Where is Jersey and what is it like

In my book, Teenager en Provence, I explain that I am from the island of Jersey and refer to it at times.

To many on this website Jersey would be thought of as that place in New York.

Well, the actual original Jersey is an island in the English Channel between England and France. It's closer to France and has been the scene of many a battle of the years between England and France for ownership.

There are other islands, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark and Herm being the ones you can visit, all smaller.

Smaller! How can I say tha when Jersey is 9 miles x 5 miles, that's a dot in the ocean isn't it!

Small but beautiful. We do have the most stunning natural scenery and with our climate we have an abundance of wildlife. Our sand dunes are the finest in Europe, our beaches are the cleanest and the bays are perfect for family fun. When my children were younger I would take them down to Greve de Lecq beach just down the hill from me, where I could sit at the top and see where they were along the shoreline with no fear, safe in the knowledge they were contained in our bay.

We have 12 Parishes. Years back we had a Manor in each Parish that was owned by the 'Seigneur' - the Lord of the Manor. One of those was the Seigneur of St Ouen, the Manor house is the most spectacular of all with add ons of various architectural brilliance from over the years. This Seigneur was involved in work in American in the 1600's and we believe was given the parcel he named New Jersey. Sadly for the present holder of the title it was sold for peanuts but the name remained.

A quirky little thing about these Seigneurs - the title is now just a show piece used for effect - when the Queen visits she must be presented a duck by each one. It brought a lot of laughter from the UK press a few years back when a load of guys lined up with a red cushion with gold braiding, upon which sat a rubber duck! Needless to say the last time she was here she dispensed with the need.

We have two castles, one sits on a rock off the bay. We also have a Fort, again on its own base out to sea. It was here Charles II hid from Cromwell.

We also have the most spectacular of zoos, Durrell. Gerald Durrell started it way back in the 60's and it is now a leading light in conservation. Whilst they specialise in Madagascan wildlife, they do wonderful work with Caribbean creatures and students from all over visit.

So, we may be small but we have a lot to offer.

We have a lot of World War II relics as we were occupied by the Germans, not being freed until a year after the war officially ended.

Coming up in August is our Battle of Flowers - where floats are created to a theme and covered in thousands of flowers. Takes all year to prepare and over in a few hours but it's one of the greatest carnivals to see. I'm working on the haretails for our St Mary Parish float - theme for us this year is Harry Potter. You can see more on www.battleofflowers.co.uk and you can look on Jersey Tourism site for some fantastic photos.

I know, we left the island in Teenager en Provence to live in the South of France. I came back. Why? Well, that would be in the next book but it's not been a terrible fate.