0:00:32 > 0:00:34Just off the French coast of Normandy
0:00:34 > 0:00:36lies the beautiful island of Sark.
0:00:36 > 0:00:39The smallest of the four main Channel Islands
0:00:39 > 0:00:43and one of the most unusual places to be found on our shores.
0:00:43 > 0:00:47Visitors are attracted to Sark's traditions and tranquillity.
0:00:47 > 0:00:49There are no cars and the small, tight-knit community
0:00:49 > 0:00:55enjoys a simple way of life, making it the perfect antidote to modern living.
0:00:57 > 0:01:01This year, Sark has seen an unusually warm start to spring
0:01:01 > 0:01:05and the locals are making the most of the fine weather.
0:01:05 > 0:01:12And looking forward to what they hope will be a fruitful summer season.
0:01:12 > 0:01:14Up at St Peter's, the island's Anglican church,
0:01:14 > 0:01:19the vicar, Gillian Nicholls, has spent the last few months since her arrival
0:01:19 > 0:01:22getting to grips with her new way of life.
0:01:22 > 0:01:25Sark is a far cry from her home county of Buckinghamshire.
0:01:25 > 0:01:29I knew nothing about Sark before I came at all.
0:01:29 > 0:01:31The whole thing is a novelty.
0:01:31 > 0:01:34It's been really intriguing.
0:01:34 > 0:01:39And I'm not sure I've really got my head round how the island works yet.
0:01:39 > 0:01:43Gill has wasted no time getting to know a bit more about Sark
0:01:43 > 0:01:46and some members of its tiny population of 600 people.
0:01:48 > 0:01:52It takes a long time to get under the skin of a community, I think.
0:01:52 > 0:01:54Hi there.
0:01:54 > 0:02:01Yes, it's unusual, but it has all the charm of an England that you feel has been lost now.
0:02:01 > 0:02:03Hi there.
0:02:03 > 0:02:05Gosh! How utterly amazing!
0:02:05 > 0:02:07Hello!
0:02:07 > 0:02:10Aren't you just gorgeous!
0:02:10 > 0:02:12- Persil, what's this?! - Persil!
0:02:12 > 0:02:15I'm dropping it. What's this?!
0:02:15 > 0:02:18There's a quality to life, a quality to community,
0:02:18 > 0:02:22which I don't think I've ever experienced in this way before and I love it.
0:02:22 > 0:02:30It's very addictive. Everyone tells you when you come, "If you come for six months, you'll stay for ever."
0:02:30 > 0:02:34And I can begin to understand why they say that.
0:02:34 > 0:02:38Oh, my goodness me! There's no holding you back, is there?!
0:02:38 > 0:02:42Gill's appointment on Sark is only short-term.
0:02:42 > 0:02:47She was persuaded out of retirement to hold the fort while the parish looks for a permanent vicar.
0:02:47 > 0:02:52The idea was that I was coming for six months to help them out through the winter.
0:02:52 > 0:02:54That's now grown to a year.
0:02:54 > 0:02:59If she plays her cards right, Sark could become her permanent home.
0:02:59 > 0:03:01You're so friendly, aren't you!
0:03:01 > 0:03:05But first she has to get to grips with the hard reality of island life,
0:03:05 > 0:03:07which is easier said than done.
0:03:08 > 0:03:12You'll never be able to eat Sark lamb again.
0:03:12 > 0:03:14- It just wouldn't be right. - An old farmer told me
0:03:14 > 0:03:21the greatest honour you can give an animal you rear is eat it yourself.
0:03:21 > 0:03:26HE LAUGHS I'm on a very steep learning curve.
0:03:26 > 0:03:32You know, you think you've got hold of something and then suddenly you realise you haven't at all.
0:03:32 > 0:03:35That there's a whole lot more to it than you'd realised.
0:03:35 > 0:03:38- I'll let you get on with your work. - Thank you very much.- Thank you.
0:03:38 > 0:03:40All right. Bye.
0:03:40 > 0:03:45Sark is such a small island that every newcomer is quickly spotted.
0:03:45 > 0:03:51And one recent arrival who'll find it very difficult to hide is Ronaldo the horse.
0:03:51 > 0:03:53There. That's a good boy.
0:03:53 > 0:03:59He's just arrived on Sark from England and his trainer is Julie Jackson.
0:03:59 > 0:04:05She's originally from Manchester and like the rest of Sark's 150 or so seasonal workers,
0:04:05 > 0:04:08Julie will be here until the end of the summer.
