Meeting the civic and business community
I arrived back in Orkney on Thursday morning. It all seems a bit of a dream. I guess it's because you are moving from one meeting tithe next. This was the day to meet the Convener of the Council Stephen Heddle and the Depute Chief Executive Leslie Manson. I believe meetings like these are very important. it gives me as Moderator an opportunity to explain the possible partnerships that can be developed between Church and Council. this proved to be a very productive meeting and I hope the Presbytery will be able to build on the conversations that took place. It was then off to lunch to meet a cross section of business leaders, church leaders and councillors at the St Magus Centre. Again this proved to be an interesting exercise and I overheard people saying we should be holding this kind of gathering more often. Moderatorial visits are all about building and developing and encouraging relationships. Later on in the afternoon I went to visit Alfred and Andrew Banks. They run an alternative unsubsidised ferry service from St Margaret's Hope to the mainland. It's quite a story, Andrew for some people is the local hero who has developed an alternative ferry crossing to the subsidised long existing services. It has been an up hill struggle but he has proved his point, and he now runs a very successful ferry business. If you want to read his story, there was a book written about the challenges he has had to overcome because of what would appear to be vested interests in old technology and a fear of change. His book's entitled "Pentland Hero" by Roy Pedersen. I then dropped into to meet another entrepreneur Leila Thomson, she is the sister of Sheila Fleet the Jewellery designer. Leila is a gifted artist in her own right and makes amazing tapestries unfortunately for me her work costs thousands of pounds to buy , so I could only admire. We finished the evening with a fellowship meal in a local hotel with members of the Presbytery.
