We Are Family

What happens when families from the Iona Community are let loose at Camas for a week? A lot, apparently. At the start of June, the very young, the young and the not so young, descended on Camas for a week of familial frolics. Although the families had all been to Iona before, for some, it was their first time at the Mull centre, or their first time in a long time, and the mix of ages and experience made for a fantastic week for all.

As ever, there were heroics on the abseil wall (a highlight being the dads showing ‘no fear’ when their kids had already made it down the cliff) and kayaking and raft building antics on the water. There were also some really unique moments that made the week special, reflecting the wider range of ages we had than we are normally used to at Camas. The Camas Challenge was a perfect example of this. We were treated to a delicious 3 course feast in the Olympic themed dining room to kick off the evening, including specially made ‘Camas cocktails’. Then things got serious. The Camas Olympics saw the teams UK, Sweden, Canada and Dolphin (the latter due to that morning’s sightings of the animal!) represented in a fierce competition in such events as Ninja Mega Destruction, cup stacking and 10 cup bowling, with Canada bringing home the gold. Thankfully, it was all in good spirit, and no family relationships were destroyed during the competition!

We then all came together for a stunning reflection where we all wrote appreciation pages for each other, the community we had formed for that week and the nature that surrounds us here. This was followed by a medal giving ceremony with some slightly more spurious compliments, including titles such as ‘Best washing up singing’ and ‘Best capsizes’. We then all got ready for bed with a dramatic reading of Winnie the Pooh, which was a wonderful end to an action packed week.  A massive thanks from all of us to everyone who came, we were all one big Camas family for a week!

A loo with a view