iona bound

Very first thing on Tuesday, I set off on my 8 weeks of voluntary work with the Iona Community. It seems an awfully long time ago that I submitted my application (some 9/10 months ago?), so it feels somewhat strange (and a little scary) that the time has finally arrived. As you might imagine, I now have rather mixed feelings about my impending “expedition”. I’m certainly not looking forward to spending so much time away from my family (and friends) and I’m just keeping my fingers crossed that I don’t make an absolute mess during my time helping to run the community shop (settling up cash/dealing with card payments/being out of my depth!)…

I think this will be my fifth time on the island. I know from first-hand experience that I can expect EVERY type of weather during my time there – so, hopefully, my packing will reflect this! Actually, packing for an eight-week trip is pretty strange in itself… how many T-shirts, pairs of trousers etc WILL I need? I am taking my (heavy and rather bulky) laptop and it’s times like this that one realises that owning an iPad might have been a good plan! Hey ho!
One of the things that I AM looking forward to (albeit with a little trepidation) is meeting and working with lots of “new” people. Certainly, I remember from my last week-long visit in 2007, that the new friends I met then were the highlight of my stay (in addition to simply being on that magical island, of course!).
Hopefully, I’ll be able to continue blogging… from time to time(!).