Rural Jersey Spring 2016

SPRING COVER:Layout 1 26/02/2016 13:50 Page 1

FARMING, FOOD & FISHERIES • EQUESTRIAN & SPORT • HERITAGE & ARTS • GARDENS & NATURE RURAL - Jersey Country Life

Spring 2016 www.ruraljersey.co.uk

Issue 12 - Jersey’s rural, cultural and community magazine

GARDENS AND GARDENING Time to get into the garden – in Jersey’s private gardens and open gardens

ORGANIC FARMING AND PRODUCE FO R

DI

Je pu re rs b ey lic of C ev fo Se ount ents od e ry L , fr an pa ife om d ge M RU far 30 agaz RA mi in L – ng e

Artisan bakeries in Jersey

W Th HA e T ’ Fr fu ee tu S

www.ruraljersey.co.uk

GIVE US TODAY….

NN ER ?

Untapped potential for Jersey?

Project6:Layout 1 06/07/2015 14:45 Page 1

t: 01534 869300 e: enquiries@jerseyauctioneers.com w: www.jerseyauctioneers.com

SPRING WELCOME:Layout 1 28/02/2016 18:38 Page 1

Welcome AN important question: ‘Spring has sprung; The Grass has riz; I wonder where the birdies is?’

It could well sum up this new issue of RURAL: Item 1: Spring has sprung. In Jersey as elsewhere, it is the season for going out into the garden and making it ready for the months to come. Hardly surprising that it is the major theme of this issue: gardens, gardening, secret gardens, private gardens, garden design, open gardens, gardening clubs…And incidentally, Happy 50th Anniversary to Ransom’s Garden Centre, founded by David and Janet Ransom in 1966.

Item 2: The gras is riz: farming, and particularly organic farming is our second major theme for this issue. Considering how popular and well supported organic farming is in other parts of Europe, it seems curious that the same cannot be said in Jersey.

Item 3: I wonder where the birdies is? Well, you could always ask Mike Stentiford, who starts a new series in this issue about birds in Jersey ‘And much more…’ as the marketing people say, to attract RURAL readers And now, an equally important question: ‘What’s for dinner?’

Well, that’s always important, but apart from a personal interest in the answer the larger question is the future of farming and food production, in Jersey and worldwide.

Hence it is the title of a series of public talks by expert speakers from the UK, organised for readers of RURAL. The first of these takes place on Thursday 17th March and the speaker is Robin Page.

Regular readers will know him as a columnist; he is also the founder of the Countryside Restoration Trust, author and Daily Telegraph columnist and self-styled ‘vocal yokel’.

The theme for his talk in Jersey is: Can modern farming be combined with humanscale farms and wildlife conservation? His talk starts at 6.30 at the Royal Jersey Agricultural and Horticultural Society. It is free, but a retiring collection will be taken to help us cover our costs. . See pages 30 and 31 of this issue for more details.

Just let us know if you would like to come, so we get in a large enough stock of refreshments! Hope to see you there

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 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, 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

SALES Siobhan East siobhaneast@hotmail.com 07797 726811

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

GARDENS AND GARDENING Time to get into the garden – in Jersey’s private gardens and open gardens

ORGANIC FARMING AND PRODUCE FO R

W H e AT ’S Th

Artisan bakeries in Jersey

DI

GIVE US TODAY….

Fre fu tu Je e pu re rs b ey lic of C ev fo Se ountr ents od e y L , fr an pa ife om d ge M RU far 30 agaz RA min in L – g e

NN ER ?

Untapped potential for Jersey?

Front cover image: by Kelly Gleave

CONTENTS SPRING:Layout 1 29/02/2016 13:13 Page 1

10 22 36

Contents 7

‘THE ISSUE’

8

THE JERSEY SALAMAGUNDI An assortment of ingredients of life in Jersey SPECIAL THEME: GARDENS AND GARDENING

10 - 13

4-

THE MINDFUL GARDEN Finding your garden paradise is easier than you might think, says Rebecca Ransom

24

CARROTS WITHOUT TEARS Want help with growing fruit and vegetables?

Ask the Jersey Association of the National Vegetable Society

32

NOU DAIT SÈRCLIER SAN GARDÎN Jèrriais, with Geraint Jennings

OPEN GARDENS IN 2016 Another season of visiting glorious secret gardens, By Ruth Le Cocq

14

THE SECRET GARDEN Ruth Le Cocq searches for her own secret garden – hard to find after the winter season

17

THE TULIP, THE KING OF SPRING Hans van Oordt on tulips for spectacular spring borders

18 - 19

RANSOM’S GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY Samuel Masters talks to David and Janet Ransom on the 50th anniversary of the business they founded in 1966

20 - 21

22 - 23

LOOKING GOOD IN THE GARDEN Profile of the Jersey Gardening Club, by its chairman, Jennifer Rendell

RURAL Spring 2016

SPECIAL THEME: ORGANIC FARMING 34 - 35

FRESH FROM THE FARM Profile by Ruth Le Cocq of ‘Farm Fresh Organics’, run by Steve and Linda Carter

36 - 37

BEYOND ORGANIC Glyn Mitchell has dirty thoughts (about soil)

38

ORIGINS OF ORGANIC The rise of the organic philosophy, by Brian Adair

40

TIME TO TREAT THE PATIENT Organics have resulted in an expanding market worldwide – but not in Jersey. By Dr Mark Forskitt.

63

THE FLATCAP COLUMN Has organic’s bubble burst?

CONTENTS SPRING:Layout 1 29/02/2016 13:13 Page 2

42

59

42 - 45

GIVE US TODAY OUR DAILY BREAD Start of a new series on Jersey’s artisan bakers,

by Kieranne Grimshaw

46

BERNIE’S TREATS Yummy treats for the discerning dog

48 - 49

ART, INSPIRED BY NATURE By our artist in residence, Anna Le Moine Gray

50

IN THE TIME BEFORE MOBILE PHONES Tessa Coleman previews ‘Relatively Speaking’, the last Jack Higgins production

51

DOES THE RECTOR OF ST BRELADE BELIEVE IN FAIRIES? …or even in Iolanthe? Michael Blackie poses the question

66 58

THE 2016 RACE SEASON A new season begins, by John Henwood

59 - 61

SHETLAND IN JERSEY Little ponies from the far north in the deep south

62

A JOURNEY BEYOND EPIC The wonders of bird migration, by Mike Stentiford

64

FARM JERSEY Lyndon Farnham’s new body to promote Jersey agriculture

66

SEEDS TO RECOVERY How birds benefit from the Howard Davis Farm Trust, by Mike Stentiford

68

STRIKING THE RIGHT BALANCEE Development in the Coastal National Park,

by Advocate Samantha Hoare

70 - 71

A LETTER FROM ALDERNEY By former Jersey Deputy John Young, currently working in Alderney

52 - 53

LE CAPELAIN - LA POESIE D’UNE ILE L’art de Jean Capelain, par Anna Le Moine Gray

54

THE JERSEY HOARD Review of book by Richard Miles and Reg Meade

56

NATURE HAS ALL THE ANSWERS A new series on natural health, by Diana Mossop

72 - 73

4x4 = DACIA The new Dacia Duster, by Steve Picot

57

YOU ARE THE COLOURS YOU CHOOSE The message of Aura Soma, the therapy practised

by Eileen Holland

74

KEEPING DOWN APPEARANCES Mike Stentiford has the last word

CONTRIBUTORS

70

BRIAN ADAIR MICHAEL BLACKIE TESSA COLEMAN MARK FORSKITT KIERANNE GRIMSHAW JOHN HENWOOD SAMANTHA HOARE GERAINT JENNINGS RUTH LE COCQ

ANNA LE MOINE GRAY GLYN MITCHELL DIANA MOSSOP HANS VAN OORDT STEVE PICOT REBECCA RANSOM JENNIFER RENDELL MIKE STENTIFORD JOHN YOUNG

RURAL Spring 2016 - 5

SPRING 2016:Layout 1 28/02/2016 14:54 Page 1

vispring promotion

25% oFF

pLUs

£250

aLL BED orDErs

oF BED LinEn or CUsHions W i t H E v E rY v i s p r i n g o r D E r

promotion available for a limited time only. offer cannot be exchanged for cash. terms and conditions apply.

Handmade like no other bed

vispring C a r r e f o u r s e l o u s , s t L a w r e n c e | te l e p h o n e 8 6 5 9 6 5 E m a i l : s a l e s @ d a v i d h i c k . c o | vi s i t : w w w. d a v i d h i c k . c o o p e n tu e s t o s a t 9 . 3 0 a m - 5 . 0 0 p m , l a t e n i g h t t h u r s u n t i l 6 . 3 0 p m

THE ISSUE SPRING:Layout 1 28/02/2016 14:56 Page 1

The Issue IT’S a simple enough question to ask of anyone living in a small island: where, in Jersey, would you imagine spending the majority of your leisure time?

Notwithstanding age, ability or choice of interests, the majority of answers would likely be ‘the coastline’.

Additionally, if every outlet of commerce, agriculture and dairy farming contained within the Island’s four distinct areas of coastline were also included, something very special quickly becomes identified.

Accepting the significant and intrinsic value of our coastline lay at the heart of a States of Jersey decision, in 2009, to pursue the concept of a Jersey Coastal National Park.

Following a series of public consultations involving ‘stake-holders’ and other interested parties, the ‘park’ finally gained official recognition within the 2011 Island Plan.

Covering some 16% in land mass – just over 10,700 vergées or 4,750 acres - the designated areas seek to offer full and robust protection against inappropriate development.

The designated areas encompass the south-facing headlands of Noirmont, Portelet, Beauport and La Corbière; the majority of coastline along Jersey’s north coast and, in the east, selected parts of St Catherine’s and ecologically important sections of Grouville Bay. By far the largest area of protected landscape however, is the entire sweep of St Ouen’s Bay. Also included within the protected coastal zones are the offshore reefs of Les Ecréhous, Les Minquiers and the Paternosters.

Today’s obvious appeal of our dramatic coastline is a direct result of natural forces and thousands of years of human activity, particularly in respect of farming.

It has to be recognised, however, that the JCNP, far from being a sterile museum piece, is an environment where the economic and social wellbeing of local communities is of paramount importance.

By promoting sporting activities and encouraging ‘spiritual wellbeing’, the evidence of major financial advantages to Jersey’s hard pressed health budgets should be recognised and appreciated.

In other words, it does not present another bureaucratic hurdle in respect of over-zealous planning control - it is a living, vibrant, working environment.

There is also huge potential to attract new visitors to the Island thereby offering significant financial opportunities for Visit Jersey when marketed in an innovative manner.

Invited by the States of Jersey to raise awareness and to nurture public support for this initiative is the JCNP Interim Working Group, a small faction that evolved following three public workshops held in 2014. This voluntary body includes experienced representatives from the business community, marketing professionals and experts in the field of sport, agriculture, tourism, heritage and environment.

In addition to delivering a management /business plan, the working group has, with modest funding from the States of Jersey grants scheme, also created a brand identity and formulated plans for an official JCNP launch in early 2016.

The results of this initiative have been loosely based on the Scottish National Park model.

These aims are to conserve and enhance the natural and cultural heritage of the park while promoting sustainable use of its natural resources.

Other relevant aims and opportunities are to foster positive links between the farming community, land owners and residents within the park itself.

In generating best environmental practices, protected sites within the ‘park’ will also prove of obvious ecological benefit.

Of further importance is the promotion of a better public understanding of the special qualities of the coastal landscape and of the recreational opportunities such landscape provides.

Quite simply, a National Park status should support effectively the conservation and enhancement of the Island’s natural beauty, its wildlife and its culture heritage.

Indeed, investigating scores of obvious opportunities and developing a more intimate understanding of the park’s special qualities have been foremost in the aspirations of the Interim Working Group.

In the broadest of terms, the Jersey Coastal National Park might best be likened to a ‘Peoples Charter’ as opposed to one under strict government control.

‘Pride in Jersey’ is something frequently discussed and enjoined upon us, but ‘pride’ in one’s homeland is not a fashionable quality in this blighted modern and modernist age. How to enhance public pride in our Island home, in a way that does not invite ridicule or controversy? That is perhaps an issue for our time.

It is the determined and ultimate hope of the Interim Working Group that, by embracing this ability to enjoy its countless attributes, public pride in everything Jersey and its National Park has to offer will continue to increase even further, in a most welcome counter-cultural tendency.

RURAL Spring 2016 - 7

SPRING SALMAGUNDI:Layout 1 29/02/2016 13:20 Page 1

THE JERSEY SALMAGUNDI

ROYAL PROGRESS WILLIAM CHURCH, sales and marketing director of the Jersey Royal Company, has reported on the start of the season: ‘As has been well-documented, this January was the wettest since records began, but in spite of that growers have made steady progress to date.

‘The early côtils drain well and they have all been planted, and activity has moved onto free-draining flatter land.

Temperatures have been mild and so all the potatoes planted to date should get a good start. There is a long way to go though, and the success of the season will hinge on an improvement in weather to keep on top of planting and then, more crucially a good May and June to encourage sales.

‘Indoor crops that were planted before Christmas have grown well, and the first few were lifted ahead of schedule for export to the wholesale market in the week commencing Monday 8th February. Following an earlier trip around the markets to meet with key wholesalers, it is clear that there is still a keen interest in our iconic potato and so we look forward to seeing the season unfold.

‘This year as part of the generic marketing campaign we are working with Jimmy Doherty of ‘Jimmy’s farm’ fame to promote Jersey Royals to a wider audience. There will be a steady stream of coverage aimed at encouraging journalists and other influencers to talk about Jersey Royals, and as part of this Jimmy has developed a range of easyto-cook recipes that will feature at a hosted dinner party event in April.’

8-

RURAL Spring 2016

Cumin roasted Jersey Royals

SPRING SALMAGUNDI:Layout 1 29/02/2016 13:20 Page 2

WHO IS DOG OF THE YEAR? This Year the Kennel Club Of Jersey were privileged to have their Patron, Lieut-Governor General Sir John McColl and Lady McColl, attend the Show and present the winners with their trophies and rosettes.

The overall Channel Island Dog of the Year was awarded to Jersey Kennel Club member, Mr Chris Cullen and his stunning Border Collie Dog, Jersey Champion Tonkory Xaminer.

Lieut-Governor Sir John McColl with prize winners and Jersey Kennel Club committee members

THE Kennel Club of Jersey hosted the 28th Channel Island Dog of the Year Show on 20 February. The day consisted of a morning event – the Obedience Dog of the Year competition and the afternoon was given over to Breed judging to select the outright winner of Channel Island Dog of the Year 2015.

Judging for Obedience was done by Mrs Kathleen Hood and the Breed Judging was undertaken by Mrs Pam Blay, both of whom had been flown in from the UK especially for the event.

Chris Cullen and the 'Dog of the Year', Jersey championTonkory Xaminer

Other winners were: ‘Puppy of the Year’ - Petranella Jersey Boy at Tiroen owned and shown by Nigel and Ro Cox (Jsy).

‘Veteran of the Year’ – Forepaws Gift of Gold (Shih Tzu) owned and shown by Mrs J Girard (Gsy) ‘Brace of the Year’ – Dacfolke Alexandrite & Ulmarra Bollinger (Salukis) owned and shown by Mrs W Marshall (Gsy) & Mr S Mottershaw (Jsy)

All dogs invited to take part had previously qualified by winning either their Group at a Jersey (or Guernsey) Open, Members or Championship Show. Or, in respect of the Obedience competition, they had previously qualified at a Dog of the Year Qualifying Show for Obedience held during 2015.

This ensured that all dogs taking part were already winners in their own right, and the Dog of the Year Show brought together the crème de la crème to compete head to head for this prestigious title, in effect making the event the Channel Islands’ own version of Crufts!

The ‘Agility’ Channel Island Dog of the Year Finals will be held later this year during the RJA&HS 150th Celebration of the Jersey Herd on 18 June 2016. Once again it will bring together competitors from both Jersey and Guernsey to compete head-to-head to take the Agility title.

If you are interested in knowing more about ‘Showing your dog’ or would like to involved with training your dog to take part in future Obedience and Agility Shows, then contact showsecretary@kennelclub.org.je

RURAL Spring 2016 - 9

OPEN GARDENS:Layout 1 28/02/2016 15:00 Page 1

The stream-filled pond at Oaklands, St Peter.

OPEN GARDENS

in 2016

Every spring and early summer, some of Jersey’s finest gardens open their gates to visitors in aid of the Jersey Association for Youth and Friendship.

This year, there will be six gardens open to the public. Report by RUTH LE COCQ

10 -

RURAL Spring 2016

OPEN GARDENS:Layout 1 28/02/2016 15:00 Page 2

GARDEN enthusiasts can explore the grounds and woodlands of six privatelyowned residences in Jersey during 2016 while supporting the Jersey Association for Youth and Friendship.

The 2016 season begins in April when three spring gardens can be visited.

On Sunday 10 April, the five-acre garden at Le Coin, Le Mont du Coin, St Brelade will be open. The avenue of magnolias, numerous camellias together with other spring shrubs should just be coming into flower.

On Sunday 17 April, the grounds of Domaine des Vaux, La Rue de Bas, St Lawrence, with its valley planted with camellias and native and species trees, including magnolias, will be open. Grassy banks are carpeted with primroses during the spring and there is a formal herb garden, greenhouse and vegetable garden.

On 24 April the gardens of Oaklands, Le Rue d’Elysée, St Peter, will showcase a large collection of camellias and many rare and unusual trees. The owners, who are keen to attract birds and insects, have created paths through a woodland area and a new orchard with fruit and nut trees has been planted.

For the first time in many years the gardens of Westward, La Marquanderie Hill, St Brelade, will be open to the public on Sunday 12 June, having been completely redesigned and replanted by Mr and Mrs Carmichael-Jennings. The house, which is set against a rugged cliff in the heart of St Brelade’s Bay, has an expansive lawn with a large pond where a variety of wildfowl have made their home.

Later in June, on Sunday 26th, it is the turn of Beau Désert, La Rue de la Garenne, Trinity, where visitors will be able to enjoy taking a hidden woodland walk while appreciating the small lake and stream, which are part of the extensive grounds.

The main garden has island beds planted with trees, shrubs and herbaceous perennials while near the house is box-hedged parterre, containing potted herbs, and a sun terrace – all at its best in midsummer.

Finally, on 14 July, the gardens of Sion Hall Farm, La Rue de St Thomas, St Saviour, will be open to the public. Visitors can sit on garden benches while enjoying their surroundings, which include two spring-fed ponds, a valley planted with 200 trees and an apple orchard and wildflower area.

JAYF have been running the Open Garden Season for over 40 years and it is the main source of fundraising for the charity. Rachel Andrews, the Chairman of the JAYF Appeals Committee, said: ‘We have a loyal band of garden owners who kindly allow us to open their grounds to the public but we are always keen to welcome any new participants to the scheme.’

Mrs Andrews explained JAYF has a team of experienced helpers who follow guidelines to ensure each open garden afternoon runs smoothly.

Cream teas are served at every garden this year and have a firm following with delicious clotted cream donated by Classic Herd, St Peter.

‘We really do serve a Genuine Jersey Cream Tea after our visitors have enjoyed these wonderful gardens,’ said Mrs Andrews, with a smile.

