14th September 2011
Graeme le Saux champions Gerald Durrell
Jersey-born footballer Graeme le Saux, once the most expensive defender playing for any English club, championed conservationist Gerald Durrell on the BBC’s Great Lives programme. Why? Because, said le Saux, “Gerald Durrell has always had a huge influence on life in the island… but also sowed a seed in my environmental values, which have stayed with me and I’ve passed on to my own children”.
Le Saux explained on the programme that growing up in Jersey meant his chances of becoming a professional footballer had been very narrow, and he’d been encouraged to consider other options, including his careers advisor’s recommendation that he become a bank manager.
Childhood memories
As well as visiting the zoo, he worked there as a teenager, but while the two met, le Saux said that he was not fortunate enough to get to know Durrell. He had been around 10 years old at the time and been to a tea party held outside the house in whose grounds the wildlife trust was established.
Gerald Durell’s widow, Lee also appeared on the programme and explained that while Gerald had seen long before many others how much danger our environment was in, he lacked confidence in his writing, despite his books being bestsellers many times over.
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Other events that occured in September
Men are killed by an exploding threshing machine
- Two French workers were killed in Jersey when the boiler of William Lane’s steam-powered thrashing machine exploded.
- Read more…
Local priests campaign to declare a man insane
- Local priests campaigned for a Jersey man to be declared insane so that he would not be executed for killing his wife.
- Read more…
Journalist George William de Carteret dies
- George William de Carteret was both secretary of the Jersey Farmers’ Union, and a prolific journalist, writing in the Norman language.
- Read more…
Jersey is shaken by an earthquake
- After several days of particularly rough seas, residents across Jersey reported minor earth tremors lasting around half an hour.
- Read more…