Latest news with #StHelier
BBC News
6 hours ago
- General
- BBC News
Petition calls for St Helier marine lake's restoration
A petition has been launched to restore and maintain a historic marine lake which is facing an uncertain Zaech set up the petition in support of St Helier's Victoria Marine Lake after Infrastructure Minister Andy Jehan said it would be "uneconomical" to repair the 128-year-old site due to plans to improve sea defences in the her petition, which had 332 signatures by 17:30 BST on Tuesday, Ms Zaech said the site on the waterfront was a "vital piece of Jersey's heritage".The Infrastructure and Environment Department has been contacted by the BBC for comment. 'Promoting health' An inspection carried out in 2024 said the marine lake needed "comprehensive work".When asked in June about how the site would be maintained in the future, Jehan said plans under development along the waterfront and the need to improve shoreline and coastal defences meant it was a "diminishing requirement".Ms Zaech said the marine lake had received "minimal maintenance" during its history."Victoria Marine Lake predates the listed Havre des Pas pool by eight years, yet it remains unlisted and at risk," she said."Restoring the pool would preserve a vital piece of Jersey's heritage while promoting health, leisure, and tourism."
BBC News
12 hours ago
- Health
- BBC News
Epsom and St Helier hospital cleaners and porters vote to strike
More than 200 hospital cleaners and porters could strike over NHS equality at a Surrey hospital 258 NHS facilities workers at St Helier and Epsom Hospital Trust are being balloted over demands for full equality with their hospital ballot closes on 12 August, with potential strike dates announced later that trust said the workers recently received a 5.3% pay rise, backdated to April. The workers, most of whom are from migrant and minority ethnic backgrounds, are NHS employees but are allegedly denied the NHS's national pay system, terms and trade union United Voices of the World claims they were not given the standard NHS contracts and remain on inferior terms, getting lower pay and missing out on benefits such as paid sick leave from day one, enhanced nights and weekend pay as well as lower pension contributions 'Open to engaging' An Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals spokesperson said: "Our porters and cleaners and everyone who works in our trusts are hugely valued and respected colleagues, and we were pleased to recently announce a pay rise of up to 5.3% backdated to April."When colleagues were brought in-house in 2021 they received improved pay and conditions compared to their private contracts, including the London living wage."We understand their concerns and remain open to engaging with our colleagues and their unions." Petros Elia, UVW General Secretary said: "These workers are as much a part of the NHS as any doctor, nurse, or administrator. They kept our hospitals running during the pandemic, yet in 2025 they're still treated as second-class NHS employees."This two-tier system is degrading, demoralising and discriminatory. It sends a message that their labour matters less, and their lives matter less. And it must end." The trade union argues pay has been frozen and it is now formally moving toward strike action after the CEO and Board of Trustees refused to enter negotiations, reports the Local Democracy Reporting workers such as cleaners, porters and caterers were brought in-house in 2021 and released from private contracts.
Yahoo
17 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
'Parsnip coffee and no heating - how I survived the German occupation'
It has been 85 years since the German occupation began in Jersey during World War Two, but 92-year-old David Isherwood still vividly remembers the anguish of those five years — from freezing winters, when it was too cold to go to school due to a lack of fuel, to being desperately hungry. But, Mr Isherwood said it was not all bad being a child during the tumultuous period. He enjoyed the adventure of watching soldiers training to shoot their guns, and along with his friends, he would "take the mick out" of the troops by imitating their goose-step march - perhaps unsurprisingly, the soldiers "really didn't like". Despite their irritation, if you kept your head down you were left you alone, Mr Isherwood said, adding: "It was an adventure in a way for children." He was seven when 1,750 German troops arrived in Jersey on 1 July 1940 - a force that would swell to 11,500 by the end of that year. He recalls soldiers smashing the window of the masonic temple on Oxford Road, in St Helier, during target practice. Mr Isherwood said the troops had taken over a garage opposite the Temple Bar pub on nearby Stopford Road. He said: "Outside of the garage they used to put two-pack guns, which were anti-tank guns and fire [them]. "Every six weeks they would close the street and fire at targets which they had fixed in Oxford Road. "As kids, it was where you would go to see pack guns firing off," he said. However, despite the youthful hi-jinks, many of his memories from the war were not happy ones. When the Germans arrived, they rapidly introduced strict regulations. The islands clocks were set to European time and there was a curfew between 23:00 and 05:00. Islanders were banned from using vehicles, except those with special permission such as doctors. Mr Isherwood remembers being "starving hungry" from about 1942 