On Saturday 4th September 2010 Nigel Waylen married Lucie de Guerin.  Nigel first moved to Herm to be head chef at The Mermaid Tavern but is now head chef at The White House Hotel.  The couple met through their involvement with the Sea Cadets on Guernsey and chose to get married in St. Tugual’s Church on Herm.  Reverend Bellinger officiated at the ceremony.  The weather was beautiful and the sun shone for the happy couple.  They travelled in style down the hill from the church to the harbour with Mikey at the wheel of the tractor!

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Whenever she can the ‘Goat Lady’ aka Jane, takes Sweet Pea and Honey Bun out for a walk.  The ‘boys’ are very well behaved and wherever Jane goes the goats go too!

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BBC Guernsey’s mid-morning radio programme was broadcast live from the Herm Trident ferry on Friday 27th August.  Jim Cathcart, the presenter, boarded Herm Trident V at 9.30am just as his programme started and did a series of interviews with people on board travelling to and from Herm.  Whilst the boat was unloading he chatted to some Herm residents.  The 12.35 arrival on Herm was VERY busy with arrivals, mainly coming to stay at the campsite for the bank holiday weekend.  I managed to get a photo of White House Hotel head receptionist, Linda Gijsbertsen being interviewed by Jim.  Just before the interview started Linda had a surprise meeting with one of her ex-tutors from her college in Holland!  He had just arrived on Herm for a short visit and hadn’t been expecting to see Linda at Rosaire Steps!

There were so many bags being unloaded that a chain was formed right to the top of Rosaire Steps.  The truckies earned their crust yesterday! 

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Jim Cathcart’s programme can be heard on the Listen Again page of the BBC Guernsey website http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p009j51g/Jim_Cathcart_27_08_2010/

I was out and about on Herm on a rather dull August Sunday but my day was brightened when I came across this fantastic beach art.  The sea monster was lying above the high tide mark in the corner of Belvoir beach and had been created late the evening before by guests staying in one of Herm’s holiday cottages. 

I spotted the balancing rocks at Alderney Point and they really are balancing – no glue or special effects were used but lots of patience needed to find the centre of gravity and make them balance!  They were created by Graeme Crowder who was camping on Herm with his family.  By the end of their holiday the whole family were balancing rocks.

When it’s not quite warm enough just to lie in the sun get creative!

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For the past twenty-five years origami expert Mick Guy has been visiting Herm to stay in the White House Hotel.  He first started visiting when his boys were young and Adrian Heyworth invited them to go into Herm school for Mr. Guy to teach the children some origami skills.  Mr. Guy and his wife Sue still visit Herm and each year Mick goes into the school to spend some time with the children and show them the Japanese art of paper folding.

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The children are still on school holidays.  These photos were taken in June!

The annual Herm Rowing Regatta took place at the weekend and although the conditions were far from ideal the races could take place.  The weekend started on Friday evening with the Guernsey to Herm race.  Saturday morning saw them completing the around Herm course whilst on Sunday morning rowers competed for the Trident Trophy – a figure of 8 course around Jethou then Herm. 

These photos were taken as the rowers got their boats into the water ready for the start on Sunday.  A few of the boat crew had some bailing out to do before they even started as they got caught out by the wash from the mid-morning Trident coming into the harbour!

The photo of the time-keepers and starter was  taken on Sunday morning despite it looking as if it was taken mid-winter! There was a stiff cold wind blowing at the end of the harbour but there is no such thing as bad weather if you are dressed appropriately!

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By mid-afternoon the cloud had cleared and the wind had dropped so those staying on Herm enjoyed a very quiet Shell Beach!

As I arrived at Herm harbour after walking down the hill I came across a hive of activity!  It was lovely to see children leaning over the wall seeing who could catch the most crabs, a harbour full of boats, cargo being unloaded and two lasers sailing around Herm just as the mid-morning Trident arrived full of visitors.  Twenty minutes later the crowds had dispersed, the tractors delivering the cargo had gone on their way so all that was left was the delightful sound of excited children as they caught a few more crabs!

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Seventy-eight runners took part in the annual round Herm Fun Run and I think that good fun was had by all!  The competitors may not have thought this as they ran round the south coast but there’s always that feeling of ‘I’m glad I took part’ once you finish!  Every year a contingent of adult and children from the Guernsey Island Amateur Athletic Club take part, several ‘fun runners’ who see it is a challenge, and then there is always a small group of more serious runners who happen to be on holiday in Guernsey or Herm.  This year the local club runners had met their match in Ben Hunter who won the event in a very speedy time of 16:14.  It is several years since the 17 minute barrier has been broken!  Ben who is from Essex and is holidaying in Guernsey with his family had planned a day trip to Herm so when he saw the poster advertising the race in the window of the Travel Trident ticket kiosk decided that his visit should coincide with the Herm run!

Enjoy the photos – there are pictures of most of the runners as they come over the finishing line.  Results lists are below available as downloadable PDF.

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Category results below:

Fifteen Guernsey students recently had a chance to quiz three of Herm’s directors about the way the island business operates.  The students were all part of the first Schroders Bright Future week of work experience.  One of the aims of the week was to create an interactive learning experience.  Each of the directors gave the students a short presentation about their work and the challenges of working on a small island.  At the end of the day the interns presented the directors with ideas of how the island of Herm could be further developed.  These included creating a game of Monopoly for Herm to help with marketing; Herm hosting a beer festival; create a barbecue restaurant at Shell Beach; growing ‘pick your own’ fruit and vegetables.

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Watch this space to see if the Herm Island directors take the ideas any further!

The Guernsey All Terrain challenge where runners have to race 7 different courses in 7 days always ends with the last race taking place in Herm.  This year the course changed and it meant that the runners had to run up Belvoir Hill before going north on the Spine Road and onto the beach at Oyster Point from where competitors had to run along both North and Shell Beaches!  Some runners took the longer route by going down the beach onto the harder sand, some stayed up at the top and some decided running on the line of the seaweed was the best option!

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After the race the competitors and their supporters had a well-earned meal at The Mermaid and winners of the four divisions were presented with their prizes.