If You Want Something Doing... An Island Parish

At just two miles long and a mile wide, Sark is the smallest of the

four main Channel Islands.

It's only 80 miles from the UK mainland and

the Queen is their Head of State but it has its own government and laws.

It's been this way for almost 500 years.

At the centre of the community are Sark's two churches,

the Methodist chapel, run by Karen Le Mouton...

Let us pray together. God and our salvation...

..and the Anglican St Peter's, still on the search for a permanent vicar

but using locums in the meantime.

Sark's 600 inhabitants pay no income tax - so that means

the island must fund and organise many of its services.

We have to put ourselves forward

and that is what life on Sark is all about, putting ourselves forward.

The lack of state support fosters a culture of volunteering.

It's one of the nice things about living on Sark actually, isn't it?

You make a little cry for help and everybody turns up.

On Sark, there's almost nothing a volunteer won't do.

-Oh, my goodness!

-That's great!

Are we done?

It's April, and across Sark, last-minute preparations are being

made for what all on the island hope will be a prosperous tourist season.

Almost all trades on Sark rely on this industry,

so for shopkeepers like Caroline Langford

at the Post Office, springtime is a defining moment in the calendar.

We always love to see the visitors come back - it can be a long,

cold winter sometimes,

and new faces means that the tills are ringing and we're all happy!

Business is picking up for workers,

but on a small island like Sark

many are also involved in how the place is run.

Like Jeremy Le Trobe-Bateman -

on the one hand he's the crane operator at the harbour...

..and on the other he's the island's magistrate,

or as they say on Sark, the Seneschal.

And so we move swiftly on to agenda item number one.

Sark being independent to a large degree, of course that means

if you're independent you have to do things for yourself, so we

have our own parliament which meets four times a year in this building.

Volunteers, nobody is paid for that.

You have to run your own affairs,

you have to run your own school, you have to run your own services.

And that's a real plus

because that makes the community come together.

The only things are going to get done

is if people on the island do it.

The Do It Yourself attitude on Sark

also extends to the emergency services

In charge of 18 volunteer fire fighters is

farmer and leader of the Church choir, Kevin Adams.

We're doing it for, really, for the love of Sark,

that's what it's... We're helping our fellow Sarkees

and visitors to the island.

Be it be fires, cliff rescues, ambulance assist.

Whatever you like, if there isn't a job for somebody else to do,

we get it!

Mini's day job is running the Harbour Cafe, but she's been

a voluntary fire-fighter since she moved to Sark nine years ago.

What's the point of being here and staying at home?

You get involved in the community, get stuck in and that's how you

get to know people and feel proud to be part of this beautiful island.

You know, we can all give something, whether it's your knowledge

of the island or your fitness or your strength,

there's something we can all give and together we make an excellent team.

We've never been short of people applying, so last time

we had 11 people applying for 4 vacancies - it was great!

-Is it quite a rigorous application process?

-No!

This is a big weekend for Kevin and his crew, with visiting instructors

from the mainland here to update training and hone techniques.

The leader is Steve Speck.

Fair play to them, they're what this island's got

as their emergency service, really, there's nothing else.

It'll take Guernsey an hour and a half to get here, so by then

most emergency situations will have been resolved one way or another.

Sark's Fire Brigade on average deal with one fire a year.

Today, the team are going to learn about fuel fires.

STEVE: Never put it on until you've got foam

-and keep it on as long as you've got foam.

-It's moving through!

Foam is a more efficient extinguisher

than water on these fires.

and with tractors and fuel depots on Sark,

this new skill will provide a more effective response.

You want to hit it straight on the top! Rain it down on top.

I'm pleasantly surprised.

They've picked everything up quite quickly

and they want to learn which is a good thing.

Across the island, spring has sprung,

and Sark's lack of cultivation leads to a profusion of wild flowers.

To make the most of this, volunteers step forward to give visitors

walking tours across the island.

These bluebells are the English bluebell.

It looks like a shy English maiden with her head turned down.

Springtime is just lovely. When you arrive at the island

and you go up Harbour Hill and it's just a mass of bluebells

and wild garlic. You know, going along the hedgerows you see

so many beautiful flowers, it's just a real joy.

The guide today is Susan Synott - a published author

on the subject of wild flowers.

Every household I think in Sark produces sloe gin,

it's quite an occupation in the winter.

It helps put Sark on the map and it also brings a certain amount

of tourists here earlier in the season, particularly

after Easter - you can get quite a lull before the main season starts.

