Bear Hunting in Jersey

09 Sept 09: The day after returning from a too-short vacation in Wisconsin, I got on another plane to Jersey, where cows, sweaters, black butter, royal potatoes and pillar post boxes come from. The latter was invented by a young post office-employed Anthony Trollope, who, long before he went on to write books, was sent to Jersey to solve their postal crisis.

The island population had been demanding a secure way to keep their mail safe while waiting for the irregular arrivals of sailing ships. He came up with the idea of placing pillar boxes dotted throughout the island, and designed the lovely red boxes we use today.

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The island has a feeling that's hard to put your finger on: it's similar to seaside Britain, but not quite. Instead of the slightly run-down, self-effacing attitude you get from a mainland seaside town, Jersey seemed to present itself as a cut above. The walking guide said that Jersey was NOT a part of the British Empire. Rather, due to the fact that the island was Norman, and William the Conqueror was Norman, Great Britain is part of Jersey's empire. At times, it felt the place had a bit of a superiority complex. This feeling sat oddly next to my stool in the Exeter Pub, watching a Man U/Arsenal game with toothless, beer-bellied louts calling each other out to fight over penalties on the blurry tv screen. I could have been at the Lord Cecil pub in Hackney... However, the people on the island do have a very high standard of living, with lovely big houses. This is helped by the fact that foreigners (including mainland British) are not allowed to buy property unless approved by the island senate, and their wages are lower by law than islanders.  One thing is true: the charity shops had a higher standard of wares. And I liked the freaky seagulls, too.