News from Iona

There are one and a half Marias on this island from Finland and we both work in the housekeeping team in the Abbey. It gets confusing... It's fun to be able to speak some Finnish here (even if the other Maria's first language is Swedish) and she even knows the woman who used to be the pastor in my church in Turku. Incidently there are two Nellekes from The Netherlands working in the shop. Do you think they are doing this on purpose? :)

Last Sunday at the leaving party for two volunteers we had a sing-along to Sound of Music and Moulin Rouge which was a laugh. It soon carried on to singing songs that people could remember, or not, and ended up with watching a film. The rhythm on this island flows steadily between guests coming and leaving and new volunteers arriving and old ones leaving all on their separate days which does give a certain structure to the week. However, I think we are reaching the point when this will be the set of volunteers to see the season out and we won't have to say goodbye to anyonw until the very end. Saying goodbye all the time is hard work so I'll be glad of that. I can't imagine how people manage during the main part of the season when everyone is in transit!

This place seems to attract a lot of people who are in transition. Between countries or jobs or time of life or whatever reason (I'm including myself in this!). So there are a lot of people in my situation who don't know what they'll carry on to do which is quite comforting:) It also makes for interesting conversations. It's amasing how much of this is true for the guests too. Obviously there are those who come here twice a year, but many more are inbetween stuff too and taking time out.

Yesterday was my day off and I had hoped to go on a boat trip, either with the guests to Staffa to see Fingal's cave or on Freya on a sailing trip around the island with some of the staff. Sadly it was too windy. So plan B was going down to Columba Bay where Columba and his monks are said to have landed at when they came over on their coracle from Ireland. It was a long walk but I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was wild and windy and had no paths and was very boggy and had a lack of other people... The south end of Iona is so different to this north end - so untamed and has a real wilderness feel about it. I made it without breaking ankles etc which is just as well. Apparently if and when that happens you get airlifted out on a helicopter. Now that bit sounds fun, but having to break an ankle first is quite a high price to pay...

Week 1

As Dr Seuss said: "It's wide open there in the wide open air." The space here is fantastic - all the various 'spaces'! And the starts are so close to me at night. On my first evening here I went for a walk and saw a full rainbow on my left and a beautiful sunset on my right. Isn't that such a lovely way to start?

I work in the Abbey in the housekeeping team and have got stuck in straight away. It was a great way of getting to know the Abbery and to feel a real part of this community. I've been cleaning, teaching guests their tasks, pouring teas, and generally trying to be helpful as possible. Everyone here works really hard but you do it all while singing shanty songs or in hysterics over conversations about choosing a saint for convents or laughing with the pirate chefs in the kitchen. We eat meals with the guests, wash the dishes alongside them, and worship with them in the Abbey, but they do have their own programme going on too.

I've been trying out loads of new things from attempting to build a go-cart with the warden's three girls to singing in the staff choir (we sang songs in six parts!), and went along to the Write Club. I've also been to a ceildh, a swim in the freezing sea, a pirate party, driving around Mull with some friends from Swansea, a little concert by one of the residents, seen cute highland cattle, made a cattle, had a stunning cream tea in the Argyll Hotel, and tried to remember people's names... No wonder I could do with a nap!

There are two services that frame each day. The liturgigal nature of the proceeding are an unfamiliar territory for me - but so far so good. I was asked to do the reading for the Sunday service which was slightly terrifying but I was also grateful for the chance to participate. The music has been mostly unfamiliar but very beautiful. The sacristan had to remove Lily, the local friendly black cat, from the morning service today. The other cat I've met is Tiger who is usually catching a ride on somebody's shoulders as they walk along. There's so much going on I hardly know where to begin...

Is it really five years?

What a change we've lived through, and are still living through. I still remember vividly hearing the news early in the morning on the west coast of the US about the towers, although not quite getting the magnitude of what had happened or what it meant for the next few days waiting to see what rolled forth... Along with all the flags that showed up overnight, "In God we trust" was also one of the more popular slogans that I saw around. I wish we/they did... Five years on we might have been in a different world than we are today.

On a different note: I head off to Glasgow tomorrow and to Iona the day after. Last time I was in Scotland I did not understand the locals at all, which I'm slightly concerned about. Although if I remember correctly we still played pool and got hugged at random moment - so perhaps I'll be alright afterall! Anyway... I won't be spending hours at a computer (this is advanced warning) but I shall still endeavor to post something on here to let you know how I'm doing and what Iona is like. Till later! xx

Ever feel like this?

I fought the war, I fought the war
but the war won't stop for the love of God
I fought the war

but the war won.


lyrics from Metric: Monster Hospital (MSTKRFT remix is the one I've heard)

Pics from this evening's walk to a nearby lake

All roads lead to the library...

