A diary of Canadian bean counting

Blog off

2006-01-17T07:42:00.000-05:00

At least me and scribbles will understand that title. And a few others, although I am sure that there are few of you reading this now. But, here I am, a bean counter in Britain, and suddenly posting any future stories into my Canadian diary here seem a bit wrong. I may open up another blog - one thing i did discover is that this blogging thing is highly addicitive, and to those of you who passed by, and especially to anyone who made themselves known and made comments, thank you, it made keeping up the blog just that bit more fun, knowing that there might just be someone somewhere on the other end of it...

But this was a blog about Canada, started in May last year when I knew next to nothing about the place, and finishes here in January when i know i would tell anyone, any time, to go and visit the country, any part of it, and prepare to learn. Learn about generosity. I lost all rational measures of generosity as, more and more often, people amazed me with what they were willing to do, both for you as individuals, and in reflecting their country. I think of little things like being given tea bags in an electrical shop on my first full day in Canada, i think of being invited to a cottage having only met its owner twice, I think of my final client work, and the staff there inviting me snowmobiling if i could make it back. My friend Sharon in the office used to print me lists of all the things going on in Toronto at the weekend, and everyone was good enough to tell you what you would enjoy. Invites to other towns, to sports events, to bars, to parades, and a bus driver giving a full detailed history of parts of the rockies on his lunch break...

I'll miss little things too. Push button access for wheelchairs for so many public access doorways and buildings puts our country to shame, and if you have had to negotiate life in, or with, a wheelchair, the people of the UK know how hard that can be. Canada, you have done some things very well. I'll miss the way the shopping is routinely packed for you, i'll miss the 'have a nice days' that staff use, and often want to say. Silence is golden over here, but sometimes silence is just a little bit unfriendly, unwelcoming and gives probably the wrong impression unintentionally.

I wont miss the high rise buildings, which i was never convinced were really built with evacuations in mind if there was a problem, and actually I wont miss 80 or 90c gas charges. We have a different set of social arguments in place at home, and whilst on the face of it it pains people paying $2 a litre for gas in the UK, this is a relative pain, based on the prices elsewhere in the world. However, i know that $1.40 (70p) would feel very cheap, and I also know that there would be a tax hole that would need filling elsewhere. We havent necessarily got it right or wrong. And recognising that someone has to pay for the roads somehow, it is just one answer. Of course, I might change my mind on this, since up until this year my work has paid for all my fuel, and from now on will not cover the same costs. Maybe I am about to enter my 30s and learn what growing into a whinging Englishman is all about!

There is no doubt that there are problems in Canada. The background to the collapse of the government in November indicates that there is exactly the same scope for good and bad in the corridors of power there as anywhere else - similarly, a record number of gun related killings in Toronto in 2005 show that this is not some heavenly Utopia free from all the ills of society. Canada, after all, has a very prominent near neighbour to the south, and it would be a blind man not to believe that some level of influence permeates across the border from below.

But who would I be to criticise that in any way? Just in September there were race riots in my home town, as well as other parts of the UK and Europe as a whole. The government is still heavily implicated in decisions to go to war, in the deaths of people who apparently opposed it, and even this week, ministers are having to defend the policies adopted by certain education authorities in their recruitment policies. No place is perfect, and we can all learn something from everywhere new we go. When things are different, it is usually for a reason.

So what did i learn? I learned that Canada has a mix of people just as diverse as ours, and, whilst it may not openly treat them any differently, better or worse, their existence is accepted better than it is at home. I hope I bring that back. Canada has a short yet proud history, with many people who have done many things to improve the lifestyles and quality of lives of all people, Canadian or otherwise. From their input into inventions of simple everyday gadgets like the radio, telephone, television, the keeping of time, and medical jumps like the discovery of insulin, these 30m people today can be proud that their forefathers made jumps that we are all in some way thankful for or benefitting from. Its a clean country, a modern country, and has a respect for its environment and its potential uses that i think all of us in the 'old world' could learn from. No doubt Canada doesnt always get it right, but there were very few people and places able to claim that.

And i learned of a huge country that i was only able to see the smallest part of. The best thing about Canada, I would imagine, is that, no matter how many times you see it, it might always leave you wanting more. For all the good things i saw, the rockies, Niagara falls, the CN tower, Montreal, Vancouver, Algonquin Park and besides, there are so many more things left to discover. I never once got out East, and i only had the smallest experience of the west. Not to mention the north... (and who wants to go south?!!). Possibly the most unbelievable thing is that I arrived in Canada with a very limited knowledge of the country, its history, its people and its places, but a reasonable length 'to do' list. I didnt accomplish that list, but many things did get accomplished, many of which would never have been foreseen. After a 6 month stay, the weirdest thing is that, if I was to make another 'to do' list tomorrow, it would be longer than the list i could manage from 2005. And it would all be different.

To Canada, thank you for the experiences. To the blogosphere, thank you for sharing.

Random Canadian factoid 7 - The group of seven.

2006-01-03T09:02:00.000-05:00

Picture: Algonquin park image, by Tom Thomson.

Ok. So this is a post for Cressman, who has agreed to do me a 3 figure Cressman original (is that 3 figures Canadian Dave?!) and also f0r Kim.

For the eagle eyed amongst you, who may have noticed (but probably didnt!) that there was never a 7th random factoid, there was a reason for this, and this was the reason. I never actually got round to posting about the Group of Seven, so here goes. Cressman was looking in need of inspiration this morning, so this is for him.

In 1920, J.E.H. MacDonald, Lawren Harris, A.Y. Jackson, Arthur Lismer, Franklin Carmichael, F.H. Varley and Frank Johnston officially formed this now famous group. These were painters bitten by the Canadian north who, for the first time, took on the task of painting the great power, scenery and spirit of their land.

This truly Canadian art movement was started, not by professional painters, but by a loose association of acquaintances who travelled north from Toronto on their vacations to paint and relax. The modern Canadian so-called "school", was inspired as the result of a direct contact with nature itself.

Before 1910, a Canadian art movement, inspired by the Canadian landscape, was not considered possible.

The public and artists themselves preferred the softer, mistier and tamer landscapes of the old world. Most Canadian artists studied abroad and continued their work here, usually after the manner of the Barbizon and Dutch schools. They painted scenes of cows and trees in the best academic tradition with lots of detail and dark brown colouring. Horatio Walker and Homer Watson both painted in this style, often referred to as the "cow school". 'In Europe, tradition'- that powerful despot- seemed to mould or curb artistic expression, at least for a time.

As an "outpost" of culture, Canadians followed the rules of the European art world. Canadian art authorities did not believe that our rough landscape was fit subject matter for art. "It's bad enough to live in this country," an old lady once told A.Y. Jackson, "without having pictures of it in your home." This, and the attitude that pine trees were unpaintable, slowly began to change.

Since Canadian confederation in 1867, we were involved in an era of re-evaluation in art, science, religion and life itself. This evaluation was slow, but necessary to develop a "concept of self" for this young nation.

Members of the Group of Seven consciously expressed this nationalistic philosophy in their paintings and many written articles. Arthur Lismer once stated that "It is necessary that as Canadians we should believe we are capable of producing great art as we believe we are capable of doing great deeds."

The men who would later form the Group of Seven, with the exception of Harris and Jackson, were employed in Toronto as commercial artists at Grip Ltd. Tom Thomson, a co-worker and friend of these men, was also employed there.