Visitors enjoying cream teas at Beau Desert, Trinity.

The greenhouse and vegetable garden at Domaine des Vaux, St Lawrence.

RURAL Spring 2016 - 11

OPEN GARDENS:Layout 1 28/02/2016 15:00 Page 3

A WIDER range of young people with nowhere to live is being supported by the Jersey Association for Youth and Friendship which has extended its help to include those up to the age of 25.

The charitable organisation, which has provided accommodation for 16 to 22-year-olds since its inception in the Sixties, has four hostels providing bedsits for up to 30 young people, who are homeless through no fault of their own while they plan for the future.

JAYF Chairman, Celia Jeune, explained that the charity is continually updating and refurbishing the properties to ensure their residents have the facilities they require to make the most of their lives.

‘Needs have changed over the years,’ said Mrs Jeune, ‘as has the type of accommodation but JAYF still provides a vital role in providing a home for those youngsters who find themselves on their own in circumstances beyond their control and often been denied normal family life.’

She added that each hostel has its own caretaker and a full-time counsellor is available to provide emotional support, help with employment and advice on training and education.

‘We also encourage the youngsters to become involved in where they live which helps to create a lovely atmosphere in the communal rooms.’

JAYF’s Fundraising Committee runs three annual events to go towards paying for the maintenance of the charity’s existing buildings and refurbishment costs. These are an open garden scheme during the summer, a sponsored horse ride in the autumn, and a lunch and an afternoon of bridge in late November.

‘Money is always needed for ongoing projects such as redecoration,’ said Mrs Jeune, whose late husband, Richard, was a former JAYF chairman as was his father, the late Senator Reg Jeune, before him.

The five-acre gardens at Le Coin, St Brelade.

‘And we rely almost entirely on funds raised within the Island,’ she added.

However, like the ‘formidable’ ladies – the late Bianca, Countess of Jersey, and Mrs Vi Lort Phillips - who launched the charity after listening to a talk by a visiting London Stipendiary Magistrate, Mrs Jeune firmly believes that: ‘When things are tough, with the right support, life can get better.’

The redesigned gardens at Westward, St Brelade.

12 -

RURAL Spring 2016

OPEN GARDENS:Layout 1 28/02/2016 15:00 Page 4

OPEN GARDENS in 2016 Open 2pm-5pm. Admission £3.00.

Children under 12 are free. No dogs allowed.

Free parking. The route for each garden will be signposted at nearby junctions on the day.

Contact: Rachel Andrews 07797 718592.

Website: www.facebook/JAYF Gardens

Sunday 10th April Le Coin, Le Mont du Coin, St Brelade, JE3 8BE, by kind permission of Lady Cook. Cream Teas.

Sunday 17th April Domaine des Vaux, La Rue de Bas, St Lawrence, JE3 1JG, by kind permission of Mr and Mrs M Binney. A wildlife walk will be led

by Neil and Alli, Birding Tours (Jersey) at 3pm.

Cream Teas and Plant Stall.

Sunday 24th April Oaklands, Le Rue d’Elysée, St Peter, JE3 7DT, by kind permission of Mrs E Bonn. Cream Teas.

Sunday 12th June Westward, La Marquanderie Hill, St Brelade, JE3 8EP, by kind permission of Mr and Mrs Carmichael-Jennings. Cream Teas.

Sunday 26th June Beau Désert, La Rue de la Garenne, Trinity, JE3 5FE, by kind permission of Mr and Mrs M Crane. Cream Teas.

Sunday 24th July Sion Hall Farm, La Rue St Thomas, St Saviour, JE2 7SS, by kind permission of Mr and Mrs J Langlois. Cream Teas.

RURAL Spring 2016 - 13

SECRET GARDEN SPRING:Layout 1 28/02/2016 15:02 Page 1

The Secret Garden It’s secret, because you can’t see it - either because of the winter storms, or because it’s under last year’s dead leaves or this season’s weeds. RUTH LE COCQ tries to find her own secret garden

I keep looking, but I can’t find them. The thing is, I know they are there because I only planted them last spring and I was assured that they could be grown in any garden – even mine.

‘They will multiply to form large colonies and drifts,’ I was told.

‘They may appear fragile, but these winter beauties originate from harsh mountain climates and show remarkable fortitude, pushing their tough shoots through cold and frosty ground in the new year – even through blankets of snow.’

Well, that sounded like a promising prospect and, as the Island hasn’t seen any snow as yet this winter, I assumed, not unreasonably, that those so-called ‘winter beauties’ - which seem to be thriving in ‘large colonies and drifts’ in just about every hedgerow in Jersey at the moment - would be doing the same in my back garden.

I ventured forth, braving the wind and the rain accompanying Storm Imogen, and I did feel a tad optimistic, although I also tried hard not to notice the squelching sound underfoot as the sodden ground moaned in protest at being walked upon.

Carefully, I inspected the area where I reckoned I would see a display of ‘remarkable fortitude’.

It was sadly lacking. I looked left, I looked right, I looked straight ahead but, even though I crouched down to peer more closely at the ground, for some inexplicable reason, the snowdrops in my garden seem to have deserted me. Well, that’s not entirely true because, on my weary way back to the house, I did happen to notice one rather lonely looking specimen growing forlornly where I hadn’t planted it at all. Fortitude indeed.

However, there is some good news. Just about every other flower connected with the arrival of spring is thriving – camellias, daffodils, primroses, crocuses and even an array of bright green shoots, heralding the imminent blooming of a sea of bluebells.

14 -

RURAL Spring 2016

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

SECRET GARDEN SPRING:Layout 1 28/02/2016 15:02 Page 2

This is, in part, I’m afraid to say, because I bowed to the inevitable and paid for a team of hardy souls to go into battle and wreak havoc by attacking the pernicious ivy in those places in the garden where even I feared to tread.

Fortitude indeed - but, in this case, not mine.

This means I have been able to turn my attention to one of the most important tasks of the year – the ceremonious planting of a few Jersey Royal potatoes. While it’s true to say, I haven’t managed to plant new potatoes in my garden every year, I am making a real effort to do so this time because these are not your average, bog standard, Jersey Royals – these are rather special.

At one point I started to wonder if I had my own personal black raincloud hovering over the garden but, judging by the number of sodden banks sliding into the lanes all over the Island, I’m guessing the universe is not singling me out for any special attention.

And so, while I am still waiting for a dry day to get planting, I have decided to tackle the contents of the garden shed, which seems to have taken on a life all of its own. Over the years, I have inherited various tools and objects – some of which look remarkably like instruments of torture. Hopefully, I will emerge, in the not-too-distant future, still in one piece – but don’t hold your breath!

The seed potatoes, which are about to nestle in my newly dug-over soil, have been nurtured for generations by the farming family who live nearby. This year the grower is selling them by the box to anyone who wants to compare the tantalizing taste of freshly dug, lightly boiled Jersey Royals with the ones wrapped in plastic bags and piled high on the Island’s supermarket shelves. I know which ones I would rather be smothering with Jersey butter and serving with mint.

But there is a long way to go before those particular beauties start making an appearance, especially if I keep having to spend my time ducking and diving in and out of the garden shed to avoid the rain that seems to have become a permanent visitor since the beginning of the New Year.

Pictures by Kelly Gleave 16 -

RURAL Spring 2016

HANS VAN OORDT:Layout 1 28/02/2016 15:05 Page 1

THE TULIP – THE KING OF SPRING Garden designer Hans van Oordt chooses tulips for spectacular spring borders LOOKING out at the wind-lashed and sodden borders of January and February, it is sometimes hard to believe that vivid colours will soon come bursting forth celebrating the arrival of spring. From March to May, tulips in every colour and size will flower in the gently warming soil.

A bold drift of tulips is a gladdening sight. It is not just the colour they bring, marking the end of the drab winter border, it is also the signal of much more to come - the promise of early summer. Tulips are special.

When I design a border I think of the plant compositions in terms of layers.

There is the top layer comprising trees and taller, structural elements. Then there is the mid layer filled mostly by shrubs and grasses. Finally, there is the lower storey where the perennials dominate.

But there is a timing issue. Most herbaceous perennials don’t get going until early summer, leaving an empty space in spring. Enter the tulip. With a multitude of varieties, colours and sizes, tulips are the ideal plant to fill this gap, providing colour throughout the spring.

The intense and rich hues of red and purple are favourites of mine. There is much pleasure to be gained trying combinations of single colours. I enjoy pairing the deep red Tulip ‘Couleur Cardinal’ with the purple Tulip ‘Negrita’. Adding the inky, almost black Tulip ‘Queen of the Night’ adds another layer of complexity to this rich palette of jewel-like colours.

Tulips associate very well with other favourites of the spring border. A newlyleaved Japanese Acer will always associate well with intensely coloured tulips.

Try combining with the elegant, red Tulip ‘Ile de France’ and the inky-purple Tulip ‘Havran’.

Euphorbias are also firm favourites of the spring border. A very useful evergreen shrub, the acid-yellow bracts of Euphorbias look sensational paired with contrasting red and purple tulips.

Azaleas, particularly the dwarf evergreen varieties, are also great with tulips.

The white, pink and purple flowering Azaleas can be beautifully paired with white tulips (try ‘White Triumphator’) or any of the many pink tulips (try ‘Shirley’).

I also like to under-plant a blossoming Amelanchier tree, resplendent in white blossom, with a drift of tulips. Try contrasting colours, or go for Tulips in soft pastel shades.

For maximum impact, I like to plant tulips in large numbers. Don’t buy 10 at a time, think one hundred at a time - of a single colour. Plant them in loud and unashamed drifts. Plant the bulbs in a naturalistic, irregular pattern avoiding straight lines. I try to create bold drifts and repeat them. The effect is to create a visual rhythm with repeated splashes of same colour trailing through the borders.

Finally, I like to under-plant tulips with annual sky blue Forget-me-nots. The tiny sky blue flowers complement any tulip. Alternatively, use Brunnera macrophylla, a perennial with forget-me-not like flowers which also serves as good ground cover. There is also a much daintier variety, Brunnera macrophylla ‘Jack Frost’, with the same blue flowers but beautifully variegated leaves.

So, if you are looking at your borders and feel they need a spring-time lift, make sure to plan ahead and get those tulip bulbs planted next October! *All gardens and pictures by Hans van Oordt.

RURAL Spring 2016 - 17

RANSOMS:Layout 1 28/02/2016 15:10 Page 1

RANSOM’S GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY 2016 marks the half century of what is now the Island’s biggest family-owned garden centre. The founders, David and Janet Ransom, spoke to SAMUEL MASTERS

18 -

RURAL Spring 2016

The Ransom family, from left to right: Sarah, Rebecca, David and Janet, Katherine

RANSOMS:Layout 1 28/02/2016 15:10 Page 2

spied an opportunity. When Janet’s parents Fred and Alice Sales moved to Jersey in the early 60’s, they brought with them their commercial acumen, and a plan was hatched to start a business selling a comprehensive range of garden supplies, and plants, trees and shrubs grown in containers.

The garden centre in what is now the tearooms THERE’S a bit of banter going on – David and Janet Ransom sit in the meeting room at the garden centre they started in Jersey 50 years ago. They are reminiscing, contradicting, agreeing and chuckling about the business that has been their lives for half a century.

They met in the 1950s when David, who had followed in his father Donald’s footsteps, was studying horticulture at Kew. One of David’s classmates was Janet’s brother and after finishing his studies in 1959, David set off across the Atlantic to join her in New York, where they married on Christmas Day. At first they lived, appropriately enough, in New Jersey before packing up their things and heading off in an Oldsmobile on an adventure across the United States. When they reached land’s end on the west coast, David found work in a nursery near Longbeach, California.

It was a small business but it gave David a big idea. He was intrigued that they were growing plants in tin containers, enabling them to sell products all year round instead of in the narrow autumn to spring window adopted by most British nurseries.

When the California business folded, David and Janet decided to head home to the UK. Their eldest daughter, Katherine, was born in London, and shortly afterwards David brought his young wife and baby daughter home to Jersey.

His father was keen for David to join his landscaping business, but the young couple had a yearning to experiment with an idea for a business that had been planted while in California.

At that time there were about a dozen nurseries in Jersey, but no garden centres. In fact there were only a few garden centres in the whole of the British Isles and David and Janet

David Ransom as a student at Kew

Together they bought Grasford, a 15th Century farmhouse at Faldouet with 37 vergées of land. They moved in on their wedding anniversary – Christmas Day 1965 and in May 1966 opened their doors for business. The couple had little but their own optimism and passion to establish the business and for the first three years it was really tough. Not only were they trying to grow the business, their family was blossoming with the arrival of Rebecca, Sarah and James.

Some people thought they were mad, claiming Faldouet to be as distant as the North Pole, but gradually they built a steady flow of business and a loyal customer base. The couple worked throughout the day, opening for longer than their competitors and on Saturdays. After putting the children to bed they would spend from six until ten every night potting up plants.

It was hard work laced with fun. They motivated each other through difficult times and big decisions, such as the investment in the modern garden centre we know today.

As they sit reminiscing, it is impossible to resist the warmth that they exude, trumping each other with tales of characterful customers and buying trips the length of the UK. The passion and values that David and Janet had when they started the business are still very evident today, propagated by their three daughters, who have taken on the mantle of directing the business through its next chapter. Katherine looks after the administration of the business, overseeing buying in the UK and Europe and running the Potting Shed, which stocks a unique range of gifts and luxury items. Sarah trained as a Patissier and having worked all over the world, started the Ransom’s Tearooms in 1992 with her mother, who is a trained chef; Rebecca followed her grandfather, father and maternal uncle to Kew and now looks after the horticultural side of the business. James has also got green fingers and has established his own independent company.

While the family has remained the constant force behind Ransoms, the business itself has transformed enormously as customer buying habits and lifestyles have changed.

But you get the feeling that the original dream to innovate and push the boundaries of what’s possible is as strong and consistent as ever it was.

Wedding day, David and Janet, Christmas 1959

GARDENING CLUB:Layout 1 28/02/2016 15:18 Page 1

Pipe plant, grown by Jersey Gardening Club member Pam Laurens

LOOKING GOOD IN THE GARDEN

David Turner - Le Seelleur Rose Bowl winner 2015

- That is the name of one of the competitions and activities of the Jersey Gardening Club – an active and friendly club for plant enthusiasts. Club profile by its president and chairman, Jennifer Rendell, and committee members Pam Laurens and Pat Jackson THE Jersey Gardening Club comprises around 100 members of all ages and gardening knowledge. It’s a friendly club of plant enthusiasts whose members grow seeds and take cuttings, and bring surplus plants, gardening gear, books and preserves to meetings.

Members look after all kinds of plants from “birth to death” – the plants ranging from minute alpines to annuals/perennials to trees and shrubs

20 -

RURAL

A fun competition that we call ‘Looking Good in the Garden’ is held most months. Members look in their garden, greenhouse or home for a plant or cut flowers that are in bloom or look unusual and bring them along on the evening and put them on the competition table. During the evening everyone has the opportunity to judging the one they think is best by placing a bead by the Spring 2016

exhibit. The exhibit with the most beads is awarded 5 points, the second place entry receives 3 points, and the third place, one point, At the end of the year the member who has gained the most points during the year is awarded a cup to hold for a year. It is a bit of fun, nothing serious but it is interesting to see the different plants and flowers that come along.

In June we hold a competition for rose stems only, and in September it is our Grow and Show competition. This is a small show with a variety of classes so as many members can have a chance to enter. There are vegetable, fruit, cut flower, plant classes etc. with prizes for all the winners.

This year, a new competition is being tried out in March, when members have been asked to grow a hyacinth either in a special container holding water or grown in a pot. We’re hoping that we shall see many hyacinths in different shades of pink, white, blue, mauve etc. on the night!

Monthly speakers are invited from Jersey and abroad to give advice on how to cope with plant growing and related diseases; also information about overseas gardens and shows.

GARDENING CLUB:Layout 1 28/02/2016 15:18 Page 2

Members at our May 2015 meeting Mainland speakers bring information regarding specialist fields of horticulture or special gardens. It also gives the club the opportunity to show visiting speakers that Jersey has many amazing gardens.

The Jersey Gardening Club has affiliations with both local clubs eg. The Camellia Society and the Royal Jersey Agricultural and Horticultural Society, and mainland Horticultural organisations such as Kew, and these bring various benefits to members.

Any enthusiastic gardeners are welcome to attend any meetings. If you have never been to one of our evenings please come along, it is low key, fun and a great social night out. We always have a speaker and a variety of topics are covered throughout the year, tea and coffee is served mid evening and a raffle is held to round off the night.

Non members and guests are welcome to come along for a modest entry fee of £3 per person. *Membership is £15 for a single person and £25 for joint membership (at the same address).

Your legacy is our future

*For a copy of our 2016 schedule of meetings, please contact me, Jennifer Rendell, either by email:jennniferrendell58@gmail.com or by mail to 1 Canada Close, La Chasse, St Helier, JE2 4UE

**We hope to see you at our meetings!

The club meets every third Tuesday of the month at St Lawrence Parish Hall, 7.30pm for an 8pm start.

Our next few meetings: Tuesday 15 March: Well-known and respected ‘birdman’ Mike Stentiford MBE will give an illustrated talk on ‘Going wild in the garden!’

Tuesday 19 April: Kew trained Bruce Labey, founder of The Jersey Botanical Garden Trust, will present an illustrated talk entitled ‘The Island of Flowers, - A Garden of Islands’.

Tuesday 17th May: John Woods of the National Gardening Society & Secretary of Manchester and Cheshire District Association will share his knowledge with an illustrated talk on ‘Growing & Showing Vegetables’.

If you have ever loved an animal you will know how important their health is. Everything the Animal Health Trust does has the health and welfare of companion animals at its heart.

Thanks to previous legacy gifts, the AHT is constantly finding new ways to prevent and reduce the suffering of present and future generations.

To receive the AHT’s Legacy Pack please call: 01638 555648 or email us: legacies@aht.org.uk or visit us online: www.aht.org.uk Registered charity no. 209642

REBECCA RANSOM:Layout 1 28/02/2016 15:22 Page 1

THE MINDFUL GARDEN Finding your own outdoor paradise is easier than you think, says expert gardener REBECCA RANSOM WHEN planning your garden, you do need to understand one simple thing - your garden is already perfect.

Nature will happily supply you with plants that are perfect for your garden without you having to lift a finger, but these may not always be a style choice. So, as a gardener and homeowner I would like to introduce you to a whole new concept of gardening (stolen partly from fashionable health speak and partly from the fact that it fits this purpose) – ‘Mindful Gardening’.

Your house and your garden are part of a larger environment, which is part of an island made up of granite and granite like rock, although the middle of the Island is shale, surrounded by some sand and marsh. The Island is higher in the north with dramatic coastal cliffs and slopes to the south, east and west with several valleys and smaller valleys creasing the composition.

This is your Island – your greater environment is dictated by elevation as well as soil types, from clay to clay silt, sand and sand silt. If you are not already mindful of your Island and your garden you need to understand that the plants already are – a plant that is forced to live outside of the environment to which it was adapted will, quite simply, not thrive.

