This Is Guernsey

GUERNSEY lies in the Bay of St Malo, closer to France than England, and the French influence is everywhere.

Many of the place and family names are more Gallic then British and the island’s early history reads like a tug of war between the two ancient rivals.The fortifications around our coast are indicative of what life must have been like in past centuries.

In the days before telephones, radio and television, if you weren’t concentrating, you could find that a bunch of foreigners had landed and were even now marching up the garden path, munching your crops and intent on all kinds of mayhem.

Guernsey was ruled by a succession of Dukes of Normandy and kings of England until the situation settled down in the 14th century. From then on, the island has maintained its independence, while remaining loyal to the Crown of England.

Guernsey people are British, but no more English than the Scots or the Welsh.

The majority will support England when it comes to sport and so on, while taking a benevolent interest in the fortunes of the other home countries.

The last time such allegiances were tested was during the

Second World War, when Hitler decided he could benefit from having the Channel Islands under his belt, while Churchill felt they were of little strategic significance and not worth fighting for.

The Germans arrived in 1940 and held the islands until May 1945. Liberation Day in Guernsey is 9 May, a public holiday, and, although as time passes there are progressively fewer survivors of that era, such a traumatic time will never be forgotten.

Today, the legacy of what is known as the Occupation is largely confined to the concrete bunkers and towers dotted around the

island and the artefacts and photographs preserved in the museums.

In past centuries, Guernsey people made their living through fishing and horticulture, becoming known as the British source of tomatoes - the famous Guernsey Tom.

Flowers are still a huge export industry and, if you buy some freesias in the UK, they are quite likely to have been grown here.

In the 1950s and 60s, Guernsey was becoming more and more

popular as a holiday resort.

Hotels and guest houses were being supplemented by the new alternative - self-catering units, which the developers called chalets.

These were quite small, one or two-bedroomed affairs.

Times were changing, though, with air travel giving the British tourist access to hotter climes. Concrete jungles-on-sea were springing up all over Europe and further afield.

Guernsey did not take that route.

A large part of the bailiwick’s appeal is that it hasn’t sold its soul.We have embraced the technology that can be of benefit to us, but held on to our heritage at the same time.

What began to happen in the 70s and has continued ever since was a raising of standards to appeal to the more affluent.

Banks became attracted to the Channel Islands, with our favourable tax systems, political stability and, perhaps, the fact that we speak English and the islands are only a short hop from the British mainland.

Money began to find its way here in ever-increasing volume.

The banks needed prestigious new buildings and, in a matter of a few years,

St Julian’s Avenue and Le Truchot became the financial quarter, with more establishments springing up in other parts of St. Peter Port, notably on the opposite edge of Town, at the South Plantation, and now on the other side, to the north.

Guernsey has been invaded by the forces of the finance industry and, unless the bottom drops out of that, or this becomes a less comfortable place for banks to base their operations, the trend is bound to continue.

The arguments as to the favourable aspects of this are lost on people born here and wanting to stay but unable to raise cash to buy a home of their own. In 1967, a three-bedroomed bungalow could be had for £4,000.

In the early years of the 21st century, you’re looking at £300,000 and those little holiday chalets of the Simple Sixties are being sold as proper, all-year-round dwellings.

Obviously, worse things have happened to Guernsey in the past than this influx of money.

It does, though, remain the duty of those who live here and love the place to keep an eye on the developers.

Our standards are set largely by what we grow up with, but that doesn’t mean that we have to accept whatever proposals are put forward. The forerunner of today’s Environment Department was conceived for this purpose - to vet plans which would change the character of Guernsey.

The solution to the population problem is another thing altogether and far too complex

and speculative a subject to be gone into here.

But the public must continue to speak up to ensure that we don’t all wake up in twenty years’ time in a place where we see grass only on television.

The island has its own laws, which are basically similar to those of the UK, with certain notable exceptions.One of the most important differences is in the field of taxation.

Income tax is at a flat 20% and other relatively friendly rates make Guernsey an attractive location for the finance industry.

But business isn’t what most people come here for.

This is a fine place for a holiday, with a natural beauty, charm and relaxed atmosphere.

Many visitors think of it as reflecting the way mainland

Britain must have been a number of years ago.

The fact that it is still peaceful and largely unspoilt is due to the determination of the people to keep it that way.

We’ll buy the hospital equipment and the telecommunications systems and we’ll provide the staff for international banking operations, but we don’t want the tower blocks, dual carriageways and cheap entertainment joints that have defaced many a continental resort.

If this all sounds too good to be true, you will just have to spend some time here and form your own opinion.

However you look at it, we’ve got beautiful beaches, tranquil country lanes and fresh sea air.

There are enough restaurants, pubs and nightclubs to keep the most rabid of bon viveurs happy for a lot longer than a fortnight.