UK Visit and Leadership Training

I was leaving in just 8 hours when the Qantas text came announcing that all staff travel to UK was to be suspended till November 30! A quick call to my travel agent and in an hour I was rebooked on another airline flying in just 3 hours time. That was the beginning of my annual UK visit. It was a chilly 0C when I landed in Heathrow two weeks ago. We had just had a glorious Aussie spring weekend of a sunny 26C and now suddenly transported to the land of multiply layers and scarves. Cheers Andy Swift for meeting me and having breakky, then ex Aussie friend Sandra (ex Aussie not ex friend) for lunch. I even got a stroll through the National Art Gallery before riding train to Phil William's beloved Nailsea.

This is now my 8th time visiting Nailsea and UK and European Director Phil. It does feel like visiting old friends and familiar church and streets. Chatting at the Golden Horse $4 lunch, meeting the rector at All Saints, experiencing Phil's endless banter with shopkeepers and passersby, chatting to members of his church, hearing Joe's skate talk with his mates. Abi and Joe now the proud wearers of "I Live for Balance" shirts from my son Taylor and Annie the Amazing who juggles everything with such effortless ease it seems. Nailsea could be a set for the UK equivalent of 'Neighbours' I think, your quaint anglo, professional neighbourhood where people know what's going on in each others lives.

We had invited wider Europe to attend the first dedicated leadership training weekend utilising the CS Foundations Training and Phil was ably assisted by wonder admin woman Chloe and awesome operations man Dave Reynard. Two from Spain, two from Holland and another from Ireland joined 14 others from the UK making a great team of 20 for the training. Spain.....Holland.....Ireland, for some of you these don't evoke images of surf culture, but be very assured that surfing is alive and well in these countries and booming........imagine if the Swiss guys had turned up! Our goal was to expose our leadership to the training and give new trainers opportunity. Great to see Johnny Hillman inspired and he led us with his own unique Welsh humour. Both Dave and Phil along with myself delivered other units. The church Rectory is being renovated with a vision of it being a centre for Christian development and the local Rev Jolyon was very stoked to see the building utilised for the first time in this way.

"If you are in England maybe you can meet up with my dad he happens to be staying with us near Nailsea," so said my Facebook reply from one of our former Australian leaders. It was amazing that Boyd Pope just happened to be staying up the road.......one has to go 10,000km and the opposite side of the globe to meet up with an old friend from home!

God is so good enabling this weekend and with just 5 nights in UK I should have been incomprehensible with tiredness but felt pretty good actually.......just one 5am morning out jogging after not being able to sleep. It was a looonnnnngggg flight home, but great to have Aaron meet me at the airport (thanks Aaron!) and take my tired body home. The rest of that week was a bit of a blur with men's speaking appointments, fundraiser dinner and family catch up. I'm still somewhat tired but happy and for those reading this, PRAY for Phil Williams and the huge needs of the European surfing community. We need more staff, money and leadership to take this on.