Each garden has a different situation - those on the edges of the Island will be blustery gardens with thinner soils, unless protected by other buildings, hedges or screens. Those in the valleys will be protected, deeper soils, but have less light. Those in town in the built up areas can be warmer and shadier at the same time, but can have their own little wind gullies.

In fact each garden can also differ dramatically inside of its own boundaries – you will have your own sunny, shady, dry, damp and impossible areas - and that is the joy of gardening. However, nature has created plants to boom and bloom in almost all of those unique, extreme and sheltered areas.

Plants that adore the sun and a free draining but not sandy soil 22 -

RURAL Spring 2016

This is how you can practice mindfulness when planning your garden: stand in your garden and ignore everything

REBECCA RANSOM:Layout 1 28/02/2016 15:23 Page 2

You can pull any mix of plants together with a strong focal point

else apart from the garden. Do not have any plans, hopes or decisions made at all at this point, just consider the area and focus. Your garden will unfold for you in your thoughts - is it an open site, shady, windy or calm? Is the base of the fence sunny or shady? Is the soil clay, sandy, silty, wet or dry? Are you by the sea or in a valley? Are you in the country or in the town? In a smaller garden consider the space in metre blocks, in larger gardens use three metre blocks. Become aware of all the plants that are thriving and those that are struggling.

Note down these distinct environments and describe them to yourself – ‘a sunny site with free draining soil - or windy and open – or a shady dry area under a tree…. and so on – and then you do your Internet research: type in ‘plant for sunny site,’ ‘sandy dry soil’, or ‘wind tolerant’, and add the word UK or Europe. Check heights and spreads of each plant and whether it fits your ideal plant and plan. If none of the plants fit your fantasy garden then it is your dream garden that is wrong, not the garden that you own.

This is how you start to create a mindful planting list.

Revisit and sit in your garden many times, because you may

Echium fastuosum is ideal for poor dry soils with lots of sun

find more answers and as the garden grows, so the environment changes.

Sometimes you come to understand that you do not need to change anything at all: it is already perfect, or only the subtlest tweak can make the greatest change.

Have a good look at what nature has already produced in your area, quite often it has shown you the master strokes of a perfect garden already. Drive around Jersey and see the Sea Thrift by the sea (Armeria), the gorse growing on the high cliffs, the foxgloves and the ferns in the valleys. The environment does talk to us - just not in words.

Derek Jarman created a perfect and mindful garden at Prospect Cottage, Dungeness, that breathes with the surrounding area. Allow your plants to rest, grow and be content in the soils they know and the environments they are happy with.

You can add fun, dimension, views and vistas in many other ways to a garden that is at peace with itself.

The Japanese Maple needs a protected sight away from the burning sun

RURAL Spring 2016 - 23

NATIONAL VEG:Layout 1 28/02/2016 15:24 Page 1

Carrots without tears

Have you ever fancied growing your own fruit and vegetables but you don’t know where to start? Fear not, because the Jersey Association of the National Vegetable Society (JANVS) wants to hear from you!

A WEEK-END of fun activities is planned at Les Creux Bowls Club, La Moye, from 10am to 4pm, to tempt adults and children to test their green fingers. It begins on Saturday 19 March with a fun carrot-growing workshop to help participants to get ready for 9 July; that’s when the judges will decide who is the winner at the Western Parish Fete, St Peter.

The workshop continues on the Sunday and will include a mega plant sale, children’s activities, composting talks, and wormery demonstrations. There will also be the opportunity for novice and expert growers to receive help and advice about growing produce in gardens, allotments or containers.

Chairman Graeme Le Marquand set up a Jersey branch five years ago and it now has 80 members who meet regularly to share ideas and have some fun. He explained growing produce does not have to be complicated or expensive.

‘Look at these,’ he said, pointing to a row of green bags filled with compost, ‘Jersey Royals grown in bags costing only £1 each. These can be moved 24 -

RURAL Spring 2016

from pillar to post, given to friends as presents and, if you have four wheels, they can be taken on holiday with you if you can’t find anyone to water them while you are away!’

The JANVS was delighted with the response to last year’s fun carrot competition, which had over 70 entries.

‘The ladies won 1st, 2nd and 3rd place. May be they will show the blokes up again this year!’ He laughed.

The members would be delighted to see growers and wouldbe growers at the Western Parish Show where there will be a Vegetable Cake Competition and children will be encouraged to ‘make an animal from vegetables’ and ‘paint a pebble’.

For more information contact the secretary, Zoe Vibert on 499387 or zvibert@gmail.com.

Project5:Layout 1 28/02/2016 15:25 Page 1

COME AND DISCOVER WHAT’S ALL NEW AT GREENHILLS SINCE 1674

WELCOME HOME TO GREENHILLS We’ve been busy this winter. An extensive refurbishment has transformed the bedrooms, lounge and bar to create an all new experience.

Our restaurant tells the story of our island home with local Å´DYRXUV DQG WKH QHZ EDU ZHOFRPHV \RX ZLWK JXHVW DOHV PHOORZ whiskies and crisp wines in luxurious country surroundings.

We’re your new favourite secret you’ll be bursting to share.

Come out of hibernation this spring and experience the new look Greenhills Country House Hotel.

www.greenhillshotel.com 01534 481042 enquiries@greenhillshotel.com

GREENHILLS EDITORIAL:Layout 1 28/02/2016 15:28 Page 1

JERSEY-BORN LUXURY IN THE HEART OF ST PETER SOMETIMES it can feel an impossible task to find something new in Jersey, when we seek a hide-away in which to indulge our senses and satiate our desire for fine food and even better company. Eyes can turn easily to Town and ignore the welcome from a traditional, country hotel and restaurant to be found almost lost in the maze of lanes that reach out through our Island.

If this strikes a chord for you then perhaps it is time to rediscover Greenhills Country House Hotel, nestled in the heart of St Peter. You may have fond memories of Sunday lunches past or greeting friends visiting Jersey and sharing a cream tea here. However, things are not all that they were.

Your hosts, Joe and Carmelita, offer a very warm welcome in keeping with a rich history that dates back parts of the hotel to the 17th century. In the kitchen, talented Head Chef Lukasz Pietrasz focuses his work on sourcing the best that Jersey has to offer. Each of his dishes tells the story of Jersey’s rich land and connections to the sea. From indulgent hand-picked scallops to the sweetest Jersey Royal potatoes, plucked from the ground that day.

Together this creates an atmosphere that is wonderfully traditional and award-winning, included this year in TripAdvisor’s prestigious list of the top 25 hotels in the UK. It is the experience of Greenhills, though that really sets it apart.

It is within a minute’s walk of some Jersey’s most beautiful countryside and open fields, framed by the many windows that pepper the hotel. If relaxation is your preference then Greenhills will entice you into the newly refurbished bar to sample a range of Jersey ales and lagers. Alternatively our cosy lounges might even persuade you to indulge in one of our speciality Afternoon Teas.

So come out of hibernation this Spring, set your Sat-Nav for the depths of St Peter and allow yourself to be reassuringly surprised.

26 -

RURAL Spring 2016

Lukasz Pietrasz

Project6:Layout 1 28/02/2016 15:29 Page 1

Enjoy Spring this year with the whole family, or getaway for a romantic break and enjoy one of the finest eateries in the Channel Islands.

If you are looking for a special present a gift voucher from La Sablonnerie can be purchased in any monetary value.

Choose anything from a delicious luncheon, afternoon tea, dinner, an overnight stay or a champagne celebration with canapés.

La Sablonnerie +44 (0) 1481 832061

Please call Elizabeth Perrée on or E-mail: reservations@sablonneriesark.com www.sablonneriesark.com La Sablonnerie Hotel and Restaurant, Sark, Channel Islands, GY10 1SD.

BRIGH BRIGHT. B BRIG BR GHT..

COMMERCIAL. COM COM M ER MM MMERCIAL. ERCIA CIA IA ALL. AL. RESPONSIVE. RESPONSIVE. RE ESPO ES O ONSI ONS NS S SIV VE. E. Litigation Personal Inju Injury ury Family Law Property Pr operty & Planning P W ills & Estate es Wills Estates TTrust rust Law BCRLAWJERSEY.COM BCRLAWJERSE EY.COM

12 Hill Str Street, eet, St Helier, Helier elierr,, Jersey JE2 4UA 4 +44 (0)1534 760 860 60 T enquiries@bcrlawjersey.com e m E

NORDIC:Layout 1 28/02/2016 15:33 Page 1

NORDIC GARDEN Building a Reputation at Ransoms NORDIC GARDEN BUILDINGS are to be fair, rather impressive. Not only do they have an amazing build quality, they are also very low maintenance, which is a pure joy.

Built on Scandinavian principles and manufactured in Wales they can withstand massive snow-loading on the roof as well as coping with all the nasty weather moments our own little Island can throw at them.

Nordic have patented an integral, load bearing guttering system that gives all their buildings incredible strength and is one of the reasons that they exceed tough Scandinavian legislation. It is quite unique and means the building does not move whatever the climate throws at it, be it wind, rain or snow.

They have also resolved the other bane of the glass building; heat build-up when the sun shines and loss of heat when the sun disappears. Nordic use PVC-u frames and double glazing to ensure the building is thermally efficient, they will not rot, split or require annual maintenance, just an occasional hose down and a wipe with a cloth.

What turned our heads totally, as if the build quality was not enough, are the optional wood burner packages, so you can sit in your Orangery or glasshouse and have a wood fire crackling away. This has to be the ultimate in relaxation as well as for extended entertaining. The wood burner is on display in the Oxfordshire orangery at Ransoms.

If you are looking to add sheer style, extra living space and to truly invest in lifestyle then the Nordic garden building is a very strong contender, they are just beautiful and so easy to own. There is a huge range of styles, colours, shapes and sizes that will allow you to create a garden room to exceed your expectations. Three roof options include polycarbonate in clear, opal or bronze, tile-effect fibreglass in red, grey or black and deluxe tinted glass. Great as a home office, that extra lounge or dining space, your building can quite literally be the complete lifestyle solution.

Take a look at the two show buildings on site at Ransoms Garden Centre. Both buildings are in the currently favoured grey finish, but white is also popular. Alternative colours include green, bronze and black.

NORDIC:Layout 1 28/02/2016 15:33 Page 2

The Melbourne is a popular choice from the Pavilion range.

It is the quintessential English pavilion with internal Georgian glazing bars in each of the double-glazed frames.

It has a double door with multi-point locks, four lockable windows, adjustable door hinges, low aluminium threshold and external projecting sill. Offered in four sizes with floor areas from 7m² to 15m² and six colour choices, the Melbourne fully justifies it’s award by Garden Buildings magazine as best new product 2013.

The Oxfordshire Orangery is designed to give a light and airy contemporary feel whilst retaining classic style features.

It is rectangular in shape with a porch area to front, has one lockable door with multi-point locks, two lockable windows, two manual roof vents, low aluminium threshold and external projecting sill. Available in three sizes with floor areas from 15m² to 20m² and six colour choices.

Nordic also includes an ECO base solution in the purchase price of all their buildings, removing the need for a concrete base or flags. The ECO base offers improved drainage, allows the building to be installed at any time of the year and reduces cost and preparation time.

A Nordic representative will be at Ransoms on Friday 1st and Saturday 2nd April, so if you would like to speak to him, call to arrange an appointment and site visit on 856699.

RURAL Spring 2016 - 29

RURAL EVENT PAGES:Layout 1 29/02/2016 13:27 Page 1

WHAT’S FOR DINNER? THE FUTURE OF FARMING AND FOOD PRODUCTION – IN JERSEY AND ELSEWHERE What sort of farming do we want in the future?

Is there still a viable place for the ‘small mixed farm?

Can we – and should we – give more emphasis to producing more food locally for local consumption?

Can we still combine agriculture with a traditional countryside and plenty of diverse wildlife?

A series of four UK speaker events in 2016 organised by

RURAL – Jersey Country Life magazine and sponsored by the Howard Davis Farm Trust THE FIRST EVENT – RJAHS, Trinity at 6.30pm on 17th March

Speaker: ROBIN PAGE writer, self-styled ‘vocal yokel’ and founder of the Countryside Restoration Trust www.countrysiderestorationtrust.com His theme:

CAN MODERN FARMING BE COMBINED WITH HUMAN-SCALE FARMS AND WILDLIFE CONSERVATION?

FREE PUBLIC EVENT TO REGISTER, OR FOR DETAILS OF FUTURE EVENTS THIS YEAR E-mail: alasdair.crosby@ruraljersey.co.uk or call Alasdair Crosby on: 865334

RURAL EVENT PAGES:Layout 1 29/02/2016 13:27 Page 2

A series of public talks organised by RURAL Jersey Country Life magazine on the future of farming and food production, in Jersey and worldwide.

The series of talks will take place at the Royal Jersey Showground (Royal Jersey Agricultural and Horticultural Society, Trinity), each one starting at 6.30pm.

Main Sponsors are the Howard Davis Farm Trust.

THE FOUR SPEAKERS AND THE DATES OF THEIR TALKS: 17th March 2016 Robin Page Founder of Countryside Restoration Trust, author and Daily Telegraph columnist and RURAL columnist. Self-styled ‘vocal yokel’.

His theme: Can modern farming be combined with human-scale farms and wildlife conservation?

Visit: www.countrysiderestorationtrust.com

30th September 2016 Graham Harvey Author and agricultural advisor to 'The Archers' radio programme.

An exponent of 'Real food'. His first book, The Killing of the Countryside, was published to critical acclaim in 1997, and was winner of the BP Natural World Book Prize. He is also co-founder of the country’s leading conference on ecological agriculture – the Oxford Real Farming Conference.

Visit: http://grahamsquest.co.uk/about-me/

16th June 2016 Colin Tudge Author and co-founder of the Campaign for Real Farming.

His most important book has the rather lengthy title: 'So shall we reap - How everyone who is liable to be born in the next ten thousand years could eat very well indeed; and why, in practice, our immediate descendants are likely to be in serious trouble).'

It gives you the likely flavour of his speech!

Visit: www.campaignforrealfarming.org/category/colins-corner/

24th November 2016 David Wilson Manager of the Prince of Wales' organic farm at Highgrove.

His theme: 'The advantages of selling irregularly-shaped carrots'!

Visit: www.thefarmerandhisprince.com/index.php/derfilm-4/129-wilson-2 THE EVENTS ARE FREE, ALTHOUGH A RETIRING COLLECTION WILL BE TAKEN TO HELP COSTS.

SPRING JERRIAIS:Layout 1 28/02/2016 15:34 Page 1

Jèrriais, with GERAINT JENNINGS

Nou dait sèrclier san gardîn Nou dait sèrclier san gardîn d'vant l'chein d'san vaîthîn, coumme i' nos dit un vièr diton. Et ch'est bein vrai qu'nou n'dévthait pon paûtchi san nez où'est qu'nou n'a qu'faithe sustout sans arreuner ses affaithes sé-même.

Pouor dé mé, jé n'comprend pon coumme tchi qu'nou peut laîssi san gardîn entre les mains de tchitchun d'aut'. Ch'est eune chose, véthe, d'empliyi un gardîngni (ou deux, ou toute eune êtchipe s'nou-s'a a assez d'sou) s'nou-s'a un grand gardîn qu'nou n'peut pon maint'nîn à san tout seu. Et pouortchi pon, s'nou-s'a un magl'ye dé bein, payi tchitchun d'aut' à faithe les tâches enn'yantes coumme la sèrcliéthie? Mais pouor dé mé, un gardîn est si pèrsonnel, eune expression d'sa pèrsonnalité, qué l'idée d'dithe à tchitchun, "Griyiz-mé un gardîn et jé n'sis pon gêné coumme tchi qu'i' s'sa!" m'est încomprannabl'ye. Dans man gardîn siez mé, châque pliante dait êt' exactément où'est qu'j'veurs la vaie.

Viyant qu'j'ai eune tèrrasse siez mé, et des pliantes en pots, j'èrmue mes pliantes s'lon la saîson - v'là tchi morfond ofûche les moûques à myi!

32 -

RURAL Spring 2016

Les grandes d'auve les p'tites, les fieillues au ras des flieuthies, tout en r'gardant à l'êffet d's ombres des fielles sus les pavés, ch'est en tchi y'a eune pliaiche pouor châque pliante à tout moment d'l'année.

Et ch'est mé, et raîque mé, tch'est en chèrge! Et j'ai des préféthences: j'aime mus un palme qu'eune palme, par exempl'ye. I' n'y'a pon d'rose sans pitchet, mais pouor dé mé j'n'aime pon les rôsièrs: les flieurs sont belles assez, mais l'restant d'la pliante est laie coumme lé péché du Dînmanche. J'aime les hèrbes utiles pouor la tchuîsinne: d'la menthe, d'la marjolaine, du romathîn, du thŷmbre et tout chenna. Pouor parfunmer l'air, y'a d'la lavande, du chuchet et du pînment. Épis des frits: des p'tits pommièrs et des frâses, et j'êprouve tchiquefais des pînments pînmentés.

Toutes les pliantes dans man gardîn ont lus bieauté et lus utilité à m'n avis - ah mais, chutte fichue sèrcl'ye n'a qu'faithe!

Summary in English:

Mind your own business One way of saying ‘mind your own business’ in Jèrriais is expressed in the diton that one should weed one's own garden before your neighbour's.

Taste in gardens is such a personal thing that I find it difficult to understand how someone can simply leave gardening to someone else.

If one has a garden too big to deal with oneself, why not employ someone to do the general work and boring tasks like weeding? But getting someone else to design your garden is something else. I have a terrace garden with plants in pots, so every plant gets moved to where I want to see it according to season - which confuses the bees! I'm in charge in my own garden and I have definite likes and dislikes: palms are in and hydrangeas out; roses are nice enough as flowers but rose bushes are as ugly as sin; useful kitchen herbs are in: mint, marjoram, rosemary, thyme; fragant lavender, honeysuckle, and lemon balm are in; for fruit, apple trees and strawberries are in, and sometimes chili peppers. But those wretched weeds have no business in the garden and need to be weeded out!

Project12:Layout 1 29/02/2016 13:29 Page 1

STEVE CARTER:Layout 1 28/02/2016 15:38 Page 1

FRESH FROM THE FARM Farm Fresh Organics, run by Stephen and Linda Carter, has been hit hard by the cessation of rental subsidies.

Steve talked about his business to RUTH LE COCQ

LACK of government support resulting in ever-tightening profit margins have forced some organic farmers to reduce the amount of land under cultivation while others have had to return to conventional farming methods.

Stephen Carter, who runs Farm Fresh Organics in St Lawrence with his wife, Linda, said the Island’s organic producers had been hit hard when the Department of the Environment had stopped rental subsidies, which had been introduced a few years ago to encourage more land to be farmed organically.

‘We have about 200 vergées, but we have reduced the amount of land we farm organically by 10 per cent over the last three or four years because the resurgence of the Jersey Royal has seen land rental increase,’ said Mr Carter.

‘We also had a dilemma because there was nothing in the new Countryside Enhancement Scheme to support organic farming at all – which is one of the reasons why Classic Herd returned to conventional farming – and we were the only place in Europe not to be supported.’

As a result, Jersey’s organic farmers lobbied the Department of the Environment and they received a one-off extra payment last year, which was the equivalent of the UK’s basic payment per acre.

