We've had three couples here this week walking around the island and I just wanted to publicly take my hat off to them for their spirit. They are walking 16-20 miles a day, each day and I am so in awe as I don't think I could do it.
Well done Leigh, David, Chris, Jan, Mike and Sue.

We have had in the Old Village a wonderfully busy weekend.
Mum baked one of her lovely cakes, an orange sponge which disappeared fast from the bar in the evenings.
I took a few hours out yesterday and went to Seaview Flamingo Park, and although it was busy it was still very calm and quiet. The birds when we got there weren't at all interested in eating any of the food we brought at the kiosk. I think they had been eating all day and didn't want to know.
But we did find a duck in a special enclosure that was ravenous; he ate like he'd never eaten before. It turned out he was blind and found seeds more slowly than the other birds. We put our whole pile in one place and he had a feast, while the others just sauntered past, full already from the day’s festivities.
So my tip would be go there early and have the birds chase you instead?

The Bedford Lodge would like to introduce its six wonderful hens. They are all Warrens, an archetypal brown chicken and they have totally charmed us all.

We are committed to reducing our food miles and ensuring we only ever use Free-range eggs, so it made perfect sense for us to have our own small brood. They live in a specially converted garden shed at the rear of the Lodge, with their own run. They provide us with delicious eggs and hours of entertainment.

If you want to visit them during your stay just let us know. We only have nicknames for them at present.

• Ginger the Winger – says it all really
• Cocoa – the first to lay an egg
• Spike and Blob the Twins
• White Bum
• And bringing up the rear, the ‘other brown one’

Proper names to follow once we can think up some apt ones.

The Bedford Lodge was a finalist in this year’s Micro Business Category, along with five others. This year’s winner was a company called Total Coverage, who also took away the prestigious Overall Winner trophy too.

They are a graphic design company, providing a comprehensive range of graphic design, web and marketing services for the public sector, charities, educational establishments and corporate clients.

Based in Southampton and founded in 1988 it is a workers’ co-operative, so everyone gets a say in the way the company is run.

www.totalcoverage.coop