Distant shores reached by messages in bottles

CHILDREN at St Anne's School sent two messages in bottles out across the Channel as part of a writing exercise – and were thrilled to receive responses from both France and Devon.

The Year 4 and 5 pupils were studying a newspaper report in a literacy class about a message in a bottle that had travelled 10,000 miles from North Wales.

With their imaginations fired up, the eight children persuaded teacher Heather Craig to let them release their own bottles.

They each contributed sections to a letter asking any finder to write a little about themselves and where they had found it. They then put the message in clear plastic squash bottles and two of them, Holly Neill and Melissa Johns, went with their fathers to hurl the bottles off the breakwater and Raz Island.

Ms Craig said: 'The class was doing it as a shared writing exercise. I didn't get to send a message in a bottle out as a child, so I didn't need much persuading to do it.'

Louis Wildi, 10, said: 'We wrote that we were from St Anne's School and said we would be very grateful if you could write a letter of reply to us to say that it was nice finding the letter and things about them.'

Months passed and the class forgot about the bottles. Then a letter arrived with a French postmark addressed to Years 4 and 5.

French teacher Sally Pond translated the contents. A woman called Anne Calvet had found the bottle in a cove in Auderville, Normandy, three days after it had been thrown into the sea off Alderney. Mrs Craig said children were 'over the moon' to have received a reply, marvelling that it had not sunk or washed back up in Alderney.

'They were also chuffed that somebody had taken the effort to reply, especially considering the message was written in a different language,' she added.

Two weeks later another letter arrived, this time with a UK postmark. The second bottle had been found on a beach in Devon, where 10-year-old Jack Phillips was holidaying. His home was in Monmouthshire, Wales – just 20 minutes from where Mrs Craig grew up.

Marli Barker, 10, said: 'It was amazing that we even got one reply, never mind two. I was very excited. Jack said he was 10 and had quite a lot of pets and what he likes playing with.'

Now the children are writing thank you letters to send to Jack and Madame Calvet – and hope one day they might meet their new friends.

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ALDERNEY'S library is going online – thanks to an unlikely legacy of Margaret Thatcher.

New library committee recruit Lesley Cairnduff was doing a stint behind the desk at the volunteer-run institution on the day of the former PM's funeral and she had brought along her iPad so she could tune in.

But, unable to get a connection, she discovered that the Alderney Library did not have a broadband wireless internet connection.

That evening she did a quick survey of volunteer-run libraries around the UK and found out that even the most remote of islands seemed to have the facility.

So she picked the phone up to Sure and rather cheekily asked if they would connect the library for free – and sure enough they did.

Mrs Cairnduff explained: 'I thought it was ridiculous in this day and age that our library did not have WiFi when even islands like Orkney had it in theirs. I thought it would bring people in who wanted to use their laptops or iPads.

'We didn't have the funds to install it so I made a call, grovelled a bit and Sure agreed to connect us, which we were all absolutely delighted with.

'It just shows you, if you don't ask, you don't get.'

Sure chief executive Eddie Saints said: 'We were very impressed by the passion and commitment of the volunteers at Alderney Library as they provide an invaluable service to islanders and visitors.

'We were surprised that they didn't already have access to the internet and because it is such a huge information resource, we wanted them to have access to that.'

Now the library is appealing for a good-condition computer, keyboard, screen and mouse so it can offer use of the internet to those who do not have it at home.

* Anyone with any of the above items to donate should contact Lesley on 07781 149908.

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ALDERNEY'S Island Games squad is limbering up for its sporting trip to Bermuda in June.

A four-strong team is making the journey to the sunshine island to compete at the NatWest Island Games in its golf, windsurfing and running events.

Keith Allen, David Wethey and Michael Ellen are the golfers and Jack Bingham will run in the half-marathon event and compete in the the sailboarding. Fundraising goes on all year to send Alderney athletes to the games, with jumble sales, Thai nights and lotto-style competitions adding cash to the pot.