26/01/2017 Channel Islands News

Welcome to BBC Channel Islands. so it's goodbye from me

These are Thursday's headlines: Living a lie to survive -

Jersey Live has closed, but could another festival return? I think it

is a shame for younger people. the remarkable story of one woman

who outwitted the Nazis. Plus come ice or snow, day or night,

the team showing true grit, And I will have the

weather forecast. After 13 years and tens

of thousands of visitors, Organisers Warren Le Sueur

and Warren Holt say they both want to pursue separate projects,

but it has emerged they haven't cancelled their booking

at the Trinity Showground. So is this really the end

for Jersey's biggest music festival? To modern soul singers

like John Newman. Jersey Live has featured

a number of big-name acts. But last year ticket sales were down

and today it has been announced that the festival

won't be returning. There is not much to do for our

youngsters, so I think it is quite bad. They will miss out on money and

tourism. It is a disappointment. It is a great way to end the summer. I

think it's a shame. It's a bit devastating for people under 18

because it's obviously there main event of the year. But I think it

was dying out a bit anyway. But I think it was dying

out a bit anyway. It is not just those

who are already famous that found It also provided a welcome

boost to local talent. Growing up, it was something to

aspire to. Going and seeing it, it is different to other festivals. It

was a very real prospect. Jersey Live has been held here at the

Trinity showground for more than a decade. It usually takes place the

first weekend in September. Despite the announcement today, the festival

organisers have asked them to keep those dates reserved. There is no

place I would rather be. And with both organisers

saying they are hoping to pursue separate projects,

tourism bosses don't think we'll I wouldn't be surprised if something

equally as exciting came along in the future. Both Warrens are very

innovative. Other people are interested in staying something --

staging something. So watch this spot.

So we might have seen the last of Jersey Live.

But it might not be the end of music festivals here in Trinity.

Businessmen in Sark have met with a senior Guernsey politician

to discuss how the two islands can work more closely together.

Tourism, transport links and visitor numbers were high

on the agenda, as the President of Guernsey's Economic

Development Committee, Deputy Peter Ferbrache met

with the Chamber of Commerce to look at ways in which the islands could

Guernsey Police are applying for planning permission to increase

security at their Headquarters in St Peter Port.

It follows an incident last year in which a member of the public

drove into the courtyard of the headquarters and damaged

If approved, it will see the front iron gate fitted

with electrical motors, so authorised vehicles can enter

using either an intercom or mounted gate control buttons.

Tomorrow, Britain marks Holocaust Memorial Day,

to remember the six million Jewish men, women and children who died

at the hands of the Nazis during the Second World War.

And being Jewish in the Channel Islands during the occupation also

meant misery, deportation, and for three women in Guernsey,

But now, after more than 70 years, we can reveal a Jewish woman hid

in plain sight from the Nazis, concealing her religion

And it has been discovered she could have been in love

with a man responsible for drafting some of the island's

Miriam Jay lived in Guernsey during its occupation,

and during those five long years she kept a remarkable secret

She lived here, in St Peter Port for some of the war.

If discovered, Miriam would have at the very least faced imprisonment

This man has researched how she managed to go

Miriam would know these laws would be applying

to her and although she never said she was a Jew she knew

if she got caught she would be in serious trouble.

If she was uncovered, Miriam may have been deported

But Miriam may have had someone looking out for her.

Advocate George Ridgway lived with her during the occupation.

Richard Heaume believes they could have been

romantically involved, and that put the lawyer

As Solicitor-General in the island's States he was involved in passing

some of the very laws Miriam would have feared as a Jew.

He had to register them with the royal court before

the Jurats of the day, he was charged alone with presenting

the orders for registration by the Jurats so he had a bit

And when advocate Ridgway died in 1942 it was Miriam Jay

who was one of the lead mourners at his funeral.

