Today is Channel Islands Liberation Day, the anniversary of the liberation of Jersey and Guernsey from German occupation in WW2. Facts about Jersey are here. Below are 10 things you might not know about Guernsey.
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It’s the second largest of the Channel Islands and is located 27 miles (43 km) west of the Cotentin Peninsula, Normandy. In fact, in prehistoric times Guernsey was part of mainland Europe although rising sea levels turned it into an island approximately 8,000 years ago. Politically, Guernsey was part of the Duchy of Normandy until 1204. Guernsey has one town, Saint Peter Port.
The name is of old Norse origin and could derive from the old Norse for “Pine Tree Island”.
Post boxes on Guernsey are painted Blue, with one notable exception. The oldest postbox still in use anywhere in the British Isles is here, and this one is painted Red.
A man was once arrested underwater here. A type of shellfish called an ormer is a local delicacy, but the harvesting of them is controlled by strict laws. The perp, one Mr Kempthorne-Leigh, was illegally gathering ormers underwater and was apprehended by a policeman in scuba gear.
Guernsey is famous for its Cows, which produce rich, creamy Milk and distinctively flavoured meat. Guernsey also has a breed of Goat known as the Royal Golden Guernsey Goat, recognisable, as its name suggests, by its golden coloured coat. At the end of the Second World War, the Golden Guernsey was almost extinct, but was saved by a woman called Miriam Milbourne, who hid her heard from the Germans during the occupation.
Some island folklore: allegedly, Guernsey was once invaded by Fairies, attracted by the beauty of the local women. Rouge Rue in St Peter Port, which translates as “Red Road” is said to have been named for the blood that flowed through the street during the battle between the locals and the invading fairies. There’s also a mysterious circle in the ground at the west of the island, known as the Fairy Ring. It’s said if you walk around it three times and make a wish, that wish will come true.
Victor Hugo wrote some of his best-known works while in exile in Guernsey, including Les Misérables. He lived on Guernsey for 15 years. In 1866, he published a novel set on Guernsey, Travailleurs de la Mer (Toilers of the Sea), which he dedicated to the island. More recently, Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows wrote a novel called The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, set during the German occupation, which was made into a film.
Painters, too, have found inspiration here. French impressionist painter Pierre Auguste Renoir visited the island in late summer 1883 and painted fifteen pictures of the views on the island, featuring the bay and beach of Moulin Huet.
A symbol of the island is Guernsey lily, Nerine sarniensis. However, it’s not native to Guernsey – it was introduced from South Africa.
Guernsey’s tidal range is 33 ft, one of the largest in the world. This is due to the island’s location in the Bay of St Malo, which has the highest tides in Europe.
Beta
(Combat Team Series #2)
Steff was abducted by an evil alien race, the Orbs, at fourteen. Used as a weapon for years, he eventually escapes, but his problems are just beginning. How does a man support himself when his only work experience is a paper round and using an Orb bio-integrated gun?
Warlord is an alien soldier who knows little but war. When the centuries-old conflict which ravaged his planet ends, he seeks out another world where his skills are still relevant. There are always wars on Earth, it seems. However, none of Earth's powerful armies want him.
Natalie has always wanted to visit England and sees a chance to do so while using her martial arts skills, but there are sacrifices she must make in order to fulfil her dream.
Maggie resorted to crime to fund her sister's medical care. She uses her genetic variant abilities to gain access to the rooms of wealthy hotel guests. The Ballards look like rich pickings, but they are not what they seem. When Maggie targets them, little does she know that she is walking into a trap.
Hotel owner Hamilton Lonsdale puts together a combat team to pit against those of other multi-millionaires. He recruits Warlord, Natalie, Maggie and Steff along with a trained gorilla, a probability-altering alien, a stockbroker whose work of art proved to be much more than he'd bargained for, a marketing officer who can create psionic forcefields, a teleporting member of the landed gentry, and a socially awkward fixer. This is Combat Team Beta.
Steff never talks about his time with the Orbs, until he finds a woman who lived through it, too. Steff believes he has finally found happiness, but it is destined to be short-lived. He is left with an unusual legacy which he and Team Beta struggle to comprehend; including why something out there seems determined to destroy it.
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