... is the motto above the door of a pub near Haymarket Station - or something like that anyway!
I didn't go into the pub, but did pass by it on my way to the EMMS offices on Saturday for an information afternoon about our Malawi bike ride.
It was really helpful - to meet and hear from the office staff including those going on the ride with us, to hear from the tour company who organise the route, and from (dare I call them) 'veterans' of previous rides (also coming this year), getting lots of hints and tips (those words are not sufficient to describe all the helpful information we gained!). Most important was getting to meet some of those folk I will spend an intensive week or so in close company with (or failing that, eating their dust from a few kilometres behind them...).
For a number, it was possible to find mutual friends, or connections one way or another (Scotland = village, Scottish Christianity = large extended family?!?). And of course it was a chance to catch up with my friend Bill, who when I first mooted the idea of going to Malawi, said 'Do you want some company?' - and for whom I hope this excursion doesn't prove to be a 'fine mess' I got him into...
Minor downsides of the day - an unfortunate attempt on my part to be ironic probably sounded arrogant instead. My social skills were not quite firing on all cylinders. And while it was nice to join those who went out for a meal afterwards, I perhaps should have prioritised getting back to hearth and home and family.
Ah well. I'm glad to have been able to put faces to names (or in most cases, actually discover names for the first time). Hopefully there will be other chances to see at least some of my fellow travellers between now and 9th May, and the varied group of 'strangers' I have now met may start to become my friends... two are already facebook friends!
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