government designed to give greater power to the national government.

To balance power between the large and small states, the Constitution's framers agreed that states would be represented equally in the Senate and in proportion to their populations in the House.

James Madison, paraphrasing Edmund Randolph, explained in his notes that the Senate's role was "first to protect the people against their rulers [and] secondly to protect the people against the transient impressions into which they themselves might be led."

A major change in the Senate's institutional structure occurred in 1913 with the ratification of the Constitution's Seventeenth Amendment, providing for direct popular election of senators.

Jersey: Elements of weak bicameralism within a unicameral parliament

The Constables with the States are elected by the Parishioners to represent their individual Parish in the States. This is very like the Senators in the USA being elected to represent the individual States. And it has the same effect: to protect the people against their rulers, and protect smaller parishes from being overpowered by larger ones.

It is also a check against the centralism of government. Subsidiarity is an organizing principle that matters ought to be handled by the smallest, lowest or least centralised competent authority. It is something that we have seen in the United Kingdom, with the development of independent assemblies for Wales and Scotland with a degree of devolved power. In Jersey, however, the Parish already has a devolved power, and it is important not to lose it.

The same principle is also present within the European Union, in the Treaty of Lisbon in which it is made explicit. Here the general aim of the principle of subsidiarity is to guarantee a degree of independence for a lower authority in relation to a higher body or for a local authority in relation to central government. It therefore involves the sharing of powers between several levels of authority, a principle which forms the institutional basis for federal states.

Jersey’s Constables in the States represent that element of bicameralism but they are weaker than a perfect bicameral legislature. Were that the case, there would be a second house with the right to bring legislation and to vote down legislation from the other house. Alternatively, they could effectively be reduced to a token bicameral legislature with merely the power to scrutinise and suggest amendments to legislation, capable of being overridden at any time by the other house.

In a small Island, neither solution would provide both a limit to how much say they could have, and that they should have a vote in order to protect the smaller units of government – the Parishes – from a more centralised State.

In the Jersey system, they have a say, they have a vote, but there are, after all, only 12 Constables, and they do not always agree – unlike a political party which might be expected to vote “en block”.

The fact that this is weaker than a perfect bicameral legislature, while still preserving the essential strengths of that system of government, means that it can be seen as democratic, but tailored to a much smaller jurisdiction.

"Decentralization has, not only an administrative value, but also a civic dimension, since it increases the opportunities for citizens to take interest in public affairs; it makes them get accustomed to using freedom. And from the accumulation of these local, active, persnickety freedoms, is born the most efficient counterweight against the claims of the central government, even if it were supported by an impersonal, collective will." (Alexis de Tocqueville)

Postscript: The Deputies

The Deputies do not represent the Parishes as part of  the Civic Administration in the same way as the Constables, so if there is any focus on needing a fair representation, I think there should be changes made there. Some suggestions to make that more equitable are given here by Lewis Baston [Senior Research Fellow of Democratic Audit, a research organisation based at the University of Liverpool]
http://tonymusings.blogspot.com/2013/10/ppc-voice-of-common-sense.html