0:04:08 > 0:04:15So here we have a pure bred Clydesdale. 17 hands, which is to the top of the back.
0:04:15 > 0:04:19Despite his size, Julie is definitely the boss.
0:04:19 > 0:04:21Come on then. Go back. Back.
0:04:21 > 0:04:24And whoa. Right, stand still.
0:04:24 > 0:04:28These shoes are like double the size of a normal riding horse.
0:04:29 > 0:04:33- There's my hand.- Blimey! How much does he weigh then?
0:04:33 > 0:04:36Between 700-800 kilos.
0:04:36 > 0:04:43And as a full grown horse, he could be a tonne.
0:04:43 > 0:04:47Julie's been specially brought in by one of the island's hotels
0:04:47 > 0:04:50to train Ronaldo up and help establish a new business venture
0:04:51 > 0:04:56taking their guests around Sark on horse-drawn sightseeing carriage rides.
0:04:56 > 0:05:02If you look at my legs next to him, I look like one of those fast Charlie Chaplin films.
0:05:02 > 0:05:08Before Ronaldo can start work, Julie's first job is to familiarise him with his new surroundings.
0:05:08 > 0:05:11But just getting past all the admirers could take some time.
0:05:13 > 0:05:15Isn't he beautiful?
0:05:15 > 0:05:16Morning.
0:05:21 > 0:05:24- So what's the horse called? - He's actually called Ronaldo.
0:05:24 > 0:05:27- But that's a bit posh, so we're calling him Ron.- Ron.
0:05:27 > 0:05:29Julie must get Ronaldo used to all the sights and sounds of Sark
0:05:29 > 0:05:37as well as the other horses on the island, who've noticed there's a new kid on the block.
0:05:37 > 0:05:41This is where you'll be standing for the next 15 years, mate.
0:05:41 > 0:05:43Hey? Good boy!
0:05:43 > 0:05:50Over the next few weeks, it'll be a daily routine, come rain or shine.
0:05:50 > 0:05:52BIRDSONG
0:05:52 > 0:05:57The warm weather that the islands have been enjoying comes to an abrupt end.
0:05:57 > 0:06:01Sark relies on visiting tourists to maintain its fragile economy,
0:06:01 > 0:06:06but the cold and wet weather is proving disastrous for business.
0:06:06 > 0:06:10This time last year, the sun was out, we all had flags everywhere,
0:06:10 > 0:06:13I had loads of flags in my courtyard, it was lovely.
0:06:13 > 0:06:18Even though the season has just got underway, it's normally far busier.
0:06:18 > 0:06:24Originally from Liverpool, Christina moved here 17 years ago and now runs the Petite Poule Cafe.
0:06:24 > 0:06:27It's been very, very quiet.
0:06:27 > 0:06:29Really quiet. It's the worst I've ever known it to be.
0:06:29 > 0:06:34I've been here a long time and it's really quiet. Everybody is saying how quiet it is.
0:06:34 > 0:06:38But today, Christina and the rest of the island are putting the bad weather to one side
0:06:38 > 0:06:41for a special celebration to mark a key date in the island's history.
0:06:43 > 0:06:46Every year a group of war veterans and Chelsea Pensioners
0:06:46 > 0:06:51are invited over to form the centrepiece of Liberation Day,
0:06:51 > 0:06:56a commemoration to mark the end of the German occupation of Sark during World War II.
0:06:56 > 0:06:59- Don't pull. - Don't pull.
0:06:59 > 0:07:00You're trying my patience.
0:07:00 > 0:07:03A day for which the islanders are truly grateful.
0:07:04 > 0:07:09Everybody needs to have a sense if their history and what happened and why these people went to war
0:07:09 > 0:07:11and why the Pensioners and the Gurkhas
0:07:11 > 0:07:13still come over to celebrate it and what it's all about.
0:07:13 > 0:07:15They'll go for lunch, do their carriage ride
0:07:15 > 0:07:20and there's a sense the island will all pull together and just celebrate it, really.
0:07:20 > 0:07:23I think it's really lovely. I'm not even from here but I think it's really important.
0:07:23 > 0:07:25But the weather's not helping.
0:07:25 > 0:07:27Well, not at the moment!
0:07:27 > 0:07:31The whole island is preparing to welcome the Pensioners,
0:07:31 > 0:07:35but the weather has worsened and there's no sign of the ferry bringing them in.
