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I am heading to Jersey today. It will be my first flight for four years. I can’t avoid it: the boat service at this time of the year is poor and by all accounts, pretty darned uncomfortable, as well as slow and expensive.
I always thought it would take a lot to get my back in the air: having travelled far too much for work in the past I now loathe everything to do with air travel. But there is a good reason for making this trip.
The funeral of my friend Pat Lucas will be held in Jersey tomorrow.
Pat was an extraordinary force for good. Born in Jersey, she grew up in hardship and knew all about the plight of ordinary people in the island before the financial services industry arrived in it, and most especially since it did.
In 2003, Pat was one of three Jersey islanders who decided to support John Christensen, the former economic adviser to the States of Jersey who was by then working with me and others to help create the Tax Justice Network. Their story is told here:
Pat and Jean went on to become friends. Pat and I last spoke a few weeks ago. They were undoubtedly one of the reasons why, in the days when this blog was more about tax haven abuse than anything else, we focused our work so heavily on Jersey and what went on there, having a massive impact on that island and Guernsey and the Isle of Man as a result.
There was, though, more to Pat than that. An immensely intelligent woman who worked as a teacher until earlier this year when her health finally forced her to retire, Pat’s speciality was in asking questions in ways that others would not.
Sometimes those questions appeared naive, but they never were. Their essence was always, ‘Why does it have to be this way?’ And the answer was always, of course, ‘It does not need to be so.’ Implicit was the challenge ‘So, what are you going to do about it?’ Asked by Pat, that was a question that required action.
Pat was an inspiration. I will miss her greatly. So too will John, I am sure. We are travelling together to mourn our friend.
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