Thomson was not an official member of the Group as he died in Algonquin Park two and a half years before it formed. However, he was influenced by and in turn had influence upon his contemporaries, and became perhaps more famous than the group itself.

The group paved the way for Canadian artists to develop a unique style of recording the many incredible views of the country in which they lived.

Canada 1-0 UK

2005-12-28T04:11:00.000-05:00

This is what we are waking up to this morning.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4561728.stm

Canadians, as if you needed us to tell you, you do snow so much better than us... Here in the east we are apparently stranded in. Hopefully G and M have made their flight, and I am going to try and get to work... only 90 miles. How hard can it be, eh Scribbles? -5 indeed.

Wrap up warm. And dont forget your polos and fruit and nut bars. Could be delays out there..

How Canadian are you?

2005-12-28T04:03:00.000-05:00

Here is a little test. See how much you know about Canada. The answers are probably not in this blog! Canadians, you will probably score ok. Brits, play it with the sound on to experience a near authentic ice hockey experience, including maimings by the end of the game. Enjoy.

http://www.cbc.ca/chillybeach/trivia/trivia26.swf

Something good from being lazy : CHUMcity

2005-12-21T06:16:00.000-05:00

Well people. For anyone still looking here, I made it back to the UK on Monday morning, and am now in the process of re-establishing myself in my office. I have a laptop, and as soon as my gracious Canadian employers see fit to remove me from their records, I will be able to get outlook here. Hurry up Canadians.. you know you want rid of me.

I think i have mentioned several times how lazy I am capable of being. A mass of contradictions as my good friend Scribbles puts it.

Luckily, out of laziness can come some good. For (and this will not surprise Brian or Joe) having been too lazy to do anything with the coins that have been lying round my flat for the last 6 months, my urban angel Amy took responsibility for making sure that something good came of them.

So the $50 that had been built up was passed on to CHUM city, a Toronto childrens charity.

CHUMCity Christmas Wish, in conjunction with City of Toronto Community and Neighbourhood Social Services, helped almost 500 registered agencies, which represented an unprecedented 300,000 children and families in need of assistance. The CHUMCity Christmas Wish has become one of the largest distributors of toys to those in need in the GTA, as well as providing financial assistance to hundreds of agencies. With many funding cuts in recent years, the CHUMCity Christmas Wish has become the last hope for many to give a child a Christmas. With generous financial donations and new unwrapped toys, the CHUMCity Christmas Wish supplies registered charitable organizations, social service agencies, churches, and community centres. In turn, they distribute the donations to those families, of many faiths and cultures, who require support.

You can learn more at http://www.thewish.ca/wishCore.cfm

My last "Canadian" post

2005-12-16T01:01:00.000-05:00

This one might just be the last one I post from Canada. Just because I am horrendously busy, and I have until 5pm to give this computer in.... at this point, and with one or two big events still to come, I am not sure I am in a position to try and summarise what I have made of my experience here.. Sunday promises to be a great climax, and I might just need a few days 'come down' to really reflect on what my first experience of this wonderful country has been like. I am encouraged that, with just over 48 hours until I fly, it still feels hugely positive. I dont, and wouldnt have expected anything else...

So i will refrain from the philosophical splurge for the time being. Instead I shall wish Rory a very happy 25th birthday, as well as congratulating him on getting a distinction in his masters in translation. Clever clogs, arent you? Well done buddy.

And having just got an invite from Ticketmaster to purchase Take That tickets this spring, i will reflect on the lyrics of one of their songs, as i prepare to log off and head back towards what Johnny calls the 'mother ship'.

So, trying to reflect on an experience like this...

"Never forget where you've come here from. Never pretend its all real. Someday soon, this will all be someone else's dream"..

When i wake up from my dreams (i've not slept in 36 hours..) I will have plenty more to say I am sure. For now Canada, thank you. The next time I write, it'll be from home.

Birthday Pictures

2005-12-15T20:23:00.000-05:00

So here we are. Just a couple of pictures from my 30th birthday. On such a milestone, it was worth doing something special... i dont think i ever imagined it would involve a moose dressed as a mountie though... still 9 out of 10 from "them pair" made it a journey well spent..

Me and my 'A1". No laughing at my headgear. Nicole was responsible for it! The poor girl had to spend a month working with me on only her 2nd audit, she had to put up with me sleeping in her car, me speaking in riddles (well, English, but to her it felt like riddles - although she now knows that white coffee is coffee with milk, heaving is busy and peckish is hungry). She also had to pick lunch every day for a month. I am flattered that, by the end of it, she is still talking to me! Thanks Nicole! I'm going to miss you.

My other key partner in crime, TK. We spent more than 2 months working together. Personally, i dont know which of us will be more scarred from the experience, but psychologists both in Woodbridge and Peterborough will be making money as a result of our friendship I am sure..

Bit more self flattery. Me with as many women as I could find. All of them pretending to smile. See how polite they are in Canada? Thank you girls!

Katie painted me a picture.. you can see from the photo just how good it is.. for all the gifts guys, the Inukshuk (thanks Amy) and the ipod, thank you so much.

Me, and two of my best friends. Only these two know how much stress I have caused them over the past few months. Regardless of where my life takes me, i hope that Kim and Suzanne remain as important to me as they have been while I was here. Between you two, you have been the most generous people i met, and given me the life i have developed. And i know how much you two put into my birthday..

And a bit more ego massage. This was quite late in the day, but ended the day as i would have wished. Home, warm, smiling, with friends. It was a fantastic birthday, and thank you all for sharing it and making it so.

A creed to live by..

2005-12-13T22:55:00.000-05:00

For anyone passing by the blog today in search of a little inspiration. Because we could all use some from time to time.

Dont undermine your worth
by comparing yourself with others
It is because we are different
that each of us is special.

Dont set your goals by what
other people deem important.
Only you know what is best for you.

Dont take for granted the things
closest to your heart.
Cling to them as you would your life
for without them life is meaningless.

Dont let your life slip through your fingers
by living in the past or for the future.
By living your life one day at a time
you live all the days of your life.

Dont give up when you still have something to give.
Nothing is really over....
until the moment you stop trying.

Dont be afraid to admit that you are less than perfect.
It is this fragile thread that binds us to each other.

Dont be afraid to encounter risks.
It is by taking chances that we learn how to be brave.

Dont shut love out of your life
by saying its impossible to find.
The quickest way to receive love is to give love
the fastest way to lose love is to hold it too tightly
and the best way to keep love is to give it wings

Dont dismiss your dreams.
To be without dreams is to be without hope;
to be without hope is to be without purpose.

Dont run through life so fast
that you forget not only where you've been
but also where you're going.
Life is not a race, but a journey to be savoured
each step of the way.

(Nancy Sims)

Couple of congratulations

2005-12-13T05:05:00.000-05:00

Two small congratulations. Firstly to my baby sister (who is pregnant) and turns 27 today.

And secondly to Mark and Becky, who were here last month, who have got engaged. Some of the snippets of our MSN conversation at 430 this morning...

"its a cooked meal for the rest of my days and a clean shirt mate"

"she wanted me to ask so i did"

"will be good mate at least have a stag do to plan and a wedding drinking session"

"i asked mate thats the main thing"

"best bit mate getting presents"

Smooth, Mark. Very smooth. Just thought i'd add that. Who said there was no romance in Pboro? We're just not quite as good at it as some of these French types thats all!!!

