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Get your walk on…

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Get your walk on…

The Collas Crill Island Walk is set to be another record breaker with over 1200 walkers signed up to take part in the three walks, matching last year’s numbers with a week to go.

Collas Crill group head of marketing, Iain Beresford said: “The momentum for the walk has really built and this is seen in our better than ever number of sign ups. So, a huge thank you to everyone who has registered for this year’s walk. However, we want to ensure that the chosen charities really benefit from everyone’s efforts, so don’t forget it’s the sponsorship money that really makes a difference to the charities and the community. Having three options for the walk; the full 48 miles, a relay and the 10.9 mile Lieutenant Governor’s Challenge opens the event with something for everyone. We look forward to seeing everyone next Saturday, especially as the weather looks perfect!”

The chosen charities that will benefit from the funds raised include; St John Ambulance, Durrell, Jersey Cheshire Home, Teenage Cancer Trust Jersey Appeal, Jersey Mencap, Silkworth, Les Amis, Ridout House and Age Concern Jersey.

A walking pack was sent out to each entrant earlier this week with their walk lanyards, a t-shirt, Collas Crill sunglasses and a route map. It is still possible to sign up for the walk and details can be found at www.ccislandwalk.com. Those with a late registration will have to pick up their packs on Friday 17 June from the finish marquee located at the Waterfront green on top of the car park. It will be manned from 12 noon until 6pm.

You can track progress and keep up to date with the walk on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Facebook: Collas Crill Island Walk
Twitter: @CCIslandWalk
Instagram: ccislandwalk

A feast of arts and crafts at Folklore

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A feast of arts and crafts at Folklore

Folklore makes a welcome return on Sunday 12 June, when they’ll be bringing you the likes of rock greats The Levellers and The Charlatans who’ll be headlining a wild and diverse array of Main Stage acts. Alongside these musical greats you can also expect to see local heroes including Pirate Party Brigade, Robert J Hunter and The Little Big Band performing on the Islands Stage and Fungi Hospitality Stage. Alongside the awesome music there’s The Family Zone, made up of four distinct and equally vibrant areas: The Love Theatre Stage, Chill Zone, Creative Zone and a new addition to the Family Zone, The Bandstand Stage.

Love Theatre Stage

Ready to get physical? We hope so, as the Love Theatre Stage offers a series of energetic performances, demonstrations and workshops, firstly from Love Theatre who regularly create theatre with young people and at Folklore will be bringing their bespoke and interactive Superhero Show to Val De La Mare. What kid hasn’t dreamed of being Iron Man, Spiderman, Wonder Woman or The Hulk for a day? Well, here’s their chance! They’re joined on the Love Theatre Stage line up by the returning Kids Capoeira C.I. Capoeira is an Afro-Brazilian art form that fuses dance, music, self-defence and acrobatics. In Portuguese the very word used to practice the activity is “jogar”, meaning “play”!

Dove Step Bollywood, dance workshop run by the talented Jo and Anne Dove. Dove Step offers dance lessons, workshops and performances in a varied repertoire, including Lindy Hop, Charleston and Salsa, but at Folklore they’ll be giving a crash course in the art of Bollywood dance! Make sure you save a bit in the tank, however, for the Street Angels crew who, fresh from their appearance at the Dance World Cup, will be taking participants though their paces with Street Dance workshops.

The Creative Zone

Here, kids and grownups alike will have the chance to immerse themselves in a world of Superhero-themed arts and crafts, with face painting, nail art, dressing up corner, mask decorating and much more. Learn the intricate art of stop-motion animation with Motion Studios Jersey, where kids will get a chance to storyboard and animate their very own movies using toys, models and Lego; join Street Angels, who will be teaching budding artists to create a masterpiece using spray paints, and for those with the wee-est of wee nippers, Bethesda Methodist Church join forces with Folklore to present the Toddler Zone, with soft and sensory play for the Under 5’s, and safe and comfortable baby changing and feeding areas on site and in their Ark building. We’ll also be serving up some Balloon Magic workshops, where kids of all ages can learn to twist and bend our inflatable friends into all sorts of shapes and sizes.

The Bandstand Stage

A new addition to Folklore this summer, the stage will be encouraging Jersey’s next generation of musicians, singers, storytellers and performers to watch, learn and also try their own hand at various performative mediums throughout the day. Jersey beatbox maestro Toxxix and Friends will be inviting youngsters to join them in discovering the varied, weird and wonderful ways that a voice can be manipulated to make music. They’ll also be hosting open mic sessions with the help of 2015 Jersey Battle of the Bands winner Lucas Pafitis, with a range of instruments available for people to get their first taste of performing to a live audience. Just think, you could walk into Folklore a spectator and walk out a performer! They’ve also partnered with the Jersey Festival of Words to serve up a variety of children’s yarns told in a fun, immersive and interactive way. If you fancy yourself as the next Roald Dahl or J.K Rowling, this is the place for you.

