It was a fine evening in July when several of us walked avaû la grève (along the beach) in St.Brelade's Bay. Lé solé (the sun) was shining and there were a few nouages (clouds) out at sea; a gentle brise (breeze) created des p'tites louêmes (small waves). Lé sablion (the sand) was golden and had been partly swept but we were pleased to find various galets (pebbles) and vrai (seaweed) such as bladder wrack, kelp and sea grass, one even still attached by its tchian à deux buts (hold fast). There were also des plieunmes d'mauves (seagull feathers) and d'la crépie (cuttle fish bone), des vlicots (winkles), des manchots (razor shells) and des baînis (limpets); des fielles dé palme (palm leaves) and des brantchettes (twigs) of different bouais (trees).
We also found d's empreintes des pas (tracks) of various annimaux (animals) in the wet sand and discovered those of des j'vaux (horses), des tchians (dogs) and des mauves (gulls), which had used the beach. Tyre tracks and sweep marks also showed that the beach had been partly cleaned.
However, we also found evidence of human activities, such as d'la p'liche d'orange (some orange peel), several pouques à thée (tea bags), des bouchons, tâsses et fourchettes en plastique (plastic bottle tops, cups and forks); des prêt à emporter boêtes à frites en polystyrène (take away polystyrene chip boxes); des cannes à biéthe et coca cola (beer cans and coca cola tins); des pouques et des pipets en plastique (plastic bags and straws), des pouques en papi (paper bags) and des patchets “d'brueuques” en papi d'aluminium (foil crisp packets), and a piece d'vèrre câssé (broken glass). Des p'tits bâtons à chucre d'gorge (lollipop sticks) and des tas dé mégots (piles of cigarette ends) completed the picture of things noticed - not looked for - avaû eune p'tite partie d'la grève (along a short stretch of beach) in front of the bars and hotels.
In contrast, les gardîns (the gardens) on the promenade were hardi bés (very beautiful) and very colourful, auvec les allées beins nettes et arreunées (with clean and tidy footpaths). Les partèrres (flower beds) of yellow souciques (marigolds), red begonias and blue and white lobelia were separated by d'la tèrre sans sèrcl'ye ou d'fourbi (free of weeds or rubbish). In other areas, various arbustes (bushes) of different shades of green mingled with des pente-ouotheilles (fuchsias), des mentes (mints) and d'privet doré (golden privet). In yet other nearby areas, des bruëthes (heathers) and d'la feûgiéthe (ferns) grew in a granite rockery around eune p'tite mathe (a small pond) with a family dé cannards et siex cannots (of ducks and six ducklings).
Light from lé solé couochant (the setting sun) shone on les rouoges falaises (the red cliffs) around La Cotte de St. Brelade, while St Brelade's Church and La Chapelle ès Pêtcheurs (the Fisherman's Chapel) lay peacefully in the shade opposite - eune belle veue (a lovely view) for the people dining and the visitors out for eune promenade au sé (an evening walk).
Ralph Nichols