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Could you be Miss (or Mr) St Helier?

I was sorry to hear that the person I continue to think of as Miss Battle (aka the Battle of Flowers Ambassador) is to be dropped from the programme of Jersey’s annual carnival, especially as it wasn’t uncommon for past Miss St Heliers to go on to win the coveted role of Miss Battle – Sarah Watson’s expression in the 2010 photo below says it all! However, St Helier has no such plans as our young Parish ‘ambassadors’ add real value to Parish life and are welcomed and appreciated wherever they go. I introduced a Mr St Helier twenty years ago to accompany Miss St Helier, as she was known then, and the St Helier Battle of Flowers Committee followed that up with Juniors a few years later. While we have had 3 of our young ambassadors in post, we have never been successful in filling all 4 positions in any year – now there’s a challenge!

This year’s Competition takes place on Saturday 9th September and we’re hoping that we’ll get a lot of entries from young people living in the Parish. The role is enjoyable and interesting: meeting our senior citizens at the variety of functions we hold during the year, including the Fête de St Hélier, the annual Pilgrimage, meeting veterans and visiting VIPs, and with the possibility of joining trips to the Parish’s twin towns in France, Germany, Madeira and New Jersey. Our current young ambassadors, Kelly Pontes and Charley Skinner have been in post for longer than the customary year due to the pandemic but they have done a great job and will be telling us what the experience has meant for them when they hand over their crowns and sashes to their successors on 9th September.

Simon Crowcroft, Constable of St Helier