Container arrives in Louisburgh

The container landed in Louisburgh driven by a very competent acquaintance of mine. He drove down the narrow approach road and in the gate as if it were a 5 lane freeway. I was worried that there would be difficulty with bringing a truck, with a 40 foot container attached to it, on to the back roads of West Mayo. The driver knew the terrain and he knew the destination so this eliminated some of the potential issues that might arise.

A neighbour came over with a forklift to remove a couple of heavy items. There were (P.J., J., S., M., K., H., J., S., B., J., P.,  F., and myself) thirteen people involved in the unloading of the container. Most of these were organised but some of them saw the need, parked outside, and joined in the effort. The community spirit is alive and well in West Mayo.

Anna had made a bunch of sandwiches and supplied drinks but there wasn't much time for either. Most of the helpers had a drink after the container was emptied but didn't indulge in the vittles.

The driver has transported materials, furniture and goods on the continent of America, Europe, Russia and in Ireland and said that he never saw a container emptied so fast. It took almost one hour to unload the container and a good portion of the goods were moved to the upstairs during that hour. Sometimes the obvious must be stated: "Many hands make light work."

I had been informed by others that it would be easy to empty the container in 2 to 3 hours but even at that, I was concerned that we might not get it done in time. Although, having an acquaintance as the driver helps to alleviate the anxiety associated with the container's return (some shipping companies put time restrictions on the container availability). He put us all at ease and conducted the offload professionally.

The arrival of the container and the unloading was an unexpectedly pleasant experience. I had somehow managed to forget much of what was in that container. The familiar items will, I think, remind us of San Francisco as we open the boxes and set up our new home. The house is being finished now but it may be December before we get to move in.

All in good time. The move has been great so far.