The Chill Zone

After all that music, dancing, playing and making, you’ll no doubt be in need of a healthy dose of R&R. Good thing then, that we have for you the Chill Zone. Think Mindfulness, think Yoga, think Meditation, think Massage. Think healthy juices and nourishing smoothies. In fact, don’t think at all. Just switch off, tune out and relaaaaax….

Phev-er Pitch

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Phev-er Pitch

For anyone cool enough to spend their free time reading car reviews, you will know that almost every car that has ever been driven is, in some way or another, “sleek”. Now, I never quite understood the use of this simple adjective in the description of an automobile. Sure, you could say that the interior of a Rolls Royce is ‘elegant’, or that the experience of driving a Ford Escort 100E is ‘bone-shattering’, but sleek? I wasn’t convinced. Until I stepped into the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV.

From the almost exclusively leather interior, to the way it drives, everything about this machine is, to its very core, sleek. Before you even open the doors to this vehicle, it is immediately noticeable that this is not your everyday, run of the mill 4×4, or even hybrid car for that matter. The design is not angular and square, as you find with the majority of larger cars in the post-Defender era, instead this is a more compact and curved body that is deceptively spacious on the inside.

The space afforded by the design of the body is amply filled and outfitted with upholstery that would make an aged Italian man weep, and tech with such a wide range of customisable options and features that even the most inquisitive child could happily spend hours locked in there without a complaint (that’s not an excuse to leave your dog locked in there, they can’t read). However, whilst there is indeed a NASA-esque bank of technology on the dashboard, the software is surprisingly simple and easy to use. For the first time that I can remember, there exists a satellite navigation system that doesn’t require an MSc to use, and it actually works on the Jersey roads. Unlike almost every TomTom I’ve ever seen, you won’t end up at La Hogue Bie when you’re trying to find L’Etacq.

As well as a functioning SatNav, the display can show you numerous bits of varyingly vital information on your drive (let’s be honest, most of you will just use it to show you that you’re listening to 103). Perhaps the most important, and definitely the only one that I used, is the display showing you the information concerning the electric and petrol motors that the car uses. What makes this car so unique in its field is its hybrid nature. Now, I know normally ‘hybrid’ evokes images of pyjama-wearing, Prius-praising uber-hippies that would rather see cattle farmers plunged into poverty than eat a steak. But don’t worry, Toyota don’t own the exclusive rights to electric engines, and where they have failed, Mitsubishi have succeeded in beefing up the hybrid image (see what I did there?). The PHEV has both a petrol and an electric engine, the latter of which takes only five hours to fully charge on a standard 240V mains plug. There is also a fast charge socket that works in roughly 30 minutes, however this socket doesn’t yet exist in Jersey. I took the car out for roughly an hour, and practically without engaging the system that charges the battery whilst braking I only got down to roughly 30% charge. To surmise, it’s efficient. Really, really efficient. Even the petrol engine in hybrid mode gets 1.8 litres per 100km.

The driving experience of the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV is, quite possibly, the smoothest I’ve ever experienced. As you turn on the keyless ignition, the only word that comes to mind is our old favourite: sleek. Gone are the days when the roar of a V8 would earn you the respect of all within earshot. Today, the quieter your car, the better, and anybody who lives in a residential area will vouch for that. With the Outlander PHEV, prepare to be the most popular person on the block, as you start up and pull off in complete silence. However, don’t mistake a lack of noise to mean a lack of power. At a decibel level that is almost disconcertingly low, the PHEV’s engine, even when in the energy-saving Eco Mode, remains powerful enough to pack a serious punch off the line, and is, for lack of a better word chunky on the open road (in the best sense possible). Unlike many other hybrid cars, this one does not suffer from a case of, what I would call, “technological veganism”. Other than a lack of growl, it’s easy to forget you’re driving an electric car, and being able to literally see on the screen display that you are saving the planet by emitting zero arbitrary units of CO2 is just an added bonus.

All in all, the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV surpassed every expectation I had. Admittedly, my assumptions were based upon prior hybrid and electric cars, but this machine is clearly leaps and bounds ahead of pretty much all other companies in this field (I’m saying “pretty much” because I’m hoping Gallery will let me take out a Tesla at some point in the future). The sleek and sophisticated design of both the exterior and interior are just the icing and cherry on the metaphorical cake, but trust me that’s some rich buttercream icing and a hand-picked B.C. cherry.