Now Mr Carter is waiting to discover what, if any, support organic farming will receive when the new Organic Action Plan is published as part of Jersey’s new Rural Economy Strategy.

34 -

RURAL Spring 2016

Steve and Linda grow a range of seasonal organic vegetables and salads for their farm shop and they also run VegieBag, a weekly home delivery service. In addition, they also supply produce for Waitrose, the Co-op and The Organic Shop, and export to Guernsey and the UK. Steve, who has been farming for 35 years, said converting to organic production saved the farm he took over from his father, Lawrence.

‘We have always been a mixed farm and there has been some extra value to growing organically - it has opened up other markets,’ he said.

As a result, Steve is always looking at new crops to grow and keeps a close eye on customer demand so he can take advantage of the latest trends.

‘Kale, spinach and especially beetroot are more popular now whereas runner beans, which used to be one of our export crops, are not so popular. We tried tenderstem broccoli for the first time last year and that was successful,’ he said.

Cauliflowers and organic Jersey Royals are also exported successfully, partly because they are transported in bulk.

‘The price we are selling vegetables for has not gone up for a few years, which makes it difficult and less viable, so exporting in bulk helps. Our organic Jersey Royals make a reasonable return but, if we lost that, we would really have to look at what we are doing,’ he explained.

STEVE CARTER:Layout 1 28/02/2016 15:38 Page 2

Mr and Mrs Carter are part of the Jersey Organic Growers Alliance, along with fellow Genuine Jersey members Steve and Jacqui Jones of Vers Les Monts and Brian Adair of Grass Roots Organics. They all ensure that Vegiebag, a box scheme which bypasses the retailer and delivers fresher produce to the home every week, includes a variety of fruit and vegetables as well as a recipe card or information on more unusual crops.

‘We have got our core customers, who we have had for a long time, and then we have people who dip in and out of the scheme. We also see fluctuations depending on the time of year – in January people seem to want to eat a bit more healthily,’ he explained.

Steve also imports produce from organic wholesalers in London, particularly to shorten ‘The Hungry Gap’ which is when there are fewer home-grown crops available in Jersey.

‘The very mild weather has brought a lot of crops on early so there may be a shortfall now because they have already been harvested. The ‘Hungry Gap’, which is from March to May, could be a bit wider this year,’ he warned, ‘although we do our best to grow a few things in the polytunnels to give our customers something new.’

Despite the challenges of growing organic produce, Mr Carter gains a great deal of satisfaction from relying on crop rotation, green manure and biological pest control instead of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides.

‘Organic farming is quite labour intensive – there is a lot of weeding and the yields are not as good as conventional farming - but the soil is alive. I was ploughing a field alongside a conventional farmer and I couldn’t help but notice that all the seagulls were over my field and there were none over his.’

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

GLYN MITCHELL:Layout 1 28/02/2016 17:37 Page 1

BEYOND ORGANIC Profiling our contributor, Glyn Mitchell GLYN was born in Kenya, his grand-father was a soil engineer there and he says he got from him ‘a taste’ for the soil. He came to Jersey aged 15, and after De La Salle and Hautlieu, took an arts course at university.

His father, Peter Mitchell, is one of the most respected bee keepers in Jersey. Glyn has half a dozen hives near his home in St Aubin, but, as he says: ‘I get fed up with losing my bees each time the farmers spray chemicals nearby!’

2015 was International Year of the Soil – an ideal opportunity for him to organise a meeting in Jersey, a speaker event with international soil, scientist Dr Elaine Ingham. This successful meeting was attended by some 70 people, many of them from the Island’s agricultural sector.

Two years ago, Glyn started Promessa Organic Soil Laboratory in the Island. ‘Promessa’ is an old Italian word for ‘Promise’ - ‘a promise that we only work with nature.’

He continued: ‘We understand and try to share with farmers, supermarkets and the general public the importance of soil and how everything makes a complete food web – a healthy food web, so long as we are not disrupting it.

‘We teach people to make compost. We make very good compost, full of microbial life. 12 kilos can treat 12-15 hectors of land – when made into a liquid compost.

Anybody growing a tray of Jersey Royals, for example, in their own vegetable patch should know what potatoes need to grow in. Every single plant has its specific likes. Put the wrong compost on to the soil and you are just going to grow weeds.

The art of composting has been lost. Compost, made well, puts health back into the soil.

‘We’re educating growers about soil organisms and their importance in extracting the nutrition from minerals for crops. We’ve really got to start to understand soil microbes, if we are going to survive as a species.

‘If the current agricultural systems carry on, our future is unsustainable.

Why does this matter? Many gardeners use three times the nitrogen per acre that farmers use. The excess nutrients used in lawn products for example are washed into waterways. Understanding that bacteria, fungi alongside plants such as legumes produce most plant available nitrogen, makes synthetic applications a lazy man’s approach, leaving a costly legacy. It comes down to understanding soil.’

Promessa is one of the only biological soil laboratories in Europe with a significant number of clients across the UK and the Continent, from which it receives soil samples for assaying the life in the soil.

‘We’ve got to shout to everyone: Jersey’s leading the way in this area. People are already looking at Jersey as a producer of healthy food – as systems come off chemicals.

‘Jersey should be the centre of regenerative agriculture.

It would have so many benefits for the restaurants and residents. The Island should be ‘Number 1’ as the place to live, because of its healthy atmosphere, and healthy food.

If only everyone could see the potential, instead of just using the normal conventional way. We’ve got to move in this direction, if our agricultural heritage is to survive.

36 -

RURAL Spring 2016

‘I’m confident agriculture in Jersey could have a very bright future. The question is, will we get the policies in place to encourage it?’

GLYN MITCHELL:Layout 1 28/02/2016 17:37 Page 2

BEYOND ORGANIC Glyn Mitchell, founder of the pioneering Jersey composting company, PROMESSA ORGANIC. Europe's only ‘Life in the Soil Laboratory’ has become something of an expert on soil’s surprising healing qualities RECENTLY I've been enjoying dirty thoughts – but don’t be alarmed, my thoughts were only about the importance of healthy soil.

termed the soil Food Web: the microbes in soil and oceans that play a huge role in our health and the health of our planet.

This is because I'm discovering just how much this rich, dark substance influences the day-to-day health of people and our planet. Many studies have proved that soil, or at least some types of soil, can be beneficial to our health.

Impressed by the growing evidence that our health depends on healthy soil, my ‘dirty thoughts’ have turned to action. I believe firmly that food grown in well-treated soil offers distinct advantages when it comes to scoring the best nutrients and building a healthy immune system.

The scientists investigating soil health are giving us new reasons to care about the places where our food is grown. For example, using DNA sequencing technology, agronomists at Washington State University have recently established that soil teeming with a wide diversity of life (especially bacteria, fungi, protozoa and nematodes) is more likely to produce nutrient-dense food.

Given this nutrient flow from soil microbes to us, how can we boost and diversify life in the soil?

Studies consistently show that ecological farming produces a greater microbial biomass and diversity than conventional farming. Ecological farming includes many systems (biodynamic, regenerative, permaculture, full-cycle, pastured-fed etc.) that share core holistic tenets: protecting topsoil with cover crops and minimal ploughing, rotating crops, conserving water, reducing the use of chemicals (synthetic or natural), and recycling all animal and vegetable waste back into the land after composting.

Much of this research supports what traditional farmers around the world have long known to be true: the more ecologically we farm, the more nutrients we harvest.

While my company, Promessa Organic, busies itself documenting microflora and microfauna - these soil-to-food links immunologists and allergists in other European countries are working above ground to uncover another intriguing soil-health connection, the so-called ‘farm effect’. Why is it that children raised on ecologically managed farms in Central Europe have much lower rates of allergy and asthma than urban children or those raised on industrialized farms?

Once again, almost everything points to microbes - in manure, in unpasteurized milk, in stable dust, on unwashed food and, yes, in the soil. How soil microbes and other farm microbes protect against allergic diseases is still a matter of debate, but research is increasingly pointing to a new idea, which is

Of course, identifying the best food can be tricky since organic certification, while certainly a helpful guide, does not always lead us to the healthiest farms. Many certified organic farms do qualify as ecological, but some large-scale farms with this certification still till deeply and use approved pesticides - both practices that damage soil and the microbes in it.

On the other hand, there are farmers who can't afford organic certification who are implementing the practices of Bioticfarming, practices that have been shown to produce a rich soil and a thriving microbial population that transcends organic.

Farmers who live on their land and feed their family from it tend to care for their soil as if it were another family member. Going to farmers markets and joining a CSA (community-supported agriculture) championed by transition movements, are reliable ways to get this type of produce, and supermarkets are also beginning to support local farmers. Remember, the more we demand it, the more they will carry it.

Healthy soil equals healthy bodies and the sooner our Ministers for Health and the Environment acknowledge this, the sooner the Jersey Royal and the Jersey Cow will be given a much needed natural boost and farming will become sexy and healthy again.

Of course, another option is to grow our own food. Eating fresh-grown food from healthy soil is not an all-or-nothing proposition, and even a daily handful of herbs from a container garden can have a positive impact on our health. Whether it is home-grown or from a rare Jersey organic farm that has regular qualitative soil microbe tests, people should think twice before peeling or scrubbing their farm bounty. After all, who knows what beneficial bacteria might be coming along for the ride?

By the way, eating local fermented natural farm-fresh vegetables is a great way to get a mega-dose of beneficial soil bacteria.

I also tell friends about other (non-edible) health advantages to connecting with healthy farms. For example, although the data is far from conclusive, spending time on a local farm like Warren Farm at Noirmont and others, might offer a relatively safe, low-tech prevention strategy for families predisposed to allergies.

‘Farm time’ looks especially attractive if it obviates the need for allergy shots or rounds of antihistamine. Emerging research says time spent working the soil is a means to build community, improve strength and fitness, slow dementia in seniors, and improve school performance in teens. It would be simplistic to promote a connection to healthy farms as a panacea for all that ails us, but it has become an important part of medical toolkits in other countries.

Finally, I have come to see our clients as an integral part of the Soil Food Web eco-cycle where the flow of health is bidirectional.

In other words, our choices directly influence the farm's health, which, in turn, impacts others’ health. For this reason, good aerobic composting is a way to nourish local farms and ultimately fortify ourselves. We teach growers how to protect their soil like they protect their bodies.

Similarly, while its been long recognised how antibiotics, steroids, and other bactericidal drugs might cause unintended side effects in patients, after studying the soil I now understand how these drugs can impact the microbial life underfoot and ultimately our own cells. Certainly, any chemical with "cide" in its name like pesticide, herbicide or fungicide designed to decrease microbial diversity will, in turn, decrease the nutritional value of our food.

Thinking of a healthy body as an extension of a healthy farm, and vice versa, is a paradigm shift for many of us. But when we consider that all of our cells get their building blocks from plants and soil, then, suddenly, it all makes sense.

In fact, it is not too much of a stretch to say: ‘We are soil.’

RURAL Spring 2016 - 37

BRIAN ADAIR:Layout 1 28/02/2016 17:38 Page 1

ORIGINS OF ORGANIC

By BRIAN ADAIR, proprietor of Grass Roots Organic ‘SHE was the very first person to knock the shine off Modernity.’

This was said of biologist Rachael Carson whose book, Silent Spring, written in 1962, tells the story of that infamous insecticide DDT. Developed in 1939 and touted as ‘safe’, the debacle of DDT was a perfect example of a modern environmental disaster. Thousands upon thousands of tons of this stuff was made, sprayed with impunity and applied with planes on crops and people alike.

In very recent times DDT has been found in the fat of Antarctic penguins, the chemical coming from melting sea ice where it has been laid up for decades. The problems associated with DDT were known from its inception, but with her book Carson popularised the movement against what one might call ‘Agro-culture’.

During the 1930s and 1940s a growing fraction of society, both academics and the layman, had had enough of the increase of unnatural practices. Before 1920 all farming was ‘organic’ by default, since artificial chemicals for the fertilisation of the soil and the killing of pests had not been developed yet. It was given to the research into nerve poisons for the war effort to inaugurate this.

These were found ideal to kill ‘bugs’.

It was a visionary called J. I. Rodale, one of the growing band of protesters against industrialised chemical food production, who first coined the term ‘organic’. He chose it to represent the ‘natural way’, one that worked in harmony with natural systems rather than trying to fight and dominate them. In 1943 Rodale chalked up his adage: Healthy soil = Healthy food = Healthy people.

At the same time, Lady Eve Balfour, niece of former British Prime Minister Arthur Balfour, was convinced that the way to a nation’s health was through food grown in healthy soil. She set about the famous Haughley Experiment to compare conventional and organic methods. On the strength of her results she declared that ‘organic agriculture should become the primary health service’.

The ‘be natural’ approach accelerated in the 1960s and 1970s, thanks to pioneers like Carson, as people became more aware of how their health was affected by the environment they lived in and the food they ate.

These were the true origins of organic.

So too did this movement towards a sane, safe and sustainable way of producing our food and caring for our environment take root in Jersey. The first organic grower in Jersey was treated to covert mocking smiles from his chemical colleagues back in 1986.

Nonetheless in 1988 a group of concerned citizens formed an association in Jersey with the intention to champion the principles of Organic. With the unsurprising title of the Jersey Organic Association their mission was and still is to promote the awareness of the organic philosophy and approach; how this is beneficial to the health of man and environment; and to create debate. It was never quite a pressure group, preferring to rely on reason and dialogue to affect its end. Today, in Jersey, as in the wider community, organic is an accepted norm.

It is true to say that many practices that were commonplace in the days of Carson, Rodale and Balfour are no more. It is usual today for commercial conventional glasshouse crops to be produced without pesticides, relying instead on natural predator control. And there are many other examples of how things are improving in the ‘conventional food production camp. How is this? It is due to the vision and work of enlightened people over the years. They are the ones who have raised the bar to which the conventional has risen. People like Carson and Balfour.

Organic agriculture accounts for just 6% of food production in the EU. Rodale coined the term ‘organic’ to signify something, and that something is also a special direction. Rather than some trendy life style choice for the rich, the origins of organic are true, for there are many, many people who want food free from poisons and which is nutritionally correct.

38 -

RURAL Spring 2016

Project7:Layout 1 28/02/2016 17:41 Page 1

MARK FORSKITT SPRING 2016:Layout 1 28/02/2016 17:42 Page 1

TIME TO TREAT THE PATIENT Organic farming principles have resulted in an expanding market worldwide – but not in Jersey. By Dr Mark Forskitt, Chairman of the Jersey Organic Association Even the Climate Change Meeting in Paris in November gave scant regard to agriculture, despite it being responsible for around 25% of greenhouse gas emissions, and being one of the very few options for potential sequestering of significant amounts of carbon. Also last year we heard that bacteria, resistant to the last line of defence antibiotics, has been found in China, most likely a result of prophylactic misuse.

MY commitment to the organic way stems from a philosophical approach. I have a strong conviction we are far better working with the overwhelmingly powerful force of nature rather than struggle against her.

I think we are now beginning to reap the consequences of short termism in respect of agriculture and the natural system.

Mother Nature is tiring of picking up the tab for the actions of her wayward humanity. The signs are there globally.

The World Health Organisation determined that glyphosate – the world's most widely used herbicide – was a probable human carcinogen in March last year - despite years of claims that it was totally safe.

But it isn't just human impacts we need to consider. Just last month research at Sussex University showed that there was a reinforcing effect of neonicotinoids and other fungicides and insecticides, making them a cocktail up to 1,000 times more potent than previously thought for bees and other essential pollinators.

40 -

RURAL Spring 2016

Locally, things are also displaying unsettling signs relating to our farming practices. Our groundwater nitrate levels periodically exceed the permitted levels, and the Environment Minister has said he wants nitrate fertilizer use to reduce 5% to 10%. Anyone who has attended the last couple of Farming conferences in Jersey will be aware there is a serious and imminent threat from PCNs to growing Royals. Consultants have been paid to look at alternative crops so that rotations can be used to reduce the impact.

Logically, you would think all that points to a wonderful opportunity for organic production. Certified organic farmers are banned or severely restricted in using artifical fertilizers and spraying fungicides; they are required to rotate crops and are only permitted antibiotics where essential to treat an animal health problem. The Soil Association, the main UK organic body, also requires growers to minimise erosion and soil loss and to promote biodiversity.

World wide it is happening. Putin is giving land to farmers in Russia who agree to organic and to no GM production.

In the UK shoppers spent over £2 billion on organic products last year. The latest figures I can find show the area of land farmed to organic standards globally increased by 15% from 2012 to 2013.

There is no breakdown of organic land in the ‘Jersey in Figures’ 2014 booklet, indeed the last agricultural statistic return no longer asked about organic land. The area of land managed under recognised organic certification in Jersey declined from 1,242 vergées in 2010 to 640 vergées in 2014.

The slide continues. I think I know all bar one of the ten or so local certified organic producers. In the last year two have ceased farming, and three are keeping their land organic but have significantly reduced the area they crop commercially, and one has remained in farming but is no longer certified organic.

I guess I should take my hat off to the States of Jersey. It takes some extraordinary talent to take a growing market serviced by a skilled experienced farming community doing all of the things you want to encourage others to take up - and watch it dissipate before your eyes.

Space is too short in this article to look at remedies, though I would point out it is only effective to administer medication before the patient has died. It was a huge struggle by the local organic producers over the prior 18 months that formulated a plan, and a modicum of temporary financial support from the States.

The prognosis is not good.

Those places that have seen a flourishing of organic farming have been where government has taken a strong lead in promoting and encouraging and speaking of the benefits right across the board, from food in institutions to ecology to well-being to food security. Here the Rural Economy plan that was due to be implemented in December 2015 has still not surfaced, even in draft for consultation.

It had better be worth the wait......

Project8:Layout 1 28/02/2016 17:44 Page 1

SAFFRONS Hotel de France

No WiFi? No problem.

Superfast, mobile internet with the Sure 4G network from just ÂŁ5 per month for 1GB data using SIM, MiFi or 4G router.

Ask in store for details or visit www.sure.com

FROM

ÂŁ5 Prices are SIM only 1 month rolling contracts, MiFi and home routers also available.

Full terms and conditions apply and are available at www.sure.com.

per month.

ARTISAN BREAD:Layout 1 28/02/2016 17:52 Page 1

42 -

RURAL Spring 2016

Katie Dunn proprietor of Sweet and Savoury Organic Baking

ARTISAN BREAD:Layout 1 28/02/2016 17:52 Page 2

GIVE US TODAY OUR DAILY BREAD From biblical times to modern times, bread has always been the staff of life. In Jersey, many mills and bakers produced local bread for local people, but in modern times artisan bread has been replaced largely by industrially produced imported blotting paper. KIERANNE GRIMSHAW chose two local artisan bakers whose bread tastes of…. bread BREAD has long been a staple of the average diet. In Victorian times, bread represented the working class diet and village bakers served the whole community.

Before industrialisation, in rural Britain workers relied on bread for energy to do the physical work on the farms. Baking itself was also physical as mixing the dough was like a modern day cardio workout.

a key element in baking, she looks to the Himalayas for her Himalayan pink salt, which contains 84 trace minerals found in our body. Unlike table salt, it is pure and unprocessed. Our ancestors used Himalayan Salt as currency thousands of years ago, so even then its value was recognised. It’s nice to know when we eat this artisan bread, there are health benefits too.