Anyway guys. Congratulations. See you in a week for a celebratory drink.

Winter Wonderland? Or just autumn?

2005-12-12T16:57:00.000-05:00

This was the view from my living room window when I got up on my birthday. Is this adequate excuse for being too lazy to drive to work?!

That said, all I've heard for the last few weeks is 'wait til winter really arrives'. Although on Friday, someone did concede on email that I was getting 'a bit more experience of a Canadian winter..'

So today, I did brave the roads. Its -13 outside, and with windchill this drops to -20. So, is it winter yet, I asked? "wait til January" was the response. Although Thomas did admit that its 'not this cold normally in December'. Interesting use of the word 'normally'. Its not this cold normally in my freezer, which is set to a positively balmy minus 18.

So anyway, tonight in Oshawa we are expecting it to drop down to around -23 apparently, windchill and all things considered... i dont quite have enough fingers to count that far, and if it gets that low, not sure i'll be able to use them either!

I may be in a better position to conclude on whether or not it is in fact winter by tomorrow. All I can say is.... it had better be! Brrrr.

Breaking news...

2005-12-09T12:32:00.000-05:00

This one is mainly for the lovely Stamford All Saints. There is a rumour knocking around that one of the readers of this blog knows where Mountie Moose is located...

Ai a minha vida. How exciting is that?! I'll be so gutted now if it turns out to be a false alarm...

Yay - its my birthday.

2005-12-09T11:52:00.000-05:00

Well, someone has to celebrate it! But actually, you people have been nice today. Its interesting to see the different ways people have had to communicate on this (fairly insignificant) day.

Conventional cards: Parents, Sara Lorraine & Mel, my fellow GDPers, Mark & Becky..

Emails: Steve & Mari, Rory, Brian, Parton, Elyse, Suzanne, Cath W, Catherine S, Dad.

Text message: Vicky

Blog post: Scribbles (thank you!!!!)

Ecards: Maria, Kim, Dad (clearly bored!), Ciara & Caitlyn (assisted I am sure!), Brassington, Amy, Ana. You're all show offs. I tried attaching a smily to an email the other week and it took 3 days to do it..

Anyway - to all of you. Thank you all so much. I know full well I am going to forget to thank someone personally over the next couple of days, but i appreciate all your thoughts of me..

So what have i learned about myself this birthday? Well, so far, I have learned that i am a big wuss. I went out in the car this morning (there is half a foot of snow outside) and the car was sliding all over the place, so I decided to drive back home, and work from home instead!

I then went to bed for an hour before starting work, which should have taught me how lazy I can be... but I knew that already!

I have learned that I am beyond opening birthday cards and hoping for a crisp note to drop out. These days, its the message in the card that counts!

And based on my Hungarian mate Lajos' message in my card, I am going to learn the Hungarian team which inflicted the first home defeat on England at Wembley back in 1953.

The message said simply this

"Grosics, Lantos, Lorant, Buzanczky, Zakarias, Bozsik, Puskas, Kocsis, Czibor, Hidegkuty, Buday. 6:3"

Happy birthday indeed! Which will no doubt improve tonight as I have a dinner date with Christine and Elyse. Mmmm.

There are significant celebrations also planned for tomorrow, but I'll wait and see how i survive today first!

Mountie Moose - Tacky enough for you?!

2005-12-06T22:31:00.000-05:00

I'm setting myself up for a big fall here. Some preliminary research into Canadian tack has revealed that, a few years ago, Toronto had a charity event called 'Moose in the City'.

The statistics for Moose in the City were extremely impressive… from April to October 2000, Toronto's streets were filled with 326 magnificent moose sculptures, created by 500 local artists and sponsored by more than 250 patrons. The exhibition resulted in a season of spectacular moose events and generated well over $5 million in world-wide media coverage for the City of Toronto! Moose in the City also influenced visitation by close to 2 million tourists, injected $400 million into Toronto's economy and raised $1.4 million for Canada's Olympic Athletes and local Toronto charities.

You can find pictures of all the mooses at http://www.toronto.ca/moose/home.htm

Now here is the interesting bit. Although the mooses were auctioned off early in 2001 for charity, they make festive reappearances in downtown Toronto during the Christmas season. This has got to be the ultimate challenge. To find one of these mooses, and get a photo with it. Sara. Lorraine. I hope I dont disappoint you!

A message for Sara and Lorraine (and Mel)

2005-12-06T09:11:00.000-05:00

Firstly. Thank you for the birthday card. All references to 'old' have been ignored. And I would never dare be rude about either of you pair, you know that. After all, Lorraine has kicked the arses of enough Olympic standard fighters for me to know when not to mess! And even if I wasnt scared of her (I'd never admit to that, but she is only about 8 stone after all..) i know the 2 of you have something far more scary up your sleeves... How did Sara put it? "One word. Noddy." Oh Shit.

So ladies. This challenge. Canadian 'tack'. On the one hand I am tempted to defend my host nation and declare that there is no such thing as 'tack' over here. On the other hand, I go past the dollar store every day. And i have already armed myself with enough magnetic tack to decorate significant parts of your office on my return.

So - can we formalise this challenge? Lets put points to objects here. You want me to pose in a birthday photo with something 'Canadian and tacky'. Maple syrup doesnt score, and top marks for mounties? Did you not see the Halloween photos?! I am prepared to ridicule myself for most things sadly. So i will see your challenge. But we need formal rules. 2 poses = 2 points? Does typical Canadian dress score? (I already own a tacky ice hockey shirt, and i have my eyes on a tuque with the 'ear flaps' as Sturino calls them).

I may regret this... but not for too long. After all, if I REALLY embarrass myself, I can always delete the posting off my blog!

Talk to you soon.

Two more weeks for CBC in Canada...

2005-12-04T22:00:00.000-05:00

Picture: Our fantastic Canadian family.

This week in Canada:

- 171 MPs voted against the government in a vote of no confidence
- Harry Potter topped at the box office with revenues of $20.5m (well done Doug!)
- The 649 lotto jackpot was $24m (and no, once again, I didnt win. booo)
- There were 506 sprout related salmonella cases in Ontario (remember, Sprouts are for life, not just for Christmas..)
- CBC skipped breakfast 6 times - naughty CBC (the only one I didnt skip was brunch at Mels, and that was possibly too late to qualify for 'breakfast'!)

But of course the main thing that happened this week was the send off of the first 2 Brits. And as you can see from the pictures above and below, we signed them off well. Drinks all Friday night, then up to Williams' flat, and then Saturdaybrunch followed by a mass convoy to the airport. Reminded me of a period some 9 years ago, where we seemed to be at Dusseldorf airport every week saying goodbye. Tears here too. (from far too many of us, and yes, my eyes were a little damp when Andy walked through that door!)

Nice all in photo at the top, and this was good too. Typically finding Suzanne at the centre of things (when isnt she?!), most of the major players are in here. We might have to do a little biography of each of them over the next week or so...

Meanwhile, as ever in search of ego massage, I managed to find a few girls willing to stand within a few feet of me... (if only more of them had noticed the camera!!!!)

