Giving locals a laugh: new site satirises Island's issues

Monday 09 January 2017

Seagulls, constant fog, the Living Legend’s closure – they’re all little aspects of Island life that cause locals to moan and groan, but now one Jersey chap has made them the focus of a new online satire site.

The Obtuse Goose – “a fun, quirky news website” - was set up in December by former Victoria College student Connor Hughes.

Capturing audiences with witty quips on Jersey living like ‘Jersey To Unveil Glorious Roadworks Monument on New Year’s Day’ and ’24 year-old Still Adamant on Closing Car Windows Through Jersey Tunnel’, the site quickly garnered the attention – and laughs – of locals.

Mr Hughes shared his motivations for creating The Obtuse Goose with Express: “In short, the site is meant to make people laugh and be happy! I’ve been writing comedy for five years now, and I want people to share this passion with the place and people that shaped my writing today.”

The writing, he says, is inspired by the likes of Peep Show writers Jesse Armstrong and Sam Bain, and David Mitchell in particular.

“Satire is a form of humour that I really resonate with, and having grown up in Jersey and experienced the changes it has gone through, I saw a platform to promote humour and offer islanders a form of comedic escapism.”

This, in part, could be the reason behind the site’s quick growth. In its first week alone, the site got nearly 100 likes on Facebook, with ‘Jersey Couple Commit to Long-distance Relationship’ – a piece about a couple blighted by a commute between St Ouen and Gorey – a particular favourite among readers.

While some of the articles might be more tongue-in-cheek than others, Mr Hughes assures readers that, “…the aim of the site isn’t to insult, or promote any negativity surrounding the topics that I write about.”

“I myself am from Jersey and I love my home! I have the utmost respect for Jersey… [But] Satire is a very subjective form of humour and I do hope people don’t take it too personally.” 

The story behind the unusual name? “We had a goose back in the day that was absolutely mental. It had one leg and just attacked everyone and everything. But we loved him, and when I went to draw him, the drawing was the worst drawing ever drawn ever. But it perfectly matched him. Because he too, was awful.”