0:00:03 > 0:00:06Nestled amongst the Channel Islands is picturesque Sark.
0:00:10 > 0:00:13Part of the British Isles, but self-governing,
0:00:13 > 0:00:15with its own parliament and laws.
0:00:15 > 0:00:18All those in favour, raise your hand.
0:00:19 > 0:00:23Tourism is Sark's lifeblood, and visitors flock in the summer
0:00:23 > 0:00:27to witness the island's beauty and eccentric charm.
0:00:29 > 0:00:31With no cars or streetlights,
0:00:31 > 0:00:33a visit to Sark is a step back in time.
0:00:36 > 0:00:38People that come to Sark like its uniqueness.
0:00:38 > 0:00:41It is different, and I think as long as we can retain that,
0:00:41 > 0:00:44people will still want to come to the island.
0:00:44 > 0:00:47Up to now, Sark's independence has enabled it
0:00:47 > 0:00:50to reject many of the trappings of modern life
0:00:50 > 0:00:52and to protect its natural heritage.
0:00:54 > 0:00:56But things are changing...
0:00:56 > 0:00:59That's no longer there, unfortunately.
0:00:59 > 0:01:02..and those on Sark face difficult choices,
0:01:02 > 0:01:05all the while protecting the unique characteristics
0:01:05 > 0:01:07that make the island so special.
0:01:07 > 0:01:10If we ever see the day that our government officials
0:01:10 > 0:01:13are persuaded that we need cars, that, you know,
0:01:13 > 0:01:15we need anything more, really, than we've got now,
0:01:15 > 0:01:17I think it would be a disaster.
0:01:55 > 0:01:56For visitors,
0:01:56 > 0:02:00much of the appeal of Sark comes from its lack of modern ways.
0:02:02 > 0:02:05There is no bus service here. Instead, you're pulled by a tractor.
0:02:07 > 0:02:10And with no cars, people get around by horse-drawn carriage...
0:02:12 > 0:02:13..by bike...
0:02:15 > 0:02:17..or on foot.
0:02:18 > 0:02:22Sark's roads are resolutely old-fashioned too,
0:02:22 > 0:02:26largely laid with stone that comes from Sark's only quarry,
0:02:26 > 0:02:30owned by farmer and leader of the church choir Kevin Adams.
0:02:33 > 0:02:36Well, they're dirt roads, or stone roads.
0:02:36 > 0:02:39They're not bound together with bitumen or anything.
0:02:40 > 0:02:42Bitumen makes the roads very hot
0:02:42 > 0:02:46and you'd have to have different horseshoes for the horses.
0:02:46 > 0:02:49So, Sark has always had stone roads,
0:02:49 > 0:02:53and they do suffer from wear and tear.
0:02:53 > 0:02:56Like the rest of the UK, we had lots of rain
0:02:56 > 0:02:59and it erodes the roads.
0:03:01 > 0:03:04There's still some time, before the busy summer season,
0:03:04 > 0:03:06for a spot of maintenance on the roads,
0:03:06 > 0:03:10and that's going to need a lot of new stone.
0:03:10 > 0:03:12So, busy feeding the rock crusher at the quarry
0:03:12 > 0:03:15is the double act of Zoe Adams and Jill Gill.
0:03:17 > 0:03:20We're quite an attraction in the summer.
0:03:20 > 0:03:23So, lots of people stop and take pictures of us.
0:03:23 > 0:03:26There was one group of chaps that were passing, older guys,
0:03:26 > 0:03:28and they were mouthing something to Jill
0:03:28 > 0:03:30and she wasn't sure what they were saying.
0:03:30 > 0:03:33Eventually she realised they were saying, "Is it community service?"
0:03:33 > 0:03:36They thought we were doing community service!
0:03:36 > 0:03:38No, it's our job! This is what we do.
0:03:38 > 0:03:40- It's not an unusual job for women, not in Sark.- No.
0:03:44 > 0:03:46The rock crusher might not seem cutting-edge
0:03:46 > 0:03:49but, in the past, everything was done by hand,
0:03:49 > 0:03:54from the crushing of the stone to the laying of the roads by fishermen
0:03:54 > 0:03:59out of season in the winter to keep them in work throughout the year.
