We held our final Local Arrangements Committee before the Triennial on Saturday last in Dublin - the morning at our Yearly Meeting HQ (Quaker House, Stocking Lane) and the afternoon at King's Hospital, wherea very lively sports camp was taking place. It finishes up the day before the Triennial starts, making for a quick turnover for school staff before the Quakers arrive.
It's hard to believe our gathering is so soon. After five years of planning and meetings, we were getting down to the nitty gritty with just three weeks to go...
On our agenda were lots of last minute decisions, plus a run-through of the week to see what we had forgotten. From informing kitchen staff exact numbers of meals to coordinating meeting flights at the airport and getting everyone safely to KH, thinking about how we organise 314 Friends each onto the right bus for Wednesday's excursions to providing towels and padlocks for everyone, there was lots to check. My mind was spinning, but I don't know if that was the mind-boggling scale of the task or too much coffee after my stupidly early start to get to Dublin for the meeting!
It was good to see King's Hospital again and visualise where everything will be - from registration on the first day, to where all our workers will be, the book shop, the craft display, section meetings and worship sharing groups... We toured the school again to help us get our bearings - from the swimming pool to the classrooms. Looking at the empty school auditorium with its tiered aquamarine seats, I imagined that soon it will be full of Friends from all over the world (hopefully with all the right sound, translation and audio visual equipment in place) - it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.
My specific job is part of the team co-ordinating the information office, along with plenty of willing volunteers from among the Triennial participants. It's a bit of guessing game trying to imagine everyone's questions and needs and how we can best answer them.
We were delighted to hear good news about the visa applications, after much toil, persuasion and prayer on behalf of local Friends and World Office staff and volunteers. Some more queries to be checked and dealt with, but things were looking positive on the whole.
It's now less than three weeks to go, and I think we all left the meeting with lengthy final checklists to make sure everything is in place in time. I am looking forward to meeting you all on 11 August! I'll probably be around for registration along with Janet, Charles, Felicity and others. Praying for smooth and safe journeys for everyone.
Chris McCartney
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