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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 1993-12-22, Page 8Page 8 — Lucknow Sentinel, Wednesday, December 22, 1993 Marian Raynard sends greetings from Scotland Dec. 1, 1993 Season's greetings from lona: It is hard to -believe that it is less than a month before Christmas. What an exciting year 1993 has been. As many of you know; it has been eight months since I moved to Scotland. I am really enjoying my new life hem on lona. Life is never boring, as there is never a lack of things to do. I was part of the Easter Celebration, had a part in the production of A Midsummer's Night Dream, held on midsummer's night in June in the Nunnery Ruins. On in the summer, 1 started to sing with a jail, and rock hand, and was part of a BBC Radio (British Broadcasting Corporation) program about the music that is used by the Iona Community. As well; 1 at- tended the Greenbelt Christian Arts Festival in Northamptonshire, England. An annual event, which had 13,000 participants. I was there as part of the Wild Goose Worship Group, for the lona Community. 1 have been amazed as to what diversity there can be on an island which is three miles by one mile. Not only is the land on Iona unique, but so are the people. The south end of lona is quite rugged, with steep rock faces and dangerous crevasses, and very boggy -- there, has been many a time, when I've been out walking that 1 learned that youl,walk where the heather grows, so as to not sink! The south end is where the marble quarry and Columba's Bay is located. Towards the west side is the Machair (or common grazing ground for the sheep and cattle of the local crofters). This is also the home of the 18 hole golf course - there is no club house. The east side of the island is where most of the people live. It is the east side you would see as you cross the Sound of Iona from the Isle of Mull, and many people are taken with the number of buildings in the village. Towards the northwest - lies Dun I, the highest point of land on Iona of over 100 meters above sea level. On a clear day you can see the mountains on the isle of Skye. The north shore, and the west shore arc quite sandy, and the best place to swim - if the Atlantic warms up enough - is Port Ban. I have only paddled, as the locals say. To live and work in a building, which was originally built in the 13th century is simply awesome! here. are Tots pf nooks and crannies, and lots of history. I was never a history major, but have a deep ap- preciation of the life that went on here. Many day visitors come ex- pecting a group of monks, and little or no noise. Instead they find a place which is full oflife, with laughter, tears, music, singing, joy and pain and one of modern 'his- tory. My office was located in the Sacristy, which is just off the Ab- bey Church, The piano loft is located directly above. The only uniform we have is to wear lots of warm clothes, a raincoat and a woolly hat! The weather on the whole hasn't been too bad. There has been lots of rain, lots of wind, as well as lots of sunshine. It never got as ,warm as it did in Ontario this summer, and I was glad to be where there was always a breeze, and no humidity. I even managed to get a wce tan. The month of September was absolutely beautiful. The sun really brought out the color of the heather on the hills. Presently the autumn has been so dry, that a water reservoir, near Fort William, in the highlands, is drying up, and affecting local industry. Usually this is one of the wettest areas in Western Scotland. I have managed to do some travelling over the year - Edin- burgh, Glasgow, and London, as well as the isle of Mull, where I've been to Tobermory a couple of times. In October I was home for two weeks to visit with family, and as many friends as possible. It was also the first time I was to meet my nephew Trevor, who was born five days after 1 moved to Iona. I have' maintained my invol- vement with Guiding. While in London I stayed at Pax Lodge, the World Center in Britain; visited Commonwealth Girl Guide Head- quarters, as well as Scottish Girl Guide Association Headquarters (Edinburgh). Ten Reasons To Give a Newspaper Subscription This Season One site Ills all Iu1r.s iii/ lln /%1 rin, 11.1110, 1.1,1,1,1,111 11.1 (Ay IIIII,II.SI tIll,l 1IISIp II will never go out of style rhp pppl t rn t o .v v' 1.\ Y'. ", I n stn a l• They wont be embarrassed because your gill 1, nol displayed when ynu drop In unannounced 11,I,y If 11•. 