Cow parsley, croissants and homemade cake

What is the difference between a weed and a wildflower? I am sure there are those who can give me a definition, but suffice it to say that, for me, a weed is sometimes simply a wildflower in the wrong place, but most frequently it is the type of wildflower, or garden flower gone wild, that will if left overwhelm all the smaller plants. Saturday saw the first official meeting of the St Saviour Jardiniers, the woodland volunteers who are bringing new life to the Jardin des Buttes, just below the parish hall. It was a drizzly morning, but mild, and the jardiniers, wearing thick gloves, worked with a will to pull up the cow parsley that has shot up to head height and beat back the nettles to areas where we can allow them to flourish. At this stage the goal was to cut them off at the root and then return in the autumn to dig out the roots. After an hour and a half of steady work, the jardiniers came up to the parish hall where we enjoyed tea and coffee, buttered croissants and delicious homemade cake supplied by Mary Le Brocq. Thanks must go to Parish in Bloom co-ordinator Graham Langlois and the committee for organising the event and to all those who came along to take part: the woodland already looks so much better, the sunlight can get down to the ground, plants and, yes, not a few weeds are flourishing and birds are nesting in the trees.

A excerpt from Russell Gammon's blog

Russell Gammon from Canada is a great enthusiast of the Jersey cow and of the Island. A senior vice-president of the World Jersey Cattle Bureau, he is attending the cattle conference in Jersey this week. The Island has certainly pulled out all the stops to make this a week to remember for the delegates and I am delighted that St Saviour has played its part in the proceedings. I hope Russell won't mind if we share an excerpt from his blog:

Loving every second! May 23, 2008 – 6:11 pm
We have now reached the point of advanced sensory overload. Allow me to try and explain why!On Thursday current WJCB President Johannes Van Eeden of South Africa and Uruguay commented that while this was his seventh trip to Jersey he was still finding an overflow of new things to see and do! I believe every single delegate at our conference this week would know exactly what he meant! As the official and formal conference sessions are now over we spent Thursday together and on the move all day long! Fascination reigned as we walked to West Centre to be awed and enchanted by the “urban herd” who “reside” there. Bureau Patron/Matron Annie Perchard of St Martin explained the involved life story of these exquisite creatures (and their wee Crapaud friend!!). It would be interesting to know how many camera shutters were hit as photo upon photo of cows with people were taken once Annie’s explanatory speech was concluded! Trundling around the commercial centre of St. Helier was followed by a short bus ride to the Country Life Museum at Hamptonne in St. Lawrence and then the Leith family Chalet herd. It was a day to look forward and around and ahead. 95 years young, Jack Le Sueur had been brought to the museum by his daughter Sadie Rennard and greeted friends old and knew in the museum’s kitchen. It was gripping to see how people who had known Jack or who had heard of this seasoned ambassador for Jersey trooped in for a few minutes of communicating with Jack! Jack has reached iconic status as an ambassador for Jersey from his many trips to North America to work with Jersey cattle. Despite light rain, the Leith cattle got a good work out as cowaholics reviewed the herd and the management program. A special treat for a sub-set of the tour group was a side visit to the farm of Frank and Val Cudlipp in St. Lawrence. The Cudlipps manage their smaller herd in a very traditional manner with prodigious energy despite advancing years! At their farm visitors were exposed to horned cattle, tethered on pasture, the use of mallets to drive pegs into the ground, explored small scale potato managment and planting practices and also grass-cutting with a sycthe. Frank “had people at hello” by simply being nothing more or less than himself.It was a refreshing glimpse into once-common but now rare ways of farming the land and animal husbandry. Thursday evening was spent at the glistening grounds of Trinity Manor inspecting the fine cattle in the Trinity herd and enjoying yet another festival of eating fine food in a massive marquee on the immaculate and pristine lawns.We are now at the point of saturation where we have been given so much to remember and reflect upon. Thousands upon thousands of conversations have been held about cattle breeding and management, Jersey attirbutes, politics and life in our home lands and the future of the Jersey breed. We’ve lunched on physical food and a bounty of “brain food” and now we’re both into digestion of past “meals” and ready for more servings of information and knowledge!!We can only say-bring it on!!! Loving every second of it.

