Unforgettable stories of a very special man

One of the Island’s few remaining post-war characters, Rene – one of an even fewer number of Jerseymen known and recognised by his Christian name only – displayed all the traits of his forebears; shrewd bordering on cunning and stubborn when necessary but blessed with the common sense which invariably enabled him to see the wider picture and, more importantly, persuade others to do likewise.

The soubriquet ‘Lord Liron’ came about when he was deservedly made a Member of the Order of the British Empire and also awarded the Bailiff’s medal – the latter, he confessed, gave him at least as much pleasure as the award from the Monarch – and we were discussing the old notion that there’s never two without a third, with me suggesting that a peerage might be next.

We had a brief and very light-hearted discussion about whether the House of Lords attendance allowance would make it worthwhile financially, another couple of drinks – I think it was Campari and soda he was drinking then (another source of laughter when we debated whether such a beverage presented an appropriate image for a trades union leader and champion of Jersey’s downtrodden underclass) – and we moved on, probably to discuss either his passion for boating or mine for fishing.

But in recalling personal memories – and there remain many of us who have recollections of Rene – one must not lose sight of the wider picture, the one he was invariably able to see and persuade others to see.

The most valuable of these were his repeated efforts, particularly on behalf of Jersey’s agricultural community, to secure dispensation from industrial action being taken in the United Kingdom, either by members of his own Transport and General Workers Union or indeed their colleagues from other representative bodies.

Time and time again, when dockers or another such group in the UK were either on strike or threatening action, Rene would be on the phone (or sometimes even on the plane) calling in favours from successive TGWU general secretaries (Moss Evans, Jack Jones and Frank Cousins are three whose names spring to mind) to ensure that agricultural and horticultural exports from here could continue – an absolute boon in the Jersey Royal potato season – and imports from Britain remain unaffected.

Rene was totally relaxed in everyone’s company and one story demonstrates just how relaxed. On one of the visits by the Queen and Prince Philip, Rene and a few other Island residents were invited to the Royal Yacht Britannia for either dinner or an evening reception – my informant, who was also present, failed to tell me which.

Prince Philip approached Rene and, noticing he had finished his drink, called over a steward with another, remarking as he did so that he was sure he remembered Rene from a previous Royal Visit.

‘That’s right,’ replied Rene. ‘I remember you as well because you got me another drink on that occasion also, and in fact I think you were wearing the same dinner jacket.’

And stories like that are what will remind me in the years to come of my old and good friend, Lord Liron of Fauvic and St Malo.

GIVING evidence to a Scrutiny panel with his political boss Kevin Lewis, Transport director Tristan Dodd said that the new deal for the Island’s bus service was structured to put pressure on the operator to deliver a better and more popular service, with the firm being encouraged to ‘use its business acumen to get people on the buses’.

I’m almost certain that this is the first post-Connex observation I’ve made on the bus service so it’s appropriate for this bus user to record that I found little to complain about in relation to Connex’s service. Its service was generally on time and efficient and its staff courteous, helpful and, I have to say, a noticeable improvement on some of those who worked for the old JMT.

Being an advocate of the adage ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’, I strongly suspect that those who made the decision to change operators probably used the service about as frequently as Good Friday falls on a Wednesday but who am I to argue against this aspect of the Jersey way of doing things?

That said, and because the cost of getting the passion wagon out of the garage has become beyond a joke, both Herself and I make increasing use of the service and I wish the new operator all the luck in the world.

The one thing I will say is that all passengers hope that the new outfit will deliver a better and more popular service but – and I hope I’m wrong here – unless and until there is a radical rethink about parking charges (and abuses) in the centre of town, the potential for increasing business will, I fear, be minimal.

I and many others having been saying since Noah was a boy that the sure-fire way of getting people to use the buses is to make life difficult for those whose vehicles stand idle on parking spaces – multi-storey or otherwise – for eight to nine hours each weekday.

They are the people who, without too much inconvenience, could and should be using buses to get to and from their town centre workplaces and if parking charges for this group of motorists were such that it would be both cheaper and easier for them to travel by bus then they’d be first in the queue.

I think the ball is in Messrs Lewis and Dodd’s court at least as much as the bus operator’s.

And finally,

If charities such as those which criticise Jersey devoted as much effort to ensuring that the countries they support are not riddled with corruption as they do to denigrating us, they would get both my support and some of my money.