Island marks Wear a Guernsey Day with an RNLI fundraiser
ISLANDERS donned their favourite woollen pullovers yesterday, as the island marked Wear a Guernsey Day.
Knitwear manufacturers Guernsey Woollens and Le Tricoteur have joined together for the past two years to hold the day celebrating the island’s most cherished garment to raise money for the RNLI.
Paul Eldridge of Guernsey Woollens said the day had been a great success, despite the weather.
‘We managed to get set up before the first downpour and have had a steady stream of people coming through all day.’
The event was held at the Information Centre and included traditional bean jar and gache. The RNLI, which also had a stall at the event, was grateful for the extra funds raised.
RNLI shop manager Jenny Ridley said that annual fundraising had been going well.
‘But every time that boat goes in the water it does cost a lot of money,’ she said.
‘But we are really lucky, the people of Guernsey are very generous.’
Mr Eldridge said that the knitwear business had been incredibly strong this year and it had been struggling to keep up with demand.
‘We moved to bigger premises last year, and I thought we had future-proofed the business, but we are already working at full capacity,’ he said. ‘International sales have done really well. We’ve just sold 6,000 to South Korea and they have already put an order for a further 9,000 next year.’
Le Tricoteur’s Kristie Banks said they were also busy.
‘More than half our sales are international now. We sell into Europe, America and Japan.’
She had her own thoughts on why the design of the guernsey had survived unchanged for so long.
‘There’s no back or front to a guernsey.
‘So if you spill something on yourself you can just turn it around.’
Organisers thanked Waitrose, which donated ingredients, and Manor Farm, which supplied the coffee cups for free.
