Well it’s that time of year again when we all add a few inches, watch a whole host of television that we would have otherwise missed,

The Bonifre team at the 5k Santa run for Keech Cottage.

and wonder what happened to the year. December has come around so quickly and this is a short note to advise you of a few things.

Firstly we would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, and as those of you who received our Christmas mailing will be aware this year’s competition question was ‘In total, how many gifts were given in the song The Twelve Days of Christmas’. The correct answer is 364 and congratulations to Paul who is now the owner of a new Orange iPod Nano. There were a total of 35 entries, of which 10 were correct and entered into the draw.

This is a popular, well known conundrum and the answer is calculated using the following formula. On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me a partridge in a pear tree, on the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me two turtle doves and a partridge in a pair tree. If you read it literally, on the second day there were 3 gifts given – both a partridge in a pear tree and two turtle doves. Then if you follow this logic throughout the song your total will reach 364. Easy.

If you missed the mailer but would still like to view the festive microsite and learn a few tricks you can click here, but please note that the draw has now closed!! We would also like to thank all our clients, suppliers and contacts for their donation choices. You raised £110 for Keech Cottage and £30 for the Forest of Marston Vale.

The Bonfire team also collectively raised £865 in the Keech Cottage 5k Santa Run on the 6th December 2009 (well done John for coming second!!) and we would like to congratulate Steve on his silly beard antics that ended on the 30th November, as seen in the Mail on Sunday, raising a further £670 for Keech Cottage. A time for giving indeed, and a very worth cause so thanks to everyone who supported us. On another note Gemma also completed a sponsored swim (22 miles in 12 weeks – distance of the channel) raising £430 for Aspire – so at least one of us will be in shape for the Christmas calories!!!

On a slightly more serious note, and for your reference, we will be closing our doors at 1pm on the 24th December 2009 and reopening them on 4th January 2010 to start another exciting year – our 10th!!!

Once again have a great break and a wonderful New Year!

All the best

The Bonfire Team xx

On Friday the 21st August Mario Cacciottolo, founder of the website

Jason's SOTM

www.someoneoncetoldme.com, was invited by Bonfire Creative Intelligence to visit Ampthill in Bedfordshire.

www.someoneoncetoldme.com has a global following and has enjoyed much media coverage. Like all good ideas, the premise is simple: the site invites people to share something that someone once told them and lets them to tell their story. One picture per day is shown, and all are compelling.

Over 9 different organisations took part and Mario took away 14 new pictures for the website. The organisations that took part were Bonfire Creative Intelligence (an Ampthill-based branding consultancy) Leon Pearce (a Luton-based photographer), Ampthill Fireplaces, The Cooks Collection and Antiques Emporium (all in Ampthill), The Bedfordshire Humanists, Clarity in Communication Consultancy, Goodthings, Crisp Solutions, Panic, and the chef from The Prince of Wales! As for the pictures from the day – you will have to wait and see!

It was a fantastic day. The shots from the day will feature on the site over the next few months. This shows that small Bedfordshire businesses are up for taking part in community creative projects.

Do take a look at the site, and perhaps submit some of your own photos.

Steve’s SOTM
Jason’s SOTM
Rachel’s SOTM

And watch out for Gemma’s still to come…