I went out for a walk today and ended up in the library. Thankfully I know myself quite well and had slipped my library card into my pocket before setting out and so I wandered home with four books. I'm so pleased my library card still works even if I haven't lived here for five years and I've even had to relinquish my benefits and tell social security I no longer live in Finland. I'm extremely grateful the library is not in the habit of bounding after wayward Finns demanding they return little bits of plastic...

Two of the books I borrowed were bird books. As I have keen bird-watchers as friends I was given strict instructions to report back on the birds I've seen. However, as my skills are roughly on the level of distinguishing between a big bird and a little bird I needed to do something drastic to see if I can identify anything! So far I've identified pied wagtails and a goshawk. The last excursion into the wood I took I ended up with a multitude of horrible little spiders in my hair (even writing about it is making me writhe again) so that has put a slight dampener on my enthusiasm... But nonetheless I'm hoping to go forth and boldly identify birds without ending up with too many birds which are only seen in Lapland or rare ones on the brink of extinction!

Some pictures from Finland

This is a picture of one of the ferries we drive onto on our way to Korpoo.


And this is a view of Korpoo. Plenty of trees which ever way you look...

And then the yellow house we now live in.

Battered Mars bars and other delights of travelling

Having wept a little weep and packed my bags I staggered out of Swansea and found myself in Bromsgrove for a few days before flying out from nearby Birmingham. When I first heard the west midland accent on the train I was struck with a strong sensation of having left home and arrived in a foreign country! In Bromsgrove I was introduced to battered Mars bars (very sweet and gooey) and lovely locals who all vied to tell me what a horrible place their town was. What do you say to that? I haven't either lived there or met these people before so insulting someone's hometown - whether or not they are doing it themselves - can backfire on you. And in all honesty, as regards judging places purely on first impressions I have seen worse...

Birmingham International Airport is a lot less hectic than Heathrow and the police I saw were not carrying huge weapons either. I was asked to take off my shoes and they went through that machine along with my jumper and bag, but other than that getting through security was a breeze. I only had to wait until the boarding queue before hearing some Finnish too. It came in the form of a teenage girl who looked like she was from Sri Lanka and spoke perfect Finnish and broken English.

This is when all the unexpected things started to happen... Our plane got redirected to Billund - the opposite side of Denmark - due to a thunderstorm in Copenhagen and faulty weather radar/monitor/or some crucial equipment. It was a full three hour bus journey to the capital which meant I missed my connecting flight. I spent the bus journey sleeping, reading Catch-22, and counting windmills everytime I lifted my head to have a look outside.

At the airport I was booked into the next outbound flight to Turku, but 20 minutes before I was going to board it got cancelled. After much queuing and waiting (again) I was told I'd be staying the night in a nearby hotel and leave Copenhagen 2pm the next day. By that time I was quite looking forward to a meal and a bed so I wasn't too upset. And by this time a sort of comradeship had been struck up between other passangers in the same situation... I made friends with a German guy who was on his way to Turku for a term to study nordic languages at Åbo Akademi (the University my mother is doing her PhD at) and he was to live in Varissuo (which is where my family lived up until a few weeks ago). Monday morning the two of us went exploring in Copenhagen and saw impressive buildings, the Tivoli from the outside, and lots and lots of bikes. The cycle paths are amazing! And they were everywhere... We also managed to find a statue of Hans Christian Andersson with lots of tourists having their picture taken with him. I think it's brilliant that the Danish have a storyteller as their national hero!

As interesting as all that may have been I'm pleased to be back home. I feel like I'm on holiday (with the requisite lounging around and reading loads:)and I'll be splitting my time here between the flat in the centre of town and our house in the islands. Korpoo has a winter population of 800 people and a summer population of 10000 people, but as the schools have started back I'm hoping it won't be too busy... An open mind is the best travelling companion (I read somewhere). It definately helps when unexpected things turn up.

Yep. Suomessa ollaan...

Ohikulkijoilta tuli yhdentoista aikaan aamupäivällä ilmoitus joessa kelluvasta vedestä. Iltalehti 4.8.2006

Only two weeks left

I have made the very surprising discovery that I'll be leaving Swansea in two weeks time. Of course I knew it was coming at some point, but I hadn't realised I was going quite this soon. I can't even begin to catalogue or even contain most of the feelings running through me. I've made my home here over the last four years and this is a very dear place to me and the thought of leaving is actually quite upsetting. Moreso than I thought it might be. However it's also raging against my huge delight in being on the move again. A curse/blessing of having grown up in several places is the very strong feeling that fours years in one place is really a lifetime...

