Not all peachy in paradise

BY THE time you read this, Sark's Midsummer Show will be done and dusted, but I popped along on Tuesday in time to see some of the younger schoolchildren proudly setting out their miniature gardens that they'd made to enter in it. There were some very colourful, creative efforts. Well done.

Committee honorary secretary Zoe Adams told me that entries in this year's show were up on last year, particularly in the cut flower and flower arrangement sections. This, we decided, was probably down to the fact that it's not been overly windy in the crucial run-up to the event. I wish I'd been a judge in the home-made wines section because there was some exotic-sounding plum gin and nettle wine among the entries.

Earlier, I called in at the Visitor Centre, where a Wildlife Exhibition is running until 10 July.

If you're planning on visiting Sark before it ends, it's well worth a look as there are some amazing photographs on display of birds, insects and underwater life in and around Sark, with loads of interesting information to go with them.

Around five or six different exhibitions are run in the centre every year and judging by the steady stream of visitors coming in and out, they are proving an extremely popular addition to Sark's tourist experience.

The next one features Channel Islands lighthouses and it will be augmented by visits to Sark's Point Robert Lighthouse. Numbers for the visits are limited and bookings must be made at the Visitor Centre.

Sadly, it's not all peachy in paradise at the moment. Posters are still popping up around the island, some of which are rather nasty and personal. Others, pinned to trees in Dixcart Valley, urge visiting mariners not to use the new moorings in Dixcart Bay on the grounds that they are 'morally and legally unsound'.

I thought this was rather sad as while I was at the Visitor Centre I overheard a couple of yachties saying they wouldn't come to Sark if it wasn't for the fact that there were safe moorings. When will it all end, one wonders?

There is one little argument I would like to knock on the head once and for all, and it's this business about 'full employment'. Until Sark Estate Management came along, did Sark residents enjoy a full employment situation or did they not?

It's all down to interpretation, really. When we moved to Sark 11 years ago, one of the first things we commented on was the amazing work ethic of the residents of this island, both young and old.

Some people had year-round, permanent employment in secure jobs and, during the summer months, most residents enjoyed what could be termed 'full employment'. But the period from October until Easter was a different kettle of fish. People had to take what they could get. So it was never full employment in the true sense. It was scrabbling around to make ends meet for months on end, which is not a comfortable place to be when you have private health insurance premiums to pay on top of what is already quite a high cost of living.

Until a few years ago, of course, this state of affairs was cushioned to a certain extent by the 'Sark Lark'. It is a fact that proceeds from signatory work (I use the word 'work' loosely in this connection) filtered down through the population ensuring a steady income top-up.

So what are people supposed to do now this has all but dried up? Well, they can take part-time winter employment if they can find it, but it's hardly very secure – particularly when you have a family to feed.

And in some cases it's not particularly well paid either, as those doing the employing are quick to offer low rates of pay if they think they can get away with it.

Or, they can take advantage of the varied opportunities that have been created since the arrival of Sark Estate Management. Secure jobs, year-round, with all the benefits one would expect from a 21st-century employer. It's a no-brainer, really, and I don't understand why people should be continually pilloried for it.

On a lighter note, Puffin Taylour of the Sark Carnival Committee tells me that there are still a few 'unsold' sheep available for the two-day race meeting on the weekend of 17 and 18 July. For just £25 you can name your own sheep in one of the races. As regular race-goers will know, the inventive names are one of the highlights of the event.

Guernsey-owned sheep are very welcome, so if you would like to take part, give Puffin a ring

on 832639.