AUTUMN COVER:Layout 1 02/10/2015 16:11 Page 1
FARMING, FOOD & FISHERIES • EQUESTRIAN & SPORT • HERITAGE & ARTS • GARDENS & NATURE RURAL - Jersey Country Life
Autumn 2015 www.ruraljersey.co.uk
LOCALISM Economics for a small community Issue 10 - Jersey’s rural, cultural and community magazine
LOCAL THERAPISTS Complementary therapies in Jersey www.ruraljersey.co.uk
Local pigs and local produce Keeping Jersey farming
DH FULL PAGE ADVERT 2015:Layout 1 02/10/2015 16:12 Page 1
Traditional and Shaker Kitchens at David Hick Interiors Proudly installing some of Jersey’s finest kitchens
KITCHENS BATHROOMS BEDROOMS INTERIORS HOME DESIGN Carrefour Selous, St Lawrence | Telephone 865965 Open Tues to Sat 9.30am - 5.00pm, late night Thurs until 6.30pm
AUTUMN WELCOME:Layout 1 07/10/2015 06:59 Page 1
Welcome AS ‘The Issue’ leading article in this magazine points out, this is very much the ‘localism’ issue of RURAL magazine. The American professor, Michael Shuman, visited Jersey earlier this year and was interviewed by us – he had a lot to say about localism; we have also interviewed a farmer, the chief executive officer of the Co-Op and an auctioneer, who also told us their stories, which relate to various aspects of that same spirit of localism. This is the season, supposedly of mellow fruitfulness, so a good issue to explore some of Jersey’s local produce: not just the seasonal produce, such as grapes and apples, wine and cider, but also pork and lamb production, tomatoes and a new ‘added value’ dairy product… again, all aspects of the local economy. Yet another aspect of localism is represented by our special feature on complementary therapists in Jersey. It is only a small selection from the many people who have some sort of therapy on offer but enough to give the reader, we hope, a flavour on what is on offer. To what extent they are effective is not for us to say. They range from therapies such as chiropractic that have become practically ‘mainstream’ or orthodox, to treatments which, in an earlier age, might have been seen as witchcraft. What is truly admirable about them all – at the risk of repetition – the fact that these are local people offering local treatments; that, in itself, is attractive and worthy of interest. Local farming – local ‘farm school’ to teach youngsters an appreciation of where food comes from and how it is grown – local foraging with Kazz Padidar on the seashore – local sports, local hobbies, Jersey’s local language… all these subjects are touched on in the pages of this issue of RURAL, the magazine that describes itself as ‘Jersey’s rural, cultural and community magazine’… in other words the magazine that finds ‘localism’ interesting and worthwhile. I hope that everyone who shares that interest in ‘localism’ and local Jersey will find something in the pages of this autumn issue to enjoy.
DISTRIBUTION We will provide free delivery to any address which would like to receive a minimum of five copies. The magazine remains free of charge to those who simply want one copy posted to their home address, but we ask for a £10 subscription to cover the cost of postage and packing the four quarterly issues. HAVE YOU THOUGHT ABOUT SENDING A SUBSCRIPTION TO RURAL AS A CHRISTMAS PRESENT TO FRIENDS AND FAMILY OVERSEAS? Telephone us on 865334. Cheques can be sent to RURAL magazine, La Cohue Maisonette, La Grande Route de St Jean, St John, Jersey JE34FN
VISIT US AT www.ruraljersey.co.uk PUBLISHER Crosby Media and Publishing Ltd La Cohue Maisonette, St John, JE3 4FN
DESIGN & PRODUCTION Sarah le Marquand sarah@thecore.je
EDITOR Alasdair Crosby editorial@ruraljersey.co.uk 01534 865334 or 07797 773880
PHOTOGRAPHY Gary Grimshaw info@photoreportage.co.uk 07797 739426
RURAL magazine can be collected, free of charge, from any number of places around the Island. If you are unable to find a copy, please contact us and we will ensure that you receive a copy directly.
•
•
•
www.ruraljersey.co.uk
LOCALISM Economics for a small community
SALES Siobhan East siobhaneast@hotmail.com 07797 726811 LOCAL THERAPISTS Complementary therapies in Jersey
Front cover image: Jersey's pig farm, page 20. Picture by Gary Grimshaw
Local pigs and local produce Keeping Jersey farming
CONTENTS AUTUMN:Layout 1 06/10/2015 16:37 Page 1
20
18
30
Contents 20
LITTLE PIGS GOING TO MARKET Jon Hackett, mortgage broker turned pig farmer
21
THE WAITING GAME Louise Agnès writes on where her sheep may safely graze
SPECIAL THEME: THE STORY OF LOCALISM Articles by Alasdair Crosby
22
LOCALLY MADE Genuinely Jersey products: salted caramel sauce and interesting things to do with tomatoes
12 - 13
LOCALISM: THE PROFESSOR’S STORY American professor Milton Shuman visits Jersey
23 - 24
14
LOCALISM: THE FARMER’S STORY Charles Gallichan - supplying local food for local people
BIG APPLE SUCCESS Success for La Robeline Cider and Field Farm apple juice in the annual Great Taste Awards
25
THAT SEASON OF MELLOW FRUITFULNESS Harvest time at La Mare
7
‘THE ISSUE’
8
THE JERSEY SALAMAGUNDI An assortment of ingredients of life in Jersey
16
18 - 19
4-
SPECIAL THEME: LOCAL PRODUCE
LOCALISM – THE CO-OP’S STORY CI Co-operative Society’s chief executive Colin Macleod on the future of Jersey local produce LOCALISM – THE AUCTIONEER’S STORY Glencoe: ever thought of it as a re-cycling centre? We speak to Simon Drieu
RURAL Autumn 2015
SPECIAL THEME: COMPLEMENTARY THERAPY IN JERSEY 29
SO WHAT IS ‘PHYTOBIOPHYSICS?’ Diana Mossop writes on the ‘Mossop philosophy’ and the science of plant energy
30
COMPLEMENTING CONVENTIONAL CARE Les Chasses, St Lawrence - from traditional Jersey farmhouse to centre for complementary therapies. We spoke to Sheila Coutanche
CONTENTS AUTUMN:Layout 1 06/10/2015 16:37 Page 2
36
62
45
32
BACK TO BALANCE - BACK TO HEALTH Dr Marie-Christine Dix talked on chiropractic care to Kieranne Grimshaw
52 - 53
CLUBS AND ASSOCIATIONS Dancing the days away, with the Helier Morris Men. By Bob Hogge
34
RELAXING AND REJUVENATING The therapies of Veronica Touzel
54 - 55
36 - 37
NATURE’S BOUNTY – BESIDE THE SEASIDE Autumn foraging - Kieranne Grimshaw is ‘taken to lunch’ by Kazz Padidar
THE TROUBLED POET – WHO LOVED JERSEY FARMING LIFE Mike Sunier on ‘the Grand Old Man of Irish Letters’, Monk Gibbon
56 - 58
IN THE KITCHEN Our cookery writer, Zoë Horne, shares some autumnal recipe ideas
BOOK REVIEWS – CELEBRATING THE LOCAL Recent publications by Jersey authors – reviews by Alasdair Crosby
60 - 61
ART, INSPIRED BY NATURE By our artist in residence, Anna Le Moine Gray
62 - 63
ONE MAN AND HIS DOGS The Robin Page column
64
A SEEING EYE By the chairman of the Guide Dogs Association, Ken Syvret
66
TCHI TCHIANN'TÉTHIE! What a lot of dogs in Jèrriais, with Geraint Jennings
FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENTS
71 - 72
A LETTER FROM IRELAND Where Irish fish are jumping – by Philippa Evans Bevan
NO WORRY IN A QUARRY Paul Pinel puts the new Lexus RX 450h through its off-roading paces in Ronez quarry
74
END PIECE Mike Stentiford has the last word
38 - 39
40 - 41
THE SECRET GARDEN Ruth Le Cocq searches for her own secret garden – hidden underneath the weeds
42
OFF TO (FARM) SCHOOL Something for the next generation of farmers and growers – Farm School with Grace Davies
44
45 - 46
A LETTER FROM BRITTANY Wendy Sullivan on the bounty of the Island’s common wild plants
47
A LETTER FROM MILAN What does ‘rural sustainability’ mean? Philippa Evans Bevan finds answers at Expo Milano 2015
48
ENVIRONMENTALISM vs THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT Preserving a correct balance, by architect Jane Faulkner
49 - 50
PLANNING APPLICATIONS HAVING YOUR VOICE HEARD By Advocate Samantha Hoare of Carey Olsen
CONTRIBUTORS LOUISE AGNÈS PHILIPPA EVANS BEVAN JANE FAULKNER KIERANNE GRIMSHAW SAMANTHA HOARE BOB HOGGE ZOË HORNE GERAINT JENNINGS RUTH LE COCQ
ANNA LE MOINE GRAY DIANA MOSSOP ROBIN PAGE PAUL PINEL LYNN SCHOFIELD MIKE STENTIFORD KEN SYVRET MIKE SUNIER
RURAL Autumn 2015 - 5
Project3:Layout 1 05/10/2015 16:14 Page 1
Clear investment. Pure energy.
THE NEW ERA
IN SPACE HEATING
LANDS IN JERSEY
Efficient, intelligent Quantum, the most advanced electric storage heating solution.
www.jec.co.uk
For a free quotation, call 505460.
THE ISSUE AUTUMN:Layout 1 07/10/2015 07:00 Page 1
The Issue IN this magazine’s very first issue, there was, in the first few pages, a ‘Welcome – who we are and what this magazine is all about’ article. In it, we wrote: ‘(Jersey) is a viable local community… with a particular, local, centuries-old culture and heritage. How this local countryside, community, culture and heritage can remain intact in today’s modern and globalised world should always be a theme to engage our attention and a subject for debate, lest by forgetting the local and the particular we lose a precious inheritance. To this debate, we hope that RURAL – Jersey Country Life magazine can make some useful contribution.’ Since then, that philosophy has been implicit in almost every article contained in this magazine. It is, after all, a question that comes up time and time again in every discussion on ‘PPE’ – philosophy, politics and economics: how can the balance be preserved between a recognisable local and particular society and one that is larger in size and scope and therefore is more interested in ironing out the local quirks of small-scale societies or communities than in preserving them. It is not exactly a new question – Aristotle would have recognised it immediately: ‘Oh yes,’ he would probably have said, ‘Polis vs Megapolis. Nothing’s changed, really, since my time.’ However, Aristotle might well have reminded us of what, to him, was a lecture room joke – a community so improbably large that the citizens would not immediately have recognised each other – at least, by sight. He might have quite enjoyed Jersey – or at least found elements within it that he would have found familiar or analogous.
There are plenty of people who hold the view that they far prefer living in a large city where they can be totally anonymous and removed from anyone who might be interested in their personal lives and relationships. Chacun à son gout. On a larger scale, there are politicians who have made it perfectly clear that to their own mind, a community’s space – local or national – is defined only by those who happen to be living there at the moment, without reference to past history or to past traditional shared links of mutual affection, kinship or interest. In this sort of world, where there is no personal or traditional link between its inhabitants, there are also no parameters that define agreed standards of behaviour or morals. All is relative; nothing can be regarded as absolute, as no one’s belief is deemed to be any better or any worse than anybody else’s. In this respect it is relevant to quote GK Chesterton in favour of tradition: 'Tradition means giving votes to the most obscure of all classes, our ancestors. It is the democracy of the dead. Tradition refuses to submit to the small and arrogant oligarchy of those who merely happen to be walking about.' He did not mention future generations, but they should also share in this more true and more real democracy – the joint society of ancestors, the living and the yet unborn. After all, we only look after our own communities – or world – in trust for our descendants as well as for our ancestors. All a bit high-falutin’ perhaps and not really the stuff of which glossy magazine leading articles are usually made, nor publications concerned with Jersey country and community life.
The American economist, Michael Shuman, was in Jersey earlier this year and was interviewed by RURAL magazine. His own formative influences he cites as Thomas Jefferson, Amory Lovins and E F Schumacher. He joins these three as an exponent of community economics – ‘economics as if people matter’. To these illustrious names one could also add Wendell Berry, whose inspirational sayings include ‘What I stand for is what I stand on’ and ‘Eating is an agricultural act’. All these names cited above, living and dead, are themselves a community with a common ‘localist’ philosophy to which those who love a traditional and familiar Jersey can easily relate. Local food, the sale of local produce, local community, local associations, local history… this issue of RURAL has a fairly explicit theme of ‘localism’ Arrayed against localism is globalism, in which contrasting philosophy everywhere is much like anywhere else (or if not yet, should be and will be soon). Local customs are at best, quirky; local history is irrelevant; the practice of local or organic farming and the consumption of local produce merely a ‘lifestyle choice’; local culture, local voluntary associations derisory and local personal interactions are vastly inferior to the entertainment to be found in the solitariness of the virtual on-line world and the faux community of social media and its various novelty forms of communication. Anyone wanting to find ‘an issue’ in contemporary life and thought - and in Jersey as elsewhere - need look no further than localism versus globalism.
RURAL Autumn 2015 - 7
AUTUMN SALMAGUNDI:Layout 1 06/10/2015 06:04 Page 1
THE JERSEY SALMAGUNDI
THE VIRTUES OF ANY OLD WOOD CLOSE to half of all wood previously destroyed at the Island’s incinerator plant is now recycled thanks to a unique conservation project created at the Acorn ‘Woodshack’, one of the Jersey Employment Trust’s (JET) business units. The charity based scheme, located in Trinity, is a social enterprise recycling waste timber for re-use whilst providing training and work experience for people with a disability and long term health condition. By using a very simple method Acorn actively helps to save good, serviceable timber and wooden furniture from the waste stream by collecting timber from La Collette and building sites around the Island. Acorn employees and volunteers then work to de-nail, clean, cut to size, and rack the timber for sale to trade and the general public. The efforts of the JET, the employment branch of Acorn, has been recognised by the Lloyds Bank Foundation,which last year gave them a grant of £103,000 to launch the Woodshack project, and this year has named them as one of the winners of their Charity Achievement Awards for ‘Enterprising Collaboration.’ The impact of this social enterprise benefits a wide cross section of local
people by providing them with an opportunity to purchase recycled DIY timber at approximately 60% of the cost. Acorn also make an array of unique wooden furniture out of old cable drums which has been well received in the market, including by the organisers of Jersey Live, who ordered lawn furniture and a specially made bar for their 2015 event. One year on from their launch, Acorn have exceeded their expectations and have helped over 70 people gain experience in the workplace, including three who have obtained permanent paid work since their time at Acorn. The initiative works to reduce the environmental impact on the Island as the incinerator previously burned 230 tonnes of commercial and domestic wood annually. Over the past year the amount of wood that has been repurposed and saved from the waste stream equates to around 100 tonnes. With the help of their partnership with Transport and Technical Services (TTS) and Recycle Jersey their profits have exceeded initial goals, so Acorn have opened up an independently run café on site. Other ventures in the pipeline will diversify their business further and aim
to create 15 additional jobs for people with a disability, while continuing to reduce local waste, carbon emissions, and conserve a coveted natural resource.
SLOW GIN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS… excellent tipple, have invited all Jersey slow-gin makers, who are confident of the quality of their own product, to compete.
...SOUNDS like an interesting and enjoyable sporting event. It takes place at ‘The George’ pub in Frant, East Sussex, near Tunbridge Wells on 10 December from 1pm. The organisers, aware that many Jersey people enjoy making and consuming this 8-
RURAL Autumn 2015
Artisan sloe gin makers from across the world will gather at the popular village pub on the Kent/Sussex border, to vie for the coveted Sloe Gin World Champion title for 2015. Last year’s winner came from Scotland. This Christmas will mark the seventh year of the well-attended annual event which began when some of the pub locals began arguing over the perfect sloe gin recipe.
The George dates back to around 1750 and is a traditional country pub, with hand drawn beers, oak beams and log fires in winter. All proceeds of the event are donated to the MS Society which supports people with Multiple Sclerosis www.mssociety.org.uk. Potential competitors are asked to contact The George Inn 01892 730350. www.thegeorgeinnfrant.co.uk or George Shaw on 01892 750851
Project1:Layout 1 03/10/2015 12:14 Page 1
Get involved Skipton Art Series Skipton Art Series was launched this year to encompass the Skipton Open Studios, as well as additional visual art events. It is sponsored for the next two years by long-term Jersey Arts Trust partner Skipton International. Over 15 collaborative art projects will be taking place, including Les P’tits Faîtchieaux, Ian Rolls’ Dazzle ship, a Pop-Up Gallery with National Trust for Jersey and a public gallery in November. Skipton Art Series is a true community art lead programme, with schools and community groups involved in projects throughout the year.
www.arts.je
Projection Gallery The huge public projection gallery is planned as a finale to the year’s Skipton Art Series events, making the best of Jersey’s art accessible to all. The façade of Normans will be turned into an enormous public exhibition from 5.30pm daily, Tuesday 10th November to Saturday 14th November.
skiptonartseries
AUTUMN SALMAGUNDI:Layout 1 06/10/2015 06:05 Page 2
THE JERSEY SALMAGUNDI
TREE SURVEY EVERONE will agree trees are an essential part of the urban environment, enhancing and softening the townscape and bringing just a hint of the countryside to town. They counteract noise and air pollution and provide a vital and important habitat for urban insects, birds and other animals. Jersey Trees for Life, the Island’s only dedicated tree charity, is going to join forces with a number of States’ departments. They are committed to raising the profile of the arboreal population which, they hope, will lead to a number of trees being protected. They are going to head up those associated with trees at Planning, TTS, the Environment Department and Parish of St Helier. A base-line survey of the major trees within the Ring Road will be
carried out to create a benchmark against which to monitor and assess any changes in urban tree cover.
unite the various bodies involved, giving greater prominence and protection to our trees.
Several areas of States’ and Parish of St Helier land have already been looked at and the trees recorded. Trees in private ownership are also a vital link and they will too be surveyed and included in the assessment. A suitable local student will be given training and employed on a temporary contract to carry out this work under the guidance of the various Department, Municipality and Jersey Trees for Life. Compared with the countryside, the relative scarcity of urban trees further enhances their significance. This new initiative will to bring this vital information together and it will also
Ban proposed to protect Société Jersiaise endangered shellfish Christmas Card 2015 THIS year, the Société Jersiaise has chosen John St Helier Lander’s painting from 1903, ‘Boy with Tin Whistle Imitating a Bird’ as the image for their Christmas card. You can find the original oil on canvas painting situated between the second and third floors at Société HQ, 7 Pier Road. Christmas Cards will be available for sale from the Société Bookshop and online at www.societe-jersiaise.org from 19th October, fittingly the 147th anniversary of Lander’s birth. A pack of ten cards is priced at £6 including envelopes.
The Minister said it was a priority for him to identify all marine resources that are under threat, and act quickly to safeguard them where necessary. “This species is under pressure, and the report I received late last week of a further drop in its population is very worrying.
THE Minister for Planning and Environment, Steve Luce, has taken immediate steps to protect an increasingly endangered shellfish. The Mactra glauca, or Five Shilling Shell, is one of the Channel Island’s largest bi-valves. Recent reports suggest stocks have suffered a fall. The Five Shilling Shell is edible, but hasn’t traditionally been targeted by low water fishermen because it’s too far away from common low water fishing beds on the Island’s south east coast. Recently, there have been more reports of people fishing for it. After consultation with the Marine Resources Panel, Deputy Luce has asked the law officers to draft a change to the Conservation of Wildlife Law to make the Five Shilling Shell a protected species and illegal to fish.