At the turn of the Century, Britain’s population soared and the industrial workforce relied heavily on bread as a staple food. The result, bread was mass produced for the first time.

Nutty and Nutritious

In Jersey, both Le Moulin de Quétivel and the CI Bakery are examples of the demise in local baking, once prevalent in the Island.

Modern health problems caused by over processed foods have led some entrepreneurs to recognise the public’s growing need for freshly baked artisan bread. We were fortunate to meet three of them.

Flour Power – Sweet and Savoury Organic Baking with Katie Dunn Katie Dunn has been baking at her home, a stunning traditional farmhouse in St Martin, for 17 years. She learnt her excellent bread making skills from her mother. It was a friend at the Organic Shop, however, who encouraged her to bake in the cottage industry (or in this case, the farmhouse industry), where she started by baking scones. Luckily for us she chose to bake artisan bread as this tastes quite delicious, having only natural ingredients, with no additives.

Katie is passionate about using the highest quality natural ingredients and for salt,

The Seeded Sour Dough is made from Spelt & Khorasan flour, normal flour is rarely used.

So what is special about these ingredients?

Spelt is gentler on the stomach as the little gluten it does contain is water soluble.

It is one of the oldest cultivated grains and traces its roots more than 6,000 years back to ancient Mesopotamia (so almost a contemporary with La Hougue Bie).

Khorasan, also known as Kamut flour, is an ancient grain which is more easily digested than regular wheat grain. This flour gives bread a lovely golden colour and because of its nutritional qualities and digestibility, it’s particularly suited for both athletes and active people. So Katie's Kamut and Spelt loaf is the perfect snack after a brisk walk or run.

Sweet yet Rustic The Honey and Walnut Loaf is a favourite amongst her customers. On tasting a piece, it was evident why. The smooth earthy flavour of walnuts balanced out the delicious sweetness of honey perfectly. This rustic and moreish bread would be the perfect accompaniment to the Ploughman’s lunch.

There was only one negative aspect, it would have been easy to eat the whole loaf, so be warned.

For the Sweet Toothed How do you choose between delicious Cinnamon Swirls and Rye and Raisin Loaf?

Both contain no processed sugar, but the healthier coconut sugar, made from dried palm nectar.

Katie's organic breads are popular island wide; Why not pop along at the weekend and try the focaccias, with rosemary and olive oil, from the Gorey Fruit Shop or perhaps a brioche from Midland Stores? Alternatively, bread can be collected from Katie in St Martin or at the Organic Shop in Stopford Road, so there’s no excuse. Katie bakes whatever anyone requests, always organic, never compromising. In the unlikely event of having leftover bread, it freezes perfectly.

Easter Treats So, what can we order for Easter? Katie will be baking hot cross buns and tea cakes, so get your tea pot ready. The good news is that these, together with artisan breads, are also available at the monthly pop up markets in the town Central Market - see you there.

Contact Details Katie Dunn Tel: 07797 721 000 Email: dunns1713@gmail.co,uk www.sweetandsavouryorganicbakery.co.uk

ARTISAN BREAD:Layout 1 28/02/2016 17:52 Page 3

32 44

RURAL Spring Autumn 2016 2014

Mirek Giza, the owner of Piekarnia

ARTISAN BREAD:Layout 1 28/02/2016 17:52 Page 4

PIEKARNIA Mirek’s Polish Bakery in Bath Street THE heart of every culture is a good loaf of bread. Many things change but some remain the same. It’s not just the Polish Vodka that tastes good; their bread is unique and deliciously wholesome.

Polish bread and rolls make their tradition complete and today bread remains one of the most important foods in their cuisine.

In Poland welcoming with bread and salt is often associated with the old traditional hospitality with the Polish nobility. Nowadays, the traditional is mainly observed at weddings, where newlyweds are greeted with bread and salt by their parents on returning from church. We are fortunate that Polish bread can be found locally.

When you walk past the Polish Bakery in Bath Street, it’s unlikely that you will recognise the word “Piekarnia” on the window, but the warm homely aroma gives it away. Yes, this is a bakery, but no ordinary one, everything here is organic and freshly baked. We are lucky to find an authentic Polish baker who makes everything just like they do back in Poland. So, what is special about Polish bread?

Unlike some soft, flaky wheat based breads often produced in other countries, Polish bread is traditionally made with rye flour and is created using a sour dough starter. It contains neither yeast nor preservatives and is high in nutrients.

Mirek Giza, the owner, has been baking here for a couple of years.

He was born in Dulcza Wielka in Poland and after studying home baking there, he was completely focussed on taking on the existing bakery and supplying 100% organic produce, his artisan bread and pastries.

The bakery is full of authentic and nutritious Polish loaves and cakes.

Mirek’s efforts to obtain natural ingredients are impressive. In order to ensure his ingredients are 100% organic, he currently imports his flour directly from Poland, but is keen to source more locally. He is now arranging with the UK to source his organic flour. Mirek uses 90 % rye flour and 10% wheat flour for the best combination. Rye bread is higher in fibre than white bread and contains much less gluten than wheat; it’s definitely one of the healthiest and tastiest types of bread.

The work of a baker is certainly not a nine to five job. During the evenings, when most people are just settling down to their meal, Mirek’s main work begins.

Above the bakery, in the kitchen, he will sometimes start as late as 11pm to prepare, proof and bake the bread, ready for his customers the next morning. He checks the bread every four hours, so no time for a good night’s sleep.

The best thing since sliced bread? That’s bread you have to slice yourself (or by the baker upon purchase). There’s no pre-sliced bread here, just an assortment of unique loaves and cakes. These look so enticing, there’s no need for decorative packaging either.

Farmer’s Sour Dough – a favourite As well as its distinctive aroma, the Farmer’s sour dough bread tastes just divine. It has a springy texture with simple earthy, nutty flavours; this bread can be eaten alone as it’s so good or is equally delicious with butter or cheese.

For a relatively small business, Mirek supplies to some important local outlets, including the Fish Market, La Collette, Relish Delicatessen, Classic Farm and Gorey Fruit Shop. The volume of loaves he bakes is quite incredible. He bakes about 400-450 loaves for his busiest day, Saturday, and if you think the Feeding of the 5,000 was impressive, Mirek made 4,000 doughnuts for the Thursday before Lent – ‘Fat Thursday’.

Bread for Easter Whilst some Polish enjoy their Easter buns, Mirek will be baking his authentic Easter bread (Chleb Zurkowy), a special hollowed-out round loaf with a large hole in the middle. This ethnic bread is traditionally eaten at Easter and the hole represents the opening of the tomb and Christ rising. A traditional Easter soup (Zurek) is eaten with this, by pouring it into the hole; what a great way to eat soup, avoid washing up and warm up for Easter. Why not try this bread with some homemade soup of your own?

Contact details Mirek Giza Tel: 07700 828 800 The Polish Bakery, Bath Street, St Helier

RURAL Spring 2016 - 45

BIRTHDAY CAKES FOR DOGS:Layout 1 28/02/2016 17:55 Page 1

For both dogs and humans: a new business, supplying artisan-made cakes and biscuits for foodie dogs, has been established in St Peter and it is coming to the Central Market this month to benefit not only canine but also human palates.

ALASDAIR CROSBY visited the proprietor, Bernie, and interviewed his assistants, Desmond and Emma Fernandes

BERNIE’S TREATS… …and BERNIE’S MARKET TEA STALL IT’s your dog’s birthday, and you would like to buy him a treat? Perhaps a ‘birthday cake’ or biscuits for your canine connoisseur?

Then Bernie may have just the thing.

Bernie, a mixed Westie and Schnauzer (‘Wauzer’) rescue dog, is the originator of the business that bears his name.

His own active involvement is limited to quality control – a paws-on role that he takes seriously, as his baker, Emma Fernandes, said: ‘My husband, Desmond, and I went out for the evening and shut him out of the kitchen – we had more than a hundred biscuits taken out of the oven and left to cool. But although he had never opened a door before – the smell of those cooling biscuits must have been the impetus for this Great Biscuit Robbery and we came back to find that he had eaten them all.

‘He suffered no ill effects and didn’t put on a single ounce of weight - which perhaps says something for the quality of the ingredients!’

What sort of biscuits are these canine treats? She replied: ‘Imagine if you had a child and wanted to take him or her to the sweet shop for a treat… that is the equivalent experience I want to provide for your dog – although mind you, I think it is the owners who get more excited about the range on offer!’

46 -

RURAL Spring 2016

The main difference between the contents of a super sweet shop and their own range of dog treats is that their cakes and biscuits have no sugar in them – they even do biscuits for diabetic dogs (spinach and mint swirls), since modern dogs, like their modern owners, are suffering increasingly from diabetes or gluten intolerance.

Emma, who was born and bred in Jersey, met her Goan husband, Desmond, when they were both working on cruise ships.

They have been settled in Jersey for the past five years, Desmond working in hospitality (for humans) and Emma in a care home.

The business is very new: Desmond has always cooked for Bernie, and one day there were some biscuits left over, so Emma took them to work to give to colleagues for their own dogs. The biscuits went down well, and her colleagues began asking if they could buy some re-supplies?

‘We realised that there were quite a few people who wanted this home-made food for their dogs,’ she said, ‘and when we went on to the Jersey Dog Forum on Facebook the other people were very supportive – I got 30 messages back straight away asking whether they could try some. So we dropped samples around the Island and got really good feed-back.’

She went through some of the range available: ‘pup cakes’ and birthday cakes (like cakes for humans, freshly baked for eating soon afterwards); parsnip and honey puzzle pieces (no additives or preservatives and gluten free); chocky-iced doughnuts (made with carob, dried coconut, and an apple doughnut base); beetroot and mint butter cakes…. and many other flavours, all designed for the canine gourmet who wants (or rather whose owners want) to support local artisan baking.

There is also a mini range of biscuits for little dogs.

‘Chocolate’ in Bernie’s range such as in ‘chocolate swirl’, or ‘mini chocolate hearts’ or ‘chocky-dodgers’ means carob, a completely natural form of the cocoa plant, with no sugar and nothing bad for dogs included.

‘The range is expanding all the time,’ she said.

And – hot off the press: at the end of March Desmond and Emma will be opening a café (primarily for humans) in the Central Market, ‘Bernie's Market Tea Stall’, where they will also be selling their dog bakery items. ‘All our range of dog items have been tried and tested on Bernie,’ said Emma.

Bernie licked his lips.

SPRING FULL PAGE:Layout 1 29/02/2016 13:29 Page 1

SH ER AT ON K I TCHENS Exclusive to Pastella

Monday – Saturday 8.30am - 5.00pm

ANN LE MOINE SPRING 2016:Layout 1 28/02/2016 17:56 Page 1

Cherry trees in blossom at Fern Valley By our artist in residence, ANNA LE MOINE GRAY

48 -

RURAL Spring 2016

ANN LE MOINE SPRING 2016:Layout 1 28/02/2016 17:57 Page 2

Cherry trees in blossom at Fern Valley 'It is my dream... one day, to plant wild cherries in a field or a valley.'

My sketchbook, after a day in Fern Valley.

RURAL Spring 2016 - 49

JACK HIGGINS:Layout 1 28/02/2016 18:00 Page 1

IN THE TIME BEFORE MOBILE PHONES

Relatively Speaking (March 15th - 19th at the Arts Centre) is to be the last Jack Higgins Production. TESSA COLEMAN, who takes part in this play as in all the previous productions, previews the production THE very early breakthrough play by Alan Aykbourn was written in 1965, with the simple remit ‘to make people laugh’.

It has been doing so somewhere in the world very successfully for the past 50 years.

Laughter never goes out of date, and this clever, witty, well-crafted comedy of misunderstanding could be set any time. The local production is unspecific, set simply in a time ‘before mobile phones’. A four hander of experienced Jersey actors and directed by actor/director Tim Swinton, in aid of The Jersey Brain Tumour Charity, the company hopes to go out on a high note and ‘gales of laughter’ that were noted in previous productions.

A simple premise has the first 15 minutes in the London bedsit of the young cohabiting couple Ginny and Greg (Vicky Cotter and Kevin Pamplin). When Ginny tells Greg she is going off to the country for the day to visit her parents he decides to follow in her wake and introduce himself to them as the man who hopes to marry her.

What he doesn’t know is that the ‘parents’ he meets, Sheila and Philip (Tessa Coleman and Michael Blackie) are actually Ginny’s older married lover and his long suffering, unknowing wife (‘a spectre of baffled gentility’). It is a tribute to Alan Aykbourn’s clever writing that the audience can actually believe that the hilarious plot twists and set pieces of misunderstanding could actually have happened!

A few interesting facts. Opening production starred Richard Briers, Celia Johnson (of Brief Encounter) and Michael Hordon. A 2013 successful West End revival starred Felicy Kendall. The Americans loved this archetypal English play and opened it with film star Joan Fontaine as Sheila on Broadway.

Hollywood was going to make a film of it with Cary Grant eager to play the married roué. Sadly, it never happened!

Jack Higgins Productions JHP has been a five year experiment to bring locally produced, high quality, eclectic mix of theatre to the Jersey stage. Because patron Harry Patterson (Jack Higgins) sponsored each production in their entirety, every penny of the ticket sales has gone to 11 different Jersey charities – just over £40,000.

Nine productions include ‘Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf’, ‘The Lion in Winter’, ‘The Cemetary Club’ and the latest ‘Christmas Cabaret’ to mention but a few. Producer Tessa Coleman takes up the story: ‘Our biggest success in monetary terms - and thus audience figures - was Michael Aitkens play reworked from his popular BBC sitcom ‘Waiting For God’. It was essentially a ‘try out’.

It played to packed houses, raised £10,000 for Family Nursing Services and is now being cast for a UK tour – so it seems to have worked all round!

‘Those of us who have worked in the company are grateful to our audiences that have enabled us to raise a respectable amount money. And more than grateful to Harry Patterson for facilitating us in doing what we love in aid of so many good causes.’ *’Relatively Speaking’is at the Jersey Arts Centre March 15 - 19th. Box Office 700444

LOLANTHE:Layout 1 29/02/2016 14:56 Page 1

DOES THE RECTOR OF ST. BRELADE BELIEVE IN FAIRIES? ...asks Michael Blackie ‘DO you believe in Fairies?’

Generations of children have been asked this question when going to the theatre to see ‘Peter Pan’. In Jersey, in days gone by, a chorus of voices would no doubt have joined with the theatregoing children in a resounding ‘Yes!’ Jersey abounds with place names associated with the supernatural little folk: Rue à la Dame, La Pouclée or (Pouquelaye or Pouquelée), La Pierre de la Fételle (originally La Roche a la Fée) at Belle Hougue, La Fontaine ès Mittes nearby and the Dolmen de Faldouet in St. Martin, originally known as La Pouquelaye de Faldouet are all references to places where Fairies were believed to be found.

Some of these Fairies had remarkable powers. The inhabitants of what is now known as Les Quennevais wished to build a church as close to where they lived as possible. The ground was selected, the building materials brought in and the foundations dug.

Unhappily, the good folk of St. Brelade had chosen a site special to the Fairies. Having made their preparations, the builders departed for the night. Imagine their surprise on turning up for work next morning to find that everything, stones and tools, had been removed. Eventually, they were discovered some considerable distance away on the beach. Not quite understanding how this happened, but not to be thwarted, the good folk of St. Brelade toiled all day to convey everything back to the chosen site with the intention of starting work again next morning. The Fairies, however, were made of sterner stuff and next morning everything was back once more on the beach. And that is why we find the Parish Church where it is today.

Mark Bond, Michael Blackie and Mike Halsey in the last production of 'Iolanthe' How appropriate, therefore, that current Rector, Mark Bond, is to be discovered as Private Willis, who steals the heart of a Fairy Queen. He will be found at the Opera House in the Jersey Gilbert and Sullivan Society’s production of ‘Iolanthe’ between 24 and 28 May. Private Willis’ duty is to guard the House of Lords, but even he is powerless to protect their Lordships from the Fairies who are far from the delicate beings you might imagine and just as determined as their Quennevais cousins of so long ago.

It is not absolutely essential to believe in Fairies, but if you believe in having an evening of thoroughgoing enjoyment, go along to see the Jersey Gilbert and Sullivan Society give a sparkling display of the wit of W. S. Gilbert and one of Arthur Sullivan’s finest musical accompaniments. The Opera is directed

by Jason Loveless and the Musical Director is Annette Blanchet, who will be conducting a full theatre orchestra.

It promises to be the greatest fun.

JUST ANOTHER SONG AT SUNSET The National Trust for Jersey, in association with Ashburton Investments, is once again holding its annual Sunset Concerts at Grantez, St Ouen, on Friday 24 June and Saturday 25 June 2016.

For many Islanders this event has become a firm favourite in the summer calendar and Ashburton Investments is supporting it for the eighth year running.

Increasingly popular, these family-friendly, open-air concerts are held over two evenings in the breath-taking setting of the natural amphitheatre at Grantez, overlooking St. Ouen’s Bay. The backdrop is just one example of how special Jersey’s coastline can be.

The live music event is free to attend, with just a small charge for on-site parking, which goes towards the National Trust for Jersey’s Coastline Campaign.

Visitors can expect the usual format: gather friends and family and pack a tasty picnic. Don’t forget a rug. Make your way up to Grantez any time from 5.30pm when the gates open and find yourself a spot on the hill in the sunshine (it is nice to be optimistic)! Enjoy your picnic and the music, which starts at 7.15pm. Fingers crossed there will be a stunning sunset too!

The annual event showcases local artists as well as acts from the UK and further afield. This year the concerts open on the Friday night with local bands; The Word on the Street and Little Black Dress.

The Word on the Street is a 10 piece ensemble with their roots in New Orleans brass tradition. Influenced by the likes of Trombone Shorty, The Young Blood Brass Band and the Soul Rebels, this group delivers hard hitting funk, pop and R&B right where it belongs - on the Street (or across the headland in this case)!

Little Black Dress is a talented and enthusiastic eight piece band whose playlist is packed full of tunes we know and love spanning

pop, soul, blues and funk. Everything from Adele to Van Morrison with Daft Punk, Frank Sinatra and the Temptations somewhere in between.

Brother Strut round up the midsummer weekend on Saturday night. A critically acclaimed funk and soul band who between them have sold more than half a billion records. Blues and Soul magazine rated their debut album 10/10 saying ‘you will wait a long time indeed to see anything better.’ The general public responded to the album with similar enthusiasm and the album entered the UK iTunes chart at number 2.

Producer and sax player Stevie Jones assembled the bunch back in 2012, far from just a recording studio band; From Van Morrison, Stevie Wonder, Elton John and Madonna to Sting, George Michael, Amy Winehouse and Tina Turner to name but a few, Brother Strut’s members honed their prodigious talents on some of the world’s most prestigious stages alongside an array of music’s most cherished icons.

Ashburton Investments’ Managing Director, Peter Bourne, said, “We’re delighted to be able to continue our support of the National Trust for Jersey and the Sunset Concerts. These events are a great way for all the family to soak in the stunning scenery around the Grantez headland along with some great musical talent and to showcase the work that the Trust does to help preserve our island.”