So, I'm packing, running errands, and working full-time at the moment. Is it even realistic to think I'll be ready? Current thinking is "no", but stranger things have happened before... (Including knowing full well that I'll be homeless and jobless come November!!:) Very selfishly, my biggest concern this very minute is will they lift the "no hand luggage on the plane" rule. For years stuffing heavy items in my hand luggage has been my method of packing to get everything along with me. If that is still in place on the 27th of August I'm screwed.

Packing problems aside, I'm really excited about my two weeks in Finland. This is the first time in two years that I'll be in Finland for the summer and won't have to suffer the cold and dark conditions of Finland in December. Can't wait!

Yesterday my (female) collegues and I had a very stimulating conversation about women and modesty. This was promted by a Guardian article in Friday's G2 called "Chastity is chic" (by Jessica Valenti) and it was about the growing (?) chastity/modesty movement in the US.

What an interesting topic! And there are so many views just amongst us women we didn't really get round to asking the men around us (who were possibly quite relieved...). The modesty issue was not only about sexual behaviour but also about the clothes women wear. As someone who only fairly recently has discovered the liberation of wearing what I wish to wear and learning not to care what others think of my choices/style, I found the discussion on boundaries an interesting one. I freely admit to deploring the (lack of) clothing of women on the Kingsway/Wind Street in winter, but i still think that trying to dictate someone's wardrobe is a tricky situation to put yourself in. I resent the implication that men can't control themselves and the responsibility of their behaviour rests with us. It seems a bit much. I'd love to see the article about men dressing modestly...

Another interesting point in the article was the movement's idea that a woman's goal in life should be marriage. We sadly didn't get round totalking about this issue as we were caught up in comparing what we'd wear in various places, and feelings on make-up (I think it has been a good 6 or 7 years since I last wore any).

During my first year at Uni a girl who lived on the same floor as I did was almost solely at University to find a husband. She even considered moving to a different University because she didn't think there were enough suitable men around. So I'm not quite so quick to dismiss the marriage goal as I once was - it obviously can be an important one to some people. Personally, though, I cannot imagine basing my life around such a goal. I've got other things to do with my time/life, thank you very much!

I guess chastity is a fairly 'revolutionary' idea at the moment, and if this movement can offer support to women than all the better. I think I'm reacting more to the marketing strategies and the black-and-white view they, like so many advertisers, present. It did make a couple of hours go past quite quickly inbetween (and during) serving customers...

This is what I'm up to at the moment

This is what is currently keeping me busy. It is fun to see it working after 7 weeks of planning, although I can't quite shake off the feeling that I'm only "playing" cafe... If you are in the Mumbles, do come down and say hi!!

You can never have too many cables...

I've spent a lovely weekend at this delightful little festival nestled among the hills in mid-Wales, despite the rain. Undercurrents were there so we ran the cinema on both Friday and Saturday night 10pm - 2am. Last year I was a mere punter at Small Nations so it was a very different experience working it. I saw/heard far less music this year but I did enjoy my role as roadie/techie/projectionist/stall holder. We were an all women group this weekend which was a laugh, and quite nice to see amongst all the other male technicians. Borrowing cables is a great way to make friends, bizarrely enough. And there was no shortage of tall young men to balance precariously on a chair on top of a table to get our screen up and down from the top of the marquee, or move the heavy stage around...

Saturday night I got to run the show as Helen went to have a dance. Typically as soon as she disappeared and D had gone to get something from the van the power went! Much to my surprise I managed to sort it all out (amidst the heckling from the crowd - I'm rather proud of that!) and soon was comfortably back into screening more stuff. Mark Thomas (the comedian) was a great pull and we got crowds of 50+ which I was so excited about:) He has got his head screwed on the right way, and is genuinely funny poking fun at the activist scene and making some serious points that keep you thinking even if you are laughing.

Labyrinths

It was exciting finding a labyrinth in London. I find them intriguing, possibly because I don't know that much about them. The fact that they are not mazes, you don't get lost, I find very comforting.

Walking towards the centre means leaving our ordinary tasks, letting go of our preoccupations, quieting of our hearts and minds, and opening ourselves to God's presence.

Reaching the centre creates space for focusing on Jesus Christ, the centre of our lives.

Leaving the labyrith means retracing the path that brought us in. During this time we carry with us whatever we received at the centre.

The adoption of the labyrith by the Christian faith began during the Roman period. The first known pavement labyrinth with obvious Christian context is found in a basilica in Algeria. At first the labyrinth appeared mainly in manuscripts, but during the 12th century they began to appear in cathedrals and churches in Italy. During the 13th century they spread to France where many fine example were constructed. They soon became popular across Europe, but many were destroyed from the 17th century onwards as tastes changed.

Travelling again

This time I went down to London to meet my mum who had flown in from Finland. We hardly make conventional tourists: my mum's top places to visit are Paperchase, Boots, and the National Art Gallery; and we walked passed the London Eye after briefly toying with the idea of going up because the queues were far too long. However, I think we both got what we really wanted - time in the London Mennonite Centre and Highgate, a chance to join the service in the UK's only Mennonite church, and talk in Finnish which neither of us do on a regular basis it would seem.

