Hotel Jerbourg is located on the south-east corner of Guernsey at Jerbourg point. It has a restaurant and 32 guest rooms and it was the place I called home for four and a half months while living on Guernsey. The staff at the hotel were of many different nationalities. I was the only Aussie and worked with Spanish, Latvian, German, Hungarian, Scottish, English, Portuguese, Venezuelan, Polish and Welsh. It is the most international team I think I will ever work with. Although we all came from different backgrounds we were able to get along and work as an effective team. At times language barriers caused confusing although we were usually able to laugh about it. Many of the hotel guests also travelled to Guernsey from Europe therefore making it difficult for me to understand their requests.
My contract stated I was to work roughly 50 hours a week although this often meant over 60 hours a week and for no extra money. I was paid a monthly wage of 600 pound no matter how many hours I worked. The 600 pound a month was on top of food and accommodation. I once worked it out to be about 2.50 pound an hour. The hours were long and we often had to back up a late night working with an early start. Throughout the months I worked at the hotel I worked three weddings, each a 16 hour day starting at 10am and finishing 2am the following morning with only 30 minutes off to eat dinner.
I had at least one day off a week but never more than two. I organised to have Mondays off which my girlfriend Jess and I would spend together visiting the sights of the island and the neighbouring islands.
Guernsey do not have a minimum wage which is the reason they are able to pay so little, which is also the reason many Eastern Europeans work at the hotels on the islands. The little pay you get would still be a lot more than they would be paid in their native countries.
The low wages and long hours were what I most disliked about working at the hotel. The staff were friendly and helpful and the restaurant was very rarely at capacity. From the first day I started in the job I knew what day I would be leaving therefore I counted down the days and tried to make the most of my time on Guernsey.
Friday, July 30, 2010
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Jersey
Jersey is Guernseys bigger neighbouring island. Just like Australia/ New Zealand and Canada/ USA there is a strong rivalry between the two islands. I really wanted to visit Jersey to see what all the fuss was about and decide for myself which island I preferred.
Jess and I both managed to get a Bank Holiday Monday off which was the only way we could visit Jersey without staying the night. A ferry left early on the Monday morning and we arrived on Jersey roughly an hour later. We spent the day catching buses from beach to beach and I really enjoyed it. I thought the most obvious difference between the two islands was Jersey had better and more accessible beaches. For an island I think Guernsey doesn't have a lot of sandy beaches and many you have climb down hundreds of stairs to reach them.
Jersey is much more commercialised than Guernsey and for the first time in months I ate McDonald's food for lunch and Pizza Hut for dinner. Jersey does have a different feel to Guernsey. Jersey to me felt more Australian with lifeguards on beaches and lots of billboards and advertising. I feel I would have enjoyed living and working on Jersey although with my time on the Channel Islands coming to an end I caught a ferry back to Guernsey thinking I may never again step foot on Jersey.
Jess and I both managed to get a Bank Holiday Monday off which was the only way we could visit Jersey without staying the night. A ferry left early on the Monday morning and we arrived on Jersey roughly an hour later. We spent the day catching buses from beach to beach and I really enjoyed it. I thought the most obvious difference between the two islands was Jersey had better and more accessible beaches. For an island I think Guernsey doesn't have a lot of sandy beaches and many you have climb down hundreds of stairs to reach them.
Jersey is much more commercialised than Guernsey and for the first time in months I ate McDonald's food for lunch and Pizza Hut for dinner. Jersey does have a different feel to Guernsey. Jersey to me felt more Australian with lifeguards on beaches and lots of billboards and advertising. I feel I would have enjoyed living and working on Jersey although with my time on the Channel Islands coming to an end I caught a ferry back to Guernsey thinking I may never again step foot on Jersey.
Monday, July 12, 2010
FIFA World Cup
In the months and years leading up to this years World Cup the English newspapers were publishing articles stating just how easy England would win. I was caught up in all the hype and began to believe the English may win. The Aussies again had a strong team and were looking to make it to the round of sixteen.
Many of the pubs and bars on Guernsey played the World Cup on television all day long which lead to some pubs advertising 'World Cup Free Zone.' These pubs had no televisions no newspapers and no radio during the month of the World Cup finals. Out of interest I entered these pubs a few times to find they were playing Michael Buble cd's on repeat and there was never a line at the bar.
