The owner of Sark’s new bookshop, Liz Elmont, looks at an old photograph of Avenue House, the building facing tourists as they walk towards The Avenue. (0561304)

SUNDAY boats from Guernsey have now started, as has the Manches Iles service direct from Jersey. Slowly but surely the visitors are starting to trickle in.

Among them, naturally, are many who have visited Sark before and the common theme in their comments is how much more attractive The Avenue now looks.

Gone are the dilapidated eyesores and wasteland that dominated the north side.

In their place are some attractive shops – a couple of which are already open for business.

I passed Katie Hamon’s Glass Shop the other day and, although it was not unattractive before, it’s amazing what a difference some brightly painted window shutters have made to it.

One of the new outlets to have opened is a bookshop – something Sark and its visitors will certainly welcome. Owned by Liz Elmont, it will deal predominantly in old books about the island – although browsing through what is on offer the other day, I found some interesting publications on the other Channel Islands, too.

In addition, there are pictures of Sark scenes and also old photographs, as well as maps and tourist guides from the days when there were 240 pence in the pound.

While keeping an eye on her lively toddler, Liz told me that while she will be stocking new publications occasionally, her principal interest will be in selling older books.

The collection was started by her and Simon, her husband, and she has been pleasantly surprised with the amount of interest.

‘I do have friends in the United Kingdom and the other Channel Islands looking out for publications for me,’ she said. ‘Quite surprisingly, I have had quite a number of books in from Scotland, of all places.’

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The Avenue Green is also ready for business, so to speak, and it hasn’t taken local youngsters long to find a nice piece of turf on which to play. Similarly for those of us who need somewhere to sit and rest awhile, the park benches surrounding this area are a welcome addition to facilities.

So, too, will be the public toilets currently being worked on nearby and they will offer access for the disabled. If Sark does have a shortcoming – and there are very few in my view – it is in such facilities and these will be appreciated by tourists in the coming months.

Just up the road, where Isabel Jackson had had the shop which was the forerunner of the nearby Island Stores, half a dozen or so units are being built and I am told that it’s intended that local artists and craftsmen will be offered these.

There will also be a photographic studio run by Lydia Bourne. She will be selling limited-edition prints of Sark life, landscapes and wildlife.

At the rear of the building a beauty salon will soon be opening. Run by Lyn Nelson, it will have four treatment rooms – although it might also need a scaffolding unit if Lyn intends trying to do anything to improve features like mine.

And, to round off news of this particular development, Sally Walker and Sabrina Carre will soon be opening the Yellow Brick Road Children’s Activity Centre.

As I said, it’s all changing and, in respect of all these new additions at least, the changes are welcome.

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THE Queen and members of the Privy Council were due to meet yesterday to give Royal assent to Sark’s new reform law. The legislation, which must have had one of the longest gestation periods known to man, will give effect to the changes in the composition of Chief Pleas, among other things, which the legislature has been debating for what seems to many like a lifetime.

It paves the way for a directly elected legislature and so will bring to an end to almost 450 years of the 40 landowning tenants having an automatic seat in the assembly.

However, as I write, I hear that Sir David and Sir Frederick Barclay are still far from happy that changes to the roles of the Seigneur and Seneschal are not included in the draft law and intend seeking to challenge that in the courts.

Whether that halts – for the time being at least – the Royal assent remains to be seen.

The email address or comment is fallesark@sark.net.