THE ISLE OF SARK

Here we have a simple conversation about European culture. 

You may down the file and the narrated audio here and here.

THE ISLE OF SARK

Are you tired of frantic pace[1]of modern life? If the answer is yes, then you should visit the Isle Sark and take a step back to a time when cars didn’t fill our streets. Sark, the smallest of the Channel Islands, is the last independent feudal state in Europe.

Heaven on Earth

The island is a paradise for nature lovers, ramblers² and above all, birdwatchers³. There really are no cars here: visitors can travel around the island on horse-drawn carriages⁴, on foot, or hire⁵ bicycles. The island offers miles of wonderful coastline⁶ with sandy⁷, almost deserted beaches. There are many inlets⁸ and bays where you can spot puffins⁹, dolphins and rare anemones. Sark has attracted tourists since the 18^th century, and now many of its inhabitants depend on tourism, though there are traditional cottage industries¹⁰ such as knitting, pottery and glass-blowing¹¹.

Elizabethan Times

The time of government in Sark had hardly changed since 1556, when Elizabeth I leased the land to the Governor of Jersey, Helier de Carteret. The island, the properly of the English monarchy, was once the site of a monastery, but in the 14^th century became uninhabited because of the Black Death¹².

Sark became a refuge for pirates and the French threatened to claim it¹³. So Queen Elizabeth appointed Carteret the island’s feudal governor, or Seigneur, on condition he brought 40 families to colonise and defend the land. Through 2008 the island was still governed by a Seigneur, Mr. Michael Beaumont. Since then charges in the island’s constitution have resulted in the transition to an elected government.