Traffic Jam in Roundstone!

We left this beautiful island today and headed back home. On the way back we thought we would go down to Roundstone and see the workshop of one of Ireland's leading bodhran makers, Malachy Kearns. When we were driving through Roundstone we got caught in a traffic jam! A van and a car had got struck and were blocking the road. While I was waiting for the traffic to clear I stuck the camera out the car window and took this picture! Who would believe looking at this that you are caught in traffic!

Omey was great, a real tonic of peace and quiet and a chance to wind down in preparation for a lot of travelling. I'll miss the quietness and the solitude and the desolate beauty of the place.

This old church appeared on the island about 20 years ago after being buried in the sand for about 300 years. Up to 400 people lived on Omey at one time before the Famine so this may have been a thriving church.

We took a last walk round the island and headed home on a beautiful evening. Got back to Winnie's house about 11.00pm.

We leave on Friday morning for India.

The Omey Races

The weather has been pretty fabulous so far here! Sitting outside a lot reading and relaxing (see picture!) but today, (Saturday) is the day of the Omey Races and the weather has turned bad!The blue skies and seas have gone and its now grey, cloudy and wet!

Let me explain the Omey Races.

Every year at this time they construct a racetrack on the beach between Omey and the mainland while the tide is out and have a horse race. (Not to be confused with the Galway races which is a much grander affair!)

We saw them put out the posts to mark the racetrack at low tide yesterday and now today we can see lots of people arriving with horses and setting up stalls selling everything from wicker baskets to fish and chips. The early races are for kids on ponies, this is often their first big horse race, and there is lots of enthusiasm even if sometimes the ponies take off across the beach with the tiny riders hanging on for grim death! The later races are full blown affairs with some pretty good looking horses.

As usual the Bookies appear to be the winners! And in case you're asking, the answer is "No! I didn't put any money on a horse!"

Still in Connemara. Up early and getting plenty of reading done. Went to Clifden, a couple of miles away for some grocery shopping. Thriving little town, full of foreign tourists. Came back by "The Sky Road" which has some pretty spectacular views over the coast and Omey Island.

Back on the island things are quieter. A rabbit came up to the window and nuzzled on some grass.

I'm reading Oswald Chambers' classic, "My Utmost for His Highest" at the moment. He says today, "God does not give us overcoming life;- He gives us life as we overcome."

Another beautiful Day on Omey. Work early and began in Genesis Chapter 1. One of my goals during this Sabbatical is to read through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. Also reading through a wide range of books everything from Rob Bell (The Velvet Elvis) to Mark Dever, (The Deliberate Church). I want to take this opportunity to examine the spectrum of church life both home and abroad.
Sitting here outside the cottage in Connemara at 7 o'clock in the morning and watching a fox run down the hill towards the sea seems a long way from the stresses and challenges of church life, but what a great God and what a privilege to be part of His Creation!

This place is a great place to start to the Sabbatical. Long drive down through beautiful countryside to a little island in Connemara. This is the cottage generously loaned to us by friends.
This is the view from the front door. Glorious weather and we are planning a week of walking, reading and crashing out!

So this is the start of the Sabbatical. We leave on Monday morning for a cottage which friends have loaned us on Omey Island not far from the 12 pins of Connemara. You can drive on and off the island at low tide. It's only about a mile and a half by a mile wide. I'll send you more when we arrive

Welcome! This is the blog of our Sabbatical journeying.
Over the next three months we plan to be staying in Connemara, India, USA, Canada, Albania and Macedonia. We may be in some places that do not have internet access so please be patient if there are delays in updating this. Our Sabbatical runs from August to early November.
Thanks for your interest and if you pray for us, thank you for your prayers.