10 -
RURAL Autumn 2015
“There is no doubt that some of our shellfish and wet fish stocks are struggling at the moment and it is my intention in the coming months to bring in legislation that will allow me to protect any threatened species where necessary. This will be done by a range of options, such as bag limits, size restrictions and other constraints. He added “I fully respect the traditional rights of low water fishermen but the potential commercialisation of some of our low water shellfish stocks is a great concern.’ The Five Shilling Shell is at its most northerly limit in the Channel Islands. It has been reported from Jersey, Guernsey and Herm but according to marine biologist Dr Paul Chambers it appears to be common only in Jersey and then only in one particular area on the SE coast.
Project1:Layout 1 06/10/2015 16:35 Page 1
We supply the full range of Efco Garden Machinery, from Hand Tools to Compact Tractors. We service and repair all makes of garden machinery at our fully equipped Engineering workshop.
20% OFF
ALL MACHINES WHILE STOCKS LAST
C A F Engineering Ltd Rue du Grand Jardin Augres Trinity, JE3 5FJ
Tel: 01534 863900 enquiries@cafengineering.com
MILTON:Layout 1 07/10/2015 06:59 Page 1
A LOCAL ECONOMY THE internationally acclaimed American author and economist, Michael Shuman, addressed a seminar in Jersey at the Princess Royal Pavilion, Durrell Wildlife Park on the subject of stimulating economic growth through local companies AN economist, attorney, author, and entrepreneur, and a globally recognised expert on community economics, Michael Shuman lists, among his numerous appointments and positions, being a Fellow of the Post-Carbon Institute. He is a founding board member of the American Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE). He has also authored and co-authored eight books, the latest of these is titled The Local Economy Solution, in which he writes about what he calls ‘pollinator businesses’ and how they can support economic growth. Introducing him, Jersey businessman Kevin Keen said: ‘Getting our economy growing is vital to create the jobs, prosperity and generate the tax to fund public services, so it was great to hear new ideas from such an expert in the field.’ Michael has been active in the local economy movement since the 1990s – his first book was titled ‘Going Local’; gradually, he said, the world was coming round to these ideas. 12 -
RURAL Autumn 2015
Some while ago he was contacted by Kevin Keen and David Warr and, as he was due to be in France the following week, agreed to come and speak on his ideas in Jersey. Mr Shuman is the opposite to the somewhat derogatory British caricature of an American, totally enthused by bigness, with farms that are as big as Jersey if not as big as Wales, by big cities and by big economies. ‘There are two very different traditions in the USA,’ he said. If you go back to the earliest days of the Republic, there were ‘Jeffersonians’ versus ‘Hamiltonians’. The Hamiltonians believed in a bigger, stronger state; the Jeffersonians were more in the agrarian, small government mould. I am trying to represent the Jeffersonian tradition. ‘I have been enthused by this all my life – but at college I came across Schumacher’s ‘Small is Beautiful’ book, which
MILTON:Layout 1 07/10/2015 06:59 Page 2
has had a lasting influence on me. I was very taken by his ideas: and also by those of Amory Lovins, the head of Friends of the Earth, on how to think about energy. His thought is deeply Jeffersonian and has had a great influence on me.’
We spend over
£11 million
Asked how he would summarise his message in a nutshell, he replied: ‘Every region, including Jersey, needs functional economic development to continue to prosper. That works best when it is focused on local businesses that engage in import substitution. There are many models for delivery of economic development that can facilitate these outcomes in a cost effective way.’
with local suppliers every year.
And what should Jersey be chiefly considering? ‘Various laws to make it easier to make a local bank or credit union and to make it easier for people to engage in local investment and to expand the existing powers of cooperatives to do some of those activities. Those are all pretty critical, and given the relative independence of Jersey from the UK and the EU, this should not be difficult. A 100,000 person jurisdiction should not have difficulty making these legal changes that have been demonstrated in many other places.’ Michael Shuman has coined the term ‘Community food enterprise’ to describe locally owned food businesses, which he argues are emerging as vital economic stimulators worldwide. He has written a report illustrating how these businesses are becoming more competitive, scalable, and critical to global economic-development strategies. ‘There is a growing body of evidence that locally owned food businesses generate substantially more income, wealth, jobs, taxes, and charitable contributions for their communities and for the marketplace than do non locally owned players, even if those big companies are sourcing locally. ‘The basic reason is that local businesses spend more of their money locally and therefore pump up the local economic multiplier, which is the cornerstone of economic development. Food turns out to be an important entry in consumers’ consciousness about the benefits of buying local. We understand the virtues of local food viscerally, emotionally and literally. We can taste the quality, meet the producer and visit the farm and indeed interact personally with every aspect of a local food supply chain, should we choose to do so. That is not necessarily true of local energy, local finance or local manufacturing. ‘The food sector serves as the critical foundation for rethinking economic development. There is an intriguing relationship between local foods and local economies. The bottom line is simple. You should use these findings to press your economic development department to focus on local food.’ Michael Shuman is the author of seven books, including Going Local: Creating Self Reliant Communities in a Global Age and The Small Mart Revolution. He is also the Director of Research and Economic Development BALLE (Business Alliance for Local Living Economies). He lives in the Washington, DC area, but is often on the road talking about what local food has to do with why local economies matter.
Supporting local… As a local business, we passionately support local in a variety of different ways… • The Society is committed to maintaining long term relationships with local suppliers and is proud to set the standard on local produce availability. • We are passionate supporters of local suppliers selling over 1000 local products in our stores from over 50 local producers and farmers. • We spend over £11 million with local suppliers every year across the islands.
Further details of Michael Shuman can be found on his website: www.michaelhshuman.com facebook.com/cicoop
twitter.com/CI_coop
channelislands.coop
CHARLES:Layout 1 07/10/2015 07:04 Page 1
LOCALISM THE FARMER’S STORY ‘Keep Jersey farming’ - Charles Gallichan is doing just that ANYBODY driving along the Island’s country roads will hardly have failed to notice the excellent campaign being promoted by Genuine Jersey and the JEP: ‘Keep Jersey Farming’. That was largely inspired, of course, by the jolt the Island received when it was announced in the New Year that the old-established company, Amalgrow, recently under the ownership of the Albert Bartlett group, would no longer be growing and selling locally grown vegetables for the Island’s population. ‘You never know what you’ve lost until it’s gone,’ farmer Charles Gallichan, the managing director of the Woodside Farm business in Trinity, observed. He, like everybody else, was surprised – if not slightly stunned by the news, of which he had no prior knowledge before the public announcement. ‘It was certainly a shock,’ he said. Everybody was shocked. The States were in shock. Amalgrow was such a fixture – people thought that such a blue chip farming business would be safe. Its disappearance had obvious food security implications: all of a sudden, it was very apparent that the Island had a very limited ability to feed itself. Everybody was running around not quite sure what the answer would be.’ Charles is the fifth generation of family to live and work at Woodside Farm. Each generation has been called Charles, which could be slightly confusing – and there is a sixth generation (Charles) still quite small, but who, his parents hope, will take over the business one day Woodside Farm had been one of Amalgrow’s biggest suppliers. Apart from that, the farm was geared to exporting produce. It generally has five main crops: Jersey Royals, spring green cabbage, leeks, daffodils and chillies. It also supplied onions and other vegetables to wholesale customers in the Island. The business was growing – is growing – and the Gallichan family felt they already had quite enough on their plate. But then: ‘Within an hour after the announcement of Amalgrow’s closure, we had a couple of customers phoning us to ask whether we could take Amalgrow’s place. It didn’t take us long to realise that this was a good business opportunity 14 -
RURAL Autumn 2015
for us and a good fit for our existing local trade, both in terms of business growth and for our crop rotation and agronomy.’ Again, within hours, they were in contact with Howard Davis Farm. In negotiations with the management of Albert Bartlett, it was arranged that the handover from Amalgrow to Woodside would be on 4 July. ‘Our decision to fill Amalgrow’s gap put us under huge pressure,’ Charles said, ‘more pressure than we expected. The first stage was building a new cold store and pack house – which we built within three months. ‘It’s been a much bigger bite to swallow than expected and it has been a lot more work than expected to integrate the two businesses. But every week it gets a little bit easier, simpler and more organised. We were a busy farm before all this ever happened!’ Some of the former small suppliers to Amalgrow came to Charles and a meeting between Woodside Farm and other farmers was organised by the Jersey Farmers Union. Charles said: ‘We want to work with other farmers – obviously we could not grow everything ourselves. The meeting generated a lot of interest and already we are working with several of them; more of them will join us. ‘That is the future of farming locally – working more closely together. It is the only way we are all going to survive. Supermarkets want less administration, fewer invoices and delivery notes. Small suppliers don’t want all the hassle of marketing and packaging and constant delivery rounds – they want to concentrate on growing, which is what they do best. So close collaboration makes every sense.’ Farmers, he said, provided many benefits to the Island population in terms of maintaining the countryside for the benefit of all. And there is a need as well to have a diversity of local crops, and not to fill every available field with Jersey Royals for export ‘The more crop diversity we have got, the better for the Island.’
On th eM en u
Ea yo tin ur g o gu ut ar ? A SUPERMARKETS | MARKETS | FARM SHOPS | RESTAUR ANTS | GASTRO PUBS an sk te e o for f l Ge oc nu al in pr e J ov er en se an y, ce .
Passionate about food. Whether it’s reared, grown, caught or made in Jersey, Genuine Jersey is the guarantee of local provenance. In a nutshell, the Mark allows you to make an informed choice to support local producers, embrace seasonality and reduce your food miles. @GenuineJsy | genuinejersey.com
Look for the Mark before you buy
COLIN:Layout 1 05/10/2015 06:41 Page 1
He continued: ‘We’ve noticed that the idea of localism – local food produced for a local population – is gathering traction within communities across the world, as the penny drops about the virtues of supporting your local community and the jobs that are created as a result of local supply. ‘It is interesting that in the USA there has been a real resurgence in farming. There are something like 50% more farms than there were only seven years ago and similarly there has been a big increase in Farmers Markets and local markets – both in the USA and in the UK. ‘I think people will continue to move towards local produce so long as production, the growers and their innovations are nurtured. There remain massive opportunities in Jersey for an increased range of local products to be created. I hope that those opportunities are seized, because the market is certainly there for them.’
LOCALISM – THE CO-OP’S STORY Colin Macleod, chief executive of the Channel Islands Co-Operative Society, spoke to ALASDAIR CROSBY on the Society’s support for local producers and its contribution to the local economy THIS year the Channel Islands Co-Operative Society expects to spend £10.5m on local food products. For a business that’s turning over £160m it means that almost ten per cent of the products sold are bought locally. As the chief executive, Colin Macleod, said: ‘It’s incredible that we can offer that degree of financial support to local food producers. He is very optimistic for the future of local food production in the Island, despite the exit this year of Amalgrow as a local producer and supplier. ‘We’ve seen, to some degree, the resurgence of local food supplies under the umbrella of Woodside Farm,’ he said, referring to the farming business owned by Charles Gallichan that has stepped into Amalgrow’s vacated place as a supplier of local food to local retail outlets. ‘I think the local situation is showing some buoyancy and I am confident that actually the future of local production look rosier now than it has for a long time.’
16 -
RURAL Autumn 2015
Jersey has wonderful growing conditions for vegetables, he said, and he expressed surprise that there wasn’t more fruit grown commercially in Jersey, since there was certainly a market for that. Likewise, there was big market for protein – the Co-Op can sell as much Jersey spring lamb and JerseyAngus beef as it can get. It was unfortunate that there were so few processed or added value products. There were opportunities, not just for new products but also for adding value to existing products. Colin said: ‘I do hope we will get to the stage where we have a good local product in most of the edible categories. There is still a great opportunity for someone with the necessary entrepreneurial spirit to enter this food production sector. I think people are coming to understand that Jersey products can be premium products too. It’s not just that you have to pay a little bit more because you want to support the local economy, but that you get incredible freshness and quality as well. We certainly see big opportunities for ourselves to increase further our levels of support in the future. ‘We continue to be on the lookout for anyone who is thinking of entering the market. We would encourage any potential supplier to speak to us as early as possible about their ideas so that we can make sure that they are supported on their journey.’ One of the things that make Colin really proud of the CI Co-operative Society, he said, is that - unlike most places they are able to say that collectively the Society owns its own chain of supermarkets. As a result of that ownership, money spent within the stores benefits the community in a much deeper way than it would with a business that wasn’t so embedded within its community. It is able to use that money to employ local people and to do business with local suppliers and local service providers, who in their turn employ local people. As a result, that money sticks in the local community much longer than it would if customers bought from Amazon. ‘Local businesses need to be treated with a degree of sympathy - and certainly with fairness. There is an inherent unfairness within the GST structure that allows businesses that don’t have any loyalty to Jersey or offer no benefit to the community an advantage over those that do.’
*An expanded interview with Colin Macleod is available on our website: www.ruraljersey.co.uk
Project6:Layout 1 06/07/2015 14:45 Page 1
t: 01534 869300 e: enquiries@jerseyauctioneers.com w: www.jerseyauctioneers.com
SIMON DRIEU:Layout 1 05/10/2015 06:14 Page 1
18 -
RURAL Autumn 2015
SIMON DRIEU:Layout 1 05/10/2015 06:14 Page 2
LOCALISM: THE AUCTIONEER’S STORY Simon Drieu is managing director of the auction rooms based at Glencoe, St Lawrence. He spoke to ALASDAIR CROSBY IT might be hard to find a place more authentically ‘local’ than Glencoe, St Lawrence. As the managing director of the company, Simon Drieu said: ‘It’s probably one of the best-known addresses in the Island. Anyone can jump into a taxi anywhere in Jersey and say to the driver: “take me to Glencoe” and he will drive you straight there. It is a place synonymous with auction.’ ‘I still hear Jèrriais being spoken, although maybe not so much as it was 20 years ago when I started work here, but we still have a lot of local characters. A lot of the older ones have passed away, of course, but we’re getting new ones coming along, even if not of old Jersey stock, but still just as much characters! ‘There are lots of people who come regularly to the auctions some of them have probably attended more of them than I have - but I have probably only sold them about three things in all the those years! They don’t come to buy, they come to meet their friends, and have a chat. It’s a social event.’ We were talking in ‘the shed’ at Glencoe, sitting together on a row of chairs with the auction ticket on the back of them that were waiting to be sold or to be collected. Around us stood furniture of all sorts and a diversity of items to do with gardening, building, machinery and goodness what else stretching out the length of the auction room. A procession of clients kept coming and going, bringing or collecting their goods; outside, cars ready for auction were parked around the yard. ‘We’re a big recycling centre, really,’ said Simon. ‘Take building, for example. As old buildings get ripped down, the serviceable timber gets saved and is brought up here, where we sell it to people who want it. Re-cycling is a fairly modern concept – we’ve been doing this for decades. ‘Guernsey hasn’t got anything like this at all.’ He should know –he has a Guernsey auctioneer’s licence – very expensive: it costs £3 a year. (‘You don’t need a licence if you’re only auctioning fish,’ he said).
auctioneer, he applied for the job and got it, working with Tommy A’Court and Vincent Pallot. He worked there until 2003, when he branched out on his own and founded Simon Drieu and Co. His company is now the only auction rooms left in the Island. ‘As an auctioneer I’d love to be selling fine art and antiques but that would never pay the bills. Essentially, we work from an old shed in a 3½ vergée field in the middle of St Lawrence; the site used to be a chicken farm before it was converted into Maillard’s auction rooms in 1956. It’s not grandly imposing, but it works. ‘Some of the items that come under the hammer are of extremely high value: auctioneering is a very serious business, and I’m very serious about it. But when possible we have a laugh and a joke with the bidders – it makes for a sales relationship that is a lot more relaxed – and that is good for business, of course. ‘We average 500 lots a week- on a Thursday and Friday our auction team have 1,000 lots in transition: 500 in and 500 out. They do a great job in keeping track of everything – otherwise it would be total chaos. We also sell more motor vehicles than anyone else does in the Island – around 14 vehicles a week. ‘It is a very busy place.’ He continued: ‘You get such a diversity of people – ranging from people with a Jersey farming background to 1(1)k’s – and of course lots of people from the Polish and Portuguese communities, especially to the car auctions. It’s a real melting pot. ‘I am very much a people person, I love social anthropology and here is the best place to observe people! That has maintained my own interest and enthusiasm in my profession. I love what I do.’
Simon comes from a farming background. On leaving school he went to work on a traditional Jersey farm in St Lawrence, owned by his grandparents. It was a mixture of cattle, potatoes, and brassicas on 35 vergées – as he said, it is incredible that a farming family could survive on such a small acreage. After a number of years he moved to agricultural contracting, but prospects in agriculture were not looking too bright by then, so when Maillard’s advertised for an assistant
RURAL Autumn 2015 - 19
PIGS:Layout 1 06/10/2015 16:45 Page 1
LOCAL PIGS AND LOCAL PRODUCE Pig farming in St Brelade with Jon Hackett JON HACKETT’s farm off the Route des Genets in St Brelade has become something of a parish landmark- at least it is unmissable if you drive past it. And on Fridays and Saturdays Jon sells to the public from his ‘Me and the Farmer’ mobile stall at the side of the road by the farm fence. Otherwise his pork products are available at the Co-op and some top quality retail outlets around the Island… pork pies, scotch eggs, sausage rolls, pasties… in an ideal world he would love to open a pie shop. However, in a large pen in his kitchen were two little pigs who will not be taking the La Collette Express - they looked as if they had stepped out of a Beatrix Potter story. The two pigs are ‘Kune Kune’, a mini-pig breed from New Zealand. ‘They are a new line,’ Jon said. ‘Ideal for anyone who wants the grass in their orchard cut. They could forage all year and their dung would fertilise the ground at the base of the trees. They are not smelly animals and they would keep the orchard nice and neat.’ Any takers? Apply Jon Hackett, St Brelade. One day, Jon met a lady choosing sausages in a supermarket. He said to her: ‘Why are you buying those sausages?’
She said to him: ‘Because they are only £2.50 a lb – good value.’ He replied: ‘Certainly, if you like bread and water. There is only 32% meat in those sausages. The other sausages on the shelf may look more expensive, but they have 85% meat and the pigs are kept outdoors, Do you really want to buy mechanically recovered meat, powerhosed off a carcase and the resultant sludge made into so-called sausage meat?’ … And the result was… ? Jon didn’t say. However, bearing in mind that he is a provider of pork products, he remarked: ‘I’d rather people bought local and only ate meat three times a week, than bought non-local and ate meat every day. I can see why people are vegetarian, considering the barbaric way some animals are slaughtered in the industrial meat trade. It’s far better to buy local. ‘These days, we don’t eat better than we did in the past, we just eat more.’ Jon kept cows and started keeping pigs so as to use up the whey. Soon, he was getting phone calls from friends who tasted the pork and wanted to buy joints. And so he became a pig farmer: now he has two cows and 120 pigs. ‘The Co-Op takes whole pigs from us – they have been a great support,’ he said.
But we have diversified into pastry products. Wholesalers can always undercut us with imported pork for buyers who are just buying on price.’ There is a multi-million pound potential market for meat products in Jersey – how did Jon think more of that income could be kept in the Island by local meat producers? For example, did he think there was a future for an expanded pig farming sector? He said that he had invested his own money in a new pig breeding unit. But there were three discouraging factors for would be farmers: freight costs, employment difficulties and, above all, ‘Planning’. ‘Freight costs are horrific,’ he said. ‘I pay £100 more per ton for my pig feed than a pig farmer would pay in the UK. It works out a £1 per kilo more than a UK joint – and it is very hard to compete with that sort of added cost.’ ‘To be more profitable, I need to expand, but I cannot employ more workers.’ ‘If I need to erect a new farm unit, there is a Planning presumption “against” it – never “for” it. Could there not be a system of issuing licenses for a necessary farm unit or building, and Planning could ensure that there were as many relevant conditions as they might need, to cover all eventualities? ‘ Once upon a time there were pigs on almost every Jersey farm. Where have all the pigs gone? Over the hills and far away? At least into the very different countryside of temps passé.
