Rack un-ruined

ONE of Sark's familiar 'toast rack' buses is being almost completely rebuilt.

All that remains of the original vehicle - one of two used to ferry passengers up (and sometimes down) Harbour Hill - is the chassis and even that has had work done on it.

The work is being carried out by Danie Ludick, who came to the island not long ago when his wife, Jill, was appointed to Sark School's teaching staff. He is being helped by Rob Cottle, the husband of head teacher Sarah.

South African Danie - he's from Johannesburg - is a mechanical engineer and the work is being carried out in an area next to his home in Rue Lucas. He told me he hoped to have the work finished and the bus back in the hands of driver Keith Guille - whose brother, Colin, drives the other bus - by this weekend or early next week. Whether Colin's vehicle is going to have a similar makeover remains to be seen.

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My very tongue-in-cheek comment last week about Chief Pleas having held four No Talking Days a year for the last couple of years was unfortunately taken literally by at least one member of the legislature.

I was commenting on Sark School's splendid 'no talking' charity effort and suggested that they didn't get the idea from Chief Pleas, despite many members saying precious little other than to answer their names at roll call and vote 'pour' or 'contre' when necessary.

In what felt like a fortnight but was probably no more than a minute or so, he regaled me with how - contrary to what I and others have said about the absence of debate since Chief Pleas members were all democratically elected - between the agenda being published and the sitting three weeks later, 'there is always a constant stream of questions' between members and committee chairmen by email.

It's not the first time I've heard that given as a reason for the absence of any discussion in many Chief Pleas debates and it probably won't be the last. I had no idea when I cast my 28 votes in December 2008 in the historic first election for a fully democratic legislature that I was also voting for secret government by email.

I suppose we'll get to see the emails eventually, although the pigs are fuelled and ready to fly.

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While on the subject of being taken to task, my recent comments about the lack of any open discussion at the Tourism Committee's recent forum - comments which mirrored those of Sark Scribe editor Bob Parsons - have led to criticism of the pair of us in the latest edition of Kevin Delaney's Sark Newsletter, who clearly thought the event was wonderful.

Leaving aside my immediate reaction that while Mr Delaney is having a pop at us then at least he's giving someone else a bit of respite, the only observation I have to make is that Bob and I have an advantage over the Newsletter's editor-in-chief in that at least we attended the event we criticised.

Advance notice, for the very many people who will be interested, is hereby given of the Artists for Nature Foundation's Jubilee Project 'Art for the Love of Sark', which runs from 4 to 16 May and involves some of the world's most talented and influential artists coming to the island.

Local artist Rosanne Guille has worked very hard on this project and full details can be obtained from her website, sarkpaintings.com, or the foundation's - artistsfornature.com.

And on Saturday 18 June there will be a special evening with Michael Aspel at a dinner in aid of the foundation's Sark project. Bookings and further information about this can be obtained from the venue, Stocks Hotel.

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