Guernsey

My parents took me and my (nearest in age) sister to Guernsey every year from the time I was 7 in 1964 to the year I was 16. I have very fond memories of those times. Guernsey is a very special pretty island, and if you have never been there you really should!

Fort Grey

So I was 16 in '73 I suppose, and then I didn't return to Guernsey until I was 21. I went with my first husband, and although I didnt know it I was in the early stages of pregnancy. Then there was a long gap of over 20 years until I again visited the island with my second husband and second daughter in 2000. And now again in 2008. You'd be surprised how little the island has changed from the 60's - still the same hotels along the West coast, still the same little narrow roads - the maximum speed on the island is 35 mph (and petrol is much cheaper!), still the same unspoilt coves.

If you like peace and quiet, walks, sandy beaches, little coves with tourmaline sea and pure white surf, rock-pooling, fishing, delicious cream teas and crab sandwiches at beach side cafes (they call them kiosks), boat trips to little neighbouring islands and fresh;y caught sea-food you and your children will love Guernsey. Mind you there is also good watersports there at Vazon Bay.

When I was a child the beaches were full of young families prepared to spend the whole day. You got there at 10.00 am or earlier to get your favourite spot, and then set up your colourful striped wind-break, your deckchairs, your towels, your picnic..... Nowadays it's not like that. Of course there are families, but not the bucket'n'spades brigades that there used to be. I was trying to work out why - the beaches are as glorious as they used to be - and have come to the conclusion that Guernsey has been abandoned for the likes of the Costa del Sol. After all, you can have week or two of guaranteed (almost) sun for the same cost. Guernsey is not particularly cheap - although self catering or camping might be an economical option for those that enjoy this.

So the masses have moved on, leaving Guernsey for those who like a quieter holiday and who don't mind if some days are cloudy - mind you I came back with a good tan and that was just from walking on the cliff paths and beachcombing. I only lay on the beach in a bikini for half an hour one day but the wind was blowing the sand all over me. I preferred to walk along the paddling in the shallows picking up the little yellow and orange shells I remembered from my childhood - we used to call them oranges and lemons - or lifting the seaweed at the shore line to see the 'sand-hoppers' - well, that's what we called them. They are probably sand fleas or something!

There are 'attractions' to visit but not theme parks or anything like that. Guernsey was occupied by the German Army from 1940-1945 and for anyone interested in WWII, like my husband, there is much of interest including the excellent German Occupation Museum and the damp, depressing Underground Hospital plus various military observation towers (awful concrete constructions) and the prettier older Martello towers.

Sorry! The pictures are sideways! oops!


I copied down a war-time recipe from a newspaper in the Occupation Museum. Anyone game to try it? It sounds ok I thought:

1 1/2 lbs mashed pots

20z butter

20z sugar

I egg and a little essence

Pinch of salt

Mix pots and butter together while hot. Add sugar. Separate yolk of egg from white and mix in. Add white of egg beaten to a froth and salt last of all. Bake 40 mins in a hot oven.

(doesnt say what the 'essence' is or when to add it)

One of my favourite places to visit on Guernsey is The Little Chapel. We went twice during this holiday because I felt so sad to leave it after the first visit that I had to go back again. A little girl called Amy had written in the visitors' book - where visitors write comments and also ask for prayers to be said for special intentions - 'We come here every time we visit Guernsey; it is my favourite place in the whole world'. Amy, I understand how you feel - it is a very special place indeed and very dear to my heart. The prettiest little church you will probably ever see, and the photos don't do it justice. It is built overlooking a field and you walk up from where you have parked your car, and suddenly, there it is - enchanting! Have a look at the website - http://www.thelittlechapel.org/ Another child wrote 'It's where the Prince and Princess of Guernsey got married'. (Even the website doesnt show the colours of the china and shells as they really are - if you do visit, go early or late, it is always open, and it is so much nicer to discover it on your own, without other tourists)

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Inside view from Little Chapel, and close up of broken china.

This holiday I visited another chapel that I had never been to before. Dedicated to St. Appoline, patron saint of Dentists, presumably because the poor woman had her teeth battered out before she was martyred. It was first mentioned in a Charter of King Richard II dated 20th July 1394 and was restored in the 1970's and still stands at the roadside in St. Saviours parish. There was nowhere handy to park so my husband pulled the car in and stayed with it while I went to explore. I was delighted to find it open, as it depresses me that so many churches are locked up in between service times. It is very small indeed, but there was a simple altar, fresh flowers, a tiny stained glass window and best of all medieval pictures still preserved on the walls. They have a service once a week - next time we go I must make a special effort to go to it.

