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March 2006
- We have formed a new company R J Rotables (Jersey
) Limited who will continue to offer the same services as the previous R J
Rotables, particularly with regards to consultancy work - with France being our
specialty. - More news to come ...
February 2006 -
One year on and no David Bensted who died on February 1 2005, none of his humour
and although R. J. Rotables is a business and goes on, he its founder, was a
unique person and will never be forgotten. Descended from Viking and
Celtic mix, he displayed the intractability and courage of the Vikings and the
adaptability and intuitiveness of the Celts plus a very unique David Bensted
wit! There was actually another David Bensted of his era and he too
died and his company - a much huger one than R.J. Rotables still continue to
remember him. He is described as "a
pioneer and leader in the B.C. high-tech and investment community" and
still figures in his company's literature. Dynamic people those
Bensteds! I think one could describe David as a pioneer in human
understanding? I think all those who came into contact with our David
Bensted were equally impressed and especially with his humour and happy go lucky
nature. He could put anyone at their ease in seconds, had absolutely no
respect for the status of anyone with whom he came into contact - as what they
really were was what was important to him.
September
2005 - It is about time something was done with the news page
so here goes!
Jersey, thought something needed doing about its central town area sometime ago
and continues to do so. The development of al fresco eating and drinking
has fortunately been encouraged. A part of the grand scheme of things was
to create a new paved area in the part of town that faces the Post Office.
This was the site of the taxi rank and public toilets. The
taxi drivers were lured away and told that they could go back when it was all
finished however it looked so pretty that the Cônnetable of St. Helier said that
no they could not return and there was some controversy and quite a lot of
arguing about why they could not return to their newly paved and beautified rank
and had to be sited across the road. The Public Toilets were quite
architecturally acceptable - traditional Victorian wrought iron and built
of granite. The "Powers that Be" decided that they should be converted to
a Cafe with tables (al fresco mode). All went well with surprisingly no
complaints but one essential thing in the conversion was forgotten - the toilet.
The new owner who has called it Cafe Toulouse (two loos) - well I thought it
should really have been Clochemerle - argued that there was a public toilet not
far away for his staff. Local shop owners offered the use of their
"facilities" but still the battle goes on and the opening of the new
cafe was delayed ..
July
2005 - the months since David's
death have of course been difficult ones and I would like to thank friends and
colleagues for their kindness and sympathy. The company continues and as
stated, I am carrying on as Principal in David's footsteps. R J Rotables still
maintains a good relationship with France but although I am not as keen on
Pastis as David was - I prefer good wine - residing in both Jersey and France, I
am easily able to carry out part of the company activities namely liaising
between English and French aviation companies. - Penny Bensted
February 2005
- David Bensted died in the specialist Cancer Hospital in Rennes in Brittany,
France on 1st February. David has left behind him Penny and daughters
Rebecca, Laura and Clare with grandchildren Jack, Sarah, Henry, Cameron and
Arthur and step children Paul and Joanna with step grandchildren Shauna,
Charlotte, Aaron and Ben. We would all like to thank friends and business
associates for their kindness and concern. Messages of condolence continue
to come in. Thank you all so much. David had two funerals - a
cremation in France followed by a memorial service in Anglesey. These were
both beautiful services. We miss David so much. He retained his
sense of humour till the end and was very brave as he was so ill. David's
companies will continue to run as before under Penny's direcftorship. The
decision now is whether to continue this News Page in the same format. It
will remain here as it is however untouched as a way of remembering David as he
has always been - one of life's "real" people.
January 2005
- This was a very difficult month as David Bensted became increasingly ill.
David had been fighting cancer since July 2003. Although David had the
strength to visit Wales at Christmas time, he contracted an infection in
early January which he overcame but contracted another infection towards the end
of the month. He became very weak and ill and was admitted to hospital on 30th
January.
December 2004
- Last Christmas, France discovered exterior illuminations and
adventurous families started energetically decorating the outside of their houses. This year the enthusiasm is boundless.