0:07:43 > 0:07:45The storms are also bad news for the local fishermen
0:07:45 > 0:07:49whose livelihoods are for ever on a knife edge.
0:07:49 > 0:07:56Baz Adams has been fishing around Sark since he was a small boy and is normally at sea six days a week,
0:07:56 > 0:08:00but today he's kicking his heels.
0:08:00 > 0:08:07We've got a boat in the harbour, on the anchorage outside the old harbour,
0:08:07 > 0:08:09and it's plenty rough down there.
0:08:09 > 0:08:12I could have put it to shore and I thought I'd take a chance and left it.
0:08:12 > 0:08:17But I didn't sleep during the night worrying about it.
0:08:17 > 0:08:22So we went down this morning at six o'clock just to check it was OK.
0:08:22 > 0:08:26And it was all OK. But I'll be glad when it changes.
0:08:26 > 0:08:31It doesn't make sense, we had such lovely weather at the beginning of the potting season,
0:08:31 > 0:08:36it was like summer. We were sunbathing when we should have been digging snow.
0:08:36 > 0:08:40But you can't do anything about it. We've just got to take what comes.
0:08:40 > 0:08:46Baz depends on the short fishing season to make his living and can't afford to be stuck at home for long.
0:08:46 > 0:08:54You know, it's our life and... Look at that, they know it's feeding time, see.
0:08:54 > 0:08:58I really don't think we'll be going fishing till Wednesday.
0:08:58 > 0:09:04It looks as though we're gonna have three days off for sure.
0:09:04 > 0:09:08It's just one of those things, you can't do anything about it.
0:09:08 > 0:09:12You're an active man, does this frustrate you?
0:09:12 > 0:09:16It does, it gets me bad tempered. HE LAUGHS
0:09:28 > 0:09:30Down at the harbour there's some good news.
0:09:30 > 0:09:32The Sark ferry has battled through.
0:09:32 > 0:09:38Shaken, not deterred, the plucky veterans are delighted they've not let the islanders down.
0:09:38 > 0:09:40APPLAUSE
0:09:42 > 0:09:46The locals are keen to give their heroes a warm welcome.
0:09:46 > 0:09:52And first on the agenda, a quick pick-me-up to steady those sea legs.
0:09:52 > 0:09:57But starting the day's proceedings in one of the island's pubs
0:09:57 > 0:10:02means keeping to the busy schedule could be a bit of a challenge.
0:10:02 > 0:10:05BIRDSONG
0:10:06 > 0:10:11Across the island, the Methodist chapel is unusually silent.
0:10:11 > 0:10:15The lay minister, Karen Le Mouton, has been away for a while.
0:10:15 > 0:10:20She had an accident involving a concrete slab and her foot.
0:10:20 > 0:10:22As there's no hospital on Sark,
0:10:22 > 0:10:27she had to be evacuated to the nearest A&E department on the neighbouring island of Guernsey.
0:10:27 > 0:10:28It's been a big ordeal.
0:10:28 > 0:10:31I was in quite a bit of pain, yes.
0:10:31 > 0:10:36And we got over to Guernsey and the ambulance met us at Guernsey.
0:10:36 > 0:10:41Then when I got to the hospital, the radiographer was already there
0:10:41 > 0:10:45and I eventually had it X-rayed.
0:10:45 > 0:10:51It's a job to see the break, actually, but here we see a line running down the big toe.
0:10:51 > 0:10:59The consultant confirmed the break and said it would probably take three months to get back to normal.
0:10:59 > 0:11:02At which point I started thinking, "Oh!"
0:11:02 > 0:11:06Because how do you get around Sark on a pair of crutches
0:11:06 > 0:11:09when you've either got to walk everywhere or cycle?
0:11:09 > 0:11:13It does make life very difficult.
0:11:13 > 0:11:18You won't want to rush about, you need to rest and elevate it and do as minimal as possible.
0:11:18 > 0:11:21But taking it easy could be difficult for Karen
0:11:21 > 0:11:25as she has a big date looming in her diary that will need a lot of planning.
0:11:25 > 0:11:27DIAL TONE
0:11:27 > 0:11:32Hi, Maggie. Are you up for catering for a buffet for around 60 people?
0:11:39 > 0:11:45Having finally left the pub, the Chelsea Pensioners make their way towards St Peter's Church.
