Carrubbers Team arrive on Logos Hope

It was very exciting on Saturday afternoon as the team of 12 from our church in Edinburgh (Carrubbers) arrived in Kiel. After picking them up in 3 cars at the bus station they got their first glimpse of the ship as they came along the waterfront. I am sure they were as excited to be here as we were to have them.

After checking out their cabins and dropping off their luggage, everyone had a tour of the ship and saw the scale of the work that still needs to be done on board. After supper we all headed out into Kiel to see the sights and catch up over a drink or two.

Sunday dawned bright and sunny. We all enjoyed the church service onboard and then finished the previous days tour with a visit to the bridge.

After lunch we headed out along the waterfront in the suprisingly warm sunshine. Everyone was making the most of the sunshine and it seemed like half of the population of Kiel was walking, cycling, roller blading, jogging or skateboarding along the waterfront. Kiel has some lovely cafes by the water so obviously we had to check one out.

Today the work started for the team and we split up into different teams. Steve M and Ian P joined the carpenters, putting shelves into offices and fixing phones on cabin walls.

Steve H, Rachel, Phil and Ian A all headed down to the engine room. They politely declined the opportunity to clean out some sewage pipes and opted to do painting instead.

The team with the biggest challenge of the day were Louise, Laura, Lisa, Karen, Brian and Jonny who worked with me clearing out a store room that is going to be the baggage locker. We probably moved at least 2 -3 tonnes of scrap steel, chain, shackles, block and tackle, wood, glass, tools and hundreds of other items. The store is on deck 2 and some items had to go as far up as deck 9. At least the lift goes up a few decks.

Today was Brian's birthday - what a great place to celebrate. He had the experience of some 300 people singing "happy birthday " to him. By the end of the day, he was probably thinking he would remember his birthday for other reasons - how hard he had worked.

Today has been a lot of fun and hard work. Some of the team are just not used to so much hard physical work and getting so dirty or tired.

There has been lots of opportunities for giving the team stick, like Lisa's purple mitts, Jonny dropping and shattering a huge pain of glass and Ian A and Steve H trying to get the paint off their faces with thinners which stung like mad.

4 more days of exciting work ahead. Everyone will sleep well tonight.