Perfect moments! May 21, 2008 – 1:53 pm
It has been said that we will not know true perfection in this life, this world-we’ll have to wait until we depart for our heavenly home some day.However; World Jersey Conference delegates experienced a “foretaste of heaven” on Tuesday with afternoon visits to the Houze and LeGallais herds in St Saviour and later the Perchard herd at La Ferme in St. Martin! Clear air, blue skies, greenest of green grasses and tree leaves, blooming trees and spring flowers and the icing on the cake-brown cows in abundance!As we strolled the country lanes between the Houzé and Le Gallais pastures the magic of Jersey on a spring day was fully and completely evident!! Later after a photo-taking session at the RJA we landed at La Ferme for an astounding evening of great fun! Many of the 24 countries here offered a song or jokes or skits and the massive marquee resounded with hoots of laughter and thunderous applause for “highly professional” theatrical contributions! Joy and thankfulness were over-flowing as a long string of buses wended their way to our home away from home at the splendid Hotel de France-conference HQ!! Today we’ll continue soaring with reports from five young Jersey supporters from our five global regions and head “west” for more brown cows in St. Peter and St. Brelade! The fun continues!

Excerpt from Russell Gammon's Blog, 22.05.2008, Jersey Evening Post

"Log off" takes on a new meaning

Last Saturday dawned bright but cool and there was an excellent turn out of boys from Diarmid House at Victoria College for their enterprising charity fundraiser. No sponsored sit or leisurely stroll this, the boys set to and moved all the log piles stacked in the Jardin des Buttes, the area below the parish hall which is undergoing a facelift to become a managed woodland refuge for wildlife. Working with St Saviour in Bloom co-ordinator Graham Langlois and the newly-appointed president of the National Trust for Jersey, Mike Stentiford, and under the eagle eye of Diarmid House's Mrs Angela Swindell, the event admirably fulfilled three purposes - to do something to benefit the Island, and in this case particularly St Saviour, to work together as a House and to support their chosen charities. The Diarmid students were working to raise money for their ongoing project at Loldia School, in Kenya, and also to support the work of Jersey Hospice in memory of former Diarmid House member Marc Nieuwberg and Victoria College teacher Ms Helen Blake. The whole group were a credit to their House and school and their achievements in the woodland will be really encouraging to our newly-formed Woodland Volunteers, Les Jardiniers, who will be going down this Saturday, 24th May, to continue the good work.

The parish school hums with learning

Our Parish School, St Saviour's, threw open its doors last week to the whole community, but especially to the families of its young pupils, to join in and share the rich learning experiences to be found in a lively and busy building that was fairly humming with activity as I arrived. I was delighted to be invited to join this celebration of education in a school that has been setting young parishioners on the road to learning for more than 100 years. I am sure there were among the parents and even grandparents quite a few who had attended st Saviour's School in their day. I was made to feel very welcome by my young escorts and taken to visit all the classrooms and see the splendid work on show before joining the audience in the hall to listen to singing and music performed by the children. My congratulations and warm thanks to headteacher Kate Sugden and her staff and, especially, to the young people themselves for providing such an encouraging example of school life today.

The warmth of sunshine and good company

Liberation Day dawned grey and drizzly but the sun soon shone and by the middle of the day it was warm and sunny. It was a great start for our parishioners to have fine weather for their outing to the festivities and celebrations in Liberation Square but, whatever the weather, we were always going to be sure of the warmth of good company. I had to go off early to be sure to be in the States Chamber in time for the special sitting after which I walked down in procession after the Bailiff, the Lieut-Governor and the President of Madeira, with all the members of the Royal Court and the States, to join the crowds in Liberation Square. I could see Elaine and our party of parishioners on the other side of the square, and have to admit that I would have much rather been sitting with them! Elaine had joined our party at the Parish Hall, under the guidance of Mike Mallet who is a past-master at organising these events, and our bus-load of parishioners were driven down to Liberation Square by another parishioner, Brian Malzard. St Saviour certainly had a good spot from where to view and take part in, the proceedings. The honouring of Liberation Day remains very close to Jersey hearts and we were delighted to see so many of our war years parishioners made it down to the square to enjoy an occasion that so fittingly marked their experiences, but we were also very pleased to welcome our Miss St Saviour, Claudia Freitas, who represented the young people of our parish in honouring our older parishioners. I have to say that for our parish at least ─ and quite a few others, I would say ─ the highlight of the afternoon was when our own Sadie Rennard went up on to the podium to sing Man Bieau P'tit Jèrri (Beautiful Jersey).