0:03:59 > 0:04:02Now we have a machine which comes once a year from England,
0:04:02 > 0:04:04which is called a MERI crusher,
0:04:04 > 0:04:07and it rips up the road, and then it will relay the road for you.
0:04:14 > 0:04:16For the last four years,
0:04:16 > 0:04:20the road gangs have been superseded by the MERI crusher, arriving today.
0:04:20 > 0:04:25But getting almost ten tonnes of machinery off the boat
0:04:25 > 0:04:27tests the crane and its operator,
0:04:27 > 0:04:29Jeremy La Trobe-Bateman, to the limit.
0:04:31 > 0:04:33It's quite a tricky lift for the crane, really.
0:04:35 > 0:04:37It makes me a little nervous.
0:04:38 > 0:04:43We're pretty near crane capacity lifting the thing off.
0:04:44 > 0:04:48A Japanese lady starts shouting when it gets into the yellow sector
0:04:48 > 0:04:52and she gets very, very hysterical when you get towards the red!
0:04:57 > 0:05:01The MERI crusher is a sign of changing times on Sark.
0:05:01 > 0:05:04It'll be crisscrossing the island for the next two weeks.
0:05:12 > 0:05:15With the lambing season now over,
0:05:15 > 0:05:17shepherd Dave Scott has a little more time
0:05:17 > 0:05:21to spend with those animals who've achieved a more elevated status.
0:05:22 > 0:05:25Come on, then, Pers! We're going out!
0:05:25 > 0:05:26SHEEP BLEATS
0:05:29 > 0:05:33Dave's pet sheep, Persil, is now a one-year-old.
0:05:33 > 0:05:37Bottle-fed when born, he's always been a member of the family.
0:05:37 > 0:05:38He's off!
0:05:38 > 0:05:42Come on, Persil. Come on, then!
0:05:42 > 0:05:44Come on! Here he comes!
0:05:44 > 0:05:46Look at that.
0:05:47 > 0:05:49Almost as obedient as the dogs.
0:05:51 > 0:05:53Ahh...
0:05:53 > 0:05:55Ehh...
0:05:55 > 0:05:59You're getting quite fat, Persil, aren't you? Yes!
0:06:00 > 0:06:01Growing quite meaty.
0:06:03 > 0:06:05- MAN:- Is he always going to be a pet?
0:06:07 > 0:06:09I suppose he probably will be, yeah.
0:06:10 > 0:06:12He's quite a friendly little chap.
0:06:14 > 0:06:17And he has got celebrity status now, of course, you know.
0:06:17 > 0:06:20People flock from miles around to come and see Persil, you know.
0:06:21 > 0:06:23All right, Pers.
0:06:25 > 0:06:26But Persil isn't the only animal
0:06:26 > 0:06:29who's found a special place in Dave's heart.
0:06:29 > 0:06:33Hello, piggy-wig. Hello, piggy. Come on, out you come.
0:06:34 > 0:06:38There's another, called Scarlett O'Hara.
0:06:38 > 0:06:41She's a nice big pig. Aren't you, Scars? Come on, piggo.
0:06:44 > 0:06:45Come on. Out you come.
0:06:46 > 0:06:51Come and see the sunshine! Eh? Come on, old girl.
0:06:52 > 0:06:58She's due to farrow in about a month's time. She's not that old.
0:06:58 > 0:06:59She's only just over a year old.
0:07:02 > 0:07:04Shall we go and inspect your patch?
0:07:04 > 0:07:06Come on, then, Scarls.
0:07:06 > 0:07:08It's a bit muddy.
0:07:10 > 0:07:11Off you trot, then.
0:07:14 > 0:07:18Come on, then. You all right?
0:07:18 > 0:07:20How are you doing?
0:07:20 > 0:07:23Come on, then, piggy-wig. Come on, Scarly.
0:07:23 > 0:07:25'I swapped Scarlett for a sheep, actually.'
0:07:26 > 0:07:28We had three piggies
0:07:28 > 0:07:33and Scarlett just sort of touched a nerve, really.
0:07:33 > 0:07:35Come on, porker. Come on, piggus.
0:07:37 > 0:07:40She got out a couple of weeks ago and...
0:07:40 > 0:07:42I found her in the middle of a vineyard.
