What is it like to live and work on a small island? Welcome to a week in the life of a working family on Alderney—where school, work, and social life all collide.
Guest written by Dr Jo Woodnutt
Monday
On Mondays, we take J to nursery for the morning. There are three options for preschool on Alderney, and we use two of them. She’s booked in from 8-1.30 on a Monday, giving me plenty of time to get some work done, even when we’re slow to get out of the house. The nursery is a five-minute drive from ours, but in the summer we like to cycle her there on the cargo bike or even walk with friends! I spend the morning working from the kitchen with my laptop – as close to the kettle as possible!
I have Monday afternoons as flexi-time. Sometimes, my mum will offer to have J for us, and sometimes I spend it with J – it’s a gentle start to the week that suits our family.
Tuesday
The week starts properly for me on a Tuesday. J is booked into nursery from 8-4, so after drop off I get stuck right in. With a few more hours to work, I sometimes move around on a Tuesday – I might have the morning at a café in town, especially if I need to go in and buy some milk anyway. With so many hours logged on a Tuesday, I often walk the dog over to nursery or collect her with her balance bike. Tuesday is also ‘boat day’, which is the day the cargo ship unloads the food for the week – I’ll often head to the shops on my way home from pickup to pick up fresh fruit or a bag of sugar snap peas to for tomorrow’s lunchbox. We eat early on a Tuesday, so that my husband can head to badminton club.
Wednesday
On a Wednesday, J goes to the preschool at St Anne’s School. This is new for us this year, as they only take students in their final year before school. It starts later – 8.30 – which gives us time to persuade her into her ‘uniform’ – theoretically just the school jumper, but most kids wear black trousers too. She’s booked in until 2.30, and my mum collects her and has her until 5, meaning I have the whole day to work – again, I sometimes take the opportunity to work elsewhere for a change of scenery. Mum usually takes her exploring bunkers in the afternoon, or to the forest school ‘stay and play’ so she normally comes back happy, tired, and filthy – what every child should be!
Thursday
Thursdays are similar to Wednesdays. ‘School’ in the morning, then she’s picked up by a friend in the afternoon to spend the afternoon with their son. They’re in the same class and have spent a lot of time together from day one, so they’re really close. I love that she has this whole other extended family – one of the advantages of living on Alderney is that her friends are so close, physically, that it isn’t hard to see them regularly. Thursdays are my last full day at work for the week, so I usually keep my head down, but we’ll sometimes take an hour at lunch to head out and eat together somewhere nice. On Thursday evenings, I head out to practice with my choir – it’s my night out being Me, not just Mum.
Friday
Fridays are my shortest day. J goes to preschool again, but they only stay until 12 on Fridays. I collect both her and her friend and have them together for the afternoon. When the weather is warm, I take them straight to the beach for a picnic lunch and an afternoon building sandcastles. They’re usually pretty tired by that point, but we still have fun! Sometimes we’ll head back to the school and collect someone else – my nephew or the big sister of J’s friend – luckily the school is right on the beach, so transporting them all is never an issue! We sometimes go to a pub as a group in the evening – there’s often live music and the children play nicely (mostly!) while we adults catch up and decompress after a long week.
The Weekend
Saturdays vary – we might join in with the Not-Park-Run, go to the library, do some work on the house, or have a lazy day. On Sundays, we might head out sailing, pick veg at our allotment, or head to the beach or park. We’ll almost always see a group of friends, perhaps for an early Saturday Night Supper so the kids can play together, or maybe a Sunday lunchtime drink at the Sailing Club, which has a handy kid’s room so they have space to play!
Although every week is different, there is a happy rhythm to life on Alderney. Everything is conveniently close here, making family life simple and stress-free. And the family, friends and support network we have around us make it easier to raise kids in a safe, happy, healthy environment.