LMC is my favourite place in London! As I took my pilgrimage down the bottom of the garden to visit the swing I discovered a labyrinth in the grass next to the prayer hut which was unexpected and delightful. Walking it was a lovely ten minutes of my life even as I was dodging fallen prickly holly leaves... I have visited that swing as long as I can remember, and it is an integral part of my image of LMC. However, I must have shrunk - I'm sure the swing is up higher than it used to be!!

I watched the Portugal and Holland match at the house we were staying at. It started off as a social activity with Daniel (mostly to be polite on my behalf) but how can you not get interested in a match where 16 yellow cards are handed out!!!

Hmmmm...but what does it mean?

I don't know what to think of my theological worldview now!:) [This is from QuizFarm.com What's your theological worldview?]

Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan 82%
Emergent/Postmodern 68%
Neo orthodox 64%
Roman Catholic 36%
Classical Liberal 32%
Charismatic/Pentecostal 25%
Modern Liberal 25%
Reformed Evangelical 14%
Fundamentalist 4%

Stonehenge

What a place!! A carload of us arrived at 3am and walked down to the stones as light streaks were appearing and the moon and stars were starting to come out from behind the clouds. The 'Battle of the Beanfields' playing in my head I was actually surprised to be allowed to go right up and, dodging the dozy reveller, touch the giant stones. "This is so amasing!!" was repeated more times than I care to remember...

In the minutes before sunrise I was standing outside the circle by the Heel Stone alternatively looking at the sky in the east and also turning around to look at the lightning storm contained within the circle from all the camera flashes. There was an insane strobe effect going on. We had to wait until about 5am to see the sun come out from behind the clouds - but the field did errupt into whoops and cheers. What a way to see a day in!

Druids with mobile phones, hippies, tourists, party-goers, children...they were all there. Spending a lazy morning at Stonehenge provided ample opportunity for people watching. That is one of my favourite bits of festivals (and boring train journeys etc) so it was fun to have everyone in such a small concentrated place. People were generally happy/weird/funny/enjoying themselves and I do think that was the best possible way to visit Stonehenge - when there's a big party going on!

Traipsing back along fields of barley and gorgeous red poppies, driving through English countryside (with signs for tank crossings!) and by thatched cottages, stopping off for lunch in a pub with a scratchy CD to entertain us, and dashing round Swansea to find a banana rounded off the trip nicely. And then I went to the Red Cafe and managed to stay awake for another four hours before collapsing in my bed for a blessed 11 hour sleep.

The stones themselves were more than impressive, and definately had a presence. I like the fact we don't quite know for sure everything about them as it means we can bring our own celebration to it all. It was a special moment seeing the stone circle for the first time in the pre-dawn darkness. And I'm glad to celebrate the light. I am alive.

It's solstice...again!

Tomorrow is the longest day of the year! Somehow that just feels wrong as summer has only just started. A few of us are taking a roadtrip to Stonehenge tonight. We leave in a couple of hours and are going to be there to see the sunrise (weather permitting) and then we'll drive back... Sounds like fun - and a great excuse to visit the place.

Mobile phones

I recently lost mine... It was right before a trip to Lake Windermere so I spent the whole weekend out of contact. Once I had reconciled myself to the loss of my possession like a good Buddhist I quite enjoyed it all. When I returned to Swansea I found out that my phone had returned from its travels and had come through the letterbox! Clever phone! I then spent 40 minutes writing down all the phone numbers stored on my phone into my address book...

Plants are friends

Gardening is addictive... It all started off admiring my friends' hard work in their garden. Then we got excited about their allotment. Then Fred and I bought fusias and lined the pots up the stairs in our little bit of concrete. And now our landlord has given us a bit of his garden so Abi planted lots of seeds and this morning I planted in a courgette, some lettuce, two tomato plants and three mystery ones (I've forgotten what they are...). It was a brilliant way to start the day: digging around in the soil and planting things!! I have no real confindence in my ability to grow anything/keep anything alive but I am willing to have a go. Also it does seem less threatening than trying to look after a whole garden/allotment.

I've got until the end of August in this particular house and garden so that should be enough time to harvest some of the food providing it doesn't get desimated by slugs. And having compared notes with my grandparents over this weekend (they live on the east of England in the drought zone) I'm quite glad we're allowed to water our garden... Ooo. Listen to me!! Soon I'll be speaking about the differences in composts and gardening methods like a proper enthusiast! Like any interest area it does have it's very incomprehensible (to outsiders) language which I am slowly starting to understand - I think. I wonder if there is a dictionary around that does garderner-speak into English?