But no doubting the highlight of the night. The guys spent many a secret hour at Pauls over brunch last weekend discussing the plans for this, and from what Will called 'brainstorming', what emerged was a personalised photo album for both of the Brits, with a range of photos, and a personal photo of each of us, so that we could leave a message for them. So what did I write? No idea (i was wasted!). But it probably wasnt as nice as what Andy wrote to me in his Christmas card ("I owe you for introducing me to this group"), and probably WAS nicer than what Doug wrote in his (Away in a manger, no crib for a bed, the little lord Jesus looked up and he said... "we hate boro, we hate boro, we hate boro"). Which of the 2 do you think is from Cambridge?! And just to close a similar topic. Suzanne. No. POSH does not stand for Peterborough are Shit. (Although i guess it could, and probably with some justification!)

So, having set the boys up with their gifts, the Canadians took them to the airport and many tears were shed. Doug said as heartfelt a thank you as he could muster in the circumstances, and Will applied a nice bit of perspective to the situation: "You should see what we do for people we like!"

Just being there was a moving experience. I know I speak for Doug and Andy when I say how good this group of people has been in taking us in and making us feel at home. I wont list any names for fear of forgetting one of you. But thank you all. For all the beauty, for all the spectacular places, sights, scenery, buildings, skylines, sunrises, sunsets and more, the most unforgettable aspect of this country will stay its people. Priceless and irreplaceable. I intend to make the most of the next fortnight...

Random Canadian Factoid 9 - Grey Cup: then and now

2005-11-29T23:23:00.000-05:00

So here are 3 of the Edmonton Eskimos celebrating their win in the Grey Cup this weekend. For those of you who dont know, the Grey Cup is the final of Canada's American football competition, so our equivalent might be something like the FA cup final.

Sean Fleming booted the winning field goal in overtime to lift the Eskimos to a thrilling (CBC's words, not mine!) 38-35 win over the Montreal Alouettes in the 93rd Grey Cup in what will go down as one of the greatest contests in the history of the CFL's championship game, played in front of 59,000 in BC place in Vancouver, a futuristic indoor stadium. (Yes of course I took photos of it while I was there!) Its a long way away from the first Grey Cup final. On my wanders through Rosedale Park on Impact day (30th September), I wandered across this park and sign.

This, as the sign tells you, is the site of the very first Grey Cup final, played here in Toronto back in 1909, with rules probably more akin to rugby than current day gridiron. Today, its just a small park with a spot of baseball and tennis, but I was excited by it. Which possibly says more about me than anything else!

The first winners of the cup were the University of Toronto. Which isnt as weird sounding as all that. Because, although the first FA cup winners were (now premiership) Bolton Wanderers back in 1872, the 3rd cup (1874) was won by Oxford University, who incidentally have played in 4 FA cup finals. Thats twice as many as Birmingham City and Peterborough United. Combined.

OK. Enough trivia for one day. I might earn myself a reputation for being sad! (What do you mean, 'might'?!)

The big 3-0

2005-11-29T22:16:00.000-05:00

....is not far away. 10 days off I think. But this is not a post about that. Its just a tenous way of getting this article on to my blog.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/league_cup/4472922.stm

So thats for my dad, and Scribbles, both of whom I am sure had a little giggle at the demise of the 'mighty' Villa. Even Brian will doubtless have enjoyed it.

Will avoid jokes about the holy Trinity. You've all thought of them already!

Hey scribbles - we made the BBC front page

2005-11-28T21:20:00.000-05:00

I say 'we'. I mean Canada. It doesnt often make the top of the news back home, but this was showing tonight on the BBC website.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4480218.stm

A vote of no confidence in Paul Martin's government has led to it falling, defeated in the vote today by 171 votes to 133. One of you at least can tell me how many no votes/abstensions that means!! (You know who you are!)

Unfortunately, the election is expected on 23 January, so I will miss it. Gutted. I spent all this summer hoping to miss our own vote last May (sadly, my travel arrangements just couldnt sort themselves quickly enough..). It will be interesting to see how an election is fought out here.

Scribbles - keep watching!

This week in Canada I....

2005-11-27T22:55:00.000-05:00

Sorry folks. Oh it has been a weird topsy turvy week on and off the field. Work coming out of my ears (and anywhere else it could find places to emerge from...), party invites to celebrate everything from exams to birthdays to the mere existence of English people in Toronto, pool competitions... and a little bit more besides. I just havent really found the energy to tap into the screen this week to say hello to you all. But anyway.

So. A brief synopsis. This will make sense to me (and probably me alone), but will in time remind me of the week that was.

This week in Canada I..

- learned that if you ask for a 'white coffee' in a coffee shop you'll get stared at blankly, but if you order an extra large double double, regular or a black coffee, you will get something coffee related. I'm not sure why 'white coffee' causes so much confusion! And dont even get me started on 'jacket' potatoes!

- got a Canadian texting me every week day this week. Elyse at least will recognise this as an achievement of sorts!

- learned that, when being told to use the 'clear' lane in the snow, 'clear' does NOT mean the lane without traffic in it. To put it another way, snow is much slippier than tarmac!

- learned to drive no handed on the 401. I managed 4km through Mississauga on Wednesday night without touching the steering wheel - admittedly rarely hitting the heights of 10kmh as the snow came pouring down. I attribute this skill entirely to my dad, who drove many miles no handed whilst I was a little boy - and at far greater speeds than 10kmh. Something to aspire to...

- did the English proud in a drinking session, as 3 of us spent far too long sinking tequila shots. And unlike Williams, I was in work by 845 the next day!

- was a pool shark for the night, with the particular highlight being the 7 balling of the same Williams - before he really got stuck into the alcoholic shots, I might add. On the other hand, despite winning 6-1 in singles, I should admit that, in mixed doubles, i lost 3-0. In that moment i also discovered that I am worse than average with women! Hmmm. Should i rephrase that? Nah. Self ridicule is what this blog is here for!

- learned that it is not always better to have 'loved and lost' as the proverb goes, but it does give you the experience to deal with it better the next time.

- spent the night pulling faces with a bunch of young professionals in a public bar. Oh, may i never forget what it feels like to do young silly things! And hopefully, Suzanne permitting, there will be photographic evidence of this later this week!

- got the most wonderful comment in my blog from my UK blogger pal scribbles. And on the back of this I really started for the first time looking forward to seeing the UK again. Its been 5 months, and it suddenly feels like it.

- got an email from my home office telling me I couldnt come back to Canada between January and March. On reflection, this will give some people a break from me (which i am sure they need!), and it will give me a chance to reflect on the experiences I've had here so far, and whether I would want to repeat them. The odds were looking pretty good up til last week, so who knows...

- got an invite to a Canadian Christmas dinner that was cooked for 3 British guys who have been over here this autumn. Chris, Elyse, Amy, Nicki, Jamie, Will, Paul, Suzanne, Katie, Christine. Thank you all so much. Most of the funniest nights we spent here were thanks to you all.

- opened Canadian Christmas crackers and discovered that the piece of paper with the joke comes with 2 jokes, one in English and one in French. This is Canada, after all!

- discovered that Canadian Christmas cracker jokes are every bit as crap as ours:

1) Why do bakers work so hard?
Because they kneed dough

2) How can you stop a rhino from charging?
Take away his credit cards

3) Customer: 'This steak is terrible, I want the manager'
Waiter: 'Sorry sir, he's not on the menu'

I dont think even Kim is going to crack a smile at those!

