More thoughts from Iona...

Yesterday brought bright sunshine and the possibility of a boat trip to the island of Staffa, the home of Fingal's Cave that inspired Mendelssohn to compose his Hebrides Overture. The cave itself is stunning of course, but I was moved more by the geological construction of the island as a whole which is quite breathtaking. The volcanic events that created it must have been awesome in their destructive power and yet the result is amazing beauty. Surely no architect - other than a supreme creater - could design such a place?

Not one for heights I didn't stay in the cave for long but returned along the narrow walkway to head up above onto the top of Staffa and across to the other side. There I found another natural and wondrous sight - a large grey seal basking in the shallows a few yards from its recently born (7-10 days?) pup. I hesitatingly made my way down the bank and onto their beach, careful to keep my distance and avoid being noticed. For some minutes I simply sat and watched and took a few pictures.

Full of admiration for our skipper who managed to land and collect us on a tiny pier amidst an increasing swell we made our way back to Iona - a ride that became increasingly bumpy. The weather was deterioating and that has continued through to today. The ferry is still working but it doesn't look comfortable out there.

Liz and I spent the afternoon walking up Dùn Ì (101 m, 331 ft), Iona's only hill, from where we had glorious views right over to Coll in the north and Islay in the South. Then just before dinner a pair of porpoises could be seen playing around the ferry as it made its way back to Fionnphort

With nothing but rain today I have now moved on to reading Walter Brueggemann's 'The Word Militant: Preaching a Decentering Word'. Every page excites me - like every other book of his I've read - and although the book is shorter than it looks (for Brueggemann is generous with his notes!) the value to be derived from almost every paragraph makes it - for me - far more valuable than other less precise writers (some of whom seem to stretch articles into volumes when they don't deserve it). Let's hope my preaching listens to his wisdom.