Another Friday and another Zoom Meeting! Gordon Matthews started by leading the group in the 4 Way Test and then thanked Jason Jones for sharing the PDF file from his presentation on May 1. Gordon also reminded everyone of the reduction in dues for the 4th Quarter. After all Rotary business items were discussed, Justin Godchaux introduced his daughter and her family who currently live in Easdale, Scotland.
Britt, Tony and their son Henry gave the club a presentation on London to Easdale: An Unexpected Journey. On Boxing Day in 2015, Tony read an article about Easdale, Scotland that peeked his interest. A few months later, they moved to Easdale for three months and liked it so much that they decided to permanently move in October 2016. A factor in their decision to move was that London was getting more crowded and they wanted their son to be able to play outside.
Easdale is an island off the west coast of Scotland with a current population of 62. There are no cars on the island and each house has a wheelbarrow to help transport items. It is a five minute ferry ride to the mainland. Usually, the ferry accommodates 10 people but during COVID-19, they are only allowing 2 people on the ferry at a time. The majority of the people work off the island and the biggest town closest to Easdale, Oban, is a 35-40 minute drive. Britt was saying there are 900 islands in Scotland with only 10% being inhabited. Every island is different and has lots to explore.
During this time of COVID-19, everyone in Scotland is home schooling. Britt and Tony feel that the Scottish government has been more proactive vs. reactive and that they are taking a more conservative approach than the British government. They said that they have at least another three weeks in official lockdown.