All Creatures Great and Small An Island Parish

This is the picturesque island of Sark,

the smallest of the four main Channel Islands.

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

The peace and tranquillity are a magnet for visitors,

keen to exchange modern day living for a more relaxed pace of life.

The summer is almost at an end

and, although there's still a trickle of tourists,

the tiny population of 600 will soon have the island to themselves.

As the days grow shorter and the nights draw in,

the locals' thoughts are turning to the long winter months that lie ahead.

Up at St Peter's church, the Anglican vicar, Gill,

and her husband, Colin, are considering their future here.

Gill originally came to Sark temporarily,

having agreed to hold the fort while the parish search for a permanent vicar.

A very warm welcome on this beautiful day to all of you...

Her initial term of six months was extended to a year,

but now her tenure is nearly up.

Gill must decide whether to remain

or return to her family home in Buckinghamshire.

I think I've got to say that this has probably been one of the best years of my life.

I've erm... The variety here, the people that we've met,

and this incredibly idyllic, beautiful island.

It's been an amazing experience, and one I'm incredibly glad

that I've had the opportunity to be involved in.

Do you think Sark's the kind of place you could stay?

If I'm really honest with you, I'm torn in two at the moment,

and it's very much a question, and we felt at the beginning

that God made it so clear that we were to come here,

and everything fell into place in an amazing way.

I believe it's right for us to leave now,

but we're still open to the fact that God might say to us

I want you to remain here for a few more months.

We just don't know.

The next few weeks will clarify that.

Losing their vicar would be a big blow to the small island community,

so everyone's awaiting Gill's decision...

..including fisherman Baz Adams,

who's been in the choir since he was a boy.

Apart from Sundays, Baz is out fishing every day of the week.

He's probably the most experienced fisherman on Sark,

but he does have another skill that comes as quite a surprise

and, for once, it doesn't involve going to sea.

Get a job in a bakery after this. What do you reckon?

Baz, surprisingly, is a keen baker.

Sweeten it up.

So, Baz, how did you get into cake-making?

Just because I've been watching my wife do it.

I thought I could do as well as her, really, you know.

I don't know if it's gonna prove, though. It's worth a try.

Good, I think we've got everything in there. I hope so, anyway.

I usually do it the lazy way with the Magimix.

But Baz hasn't given up an afternoon's fishing

just to make any old cake.

This, he hopes, will be a Victoria sponge extraordinaire,

good enough to wow the judges at this year's Sark grand autumn show.

This annual event is a celebration

of the gardeners and farmers on Sark and their best produce.

There are 36 classes of vegetables alone.

The silverware up for grabs brings out the islanders' competitive streak.

Ah, there lies a tale!

-73.

-You're in front.

Baz is entering the highly competitive male Victoria sponge category.

The judges have been specially invited to the island for the show,

but Baz's cake will have to be at its best

to get past these two stalwarts of the baking world.

Very sugary.

Mm, that's disappointing, isn't it?

When it comes to cake-baking, Baz's normally placid, gentle character

takes on an unexpectedly competitive edge.

Last year I got beaten by somebody who was only on holiday,

so you never know your luck.

Yeah.

Looking at that, there's a slight little bit too much in that one.

But nothing less than sheer perfection will do for Baz.

There, I think that's about it.

Good. That tastes OK.

Even though I said it myself!

Do your best.

But will Baz's cake rise to the challenge?

-Are you nervous about it?

-I am, mate.

Is that a winning cake?

It's not too bad, mate, I'm confident about it.

If I'm not confident, who will be, eh?

That's the thing.

Baz is making sure his freshly-baked Victoria sponge

gets pride of place up at the island hall

before tomorrow morning's all-important judging.

-Starting to fill up.

-Do you want me to set up the plate for you?

Yes, please.

His daughter, Zoe, is running the show.

But to prevent any favouritism, strict protocols are in place.

They have judges come from Guernsey to do all the judging,

so that nobody knows. But all the envelopes are closed. Nobody knows.

There's no names on show, you see.

It's all very fine entertainment.

Tomorrow morning will be the judging, so just hope for the best.

Shepherd David Scott is up early as usual, checking on his ewes.

Six months have past since his tame, bottle-fed lamb, Persil, was born.

You can walk now, mate. Come on, then.

Come on, Perse. Come on.

Now Persil's grown up and is one of the flock.

-Guess which one's Persil.

-Hello, Persil.