Sark's emergency services rely on charitable donations,

and teaching assistant and part-time photographer Lydia Bourne has

an idea to raise money for them, but it's not for the shy.

I saw the film of Calendar Girls a few years ago

and I thought I'd love to do that here

and I've sent out a letter to all the people

who volunteer for the services

and I'm waiting for them to attend a meeting.

I'm really hoping this is going to be received well

because I'd like to do a lot of different kinds of photographs

with all the props, like the fire tender. And all the different

Sark things, like bicycles and things like that, and tractors.

So I'd be delighted if we have a big turnout, but I'm...I'm apprehensive.

This evening's meeting at the Island Hall will be the first time

that Lydia and her photography expert friend, Sue Daly, have

presented their idea to the emergency workers on Sark.

We could even have a tractor. Cos that's so Sark.

7pm, and there's a good turnout for the meeting,

though some do appear a little apprehensive.

Thank you for coming, cos this is kind of a bit of a stab in the dark.

It's brilliant that you all want to be involved and it's not too scary.

What's the money actually being raised for?

There's half going to our local emergency services,

and half going to the original benefactors of this one,

Lymphoma and Leukaemia Research, cancer research.

One thing we'd like if possible is to have something in the scene

that shows that you're in the emergency services!

Kevin, do you think...

Speedos?

With his helmet on?

-And Mini, we do need some big cupcakes!

-Not that big!

Sam's in, Lucy's in, Mini's in,

no John, so Ellie's in - that's brilliant.

-More people came than I thought.

-Yes.

I thought maybe we'd get about six people.

-I was delighted...

-And I was worried which six they might be as well.

THEY LAUGH

Right. That's fantastic.

Thank you, everybody!

Late April, and Sark finds itself vicarless.

Karen Le Mouton, the lay preacher at the Methodist Chapel,

is away on a well-earned holiday,

and currently there's no part-time locum vicar

stepping in to cover the vacancy at the Anglican St Peter's church.

But the volunteer culture continues

as ever-resourceful Sark has a fallback for these times,

in the shape of retired nurse and lay reader, Terry Archer.

Good morning. We begin our service this morning

with hymn number 470, Praise My Soul, the King of Heaven.

CONGREGATION SING HYMN

Lay readers are members of the congregation

authorised to lead services,

but that's the limit of what they can do

since they're not ordained.

# Praise him, praise him

# Praise him, praise him

# Glorious in our faithfulness. #

A very warm welcome to our service of matins this morning.

Special welcome if you're visitors,

it's lovely to see old friends returning and to welcome new ones.

7.30 Tuesday is the prayer group at Hazel's house.

If anyone would like supper, please let her know and be there at 6.30.

Without a stand-in lay reader, services would grind to a halt,

so parishioners like Puffin Taylour are grateful

for Terry's generous community spirit.

She knows people and she knows the sort of hymns we like.

It's a family feel at the service.

The search for a permanent vicar willing to live in the vicarage

without a wage continues.

We need someone resident on the island who will get to know people

and will build up good relationships with everyone.

Someone, I'm sure, will feel a call and a vocation,

whatever you like to call it, to come to Sark.

It's a wonderful, wonderful community.

Today, fisherman, Bas Adams, is hurtling in the opposite direction

to the fishing harbour.

Now, well, this is collecting jumble and here's the commander in chief.

-Hey, Bas.

-All right, Darren?

-I'm all right, how are you?

Shopping options on Sark are limited to say the least.

That makes the jumble sale a way of life.

The jumble sale is great fun, really like a recycling place,

because we have them regularly at the Island hall.

It's a great way of raising money

for the charity as well, various charities.

Today's jumble sale is in aid of the island's healthcare,

since there's no National Health Service on Sark.

And at the island hall,

a team of volunteers are busy displaying today's stock,

under direction from Sark's jumble sale maestro

and daughter of Bas, Zoe Adams.

We've got home-made cakes, which is always there

and Elsie always looks after that.

And then we've got Mrs Nightingale on the toys.

We've got Mrs Cocksedge doing the tombola,

she's the tombola queen of Sark.

And then we've got ladies' clothing,

men's clothing, we've got bric-a-brac which is always very extensive,

the raffle by the door so we knobble them as soon as they come in.

And then we've got books in the middle.

It's, honestly, it's like...

What was that programme, Are You Being Served? It's just like that.