'rTITyPilrT1\ ns h 1y • •"1 They wont hove to wouy about Santa get Ing stuck In then chimney Lets you lake advantage of the Scrooge facto, y,.., 41111,1.1, Ir, I, n ,. A 11 moy eventually wind up al the bottom of the bud cage, but not a1 the Retunn Department, 7 How else are they going to find out what happens In In, know 451,1,141 t0,1•' ,".,IwUnt,rh kmh KS %1uh', Ilii, ,1 ,I1 ,, e "It5 n 11 doasn 1 hove to be assembled 10 Its easyt .tlist fill out the coupon located below. local subscttglIon $20 m Incl G S loyal Sento, $1 7 ' Incl G T (within 40 mile lodlusl • NAME ADDRESS CITY • Phone Indicate your ihoitr of convenient payntrnt method i Check ( Motley rn der t®14 mannnuse Poetel Cade In November, I accepted an ap- pointment with the County of Ar- gyll as their Ranger Advisor. For those of you who are familiar with the various levels in Guiding, coun- ty in the U.K. is the same as an area in Ontario. I have had many cultural changes to make. Getting use to driving on the opposite side of the road, the different terms used for common items such as - pudding is your dessert, chips are crisps, you drive on the tarmac and walk on the pavement, you wear trousers. and wear wellies not rubber boots. I could go on. It took a long time to get use to the value of money, and for a long time I wouldn't buy anything, as I wouldn't pay that much in Canada. One pound sterling is worth about S2 in Canada. One litre of petrol (gasoline) is selling at 51 pence a litre, or $1.02 a litre in Canada. The cost of living is very high. The British government has a 17.5 per cent VAT, which is similar to Canada's GST. 1 know I could keep telling you lots of stories, and much of what I do, has become so familiar to me, that I am starting to take it for granted. I am enjoying my life here. There are many limes when I miss you all very much. Your cards, letters and even phone calls are of great support and ,very much ap- preciated. Merry Christmas and all the best in 1994. Marian Raynard. Editor's note: Marian's address is Iona Abbey, Isle of Iona, Argyll, Scotland, PA76 6SN. Her letter was mailed Dec. 1 and arrived here Dec. 20. Plow drivers boldly go Ever wonder how snowplow drivers get to work in a storm? The short answer is they don't. That is, they don't wait until the storm is raging with gale force before heading into work. "We have. a weather -tracking system that we watch, carefully," says Ken Kirchner, manager of the Ministry of Transportation's maintenance office. "We generally call in the drivers before .the conditions begin to deteriorate." Most plow drivers work an eight-hour shift, but in an emer- gency they can work up to 16 hours. The ministry supplements its winter maintenance staff and fleet by contracting out to the private sector. "Our maintenance supervisdrs make all the decisions," Kirchner says. "Ultimately, we are respon- sible to make sure the job gets done." LUCKNOW PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH Sunday, December 26th, 1993 11:00 AM Christmas Service Combined with South Kinloss Rev. Margaret Kinsman Nursery Provided Everyone Welcome Birthday Club Bobby Finlay December 16,1989 4 Years Old Laura Murray December 22,1983 10 Years Old Kevin de Bruyn December 22,1984 9 Years Old Lindsay Irvin December 25,1981 • 12 Years Old Jessica Maclnnes December 25,1987 6 Years Old Conor Miltenburg December 27,1991 2 Years Old Regan Moran December 28,•1987 6 Years Old Amanda McQuillan December 28 1984 9 Years Old Jennifer VanNiekerk December 29,1983 10 Years Old Robin McDonagh Decernber 30,1992 1 Year Old Derek Kennedy January 2,1988 6 Years Old Daniel Duvall January 3,1993 1 Years OId Denzel Archer January 4,1988 6 Years OId Trevor Mitchler January 4,1984 10 Years Old & amrl s.2/"eetiKp ' . horn UON TIIOMPSON T.V. & APPLIANCES R,R. #3 Ripley It k my pleasure' to seri C you 'lg•lin in television: appliance and refrigeration sew ice . Thank yon f(tr''(ylir'patmnagc in the past: • ,1 395-3147 LUCKNOW ARENA SCHEDULE Public Skating 1:00-3:00 pm Dec. 23, (Free 24th), 28th, 29th, 30th, 31st. Thursday, December 23 4:00 - 5:00 pm Atom "Bt' vs Ripley • 7:00 - 8:30 pm PeeWee "8" vs Blyth Monday, December 27 Lions Novice Tournament 9:00 am LUCKNOW DISTRICT COMMUNITY CENTRE Lions Bingo No Bingo Dec.26/93 . OPEN"DATES lanudn f unit{, ' • l 4 2ti • ',,tti rd,i,, I •5 1, ,l, "ONLY" ('Al.l. 528-.1531 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.