- discovered that Glasgow Rangers FC, having lost 2-1 to Hibs this weekend, have gone 8 games without a win for the first time in their 132 year history. Their fans dont know when they are born. The Toronto Raptors (NBA team, known locally as the 'craptors') lost their first 9 games this season! Not to mention the joys of supporting Peterborough or Birmingham.

- went to watch the Pld 9 lost 9 Raptors at the Air Canada Centre on Sunday. And they won! Crowd of 17,594 enjoyed the entertainment. And because they scored 100+ points (107-94 v Miami Heat), we got a free slice of pizza from 'Pizza Pizza' (its a chain, and i challenge anyone to find a way of using the word pizza 4 times in 5 words in a real English sentence!). For the record, the Raptors are now 1-11.

- Reread the whole of my blog. It was a funny week, and i really wanted to remember the good that Canada has been for me. To all you Canadians, you have a great place here, I love it and I know I will be back to share time with you again. Its been a huge pleasure, the whole thing.

So that was last week. Photos I will sort soon. I couldnt really have predicted last week, and i guess anything could happen this week too. www.pootergeek.com has his own thoughts on this matter, (hilarious, for anyone with a small grasp of German who fancies a laugh), and i for one wouldnt be surprised, or disappointed to see it happen.

Nachste Montag, Wetter permitten, wir invaden der Frankreich.

Lets see what the new week has in store. Eh?

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...

2005-11-22T22:14:00.000-05:00

Sometimes you just have to accept the challenge as it occurs - and tomorrow I am driving 500km to and from Strathroy to humour my client. To interview 2 people. To pick up a couple of documents. And to challenge myself still further. For it will doubtless involve snow. Thats the white stuff in the sky, and not anything else, for those of you questionning my moral habits!

I am sure I will tire of the "dont you get snow in England?" question. Well, yes. It lasts about 2 or 3 days a year, its generally turned to slush within a few hours, and is guaranteed to bring chaos to rail and road networks across the country.

But here is an interesting one. Any idea what the average snowfall in the UK is? Well, from one website, I found that, for the years 1961-90, Berkshire had an average winter snowfall of 5.4mm, Pembrokeshire 6.6mm and County Down 10.5mm.

But hang on, I hear you say. We can make snow balls with our snow, so it must be more than 7 or 8mm average. You are right, because snowfall is apparently 12 times thicker than its water equivalent. In other words, if the numbers above suggest an average of 8mm a year of water equivalent, thats (12 x 8 ) mm of snow. Call it 10cm. Or for those of you who are still measuring in the old ways, 4 inches. (I was going to say 6 inches, but this is a family site....!)

Anyway, according to our friends at www.theweathernetwork.com, it feels like -10 in London (the nearest town to where I am headed), and i can expect 10cm of snow in the next 24 hours. That'll be a year's annual UK snowfall then!

This inspired one particularly kind local to text me to say be careful driving in the snow. The instructions I got are as follows:

- keep some distance from the car in front of you

- take your time

- no sweat!

- the car will probably have ABS (newer cars do) - I guess you wouldnt know about ABS? (I'm not sure i've ever mentioned the P309, but there will be a whole lot of people back home agreeing with that comment!)

- just drive in the clearest lane possible

- the snow on either side of your tire tracks can grab your tires and pull you in, so just be careful

- we do it all the time! (yeah, i've seen the other things 401 drivers do too....)

- its the only way to learn

- i dont mean to scare you (no no, keep it coming....)

- you'll be fine ( i got this particular one 4 times!!!).

So there you go. Instructions for driving the Ontarian winter, for any of you thinking of an out of season visit. I rather fancy that, unlike at home, the 10cm of snow will not close all roads tomorrow, so i expect to go and come back, and have something to say come tomorrow night.

Wish me luck!

Random Canadian Factoid no 8 - a YYZ one for Sullivan

2005-11-21T23:54:00.000-05:00

Short but sweet. I need to post a little something to remind you all I am here. The best thing about this blog is that I have buy in from other people. Unbelievably, other people are actually helping me find bits of information to put in here. So a special thank you to today's contributor! (They know who they are)

The generosity of people in general here is something i just cannot believe. Because, not only am I collecting things for my blog, I am also collecting 25c coins - of which there are goodness knows how many variations. It was a sad something I noticed way back in June, that there are many different faces to the 25c. Now, I am having people keep the unusual ones for me when we meet up, and at least 4 people have turned up with special coins for me...

On the other hand, this generosity comes at a price. For today's factoid is this - that Toronto is the most expensive airport in the world, when it comes to landing fees. http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20051115/pearson_fees_051115/20051116?hub=Canada

I am working on getting a dissertation from my mate DS as to why this is the case, and what the landing fees pay for. If they are in any way responsible for the brand new Terminal one at Lester B Pearson, it was money well spent. Easily the most pain free terminal I have flown out of..

Sadly, for the rest of you, the costs of landing an aeroplane here probably add about $35 to your flight ticket. But, if you want to come over here, its a small price to pay. The memories of your time in Toronto? Priceless.

Whats in your inbox?

2005-11-21T23:13:00.000-05:00

Email - the pain of my life. Not only can I get 25 in an hour while people are planning the next social activity - you know who you are people! - but, in attempts to manage the 50 a day I am getting, my 'hotmail' account (other free web based email accounts are available)! doesnt get looked at, with the result that, now and again, i get a note saying:

"Your aunt has just been talking to your mother on the 'phone, it appears that she emailed you but has not had a reply."

Naughty Matt. And yes, Matt has replied to his auntie.

Anyway, now and again, between the IAS weekly updates, the Audit alerts, the other circulars, the social ones and the serious ones, something stands out and i try to remember to keep it. Sadly, all too often, they get deleted once my inbox hits 90mb, as thats my limit, and as various people reading this site will tell you, i've no idea what i am doing with a laptop...

Anyway, for my amusement, and hopefully some of yours, here are a sample of quotes from my inbox as it stands, before i delete them.

The Canadian communications

“At least you still have the Ashes” (coming from a Canadian, this is my greatest achievement since I’ve been here!)

“Also...text message? I'm not sure what you mean. My understanding is that 'mobiles' or cell phones (as they are known in Canada) are to be used to...well... phone people. Crazy, I know”

“Brain injury causes British accent. This explains quite a lot” (from this link -
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3235934.stm )

Client communications

"p.s. I’m on page 68 of the IFRS questionnaire and I’m ready to hang myself…."

"I don’t think they know what “lead sheets” are" (from a corporate controller, you'd be worried too!)

A party invitation

"You'll be pleased (?) to know that you are top of the guest list, so there's an offer you can't refuse. I think you are going to be expected to provide some singing / guitar playing entertainment"

"pass-the-parcel is also on the itinerary along with bingo" (in case I’m too boring, presumably!!)

The Random others...

"cricket was great. Could not enjoy it all that well because of the exams, though. Since they're over now, I've got a broken nose. The missus didn't realise I was getting out of the car behind her and smashed the door in my face! I am having to go for surgery on Wed."

"I'm told that Canada is a lot better than the US" (yes this is real, and added just for you Canadians!)

"I dread to think what time it is in your part of the world now and why on earth you are free to email" (Auditor struggling with -5 hours!)

"tune into Gazetta this week, for more shots, rounds and people hitting the bar than 'Boozey Britain 2'"

"Milan were all over the old lady like a sailor on payday..."

