Make Hay While the Sun Shines An Island Parish

Just off the French coast of Normandy lies the beautiful

island of Sark.

The smallest of the four main Channel Islands, and without doubt,

one of the most unusual places to be found on our shores.

The island is renowned for its legendary peace and tranquillity,

making it a perfect hideaway for visitors

keen to get away from it all.

But, for the hardworking islanders, there's little time to enjoy

the warm weather.

It's business as usual.

SAWING

Over the past few months, up at the Food Stop supermarket, owners

Julie and Nicky have been struggling

with a lack of storage space for all their stock.

It's just our spare room, but nobody could stay in it.

There is a grand piano behind that heap, but you can't really see it!

And I certainly can't get to play it.

SHE LAUGHS

But now, after a makeover, the once-small shop has been

transformed into a hypermarket by comparison.

'For Julie, it's a big improvement.'

Has it made a big difference?

Yes, yes, we needed the space.

Well, we've been able to put the cereals not all

perched on top of each other...

and the pet food spread out, instead of on two little, tiddly shelves.

Somewhere to put the trolleys inside, instead of out in the garden.

'And the piece de resistance - an all-new electric door.

'A first for Sark.'

This is our favourite.

So, you're happy?

Oh, yes. Yes.

'But has the extra shelf space made a difference?'

So, last time I was here, the plan was to try

and get rid of this stuff in the house, how we doing?

Well, we've got rid of a lot of it,

but we've replaced it with a lot more.

Julie, oh, no - I don't believe it!

See, we're a bit full-up.

Oh, blimey!

We've had a lot of pallets of stuff in, though, since you filmed.

I think there's 188 cases of cat food we had on Tuesday.

We've had all that cereal in, we've had a lot more drinks in.

The toilet rolls are going down, they're not on the ceiling now.

We can't get out that way, we're hemmed in!

SHE LAUGHS

'Julie's known on the island for her impish sense of humour.

'All the new shelf space has given her an opportunity to stock

'some of her own, somewhat unusual, lines.'

Customers that don't know what they want, we have Inspiration.

Laughter, take it 50 times a day.

Best medicine!

SHE LAUGHS

Julie's special medicine seems to be having an effect across

the rest of the island.

At last, after the slow start to the season, the good weather

has lifted everyone's spirits.

'Not least, the island window cleaner.'

I bet that's a full-time job, isn't it, with the dust?

Yeah, it's like the Forth Bridge, innit?

HE LAUGHS

You can start at one end, and then

when you get to this end you can start all over again,

cos the dust just keeps blowing it all back again.

Never mind, it keeps you busy.

HE LAUGHS

And what are you called?

-Scotty.

-Scotty?

-Yeah.

So you're known as "Scotty The Window Cleaner"?

Yeah... and a lot of things in-between!

HE LAUGHS

'Scotty's efforts to keep everything looking shipshape are being

'repeated across the island in preparation for some very

'special visitors who are due here in a day's time.

'The man in charge of making sure all the Is are dotted and the

'Ts are crossed is the island's crane driver and deputy judge,

'Jeremy La Trobe-Bateman.

'He's a tad nervous about his responsibilities.'

Field, poles - those poles have got to come down.

Display tables in the hall need to be sorted out. That's done.

I see the flags have gone up, so it's a start.

So on your list, a few things still to do?

Not really on MY list.

Hopefully, this is on other people's list.

'In less than 24 hours, Sark's expecting none other

'than his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales and his wife

'the Duchess of Cornwall.

'But in fact, Royal visits are not a novelty on Sark.'

You have a, a great affection in Sark for the royals don't you?

We do. We're very strongly royalist over here.

And I think they respond to that.

Hey, they all come... one after the other...

every few years, and we've had

Prince Edward, Prince Andrew, Princess Anne and the Queen,

of course, and the Queen Mother, I think,

came three or four times to Sark.

So are you excited?

Yeah, I am, yeah.

It doesn't happen very often, does it, that you get to meet

the future king of England?

Barbecue clean-up here.

Cigarette ends, that's probably got to be all cleared away,

but I'm sure somebody's on the case.

'And it's not just Jeremy who's been kept very busy by the Prince's

'upcoming visit.

'Also on Royal duty is the island's very own jovial police constable,

'Joanne Godwin.'

So, effectively, this is your police car?

-This is my police car!