20 -
RURAL Autumn 2015
SHEEP:Layout 1 04/10/2015 16:03 Page 1
THE WAITING GAME Recipe for producing home-reared, grass-fed lamb: (1) lambs (2) fresh grass (3) lots of patience. Part-time sheep farmer Louise Agnes explains Louise and Laurence
WHEN we first decided keeping livestock was something we wanted to do – we set about doing as much research as we possibly could. But no matter how much reading you do, or how many courses you go on – jumping in with both feet and getting your own sheep is the best way to learn! My husband Laurence and I do this as a hobby, so for us it’s a part time thing (as much as farming CAN be part time!). We’ve discovered that you need three key things when raising grass fed lamb… some lambs, some grass, and lots of patience! At Douet Farm, we are a nature friendly farm, producing grass fed lamb - we also produce grass fed beef and soon will be producing eggs, but that’s another story! The livestock at Douet Farm are entirely grass fed, and eat as much as they want, as we believe this produces the healthiest animals, which in turn produces the tastiest and healthiest meat. We’ve had a busy few years since we bought the fields in 2012, and have put permanent fencing up around most of the farm, dividing the fields into lots of small sections, so we can move the animals into new paddocks regularly. Not only does this mean the animals have a constant supply of fresh grass, but it also means that the other areas have a chance to rest – which in turn results in a delicious supply of nutritious grass when they next make their way through that field. In the summer months, when grass is in plentiful supply, we cut the surplus and bale it into hay. Setting up the farm from scratch, means there is always a rather long ‘To Do’ list! We have recently cleared a large area of overgrown Christmas trees that were a failed crop and returned it to lush pasture for our animals. We have also planted over 1,400 whips, which we fondly call our ‘Wedding Hedge’ – we got married in
2013 and instead of gifts, asked for people to give us trees towards this new hedging. These gifts, along with the assistance of a grant from the Countryside Enhancement Scheme, enabled us to reinstate lots of hedging at the farm. But back to the sheep… the annual cycle starts in Autumn, when the ram is introduced to our ewes. Throughout the winter we check the ewes every day, rain or shine, (which can be the less glamourous side of the job). They still eat lots of grass, but as it doesn’t grow as quickly in the winter, we give them hay (made from the previous year’s grass) to eat too as a top up. For me, Spring is the best time of year in the sheep calendar. Welcoming new life on to the farm is a great feeling and something that first springs to mind when people think of sheep farming. Don’t be fooled by the cute little bouncy things running round the field… lambing can be really hard work too, it’s round the clock, whatever the weather, and keeps you up all night. But it’s definitely worth it! This year, all the lambing duties were left to Laurence and his keen helpers, as I was in the early stages of pregnancy, meaning I couldn’t get too close and personal with the sheep, but just watch from a distance. I’ll be back next year though, with an extra little helper! This year we were fortunate to have a glorious April, perfect for the ewes to lamb outdoors in the fresh air and sunshine. The lambs stay with their mothers for a few months, having access to their milk, as well as eating lots of grass as they grow. It has been a great year for grass growth – ask any Jersey farmer with livestock and they’ll tell you the same. Although the regular rain has put a dampener on beach goers’ summers, it has meant that our cows and sheep are as happy as can be, with lush and tasty grass in abundance.
As a trial we have sown two fields with a special mixture of 18 different grasses, legumes and herbs. This diverse mix has many health benefits for the livestock, as well as having the ability to fix it’s own nitrogen, negating the need for artificial fertilisers. We’re pleased that this has produced excellent grazing on which the sheep have thrived this year. And then we just wait! We wait and we watch nature do its thing. We leave the lambs to eat as much grass as they wish and to grow at their natural speed. Whilst we’re waiting and watching, we are regularly weighing them, so we know where we’re at. We constantly monitor their health and are fortunate to be able to call on our friendly vet, John Mather, for any advice or assistance, as inevitably the odd problem occurs, in even the healthiest flock. Once the lambs reach a certain weight, they are ready for market. We always let them grow at their natural pace and reach this weight when nature dictates. We are very fortunate that our wonderful customers understand this ethos too and are happy to wait, with their freezers at the ready, for when the time comes. I’m pleased to report, that after a good summer, we have lots of meat boxes available for sale this autumn. Half-alamb boxes come with a variety of cuts, butchered, wrapped, labelled and ready to pop straight in the freezer. Contact us via hello@douetfarm.com or call 856200 for more information or to become one of our wonderful customers. And remember, good things come to those who wait! www.douetfarm.com www.facebook.com/DouetFarm
RURAL Autumn - 21
LA CREMIERE AND TOMS:Layout 1 04/10/2015 16:07 Page 1
LOCALLY MADE
THE GREENHOUSE PROJECT LA CREMIERE JERSEY salted caramel sauce….. is that sweet or savoury? In fact, it is a luscious desert product. It may originate from Brittany, - or at least it is certainly used there on crêpes and in the various yummy treats that ‘add value’ to dairy produce. Annie Fenwick and a friend and neighbour, Shelly Dodds, found herself buying up salted caramel sauce on family holidays to Brittany. At the time, Annie was the co-owner of Feast Restaurant on Gorey Pier and when she sold her share in the business, the thought came to them: why not produce some amazing products using beautiful Jersey Dairy products… and why not start with a salted caramel sauce ? And so the idea of La Crémière, - the Dairy Woman – was born. Anne and Shelly teamed up and between them they got to work on developing the salted caramel sauce as an artisan Jersey product, using Jersey cream and butter and Jersey sea salt. ‘The process of making caramel is not easy,’ Annie said. ‘It’s taken us months to get to the “pouring” stage. Many caramels are hard, whereas we wanted something that was viscous, lusciously, thickly soft, into which you could dip a spoon or pour. You are dealing with a product that you need to bring to a very high temperature…. Preparing the product in bulk is not at all easy!’ It is very much a ‘home-made’ product – prepared in Annie’s kitchen (although the working area is separated from the space used for preparing family meals). There is the space available and they did not want the outlay of having to use a commercial kitchen. It is available from a range of top local food retail outlets in the Island, Cocorico coffee shop and the markets in St Aubin and Royal Square. The product comes in two sizes – 250ml and 100ml bottles – the smaller size being aimed at those wanting to take with them a ‘present from Jersey’ when they go travelling. They have been in production for three months, and in that time have sold 3,000 bottles – so it already seems to have become a popular Jersey product. Further yummy La Crêmière ideas are in train for the future… 22 -
RURAL Autumn 2015
THE ‘Greenhouse Project’ can be simply stated. There is, generally speaking, a lot of waste in tomato production: if the weather goes too cold, people eat less salad and consequently buy fewer tomatoes. But – surprise, surprise – it is difficult to grow tomatoes to take account of temporary swings in the weather, you can only hope for the best. Hence the waste. Can anything be done to minimise the waste? Answer – not too difficult, actually – create a product that can use those waste tomatoes and ‘add value’ to them. Suggestions? Tomato sauce and tomato ketchup? Simple, really. The tomato sauces and ketchup range produced by Nina Blake of Three Oaks Vinery, St Lawrence should be tried by anyone who feel they can enjoy their food without drowning it in commercial, glutinous, sugar-filled, vividly red-coloured commercial additives. In the Greenhouse Project tomato products, there are no additives other than the balsamic vinegar used to preserve the tomatoes. Apart from that, 550 grams of tomato are squeezed into every 250ml bottle. Which explains why it actually tastes of tomato (Jersey tomato) – and is quite delicious. At the moment there are four products: ‘regular’ and ‘spicy’ ketchup (very good with a local Jersey beef burger) and ‘regular’ and ‘spicy’ sauce, to go over pasta, for example. Three Oaks Vineries, owned by David Blake and his family, are well known as local suppliers of protected crops – tomatoes and peppers. They can be seen at the Co-Op and Waitrose. Now, the Greenhouse Project is liable to make the name even more widely known. ‘People are more conscious of how and what they are eating,’ said Nina, ‘and enjoy supporting local produce. It is not just the fact that it comes from Jersey that is important, it is the fact that local produce is a more sustainable this is what we are trying to here: to create a local product and doing something towards encouraging local food sustainability.’
GREAT APPLES:Layout 1 06/10/2015 18:02 Page 1
GREAT APPLE TASTES IN JERSEY The leading accreditation scheme for artisan and speciality food producers in the British Isles has awarded an unprecedented number of awards to local producers – including awarding two gold stars for a locally made cider and oak smoked butter provide decent seasonal crops. So every year they are able to harvest more apples from the orchards they have planted and every year they make a little bit more cider. They plant the trees on a contract: If people have land and want an orchard, they approach La Robeline, which does all the necessary paperwork, supplies the trees and plants them – staked, wired and rabbit guarded. They also prune them for the first couple of years to make sure they have a really good start. They then have a simple agreement with their customers that they will undertake to buy the apples at a marketable rate once the trees start producing a crop. They import the trees from France – the varieties are the ones closest to the old Jersey varieties. They are usually ready for a commercial crop five to seven years later. Sarah said: ‘It is tremendously satisfying to drive around the Island and see the orchards we have planted, looking fantastic – in springtime, with the apple blossom and at this time of year )we hope) with lots of apples on the them. This is the time of year that we pray for calm weather –no storms: we don’t want them knocked off the trees.
THE world’s most coveted blind-tasted awards, Great Taste, have awarded Great Taste stars for 2015. From Jersey ‘two star gold’ awards were given to La Robeline Cider Company, St Ouen (Cidre de Jèrri, medium) and La Manche Smokehouse, St Saviour (oak smoked Jersey butter).
‘The great thing about having an orchard is that you can put bees in there, or sheep or goats (so long as you protect the trees from them) or just let the grass grow and collects the hay. The trees that we plant are standard-sized trees, so they will last for more than century. What we plant now will be there for our great-great-grandchildren.’
They were not alone. One-Star Gold Awards were also given to La Mare Wine Estate for its Jersey Black Butter Fudge and Field Farm for its Pure Jersey Cloudy Sparkling Apple Juice. With autumn now arrived and the apple harvest in full swing, we talked to the makers of two of the prize- winning products: Sarah Matlock of La Robeline Cider and Jenni Liddiard of Pure Jersey Cloudy Sparkling Apple Juice. AT the time of writing, Richard and Sarah Matlock of La Robeline Cider were getting ready to harvest apples and were making everything ready for the 2015 vintage. They do not have their own trees, but use apples from some old Jersey orchards; they have also planted a lot of orchards around the Island, some of which are now old enough to
Richard and Sarah Matlock
RURAL Autumn 2015 - 23
GREAT APPLES:Layout 1 06/10/2015 18:02 Page 2
Once the apples come in this year they will be making cider – lots of it, as it’s a heavy crop this year. Some of the early varieties will be fermented right out and that will be distilled too make their eau de vie, l’Esprit de Jèrri, their apple brandy, familiarly known as la Pomm’thie – perhaps best translated as ‘apple hooch’. The first batch, three years old, was released last year and went down a storm, by all accounts. They intend always to hold some back and mature it in oak barrels, and sell it as 5-year-old or ten-year-old apple brandy. What is not distilled is made into ‘Cidre dé Jèrri’; they received two gold stars in the Great taste Awards for their medium cider. She said: ‘We have been very aware of the Great Taste Award logo as a sign of quality and flavour so you can imagine how thrilled and proud we are to have won a coveted award. It is an honour to receive such a coveted award and to see that our cider has been judged to be as good as we thought it was.’ She added: ‘For the eau de vie and for the cider, we could make it in a modern way, but we want to be artisan producers and to do it in the old-fashioned way. We believe we get a good product, something that is not standardised or monotonous in taste. Every batch we make is slightly different – it’s good fun. ‘We will not compromise on quality – we only use apples from inside the Island; they have to be cider apples – so if we have a bad season, we’re stuffed. ‘That is why we are always on the lookout for people who want to plant orchards! If anybody wants to plant cider apple trees, please let us know.’ FIELD FARM’s Cloudy Sparkling Apple Juice was created by Jenni Liddiard and her husband, David, at their farm in St. Lawrence. It was once a large 23-vergée potato field beside Rue de la Golarde. But seven years ago it was divided into seven small fields and an orchard, with a small timber farm cottage, a sheep barn and several stables containing chickens.
Jenni and David Liddiard
A traditional-seeming small mixed farm – just a few years old. ‘I wanted to turn the clock back 300 years,’ said Jenni, ‘to a time when sheep farming and orchards took up much of the Island’s agricultural land.’
24 -
RURAL
At Field Farm she has her flock of imported Lleyn sheep where she sells lamb, also eggs from the farm gate and she also sells hybrid and purebreed chickens and Indian Runner ducks to poultry fanciers. There are a couple of pigs for pork and bacon, she also sells hay and also grows vegetables (mainly for home consumption) including Autumn 2015
asparagus, raspberries, strawberries, celeriac, squash and potatoes. There are also apple, plum, pear and cherry trees in the orchard and mushrooms, elderflowers and blackberries in the fields. She believes she is self-sufficient in some 45 products. Their ‘Great Taste’ award-winning product is the sparkling Cloudy Apple juice, made from a blend of Pure traditional culinary and dessert English apple varieties with no added water or sugar just fizz!. The new installation at their home of an up-to-date Juicing and carbonating system has made the production a more efficient process. The apple juice is sold to many outlets in the Island, from the farm and can be seen at a number of Genuine Jersey and local Produce fairs – the next one being at The Elms Black Butter event in late October.
Project4:Layout 1 06/10/2015 06:12 Page 1
LA MARE:Layout 1 06/10/2015 08:18 Page 1
OUT OF LA MARE, ALWAYS SOMETHING NEW Be it new vintage or new products, managing director Tim Crowley always has something new to tell
A VISIT to La Mare wine estate in St Mary is always enjoyable – even if for the predictable reason of there being something interesting to taste. Visiting there in September was no exception. The first topic of discussion with the managing director, Tim Crowley, was the new harvest season that was then about to commence. How were the prospects for the oncoming grape harvest? ‘It won’t be as big as last year,’ Tim said. ‘Last year we had lots of grapes and not many apples; this year it is going to be the other way round. However, we have at least one year’s supply of wine stocks in the tanks, so we are not greatly concerned about a drop of volume in wine stocks now.’ The vines showed quite a decent crop forming, but most of the grapes were still at the ‘little green marbles’ stage. The harvest is about a fortnight or more behind, so the new wine will have quite high acidity – not a great drawback, because if need be it can be distilled and turned into grape brandy, or ‘cognac’, as it would be called if La Mare were legally allowed to use the name of that French region. This new product is not yet being sold and for the next four or five years La Mare will be building up stocks. He continued: ‘If we had a full crop this year, we really would struggle, as the cider volume will be filling the tanks.’ This year they are planning to fill an enormous 30,000 L container in addition to their regular storage so as to contain the anticipated extra volume of fermenting apple juice. ‘Sales of their own cider were booming, he said – a rise of over 40% over the past 12 months, mostly driven by the sales of the carbonated ‘Branchage’ cider in 500 ml bottles, so this year’s heavy crop is very much wanted.’ Two new ciders have been added to the existing Branchage range. The new products are ‘Branchage Gold’ (£4.95) – a still ‘table cider’ in a wine bottle - the equivalent to a French cider drunk perhaps with a meal at lunchtime, which, at 6% enables the drinker to do some work after lunch if need be!
There is now also a sparkling cider on a champagne bottle, ‘Branchage Prestige’. The bulk of the apples will still go to brandy, another very popular line, and some of the brandy will go to make the even more popular cream liqueur. Fortunately, the distillation process reduces the bulk liquid volume by about 80 per cent – helpful when they will have barely enough containers to keep the apple juice. And always something new…. La Mare Ale? Yes, quite a change from wine or spirits, but only being produced in fairly small volume. This is a La Mare Black Butter Ale, launched at the Real Ale Festival. It is being made in partnership with the Liberation Brewery. ‘We were looking at our black butter, as we produce that commercially, and deciding on new ways of using the product. So we came up with this idea - a bottled Pale Ale – a bit of fun, really. It is not a heavy winter drink, but quite light in taste with a spicy Black Butter taste coming through (4.8%). It’s an ale with Black Butter, rather than a Black Butter ale.’ Then there is the La Mare gin and La Mare vodka. Both are successful but the gin is proving more popular, probably as a result of the fashionable interest in gin from micro-distilleries and ‘gin bars’. La Mare liqueurs from strawberries and raspberries have also taken off well … (there is always something new from La Mare, as I believe we may have said already). *All the products described above, plus hampers and La Mare food and chocolate products, are available from the Maison La Mare in town and from the estate’s shop in St Mary, open weekdays until the day before Christmas Eve.
26 -
RURAL Autumn 2015
Project3:Layout 1 05/10/2015 16:15 Page 1
INTRO PAGE:Layout 1 06/10/2015 16:46 Page 1
JERSEY is a therapeutic place - of course. Enjoying the countryside, beaches and rural leisure activities is always a therapy in itself. But there are many practitioners of complementary therapies available to provide a host of treatments, many of them emphasising ‘wellness’ (the new word of the 21st Century) as opposed to just ‘health’ – the former being far more vibrant than simply the absence of pain or sickness. More and more people are beginning to recognise the importance of an holistic approach to their health; others just want to stop taking the pills and try something more natural, without the side effect often caused by tablets. The many detrimental aspects to our modern lifestyles, such as the increase in the use of computers, cars and ready-made meals are being increasingly recognised and there has been a general resurgence in complementary medicine in the Western World. What about Jersey?
28 -
RURAL Autumn 2015
Therapeutic JERSEY In this special theme of the Autumn issue of RURAL, Kieranne Grimshaw take a look at some Island practitioners of complementary therapies
DIANNA MOSSOP AUTUMN:Layout 1 04/10/2015 15:41 Page 1
SO WHAT IS ‘PHYTOBIOPHYSICS’? It may sound a bit of a mouthful, but it is a science of plant energy that has helped the physical ailments of many thousands across the world. It was created by Diana Mossop whose family and home are in Jersey. She explains what ‘the Mossop Philosophy’ is and how Phytobiophysics is applied FROM remote locations across the world and from the beginning of time traditional healers have used plant essences to treat ailments. I am fortunate to have lived in many interesting far eastern countries and was fascinated by the traditional knowledge of plant healing. I have spent years fusing modern methods and ancient wisdom to treat physical ailments through Phytobiophysics (the science of plant energy). The Phytobiophysics essences have been gathered from all over the world and in 1992 I set up the Institute of Phytobiophysics to train practitioners in this healing modality. In the 1930s, Dr Edward Bach MD did pioneering research into his 36 Bach Flower essences for treating emotions. However, having studied with Dr Vol MD (Electro acupuncture according to Vol, or EAV) I have made some astounding discoveries about the way the essence of plants restore aberrant acupuncture meridians [energy lines]. Although modern science cannot definitively prove the existence of acupuncture meridians it can prove that acupuncture points are points of lowered electrical resistance. It is also provable that the body has an electro-magnetic energy field force. Although scientists and medical experts have attempted to disprove the possibility of plant essences’ healing powers, these energies are subtle and difficult to measure by conventional methods. However, over centuries the testaments of thousands of people have proved their efficacy. Cells vibrate at an ordered frequency, so I have measured how these vibrations change under the influence of different emotions and lead through to disease and disharmony – in simple terms, to illness. Focusing on specific acupuncture points, I have recorded the electrical vibrations of healthy and diseased tissue and then matched the healthy frequency to that of thousands of flowers. Using combinations of these flowers I have created formulas by exposing the plants to sun and moonlight. I still use these methods today, but over the last 35 years the tinctures that I have created form the basis of the research for creating specific formulas. These are used to coat sugar balls at the Helios Homeopathic lab in Tunbridge Wells. These formulas are called ‘Phytobiophysics Formulas’. I have found that when a correct flower or tree formula is administered, the unbalanced frequency of the acupuncture point is instantly restored to normal. I am certain that this proves that my Formulas have a physical effect that harmonises the underlying causal factors of imbalance.
