Photographs courtesy of the Jersey Evening Post Love Colomberie • Young and old celebrate Christmas together Come on in, the water’s lovely! • Parish Assemblies – a new approach for 2015 Kerbside Recycling – more participation in 2015? • Senior Citizens’ Christmas Lunches Delivered by Jersey Post to 19,000 homes and businesses every month. Designed and produced by MailMate Publishing Jersey in partnership with the Parish of St Helier. Contents Welcome years ago Islanders' lives in Parish matters 4 70 the early months of the year 6 were transformed by the arrival in News from the Parish Homes Jersey of the Red Cross supply ship, SS Vega, Constable’s Comment 8 bringing desperately needed food, medicine and The 234th anniversary of the Battle of Jersey 10 essential supplies. At a ceremony held on the Albert Quay on New Year's Eve last year there was moving Young and old celebrate Christmas together 11 eye-witness testimony about the relief and excitement Love Colomberie 12 felt by Jersey families as a result; even the presence of Town Centre News 14 the Vega in St Helier harbour made one small boy watching from Mount Bingham feel that the Island had Parish seeks four Roads Inspectors 15 not been forgotten. This year's Liberation 70 celebrations Kerbside Recycling: more participation in 2015? 16 will highlight the role played by the Vega with the Senior Citizens’ Christmas Lunches 17 newly-constructed model pictured on this month's cover being the focus of attention in the Island's schools. People Quarterly Honorary Police Report 18 whose lives were affected by the Vega are also being 18 Parish Notice Board invited to tea parties being held in the Town Hall in St Helier schools 20 conjunction with the Red Cross and Waitrose plc, the Dates for your Diary 21 first of these being on Sunday 22nd February – more 22 details in the Gazette section of this month's Town Crier. The St Helier Gazette This month also sees the first of several initiatives this year to raise the profile of some of our town's shopping districts, beginning with Colomberie, which will host a special day of events and promotions on Parish Assemblies: Valentine's Day, Saturday 14th February. 'Love Colomberie' is the name coined by the traders' group a new approach for 2015 which meets regularly with the Town Centre Manager to devise ways of encouraging people to venture up he Constable of St Helier is publishing in this month’s from the main shopping precinct and to experience the Town Crier Gazette section the dates of regular Parish street's variety of shops, cafés and restaurants. TAssemblies throughout 2015. In a break from tradition, the Throughout February St Helier continues to provide dates have been set in order to allow the Parish Assembly to late night shopping on Thursday evenings with an consider subjects due for debate by the States which are relevant to the Parish. Each meeting will be preceded by a increasing number of businesses joining the trader-led meeting of the Conseil Municipal, consisting of the Constable, initiative 'Love Shopping, Love Thursdays'. the Parish Deputies, the Procureurs du Bien Public and a member of the Roads Committee. Senior Parish staff will also be in attendance. The meetings of the Conseil Municipal will begin at 6pm and will be open to the public, with an agenda published on the Parish website five days in advance as is already the case with the meetings of the Roads Committee. The Parish of St Helier opened its Roads Committee meetings to the public in 2002 and is still the only Parish to do this. Parish Assemblies will begin at 7.30pm. Mr Crowcroft says that he will be discussing with the Conseil Municipal the potential for further changes; in particular, the introduction of Question Time at the beginning of each Parish Assembly. The St Helier Town Crier is published by the Parish of St Helier in association with MailMate. Parish of St Helier: Town Hall, PO Box 50, York Street, St Helier, Jersey, JE4 8PA www.sthelier.je Editorial contact: Annie Le Noury T: (01534) 811821 E: [email protected] MailMate: Le Quai Bisson, Le Boulevard, St Aubin, Jersey, JE3 8JT. E: [email protected] If you like the look of our magazine and think it would be the right place for your company to advertise please contact Phil Osborne on 01534 493300 or email [email protected] Copyright notice: 2015©Parish of St Helier. The entire content of this magazine is protected by copyright. All rights are reserved. No part of this magazine may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise with prior written consent of the copyright owner. Reprint details: Reprints of articles can be obtained by contacting the publishers. Disclaimer: