Floral fans defend Britain in Bloom
Friday 25th September 2009, 2:29PM BST.
ISLANDERS have defended the Bailiwick’s participation in the Royal Horticultural Society’s Britain in Bloom competition following an attack by Housing minister Dave Jones.
On the day it was announced that St Andrew’s had won a silver gilt award in the large village category, Deputy Jones questioned why Guernsey, which is not part of the UK or Great Britain, was taking part at all.
‘We are trying to maintain our individual identity, yet we are getting lumped in with all these other things,’ he said.
RHS vice-chairman Raymond Evison (pictured) said it was vital that Guernsey parishes stayed involved.
‘It exposes the parishes to a wider audience and gives them the opportunity to improve on their displays by gaining experience with people from the United Kingdom,’ he said. ‘The parishes who have won their sections have given Guernsey a tremendous fillip from a tourist point of view.’
Floral St Andrew’s team member Sarah Brouard said it had been a privilege to represent the Bailiwick in a national competition.
‘It draws attention to the community spirit as well as the horticultural excellence,’ she said.
The latest RHS handbook featured six Guernsey gardens – and no Jersey ones – to visit and was sent to some 300,000 members.
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Since when did Guernsey cease to be part of Great Britain?!
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Deputy Jones is a bit behind. Guernsey parishes and Herm have represented the Bailiwick in the Britain in Bloom finals for over ten years.
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Slep don’t show your ignorance is such a manner, if there is any connection at all, then it’s the other way round.
We our fellow Normans beat you in 1066. so that makes is so that England belongs to us.
However; we are good people. and we allow you your little show of power, (you don’t have any anywhere else) and Guernsey is small just about right size to show your might.
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slep
As far as i know it never has been.
Great Britain consists of England, Scotland, and Wales and some other Islands, but not the Channel Islands.
We are part of the British Isles though.
Hope this helps.
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I never realised that asking a simple question would cause such a storm; obviously the press are short of news again. Janice i accept your point, The point I was trying to make is that the competition is called “Britain in Bloom” and that Guernsey is not part of the United Kingdom or Great Britain, The headline of the government business plan is to preserve first and foremost our individual identity, without that we would have nothing. So I cannot understand why we keep allowing ourselves to be lumped in with the rest of the UK, my other pet hate are the GBG plates these too are factually incorrect as again we are not part of GB.
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bcb
I am sorry to correct you but we are not part of the British anything isles included we are a crown dependacy under the protection of the Duke of Normandy who happens to be Queen Elizabeth 2nd
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I think we’ve all got to be a little more relaxed about who we are and where we come from, especially when it comes to conversing with people in the wider world and on our travels.
I’m off to Italy next month and when I’m asked if I’m English I have no problem saying ‘Si, sono Inglese’ even though I’m not. Better that in the first instance than go through the whole speel: “No, non sono Inglese. Io abito in una piccola isola chi siama Guernsey, vicino di Francia ma non Franchese. Anche non e Inglese ma e una parte di Isole Grande Brittanico…..”
My Italian is pretty rudimentary (as any true Italian will be able to tell from the above) and so the first impression I want to give is that I am English in the sense that I am an English speaker. The rest can follow!
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Guernsey is a British Island isn’t it? Although yes we are not part of ‘Great Britain’.
I agree Dave, they should give that silver gilt back right away.
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Eric, I`m not sure what you`re trying to say there, but I myself am a true Guern – with a British passport. I understand the bit about the island not being in the UK, since we are not represented in Parliament. But that we`re not part of Great Britain, that I don`t understand.
I must confess though, like Martino, sometimes I find it easier just to confirm to the swiss people I`m with that I`m english.
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Dave Jones
All the ref i have seen says it is part of the British Iles (islands) but i stand to be corrected.
I dont want to be part of that dump anyway. (joke)not.
http://www.know-britain.com/general/great_britain.html
Eric
dont be so deffensive, Sleb was only thinking we were part of Great Britain but was wrong, the same as i appear to be wrong about us being part of the British Isles.
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Dave Jones
From what i have read describing the British Isles (islands) it lists the Channel Islands as part of that. But i stand to be corrected. Thanks for that.
