Current reading matter

[J.R.]

We've been able to do this in Surrey for a couple of years now.

We can also reserve books; search the database for books at other Surrey libraries, and ask for a search and reservation of books from libraries outside Surrey.

[Vièr Bliu]

Alderney housed the'Todt' labour camp for slave labourers building the fortifications on the main islands during the German occupation.You can still still see the foundations, though the older residents WON'T direct you.

That would be the one described on the Alderney Tourism website then?
http://www.alderney.net/history/military.aspx

[Vièr Bliu]

Parking was FREE (in capitals because that is a word increasingly unfamiliar in England) last time I was in the Channel Islands.

You'll be hard pressed to find all that many free parking spaces in urban St Helier these days. We're rolling out Residents Parking Zones across central St. Helier, car parks are paycard but there's still some disc parking:
http://www.gov.je/TransportTechnicalSer ... t/Parking/
(I'm elected to the highway authority in St Helier - but, no, I can't let you off a parking fine)

Of course they do things differently in Guernsey.

[J.R.]

Alderney housed the'Todt' labour camp for slave labourers building the fortifications on the main islands during the German occupation.You can still still see the foundations, though the older residents WON'T direct you.

That would be the one described on the Alderney Tourism website then?
http://www.alderney.net/history/military.aspx

Thanks for that Vier !

Maybe denial is a thing of the past. I started going to Guernsey in the early 1950's, were certain women in St Peter Port were referred to by my late Uncle and his friends, as 'Jerry-Bags'. I leave it to you to read into that what you may.

Many denied for years that there had ever been a Todt camp on Alderney, or that those slaves, (mainly Russians and Slavs), that died whilst building the Underground Hospital, underground fortifications and gunnery towers were simply concreted up in the buildings to save time and money.

But we digress.......

[Vièr Bliu]

Back to topic:

There was good news and bad news at the hospital this morning. The good news is that I managed to get through quite a chunk of book while being shunted backwards and forwards for various tests. The bad news came entirely from the consultant.

Still, it's nothing that'll stop me reading... but this does mean that I'm in no condition to stand in the 2nd round of the election in November (I'd thought as much anyway). Looks like I'll have to settle for trying to retain my municipal seat in December.

Still, as they say: "when one door closes, another one slams in your face..." But I got an e-mail today from a publisher, asking if I'd be interested in editing another book. So that's be more reading for research.

[Vièr Bliu]

I started going to Guernsey in the early 1950's, were certain women in St Peter Port were referred to by my late Uncle and his friends, as 'Jerry-Bags'. I leave it to you to read into that what you may.

Frankly, I have nothing but contempt for Jerrybags.

that those slaves, (mainly Russians and Slavs), that died whilst building the Underground Hospital, underground fortifications and gunnery towers were simply concreted up in the buildings to save time and money.

Yes, we knew all those stories about the corpses in the concrete when I was growing up. Unfortunately, research appears to show that it didn't happen.

One thing is, we tend to get a bit fed up when all anyone ever wants to hear about is Nazis. When you've grown up playing around German bunkers, there's not much fascination about them. BTW my family's house has an Occupation-era hiding-place for a secret radio in the attic (but then, whose doesn't?)

One of the projects I've been involved with in schools this year is a multinational history project between Jersey, a Welsh-medium school in Ynys Mon and schools in Kraków, with students interviewing people with memories of 1939-1945. If anyone's up to it, one of our Jersey interviews is transcribed here:
http://members.societe-jersiaise.org/ge ... 91945.html

I don't know if anyone's read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society yet? (I haven't)

[CHAZ]

Back to topic:

There was good news and bad news at the hospital this morning. The good news is that I managed to get through quite a chunk of book while being shunted backwards and forwards for various tests. The bad news came entirely from the consultant.

Still, it's nothing that'll stop me reading... but this does mean that I'm in no condition to stand in the 2nd round of the election in November (I'd thought as much anyway). Looks like I'll have to settle for trying to retain my municipal seat in December.

Still, as they say: "when one door closes, another one slams in your face..." But I got an e-mail today from a publisher, asking if I'd be interested in editing another book. So that's be more reading for research.

Désolé de voir que ça s'est mal passé, Geraint. Courage quand même! Je suppose plus de vélo non plus?

[Katharine]

One of the projects I've been involved with in schools this year is a multinational history project between Jersey, a Welsh-medium school in Ynys Mon and schools in Kraków, with students interviewing people with memories of 1939-1945. If anyone's up to it, one of our Jersey interviews is transcribed here:
http://members.societe-jersiaise.org/ge ... 91945.html

As far as I know, all state schools in Ynys Mon ARE Welsh medium. It is one of the reasons I'm not teaching now, my Welsh is not up to standard. (For those who don't recognise the name, Ynys Mon is sometimes known as Anglesey!)

[Vièr Bliu]

As far as I know, all state schools in Ynys Mon ARE Welsh medium.

In this case we were partnering a Welsh-medium school which happened to be in Ynys Mon (rather than a school in Ynys Mon which happened to be Welsh-medium).

[Vièr Bliu]

Je suppose plus de vélo non plus?

Actually, I'm back commuting and I can tackle all the hills I could manage before. The wrist is still rather achy after a long ride, but it's still strengthening all the time. I was at the hospital for other reasons - basically the whole body's falling to pieces all at once.