Despite his death, she went on to survive the occupation

At her grave, Miriam's great nephew explains how he feels

Sadness that we will never know the true story, pride

I know that there were very few Jews that survived Guernsey,

that once they were discovered to be Jewish they were either packed off

And this story of survival is one that's resonated with the leader

of the Channel Island's small Jewish community.

proud to hear that this Advocate Ridgway by his own silence

saved this woman's life, and I think some recognition

needs to be made of this shall we say inaction,

And if the connection between this Jewish woman

and a Guernsey lawyer is proven, I'm told efforts might be made

to have Advocate Ridgway honoured by the State of Israel.

If you have had to wear a few more layers recently or if you've had

to scrape ice off your car windscreen, you will have

probably noticed it's been a bit frosty lately.

The gritters have been out in force to tackle the icy conditions,

and Luxmy Gopal joined the team early this morning.

MUSIC: Theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey.

This is one of the teams out to battle against

Jersey's gritters have had a busy few days of making our roads safer.

We can get a call at any time, day or night, one of the managers

will say come in at 4, 5 o clock, get the vehicles

ready, and we'll head straight out on the roads.

This morning, Jersey's roads weren't as icy as they have been recently.

But this is what they looked like a mere four years ago.

When we had the heavy snow a few years ago,

we were doing 12 hours shifts on and off, it got a bit

tiring but we did the job, so it's just one of them,

have a cup of coffee, get a nice thick coat on and off we go.

And if we get that snowfall again, Jersey is stocked up ready.

We use it through our winter months for de-icing,

for the frost which we have had recently in the past few days,

The infrastructure team has been reduced since the snow of 2013,

so if it happens again, other departments

But who knows if we will see those conditions again soon.

I've only ever seen that once before in my lifetime,

But, come snow or ice, day or night, Bob's team will be out

and about showing true grit in protecting the island's roads.

Finally, Guernsey motor racing driver Andy Priaulx is hopeful

of helping his team to victory at a 24 hour race in

Andy has competed at the Rolex 24 in different classes previously,

but this time will be teaming up with Harry Tincknell

Priaulx's team Ford has four cars in the event,

Well, it looks like there will be a few less early morning

We have some milder weather on its way. With that, some cloud and rain

to come tomorrow as well. Bitterly cold today. The winds gradually ease

through tomorrow. Still quite windy for a time tonight. South-easterly

winds are bringing in cold air from the continent. As the weather front

pushes closer from the West, the rain may initially turn a little bit

sleety. That will quickly turn to rain on and off for most of the day.

The wind is still with us for a time. Easing on Friday night.

Saturday, south-westerly winds head and were way. Bringing some mild a.

A few showers possible coming through on the breeze. Generally dry

and bright. Sunday, or change again. We continue with the milder flow of

the right across the weekend. Today, we have had pretty good clearance

under the cloud. Despite the sunshine, it has felt extra cold.

The breeze continuing through tonight, but I think there is still

a chance of a touch of ground frost locally with temperatures down to

around 2 degrees at their lowest. Cold start tomorrow. Some brightness

initially. Possibly some sleet for a time at first. Generally, we are

looking at rain on and off. The wind is still brisker times. Here are the

times of high water. And the conditions for surfers. Now the

coastal waters. We have some sunshine for a time on Saturday.

Cloud and rain to come on Sunday. Looking milder after tomorrow.

Nice to see we are going into double figures for the weekend!

We will bring you the very latest on the top stories at 10:25pm.

Until then, from me and the rest of the Channel Islands team,

so, there you go, Exeter. That is the competition.

Now to the anniversary of a disaster in South Devon which washed

Welcome to St Michael's Church in Stokenham near Kingsbridge.

A special service of commemoration is currently underway here tonight

to remember the events on this day 100 years ago which all

but destroyed the coastal village of Hallsands just a few miles

A violent storm washed away homes which had been left increasingly

vulnerable after years of dredging off the coast nearby.

The event is part of the history of this area but it has remarkable

similarities with the modern day dilemma about how much money and

time to spend protecting our coastal communities. Tonight we will look at

that modern day battle and reflect on the events of 1917. First, John

Henderson has looked at how today's anniversary has been commemorated.

