Flower power

As the Battle of Flowers celebrates its 120th anniversary this summer, Martha MacDonald traces the event's quirky past

- Martha MacDonald

THERE are several aspects about living in a place like Jersey that you don't realize are unusual until you leave the island. Startling discoveries include finding out that many of your British friends didn't grow up mostly at the beach as you did, that £1 notes aren't legal tender beyond Jersey's shores, and that an annual parade where teams compete to make the most ambitious flower-bedecked float is, in fact, not a universal experience. What a shock to the system.

For Jersey residents, the parade, called the Battle of Flowers, is a normal summer staple: the island's different parishes (there are 12 in Jersey) and other community groups join forces to make huge, motorized floats covered in brightly coloured, dried and fresh flowers, which are then paraded along the seafront promenade. Every float has its own theme and is brought to life with music, dancers, and other costumed characters, who greet the crowd as the floats trundle down the Avenue.