This weekend I’ve been in Guernsey (pop 62,000) for a BIFM Channel Islands training day, where I was presenting on various topics to a fabulous group of FM professionals, many of whom had never met each other. I had not stopped to consider that Guernsey is such a small island and much closer to France than to the UK. I have of course been on islands before (I have holidayed on many); my husband has a lot of relatives on the Isle of Wight and although you need a ferry to get there, you can get off and on quickly.
Guernsey is different. It is a microcosm of a big country on a small scale.
The people are polite, friendly and accommodating. The pace of life is calm, orderly, serene. The buses are cheap and punctual. The scenery and architecture is a wonder, the rugged coastline is just amazing, and yet…
I asked myself the question, could I live there?
I’m used to travelling throughout the UK and internationally with business, with London featuring highly in many of my meetings and training programmes. I know that we are in a digital age of online communication, Webex, etc, but I reckon face to face is still the best way to understand fully the requirements of an individual or a company and that still does not take account of friends and family. Could I live somewhere where you have to get on a plane for team meetings? Where if you want to buy a sofa there’s only a choice of 3 shops? Where there’s no Starbucks (I know, I know…!)
If you have lived on Guernsey all your life or on any island, it may not cross your mind to compare your life with mine and why should you? To live your life somewhere that I consider to be beautiful and civilised, is a wish that many would aspire to.
Just my reflective thoughts and musings as I sit in the departure lounge waiting for my flight home. I’m already looking forward to my next visit!