Retracing family footsteps. My grandmother had to do this in the

gale thunderstorms. With all her family. I felt today I should do it

as well on her behalf. And I'm wearing herring gauge mirroring! The

remembrance walk started just above the ruins of the lost village. There

are two cottages left. This was purchased many years ago over ?20

and is now used as a Fairweather holiday home. Oh we pay council tax!

?1200 a year, I think. Not much rubbish collection down here! This

plaque was officially unveiled. 100 years ago there was no loss of life

and nobody was injured. So please can we repeat that feat as we walk!

The Lord Lieutenant was among those making the mile and a half track

across the rugged coastline. This place is an example of what happens

when nature overtakes what humans have done. I think that is an

interesting lesson and a difficult one for the people down here. 50

people made the hike for one historic moment.

So how did almost an entire village vanish into the sea?

Well, on this day in 1917 spring tides and a strong easterly gale

combined to overcome defences which had already been weakened.

Many in the area had long argued that dredging off the coast

of Hallsands had left the village at risk.

John Ayres has looking back at the events of 100 years ago.

We're used to the sea and the storms causing huge damage, but the scale

Against the wishes of the villagers, the beach below was

dredged as the Admiralty was expanding the naval dockyard.

This left the village exposed and the

Tim Lynn descends from a well-known fishing family based here.

Just can't imagine what that must have been...

The storms here must have been horrendous.

In this day and age there'd be a big rescue and

everybody would be rushing here, but then we just

Eventually the villagers were compensated, but many felt it wasn't

This gable end here, that belonged to the Mitchell's house.

Four generations of Roger Stone's family were born at Hallsands.

There was a pub, there was a London In.

There was a pub, there was a London Inn.

I think it was first opened in the late 1700s.

There was a shop owned by two sisters, which

And in its heyday there was a blacksmith's shop

Eventually everyone left, except for one brother and sister.

ANNOUNCER: In the only house in old Hallsands, John and

And in his workshop, old John, now 82, still makes models of the

three-masted schooners in which he spent his boyhood.

And that model boat is still around today.

That was built by Lisanne's brother at the end of the garden, in

And all carved out of a pocket knife and bits of

Which, when you see it, it's absolutely fantastic.

ANNOUNCER: 60 years ago, this was this was a village - warm

and alive with folk who had their roots here.

Today it is deserted but for one person, the last inhabitant

Today, nearly 80 and still refusing to give

way to the irresistible advance of the

sea, Elizabeth continues to live her strange but full life.

And that lady's granddaughter is still in the area.

Elizabeth Lee lived there with her grandmother when she was very

We just remember playing among the ruins.

You know, you played among the ruins, probably

We played down there and on the beach and went

These days local schoolchildren are being taught about that eventful

storm and what life was like the sum of their ancestors.

It's kind of quite sad thinking that people lived there

and now there's nothing really there.

I find it really interesting, because I get to know what actually

Many descendants of the original Hallsands

families still live locally, and

they are keeping the legend of the old village very much alive.

Well, many feel the village is still as vulnerable today.

The last big storm was in 2014, when many of the village's

There's a campaign to get the authorities to change

the official policy, which is to let nature

take its course and not invest any more money

Sophie Pierce been to take a look at the challenges

These defences are all that protect Hallsands from the sea.

They were repaired by villagers at their own

expense in 2014, and they have recently paid for more.

They are unhappy the village is being left exposed, unlike

Two years ago, the then Government minister Oliver Letwin visited

I think what I need to do is have conversations with the Environment

Agency about that, because I found in my own constituency there

was a time when there were parts of my constituency which were

The residents didn't find that a very attractive proposition,

we changed that, and I think we probably need to find a

A few months later villagers learned that nothing had changed and

The shoreline management plan says that there's

nothing worth saving in this village - we beg to differ.

You can't just say to some people, your houses

are going to fall in the sea and there's nothing were going to

We pay our council tax and our national taxes the same

While the authorities are sympathetic, they say

Do we spend ?1 million protecting the coast here or

do we spend that ?1 million protecting adult services, special

educational needs, youth clubs, libraries, mending the roads?

It's a balance and unfortunately it is not

an infinite pot of money and we have to make priorities.

As it happens there is more shingle on the beach today than there has

been for many years, and it acts as a natural defence.