By following the different effects of the remedies on human and animal case studies from consultation through to diagnosis and treatment I, and my many thousand practitioners, have proved their effectiveness over and over again. The Phytobiophysics 20 Flower Formulas called Complete Harmony are made up of Flower Formulas which follow the colours of the rainbow and the vibrations of healthy energy meridians. The 10 tree formulas called Superfit support the Chakra/plexus levels and the two new powerful ranges called Animal formulas and PhytobHeartPower are each made up of five constitutional formulas and are the result of my entire spectrum of research. A consultation at my clinic consists of a personalised in-depth investigation into the ‘Heart Lock Theory’. This is a method of investigating time frames of trauma, pathways and patterns of disharmony which result in physical symptoms. The Heart Lock Theory is a unique method of healing through an understanding of how the subtle energies of the heart beat reflects into the various related organs, thus creating symptoms. It is a powerful diagnostic investigation which I have created using the knowledge of reflexology, neuroptics, iridology and observation. The findings create a map of dates linked with the “how, who, what and when” of traumatic experiences that I am convinced are the main cause of disease. The relevant formulas are advised to correct these vibrational imbalances. I have also devised a structural adjunctive sacro-cranial mobilisation therapy called Podo RhacidianTherapy, which additionally corrects structural distortion. I work with my son Anthony who is an international lecturer of Phytobiophysics, the Mossop Philosophy. He is a practitioner of holistic medicine which includes EAV and Podo Rhacidian, Sacro cranial Therapy and Live Blood analysis. Diana and Anthony Mossop offer comprehensive holistic support to patients on all levels of consciousness both physical and spiritual in Jersey and at The Berkeley Clinic in London.
*Diana Mossop and the Institute of Phytobiophysics can be contacted by telephone on 738737, or by e-mail on info@phytob.com. Visit www.dianamossop.com and www.mossopnaturalremedies.com
RURAL Autumn 2015 - 29
SHEILA COUTANCHE:Layout 1 04/10/2015 16:09 Page 1
Complementing conventional care THE ISIS CENTRE, located in a quiet corner of rural St Lawrence, provides opportunities for complementary healing and finding ‘the self’ through activities, courses and workshops FOR hundreds of years, there has been a building on the site occupied by Les Chasses, St Lawrence. The present 19th Century building is a traditional Jersey farmhouse that seems to nestle into the surrounding landscape as if it had grown up out of the ground, rather than simply being imposed upon it. Its present custodians are Henry and Sheila Coutanche. Their own contribution to the story of the old farmhouse, which they inherited 25 years ago, was first of all to install a water supply and bathrooms. Later on, they started the major project of restoring the tumble-down agricultural part of the property, including the magnificent old cider press house. All in all, it was a big restoration job – and a story in itself that should also be told. Nowadays, it is clean, comfortable and homely. But as they were not farming, the question arose: what to do with all the available space? Sheila Coutanche takes up the story: ‘Some 15 years ago I worked with Health Promotion in Jersey and was a gym
instructor at the time that they started their ‘Exercise Referral’ sessions at Fort Regent. I learnt how much people could help themselves and improve their own health without going to the doctor. So I decided, when I left, that continuing to help people in this way was the road I wanted to take. I had a vision of providing a centre that would offer opportunities for self-development. And so the Isis Centre was created; this October is its tenth anniversary. ‘I’m a great believer in that your body tells you what you need if you listen to it. But we don’t – we go to the medical world and say: “I’ve got this trouble: give me something to stop it.” We need to take responsibility for our own health. That is the founding principle of the ISIS Centre.’ She continued: ‘The Isis Centre is a unique haven of peace and quiet, a space to create, maintain or re-discover that sense of balance and well-being in one’s life.’ She has an experienced team of colleagues working with her and leading the teaching and the various courses, such as Pilates, Mindfulness, Meditation and ‘Reiki’. She and some of her colleagues volunteer at Jersey Hospice Care and at Macmillan Cancer Support – offering Reiki to support their clients and families during and after their cancer treatment. Sheila, herself works with energy fields, practising Reiki and crystal therapy. She is a dowser, which she does with a pendulum or a divining rod. ’You can actually measure the human energy field with either. Normally, that extends three or four feet around a person. This energy field can be depleted by different circumstances or events in life. For example,
30 -
RURAL Autumn 2015
SHEILA COUTANCHE:Layout 1 04/10/2015 16:09 Page 2
The ISIS Centre is the only centre in the Channel Islands to receive the British Complementary Medicine Association’s kite mark as a school and clinic.
if by holding a mobile phone, the energy field retracts to within a foot of the body… and some people are never without their smart phone! If you do need to be constantly in touch, it is by far better to keep the phone in a brief case or handbag rather than close to the body.’
It is fitting that the Centre is surrounded by tranquil gardens, ponds, meadows and woodland. ‘People have lost the ability to connect with nature,’ Sheila said. ‘Working with the energy field of the body and connecting with nature helps us to re-connect and restore a balance that promotes wellbeing, ‘I have a large broomstick,’ she joked ‘and there are many different answers to health or emotional problems. People are welcome to think I’m nuts – I just know that we get great results.’ *For more details, contact Sheila on 865462 or e-mail theisiscentre@gmail.com
She continued: ‘We are a centre of ‘complementary’ therapy – not ‘alternative’ therapy, since that gives the impression of being “instead of”, whereas ‘complementary’ means “going into partnership with”. Hence the logo of The ISIS Centre “Complementing Conventional Care”.’ Asked if there was a website for people to find out more details, Sheila said, (refreshingly), no, she didn’t feel she needed one: ‘We had 2,500 coming through the centre last year – if I had a website I would have to be at the computer more –Jersey works largely by “word of mouth” – and I am a great believer in that. There is a newsletter and e-mail and that works well. There’s nothing worse than a website that’s out of date.’
SAFFRONS Hotel de France
RURAL Autumn 2015 - 31
MARIE CHRISTINE:Layout 1 06/10/2015 16:51 Page 1
BACK TO BALANCE – BACK TO HEALTH DR MARIE-CHRISTINE DIX of ‘Back to Balance’ chiropractic and Osteopathy at the Lido Wellness Centre talked to Kieranne Grimshaw CHIROPRACTIC – it is now the third largest primary care discipline in the world after dentistry and medicine. And in these days of stress and anxiety at work, it is becoming even more popular, according to Jersey chiropractor Dr Marie-Christine Dix. She is a director of ‘The Lido Wellness Centre’, which evolved from her chiropractic practice, ‘Back to Balance’. She provides chiropractic and osteopathic care, addressing the root of health problems - not just the symptoms. Her practice is at the Lido Medical Centre – which might have distant memories of Madison’s Night Club and the former Lido Fitness Centre. But, things have changed a bit since those days. In essence, chiropractic is a way of looking at the musculoskeletal system and making sure it’s all moving and working properly. Close attention is paid to the nervous system and spinal cord and related nerves, and the impact they have on a person’s health. It is, of course, relevant to people with back pain, but chiropractors also treat anyone with more general health problems. 32 -
RURAL Autumn 2015
Marie-Christine said: ‘People often don’t want to have to rely on pain killers or anti-inflammatories and feel disheartened when that is often the first advice given. There’s an awful lot that can be done to relieve pain and discomfort even with people who have been told they have “wear and tear” and it’s great that we can help.’ The spine is central to all our body and so it is crucial to keep it strong and flexible. Perhaps we should all have an annual MOT, just like servicing a car. Marie-Christine recognises that stress can impact both on the physical form and on the emotions – it is the root cause of much of what she sees affecting her patients. When she started practising seven years ago, the number of people who came to her with symptoms of stress was concerning. This was around the start of the ‘credit crunch’ and even fit and healthy people suffered symptom of stress with aching legs and acute neck pain. Chiropractic treatment complements other treatments for the three types of stress on our bodies: chemical (with a healthy
MARIE CHRISTINE:Layout 1 06/10/2015 16:51 Page 2
diet); physical (shorter periods of sitting at a desk); and emotional (managing and talking about relationship or financial problems). At Back to Balance friendly advice is given to complement the Chiropractic treatment and help the patient take a holistic approach to their health and lifestyle. Migraines, anxiety, back ache, neck ache…. recognise any of these symptoms? At Back to Balance the aim is to deal with each individual according to his or her specific need. Chiropractic treatment consists of a manual adjustment of the spine, by using various therapeutic techniques from gentle to more vigorous manipulation. The aim is to realign the body and stimulate its communication system to help it work more effectively - a natural therapy with no drugs or surgery. Therapies may be used alone or to complement conventional treatment. Marie-Christine confirmed that chiropractic treatment has become an important wellness tool (like having a massage). Anything that gets your system working properly without pills or surgery must be a bonus.
As well as her regular clients, people also come to her when they have tried everything else and just don’t know where else to go! Sometimes prescribed pills and certain exercises may not work for them, but a chiropractor can recommend a preventive spinal-care programme to help maintain a healthy spine - just small lifestyle changes can make big improvements. Chiropractic treatment and Physiotherapy complement each other. Marie-Christine often has to ‘triage’ her clients by analysing their symptoms and assessing who best to deal with them. This is why having so many complementary medical therapists at the Lido Wellness Centre is a bonus – providing all this knowledge under one roof! It was also refreshing to see someone so passionate about her job. It’s hard to leave ‘Back to Balance’ without thinking about your posture - and that must be a good thing in itself. Dr Marie-Christine Dix, Back to Balance Chiropractic and Osteopathy Clinic, Lido Wellness Centre; info@backtobalancejsy.co.uk ; tel 789367
Simple lifestyle changes can also help maintain a healthy spine. Ever wondered how many hours we sit down at a computer - not to mention in a car? If we just learned to stand a little more each day, this would help strengthen our back at no extra cost! Who can benefit from this Treatment? Everyone! With old people, very small adjustments to the back will make a huge difference. With sports people, this list is endless – for golfers and horse riders, for example, a strong back is essential to their lifestyles so this treatment suits them perfectly. Even babies have been treated.
Bonny’s
Country Garden ❆
Winter and Spring bedding available now • Field-grown wallflower & stock • Stunning range of polyanthus, violas and pansies
Klein Bosheuwel
❆
on sale from 1st December • Non-drop; cut or pot-grown • All sizes from 3ft to 8ft • Choose early for delivery later, or collect from the nursery
GUEST HOUSE
Bishopscourt, Cape Town, South Africa Adjacent to the world-renowned Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, Klein Bosheuwel overlooks the Constantia Valley
website www.kleinbosheuwel.co.za email kleinbosheuwel@iafrica.com tel +27 (0)21 762 2323
Christmas Trees
❆
Holly Wreaths made to order
• Reliable friendly service • Free delivery across the Island • OPEN Monday to Saturday 8.30am - 6pm Sunday 9.30am - 12.30pm
Sion, St John – Tel: 865101 RURAL Autumn 2015 - 33
VERONICA:Layout 1 05/10/2015 06:13 Page 1
RELAXING AND REJUVENATING They say you learn something new every day…. Well, Kieranne Grimshaw learnt countless facts on a trip to the Lido Medical Centre recently to see VERONICA TOUZEL at the Vero Health & Wellbeing Centre Next, I was asked to hold a cable (a titanium neutral element) that was linked to a small machine, the Hyvermat, described to me as ‘a type of Physiopod’. Was this going to be some strange torture? Fortunately, it was just the opposite! Light oscillations are sent from the machine through the cable to the body. At the same time, the therapist does a very light massage, wearing vinyl gloves dipped in a little talcum powder without oil, so it’s non greasy and amazingly light. Imagine a Hovercraft skimming the water. There’s just a light humming sound, like a bee, so a summer theme is prevalent! VERONICA TOUZEL is a highly qualified complementary therapist, with 14 years’ experience, who specialises in Facial Reflex Therapy, Temprana Therapy, Manual Lymphatic Drainage Massage, LaStone Therapy and Hydrotherm Massage. She is the first non-nurse to provide treatment at Jersey Hospice. Complementary medicine lends itself perfectly in treating symptoms of our modern day lifestyles; constantly on the go, feeling sluggish, aching joints, sleepless nights, headaches…sound familiar? These are all signs of stress, the number one cause of modern day health problems. The beauty is that complementary medicine can be used along with conventional medicine. There are many treatments available, so which one to choose? Luckily many complement each other, so there is no need to decide on just one! I had the pleasure of experiencing two of the best treatments available, not knowing what to expect. I wasn’t disappointed. The salon (called ‘Synergy’) is beautifully decorated in natural colours with a hint of emerald green. The first stage was to lie down on a blanket on a ‘water bed’, which was kept at body temperature…no wonder it felt so comfortable. If you closed your eyes, you could be ‘transported’ to a Caribbean Island on a lilo. 34 -
RURAL Autumn 2015
This Hyvermat ‘massage; is fantastic for many reasons. The deep oscillation treatment is described as ‘a gentle, non-invasive electrostatic field therapy getting to the core of pain and swelling’. The light touch hardly puts any pressure on the body, so it’s ideal for tiny babies or the elderly. The vibrations actually reach 8cm deep into the tissue, which helps reduce inflammations, such as ulcers and mild tendonitis. It’s also good for treating stress, muscle tension and for post-op patients. Have you ever had swollen ankles from too much standing or just fluid retention? This will help reduce the swelling. The treatment can be used before having a manual lymph massage (MLD) as it prepares the body and both complement each other. Other conditions, such as that annoying cellulite and unwanted wrinkles can be greatly improved with the Hyvermat massage – so great news for ladies! The vibrations from the therapy take place in the tissues itself and work through the entire depth of the tissue layers (right down to the muscle and fat!). It’s also clinically proven to be excellent for detoxification (slightly less effort than drinking all those vegetable juices!). The second treatment, Manual Lymphatic Drainage (MLD), is practised more in Europe, but fortunately it’s beginning to
be recognised in the UK and Jersey as a great treatment for stress. It boosts the immune system, detoxes and aids drainage after surgery. The aim of the massage is to move fluid from the swollen area into an area where the lymphatic system is working normally. The technique originated with the Danish doctor, Emile Voda, in the 1930’s, primarily to treat chest infections. The Dr Voda School was subsequently founded in 1971. As Jersey has a high level of asthma sufferers, this massage could provide the perfect ‘complementary’ treatment. So, how does it feel? Lying on the ‘water bed’, I was massaged lightly on my legs and feet (wonderful!). Again, there is no pressure; the massage is light, as the lymph nodes are not deep. The movements are slow and rhythmic so the lymph vessels open up. The therapist is skilled in knowing which movements to make, ensuring to work with the flow of the blood in the body. Everything is done to assist and improve the circulation. The beauty is that it helps the body repair itself. A visit to Veronica Touzel will leave you feeling very relaxed and rejuvenated not only physically, but also mentally, knowing that the treatments are highly effective and beneficial to your overall health! Veronica Touzel can be contacted by e-mail: verohealth@gmail.com; tel 767331.
FULL PAGE:Layout 1 06/10/2015 06:03 Page 1
CHARLES YORKE
Monday – Saturday 8.30am - 5.00pm
KASS:Layout 1 05/10/2015 06:07 Page 1
NATURE’S BOUNTY BESIDE THE SEASIDE Autumn foraging in Jersey? Feeling peckish or simply in need of a pick me up? Why not go down to the coast today? You could be in for a big surprise! By Kieranne Grimshaw WE went ‘bounty hunting’ recently and were amazed at the myriad variety of edible plants and wildlife growing around our coastline! Which plants could we eat? Our expert, Kazz Padidar, was on hand to demonstrate, our very own dégustation of medicinal plants! Kazz Padidar grew up on a farm with his nan’s home cooking. He also spent a lot of time around rock pools and in woods and later spend some time with tribal people in native America. Recognising these people not only lived in harmony with nature, but produced their own sustainable food, he brought this natural approach back to Jersey. Many local coastal plants contain amazing healthy properties and don’t require any carbon footprint, just our own to walk down to the coast. Foraging also has a natural positive side effect by helping us respect our habitat and gets us out walking. So what can we eat?
36 -
RURAL Autumn 2015
WILD ROCKET Quite similar in appearance to the rocket that comes ready washed in a plastic bag, this type is amazing! The dark green leaves are quite pungent and very peppery, definitely good for cleansing the nostrils…I couldn’t stop sneezing! The delicate yellow flowers are a little sweeter and both far spicier and vibrant than the cultivated lettuce. This wild variety flourishes in its natural habitat and contains high amounts of vitamin C and iron, so this “super food” is a great antioxidant. When consumed in the form of salad, it acts as a stimulant and aphrodisiac. The Romans also used it to make love potions. So no more need to buy the pre-washed variety from your Supermarket, get foraging !
KASS:Layout 1 05/10/2015 06:07 Page 2
RIBWORT PLANTAIN
WILD FENNEL
This plant has mild anaesthetic and astringent properties and is a great absorber. Have you ever been stung by a jelly fish or a wasp or bee? If you squeeze the juice from this onto your bite, it will help it heal. As children we were often told to rub a dock leaf on a nettle sting. In fact the ribwort is far better and is often found next to nettles.
This medicinal plant is a great detoxifier and smells fantastic, filling the air with a scent of anise! During the Occupation, it was used to make toothpaste. Containing essential vitamins and minerals, it’s good for Colic and tastes just like liquorice (and it’s cheaper).
High in minerals, iron and Vitamins C and K. Its a great antioxidant, as well as being good for coughs, asthma and bronchitis, with no known side effects. The French make Plantain soup, whilst the English make tea!
SEA PURSLANE
ROCK SAMPHIRE (SEA FENNEL) This deep green plant, high in Vitamin C is known to purify the blood and reduce flatulence.
Attractive in appearance, their big olive green discs are quite distinctive. This plant contains the highest amount of Omega 3 than in any leafy plant as well as high levels of Vitamin A, great for the skin and eyes. Tasting a bit like salty popcorn, it’s no surprise it so popular worldwide. Perhaps cinemas should start serving this as a healthier “local” option?
Though it can be eaten raw, Samphire, like asparagus, is delicious lightly steamed and served with butter, making a great accompaniment to fish. With its salty, spicy taste, it reminds you of the sea!. In days gone by, it was taken pickled on sea voyages as an anti-scurvy preventative, as it preserves well – No popping pills in those days! Another plus is that raw or lightly steamed edible plants are assimilated far better by our metabolism.
HORSERADISH PLANT Extremely tall with huge green leaves, this grows in the hedgerows around the Island. Both detoxifying and cleansing, it contains many essential vitamins and minerals. Its root can be used to grate onto dishes, adding flavour, perfect on your scrambled eggs for breakfast. Why not set yourself a challenge and think of a recipe encompassing all the above ingredients and get foraging with your family! Perhaps my Rural colleague, Zoe, may even devise a bespoke recipe for the next edition.