Find Ashburton on Facebook, search ‘Sunset Concerts’

RURAL Spring 2016 - 51

LE CAPELAIN:Layout 1 28/02/2016 18:08 Page 1

LE CAPELAIN La poesie d’une ile

Beach Scene with Four Sailing Vessels and Girl

L’art de Jean Le Capelain : son amour de l'île lui permet de transformer le quotidien en poésie. Par Anna Le Moine Gray IL y a quelques années dans une salle de vente de l’île, j’admirais des gravures anciennes quand une femme arriva derrière moi, noircissant de sa voix trop forte ces œuvres déjà bien abîmées par l’âge.

Quand nous balayons du regard ou écartons d’un geste impatient la peinture qui se trouve devant nos yeux nous sommes souvent victimes d’une mode, d’un goût contemporain pour ce qui va vite, ce qui choque…

Mais si, contrairement à ces habitudes du vingt-et-unième siècle, nous nous arrêtons pour regarder nous prenons le risque d’être enchantés.

Curieuse d’en voir plus, j’ai découvert une multitude de trésors cachés au fond d’une galerie de La Trinité ; les aquarelles de Jean (ou John) Le Capelain, ses carnets de croquis, huiles et gravures légués à l’île de Jersey après une mort précoce.

Né le 5 octobre 1812, Jean Le Capelain passe sa trop courte vie chez ses parents, dans une haute maison de Hill Street: le grenier devient atelier pour un fils dont le talent est vite remarqué par un père lithographe et imprimeur.

Il expose en Angleterre, voyage et rencontre Turner, Constable et les grands de l'époque.

C’est des mansardes qu’on rêve. Le Capelain y prépare ses aquarelles ainsi qu’un texte destiné à la Reine Victoria pour accompagner le porte folio qui lui est offert lors d'une visite officielle en 1846. Le titre choisi éclaire sa perspective Une description de l’atmosphère de Jersey.

L’art de Jean Le Capelain est dans cette perception fine de tons éphémères, de nuances fugitives ; son amour de l'île lui permet de transformer le quotidien en poésie.

Comme le rappelle Balthus, les notes biographiques ont peu d'intérêt. Il nous demande de « regarder la peinture », de nous laisser porter par cette idylle pastorale, le rêve d’une vie passée ; comme les couleurs de ses gravures.

Lugger off a Port 52 -

RURAL Spring 2016

LE CAPELAIN:Layout 1 28/02/2016 18:08 Page 2

Coast Scene with Rocky Path and Figure

Jean Le Capelain n’est sans doute pas à l’aise dans le monde (malgré son désir de jeunesse). On le sent à la raideur des six aquarelles officielles du court passage de la Reine d'Angleterre.

C’est la vache – tout juste officialisée – qui couvre ses carnets de croquis ; voiliers et figures solitaires sur des sables monochromes. Avec lui, nous nous penchons au dessus de Bouley Bay, cette vallée profonde jusqu'à la mer ; nous sentons le vent contre un homme courbé vers l’Etacq ; nous pouvons plonger dans les rouleaux turquoise de Bonne Nuit.

Jean Le Capelain meurt à 36 ans. Que serait-il advenu d’un talent qui, déjà, si jeune, relevait du génie. L’obscurité relative dans laquelle est restée son œuvre est-elle due aux gravures qui, paradoxalement, ont permis de le faire connaître du plus grand nombre?

Jean Le Capelain a été surnommé le « Turner » de Jersey et pourtant il n’est pas le produit d’un autre. Il est bien lui-même lorsqu’il peint la mer et ses brumes, l’indécision des côtes îliennes, leurs tracés aux heures silencieuses.

Lorsqu’il longe les falaises, le paysage devient celui que son état d’esprit lui permet de voir. Jean Le Capelain est un romantique, certes, mais pas de ceux qui s'exaltent d’ouragans. Quelques coups de vent aux reflets dorés avant de retourner vers l'intimité ; celle qui se dévoile par une attention renouvelée; une présence au monde qui justement, après deux cents ans, revient hanter la pensée contemporaine. Conscience vive, écoute du rythme de la vie, art lumineux. Chez lui, il n'y a pas de course folle de train à vapeur (Rain, Steam and Speed), de tourbillons de neige, d'avalanche ou d'incendie comme chez Turner. Ici « tout est doux, calme, apaisé; Dieu regarde » (Victor Hugo).

Faut-il être peintre soi-même pour penser que, non, ces ‘hachures’ ne sont pas de la même main que celle qui trace la courbe du vent dans les voiles des aquarelles; que - comme pour John Constable, qui en est resté insatisfait toute sa vie les lithographies n’ont pas été gravées par l’artiste ?

Ces reproductions que nous voyons en salles des ventes ont été faites, à l’époque de sa mort, par un autre, artisan plutôt qu’artiste…

La réelle présence de Jean Le Capelain se trouve dans les réserves du Musée de Jersey, protégée de la lumière et rarement exposée. On y voit une légèreté de l’âme, la joie de peindre et surtout l’amour de son île.

Pictures reproduced with kind permission of the JHT Images © Musée de Jersey

1

18/02/2016

14:53

Perfect presents from amÉlie 18 BATH STREET, ST HELIER

SOMETHINGPRETTYFROMAMELIE

SPRING BOOK REVIEW:Layout 1 29/02/2016 13:30 Page 1

BOOK REVIEW

THE JERSEY HOARD LE CATILLON II

By Richard Miles and Reg Mead

The book price (£7.95) includes a £1 donation to Jersey Heritage.

It is published by Barnes Publishing Ltd: e-mail ian@barnespublishing.com A BOOK about that well-publicised hoard of ancient treasure, found in a field in Grouville, has been written by the two metal detectorists who discovered it – Richard Miles and Reg Mead.

The book was launched at a reception hosted by the Jersey Heritage Trust at La Hougue Bie. The two detectorists discovered a hoard of Iron Age coins and gold ornaments, inestimable in value both monetarily and even more so archaeologically. It had been the largest hoard of Iron Age coins ever discovered.

Many of the coins were from the Celtic Gaulish tribe of Coriosolites, who lived in eastern Brittany, in the area of the present-day town of Saint-Malo. Apart from the coins were also golden ornaments and torques. The wealth represented by this treasure was far more than could have been possessed by a single person – however rich. It was the wealth of the tribe – in modern terms, it was rather as if a Sovereign national bank had buried all its reserves in a field.

Why? Well, no-one can tell, but a reasonable theory is that they were transported to Jersey at the time that Julius Caesar and his legions were busy dividing Gaul into three parts in the 1st Century BC and the hoard was taken to somewhere deemed to be out of harm’s way. Why was it not ever collected?

Maybe those who buried it later fell in battle against the Romans and with their deaths the details of the location of the secret hoard also died.

Left, Richard Miles with Reg Meade.

54 -

RURAL Spring 2016

There do seem to be traces of some simple dwellings in the vicinity of the site at Le Câtillon, so it is possible that the hoard was buried in a village, perhaps under the ground within a hut.

From the site, there is a good view of the south-east coast of Jersey (so marauders could be spotted from afar) and a steep côtil sloping downward in front of the site, which could impede those marauders and give

an advantage to the defenders.

As for the villagers themselves, it might be supposed that they would have had little need in their simple lives of subsistence farming and fishing for the untold riches of which they had become guardians, so there would have been no temptation to remove the hoard and use it for their own benefit – and perhaps every reason to fear the consequences if the owners returned one day to claim it and found that it had been tampered with.

However, this little book is about more than archaeology, it is the tale of how the hoard was discovered by the two friends, Richard and Reg, following up an old story – around 50 years old – of how coins had been found in the fields. Some of these were later exchanged by the farmer’s children with their school-friends for comics.

The toil in trying to find this treasure in in a Jersey field, the excitement as it was finally discovered and the realisation of quite how important was the discovery, is well told by the writers and by the team who unearthed it, retrieved it and conserved it.

The book, like the excavation and subsequent conservation and exhibition of its contents, has been a team effort.

It is good story, well told – and what is even more exciting, is that there is still treasure to be extracted from the hard, coagulated earth that cocoons it and from which the contents of the hoard are being slowly prised with infinite care and caution. So the story will continue ….

Project9:Layout 1 28/02/2016 18:10 Page 1

Clear investment. Pure energy.

ELEPHANT IN THE GARDEN?

TIME TO SWITCH TO ELECTRIC HEATING

www.jec.co.uk

For a free quotation, call 505460.

DIANNA MOSSOP SPRING:Layout 1 29/02/2016 05:47 Page 1

NATURE HAS ALL THE ANSWERS A series on natural health, by our columnist, Diana Mossop

RIGHT FROM THE START - FERTILITY WHICH comes first the chicken or the egg? So where do you start when discussing family life from the beginning?

Endometriosis is easy to support and it would be helpful to have a check-up.

I will start with couples planning a family. Having a baby is very natural and should not be difficult. However, there are increasing problems with conceiving in modern society and although medical intervention is available, a natural healthy pregnancy is so much more desirable.

Ensure your diet is rich in magnesium [whole grain and meat] and folic acid [green leafy vegetables].

Male sperm is under threat and although historically woman are usually regarded as the one having problems, men also need to be supported. 50% of your baby’s health is related to their father so for at least 6 months prior to conception make an effort to get healthy. Here are some special rules: • Regular outdoor exercise stimulates testosterone.

• Eat broad spectrum diet rich in protein, organic meat, eggs, fish, poultry, full cream dairy products and fresh fruit and vegetables.

• Avoid estrogenic synthetic hormones, which are seriously dangerous for baby boy’s reproductive organs.

• Avoid microwaves; they convert fats into toxic transfats that interfere with male hormones.

• Particularly dangerous chemicals that damage sperm are fluoride, found in water supplies [so drink purified bottled water, also avoid fluoride toothpaste and phthalates such as plastic containers and water bottles. (Never drink out of a plastic water bottle especially after being left in the sun as they become even more toxic when heated.)

Once your wife/partner is pregnant you can relax a little but you may be feeling so well after following this advice that those old bad habits may just be confined to the bin!

Women have been having babies for thousands of years and every baby is a wonderful miracle, so taking care of you prior to conceiving and during pregnancy is of paramount importance to ensure that your baby develops normally.

Healthy periods are a good indicator of fertility so stop taking birth control for six months prior to conceiving. If you are slender and suffer with IBS, amenorrhea, back ache, endometritis [inflammation] and period pains mid-cycle you may be infertile. In this case de-stress your life. I would advise a check- up/allergy assessment.

Stress is a negative state and can often interfere with conception.

Relax with family and friends, have fun, a healthy lifestyle, romance and laughter. Above all passionate love making is probably the most beneficial way to conceive healthily. How about starting your family planning with a romantic holiday?

Some foods to avoid: Acidity; citrus, white wine, shell fish, pork.

Factory farmed meat, fish and poultry.

Low fat dairy products.

Gluten: White bread, cakes, all white starch.

Preservatives, additives and synthetic hormones.

Cut out alcohol.

Eat alkaline food: fish, poultry, fresh green leafy vegetables.

Supplements for Fertility: Flower Formula 17 Arum Lily Tree Formula SF7 Male fertil Tree Formula SF8 female Repro Folic acid (green vegetables) Zinc (pumpkin seeds) Selenium (onions) Germanium (garlic) Magnesium (tomatoes) Vit D (dairy products) Vit E (meat, whole grain, seeds) Protein l- Carnitine (full cream dairy products) vital for healthy sperm and ovum.

For more detailed see articles on Endometriosis go to ‘Mossop Talks’ on www.mossopnaturalremedies.com This beautiful, sensual flower has astonishing power to support fertility.

If, on the other hand, you suffer with endometriosis [Poly Cystic Ovaries] it is painful, causing heavy periods, PMT, weight gain and depression and may also cause miscarriage.

Diana will be giving a lecture on Friday 15 April at 7pm: ‘Complications of Conception for Couples.’ Tel 738737 to book. www.dianamossop.com • info@phytob.com • Diana Mossop Clinic 01534 738737.

56 -

RURAL Spring 2016

EILEEN HOLLAND:Layout 1 29/02/2016 14:57 Page 1

YOU ARE THE COLOURS YOU CHOOSE

That is the message of Aura-Soma® - colour therapy practised in Jersey by Eileen Holland

CHOOSE a colour – any colour. Well, choose four in fact, from a selection of 115 small glass bottles, each filled with a mixture of coloured oils and water. This is a colour therapy known as Aura-Soma.

Therapies come in all styles, many of them describing themselves as ‘holistic’.

Aura-Soma is practised in Jersey by Eileen Holland; her study started as a hobby, and as she learned more and more about it, so she went on formal training over the years, and she is now a professional Aura-Soma consultant and teacher.

People come to her for consultations: ‘Each consultation is different,’ she said. ‘The therapy is an holistic soul therapy in which visual and non-visual vibrations of colour, crystals and natural aromas combine with light to harmonise body, mind and soul.’ The words are derived from Latin, Greek and Sanskrit: Aura is well enough understood as a shimmering light that supposedly emanates from the body and is usually more perceived intuitively than being physically visible; Soma means ‘body’ or (in Sanskrit) a drink that transports the drinker to a state of ecstasy. The words Aura-Soma together mean body of light.

Eileen continued: ‘Aura-Soma is a tool to help us to understand ourselves at a deeper level. It is a non-intrusive, self-selective system in which colour is the key. The coloured oils in bottles, help you to bring your being into a state of equilibrium. They may help to increase your self-awareness and create a harmonious sense of comfort around and within yourself.

‘The colour choice reflects your being’s needs and helps you to find a more true understanding of your potential.’

She said it was especially suited for those who wished to come to a new focus in their life, and perhaps wishing to develop within themselves higher levels of consciousness.

At the Aura-Soma consultation clients are asked to select four of the bottles that they are drawn to. This enables the practitioner to explore with the client aspects of their personal journey and a path to self-understanding.

‘The individual has chosen the right colours themselves, and has not relied on anyone else thereby making the colour choices a reflection of their own truth. Colour permeates all areas of our lives, and if we make a conscious choice of colour around us we can enhance and improve.

This is a very abbreviated and, perhaps, simplistic description of a therapy which Eileen says ‘incorporates so many branches of so many other fields of study’.

And how does Aura-Soma qualify for article space in ‘RURAL’ magazine ? Well, Eileen is a locally-based therapist, it is a local business – and, in an issue of it in which organic agriculture is featured in a major way, the ingredients of the oils in those bottles are farmed bio-dynamically on Shire Farm near Tetford in Lincolnshire, which is wholly-owned and operated by Aura-Soma. Examples of these are poppies, sunflowers, calendula, clary sage, melissa (lemon balm), lavender and roses. They also use numerous plants and herbs which must be grown in climates more favourable than England, such as ylang-ylang from Madagascar, and Australian Sandalwood.

In order to maintain the purity of the products, Aura-Soma works with other biodynamic and organic farms throughout Europe and further afield to ensure high standards of quality.

It is, in essence, a modern take on herbalism, a ‘soil to soul’ philosophy of healing, something very different from mainstream modern medicine.

Or, as Eileen described it: ‘It is a compelling journey into the deeper aspects of being.’ *To contact Eileen: e-mail e7.holland@gmail.com or telephone 619167

Shire Biodynamic Farm, Lincolnshire

RACING SPRING:Layout 1 28/02/2016 18:19 Page 1

THE 2016 RACE SEASON

Another racing season is about to begin. By John Henwood

WITH another racing season under orders for an early start one might ask, how does the Jersey Race Club determine when the sport should begin? Well, there are two answers to that question, long and short.

The long answer is that the first fixture is always held on the first Monday after the first Sunday after the first full moon occurring on or after the sun crosses the celestial equator (a line above the Earth’s actual equator) from south to north. Got that? The short answer is that it is always on Easter Monday.

The fixing of Easter is somewhat complicated: it was nearly 1,700 years ago that the relevant authorities of the day determined upon the formula involving the waxing of the moon and the position of the sun (the vernal equinox) which means that Easter can fall no earlier than 22 March and no later than 25 April. Those concerned about braving the chilly wind at Les Landes almost a week earlier than will be the case this year need not worry, Easter will not fall as early as 22 March until 2285.

That Easter Bank Holiday always marks the start of the local racing season has been problematic when Easter falls early because on occasions there have been long gaps between the first and second fixtures and trainers have taken the view that they will not get seriously busy with their horses so early.

That is not the situation this year with a second fixture in mid-April. The longest break will be about four weeks to mid-May then there will be a meeting every two or three weeks to the traditional finale on August Bank Holiday.

The new term will open in a mood of optimism. During the winter the Race Club announced that prize money for all races would be increased with the minimum allocated for the feature race on each of the nine days of racing to be £4,000, an increase of £750, while all other races will enjoy a prize money increase of £500 to £3,000. Subsequently, a sponsorship deal was secured with a local company, Fir-Pine Developments, for a series of hurdle races culminating in a grand finale at the last fixture with a race carrying a purse of £6,000.

58 -

RURAL Spring 2016

These are bold initiatives, which address a long-running concern that local racing was falling behind even the smallest provincial tracks in the United Kingdom, while the cost of keeping a horse in training was ever escalating. The new prize structure will add around £25,000 to the Club’s costs and it will be looking to secure even more commercial sponsorship deals.

The boost for hurdlers in particular will be welcomed by the traditionalists. It should be remembered that, until 1981 racing was run by the Jersey Drag Hunt & Chase Club and jumping was deeply embedded into the culture. With the separation of the sports of hunting and racing which came with the re-formation of the Jersey Race Club that year, hurdling gradually became less favoured by owners to the extent that there was even a proposal to do away with the one obligatory jump race on every programme.

That move was defeated and although the hurdle races still tend to draw small fields they are much more competitive nowadays, thanks in part to the interest being shown by some United Kingdom based trainers. The new series of races, which will act as qualifying events for the big race in August, will provide a further incentive to support jump racing.

Having referred to the Jersey Race Club being re-formed in 1981, it would be wrong not to record that the original Club was formed as long ago as 1832, to organise a single race meeting. Having succeeded with that event it continued in existence promoting fixtures at Gorey and Trinity. However, it was not the only body promoting horse racing in Jersey. The St Ouen’s Race Club was set up to organise racing in west of the Island. The sport flourished in the 19th Century both at marked out courses and separately through the hunting community arranging informal point-to-point events.

Jersey is proud of its heritage in so many respects, but the extent of its long running love affair with the sport of Kings is sometimes overlooked. Horse racing is deeply embedded (the first recorded fixture took place in 1789) and it has survived through the vicissitudes of wars, Occupation, disease and other privations.

Today it is an essential and important part of our rural culture.

SHETLAND PONIES:Layout 1 28/02/2016 18:20 Page 1

SHETLAND IN JERSEY

Alison Trigg with Charlie

The Shetland pony: small, intelligent and sturdy animals, with a history stretching back to prehistory. ALASDAIR CROSBY visited some Shetland ponies that are kept in Jersey WE are in the far north to look at Shetland ponies… well, at least in Jersey terms. Actually we’re in Trinity.

‘We often see cars stop,’ said owner Alison Trigg, ‘and children getting out to give them apples and carrots.’

But like Connemara or New Forest or Exmoor or all other breeds of pony, Shetland ponies don’t necessarily come from their eponymous regions: these days, Shetlands can be found all over the world.

