Former MO turns 90

DR ROBERT ROBB came to Sark in the early 1980s after he left the Royal Air Force with the rank of Air Commodore.

He arrived as the island's medical officer and, to the delight of everyone to whom I speak about him, he stayed on after his retirement at the end of that decade.

The regard in which he is held was evident last week when scores of Sark residents attended an informal gathering at the Island Hall to help celebrate his 90th birthday.

As I arrived, Dr Robb was chatting with fellow resident Werner Rang – the two having worked together and been friends since the doctor's arrival when Mr Rang was then in charge of the Sark Ambulance Service.

Both are ex-servicemen – albeit on opposing sides during the Second World War – and both are members of the Sark branch of the Royal British Legion. They have also both been decorated by the monarch as Dr Robb is an Officer of the Order of the British Empire and Mr Rang is the holder of the British Empire Medal. Now both are nonagenarians, with the latter having celebrated his 92nd birthday earlier this year.

Little wonder they find plenty to talk about whenever they meet and little wonder either that Mr Rang and his wife Phyllis asked Dr Robb to write the foreword of Island Destiny – the book about their lives – when it was published a few years ago.

As I saw them chatting at the birthday celebration it brought home to me yet again that, despite the efforts of those who seek to denigrate this small community and the way of life which has evolved over the centuries, Sark remains one of the few places where friendships as perhaps unlikely as that between Robert Robb and Werner Rang can flourish.

It would be nice if others could put aside differences as permanently and as positively as these two elderly gentlemen have.

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David Bellamy will be in Sark next month for the launch of the much-awaited publication, 'Art for the Love of Sark'.

The special book on the work in the island of the Artists for Nature Foundation marks the organisation's first 20 years.

Around 15 internationally-renowned artists spent time in Sark in May last year and the fruits of their labours will be launched by Professor Bellamy at Stocks Hotel on 6 July. Both the launch and the publication itself promise to bring yet more favourable and certainly positive publicity to Sark.

My recollection is that Chief Pleas voted £5,000 to help with the expense of the ANF project. I would not bet against that being one of Sark's more worthwhile investments of recent years and island artist Rosanne Guille, who has done so much work on the project, will hopefully see her long-held optimism about it justified.

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The week before that book launch, Stocks is also the venue for a Midsummer Masked Ball, which will be held on 23 June in aid of the Sark Astronomy Society.

It will celebrate Sark's status as the world's first Dark Skies Island.

I think it's a superb idea that holds out the prospect of yet more good publicity, but can't help smiling at the irony of it being staged on one of the shortest nights of the year.

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My comments last week about using leaked reports as news stories prompted some online comment on thisisguernsey.com – including a couple of direct accusations that I was a thief.

I'm sorry to disappoint anyone, but leaking official documents is not theft. It's not even a crime – and I resent the accusation.

The legal definition of theft is well documented and those who level such accusations at me could do worse, when checking that out, to also check what constitutes libel.

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