Victor Hugo, famous French Author Toilers of The Sea The prettiest cliffs and rocks, cleanest beaches and coves, lovely clear water, limpid rock pools, huge surf, clean breezes with nothing for 3000 miles but ocean. Or: The tidal flows ensure that new spotlessly clean Atlantic Ocean water flushes everything before it at every tide. This rich twice daily cleansing is a national miracle that is free for all the Islands to exploit. Coupled with the prevailing West Winds, also from the wide ocean, you have a wonderful environment. This gives the population a real chance to become an organic ecotourist centre in just about every way and this must include leaving the sea, as it flows past, as clean as you found it, the air as clean as the West Wind and the earth too, uncontaminated. The truth is somewhat different, Guernsey dumps all its refuse into the old quarries virtually unsorted. The sewage system has no treatment at all, it is piped into the sea. The latest idea is to instal an incinerator which will not only pollute that lovely sea air but produce toxic ash. Not being a member of the European Union there is little to stop the Islands Authorities continuing this sad old fashioned path, but the local Friends of the Earth are active. The powers that be have no excuse, they cannot plead ignorance. The Future of the Island could be fantastic if only the present riches were spent on its infrastructure. SAY WHAT YOU FEEL ON THE FORUM Surf at Portinfer If you want to spend all your time at The Beau Sejour Leisure Centre, or at the flash new Airport Terminal, then wet, windy, cold days will be no problem for you. But for the rest of us it has to be admitted the public facilities in recent years have decreased. Nowhere on the Planet is better than Guernsey in the sunshine, but to compete in this World of Choice available to the Tourist, better facilities open to the public throughout the year have to be built, like an ice rink can double for other indoor events, ice hockey, curling. Cyprus and Majorca have recently built ice rinks. Island Scene Cobo Bay The Finance Industry is reliant on its blessing from the OECD, the WTO, World Opinion & The European Union. This asset can do wonderful things, like paying for the much needed infrastructure to survive should the bankers up sticks and go. Property prices are the same as London but should the `Offshore Status' vanish by United Nations Decree, which is becoming more likely every day that goes by, then these will plummet to levels derived from a simple multiple of local wages. Negative Equity for Islanders is the prospect and unless the present prosperity is spent wisely that's all the Island will get from its few years of wealth. Its few years of wealth that somehow didn't filter down to John Le Page. Little Chapel ALL THUMBNAIL PICTURES CAN BE ENLARGED FOR VIEWING BY CLICKING ON THEM.