Commemorating a lifetime's service

At a well-attended celebration and commemoration of the life of service my predecessor, Philip Ozouf, gave to the parish, we were able to present the gifts we had intended to give to the Connétable on his retirement to his children, Elena, Elissa and Senator Philip Ozouf. A superb photograph to join those of other previous Connétables hanging in the Assembly Room was unveiled by Philip's brother, Francis. Elena and Elissa formally uncovered the Parish gift of a traditional Jersey marriage stone in carved granite featuring Philip and Olga's marriage date and two entwined hearts with, underneath, details of the Connétable's dates of office. The Honorary Police, represented by Chef de Police Colin Foley, presented the family with a sculpture in bronze of a cow, in memory of the many occasions when the "honoraries" turned out to deal with escaped cattle that turned out to be from Highstead. Earlier, we had met the family in Patier Park to dedicate the handsome young pear tree that has been planted by the St Saviour Parish in Bloom committee in honour of Philip Ozouf's commitment to improving and enhancing the parish through our entry in the Parish in Bloom competition. I was delighted that so many members of the Ozouf family, including Miss Doris Ozouf, and parishioners, including our Lieut-Governor, General Ridgway, as well as a good company of States members and others wanted to join us in commemorated a superb record of service to the Parish of St Saviour which is unlikely to be surpassed. I am sure we were all moved to hear from Senator Philip Ozouf speaking on behalf of the family that the familiar Parish Flag, lowered on the day of his father's funeral, is flying once more at Highstead.

Digging in together

The sun shone brightly when Elaine and I visited the Jersey FOCUS on Mental Health's group home, Camelot, this morning to see the first joint venture between the Parish in Bloom teams of St Helier and St Saviour dig in and get planting. Sue Rodrigues and her team from St Helier and Graham Langlois and his team from St Saviour were made very welcome by Julie and Karen and the other staff and residents of Camelot, and everyone soon got stuck in to planting flowers, vegetables and herbs...well, that's excepting Elaine and me. We found ourselves a good spot on the first floor where we could wander, hot coffee in hand, from a view over the front garden, where flowers were taking pride of place, to the bridge link to the raised garden at the back from where we could look down on the sun-trap patio down below where peas, beans and herbs were being tucked into rich soil. We called ourselves "two mugs on a bridge" ... and nobody argued!
Jersey FOCUS on Mental Health is a charity devoted to the aims of promoting good mental health and helping to develop effective services for those who suffer from mental illness and I was delighted to be part of this first joint effort between the two parishes to improve life for the residents.

A shining example to our Parish

I was delighted when I heard that nine girls had come forward to compete in the Miss St Saviour 2008 competition, and even more delighted when, as one of the judges, I had a chance to hear them being interviewed by Chris Stone, from BBC Radio Jersey, and was able to help to choose our Miss St Saviour for the year. The winner was going to have something to live up to...previous Miss St Saviours, Jodie Whittingham and Vicky Trehorel (who is the reigning Miss Battle of Flowers) were both there to encourage them. Chris did a great job of helping even the most shy of the entrants to speak out about themselves and their plans and it was certainly difficult to choose the winner. I am sure that Miss St Saviour 2008, 20 year old Claudia Freitas, will be a worthy ambassador for our Parish. She was crowned at the Mayfair Hotel on Friday, 4th April, and I do thank all those who entered and made it such a grand competition, particularly our two runner-ups, Tania da Sousa and Jamie Lake.
Photo: Iqbal Karimjee

Death of former Deputy

It was sad news to hear of the death of former Deputy John Le Gallais on Tuesday, 11 March. He had not been in good health in recent years but he was always a true Jersey gentleman and my mother remembers well campaigning for him in earlier times. He would often be seen riding his horse on lanes and byways in the early morning and he always gave unstintingly of his time to his Parish and Island. He will be greatly missed.

