The best time to plant a tree is now

There is an old proverb, supposedly Chinese, that says: "The best time to plant a tree is twenty years ago". It was, and I have this on good authority from James Godfrey, CEO of the RJA&HS, actually in 1924 that the 12 Parish Connétables planted 12 poplar saplings at Springfield, the year in which Springfield Hall was opened... and four or five of the trees are still there. On Sunday, 12th October this year, the 12 Connétables were invited to record the 175th anniversary of the society by each planting a tree at the RJA&HS headquarters and showground. This time native species were chosen: mine was a sturdy young chestnut and I shall watch its development with interest. It is a great privilege to plant a tree, whether in our own garden or for an official occasion to mark a special moment for, as the old saying makes it clear, we may not be around when it reaches the beauty of its maturity. However, I willingly planted my tree and take heart from the end of the proverb which continues: “...and the second best time is now”.

An eco-friendly day in St Saviour

Building on the success of the last two years’ CRS Awards Ceremonies and Farm Walks, an event dedicated to the Countryside Renewal Scheme and Jersey ’s Countryside took place at Grainville School and St Saviour’s Parish Hall on Saturday 27 September between noon and 4 pm. It was very enlightening to attend the awards ceremony in the morning and see just how much progress has been made over the last year. It was the first time that CRS have held their annual event in a school rather than on a farm and there were eco-friendly stalls, Genuine Jersey, environmental displays, refreshments and events in the grounds of Grainville School and St Saviour’s Parish Hall.
After the events at Granville School, around 40 people met Blue Badge guides Sue Hardy and Peter Double for an educational, historical and wildlife stroll through the school grounds, via the wildlife pond project, Swan Farm, Rectory Lane, St Saviour’s churchyard and not forgetting our own St Saviour in Bloom wildlife project in Jardin des Buttes.
We were so lucky with the weather, which was like a summer’s day, and also with the willing helpers from several parish associations and societies, who threw open the Parish Hall and gave everyone a chance to find out what was happening in St Saviour while enjoying a cup of tea or coffee and a delicious WI homemade cake. My thanks go to everyone who made this such a successful occasion.

Pictures by Chris Carter

Constabulary duty continues to be done

As I entered the Parish Hall on the evening of Wednesday, 17th September, it seemed quite astonishing that a year had passed since I stood first successfully for election as Constable of St Saviour and a lot has happened during the year. I have thoroughly enjoyed my first year in office and was delighted to be asked to stand again. We started planning the campaign, making posters and designing leaflets and so there was a slight tinge of disappointment when no one stood against me, although I have to say that I am quietly pleased that the parishioners of St Saviour seem to be happy with what I am doing. It is a great honour to lead our parish, and I am always willing to listen to your point of view.

A time for song and reflection at Eden

Eden Methodist Church celebrated its 175th anniversary on the weekend of the 13th and 14th September on the theme of ‘All good gifts around us are sent from heaven above’ and the many gifts found in the skills and talents of the congregation. The foundation stone for the church was laid in May 1833 and the inaugural service held on 15 September in the same year. The church was filled with light and colour and displays of art, photography, handiwork, poetry, harvest gifts and a even a dolls’ house collection. Some of the young people had taken on the study of the role of Christianity in a modern world and how science and faith work together. Elaine and I joined a happy throng of people for tea on the Saturday afternoon and and opportunity to browse among the displays and then returned on Sunday for the Harvest Festival, a time of quieter reflection and a chance to enjoy the ladies' choir in full song.We do thank everyone for the warmth of their welcome.

Let's keep that bell ringing

I am delighted that our newsletter, La Cloche: Esprit de St Sauveur, has been published and very warmly received. It was posted out to 5,000 parish homes, including mine, during the week beginning Tuesday, 9th September, and I know that a lot of hard work has gone into its production and I thank everyone who took part. If anyone didn’t get a copy and would like to go on our mailing list, please contact me and let me know. The La Cloche editorial team are planning to publish three times a year, in March, June and September, and I am hoping that many parishioners will send in their news and pictures for consideration. The newsletter committee are planning to build up a good sales team to get out and find the essential advertising that all publications need if they are to be self-sufficient, so do let me know your thoughts on this.

