Day trips to paradise: thanks to the Heyworths and the Woods before them, Herm really has become the jewel in Guernsey’s crown. (0580230)

NEWS that the remainder of Herm’s current lease is to be sold came as a shock to everyone, not least its permanent residents.

With the statement announcing the sale due to appear in last Saturday’s Guernsey Press, islanders gathered for a last-minute meeting on Friday night in St Tugual’s Church. After a day of rumour and conjecture, nerves were already high as it began, but no one quite expected what was to come.

I think it’s fair to say that those who weren’t openly tearful still had a lump in their throat as Adrian Heyworth announced to us all that he and Pennie had decided to leave Herm and that the island would be on the market within 24 hours. For many of us, the Wood/Heyworth era has been a golden age in the island’s history, and one that it will be hard to see the end of.

Part of Herm’s charm is the amount of love and care that has gone into nurturing its development over the past six decades. Next year would have marked the 60th year that the island had remained within the same family.

Although emotions are mixed within the resident population, there is a huge amount of loyalty and respect toward the Heyworths and there isn’t anyone who doesn’t understand the decision to sell.

‘We look forward to visiting Herm with our children and (hopefully) grandchildren without the responsibility of running the island,’ say the couple in their press release. After almost 30 years of caring for Herm, that is the least they deserve.

For me, Pennie and Adrian are part of the soul of the island and Herm without them will be like Herm without Belvoir Bay.

But I think we are all very privileged to have experienced this time in the island’s history and to have known such caring employers.

The dreams of many families have been made reality over the years with the opportunity to live in such a unique and serene environment and it is only fair that Pennie and Adrian should now have time to follow their own dreams.