Spring is here ...Parish springing into action

Signs of spring in St Saviour can be found in the crocuses, daffodils, cyclamen and other plants flowering in our hedgerows and parish gardens. I know that Graham Langlois and the parish team have been out there tucking bulbs into little corners and hideaways and now we can enjoy the full benefit of them. However, there is another sign of spring.. parish committees are also springing into action with a full calendar of events has been planned throughout the year, so there is no excuse for anyone to say they are bored and, in fact, I have evidence of more people joining our community events and I am delighted that is so. (Details of all the parish associations and societies can be found on our parish page at http://www.parish.gov.je/st_saviour
Elaine and I went to the Twinning Association agm and lunch last Sunday at the Ommaroo. This is going to be a busy year for us with the Jeux d'Intervilles in July when, for the first and only time in 40 years, St Saviour will host the other parishes and their twins at Grainville. There will be a lot of work to be done but also a lot of fun to be had and plans are well in hand, so I was very pleased to hear that our membership is up by 50 per cent, from 58 to 87 members. A decision will be made this week about the viability of a parish magazine and we will have the results of the naming competition. There has been great enthusiasm for this venture so we are now looking for sponsorship and support in advertising in the new publication. This the the month to also make a decision about entering the Miss St Saviour competition. Our Miss St Saviour is a great ambassador for our parish and it is a role that I hope that the new Miss St Saviour will take on with gusto and that she will play a full part in parish events.

St Saviour's Parish in the news

This Saturday, 23rd February, we will be holding our first meeting about starting up a new parish newsletter and anyone who is interested in this venture is invited to come along to the Parish Hall at 11 am. We have had some good responses already and the makings of a very good editorial team is in hand, so if you feel you would like to take part, even if you only have a few hours to spare, do join us. The more we have, the more we can share the work involved and it won't become too onerous a task for any one person. I would also like to see parishioners getting out with their cameras, sketchbooks, paints and pencils to record the parish through the year and I would like to hear from anyone with any ideas for improving our community, especially if they are offering to help as well! You can contact me at the Parish Hall or via this website, at info@peterhanning.com
We have already received some suggestions for what to call the newsletter, and the final decision will rest in the hands of the newsletter committee.

If you went down to the woods on Saturday...

There was an enthusiastic response to the call to clear the little woodland below the Parish Hall last Saturday. In a short time, logs and branches were being cleared to make way for the rotavator that will come in to prepare the ground for the special woodland grass and wildflower mix than is going to be sown there. I would like to thank everyone who turned up: we were certainly lucky with the weather, which was sunny and bright and, although it was cold, we soon warmed up. For those who ventured down towards the bottom of the valley, there was the joyous sight of wild violets blooming in the cleared spaces. There were some violets here last year, our Parish in Bloom co-ordinator Graham Langlois tells me, but the opening up of the woodland has allowed more light into the area and the violets have certainly responded. Mike Stentiford popped down to share his cold with us...thanks, Mike...but soon popped off to, I hope, a warm fire and some hot lemon and honey. We have begun collecting names for our proposed group of Parish wildlilfe and woodland volunteers and I would like to invite anyone with a few hours to spare a couple of times a year to contact me at the Parish Hall so we can add your name to the list. Just a thought: does anyone know what that little valley is actually called? I am going to try and find out so that it can have a proper name attached to it and become part of our parish community amenties, just like Patier Park.

St Saviour’s Parish in Bloom: “Park”ing a priority

A WILD wood with squirrels and nesting birds is developing in hidden parkland tucked away below St Saviour’s Parish Hall. Work began on this peaceful haven between Government House and busy St Saviour’s Hill last February when the area’s overgrown trees and undergrowth were thinned, bird boxes put up and paths made to allow access.
The Parish has been greatly helped in doing this by Mike Stentiford and his team of volunteers, but they now have plenty to do as part of the National Trust and we must make our own effrt to make this little wildernness attractive and accessible. Now it is time to continue the project before the birds begin to nest again and I am calling for volunteers to meet outside the Parish Hall on Saturday 16 February at 10 am to go down to the area and work for a couple of hours or so on creating an idyllic woodland park where the community can enjoy the area’s burgeoning wildlife.
It’s a wonderful area that is both wild and accessible and we think it provides an opportunity for people, especially youngsters, to feel that it is a really valuable part of their parish, to come and help the site develop and to encourage wild life to come down and live and nest in the woods. As many people as possible are invited to help and no gardening skills are needed, just strong shoes and a pair of gloves are recommended to bring a forgotten area of the parish to life and create an outside classroom for youngsters in our parish.”
The scheme is ambitious and aims to develop three separate areas, each progressively wilder, and help is needed to clear the remaining logs and branches. “We’d like as many parishioners to come as possible,” said Graham Langlois, of St Saviour’s Parish in Bloom. “We’d also like to start a volunteer group that can be called on a couple of times a year in spring and autumn when we need to tidy up the area.”
With their help, the walled woodland will make a perfect small nature reserve which could be linked by natural planting through to other wildlife areas in the parish.