Eric
Slep just assumed we were part of Great Britain and was wrong like i was about the British Isles.
So why such a harsh response?. Or are you just jumping to conclusions?.
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Good grief! Surely not another argument about names and roses by onomatologists and horticulturalists noisily grinding their axes.
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bcb;
my goodness, if that was a harsh response, it’s good job I don’t't say what I think of all those who wish to make our homeland what it isn’t
As for the Queen being the Duke of Normandie. my goodness me— oh dear I better hot.. I’ll have them crying next …
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Eric
The next time the germans invade France we’ll just leave em to it then eh??
You convenietly forget that with all your anti-british posturing.
So by your reckoning then, does that mean France belongs to the UK??
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The great in Great Britain was derived from the the french ‘Grande’ for “greater”. A term related to the geo-political relationship between Normandie and Britain. Similiar to London and Greater London.
Guernsey is a British Isle.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_islands_of_the_British_Isles
What that actually means however I’ve never really understood. If you think about it we are firmly in the bay of St Malo and constitutionally and legally British Isles means not a jot.
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Dave Jones – You better get onto Martin Clunes and tell him not to use our island in his “islands of Britain” programme when you’re off your high horse. Is it not a good thing that we are taking part in these competitions and getting Guernsey on the map? As soon as the States have screwed up our finance state properly and wasted our money on trips to Mexico and doing their nails then we will probably rely solely on the tourism trade again. (Irrespective of me using you as a scapegoat for my irritation at our current government, I respect you for putting your views across in such a public medium)
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I don’t care what the official line is, if I am asked my nationality I say ‘British’ and if I get the chance I point out that this does not mean ‘English’.
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@The Man (are you sure?)
yes do as you did last time round:
Leave us to our fate.
you got a cheek to say otherwise.
You can If it is repeated take my place, and see what you think of the English after abandoning us.
You appear to be brain washed. I was there, and to those who were as well I bet they will agree with me.
We know they couldn’t do much, and we didn’t want innocent men to be under Nazi rule.
But remember this.
many of us suffered, because we upheld the Name of England.
Then at wars end was once again abandoned in favour of your cousins the Germans.
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Eric
Ah see this is where you are getting confusing now, you constantly harp on about your brothers the Normans, the mighty military power who apparently own England but I forget Eric, where were they in 1945??
Yes perhaps Britain should have liberated Guernsey a couple of years early, albeit at the cost of 95% of the population.
Eric, I very very much doubt that you have ever upheld the name of england in your life such is your entrenched views but on balance, if you remember WW2 and the occupation, are the English really that bad??
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Not the ordinary English people, like us they have to put up with that bunkum dished out by those in charge.
As for never having liked the English you do love putting a match to ensure fireworks don’t you?
It was the ones in charge who, and did turn my thoughts sour on the ones I’ve mentioned, they act like the medieval lords of the manor.
But this is my last posting. so if you get no reply, then thank those who went whimpering to the blog directors,
They can give, (the ones who whimper) not the director. but give an answer to their dislike and once again we see the whimpers come out.
Cherie
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“You can If it is repeated take my place, and see what you think of the English after abandoning us.”
A sensible and pragmatic response. If Hitler wanted to expend 1/8th of the Wehrmacht’s Northern European forces on the folly of turning the islands into a fortress Churchill’s views was to let him get on with it. That meant many thousands of tonnes of armour and guns not punishing Europeans, Russians or Allied troops. Churchill believed to take Alderney alone would have cost 250,000 lives.
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dave jones if you think guernsey is not british then you will be asking the chief minister to leave the british irish council then wont you.also expell all the british banks over here while your at it,and stop are sportsman competing for great britain and england like matt le tissier.
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Wow I’m impressed that Matt Le Tissier has been selected for England at his age??
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Paul I can’t change what it says in the Guernsey constitution a booklet written by David Robilliard the States the States leading expert on our constitution.
I will quote
Relationship with the United Kingdom
Guernsey is NOT
Part of England
Part of Great Britain
Part of the United Kingdom.
Guernsey IS
“an appanage of the Crown associated with the
UK and the Commonwealth through the Sovereign as
Successor to the Dukes of Normandy and over which
the Sovereign in council exercises supreme legislative
and judicial powers.
