Pikinini SipSip

Whoever said that New Zealand is the land of Sheep obviously had never been to Scotland. I mean New Zealand has a ton of sheep, but I dare say Scotland has them beat. You can't go anywhere without seeing a sheep. And they just stare too. Anywhere you go you are guaranteed that there is a sheep somewhere watching you, not even exaggerating (Ok maybe a little). But seriously it’s quite disturbing at times, like the beginning of some sort of a really terrible horror film.

Sometimes you can come across a cute lamb and maybe even a cute sheep, but mostly there is just something a bit alarming about them. You never quite know what they are going to do. They just stare at you and start breathing heavily and immediately I fear that in confusion and general stupidity they will charge straight at me instead of fleeing in the opposite direction. However, I am happy to report that I have not been trampled by a panicked sheep (...yet).

We get a few sheep that come down and graze around Camas(Although Tawhai the dog tends to chase the poor stupid creatures away. Which also unfortunately means that the grass is ridiculously long as our ultimate organic lawnmowers aren’t around much anymore.) and you can most defiantly be sure that there is always a sheep on one of the surrounding hills perpetually looking down on you. We do get a bit of entertainment when sheep manages to get themselves stuck on the tidal islands in the bay. Oh the small things in life! Click HERE for a video of one of these unlucky fluffs. 

I must admit that I've taken quite a few pictures of 'sipsip'  and 'pikinini sipsip' (Sorry ,just throwing in a bit of Solomon Islands Pijin in there, I miss it! I have to admit that I find myself saying a few phrases here and there in Pijin and the funny thing is that no one ever seems to realize that I'm not really speaking English… I figured though that's just because it sounds way more like English than most of what comes out of the Scots mouths.) and here are some of them.

 Field of some local Isle of Iona sheep

This sheep is effectively demonstrating the "we're always watching you" pose.

 And these two are demonstrating the shocked and confused look. I also kind of think that the one on the left looks a bit like a lion...maybe that's just me though

 A little 'pikinini sipsip' bum

Flocks of sheep on the pastures of a nearby castle

 It's nice to see that people value their sheep as much as their children here.

Camas: A History

Last week we had a group of adults at Camas (new members to the Iona Community to be exact), an eccentric, but lovely group of individuals. During our first reflection (where we introduce this place and a bit) one of the older fellows said something that I think describes Camas perfectly; "It's a very old place, but it's not a museum."

Inside the Chapel of the nets (where many of our reflections take place)

And it's so true. Camas has been around for quite a while (thousands of years I suppose I if you want to get all technical with the geology stuff, rock formations, volcanoes erupting, dinosaurs hanging around and all that jazz) and there is so much rich history here, but it's a very much alive history. It's the opposite of a museum. 

The story of this place really got started in about  the 1830s when the Stevenson family (Yes, THAT Stevenson family, Robert Louis Stevenson being the most famous member)  decided to use the lovely pink granite from Camas Bay to build a lighthouse out on Skerryvore reef.

The construction of the lighthouse took about 10 years and thus the quarrymen and their families had to first build housing for everyone to live in during those years. And the buildings they built 180 years ago stood the test of time are the very same buildings I am living in right now. (Which is pretty exciting for a girl from western Canada where if a building is over 50 years old it's considered ancient)

After the lighthouse was built the quarrymen left and fishermen and their families moved in.  And there was fishing going on at Camas for about 150 years. (that’s like about the 1840s to 1990s if you're a dates kind of person).

The Iona Community switched things up a bit in the 1940/50s when George MacLeod acquired Camas and starting bringing up young men from the rough areas of Glasgow. His intent was to get these guys out of difficult situations back at home, during a time where jobs were scarce and teach them the practical and useful skill of fishing.

Leaving a mark on the rafters

This meant you had these young tough lads living alongside fishermen and their families, ahh those would have been interesting times!  (I've heard stories of the fishermen sitting downstairs in their quarters and looking up only to see trails of urine trickling down their walls from the boys upstairs who figured the walls of their rooms made great toilets.) 

So, eventually when the Salmon stocks ran dangerously low due to overfishing  Camas stopped operating as a fishing station and became more or less what it is today, an activity centre. And the focus still aims to bring out youth from central Glasgow and bring them out to this wild place and introduce them to a different way of life. We do this now through kayaking, abseiling , hiking and camping rather than fishing, but it still serves the same purpose. And it's truly amazing to see how much this place changes people, even in just a weeks time.

Like I said, this place has a rich history. A history that's growing and alive. And I can't even express how honored I feel to be a part of it.