or 1943, as well as freezing cold because of a lack of fuel. His mother, along with other local women, would stand waiting with buckets and brooms when the coal boat arrived - hoping some lumps would fall off the trucks as they turned the corner onto Victoria Street. "That's how desperate it was," he said. He also remembers the winter of 1944 to 1945, when it was so cold his school had to close for seven weeks from January. The children used to sit in their coats in the classroom and parents were asked to knit hats and gloves for the children, he said. Despite the hardships, Mr Isherwood survived the occupation. He was one of the first children to collect a Red Cross parcel from the SS Vega - an event captured in a now-famous photo. Later he trained as a cabinet maker, meeting his future wife Yvonne during that time, and also spent 28 years working for the island's waterworks. Mr Isherwood spoke to King Charles III and Queen Camilla about the food shortages during the occupation whey they visited to the island in 2024. A British military blockade meant it was difficult for the Germans to receive food to the islands, leading to food shortages. A lot of islanders died from malnutrition, he said. The shortages led islanders to improvise substitute foods and drinks. He remembered his mother making parsnip coffee during the war, agreeing with a friend that: "It was awful then and it's awful now." More news stories for Jersey Listen to the latest news for Jersey Follow BBC Jersey on X and Facebook. Send your story ideas to WW2 food parcel delivery 'immensely significant' Holocaust records available for islanders to view What happened in the Channel Islands during WW2? Channel Island Occupation Society Jersey Heritage
BBC News
2 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Jersey government to give £160k in funding for Battle of Flowers
Jersey's government will give nearly £160k in funding for this year's Battle of Flowers, despite the event making heavy losses last year. Economic Development Minister, Deputy Kirsten Morel, has asked his chief officer to approve the funding request of £158,750. There were doubts the event would happen this year following last year's overspend of about £150k, but free smaller parades organised by a breakaway committee will be held in St Helier's town centre, instead of a large event on Victoria Morel wrote: "I have considered the balance of risks and it is my judgement that a grant to the event organisers is necessary in order to enable a Battle of Flowers Parade in 2025." Deputy Morel said: "It is the role of Ministers to consider the wider balance of risks and take into consideration the broader economic and social imperatives".He admitted there was "significant overspend" last year and the government "does not have an established relationship" with the new the Minister described the Battle of Flowers, which was first held in 1902, as an "iconic event" and "an important fixture," which "brings Islanders together." Battle is due to be held on the 8 and 9 August, and the parades will be free to watch.
BBC News
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
West End star 'moved to tears' at Jersey Sings in St Helier
Schoolchildren who got the chance to sing with stars of the West End have said it was an "amazing" of children took part in the Jersey Sings Across the Bay event, performing songs such as A Million Dreams from The Greatest Showman and specially arranged Pick, who is currently playing Elphaba in Wicked at the Apollo Victoria in London, said: "I got really emotional," adding she cried while listening to the children performing. One of those taking part, Freya, 11, said the event was "important because people need to know that it's not scary to sing in front of people and to feel like they are expressing different emotions". Laura Pick said it was great to visit Jersey for the first time, adding that she had also shed a tear while listening to the children "singing their hearts out".Oliver Tompsett, who played Fiyero as part of the original cast of Wicked and Galileo in We Will Rock You, was also at the event."I got really emotional and turned to Oliver and I was crying," she said it was really important that charities like Music in Action organised such events to give children opportunities that they might not otherwise have had. Also taking part in the event at St Helier Methodist Centre were Summer, 11, Evie, nine, and Hayley, Oak and Flo, all aged a special evening concert, Tompsett and Pick performed songs from the after the event, Freya said: "It's crazy but I never thought I would be able to do that."She said that "seeing the actors and seeing everyone have fun and just express their feelings" was her favourite part of the said: "It feels like I can express myself through singing", adding that it was "amazing" to sing with other people including West End told BBC Jersey: "I felt a bit nervous but, at the same time, really excited." Matt and Sarah Winter said being in the audience to watch their daughter sing with the rest of the group had been Winter said it was "a cracking performance" and they felt "a little bit tearful hearing all those children sing". Christina Tedders from Music in Action said it had been "a really important community event".She said it could have "a really big impact" on children, boosting their confidence and experiencing "the joy of singing together", which was why the charity continued to put so much effort into it.
