From Jenny Bougourd.
DOES anyone fancy a holiday that involves no packing, no cancelling the milk and papers, no airports and the place that you are going to is so familiar that you don’t even need a map?

For quite a number of years now I have been having a ‘Jersey Week’ each summer, which involves going to a number of tourist attractions in the Island either never visited at all, or to places that I last visited when I was at primary school with the ubiquitous clipboard and questions to fill in.

I can honestly say it has been both an eye opener and a great pleasure as I have gone around, as I have been incredibly impressed with the quality and depth of what Jersey has to offer to both the local and the ‘grockle’.

From the Jersey Museum to Hamptonne, from La Mare Vineyard to Elizabeth Castle and a wealth of places in between, it has made me realise what a fantastic scope of well presented and fascinating places we have here in Jersey, right on our doorstep.

And, of course, being on a local holiday you have the perfect chance to try out all of those new or ‘haven’t been to for a while’ culinary establishments, some of which I would definitely frequent again, and others that I wouldn’t, mostly due to the fact that they are pricing themselves out of the market with food that doesn’t match the final bill. Thankfully these restaurants are in the minority.

So if the finances are a little stretched this year, or even if you are still jetting off somewhere else, may I warmly recommend to everyone that they try what our Island has to offer.

It involves no stressful travelling, is cheaper than your average vacation and brings money into the local economy at a time that it needs it most.

It also raises the profile of our fine historical buildings and heritage, some of which may soon close, which would be a devastating loss to us all, whether we care to realise it or not.

So although I don’t necessarily advocate ‘Think Twice, Buy Local’,  I would definitely say that you should consider to ‘Think Twice, Stay Local’. I guarantee you will be most pleasantly surprised!