-SHE LAUGHS

But it doesn't have a blue light on it, though?

Oh, no!

'The royal visit is being organised with military precision,

'and nothing is left to chance.

'And it's Joanne's job to make sure that, on the day,

'all the island's official flags are flying according to protocol.'

We have, up here, "How to fly a Union Flag correctly."

How can you tell if it's upside down!

SHE LAUGHS

All the ex-constables are very good at telling you how to fly a flag!

It needs to have...the broad white stripe at the top needs

to be against the pole.

Luckily, someone has very kindly written on this one "T" for "top"!

'Ahead are a momentous few days for the islanders of Sark.'

Poppy, come here! Here, here, here, Pops!

HE WHISTLES AND SHEEP BLEAT

Not only are they to be graced by a royal visit,

but the very next day, they'll be holding

the most bizarre event in the island's entire social calendar.

Here, Poppy! Oh, dear.

The Sark annual sheep race.

Stay there, stay there!

Over on what must be one of the most idyllic sheep farms to be

found anywhere on the planet, shepherd David Scott

has spent months preparing for it.

Right.

David takes great pride in making sure his sheep are at their

peak for the racing.

Firstly, their coat must be just the right length, so he sheared them,

prior to the big day.

Then it's important that their toenails are not too long.

And finally, to finish them off nicely, something that's

known in the trade as "dagging".

Basically, it's a sheep's bikini line.

They might not thank me at the time of dagging them,

but I think they'll thank me when they run out in the field,

cos you usually see 'em hopping and skipping, cos with some of them

it's quite an extra weight off their...behinds.

Next, please!

Now, it's easy to think that the annual sheep race is all just

a bit of fun, but actually, it's a key component of something

that's vital to the island community.

It's one of a number of charity fundraising events organised

by the Sark Carnival Committee

that raises money for the island's medical fund,

and the chairman of the committee is Puffin Taylor.

Sark has no health service at all.

We have to pay for all our medicines, all our treatments

and everything, so it's quite expensive,

particularly for the youngsters and the older people, or people that are

chronically sick, so the Professor Saint Fund exists,

started by a guy called Professor Saint, many, many moons ago,

to subsidise medicines.

So, when you collect your medicine from the doctor here,

it'll have the standard charge of £5, and you either pay the £5,

if that's what you can afford, or, if you feel you're able, you pay

for the full cost of the medicine... and the system works quite well.

Now, the Sark Carnival Committee is particularly important,

cos we raise funds for this particular medical charity.

I've brought the samples we've talked about.

I thought you said you'd bring the sandwiches.

-I thought that were good.

-No, no!

Over the last few months, the Committee's been busy planning

this year's fundraising,

but with ever-increasing private medical costs,

it means they'll have to raise a record amount

at the sheep race this year.

So Puffin's hatched a plan to capitalise on the Royal visit, too.

We've got a Royal visit coming up.

We've got Camilla and Charles coming...

which brings me to the mugs.

What do you think?

'Puffin wants to sell mugs to commemorate the Royal visit,

'and to promote her cause, she's planning a publicity stunt.

'If she can position herself at the front of the crowds,

'she might be able to thrust a Royal mug into Prince Charles' hand.'

Don't start laughing, it's not one of my wilder ideas.

THEY LAUGH

Across the island, up at the Methodist chapel, lay minister

Karen Le Mouton is getting ready for a morning's work.

I know you don't like going in the bag.

Karen's ministry is here on Sark, but her husband Steve and the

family home is on the neighbouring island of Jersey,

although she only gets to go home every fortnight.

-Morning!

-Morning.

Good morning, everyone.

ALL: Good morning, Karen.

Last time I was here, I said I was going to bring a friend

in to meet you.

Are you going to say hello?

You've been practising your royal wave, haven't you,

so why don't you give them a royal wave?

Since her arrival on the island nearly two years ago,

Karen has strived to become a keen member of the community.

Sometimes bad things happen, sometimes happy things happen,

but the one wonderful thing is, that God is with us through everything.

And the work she's done has come to the attention of her boss.

ANSWERING MACHINE: Hello, Karen, it's Leo Osborn here. I wonder

if you could give me a ring when you have a minute?

I'd like to discuss your future.

It's a call that will shortly change her life.

The day of the Royal visit is finally here, and the whole island

is excitedly preparing for the imminent arrival

of His Royal Highness Prince Charles and the Duchess Of Cornwall.