Little Perse.

Persil still has a close bond with David,

but that might be coming to an end.

He is a bit of a sweetheart.

Sheep with a mask on.

Do you wanna come for a wander, Perse?

It might be your last time up on the cliff field, you never know.

Come on, Persey!

It's quite handy having a tame sheep around the place

when you're moving the others, because they'll follow you

and then the rest of the sheep will follow them.

So he has got a use in life for if he doesn't make the grade for the butcher's block.

Come on, Perse. That's it, well done.

David's sheep farm is surely one of the most idyllic on the planet.

You never get fed up of coming up here to check animals

when you've got this view to look at.

It's a beautiful island.

It's lovely to be, you know, earning a living on it.

The views might be breathtaking, but business hasn't been great.

It's been quite a poor season for tourists,

so obviously that affects the amount of lamb you can sell,

cos if, you know, if the hotels aren't busy then they're not going to be buying so much.

If you don't get fine weather, you know,

people will, if they get to Guernsey and Jersey,

they're certainly not going to come to Sark for a day,

erm, if it's pouring with rain.

It is quietened down over the last couple of years, really.

With the lean winter months around the corner,

David has some hard choices to make about Persil's future.

You know, 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!

Little monkey.

David will have to decide over the next few days

whether he can afford to keep Persil over the winter months.

Some of Sark's other fresh produce is being scrutinised

up at the island hall.

The all-important judging for the male-only cake-baking is about to start.

Victoria sandwich, males only.

Using no more than three hen's eggs.

And the judges know exactly what they're looking for.

Nothing less than perfect will do.

First, you look at the shape of the cake,

whether it's sunk in the middle or not, and then the colour.

Obviously some of these have been cooked too long, they're a bit dark,

and then when you cut them, it's the feel of the cut,

and then if you look at this one, it's beautifully evenly textured.

And some of them... I mean that one tastes lovely,

but there's quite a lot of jam in it

so, of course, then that soaks into the sponge.

So you take all that into consideration.

And we've tasted them all, so it's flavour as well,

because obviously the most important thing is you're going to eat it,

but it's got to look right as well.

-I mean they're all classic Victoria sandwiches.

-Mm, yep.

-It's always tough here.

-Mm, yep.

I would say, in my mind, I've picked out four,

-and it'll be between those four.

-Mm.

As the tourist season wanes,

events like this are an important part of island life

and give the community a chance to come together and admire each other's talents.

A certificate for a collection of garden vegetables

is won by Mr Dave Curtis.

APPLAUSE

Certificate presented for floral centrepiece is won by Mrs S Martin.

Gill, the Anglican vicar, has entered the miniature garden section

and is chuffed to bits with first prize.

It's feels amazing, actually.

I've never ever gone in for anything like this before,

so to actually win a first on the first attempt,

and I so enjoyed doing it.

It was just such fun to go out collecting things

and just to see possibilities of how you could make trees and bushes and so on.

It really is great fun.

It's something of the little girl I read in a book, Milly Molly Mandy stories, many years ago,

and I always thought I must make a miniature garden one day,

and you know I've never done it.

So this is it, fulfilling a childhood passion.

I mean when you consider how small the island is,

and just the creativity of it,

and I go up each row thinking,

"Wow, isn't that amazing! How did they get that idea?"

For me it's just the fact that, you know,

there's everybody talking about it, encouraging one another

and congratulating each other and, you know, you get this bit of competitive element

with the guys all talking about their Victoria sponges this morning!

It was quite, you know, really quite fun to hear them.

Cake-baking might be one of Baz's talents,

but his real love is being at sea.

There are only a few weeks of the short fishing season left,

and with the lean winter months around the corner,

Baz must work while the weather allows.

Only when the last lobster pot is lifted can Baz get back

to find out if his baking skills have triumphed.

Makes you hungry, yeah, to look at them!

Time for a brave face.

He's been pipped at the post, again.

Oh well, wasn't too bad, second.

He's got a nasty little sink there.

Oh, Peter's did well.

Ah, well, it was worth the effort, eh?

Could do with one of those for my lunch tomorrow.

Nice cup of coffee with that'd be lovely.

Really lovely.

Gill, the Anglican vicar,

has had to put her surprise win at the show to one side.

She's expecting an important guest any moment.

In recent weeks, Gill and her husband, Colin,

have been in turmoil deciding whether to return to their family and home in England,

or to remain in Sark until a permanent vicar could be found for the small island community.