RURAL Autumn 2015 - 37
AUTUMN RECIPE:Layout 1 05/10/2015 06:15 Page 1
IN THE KITCHEN There’s an R in the month again; our cookery writer Zoë Horne shares some succulent autumnal recipes WHAT’S IN SEASON? The parsnip season runs from September to March which is why it tends to remind us of a winter meal, with its earthy but sweet flavour thats perfect for hearty roasts, soups or stews. As always try to buy local as they’ll be fresher. Parsnips can range in size, try to pick the small young ones instead of the larger kind as they can be fibrous, but if you have any larger ones, just remove the central core.
VELVETY SWEET PARSNIP SOUP Serves 8 1tbsp oil 2 onions, finely chopped 3 celery sticks, chopped 2 garlic cloves, crushed 1tsp ground ginger 1tbsp maple syrup, extra to drizzle 1kg parsnips, peeled and cut into chunks 2 litres vegetable stock 1 Heat the oil in a pan and fry the onions and celery for 10min, until softened. Add the garlic and ginger and fry for 1min. Add the maple syrup, parsnips and stock. Season well. Bring to to the boil and then simmer for 15min, until the parsnips are soft. 2 Put the soup into a blender, you may need to do this in batches, and blend until smooth. Put it back in the pan and taste for seasoning. 3 Reheat the soup to serve, if it’s too thick add a little water until desired consistency. Serve in warm bowls, drizzle over a little maple syrup and a cracking of freshly ground black pepper. Zoë’s Tip: Whenever I make soup, I always make more than I need and freeze. Make up to the end of step 2, cool and then pop into a freeze proof container. Freeze for up to 6 months.
38 -
RURAL Autumn 2015
AUTUMN RECIPE:Layout 1 05/10/2015 06:15 Page 2
PORK ESCALOPE WITH SPICED APPLE SAUCE Serves 4 For the Apple Sauce: 4 apples, approx. 350g, peeled, cored and chopped 1tsp ground cinnamon 2tbsp brown sugar 1tbsp apple cider vinegar For the Pork: a plate. Put the flour onto a plate and put the beaten egg in a shallow bowl. Season the pork, then pat into the flour, dip into the egg and lastly press in the breadcrumbs.
3 slices white bread 2tbsp freshly chopped rosemary 3tbsp plain flour 2 eggs, beaten 4 pork loin steaks, fat removed, flattened 2tbsp olive oil 1 Put the apple and cinnamon in a small pan with 3tbsp water. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 5min, until soft. Remove pan from the heat and add the sugar and vinegar. Put into a bowl to serve. 2 Tear the bread and put into a food processor with the rosemary, blitz to a fine crumb and empty onto
3 Heat the oil in a large pan and fry the pork for 3mins each side until golden and cooked through. Serve immediately alongside the Spiced Apple Sauce, a Mustardy Mash and Green Beans.
Zoë’s Tip: To flatten the steaks, I put them between 2 pieces of baking parchment and bash with a rolling pin, much easier and less mess.
SWEET AND SALTY CARAMEL CHOC-POT Serves 6 9tbsp Carnation dulce de leche 2tsp sea salt flakes, extra to garnish 50g butter 150g dark chocolate, broken into chunks 75g milk chocolate, broken into chunks 150ml double cream 75ml milk sweet and salty popcorn to serve 1 Mix the dulce de leche and sea salt together and divide between 6 glasses and chill. 2 Melt the butter in a pan, add the chocolates and continue to melt over a very low heat, stirring constantly. Add the cream and milk and stir until smooth and combined. Pour on top of the caramel and chill for at least 2hrs or overnight. Remove from the fridge at least 10min before serving. 3 To serve, sprinkle over a little sea salt and top with a few pieces of popcorn. *See Zoe’s website: www.zoes-kitchen.com
RURAL Autumn 2015 - 39
SECRET GARDEN:Layout 1 04/10/2015 15:48 Page 1
The Secret Garden
It’s secret, because you can’t see it under all the weeds that have grown up and hidden it. RUTH LE COCQ tries to find her own secret garden
IT’S all getting a bit out of hand really and every day it just gets worse. I wake up in the morning, I throw open the curtains and there it is, looming larger than life, a garden gone wild. The thing is I’m not just talking about a little patch of green with a few weeds here and there. Oh no, I can do better than that. I’m talking about years of uncontrolled growth stretching as far as the eye can see. There, before me, is an acre of towering, weed-infested mayhem where even fools would fear to tread. And yet, despite the chaos, it is magnificent - a riot of colour and a haven for wildlife, and I know, without a shadow of a doubt, there really is a garden hidden out there somewhere, I just need someone to help me find it. You see it seemed like a good idea at the time. The year was 1999 and Christmas was just around the corner. It was a nice house and it had a nice garden although it was all a bit bigger than I had imagined. Around the perimeter stood some of the tallest Leylandii trees I had ever seen and the interior was mainly laid to lawn with a few trees planted thoughtfully here and there, drawing the eye towards the far end. Well established bushes and shrubs grew in the borders which had been carefully sculpted in sweeping curves along the edge of the lawn, and a large, circular flower bed was filled with rose bushes. As I stood there contemplating the future, I could see myself pottering around in the garden while discovering whether I had green fingers or not. I would have a wild flower meadow, I would have a herb garden, I would have an orchard and I would grow fruit and vegetables. Of course, what did not
40 -
RURAL Autumn 2015
feature in those dreams, were the weeds – tall ones, short ones, fat ones, thin ones, spikey ones, very spikey ones – you get the drift? So many of them have been kind enough to revisit the garden year after year. Take those beautiful, trumpet-shaped white flowers that have bloomed gloriously throughout the summer – that’ll be the hedge bindweed as it crawls up the chain-link fencing and smothers the box hedging underneath. Still, I guess I should count my blessings that it isn’t the dreaded Japanese knotweed although I suspect it is only a matter of time.
SECRET GARDEN:Layout 1 04/10/2015 15:49 Page 2
And so I have discovered I do not have green fingers and any flowers, fruit and vegetables thriving in my garden have done so despite my lessthan-helpful efforts. As such, I can no longer pretend the splurge of self-seeding oak trees and the ever-increasing forest of echiums (which do a surprisingly good job at impersonating a hungry hoard of carnivorous triffids) are my feeble attempts at so-called ‘naturalisation’. They do not, in any shape or form, give the garden that feeling of ‘scattered, easy maturity’. The truth is they are the products of a woman living a busy life elsewhere.
But it is also true that, over the years, I have noticed when I do find the time to put on my gardening gloves and wield a gardening fork, I experience a wonderful, pervading sense of peace and calm as I concentrate on what needs to be done while, at the same time, gently mulling over any thoughts in my head. It’s no coincidence then that strong evidence reveals gardening is of great benefit to a person’s physical and mental health. Monty Don, the presenter of BBC’s Gardeners’ World, believes working with plants, seeing them grow and flourish while interacting with nature is a powerful medicine. So, as I watch a bird of prey hovering overhead from the safety of the patio area and I listen to the chatter of the house martins as they fly in and out of the barn to feed their nearly fully grown chicks, I have resolved to re-read the pile of gardening books I have accumulated over the years and, instead of fantasising about tending my garden, I am going to take an adventure into the unknown and actually do it. Let’s hope I find my way back! Pictures by Kelly Gleave
RURAL Autumn 2015 - 41
FARM SCHOOL:Layout 1 06/10/2015 18:04 Page 1
OFF TO LEARN AT (FARM) SCHOOL Helping to enthuse and encourage students to grow their own produce and to learn about where food comes from – that is the initiative of Grace Davies and her family at La Cornetterie Farm, St Martin
WHAT should education be all about? Not really in the remit of this magazine to answer that one, but there are several unarguable aspects to a good education on which everyone could agree. It should not be entirely about the accumulation of academic facts, for example, or be just an exam factory, or be all about I.T and squatting over a computer immersed in virtual reality, or wrapping children up so carefully in cotton wool that they are unable to cope with unstructured, outside activities or getting dirty. Equally important in what it should be about, is to learn about where food comes from (i.e. not from the supermarket) and how it is grown and how to do that for oneself…. all of that is what the Farm School Initiative is about. Put simply, it encourages children to learn, to play and to grow (both in maturity and in the literal sense of ‘growing’ food). The initiative came from Grace Davies. She said: ‘Schools are already making big changes to help children make healthier food choices, but we wanted to take this one step further, by showing children they can grow their own produce. Students can develop their understanding in farming, where their food comes from and also the value of growing. ‘Coming to a working farm to learn and grow can also be linked with so many core areas within the curriculum (not to mention being really fun too!)’ Parents of youngsters dong a summer holiday surfing course at Little Joe’s Surf School by Big Vern’s in St Ouen’s Bay are
42 -
RURAL Autumn 2015
liable to recognise Grace as an instructor on the courses run by her brother, Joe Davies. Wearing another hat, she does the marketing for the Market Traders’ Association, of which her father, Bill Davies (of the ‘Just William’ fresh produce stall) is the chairman. The Davies family are deeply rooted in local food production and local farming; the Farm School Initiative comprises courses for school pupils that take place on their own land in St Martin. ‘I like working on the land,’ Grace said, ‘it’s in my genes. ‘But it didn’t make sense for me to go full pelt into an apprenticeship and I thought it made more sense to do something that I know I was really good at – teaching. Also, I had access to land and an open space that schools do not necessarily have… it all seemed to fall into place.’ The six week courses focuses on growing vegetables, of course, but there is considerable open space for the students to enjoy, in a part of the farm that had not been cultivated and had become quite seriously overgrown. So, there is a picnic area, an old lavoir, a natural amphitheatre suitable for presentations, an area where they can hold their own market and sell their own fresh produce, and lots of opportunity to learn about the countryside: woods, fields and the little animals for which it is their home. The first courses took place during the last summer term; they run for six weeks and can be structured to what the school wants. There is plenty of flexibility to
include different projects, or different ages (both primary and secondary levels) or different focus – environmental or horticultural. ‘What do I remember most from school?’ she asked, ‘It was when I was outside! Children don’t get enough of that: unstructured play, just being outside, getting their hands dirty and being inquisitive about the natural environment.’ The core aspects of the course include growing produce – organically, Organic farming is a great interest of Grace and the Davies family. At the start of the course they plant their vegetables, and by the end they can dig them up and take them home. They learn to grow 12 different types of produce from a selection, from planting to harvesting. ‘If I can get one kid to think differently about their food, or get Mum to shop differently, I will feel I have achieved something,’ Grace said, ‘and if as a result of this they decide to buy “local”, so much the better!’ *For more information about the Farm School Initiative, see the website: thefarmschoolinitiative.com
Project2:Layout 1 05/10/2015 15:40 Page 1
IRISH COUNTRY COTTAGES & FISHING on the Beautiful Blackwater River, Co Waterford
$" $&( ! # +!, & )& ' ( & # $(( ' + ( & # )( )! ')&&$)# # ' !"$# # &$)( ' # $# $) ! # # ' '$# $ # & & #'(&) ($&' * ! ! ( !#
!
"! '
!! ' #
* ! !
&* ( # % )! &" # & ! # ')&&$)# # ' $# & ' '( ( $&(+ !! " $' $!! ( $# # ## ' $)&(
& & #'
$#* # #( $& "$)#( #' $ '( # &( ($+# $ '"$& & ( & ) ' # '($& $)' ' # $! $)&' ' )'
'( )& #(' & #' # (& # & ,
$ ' + ! $"
Contact Philippa (00 353) 86 467 0857 fortwilliamoffice@gmail.com
www.fortwilliamfishing.ie
Cork Airport 1 hrs drive • Rosslare 2 hrs drive • Dublin 2.5 hrs drive
MATTHEW THEBAULT STONEMASONS Matthew Thebault Stonemasons Limited was founded in 2002 and has rapidly grown into one of Jersey’s most prolific and dynamic companies specialising in stonework construction. With over 28 years of industry knowledge and experience, the founder has built the business upon reliability, integrity and a passion for the finished product. The team of dedicated professionals produce the highest standards in all aspects of stone work. Our customers gain a great deal of confidence through our reputation for attention to detail whilst maintaining a high level of efficiency. Matthew Thebault Stonemasons Limited can provide a range of designs to choose from or alternatively, work from your own ideas to create a bespoke design for you.
Tel: 01534 738 358 Mobile: 07797 750 820 Email: matt@mtstonemasons.com Visit: www.mtstonemasons.com Facebook/MattsMasons
LETTER FROM IRELAND:Layout 1 04/10/2015 15:39 Page 1
Irish fish are jumping... September has been a remarkable month for salmon on the River Blackwater in Co Waterford and Jersey visitors have been enjoying themselves landing them. By Philippa Evans Bevan
AT our home, Fortwilliam rural estate in County Waterford, we were delighted to welcome a number of Jersey visitors this summer, some of whom landed large salmon on the banks of the beautiful Blackwater River to add to their pleasure. As we have one foot in Ireland and the other in Jersey, it made lots of sense for our business - Fortwilliam Fishing and Irish country cottages - to become members of the Jersey Irish society. And as new, proud members of the society, we hope to welcome fellow members to stay with us along with other Jersey residents in the future. Taking advantage of the direct summer flights from Jersey to Cork, with only a 45-minute car ride to Fortwilliam onward, visitors can complete the door-to-door journey within four hours.
Although the fishing season is now coming to a close for 2015, there is still plenty to entice visitors to our homely Fortwilliam Irish country cottages for discounted autumn and winter break. With their welcoming wood burning stoves and traditional cottage accommodation, good cosy pubs and lots to do and see in this lovely area, visitors can have a super break. If long walks in breath-taking scenery are appealing and guests wish to bring their dog, we are welcome too. One of the most important aspects of any time spent travelling away from home is arriving after a hassle-free trip at your destination. This is a particular factor when it comes to airports - small is beautiful. I travel regularly between Ireland and Jersey, so for me, a welcome development is the new route operated by Cityjet from Cork Airport to London City, which, with so many daily Blue Islands flights from London City into Jersey, make the journey simple and pleasant. I really rate both these airlines and the benefit of going from Cork to London City and on to Jersey is that all three airports are small and easy to navigate with the least fuss and time wasting.
Dublin is another option from London City if visitors want to mix their stay with a few nights in Ireland’s wonderful capital city. There is so much to do in Dublin, some wonderful hotels, restaurants, shopping and galleries and if music is on the agenda then the choice is fantastic as so many of the lovely Dublin and country pubs have unforgettable evenings of Irish and folk singing and playing. The Fortwilliam team were glad to raise 14,000 Euros in one evening at a recent song and dance evening held at the venue. The money has gone to Barnardo’s Ireland, which works to help vulnerable Irish children and their families. There was amazing support from the local community and 340 people attended the event at which local young people, including our son, Patrick, entertained. Fergus Finlay, Head of Barnardo’s Ireland, opened the proceedings by cutting the ribbon on the new Fortwilliam Barnardo’s Bandstand, which provided a fantastic stage for soloists on the night and for events in the future. We were very proud to use the wonderful Fortwilliam setting for such a great cause and we also hope that many more friends and visitors from Jersey will have flights of fancy to come and enjoy our Fortwilliam Irish country cottages in the near future.
Patrick Evans Bevan performing at the Barnardo's event
Mags McCarthy performs at the Barnardo's event
David and Philippa Evans Bevan with Barbar CEO of Barnardo's Ireland Fergus Finlay opens the new Barnado's bandstand
Pics: Dan McGrath
AURAY:Layout 1 05/10/2015 06:09 Page 1
A LETTER FROM BRITTANY KIERANNE GRIMSHAW visits Auray a hidden gem in the Morbihan region
WHY choose Auray? We chose it mainly for its ideal location in the Morbihan region of south-west Brittany. We’d also heard that from Auray it was only a short drive to the historic coastal towns of Vannes and Lorient, and that it was not far from Carnac, famous for its Neolithic Menhirs (standing stones). The region is also known for its pleasant micro-climate. But while driving down in the car constant rain pounded the windscreen and the hope of ‘warmer climes’ swiftly evaporated from our minds. We could have had this all in Jersey, we thought, without the three hour drive. Oh well at least the wine and superb seafood would taste the same, whatever the weather. Auray is a town of two halves, separated by the River Loch. A special feature of the new town above is a huge carousel which dominates the town square. A must is a visit on a Monday, Market Day. The whole town is transformed into a colourful array of local food and produce. It would be too easy to shop for the whole week. Stalls with pêches blanches and a superb variety of local cheeses were too tempting to resist. A delicious aroma of freshly baked artisan bread lured us into the local Boulangerie, helping to complete our perfect picnic by the river.
If you visit the Tourism Office in the main town, you may be in for a surprise – we were. We entered the cobbled courtyard to a delicious aroma of local sea food, thinking perhaps we had found a restaurant instead? It was just good timing: local oysters, a variety of mackerel patés, to wash down with unlimited Muscadet, were offered as a dégustation by friendly local producers. The perfect apèritif as well as the perfect marketing tool. The local Breton cake was just too delicious, tasting of well, purely butter. Lots of visitors must have left Auray with happy memories – Visit Jersey take note. The upper town contrasts starkly with the medieval port (St Goustan) in the old town. A narrow sloping cobbled hill winds down to the harbour. Lining it are artisan shops and tasteful cafés, along with beautiful trees, which we found handy to sit under to keep us (and our beers) nice and cool.
Kieranne on holiday with Monty
RURAL Autumn 2015 - 45
AURAY:Layout 1 05/10/2015 06:10 Page 2
St Goustan, the stunning port
As we arrived in St Goustan, the stunning sight of the port came into view. Crossing over the 12th Century Bridge is like going back hundreds of years. The narrow cobbled streets certainly reminded us of an old Smuggler’s haunt. Being pedestrianised added to the appeal of this quaint riverside port – with its chic galleries and quays, it could have been twinned with Honfleur. The brochures are right, Auray has retained its charm of an historic town with its half-timbered houses and granite buildings that reflect the richness of its past and its important maritime activities from the 15th to 17th Century. Church of St Anne d'Auray
like all Pardons, a religious pilgrimage and local festivity combined. The town certainly benefits from its annual ‘pilgrims’. Even the Pope visited here in 1996 – and surely what’s good enough for the Pope…. The French love their festivals; from La Fête de la Sardine in Quiberon to the World Pancake Festival in Ste Anne d’Auray. We visited Trinité Sur Mer, famous for its stunning harbour and majestic Kérisper Bridge. Perfect timing: we stumbled upon a bi-annual Maritime Festival of La Route de l’Amitié where 180 traditional sailing boats all arrived in one fleet. Stunning. Celtic sea shanties and Breton songs provided entertainment, whilst sumptuous pieces of Far Breton cake were handed out to sailors and visitors alike. We spotted a common theme: food – always noticeable in French culture. The effort the French make with their traditional festivals and cuisine is certainly evident in this region. We will be back.
