Welcome back G&Aers! I hope you enjoyed howling at the moon and reading all about Yanna.
Now it’s time for us to meet Rob. I gave him the usual opening question:
I’m still trying to work out that whole who am I? question, but I’ve experienced some pretty interesting things along the way. After dropping out of med school after half a year, I switched to a philosophy degree, then took a year out in the middle of that to work as campaigns officer for the student union. Following that, I worked as a teaching assistant for a year, did a permaculture design course over weekends, ran the school allotment and played in a truly awful band. I then volunteered for six months on a volunteer exchange programme with the VSO – the first 3 months were in Eastern Sri Lanka, whilst the next 3 were in Burnley.
Wow, Rob, that’s seriously impr- …oh I’m sorry you’re not finished.
Upon returning, I worked for 3 months at Scope as a carer, then spent the next year studying for a ridiculously intense MSc, which involved cramming a psychology degree into a year, with a masters dissertation tacked onto the end. For 4 months I worked doing admin for Sure Start Centres, before volunteering as a team leader for a youth development programme in India for 3 months, which brings me up to now.
So how did your now end up at G&A?
I first heard of G&A when I met Clare Eddington during the 2010 Green Party election efforts in Brighton – she said that she was about to do an internship at a conference centre in tents in a field, and it sounded pretty interesting, but I didn’t think to check it out further at the time. Later that year I volunteered for 6 months, and one of the other UK volunteers was Claire Turner. We stayed in touch, and she came to visit my home in Brighton. When she turned up she was absolutely glowing from this amazing summer that she had just spent in a field near Worcester, and it sounded right up my street.
What would you like get out of this summer?
I think I am most looking forward to trying out a new way of living – not just one of camping, sustainable technology, or community-based living, but all three combined. Plus a mix of very interesting people. I’m sure the organisational experience in the office will be invaluable to the future, as will having spent 9 weeks living and working as part of a team.
Spending so much time on site is a challenge but very worth it. The rest of the world pretty much falls away behind the trees and we allow our little community to define itself by the people who arrive and what they bring with them. The often indefatigable rain can make such a long stint in the field a real effort, but the constantly changing mix of people is like a new weather front every few days. Who knows who will drift in next?
Unfortunately, dear readers, due to some unforeseen personal circumstances our friend Rob must delay his arrival on site for a few weeks. Our best thoughts and wishes are with him, and I know after that mighty intro I’m not the only one who’s excited to meet him as soon as possible. Until then we’ll be checking in, and I’ll keep our blog-&-away readers up to date on any and all breaking intern news.
So, as I mentioned in the last post, an early few of our trustees are at this very moment showing the new troops around the site. By the time the rest of us arrive we will be stepping into the lush, ceilingless home of a brand new community of friends, colleagues and family. Hopefully a few more of them will have time in their busy adventure to talk to me for a further blog. But with one of our longest ever seasons ahead, and a truly diverse line-up of organisations on the books, right now it’s time to stop talking and start doing.
Green and Away 