On the Sofa: The Dental Spa

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On the Sofa: The Dental Spa

Joanna Kumpin

I was born  – Poland

Marital Status – Single

School –  Medical Academy- Dentistry, Gdansk, Poland

First Job – When I was 15 I worked at my parents business, a cafe by the sea, in the holidays.

Car –  Lexus RX 400 hybrid

Book –  I enjoy reading stories of success, biographies of inspiring and successful people.

Music – I love a variety of music. At the moment my son dictates the songs/artist we are playing.

Film – I love movies and going to the cinema, if time allows.

Gadget –  My iPhone!

Last holiday – Dubai.

Enjoy – Traveling (I am not good with packing though), I love spending time with my family and friends and I enjoy good food and champagne.

Michelle Journeaux

I was born – Jersey

Marital Status – Single

School – Les Quennevais

First Job – Les Roche Spa

Car – Mini Cooper

Book (you love) – Bobbi Brown’s make-up manual. It’s my bible!

Music (you love) – I enjoy all different types of music. I always listen to Radio 1 in the mornings and have Spotify on the go!

Film  – I love any of Baz Luhrmann’s films – more so for the amazing costume, hair and makeup collaborations he uses!

Gadget  – My iPhone.

Last holiday – Bali

Enjoy – Travelling and being surrounded by my friends and family

Q: Tell us a little bit about your business, The Dental Spa.

J: I took over the dentist practice four years ago from Dr Forbes and we offer the full range of dentistry services.  We pride ourselves on our gentle and natural approach to your teeth. We can work with you to understand your needs and your budget too. I have also been administering wrinkle treatments, Botox and fillers since 2007.  I’m constantly revisiting and learning new techniques, all of which you can benefit from, we try and make any visit to us enjoyable as possible.

M: I  joined the team earlier this year and I look after the laser treatments, along with Joanna. Laser Spa. As an experienced fully qualified beauty therapist I appreciate how powerful the Cynosure laser we use is.  It’s an incredible machine which covers many treatment options; unwanted hair removal, spider and thread vein removal from the face and legs and skin renewal which includes help with age spots, sun damage and wrinkles. It’s the most effective laser in Jersey!

Q: Can you explain what’s different about the Cynosure laser?

M:  It’s currently the only one like it in the island, it isn’t your standard laser like that you might see being offered by beauty therapists, it is much stronger.  Because of this it requires extensive training and certification before you’re allowed to treat patients.

J:  We wanted to get a laser that would mean people can see real results from their treatments.

Q: What are the benefits of laser hair removal?

J: It’s a really cost effective way of permanently getting rid of unwanted hair, for both men and women.  I’ve been lucky enough to see the benefits for myself, as Michelle has been treating me, it’s also relatively painless too.

M: You’ll need around seven treatments and you’ll see the results very quickly.  If you add up the cost of waxing, something you’re going to have to keep doing for years, then laser, which can perhaps seem more expensive initially, is actually going to end up saving you money.  It’s also going to stop you having to worry about booking in time and appointments to keep on getting waxed and no more ingrown hairs either!

Q: Can you tell us what else we can expect when we make a visit to the Dental and Laser Spas?

J: Across the whole of the business we believe that it’s important to look after your inside as well as your outside.  We stock a variety of supplements to help your skin and teeth, supporting a good diet and nutrition.  They’re also great for boosting your immune system.

M: We also offer derma-roller treatments and chemical peels, which help with skin rejuvenating, fighting wrinkles, boosting skin elasticity and effective in scar treatment. To support these treatments we stock the Environ skin care range, launched in South Africa by a plastic surgeon they have a high concentration of vitamin A in them, which is like oxygen for the skin.  The products are scientifically researched and developed.  Because of this they aren’t sold online, but instead we will have a consultation to specifically tailor a routine for your skin type.  Thanks to the training I’ve had from Environ I can help guide you through this process, making sure you’re happy with the products you choose.

Q: So what do we need to do if we’d like to come and find out more about Laser or any of the other treatments you offer?

M: You can come in for a free consultation, where we can discuss what we can do for you, working with you to find the very best solution for the results you’d like to achieve.  We can also do a laser patch test, so you can experience how the treatment will feel and how you’ll react too.

