I don't usually let myself get wound up by stuff I read about in the news, but this Sark business has me pretty mad. If you've never heard of Sark, go read about it in Wikipedia. The island and its (former) way of government is living proof that the UK is old. This country wasn't created, but instead evolved over millennia, along the way accreting administrative cruft like the Chief Pleas. Titles like Seigneur and Seneschal are beautifully evocative, and it really didn't seem like the pseudo-feudal system was hurting the island's 600 inhabitants.
The hypocrisy of current events is simply stunning. The Barclay Brothers may claim to want democracy, but in reality they only wanted to place themselves as feudal lords over the island. When their nominees lost the popular vote, they chose to shutter all their concerns on the island in a fit of pique. I'd call it childish if it wasn't so far beyond that. It's downright criminal. The islanders wouldn't let the Barclays take over — probably with the intention of installing a new tax regime more favourable to themselves — and so they are being punished. Notice in the BBC article where the Barclay's spokesman says that they have no need to sell the properties. Rather than risking someone else moving in and giving these people their jobs back, they will board-up the hotels and other businesses and let them rot in order to spite the islanders.
I live just across the Channel from Sark, and I've got half a mind to grab a boat from the harbour and stage my own one-man invasion of Brecqhou — the Barclays' Bond-villan-esuqe island fortress — to see how they'd like it.