0:11:45 > 0:11:50Although none of them actually were among the forces that liberated Sark in May 1945,
0:11:50 > 0:11:54their presence on the island is hugely symbolic.
0:11:54 > 0:11:57Gill, the Anglican vicar, is here to greet them.
0:11:57 > 0:12:01She understands the debt of gratitude that the islanders owe for their freedom.
0:12:01 > 0:12:06It's lovely to see the Chelsea Pensioners all arriving
0:12:06 > 0:12:10with their wonderful red coats, in carriages.
0:12:10 > 0:12:14There's a bit of history about it anyway, isn't there?
0:12:14 > 0:12:19And a day that's etched on the minds of those who lived through it.
0:12:19 > 0:12:23PIPES PLAY
0:12:23 > 0:12:27The tiny island of Sark and the other Channel Islands
0:12:27 > 0:12:32were the only parts of the British Isles to be occupied by the Germans during World War II.
0:12:32 > 0:12:36Many of the Sark residents elected to stay during the occupation.
0:12:36 > 0:12:38Day to day living was tough.
0:12:38 > 0:12:43Fisherman Baz Adams was just six years old at the time.
0:12:43 > 0:12:48I remember the war, you know, as a kid.
0:12:48 > 0:12:53Life was hard. Food was the worst, bit there was an abundance of fish.
0:12:53 > 0:13:00And we were a bit favouritised because my uncle and grandfather used to fish.
0:13:00 > 0:13:04But you know, people got very, very hungry.
0:13:04 > 0:13:08We was allowed only so many slices of bread.
0:13:08 > 0:13:13And they used to use a proper mixer for mixing the dough,
0:13:13 > 0:13:16that broke down and they used a concrete mixer.
0:13:16 > 0:13:20And it was nothing to find a lump of concrete in the loaf!
0:13:20 > 0:13:21HE LAUGHS
0:13:25 > 0:13:30There are just a handful of islanders still left on Sark who remember those years.
0:13:30 > 0:13:34Phyllis Baker was a plucky young 17-year-old at the time.
0:13:34 > 0:13:41She was determined not to let the presence of German soldiers destroy her carefree childhood.
0:13:41 > 0:13:43We had no fear of them at all.
0:13:43 > 0:13:45They came, ten men and a sergeant.
0:13:45 > 0:13:50and they spent the whole of their time giving the children rides in the motorcar
0:13:50 > 0:13:52imported by the occupying forces.
0:13:52 > 0:13:57The tiny ones, half of them had never seen one,
0:13:57 > 0:14:02there had never been cars on Sark, before or since.
0:14:02 > 0:14:05Apart from a few military orders,
0:14:05 > 0:14:10they never interfered with the way of life in Sark.
0:14:10 > 0:14:15When the occupation came to an end and they were all marched off, we went back to normal.
0:14:15 > 0:14:19BIRDSONG
0:14:19 > 0:14:24Father, on this anniversary of liberation,
0:14:24 > 0:14:29we remember those who won for us our freedom
0:14:29 > 0:14:32at great cost to themselves.
0:14:32 > 0:14:38In the name of then Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
0:14:38 > 0:14:41ALL: Amen.
0:14:44 > 0:14:48As the occupying forces were banished from Sark,
0:14:48 > 0:14:51Phyllis' war was to end with the most extraordinary twist,
0:14:51 > 0:14:54so unusual that a book was written about her story
0:14:54 > 0:14:59that could have been lifted from the pages of a Hollywood screenplay.
0:14:59 > 0:15:03During the occupation, Phyllis learnt to speak German
0:15:03 > 0:15:09and formed a friendship with one of the soldiers, medical field officer Werner Rang.
0:15:09 > 0:15:15ACCORDION MUSIC
0:15:15 > 0:15:18When Sark was liberated,
0:15:18 > 0:15:20Werner was sent to a prisoner of war camp in England,
0:15:20 > 0:15:25but they kept in touch by letter and love blossomed.
0:15:25 > 0:15:31When Werner was eventually released, he took the bold and controversial step of proposing.
0:15:31 > 0:15:34Oh, ja!
0:15:34 > 0:15:38Of course, I did the worst possible thing, to even contemplate marrying a German.
0:15:38 > 0:15:45I rang my father and he said, "If that's all you have to tell me, that you're going to marry a German,
0:15:45 > 0:15:49"you needn't have phoned and you needn't come home."
0:15:49 > 0:15:54And me being me said, "Very well, I won't!"