0:07:43 > 0:07:46But, luckily, she wasn't there very long.
0:07:47 > 0:07:50Hopefully, yeah, we'll see some piglets in a month's time.
0:07:50 > 0:07:51BICYCLE BELL DINGS
0:07:53 > 0:07:55Dave's wife, Estelle,
0:07:55 > 0:07:58and their daughter, Robyn, have had to learn to share him.
0:07:59 > 0:08:01- MAN:- He does love that pig. - He does, he does.
0:08:01 > 0:08:04He was home for about five minutes yesterday, we got off the boat,
0:08:04 > 0:08:06he went home, picked up the dogs,
0:08:06 > 0:08:09and he said, "I'm just off to do the pig!"
0:08:10 > 0:08:13I mean, she's lovely, Scarlett. Aren't you, Scarls? Aren't you?
0:08:14 > 0:08:17She loves him. Most other men go to the pub, they do whatever.
0:08:17 > 0:08:20Dave just hangs out in the pig pen, yeah.
0:08:20 > 0:08:21Come on, then.
0:08:28 > 0:08:30Sark's rich natural heritage
0:08:30 > 0:08:33provides much inspiration to the island's artists,
0:08:33 > 0:08:36who have a healthy tourist trade to support them.
0:08:38 > 0:08:41Artist Rosie Guille is a Sark native
0:08:41 > 0:08:45whose family line goes all the way back to the original settlers.
0:08:45 > 0:08:50We go right back to 1565, so it's nice to be able to say that.
0:08:50 > 0:08:52Yeah, I've got strong roots in Sark.
0:08:54 > 0:08:57Rosie sells paintings from her own gallery,
0:08:57 > 0:09:00with most of her work showing Sark's most iconic views.
0:09:00 > 0:09:04I just love painting, especially in watercolour.
0:09:04 > 0:09:06I think it's the environment that I grew up in.
0:09:06 > 0:09:08Just idyllic, idyllic way of life,
0:09:08 > 0:09:10you know, up and down from the beaches,
0:09:10 > 0:09:14off on our own quite a lot of the time.
0:09:14 > 0:09:17My sister and I, we were always down the rocks, fishing.
0:09:17 > 0:09:20I just think it's so perfect for an artist.
0:09:22 > 0:09:23For the last few years,
0:09:23 > 0:09:25Rosie has worked with an organisation
0:09:25 > 0:09:27called Artists for Nature,
0:09:27 > 0:09:31who use art as a way of highlighting conservation issues.
0:09:33 > 0:09:37Artists like Bruce Pearson are invited to the island.
0:09:37 > 0:09:43Well, the project started in 2009, when I had this bright idea
0:09:43 > 0:09:47of bringing a group of world-renowned artists to Sark
0:09:47 > 0:09:51to highlight the nature and our way of life over here, which is unique.
0:09:54 > 0:09:57I've found Sark particularly exciting.
0:09:57 > 0:10:03There's a wonderful sense of timelessness in the landscape.
0:10:03 > 0:10:07It's an absolutely extraordinary place, fantastic.
0:10:07 > 0:10:10For one previous artists' weekend,
0:10:10 > 0:10:13Rosie organised for over 50 of them to visit the island,
0:10:13 > 0:10:17and it resulted in the publication of a book.
0:10:17 > 0:10:18It's a big coffee table-type book
0:10:18 > 0:10:25and it's full of paintings by the artists, like Bruce.
0:10:25 > 0:10:30That's no longer there, unfortunately. That's a field now.
0:10:30 > 0:10:33- There we are.- There we are. That doesn't look like that any more.
0:10:34 > 0:10:38So, Sark's landscape is not immune to change.
0:10:38 > 0:10:42But Rosie's project attempts to stop it changing too much.
0:10:42 > 0:10:46Sark has a responsibility to look after its natural beauty,
0:10:46 > 0:10:49maintain what we have, maintain our roads,
0:10:49 > 0:10:50you know, maintain our dark skies,
0:10:50 > 0:10:54hang onto everything that everybody else is losing.
0:10:56 > 0:10:58The whole point of this
0:10:58 > 0:11:03is really to make people think about how special Sark is
0:11:03 > 0:11:07and, hopefully, to protect it for the future.