Looking forward: 2008

Last weekend I was delighted to welcome our Honorary Police officers to a lunch as a small thank-you to them and their partners for the many hours of their time they give to our parish. As well as forming a large part of our spirit of community in St Saviour, the recent discussions about the policing of events makes me realise just how much we owe to our Honorary Police in keeping down costs to the parish and, therefore, to our rates. Being a member of the Honorary Police is a very satisfying role as you are working directly for the benefit of our community and yet it need not be too time consuming... the more officers we have, the more the workload is shared.
I do hope that more people, men and women, will come forward to stand for election as Constable's Officer and if, in the meantime, you would like to know more about what exactly is involved and what might be expected of you, do please contact me and we can have a chat about it. I was a Constable's Officer myself for many years and while it was sometimes uncomfortable standing out in the cold and wet, there are times when I can look back and feel that by volunteering in this way, I may have been able to help somebody at a time of crisis in their life.
Last weekend also saw the annual get-together of the St Saviour's Battle of Flowers team at the Parish Hall to thank all their supporters for the work they put in to last year's successful entry. Many of us were sporting green thumb nails for the whole of August after our efforts preparing flower heads for sticking! We have a really good committee enthusiastically preparing for Battle 2008 and I hope that many parishioners will come along and help this year...again, sharing the workload is a way to make life easier for all of us. If you would like to contribute in any way to making our float for 2008 a great success, do contact Ann Quenault (879881 or annieq@jerseymail.co.uk) or have a look at the website at stsavioursbof1.tripod.com and see just how many different ways you can take part. We also enter a junior float and this is a great way for young people to work together on an exciting project. I would also ask you to start thinking about who you might encourage to enter the Miss St Saviour competition in April. We have been so well-represented by our Miss St Saviours and the role is an important one for the whole parish and the whole year and not just for the Battle of Flowers.

A New Year dawns

Seeing in the New Year last Saturday, more than 300 of our senior citizens joined us for an excellent lunch at the Hotel Ambassadeur, including our stars for the day, Jack and Eileen Le Sueur, who are about to celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary. The Honorary Police made an excellent job of fitting all the cars into the car park and, after a pre-lunch sherry or orange juice, we all enjoyed a good lunch and a sing-song. Elaine and I enjoyed meeting so many parishioners, old friends and new, and, although it could be said that perhaps the numbers are big enough to split the event into two occasions, I do love seeing everyone dress up and get together for a real Parish "do" and there was such a great atmosphere.

A Cracking Christmas

The 12th December saw us being welcomed back to the Assembly Room by some of our more senior citizens, members of the St Saviour Social Club, who extended their famous hospitality. We saw many of them again the next afternoon when we joined the St Saviour Golden Age Club to share tea and pull crackers and listen to the really excellent choir of youngsters from St Saviour's Primary School. They were a real credit to their headteacher, Kate Sugden, their music teacher, Gwenda Harris - an old girl of the school, she tells me - and, of course, the families of all the children who led us in singing many of our favourite traditional Christmas carols as well as their own version of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.
I also attended St Paul's Church on the 13th December for the Grand Vaux Primary School carol service where we were each presented with a handmade Christmas card from the children. Mine was from Katie-Ann in Year 5 and included a cheerful snowman and glittery snowflakes. Thank you very much, Katie-Ann. It was a lovely service with choir and dancers as well as traditional Christmas carols and readings, and I do congratulate Year 6 on singing Silent Night so beautifully in German.
Elaine tells me that on Friday, 14th December, she popped her passport into her handbag "just in case!" as we headed out to the Far(if not quite Wild)West to have a wonderful evening in St Ouen's Parish Hall booing and hissing the machinations of thinly-disguised politicians and big businessmen.
With just over a week to go to Christmas Day, I was delighted to be asked by our Rector, Rev. Dr Anthony Swindell, to take part in a moving celebration of the season with a service of nine lessons and carols at St Saviour's Church. It was a warm, friendly and spiritual event and the church was most beautifully decorated.
The next evening began two nights of concerted Christmas celebration with the annual evening of song presented by Les Conteurs. This is the first time we have seen Eric Le Conte take his place with his wife, Pauline, in the audience. He and his family and choir have a wonderful gift of music which they has shared with so many of us over the years, and their usual outstanding raffle helped them also to make their generous gifts to local charities (this year Jersey Family Nursing and Home Care and the Constable's Fund). Annette Blanchet is the musical director and we all enjoyed the mix of traditional carols and Christmas fun.