Paul I have reproduced this exactly as written and I am sure if you call into Frossard House and ask David for a copy of his booklet he will be only to pleased to oblige, it contains many other interesting facts.
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So ‘Guernsey is an appanage of the Crown associated with the UK and the Commonwealth through the Sovereign as Successor to the Dukes of Normandy and over which the Sovereign in council exercises supreme legislative and judicial powers,” is it?
Really rolls off the tongue, that!
Perhaps it’s time to set the past aside and get ourselves declared part of Great Britain?
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yes, not UK, not GB but we are part of what is known as the British Isles (although that has no political or constitutional meaning at all).
But back to the original point – we on earth complain about (or question) Guernsey folk being able to pursue their passion on a wider stage?? Dave – would you like the good people of St Peters to only be able to compete against the good people of Torteval??
These competitions are not challenges to our constitutional integrity, just as Guernsey sportsmen and women winning British titles is to be welcomed not questioned.
Let’s focus on more important issues, like kerbside recycling and reduced car usage.
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“So ‘Guernsey is an appanage of the Crown ”
Oh it’s much worse that that. HRH technically owns our land and seas and we are effectively subjects.
If she ever wants to sell up, we are in deep doo-doo LOL
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We’ve all got British passports so we’re all British! End of!!
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Neil-I have read alot of your past posts on a variety of issues-and I would say generaly you make good sense, and use reason to argue your point of view. Why, oh why though, would someone who I believe to be of a reasonably good intelligence rely on wikipedia for factual information. I am afraid neil, that you can not take what is said in wiki as fact. it is merely like this forum, an open exchange of info-if i decide to submit an article stating that guernsey is in fact the direct blood descendants of the mighty outer mongolians, it will be printed – is it true, probably not. Hmmm imagine that-direct heritage to Genghis Khan!
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There’s only one way to sort this out.
Form into gangs and start a civil war. Pro-Using-British-As-A-Word-To-Describe-What-We-Are can be in red, the Pro-Guernsey-Was-Built-By-Aliens can be in skins.
Vazon 12.30 next Sunday. If the surfers haven’t killed everybody by 1.00 I think we can start the first ruck.
Thereafter, when your name is called please pick up the bicycle chain at the caff. You’ll have ten minutes to either take chunks out of Jones and Perrot, or to get MArtino in a headlock and cover him with rotting ormers and beanjar.
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Hi AGP. I rarely use Wiki for but did on this occasion; came up first when searching ‘list of british isles’. DJ’s assertion that Guernsey was not a British Isle threw me a bit – Guernsey families have always understood that ‘Guernsey was part of the British Isles but not the UK’.
Regards
N
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Mmmmm rotting ormers and beanjar… my favourite!!!
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Dave Jones
Where in David Robilliard’s book does it say that Guernsey is not part of the British Isles?
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Phil
If we are not part of Great Britain then we are not part of the British Isles, they lump us all in together with Islands around the UK simply because we share the same sovereign our allegiance is to the Duke of Normandy who happens to be HMQ, as I have said before it comes from the same mindset that calls the strip of water between us the “English Channel”, despite the fact that half of it is in French territorial waters.
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Umm…it’s flowers everyone.
Flowers.
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DJ – I have to disagree with you there. Great Britain has a precise definition in the modern world. It originates as the “greater part of Britain” and is therefore by very definition NOT the totality of Britain.
The British Isles extends beyond the limits of Great Britain. We are part of the former, but not the latter. You could say that we are part of Minor Britain.
And anyway, as I said earlier, it is a GOOD THING that Guernsey folk can pursue their passion in Britain. Why object to that??
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Dave Jones asks ‘a simple’ question.
Appears he was not able to ask a simple question of Environment to turn a field into a contractor’s yard.
Such inconsistency from a ‘leader’.
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I’m just waiting for someone to put the Grande back into Grande Bretagne.
Breton jobs for British workers.
I get so confused living in Guernsey.
Oh Cliff, Cliff
have you ever wondered If…
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As a frequent visitor to Guernsey what needs to be remembered is the fantastic flowers that are displayed in the parishes and how much it enhances your island home. Be proud of all those involved.
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