Outside lighting - be it six feet wide Father Christmases or curtains of lights
- are selling faster than these can be re-stocked on the shelves. Anyone with
a fir tree in the garden seems to have covered same with tinfoil presents and
tinsel. Red, green, blue and yellow light strings adorn homes. It is still a
shock to see this here! However the towns are most pretty and
tasteful and Dinan sparkles as usual with tiny blue lights over the trees and
red floodlighting over the ancient buildings.
November 2004
-
We are fed up with the umbrellas! This year's La Fête dé Noué in Jersey
was the most spectacular ever and designed to herald in Christmas. This is
Jersey's answer to Deepavali
(Diwali) and is a festival of light but in this case also a festival of early
Christmas shopping. It is held from 27 November to 5 December.
Lights are everywhere. The Fete commences with a Parade of Lanterns, mulled wine in the pubs,
Dickensian storey-tellers, ghostly walks and street entertainers. Deepavali was
held a month earlier in India and as the "enlightened" know is a Hindu festival
which commemorates the
triumph of good over evil. It is a Festival of Light and on Deepavali morning
the Hindus light oil lamps in their homes thanking the gods for the happiness,
knowledge, peace and wealth that they have received.
October 2004
 Following on from the September News
- Mrs Bensted, has
discovered
that "Nant y Odyn" means "Kiln by the Brook". She found this out
from the Online Welsh to English Translator she has been pleased to discover and
which she hopes will assist her in communications with David's family! The
Bensted home in Wales echoes with family chatter in Welsh which is the first
language and preferred to English. Time in Wales is occupied with fighting the garden, which is growing in Jungle
style this year owing to the rainfall. Mrs Bensted Senior has engaged a
gardener, which is a help, but he speaks Welsh too, which is no problem for her but a bit difficult for Mrs Bensted who is still looking up the Welsh for
Daffodil Bulb on the Online Translator. The gardener's wife, however is
French and their child speaks English, French and Welsh equally well! Did
we say at some stage that this News will be more Aviation related?
September 2004
September provided the chance for the Bensteds to compare rainfall levels
between their three homes - Brittany, Jersey and North Wales. The areas
seemed to be "level-pegging". Brittany and Wales share much in common
which is why David identifies with both places. The Welsh and Breton languages
are virtually the same. Words such as "Ty" crop up frequently in both places.
"Ty" is both Breton and Welsh for "House". In Anglesey - "Ynns Mon" in
Welsh - the older farmhouses resemble the Breton Longeres. The picture on the
right is of a Welsh farmhouse which has now become a pleasant hotel with an
excellent restaurant and convivial bar. The Nant y Odyn is just down
the road from a little place called
Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch. The locals
abbreviate the name to Llanfairpwllgwyngyll, Llanfair or frequently
Llanfair PG. The name translates into English as 'St Mary's church in the
hollow of the white hazel near a rapid whirlpool and the church of St Tysilio of
the red cave'. Originally called Llanfair Pwllgwyngyll, which means 'The Mary
church by the pool near the white hazels' the village was renamed in the 19th
Century. However there has been as much rain in
Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch as St Malo or Jersey.
St Malo was founded by the way by a Welsh monk called St. Maclow.
Hwyl tan Hydref...
August
2004
July 2004 - Well where was the sun? We had the occasional glimpse
of it and some fairly steady sunny days at the end of the month in Jersey and
France but it seemed its rays were not going to get through the constant misty
cloud and rain. July is Farnborough month and Dinan hosts the Fetes de
Remparts biennially in July and 2004 was the year for this. This medieval
festival, commemorates the French Du Guesculin knocking the English Duke
of Canterbury off his horse and thus winning a battle. Du Guesculin also won the
"fair maiden" who was watching. This event is very merry and Channel Islanders
flock to Dinan for the day - no doubt this year making good use of their "Jer sey
Revels" costumes. It is very lovely with the old town strewn with straw
and masses of street entertainers and the streets of Dinan, with their many
half-timbered houses echo to the sound of the music of those times again.