The next dilemma was where to eat? Plenty of waterside restaurants provided mouth - watering moules frites and traditional galettes, the perfect dining experience. For desert we found no shortage of crêperie bars offering unique fillings such as cider ice cream with salted caramel (surprisingly delicious). Only about 15 mins from Auray is Ste Anne d’Auray, which comes alive in July. If you arrive around the 26th, it could be busy; some 20,000 to 30,000 people visit during this period each year. The beautiful Basilica is also worth viewing. On arriving, we discovered it was the weekend of the traditional Breton ‘Pardon’: the Pardon of Ste Anne d’Auray – 46 -
RURAL Autumn 2015
Pictures by Gary Grimshaw
LETTER FROM MILAN:Layout 1 04/10/2015 15:59 Page 1
A LETTER FROM MILAN What does rural sustainability actually mean? Philippa Evans-Bevan of Savills International Farmland, reports from Expo Milano 2015 where that question was asked EXPO MILAN, which closes at the end of October, has been a massive event, attracting people from all over the world to Italy's financial and cultural hub. A total of 140 countries, hosting remarkable exhibition structures and showcasing their own national themes of rural sustainability and food production, biodiversity and conservation. The objective of Expo Milan was to provide a setting and to create an impact to stimulate valuable international discussion on the critical issues that face us in feeding the planet and providing energy for life, both now and in the future, bearing in mind the predicted rise in the global population to 9.7 billion by 2050. Looking at the EU area and the sustainability of rural economies was the RISE Foundation (Rural Investment Support for Europe). I was fortunate to attend their high-profile think tank conference, titled ‘Europe's Multipurpose Countryside’, at which experts addressed the issues and challenges of supporting a sustainable and internationally competitive rural economy across Europe. Key environmental, cultural and agricultural traditions were considered in the context of how jobs and income, generated through rural recreational and cultural activities, could help support the environment. Alarm bells were rung - but success stories and great practical initiatives were championed too. There was advice relevant to Jersey and startling statistics on soils, water quality and flooding issues raised by Dame Helen Ghosch, head of the National Trust . On a global scale, she said, some 12 million hectares every year were lost for food production through soil degradation, largely due to the industrialisation of farming practises.
Rural countryside by Lake Garda
The aerial photograph she presented showed a dramatic picture of the leaching of soils into the sea around the UK (considered to be 2.2m tonnes ). It demonstrated the issue clearly – as well as the fact that islands like Jersey are especially vulnerable. Also debated was the price of food and what should be a sufficient level of food security to guarantee supply. The wastage of food was discussed and connected to this was the importance of local food production for direct sales. Klaus Ehlich (from Spain!) and general secretary of the European Federation of Rural Tourism reminded delegates that although much of the conference was focussed on reviewing the EU Common agricultural policy for agricultural subsidies, 98% of EU businesses did not receive any subsidy support at all - like Jersey. The issues raised caused me to reflect on how Jersey could be proud of its rural evolution and that the Genuine Jersey brand was a great example of how well-produced and well-marketed local niche food brands could highlight cultural and heritage traditionsespecially of provenance - for enhanced sales and added value. The benefits of modern technology and especially digitisation - for the promotion of ongoing on-line sales should not be missed. Another interesting statistic was that 60% of the world’s food is produced on a small local level. Also discussed was the relevance of the importance of supporting local food produce, with its many benefits to the wider community, from employment to distribution and less waste. The UK Expo stand was a massive beehive structure that endorsed the importance of rural community sustainability with the caption ‘honey bees are a good example of social insects that rely on each other for survival.’
Agri-tourism and the growth of rural sports, as well as the appreciation of cultural and heritage traditions, are all more appreciated these days by The UK pavilion at Expo Milan increasingly well-informed visitors who have access to the Internet and a keen interest in researching their holiday destinations. To encourage those seeking to invest into rural businesses whether farming, products or tourism, the planning and regulations framework needs to be realistic and facilitating with the main objective to ‘make things happen’ rather than to be too burdensome . In conclusion, it became clear that whatever the region or country, three layers of strata are fundamental for policy makers and rural businesses striving to achieve the bedrock of rural sustainability : • good, long-term rural environmental management; • the promotion of recreation and tourism and agricultural tourism; • the production and promotion of local regional and traditional food. The core message of Expo 15 was that managing land for its best long-term condition is becoming more and more critical. A large caption on the impressive Irish stand summed it up: ‘We did not inherit this world from our parents, we borrowed it from our children. One day we will return it to them. When we do it should be every bit as bountiful as it was when we received it ... that's what sustainability means .’
Milan
ENVIRONMENT:Layout 1 05/10/2015 06:29 Page 1
ENVIRONMENTALISM vs THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT A tight balance needs to be preserved between satisfying the Island’s economic prosperity and its natural environment, says RIBA-qualified Architect and former Junior Vice President of the Association of Jersey Architects, Jane Faulkner OUR media news seems awash with comments about protection of the environment, global warming and what we could do about it. But what is actually being done? And what is being done locally?
As I work principally as a house architect, this is all too relevant for personal living spaces. The issues of comfort, view and ‘healthy house’ - even feng shui - is included to achieve ultimate design solutions.
Another question: how relevant is ‘environmentalism’ to the work of an architect?
Works of mine have included such projects as the feasibility for a bunker conversion into a house, a community housing scheme with corner shop facility and landscaped gardens, and farm regeneration studies. My focus as a house architect has included projects entailing the smallest interior details including project landscaping and more recently, with an energy saving and ecological focus,. I have been involved in the conversion of (converted) an historic landmark building into a new coffee shop brand (take out - and worked) working with the client in converting the interior. (take out - in an appropriate way).
The RIBA 2005 Code of Conduct in fact advocates at point 3.2: ‘Members should be aware of the environmental impact of their work.’ So these questions are all too relevant. I have practised as an architect in Jersey for 18 years and throughout that time the question of ‘environmentalism vs the built environment; (take out) has affected my own practice considerably. In its protection of the environment, the Island Plan has been strongly holistic in its overall approach and stance. It has included a very high level of legislative detail, with the building byelaws protecting against CO₂ emissions in particular. So, as architects, we are governed by the Planning Law in designing our buildings and in turn protecting the environment. I think the Planning system has gone a long way to achieving this protection as a result of the Island plan. Within my own Works I have always emphasised projects that can ‘blend’ in with the environment. However, in many ways this has been instigated by having a number of projects in the Green zone, and the Planning
Historic shopfront & conversion to a Coffee Shop, St Helier
48 -
RURAL Autumn 2015
Barn conversion & extension, St.Mary’s
system is strict in what is permitted there. As Architects, we are creative designers; the challenge is setting this against the constraints of the law that governs the impact on the natural and built environment. By comparison, architects are like sculptors, but they go one stage further and apply legislation and design reviews so as to check how appropriate they are to the site and to the solution of the design challenges. There is a general consensus that contemporary design should reflect the spirit of the age; the trick is to translate this into a building design that suits the site with appropriate consideration of its context. Of course architects are often working on old buildings, so again this dictates a very specific approach when restoration of something old contrasts with the design of a 21st century extension. It is great to see the palette of 21st century design, which includes more open-plan and lighter buildings, natural daylight and larger areas of glass. This is afforded by modern advanced technology to meet CO₂ emission targets with large panes of glass. This is a big step forward from the very small windows of the dwellings of our mediaeval forefathers. It’s great we are embracing this and forming a strong contrast to the previous generations and centuries of design. Of my own projects, I have employed this contemporary focus wherever possible.
These projects also indicate my interest and focus on regeneration and knitting building projects with the environment and with a community focus. The whole subject of how much our Island’s environment, built and natural, needs focus comes at a key time in the Island’s history. We are on the cusp of an immigration chapter, for example, that may well dictate the future vision of the Island. A tight balance needs to be preserved between satisfying the Island’s economic prosperity and its natural environment. It is almost a corny subject, but in 2015 choices need to be made and a balance preserved. Preserving this balance is the ‘bug bear’ politically, both now and in the future.
CAREY OLSEN:Layout 1 05/10/2015 06:16 Page 1
PLANNING APPLICATIONS HAVING YOUR VOICE HEARD By Advocate Samantha Hoare, Associate at Carey Olsen AS you sit at home on a Tuesday evening, you open the Jersey Evening Post to the gazette section. Upon reading the latest notices, you discover that your neighbours have submitted a planning application. You review the application online and discover that your neighbours are proposing to extend their property by over 50%. You are concerned about the impact the extension may have on your property and your enjoyment of it. You wish to have your concerns heard but are unsure how to do so, what to say and wonder whether your voice will truly be heard. Here is some general guidance about your options:. Article 11 of the Planning and Building (Jersey) Law 2002 (the ‘Law’) was drafted to ensure planning applications are publicised, and to give members of the public an opportunity to make representations in respect of them. The decision maker must take those representations in to account when determining the application. Therefore, in order for your voice to be heard, you need to submit a written representation to the Planning Department within 21 days of the application being last publicised. It is important to submit a representation in this time, because as a third party within 50 metres of an application site, you only subsequently have a right to appeal the final decision if you have made a written representation within time.
RURAL Autumn 2015 - 49
CAREY OLSEN:Layout 1 05/10/2015 06:16 Page 2
Now the tough part, how can you construct your representation to be as effective as possible? Article 19 of the Law sets out that a decision maker shall approve an application if it is consistent with the policies of the Island Plan 2011 (as revised) (available online at www.gov.je). A decision maker may approve an application which is inconsistent with those policies, but only if there is sufficient justification to do so. Therefore, in our experience, the most effective representations are crafted by having reference to the applicable policies of the Island Plan. The Island Plan sets out zones that prescribe the level of development permissible in each particular location of the Island. For instance, a number of application sites are located in the Coastal National Park (Policy NE6) where there is a presumption against development. This is in contrast to the Built Up Area zone, where there is a general presumption in favour of development. As a first step, when drafting a representation you need determine which zone the application site is in. The zoning of an application site will help you determine, 1) whether the development sought is permissible in principle, and 2) if it is permissible, do the specific design details of the proposed development still accord with that policy and other policies of the Island Plan. As an example, Policy NE6 sets out that an extension to a property is permissible in principle, as it is a stated exception to the presumption against development. However, that extension must still accord with certain requirements of that policy, including, amongst other things, to remain subservient to the existing building and not harm the landscape character of the area. If it does not accord with those requirements, the application should not be approved as it would be contrary to policy.
50 -
RURAL Autumn 2015
You should also set out the specific elements of the application/proposed development which give rise to your concerns such as its scale, siting, or details such as the presence of new windows etc. You will need to explain how these elements would affect your property and your enjoyment of it. Do make sure you refer to the relevant documents submitted with the application to support your points. It is important to relate your specific concerns to the policies of the Island Plan as this will give your points more substance. For example, if you have specific concerns regarding the impact of the development on your amenities, Policy GD1 is relevant; as it sets out that a development will not be permissible if it unreasonably harms the amenities of neighbouring uses. It is important to illustrate what that harm may be in order to be persuasive. Do be persuasive, succinct, and logical, and provide as much supporting evidence as possible, this will ensure your voice is heard. If you have any queries regarding the Planning Application process, contact a member of the Carey Olsen Litigation or Property Group, who would be delighted to assist.
PALLOT:Layout 1 05/10/2015 15:41 Page 1
PRACTICAL PERGOLAS FROM PALLOT’S Contemporary in design and functional in use, pergolas from Pallot Glass help you to enjoy the outdoors as well as providing shelter for your car WHY not have a car port? Plenty of reasons to have one. It is, for example, a valuable addition to any home. It protects your car from the elements but at a fraction of the cost of building a garage. A car port gives your car extra protection from harsh weather as well as from bird lime, which can be damaging to the paintwork of your car. And in addition to providing shelter for your car, a large car port can be used for storing outdoor items such as garden furniture or bicycles. One of the simplest ways of creating a car port is to use a pergola. One of the advantages of a ready- made pergola is that all the parts you need are provided ready to put together, whereas building a carport from scratch requires a good standard of carpentry or metalwork skills and tools that many people just do not possess. Pallot Glass is the Jersey agent for Ultraframe pergolas. A pergola from Ultraframe is ideal for use as a carport. Ultraframe design and manufacture stylish contemporary pergolas in a choice of two colours – textured grey or white. The frame is constructed from materials chosen for their combination of strength and aesthetics. Its innovative curved beam functions as an ingenious guttering system, whilst delivering beautiful aesthetics in a structurally superior design. This fusion of engineering excellence with contemporary design is reinforced by the aluminium posts being part of the immensely robust structure, whilst also fulfilling the function of a rainwater downpipe to drain water away from the building. Each piece of the Ultraframe pergola is designed and formed with precision engineering so that everything fits perfectly. Support poles are made from coated aluminium, with a rainwater downpipe incorporated in one of the poles so that rainwater is drained away rather than forming puddles on the surface of the roof. The pergola roof is made from toughened glass with a depth of 6mm. The pergolas are available in nine sizes and in two distinctive colours: white or textured grey. Everything you need for your pergola is provided, from the wall plate to the end stops for the curved beams. Ultraframe pergolas are simple to erect, but if you prefer not to install the pergola yourself, just ask Pallot Glass! You will not usually require Planning permission for a carport unless your home is a listed building. However, check with the Planning Department before any work on the carport commences. ‘Pergola’ is only part of Ultraframe’s breath-taking new outdoor living range. A pergola can be used to create a stunning, contemporary patio area, allowing you to enjoy the outdoor whilst protecting you from the elements but delivering the ‘outdoor feel’. Ultraframe is also Europe’s leader in the design and manufacture of glazed roofing systems for the home, with over 1.5 million installed to date. Ultraframe pergolas are high quality structures, built to last. Creating a stylish car port from an Ultraframe pergola will both prolong the life of your car’s exterior and add value to your property.
Contemporary in design and functional in use, helping you to enjoy the outdoors. The Pergola is available in 9 sizes and two distinctive colours: White or Textured Grey Ultraframe is Europe’s leader in the design and manufacture of glazed roofing systems for the home, with over 1.5 Million installed to date.
FIND OUT MORE? Call our Sales Team: 760500 Visit: www.pallotglass.com
MORRIS DANCING:Layout 1 05/10/2015 06:19 Page 1
‘I like to see the Morris Dancers Clash their sticks and drink our ale. I like to hear those bells a ringing As we ramble in the new mown hay’ Traditional English folk song
DANCING THE DAYS AWAY – THE HELIER MORRIS MEN By Bob Hogge WITH their decorated hats, blackened faces and raggedy shirts, Helier Morris Men dance to the rhythm of summer.
They really want to dance but modern conventions and the fear of ridicule inhibits them.
We look at them in their funny clothes weaving in and out, each dance a different pattern and think of them as quaint relics. But these dancing men are part of the history of civilisation, marking the seasons as men have always done.
However when dancing as part of a group, the form and rhythm of the dance gives men a structure in which to delight and you can see that when the Helier Morris Men dance out between Mayday and the end of October.
Though the dances look strange to us now, everywhere in the world men in costume dance together. These are the formal cooperative dances where men dance in step and have their roots in pre-history probably to the time we started to cultivate the land.
When they were formed 40 years ago, up to 20 men would dance regularly. Now you will see from 4 to 8 men, nearly all of them in their 60s or older.
If you compare these agriculturally based dances alongside the jigs of sailors and the village dance seen in the rest of Europe you will see many similarities. The foot stamping and the use of mock weapons and they are all danced by men. Men in our society are reluctant to dance cooperatively - but watch them when the fiddle is playing and you will see men walking in time, nodding their heads, tapping their feet and slapping their hands on the sides of their thighs. 52 -
RURAL Autumn 2015
They are the last men of Helier Morris Men, a troupe that was a result of the folk revival of the 1960s and early 1970s. The Helier Morris Men were formed at the Anne Port Hotel Folk Club in 1975, one of many Morris dancing teams that rejuvenated this ancient custom at that time. Nowadays, however, although these sprightly dancers can still dance, the wear and tear on their hips and knees is taking its toll and each year more of them are having to hang up their raggedy shirts’ and use their sticks for support rather than display.
MORRIS DANCING:Layout 1 05/10/2015 06:19 Page 2
So this cultural link to our ancient past could be lost… and what will happen if the Morris is no longer danced? Will our famous potatoes rot in the ground and our cider apple trees go barren and will this loss of fertility extend to our cows or perhaps even further up the food chain? Let’s hope not, but do we dare find out? Where then are the young and not so young men of Jersey, who are willing to dance to protect our heritage, and possibly a lot more? It is time for the men of Jersey put on their dancing shoes, pick up their sticks, dance the Morris and enjoy life as it should be lived.
Helier Morris Men invite any men and boys who are interested to an introductory evening of Morris dancing at the Arts Centre on Monday November 2nd 8m. If you are thirsty after all your exertions, a free pint after the session will be yours. If you can’t make that date the come along to our rehearsals, which take place every Monday during the winter at Trinity Parish Hall 8 -9 pm. The free pint is still part of the deal.
Helier Morris Men need you NOW. So join them and live life to the full, with bells on. Before I finish, many apologies to Jersey’s excellent ladies Morris dancers, The Jersey Lilies. Their story too must be told. But not by me as I am a Helier Morris Men’s apprentice, now to be seen dancing out of step, but happy when Helier Morris Men dance out.
RURAL Autumn 2015 - 53
MONK GIBBON:Layout 1 05/10/2015 06:21 Page 1
THE TROUBLED POET WHO LOVED JERSEY’S FARMING LIFE A revered Irish poet, traumatised by the experiences as an army lieutenant in the Great War, volunteered to take a farming course in Jersey as part of his rehabilitation and found love with a Jersey artist, which was an inspiration for his writing. By Mike Sunier IN the years following the war, Monk Gibbon (known as the ‘Grand Old Man of Irish Letters’) was working with the Jersey herd at Rozel Manor. He spent many hours feeding the poultry at Blanche Pierre Farm near St Peter’s Valley; he grew tomato plants for export and he picked rape seed crop from fields above St Aubin. During his Jersey sojourn, he met and fell for a beautiful artist and, in the course of trying to come to terms with a notorious murder he had witnessed while with the army, he suffered a nervous breakdown. On his arrival in Jersey, Monk stayed first near Rozel Manor and assisted with the care of a herd of pedigree cattle, but he admitted that it was the moments when the Seigneur would reach into one of his library chests and bring out some historic relic – ‘such as an early charter granted to one of his forebears and sealed with one of the very few Great Seals of Richard III that remain in existence’ - that stayed with him as a memory. Moving on to work at the farm of the Cooper family, especially at the glass fronted poultry houses overlooking St Peter’s Valley, he was impressed that battery farming had not become a feature of local farming and he quickly learnt how to feed the poultry with ‘dry mash’, a mixture of pollard, bran, meat meal, fish meal and other ingredients.
54 -
RURAL Autumn 2015
He was taught how to hand a plough and drive a straight line, not as easy as it first appeared, admitted Gibbon. He picked tomatoes, not too red, nor too green, so that when they arrived in England five days later they would not be over-ripe. After a morning picking, he would return to his St Aubin home with hands ‘chocolate black’ from the contact with the leaves that would take days to clear. Another of his tasks was to thrash the mustard seed crop. Armed with flails, two heavy sticks of unequal length joined together by a leather thong, he and three others would work away at the crop in a co-ordinated fashion, gathering the tiny yellow seeds into a large sackcloth laid on the ground and then transferred to sacks. But throughout his farming ‘therapy’ Monk was troubled by what he had witnessed in the war, not only in the blood swilled trench mud of France, but ironically while on leave in his Irish homeland. During the Easter rising of 1916 Monk met a pacifist and radical opponent of the establishment, Sheehy Skeffington, who had been rounded up by an army patrol and handcuffed in a cell at the Portobello army barracks. Sheehy Skeffington was known in Dublin for handing out peace pamphlets and trying to organise citizens together to prevent looting during the street riots, but on this night he and others had been arrested while walking home from a meeting.
MONK GIBBON:Layout 1 05/10/2015 06:21 Page 2
Within a few hours of Monk meeting him, Skeffington lay dead, one of a number shot by firing squad on the orders of the patrol leader, Captain Bowen-Colthurst, having committed no obvious crime and without any form of trial. Family and friends did not even know he had been arrested. Shocked by the killing, Monk Gibbon informed his commanding officer what he had seen and though the British authorities sought to cover up the affair, eventually thanks to Monk’s honesty in revealing what had taken place and the persistence of his commanding officer, Bowen-Colthurst was brought to trial and found guilty of murder, though by reason of insanity.
