How about a CANNON for carers?

Thursday 23 April 2020

As thousands of islanders clap for carers this evening, the sound of cannon fire will also ring out from Elizabeth Castle in a special tribute to those on the frontline of the virus battle.

At 20:00, Master Gunner Chris Dalkner will be firing the cannon to coincide with the weekly event, which many islanders have been taking part in, over the last four weeks.

Jersey Heritage said that the cannon fire will be repeated every Thursday at the same time for as long as is needed.

In addition to being Master Gunner, Mr Dalkner is also the caretaker at Elizabeth Castle, where he lives with his wife, Mandy.

To mark the occasion, their six-year-old grandson, Lucas, drew a rainbow picture especially for the cannon and brought it over to the Castle, leaving it by the couple's car on the slipway to abide by social distancing rules.

Pictured: Islanders clap from their windows every Thursday at 20:00.

Islanders have been clapping for local carers since 26 March, following the example of the UK, France, Spain and many other countries.

Ian Shaw, who encouraged islanders to join in, said he hoped to see the island “united together” in a big applause to ”acknowledge our thanks and show our support to those who are fighting or living with this unprecedented virus”.  

“It’s an act of goodwill and an act of solidarity," he said.

Islanders have been joining in from their front doors, their balconies and their windows clapping for a minute every Thursday at 20:00, with some even digging out their pots and pans for extra noise.

Two weeks ago, members of the Emergency Services also joined in, lining up outside the hospital to applaud the workers within.

Police, firefighters, paramedics, and even bagpipe players descended on Gloucester Street to share their thanks to health workers in a riotous fashion.

Accompanied by a live video of the applause, which has been viewed nearly over 225,000 times, the States of Jersey Police posted on social media: "It’s time for our emergency services to say a huge thank you to the people who our really keeping Jersey safe - all of our amazing health workers."