A group of French travel agents did all the touristy things, including a visit to the prison. (0760142)

SARK resident Simon Elmont and his opposite number at Cable & Wireless in Alderney, Steve Wright, are waiting for the weather to lift to start yet another trek across the frozen wastes – this time Greenland’s.

They arrived in Iceland on a flight from London on Monday afternoon to be greeted by gale-force winds and a 10-degree drop in temperature.

The weather has delayed the beginning of their trek, giving them more time to reflect on such an epic journey after almost a year of preparations.

They have also been reflecting on what they describe as the great question – why on earth they do things like this?

The answer on this occasion is that they are walking across a southern peninsula of Greenland in aid of the Motor Neurone Disease Association and what they raise – their target is £3,000 – will help fund care for sufferers within the Bailiwick as well as helping valuable research aimed at finding a cure.

The trek – they’ll combine walking with skiing – is 350 miles all told and at times they’ll have to climb to 2,700 metres.

It could take them 30 days, but they are hoping to complete it in about 25.

I just hope they manage to steer clear of polar bears – something they didn’t manage to do on their last fund-raising trek in the frozen wastes.

If anyone is interested in adding a pound or three to their fund-raising efforts, they can do so online at www.justgiving.com/greenland09 and I’m sure all contributions will be gratefully received.

A PARTY of a dozen or so French travel agents spent a day in Sark earlier this week as guests of Sark Estate Management.

They did the traditional touristy things – a lengthy carriage drive around the island followed by a nice lunch at the Aval du Creux Hotel – and followed that with a leisurely walk up The Avenue to the Visitor Centre and the adjacent Societe Serquaise.

There were exhibitions at both locations and no doubt they were told all about Sark’s Wildflower

Fortnight, which starts tomorrow and lasts until the island’s Liberation Day on 10 May.

The general view among those in the tourism industry is that this year the euro is certainly king and the more visitors we can attract from among our cousins in Normandy and Brittany, the more successful the 2009 season will be.

I understand that while the majority of the party had been to Sark before, it was some time since they’d travelled here.

The general consensus from those I managed to have a brief word with was that Sark has a good deal to offer French tourists and, as several of them pointed out, their own trip coincided with a beautiful spring day.

If nothing else that serves as a reminder, as if one is necessary, that the fine line between the success or failure of a tourist season depends more on the weather here than it does in many other locations.

THERE is a thanksgiving service at St Peter’s Church at 1pm tomorrow for the life of Rosemary Aldridge, who died recently.

Some news which I heard recently adds another touch of poignancy because it concerned the death last week of Ron Gorman, a very private man who’d spent much of the last year living in Sark.

Although I’d exchanged pleasantries with Mr Gorman on his frequent visits to the island, I didn’t realise until I heard of his death that in the summer months he would travel to many parts of the island picking blackberries for Mrs Aldridge.

She turned them into the delightful Rosemary’s Preserves that over the years raised many thousands of pounds for island charities. They will both be missed.

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