A is for Aurigny, Guernsey’s government-supported airline, pronounced ‘Or-een-ee’, and whose fleet boasts a much loved little yellow plane named Joey.
B is for bean jar, a local meat-and-bean casserole once favoured by land workers. It remains a favourite feed.
C is for cheerie, a jaunty farewell that can at first sound strange, but get used to it, as failure to reply can often offend.
D is for donkey, Guernsey’s revered national mascot. Islanders pride themselves on the comparison with their own independent streak.
E is for eh? An expression used after various phrases and often confusing to newcomers.
F is for freesias, pretty, delicate blooms that thrive in the island’s milder climate
G is for grockle, a fun nickname for newcomers, which usually lasts for 15 years at least.
H is for housing licence, allowing the right to work and live in the island. It also stands for Herm Burn, as anyone who’s nipped across to the Mermaid Tavern beer garden without sunscreen will testify.
I is for ‘Izit?’. A one-size-fits-all response by islanders to any statement you care to make.
J is for Jersey, Guernsey’s neighbour and rival. If you’re ever asked if you’re from there, it’s probably best to say no.
K is for kiosks, hardy little huts poised at picturesque points around the coast and all-weather purveyors of tea, ices, hot food and that other local delicacy, Guernsey gache.
L is for local market. Those able to buy in this property group are usually locals or licence holders. The alternative is open market, often the preserve of well heeled financiers, successful businessmen and lottery winners.
M is for meat draw, a weekly ritual staged in local pubs where punters buy a ticket to win a bag of prime cuts for the family freezer. There’s also a fishy version called a crab draw. Both are much loved local traditions, largely because they’re a perfect excuse to pop down the pub after work on a Friday.
N is for Normandy and the roots of Guernsey’s allegiance to the English Crown. More than 800 years ago the Channel Islands were left out of a landmark surrender document acknowledging the handover of mainland Normandy from England to France in 1204.
O is for ormer, Guernsey’s own tenacious mollusc, harvested from around the coast during specific tides and under strict rules.
P is for patois, or Guernsey French. It also stands for paper plane, the early morning aircraft which delivers the national newspapers from the UK, fog permitting.
Q is for Queen, Guernsey’s sovereign, who is represented in the island by the Lt-Governor, currently Sir Fabian Malbon.
It’s a wrap! If you don’t own one, you should… (0021540)
R is for the Rocky, local shorthand for popular Cobo Bay watering hole, the Rockmount Hotel. It also stands for red-eye, the early morning commuter planes to the UK.
S is for Sarnia, thought to be Guernsey’s historic name and the title of its wistful anthem, Sarnia Cherie.
T is for tomatoes, the little red stars that truly put the island on the map during its horticultural heyday.
U is for Underground Hospital – a wartime legacy along with the Occupation Museum and German bunkers, which serve as stark reminders of the dark days of enemy control.
V is for Viaer Marchi, the island’s annual country fair celebrating Guernsey food, art and crafts. V is also for vraic or seaweed, along with vergee, a local land measurement.
W is for wraps, billowing towelling tubes that tie at the neck and are worn by bathers down the beach. Initially a surprise to visitors, they soon catch on to the ingenuity of the design and buy their own.
X is for X-factor, the island’s quintessential, unspoilt charm that visitors, who gasp at its stunning beaches or marvel at its roadside honesty boxes, remind you not to take for granted.
Y is for the yellow grids which serve as road markings at junctions for vehicles to ‘filter in turn’ through. Visiting motorists soon get the gist after being honked at a few times.
Z is for zero-10, the island’s new tax regime. A little like the offside rule in football, no matter how many times its rules are explained, no one quite seems to agree on
Sat Mar 22, 2008 3:35 pm