Gong Show

it never ceases... third week of work and there is still debate about our contract and rate of pay. It's not all bad this time though. I have a mountain of paper work ahead of me (which won't go throught until I'm finished here) and a potential interview with some one from HM Revenue, but it should amount to a substantial pay raise (to almost £10/hr) which is well deserved considering the work involved here. Yesterday Marcel and I dragged 3 stags from what can only be considered an obsurd height to the pony track below. It was 37 C.

Then, to top it all off, I decided it would be a great idea to stick a knife in my thumb while skinning my first deer. A momentary laspe of concentration compounded heavily by the preceding 11hrs in the sun and I found myself with almost an inch of metal in the base of my favourite digit. I definately hit the muscle, it feels like your shoulder does when you get a vaccination and it hurts to move. It could have been much worse though... apparently the thumb is the only finger that has an artery. The bleeding stopped and it doesn't look infected (odd, considering I was wrist deep in deer guts at the time) so I'll just take it easy for a few days :)

So as you can see, it's business as usual on Rum.

Oh, a special shout out to all those birthdays I missed in the past few months... Jeff, Tom, Jess and others I can't think of right now.

Phase One complete

The Rum Goat project is at an end. Friday was supposed to be our last day, but SNH decided to evict us a day early. Spent the weekend in the village getting rat-arsed with everyone for Kim's leaving ceilidh. It was sad to see her go but after seeing the stress of castle manager taking it's toll, I'm glad she gets a much needed vacation (sorry we missed the boat Kim!!!).

So what now you're asking? Well, after approximately 48hrs of being homeless and unemployed, I've landed on my feet. SNH has offered Annie and I positions with the stag cull. This means we get to stay on Rum (free of charge at Fortress Fraser) and make a rediculous amount of money. Things are looking up.

I just got in from my first day of work. We got two stags, filled in a bunch of holes in the road, then skinned the deer in the larder. All in all it was over 10hrs, and everyday is going to be the same. At the end of this, Annie and I are planning a trip to Eastern Europe to decompress and enjoy the fruits of our labour.

Coming to Scotland has been the best decision of my life. It's rekindled my love of the outdoors, friends, family and sense of community. I'm not going to lie, I'm the happiest I've been in many years. Annie and I have settled into a nice groove, yet everyday she manages to suprise me, usually reducing me to fits of laughter. We have electricity now, a beautiful sound system and constant access to fresh food.

more to come this week.