June 2004 - June was
the inaugural month of the "Jersey Revels". The island decided to hold a
mediaeval festival to mark 1204 to 2004. 1204 was the year the Channel
Islands were given the choice between French and English Government and cleverly
got the best of the latter in swearing allegiance to the English Monarch but not
actually becoming a part of England which meant they were independent fiscally.
England was ruled by John Lackland, youngest son of Henry Plantagenet and
Eleanor of Aquitaine. Well you all know English History hopefully and that
John was the brother who stayed at home and became king when his big brother
Richard went to the Crusades and eventually pre-deceased him and Robin Hood was
busy robbing the rich to pay the poor etc. etc. Some Jersey residents
think the Robin Hood in reverse principal may apply to them regarding Jersey's
future plans for taxing company's nothing and the Jersey residents paying more!
I am told the Revels were jolly good fun and held on the east of the
island which is dominated by Mont Orgueil Castle.
May 2004 - The latest news
from the Brittany side of the channel is that there is to be a housi ng
development by the
Dinan airfield. Houses are to be built with plane garages below. This
sounds very exciting and we are all debating how it will be administered.
Dinan Aerodrome has at present a Hangar where the Dinan Aero Club "hang" out, a
restaurant bar, a small engineering school run by SCA of Dinard, a couple of
portacabins and a partly cannibalised F27 with a face painted on its nose.
The bar/restaurant has now changed hands but its previous owner was an exotic
Ethopian lady who used to ambush diners with a smile and the giving of a free
drink, just when they thought they were leaving, which led to, of course, a
reciprocal drink and then the customer was hooked for that much longer.
Auberge des
Ailes at Dinan Aerodrome above right. The topiary is trimmed to
resemble planes - not dolphins!
April
2004 - Jersey's paper has
been reminiscing about the "Clameur de Haro". This dates back
to the Norman courts of justice when this was an ancient cry for justice
and creates a temporary injunction which is extended upon registration at the
Court . It originated as a means of summoning neighbours and passers by to
the aid of a victim of civil wrong. The aggrieved party is known as the "Criant".
The Cry is carried out by the "Criant" going down on one knee on the
location under threat. He or she must not wear a hat or any other
headgear. The "Criant" then clasps his hands and in the presence of
two witnesses, says :"Haro! Haro! Haro! a l'aide mon Prince!
on me fait tort!". which translates as "Hear-ye! Hear-ye! Hear-ye! Come to
my aid, my Prince" I am being
wronged by a tortious act. This cry is then followed by reciting the
Lord's prayer in French. The raising of the "Clameur" means that the
action by the other party must immediately cease until the Court makes an
official decision and this must be very strictly observed because the person
could be jailed for contempt of court or fined for non observance even if the
Court eventually found in his or her favour. The "Clameur" is used in all the
Channel Islands although the Serquiais from Sark word it slightly differently.
Apparently a Guernsey Vet tried to invoke it whilst flying in a helicopter
over some land threatened with development. No - April news was not
written on April 1 - these are true facts!!! Apart from this the boat
situation has improved with the arrival of the "Great Britain" from Hoverspeed
who, it seems, have taken pity on the situation!
March 2004 - The dolphins
have been overtaking the reserve boat between Jersey and France which has been
running on two of its four engines which doubles the journey time so trips to
Jersey by us, have been frequently by plane. The airline that runs between
Dinard and Jersey uses Tri-landers which have been described as "flying doors"
as passengers sit side by side in twos down the aircraft with a series of doors
alongside to let them in and out. The plane take 15 passengers depending
on weight. We are told that a trip between Jersey and the U.K. by a rugby club, some years
ago, was memorable as the team - already on the happy road to insobriety - had
brought a beer supply on board . The players opened doors to throw out empty
beer cans and in the process discovered that they could alter the Tri-lander's
direction by opening and shutting the doors and drove the pilot to distraction.