0:11:14 > 0:11:17One of Sark's unique natural characteristics
0:11:17 > 0:11:20that has so far been protected comes alive as night falls.
0:11:22 > 0:11:25A result of Sark's lack of streetlights
0:11:25 > 0:11:27and, hence, lack of light pollution.
0:11:31 > 0:11:35The night sky on Sark is as vivid now as it's always been...
0:11:38 > 0:11:42..and makes keen amateur astronomers out of many on the island.
0:11:43 > 0:11:48Sark is brilliant for looking at stars just with your naked eyes.
0:11:48 > 0:11:53You can lie on a lawn, look upwards, let your eyes adjust to the dark.
0:11:53 > 0:11:55You gradually see more and more stars.
0:11:57 > 0:11:59It's like a whole carpet of diamonds.
0:12:01 > 0:12:06Members of Sark Astronomy Society gather whenever the skies are clear.
0:12:06 > 0:12:09It really is lovely to see the stars in Sark, cos they're always...
0:12:09 > 0:12:12They're right there, you know, you just go outside your back door.
0:12:12 > 0:12:13- MAN:- That's Mars, is it?
0:12:17 > 0:12:21Three years ago, Sark became the first island in the world
0:12:21 > 0:12:23to get official dark sky status
0:12:23 > 0:12:27and, in so doing, became well-known to professional astronomers too,
0:12:27 > 0:12:29like Dr Marek Kukula,
0:12:29 > 0:12:32Public Astronomer at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich.
0:12:32 > 0:12:35I think the residents here have done a really amazing job
0:12:35 > 0:12:38in protecting this part of their natural environment,
0:12:38 > 0:12:41which, in many other parts of the world,
0:12:41 > 0:12:44we've kind of lost without really realising it,
0:12:44 > 0:12:46and I hope that it will bring more people to the island
0:12:46 > 0:12:49to appreciate the dark skies that they have here.
0:12:50 > 0:12:53I think just anybody walking the lanes of Sark at night,
0:12:53 > 0:12:57looking up, it's a really beautiful, romantic sight, it's gorgeous.
0:13:00 > 0:13:01I think Sark's been so fortunate.
0:13:01 > 0:13:03Because we have no streetlights,
0:13:03 > 0:13:05we've managed to preserve these dark skies,
0:13:05 > 0:13:09hence we've got this status of the first dark sky island in the world.
0:13:09 > 0:13:11We're all here tonight looking up at the stars,
0:13:11 > 0:13:14and it's great to think that generations to come
0:13:14 > 0:13:16will be able to do the same thing.
0:13:21 > 0:13:23Sark has two churches,
0:13:23 > 0:13:27both very much at the centre of the island's community.
0:13:27 > 0:13:31There's the Methodist Chapel and the Anglican St Peter's Church.
0:13:33 > 0:13:37For over six months now, St Peter's has been using locum vicars,
0:13:37 > 0:13:39usually covering a month or so at a time,
0:13:39 > 0:13:42as they continue to search for someone permanent.
0:13:46 > 0:13:49The only full-time resident minister on Sark at the moment
0:13:49 > 0:13:52is Methodist lay preacher Karen Le Mouton.
0:13:52 > 0:13:55Hello, Sheila.
0:13:55 > 0:13:57Hello, Persil!
0:13:57 > 0:13:58For the last three years,
0:13:58 > 0:14:00Karen has spent most of her time
0:14:00 > 0:14:03away from her home on neighbouring Jersey
0:14:03 > 0:14:05amongst the parishioners of Sark.
0:14:07 > 0:14:10She's worked hard to bring the church to the people,
0:14:10 > 0:14:12and the people to the church.
0:14:12 > 0:14:15She's now a well-respected member of Sark's community.
0:14:18 > 0:14:19But recently,
0:14:19 > 0:14:22Karen has been accepted for pre-ordination training,
0:14:22 > 0:14:25and that throws her future on Sark into question.
0:14:27 > 0:14:31It could either be a two-year full-time course
0:14:31 > 0:14:33at Queen's Foundation in Birmingham
0:14:33 > 0:14:35or a three-year part-time pathway
0:14:35 > 0:14:40which would allow me to continue to do the job here, I hope.