But now she has to give her boss a final decision.

The dean's coming over today, shortly, and I think we're going

to be just having a bit of a chat, I hope, about the future and what

it holds, and also maybe telling him something about what's gone on in

the last year, and then we're having lunch with the church wardens.

KNOCK AT THE DOOR Too late, he's here.

Hi, there! Really nice to see you again.

-How are you doing?

-How are you doing?

The dean of Guernsey, Paul Mellor,

has overall responsibility for the Anglicans on Sark

and, understandably, he's keen to extend her tenure,

considering the busy months that lie ahead.

Oh, Colin, thank you.

I was just asking Gillian if there was a chance of extension.

Right. How long would you like?

Oh, that sounds a prospect!

Right, so we'll talk some more about it.

If I'm honest, we've been...you know,

one day we've felt should we stay a little bit longer,

and then the next day we're thinking

we have got life at home, and we've also got children that are...

Quite, yes.

..family that are...

That's one of the things with a family over the sea, isn't it, really?

Mm, right.

You think everybody is sort of in place and then everybody moves.

-Mm.

-Yeah, mm.

Right.

But your plans are made for the end of October?

Well...

If you decided you could stay till Christmas, that would be...

Don't count on it.

I'm certainly not doing, no.

Just across the fields,

Shepherd David Scott has also made a big decision.

He's rounded up a few of his flock,

and now their time on Sark has come to an end.

With winter approaching, and business slowing up,

he can't afford to hang on to more sheep than he needs.

With help from his neighbour and friend, Eugene,

David will transport these sheep, using his own boat, to Guernsey,

where they've been sold.

Sadly, one of the flock is Persil, the lamb he bottle-fed from birth.

He's had a good time with us, and I will be sad to see old Persil go.

Tie them on for safety,

cos there's not enough life jackets to go round.

In the early days, you know, you used to get a tear in your eye

cos I only had a very few sheep,

but now you've got, erm, you know, well it's your livelihood

so really, you know, if you can sell a sheep that's how I earn my living.

So they are a commodity, sadly,

but we do give them a good old life whilst they're around, that's for sure.

They're very happy sheep

and a happy lamb tastes better than an unhappy lamb, I reckon.

Although David accepts the brutal realities of livestock farming,

maybe this final journey with Persil in the boat

might just bring about a last-minute change of heart.

But Gill, the vicar, is not going to change her mind.

Soon, she and her husband will be heading home to Buckinghamshire,

her time on Sark has gone too quickly.

I can't believe that I've been here for a whole year already.

It's absolutely amazing that the time has now come to leave.

It's been an action-packed year.

There've been some very sad times and some really fun times.

We've had a lot of laughs at times, and we've cried together at times.

It's been a real privilege to be a part of that

and to be part of people's lives here for a year.

There's space at the front!

It was lovely to share with Karen from the Methodist church,

and over the year it's been great to build a friendship with her

and to work with her more and more closely.

It's been a very difficult decision to make

and we've been torn in two really,

wondering whether we should be staying or not.

But, at the end of the day,

we've decided it is the right time to go.

They need to get somebody in who is able to give a few years to Sark

and who will have all the joys and some of the sadness

and sorrows that we've had, and will love it as much as we have.

Gill's departure means that St Peter's church

will be without a vicar for the foreseeable future.

But one incentive for applicants might be the newly-refurbished vicarage.

It's now up to the dean to find a replacement as quickly as possible,

and he's hoping the spacious residence will lure the right candidate.

I think we go to the, if you like, to the market in a bit of a better position this time.

Now that we have the building bricks ready - that's this house -

we will advertise in the church press for "house for duty"

here in Sark, because "house for duty" is what it says on the can.

The priest gives their services in the church and in the community

for the house, and this is a very light, beautiful house

in a magnificent place.

I'm very hopeful that we will be able to find somebody to serve here.

Before Gill leaves Sark, there's one special service left to conduct.

But, for once, she's not quite her usual confident self.

Here's a good spot, I think, put that there.

Big horses there.

It's about to start shortly and the nerves, the butterflies,

I must confess, are just rising a little bit.

So it's really rather a special occasion

and I'd like to get it right.

The reason for Gill's anxiety could be to do with

the unusual congregation she's invited.

Some have never been in a church before,

and she doesn't know how they'll react or how many will come.

