A Penny For Your Thoughts

A couple remember their holiday in the Channel Islands.

Laurie and Stuart Day sit in their garden reading. Stuart Day throws a penny to his wife and asks for her thoughts. The penny is a Jersey penny. Laurie Day remembers their holiday, and in a flashback there are scenes of their holiday in the Channel Islands. The film concludes with the couple back in the present looking at photographs of the island. The flashback sequence includes footage shot in Jersey and St Peter Port, Guernsey, as well as during a visit to the island of Herm near Guernsey. The footage shot in Jersey includes shots of the exterior and dining room of the St Brelade's Bay Hotel in Jersey; the beach at St Brelade’s Bay; the Jersey coastline; potato harvesting and transportation, including the loading of sacks into the holds of ships; the car hired by Stuart Day, including a visit to La Moye Golf Club; a visit to the village Gorey; gardens and countryside in Jersey, including close shots of flowers, shrubs and heathers. The sequence in Guernsey consists of shots of the island’s coastline; its capital St Peter Port, including street scenes near the Town Church and the harbour. Footage taken during the visit to Herm includes shots of the journey to and from the island by speedboat; the harbour and local streets; Stuart Day collecting seashells on a beach. In the IAC Film Library collection, this film appears silent. The Laurie and Stuart Day collection received via the IAC contains a soundtrack for the film which has been added to the digital viewing file. The soundtrack consists of a selection of music. There is no commentary.

Featured Buildings

The garden at the home of Laurie and Stuart Day, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire St Brelade's Bay Hotel, Jersey St Brelade’s Bay beach and buildings on La Route de la Baie Port Elizabeth, St Helier, Jersey La Rocco Tower, Jersey La Corbiere [La Corbière] Lighthouse, Jersey Mont Orguiel Castle Harbour and buildings on the quay at Gorey Village Harbour and buildings, St Peter Port Town Church, St Peter Port, Jersey Castle Cornet, St Peter Port, Guernsey unidentified white building, Herm Island

Keywords

Holidays; Channel Islands; Jersey; Guernsey; Herm Island;

Intertitles

When blue sea merges to purple and the warm sun fills one with lethargy Time stands still. But always the sea is restless. And some Philistines will work. Here one can order a car and it is delivered within the hour. Of course you can’t take it with you when you leave. Still it’s nice while it lasts. Towering over Gorey Village is Mont Orguiel Castle begun in the tenth century by the Dukes of Normandy. In these peaceful islands only the flowers riot. Twenty-five miles north-west is Guernsey whose coastline is wilder than Jersey. St Peter Port is its charming capital. Twenty minutes away by speedboat is the tiny island of Herm. These beachcombers are not collecting flotsam and jetsam or even cigarette ends but the famous Herm sea shells.

Other Places

Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire; St Brelade [Saint Brélade], Jersey; Port Elizabeth, St Helier, Jersey; St Peter Port, Guernsey