Island Parish

The Isles of Scilly make an idyllic setting for any television programme, and the first series of Island Parish rapidly established a number of personalities within the Islands community lucky enough to live there.

There was also a greater need than on the mainland to emphasise the unique qualities of each of the separate inhabited islands. Whilst the common feature of all of the half hour episodes was seeing how the new Chaplain to the Isles adapted to island life, there was an increasing emphasis on the way in which those who live on Scilly have to cope with the kind of dual existence which the holiday industry, on which Scilly is now largely dependent, dictates.

Bishop Bill warned Fr Guy that being a priest on the Isles would not all be plain sailing. There is always a sense of isolation which priests tend not to experience when there are other clergy a short drive away. In the months before Fr Guy and his young family arrived, two Anglican priests, Donald Marr and his wife Margaret, had continued to exercise a ministry, as had the Methodist Minister on the Islands; but Donald and Margaret did not spend all the year on Scilly, and so there was much for the new Chaplain to do, and to absorb. The series feature the Marrs and Fr Guy, but increasingly focussed on aspects of island life, which, as the Bishop said ‘offers all the beauties of Cornwall, magnified;  but its problems - of isolation, employment, housing, a future for young people - they too are magnified, and some find it hard to adjust'.

The programmes had much to say about all of the problems which the Bishop had identified, and whilst viewers were introduced to many of the high spots of island life, like the gig races, they also learnt that earning a living on Scilly can be hard and that diversification and ingenuity, whether you are a vet, a fisherman or an artist, can often be the only way of remaining ahead of ever spiralling costs. As with any other community anywhere, there were tragedies as well as triumphs to be reflected by the programmes, and seeing how a new priest, very different in many ways from the one before him, came to terms with the needs of the community.

Viewing figures for Island Parish stayed well above the two million mark every week of the series, but as the stories began to centre more on the ways in which a group of island communities worked together, and less on the role of the parish priest, the series began to be much more community centred, which the Diocese welcomed. Indeed, when a second series in the Islands was suggested, it was agreed that Fr Guy should be given time to continue to settle in, and  the emphasis should look particularly at the way in which the Methodist Church exercised its ministry there, and the work of the Revd David Easton. The second series, shown in 2008/9 was well received by the viewing public, and a number of strong story lines, including the attempt to row the Atlantic by the Scilly Boys, attracted considerable interest - and led to a special hour long documentary early in 2009.

The Diocese remains deeply grateful to Nigel Farrell and Tiger Aspect for the care and empathy which they took with all of the programmes, which broke new ground for the Church of England in exploring ministry, both at an episcopal and at a parish level. We are also very grateful for all of the clergy and their families who were prepared to let the camera follow their daily lives, sometimes at  personal cost.

For more in Sound and Vision go to  Radio, Film and Television

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