Jersey (1960s)

[Music] this foreign [Music] undoubtedly the determination of the younger holiday maker of today to nervouses but there are still plenty of people who like the inimitable feeling of embarking on a voyage even if it is only for an hour or so for the same for the fortunate few to drift in under the sheltering cliffs in your own yacht is the finest way of all to arrive and the splash of the anchor into the incredibly clear water heralds the opening of a holiday better than a fanfare of trumpets [Music] jersey is a tiny island really only ten miles by five yet is ringed by more than 20 fabulous sandy beaches some backed by towering cliffs some by sand dunes and some of them running straight up to the pine woods or meadows with nothing but the marks of forgotten spring tides to draw a line between the sea and the land you can pick your own beach for your own holiday and whatever the mood of the moment there will be a beach which is exactly right for it [Music] after a picnic lunch on the beach there is really only one sensible way to afternoon but there are always people who can't be happy unless the scenery is flashing dramatic and preferably thoroughly uncutable way like this for example or this or for the really rugged enthusiasts this the long rollers which sweep in from the atlantic and go roaring up the beaches at san juan provide almost perfect conditions for beginners in the art of surfing conditions which include plenty of soft sand to fall on until the great day when the beginner is a beginner no more and rides her board standing with the best of them for this kind of yachting you don't have to be a millionaire although you do have to know what you're doing if you want to go fast and stay dry as well but who minds a ducking on a hot sunny day in a blue blue sea like this [Music] um once the enthusiasts have been persuaded ashore there is plenty to keep them there from the selfish pleasure of an ice cold drink in the sun-baked courtyard of a hotel converted from an ancient fort to the unselfish it's surprising in a way how energetic everyone gets as soon as they're not really obliged to do anything at all when they're not rolling about in the sea or sailing on it or preparing to sail on it the odds are they will be bashing a ball about in one or other of the english visitors idea of a restful afternoon if you must end up in the rough what an exquisitely beautiful piece of rough to end up in probably the best thing about golf and certainly the best thing about holiday golf is that you can be very good at it or quite horribly bad at it and still enjoy yourself however many times you have to hit the ball before you hear the satisfactory sound as it goes into the hole but there is another jersey than the island of the sunlit beaches and hotels for jersey is a farmer's country where the potato harvest and the dairy records matter almost as much as the visitors themselves [Music] jersey is in many ways a modern island and there is little if any preservation of picturesque crafts solely for the purpose of selling souvenirs to tourists nevertheless where ancient techniques serve better than modern ones the practical islanders can be relied upon to preserve them it is much the same with their unique method of government we chose much of its character and all of its special appropriateness to the fact that jersey is too small to support a whole caucus of professional politicians and must find its rulers amongst its farmers its businessmen and its workers using their hard-won spare time for unpaid service to the island's government the man on foot here discussing the quality of a tomato with his neighbor is a constable of the parish and as such is a member of the states of jersey the island parliament which assumed the legislative function of the royal court in the 17th century the lieutenant governor takes his place and the bailiff moves to his imposing seat above the well of the chamber in jersey the same practical view of the processes of government that bring the farmers and the shopkeepers unpaid to the states sees nothing odd in the bailiff doing duty as both chief magistrate and president of the state's assembly thus combining the functions of speaker and chief justice of the island the symbol of authority in the states represents an independence that has had to be defended starkly over the centuries as the massive ramparts of montoya gay bear witness considering the number of wars there have been between britain and france it is not surprising that once a stealthily landed french force crept into saint helia and along the winding alleyways to capture the governor asleep in his bed this memorial stone marks the gratitude of the island which was only saved by the prompt action of one major person who led the garrison and militia to the rescue in this very square and drove the small french force out of the square and up the alleyways to capture and transport tension major pearson's gallant action in which both he and the french commander lost their lives is commemorated in a painting in the states building on one side of the square and pearson himself was buried in the nearby church of centellia [Music] the churches of jersey mark the parishes and the parishes form the ancient family groups upon which the whole essential structure of the island rests it is perhaps this quiet and pastoral foundation to the island's life that underlies its special charm for visitors nothing seemingly could be more peaceful than the flowers of jersey but in fact it is the flowers that gives and helia its noisiest day and that day is the one which is given over to the battle of flowers when in a place of color scent and bold brass bands jersey's fabulous flowers go on parade so [Applause] [Music] as the gay procession of the battle of flowers thumps and tuttles its way into the afternoon sun the same deep lanes that caught the first light of morning are turned to dusty gold as the setting sun colors the jersey hedgerows and the high cliffs of brittany with the same touch of fire another hour and the floodlights blaze out on montourge while all along the island coast tired holidaymakers relax over cold glasses in the warm evening air a hundred chefs prepare for their big moment of the day dinner on the terrace under the summer stars [Music] for the young ones maybe dinner is not the supreme moment of the day and so they cling to the floodlit swimming pool last moment when the beat of distant music pulls them like cheerful fish out of the water and onto the dance floor of a late night cabaret [Applause] is [Applause] happy that's me to know you really love me happy that's me to know that you're sincere and happy that's me to know that you're excited [Music] was a waiting game for me but now you've said the magic word i feel it's all as a tree life is fancy and free happy that's me my world is [Music] all through the summer and on into the golden evenings of october the long island days go by while the young and the not so young the energetic and the peacefully inclined come and go along the lanes and beaches of this little island that is neither france nor england quite foreign nor too familiar and where every meadow lies within sound of the sea [Music] you

Channel: travelfilmarchive

Views: 4,081

Keywords: 1960s, Europe, Channel Islands, Jersey, Crown Dependencies, British Islands, tourism, tourists, travel films, promotional films, leisure, outdoor recreational activities, historical documentaries

Id: OGZuQAD-faY

Length: 14min 56sec (896 seconds)

Published: Wed Jun 09 2021