Special delivery celebrates island liber-tea

Friday 08 May 2020

500 elderly islanders will have a cream tea delivered to their door to commemorate Liberation Day this weekend as part of a community effort to mark the milestone anniversary.

The Salvation Army, The Royal British Legion and Waitrose have joined together to ensure hundreds of older people in Jersey will be able to enjoy a cream tea for Liberation 75.

Scones, cream, jam and butter will be delivered to islanders' doorsteps by a team of the charities’ and supermarket’s volunteers today (Friday 8 May) and tomorrow (Saturday 9 May). Social distancing will be observed throughout the delivery process.

The 500 people include islanders who use the Salvation Army and Royal British Legion for support.

Pictured: Sergio Rodrigues and Natalie Nardone starting to get things ready for the cream tea deliveries.

One of these residents who will receive a cream tea, Maureen Ponting, is a resident at St. Ewolds care home and was 13 years old when Jersey was liberated from Occupation in 1945.

Reflecting on the 9 May that year outside the Pomme D’Or Hotel, Maureen said: “It makes me cry thinking about the Liberation of Jersey, it was the most emotional day of my life. It makes me think about the hardships my parents went through. I remember the hunger I felt during the occupation and the arrival of the Red Cross food parcels and the joy we all felt. If you weren’t there, you could never know how euphoric it was that day." 

Pictured: "If you weren’t there, you could never know how euphoric it was that day." 

Speaking about the cream tea delivery, Neil Baxter, Branch Manager at St. Helier commented: “We wanted to find a way to continue the sense of community that we have seen in Jersey in these recent weeks and commemorate such an important day in the island's history.

“We welcomed the opportunity to do something to help residents mark the occasion and are grateful to our partners, The Salvation Army and Royal British Legion, for giving up their own time to make sure this could happen.”

Damian Warman, Director of Customer and Care Services for the Parish of St. Helier, added: “Liberation Day is all about celebration, decoration and maintaining everyone’s safe enjoyment of the entertainment being provided by the team at St Ewolds, and the generosity of the community. We are extremely grateful to Waitrose here in St Helier for the wonderful Liberation tea."