0:15:56 > 0:15:59That was that.
0:15:59 > 0:16:00BOTH LAUGH
0:16:00 > 0:16:06Despite her father's reticence, the wedding went ahead and with time the family rift healed.
0:16:06 > 0:16:11The happy couple has lived on Sark ever since.
0:16:11 > 0:16:13We've been married, what, 64 years?
0:16:13 > 0:16:16- 64 years, yeah. - 64 years of happiness.
0:16:16 > 0:16:18Yeah.
0:16:18 > 0:16:24In all due respect, I was very grateful that Hitler sent me here.
0:16:24 > 0:16:29- And...- We're the only people who've got something to thank him for!
0:16:29 > 0:16:34The couple ran a successful small jewellery business for four decades.
0:16:34 > 0:16:40And Werner also ran the island's volunteer ambulance service for nearly 30 years.
0:16:40 > 0:16:45Today, he's one of Sark's most respected members of the community,
0:16:45 > 0:16:49which surprisingly led him to share a joke with none other than the British monarch.
0:16:49 > 0:16:52She said to me, "Are you a Sarkee?"
0:16:52 > 0:16:55I said, "No, madam, I'm not."
0:16:55 > 0:16:59"Where do you come from?" I said, "I came here with the occupation forces."
0:16:59 > 0:17:05And she told me that Brigadier Snow was here. "He liberated the island, come and meet him?"
0:17:05 > 0:17:10So I met Brigadier Snow. He said to me, "I liberated the island."
0:17:10 > 0:17:16I said, "Yes, I know that, but you didn't make a good job of it, you left one behind!"
0:17:17 > 0:17:19BOTH LAUGH
0:17:19 > 0:17:23And the Queen was laughing her head off. She said, "Did we?"
0:17:23 > 0:17:27"Did we?" Ja.
0:17:30 > 0:17:36The Pensioners return the warm Sark hospitality with a parting gift to the local schoolchildren.
0:17:39 > 0:17:41Out of this world. Lovely day.
0:17:41 > 0:17:44Fantastic, mate.
0:17:44 > 0:17:47The people are lovely. My first visit.
0:17:47 > 0:17:49I shall come again one day.
0:17:49 > 0:17:54Finally, they begin their long journey back home.
0:17:54 > 0:17:55ALL: Bye!
0:18:13 > 0:18:19Up at the Methodist chapel, Karen Le Mouton, the lay minister, should be resting her broken toe.
0:18:22 > 0:18:25But far from it.
0:18:26 > 0:18:30Karen, a bit of a surprise, cos you seem to be walking around.
0:18:30 > 0:18:34Yes. It's pretty amazing, really. It's quite a story to tell.
0:18:34 > 0:18:35So what happened?
0:18:35 > 0:18:42Well, I just had this picture in my head of a hand, and don't ask me how but I knew it was Jesus' hand,
0:18:42 > 0:18:46coming down and my hand kind of reaching out.
0:18:46 > 0:18:48It was just the two hands.
0:18:48 > 0:18:53But then the words. There wasn't somebody saying the words out loud or anything,
0:18:53 > 0:18:56but just these words formed in my head.
0:18:56 > 0:18:59"Come walk with me."
0:18:59 > 0:19:04So I pushed myself up with all my weight on my left leg and I just kept thinking,
0:19:04 > 0:19:07"Is this you, God, saying this to me?
0:19:07 > 0:19:11"Because if I get up at the end of this and put my weight on my foot,
0:19:11 > 0:19:16"I'm going to be screaming the house down and I don't know if I'd do myself more damage."
0:19:16 > 0:19:20So I took a step, and I carried on walking,
0:19:20 > 0:19:24and was thinking, "I haven't got any pain!
0:19:24 > 0:19:27"I can move! I can walk! I can put my weight on it!"
0:19:27 > 0:19:29And I haven't stopped walking since.
0:19:29 > 0:19:32You hear about these things happening to other people
0:19:32 > 0:19:35and I never expected anything like that.
0:19:35 > 0:19:37But, you know this is where I think,
0:19:37 > 0:19:41"Maybe my expectations of our great and wonderful God are perhaps too low."
0:19:41 > 0:19:46And that He doesn't change, He is a God of miracles.
0:19:49 > 0:19:51Her amazing recovery is timely.
0:19:51 > 0:19:56Hi, Lorraine. I wanted to confirm some of the arrangements for the President coming over.
