Cold ASS, Warm Quakers and a Hot Vicar – Alderney
Our first exposure to Alderney’s ASS occurs at the Nunnery. The venerable Alderney Swim & Soup club has kindly invited us for a polar plunge that they do every morning. Though not every morning has 30mph winds blowing the 4 degrees air over the 6 degrees water. And no-one told us that they all wear wet suits, with cosy sleeping-bag “Dry Robes” to warm back up again afterwards!
Summoning our Canadian mojo and Minnesota ice-plunge cred we gamely paddle about in our skimpy swimsuits, earning the right to huddle up later with a cup of warm soup. Each day a different member brings a soup, and eventually we are welcomed to bring a Guest Soup - my West African Groundnut Soup (mafé) earns enough praise that we are given a coveted “Fabulous Flourish” badge. Longtime members’ dry robes are covered in fun custom patches commemorating feats such as “Starfish Sighting,”, “Spider Grab,” and “Dougie Dare” for jumping off the pier.
Each night the season’s Captain sends a group message of which beach we’ll swim at, based on winds and waves. Five glorious days in a row the surf is up and we boogie board body surf, all us 55-70 year olds whooping it up like excited 12-year-olds. If we’re at one of the North end beaches on Tuesdays we can see the supplies ferry coming over from the mainland and be reassured there’ll be fresh food for another week. Each day starts with laughter, hot soup, and blood pumping.
Five Indicators of a Healthy Community
People often ask where our favourite place has been in our travels. The answer is where we find community. Monteverde Costa Rica is the epitome of community. Schull Ireland took us into her warm embrace. Annapolis Royal surprised us with their hospitality and invitation in. And this little island vibrates with the energy of people who know how to live together and live well.
Dropping into the Charity Shop (thrift store) is like being in a pub - people are talking, laughing, helping each other find treasures, and inevitably complaining about the airport runway and flight costs (there being little else amiss on this fantasy island to complain about). The film club has weekly movie screenings (until the new chairperson declared that the roof must be actually fixed instead of just putting buckets out to catch the drips). The owner of the wool shop is infirm, so it’s now run by volunteers who also organize the weekly knitting circle (where Sarah learned valuable wisdom gems such as “Chickens lay eggs; cats catch mice.”)
One indicator of community close-knittedosity would be how quickly news travels. At the Thursday morning Methodist coffee gathering, the big buzz is the return of the garnets (sea birds) for the season. I try to take Sarah there as a surprise later, but she’s already heard it from our house host (who had received the news in Egypt and texted to tell us) and our twice-weekly house cleaner Mary, who takes great pride in taking care of her precious visitors (us), and comes each time with a piece of news or wisdom she’s gleaned for us. “Did you know that Alderney and Jersey used to export cows to Canada? And men too, who went there looking for work.”
A second indicator would be traditions. We often hear about Alderney Days in August, featuring parties in the rock quarry, disco in old war bunkers, community theatre, and of course a parade. The first Saturday in May is “Milk-a-Punch,” when folx used to sneak into the commons and steal milk directly from a cow then add rum and sugar to make a punch; today, cows are safe but each pub offers their own special punch for free, but only for a limited time, so locals have to chug the not-so-appetizing brew quickly and run down the street to sample as many as possible.
The Hot Vicar
How about town eccentrics as a third indicator? We learn about the Commando Man who wears very short shorts and no knickers on his morning walks - “not a pretty sight.” The Bird Man who set up those blasted nets everywhere. The amiable woman who we pass each morning walking (not riding) her horse each morning at 7:35 up Longi Road. Then there’s that new Anglican hussy…
We’ve already heard about Her at the fish shop (was there ever a daughter fishmonger who looked more like her father fishmonger?), at the pub (in between loud groans of despair over Man United losing yet again), and even at The Blonde Hedgehog (the excellent locally-sourced restaurant named after the island’s iconic nocturnal rodent.) She’s the young new vicar with the audacity to move the Sunday service from 10:30 to 10:00 (“Who can bloody well get up that early?!”) and a beloved pageant to February (“She says that’s actually when in happened, but who cares about that, we like it in December!”)
We get the full story when the swim club invites us to dinner (a fourth indicator of community - willingness to invite a stranger in for a meal, something that magically happened in Monteverde, Schull and Annapolis Royal too). Not only is the new vicar young, she’s also blonde, wears leather, and greeted one older parishioner with a kiss on the mouth! She did arrive with husband and kids in tow, but let that not diminish the impact of a small town’s hot vicar.