Let's imagine you're going to be on this end, OK?

So let's have you two there.

Two island schoolchildren, Tia and Yasmine, will be among the first

to welcome the royal party.

'Head teacher Sarah Cottle is making sure nothing is left to chance.'

Just rehearsing for the presentation of the flowers

and the chocolates to Prince Charles and the Duchess Of Cornwall.

So, you're going to hand them over, that's the important bit,

hand them over and she might have a little word with you, and then

you're going to step forward, get your head up, give him a big smile.

Oh, that is so nice, and he'll say, "Thank you very much".

You must feel very proud.

I do, I do. This is my second Royal visit.

Oh, dear, you see, you're so blase.

Well, I'm not, you see. I still get very excited.

The first time, when Prince Edward came with Sophie, I was amazed,

because the children said, "Oh, we've seen Princess Anne,

"and we've seen Prince Charles and we've seen Prince Andrew",

-cos did he come and open the school, Prince Andrew?

-Yeah.

I think he opened the school, so, yes, they're much more blase

than I am, but, no,

it'll be an exciting morning, we're looking forward to it.

Lovely way to end the term.

The Royal party will be flying in by helicopter,

so the landing area has to be thoroughly checked.

Performing this vital duty is church organist and head of the

island's volunteer fire service, Kevin Adams.

We're doing something that's called "FOD",

which is "foreign objects and debris",

so we're just checking the field, because, obviously,

when the helicopter comes in to land, the rotors

will have 60, 70 mile an hour of wind around, so it just plays havoc

with everything, so... just checking, make sure it's all clear.

Bits like that, bits of string, just found that on the side...

and I guess, obviously, if it was travelling at any speed,

it would hurt somebody, or get sucked into the engine, maybe.

'There's just one thing left to do.

'To hoist the union flag outside the island's courthouse to welcome

'the Royal party, due any minute now.'

You must be a flag-raising expert, Joanne, are you?

No, definitely not! SHE LAUGHS

Right, what's happened here?

I might have to call in an expert for this!

SHE LAUGHS

No, seriously!

A big crowd has turned out,

hoping for a glimpse of Charles and Camilla.

In prime spot, and ready to pounce, is chair of the Carnival Committee,

Puffin Taylor, brandishing her Royal merchandise.

It will be a big boost to the medical fund if she can get

Prince Charles interested in her mugs.

It's Charles and Camilla, riding sheep, and are being

bucked off as they round up corgis, so I'm going to stand with

a friend with a flag and we're going to wave it, so that it attracts

their attention, and hopefully we'll be able to give them a mug.

I don't rate my chances, really. Lots of children about,

lots of flags and things like that, so we'll see.

ROTOR BLADES BUZZ

CLAPPING

Commemorative mug! Commemorative mug, Sir!

Commemorative mug!

You never know, we might get him, we'll give it to him yet.

CLAPPING

The flowers and chocolates are successfully placed in Royal hands.

Whereabouts are they going?

But despite Puffin's best efforts to woo the Royals, her cries

have fallen on deaf ears.

The busy Royal schedule has scuppered Puffin's plans.

At this rate, her mugs will end up back in the box.

But Puffin hasn't given up yet.

Next on the itinerary for Prince Charles and Camilla, is a tour

around the Seigneurie, Sark's equivalent of Buckingham Palace,

and traditionally, the seat of the island's head of state.

Sark's history has been shaped by a very close relationship

with the crown.

In 1565,

Queen Elizabeth I gifted the island to a feudal lord

on condition that the island was always protected

from French invasion.

40 families came and settled here.

'Today, there are descendents of those early Elizabethan families

'still living on Sark, one of whom is church organist and chief

'of the island fire service, Kevin Adams.'

So, Kevin, this is land that you were brought up on as a boy?

Yes, very much so.

It's been in our family back down the years, right since 1565.

It's been home for 450, 460 years...

and my gran was born in the farmhouse that's on this land,

and she died in it...

and she only went to England three times in her life,

and every time, she went to Buckingham Palace.

HE LAUGHS

'Now it's Kevin's proud moment to meet the royals.'

Puffin has only got minutes left before the Royals bid their

farewells and fly off.

Excuse me?

-It's now do or die.

-Excuse me?

I hope you're taking part in the Sheep Race?

And look.

-Good morning.

-Good morning.

My goodness me, look at these.

