PENGUIN-lover Janine Buffle received the shock of her life at Birdworld as boyfriend John-Paul Cherrington swooped down on one knee and proposed in the penguin enclosure. John-Paul's moment of romantic inspiration was sparked by his girlfriend's keen interest in the aquatic birds. "Janine loves everything about penguins," said John Paul. "She collects various penguin-related ornaments and has even adopted a penguin. Despite this, she had never been around penguins or fully interacted with them." That changed at Birdworld, however. For the first time Janine would be able to spend a substantial amount of time among penguins. Jean-Paul sensed the time was right. "I'd been thinking about proposing for months, and was trying to come up with a unique and memorable way of doing it," he said. "The penguin idea was the best one I could come up with so I went for it. Everyone at Birdworld was incredibly helpful and they all made sure it would be a memorable day for both of us. The staff treated it as a special event and allowed Janine and I great access to the penguins." It was this exclusive access to the penguins that distracted Janine from the scent of John-Paul's masterplan. "Janine was so overwhelmed by the fact she was spending time with the penguins that anything else was forgotten," said John-Paul. "I got the impression she was suspicious earlier in the day but, as soon as she saw the penguins, she was in a bubble." While Janine enjoyed her time with the penguins, John-Paul endured one of the longest, most nerve- wracking hours of his life. He admits he produced a few false starts en route to the proposal. "I was very nervous beforehand," he confessed. "I didn't really know how it was going to pan out nor did I know when exactly I'd propose. I pulled the box out a few times earlier, but thought better of it. I eventually went ahead and she said 'yes'. I was delighted. It couldn't have gone better." John-Paul and Janine will now look to tie the knot sometime next summer. John-Paul has ruled out a reception in Antartica, however. "This is the challenge now. I need to come up with some kind of penguin theme. I've set a benchmark for myself. We've discussed the option of having a penguin cake - so that could be it."
