The Salvation Army provided the music at the annual Sark Sea Service, which aims to give thanks to the emergency and lifeline passenger and cargo services, without which the island would struggle.

SARK’S now-traditional Sea Service took place last Sunday morning at Creux Harbour.Visitors joined island residents for the annual service of thanksgiving for those who provide the emergency and lifeline passenger and cargo services without which Sark could easily cease to function.

For Guernsey’s Lt-Governor, Air Marshal Peter Walker, and his wife, it was the first such service, although the Bailiff, Sir Geoffrey Rowland, and his wife, Lady Diana, have attended for a number of years.

The service was led by Pastor Karen Le Mouton from Sark Methodist Church – it was also a first sea service for her in that capacity – and the address was given by lay reader David Neale of St Peter’s Anglican Church.

Readings were by the Lt-Governor and Sark resident Kathy Dew, representing the Roman Catholic Church. Music for the hymns was provided by the band of the Salvation Army.

There was a pleasant departure from the norm at the end of the service when cheques were presented to representatives of a number of Guernsey and Sark charities. The presentations were made by Wendy and Lawrence Roberts, the organisers of the Candles on the Creux event, which had been held the previous weekend.

That raised just over £4,000 – a quarter of which came from Peter Hutchins’ sponsored beard-and-head-shaving – and there was an additional £1,500 from the Guernsey Jazz Orchestra’s lunchtime gig at Hathaway’s (they played for nothing) and £150 from charter skipper Ray Lowe, which he donated from monies received for standing in for Buzz White.

The recipients were Channel Islands Air Search, the RNLI, the St John marine ambulance Flying Christine and Sark’s medical trust, fire and rescue service and ambulance service.

The money raised, not far short of £6,000, once again brings a huge amount of credit to organisers and donors alike and I know the recipients’ representatives were extremely grateful.

Two nominations in the final few hours before Monday’s noon deadline means Sark will have a contested election for four conseiller seats next month.

At close of business last Friday, just four candidates had had their nominations accepted by returning officer Reg Guille – Simon Higgins, Rosanne Byrne (better known as artist Rosanne Guille), Hazel Fry and Steve Taylor.

However, by noon on Monday, when nominations closed, Paul Burgess and John Donnelly had added their names to the list, meaning it will be a case of any four from six on polling day on 14 September.

Mr Burgess and Mr Donnelly had been members of the pre-2008 Chief Pleas – the former as an elected deputy and the latter as a landowning tenant – while Mr Taylor was an unsuccessful candidate, along with Messrs Donnelly and Burgess, at the 2010 general election.

The other three candidates, Mr Higgins, Mrs Byrne and Mrs Fry, are entering Sark’s political arena for the first time.

In my view, all six nominees should be thanked for offering their services for what at times is a thankless and (for some) onerous task. All six would, it seems to me, bring something different to Sark politics, although it will be interesting to see if there is a departure from the nonsensical ‘one to one’ hustings meetings.

On this occasion at least, the electorate should be aware of the capability of candidates to string more than five words together in front of an audience in response to perfectly proper questions.

A reminder, before I close, that Sark’s autumn flower-and-produce show takes place on Wednesday and Thursday of next week. It’s an event always worth attending and a tribute to the skills of exhibitors and the hard work of the organisers.

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