Craft Punk How to turn waste into gold

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Craft Punk How to turn waste into gold

I recently passed out between some bins in Wharf Street and woke up slap bang in the middle of the Liberation Day celebrations. Unlike any other Monday I wasn’t shamefully hosed clean by the honoraries, instead I was happy to find my smudged make-up and torn clothes mistaken for somebody dressed up in the make-do spirit of wartime optimism. Back then, it was a virtue to repair scrapes and tears, and do your hair with a potato. We couldn’t buy, so we improvised, which is exactly what I did when I improvised a bed out of some cardboard boxes when none of the taxis would let me buy a lift home.

When she wasn’t defending her career as a black marketeer I always remember my dear Nana telling us how proud she was to have made her wedding dress from old flour sacks, and of building a bicycle from flattened sardine cans and German-language joke books. Of course, as soon as the ships started running again her entire generation couldn’t wait to dump the home-made objects and get their hands on whatever was newly-imported from America. Plastic, nylon, uranium isotopes: if it was mass-produced and modern they thought it was the bee’s knees. It wasn’t until the seventies that hippies brought back the idea of anything being made by hand, but it wasn’t until very recently that smarter hippies had the idea of making money out of “upcycling” discarded crud into cold hard cash. Why buy something new from the shops, when you can pay somebody four or five times as much for a handmade “vintage” version? I got into the spirit with a twelve-pack of craft beer and will soon be hawking the following items in a marketplace near you.

The smell of sea men: driftwood art and furniture

For generations, Jersey folk have lived well on the bounty brought to our shores by the ocean waves. We are a noble tribe of fishermen, scavengers, and accountants, and this spirit is kept alive through the great popularity of nautically-themed home frippery. I’ve “redecorated” the toilets in many an overpriced beachside restaurant, and it’s hard to miss a common aesthetic theme. So, I am thrilled to offer the discerning fund manager a range of fine objects that will sprinkle a little sea salt on their soul. Don’t stop at driftwood picture frames for your tasteful pictures of Corbiere lighthouse – capture the true spirit of the sea with my £2,500 sculpture made from jettisoned bleach bottles, rubber gloves and Norwegian trainers. For the price of a second-hand car I can offer a bespoke armchair fashioned from stinking, barnacle-encrusted lobster pots – you can complement it with this chic coffee table made from a rusted fridge washed up at Portelet. Whether you live in St Brelade’s Bay or the middle of St Lawrence, I guarantee you’ll never be far from the evocative scent of the ocean breeze.

Tinky winky inky pinky: vintage Jersey tattoos

Having tattoos hasn’t been particularly unusual for over a decade now, which means that hip and creative people have had to find new ways to stand out from the crowd. On the mainland this has meant an ironic appropriation of the smudgy skin art enjoyed by merchant sailors and ex-members of Motörhead, but in Jersey this could lead to you being mistaken for an absconding French fisherman and dragged off to slave on a filthy barge in Cherbourg. If you visit my (soon-to-be) fully licensed skin art parlour, you’ll be the talk of the town when I adorn your pale limbs with shaky reproductions of local landmarks I’ve traced from old issues of the JEP. I will do you a picture of the steam clock, perhaps a portrait of a 1960s Parish Constable or honorary policeman. I charge £300 an hour, and have just today finished enhancing a very patriotic MMA fighter with an intimidating back piece depicting former Chief Minister Terry Le Sueur dressed as Sagat from Street Fighter.

Cut from cow cloth: recycled Jersey tea towels

Although Jersey still benefits from a financial “rainy day” fund built up in better economic times, wise forward planning has also left us in possession of a hidden mountain of 80s souvenir tea towels. There are greenhouses piled high with cow, beach and light entertainment themed polycotton rags, and there’s a limit to the amount that can be planted in tourist suitcases whilst they’re browsing the duty-free.  My Lithuanian sweatshop (based in Trinity, therefore ‘Genuine Jersey’) has been hard at work recycling these semi-absorbent horrors into sustainable products that you can buy at only a 2000% markup. Humphrey the Lion bed linens would make an ideal wedding gift, and upholstering your furniture with wonky drawings of Mont Orgeil or Alan Whicker will make any home the envy of its guests. You could even insulate your house with a partially-flammable nest of shredded Bergerac. We also considered weaving garish cow-covered yurts for Syrian refugees, but it was felt they’d already suffered enough.

Hardcore shave: sea lettuce beard products

Today’s rugged man is obliged to prepare for an uncertain future by growing a beard so bushy that it can eventually be woven into a rough blanket to protect him from the cold world. Man-o-sphere bloggers inform us that masculinity itself is in crisis now that women are allowed to have jobs and do bicep curls, but at the same time even manly men are buying cosmetic products at a rate that would shame a teenage girl. Apparently men feel better about buying this stuff if it looks handmade and earthy, so why not treat yourself to an £18 pot of goop boiled down from half a metric ton of sea lettuce? Your face will absorb all the staying power of an especially green patch of St Aubin’s Bay – you can promise the beard will be gone by Summer, but come July it’s still there, crusted with sand, smelling like boiled cabbage and scaring off sunbathers.