0:19:56 > 0:20:02The President in question is Leo Osborn, the most senior figure in the Methodist Church.
0:20:02 > 0:20:04In a few days' time, he'll be arriving on Sark
0:20:04 > 0:20:09and Karen has to make sure his visit goes like clockwork,
0:20:09 > 0:20:10but there's still a lot to do.
0:20:10 > 0:20:14Is that OK about the carriage ride at 1.30?
0:20:16 > 0:20:22Because Sark is one of just a small handful of places in the developed world where there are no cars,
0:20:22 > 0:20:29the horses and carriages that clip-clop around the lanes define the island's distinctive character.
0:20:34 > 0:20:38Helping to keep the tradition alive is Julie Jackson.
0:20:38 > 0:20:42She's been spending every day in training with new horse Ronaldo.
0:20:42 > 0:20:48When he's ready, Ron will join the other horses taking hotel guests on carriage rides around the island.
0:20:48 > 0:20:55Training him requires a special talent which, in Julie's case, comes from years of experience.
0:20:55 > 0:20:57Well, I'm 55, from Severn.
0:20:57 > 0:21:03Pony Club, jumping, racing, but not actually racing,
0:21:03 > 0:21:07actually breaking the horses to do it.
0:21:07 > 0:21:13Someone's got to build them up over logs to the big fences you see in the Grand National, for instance.
0:21:13 > 0:21:14I mean, they don't just do it.
0:21:14 > 0:21:19And there's got to be some brave soul sat on the back... Or idiot!
0:21:19 > 0:21:24And I was one of 'em, and I did that till I was in me 40s, really.
0:21:24 > 0:21:29I lived in Cyprus for 15 years. I had a carriage business of my own there with seven horses.
0:21:29 > 0:21:32And then I left Cyprus two years ago.
0:21:32 > 0:21:34And here I am!
0:21:34 > 0:21:38Already horse and trainer have formed a close bond.
0:21:38 > 0:21:41Who's a beautiful boy?!
0:21:41 > 0:21:43Yeah! Mwah!
0:21:43 > 0:21:46We love you, don't we?
0:21:50 > 0:21:56As Ron settles down for the night, Julie heads back to her hotel digs.
0:21:56 > 0:22:00Sark is famed for its tranquillity, and after-hours entertainment is limited.
0:22:00 > 0:22:04Tonight, however, Julie has decided to shatter the peace
0:22:04 > 0:22:08to show off another of her special talents.
0:22:08 > 0:22:11One she's keeping strictly secret for now.
0:22:11 > 0:22:14And that is as far as you go.
0:22:14 > 0:22:16See you later!
0:22:24 > 0:22:26Over on the other side of the island, on what must be
0:22:26 > 0:22:30one of the most idyllic sheep farms anywhere on the planet,
0:22:30 > 0:22:33shepherd David Scott is checking on his flock.
0:22:33 > 0:22:36Shadowed by his favourite pet lamb, Persil.
0:22:36 > 0:22:39Let's have a look at this lot.
0:22:39 > 0:22:46Keeping the newborns warm in this unseasonably cold wet weather requires some canny thinking.
0:22:46 > 0:22:49If you just pop it down in the bedding
0:22:49 > 0:22:51and put a bit of straw over it
0:22:51 > 0:22:56and then you can sit the ones that are looking a bit chilly on the top.
0:22:56 > 0:23:01And David is celebrating another newborn.
0:23:01 > 0:23:05His wife, Estelle, has also given birth.
0:23:05 > 0:23:09Mother and daughter are now back home to find an outpouring of well wishing from the island.
0:23:09 > 0:23:14It's their first child together and they've named her Robin.
0:23:14 > 0:23:16How are you feeling?
0:23:16 > 0:23:18OK, I think.
0:23:18 > 0:23:24Everyone asks me, "How are you doing?" And I think, "I'm good."
0:23:24 > 0:23:29I'm buoyed along on happiness and adrenaline at this stage.
0:23:29 > 0:23:34Sark has no hospital, so if an expectant mother goes into labour on the island,
0:23:34 > 0:23:40she'll normally be rushed to nearby Guernsey on a high-speed ambulance boat.
0:23:40 > 0:23:45So that was the plan, but we actually didn't do any of that because she was late.
0:23:45 > 0:23:50So then, when you get to day 12, overdue by 12 days,
0:23:50 > 0:23:54standard practice is to be induced, or at least it is on Guernsey.
