Woolly Hats and Rainbows part 2

And so to lack of blogging.

It’s been a funny couple of months, with friends coming on and off the Island, some on leave, others at end of contract and a few who have decided to go early. This makes to a very busy social period – dinners with friend going on leave – after all they will be away for almost 3 months, leaving do’s for those at end on contract or heading home, plus invitations for relatively new people and some that we know very well.

The working week usually finishes with meeting friends around 16.00 in either the Mule Yard or Donny’s for a well-earned end of week drink and catch-up for a couple of hours. Sometimes we grab something to eat at Get Carters (who operate on a Friday evening and Saturday – as they work elsewhere full-time in the week). However, it is important to note for newcomers – fast food isn’t – fast that is! Anywhere. No MacDonald’s. Burger King or KFC here or any other food chain. There are no speciality restaurants, apart from one Chinese in Jamestown – booking essential, or else they may not open!

A Saint was telling me yesterday that some visitors had gone out on Sunday and did not find anywhere open to eat – this is common, so be prepared.

So this last weekend, we were at Donny’s for a couple of hours on Friday after work, then back down in town for Boot Camp at 8 am Saturday morning. This was followed by a quick sandwich in Half Tree Hollow on the way home. In the afternoon, we had been invited to a BBQ and spent a very pleasant few hours in great company. On Sunday we called round to help a friend with the internet and ended up having an impromptu Sunday lunch, where we pretty much remained until the early evening. At 3pm, Andy had taken Henry to football, then collected him a few hours later. Crystal Rangers celebrated their first ever WIN, coming back from 5-1 down at half time to win 6-5 – the team were ecstatic and quite rightly so. So when Henry returned, our hosts very graciously reheated their leftovers to provide Henry with a slap up celebratory lunch – thank you Nicola and Stephen.

Whilst not every weekend is as hectic as this, it doesn’t slow down much! This coming weekend, the boys are going sea fishing on Saturday. Boot Camp will be calling me  early on Saturday and some friends have a market stall selling ‘stuff’ as they are leaving soon. The following weekend there are several ‘leaving do’s’ and a few friends are also returning after leave, so more get-togethers  to come.

Time for a rest I think and in 9 weeks we will begin our journey back to the UK for some well-earned leave 

All Change

That’s one of the things about Island life – It changes in the blink of an eye. Dynamics change, friendships change, things you were comfortable with change. Good job I am a Change Manager then!
On a more serious note though, you do need to be adaptable and willing to compromise and able to accept rapid changes in your environment.
Even though I am a seasoned accepter of change, my environment changed rapidly this week when my Island buddy, Hazel and her husband David left suddenly (just 36 hours’ notice).David is undertaking some work in London for a few weeks/months – return date unknown. You tend very much to gravitate towards people in similar circumstances and we were very alike – older children, one here on Island and an older one back in the UK – same taste in music, lifestyle etc. Hazel and I would often shop on Saturdays whilst the other family members went scuba diving and we would have dinner together often, sharing a couple of bottles of wine. We never ran out of conversation and life was comfortable. So it was with a heavy heart that we said Bon Voyage on Wednesday and our lives changed again.







Our now ex-neighbour Andy is also leaving shortly after Christmas at the end of his contract. There are others planning to depart over the next few months and quite a few people that we have become friends with will leave. But in their place, new people will arrive and new friendships will be made. The environment will change again and we will get comfortable once more.
So whilst I am still a little sad at Hazel’s departure – not least because we were going to hers for Boxing Day and now I’ll have to cook! LOL – I know that it just creates more opportunity in life and I am looking forward to embracing more changes and making new friends. I am already in touch with a few people who will be arriving in January and February, so who knows what changes their presence will bring!