Thoughts from a Bothy Steward

Over the summer a number of people agreed to stay in the Bothy and act as stewards over the period between Barry leaving and Rachel arriving.

This was my first experience of staying on my own for a number of days on the island and one that I will cherish.

As it happened I had been going through some difficult stressful times so when I arrived on the Island on the Tuesday morning I was definitely not cool, calm and collected!  Janet welcomed me and showed me where everything was and left me to unpack the car and settle in.  After dropping things and generally disturbing the neighbourhood I was able to sit back and relax.

My duties were not onerous but included doing prayers each morning and an evening service on the Saturday, opening and closing the centre each day and being around for part of each day to be available to talk to any visitors as well as generally making sure everything was clean and tidy.

I found that I did not have a signal on my phone in the Centre so I could truly relax and only respond to emails when out on walks!  Sitting by the harbour meant I could stand back from the pressures and let others deal with them.

I met some interesting people from all over the world.  It seemed that people from abroad more often than not wanted to talk and share their experiences than those from this country.  British reserve is not dead!

The memories that will stay with me are the sounds and views of the seals resting on the sandbanks just off the coast; the lady from Ontario who had given up her job and taken an extended holiday with her husband and son to try and discover what God wanted her to do; someone from Tasmania who was now the last one of her family and so would be unlikely to return to Britain; and the rather surreal feeling when the Vikings camped in the Priory as they stayed in character when walking about the island – I felt I should have been in a habit trying to convert them!

Prayers in the Centre were magical, whether anyone else was there or not.  There is a feeling of prayerful peace within the very fabric of the building.

I would strongly recommend a visit to the Centre if you are ever in the area and the tides are suitable.  The Boiler Room Chapel is always open even when the Centre is not.

Susan Rand