One islander who will be attending today's service is horse trainer,

Julie, who's not normally a churchgoer,

but down at the stables she's getting another novice worshipper

ready to accompany her, young trainee carriage horse, Ron.

Well, we're going to church, to this pet service,

and everyone's taking...

Well, you can take a guinea pig if you want, it doesn't matter what your pet is.

They bless 'em and everything, you know?

So I'm taking Ron.

SHE LAUGHS

Obviously I'm not taking him in,

cos I can't go in the church with him.

He'll probably end up having a great big wee or something,

or sitting on one of the pews and smashing the place to bits.

It's like the towering inferno coming out, innit?

There, that's a good boy.

Today is pet's day.

Gill is preparing to welcome animals of all shapes

and sizes into the church.

Although inviting in Rosie the cow, might be taking things too far.

DOG BARKS

Thankfully fisherman, Baz Adams, is taking something smaller.

That's easy enough, eh?

You're going to church, you're lucky, aren't you?

Baz wouldn't miss the pet service for the world,

especially after last year's debacle.

I don't think they're going to cow into the church this year,

which is probably a good idea.

Well, the cow went round once, and the second time it did

a bit of good luck on the floor, which didn't go down too well!

CHURCH BELLS

Hi.

This probably counts as Gill's most unusual Anglican service ever.

And, judging by the turnout, her busiest.

Just as well she's invited friend and colleague, Karen,

the lay Methodist minister, to give her a helping hand.

Yes, there's quite a number of characters here.

It'll be interesting to see how everything happens when we get inside.

Last to arrive is shepherd, David Scott, with his wife, Estelle,

and their baby daughter, Robin.

Oh, well done!

But they've also brought long an unexpected guest, Persil, the pet lamb.

He was destined for the butcher's block,

but it appears David's soft spot for his pet got the better of him.

Although he's not quite yet ready to admit the reason for Persil's stay of execution.

He's not had a growth spurt yet,

so he's certainly around for the rest of the winter,

and I think he'll probably be around for the sheep racing next year.

I was saying to Dave about Persil, that if he's coming the pet service,

then Persil really should be a pet, really. So we'll see.

I shall lobby for Persil's long life.

No, he's a lovely little sheep.

CHICKEN CLUCKS

# All things bright and beautiful

# All creatures great and small

# All things wise and wonderful

# The Lord God made them all. #

Creator God, you have made a beautiful world...

This service is Gill's swansong.

But, as sad as that may be for the islanders,

there's better news from her lay Methodist colleague, Karen,

who's decided to explore a call to train as a fully-fledged Methodist minister.

DOG BARKS

And now we're going to come to the part where we're going to

bless the animals and the creatures that we've brought with us.

You were created by God...

If all goes well, Karen's hoping she'll be able to stay on in Sark

for at least five years, so the island's worshippers

will still have one shepherd to guide them.

Yes, it's exciting.

For years, the last ten years or so, I've felt called

to the full-time ministry, to the ordained ministry.

May you and your human family experience joy and companionship.

'This is what God wants me to do.'

There's a lot to contemplate, but exciting.

In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Gill and Karen have been very brave inviting Sark's animal population

into the church, and so far so good but, as they say,

don't count your chickens.

ANIMAL NOISES DROWNS OUT SINGING

# Everywhere around me

# I can see the hand of God

# The evidence surrounds me

# In the greatness of this world

# Everywhere around me

# I can see the hand of God

# The evidence surrounds me

# In the greatness of this world

# Everywhere around me. #

They're really getting the idea now, about joining in, aren't they? It's tremendous.

The pet service will no doubt be a highlight in the many memories

Gill will reflect on when she leaves Sark, but what has struck her most

is how the members of this small but determined island community

have supported each other through uncertain and difficult times.

One of the things I've learnt about living on an island

is you have to be tough.

They have to make life work for them.

It's no good expecting that others will just, erm...

that there'll be safety net, as it were.

There's a resilience in the people here, a determination,

and I admire that.

And all the very best, I hope you have a good journey.

Thank you.

And you have a good journey.

If I could possibly have a photograph of animals and people over there.

I don't know how you're going to do this, Julie.

I will remember the island as one of the best years of our lives, I think.

Can you get as close to each other as possible, please?

Could the cow on the left squeeze in a little bit?

The question now is how Church of England worshippers on Sark

will cope over the hard winter months ahead,

until a permanent replacement for Gill is found.

The search for the new Anglican vicar is on.

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