The Channel Islands

The Channel Islands consist of the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey.  They are two of the three Crown Dependencies and they are located in the English Channel, off the coast of France. 

Each of the two bailiwicks have their own money, legal and healthcare systems, as well as, their own individual immigration policies.  Since 1290, they have been Crown Dependencies which means that they are not part of the United Kingdom, but the UK is responsible to represent them internationally and to provide for their defence.  Together the two bailiwicks have a population of almost 172.000 people.

The Bailiwick of Jersey consists of the island of Jersey plus the uninhabited islets Écréhous and Minquiers, with Jersey being a single jurisdiction.  Jersey the is largest and southernmost island with 118 km² (46 square miles).  It is 23 km (14 miles) from the coast of Normandy and 160 km (100 miles) south of England.  There are almost 108.000 people living in Jersey.  About a third of the population lives in the capital Saint Helier.

People have been living on Jersey since at least 12.000 BC.  The island has Bronze and Iron Age settlements and the islands have controlled by the Romans, Vikings, and Normans.

The official languages are English, French, and Jèrriais which is a Norman French dialect.

The Bailiwick of Guernsey consists of the islands of Alderney, Brecqhou, Guernsey, Herm, Jethou, Lihou, and Sark.  Guernsey is the second-largest and westernmost island with 78 km² (30 square miles).  It is roughly 48 km (30 miles) off the coast of Normandy.  Guernsey is home to about 64.000 people with roughly 20.000 living in the capital St. Peter Port.

There are actually three different jurisdictions.  Guernsey, Alderney and Sark, each have their own parliaments but they do work closely together.

History on Guernsey goes back to at least 6000 BC.  There's evidence that Neolithic farmers lived here, plus the Romans, Vikings, and Normans.

Guernsey has jurisdiction over the islands of Herm, Jethou, Limo, and a few other small uninhabited islands.

Alderney is a small island that is only 7,7 km² (3 square miles) and home to over 2000 people.  It is the northernmost Channel Island and the closest to France which is only 13 km (8 miles) west of La Hague.  Saint Anne is the capital.  English is the only official language.  Auregnais was a Norman French language spoken here but it is now extinct.

Sark is an even smaller island that is just 5,4 km² (2,1 square miles) and home to about 500 people.  It is about 32 km (20 miles) from France.  Sark also has jurisdiction over the island Breqhou which is almost uninhabited, plus some other smaller uninhabited islands.  There's no official capital city but the de facto capital is La Seigneurie.  English is the only official language but a few people still speak Sercquiais which is another Norman French dialect.

Sark became a democracy in 2008 and until then it was Europe's last feudal political entity.

The official currency in the Channel Islands is the pound sterling.  However, both Jersey and Guernsey issue their own pounds which are pegged one-to-one to the UK pound.  British £ are valid in the Channel Islands but the Jersey and Guernsey pounds aren't accepted in the UK.

Guernsey £ on top and Jersey £ below

The Channel Islands were occupied by Nazi Germany during WWII.  The only part of the British Islands to be occupied by Germany.

Here's a short video I found on YouTube that talks about how the Channel Islands came to be.

©History HQ

And here's another short video specifically about the German occupation during the war.

©Smithsonian Channel

There was a 2017 film, takes place in Jersey during the occupation that was based on a true story.  Here's the movie trailer for Another Mother's Son. 

©Vertigo Releasing

On Netflix I saw the 2018 film, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society that also takes place during the occupation. 

©Netflix

Update 2025:  Here's a short YouTube video about why France doesn't have the Channel Islands.

©History Matters

Crown Dependencies

The Crown Dependencies are the Isle of Man, the Bailiwick of Guernsey, and the Bailiwick of Jersey.  The Bailiwicks of Guernsey and Jersey make up the Channel Islands.  

Like the UK, sovereignty over the Crown Dependencies are vested in the Crown and Charles III is now sovereign following the passing of Queen Elizabeth II.  

Each of them have wide powers of self-government but they aren't independent countries, and they aren't British Overseas Territories either.  The United Kingdom is responsible for them in terms of defence and foreign relations, and each dependency pays an annual fee to the UK for this.

They aren't members of the Commonwealth of Nations.  However, they do get to send their own athletes every four years to the Commonwealth Games. 

As these three island territories are not part of the UK, Brexit didn't impact them because they were never a part of the EU.  

The Crown Dependencies were part of the EU customs territory there they participated in the free movement of goods but they did not have the free movement of people, services or capital.  While they were still European citizens they never took part in the European Parliament.  

They were not part of the Schengen area but they are a part of the Common Travel Agreement with the UK and Ireland.  After Brexit, the passports changed from the Red EU colour to the new British Blue.

In ten days I'm headed to Saint Helier, the capital of Jersey, which will be my first visit to the Channel Islands.