0:14:40 > 0:14:42I've put my preferred options in,
0:14:42 > 0:14:45so I have to wait to hear what will be offered to me
0:14:45 > 0:14:47and what they feel would be right for me.
0:14:50 > 0:14:51For members of Karen's congregation,
0:14:51 > 0:14:56the idea that she might be leaving is causing great concern.
0:14:56 > 0:14:58We should be so sad.
0:14:58 > 0:15:02You know, we'd be really very, very sorry if she had to go
0:15:02 > 0:15:07and we'd miss her greatly as a person, as well as our pastor.
0:15:07 > 0:15:09You have made each one of us unique.
0:15:09 > 0:15:12She's a friend to the wider community,
0:15:12 > 0:15:16so she would be missed, the whole of Sark would miss her.
0:15:16 > 0:15:19If I was moved at the moment, I'd feel...
0:15:19 > 0:15:23I'd find it quite difficult, because this is my third year here
0:15:23 > 0:15:26and it takes a long time to build up trust and relationships,
0:15:26 > 0:15:29and I feel I've just got to that point now
0:15:29 > 0:15:33and feel that my ministry's just sort of taking off, really,
0:15:33 > 0:15:37and to move at this point, I think, would be quite hard for Sark.
0:15:38 > 0:15:41I'm just trusting God and trusting the people involved
0:15:41 > 0:15:43that it's all done very prayerfully
0:15:43 > 0:15:44and that the right decision will be made.
0:15:46 > 0:15:50About to get started on a programme of road maintenance
0:15:50 > 0:15:51is the MERI crusher.
0:15:51 > 0:15:55The entire project is overseen by Paul Williams.
0:15:55 > 0:15:59OK. As usual, I've put the list on a fag packet.
0:15:59 > 0:16:02- Well, it's a Christmas card. - A Christmas card.- Yeah, yeah.
0:16:02 > 0:16:05This is Owen Cronk. He's been over...
0:16:05 > 0:16:07Call him Cronky, naturally.
0:16:07 > 0:16:11He's been over a couple of times with this monster that's behind us.
0:16:11 > 0:16:13It's...
0:16:13 > 0:16:19We need a big tractor like that to handle this machine,
0:16:19 > 0:16:21which is the MERI crusher.
0:16:21 > 0:16:25This machine will rip up the road
0:16:25 > 0:16:27and then Owen will take this machine off
0:16:27 > 0:16:32and he will put on this machine, which is the grader,
0:16:32 > 0:16:34and then when that's finished,
0:16:34 > 0:16:37we will come along with our own roller
0:16:37 > 0:16:39and they will end up as we would like them.
0:16:46 > 0:16:50In two weeks, the MERI crusher will cover more of Sark
0:16:50 > 0:16:53than a road gang of men could have done in an entire winter.
0:16:54 > 0:16:57But its presence throws up difficult questions for Sark.
0:16:59 > 0:17:02Importing machines like the MERI crusher,
0:17:02 > 0:17:05meaning that it's taking away from local work,
0:17:05 > 0:17:08inevitably lowers that sense of community
0:17:08 > 0:17:12because there's less collective work to do,
0:17:12 > 0:17:14and what are those people going to do
0:17:14 > 0:17:16who used to work in the winter?
0:17:16 > 0:17:20They'll find other work, but it's not working as a gang together.
0:17:25 > 0:17:30I think, for Sark, it's that tension between allowing change to happen
0:17:30 > 0:17:34to benefit the community and to benefit the economy,
0:17:34 > 0:17:37but also retaining the uniqueness that is Sark.
0:17:40 > 0:17:43Modern technology faces a stern test today.
0:17:43 > 0:17:46The Coupee, French for "gangway",
0:17:46 > 0:17:49links Sark to the peninsula of Little Sark.
0:17:49 > 0:17:51The roads there are in a poor state,
0:17:51 > 0:17:54so the MERI crusher will attempt to become
0:17:54 > 0:17:57the biggest and heaviest vehicle ever to get across.
0:18:02 > 0:18:05- Good luck!- I'm going to need it!
0:18:07 > 0:18:09ENGINE STARTS
0:18:12 > 0:18:15It's a huge machine. It's 200 horsepower of tractor.