0:23:54 > 0:23:58So it all became very organised in the fact that we booked ourselves in to be induced,
0:23:58 > 0:24:00so we got the morning ferry.
0:24:00 > 0:24:03Didn't need the ambulance boat cos I wasn't in labour,
0:24:03 > 0:24:08and it was just like going to Guernsey for the day, except we were going there to have a baby.
0:24:08 > 0:24:12Yeah, it's all gone lovely, really.
0:24:12 > 0:24:14- What was her weight? - Seven pounds.
0:24:14 > 0:24:18But Baby was very amenable and she didn't come early, which was good.
0:24:18 > 0:24:24Cos if she'd come bang early, she would have come in the thick of all of the eweing.
0:24:24 > 0:24:27There was a time where... I think there were four days
0:24:27 > 0:24:30where you had about 64 ewes that were going to give birth
0:24:30 > 0:24:33and if she'd come then, then I think...
0:24:33 > 0:24:37- That would have been a bit... - I think you would have been here.
0:24:37 > 0:24:40You would have been here and I would have been in Guernsey.
0:24:40 > 0:24:44- So you timed it very well? - Well, she timed it very well.
0:24:44 > 0:24:46Yeah, she timed it very well.
0:24:46 > 0:24:53Having a baby in-between all the lambs has certainly add to the workload a bit.
0:24:58 > 0:25:00Little angel.
0:25:00 > 0:25:02She is when she's asleep. Oh!
0:25:02 > 0:25:05- BABY GURGLES - OK.
0:25:05 > 0:25:08But David can't stop for long.
0:25:08 > 0:25:12He has other newborns that need his attention.
0:25:12 > 0:25:14Who wants milk?
0:25:14 > 0:25:18You want milk. Hang on. You want milk.
0:25:18 > 0:25:20There we go.
0:25:22 > 0:25:25How do you share it out evenly?
0:25:25 > 0:25:27By eye!
0:25:27 > 0:25:29The old shepherd way.
0:25:31 > 0:25:35Yeah, usually Estelle gives us a hand with the bottle feeding,
0:25:35 > 0:25:39but obviously this year, I've had to do it on my own.
0:25:39 > 0:25:42There we go. You can have some as well.
0:25:48 > 0:25:54Over at her room at the hotel, horse trainer Julie Jackson is getting ready to amaze everyone.
0:25:54 > 0:26:00The islanders see her around Sark every day in her wax coat and wellies,
0:26:00 > 0:26:02but tonight they're in for a surprise.
0:26:08 > 0:26:11SHE SIGHS
0:26:11 > 0:26:16This is what you call a mini dress, mister!
0:26:16 > 0:26:18Hair looks all right, doesn't it?
0:26:18 > 0:26:21I went downstairs before for some tea. I said, "What's it look like?"
0:26:21 > 0:26:23They all went, "Great!"
0:26:23 > 0:26:26And then I went like this and leaned on the wall, like I was in me wellies with me hat on.
0:26:26 > 0:26:28And they said, "Don't do that!"
0:26:28 > 0:26:34They've had me practising sitting down going... Crossing me legs!
0:26:34 > 0:26:38Because before, I sat there with them open!
0:26:38 > 0:26:42It's just bad habit, when you're not used to it.
0:26:42 > 0:26:46Some people there were 20 and the same size as I am.
0:26:46 > 0:26:50So you might as well make the most of it before your face really goes!
0:26:52 > 0:26:55It feels a bit different from walking down in your wellies.
0:26:56 > 0:26:59Down at the Bel Air Inn, one of two pubs on Sark,
0:26:59 > 0:27:04the islanders are about to discover Julie's hidden talent.
0:27:04 > 0:27:09# Diamonds are forever
0:27:09 > 0:27:13# They are all I need to please me
0:27:13 > 0:27:17# They can stimulate and tease me
0:27:17 > 0:27:21# They won't leave in the night
0:27:21 > 0:27:25# I've no fear that they might desert me... #
0:27:25 > 0:27:31As an unattached woman with a voice like this, Julie's already attracting a few admirers.
0:27:38 > 0:27:41# Diamonds never... #
0:27:41 > 0:27:44What she doesn't yet know is that she won't be single for long.
0:27:44 > 0:27:49# Oh...
0:27:49 > 0:27:53# They lustre on... #
0:27:53 > 0:27:55CHEERING AND APPLAUSE