Is that Captain Peacock?

SHE LAUGHS

Zoe loves doing things like that, she's a good organiser.

Sometimes she gets a bit fed up when things don't go right,

and she says "I won't do it again," but she still does.

I think on the whole,

people are very fussy about what they send, you know?

It's mostly all good stuff you get.

I've got one jumper which I've had for years, my favourite one,

that came from the jumble sale, for 30p.

I know exactly who owned it before.

I saw him one day and I said, "Do you like my new jumper?"

He just laughed, you know.

As Bas heads off to collect more jumble,

across the island, in a secluded and discreet corner of Sark,

Lydia and Sue are getting ready for a photo shoot

for their charity calendar.

Their willing victims today

are fire service volunteers Gail, Pippa and Mini.

-Do you want me to grab this end?

-If you can.

-Pass it's over.

-I'll try and pretend I'm macho.

It is rather heavy.

Gosh, imagine this with a person on. Can you manage?

We thought this was the best place ever.

At an undisclosed location.

Yes, it is!

Whatever you want to do, really.

The first job is to work out the strategic placement of the props.

Are you both going to wear the ropes? Is there two ropes?

There needs to be a bit...

Girls to the rescue, basically. Cliff rescue.

We don't know what they're rescuing. But, you know.

That can be part of the fantasy!

See if the ropes will cover enough. Cos I'd quite like it here.

-That's all right.

-Perfect!

-With that...

That's absolutely brilliant!

They're going to be three in a row here with the spinal board,

the lighthouse in the background,

and the wellies poking out the bottom.

It's a whole different side to Sark!

Oh, we're going to have all that...

-No, it's all right.

-We'll have to hold it.

It's quite nice to have that plain.

We can always take it out.

Right, girls. Actually, yeah, Min,

just move that rope more over your... There you go.

That's it, that's it! That's better!

So we can see the emblem.

We really want the shot to show it's definitely Sark, so we're trying to

get something that's essentially Sark in every shot.

And here we've got the lovely lighthouse and the sea as well.

Smile, ladies!

Discussions over, it's time to remove clothing and get the shot.

I can come and tweak ropes if you want.

Don't worry, you're not going to see them

cos you'll be behind the thing, won't you?

Luckily, Sark lighthouse is un-manned these days.

It is a family calendar!

THEY LAUGH

CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS

-It looks fantastic.

-That was a great photo!

-Fabulous.

Over at the Island Hall, and at 1.55pm on a Saturday afternoon,

Sark's bargain hunting recyclers are assembling.

Right, just go and stand over there

cos you'll get run over in the stampede.

Hello!

There's a jumble sale every couple of weeks on Sark,

and almost everything's on sale for 30p.

I just don't think I'm going to get into it somehow.

Even slung across the shoulders it's not quite going to work,

which is a shame!

Oh, and that was the one you wanted.

With no clothes shops on the island,

one particular stall works at fever pitch.

Ladies' fashion is the most lucrative department in the room.

Where people other places sort of go, "I'm wearing all designer labels",

over here it's a pride thing.

This was really a bargain,

this was a bargain, and, you know, people just love it!

Can't beat a bargain!

-Ta-dah!

-Oh, you're sorted!

Sorted, I'm sorted!

Take that out.

It's going very well - look at the amount of people!

And I think they're all spending, so that's good.

Lot's of money.

You're all very happy, aren't you, ladies?

Many on Sark are busy doing their bit this weekend.

With such steep cliffs, landslides are a common occurrence,

and a recent one has wiped out access to an iconic beach

on the island, Grand Greve.

It's THE popular beach.

This is your classic family beach in Sark...

Make sandcastles, make damns...

Just too frustrating not being able to use this beach.

The task today - led by magistrate/crane operator Jeremy -

is to cut a new path to connect up with steps down to the beach.

Time to start reclaiming what's rightfully ours!

The maintenance of the roads and paths on Sark

is usually paid for with the island's coffers.

I'll have to do a nice sideslip here, I think.

But for those paths off the beaten track,

it falls to the islanders themselves.

It's me and my volunteers. God bless'em! Yeah.

It's one of the nice things about living on Sark, actually.

You make a little cry for help and everybody turns up!

Yeah, it's wonderful.

The dog can see the rabbit now.

It's not just the young lads.

There's Sue up there, just come from her tea garden.

So it's certain a good cross section of the community here...

giving it a burst.