Hotel Jerbourg, the hotel I worked at, had a cup sweep. Each staff member paid five pound and were given two teams. I drew out Spain and Nigeria. Spain were the bookies favourite for the tournament although Nigeria were unlikely to win a game. The Aussies lost convincingly 4-0 to the Germans in their first match of the group stage and it didn't look good. Australia then managed a formidable draw against Ghana and beat Siberia 2-1 although it was not enough to continue to the round of 16.
The English didn't fare much better, a 1-1 draw with the USA followed by a 0-0 draw with Algeria and a 1-0 win against Slovenia. Luckily for them the rest of the groups results went there way and they progressed into the round of 16. The journalists were tearing the team to shreds.
With the English looking unlikely winners and the Aussies out I started supporting the Spanish as the win meant a lot of money for me. The Spanish kept doing just enough to win and progressed to the final against the Dutch. England got thrashed by the Germans 4-1 as the Germans were looking good till the lost to Spain.
I managed to talk my way into getting the night off to watch the final as it was on about 7pm on a Sunday night Guernsey time. I headed to the sports bar in the town and found a place where I could see the television. The bar was full of orange as that is the Dutch colours, Guernsey is a very popular holiday spot for Dutch families. The game itself I found fairly boring with only the one goal scored. The Spanish again did enough to win and for it was a good win for me as I collected a handy 60 pound.
The few Spanish on the island partied long into the night as they did all over the World.
Many of the pubs and bars on Guernsey played the World Cup on television all day long which lead to some pubs advertising 'World Cup Free Zone.' These pubs had no televisions no newspapers and no radio during the month of the World Cup finals. Out of interest I entered these pubs a few times to find they were playing Michael Buble cd's on repeat and there was never a line at the bar.
Hotel Jerbourg, the hotel I worked at, had a cup sweep. Each staff member paid five pound and were given two teams. I drew out Spain and Nigeria. Spain were the bookies favourite for the tournament although Nigeria were unlikely to win a game. The Aussies lost convincingly 4-0 to the Germans in their first match of the group stage and it didn't look good. Australia then managed a formidable draw against Ghana and beat Siberia 2-1 although it was not enough to continue to the round of 16.
The English didn't fare much better, a 1-1 draw with the USA followed by a 0-0 draw with Algeria and a 1-0 win against Slovenia. Luckily for them the rest of the groups results went there way and they progressed into the round of 16. The journalists were tearing the team to shreds.
With the English looking unlikely winners and the Aussies out I started supporting the Spanish as the win meant a lot of money for me. The Spanish kept doing just enough to win and progressed to the final against the Dutch. England got thrashed by the Germans 4-1 as the Germans were looking good till the lost to Spain.
I managed to talk my way into getting the night off to watch the final as it was on about 7pm on a Sunday night Guernsey time. I headed to the sports bar in the town and found a place where I could see the television. The bar was full of orange as that is the Dutch colours, Guernsey is a very popular holiday spot for Dutch families. The game itself I found fairly boring with only the one goal scored. The Spanish again did enough to win and for it was a good win for me as I collected a handy 60 pound.
The few Spanish on the island partied long into the night as they did all over the World.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Sark
'Travel a little further and enter a different world.' This is how they advertise Sark on the local radio station. I was intrigued to explore this island where cars are banned and the 560 locals get around by bike, horse, tractor or just walk.
Jess and I took the forty five minute ferry ride to the island on a day off in mid May. The weather turned out great for us as we hired a couple of bikes and rode around the island. We explored the island for a few hours admiring the wonderful natural landscape. The island is five kilometres long and 2 kilometres wide although for a small island though it lacked any good beach to relax on. We rode throughout the island to Little Sark across the narrow La Coupee before taking a walk through the shops on the avenue, the islands only shopping street. Jess and I headed for the pub to have a few drinks. A pint of Carlsberg we were happy to hear cost only £1.80, almost half what the hotel I work in charge. This is because there is no income tax, no property tax and no export duty. Smoking inside pubs has also not yet been banned.
Since returning from Sark I have been doing some reading about the island and discovered it is the last European territory to abolish feudalism, doing so in 2008.
There is also an island named Breqhou located next to Sark which belongs to the Barclay brothers, a couple of famous very rich English twins who made their wealth through media, retail and property. Their wealth is estimated at $1.8 billion.
