This Thursday you can celebrate Guernsey’s guernseys, while raising money for Les Bourgs Hospice.
The annual ‘Wear a Guernsey Day’ is back, giving regular and not-so-regular guernsey wearers a chance to show off their knitwear.
Wherever you are in the world, you’re asked to don your guernsey and make a donation to the island’s only hospice.
If you’re in Guernsey you can visit Market Square where producers ‘Guernsey guernseys’ are hosting a number of stalls selling locally produced goods and foods including guernseys, sea weed products, Bean Jar and Gache Melee.
Les Bourgs Hospice will also be there to discuss the services offered.
Organiser Paul Eldridge, of Guernsey guernseys said: “We love seeing so many people around the island in their guernseys and raising money for such a great charity.
“Les Bourgs needs all the help we can give them, as cancer cases rise along with care costs.”
“Raising money is easy when there is such a lovely buzz about town with people in their guernseys, eating traditional Guernsey fare and chatting and of course getting a few snaps taken for the photo competition,” he added.
The photo competition includes categories for ‘best photo’, ‘largest group’, ‘daft accessory’, and ‘old school cool’.
This year’s ‘Wear a Guernsey Day’ is even easier to remember, because it coincides with Budloe night – “remember, remember the 5th of November!”.
A guernsey
A traditional guernsey (lower case g!) was hand knitted in the island of Guernsey for fishermen to wear.
They date back to at least the 17th century and the original guernseys had a ‘diamond’ insert under the arms for ease of movement.
Families would have their own distinctive stitch patterns on the jumper including ribbing at the top of the sleeve, to help identify fishermen in the event of a tragedy.
Sometimes known as ‘ganseys’ elsewhere, a guernsey is durable – with some people passing them down through their families.
Manufacturers now use modern equipment to make guernseys but many continue to be hand finished.
While still worn by fishermen and other manual labourers for warmth and comfort, guernseys are also now seen as fashion items with different colours and styles available.
This has caused issues, with manufacturers of similar items calling their jumpers guernseys, when they are not.
To truly be a guernsey they should be made of 100% pure worsted wool, with the same pattern front and back, and they should be made and hand finished in the island.