Commonwealth of Nations

Today is the 5th of November which is Guy Fawkes night.  So Happy Bonfire night to all of my Commonwealth peeps.  

Here's a bit about the Commonwealth of Nations.

The Commonwealth of Nations is a political association of 56 countries, most of which, 52 of them, were once part of the British Empire either as colonies or dependencies.

With the passing of Queen Elizabeth II's passing, Charles III immediately succeeded his mother as monarch of the Commonwealth realm even though he has not yet be crowned king.

Once Charles III will be king, he will be both monarch and head of state, of the 15 countries of the Commonwealth realm.

These 15 countries are the United Kingdom, Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, the Bahamas, Belize, Canada, Grenada, Jamaica, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, the Solomon Islands, and Tuvalu.

There are five countries that have other monarchs but are still a part of the Commonwealth.  These five are Brunei, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malaysia, and Tonga.

The remaining 36 members of the Commonwealth are all republics.  They include Bangladesh, Barbados,  Botswana, Cameroon, Cyprus, Dominica, Fiji, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Guyana, India, Kenya, Kiribati, Malawi, Maldives, Malta, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, Nigeria, Pakistan, Rwanda, Samoa, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda, Vanuatu, and Zambia.

The Commonwealth consists of 31,5 million km² (12.2 million square miles) which is about 21% of the world's total land area.  The Commonwealth countries are home to 2,4 billion people which is about ⅓ of the world's population with 94% living in Asia and Africa.

There's no requirement that a member has to have been a British colony.  Mozambique, Rwanda, and Gabon never were.  The Commonwealth Charter states that members have shared values of democracy, human rights and the rule of law.

The human rights thing is a bit funny to me.  The UK left a legacy of anti-homosexuality laws, particularly during the 19th century, at the height of the British Empire.  Being gay is still a criminal offence in more than 30 Commonwealth countries.  There's a direct link between anti-gay law and increased rates of HIV.  While the Commonwealth accounts for about a ⅓ of the world's population it has more than 60% of the world's HIV cases.    

Membership in the Commonwealth isn't forever.  Ireland was the first country to leave.  It left when the country became a republic.  Prior to India becoming a republic the rules were changed so that India could remain a member.  Zimbabwe left in 2003 but it is now trying to rejoin.  Other potential members currently include Somaliland, South Sudan, Suriname, and Burundi.

The three Crown dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey, and the Isle of Man aren't happy with only being represented by the UK.  All three want to have direct representation with the Commonwealth.

The Commonwealth Games are held every four years.  They began in 1930 as the Empire Games.  They contain the usual Summer Olympic events plus "British" sports like bowls, netball and rugby sevens.  The next games take place in 2026 in Victoria, Australia.

Update August 2023:  Looks like it's getting too expensive for cities to host the Commonwealth Games.  Two cities have withdrawn their bids for upcoming games.  Here's a BBC report about it.

©BBC News

Two Slovaks Murdered

Juraj Vankulič and Matúš Horváth

A couple of weeks ago, two Slovaks, Juraj Vankulič, age 26, and Matúš Horváth, age 23, were shot at the entrance of Tepláreň, a gay bar in downtown Bratislava on 12 October.  A third person, a woman was injured but she survived.

The shooting took place just after 19:00 and the local police initiated a manhunt.  The perpetrator was later identified as Juraj Krajčík, the 19 year old son of a far-right politician.  Prior to the shooting he posted anti-LGBTQ+ and anti-Semitic posts on Twitter.  He was found dead at around 7 am the next day.  He apparently committed suicide by shooting himself in the head.

The police began investigating the murder as a hate crime but deemed it an act of terror after it appeared that the killer was planning to target other people including the prime minister.

Slovak President Zuzana Čaputová and Prime Minister Eduard Heger posted messages of support on Twitter in both Slovak and English.

Rallies were held in Bratislava and also in Prague.

Slovakia offers less protection for gays and lesbians than Czechland does.  While sexual orientation and gender identity are covered with comprehensive anti-discrimination laws, it doesn't permit same-sex marriage or even civil partnerships.  Since 2014, Slovak law defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman.  However, due to the EU, the country does have to recognise same-sex marriages established abroad.

Here's a one-minute video I found on YouTube of the Slovak President addressing a memorial rally in Bratislava.

©news.com.au

Here's a 3,5 minute video about following the aftermath.  The video is only in Slovak but you get the idea.

©Refresher SK

Aside from the sheer horror of people being murdered for being gay, the other thing that stands out is that it involved a gun.  Over here a gun murder is big news because it just doesn't happen.  In the USA, this would be just another shooting.

The gun homicide rate in the the USA is way, way higher than in other high-income countries.  What I still don't understand is that if guns made people safer, then America should be the safest place in the world.