"Sark Royal visit."

-Oh, look.

-It's you, Sir!

HE LAUGHS

-Very cunning of you.

-Oh, sheep...

You've probably got enough mugs.

It's here tomorrow.

Oh, that's something I've really wanted to take part in!

Sorry we missed that.

Puffin's mugs get the Royal thumbs up...

Gone all of a quiver now.

..which is a great start for the Carnival Committee's

fundraising effort.

I gave one to Prince Charles and one to her Royal Highness,

and as he picked it up, he said, "Oh, this is fun."

I said, "It's you, Sir"!

And he said, "Oh, it is."

-SHE LAUGHS

-And he did laugh, fortunately...

and so, I think they were quite amused by them, so that was great.

Yeah, it was brilliant.

Had a nice, well, had a lovely chat with them, actually.

Prince Charles said, "Thank you very much for turning out",

and, cos we're volunteers, and I said, "Yeah,

"well, lovely to be here and lovely to see you",

and the Duchess Of Cornwall,

I asked her if she'd enjoyed the Channel Islands and Sark,

and she said, "Need to come for a bit longer, for a holiday".

Buoyant from the success of the Royal visit, the islanders

wait to face the next big event.

Big day, Persil.

'Shepherd David Scott, followed by his constant companion,

'pet sheep, Persil, is collecting his racing sheep.'

Hello, girlies, you ready, ready for action?

They're very keen, aren't they?

They look keen don't they? Yeah, yeah.

Come on, Pers!

'He's about to find out if the months of training

'are going to pay off.

'It's the big day of the Sark annual Sheep Race.

'And everyone on the island is getting into the spirit,

'including the staff at the Food Stop supermarket.'

THEY LAUGH

The outfits are amazing! How do you feel?

Like a cross between a concubine and Jemima Puddle-Duck.

SHE LAUGHS

It's quite uncomfortable, it's cutting off

the circulation on the neck, but the bonnet will fall off otherwise.

SHE LAUGHS

So this must have something to do with sheep racing?

It is, yes. Yes. The girls...

Is this a tradition?

Not really, the girls wanted to dress up and we were asked

if we'd dress up, so we dressed up!

-And what do your customers make of it?

-Think we're barking!

-But you are!

-I know. We know that.

'Outside in the street, sheep fever has struck.

'The islanders make their way en masse to the racetrack.

'The flock is led, appropriately, by the island's two ladies of the cloth, Karen and Gill.

Well, we'd better get Persil just to inspect the course actually, yeah.

'Pet lamb Persil isn't quite old enough to race yet,

'but for next year, there's clearly a champion in the making.'

Bit of a natural.

I think so, yes. There you are.

'The sun's out, the crowds are in force.

'But before the racing can begin, the jockeys need to be mounted,

'complete with their personalised racing colours.'

There you go.

Got that waiting game now, everyone's got to run

and put their bets on now the jockeys are on.

'There are several races during the day,

'and almost everyone has a flutter.

'It raises thousands of pounds for the island's medical fund, and this year,

'Puffin and her committee are hoping to raise a record amount.

'With all bets placed, it's time for the first race.'

-'Are you ready?'

-Yes!

'On your marks...go!'

Go, go!

LAUGHTER

SHOUTS OF ENCOURAGEMENT

CHEERING

It seemed to be a good run, yeah.

No panicking sheep, which is always good.

'Gill, the Anglican vicar, and Karen, the Methodist lay minister,

'have decided to get involved.

'They're going to choose a sheep each in a race and go head-to-head.

'But this is an unfamiliar flock,

'and they're going to need advice from expert shepherd, David.'

Come on, tell us what's, what's the...

What actually should you look for in a good sheep that'll run well?

Well, they've got to have a nice, white face

and a nice, cleanly shaven...

-THEY LAUGH

-OK, OK.

Which one do you think is going to be the Anglican sheep, then?

-Oh, I'm afraid I, I...

-And which one is the Methodist?

I think that one there is rather cute, got lovely long eyelashes.

-I think this one here with spotty ears has got to be the Methodist.

-That one?

This one there, with its head down?

Yes, look, see, she's looking at me. That's definitely it.

-That's your sheep?

-Yes, yeah.

Methodist jockey, this one.

And this is the Anglican jockey.

'The race between the ladies of the cloth has the punters in a lather.'

-Yes, please?

