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Herm, Jethou, Sark, and the Mail Boat
 

Guernsey

I am a Carey and, let's face it, the Careys have done more than their fair share in Guernsey's history. There are Carey heroes and Carey villains: the recipients of medals for bravery and the dodgy sixteenth-century officials who burned heretics. I'm one of the poor relations: no-one close to me was in power at difficult times (or, indeed, ever) and my father left Guernsey for London in the 1960s. I was born in England, but my childhood involved long and frequent visits to Guernsey and so I count the island among my significant places. (Indeed, my father has just moved back.) Modern historians and cultural critics, of which I am also one, count Guernsey as a hybrid place, neither English nor French but, rather, a place where different languages and cultures come together; a place where the real business of cultural exchange takes place. It's also rather beautiful, rather strange, and rather unique.

The picture above does not show Guernsey but, rather, the view from Guernsey. It actually shows the islands of Herm, Jethou, and Sark, as seen from St. Sampsoms. In the foreground (foresea?) is the all-important Mail Boat, the main agent of communication until the dominance of the aeroplane in the 1970s. But this is the view that Guernsey people see. Island people are not necessarily inward looking as they look at other places.

On these pages I shall build up a collection of images of Guernsey (and the view from Guernsey). I shall also include links and web resources. Watch this space!

NEW! Read my article 'Olaudah Equiano: an African Slave in Guernsey',originally published in The Review of the Guernsey Society, 59, 2 (Summer 2003), pp. 47-50.

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This page updated 20 September 2007