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

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.