Despite its reputation as a millionaires' paradise, Guernsey is an island full of ordinary people and a lot of history
The islanders of Guernsey are known as a people of the sea, so naturally the torch relay begins by the beach in St Peter Port, where ancient traders landed cargoes of Mediterranean wine around the time the original Olympic Games were being staged.
Guernsey loves a carnival. There is an event with crowds and bunting more or less every week from Easter to September. Maybe a quarter of the island will turn out to watch the torch pass out towards Castle Cornet, which stands as testimony to 1,000 years of loyalty to the English crown, since King John lost the rest of Normandy to the French. Its cannon will boom out to join the festivities, the Napoleonic gun and its gunners in scarlet echoing the eight centuries during which France was frequently the enemy.
Back the runners will go, along the harbour arm built by the Victorians and past the fishing fleet. Many islanders keep boats and do a little fishing in addition to their day jobs (or a little day job in addition to their fishing). The bulky, windowless bunkers used for their gear are reminders that, for five years, Germans controlled this island.
By the old harbour, a cauldron is to be lit by the Olympic flame.
Merchants and privateers once made their fortunes sailing from here; these days, people who have made their fortunes elsewhere sail in. The marina will be full of visiting yachts and cruisers, their flags waving and crews mingling in the capital's many restaurants.
In truth, half the islanders were not born here. Like me, they have become enchanted with the place and found the means to stay. Guernsey has attracted more than its fair share of artists and writers, of course, including Victor Hugo and Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and more than 100 novels have been set here. An Antony Gormley installation has just been taken down, and the second Guernsey Literary Festival, featuring the likes of Michael Morpurgo and Carol Ann Duffy, takes place in mid-September.
I am the island's museums director, and on Sunday the torch convoy will pass the windows of my office, with its view of seafront, marina and castle, the like of which few city-dwellers in the UK enjoy. People from the mainland often seem surprised that St Peter Port is, at heart, just a cosy British town full of ordinary people. It is not a millionaires' paradise, tourist trap or any other cliche you'd care to construct.
Running on past pubs and the town's church, the Guernsey leg of the relay will end where it began: fittingly, perhaps, in front of the Credit Suisse building, one of the financial institutions that form a cornerstone of the island's modern prosperity. But before you jump to conclusions, some gaily decorated, fibre-glass Guernsey cows will be looking on (courtesy of a local art-and-literacy initiative), as if to remind visitors of the island's unexpected diversity.
Jason Monaghan is a member of the Crime Writers Association. The Guernsey Literary Festival is from 13-16 September.
The Guardian torch relay
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