While the Parish of St Helier and their contributors to The St Helier Town Crier have provided the information contained in this magazine in good faith, they accept no responsibility, financial or otherwise, for any action taken by any other party as a result of the information provided. Eye-witness accounts of what the arrival of the SS Vega meant Independent and appropriate advice should always be sought on such matters. The views were given by Alf Le Moignan and Don Dolbel who laid a wreath expressed written in this magazine are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Parish of St Helier or MailMate. Whilst every effort is taken to ensure accuracy, the at the foot of the Vega memorial plaque on the Albert Quay on Parish of St Helier and MailMate accept no responsibility for errors or omissions that may occur. New Year's Eve 3 PARISH MATTERS A round-up of the latest news and events from the Town Hall, Parish departments and our associated clubs and organisations. St Helier's First World War Thank you to our street memorial: an invitation to cleaning team A big thank you goes contribute As has been reported in to the Parish’s street cleaning team who previous issues of the Town Crier, the came into work on Christmas Day to St Helier Roads Committee has been clear up the litter from the night before. looking at the options for the creation of The team worked from 6am to 10am a memorial to the fallen of the Parish which left them enough time to get home during the First World War. St Helier for their own Christmas Lunches. appears to be the only parish which lacks such a memorial and the centenary years (2014–18) were considered an New Vingteniers sworn in Two opportunity to rectify this omission. serving Constable’s Officers have Local historian, Ian Ronayne, has been recently been elected and sworn in as researching a list of names for the Parish, Vingteniers by the Royal Court. Jason while the Roads Committee has been Rhensius was educated at Victoria looking at the potential for putting the College and works in a local fiduciary memorial on the site of the JEC sub company, while Geraldine Ferreira, who station at the Union Street end of Parade was born in Ireland, is a financial Gardens. Jersey Electricity has kindly services clerk with the CI Co-Op. The agreed to remove their sub station which new Vingteniers are pictured with means that the pergola surrounding it is Vingtenier Danny Scaife, who was no longer required. The Committee was himself re-elected at the end of last year, originally looking at a raised memorial and who has been reappointed Chef de but has been advised that it would be Police for St Helier by the Constable. much better to create a memorial 'at grade', i.e. flush with the ground or possibly below ground. This would have welcome to attend. Sir Michael was the added advantage of opening up the educated at Malborough School and at views between the Cenotaph and the Magdalene College, Cambridge, and then Don Monument once the sub station and worked in private legal practice in Jersey pergola are removed. before becoming a Crown Advocate. He In the first instance, the Roads was appointed Attorney General in 1994, Committee would like to receive Deputy Bailiff in 2000 and Bailiff in proposals from local artists and sculptors 2009. Sir Michael has attended indicating the sort of memorial that Photo courtesy of JEP numerous events and functions in St Helier, including the Visite Royale, could be constructed on the site, and the Reception for the retiring costs of the installation. Provision would and the annual ceremony to mark D-Day Bailiff The Parish is holding a need to be made to include the 600 or so (pictured left). For more information reception in honour of Sir Michael and names of the fallen of St Helier. Proposals about the reception please contact Lady Birt at 6pm on Wednesday 4th should be received by 31st March 2014, Jane Skelhorn on 811823 or email February which all parishioners are and the successful design will be [email protected]. presented to the Parish Assembly for approval later this year. More information including site plan is available from The Parish of St Helier is now Silvio Alves, tel: 811849 or email: sponsoring The Parish of St Helier is [email protected]. now sponsoring the pétanque Lunchtime League, which involves both winter and summer competitions between hundreds of players on the pétanque terrains at the Weighbridge. As reported in the December Town Crier, the 'PoSH Pétanquers' team is doing extremely well in the League; the same cannot be said for the Parish's newest team in the St Helier Lunchtime League, named 'Saints and Sinners'.