Jess and I took the forty five minute ferry ride to the island on a day off in mid May. The weather turned out great for us as we hired a couple of bikes and rode around the island. We explored the island for a few hours admiring the wonderful natural landscape. The island is five kilometres long and 2 kilometres wide although for a small island though it lacked any good beach to relax on. We rode throughout the island to Little Sark across the narrow La Coupee before taking a walk through the shops on the avenue, the islands only shopping street. Jess and I headed for the pub to have a few drinks. A pint of Carlsberg we were happy to hear cost only £1.80, almost half what the hotel I work in charge. This is because there is no income tax, no property tax and no export duty. Smoking inside pubs has also not yet been banned.
Since returning from Sark I have been doing some reading about the island and discovered it is the last European territory to abolish feudalism, doing so in 2008.
There is also an island named Breqhou located next to Sark which belongs to the Barclay brothers, a couple of famous very rich English twins who made their wealth through media, retail and property. Their wealth is estimated at $1.8 billion.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Liberation Day
This year on May 8 Guernsey celebrated 65 years of Liberation. The islands population turned up in force to join in the party. An estimated 20,000 people were in town on the day, one third of the population. I organised to have a few hours off work in the late afternoon and went into town to see what it was all about.
I arrived in time to watch the cavalcade of cars, marching bands and floats pass through the main street. Islanders waved Guernsey flags and partied into the night. Disappointingly I had to return to work but I enjoyed the few hours and I was impressed by just how much it means to everyone.
The island celebrated sixty five years to the day that the island was freed from the Germans who had occupied the land for four years, ten months and seven days. Many of the islanders left to go to England when the Germans arrived, those who stayed lived in very poor conditions with food being rationed and many locals having to work as slaves.
Reminders of the German Occupation are still visible throughout the island. At Jerbourg point there is a concrete forte during WWII with the NAZI sign still readable. The Germans built forts across much of the coastline although they were never invaded. There are also a number of Occupation museums on the island. None of which I have visited after experiencing the liberation celebrations I now have a greater understanding and interest so I plan to visit the museums soon.
The Monday prior to Liberation Day was also a Bank Holiday Monday and I spent my day off taking part in a photomarathon. I was given a disposable camera and twelve topics and had six hours to interpret the topics any way I wished. My imagination on the day was lacking so not surprisingly I did not win. I was fun to be a part of it and my photos along with the other 70 participants photos were on show at the Information Centre. The competition was part of a month long photography festival in St Peter Port. Professionals displayed there photos in section of town, some of which were excellent and some I found quite random and boring.
While Guernsey and the Channel Islands were celbrating their Liberation the rest of the UK were trying to decide who would lead them as Prime Minister. Gordon Brown's party did not win enough votes to keep power and David Cameron's Conservatives also didn't win enough votes for a victory. So it was left for Nick Clegg to decide after a few days of meetings to take David Cameron's side making Cameron the new leader.
I arrived in time to watch the cavalcade of cars, marching bands and floats pass through the main street. Islanders waved Guernsey flags and partied into the night. Disappointingly I had to return to work but I enjoyed the few hours and I was impressed by just how much it means to everyone.
The island celebrated sixty five years to the day that the island was freed from the Germans who had occupied the land for four years, ten months and seven days. Many of the islanders left to go to England when the Germans arrived, those who stayed lived in very poor conditions with food being rationed and many locals having to work as slaves.
Reminders of the German Occupation are still visible throughout the island. At Jerbourg point there is a concrete forte during WWII with the NAZI sign still readable. The Germans built forts across much of the coastline although they were never invaded. There are also a number of Occupation museums on the island. None of which I have visited after experiencing the liberation celebrations I now have a greater understanding and interest so I plan to visit the museums soon.
The Monday prior to Liberation Day was also a Bank Holiday Monday and I spent my day off taking part in a photomarathon. I was given a disposable camera and twelve topics and had six hours to interpret the topics any way I wished. My imagination on the day was lacking so not surprisingly I did not win. I was fun to be a part of it and my photos along with the other 70 participants photos were on show at the Information Centre. The competition was part of a month long photography festival in St Peter Port. Professionals displayed there photos in section of town, some of which were excellent and some I found quite random and boring.
While Guernsey and the Channel Islands were celbrating their Liberation the rest of the UK were trying to decide who would lead them as Prime Minister. Gordon Brown's party did not win enough votes to keep power and David Cameron's Conservatives also didn't win enough votes for a victory. So it was left for Nick Clegg to decide after a few days of meetings to take David Cameron's side making Cameron the new leader.
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