Great honour and so very moving – Trott
Monday 8th June 2009, 1:00PM BST.
The Guernsey delegation’s view of the main stage of the commemoration ceremony at Omaha Beach. (Picture supplied by Deputy Lyndon Trott)
A SENIOR Guernsey delegation took part in a weekend of commemoration for the 65th anniversary of D-Day in France.
Bailiff Geoffrey Rowland and his wife, Diana, Chief Minister Lyndon Trott and Culture and Leisure minister Mike O’Hara, with his wife, Teresa, had seats close to the stage for the main ceremony of the weekend at Omaha Beach, addressed by Presidents Nicolas Sarkozy and Barack Obama and Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
‘It was a great honour for all of us to attend, an enormous privilege and a very moving weekend throughout,’ said Deputy Trott. ‘It was a thoroughly memorable event, and we had several stark reminders of the evils of war.
‘Some of the speeches were very moving and what stood out most to me was the 21-gun salute from a single gun.
‘The ground trembled every time it fired. It made me speculate that on D-Day itself there must have been several dozen heavy guns firing simultaneously and with all the carnage going around the noise alone must have been absolutely terrifying.
‘What struck me was the rapturous ovation Obama received both before and after his address. He’s obviously very popular in France as well.’
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Blimey, old Lyndon’s a busy chap eh?
Not only does he attend the D-Day commemorations, he also finds time to organise the parachute drop as well, on behalf of his old mate Obama!!!!
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If the Trott feller thought it a moving story; then perhaps he might spare a thought for our Island, and it’s people who also lived through hell during five long years.
Maybe he could resign and let real Guernsey people decide our fate, for good or bad; many do not trust him so why linger on?
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another weekend away for the boys[and wives]. surely it would have been better to send people who were connected to this great memorial in some way.
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I agree with eric and bella
where is the thought for the brave ones who really mattered and why was there not a true representitve of the occupation there ?
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basil,bella and Eric.
The event was to commemorate the 65th anniversary of D-Day not the occupation of the Channel Islands.
Using your argument I suppose people who survived the blitz,survivors of submarine attacks and the people of Malta amongst many others should also have been represented ?
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Ray;
Of course they should be represented; but representing is not or should not be a boost to Trott’s ego.
What I am saying is the fact that it should have been Island representatives, not that which did take place in our name;
He hasn’t a clue of what went on, so how can he be a represent of the Island.
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Just for your information, Deputy Trott went to the D-Day service after an invite to him and the Bailiff from the French. he went in his own boat and returned with the Bailiff and Deputy O’Hara who had a seperate invitation from other French officials.This trip was at no cost to Guernsey. Lyndon paid for the whole trip, Fuel and French mooring fees himself.
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Well since my reply was perhaps a little too strong for delicate ears I’ll say this.
You wish to bring up the fact about the terrible difficulties the UK suffered; no one denies that, least of all me.
But remember this; families never agree, hence the war as WW1. all by your cousins
However since you wish to bring up other items, about suffering; take time to read about your glorious Empire; now that was suffering: The so called Indian mutiny being one example 3000 killed? Because they didn’t want you. Oh yes ’tis easy to forget the terrible things done by ancestors.
All I tried to explain is the fact that we did suffer with your cousins in charge.
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i didnt mention the occupation, i meant local people who were involved at that time.
ref ray.
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Dave Jones
Let’s hope this information re Lyndon paying for the trip is more accurate than your last statements on States travel i.e. that the recent trip to Washington was made in economy. That was proved inaccurate as half of the journey was in business class, which I should add I don’t have a problem with, it’s the misleading statements and spin that bothers me more.
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The information on the D-Day trip is absolutly accurate,as for the Washington trip i asked the question and i got the answer I passed on to you which was that the group travelled in economy.
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Which just goes to highlight the problem Dave. You get fed incorrect information by whoever and end up looking silly as a result. It’s a serious problem if you as a politician can’t rely on what you’re being told by the civil service.
In the case of the travel to Washington it’s fairly inconsequential, but how often are you misinformed on more serious issues I wonder?
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what do you think mr jones?
according to the paper, which seems to be increasingly biased in favour of the cm since the firefighters dispute, mr trott paid for his trip as he did go on his own boat. also the group who went were invited by the french to be there so fair enough for them going. i think ,mr jones, that the anti lyndon message in these posts shows in what regard he is held as a man by a large segment of the population. this is his fault, his terrible public image, that he has created,will haunt him whatever decisions he takes. for a man who has obviously studied some uk mps and listens to pr berks to run his affairs he does a poor job of putting himself across to the rest of us. i suspect this is at the heart of the negative comments.
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Eric , Basil and Bella, by your logic there would in the near future be no more commemorations of the events of the two World Wars, because there will be nobody alive who lived through them to attend.
On the contrary I beleive that such events will become more necessary, precisely because such terrible things, that need remembering, will be beyond living memory.
Deputy Trott, whatever his faults, is a duly elected representative of the Island, and as such is entitled, even obligated, to act as our official representative at such events. He was democratically elected to the States, and then by that States as our Chief Minister.