Some in the village now feel that keep campaigning is a

waste of effort, as the authorities are unlikely to change their minds.

Well, as I mentioned, a service of remembrance is taking place

here tonight in Stokenham, just a few miles form Hallsands.

Descendents of those who lived in the village have joined today's

residents and others from the surrounding area

to remember the events of 100 years ago.

Among them is internationally renowned musician Damon Albarn,

I asked him about his connections with Hallsands.

I think late '94 decided I wanted to buy something by the sea.

And there was this place that looked kind of interesting side just came

down here and fell in love with it straightaway.

And how much of an inspiration has it been to you as a

musician, as a songwriter, over the years?

You've got the hills, you've got the moors.

It's the place I go to think, and swim.

And what about the disaster itself, 100 years ago?

I was always kind of looking like, what's that

Went out in the dinghy or whatever into the bay

I started reading up about it and, you know, the whole...

The drama of it and the fact that the

descendants then moved just a little bit round the corner to

Yeah, it just seemed like it was such a nightmarish night.

How do you feel about the vulnerability of

The whole of this coast is in a constant state of erosion.

Obviously, you have explained the story of why Hallsands fell

Sometimes, if I don't come down here for, like, six months,

I always imagine what life must have been like for

everyone in these villages, before roads.

And, briefly, what does it mean to be

here tonight, to join the community for this commemoration?

I thought about it, it inspired me so much.

I feel like I want to be part of this, you know?

Yeah, I'm connected, so that's why I'm here.

Damon Albarn, thank you very much indeed for talking to us.

course and destruction and weather conditions. What was it like 100

years ago? It was dry, it was cold but it was incredibly windy. We had

winds today around 30 to 40 mph. On this night 100 years ago they had

winds of 70 to 80 miles an hour. But also exceptionally high tides. It is

the two combined the release smashed into the village. Most of the year

it is well protected from the wind from the south-west. It's unusual to

see an easterly gale and one that was quite so strong. What about

tonight's forecast? The cold is still with us but that

is about to change as we start to warm up heading to the weekend.

Let's start with a summary of tomorrow's forecast. It's going to

be less windy, perhaps feeling less cold as well. But there is a chance

for patchy rain. That slowly creeping in from the Atlantic. It's

the first real change for us to get less cold. There is the satellite

picture. You conceive how the cloud is building, that will make its way

towards us eventually. At the moment we're still the influence of high

pressure. If we run the sequence, you can see how the web front

approaches from the West. By the morning that could reduce outbreaks

of rain across Cornwall. The rest of us not faring too badly. By Saturday

low-pressure is taking charge. Atlantic air has made its way in and

it is a similar setup on Sunday. Sunday looks like it will be rather

cloudy but at least the temperatures are on the rise. A closer look at

that picture shows us the clouds today which made it feel very cold

and grey. There was some late sunshine and is now a good deal of

clear sky. Tonight's forecast is for it to remain breezy and clear, the

exception being the far west of Cornwall where we will see patchy

light rain. Night-time temperatures probably getting to freezing

overnight tonight. Tomorrow we have a blustery day and patchy rain

coming from the West. More rain coming from the south. By the end of

the day it is milder and also cloudy with patchy rain. Temperatures

finally getting up to double figures. That's the forecast for the

Isles of Scilly. Patchy rain and not as windy. That's the times of high

water. Some big waves as well for the surfers. The winds from the

South slowly veering south-westerly. Patchy rain coming in eventually.

Outlook for the weekend is for it to get a lot less cold, temperatures

back into double figures, and patchy rain around on Saturday and Sunday.

Have a good evening. And that is it for tonight, on the

day that the 100th anniversary of the destruction of Hallsands.

Einstein replaced Newton's theory of universal gravitation

with a more accurate theory - general relativity.

So, why's my apple falling? Well, it's not.

It is the ground that accelerates up to meet the apple.

So that's why the chair that I'm sitting on now

that actually feels as if it's accelerating up

It's really changed my relationship with this chair. Mm-hm.

The FA People's Cup - a free five-a-side tournament