Culture of Jersey
[3] Most common place names in Jersey are in Jèrriais (such as La Ville-ès-Renauds), though some have been gallicised (e.g., Les Quennevais) and most pronunciations have been anglicised.
Printing only arrived in Jersey in the 1780s, but the island supported a multitude of regular publications in French (and Jèrriais) and English throughout the 19th century, in which poetry, most usually topical and satirical, flourished.
His greatest success was the character Bram Bilo, but he later developed the Pain family, newly moved to Saint Helier, who commented on its Anglicized society and fashionable entertainments.
'Caouain' (George W. de Carteret 1869–1940) maintained a weekly newspaper column purporting to be the work of an owl (cahouain) reporting on the latest election news and local gossip.
Edward Le Brocq (1877–1964) revived the weekly column in 1946 with a letter from Ph'lip et Merrienne, supposedly a traditional old couple who would comment on the latest news or recall times past.
The most influential writer of Jèrriais in the 20th century was a U.S. citizen, George Francis Le Feuvre (1891–1984), whose pen-name was 'George d'la Forge'.
He emigrated to North America after the First World War but for almost forty years maintained a flow of articles in Jèrriais back to Jersey for publication in newspapers.
[5] Subsequent works of public art to be seen include: John Singleton Copley's painting of the Battle of Jersey (6 January 1781), The Death of Major Pierson, became a national icon.
John Le Capelain (1812–1848) was born and lived all his life in St. Helier, setting up his studio in the attic of his parents' house in Hill Street.
He travelled widely, taking advantage of St. Helier's excellent maritime links, and went sketching in France, England and Scotland.
Henry Bosdet (1857–1934), an artist in stained glass in a Pre-Raphaelite style, taught in the Royal Academy schools in London.
In the 1960s he bought the former Methodist chapel at Augrès and converted it to a studio and gallery which was donated after his death to the Jersey Heritage Trust along with a collection of his works.
A National Gallery steering group chaired by Philip Bailhache, Bailiff of Jersey, is due to report by the end of 2007.
The Opera House, opened by Lillie Langtry in 1900, and the Jersey Arts Centre are the main performance spaces, although many concerts and other cultural events take place in parish halls and other venues.
Work on the Jersey Arts Centre started in 1981 when the Education Committee made available the redundant domestic science building in Saint Helier.
It cannot be separated from the musical traditions of continental Europe, and the majority of songs and tunes that have been documented have close parallels or variants, particularly in France.
Research conducted in the 20th century also revealed the existence of folk songs in English (e.g. "The Greenland Whale Fishery", "Died for Love".)
The decline of these dances has often been ascribed to the influence of Nonconformist Christianity that discouraged such cultural frivolities, or at least placed such a low value on these activities that they were not thought worth recording.
[10] Grassroots[11] was a boutique summer music festival held in July, in front of Val de la Mare Reservoir sitting directly back from St Ouen's Bay.
The festival grew in popularity and size each year since its inception and drew interest from people outside the Channel Islands with foreign visitors making up approximately 27% of the 2006 crowd.
A license is required to use a television set video recorder, DVD player or computer, which is capable of receiving broadcast programmes in the Bailiwick or elsewhere in the British Islands.
[citation needed] Due to the proximity to France, French television is fairly easily received as well, and British channels can be picked up on the neighbouring coast of the Norman mainland.
Originally, these floats were torn apart to provide floral ammunition for a battle of flowers between participants and spectators, but this aspect has long been abandoned.
Annual visites du branchage are carried out twice in summer by parish officials to inspect roadside verges and hedges and ensure property owners have trimmed back overhanging greenery.
The action of branchage (pronounced in the Jèrriais fashion, "brancage", as opposed to the French pronunciation) is the trimming of verges prior to the annual inspections.
Every third year, Jersey hosts "La fête Nouormande", a folk festival centring on the Norman culture and heritage of the island, which attracts performers and visitors from Guernsey and the continent.
On Mulcaster Street, a pub now named the Lamplighter features on its edifice a seated figure of Britannia holding a shield and trident, with a flagstaff displaying the Union Jack.
Jersey wonders (les mèrvelles), a sort of rich twisted doughnut is made less in the home than formerly but is still a popular treat at fairs and festivals.
Hot cross buns, a popular food around Easter in England, were not introduced to the island until the nineteenth century, but are now readily available.
The complete process of making black butter, including the peeling of the apples, the stirring of the mixture in a large cauldron throughout the night, the camaraderie and the jarring up was recorded by the filmmaker D. Rusowsky for a 48-minute documentary[19] to capture the essence of this ancient recipe and reveal the spirit of one on Jersey's best kept secrets: its people.