0:18:15 > 0:18:18Potentially, the problem with that big machine
0:18:18 > 0:18:20is that our roads aren't very big.
0:18:22 > 0:18:24It has to breathe in, let's put it that way!
0:18:26 > 0:18:30- With minuscule clearance either side...- Good Lord above.
0:18:30 > 0:18:34..and an almost sheer 300-foot drop to the left and right,
0:18:34 > 0:18:36the MERI crusher enters the Coupee.
0:18:36 > 0:18:40Under pressure is driver Owen Cronk.
0:18:40 > 0:18:42OWEN LAUGHS Oh!
0:18:44 > 0:18:45How did I get myself into this?
0:18:50 > 0:18:52This is the bit I've been dreading.
0:18:55 > 0:18:56Oh, dear!
0:18:58 > 0:19:02Certainly the last part, looking down over, is petrifying.
0:19:04 > 0:19:07Phew! Hallelujah! Thank you.
0:19:10 > 0:19:12And there we are. The Coupee still stands.
0:19:12 > 0:19:14- You've got to get back yet! - Yes, thank you!
0:19:23 > 0:19:26There's another member of the Artists for Nature organisation
0:19:26 > 0:19:28on Sark this week.
0:19:28 > 0:19:30Sculptor Harriet Mead
0:19:30 > 0:19:34specialises in transforming old and discarded items.
0:19:34 > 0:19:37It's made entirely of found objects. I collected them all from Sark.
0:19:37 > 0:19:40It's rather fun looking at the objects.
0:19:40 > 0:19:42I mean, here's a bottle opener here.
0:19:42 > 0:19:46There's a bicycle, because on Sark, everyone goes around with bicycles,
0:19:46 > 0:19:47so I end up with quite a few bits of bicycle.
0:19:51 > 0:19:53Alfie Adams is my absolute hero.
0:19:53 > 0:19:56I've been to his sheds on a number of occasions
0:19:56 > 0:19:59and he always comes up with some absolute gems.
0:19:59 > 0:20:01Hello, Alfie.
0:20:01 > 0:20:03Hi!
0:20:03 > 0:20:09On Sark, the undisputed king of old and discarded items is Alfie Adams.
0:20:09 > 0:20:11Born and raised on the island,
0:20:11 > 0:20:13he's a descendant of the original settlers
0:20:13 > 0:20:15and a hoarder par excellence.
0:20:15 > 0:20:17Ah!
0:20:18 > 0:20:20Look at that, then!
0:20:20 > 0:20:24- Oh, it's a candle snuffer!- Correct. I thought you could do a witch's hat.
0:20:24 > 0:20:26SHE LAUGHS You want to put these in, then?
0:20:26 > 0:20:30- Yeah, I'd love them.- Yeah. - Oh! Those are lovely.
0:20:30 > 0:20:32You know, already, I'm looking at that
0:20:32 > 0:20:35and you can imagine this is the head and the neck of the bird
0:20:35 > 0:20:38and this is the wing feathers coming back at the back.
0:20:38 > 0:20:40I thought it would make a perfect catapult!
0:20:42 > 0:20:45Alfie lived through the German occupation of the Channel Islands
0:20:45 > 0:20:47during World War II,
0:20:47 > 0:20:51but some of his trinkets date back further than that.
0:20:51 > 0:20:55- Periscope.- Correct. I presume it was used in trenches.
0:20:55 > 0:20:57Yeah, because you can look round the corner.
0:20:57 > 0:20:59You look through, up there.
0:21:02 > 0:21:04- There you are.- Look at that!
0:21:04 > 0:21:071914-1918.
0:21:07 > 0:21:09Remind me the story behind that, Alfie.
0:21:09 > 0:21:11It was a fisherman...
0:21:12 > 0:21:15..shooting, he shot his foot, I think.
0:21:15 > 0:21:19But then the British Legion got him another one made of aluminium,
0:21:19 > 0:21:21and it took him months to get used to it,
0:21:21 > 0:21:24- because he couldn't get the swing. - Because this was so heavy.
0:21:24 > 0:21:27Because this one was so heavy and he could swing it with the other one.
0:21:30 > 0:21:34- Thanks, Alfie!- OK!- Bye!