"I'm feeling quite sick (strange and plentifulmix of drinks last night). Been browsing your website. Do you actually have time to do any work what with all the sightseeing, socialising and then writing it all up?"

"A few of us ended up back at the office until 5 drinking the champagne and having races on the chairs - how mature!"

"one bartenders name is Dale and if you are really nice to him he looks away while pouring your alcohol"

"You'll like this one Matt, although it may come as a surprise - have snared myself a bird!!"

"Now for the interesting bit…….she is a new first year"

"Be very proud to be British because.. Only in Britain can a pizza get to your house faster than an Ambulance"

"they have already invited me to the Christmas party and also to Christmas lunch with the afternoon off work to continue the drinking, they sound like my kind of people!"

"I've got a bit of a headache (caused by IFRS2) and a sore bum (from climbing Snowdon) but am otherwise fine"

I shouldnt curse email. You guys are giving me all the entertainment i could ever want, so thank you. Whoever you are, wherever you are, catch up with you soon.

Breaking news

2005-11-17T15:45:00.000-05:00

I knew it might happen. More than that, I should have been expecting it sooner or later. Today, it happened.

Its snowing. Jeepers. Current temperatures in London (Ontario), where I'm staying are -3, which with windchill feel like -10. Thats going to drop to -12 overnight.... Brrrr

You can share my pain at www.theweathernetwork.com where you will find all of Canada's current and forecasted weather.

In the meantime, Nicole and I have been discussing the difference between functional and fashionable hats and scarves. I think i am just about to find out which category my Posh scarf and fleece hat fall in to....

One for mum, dad and Brian

2005-11-15T23:07:00.000-05:00

So this is where we found ourselves Friday night.... I got ridiculously excited by the pub name (expecially the 75 bit, which a few of you will know about, and the 'touch of Ireland in Toronto', which seemed apt given the week I had..)

Sleepless in Strathroy...

2005-11-14T23:57:00.000-05:00

...or maybe not. Because, as anyone who has seen me recently, either at Katie's cottage last month or at Paul's house last weekend will point out, I can fall asleep ANYWHERE. I am expecting abuse from a semi anonymous blogger now telling me just some of the places I fell asleep whilst we were on our pan European travels back in 1997.

So, the two incidents above demonstrated that, given the right mix of alcohol (or to put it another way, 2 beers) and a warm room, I can sleep through all interruptions.

Sadly, the same was also true on Sunday afternoon after two nights awake post midnight during the weekend. Age is catching me as fast as the 20s are leaving me....

So, to add to sofas in front of Billy Connolly and chairs in front of porn (apparently, see nothing moves me!), I can add that the noise of a Corolla doing 120 on the 401 doesnt bother me, and neither does music, the telephone (unless Paul is on the phone!) or a motorway rumble strip, all of which Nicole tried to use to stir me, without luck!

Strathroy, population 11,000, finds itself 250km south west of Toronto. But we're busy, so I havent had the chance to go out looking at it yet and I cannot report on how active the place is.

Nicole on the other hand did the lunch round and found a Quiznos Sub, which for the guys back home is an alternative to Subway or Mr Sub. For a country with the sea faring history of Canada, there are a lot of subs around here.

Quiznos has a business card draw every week - the story goes that you put your business card into a pot, and if it is drawn out, you win a free meal.

Nicole reports that there were two business cards in the bucket, so was going to put hers in on top, but hesitated.

"When is the draw?"
"Friday"
"I wont be here anyways.. we're leaving on Friday"
"We'll do it Thursday so you can use it Friday"

Its not the lotto 649, but the odds sound promising. I've no idea what else we'll see out here, but I have the camera with me just in case....

Canadian factoid 6 - and Canada's contribution to remembrance day

2005-11-11T00:06:00.000-05:00

Picture: the war memorial, Peterborough, Ontario.

On remembrance day, the factoid today is about the Canadian $10 bill and poppies. My technological supervisor did sort me out a picture of the relevant monetary image, but sadly I couldnt get it on to the screen. However, you can get a view of all Canadian notes at http://www.vancouver.hm/money.html and in the meantime i shall work on my cut and paste techniques!

The reverse side of the Canadian $10 depicts images related to peacekeeping and remembrance, with poppy decoration and that famous line 'lest we forget' (in English and French); this is accompanied by a quotation from John McCrae's poem "In Flanders Fields".

Ever wondered why we wear poppies to mark the occasion?

Scarlet poppies (popaver rhoeas) grow naturally in conditions of disturbed earth throughout Western Europe. The destruction brought by the Napoleonic wars of the early 19th Century, transformed bare land into fields of blood red poppies, growing around the bodies of the fallen soldiers. In late 1914, the fields of Northern France and Flanders were once again ripped open as the First World War raged through Europe's heart. The significance of the poppy as a lasting memorial symbol to the fallen was realised by the Canadian surgeon McCrae in his poem. The poppy came to represent the immeasurable sacrifice made by his comrades and quickly became a lasting memorial to those who died in the First World War and later conflicts.

So, when you wear your poppy with pride this remembrance day, it was a Canadian that was responsible for creating the symbol. Here is the poem he wrote about Flanders fields...

In Flanders Fields

(Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918) Canadian Army)

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

One for the Irish and the Auditors

2005-11-10T01:16:00.000-05:00

After my previous indiscretions, I really shouldn't post jokes on here, but there is an old joke that used to do the rounds back home:

Q: How many letters are there in the alphabet?
A: 24 - the IRA have just blown up C&A.

(for Canadians who might not get it, C&A was a shop like Sears, and the IRA an Irish terror group).

I am working on a variation of this joke. Something like

Q: How many letters are there in a happy auditor's alphabet?
A: 24 - Once you've got rid of D & I.

Still in its infancy, but I am sure there are people out there who will work on it....

Random Canadian factoid no 5 - Radio Broadcasting

2005-11-10T00:55:00.000-05:00

Reginald Fessenden - Extracts From National Capitol Commission of Canada;

At the end of the 19th century, people communicated by radio using Morse code - sputtering dots and dashes that trained radio operators could decode into a message. Canadian Reginald Fessenden, changed all that. He is best known for his invention of the modulation of radio waves, the "heterodyne principle" which allowed the reception and transmission on the same aerial without interference.

In 1900 he transmitted the world's first voice message. It took six years for him to refine his invention but on Christmas Eve, 1906, Reginald Fessenden made the first radio broadcast in history when ships off the Atlantic coast with Fessenden-designed equipment broadcast the first trans-Atlantic voice transmission.

So whether its 99.9, 102.7, 103.5 or 96.4 you're tuned in to tomorrow, if its any good, you can thank Canada for it.

If its shite, you can always tune in to something else! Or put a CD on. Canadians helped provide us with gramophones too, so there's plenty to be grateful to them for!

30 in 30 days... and 30 things about me

2005-11-09T19:59:00.000-05:00

My mate Scribbles some weeks ago wrote down a whole lot of things she thought about. Well, as I am pushing 30, and as that milestone inspires me to reflect on the fun and games of the last 10 years, here are 30 things I can say about myself. Most of you who read these and know me will already know these, but you never know... and we'll get back to the Canadiana later - after all, 30 in 30 days only happens once!

I have real trouble convincing people how shy I am, and secretly I wish that more people believed me.