I notice you don’t seem to mind our totally unelected, and therefore constitutionally problematical, Bailiff going along ….
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Phil
Of course that is very difficult to answer, I do have a lot of trust in our staff and I have no reason to believe that they deliberately mislead anyone.
Nikkers
I don’t see Deputy Trott as you see him, working with him on Policy Council and the External relations group I see an extremely hard working CM, is he perfect? Of course not but he is very competent at what he does and takes his job very seriously, those in the UK have also found that he is no pushover either and he fights hard to preserve our rights and freedoms from those who would take them from us given half a chance. He does have a great sense of humour and is not afraid to say what he really thinks, some people find that arrogant, I find that refreshing and the previous Chief Minister Mike Torode was exactly the same. I am at a loss sometimes to know what kind of CM this island really wants, Laurie Morgan was constantly attacked for being to softly spoken and to much of a gentleman, in fact all the CM’s we have had since 2004 have been criticised in one way or another. Deputy Trott gets criticised for doing his job, if its not accusing him of being on a jolly, it is the cost of the trip, it matters not why he is going or the benefits the island gets from having someone active on the ground who is full of energy and understands the threats to us. Perhaps he does need to work on his public image but that could be said of all of us.
I can tell you this much I would rather be standing with Lyndon beside me when things get a little tough, at least I know he will still be there when the smoke clears and when you think about it he and this current Policy Council have had to deal with some fairly serious issues since this term of office started. It is in many ways a thankless task, as CM you spend your life upsetting one group or another, every little detail of every utterance or decision made is examined in microscopic detail while in the back ground a few deputies eagerly await the rattle of rifle bolts in the court yard, should a mistake be made. Let me ask you how many of you would do his job?
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Dave Jones asks “how many of you would do his job?”
No thnks Dave!!!
I think your points about Laurie Morgan and the campaign of persecution against him by the Press are well put.
Equally your question as to what kind of CM the island wants is well put and something for us to think about.
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Dave Jones “at least he will be there when the smoke clears” After tough CM, gives in to the firemen for £4,000 each, at least he has them to put the fire out.
Is our Gordon more deluded than the Tough Man?
Have the Police found out yet, who’s been threatening our CM, or is it taking time to go though the Gsy telephone book?
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David the CM made no decision on the firemen whatsoever, he was there as an observer Deputy Trott made one remark at the meeting and that was to request the firemen to go back to work that has been supported by the firemen and the senior civil servants who were present, the settlement came from PSD NOT the CM. As for the rest of your post I think it is disingenuous in the extreme.
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nikkers, why does the local paper seem so biased with the CM since the firefighters dispute? I understand that both the Chief Minister and the Gsy Press editor were at a meeting with airport fire personnel and were somewhat shocked at the truth regarding the amount of overtime required due to lack of staff, and the overnight callouts covered free of charge. Unlike the majority of the states and some Islanders they removed their rose tinted glasses and saw the real picture.
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thanks dave, well put stuff and of course you are right that they are on a hiding to nothing in the job, i guess i prefer the gentleman approach to the arrogant swagger of both mr trott and mr torode but that is just me.i wouldn’t mind his job, it can’t be so hard and i dare say he gets a few quid for it. i’m sure he wouldn’t want my job which is hard physical labour in a potentially dangerous environment, but i chose the job as he did.cheers again though for your comments.
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I am with Dave Jones on this one. Lyndon Trott CARES about this island and works jolly hard – whatever anyone else thinks about him. I have never met the man but I gauge my opinions on reading the news and listening to the media and discussing issues with friends who do work in the civil service. OK he doesn’t please everyone but that is impossible. We moan about everything because actually there is nothing serious to moan about. We live in a beautiful island which still has a booming economy (despite the credit crunch) and life is, on the whole, good. There are many opportunities out there anyone who chooses to look for them.
The CM didn’t give in to the firemen – it was a joint decision involving the law officers. Also if anyone ‘gave in’ (and i don’t think that is what happened) it got the required outcome – a vital life link is back up and running and guaranteed for another 12 months. Live with it. There are many others who earn a lot less for doing little with no responsibility. If you think you can do better put yourself up for election.
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Just taking the subject forward of who would do the CM’s job you might want to think about this.