Christmas in St Saviour

It has been a busy month and I have to admit to not spending much time at the computer. This has been my first Christmas as Connétable and Elaine and I have enjoyed all the fruits of the season and a real sense of the good community spirit in the Parish. Christmas began with a visit from Father Christmas to the Parish Hall on 11th December to collect gifts and donations to the annual Jersey Christmas Appeal. He arrived with his sleigh and, with his accompanying shepherds, led the eager awaiting children past the superb 24-foot Christmas tree that has graced the Parish Hall this year, and up to the Assembly Room where he quickly settled down to the main business of the afternon - listening to the children share their dreams and wishes. It was lovely to see so many St Saviour youngsters (we estimated about 60) come along and enjoy the spirit of the day.

Wintry weather

What a weekend we had! Atrocious weather that brought a real bite of winter and not a few falling trees to the Parish. Fortunately, St Saviour was not too badly hit and I was delighted to hear that the Parish and the Honorary Police did their bit to clear the roads quickly and help parishioners in their homes. Well done, everyone.

St Saviour's Twinning Association

Today was a miserably wintry day, but about 50 parishioners met at the Bistro Rocque for a splendid lunch and a chance to talk about St Saviour's Twinning Association. There was a great atmosphere, plenty of chat and laughter and I hope everyone really enjoyed themselves. My congratulations to the committee for yet another successful event. Next year, St Saviour will have been twinned with Villedieu-Les-Poeles, in Normandy, for 25 years, and we will also host the Jersey Normandie Association Jeux Intervilles, the Fun and Games in which all the Island's parishes and their twin towns participate. As the games are only held every other year, it will be many years before our turn comes round again and we want it to be a marvellous weekend. I was delighted to see so many new faces at the lunch and hope that all our new members will enjoy their experience of twinning events here and at Villedieu. Bob Olliver is the man to contact if you want to know more about our twinning association and perhaps join us. He can be contacted on 735864 or by email at
bob.olliver@poss.gov.je

Parish news and views

We have been so busy since our return from Canada that I have not updated this blog. My apologies for that and I shall try to do better in future.

Remembrance Sunday was a very special day this year. The 11th day of the 11th month fell on the Sunday and Rev Dr Anthony Swindell included the dedication of our new Parish Memorial in the short service at 11 am. A contingent of our scouts were present and planted their crosses and poppies in the new turf around the cross. We were lucky with the weather which, though chilly, was dry and bright.
It is a fine memorial to the fallen. The original plaque has been set in the wall below the Parish Hall and the new plinth states simply that "For your tomorrows we gave our today". The old flagpole with its cross trees has gone and has been replaced by two single flag posts, one one each side and, without the hedge that masked so much of the front of the Parish Hall, it really is a fine sight as you approach.

The little woodland below the Parish Hall is really showing the benefit of the efforts made by the team of volunteers, led by the indefatigable Mike Stentiford, who went down on Saturday, 17th November with some of our parishioners and Garden Festival Committee to clear logs and brushwood for this Woodland Regeneration Project. It has already made a difference and we are hoping to organise another effort before Christmas so the ground can be rotavated ready for seeding and planting. I would like to see many more parishioners joining in such a worthwhile Parish effort that just requires a pair of wellies, a pair of gloves and a couple of hours of your time.

On the subject of planting, my thanks to two of our parishioners who have bought trees which they planted in Patier Park on Thursday. The ground was prepared by Graham Langlois, our Floral Co-ordinator and I was delighted to meet the two donors and see them plant their trees. This is a wonderful way to commemorate or celebrate a particular event or person for many years to come.