In a world of their own!
Family have seen results of war in Iraq at first hand
By Lorraine Shearer
(From The Orcadian dated March 27, 2003)

Whether it be dodging kangaroos in the Australian outback, or being circled by bomber aircraft during the Iran and Iraq war, the Romain family, formerly of Papa Stronsay, have certainly experienced life.

Having travelled all over the world - and still travelling - Rob and Jill Romain say they will always hold a special place in their heart for Orkney and the people they met while there.

An elephant casually passes by the Romains' bus - just one of the sights encountered by the family as they made their way round the world.

The family are still remembered in Orkney, and especially Stronsay, after they moved to the uninhabited neighbouring island of Papa Stronsay, which they purchased in 1978.

They quickly adapted to life on a remote island and were often to be seen travelling back and fore to Stronsay on their tiny boat, with their seven children.

And the 250-acre island was to become their base for 14 years as the family regularly set off on their world travels.

Rob and Jill are continuing on their travels today, and it was in New Zealand that The Orcadian managed to track them down.

Jill takes us on a whistle-stop tour of their journeys across continents and into often dangerous territories - war zones included - after their simple life on Papa Stronsay.

“We travelled a lot in winter but it was Papay we came home to. We bought the island in 1978 - it had been unlived in for the previous 30 years but we were determined to make it habitable. We collected the numerous whisky bottles from the waters edge and used them as insulation under the new concrete floors.

“There was no water to the house so I had to carry it in buckets from the well, around 100 yards away, and with six children at this point, piping water soon came to the top of the list.”

More peaceful times - Jill and Rob Romain with some of their children visiting the Martyr's memorial in Baghdad.

They installed a fire which heated the water, built a bathroom and soon enjoyed electricity.

“So from a rat infested ruin we made a lovely family home and increased the population to nine by fostering another child.

“But we had itchy feet and our converted bus awaited us in the car park in Kirkwall,” Jill said.

Not many children could boast the experiences gained through travelling to such a rich and diverse range of countries – and despite never attending at a “proper” school, the children sat and passed their exams along the way.

Jill continued: “Travelling through Turkey we managed to get permission to cross Iraq even though at that time they were at war with Iran. Even more unbelievably, we obtained permission to enter Saudi Arabia and then there was no stopping us as there was no way back.

“From the Arab Emirates we shipped the bus on the deck of an Arab dhow to Karachi in Pakistan. The journey was rather fraught with gales and Iranian bombers which circled above us - one of those stories that makes a good story afterwards but at the time is nailbiting. Throughout all this, somehow school work was completed.”

The Romain family watch as their "home" is lifted on to an Arab dhow (sailing vessel) in Dubai, before setting off for Pakistan.

From there the family spent the next few years travelling around India and Nepal, again with many wonderful experiences, they said.

The couple then moved to South East Asia where the older children sat their exams under the eyes of British Embassy staff in Thailand.

“Not an easy task as we were stuck with the dilemma of where to park the bus in steamy Bangkok as there was no such thing as a campsite,” Jill said.

“Fortunately a kindly old man arranged for us to park within a monastery’s walls. In exchange I taught the monks English while the older kids swotted for exams and the younger ones continued their schooling.”

They remained there for nine weeks, but when the exams were over and with visa extensions in their passports they set off to explore the rest of the country. Then Malaysia and Singapore beckoned, and from there they shipped their home to Australia.

Jill said: “What a contrast from the lush greenness of Asia.

“We needed to work now in a hurry and the children pitched in which helped tremendously.

“We all set about picking flowers in western Australia. We were driven to the field of ‘Kangaroo Paws’ before dawn, with our pick-up driver dodging real kangaroos in the dim light.

“We were set down in seemingly endless rows of flowers. We charged down the rows making bunches of blooms but as the sun came up the temperatures rose and the bush flies found us.”

They tried hats with corks and anything else they thought might ease the constant buzzing and pestering of flies, but nothing worked.

More peaceful times - Jill and Rob Romain with some of their children visiting the Martyr's memorial in Baghdad.

By midday the heat was soaring and around 50 degrees C.

“Sweat dribbled down your face, past the goggle sand masks that protected you from the fur on the flowers. We were thankfully called to a halt each day when the flowers wilted so fast that they would be ruined.

“The flower company couldn’t believe our wage packets - we had worked harder than anyone else. Perhaps, they had never met a family who had no possibility of benefits and were motivated by an independent lifestyle.”

But it wasn’t long until they were off again driving across the Nullarbor Plain and to the vineyards of the Murray River where they picked grapes.

With some money in their pockets they headed for Darwin, before crossing to the north east coast and Brisbane.

But the couple are hoping to visit Orkney this summer and would love to return to Papa Stronsay to visit the island’s new owners - an order of monks.

Jill and Rob Romain's travelling home, which they have called the "Maid of Dreams".

Currently, Papa Stronsay is in the process of a complete transformation with plans by the Transalpine Redemptorists to build a £2 million monastery, complete with cells and a chapel.

“We had been given permission to live in New Zealand and the children all went to college or university,” Jill said.

“We made lots of friends and set up a travelling festival/market which grew to a moving village of 45 families.

“ It was great fun and we got to know the country really well, but after ten years we are ready for a change and now that it is just the two of us we have a smaller home and are considering continuing our travels. Next stop could be South America . . ."