Bilbao Trip Summary

After very little travel due to Covid-19 it felt so good to get on an Iberia flight to Spain.  One of the things that British Airways / Oneworld did during Covid was to extend frequent flyer status levels while people couldn't travel so thanks this this I still have my silver medallion status.

For Kája and I, this was our first trip together.  Who knew if we would travel together well or not?  Kája is used to Ryanair, so it was a nice surprise for him when we arrived at the airport and got to move to the front of the queue and he had his first airport lounge experience.  

Bilbao was great!  Neither of us had been there before and visiting the Basque Country has been on my list of places to see for years.

On Thursday we did a free walking tour of historic Bilbao.  Our guide, Marina, was excellent.  

We enjoyed walking around and checking out the local sights.  It was especially nice enjoying the 30℃ (86℉) weather which was way warmer than in Brno.  

On Friday, we went to see the Vizcaya Bridge and did some walking around in Getxo and Portugalete.

On Saturday was our half-day tour which included stops at San Juan de Gaztelugatxe, Bermeo, and Guernica.

You can't visit the Basque Country and not enjoy pintxos, which is the Basque version of Spanish tapas.  Both are small snacks but pintxos are usually served on top of bread with a toothpick holding things together.

On Saturday afternoon we came across Basque folk dancing in the centre.

I'm not sure what I did that there's no sound but you get the idea.

Later we took an hour-long boat cruise along the Nervion River which gave us another view of the city.

Halloween seems to be catching on more and more across Europe.  

I think only in Spain will you see kids go trick-or-treating in pubs.

Of course, Saturday night wasn't just for kids.  

There were plenty of adults out as well.

We had a great time in Bilbao.  We definitely want to return to the Basque Country and next time we'll check out San Sebastián.

Vizcaya Bridge, Urdaibai, San Juan de Gaztelugatxe, Bermeo And Gernika Tour, Spain

On Saturday we did a half-day tour to see Vizcaya Bridge, San Juan De Gaztelugatxe, Bermeo and Gernika.  We got to see several Basque Country sights.  It was a long trip but well worth it.  

Our first stop was in Getxo for a 20-minute stop to take a look at the UNESCO transporter bridge.  Twenty minutes didn't leave people with enough time take a ride across the river and back but we were fine since we already did the bridge thing the day before when we went to Portugalete.

San Juan de Gaztelugatxe is an islet off the coast of the Bay of Biscay, about 35 km (22 miles) east of Bilbao.  There is a man-made stone bridge to the island with a 10th century hermitage on top dating back to 1051.

Many people take two hours to hike to the hermitage and ring a bell there three times to make a wish.  We only stopped at an overlook for 20 minutes to take some photos.

Akatz Island is a neighbouring island that is home to nesting birds.

San Juan de Gaztelugatxe has become even more popular when HBO digitally created a castle on top of the islet and created Dragonstone for the seventh season of Game of Thrones.

The Urdaibai Biosphere Reserve was declared a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 1984.  

It covers an area of 220 km² (85 square miles) on the Bay of Biscay coast.  It is home to about 45.000 people and 80% of them around towns of Bermeo and Gernika.

Our next stop was the small fishing town of Bermeo about 11 km (7 miles) away.  Bermeo was founded in 1236 and is home to almost 17.000 people.

Bermeo was the provincial capital from 1476 to 1602.  However, once Bilbao was founded in 1300, Bermeo's importance started declining.  

We stayed here for about 40 minutes and even got to sample a local fish pintxo which is the Basque version of Spanish tapas.

Then it was on to Gernika, the Basque name for Guernica, about 40 km (25 miles) east of Bilbao, where we stayed for about an hour.

Guernica was founded in 1366 and is home to 17.000 people.  It is a small market town but it is very important to Basque culture and identity.

Our first stop here was at the Assembly House which is the Basque House of Parliament.  

The hall was built from 1826 - 1833.  The Assembly House is also part museum because there's the Hall of Stained Glass, the Library and the former office of the President.

The Tree of Gernika is a symbol of Basque independence and democratic ideals from The current oak tree was planted in 2015 and it replaced the tree that had been planted in 2004.  It was descended from the "Old Tree" (1792-1860) and from the "Father Tree" which died in 1792.

The Church of Santa Maria is the oldest building in the town dating back to the 15th century.

Guernica is most know for being bombed on 26 April 1937.  During the Spanish Civil War, General Francisco Franco requested the Germans and Italians to help him overthrow the Basque Government and the Spanish Republic government.  The German Luftwaffe used it as an opportunity to experiment with its blitzkrieg tactics which it later unleashed on Europe in WWII.

The city was bombed for three hours and more than 1500 people were killed.

It's what inspired Picasso's Guernica which is on display at Madrid's Reina Sofía Museum.  A life-size reproduction of the piece was installed in 1997 to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the bombing.

Here's a short video I found on YouTube that helps interpret Picasso's masterpiece.

©BBC News