Fat trucker: Jersey artisan street food

The current British fashion for street food draws mainly from the cuisine of Asia and South America, and for good reason. People in these countries won’t sacrifice a good meal just because they’re in a hurry, and many brits are so bored with Ginster’s pasties that the pop-up restaurateurs can charge £6.50 for a meat sandwich if it comes with an exotic backstory. However I am yet to see any trucks offering authentic Jersey street food, so look out for my new venture at a festival near you. From a lovingly-repurposed prison lorry I’ll be selling bean crock burritos, conger pad Thai and pulled pigeon BBQ – slow cooked for 24 hours in a tangy marinade of Jersey tomatoes and flat Breda. I’ll be channeling the spirit of the old Le Brun’s bakery with an amazing vintage recipe for sourdough cabbage loaf, and will have something for your sweet tooth by wrapping an entire 99 (with flake) inside Jersey wonder batter and deep frying it. Don’t expect much change from a tenner – bon appetit!

Soapbox

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Soapbox

I’ve just come out of THE BEST meeting with a client, in which we were pitching some of our digital services to him. Upon asking him if he had ‘Google Analytics’ he responded ‘No, it’s just the way I’m sitting’. Isn’t that brilliant? I spent the rest of the meeting laughing at it… (slight exaggeration, but shut up it’s for dramatic effect ).

I just thought it was really quick of him to come up with that on the spot – it created a good atmosphere for the rest of the pitch, I can’t stand it when everything is all ‘fake nice’. My friend at work and I tend to hurl abuse at each other on a daily basis, we find it’s just the natural way our friendship has developed, rather than using what we call ‘corporate nicety b*llocks’. The point is, within the realms of this month’s theme: CREATE, I just wanted to point out how easy it is to create the atmosphere or ambiance you want just by acting in a certain way. Obviously that’s not revolutionary in any way, shape or form, but it is a nice thing to consider – the fact that it’s super easy to just create an ambiance based on the way you feel. I guess that explains why murderers are always angry, they just can’t stand the idea of someone else being alive just because they’ve had a crap day, and let’s be honest I’m sure we’ve all woken up feeling a bit murdery in the morning, every now and again.

In the very same meeting, this client used the word ‘lubricant’, when I’m pretty sure he meant to say ‘lucrative’, which again had me stifling laughter. They are definitely two words you don’t want to mix up, lest ye find yourself meddling in what’s commonly known as ‘the world’s oldest profession’. Another fun thing is when words fall together to make a rude phrase. My favourite example was a warning message for commuters on the London Underground that said ‘Warning: Passengers standing too close to the platform may get sucked off’. It’s fun, try it at home! The word game part I mean, not the… yeah…

I’ll be honest with you, I’m struggling with something, and it sort of runs along the thematic lines of ‘create’. To be completely candid, I’m not sure how many people actually read these, and I guess I’m having issues with what to create for it going forward, as I’m feeling like I’ve run the well dry… my life’s pretty boring as it is, and I’m sure you’ve figured out by now that most of the situations I talk about are exaggerated to some extent. So, my quandary lies in how to evolve: what can I create that’s going to be different, entertaining, and worth reading? (This is the part where I say that nothing I write is worth reading anyway, but as I say, the barrel of self-depreciation has been well and truly tapped out.) I’ve just realised how much I seem to like irrigation and water based metaphors, I wonder where that comes from? I’m sure there’s something Freudian in there somewhere – perhaps one day in the distant future a tribe of apocalypse survivors will unearth my Soapbox articles and see them as Holy Scripture, swearing to live their lives abiding by the ‘Laws of Farnham’. Ah, I’m being unrealistic, that probably won’t happen – but there’s nothing wrong with the odd delusion of grandeur, it’s a nice contrast to the way I usually regard myself. What’s the opposite of grandeur I wonder? I’ve just looked at antonyms for it and the top words it came up with were ‘Ugliness and Unimportance’, so yeah, sounds about right – here we are back at slagging myself off – the grandeur was fun while it lasted.