Well, Jeremy, who is pretty good at organising these things,

just put a notice up in the entrance to the gallery,

on the notice board, asking for volunteers.

As I really like using this beach, it seemed like a good idea.

We've joined up with the other path!

You just feel... Yep, if we use them, we've got to help ourselves.

JEREMY: Mind your nose, doggy!

I think in other places,

their municipal council would be doing this!

There we go. On the beach again.

How nice is that?

I'll have to have a bath when I get home,

and it's not even the end of the month yet!

On a cold and windy day, Lydia and Sue are getting in position

for their last calendar photo shoot.

We are doing men and bikes today,

cos bikes are part of living on Sark.

Everybody has a bike, so we thought we had to the bicycles in.

We've come to The Coupee because it's just a classic picture.

Everybody who's been here, knows where The Coupee is.

Here they come.

Willing to go the extra mile today are Kevin, his brother Simon

and Paul Williams.

Paul...that's not going to cover you, is it?

If we bring the rope forward and hang it over the front.

Oh, that's going to work.

Like that.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

I think that's going to look great.

Such good sports, these guys, for doing this.

This is the time that the pagers go off.

Sorry, sorry, boys!

All we can do is apologise.

Now, Paul, you need to... That's it. There. That's it.

We were a bit reserved on the first go round,

but now we've done two or three, we've got the hang of it.

It was more shocking for the visitors coming past

and thinking, "What the heck is happening?!"

I can see. There, that's better. There.

-Yeah.

-Big, cheesy laughs and smiles.

Yay!

Think of the beer after. I'll go and buy you a drink now.

-I think they need brandy!

-Hot chocolate!

That's great!

Are we done?

Brilliant!

You can put your clothes back on now.

Loved every minute.

It'll be something for the memoirs.

We'll look back on today and think, "Never again."

The recent fundraising and volunteering have paid dividends.

The path down to Grand Greve beach is now open again.

Zoe's jumble sale raised over £1,000 for the island's healthcare.

And tonight is the launch of the much anticipated calendar.

Where are the calendars?

-Hidden.

-They're undercover.

-They're under here.

They're under there. Has anybody seen them yet?

-No.

-So none of them have seen anything, have they?

-I'm a bit nervous.

-Hmm. Yeah.

If they don't like them,

there'll be a lot of people not speaking to us.

If they don't like them, it'll be terrible

if our houses caught fire, they might not come!

Granted a private viewing

before the members of the public are allowed in,

are those who featured in the photos.

There's a palpable sense of tension in the room,

and a reluctance to sit in the front row.

OK, we'd like to say a huge, huge thank you

to all the generous people in this room

who have starred in our calendar and I'm sure you're going to like it!

LAUGHTER

If you don't, it's tough!

So, now for the pictures.

So, the first one is Mr January.

LAUGHTER

Next is Pippa, Gail and Mini.

Ooh!

Look at the boobs on that!

You might need to have a quick drink before you see the next one.

Paul and Simon and Kevin.

-Oh, yes!

-Are you ready?

Oh, yes!

"Narrow Escape", this is called.

LAUGHTER

No?!

That's brilliant.

-Well done, you two.

-Well done!

They come with envelopes.

With printing costs already covered,

all money taken tonight is clear profit,

and, in just one hour, Lydia and Sue

sell over 170 calendars at £10 each.

From here on in, it'll be on sale in shops across Sark.

Those involved in the calendar -

the clothed and the not clothed alike -

can bask in a feeling of accomplishment.

We're always game for a laugh, really, I think.

It's good fun, for a great cause, as well.

I don't know if it makes us famous or infamous, I don't know.

-That's your birthday month.

-I know!

Pictures look amazing,

if not slightly disturbing for some of us.

And you can see that we obviously don't have any fitness regime

within our emergency services.

-Well done!

-Thank you! Oh, I got a kiss form a fireman.

-Well done.

-Thank you!

Didn't they do well?

In the days to come...

..Dave Scott the shepherd branches out...

They're getting quite tame now, anyway.

Ay-up, piggos.

..an art project highlighting the unique natural history

of the island shows just how vulnerable it is...

The whole point of this is to make people think about

how special Sark is and hopefully to protect it for the future.

..and Methodist lay preacher, Karen Le Mouton, learns whether

her pre-ordination training will mean she has to leave Sark.

Well, I'm just trusting God and trusting the people

involved that it's all done very prayerfully

and that the right decision will be made.