In memory of the Battle of Britain

It was a privilege for us to be invited to attend the Battle of Britain Memorial Service at St Luke’s Church on Sunday 7th September. On a fine bright day, we gathered to pay our respects at a service in the church and afterward at the memorial in the Military Cemetery in Howard Davis Park and it was, as ever, moving to see the admiration and respect held by the young cadets for the veterans: the young people only a few years younger than the older men and women were when they went to war all those years ago, and still go, to defend our freedom.

A night to remember

Here they come...leading the parade!

No one could have been more proud than the St Saviour team, cheering and applauding in the exhibitors' stand as the mighty St Saviour float, "Curtain Call", led the parade of floats on to the arena for the Moonlight Parade.

It was a great thrill and one that we felt privileged to be part of. The evening parade is a time for everyone to enjoy and celebrate their achievements as part of this tremendous community event...and we certainly did!

Photos: Peter Hanning

Congratulations, St Saviour!

First view of our prizewinners:
It was so exciting trying to read the prize cards as the floats came into view...

Parish of St Saviour, "Curtain Call": Prix d'Excellence! Best Costumes! First in Class! Parish of St Saviour Juniors: Prix Decor! First in Class!

What a day! From the early hours of the morning when the final flowers were glued in place, to the tension of manoeuvring the float out of the Depot and on to the road and then the sheer excitement that built up as we awaited the arrival of "Curtain Call" on the arena, the Battle of Flowers was a nail-biting event. It was as we applauded Trinity's fine entry and their award that we realised that they were pointing over their shoulders towards where our float was waiting back along the road...'You've done well,' they seemed to be saying. And we had. But to be the best in our class, to receive the award for the Best Costumes and the Prix d'Excellence, and for our juniors to be awarded First in Class and the Prix Decor is not done without hard work, particularly from designers Jean Roche and Samantha Dean, Terry Gorvel and the St Saviour's Battle of Flowers Committee and also from the many parishioners who joined in and took part. The Battle of Flowers is our biggest community event in the parish and all ages gave countless hours to achieve such a fantastic result.

Photos: Peter Hanning

Curtain up on Curtain Call

I can't believe that it is already a year since Elaine and I went down with all the other volunteers to help get the St Saviour's Battle of Flowers float 'Curtain Call' ready for the arena, but there we were again on Wednesday night, marvelling at the magnificent float that was already appearing from the bare bones. I have been trying to get down most evenings to help where I can...my green thumb nails show that I am learning my trade as a flower decapitator...and watch the float develop day by day. designers Jean Roche and Samantha Dean, Terry Gorvel, every member of the committee, their families and, it seems, half the parish are down at the Parish Depot at all hours. The number of volunteers and their willingness to put in long hours of work is remarkable and, whatever the results on the day, I shall be so proud to be there in the stands cheering on our entry.

Photo: Elaine Hanning

Two days of fun and foam

From the moment the French teams and their supporters began arriving on the Friday evening, laughing, chatting and waving water pistols, it was obvious that the weekend of the Jeux Intervilles on 19th and 20th July was going to be a great success. We were delighted to welcome nine other parishes and their Norman twin towns, but particularly, we welcomed our own twin, Villedieu-Les-Poeles, and the enthusiastic group, including the town's mayor, who were such wonderful supporters of our joint team. A huge amount of work had gone into the organisation of the weekend and, as we are not likely to be hosting it again for another 40-odd years, I wanted it to be done well. It was. And I thank everyone who was involved in this mammoth event, especially the St Saviour's Twinning Association and our sponsor, BNP Paribas for making it possible.

Grainville field was a magnificent setting and much admired, the St Saviour Battle of Flowers Association gave us their support by running their annual fete at the same time, our teams were in the thick of the water and foam and then, just a few hours later, the RJ&HS hall became a spectacular venue for the Saturday night dinner dance before, a few more short hours later, the teams were back on the field to compete with great good humour.

