Idyll shaken by internal politics

SARK has just had what was probably its last busy weekend of the year and unfortunately the sun shone on the wrong day.

On Saturday - when the island was hosting a star-studded London Wasps International Legends team between the rugby posts on the Millennium Field and Michelle Perree and her Simply Sark team held their annual Celebration of the Sea - it was a case for most of the day of finding somewhere away from the drizzle.

The weather obviously affected attendances at both events, which was a shame given the amount of work people here put in to make all such occasions a success. It must have been particularly galling when Sunday dawned and became as pleasant a late-summer day as anyone could wish for.

I hope that nothing has deterred the organisers of both events from looking to include them in next year's calendar.

Sark needs things like the Celebration of the Sea, sporting events, the sheep race meeting and - following the huge success of its inauguration this year - the folk festival.

The emphasis I place on that need is all the more important right now following the announcement that the Lord's Taverners have decided that their annual cricket extravaganza will no longer be held here. It's no exaggeration to say that this yearly chance to meet stars of the sporting and showbiz worlds has raised very many hundreds of thousands of pounds for a most worthwhile charity over the years and the fact that next year it will be held in Herm - while good news for our Bailiwick neighbours - is a blow.

Not only has some of the money raised found its way back to Sark - to the benefit of sporting activities for the island's young people - but the commercial life of the island has also benefited enormously.

From where I'm sitting, it is clear that it has fallen victim to the internal politics that have bedevilled this otherwise idyllic community in recent times and I make no apology for expressing that view, for it's high time someone did. Tit for tat is a game for children and as such belongs in the playground, not in committee, court and boardrooms. Indeed, one wonders how many more noses will be cut off in futile attempts to spite faces before someone with a bit of leadership emerges from the shambles, bangs a few heads together and declares that enough is enough.

Sadly, I'm not holding my breath.

While on the subject of leadership, it might be as well to remind Sark residents that they have until 29 September to ensure that their names are on the electoral roll, otherwise they will not be able to vote in the December election.

By my reckoning, there will be no fewer than 16 vacancies for the office of conseiller - the 14 who were elected for two-year terms and the seats previously held by David Pollard, who has left the island, and the late Dr Stephen Henry.

Since the historic 2008 election there has been a change to the qualification for inclusion on the electoral roll. The law stipulates that residency for 24 months continuously is now a condition.

This means that I am unlikely to see a repeat of what happened when I cast my vote last time and emerged from the polling station to see four people following me in, none of whom I had ever seen before - or since, if it comes to that.

* The email address for comment is fallesark@sark.net.

Peter Cunneen takes over the column next week while I am away on holiday.