We arrived in St Lucia yesterday evening for a five day stay during which we are attending a friends wedding on Tuesday. I must say I was dreading the eight hour flight but it was better than I expected, perhaps because I managed to watch three movies on the way. We did, however, arrive very tired and so last night we just stopped for a bite to eat before heading off for an early night.

So far I am impressed with the hotel. We are staying at the Bay Gardens Beach Resort in Rodney Bay. On arrival we were greeted with a glass bucks fizz and the staff couldn't be any more helpful. Obviously I have the promised internet access, which is essential for keeping track of my various businesses whilst we are away. I will also post some pictures of the room shortly. We ate in the resorts Hi-Tide Restaurant last night and once again my first impressions were good. Rory had red snapper and I had a baby rack of lamb that came with a sweet potato mash. We are just about to head out for breakfast now, so more on this later, hopefully with some pictures of the island.

This is Ollie, fast asleep.

I took a picture of Willow today whilst she was using this large box as a new cat tent.  Isn't she cute?

This remarkable likeness of Jesus was found on a bottle of cider. Apparently Michael Cartwright and his friends were amazed when they looked at the foil wrapper of the bottle and saw this "clear" image of Jesus. The bottle itself was thrown away but they did manage to capture this picture of the face. I can't see it myself and I can't help wondering how many pints of cider they had consumed before making the "miraculous" discovery. Maybe I will have a few beers, then take second look, I might see the light.

This resourceful robin laid her eggs in a hard hat in an electrical firm's warehouse. Staff found the eggs when they were clearing out some old equipment and decided to leave it to see if any chicks would hatch. Four eggs hatched out of original six that were laid and the mother is now busy flying back and forth with offerings of worms for the babies. Unusually the robin also chose the only red hard hat out of a row of 14, the rest being white.

Nationwide has reduced its maximum loan size for new customers to £500,000, half the previous limit. It has also raised its minimum deposit from 5% to 10% on all but two of its mortgage deals. These measures will not affect existing customers but are being introduced as what Nationwide describe as managing its business "in a prudent and sustainable way". In contrast the Royal Bank of Scotland has recently announced a reduction of 0.3% on its fixed rate mortgage deals at a time when most other banks are putting their rates up. It's hard to know what's happening with the property market at the moment but one thing is for sure, if you are looking to buy having a big wad of cash for a deposit will certainly help, otherwise you might struggle to find mortgage.

Naturalists have discovered that orangutans can not only swim but that they also know how to fish. The orangutans in Borneo were previously thought to be non swimmers but they have learnt how to swim across the river to get to the best fruits. They have also learnt how to use a tree branch as a spear in order to catch a fish after watching fishermen using rods. However, they have also worked out that it is less work to steal fish from unattended fishing lines rather than going to the effort of catching the fish themselves. At this rate they will quickly be overtaking some of the lesser intelligent human individuals among us.

A luxury watch with a price tag of £150,000 has sold out within 48 hours of going on sale. That might not seem surprising but the watch is unusual because it doesn't tell the time. It has a crocodile skin strap and is made from steel salvaged from the wreck of the titanic encrusted with sapphires. The face is divided into two sections which signify day and night. It is described by the manufacturer as “world unique - a watch that does not tell the time” and the chief executive of the company says “Anyone can buy a watch that shows time, but only a discerning customer can buy one that doesn’t.” Call me old fashioned I think I will stick with a cheaper watch that tell the time.

Some rats are now becoming resistant to normal poisoning techniques and have been dubbed "super rats". The rats which have been found in the West Country have a mutant gene which helps them develop resistance to the poisons. If all else fails I guess they will have to resort to using an army of cats to counteract the problem.

According to this article pets are the latest victims of Britain's throwaway society. Figures from the RSPCA show that 7,347 animals were rescued from the street last year. Half of this figure were cats, a trend which the article describes as disturbing because cats are traditionally thought of as easy to care for. It appears that many people give up their pets for rather strange reasons with some examples being “My cat doesn’t match my new carpet.” Another said: “I’ve just bought a new leather sofa and I don’t want the cat to scratch it.” There is also a rise in people abandoning animals such as dogs and rabbits when they go on holiday and then not claiming them when they return. Tim Wass of the RSPCA says “It is an offence to abandon an animal and there is never any excuse for doing so. If people have pets they cannot care for, for any reason, then help and advice is always available from the RSPCA.” Reading this article I wonder why people get pets if they are unwilling to care for them.

A vicar in Pennal has applied for a drinks license so that he can sell wine and beer at his church. He says the license is needed to sell drinks at parish functions such as concerts and weddings. He may later open a small bar on the premises in the small cafe at the rear of the Church. A spokeswoman for the church in Wales said "The Church in Wales welcomes initiatives such as this which encourage people to come to churches and to see them as places where they can relax, socialise and share food and drink."

A new system is being tried London which will put a value on trees. Trees will be assessed on a number of factors including size, how many people enjoy the tree and the life expectancy of the tree. Taking into account all of those factors a plane tree in central London has recently been valued at £750,000. The system is designed to make it harder for trees to be felled. For example if a developer illegally destroys a tree, then the fine imposed could now be a better reflection of the tree's value, meaning they should be less likely to consider felling a tree in the first place.