So they are not biting and bad tempered, as is sometimes alleged?

Historically they were used for pulling carts to load peat or to transport fishermen and their catch. Come the Industrial Revolution, ponies were exported and bred for use in coal mines. In modern times they are often a child’s introduction to the pleasures of riding, or for driving, or kept just for companionship.

Small ponies, like big dogs, tend to attract attention and from personal observation, there seem to be plenty of Shetlands in Jersey. Recently, we visited two Shetland owners and their ponies – choosing them for no better reason than that they were near at hand (and because the ponies looked very appealing).

Marley and Charlie

MARLEY and Charlie are something of local celebrities.

The paddock in which they live is visible from two nearby lanes and so they are often seen grazing there, to the delight of passing motorists.

‘Certainly not in our case! When we first got them they hadn’t been handled and we weren’t quite sure how they were going to behave. But they actually love people – especially children.

We have Charlie (19 months) and Marley (4). Charlie is a little more shy compared to Marley, but Marley is super-duper friendly.’

Alison wanted a companion for her ‘big’ riding horse, Sir Richie. They were put in touch with a breeder in the Yorkshire Dales. They went there to buy one pony, but when they were looking over the available ponies they found they couldn’t stop at one – they came home with two.

Shetland ponies are so often bought as a child’s first horse, that they tend to be passed from owner to owner as their riders outgrow them.

‘It’s a shame,’ Alison said, ‘because these are sweet and fun – and just so good-natured. Some people breed them and show them, but we just wanted something that wasn’t too hard to look after and that were quite easy to handle. We regularly walk them on the road, like dogs. Often in the mornings I think to myself: ‘Oh what a day, it’s raining again!’ and then they start chasing each other round and knocking things over and you can’t help but laugh at them.’

RURAL Spring 2016 - 59 continues overleaf...

SHETLAND PONIES:Layout 1 28/02/2016 18:21 Page 2

“We’ve got to get him out”.

So "Operation Ruadh" swung into action.’

60 -

RURAL Spring 2016

Sally McDowall and Ruadh enjoying each other's company!

SHETLAND PONIES:Layout 1 28/02/2016 18:21 Page 3

Richie, the big riding horse, feels quite paternal towards them.

Alison knows that people often buy a donkey for their horse to have a bit of equine companionship in the paddock, but in her view, ‘a donkey is just a donkey.’

(She was not referring to Guernsey).

She said: ‘Some people love donkeys and I’m actually not sure how Richie would react to a donkey whereas these two, when they whinny, he thinks: “Oh I must go and look after them”, and when I put them to bed I have to take all three of them together, otherwise Richie gets a bit cross.’

Alison continued: ‘There seem to be more and more Shetlands coming to Jersey. They make lovely pets, especially if you don’t want a big horse to look after and you’ve got land – but you could keep them in a garden, and walk them regularly, like dogs.

‘I never was a small pony person until we got these two - and I can see that they bring a lot of pleasure and joy to people.’

RESCUED FROM MISERY NEXT stop was down a Trinity country lane to meet Ruadh (Gaelic for ‘red hair’, pronounced ‘Roody’), a Shetland pony rescued from Scottish tinkers, and his owner, Sally MacDowall.

Sally told the story of how in December 2014 she and her husband had found him in Scotland. Ruadh was living in terrible conditions: ‘He was only a baby, but he was being kept in a small cage in a dark shed, with no light at all. He was in a very bad state indeed. To begin with I couldn’t see him, but I could smell him and I thought it was something dead.

He was then transferred up to Jill Noble’s stable yard, who took over his care. The vet was called out immediately due to his condition. He was riddled with worms, his tail was still stuck to the sores on his leg and he was in a terrible mess.

The vet gave him all his injections and a strong course of de-wormer.

‘When we found him, we didn't know how young he was and it was only when the vet examined him that he said he was only three years old.

‘He was reluctant to eat, primarily because he had not eaten for so long. But eventually he came round and began to put on some weight.’

Sally managed to see Ruadh twice over the few months and was relieved to see him doing so well. Finally, after four months of care he was given the green light to travel to Jersey.

‘It was very emotional watching this wee chap get out of the box, he was totally relaxed and weirdly enough, he recognised me.

‘The other strange thing that happened was that I won £150 from a scratch card just after I got back to Jersey, so someone upstairs obviously thought we had done the right thing!

‘He is very clingy – I’m not sure if it is because he is young or insecure. But he’s like a limpet.’

Sally continued: ‘There were so many people involved with Ruadh’s rescue. Our story is one of many - people like us who will go that extra mile to get these horses and ponies out of these terrible conditions.

‘Our story had a happy ending - unfortunately many of them do not.’ *There are numerous Internet references to the Shetland Pony Welfare Trust, to help inform readers who would like to contribute to the rescue of more ponies and to their re-homing

‘But he was alive and was knee deep in excrement in his tiny cage and his tail was stuck to the open sores on his back leg.

But what was nice about it was that he was so pleased to see us, and so affectionate. It was almost as if he was thinking “Oh, thank God you’ve come!”

‘So then we went away and slept on it and I just said: “We’ve got to get him out”. So "Operation Ruadh" swung into action.’

First, they contacted a friend in Scotland, Jill Noble of Pentland Hill Icelandics, who breeds ponies, and regularly rescues horses and ponies in her own right. She arranged to get Ruadh away from the yard – but the tinker insisted on payment safely in her bank account before allowing him to be moved.

‘We offered £50 for him but she refused, and then £100, and then £150, saying it was our last offer (it wasn’t, but the owner didn’t know that!) We finally agreed on the price.

We got back to Jersey a couple of days later and I transferred the money straight away. We had an anxious couple of hours wait until she let us know that she had received the money.

‘Half an hour later the horse box had arrived to collect him and Ruadh dashed up the ramp and ran to the back of the box – it must have seemed like a place of safety.’

Ruadh in the loving foreve r home he deserves

RURAL Spring 2016 - 61

BIRDS:Layout 1 28/02/2016 18:21 Page 1

The Bar-tailed godwit - its migratory achievements are simply breathtaking.

A JOURNEY BEYOND EPIC

The wonders of bird migration - by MIKE STENTIFORD, often called ‘Jersey’s Bird-Man’ IN one of the most thought provoking books I’ve ever read about birds, ‘Say Goodbye to the Cuckoo’, author Michael McCarthy wastes little time in making a remarkably valid observation.

He states that, each spring, around 16 million migrant birds arrive in Britain from the African sub-continent.

The point he makes is of the impact this mass arrival would have on the general public if the birds all arrived at the same time - and in broad daylight!

As the author suggests, while even the most uninterested among us would probably be mesmerised by such a phenomenon, coverage via the media would be total.

Due to a vast number of reasons, of course, compact spring arrivals such as this are unlikely ever to occur.

In the true order of things, nature insists that migrating birds arrive over a period of around ten weeks - between mid-March and the end of May - and at almost any time during a 24-hour day.

Although the Channel Islands are well favoured by a good selection of migrating birds, it would be quite wrong to suggest that we, in Jersey, play host to anything like the vast numbers that arrive along the coast of Britain.

Tens of thousands, perhaps!

But millions? Certainly not!

Nevertheless, for those of us who relish the fact that so many different species 62 -

RURAL Spring 2016

show such regular allegiance to the Island, the arrival of each individual bird is marked with a certain degree of respect.

This tradition of reverence, in fact, probably has as much to do with welcoming the springtime as it has with the wonder of migration itself.

For the non-enthusiast, to exhibit this sense of amazement as these birds arrive from almost every point of the African compass must seem bizarre in the extreme.

Birds arrive; birds depart; big deal what’s there to wonder at!

The answer, really, is quite simple inasmuch as each individual bird and we’re talking here of birds of almost weightless grams - embarks on a journey that is as compulsory as it is epic.

It’s no holiday and it’s certainly no picnic; the thousands of miles covered each year simply have to be embarked upon if the species’ future gene pools are to continue and flourish.

But migration is certainly nothing new; for countless centuries seasonal changes have been determined both by the arrival or departure of certain species.

Even these days, public comment is made when the first swallow arrives or when the premier (but fast disappearing) call of a cuckoo is made.

There are, of course, several other migratory species that regularly treat Jersey with a certain degree of loyal

Spring migrants that show regular loyalty to Jersey - the Yellow wagtail and the Spotted flycatcher.

respect although their names probably fail to spark any public familiarity.

Species such as Spotted flycatcher, Sedge warbler, Ring ouzel, Wheatear, Yellow wagtail and Whinchat; each one somehow managing to complete a remarkably long journey in order to get their names inscribed on Jersey’s annual migratory register.

While the mega-mileage undertaken bi-annually by these tiny bundles of feathers seems almost incomprehensible to us, some species really do add credence to that old adage, ‘going the extra mile’.

Spare a serious thought if you would for a wading bird called the Bar-tailed godwit.

Under proven scientific conditions conducted in 2007, an individual godwit journeyed non-stop from Alaska to New Zealand, a distance of some 8,000 miles - in eight days.

No medals, no media coverage, no celebrity status; a simple case of a bird needing to do what a bird needs to do.

It does, though, certainly in my book, put many of our own athletic triumphs into proper perspective; something that, sadly, we fail so often to recognise.

As our first migrants begin to arrive, it’s something we might, perhaps, wish seriously to take a moment to think about?

Photographs by Tim Ransom and Tony Wright

FLATCAP:Layout 1 29/02/2016 08:15 Page 1

FLATCAP

HAS ORGANIC’S BUBBLE BURST? News and views from a working Jersey farmer SINCE their peak in 2008, UK sales of organic food and drink have dropped by an alarming 30%. Producer numbers and the area farmed organically have fallen by a similar amount as disillusioned producers quit the industry. However, of late, certain categories have started to buck the trend – notably, dairy products, baby food, fresh fruit and vegetables. This has led the Soil Association, the body that oversees and speaks for the industry, to claim that reports of the demise of organic have been premature.

Jersey has not been insulated from these trends and has seen the number of its organic producers diminish, both on the horticultural and dairying fronts. The Classic Herd at Manor Farm, St Peter caused headlines when it reverted to conventional milk production last year, leaving only one organic milk producer to service local demand, through Jersey Dairy. Meanwhile a small but resilient core of organic growers continues to supply the local market, but they claim that the subsidies they receive for organic production are insufficient to make the industry viable.

Numerous reasons are cited to explain why organic has fallen out of favour and why so many of its farmers across Britain are giving up. Firstly, the lower yields achieved by organic crops means that prices charged have to be higher – this is definitely a consideration with cost-conscious shoppers, although a significant proportion of consumers have shown they are willing to pay a premium for ‘ethically sourced’ goods.

Secondly, the production standards set by the Soil Association not only add extra cost but are also very bureaucratic, which can be a deterrent to even the most committed

organic supplier. Thirdly, the perceived lack of support from government in the form of subsidies, compared with overseas competitors, is seen as disadvantaging British producers.

Additionally, some of the popular misconceptions (some would say ‘myths’) surrounding the organic movement have been challenged: principally, that it uses no chemicals and is antibiotics-free, when patently this is incorrect. Those arguing on behalf of conventional agriculture can go on to assert, for example in the case of milk production, that a litre of organic milk requires far more land than conventional milk to produce, has much greater global warming potential (through greenhouse gas emissions) and releases more (polluting) nutrients to water sources. The message has got through to the public that mainstream farming, rather than being the baddy in the piece, can also be environmentally friendly and sustainable.

But what has probably dented the organic sector most is the purchasing behaviour of consumers. Consumers have shown themselves to be a pretty fickle and disloyal bunch. Since 2008 many have drifted away from organics and instead have targeted their spend on novel (one might say more trendy) ‘ethical’ alternatives. A report by the Ethical Consumer Research Association puts this into sharp focus and must make stark reading for organic producers. Figures show that sales of ‘ethically labelled’ produce have actually risen year on year since 2007, despite the economic downturn. This finding is counter-intuitive and goes against the widespread assumption that these straitened times have led to a reduction in this kind of discretionary spending. In fact, during this period, Rainforest Alliance certified products

have surged in popularity, from practically nowhere, to now making up the largest share of that market, with sales significantly ahead of Fairtrade, which occupies second place followed by the once dominant organic sector. With numerous other ethically labelled products adorning our supermarket shelves it’s little wonder that organic has struggled to keep its place in the hearts, and wallets, of the buying public.

So, what are the prospects for the organic sector and how likely is it that organic producers can win back their former market share? Two pieces of evidence may give rise to some optimism. Firstly, as mentioned earlier, the UK has begun to see a revival in organic sales with growth in the last three years. Secondly, the nutritional credentials of organic received a significant boost in 2014 when researchers from Newcastle University showed some organic crops and crop-based foods are higher in a number of key antioxidants compared to non-organic and are also lower in toxic heavy metals.

Whether this is enough to reverse the fortunes of organic, only time will tell.

Last year, Aldi - the German discounter launched a range of ‘affordable’ organic vegetables, but the very name points to low returns for its suppliers. Organic producers are traditionally a diverse and independent group so, while this kind of arrangement may suit the larger, more professional producer, it will not be a panacea for all.

The viability of organic for these seems to rest with the level of subsidy they receive – and in a world of reducing government aid, coupled with lukewarm consumer support, the future remains uncertain.

RURAL Spring 2016 - 63

LYNDON FARNHAM:Layout 1 29/02/2016 08:18 Page 1

FARM JERSEY A new body – Farm Jersey - is being established by the Minister for Economic Development (and various other things), Senator Lyndon Farnham.

He talked about Farm Jersey to ALASDAIR CROSBY THE Minister for Economic Development, Senator Lyndon Farnham, has got a whole series of different political responsibilities: he is also Minister for Tourism, and Sport and Culture.

‘It is a grand new title,’ he said, ‘but importantly, it also includes Agriculture. Since the introduction of Ministerial government, that position was delegated to Assistant Ministers; I was determined that Agriculture and Tourism should be represented by the Minister.

‘We have some of the best farmers in the world in the Island.

It is not as if they were farming tens of thousands of acres they have to ‘micro-farm’ – and often, that’s harder. My only aim is to keep the rural economy sustainable.’

And misquoting the late President Kennedy, he continued: ‘I want to ask the Rural Sector: what can government do for them, not what they can do for the government?’

Having already established ‘Visit Jersey’ to promote tourism to the Island, he is now stabling its mirror image: ‘Farm Jersey’ to promote agriculture in the Island and to advise on marketing in the rural sector.

‘It will work in partnership with Genuine Jersey,’ he said, and it will have a separate board - with new faces on it, including representatives from the younger generation of farmers (we are lucky to have a younger generation of farmers in Jersey!) and also experts from outside the Island.

‘I’d like to get a real buzz back into the industry, generate some real excitement and grow some more confidence in the industry. It would be great to make farming “fun” again, although I know farming is extremely hard work – much harder than the work that politicians do.’

The chairman of Farm Jersey will be Jim Hopley, for many years the Chief Executive of the C.I Co-Operative Society and now chairman of Genuine Jersey.

The Minister continued: ‘We have two of the biggest agricultural brands in the world, with the Jersey cow and the Jersey Royal potato. We need to be smarter in the way we 64 -

RURAL Spring 2016

promote these. There’s great opportunity for the Island to get extra benefit from them, and if you link agriculture with our tourism offering, you have a real formula for success.

‘By pairing Visit Jersey and Farm Jersey, we will be able to get a bit more bang for our bucks’ (or, less colloquially, better value for the money we spend) ‘and at the same time hopefully raise the profile of Jersey products in our overseas markets.’

But surely farming in Jersey is unsustainable in the modern age, apart from its dairy produce and its Jersey Royals?

Too small an area and uncompetitive with products grown the other side of that expensive water separating Jersey from the UK? ‘That is why I want to pair Farm Jersey with Visit Jersey – both bodies have a remit to promote Jersey produce. Food is a very powerful way of getting people’s interests, and if we can develop and get across to millions of people outside the Island the story of our two major brands, it will raise interest in the Island. People will want to come to the Island and explore it and use our restaurants. We want, for example to develop the idea of ‘Farm Stays’. There are all sorts of ways in which we can innovate and increase the productivity of the sector.’

It was really important, he said, that given the world-wide economic turmoil at the moment, that the Island should have a more diversified economy apart from finance. ‘Agriculture and Tourism facilitate everything we do, because they provide the infrastructure that makes the Island accessible and beautiful.

‘They could never replace the Financial Services sector, but they are certainly very important, because between the two industries they do provide thousands of jobs for hundreds of businesses.

‘I am determined to keep Jersey farming.’

ATF FUELS:Layout 1 29/02/2016 08:16 Page 1

ATF launches domestic heating oil service ATF Fuels has launched a new service supplying domestic heating oil to Jersey homes.

The company has set out to endeavour to offer the lowest prices in the island. The firm can currently supply kerosene and also premium home kerosene to islanders.

Head of operations Jonathan Best said: “Clearly there is a need for more competition in the heating oil market and we are seeing a clear demand for our service in these early days from customers wanting a better deal.

“More than that feedback on our customer service has been great, especially for our next day and emergency delivery services.”

ATF is an independent, locally owned and managed fuel distributor and has been providing aviation fuel at Jersey Airport since 2014. The company also has plans

to expand its supply operation to include providing agricultural and commercial fuels to homes, farms and businesses in the future.

“We’re very excited about shaking up the heating oil market and developing our offering further,” said Mr Best.

“We already offer a top-up and remote monitoring service and a planned payment scheme, but we will shortly be launching an online ordering service.

“We have a dedicated and experienced team here and I think that customers value our commitment to providing the best prices and service.”

More information about ATF and fuel prices in Jersey visit: www.atf.je

HDF TRUST:Layout 1 28/02/2016 18:22 Page 1

SEEDS TO RECOVERY

Wild birds benefit from grants from the Howard Davis Farm Trust – explains trustee Mike Stentiford

Sunflower conservation fields - Romano De Costa

SINCE the launch of the Howard Davis Farm Trust in 2009, several projects undertaken by an impressive number of successful applicants have benefited greatly from its generous grant scheme.

Through a sustained programme of habitat restoration, management and monitoring, the Birds on the Edge project continues to make every effort to redress this downward trend.

Direct assistance is awarded throughout each year to any group or individual seeking financial assistance deemed consistent with the objects of the Trust.

By working closely with other environmental agencies and the farming community, the project has also assisted greatly in the successful reintroduction of the Red-billed chough.

These fall into two main categories, the first of which relates to training and research in every aspect of agriculture and horticulture.

Applications for grants are always welcome and can be obtained from Mr Paul Tucker, Secretary, Howard Davis Farm Trust, Chaumarais, La Rue de Samares, St Clement, JE2 6LS.

The second category covers protection, enhancement, monitoring, training and research relating to the natural environment.

Providing they follow the spirit and intentions of T B Davis, the trust’s generous benefactor, applications from Jersey and/or other countries or territories are given full consideration.

Financial support from HDFT is helping the Birds on the Edge project with their conservation fields and with their chough monitoring programme.

One important local agri-environmental application that clearly identifies all necessary criteria is the Birds on the Edge project, a highly successful flagship conservation initiative that continues to be fully supported by the trust.