When he admonished them they commenced throwing a rugby ball at him. The
players were not allowed to fly for some time!!!!! Otherwise March was
quite a busy and memorable month for the Bensteds
February 2004
-
The troubled waters of the boat situation between
France and Jersey are calming however the main boat is out of commission in dry
dock in Norway and the reserve boat is being utilised. This is quite a feat as this vessel had been leased to Senegal in Africa.
However its journey there has been delayed and it is sailing between Jersey and
St Malo, resplendent in its Senegalese colours, which is a little perturbing for
the more observant passengers. More dolphins than usual have been leaping
out of the water to look at it as well. To say the weather has been
changeable is an understatement with conditions ranging between gales, snow and
warm sunshine. The grass around the town church is covered with crocuses
one month earlier than 2003! The B ensted grandchildren in France have a
pet buzzard which has befriended them. They are looking forward to baby
owls - variety called an Ephray - this is written as we have heard it as we do
not know how to spell the name. This owl makes a noise like a person
breathing, loves nesting in any hole in the walls of houses or sits on the roof
from time to time, breathing heavily and sinisterly, terrifying those who
do not know about an Ephray. This owl is huge and white and very
attractive and the babies learn to fly at night landing on the ground with
thumps as they try to take off from the wall.
January 2004
- Happy New Year.
The Christmas period involved travelling throughout France, England and Wales
plus of course Jersey. This gave the opportunity to compare Christmas
lights. France has suddenly discovered outside lighting for private
houses. Such lights were confined to the official efforts of each town and
village and have always been pretty and tasteful. Last year someone had the
"bright" idea of marketing multi coloured lights and illuminated sleighs and
reindeer to private households. French householders are now trying to outshine
some of the more garish efforts one sees covering some UK. houses. Oh
"deer"! Although the season is at an end in England, we are still treated
to these lights in France as there is no superstition about Twelfth Night.
Greetings cards continue to be sent as it is the tradition to
post these throughout January. Another tradition is the serving of a
pastry cake, filled with frangipane,
called a "Galette du Roi". This has a little china figurine concealed inside and
whoever finds it either attends the dentist or hospital casualty department immediately or wears a Crown
- hopefully not fitted by the Dentist. The cake is part of Epiphany
celebrations-
hence the "Roi" aspect as this refers to the departure of the kings.
December 2003 - This week's protest in Jersey was against unfair
taxation propositions with 2000 people ranging from
farmers, to shop workers and bankers to bank clerks gathering in the Royal
Square. Most firms gave their employees time off to protest.
The Cock and Bottle and Pierson pubs did excellent business. One of the
proposals has been to hammer drinkers again - beginning to bring drink prices
close to the U.K.!
November 2003 - A very
slim, trim David is now working again although
he is still a convalescent.
(An embarrassed David emphasises that Penny does write this page with editing
and contributions from him!) Piracy and Protest have come to Jersey!
The Harbours and Airport Committee representatives boarded the Solidor 5, (the boat which runs year round between France and Jersey), ejected
the crew and parked the boat in a corner of the harbour where it was firmly
chained. They refused to give it back until outstanding harbour dues were
paid.
The situation was a difficult one as
the company owning the boat in France had declared themselves bankrupt on a
"Chapter 11" basis and were under the protection of the French authorities so
Jersey should not have snatched their boat.
St Malo newspapers referred to piracy, the regular
passengers formed a pressure group and demonstrated in the Royal Square
demanding the resignation of the Harbours and Airport Committee President.
Diplomatic "noises" , which might have been mistaken for excuses and faux pas
covering up, were made and the
boat was then given back. Lots of pictures of the smiling Senator
who
is Committee President offering the boat back to crew. On board later, the
Crew thanked the passengers, the passengers clapped and cheered for the Crew and
one of the agitators thanked the crew formally for being brave. The
hostesses cried and could not make the safety announcement. Agitation from the
Passenger Group has continued unabated and they have changed their name from
"Save Emeraude" to STUG - Southbound Travel Users Group. A French paper
mentioned "Le diable Senateur". Protest has certainly now come to Jersey!