Perhaps just coincidentally, the community theatre club staged a live production based on a hit TV series in which a small town is rocked by the arrival of a female (gasp!) vicar. Our chilly waters buddies sneak us into a sold-out screening that turns out to be very enjoyable despite us not knowing the original show. The characters are so well known and beloved that the local actors are able to jump right into character, like if we were to do a Schitts Creek rendition in North America. The chance to join into local theatre and music is, you must know, very high on our list of criteria for the ideal community.
Warm Quakers
As if a swim club, community theatre, church coffee, and a Stars Hollow small-town culture weren’t enough, we also enjoy an intimate Quaker meeting every Sunday. The clerk of the last 50 years is too frail to get out, so the five of us meet in his toasty warm living room around an actual coal-burning stove (my first). Thankful (who also used to run the film club) has been the Treasurer for 4 or 5 decades (“I took it on because the last Treasurer had become too old, but now I realize I’m much older than she was!”)
After an hour of silent worship and reflection, we adjourn to the tiny kitchen for biscuits and tea, joined by a faithful few others who choose to worship with the hot vicar but prefer either our company or our biscuits afterwards. Spending a morning each week with people who share our spiritual grounding as well as our penchant for small town shenanigans is good for the soul, and another way of immersing deeper into the community.
“Come back for coffee!!” On a Saturday walk into town we are eagerly called back by one of our Quaker friends. Turns out this is the location of the 4-C’s weekly coffee gathering hosted at her house, run by the former Salvation Army group that has transitioned to a faith centred around Creed, Cultus, Code, and Community. We end up being regulars here, as well as Quaker Sundays and Protestant Thursdays (but never did make it to the hot vicar’s Anglican service). In a small community there has to be room for overlap.
I think we’ve stumbled upon another indicator of community (are we up to 5 or 6 now?): multiple roles and overlapping circles. If we lived here I would like be regularly involved in: theatre, film club, swimming, soccer, tennis, trail maintenance with the Wildlife Trust, Quakers, the 2 coffee gatherings, writing for the weekly Alderney Journal, frequenting the Saturday farmers market, yoga in Claire’s gorgeous backyard studio, and no doubt much more we don’t uncover in our meagre 3 weeks here.
Cheerio
“Cheerio was a happy way of saying goodbye, as a rebuttal against Shakespeare’s “Parting is such sweet sorrow.” The word cheer is in the word “cheerio”. How can a person be sad when saying the word “Cheerio?”
On our final day, Mary tells us how much she’s appreciated our visit - “I learned from you to not take life so seriously and just be happy. Instead of watching the horrid news, I’ll just let them throw the dummy away, they’re just going to keep throwing the toys out of the pram anyways.”
Our swim club arranges a special opportunity for me to jump off a high “dougie” breakwater then swim all the way back shore, while another member celebrates her birthday by swimming in her birthday suit. While sharing her birthday cupcakes, Captain Tobias gives us a rousing speech and sends us on our journey with a coveted achievement patch. We present them with a virtual “Hugged a Canadian, eh?” patch and speechify right back about how much it’s meant to us to be taken in even for such a short time. Claire softly/hopefully observes, “I think you’ll be back.”
As children of the 1980’s Breakfast in America era, we of course have kippers for our last breakfast, then take Kobe on a final beautiful walk up on the Butte. At the airport we find ourselves chatting with a woman who had helped us out at visitor information, the president of the community theatre group, and the young man who filmed the three historical videos I wrote about in the Hike Around Alderney post. The pilot trips while hopping over the low looped chain to lead all 7 of us to his plane, providing a lot of laughter and banter between cabin and cockpit.
The crush of humanity and anonymity that is London will sweep over us all too soon. For now, we savour these last spontaneous bursts of inclusion and deep Welcome into the beautiful community of Alderney. Thank you, friends!
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Philadelphia
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Costa Rica (Monteverde) till Christmas, then Thailand (Chiang Mai), Vietnam (Hoi Ann, Feb-Mar). Please share any sites, people or ideas by email.
Delightful! My father’s side landed in Newfoundland with the Channel Islands as the last non Nf address for the Dixon ancestors.
Well then you MUST make the pilgrimage back – it’s truly a gem.