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For one glorious week in July Guernsey came alive around a sporting spectacle that'll be hard to match.
There were moments of joy and celebration, of heartache and heartbreak, we laughed, we cried and partied long into the summer nights.
It was about performance, yet it was also about friendship, endeavour and sharing whatever that special magic is that makes islanders so resilient.
The 2023 Island Games were delayed because of Covid, but were all the more special because of that break. Rivalries had been kept on the simmer, there was time for younger athletes to make their breakthrough.
Guernsey welcomed more than 2,000 athletes, their coaches and supporters from 24 islands to compete across 14 different sports.
Pictured: The Guernsey team at the Opening Ceremony.
It was an injection of vibrancy and a mixing of different cultures that opened eyes.
From the get go you could feel a special energy in the air.
Once the formalities of the speeches on North Beach were over things lifted off, the teams parading along the Town seafront through a tunnel of noise.
But a Games is nothing without competition.
Guernsey provided the stage, but they needed to perform if the event was to capture the imagination and inspire.
For the hosts it could not have got off to a better start.
Pictured: Josh Lewis exits the water at Rocquaine on his way to gold in the triathlon.
Rocquaine became an amphitheatre for the triathlon.
It was a spectator friendly course and the home fans roared individual success for Josh Lewis and Megan Chapple, a bronze for Amy Crtichlow, a team gold for the women and silver for the men.
This all opened the tap to the medals and when things wrapped up Guernsey topped the medal table with 54 gold, 49 silver and 42 bronze.
For some it was about gaining experience, for others simply pushing themselves to perform like they have never done before.
Pictured: Alastair Chalmers dominates the 400m hurdles.
The athletics was a huge draw at Footes Lane, thousands watching as records tumbled and in Guernsey's Alastair and Cameron Chalmers and the likes of the Faroe’s Jonas Gunnleivsson Isaksen, saw international stars in the flesh.
There was a firecracker atmosphere in Beau Sejour sports hall, which had been transformed with arena style seating and the fans answered the organiser’s call to “pack The Dome”.
Guernsey’s women took a bronze, and their and the men’s march through the competition was compelling, while the standards hit by Saaremaa, Menorca and Cayman kept the audience enthralled.
Pictured: Guernsey women's basketball team celebrate their bronze medal.
The Games were a showcase for sports that are rarely in the spotlight and they yielded results, which is just as well as our footballers suffered a torrid competition.
It was all about speed and reaction at the Rohais in the badminton, which yielded a silver and five bronze for Guernsey, and down at the table tennis, two gold, one silver, two bronze.
Pictured: Guernsey's Alice Edwards and Jersey's Hannah Silcock in the table tennis singles final.
There was a gentler pace at Port Soif for the archery [four silver, four bronze] and at the Hougue du Pommier for the Indoor Bowls [three gold, two silver, one bronze]. Calmness was needed in the different shooting disciplines scattered around the island which added a total of 33 medals for Guernsey..
For intrigue it was hard to beat the sailing which panned out over the week with races each morning and afternoon. Andy Bridgman took gold in the Ilca 7 by a point from Per Sahlberg.
The end result in the golf shows Jersey’s Josef Hacker finishing a comfortable nine shots clear of Guernsey’s Jamie Blondel. But it tells little of the battle that Blondel put up after an opening round 77 to the Jerseyman’s 68. Over the next two rounds he rose up the leaderboard and closed the gap to just three shots going into the final day.
Pictured: Guernsey success is celebrated poolside.
In the pool Guernsey were weighed down by the bling. They celebrated 10 gold, 12 silver and 10 bronze - it was one of the hottest tickets of the week.
No-one was ever going to touch Jersey’s professional Stuart Parker in the men’s tennis, but in the women’s Lauren Watson-Steele was triumphant in both the singles and in a nail biter of a doubles with Lauran Barker. While Rob West and Jo Dyer built on their Games legacies with silver in the mixed.
For sheer domination and individual brilliance it was hard to beat Sam Culverwell’s ride in Town Criterium on the last day of the Games. The cycling had already been a triumph, whether it was the tactics out on the roads, the glorious cross country course at L’Ancresse or the mountain bike criterium where everywhere you looked at Delancey something was happening.
Pictured: Sam Culverwell.
The road crit brought the curtain down in the heart of town on a wet and slippery seafront. Culvwerwell was majestic as others floundered.
This was a Games of innovation, where livestreaming and slick live results brought in thousands of eyes from around the globe.
It showed just what Guernsey can do, it was an inspiring blueprint for the future.
Pictured top: Megan Chapple wins the women's triathlon.
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