July - October 2003 -
June
2003
-
If any of our Business Visitors want to
reminisce about past visits to France they can go to
www.gitesandmore.co.uk
which is a new web site
created by Bond Street Business Base. The site offers a wealth of
information on Brittany.
 May
2003
- It is now the "moules" (mussels)
season again and better still, one can indulge
in Homard de Bretagne
(Brittany lobsters). As the weather continues to be pleasant, some of our
friends regard it as Marguerita time. When in Marguerita
mood and usually in the company of good friends, we particularly favour these in
a beach side bar in Dinard. The bar is full of sixties memorabilia
including a real Lambretta scooter, jukeboxes and a full size statue of
Marilyn Monroe.
April
2003
- Jersey has gone "colour" mad and the waterfront area of St.
Helier and Gorey Pier has seen the development of brightly coloured painted
buildings. It is supposed to look "Mediterranean" perhaps. The Royal
Square building where our offices used to be situated is to be an extension of
the Cock and Bottle, some of you will be pleased to know, with extended areas of
"al fresco" eating during the summer months. The Jersey Motor Transport
Company - a part of the Tantivy group - lost out on a tender to Connex and all
thought the JMT buses had disappeared for ever and we greeted the new Connex
pale blue bus fleet. However there was a legal loophole discovered and
suddenly green and yellow buses - sorry coaches!! - re-appeared and were
operated out of the JMT's old premises bang next door to Connex new premises.
To quote the Jersey Evening Post:
"The
new Easylink buses, with their distinctive green and yellow livery, are operated
by coach firm Tantivy from the former Jersey Bus depot at the Weighbridge. The
café next to the depot at the Weighbridge is also part of the rebranding
exercise. UK company Connex last year won the monopoly tender from Tantivy's
sister company, Jersey Bus, to run the Island's main bus service. The new
service is using a legal loophole and seems to have taken everyone by surprise.
Public Services are unsure whether Easylink is legal according to the Jersey
licensing regulations. Tantivy say their lawyers are satisfied that they are
operating within the terms of their license. But it could cost the public purse
more in subsidy if Connex lose income." Furthermore
.....the JMT (Easylink) also own all the poles on which the timetables appear in
the island ,,,,,,,,,,
March
2003
- Spring is truly here. The grass around the Church
opposite the offices is covered with crocuses. The Jersey seagull problem
should soon increase with a new generation of over friendly gulls. Due to
enthusiastic feeding, our seagulls have given up circling over the sea looking
for nourishment and instead circle directly overhead in the middle of town and
on occasions snatch food from people's hands in a decidedly thuggish manner.
They build their nests on the town roofs and are thoroughly urbanised and very
noisy. Perhaps a visit from one of the Bensted dogs might be an effective
deterrent. One Labrador actually caught one of the town pigeons, which
congregate in the Royal Square, and paraded proudly up and down with the pigeon
whose wings were flapping wildly, held firmly in the Labrador's mouth - much to the
consternation of the large crowd which gathered to watch the event. The
Labrador only gave up its prize when one of the crowd - a young girl who had
just bought a hot dog - was foolish enough to lower her hand holding this
delicacy.
The Labrador let the pigeon go, snatched the hot dog and ate it. As you
will no doubt have gathered from the content of the news, it is early in March.
News that is more aviation related will appear later in the month.
February 2003 -
Well it rained and it rained and there was fog and there was frost.
Typical Brittany and Jersey February weather. The Bensted grandchildren in
France celebrated Mardi Gras in traditional style, dressing in fancy dress
costumes, parading through the village and eating pancakes.
January 2003 -
A Happy New Year to everyone. We are into the month of
resolutions - well planned ones at least. The year has got off to a good
start with plenty of social occasions in France and Jersey which have delayed
the commencement of one resolution at least! One
of the highlights of this cold month has been the discovery of St. Helier Market
fountain frozen solid with icicles, instead of water, which was very pretty but
indicative of the temperature! Christmas Day saw the recently deceased
"Martin the turkey" served up as lunch time fare. David and Penny had
nothing to do with his upbringing or un-seasonal end as Martin was one of
several organically raised turkeys from the "Fermette" in France. However
he was still approached with fear and trepidation, particularly as they were
told of his name only the night before! Apart from this confession,
we do hope that 2003 brings happiness, health (unless you are a turkey
called Martin) and prosperity.