The ‘Grand Old Man of Irish Letters’ lived a grand old life dying at the age of 91 back in his Dublin homeland in 1987. He is known to have returned to Jersey at least once in later life when he revised the poem he had written for his beloved Darryl first time round. His first book of poetry was inspired by her. To learn more, the book to read is ‘The Brahms Waltz’ published in 1970, many decades after his Jersey stay but a vivid account of his time in the Island.
None of this is revealed in the autobiography written of his time in Jersey between 1919 and 1922 when he extolled the beauties of Jersey, its people and places and described the farming skills he learnt. He also detailed a doomed love affair with Daryll Sullivan, a young Jersey artist, which dominated his time on the Island. Overwhelmed by his love for her, he wrote a poem of a romantic interlude spent together at La Collette, in the days when it was possible to feel romantic about an area of the Island now disfigured by the incinerator plant and industry. But sadly for Monk his love was unrequited and eventually, following a complete breakdown, it was agreed that he should no longer write to Daryll or try to see her. Despite the sad end to the love affair he sought, it was evident that he also harboured a love for Jersey which he described at the time as his spiritual home… ’there was no place like it, that one felt altogether at home and unworried, breathing a sort of atmospheric peace.’
RURAL Autumn 2015 - 55
AUTUMN BOOK REVIEWS:Layout 1 06/10/2015 06:22 Page 1
BOOK REVIEWS
CELEBRATING THE LOCAL Four books have been published over the past few months, each of them in their own way, celebrating aspects of Jersey. Reviews by ALASDAIR CROSBY THE WILD FLOWERS OF JERSEY By Deidre A Shirreffs Brambleby Books; £9.99 ONE does not need to be a botanist to ask oneself, in the course of a walk through the Jersey countryside: ‘That’s quite a pretty flower - I wonder what the name of it is? This is a book that will probably answer that question. It is short, compact, easy to put into a coat pocket and details over 120 of the Island’s wild flowers. Each species is illustrated by at least one colour photograph, and so identification is made simple. The descriptions include details of the history, uses and folklore of the plants – and often its name in Jèrriais. Of course, many flowers are not native to Jersey but have been introduced here and so these are also detailed. No description is longer than a short paragraph or two. The species are arranged in seasonal order, from spring through to winter and the species covered can be found in woodland, sand dunes, grasslands, cliffs, heathlands and marshlands. The photography is excellent and the book is really to be recommended as an introduction to Jersey’s flora. It will enhance any walk.
56 -
RURAL Autumn 2015
AUTUMN BOOK REVIEWS:Layout 1 06/10/2015 06:22 Page 2
JERSEY LAVOIRS The history and location of Jersey Lavoirs. Compiled by Jack Burch and Thelma Tilling, Société Jersiaise. £4 for Societe Jersiaise members or £5 for non-members ON a walk along a cliff path on the north coast – comparatively remote today and certainly far away from present day human habitation – I stumbled across a lavoir – a place for washing clothes, but now half choked by vegetation. Inevitably, the thought occurred: who could have ever found this remote spot a convenient laundry location? Certainly the many lavoirs that can be found around the Island are a reminder of a very different time when washing clothes was a different activity to what happens today, when there were no washing machines and not even yet 19th Century precursor of washing machines, boiling water in coppers. Before that time, laundry work took place out of doors and was usually a communal activity. To quote from the introduction by Margaret Finlaison: ‘The hard life has long gone, taking with it the tradition of the gathering of women to chatter and the social communication which took place during laundry work. Only these stone places now remain to remind us.’ Some of the lavoirs doubtless go back many centuries, but many were improved in the 18th and 19th Centuries, with fine stonework. A small group of volunteers have compiled this guide to the Jersey lavoirs that are still visible. The book is the result of their commendable researches. Very good photographs – each of the lavoirs is illustrated. The list of lavoirs is arranged by parish and there is an introductory section on lavoirs that are easy to find. If the book reminds us how spoilt and privileged we are to have our dirty clothes automatically and conveniently washed in our home washing machines, rather than to having to carry the washing to a lavoir and wash and scrub them in the open air, it will have at least served one purpose. Another purpose will have been served if we are reminded about these ‘treasures of the countryside’ and about a way of domestic life that has gone for good.
ONCE UPON AN ISLAND A collection of short stories by Jersey writers; £7.99 FOR many years there have existed associations of Jersey writers, to help and encourage one another in their work. In its latest incarnation, ‘Jersey Writers’ have produced an impressive website and programme of events and also, this year, a collection of short stories by its members. As all the contributors are writers, let them speak for themselves in the book’s introduction: ’From castles to cottages, museums to menhirs, Jersey’s heritage encompasses a wide range of sites… each has a story to tell. Over 20 Jersey writers decided to group together in the first year of the Channel Island Heritage Festival to publish this anthology. We selected the sites that inspired us the most, invented characters who could have lived in Jersey at different points in history, and created a fictional celebration of our Island’s rich heritage.’ The themes range from prehistoric to contemporary times, from murder to romance and from wartime to peace. Readings of the stories have taken place as part of this month’s ‘Connections’ literary festival. Twenty-five per cent of the profits from this book will go to Jersey Heritage to help preserve the Island’s most important sites and the remainder will be used to support Jersey Writers Ltd in its services to writers in Jersey. ‘Jersey’s got talent ‘ – that is something the books contributors and contributions make very clear. *For further details about Jersey Writers, see their website: www.jerseywriters.org
RURAL Autumn 2015 - 57
AUTUMN BOOK REVIEWS:Layout 1 06/10/2015 06:22 Page 3
JERSEY – A SKETCHBOOK Michael Messervy; £15 THIS is a guidebook with a difference. Not one photographic picture of the Island exists, but instead, each page shows one of the delightful pen and watercolour sketches by the author. His style is original and amusing: not a straight line anywhere; the picture on the cover and the one of Jersey cows are fairly typical - and deceptively simple; he says his influences are Paul Hogarth and Ed Witstein. It has the quality of making one look twice and appreciating better the essence of the subject, which familiarity and the photographic image can otherwise sometimes stale. With each sketch there are a few lines of information about the subject and an appropriate quotation. In his introduction, the former Bailiff, Sir Michael Birt, says: ‘It is an amusing, interesting and informative work, which I can heartily commend both to those who know Jersey and to visitors.’ I can only second that - it would be a good present for anyone who would like a guide to Jersey but would appreciate something original and artistic. Copies can be bought from Waterstone’s, WH Smith or the Harbour Gallery, or by post from michaelmesservy@hotmail.co.uk
58 -
RURAL Autumn 2015
Project1:Layout 1 03/11/2014 14:22 Page 1
ANN LE MOINE AUTUMN:Layout 1 04/10/2015 15:08 Page 1
60 -
RURAL Autumn 2015
ANN LE MOINE AUTUMN:Layout 1 04/10/2015 15:08 Page 2
Seymour Tower By our artist in residence, ANNA LE MOINE GRAY
I sent this painting in for the ‘Design a Stamp’ competition last March and was absolutely thrilled to be among the ten selected. The 'My Jersey' stamps will be issued in November. Having a Jersey stamp with one of my paintings...I feel very honoured...they were also approved by the Queen. Walking to Seymour Tower is one of the magical things to do in Jersey...and Autumn is the time for the biggest tides...so many miles out, the Island looks so different seen from there!
RURAL Autumn 2015 - 61
ROBIN:Layout 1 05/10/2015 06:28 Page 1
62 -
RURAL Autumn 2015
'Lulu' Page with Monty Picture by Geoff Pugh/Daily Telegraph
ROBIN:Layout 1 05/10/2015 06:28 Page 2
ONE MAN AND HIS DOGS
By Robin Page Robin and family
DOGS have always been a large part of my life and when, out of the blue, I was invited to present ‘One Man and His Dog’ a few years ago they became a huge part of my life. Then, when the BBC in full dumbing-down mode ruined the programme and sacked me, dogs again settled in to just being a ‘large’ part of my life. There is a problem here too, for as I get older the less I fully understand the link between people and their dogs. I find the emotional bonds between me and my/our dogs get stronger and stronger – even when the beast in question is extremely badly behaved, like Monty, the hooligan terrier who currently shares our home, along with our almost perfect Labrador, Reuben. Yes, we have smiles and laughter in abundance, but when we lose a dog the desolation and the flow of tears seem to become greater. In the last year we have lost two dogs – both put down by the vet; Briar our beloved lurcher with an enlarged heart at only eight years old and Corset, a wonderful retired foxhound at the age of thirteen. I ‘puppy walked’ Corset for the local foxhounds when I was researching my book The Hunting Gene at the time of the Countryside Marches. What a fantastic puppy. She then went off to hunt. On retirement she came back and greeted me like a long lost friend and remembered precisely where the dog biscuits were kept –what a remarkable dog – fantastic. Of course for thousands of years dogs have marched through the history of evolution and civilisation at the side of man – as guarding, hunting and herding dogs. My very earliest memories on the farm – where I still live –involve a black Labrador called Judy – half working dog and half hearth-rug dog – but a loyal, faithful contented dog. Her companion was Peter, a particularly smelly Spaniel who regarded father’s old twelve bore shotgun as some sort of magic stick from which pheasants flew and rabbits ran. Father was not a shooting sportsman, he shot rabbits, pigeons and pheasants for the table and Peter helped – and hindered – him. In a long life there have been so many dogs – mainly Labradors – fast and slow – intelligent and just happy – and one who would put his head under water to retrieve stones. Later Border Collies came – dogs we loved but nearly all came to a sticky end because of the roads bordering the farm. Then came One Man and His Dog which not only gave me admiration for the ‘sheepdogs, but also for the shepherds and
hill farmers who trained them and worked with them. My first lurcher, Bramble, was just the best companion it was possible to have – a contented dog with grace, beauty and speed. Then, hares had disappeared from our landscape due to stubble burning and some chemicals – no longer used – so Bramble would be around the farm in non-hunting mode. Now, thanks to various agri-environment schemes the hares are back, which means that a ‘stroll’ with a lurcher is almost impossible and it is doubtful that we will ever have another one, as much as we love them – a lurcher forever on a lead just doesn’t seem right. But a new chapter has begun – enter Monty – a nightmare, but a lovable one. He was Lulu’s (Mrs Page’s) good idea. He is a cross between a Border Terrier and a Patterdale – very handsome but totally unable to learn many English words – perhaps we should try him with Mandarin Chinese. He understands the words ‘biscuits’, ‘breakfast and ‘Boneo, but he has a total mental block on the simple requests ‘stay’, ‘sit” and ‘come’. He is constantly trying to escape (the garden is full of rabbits) and although the garden is almost dog-proof – if he becomes free he will not be caught for at least an hour. Then he suddenly reappears, wagging his tail so vigorously that it makes him walk sideways. Lulu of course greets him with enthusiasm; ‘I should be cross but I love him’. I won’t go on – but does anybody else allow a terrier to sit on the breakfast table just so that it can peer out of the window hoping for a sighting of a rabbit? Monty doesn’t go for a ‘walk’ – he drags Lulu around the farm and I am in constant fear of getting a distraught phone call: ‘It’s Monty – he’s got off his lead and he’s disappeared in the hedge after rabbits.’ Oh dear – so far so good – we have always got him back. And when he’s not trying to escape what is he doing? Convincing Lulu that he is the best terrier in Britain (the others must be pretty bad then), or chewing my trainers. Does anybody know how to train a terrier?
RURAL Autumn 2015 - 63
GUIDE DOGS:Layout 1 04/10/2015 15:43 Page 1
Alsatian dog. Called to the telephone the doctor left the blind person with the dog. When he returned neither blind person nor dog were to be seen. They had continued their walk. Thus the seed was sown. So began the experiments of training guide dogs and, by 1923, a training centre was established in Potsdam. In the ensuing ten years several thousand dogs were trained. This activity came to the attention of Mrs Dorothy Eustis who bred dogs in Switzerland for Army and Police work. Having visited Potsdam she wrote an article for the New York Saturday Evening Post and followed this by sending one of her trainers to Germany.
Fisher, belonging to Paul Paterson
A SEEING EYE The Jersey Guide Dogs Association provides funding to train dogs to help those who cannot see for themselves. By Ken Syvret, a committee member of the Jersey Branch since 1960 and Chairman, now, for 45 years
An enthusiastic woman, she soon set up a training centre at Vevey - l’Oiel qui Voit – the seeing eye. One of her earliest successes was for a young blind American who had heard of the magazine article and joined Mrs Eustis in Switzerland to return home with the first American guide dog, Buddy. He was later to say I bought an article that was worth a thousand dollars for five cents. Mrs Eustis, in answer to an invitation, met two ladies in London in September 1930. By October 1931 the first English guide dog was trained. Guide Dogs have moved a long way since 1930 and today the Association is responsible for over 4,500 guide dogs in the British Isles including, currently, five working in Jersey. The Association, in contrast to the early days when dogs were donated for training, breeds its own dogs. And also, contrary to early thinking, breeds other than Alsatians are predominant – Labradors 37%, Labrador/Retriever cross 38%, Golden Retrievers 9% and GSD Alsatians 11%. Both guide dog and owner have to go through much training, the dog until it reaches the age of 18 months or so and the owner one month of training before the team is created. Jersey has long been associated with Guide Dogs, it was following a visit to Jersey by Lieut-Col F L M Battye in August 1938 that the Jersey Branch was established and the first fund raising event was a golf competition on 4 August 1938 (Col Battye was a keen golfer) organised by The Royal Jersey Golf Club at Grouville. The competition continues to this day. Today, the Annual Biggest Book Sale is the major fund raiser. The 22nd sale takes place on Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 October at the Royal Jersey Showground, Trinity, when thousands of books will be on offer.
Piper and Nicky who have been puppy walked in Jersey GUIDE DOGS are immediately recognised by their yellow harness, but do readers know that there are also blue jackets for Guide Dogs?
It costs £50,000 to breed, train and maintain a Guide Dog for life. The Association relies entirely on public support – it receives no government assistance.
The blue jacket is worn by puppies in training known as puppy walking. Currently there are two puppies being walked in Jersey and a third will shortly join them. This is a recent introduction to Jersey and like our working Guide Dogs are a joy to see at work. The intensive training that all Guide Dogs receive is broken into different phases beginning with the puppy walking. But let us start at the beginning. Guide Dogs were first trained during the Great War after a doctor discovered by accident that a blind person could be led by a dog. It happened in Germany when a blind person was walking with a doctor and his pet The book sale: this year on 24 and 25 October 64 -
RURAL Autumn 2015
JOLLY HOCKEY:Layout 1 06/10/2015 08:19 Page 1
MORE JOLLY HOCKEY STICKS THAN EVER
– thanks to corporate sponsorship by Deutsche Bank and the enthusiasm of the Jersey Hockey Association
MONEY makes the world go round – for better or for worse. In matters of sport, certainly at a local level, sponsorship has an entirely beneficial effect and one specific case illustrates this: the sponsorship of Jersey Hockey. Deutsche Bank has been hugely influential in support of hockey’s Junior Development Programme for nearly 12 years and this has had immediate results with many of its senior representative sides having great ‘cup runs’ in the last few seasons. Hockey, certainly in comparison to football or rugger, is a minority sport, but its devotees believe that its use of tactical skills makes it a somewhat more cerebral team sport than its more popular rivals. It deserves to be known and followed by many more people than actually do play it at the moment, and the sponsorship has helped in this regard making it available to a far wider audience than would other wise be the case. The Jersey Hockey Association is thriving and commendably its members are more than happy to bring on its young entry which is a pleasure to see in itself. At the recent Deutsche Bank Primary Schools 7-a-side tournament over 150 children took part, most of them new or relatively new to the game. Were the sponsorship not available, the sport would remain much more of an elite activity, which is fortunately not the case.
The new astro turf pitch at Les Quennevais provides an ideal terrain to train, play and enjoy the game and has provided the sport with a considerable boost. It will certainly go some way to attracting more teams to come to Jersey opening up opportunities for players of all ages. Furthermore the ever-active members of Jersey Hockey recently launched a fundraising campaign to build themselves a ‘home for hockey’ at the Les Quennevais pitch to give players and supporters the opportunity to truly be at the heart of the sport. With a total amount of £500,000 to raise the membership is working hard to achieve their goal. A parent whose ten-year-old son started playing hockey last year said it had been most gratifying to see both his enthusiasm for the sport increase in tandem with his skills and the gaining of more self-confidence. Proof that sport can have a very positive impact on individuals. The Deutsche Bank Junior Development Programme provides coaching and competitive matches for boys and girls from ages 10 to 16 through its subsidised weekly coaching groups, as well as coaching development for umpires and coaches and funding the cost of kit and training equipment. Athletes with exceptional talent or those showing potential are recognised and offered support to progress within England Hockey's Single System pathway. Most importantly all
of the juniors are given the opportunity to develop their skills in a relaxed environment where everyone is given the chance to fulfill their potential. Aside from the activities carried out from September to April, during the summer months two competitions are organised, one for juniors sponsored by Deutsche Bank, and one for seniors. The latter openly encourages novices to come and have a go and this year has seen a good number of new faces on the pitch. Jersey Hockey’s Administrator, Sarah Heelis, said: ‘Hockey receives fantastic support from its sponsors and with this support we have been able to build on the coaching and playing opportunities each year which is wonderful for the development of our sport. It is also very exciting for us all to be working towards a “home for hockey”. In short, hockey sponsorship in Jersey shows a very acceptable face of capitalism! For more information about hockey in Jersey please contact Sarah Heelis contact@jerseyhockey.co.uk.
RURAL Autumn 2015 - 65
AUTUMN JERRIAIS:Layout 1 04/10/2015 15:52 Page 1
Jèrriais, with GERAINT JENNINGS
TCHI TCHIANN'TÉTHIE! D'la Rue au Tchian à Grouville au Nic ès Tchians et jusqu'au Tchian d'Bouôlay, Jèrri est atchiann'té. Et véthe y'a des tchians par les c'mîns, pronm'nés par lus maît's et maitrêsses et j'avons même des tchians tchi dansent. Y'a des tchians d'race et des tchians mêlés, et bein seux pouor l'êgalité des sexes il est d'mêtchi d'mentionner les tchiannes.
tchianne". Assa, si j'tais pus tchian, jé n'paiethais cèrtainement pon pouor lus marchandise, à chutte compangnie-là! Quand tchi don qué j'en acat'tai d'lus marchandise? Quand les tchians dé Maît' Jean Gouôrray éthont pâssé. Et pouortchi? Faut attendre qué ses tchians aient netti les c'mîns atout lus coues!