The first thing that happens when you become a peoples Deputy is that your life will most certainly no longer be your own, your family will also become part of public ownership, even the behaviour of close family members becomes an issue, what they are involved in or what activities may have a bearing on their parents position should they become a States Member. Also if you have little ones at school they can sometimes have a difficult time if one of their parents is a fairly high profile States Member. Even when both your children are grown adults and out there working in the community they will be told fairly regularly as they go about the daily business that their elected parent is either stupid, worthless or useless or “on the make”, should not have voted for this or that and are by and large “as thick as two short planks” or whatever the latest collective disparaging phrase for describing States members is on the day. Anyone contemplating a life in the Guernsey States will need to develop a very thick skin indeed and if you do not, it will wear you down very quickly, so if you are a bit of a luvvie then I am afraid politics is probably is not for you. The fact is that you and your family will come under extremely close scrutiny, constantly reminded of who you work for and who pays your salary, which incidentally under the present rates of pay is (£32,500 gross per annum for a Ministers post) less of course £8,000 odd in tax and Social Security, as we are all considered to be self employed. Basing it on roughly the hours I do in a week, your wage will work out at about £10 per hour, your salary also includes all your office allowance, phone calls (average phone bill for a quarter about £150) computer equipment, paper, pens and envelopes, it is all included and the level of remuneration is fixed for four years. For that salary you will be expected to head up a government department and read all the papers concerning that department and become familiar with all the department policies and correspondence. Then as a member of the Policy Council you will be expected to read all other documents and policy reports from every other department as well as all the papers from the various sub groups you may have a seat on. The Chief Minister will expect you to be able to inform the Policy Council in detail and with brevity your departments brief, all Ministers have to be well briefed and up to speed and you will find out in fairly short order what the Policy Council and other Ministers think if you have failed in that task.
In addition you will need to find time to prepare for the monthly States sittings and all the various topics in the billet for that month, together with any other additional scrutiny or audit reports. You will also need to find time to deal with constituency problems which can often be varied and many, they can range from simple problems like badly parked cars and a quick phone call to the police, to complex issues, dealing with the children’s services or other agencies, writing letters to the Health and Education departments or the seemingly never ending problem with planning applications. So anyone thinking of going into politics for the money, forget it, you can get a much better wage outside politics and much more sensible hours. And just to explode another myth often put forward by members of the public about states members holidays, while it is true that the states does not meet in August, meetings still take place behind the scenes and you are expected to attend,
once elected, you will then have all your past scrutinised in minuscule detail with the most outrageous, slanderous nonsense sent around the world on discussion forums usually by people who have who have little or no knowledge of you at all and who have achieved very little in their own lives. The next attribute you will need in abundance, especially those who are taking the plunge for the first time is to become an instant authority on all things political and on a very wide range of subjects indeed, ranging from abortion to complex financial management, this will also include a wide working knowledge of international issues facing the island. Now you may protest that you will have to take expert advice on many of these matters as they simply don’t fall into your realm of previous expertise but I warn you now, that simply won’t wash with the public as you are their elected representatives and MUST at all times only take advice from them, or those they happen to agree with, you must only vote the way those who are most vocal want you to vote, or risk being condemned as “selling out” or worse of “changing your mind” which is often considered as an act of betrayal.
Trust me, the phone calls and letters will come thick and fast when those who elected you think you got it wrong, some of them will be from people asking for an explanation and who will hang up satisfied that you have answered them fairly, others will be extremely offensive and followed by what I find is the hardest to deal with of all, the attacks on our personal property, these may follow should your name be associated with a difficult policy or department that has made a small minority exceptionally angry.
After the swearing in process you will become part of an elected assembly that no matter what happens from that day on, it will be all your fault, you will be automatically held responsible for the shortcomings of every other elected assembly since the occupation, possibly to be told a couple of years into your term of office that you are part of the worst States ever. So there you have it that’s what it takes to do the job and it is one of the reasons some of the most talented people I know wouldn’t touch the job with a barge pole.
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Correction Ministers now earn £39,000 including expenses fixed for four years,
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How unfortunate that your report didn’t make any mention of Canada’s contribution to either D Day itself or the 65th. celebration.
Our Prime Minister Stephen Harper was the first leader to address the gathering.
Quite appropriate as on D Day itself Canada’s all volunteer force was the only one to reach it’s full objective.
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Blimey Dave, that’s one heck of a post!!
I agree with a lot of what you say, and personally I wouldn’t relish the intrusion into my private life, let alone the long hours.
Do you find it strange though, how some Deputies also manage to fit in other paid employment? If they’re putting in as many hours as you are on States business, I don’t understand how they can also hold down another job, surely there aren’t enough hours in the day?
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Deputy Dave Jones in his post on 12 June at 3:26 said “Laurie Morgan was constantly attacked for being to(o) softly spoken and to(o) much of a gentleman”.
The phrase ‘Speak softly and carry a big stick’ comes easily to mind in connection with the particular gentleman.
I need mention nothing more than Fallagate and the sale of Guernsey Telecoms to establish my point.
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In all due Respect Deputy Jones, Why is Lyndon Trott not defending himself? Also I feel all these comments have gone rather off the actual article.
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Well said Dave Jones on 14 June
I must admit to having the odd prod or two when I believe our reps deserve it but some of the stuff printed on these pages is pure hatred for the individual no matter what he or she has done
Sorry GsyGal. I agree the subject is supposed to be the D-Day landings
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Deputy Jones
You said: “i asked the question and i got the answer”. Now you’re changing your story.
You said at the time that you’d heard Deputy Trott say on BBC radio that he’d travelled to the States in economy.
I replied that surely what he meant was economy to the UK and then if not First Class, then at least Business Class on transatlantic. That has proved to be the case.
Now you’re saying he went to France on official business entirely at his own expense…
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MJA
Yes he did check it out for yourself
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