Sark recalls its fallen heroes at Sunday’s remembrance service. (0670628)

SARK’S historic general election is now less than four weeks away and nominations for the 28 conseiller seats opened today.

The forms have to be submitted to the Seneschal’s office – signed by two people on the electoral roll as proposer and seconder – by noon on 26 November and must be handed in by the candidate or one of the two signatories.

A list of nominations will be posted in the island’s official notice boxes and updated each day.

If there is to be a contested election – and opinion here is divided on whether a sufficient number of candidates will come forward to fill all 28 vacancies – polling takes place on 10 December between 10am and 6pm in the snooker room at the Island Hall and the count, which is open to the public, takes place in the main hall.

I hope it is contested, because democracy and the significance of Sark’s first all-elected legislature certainly merit one.

That said, I don’t subscribe to a view which sometimes prevails that somehow those members elected unopposed are not really elected. Absolute tripe, if you ask me, because it is hardly the fault of successful candidates that no one had the gumption to stand against them.

The current Chief Pleas – 12 elected deputies and a theoretical 40 landowning tenants – ceases to hold office at midnight on 8 January and at 10 o’clock the following morning the 28 successful candidates will take the oaths of office and allegiance.

The first sitting of the new legislature will follow immediately, at which elections to committees will be held.

I would have thought that it might have been simpler to elect committee presidents first and then adjourn so that a bit of horse trading can go on as to who will sit on which committee.

The presidents could return with a list of nominees of people willing to serve with him or her and ask the assembly to approve or amend those names. That system has the added advantage of presidents having the approval of the House rather than being selected by a handful of fellow committee members.

The trouble with such ideas is that they invariably provoke the ‘but Sark is different’ response – a bit like the old Channel Island saying that there’s a boat out in the morning.

Sark marked Remembrance Sunday with the traditional wreath-laying ceremony at the war memorial, followed by an ecumenical service at St Peter’s Church. The parade, made up of ex-service men and women, the Royal Antediluvian Order of Buffaloes and the island’s emergency services, lined the road in front of the church.

Seigneur Michael Beaumont led the wreath-laying tributes after Seneschal Reg Guille had read the names of those sons of Sark who had died in two world wars – a list that included no fewer than six members of the extended Guille family in the First World War.

As always, it was a simple yet poignant tribute and it was good to see that there were a number of children present.

Earlier in the week children had turned out in their scores for what is becoming another annual event – the builders’ bonfire on Guy Fawkes Night in the field behind The Avenue.

Kristina Southern and her team of helpers from La Petite Poule provided free food and drink. As my generation used to say, everyone went home tired but happy.

Email comments to fallesark@sark.net.