Allister Carey (5465) was made an MBE for his services to sustainable development in Africa.  The Eleanor Foundation was established in July 2012 after his daughter (22) studying international development was killed in a cycle accident in London in December 2011. Eleanor had a particular interest in water sanitation and hygiene.  Allister said that 'setting up the charity seemed obvious as (a) she had not been able to achieve the objectives she set herself, and (b) it was a very cathartic thing to do.’  The Eleanor Foundation is focused on improving access to water, sanitation and hygiene in the Chato and Biharamuto districts of NW Tanzania - an area about half the size of Wales.  Since the start of 2014 it has installed more than 40 improved water sources in the area, with local maintenance training, that has benefitted some 40,000 people.  The charity has collected and shipped more than 2,000 unwanted bicycles for distribution across Africa. The ongoing work helps women to collect water more easily.  Allister said that the award ‘reflects on the energy and enthusiasm of all the volunteers who help the charity.’   

Ben Foote (9305) is amongst the world’s best in his specific discipline.  Ben is Guernsey’s only blue badge umpire - currently the highest level of international qualification, enjoyed by only around 280 people worldwide.  Ben recently umpired at the ITTF World Championships in Houston and prior to that he acted as scoring official at the Paralympics for London 2012.  Ben remains thankful towards local chairman of umpires Brian Le Cras for assisting his training and exam preparation to gain blue badge status.  

Padel pairing Pierre Blampied (7288) and Ian Robinson (6564) battled it out in cold conditions in November to take home the coveted TPA Padel Masters Men’s Vets Trophy.  2021 was a strong year for padel in Guernsey, with a convincing victory in the Intersular, almost 150 players competing in the various leagues and a record entry list for the Rocq Capital Island Championships.  

Charlie-Joe Hallet (11196) picked up five gold medals - 50m freestyle, 100m individual medley, 50m, 100m and 200m breast - at a qualifier for the upcoming ’Nationals’.  The elder Hallett brother also swam an amazing PB of 1minute 54.54 seconds over 200m freestyle. His younger brother Ronny Hallet (11111) knocked a huge 7.7 seconds off his PB in the latter to post 1-57.21, alongside improving his 100m freestyle to 53.03.

Succession has long been a key word within the Guernsey Rifle Club and it was prominent as club president Peter Jory (7823) addressed guests at the island’s oldest sporting club’s 150th anniversary dinner and presentation night.  'The success of the club over the years has largely been down to the dedication of its members’ Peter said.  The trophies were presented by Bruce Parker (4747), a GRC member since the 1950s and had flown over from the UK to attend.  ‘What was so good about this anniversary was that we had teenage members and oldies in their 80s, like Mike Martel (4952) and myself, all celebrating together’ Bruce said.  ’That’s the beauty of rifle shooting.  You start off at school age and you’re still doing it 60 years later.’  Meanwhile, the now departed Lt-Govenor, Sir Ian Corder, penned some thoughts on the club’s achievement of reaching the 150 mark.  ‘As the island’s oldest sporting association, you embody a distinguished skill-at-arms pedigree born out of the parish-militias that has gone on to claim the sport’s most prestigious national prizes.’ Nick Mace (8274), Richard Perkins (5670), the youngest GRC member at 16 Alexander Stewart (11250) and former GRC president Peter Sirett (5457) were in attendance and photographed for the article in the Guernsey Press.

Two men whose illustrious careers were to go far beyond the legal profession were called to the Guernsey Bar 50 years ago.  Sir Geoffrey Rowland (5603) and Advocate John Langlois (5258) marked the occasion by standing on the same spot in the Royal Court building at which they were photographed by the Guernsey Press after taking their oaths in 1971.  Both went into private practice in Guernsey, working their way up to become senior partners in their respective law firms.  Sir Geoffrey was appointed HM Controller in 1992 and HM Procureur in 1999.  Deputy Bailiff from 2002, he was the island’s Bailiff from 2005 to 2012 and knighted in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 2009.  Advocate Langlois was elected as a deputy for St Peter Port in 1980 and was a States member for 24 years.  For 10 years from 1989 he was president of both the States Housing Authority and the Island Development Committee - the only politician to head two ‘A’ departments simultaneously.  In the earlier part of the 1980s he was president of the States Committee for Horticulture. 

James Toynton (6831) has been sworn in as a Jurat of the Royal Court.  As Guernsey’s newest juror, he will be on the jury for Royal Court matters and sealing contracts within the contractual court.  James said that ‘it is a great responsibility to consider the evidence and be in a position to influence decisions and judgements that will affect the lives of defendants and plaintiffs or victims so dramatically.’  This follows James’ election into the office of Jure-Justicier de la Cour Royale by the States of Election.  

Professor Ian Chapman (9031) has been awarded a prestigious medal by the Institute of Physics.  The Richard Glazebrook Medal 2021 was presented to Professor Chapman for his outstanding leadership as CEO of the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA).  Despite his huge success in physics in the UK and beyond, he maintains his relationship with Guernsey by serving as a non-executive director on the board for Guernsey Electricity.  Professor Chapman leads UKAEA's efforts to push the boundaries for suitable energy baselines to support transitions into more renewable energy solutions.

Ben Morgan (7578), a partner at law firm Carey Olsen has been named a ‘global elite thought leader’ in the 2022 edition of Who’s Who Legal: Private Funds.  Ben is head of Carey Olsen’s funds group in Guernsey and remains the only Guernsey-based lawyer to be recognised as one of six global elite thought leaders for the offshore region.  Global elite thought leaders are chosen based on the number of nominations they received from peers, corporate counsel and other market sources during Who’s Who Legal’s research.     

Writer Nathanial Eker-Male (9557) has collaborated with cartoonist Adam Gillson to re-create a portion of The Toilers of the Sea, the classic novel written by Victor Hugo and set in Guernsey, which they have titled The Toil.  The story is based on a film script which Nathanial wrote during his degree.  Funding for the printing and administrative costs of the book was provided by Guernsey Arts and the Victor Hugo in Guernsey Society.  The book will be launched in March and will be available to purchase later this year.

White Rock Productions has wrapped up its second film of 2021.  Alex Bates (10876) and Matthew Stockreiter (10889) have premiered its Second World War-set short, Occupied, in May and then it was onto Dare to Dream, a contemporary psychological thriller set in the hospitality profession.  Featuring a host of local talent, it stars the Jersey-born, former EastEnders actor Jonny Labey.  Writer and director Alex said he’d had the idea for the film some four years ago.  Dare to Dream is the story of Theo, an aspiring young chef who suffers from psychosis and cocaine addiction.  The film explores his relationship with his abusive celebrity chef father.  Matthew, the cinematographer for the movie, put together the storyboard.  ‘Putting together a storyboard, which is basically a page with six or twelve rectangles illustrating a scene.  In Dare to Dream we had about forty or fifty pages’ he said.  Matthew studied marine and natural history photography at Falmouth University but making a documentary for his third-year project got him into film.  The film is sponsored by Guernsey Arts and the mental health charity Guernsey Mind.