Photos courtesy of Jersey Evening Post

St Saviour keeps up to date

It was with some surprise that I noticed that some 30 cardboard boxes had mysteriously appeared in our garage. As chairman of St Saviour in Bloom, I am sorry to say that I don’t always make it to the meetings, but I do keep in close contact with the committee and like to know about what they are doing in their efforts to enhance our parish. In fact, I see one of the most important results every day when I arrive at the Parish Hall. Every year I think the parish hall looks stunning and I wonder how will they top it, but this year the committee and our staff from the Parish Depot have done it again and I know from the comments I have heard that their hard work is very much appreciated. So, back to the anonymous boxes...they were the result of another St Saviour in Bloom effort, our own calendar of views of St Saviour through the seasons, which is now on sale to help raise funds for the committee’s community work. I was delighted to receive the first calendar out of the box from St Saviour in Bloom co-ordinator Graham Langlois.
Photo: Denise Ferri

Celebrating Le Quatorze

It was a great privilege to be invited to join the Island’s French community in celebrating Bastille Day at the Town Hall where we were able to thank the retiring Honorary French Consul, Robin Pallot, for the willingness with which he has always helped us in the parish, when occasion demanded. We were also able to congratulate the new consul, David Myatt, who has already proved invaluable in his role as managing director of BNP Paribas, sponsors of the forthcoming Jeux Intervilles which St Saviour hosted on the following weekend.

Recognition for woodland scheme

After the excitement of the Parish in Bloom competition, there was another surprise in store just a couple of days later when, on 11th July, the St Saviour in Bloom team were presented with a cheque for £3,500 to go towards improvements in the Jardin des Buttes, the woodland area opposite the parish hall. This is a generous amount of money and I was even more pleased to hear from Mark Cox, operations director at Checkers, that the money had been raised by one of their environmentally-friendly community projects. Checkers and the Jersey Evening Post’s ecycle service set up a scheme to encourage Islanders to reduce their use of plastic carrier bags and to improve the environment at the same time. The scheme followed a special offer for Islanders to obtain jute shopping bags for £1.50 each, or £2.50 for two. For each bag sold, Checkers offered to donate 50p to environmental projects nominated and voted for by the community. The sum of £5,500 was generated by the scheme and four projects were out forward for consideration as possible winners. St Saviour won the main award and St Helier in Bloom took the second award of £2,000.
The money is very welcome and will be used wisely, but even more encouraging was the reasons Mr Cox gave for their choice, he saw them both as involving large numbers in the community, they were sustainable and would have major benefits for the environment – and that’s exactly what we are setting out to achieve with our woodland area.
Photo: Elaine Hanning

Paying the rate for the job

It was a solemn moment to step up as Connétable on to the stage in our magnificent Salle Paroissiale on 10th July for our annual parish assembly to fix the rate. It’s good to see so many of our most community-minded parishioners at this important meeting, but I am always a little surprised that more people don’t attend. For a community to be able to decide how they want to spend their money and vote on the level of tax they should charge themselves has always seemed to me to be the ultimate in democracy. We have the opportunity to make our individual voices heard in the decisions made about parish finances and that has to be a responsibility we take seriously for ourselves, our families and our community.
The Parish Rate has been fixed at 0.85p per quarter, the Island Wide Rate at 0.64p for domestic and 1.16p for non-domestic ratepayers and so the total rate will be 1.49p per quarter for domestic and 2.01p for non-domestic ratepayers.

A blooming good result

There was a real sense of the right decision being made – I was delighted but not surprised – when I heard on 10th July that a gold medal and the award for Best Florally-Decorated Parish Hall had gone to St Saviour, and we had also achieved a silver-gilt medal in the Parish in Bloom competition. Every year I wonder how our dedicated parish team can do better and each year they have surpassed themselves. The award and the many visitors I see stopping to take photographs are a real testament to the effort and hours of work that have gone into making our parish hall look wonderful. Many comments have been made and I have been very pleased to receive many compliments on behalf of our St Saviour in Bloom team, led by co-ordinator Graham Langlois, our own parish workforce down at the Parish Depot and the many parishioners in the community who have taken on projects that have all helped to enhance our parish and involved friends and neighbours working together to make St Saviour a better place.
Photo: Elaine Hanning

Jack Le Sueur

It was with sorrow that we heard of the death of Jack Le Sueur, on Wednesday, 25th June. He was a great cattle man and one who will be sadly missed and never replaced. This year, 2008, had, however, in many ways been a good year for Jack and Eileen, beginning in January when, on the 19th, they celebrated their Diamond Wedding anniversary with their family. We were able to celebrate with them at the annual St Saviour Christmas lunch, which is always held in January, and they were later entertained to tea at Government House by the Lieut-Governor Lieutenant General Andrew Ridgway and Mrs Ridgway. During the recent visit of the Jersey World Cattle Bureau for their conference, Jack was brought to the Country Life museum at Hamptonne by his daughter, Sadie Rennard, and greeted many old friends among the visiting cattlemen and women in the museum’s kitchen, and many of them were lost in wonder at the many trips across the Atlantic that were made by prize Jersey cattle with Jack in charge during those long journeys of yesteryear.

