Maria Owen - CSW HMS COLLINGWOOD

My first day, coming as it did a whole Summer Holiday after my interviews, was full of trepidation and doubt about the decision I had taken to change direction. Now, a month later, I know that the decision was sound. You know how it feels when you try on a new pair of shoes and they can feel tight and strange and not yours? Sometimes you can find a new pair of shoes that when you slip your feet into them feel just right - comfortable but smarter, full of mileage but won't leave you with blisters at the end of the day! When asked how do I like this new role that's the reply that pops into my brain: "It fits like a good pair of shoes".

How did I get here? It is a long story but then, as my children keep telling me, I am ancient! So if you want to know me - read on - if you want to know about my new job …go to the final paragraphs!

I joined the QARNNS in 1967, in the heady days of flower power and long hot summers, with a great sense of vocation to look after people and be a good nurse. So when I woke up several years later I was a Navy wife, with several children, living in Rowner whilst my husband was off on yet another ship. (In the first ten years of married life he had been away for five and we'd been drafted to Malta for two years).

I was active in the Christian Community in the Rowner Naval Estate and I worked in several of the Playgroups there. We moved to Plymouth, and then back to Rowner, and had several more children - six in total. My connections with RSR in Rowner date back to 1972. All my children attended the Nursery and Playgroup there and over the years I was always sure of a welcome cup of coffee and a chat from the resident RSR family. The welcome is still there after all these years - pop in sometime and you will see what I mean.

My Catholic Christianity has been central to my life and provided me with support and with the opportunity for reaching out beyond family life to a wider community. Much of my work has been with children.

I was very fortunate in being able to stay home to look after my children through their formative years but I did eventually have to go out to work. After completing an OU degree I compiled a CV that gained me a part-time job in the Portsmouth Frewen Library. This led to a job at the Fareham Central library and then to two Secondary schools in Portsmouth as Librarian. I worked with the School Chaplain in the latter school and so began the change of direction that has brought me to this interesting an unexpected point in my life.

What does my new role involve? Making people feel welcome, keeping the coffee machine 'topped up', keeping a 'weather eye' on the two Internet-access PCs, taking the odd class, advertising the Coffee Bar, training new 'duty hands' and managing the accounts. But the fundamental role is 'being there' for anyone who pops through the door - from the Commodore to the newest trainee - and being part of the Chaplaincy Team.

The Chaplaincy Centre is housed in a set of WW2 huts but as the photos of the refurbished Coffee Bar show a few comfy chairs and a bit of colour plus the skills of our own resident designer: Rev Scott Brown, can make a welcoming environment. The Phase Two trainees are our most regular customers and we can have 200 people through the doors on a busy morning. They sometimes all return during the course of the afternoon too! Come and visit if you are in the area.

So that's the story so far. I know this opportunity has been given to me for a purpose and with God's help I will do my best.Incidentally I don't often buy shoes, so when I find a good pair I look after them and wear them out in both senses!