Sparkle and Sunshine

We’ve been coming to Jersey for the past 20+ years and we never get bored of it. In the early days it was pre kids, my parents lived here and it was a great place to come and unwind for short and long trips. As life moved on so did my parents but we still remained fond of the place we feel we are coming home to. We were lucky enough to have our friends move back to their home island when their children were small. It's common for islanders to fly away from the nest for a few years to experience life off the island but they mostly always to return and luckily for us this was the case. As we had children of our own it has been the perfect place for a summer holiday. We don’t come every year, but when we do it’s always a guaranteed fantastic holiday and this year was no exception.

Granted there is no guarantee of the weather – but we have rarely been let down, poor days are always short lived and blow away with the tides to make way for positively tropical ones that help you quickly forget. The beaches are safe and never feel crowded, the sea is warm so the children can happily play in it for hours. My oldest daughter at 9 1/2 is so much more confident in the water this year and I am sure has developed webbed feet the amount of time she has spend submerged!

It’s been the break we needed to unwind and forget the craziness the past year has brought. Creating memories for the children – our oldest at 13 is still happy to play in the sea with his siblings ( most of the time!! ) and build sandcastles. Our youngest has had 3 birthdays here – this year she reached the ripe old age of 7 on the island and the beauty of being able to stay at a friend's home is that we can still bake her a special cake – got to stick with tradition.

Although being away from the business for over 3 weeks has felt a bit of a gamble, we felt it was important to recharge. Andrew has still continued with his bread making here, it’s our rent before our friends go away on holiday and we have the house to ourselves – to feed them up with his tasty treats.

The island feels quieter this year though – good for us – no crowded beaches here or long queues to the ice cream shop.The beaches we go to are only 5minutes away – we occasionally venture out on a “long trip” to the other side of the island which feels like a mammoth expedition – a whole 15 minutes drive!

So, we say goodbye to the island we love after one last swim at Greve de Lecq our favourite spot. My animal lover daughter leaves somewhat traumatised by the killer cats we’ve been looking after who hunt as a pair and regularly have brought us little presents – not always alive!! There has been some benefit through – she’s decided she most definitely does not want a cat! Surf boards packed away for another year, I try to quietly decant half the pebbles and shells that the girls want to bring home and hope they don’t realise.

We board the plan and Lottie is just as excited as when we came over ( her first aeroplane ride ) – she fell asleep before we had taken off on our way here so she is determined to stay awake and experience the full 40minutes it takes to get back to Gatwick.

How long before the serene calm impact of Jersey life leaves us, hopefully a while…