Nou dit qu'un maît' dé tchian veint à r'semblier à san fidèle anmîn, et y'en a tchi dithaient qu'ch'es'sa eune bouonne chose en tout si les gens 'taient pus coumme lus annimaux et qu'la piéthe bête est la cheinne tch'est humaine. J'avons don un tas d'expressions tchi compathent les gens et les tchians. Quand nou-s'est ordgilleux ou bein habilyi, pus qu'nou crait est raisonnabl'ye ofûche, nou dit qu'nou fait d'san tchian. S'nou-s'est mînséthabl'ye, nou mène eune vie d'tchian; et quand nou-s'est bein pouôrrement, nou-s'est malade coumme un tchian. Tchitch'un tch'est honnête est coumme tchian tchi dort souos êta. Quand nou-s'est stégrîn ou trop couoyeux, nou-s'est tchian - et pouor dé mé, j'sis tréjous êmèrvilyi par l'annonche tchi pâsse à la télévision pouor eune compangnie tchi voudrait qu'sa pratique "sait pus
Nou peut êt' affanmé coumme un tchian d'chasse et aver eune sé d'tchian. Quand i' fait bein caud, nou peut dithe qué nou-s'a si sé qu'nou b'thait du tchian. Pouor dé mé l'odeu d'un tchian mouoilli est mauvais assez - jé n'voudrais pon en gouôter par d'ssus l'marchi. Un caud tchian dans eune ban'se est eune aut' pêque dé baînis, mais j'espéthe bein qu'i' n'y'a pon d'goût d'tchian là-d'dans! S'i' n'fait pon dgêx-sept fais trop caud, ch'est eune fraid d'tchian, et quand l'temps est péthissabl'ye, nou n'mettrait pon un tchian d'houors. S'lon les crianches des vielles gens, ch'tait sîngne d'eune tempête quand l'Tchian du Bouôlay 'tait par les c'mîns. Ch't' êmânue est s'posée d'êt' un grand nièr tchian, grand coumme eune maîson même, tchi traînait eune longue chaîne driéthe li - i' n'y'a vielle pouque tchi n'trouve sa liache - et faîthait peux ès gens la niet, pon raîque à La Trinn'té mais partoute l'Île. Les Saint Ouënnais craingnaient lus nièr tchian légendaithe à ieux dans l's alentours des Chîn Vèrges. Épis étout y'avait l'Tchico, l'tchian des r'vénants ou l'tchian d'la mort. S'nou-s'a 'té êpeûthé pouor tchique raison, nou dit qu'nou-s'a 'té mordu par l'Tchian du Bouôlay. Heutheusement, tchian tchi ouasse né mord pas.
rbu Logan, lé nièr bèrger ba
66 -
RURAL Autumn 2015
Jester, lé bâsset à bécac he
Summary in English:
WHAT A LOT OF DOGS! JERSEY is dogged by place-names with dogs in it, and the Jersey language is full of expressions connected with dogs. It's hardly surprising that people get compared to man's best friend, whether it's being dressed up like a dog's dinner, leading a dog's life, being sick as a dog, as honest as a dog under a workbench. Or as stingy as a dog: there's a company that currently encourages its customers, in its advertising, to "be more dog" this is not a slogan than persuades me to lay out money on the product. And it won't work until the dogs come home. You can be hungry as a dog or thirsty as a dog, and, even, so thirsty that you'd drink a dog. Mind you, given what a damp dog smells like, I wouldn't fancy drinking one, but on the other hand I've got no objection to eating a hot dog! According to the old belief, the Dog of Boulay was a sign of a storm. This wasn't the only supernatural dog to dog people's footsteps at night in Jersey. There was also a black dog in Saint Ouen, and the Tchico was a black dog of death. Nowadays, these superstitions have lost their power to terrify; their bark is worse than their bite.
ADVERT:Layout 1 16/04/2015 07:24 Page 1
Excellent Value mercurydeliver.com offers real value on everyday essentials
Big Brands
Order Online
A wide range of your favorite brands delivered direct to your door
Place your order Online in minutes. Ideal for those heavy bulky items
FUEL SUPPLIES DPS:Layout 1 04/10/2015 15:45 Page 1
Branching out into photography Trees for Life and RUBiS have branched out together for a photographic competition
Which tree do you love? Is it at the bottom of your garden or on your favourite coastal walk? Does it give you shade at lunchtime or is it that special tree that inspires you in some way? We all have favourite trees and in Jersey we are blessed with a wide variety of species. One local charity is focused entirely on looking after our tree-scape and raising awareness of the environmental benefits trees bring - Jersey Trees for Life. The charity has joined forces with Guernsey Trees for Life and RUBiS in the Channel Islands to organise a competition inviting Islanders to take a photo of their favourite tree. As part of its 60th anniversary celebrations RUBiS is helping to promote the competition and it is providing the prizes to the Jersey and Guernsey winners. The competition, entitled ‘Trees We Love’, aims at encouraging Islanders to take great photos of their favourite trees, with entries split into three categories: Primary School, Secondary School, and Open. Adult winners will receive a £500 credit to their RUBiS Card (or a pre-loaded RUBiS Card for new customers) and younger entrants will be rewarded with a £200 Amazon voucher to spend on whatever they wish.
68 -
We take our environmental responsibilities very seriously and are proud to support initiatives that reduce the impact of fossil fuel consumption in the Channel Islands.” Funds raised by Jersey Trees for Life provide vital support for a project to connect the east of Jersey with the heart of St Saviour, by planting hedgerows and thereby creating valuable safe ‘ corridors’ for wildlife. Michel Morel of Jersey Trees for Life came up with the idea of the competition. He said: ‘We are the only charity in Jersey that focuses on the environmental benefits that trees bring. We are also often contacted by members of the public who tell us how sad they are when a tree has to be felled, for whatever reason. ‘This competition is about celebrating our trees and the joy they can bring us on a daily basis. There are numerous research studies that prove there is a link between an environment that is abundant with trees, air quality and the mental and physical health of those people who live in that environment.’ He added: ‘Although registrations to enter the competition have now closed, there has been a terrific response in all of the categories and we are really looking forward to seeing the submitted photos. There will be a separate judging panel in each Island and it will be interesting to see the chosen winners.
Following announcement of the winners, exhibitions of all the best photographs will be held in each Island and RUBiS will then use a selection of their favourite images – six from Jersey and six from Guernsey – for their 2016 annual calendar.
‘Ultimately though, it is Jersey Trees for Life and Guernsey Trees for Life who will benefit because not only will we be helping to raise awareness of their projects, we will hopefully be encouraging people to reconnect with and appreciate the many beautiful trees we have here in the Islands.’
Nick Crolla, Head of Sales and Marketing at RUBiS said: ’We believe the “Trees We Love” photography competition is a fantastic way to engage with Islanders of all ages.
Judging will take place towards the end of September and selected photos will be exhibited towards the end of the year.
RURAL Autumn 2015
FUEL SUPPLIES DPS:Layout 1 04/10/2015 15:45 Page 2
FUELLING THE CHANNEL ISLANDS
:l ma^ <aZgg^e BleZg]l e^Z]bg` lniieb^k h_ ^g^k`r% hbe Zg] a^Zmbg` l^kob\^l lbg\^ *2..% p^ h__^k Z pb]^ kZg`^ h_ ikh]n\ml Zg] l^kob\^l mh f^^m ma^ g^^]l h_ hnk \nlmhf^kl3
› › › › › › › ›
KZg`^ h_ _n^el _hk ]hf^lmb\% fZkbg^% fhmhkbg` Zg] \hff^k\bZe inkihl^l' A^Zmbg` hbe% bg\en]bg` ZnmhfZmb\ ]^ebo^kr' ;hbe^k l^kob\bg` Zg] ^f^k`^g\r \Zee&hnml' Ienf[bg` Zg] a^Zmbg` l^kob\^l% bg\en]bg` lheZk ihp^k' Hbe mZgd lZe^l Zg] bglmZeeZmbhg' <hff^k\bZe ^g^k`r lhenmbhgl' KN;bL <Zk] & ma^ fhlm `^g^khnl _n^e Z\\hngm \Zk] bg ma^ <aZgg^e BleZg]l' EZk`^ g^mphkd h_ fhmhkbg` _hk^\hnkml makhn`ahnm C^kl^r Zg] @n^kgl^r'
<Zee hk ^fZbe nl mh]Zr mh Ûg] hnm fhk^'
Π)*.,- 0)21))
c
^gjnbkb^l9_l\b'\h'nd
Ģ
ppp'_l\b'\h'nd
JEC AUTUMN:Layout 1 04/10/2015 15:46 Page 1
WHERE ONCE WAS LAND…. Sea now separates Jersey from Normandy, but long ago it was dry land. The Société Jersiaise, working with Jersey Electricity, has been able to research fascinating details of this lost landscape. By Lynn Schofield INFORMATION that could shed light on Jersey’s prehistoric past has been found in sediment cores taken in a survey of the seabed between Jersey and France. The seabed survey was conducted by Jersey Electricity in 2009. The area surveyed lay between Gorey and France and the survey was done in preparation for the installation of its Normandie 3 (N3) power cable that was completed last year. This included taking 48 sediment cores, some up to six metres in length, along the 32km cable route. Once engineers had finished with these cores, JE gave them to a small team from the Société Jersiaise. ‘We were grateful to JE for allowing us to look at the cores,’ said Dr Paul Chambers who, with Dr Ralph Nichols, led the study of the cores, ‘but when we saw just how much material there was, we thought we might have bitten off more than we could chew.’ A total of 185 metres of core material needed careful examination for geological and sedimentological clues. The first important discovery was a layer of peat in a section of core that was 18 metres below the current low tide mark. The peat contained fossilised wood, snails, a mouse tooth and thousands of microscopic fossils, some of which were studied by Natural History Museum palaeontologist Dr John Whittaker. The evidence suggested that this peat formed in an open woodland landscape that would have existed between Jersey and France around 9,000 years ago. Buoyed by this early success, the Société team started to work their way through all the core material, taking and processing samples at 20cm intervals along each core. In total, they took more than 1,000 samples. Each had to be individually processed in a laboratory to remove any clay, then sieved and examined by at least two members of the team. And all this had to be done in their spare time. The process has taken five years and only now are the results being pulled together. What started as a local project has taken on international importance. The peat layer was just the start. Each of the 48 cores opened a window on a prehistoric landscape between
Sample points on route
70 -
RURAL Autumn 2015
Ostracods
Ancient estuary is similar to modern one Jersey and France which had been drowned by the sea as it rose rapidly following the end of the last Ice Age. Using geological and fossil evidence, the Société team has been able to reconstruct this sea level rise in minute detail. The cores suggest that during the last Ice Age there was a seasonally frozen flood plain between Grouville and France on which nothing much could live. As the climate warmed, around 13,000 years ago, so this flood plain was colonised by plants and animals forming a rich patchwork of open woodland and fens. However, the melting ice caused the sea level to rise rapidly and many of the cores document the gradual drowning of landscape as the sea pushed its way back up the river channels, forming salt marshes, then tidal flats and estuaries before becoming the fully marine environment we know today. ‘It is extraordinary to think that our ancestors would once have hunted and foraged across an ancient landscape that is now under many metres of water,’ said Dr Nichols. Indeed, it is not just plants and animals that the cores have preserved but possibly also evidence of our prehistoric forebears. In one of the deeper cores, the Société team found what appears to be a Stone Age hand axe that would have been dropped on a land surface although this has yet to be confirmed by specialists. Other extraordinary finds include a mouse tooth that had been inside the stomach of a bird of prey and layers of perfectly preserved pre-Ice Age fossils of around 1.8 million and 55 million years old, respectively. ‘I sometimes feel like we’ve just scratched the surface,’ says Dr Chambers. ‘There is more that could be done with the cores material but that would require time, funding and expertise that is beyond even the Société’s capabilities.’ Even before publication this project has excited interest from several UK and European institutions as well the archaeological team studying the cave deposits at La Cotte de St Brelade, with whom the cores team have been working closely. Together Jersey Electricity and the Société Jersiaise have demonstrated that it is still possible for local organisations to make a significant contribution to the wider scientific world. It is hoped that the full results will be published in about a year. Thanks to assistance from JE and the voluntary nature of the work, the total coast of the project is expected to be less than £500 - a bargain, by anyone’s standards.
Project1:Layout 1 05/10/2015 06:39 Page 1
IT’S RUDE TO STARE.
RX Range from £40,097 on the road.
LEXUS JERSEY Longueville Road Garage, Longueville Road St Saviour, Jersey JE2 7SA 01534 703330
www.jersey.lexus.co.uk
RX 450h prices start from £40,097. Model shown is RX 450h Luxury £43,063.00 including complementary Design Pack at £995.00 and optional metallic paint at £508.33.
RX 450h Luxury fuel consumption and CO2 figures: urban 43.5 mpg (6.5 l/100km), extra-urban 47.1 mpg (6.0 l/100km), combined 44.8 mpg (6.3 l/100km), 145g/km CO2 Combined (24% BIK).
ROAD TEST:Layout 1 05/10/2015 15:42 Page 1
72 -
RURAL Autumn 2015
ROAD TEST:Layout 1 05/10/2015 15:42 Page 2
NO WORRY IN A QUARRY With a travel-intensive job across the rough terrain of construction sites sales manager for Ronez Ltd Paul Pinel is a good choice to put the new Lexus RX 450h through its paces AT first glance the Lexus RX is an imposing machine, much bigger than most SUVs and certainly a step up from the Audi I drive at the moment. In fact, I wondered how it would cope on some of the more narrow Jersey country lanes. Before long though, I felt right at home in what is a roomy and luxuriously comfortable five-seater family car, with its futuristic looking cockpit and carefully-designed controls, which very quickly made driving an enjoyable experience. The Lexus RH is a full hybrid luxury crossover SUV which switches to four-wheel drive for instant off-road traction. With unprecedented access to the vast Ronez quarry, which stands at 110 metres deep, I was understandably keen to put it through its paces. Producing in excess of 250,000 tonnes of aggregate each year, the quarry is entered via a steep road that leads to a series of smaller ‘haul’ roads specifically designed for 25 tonne dumpers, heavy plant, mixers and machinery. Although the roads at Ronez adhere to very strict safety guidelines, large vehicles like this hold no requirement for a completely smooth driving surface, so these lanes are made from loose aggregate, making them a real challenge for a domestic car. Through steep inclines, sandy turns and rubble covered slopes, the Lexus kept its cool, handling each obstacle with ease as I enjoyed effortless steering in the most comfortable of surroundings. Bringing momentary style to the dust-covered quarry roads and driving down to below sea level, the Lexus, at home in an off-road environment, was a pleasure to behold both from the driver’s seat and for my colleagues from the quarry edge. Although driving around the quarry was a great test of the car’s agility and off-road skill, it was important to understand how it handled in a more conventional off-road setting. As part of my daily routine, I visit a variety of building sites, which mimic the sort of terrain one could expect from a rural pursuit, perfect for completing a comprehensive test drive. Having noticed that the Lexus is altogether happier in higher gears, I approached the first site with some trepidation – would it maintain its unrivalled 4x4 standards at slower speeds?
That trepidation dissolved instantly as I drove over the first patch of uneven ground, because once again, the Lexus was in its comfort zone – effortlessly and silently working its way across rutted, loose gravel tracks. There is no doubt in my mind that the Lexus RX 450H has been engineered to deliver the very best off-roading experience, with luxury built right into the heart of each journey. Off-roading aside, driving a car like the Lexus RX begins with a steep learning curve, even for a seasoned driver of more than 30 years’ experience. With the almost silent running of the hybrid engine, a foot pedal handbrake and seemingly limited power in lower speeds, it took a few days before I truly understood how to optimise the performance of the engine. That said, even once I had grown used to the modern controls, overtaking or accelerating quickly remained near impossible perhaps the only questionable aspect to this cars performance. There is more than enough room for five adults to enjoy the fully adjustable heated front seats, dual climate control and a nine speaker audio-system – this car really does offer a comfortable drive for the whole family. Despite having to adjust my driving style to accommodate the modern technical specification of this full hybrid crossover SUV, I was completely won over by the Lexus RX and was sad to see it go at the end of my week long test drive. An ideal investment for any family keen on camping or exploring off the beaten track, the Lexus seamlessly combines 4x4 driving innovation with all the traditional must-haves of a family car. Lexus claims that this car is ‘engineered without compromise’ and after putting it through its paces across Jersey and down into the Ronez quarry, I am more than happy to agree.
RURAL Autumn 2015 - 73
MIKE AUTUMN:Layout 1 06/10/2015 08:19 Page 1
IN TUNE WITH NATURE Mike Stentiford has the last word ‘IF music be the food of life, let nature be its wine glass.’ If you’ve never heard of this quotation before, dear reader, no worries! Neither have I.
Vivaldi, too, uncovered more than a few essential secrets about the seasons and acknowledged each one, I’m sure, with a masterly nod.
Along with many other Islanders, I too, openly confess to adoring music, loving nature and, yes, offering due respect to the occasional glass of good wine.
And, although entomology had scarce relevance in the daily working lives of Rimsky-Korsakov or Ralph Vaughan Williams, bumblebees and wasps nevertheless each left a resounding mark on the respective score sheets.
Each, after all, complement one another rather splendidly, although requiring the latter in order to enjoy the former should never be regarded as essential.
Birdlife, I’m pleased to report, also appears to have fared rather well in the self-promotion stakes.
But then again, when arranged all together, they do provide a collective soothing ambiance. Which brings me nicely to the point of how nature, in all its truly remarkable imagery, has constantly left an indelible imprint on some of the finest music ever written. At what time the first eureka moment screamed out the message that nature and music were positively made for each other is neither here nor there. Suffice it to say that, once the semi-quaver had eventually dropped, Planet Earth’s astonishing diversity of landscape, seascape and the myriad natural living things that had settled into their own worldly comfort zones, composers would never again be deprived of natural inspiration. Who, for instance, could possibly doubt that Beethoven had the most intimate understanding of the landscape when composing the ‘Pastoral Symphony’?
With swans gracing the stage in ballet shoes and ascending larks performing well in the classical popularity stakes, Stravinsky’s ‘Firebird’ continues to let feathers fly in a blaze of orchestral cacophony. Far more subdued is ‘The Curlew’ that, despite not being allowed too many flights of musical fancy these days, nevertheless inspired Peter Warlock to offer a worthy description. Saint-Saens most definitely had his finger firmly on the wildlife button when he gave fourteen chosen representatives of the animal kingdom a healthy shake-up before releasing them all to ‘The Carnival of Animals’. And, although one might not consider a fish as overly inspirational, Schubert obviously had other ideas when he wrote the ‘Trout Quintet’. While ‘The Gadfly’ temporarily occupied the mind of Shostakovich, Chopin conveyed the beauty of delicate flight and colour in his ‘Butterfly Etude’. Then there are the musical pieces that, because of their slight obscurity, rarely see the wave of a conductor’s baton. Who for instance could pick up on any of the musical threads of Mussorgsky’s ‘Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks’ or hum along, perhaps, to Gershwin’s cheerful little number, ‘Walking the Dog’? But when it comes to dedication beyond the natural norm, few composers walk within the shadow of Olivier Messiaen who took his knowledge of, and passion for, ornithology to extremes. As an obsessive collector of birdsong, his three-hour long piano work ‘Catalogue d’Oiseaux’ interprets the songs and calls of no fewer than seventy-seven species of wild birds. So, as a perpetual contributor to memorable music, there’s no denying that nature, bless her, has literally ‘played’ her part with classical excellence. I’ll certainly try singing an anthem, while raising a glass, to that!
74 -
RURAL Autumn 2015
Project4:Layout 1 02/10/2015 16:14 Page 1
INVESTING IN RELATIONSHIPS GETS THE BEST OUTCOME
DON’T JUST TAKE OUR WORD FOR IT. FIND OUT MORE ABOUT OUR AWARD WINNING SERVICE. CALL TIM CHILDE HEAD OF INTERNATIONAL & JERSEY OFFICE
TEL. +44 (0)1534 506 070 OR VISIT WWW.QUILTERCHEVIOT.COM
Investors should remember that the value of investments, and the income from them, can go down as well as up. Quilter Cheviot Limited is registered in England with number 01923571. Quilter Cheviot Limited is a member of the London Stock Exchange and authorised and regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority.
AUTUMN 2015:Layout 1 02/10/2015 16:13 Page 1
Spring Flower Show - 26th & 27th March 2016 Summer Fair - 18th & 19th June 2016 Summer Flower Show - 20th & 21st August 2016 Autumn Fair - 1st & 2nd October 2016