Anyway, let’s wrap this up, here’s what I’m proposing: I’ve reached a point where fiction has become quite an integral part of these little snippets of my life… don’t get me wrong, it’s all true, but exaggeration is crucial when you’re trying to make people laugh, I don’t think anyone can disagree with that. Anyway, I’ve quite enjoyed recounting the events of my little life month by month and adding a bit of drama to, let’s face it, make me seem cooler. So, how about this… I delve into the world of fiction good and proper and share with you a story from inside my head? It’s something I came up with a few years back, but so far the characters and world they live in have resided in Limbo as I’ve had no output onto which I could breathe life into them. Here’s the rub: If you are reading this, and if you enjoy it, would you like to hear a story that’s completely and utterly a creation of my dumb brain, or would you rather I just continued trying to fictionalise the events of my everyday life? If you ever want to know what I’m up to I think it’s safe to assume that, going forward, I’m eating, sleeping, or taking photos of my cats.

I’m going to start a Twitter Poll to find out if people want me to delve into this new venture and see where that goes, or if people would rather I continued as is. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it… right? Then again, there’s a thousand lazy sayings to advocate trying something new, so what’s there to be scared of? (I’m a little bit talking to myself here).

LOOK! A CALL TO ACTION!

My Twitter handle is @Zelnarf, and I’ll pin a tweet to the top of my page when this is released so if you are an avid Soapbox reader and care about me at all, you can go to my twitter page and vote, sort of like how Emperors did during Roman gladiator times, only with less death and bloodshed. In fact, I’ll do you one better: this decision won’t affect your life in any way whatsoever.

A Converted Sanctuary

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A Converted Sanctuary

There is no denying what La Chapelle once was, it’s emblazoned above the front door as you enter ‘Chapelle Independent’.  What you can’t see though is the beautiful and professional development that lies within. The early 19th Century country chapel is set near the Trinity/St Saviour borders and has been well crafted and sympathetically brought to life by the current owners.

What strikes you first is perhaps even the existence of the property.  Having driven along this stretch of road many times I wasn’t even aware of La Chapelle, set back from the road it allows for excellent proximity to facilities but retains its privacy too.   Also, whilst the property is most obviously a former country chapel it doesn’t feel like a religious monument, it is deceptively large and will provide a very lovely and most appealing home to the new purchasers.  As soon as you enter you are greeted by a wealth of original architectural features, which have been retained by the developer, which give you a real sense of the history of the building.  The checkered floor tiles in the entrance hallway and the left over paneling on the walls give real character to the property and set the scene for the rest of the house.

The nature of its former use is perhaps the property’s greatest gain.  Where once sat the congregation, now hosts a stunning open plan living room area, complete with its own minstrel gallery, which would lend itself to a variety of uses, including an impromptu recital, should you wish.  The large open plan space has been cleverly furnished by the current owners and separated into a formal dining area, housing the most magnificent dining room table and a lounge area which still manages to feel cosy, even in such a large space.  This could well be thanks to it being centred around the large woodburner, which is unusually situated under a feature window, thanks to some clever flume placement. This is just one of the unique features you’ll find within this property. Abundant storage is another thing you’ll find throughout, every conceivable nook and cranny has been cleverly fitted to accommodate storage options.

Furthermore, on the ground floor, is a study section with double doors which lead out on the lawned gardens, the perfect spot for a home office with views over the open fields behind. Off the study there is a well fitted modern kitchen breakfast room with all of the normal appliances you would expect.  Whilst the kitchen isn’t vast it is joined by not one, but two large pantries.  One in the kitchen and another in the corridor, which leads into the large and very useful laundry room and cloakroom.  The laundry room also provides a second point of access to the house directly from the on-site parking area alongside the property, making it the ideal location for taking off your muddy boots and wet clothes when you come in from exploring the nearby country lanes.  There are also a great many excellent storage solutions in these rooms and also the added benefit of an airing cupboard, in the same location as your washing machine, who could ask for more.

Back into that open plan living space and you have a staircase with a solid wooden balustrade leading you up to the sleeping accommodation.  The first of the two good sized double bedrooms has handcrafted fitted wardrobes and a double aspect to the front and rear of the property, both with views of green fields through the Ogive windows. The second bedroom also benefits from fitted wardrobes and this time a view to the rear of the property, through the huge windows.  The house bathroom is shared between these two rooms and has a bath that we’re told fills up in seconds, meaning you can be laying back and enjoying the peace and quiet in no time.

Up a small set of stairs is the final floor of the house, which is where you’ll find the master-suite.  This magnificent jewel in La Chapelle’s crown is a master which lives up to its name.  The beams in the room don’t intrude, they instead add to the feeling of being somewhere rather special.  Clever storage here and a large en-suite shower room make this room practical as well as comfortable.  It would of course lend itself to a self contained area, for those wishing for some privacy away from the rest of the house.