At 30, the longest I have ever had a job is 2 yrs and 7 months… (and its this one).

If ever I settled down, I couldn’t mix it with life as a bean counter.

Secretly, I think I will be stressed, no matter what job I have – I have come to accept that I will ‘take it home with me’.

This probably stopped me doing something I would love to be able to do, which is counselling.

The friends I will count as my best at 30 were, for the most part, not in my life when I was 20.

I have had some big life changing moments, but I still take what I have for granted too much.

I cant take compliments.

Im not all that observant. I never noticed the arrow on the fedex logo, I have no idea how many sets of lights there are from the highway to my house, and I couldn’t tell you what the person I was just talking to was wearing.

My head is full of trivia. For example, I can tell you what Birmingham City’s record attendance is, and the line of latitude Peterborough sits on.

On the other hand, I cant remember what I had for lunch yesterday, or how much it cost.

I’m learning that sport isn’t the be all and end all, that, when you are away from it, you can live without football, and that sometimes a long lie in bed is more fun than driving 2 hours to watch the game.

On the other hand, the individual moments that define sports matches, especially dramatic ones (Man Uniteds 2-1 win over Bayern, Wilkinsons last minute drop goal against the Aussies,) will probably remain amongst the most intense moments of joy I experience.

Having met with about 5 Irish university graduates, I know I will never think like them, or be accepted as one of them. I think and see like an English person, and I am proud of that.

I’ll never be able to bake bread like my nan, boil bacon like my mum or make pancakes like my dad.

I grew up eating and loving these as my favourite foods, completely unaware that they were Irish things.

Some people I make laugh all the time (Ampsy), some people I never make laugh, and I really have no idea if there is a difference in the way I treat those people.

At least twice I lost a friend because the relationship went from superficial to serious.

I wonder if there is one person in the world I am comfortable being in a room silent with.

I was a joker through my first job, and only really began to act ‘grown up’ when I became a teacher. Unfortunately, somewhere along the way, and I don’t remember when, it stopped being an act, and I don’t joke around as much as I used to.

I lost my competitive streak many years ago. For some reason, now it feels great to let the other person win.

I always let my friends get their own way.

On the other hand, by doing that, I get something too – the pleasure of knowing they are happy.

My life has been fantastic. I’ve had chances that people from my background just didn’t always get. And I personally didn’t have to struggle and fight for those chances. I owe it all to other people, and very good fortune.

I like giving freely of my time to anything and anyone, but i dislike being forced to do anything.

I find it difficult accepting the generosity of others, and should remember this when people are reluctant to accept mine..

I know I am going to feel empty when I leave Canada, I’m pretty sure I know the reasons why, but I could not possibly explain them rationally.

The only positive I take from this is I know that, when I left the UK, I was really looking forward to being back.

I wasn’t at home for my 18th, 21st or 30th birthdays.

I have no urge to do anything more before my birthday, nor do I think I will feel any different after it.

I wouldn’t change any of the past 30 years experiences, good or bad.

Peterborough proof - cheesy tourist pose

2005-11-09T19:36:00.000-05:00

Just in case any of you doubted my integrity (I am an auditor, how could you possibly?..), photographic evidence of me in front of 'Peterborough' sign.

Sad? Yes. But you know me.....

Random Canadian factoid no 4 - Pboro liftlocks

2005-11-06T21:11:00.000-05:00

PETERBOROUGH LIFT LOCK
Peterborough's famous lift lock built in 1904, lifts boats 19.8m, making it the highest hydraulic lift lock in the world, as well as one of only 8 of its type anywhere in the world.

Who says there is nothing good to say about Peterborough?!

Peterborough - home from home

2005-11-06T19:41:00.000-05:00

Above: Pboro City Hall

This wasnt in the script - in fact, so many things that happened over the weekend weren't in the script, but I am waiting for other people to help explain to me how it was that i found myself sleeping on a chair in Paul's flat on Saturday morning! But at 10am on Saturday morning Kim rang up and asked if I wanted to go to Peterborough for the day - after all, it would be wrong to come all this way and not see it! We had internet maps, coke, pringles, and enough music to entertain us in case we got lost.. so off we went to Pboro.

Peterborough has a population of over 74,000, it's about 150km north east of Toronto, and you get there via the 401 and 115, passing through Whitby, Darlington and Newcastle as you go. Eastern English theme? Maybe - after all, if you keep driving an hour or two, you'll eventually find yourself in Kingston and Hull. Someone was probably homesick all those years ago!

So what to tell you about Peterborough? Well, it is famous for its liftlocks, which is the subject of today's factoid/tidbit. Other than that?.. Well the following bits of trivia were brought to my attention:

Peterborough in July 2004 suffered huge flooding which you can have a look at on this link. http://www.daneagleton.com/20040715/ .. given Pboro (UK)'s position in the fens, which stand as the lowest point of the UK, that is something we share in common. Our last floods were Easter 1998.

I went to Pboro wearing my POSH football shirt. Hoping to get some empathy somewhere! Pboro, Ontario, doesnt have a 'football team'. However it does apparently have the No1 ranked OHL hockey team at the moment (equivalent of championship or league one level), so I got myself a souvenir top to add to my collection. The name of the team? The (hugely imaginative) Peterborough Petes.

The locks are on a 386km long waterway which includes 36 conventional locks, two flight locks, two hydraulic lift locks and a marine railway. The name of the waterway? Trent Severn. Anyone else think this copying is going too far?!

Pboro was formed early in the 19th century as a lumber town, it is a railroad and industrial centre. It is also famous for its canoe building industry and is the home to the Canadian Canoe Museum. Its UK counterpart is a railroad, sugar town and passport office.

Bryan Adams, that great Canadian who spent 16 weeks at No 1 in the UK charts back in 1991 ish, is playing live in Peterborough, Ontario on 9th December. My birthday. Wow. Scribbles would be excited! I am not certain that Bryan Adams is aware of a Pboro in the UK!

Worth a visit? If you are in to lift locks or canoeing, definitely. An OHL follower? Maybe. And if you are from Pboro of course. Not to mention if you are a fan of ageing Canadian rock stars!

A view of the main Peterborough high street.

The famous lift locks

And from another angle.

But here's a confession. I had no idea what a lift lock looks like, and so it transpires, neither did Kim! Does this matter? Apparently not, since, as you can see, we managed to have a look at them, take some pictures and do a spot of basic research (for the blog as well as to increase the random bits of trivia that fill both our heads - sorry Kim!) But, given that I am not beyond self ridicule here, here is what we thought were the lift locks when we first arrived in Peterborough...

Very dense? Probably! But, with some nice late fall colours showing off in the background, not a complete waste of two pictures!

Images from my first Halloween party

2005-11-06T19:15:00.000-05:00

Courtney, together with 'welder' and 'Skeletor'. Darth Vader was also in the house, although there was no sign of the death star. Other party goers included 3 pimps, a priest, a doctor and a pirate. I am sure there is a potential joke in there somewhere!

The wig episode.

Me and my fashion designer.

So now you know what a "Canadian" looks like! My main failing. Forgetting to remember i also had a cape (the flag of Canada) around my back, and didnt pose once all night with this in shot. What a muppet am i?

Naff joke, or language barrier? Help!!!!!