Have been in the library this morning digging out some articles: a Jersey captain sighting a sea serpent in 1864 (I'd been trying to work out where the sighting occurred as the latitude given was obvious nonsense and the port of departure was unfindable - turns out to have been 3 miles off the coast of Gabon and the name of the port had been garbled); the gathering of an angry mob of 200-300 people on the outskirts of St Helier in 1855 to ward off the supposed apparition of the devil; a series of humorous articles published in 1916.

[midget]

Je suppose plus de vélo non plus?

Actually, I'm back commuting and I can tackle all the hills I could manage before. The wrist is still rather achy after a long ride, but it's still strengthening all the time. I was at the hospital for other reasons - basically the whole body's falling to pieces all at once.

Have been in the library this morning digging out some articles: a Jersey captain sighting a sea serpent in 1864 (I'd been trying to work out where the sighting occurred as the latitude given was obvious nonsense and the port of departure was unfindable - turns out to have been 3 miles off the coast of Gabon and the name of the port had been garbled); the gathering of an angry mob of 200-300 people on the outskirts of St Helier in 1855 to ward off the supposed apparition of the devil; a series of humorous articles published in 1916.

1) Did they cook the sea-serpent?
2) Who won, the mob or the devil?

More importantly, I hope you will soon return to good health.
Maggie

[Vièr Bliu]

1) Did they cook the sea-serpent?
2) Who won, the mob or the devil?

1) On 4 September 1864, Captain Charles Aubin of the Blonde and his crew, while at anchor 3 miles off Fernan Vaz, at around 7.15pm observed off the port side a long wake approaching the side of the vessel. It turned out to be an immensely long fish, at least 200-250 ft long, which came to within 15 ft of the bow. The fish was eel-like, around 3ft thick, and moved slowly and silently against the current with an undulating movement. The Captain doesn't mention whether they ate it - it was probably past its sail-by date...

(Source: La Nouvelle Chronique de Jersey)

2) There's actually a Devon connection to this one, Midget! A few days after the great 1855 Devil's footprints mystery of Devon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devil%27s_Footprints), rumours began circulating in Jersey that the devil had crossed the Channel. It's difficult to piece together the story from the fragmentary accounts in the newspapers (frankly, one would have expected a panicking mob of hundreds turning out night after night for a week to search for a devil to have merited a little more coverage). What seems to have happened is that, having read of the Devon mystery, a practical joker dressed up in what is reported to have been a bear skin or other animal fur (reports also indicate donkey's ears or bull's horns) and put a scare into some people out late at night. A full-scale scare then developed, stirred up by the reported death of a doctor's maid from fright and egged on by a hoax offer (helpfully publicised by at least one newspaper) of a cash reward for anyone catching the devil. A rumour that the devil had been caught led to the Police Court being beseiged one morning by would-be spectators. By the end of February 1855 an investigation by the centeniers had failed to find any witnesses to the alleged apparition and the newspapers reported that the doctor's maid was in fact alive and well.

Of course such an outbreak of panic upon unsubstantiated stories of mysterious deaths could never happen in Jersey nowadays...

(Sources: La Nouvelle Chronique de Jersey, La Chronique de Jersey, La Patrie, The Jersey Times, L'Impartial de Jersey)

[Ajarn Philip]

There are a lot of deaths every year at unmanned railway crossings (without automatic barriers, needless to say) in Thailand. These deaths are regrettable, but due to the presence of ghosts, according to a senior Thai rail official.

Last month there was an inter-denominational 'pray-in' by assorted Buddhist monks, Christian priests and Moslem imams to prevent a tidal surge. You'll be happy to know it worked.

[J.R.]

Plenty of 'deaths' in the Channel Islands years ago through 'witch-craft'.

Executions and banishments were rife for such small isles. I do have a book with the full records somewhere in this house.

[englishangel]

At the moment am relaxing between "heavies", (have just finished Rimsky-Korsakov's autobiography and am planning to follow it with Prokofiev's) but, in the meantime, am reading "School life at Bartrams" by L.C. Silke, one of those gloriously cheesy sub Tom Brown public school story books that were popular in the early 20th century.

What struck me immediatly in this case, however, was the following passage:

"The child's heart sank very low as he glanced at his future school fellows and wondered whether he would ever find a friend among them. And how strange they looked in their funny dress! It was the costume in vogue when the school was founded, and still remained unchanged, so that a Bartram's schoolboy was known wherever he went. It consisted of knee-breeches, yellow stockings, shoes with buckles, a tightly fitting coat of dark cloth buttoned down to the waist, where a leathern belt confined it, while the continuation of the garment formed a sort of skirt which extended to the ankles, open in front and lined with yellow of the same colour of the stockings."

Mmmmm.

No doubt it will follow the usual path of cricket matches, a romantic friendship between two of the boys, some wild japery that goes tragically wrong and the usual moral.

A friend of mine who is working on an MA covering the female equivalents says they mirror the male versions in all aspects.

However we have here the account of the studious son of a clergyman being sent to this school where he is bullied and laughed at. No doubt he will win some cricket match and be carried shoulder high at the end. All good fun.

Have just did some googling. The author is Louise Silke, who lived in the Tonbridge area, the book was written in 1897.

Oops.

Verry Interesting.