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:St_Apolline_chapel_Guernsey.jpg

I meant to write a short blog, but it's impossible. I don't want to sound like a travel brochure and if you want to find out more about Guernsey just look here

http://www.visitguernsey.com/

I will just mention a few more things that I enjoyed about this particular visit.

I enjoyed anew the blue Guernsey postboxes, and this time I found out that the oldest UK postbox currently in use is in St. Peter Port (Guernsey's beautiful little town). I love postboxes and luckily for me I found out this information when I was already in St. Peter Port (visiting the Guernsey Millennium Tapestry) so I set out, with map and through the little winding uphill streets to find it, ignoring the fact that I had only 10 minutes to get back to the meeting point I'd arranged with my husband - (he'd gone sea fishing). As you can see from the photo it is beautifully restored and painted the original colour - it's the only red box on the island.

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Blue postbox and one of the many little streets in St Peter Port.

The Guernsey Millenium Tapestry is incredible - I'm so glad I visited it. A truly inspirational Millenium project. Do spare a minute to have a look http://www.guernseytapestry.org.gg/

I bought myself a postcard of one of the panels, depicting many things but also a colombiere (spelling?) or dove-cote which still survives apparently in the parish of Torteval (Guernsey is divided into 10 parishes) butI couldnt find anything about it while I was on Guernsey. Online, now, I have found out there is a farmhouse called Le Colombier.... I think I'm on the right track! Would love to try and find it on my next visit.

Whilst in St. Peter Port I took a trip down memory lane by visiting the place that me and my sister used to call 'The sarkstone shop'. It is a jewellers called Machons which in the 60's and 70's used to have an enormous piece of sarkstone in the window surrounded by a vast quantity of sarkstone jewellery. Sarkstone is the colloquial name given to a form of quartz, similar to amethyst that used to be found on the island of Sark. I still have two pieces of sarkstone jewellery from my childhood - a mother-of-pearl and sarkstone bracelet, and a little sarkstone cross. This holiday I found the shop which I thought was the sarkstone shop and went in and asked the assistant if this was the place which used to have the big piece of sarkstone in the window and she said it was. I then asked if they had any sarkstone jewellery left, and she brought out a tray of the last of their stock. I was picking up this piece and that, and chatting about it - probably boring the assistant! - when the owner came up and we stood there talking for about an hour! He was the great-grandson of the man who had originally open the shop in 1860, and when he was a child used to watch his grandfather making up designs for the sarkstone. I asked him why he no longer had the sarkstone jewellery on display. He said he didn't know really what to sell it as - so I said 'Well, as sarkstone jewellery like you used to do' and he replied that 'sarkstone' was just the colloquial name for the quartz found there. Well it used to be found there, but the resource is now completely exhausted. I haven't managed to find much on the internet.One source said that it is the local name for a type of quartz like amethyst found in Ireland ??? Another source said that the 'sarkstone' sold on Sark had been imported from the China and Zambia. I prefer this explanation:"The violent geological past results in quartz crystals, including the amethyst Sark stone, which are found occasionally on the beaches"

I bought three pieces, all about £8 - 10 - one a butterfly (I wouldnt wear it, I just like it!) and a brooch of mother-of-pearl and sarkstone which matches my childhood bracelet. I probably wouldnt wear it either, but I collect small mother-of-pearl pieces anyway so it can be part of my collection! and a delicate brooch which I will give my sister for Christmas, to remind her of the old days, and which she may, I suppose, wear. I think she'll be pleased with it anyway.

Another simple pleasure was the many little unattended honesty stalls set up on the coast and country roads, selling fruit, flowers and vegetables. You just picked your choice and left the money in the box.

I saw a seal that had come quite close to the shore where some children were playing in the water. It was big and black but I just couldnt get a good photo of it, just Loch Ness Monster humps, so not worth showing. All the years I came to Guernsey before and I've never seen a seal before there.

The main thing I enjoyed was just being with my husband and the beautiful scenery. When we were on the plane home (the flight's only 45-50 mins) and after we had been in the air for about ten minutes, a little voice from the seat behind me piped up wistfully 'Where has Guernsey gone?' Hopefully it will be waiting there for me for my next visit!

Bench beautifully banked by flowers at Guernsey Freesia Centre

The end!