0:21:36 > 0:21:40Armed with a fresh collection of Sark's most treasured clutter,
0:21:40 > 0:21:43Harriet meets up with painter Bruce at Sark school
0:21:43 > 0:21:46for a workshop with Class 1's children,
0:21:46 > 0:21:49connecting art to the natural world around them.
0:21:49 > 0:21:50These are all the goodies!
0:21:53 > 0:21:54Look at what Keana's found.
0:21:55 > 0:21:57Quack, quack, quack!
0:21:57 > 0:22:00- It's a duck's head.- With an eye. - With an eye and a beak.
0:22:00 > 0:22:01That's perfect.
0:22:01 > 0:22:05Let's put him along the back, as part of the duck's back.
0:22:05 > 0:22:07What could we use that for?
0:22:07 > 0:22:10So, this is his head. Can everyone see what's going on here?
0:22:10 > 0:22:14Who wants to help me make a horse? What does this look like on a horse?
0:22:14 > 0:22:16Can anyone think what that looks like?
0:22:16 > 0:22:19Class 1's teacher is Alison Mills.
0:22:19 > 0:22:21That's too big.
0:22:21 > 0:22:25As you can see, they're just so motivated now and enthusiastic
0:22:25 > 0:22:29and the imaginations are really starting to come out now.
0:22:32 > 0:22:34It just fits in so well with Sark,
0:22:34 > 0:22:39because it's getting them to notice the environment around them,
0:22:39 > 0:22:42the animals and everything that's on Sark.
0:22:42 > 0:22:45It's making them a lot more aware, I think.
0:22:45 > 0:22:47Does this look like a rabbit's back paw? I think it does.
0:22:47 > 0:22:49- What do you reckon?- Yeah.
0:22:51 > 0:22:55Over at Dave's shed, one pig has become 11.
0:22:55 > 0:22:56Come on out, piggies.
0:22:58 > 0:23:00Hello, little piggies.
0:23:00 > 0:23:03Scarlett O'Hara's piglets are now a few weeks old.
0:23:03 > 0:23:06Hello, piggy-wigs. Why aren't you all going out?
0:23:06 > 0:23:09They like it when the sun's shining, they come out,
0:23:09 > 0:23:13but they're not too keen when it's as cold as it is.
0:23:16 > 0:23:20They're getting quite tame now, anyway. 'Ey up, piggos!
0:23:21 > 0:23:23We'll bring up most of them,
0:23:23 > 0:23:26but we've got friends, they like to have a couple of pigs.
0:23:26 > 0:23:28They have the pigs for the summer
0:23:28 > 0:23:30and then they get to eat them in the autumn.
0:23:33 > 0:23:35Are you getting up, Scarlett?
0:23:35 > 0:23:37Come on, up you get. Go on!
0:23:37 > 0:23:40Go on, pig! Up, piggy!
0:23:40 > 0:23:41Up, piggo!
0:23:51 > 0:23:54While Karen waits to hear whether her pre-ordination training
0:23:54 > 0:23:57will take her away from her beloved Sark,
0:23:57 > 0:24:00over at the Anglican St Peter's,
0:24:00 > 0:24:03the mission to find a new permanent vicar has stalled.
0:24:04 > 0:24:07It's an unpaid role, though it does come with the vicarage
0:24:07 > 0:24:10as a so-called House for Duty.
0:24:10 > 0:24:11For the last six months now,
0:24:11 > 0:24:15they've only been able to find locums to provide temporary cover,
0:24:15 > 0:24:19a frustration to committed members of St Peter's congregation
0:24:19 > 0:24:21like Puffin Taylour.
0:24:21 > 0:24:23I'm not sure what it is.
0:24:23 > 0:24:26I think there's a shortness of supply generally for vicars,
0:24:27 > 0:24:30We're open up to anything, really.
0:24:30 > 0:24:33We don't mind who we get, so long as they've got a Christian faith
0:24:33 > 0:24:36and they want to bring the mission to Sark.
0:24:37 > 0:24:41Visiting the island is the man responsible for finding a new vicar.
0:24:41 > 0:24:43The Dean of Guernsey, Paul Mellor.
0:24:46 > 0:24:51There isn't a plan to go on with locum ministry here.
