Open Writing

Again, I am recalling the year for Lansdowne Crescent by starting with my family.

Many of the happiest days of my life have been spent in Frank’s splendid company. He is one of the best sportsmen I know. In the Hockey Club he is a tremendous favourite with all. At tennis, golf, or indoors at bridge he is always delightful either as opponent or partner. He never loses his temper or his good spirits, and although full of cheery banter, never says an ungenerous or unpleasant thing. He seems to make friends with everybody he meets. His good-tempered, jolly face is a passport in itself to secure him at once people's goodwill and friendliness. I should say he has never felt miserable. He always seems, at all events, simply to exude a cheery optimism.

Although his good looks might well have repaid attention to smartness of attire and appearances, I believe he absolutely despises anything in the shape of smart clothes or fashionableness. He is always happiest in his old Norfolk jacket, the solidity, picturesqueness, and unpretentiousness of which forms, I imagine, a kindred spirit to his own.

Wherever there is any healthy sport to be had Frank will always volunteer like a shot to take advantage of it. And he can play a losing game, better than anyone I know. It is always easy to win with a good grace, but to fight to the last against big odds and to lose gracefully is true sportsmanship.

We had our first family wedding this year. Our sister, Catherine Mary, whom we call Carrie, (but whom her husband calls Mary) married Tom Stinton. They had been friends since childhood. Tom is enjoying his teaching at Elizabeth College in Guernsey and Mary is loving living there. He did so very well at Oxford and got a Classical degree with a first in Classical Moderations and a Second in Greats. He is another one who is also a great sportsman especially hockey, and very popular with his contemporaries.

Margaret and I went to Guernsey to see them in their new home, which is a small bungalow, at Norman Place, King's Road, St. Peter Port. It is very close to the school and not far from the town centre. Guernsey is a very small island, 12 miles long by 9 miles wide and it is much closer to France than to England. Of course, it is an independent country, not officially a part of Britain, but it does have close ties with the mainland.

The boat sailed from Weymouth in Dorset and docked at St. Peter Port. There is a big castle just by the harbour called Castle Cornet, and pointing out to sea is a canon which booms out every day at midday, and it was going off just as we arrived. Mary was at the dockside to meet us and we took a cab to their house, passing en route Elizabeth College, where Tom was busy teaching. Elizabeth College is on a hill overlooking the town, and is by far the most prestigious building on the island. Since the bungalow is very small and has only two bedrooms, we shared one room. We unpacked, had a cup of tea, and then Mary took us on a tour of the town.

Mary is very enthused about her new home. She said that it has the most sheltered anchorage in the Channel Islands and has been occupied for over 2000 years. The shops in the village have retained their 17th century charm, and the High Street has its original cobbles. One of the most famous of its residents was Victor Hugo who went to live there in 1855 when he was exiled from France, and stayed there for 15 years. He rented 20 Hauteville but then purchased it for his mistress Juliette Drouet. He then acquired 38 Houteville and it was from here that he wrote Les Miserables. There are also several of Renoir’s paintings which were based on this area.

Mary told us that until the mid eighteenth century, street markets were held from Berthelot Street, down High Street to Cow Lane (a small lane that runs from Church square to the harbour). These eventually became unpopular as the smell of fish, meat and rotting vegetables, noise of the assembly and packs of vermin attracted by the offal did not go down too well with worshippers in the church. The fruit market even used to shelter in the church during bad weather.

The next day, we went to the Candie Gardens which also includes the museum and a bandstand. It was established in 1894 and is on a hilltop overlooking the port, so we had spectacular view over the rooftops to the other Channel Islands. It has the oldest known heated glass house in the British Isles – late 18th Century.

Tom told us a bit about the history of Guernsey and why it gives its allegiance to Britain rather than its nearer neighbour, France. This is more or less what he told us. Guernsey is only 30 miles from the Normandy coast as against 60 miles from Weymouth. In 933 the Channel Islands became part of the Norman realms following the treaty of St. Clair-sur-Epte. Later in 1066, William, Duke of Normandy landed his conquering army in Sussex and became William the 1st of England. His Duchy of Normandy included the Channel Islands - Les Iles Normandes - and these became part of the combined realm of England and Normandy. 138 years later, King John lost most of the Duchy of Normandy, but Guernsey and the other Channel Islands remained loyal to the English Crown.

From that time, the Islands became a focal point for the strife that was to exist between England and France. The French made many raids on the Islands and at times established temporary footholds, only to be driven off by the sturdy islanders, supported by the forces of the English monarch.

The frequency of these raids led to the building of fortresses around the coast, the remains of some can still be seen as reminders of Guernsey's stormy history. During this time the Island developed its own independent legal system and parliamentary institutions, and today it is to a large extent a self-governing territory, although all local legislation has to have Royal assent.