Jack was born in St Saviour, in the very farm to which he brought Eileen as a new bride and where he found his final rest. Eileen came from the west (the Far West) but they made their home together in St Saviour and what they have done for us in the parish and in our community over the years has brought fun, pleasure and enjoyment to many people. We can all be thankful that Jack was able to see out his final days in his own home at Clairval Farm and I am sure there are many who, like me, are proud to call him a St Saviour parishioner.

Battle for the crown

The Miss Battle of Flowers Competition 2008, held at the Pomme d'Or on Saturday, 14th June, was a riveting evening with 13 attractive young women competing for the prestigious title. Miss Battle of Flowers 2008 is Holly Fraser, and we wish her every success in her reign. There was a good representation from the Parish of St Saviour, both in numbers with some strong support for our two contestants and with former Miss St Saviour and the reigning Miss Battle of Flowers, Vicky Trehorel, handing over her tiara and placing the sash over Holly's shoulders. Vicky has been a great ambassador for our Island and for our parish and her final speech was a fine example of the charm and intelligence with which this young woman has carried out her duties.

Tea for Two...hundred (well, nearly)

We were blessed with a fine evening for Senior Citizens' Garden Party held in the grounds of Government House by kind permission of His Excellency the Lieutenant-Governor Lieutenant-General Andrew Ridgway, on Saturday, 14th June. Tea was provided by Modern Hotels and music by the indefatigable Steve Roxton and his trusty accordion. The Governor joined us and achieved some nifty table-hopping to get round everyone, while Mrs Ridgway had to admit defeat and remove the couple's latest acquisition, a Pomeranian pup called Willoughby from the scene. Pomeranians, according to the breed standard, exhibit "great intelligence in expression; activity and buoyancy in deportment" and their temperament is "extrovert, lively and intelligent". Young Willoughby is certainly all of those things and he is fast becoming a great favourite around the parish. Elaine and I enjoyed an excellent tea with the Senior Citizens and it was lovely to see that so many had dressed for the occasion in true garden party style.

"Un long-weekend" in Villedieu-les-Poêles

It may have been only a weekend in length, but our recent visit to our twin town of Villedieu-les-Poêles was packed with events. Our little party from St Saviour could not have been better looked after. We had been invited by the Maire, M. Daniel Macé and their Twinning Committee to join them in celebration on Sunday, 8th June, of the Grande Sacre, a joyous mix of tradition, religion and fête day, the Grand Sacre is a major event in Villedieu-les-Poêles. Every four years, the Sourdins, as the inhabitants of the town are called (due to the deafness caused in olden times by the constant hammering on metal by these bell and pot makers), recognise the part played in the foundation of the town by the Knights of the Order of Malta (Chevaliers de l'Ordre de Malte), the Roman Catholic descendants of the Knights of the Order of St John. King Henry 1 of England, Duke of Normandy, donated the land to the Knights and they created this "Town of God". From 5.30 am, townspeople were awake, putting the finishing touches on their work. The streets were decorated with flowers and the day included Mass in the local park, a jolly good lunch, and an afternoon procession around the decorated streets of the town. It was an amazing and moving spectacle and we were delighted to have been invited to join in a very special day in Villedieu-les-Poêles.
Photos: Peter Hanning
More info on Villedieu and Le Grand Sacre:
http://www.villedieu-grandsacre.fr/index.htm

Grand school at Grands Vaux

I have to admit that it was a bit of a surprise to be invited to speak to Year 5 at Grands Vaux school on the subject of political rhetoric, the persuasive speech of politicians and campaigners, and even more of a surprise to find that the children had been taking a real interest in the subject. They had visited the States Chamber, they took my short talk very seriously and I believe that they will be going on to look at persuasive speech in advertising, much of which is directed at children. This is a meaty subject for young people and I was very impressed by the sensible questions and obvious thought that had gone into the lesson. I do congratulate everyone concerned