0:24:51 > 0:24:55It is fulfilling a need at the moment.
0:24:56 > 0:24:59Our aim is to find that elusive person
0:24:59 > 0:25:03who would come and fit in here
0:25:03 > 0:25:06and also be able to serve the parish into the future.
0:25:09 > 0:25:14Whoever comes, that special person, or that special family, man, woman,
0:25:14 > 0:25:19will find Sark a treasure, and I'm hopeful that they will come,
0:25:19 > 0:25:22so anybody out there, come and have a look at us.
0:25:27 > 0:25:29Things change slowly on Sark...
0:25:31 > 0:25:33..and some things hardly change at all.
0:25:33 > 0:25:35Fishing for lobsters and crabs here
0:25:35 > 0:25:39has been done pretty much the same way for hundreds of years.
0:25:41 > 0:25:44Bas Adams, another descendant of Sark's original settlers,
0:25:44 > 0:25:47has fished almost all his whole life.
0:25:49 > 0:25:52My grandfather and my uncle, that's how I started.
0:25:53 > 0:25:57I was only about six and I used to go with them.
0:25:57 > 0:25:59If they didn't want to take me,
0:25:59 > 0:26:01I used to cry, cos I wanted to go so much, you know.
0:26:01 > 0:26:04It means everything, because it's my hobby as well.
0:26:07 > 0:26:09It's a trade that defies modernisation,
0:26:09 > 0:26:13using methods that could never be industrialised.
0:26:13 > 0:26:16Any changes that HAVE happened have been small.
0:26:18 > 0:26:20Some of them have changed.
0:26:20 > 0:26:21You buy little red bands now
0:26:21 > 0:26:24and you put them on with like a pair of tweezers.
0:26:25 > 0:26:28I do it in the old-fashioned way.
0:26:28 > 0:26:29I don't know why.
0:26:29 > 0:26:31Old habits die hard, I think.
0:26:32 > 0:26:34See, that's a nice one.
0:26:36 > 0:26:38Come on, you! Stop it!
0:26:43 > 0:26:46The 21st century has arrived in some ways on Sark,
0:26:46 > 0:26:50but for an island founded and marketed to tourists
0:26:50 > 0:26:55as being resolutely old-fashioned, many believe Sark needs protecting.
0:26:56 > 0:26:58If we were to lose that natural beauty
0:26:58 > 0:27:01and our unique way of life, we would become like everywhere else,
0:27:01 > 0:27:06and who would want to come to Sark then if we lost all that uniqueness?
0:27:10 > 0:27:14Sark does embrace the modern world, very much. We have to,
0:27:14 > 0:27:16but I think we do it at our own pace
0:27:16 > 0:27:20and we will take what we want from the modern world
0:27:20 > 0:27:23if it's appropriate for Sark, and reject the rest.
0:27:25 > 0:27:28Hopefully, we're all working for the same kind of thing,
0:27:28 > 0:27:31which is to preserve Sark, keep the dark skies,
0:27:31 > 0:27:35you know, we don't need 24-hour supermarkets.
0:27:35 > 0:27:36If we ever see the day
0:27:36 > 0:27:39our government officials are persuaded that we need cars,
0:27:39 > 0:27:42that, you know, we need anything more, really, than we've got now,
0:27:42 > 0:27:44I think it would be a disaster.
0:27:50 > 0:27:52Over at the Methodist Chapel,
0:27:52 > 0:27:56Karen has finally had word on whether she's staying on Sark.
0:27:58 > 0:28:00It's really good news.
0:28:00 > 0:28:02I've been offered the part-time pathway
0:28:02 > 0:28:06and that means that I can stay here and continue this role
0:28:06 > 0:28:09while I'm studying at the same time.
0:28:09 > 0:28:10Let us pray.
0:28:11 > 0:28:13Heavenly father...
0:28:14 > 0:28:18Karen's future on Sark is assured for at least the next three years,
0:28:18 > 0:28:20amongst her island parish.
0:28:20 > 0:28:24When you move to any community, you become part of it,
0:28:24 > 0:28:28you build up relationships and trust and become part of that
0:28:28 > 0:28:31and, you know, that's very much my love for the people of Sark
0:28:31 > 0:28:32and my love for Sark.