La Chapelle is an enchanting and unique character property and will make someone a lovely rural home, within easy commuting distance of St Helier and most amenities.   It is a property that really needs to be seen to be truly appreciated, a visit that we don’t think you’ll be disappointed you made.

La Chapelle

La Route de Maufant,

St Saviour, JE2 7HX

£1,395,000

Wilsons

www.wilsons.je

T: 877977


• 19th Century Country Chapel

• Deceptively large character property

• Stunning large living room complex

• Minstrel gallery and Study section

• Principal bedroom suite plus 2 further bedrooms

• Lawned gardens

• Open field aspect from the rear garden

• All mains except gas

• Qualified

DRIFT: An exhibition by Ian Rolls

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DRIFT: An exhibition by Ian Rolls

Full time Jersey artist Ian Rolls is hosting a solo show of new paintings at the iconic White House in the middle of St Ouen’s Bay. The exhibition is being held as part of the Skipton Open Studio series.  

All of the paintings in the exhibition are on driftwood panels, found washed up on beaches and rocks around the island. Creating artwork from found objects is nothing new for Ian, but the way he has made this series of paintings is something different for him and has resulted in a more abstract approach.

For many years, Ian has drawn with his left hand, despite being naturally right handed. This he has done because it disengages the left, controlling side of the brain and it makes him look more carefully at the subject of the drawing. The loss of control that goes with this technique, brings with it a special quality of line that is more personal and more expressive. It taps into the spontaneous, intuitive right side of the brain and performs a function that has a lot in common with meditation.

For the series of pictures in the “drift” exhibition, Ian takes this reduced control drawing technique to a new level. Ian discovered that when he made a drawing without looking at the line being made, the quality of the line is further enhanced. It takes on a life of its own. So the drawings are made directly onto the driftwood panels, on location in the landscape, but looking only at the subject and not at the drawing. The line is a response to the visual stimulus but it has more freedom to roam.

The colour is applied back in his studio, sometimes bright or muted but carefully chosen from memory or imagination. Only the areas between the lines are painted, leaving the drawn charcoal lines as sacred and untouched.

Ian explained “the paintings are a very personal response to the island’s coastline that have all been painted specifically for this exhibition. The driftwood panels themselves have been on a random journey by land and sea and chance (or fate) has resulted in their transformation into works of art in the exhibition.”

www.ianrolls.co.uk
www.skiptonopenstudios.je

La Caumine à Marie Best (the White House),

St Ouen’s Bay, 25 – 29 June 2016

Creatively Captured

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Creatively Captured

Dasa Wharton is a Jersey based freelance photographer.  She has a special interest in dance photography, in particular ballet photography.  This month sees her set up a studio at the Dance World Cup finals, being held here in Jersey between 25 June – 2 July. The event will see 4,000 competitors aged between four and 25, from 38 countries around the world coming together to compete.  We spoke to Dasa about her incredible portfolio of work, that has seen her photograph some of the best dancers in the world.

What was it that first interested you in dance and ballet photography?

Growing up in Prague and going to theatres was something I always did and loved. Then about five years ago I saw an amazing performance of the Czech National Ballet (CNB) and as I watched the dancers on the stage I thought how much I’d love to photograph them.  So that night I wrote to the artistic director of the CNB, telling him how much I enjoyed the performance and how much I’d like the opportunity to photograph the company, and to my surprise, he agreed and let me come to one of the rehearsals. I was hooked from that point…

How did you come to be involved with the English National Ballet?

When I started with ballet photography, my main problem was finding opportunities to practice. I’d read about international ballet masterclasses, these are held in Prague every summer, for pre-professional dancers, so I contacted the administrator and offered free photographic services for the organisers – only later I found out that the international ballet masterclasses were started and ran by Daria Klimentova – a Czech born ballerina, who was the star of the English National Ballet for nearly 25 years. When I first met her in Prague she was still actively dancing…later on, she very kindly invited me to photograph one of her last performances with the English National Ballet, in the Royal Albert hall, in Romeo and Juliet (she danced the role of Juliet ). Through Daria I met her dancing partner Vadim Muntagirov, as well as other ballet dancers of the English National Ballet.   You can see some of my photographs of them on this blog www.gramilano.com

You are involved with this year’s Dance World Cup, held in Jersey between 25 June – 2 July, what will you be doing there?