December 2002 -
Seasons
Greetings from sky-bureau.com.
Jersey is currently celebrating the Fête de Noué,
which sounds traditional but in fact came into being
during the past three
years. St. Helier is alive with activity, late night shopping and street
entertainers. We have decorated our building in traditional Victorian fashion
inside and outside have attached huge coloured bows to all the window boxes in
order to contribute to the festivities. France is like
"Fairy land" with Christmas lights in even the smallest villages and the
decorations are classic and innovative.
November 2002 -
A total of 59 sailing boats, small and large, are gathering in Saint Malo to
participate in the “Route du Rhum”. This is the
traditional “Rum Race” retracing the route of the original sailing boats working
between France and the West Indies. Those boats would transport rum back
from the Caribbean, hence the name of the event. All the boats will set sail on
the 9th and 10th of November but already the atmosphere is decidedly "lively" as
this ancient haven of the "Corsairs" welcomes not only the boat crews but also
many thousands of tourists who come to see the event. The streets of Saint Malo
have been decorated in the various crew colours and
vast quantities of wine, beer and "Ty Punch", (a house punch consisting of Rum)
are being imbibed. The hotels are already full and the weather is
beginning to calm.
October 2002 – During the next
few weeks we are expecting two “Stagieres” (French students on work experience)
to work in our Jersey office so as to improve their English. These six
week “stages” in an English business environment are a requirement of certain
multi lingual courses in French universities and colleges. We have
accepted over thirty students during the past four years and are invariably
delighted with the quality and enthusiasm of our visitors. We are
frequently asked to take more students than we can accommodate so would be
pleased to hear from any UK companies able and willing to accept young French
students for six week periods.
September 2002
We
are
delighted to welcome Alexandra Simon who has very recently joined us. Alex
is French, (from Rennes) and is already invaluable. More details are on
the Contacts Page.
August 2002 After twelve years in the
Royal Square offices we have moved
to Bond Street. There are two
illustrations here of Coleraine Chambers, the upper left is photographed through
St Helier Parish Church railings.
The old offices in the Royal Square
were immediately next door to the "Centre of Government", being the States
Building, whereas we are now neighbours to a "Centre
of Religion", the Parish
church of St Helier. This move should not be seen as indicating any lack of
confidence in the capabilities of the Jersey Government and neither should
anyone construe that we are seeking help from on high) 
However, whilst on the subject of
State and God we ought to mention that the States building and Royal Courts have
recently undergone a £12,000,000 refit and are well
worth a visit.
There are many other churches of
interest to visit on the island but I would particularly draw your attention to
the Fisherman’s Chapel, adjoining St Brelade's
Church, which overlooks St Brelade's Bay.
Maybe we should reassure our less
culturally focused visitors, who perhaps have fond memories of the “Cock and
Bottle” and the “Pierson” (our other immediate neighbours in the Royal Square)
that our new offices are within 100 yards of six pubs and seven restaurants.
Back to culture
and religion - those of you visiting us in Brittany could include a visit to the
Cathedral at Dol de Bretagne where there is an ongoing “Cathedraloscope” – a
light and sound show depicting many of the other fine cathedrals of France.
It is not as tacky or Disney-orientated as it sounds and does give you an
insight as to what you could discover if you spent three weeks touring France –
thus allowing you to reallocate that precious time to the research of more
restaurants!
www.pays-de-dol.com/cathedraloscope2gb.htm
July
2002
Farnborough
week is over and we would like to express our thanks to all who welcomed us and
our guests with such kind hospitality. Particular thanks to CASCO,
Rockwell Collins and A J Walter.
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