The Abbey

A beautiful, sunny Autumn day.

We went across to Iona to wander round the few shops and visit the Abbey Grounds. I popped into Saint Oran's Chapel, which is next to the Abbey. It is very quiet and peaceful and enabled a time of reflection. The Chapel sits in the middle of the graveyard where John Smith is buried. John Smith is often thought to been the best Labour leader who didn't become Prime Minister. Sadly he died at the young age of 56 in 1994.

He was buried in a private family service in the graveyard, which contains the graves of several Scottish kings as well as monarchs of Ireland, Norway and France. His grave is marked with an epitaph quoting Alexander Pope "An honest man's the noblest work of God". The extra photo is of his headstone.

The photo of the Abbey is taken from beside his grave, very fitting for a man of such high principles who had a passion for social justice.