feet may have been somewhat lost to the ear on May 2, but certainly not to the eye as scores of children took up the challenge of the Itsy Bitsy walk.

Following a route from the Maritime Museum to the Clocktower building, the tiny tots -- including infants in strollers -- set out with great enthusiasm along the short and winding road.

The event was coordinated by Mrs. Pauline Girling, marketing manager of the Phoenix Stores who, along with co-workers Joanne Ingham, Shelly Chiles and Karla DeSousa, served on the committee of this year's Itsy Bitsy walk, which the BDC group of companies officially sponsored.

"The object was to get the children involved and feeling as if they were participating,'' Mrs. Girling said. "It's a nice way for the whole family to get involved, and because End-to-End has become such a tradition in Bermuda, I think we really should provide as many opportunities as possible for participation.'' The Itsy Bitsy walk was open to all children up to age 9, who first had to complete entry forms made available at all Phoenix Stores.

If that seems a little bureaucratic, the reason behind it was, well, quite delicious.

"We needed to know approximately how many goody bags we had to prepare,'' Mrs. Girling explained. "These were given to each child at the finish, and contained a selection of candy, a fruit drink, crayons, pencils and little books.''