Having attained high conservation status together with public respect and recognition, the project first received major funding in 2013.

Under the supervision of the BOTE project officer Cristina Sellares, the grants awarded have allowed a succession of major environmental initiatives to be undertaken and completed.

Chief among these has seen close cooperation between farmers, landowners and environmentalists resulting in an Island-wide network of seeded conservation fields.

The primary reason behind this ‘co-operative’ is entirely because of the recent steady decline in certain local farmland bird species.

Monitoring the choughs - Liz Corry 66 -

RURAL Spring 2016

Project10:Layout 1 28/02/2016 18:24 Page 1

KAN SAVES MONEY

KAN SPREADS

KAN WORKS

Find out how w Koch Advancedd NitrogenÂŽ fertil fertiliser iser ECP DGPGĆ‚V [QW CPF [QWT HCTO ECP DGPGĆ‚V [

[QW CPF [QWT HCTO

O

“My My oilseed d rape yield grown w ith KAN with YCU XGTKĆ‚GF

F QP C

YCU XGTKƂGF QP C weighbridge at a over 2 tonne per acre e/5 tonne acre/5 per hectare - pr roof to me proof that the productt worked,�

“... Spreads to “...

6 metres in the right 36 conditions and it is as conditions goood as an equivalent good trials AN. In our spreader trials it has h performed reallyy well,�

“The The saving gs compared savings to AN aare re quite considerab ble. W e are considerable.

We probably do oing a third doing more in a day d and we use less dies sel and have diesel less bags too get rid of,�

Maurice Large, L M Farms

0

0KEM .CPING[ 5%5

Ben Jones, E W Jones & Son

bunnfertiliser.com bunnfertiliser r.com | 01603 709 709500 9500 AGROTAIN AGROT TAINŽ is a registered tradema trademark rk of Koch Agronomic Services, LLC used under licence liicence by Bunn Fertiliser Limited. KŞNŽ is a regis registered stered trademark of Koch Fertilizer Trading Tradingg Sarl. Koch Advanced NitrogenŽ is a registered ttrademark rademark of Koch Industries, Inc. BUNNŽ and thee BUNN logo are registered trademarks trademarkks of Bunn Fertiliser Limited. Š2016 Bunn Fertilis Fertiliser ser Limited. 15-0037-v9

SPRING CAREY OLSEN:Layout 1 29/02/2016 13:32 Page 1

STRIKING THE RIGHT BALANCE: DEVELOPMENT IN THE COASTAL NATIONAL PARK

By Advocate Samantha Hoare, Associate at Carey Olsen ONE of Jersey's most treasured assets is its outstanding natural beauty, which the States of Jersey has historically sought to protect. The purpose of the Planning and Building (Jersey) Law 2002 (the ‘Planning Law’) is to ‘conserve, protect and improve Jersey's natural beauty, natural resources and general amenities, its character and its physical and natural environments.’ It achieves this by ensuring that when development is to be undertaken planning permission must be applied for, and when land is developed, any development is in accordance with a development plan.

The Revised Island Plan 2011 (the ‘Plan’) identifies zones of the Island which can sustain further development and those which cannot. The Plan provides a comprehensive policy framework setting out the nature and extent of development permissible in each particular zone. It is therefore important to understand which zone your property is located in and which planning policies therefore apply.

In 2011, policy NE6 of the Plan (later revised in 2014) created a new zone in the form of the Coastal National Park, as illustrated across.

Policy NE6 sets out that the Coastal National Park (CNP) should be afforded the highest level of protection from development. There is therefore ‘the strongest presumption against all forms of development’ in the CNP. (The ‘Presumption’) Policy NE6 allows for certain 68 -

RURAL Spring 2016

‘exceptions’ to the Presumption. If a proposed development does not fall within one of the ‘exceptions’, usually, it will not be permissible. In terms of residential development, there are two main exceptions to the Presumption: • An extension to an existing dwelling.

• The redevelopment of an existing dwelling and/or existing ancillary building/structure.

An extension must be subservient to the existing building in terms of its design and scale. It must also be designed in such a way that it relates to existing buildings and context. In other words it cannot be out of keeping with what is already there.

The extension should not facilitate a significant increase in occupancy - that is one that significantly increases the number of people living in the dwelling. This may arise, for example, by creating further bedrooms or bathrooms.

An extension also cannot disproportionately increase the size of the extant dwelling. ‘Size’ in this context means the gross floorspace, building footprint, and/or the visual impact of the

SPRING CAREY OLSEN:Layout 1 29/02/2016 13:32 Page 2

development. Importantly, the proposed development must not harm the landscape character.

A proposed extension must meet all these requirements, not just one of them. For example, if the extension is subservient to the existing dwelling, but creates an eyesore which harms the landscape character, it will not be permissible.

• the demolition and replacement of an existing employment building, for an employment use, or a different use; • the change of use of employment land and buildings to other employment uses/or non-employment uses; • new cultural and tourism development; • strategic development that is demonstrated to satisfy a proven Island need.

In respect of the second exception listed above, you can demolish an existing building and replace it provided it does not increase occupancy and is no larger than the building being replaced. ‘Size’ in this context means gross floorspace, building footprint, and/or the visual impact. A replacement building must also give rise to demonstrable environmental gains which contributes to the repair and restoration of the landscape character.

The Planning Law and the Island Plan aim to strike a careful balance between two competing interests: allowing a land owner to develop their land as they wish, and ensuring that the natural beauty of the Island is not eroded by such development. It is not an easy balance to strike, and on occasions land owners will be disappointed when an application is refused.

An example of the latter requirement was when the Les Creux Hotel, in St Brelade, was demolished and replaced with two substantial homes. This reduced the footprint/impact of the buildings on the site, and returned a good proportion of the site back to vegetation.

To avoid disappointment, it is important to have a proper understanding of the zone in which your property is located and the restrictions on development in that zone. Helpfully, the Planning Department can also provide pre-application advice before a landowner is put to the expense of submitting a full planning application.

There are other exceptions, each with their own further requirements to satisfy, for example: Minor development, where the development is small in scale and incidental to a primary use of land and buildings.

Other exceptions relating to employment include: • an extension and/or intensification of use of existing employment buildings and land;

*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. *This article is only intended to provide a very general overview. It is not intended as legal advice and should not be relied on as such.

RURAL Spring 2016 - 69

LETTER FROM ALDERNEY:Layout 1 28/02/2016 18:25 Page 1

A LETTER FROM ALDERNEY By the former States of Jersey Deputy and Planning Chief Officer, JOHN YOUNG, now on a work contract in Alderney LIVING and working in Alderney is to travel back 50 years.

St Anne‘s densely packed historic cottages and narrow cobbled streets have little changed since Queen Victoria’s day.

Among them stands the Cathedral of the Channel Islands, St Anne’s Church, designed by Sir Gilbert Scott. Historic buildings and traditional shop fronts line both sides of Victoria Street, which rivals even St Aubin. Here we find the butcher, baker, florist, fishmonger, post office and chemist, but no UK chain stores. It is a living street; people shop and take time to chat. Shops still close for lunch, handwritten signs like ‘open 11- ish’ or ‘phone me if you want anything’ are on display everywhere. There are no parking charges or traffic congestion.

Alderney‘s winter population of 1,800 people rises to 3,000 when second home owners return and visitors in the short summer season bring the Island to life. Alderney Week in August surpasses Jersey’s Battle with its wackiness and sheer family fun. Its week-long carnival of events provides something for everybody. Some people call it madness but it bonds the whole community.

Alderney’s environment is almost totally unspoilt with breathtaking seascapes. Burhou Island is home to its puffins.

One of the largest gannet colonies in Europe can be seen and heard from the cliffs close offshore. All green zone land outside St Anne is protected from any development by law

and much of it is publicly accessible. Alderney, with its tracks across the open heaths and wild cliffs is ideal for walking along with fishing, sailing, cycling and outdoor pursuits.

With no light pollution Alderney‘s night skies are heavenly.

Victorian forts dominate the coastline. Some are used as homes or holiday retreats; others stand as huge economic opportunities. Occupation structures are literally everywhere and many have been put to practical use. Lager Stylt, one of four forced labour camps in Alderney was the only SS concentration camp sited on British soil. Its ugly concrete gate pillars still stand carrying only a modest plaque serving as a testament to a very dark period in the Island’s history. It will never be known for certain just how many people died in Alderney during the occupation. At least 400 people lost their lives here but other sources suggest a greater number. Unlike Jersey and Guernsey there were no local witnesses to tell the John Young

LETTER FROM ALDERNEY:Layout 1 28/02/2016 18:25 Page 2

tale. Tragically, after Liberation many Russian prisoners who survived forced labour here ended their days in Stalin’s Siberian gulags.

The Island currently faces huge economic challenges after the recession. Air fares have risen beyond many Islanders’ pockets. Alderney’s lifeline links to Guernsey and Southampton have been reduced to a minimal level; the link with Jersey is no more. With no ferry service serving Alderney, its population has declined in recent years and visitor numbers reduced. Many Islanders are highly critical about ‘Aurigny, the Islanders’ airline’.

renewable energy. The new FAB (France, Alderney, Britain) cable route is now being surveyed in advance of construction in 2017 and is due to connect into the tidal power project expected to start generating power from the Alderney race early in the next decade, bringing financial benefits to the Island.

Having lived and worked in Alderney since last May as Alderney’s Planning Officer with the task of reforming the Island’s planning system, my experience has given me a different insight into resolving Jersey’s problems. Retirement does not seem to apply here; people’s skills are put to use well into their 80’s. Alderney is resilient; it makes best use of its scarce resources and lives within its means.

I am even more convinced that greater inter-Island cooperation is essential to the future of all the Channel Islands. I hope in my further letters to report on these policy insights and my progress with planning reforms. In the meantime please do come up to visit our Northern Isle, despite the travel problems.

Trust me - it is well worth the effort.

Businesses viability has suffered. Some shops and hotels in St Anne are unoccupied but opportunity abounds and offers excellent value for prospective purchasers, compared to Jersey. There are no barriers to incomers setting up businesses or buying or leasing property in Alderney.

New residents are welcomed, be they workers, retirees or affluent second home owners.

The States of Alderney is working hard to turn around the Island’s economic fortunes but Alderney is dependent on Guernsey and taxes are paid to Guernsey. Political members in both Islands are working to provide incentives and encourage opportunities. Alderney is already well ahead of Jersey in

RURAL Spring 2016 - 71

DACIA ROAD TEST:Layout 1 29/02/2016 13:26 Page 1

4 X 4 = DACIA the answer to 4x4 is the new Dacia Duster. STEVE PICOT test drives a car that is completely the opposite of a typical gas-guzzling 4x4 THE Jeep - the Off Roader…. they seem to be everywhere nowadays. But are they all gas-guzzling monsters with huge price tags? Not this one, not the new Dacia Duster.

I admit I was actually expecting a fit and finish that was, well perhaps not quite as good as the average car. That was the first shock this car delivered and not the last.

Dacia is a company that originated in 1966 in Romania, essentially producing Renault 8 cars under licence and were extremely popular in their home country; there were long waiting lists. Their dependable mechanicals and simple engineering enabled them to go from strength to strength – until the present day and the Dacia model now available at Bagot Garage.

The Laureate is the top of the Dacia range. The fit and finish of this car was excellent, with an attractive mix of piano black trim interspersed with subtle chrome finishes. It is a very comfortable and pleasant interior; the switchgear felt very modern and the general layout was excellent. On the handover I was treated to a detailed explanation of the assorted knobs and switches and how they worked by Graham Le Cornu, Bagot Road’s general manager. One knob in particular came in very useful, so I was glad I was paying attention.

When I saw this compact little 4X4, I admit I was sceptical.

I have had what I call ‘Real Off Roaders’ for years - big thirsty monsters with knobbly tyres that look the part. The new Dacia Duster is a different animal: it isn't big and intimidating, in fact it really isn't what you would expect.

Its interior seems a very familiar place to anyone who has driven a modern family car - there will be no unpleasant surprises there.

The Laureate we took out is equipped with all the mod consthe modern driver expects, such as air conditioning and trip computer and steering wheel controls for the stereo.

72 -

RURAL Spring 2016

The running gear is part of the tried and tested Renault family.

This Duster uses Renault's 1.5 litre diesel engine, as seen in a number of Renault’s current line up, including the Clio.

I admit I don't like diesels - something about the noise. Well this was one of my surprises with this car. Sitting inside it's not noisy and agricultural. In fact the words ‘quiet and refined – for a diesel’ come to mind.

DACIA ROAD TEST:Layout 1 29/02/2016 13:26 Page 2

However, there are petrol versions if you're a cynic like me.

But do try the diesel - it’s excellent.

On the road this is a very civilised vehicle. Despite the small engine, this little diesel pulls like a train up hills and the torque is evident. Inside, it's quiet and comfortable.

Remember that switch I mentioned? Our photographer wanted a proper off-road shot so he found a beautiful field.

I like off-roading; I have done plenty. I had left a dirty big off-roader with big knobbly tyres in Bagot’s car park. This field did not look so appealing in this little Dacia. So I drove tentatively into the rutted mud in between the tractor tracks and straight away I got my orders to turn left or right, speed up, slow down… and that’s when I got that sinking feeling.

Literally.

So - if you want a reliable dependable family car with safe handling, space and the real ability to go where an average car can't, you ought to try this one. Over 650,000 people have bought this model so far; they can't be wrong.

And I have saved the best to last: the price. They start from £10,500 for a basic 4x4 without all the bells and whistles of the Laureate and this comes with a 1.6 litre petrol engine.

The Laureate we tested is around £13,900 in fourwheeldriveform.

This truly is a modern interpretation of a cheap dependable off road vehicle. Try it - you won't be disappointed.

I remembered Graham showing me the 3-way switch for the forward and lock mode. So when I got stuck in the mud, I sat really hoping the switch worked – or else I was going to get very dirty.

So I turned the switch to lock and straight away all the power went to all the wheels, equally. Gently, I slipped the clutch and hey, no more spinning and I just pulled forward and safely on to the tarmac.

OK, I admit it: I am impressed. This car is not just a set of stickers - it really does do what it was intended to do.

Another one drives a Duster

Dacia Duster from £8,702 to £13,979 BAGOT R BAGOT ROAD, OAD, S ST TS SAVIOUR AVIOUR JJE2 E2 7 7RG RG 01534 WWW.BAGOT.JE 0 1534 815120 815120 W WW.BAGOT..JE T he o The official fficial fuel fuel consumption consumption fi figures gures in in mpg mpg ((l/100km) l/100km) ffor or the the cars cars sshown hown are: a re : u urban rban 27.2 27.2 ((10.4)–48.7 10.4) – 4 8.7 ((5.8); 5.8); extra-urban e xt ra - u r b a n 4 40.3 0.3 (7)–60.1 (7) – 60.1 ((4.7); 4.7); ccombined o m b in e d 3 35.3 5.3 ((8)–74.3 8) –74.3 (3.8). ( 3 . 8) . T The he official official CO CO 2 e emissions missions are are 185–115g/km.

185 –115g/km. EU EU Directive D i re c t i ve a and nd Regulation Regulation 692/2008 692/2008 test test environment environment fi figures. g u re s .

F Fuel uel consumption consumption and and CO CO 2 m may ay v vary ary a according ccording tto od driving riving styles, styles, rroad oad cconditions o n dit io ns a and nd o other ther ffactors. a c to r s .

Car C ar sshown hown is is a D Dacia acia Duster D uster L Lauréate auréate dCi dCi 1 110 10 4x2 4x2 ffrom ro m £ £12,666.

12,666. Prices Prices shown shown include in clu d e d delivery, elivery, number num b er p plates lates and and £27 £27 first first registration registration fee. fee. Prices Prices sshown hown are a re m manufacturer’s anufacturer ’s rrecommended e co m m e n d e d re t a il p retail prices, rices, available av a i l a b l e o on n featured f e a t u re d n new ew v vehicles e hi cl e s w when hen ordered ordered by by 31 31 M March arch 2016 2016 and and rregistered egistered by by 3 30 0 JJune un e 2 2016.

016. JJersey ersey residents residents only. o nly .

RURAL Spring 2016 - 73

MIKE SPRING:Layout 1 28/02/2016 18:36 Page 1

KEEPING DOWN APPEARANCES Mike Stentiford has the last word ‘SORRY, it’s all down to resources.’

We hear that a lot these days. Whether it’s zero cash in the pot or unaffordable manpower, resources (or the lack of them) have lots to answer for.

While it might be unfair to argue with the financial statistics behind such rural issues, I do get the feeling that it‘s often used as a darned good excuse for ‘not doing the business’.

The point being, that although for the most part Jersey retains its green and pleasant landscape to pretty good effect, there are bits here and pockets there that have no idea what a regular makeover looks like.

It’s probably something with which we’ve got to live, but for a holiday Island intent on upping visitor numbers, it’s to our everlasting shame that we have to do so.

I really do find it aesthetically displeasing to come across so many marginal fields left abandoned, neglected, so unloved… brambles rule OK? While circumstances determine that time, labour and cash are not viable options, putting the situation on an everlasting back-burner just isn’t cricket.

There was a time - oh, those golden times - when the Island excelled in doing ‘proud’.

Small huddles of Jersey cows animated almost every modest little meadow and, notwithstanding its shape or size, odd margins of land annually yielded a good few barrels of new potatoes.

Land was respected; land was nurtured; land was precious; and those who looked after it perfectly understood their expected and collective measures of responsibility.

74 -

RURAL Spring 2016

The get-out clause, these days, seems to be that once land has become financially unviable, then… Hey! Let sleeping vergées lie!

‘Ah’ (some will say), ‘what might appear to be neglect in one man’s eyes is home and environmental salvation to a wild creature!’

A possibility, perhaps, but even wildlife draws the line when it comes to a tangled no-can-penetrate environment.

Talking of which, how about ‘past their sell-by date’ glasshouses?

Now, pardon the unintended quip, but there has to be some common ground here.

It’s all very well allowing derelict glasshouses to be devoured by years of intimidating undergrowth but surely, officially resolving the issue can’t be all that perplexing?

If the rubble is sitting on good agriculture land, then respect its value and use it as such.

If it’s proven as unsuitable and can provide some kind of public amenity, then surely, the dilemma is addressed!

It’s all a bit of an unnecessary pickle, to be honest, because there can be few things more depressing than watching even a modest few vergées of precious and once vibrant countryside devoid of all thoughts of TLC. If there’s one thing that screams pride in our Island then surely, it’s the way we look after it (or not)!

Project3:Layout 1 14/11/2015 06:08 Page 1

For the Love of Jersey Aurum’s Genuine Jersey Collection is available in sterling silver and 18ct gold and designed and created in Aurum of Jersey’s workshop.

Prices from £95.00

Ormer

Bean

Crapaud

Tel. +44 (0) 1534 736182 sales@aurumjewellers.co.uk

www.aurumjewellers.co.uk for our full range of products

Follow us on Facebook © Aurum Jewellers. All rights reserved

WINTER 2015:Layout 1 12/11/2015 14:42 Page 1

Spring Flower Show - 27th & 28th March 2016 Summer Fair - 18th & 19th June 2016 Summer Flower Show - 20th & 21st August 2016 Autumn Fair - 1st & 2nd October 2016