The Island of Jersey

Thursday May 3, Friday May 4, and Saturday May 5

The Island’s history is fascinating dating back about 250,000 years. Latterly, Jersey was part of the Duchy of Normandy and has enjoyed self government since 1204 .  Both England and France had an influence on the Island and around 1259 they each gave up their claims to Jersey and although Jersey was never a part of the Kingdom of England , it did appoint a Warden to govern. Now it is internationally known as a “territory” for which Britain is responsible, in other words a “crown dependency”. It has its own legislative assembly with the power to make many laws, but the UK also has the power to pass legislation affecting Jersey provided it submits the proposed legislation to Jersey for comment. The Chief Minister is the leader. There aren’t really any political parties but rather the members of the government stand independently. It wasn’t given the opportunity to vote on Brexit. Of course, the history is more complicated than this, but this is the gist.

One of the first things we noticed about the Island of Jersey was the prominence of the German occupation in WWII. Around the Island you find “towers” and gun battlements,  erected by the Germans to protect the Island. Apparently the British withdrew their garrisons and Jersey was left unprotected. So, the Germans occupied it.

Over the 3 days we spent with them, Kathleen and Allan showed us the many facets of Jersey. We arrived on Thursday late afternoon and after settling in we headed out to Corbiere Phare which offered spectacular views over the Atlantic Ocean….and yes….most of the place names are French.  We had a table by the window with a panoramic view of the lighthouse and the sinking sun.

Remnants from German Occupation

Sunset on the Atlantic

Friday and Saturday we spent touring the Island visiting many highlights such as St. Helier where about a third of the population lives and is the capital of the Island. It lies along St. Aubin’s Bay opposite an island of rock known as l’Islet and has a beautiful stone walled harbour. Grouvile where Harry Vardon the well known golfer lived. Gorey village which is protected by the medieval battlements of Mount Orgueil Castle.

Kathleen, Allan, and Ray

Ray

Gorey Village

Gorey Village and Mount Orgueil

St. Mary's

A Quiet Country Walk

A Scenic View

A Curious Jersey Cow

We saw many other beautiful spots around the Island and two of my favourites were Groz Nez with its dramatic coastline and the Fisherman’s Chapel by the Church of St. Brelade which dates back to the 600s. The grounds consisted of a large cemetery, and beautiful old oak trees.  The walls of the chapel showed the remaining paintings which had at one time been quite a storyteller but had been covered over and were now in the process of being restored. There was a lovely tale about Le Perquage – an “ancient sanctuary path” which at one stage was contained in every parish to allow prisoners to escape to the beach below and a waiting boat. When they reached the top of the stairs and looked down over the bay, these prisoners must have thought they had opened the gate to heaven!

At Groz Nez

At Groz Nez

Church of St. Brelade

Inside The Fisherman's Chapel

The View to the Beach from the Gate

Cemetery

Inside the Church of St. Brelade

Friday evening was very special. I have never met my cousin’s children, and Kathleen arranged a “family dinner” in a private room in a pub. It was a really exciting time. There were Craig and Sharon and their son Jensen, and Lindsay and Matthew and their daughter Emily. The kids played happily under the enormous  dining table while the adults talked, exchanged stories, and got to know each other around the top of the table. It was huge for Ray and I that they all gave up a Friday evening to be with us.

Allan, Kathleen and Jensen

Sharron, Craig and Jenson

Emily and Jenson - above the Table

Lindsay, Matthew, and Emily

All of us from right to left: Craig, Sharron, Lindsay, Allan, Kathleen,
Me, Matthew, Jenson, Emily, Ray

A little church in St. Brelade

On Saturday we continued our tour of the island and saw the stunning Ouens Bay before having lunch at Colleen’s in the beautiful sanded bay of Greve de Lecq.

Sadly, it was soon time to head to the airport and say goodbye to my Jersey family.

Our 40 minute British Airways flight left just after 5:00 pm and by 6:00 pm we were picking up our left luggage at Gatwick, and getting organized in the rental car, ready to set off to Wokingham. What a shenanigans! I can’t believe we were quite as “incapable” as it seemed to us we were. We had a lovely drive around southern England, and I reckon we must have gone about 2 hours out of our way. We didn’t have GPS in the car because we thought we would have a One SIM that would allow us to access data. My cell, was unlocked and without a sim card. It seemed that the One SIM wasn’t working. So, I downloaded the directions to Toby and Keri’s house in the terminal and hoped I didn’t “close” the program as we travelled. I didn’t, but for some reason we went off course twice i.e. went the wrong way on the correct highway. So, with a lot of correction, a phone call to Toby, and a lot of cursing in the car, we finally made it to Toby’s. By this time of course, Keri and Annabelle had gone to bed. Stalwartly, Toby and Sebastian remained up. A flood of relief swept through my body when Toby opened the front door! Annabelle and Keri staggered down the stairs and it was hugs all around. So good to see them all.

We had a quick snack, a glass of wine, and off to bed to sleep and dream about all our escapades so far!