To receive our full, free St Mirren newsletter straight to your email inbox, click here.
Elvis Bwomono is no stranger to Iceland having played there for two seasons with IBV.
At just 22, the Ugandan internationalist traded Southend United for the Vestmannaeyjar Islands - the same archipelago from which St Mirren hero Gunni Torfason hails.
Going from the hustle and bustle of London to the remote Icelandic islands was a culture shock but one for which Bwomono will be forever grateful.
“I miss it," he said of his time playing in Iceland after landing in Reykjavik for St Mirren's Conference League tie against Valur.
“I was 22 when I came here and it was an experience I really needed at that time of my life. It taught me a lot about diversity and helped make me a more mature person.
“Coming from London was definitely a culture shock – Vestmannaeyaer is one of the smallest and most remote islands you can imagine, with only about four or five thousand people on it, but it’s totally beautiful and I’d recommend a visit there to anyone.
“It sounds like a strange move to make, but when I was at Southend there was an issue over compensation at the end of my contract which meant I could really move overseas.
Read more:
-
St Mirren back in Europe 'dream come true' for Jamie Langfield
-
Mark O'Hara on St Mirren Euro hopes: “We want a run, not just one tie"
“The No2 there had been Herman Hreidersson and when he became manager of IBV, he offered me a deal. I really enjoyed playing a different type of football and a discovering different lifestyle.
“The people are so nice, so welcoming. With so few on them around the island, you’d see the same faces every day and they all got to know you. the sense of community was special.”
Despite the some 1,200km between Iceland and Scotland, Bwomono's arrival in Paisley shared similarities with the circumstances he joined IBV; a total leap into the unknown.
“Like going to Iceland, coming to Paisley was a blind leap in some ways," he said. "But it’s all part of the journey you go on.
“I came for a weekend’s training with the boys, like it, got the chance to sign until the end of the season and now after a full pre-season I feel great, really fit and really happy.
“It’s a good club, a strong club with a good community around it and that means a lot. “However it happens, with all the downs as well as the ups, life’s brought me here with the chance of playing European football.”
