All set for a wild and woolly weekend

SARK'S sheep racing weekend starts this evening.

Live music at the Millennium Field party night kicks off the event, while the real action – involving Dave Scott's four-legged thoroughbreds and their canine 'minders' – takes place tomorrow and on Sunday.

The weather forecast I've just consulted predicts sunshine, no rain and reasonably light winds, which will please those who view the short boat journeys from Guernsey and Jersey with trepidation, although temperatures will be a mite cooler than is usually the case in mid-July.

I'm told it's advisable to check with Sark Shipping, rather than turn up on the off chance of available seats, and it's quite possible the same may apply in relation to accommodation for those intending to make a weekend of it. It's always a good idea to contact accommodation providers or the Tourism Office on busy weekends – and they don't come much busier than the next few days.

After the miserable excuse for a summer that most Sark businesses have endured so far this year, everyone will be hoping the weather holds and that the incredible efforts of Puffin Taylour and her team raising money for the Professor Saint Medical Trust will be properly rewarded.

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I had better mention also that just hours before all that kicks off, Sark is set to entertain the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall for 75 minutes this morning.

It's a pity they couldn't stay for the sheep racing. I rather fancy it would have made a welcome change from their customary routine, but it will be nice to see them nonetheless.

While I'm on the subject of what Sark has to offer guests, I'd also like to mention a couple of other things. The first is a series of walks – each with topical and interesting themes – organised either by or through the visitor centre.

Details and dates are available either directly from the Tourism Office or by looking on the Sark Tourism 2012 page on the official tourism website. I'm told by people who've been on the walks that they are really enjoyable and well worth the effort.

The second is the newly renovated chapel in the grounds of La Seigneurie, which is currently the location for a small exhibition about recent seigneurs – and, of course, La Dame, Dame Sibyl Hathaway, the grandmother of current Seigneur Michael Beaumont. It contains some easy-to-read and informative display boards and is well worth a visit for anyone with even a passing interest in the Beaumont family's part in island history.

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Next Wednesday the General Purposes and Advisory Committee will host a public meeting at the Island Hall to discuss the Belinda Crowe report.

According to the drop delivered to all island homes a couple of days ago, residents will be given the opportunity to make their views known as well as hearing 'the background to the report and how it might be taken forward'.

As someone who subscribes to the view that Channel Islanders are notoriously careful with money – Scots stripped of their generosity is a much-used description – I will be interested to know if the committee has done any preliminary costings.

I'm tempted also to remind those Chief Pleas members who might think that this exercise must be completed in a fortnight or less that the best way to lead Sarkees is to find out where they want to go and walk in front of them.

In any event, it will hopefully be an interesting and constructive discussion and one in which residents will feel able to air their views without fearing subsequent criticism.

lThe email address for comment is fallesark@sark.net.