-Can I have two on number 3, please?

-Two on number 3.

'It's being dubbed "the battle of the Churches",

'and it seems the punters are convinced that divine intervention could play a part in the result.'

-Two on two, please.

-Two on 2?

'Bookie Dave Cocksedge is being swamped with bets.

'Great news for the medical fund.'

Which would you put your money on?

I think... Quite probably the lady from the Methodist Church today,

so I think she's probably on a good, good winner there, I think, so...

-Three on 3, please.

-Three on 3?

Oh, you know something about this that I don't know about?

-This is the important one, Dave, isn't it?

-It is, yes, yes.

The battle of the Churches! HE LAUGHS

Who do you put your money on, Eugene? Anglican or Methodist?

I don't know. That's a bit of a hard choice there, being an atheist!

I think they'd like a draw,

that would make life easy, really, wouldn't it?

The vicar's sheep run is race number three at two o'clock.

'How we doing up at the starting line there?'

'All right, buddy? OK.'

'On your marks.

'Get set.

'Go!'

CHEERING

-KAREN:

-Come on, come on, yellow!

Come on. Oh, come on, yellow.

Come on, yellow!

Oh, look at her fly! Come on, yellow, come on, come on!

CHEERING

Yes! I think I won!

Last! Mine was last.

'Karen's spotty-eared sheep has emerged victorious.'

-The Methodist sheep won, then?

-SHE LAUGHS

-Yes, and I'm afraid the Anglican sheep came last!

-BOTH LAUGH

There must be a sermon in this we can share.

'In the best interests of Church unity, both winner and loser

'are given a special memento.'

-That's lovely, thanks so much.

-Thank you so much. they're wonderful!

THEY LAUGH

Well, I'm just absolutely in awe of Flying Cassock,

my lovely yellow sheep that won.

THEY LAUGH

SHEEP BLEAT

So all the training, it's all been worth it?

Oh, yes. All that hard work we've been doing over these last few months

has certainly paid off today, yeah.

-Yeah.

-Everyone's had a good time by the sounds of it.

Hopefully, they've raised a lot of money...

For the medical fund, yeah.

What's your measure of today, how's it been?

Fantastic, absolutely brilliant.

The main thing now is counting up the money, see how much we've made.

Fingers crossed we've made a lot, and it's terrific, absolutely great.

I can't wait. Professor Saint will have a marvellous year, I hope.

OK, thanks, Leo. I'll think about it and pray about it

and I'll get back to you. OK. Bye.

'Back at the chapel, flush from her victory, Karen has had some

'more exciting news following a call from her boss Leo Osborn.'

It's quite an amazing conversation,

and he asked me a question,

and said had I considered candidating for the ordained ministry?

# When you're marching home... #

'Karen presently is only a lay preacher,

'but Leo has asked her to think about applying to be

'a fully-fledged Methodist minister, a huge honour.'

'There are a lot of things to consider.

'Leo has just thrown the cat among the pigeons!'

Yes, it's exciting, and I think I'm going to have a lot of, erm...

tossing and turning tonight.

CHOIR: # For the beauty of the earth... #

'Accepting the full-time ministry has life-changing consequences.

'Methodist Church ministers are moved regularly,

'so Karen could find herself having to settle somewhere new

'as often as every five years.'

Well, the most important step is to ring Steve, my husband,

and talk to him about it, and also consider the family home in Jersey

and, you know, what the implications are if I pursue this role.

'If Karen says yes, she will ultimately have to leave Sark,

'the island she's come to know and love.'

There's a lot of hard thinking to do,

because it is going to affect us for the rest of our lives.

CHOIR: # Our hymn of praise. #

There's a lot to contemplate.

'In the days to come...'

I'll get a job in a bakery after this. Sweeping it up.

'Fisherman Baz Adams enters a cake-baking competition.

'But will it rise to the occasion?'

-Very sugary.

-That's disappointing, isn't it?

'Karen and Gill unite for a challenging joint service

'which doesn't go quite as expected.'

CHOIR SINGS WHILE DOG BARKS

SHEEP BLEATS

DOG CONTINUES TO BARK

Come on, Persil!

'And shepherd David Scott faces a heart-wrenching decision

'about his pet lamb, Persil.'

Ultimately, it's my decision whether he's being eaten or not.

What would be the advantage in eating him, do you think?

Well, he'll taste good! HE LAUGHS

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