Some bizarre but true facts about Jersey (UK)

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I live on a beautiful and well kept island which is situated between France and the bottom of the UK.
Jersey is one of a group of islands in this area that became known as the Channel Islands.

Jersey is in some ways a very peculiar place, in that although the people who are born and live on the island speak English, and consider themselves English, the island is not governed by the UK but is what is known as a "crown dependency", so is associated with the UK Monarchy but has its own government which includes an official who is the UK Monarchy's representative on the island.

Now, the island is very small in terms of size, as it is only 9 by 7 miles in size, and although small in size, has a fair size population, especially when considering most of the living accommodation is in one area. Its present population is over 120,000. Which I imagine sounds like nothing to you guys, who live in more densely populated lands and areas.

Now, Jersey's population would not have grown to this size, had it not been due to the industries that developed in the island. Many years ago Jersey used to be primarily an island that focused on farming, and later Jersey got a reputation as a great place to go on holiday for those from the UK, who wanted to go somewhere where they could relax on a beach, get some familiar food, cheap beer, sit on a beach, while also still speaking the Queens English.

The older generation of British were a lot like that, a lot of phobia towards all things foreign, funny money, funny language and weird food is how they perceived the rest of the world. Funny really.

Now, during the 50s and 60s Jersey really was a premiere place for the brits to go on holiday, and Jersey tourist industry made a lot of money, however as attitudes towards foreign travel and the costs of travelling abroad changed,
the island lost a great deal of its tourist industry.

This, however, wasn't a problem, as since the 1920s, Jersey started to get a reputation as a tax haven for wealthy UK residents to hide their wealth from the UK tax haven, and once in Jersey, those with large resources of wealth can take advantage of the islands Tax infrastructure, which are considered greatly superior in terms of saving money for those with money when compared to their own lands (such as the UK and EU).

Jersey actually had quiet a history before it gained its reputation as a strong hold for the rich and greedy,
as Jersey had previously had a reputation as a place that was used by smugglers, who smuggled goods to and fro the island.

Jersey also had established links with the UK monarch, with several of the castles on the island haven been built, some as far back as the 12th hundreds!

One of the castles also was used by King Charles the 1st to seek refuge and protection during the British Civil war in the 14 hundreds!

The Royal family, their aristocratic associates and many prominent members of Parliament continue to use the island to stash their cash (so as to exploit the tax laws). Particularly ironic, when you consider that various Prime Ministers who exploit the islands tax infrastructure are also the primary people involved in deciding on and enforcing the less favourable tax infrastructure on their own lands (Great Britain).

Although I personally come from a working class family, I have come into contact with a fair variety of people while living on this island, including some who are associated in one way or another to royalty. Which, for a working class lad is fairly surreal.

One of my friends who i used to hang out with when i was in my late teens, grand mother was the lady in waiting for the late Queen mother. Interestingly enough, my friend has to be one of the politest reasonable people i know and far from the reputation of the privileged white male spoilt oik of a brat of a person. The kind of person you expect to be associated with such wealth.

Nonetheless, the island has its fair share of bizarre history.

Another bizarre but true fact is that the island also was the place of origin for many of the people who ended up leaving for the new world who ended up settling in Salem, the place infamous for the witch craft trials.

This does not surprise me, as it is said that such practices were common in those times, but as time went on,
there was an occult revival especially among the aristocratic classes. Whether this was related to King Henry the 8th's rebellion from the Catholic Church, I am unsure. Although, according to one book I read, the origins of old fashioned devil worship also appears to have developed around the same time, and, if you read up on the aristocratic clubs from that time on wards, such as the Hellfire club, you will find that it is the pillars of the British Society, those who hold high places in society that appear to be involved in such bizarre practices, whether it is for personal gain, sadism or simply just for the sheer devilish fun of it. This is the real roots of what people today see as rock and roll, Satanism.

Ironic to think that such practices originated from a corrupt and power abusing privileged aristocratic class and royalty.
Far from the long haired pseudo vikings and neo pagans of today.

Perhaps a great deal of the aristocratic classes magic were just fun, and not that different to the rock and roll lifestyle,
i.e. sex, drugs and rock and roll.

However, as with everything, there are always some who take things too far, and one or two people in Jersey did just that. I won't go into the details, but the small idyllic island has had its fair share of scandals.

Including one horrific serial sex attacker, a pedofile celebrity who used the island to get to children, and a bizarre family who stole people's domestic animals which they sacrificed to the devil.

And people wonder why i have a problem with people into satanism / devil worship. And that's just a few members of the underclass, who don't have enough money or power to bribe their way out of any trouble their in, unlike those with power and wealth, who may come from such backgrounds.

People say witchcraft doesn't exist, and for sure, it doesn't in reality, but if a group of people abuse people in a ritualistic manner, in order to present the illusion that magic forces are at work. Then witchcraft of this nature does exist, but more so as a gang stalking and other criminal abuse form, rather than a real supernatural power in its own right.

I guess, if such behaviours are going to develop, then where else would they develop but in a place where such behaviours were invented by the influential people of their day, a place with such a long and rich history in such matters is going to be prone to some remnants of lunacy and abuse of power, if anywhere is.

Sadly this does taint the otherwise idyllic beautiful island on which i was born.
But this is not the islands fault, as the horror show that these horrors that i mention were but man made.

We know an elderly lady who used to live on Gurnsey Island, which she said was 21 miles across, and when they went to ask us what they should look for when buying a secondhand car I mentioned about milage as I said not to be put off by high milage cars if they are of certain makes because they will have been looked after well to rech high milages, and makes like Volvo and Audi can easily do 500,000milss if well looked after (As some here in the UK would not consider a car over 100,000 miles and yet some cars like older Volvos take 75,000 miles to run them in). They said (When her husband was alive) "What's milage?" They had never heard of the term because it is rare where they come from for a car to exceed 20,000 miles so no one looks at the milage. I explained and she said "Over in Gurnsey, if I said I was going to drive the 21 miles to the other side of the island people would say "Are you sure you will be ok?"

I have to laugh. Well. She considered that she came feom a poor background but when she talks about what it was like she was actually pretty wealthy compared to here. But she said she grew up on a farm, but we very quickly realized that she knew nothing about animals because when she saw a male shetland pony in the field next to ours which was very well endowed she said "Ooh look. That horse has five legs!"
My mother quickly changed the subject whilw my youngest brother and I were trying not to laugh while my Mum gave us "The look" which meant we must not say anything. It turns out what she meant by farms are large greenhouses that grow flowers to sell to various parts of the UK and Europe as the island was well known for its warmer climate so they did exceptionally well growing things.

Hello again. nice to chat again

Actually Guernsey (the sister island to Jersey) is much smaller than 21 miles across, and a journey of 21 miles for a Guernsey person would be an epic adventure! Guernsey is actually about 12 miles long and 2.5 miles wide!

It is less populated than Jersey and less built up.
Guernsey is a lot more original than Jersey, in that the Guernsey Government has kept a great deal of the character of their streets with their streets still having cobble stone paving and grey granite stone buildings.

I like Guernsey a lot, its a lot more quaint, but still a tax haven like Jersey.
Sark is also worth a look in, although tiny, there are no cars on Sark, but a few tractors, a few pubs / restaurants, a couple of hotels, and guest houses, but not much else.
so is very peaceful. Like going back in time to the 40s or something. Great place for people with ASD who have sensory hypersensitivities. apart from finding somewhere to live and somewhere to work...