Sark fisherman Dominique Wakley cooks lobsters on the barbecue at Sark’s street market. (0798628)

SARK’S first street market last Saturday was a resounding success. The shipping companies – Sark Shipping and Manches Iles – pulled out all the stops to get tourists to the island, with the Guernsey-based vessels seemingly running a virtual shuttle service and, so I’m told, those on the boat from France and Jersey taking advantage of a specially reduced fare structure.

Indeed, I even spotted Bon Marin skipper John Bougourd and his crew sauntering about between the stalls and other attractions in The Avenue.

What was an absolute delight – and many people (both tourists and residents) remarked on it – was the total absence of traffic throughout the day, with tractors and carriages banned and cycles having to be pushed.

Visitors were greeted at the entrance to The Avenue by town crier Roger Peters and he kept everyone au fait with what was going on throughout the event.

There was music outside Time and Tide Restaurant, including accordionist Werner Rang making a rare public appearance – displays of his talent are usually restricted to the occasional post-Sunday lunch sing-a-long at Hotel Petit Champs.

Some of the 30-plus stalls were run by Sark charities and the indefatigable Pam Cocksedge raised more than £150 for the Professor Charles Saint Medical Trust.

I know that simply because it seems that almost before she’s counted the money, Pam has posted the figure and a small note of thanks on the shop noticeboards.

The market was organised by the Sark Chamber of Commerce, with most of the groundwork being done by Simon Couldridge, whose brainchild it was. Yesterday evening Chamber members were due to discuss the possibility of future markets and in particular their frequency.

It will be interesting to hear the outcome because, as most of them know, there is a very fine line between innovation and overkill.

While the market was still in progress, there was a cricket match with a difference being played at the Millennium Field, where Sark Cricket Club was facing Jersey side Walkovers Cricket Club – and getting involved in a bit of history as it did so.

The match was part of Walkovers’ attempt to play four matches in four different Channel Islands in one day. They started in Alderney and then went to Guernsey. Sark was next – they arrived mid-afternoon – and the final game was in Jersey.

The object was to raise £20,000 for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust – one of the Walkovers’ players, Kevin English, suffers from that debilitating illness – and I am told that at the end of the day they were fairly confident that they’d hit the target.

At one point they were being cheered on by singer Charlotte Church and her partner, Welsh international rugby player Gavin Henson, who were enjoying a day out in Sark as part of their Bailiwick holiday.

I have just bought one of the first half-dozen or so of Sark’s new monthly journal. Written (in the main) and produced by Bob Parsons, it’s a 20-page publication that’s full of colour pictures and it costs 99p.

A lot of work has gone into it and without giving away too much of the content, I particularly liked the ‘timetables’ showing when hotels, restaurants, cafes and tea gardens were open (along with telephone numbers for booking) for lunches and dinners.

As with all publications, it will be as good as those who contribute to it and read it and most people to whom I speak wish it every success.

It’s Lord’s Taverners cricket weekend coming up, which means that enormous amounts of money will be raised in what is already the most generous community I’ve ever come across. I hope the sun shines on them all.

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