I was very lucky to be the official photographer for the DWC Channel Islands qualifiers in March. Thanks to John Grimshaw and the whole team of DWC for getting me involved, I- loved photographing all the local talent on the stage of the Jersey Opera House. For the finals at the end of this month I will be setting up a photography dance studio at Fort Regent and the dancers will have opportunity to book in for a one to one session – so for about an hour.  I will work with the dancer in the studio, photographing them during their dance routine, stretch exercises, jumps, but also doing headshot and styled portraits, so at the end they will leave with a set of portfolio photographs, that will show them at their best.

Any single piece of advice for those wanting to pursue a career in photography?

Find your inspiration, or someone who you admire, in the field that interests you.  When I took my first few dance photographs (that were pretty bad, when I look at them now) I wrote to probably 30 photographers in the world, whose work I admired.  I sent them a set of my photos and asked for their feedback. I got only one reply – and this was from one of the best ballet photographers in the world, an American photographer Gene Schiavone. I was completely shocked to receive an email back from him with some really good advice in terms of my photos. I have stayed in touch with him ever since, he has been very helpful and supportive of me and I feel really fortunate to be able to call him my friend now.

www.dasawharton.com

Seaside Shenanigans at The Lido

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Seaside Shenanigans at The Lido

We’ve all seen the vintage photos of people frolicking and having fun at the seaside. Well if you’re up for a bit of nostalgia and good old-fashioned merriment, with a modern twist here and there, then make sure  you head down to join in the Seaside Shenanigans at The Lido, Havre des Pas on Saturday 18 June.

Here are just some of the wonderful treats in store for you…

Start your day with a 9am yoga session on the rooftop of The Lido. Sheri Burt will be leading the session, where you can relax and meditate whilst enjoying the beautiful view. Whilst this isn’t strictly ‘vintage’ it is a great way to start the day!

At 11am Sheri will swap hats and offer children aged between 5-11 an Element Arts Session, their chance to combine the arts with the elements (see what we did there), in this case the seaside. Foraging, making and performing will all be possible within this magical workshop. A second workshop will be offered at 2pm. To book a free place visit her website www.elementarts.org

Throughout the day local artist Ian Rolls invites you to bring a bucket and spade and build a small version of your own house and garden on a giant map of Jersey (complete with parish boundaries) that he will mark out on the sand.

From 11am the map will be drawn out and you can come along to be part of a fun community project that will grow during the day with people adding their homes and local landmarks made out of sand, stones, seaweed and found objects. Some of Jersey’s top photographers will be on hand to photograph the work in progress, culminating in a crowd photograph at 3pm to capture the whole artwork from above.  Hang around as the tide comes in and watch the island disappear!

Skipton Open Studios Project Manager and photographer Fenby Miskin will also be making a new set of portraits taken at The Lido as part of his ongoing “Snapshot in Time” series. Inspired by the amazing art-deco architecture of The Lido, particularly the nautical colours and dramatic lines of the building, Fenby would like to introduce a playful and surreal emphasis to the portraits of those willing to get involved.

Those familiar with Robbie Dark’s photography will also be pleased to hear that he will be capturing the whole day of events in his own trademark documentary style. The images from all of the projects will be available to download from the Skipton Open Studios Facebook page.

In the afternoon there will be old-fashioned games on the beach, fun for all the family, and throughout the day there will be live art by artists including up-and-coming illustrators Will Bertram and Sam Bullock, live music, performers and other free activities for people to enjoy.

The evening will take on more of a mellow vibe, with drinks and a BBQ from 6pm, with accompanying acoustic music from local bands.

At 8pm London based musician Eddy Bailhache will perform an original live soundtrack to Reub’s Little Girl (1913), one of the oldest films ever made in Jersey, directed by H.O Martinek and starring himself and his wife Ivy. The story tells the tale of whiskey smuggler Reub and his daughter. The film was selected and kindly lent by the Gareth Syvret, Photographic Archivist for Archisle: The Jersey Contemporary Photography Programme at Société Jerisiase, who will be introducing the film.

The evening will end with a “silent” screening of eccentric comedy-drama The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004) directed by Wes Anderson, using Gallery’s silent disco headphones. The screening is curated by Stefan Rousseau of local indie film night Club Cinestef.

Tickets for the evening cost £20 (this includes one drink – for those with a greater thirst the bar will be open to purchase more). With only 100 places available, it will be important to book now to avoid missing out. Over 18s only.

All daytime activities are open to all and free of charge.

Seaside Shenanigans: Saturday 18th June 10am to 5pm. Evening BBQ and Film Screenings: 6pm to 10.30pm – Tickets £20

For more information and to book tickets for the evening event check out the Jersey Arts Trust’s dedicated Skipton Open Studios website: www.skiptonopenstudios.je

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