Select a region
An artist who has been raising money for charity with retro goods pop-up stalls for the past 10 years has used her creative spark to dream up five ways to make the island better for everyone.
Vintage Joys Jersey founder Valerie Le Blancq has held vintage fairs to raise funds for Jersey Cancer Relief and runs a stall every Liberation Day.
Valerie is also a keen artist with a penchant for Cézanne - she's not afraid to use salt and cling film to get effects with watercolour, and she has had exhibitions at the Jersey Opera House and the Jersey Arts Centre. She recently joined The Jersey Society of Artists and sells her work on Facebook.
And her creativity has clearly spread through the family - with her son, Johnny Le Blancq, making music under the moniker Johnny Moth.
After he took part in 'Five Things', Valerie thought it was time to have her say about the things she would do to improve the island she calls home - from trees to litter, and vintage to Jersey Royals...
Pictured: Valerie's pop-up vintage stalls stock all sorts of retro goodies.
Vintage Joys was the first business to start the pop-up shops in St. Helier. It was so popular that other collectors wanted the space to sell their collections. It is a good way to fill empty shops, as they look sad when empty.
I also think more arts and crafts stalls in and around King Street would look more appealing to visitors and locals during the summer months. This is something that's done in Winchester and looks great.
Pictured: The island's stunning countryside should be better protected, according to Valerie.
I adore the country and love to paint flowers, wild animals and insects. I feel we need to do more to protect them.
There should be more rope runs for squirrels, keeping your gardens on the wild side, and keeping food and water out for hedgehogs and birds, etcetera.
Pictured: Valerie also wants trees to be protected.
I enjoy taking photos of trees, and these to have to be protected if we still want a planet to live on. After all, they are the lungs of the Earth.
People who fell trees for no reason should be fined for doing so. Some trees are hundreds of years old and should be left well alone. If they become dangerous for any reason then another should be planted in its place.
Pictured: keep Jersey tidy, Valerie says.
When we went to Canada a few years ago, I didn't see one piece of litter or cigarette end or dog mess anywhere. I understand that a $2,000 fine for littering has put a stop to that.
We need to introduce heavier fines here, in my opinion. It's not nice walking in dog mess or seeing litter everywhere. Keep Jersey tidy.
Pictured: Valerie wants the dumping of Jersey royals to be dumped.
On the whole, Jersey growers do a good job by producing our Jersey royals. But why grow so many that the big potatoes get dumped every season? Tons of toppers are dumped or ploughed back into the ground when the supermarkets only want the small ones.
We have starving people in the world who could benefit from this waste. We have food banks, hospitals, nursing homes, etcetera, who would use some of this food. Growers could grow other vegetables or maybe they don't get subsidies for that. Things need to change.