2005-11-03T12:04:00.000-05:00

OK - here it is. Feedback required. Here is a joke. The question is: does anyone, anywhere, get this joke? You dont have to find it funny (hey, if I'm telling the joke, the quality is, by definition, dubious..) Just tell me whether you understand what the joke is. I'm 0 for 3 on Canadians i've tried this joke on. 3 people still trying to work out why i even think its a joke, and one person wondering whether insanity has finally set in...

2 nuns in a bath.
1st nun: 'where's the soap?'
2nd nun: 'yeah it does, doesnt it?'

Please help! My long term stay in Canada, if it happens, may depend on the belief that I am not speaking a completely different language here! Not to mention my hosts' patience with me...

Random Canadian factoid 3 - the invention of Basketball

2005-11-02T18:32:00.000-05:00

OK - so maybe this hasn't been universally received around the world in the way that watches have.. but since Toronto are beginning their NBA season tonight against the Washington Wizards (whatever they are), here is the story of the origins of basketball - invented by a Canadian.

James Naismith was the Canadian physical education instructor who invented basketball in 1891. James Naismith was born in Almonte, Ontario and educated at McGill University and Presbyterian Cllege in Montreal. He was the physical education teacher at McGill University (1887 to 1890) and at Springfield College in Springfield, Massachusetts (1890 to 1895). At Springfield College (which was then the Y.M.C.A. training school), James Naismith, under the direction of American phys-ed specialist Luther Halsey Gulick, invented the indoor sport of basketball.

The first formal rules were devised in 1892. Initially, players dribbled a soccer ball up and down a court of unspecified dimensions. Points were earned by landing the ball in a peach basket. Iron hoops and a hammock-style basket were introduced in 1893. Another decade passed, however, before the innovation of open-ended nets put an end to the practice of manually retrieving the ball from the basket each time a goal was scored.

In 1959, James Naismith was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame (called the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame.)

For those of you who dont regard basketball as a suitably significant contribution to the world, we'll find something else tomorrow!

Random Canadian Factoid No 2 - The quartz clock

2005-11-01T22:46:00.000-05:00

Since tidbit is clearly wrong, Mr Not Anonymous, I'll steal the word used by Cranium in their classic game instead!

Todays Canadian contribution to the world - the quartz clock.

Quartz Clocks: From the Timeline of the Quartz Watch: "In 1927, Canadian-born Warren Marrison, a telecommunications engineer, was searching for reliable frequency standards at Bell Telephone Laboratories. Building on earlier work in piezoelectricity, he developed a very large, highly accurate clock based on the regular vibrations of a quartz crystal in an electrical circuit" - the first quartz clock.

This is not an excuse to blame Canada if you are late for work tomorrow...

Random Canadian tidbits - No 1

2005-10-31T00:38:00.000-05:00

This will be the first in a series. Of as many as I can remember to type. The thing about this country, coming from a place like the UK, is that the average person in the UK couldnt answer 5 everyday questions about Canada's contribution to the world we live in (i've already mentioned insulin, telephones and the 24 hour clock, just to mention 3...). Whether the average person in the UK could tell you 5 contributions the UK made to the world, I'm not sure either! But the readers of this blog are anything but average, so a bit of learning and growth for all of you..

Todays tidbit: Lester B Pearson, former prime minister of Canada, won the Nobel Peace prize in 1957 for his role in establishing UN peacekeepers (you know the ones with their sky blue berets..)

And for those of you who havent been here, Toronto's international airport (or YYZ as Sullivan insists on calling it!) is known as the Lester B Pearson International Airport, named after the same former prime minister.

Two tidbits in a day. That'll do you for now!

Shrivelled? Manky? Not us....

2005-10-31T00:14:00.000-05:00

Matt and Kim's pumpkin handy work.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN.

Quote of the week - one for Halloween

2005-10-31T00:06:00.000-05:00

"A shrivelled manky pumpkin isnt going to impress anyone"

From the BBC website, so must be true! See: www.bbc.co.uk/cumbria/features/halloween/pumpkin.shtml.

Comes with instructions for anyone else who wants to try making a pumpkin lantern this week! Enjoy!

A weekend of Canadian firsts

2005-10-30T23:13:00.000-05:00

First Pumpkin lamp made for Halloween - as you can see above. And believe it or not, you can actually go out and buy halloween tool kits especially for this purpose - I was using a small orange coloured saw with the name 'make a face' on it, and a little pumpkin face on the logo.

First Canadian winter coat bought. Not before time, as the last 2 weeks have been freezing. Temperature yesterday. 16 degrees and sunny. The weather here is nearly as schizophrenic as the gas prices, which also appear to change daily. Time taken? About half an hour. Which will impress Sara and my mum. Both of those know how bad I am at making shopping decisions..

First pumpkin seeds ever eaten. Mmmm. And first perogie. Its like a mini cheese and potato pastie. Pretty good. My next culinary challenge may well be a Kraft dinner (sounds like Canada's answer to a pot noodle - watch this space).

First Canadian bacon eaten. Went to a place called Giggling Tomatoes for a post party breakfast on Sunday morning, and ate Canadian back bacon, with eggs and toast and a cup of English tea. Chose not to combine on this occasion with pancakes and maple syrup on the same plate, another Canadian favourite! Why would you mix pancake, maple syrup, bacon and eggs on one plate? I'm sure we can find a Canadian willing to answer that! Or to put it another way, I'm yet to meet one that finds that in any way odd.

First Halloween party too. There may be pictures. Am thinking about this. Whether i want to show pictures of me wearing a blonde wig in public... (did i actually type that out? oh dear..).

First blonde wig worn in public. That WAS a first too. Just to clear that up!

A completely different first. The Toronto City council on Friday approved the construction of Toronto's first ever purpose built soccer stadium - thats 'football' to you Europeans. The 20,000 seater place will cost $53.6m (25 million British pounds) and will host a Major League Soccer expansion team in 2007. For those of you unfamiliar with North American sport, they dont go in for promotion and relegation. Far too complicated for most Americans no doubt. So if any city, company or Abramovich like benefactor wants to put the money up for a new team, they 'expand' the league. How often does this happen? Fairly infrequently is the truth, but look at it this way. There are currently 30 teams in the NHL (top level ice hockey). There is no promotion or relegation. Toronto Maple Leafs are our own proud representatives. They havent won the NHL since 1967. When they did last win it, there were only 6 teams competing! If the NHL keeps growing at that rate, Lindros, Sundin and friends had better pull their fingers, skates and pucks out sooner rather than later if the Leafs are to end the longest Stanley cup drought of all currently active teams.

'Anything is normal on Halloween...'

2005-10-26T16:11:00.000-04:00

Anything is normal on Halloween. So I'm told. Which presumably begins to explain this particular picture, which I saw in Brampton last week on my travels through the suburbs. And I shouldnt be surprised to see people walking to work in costumes or wigs on Monday. Apparently.

Halloween was a strange event that happened as kids for a little while. 'Trick or treat, smell my feet or give me something nice to eat...' and similar childish nonsense. Where has it been for the last 20 years? No idea, but, since no one is safe walking the streets of Handsworth (literally, if current press is to be believed) or near the Harborne Stores, it has in the main passed me by. Except last year, oddly enough, when on an audit of an American company which insisted its finance department dressed up for the event, I was sat in a room with an audit partner in Dracula cloak, and an FD wearing a witches hat and false nose. Is it any surprise those financial statements were filed late with a couple of screaming errors? (unfortunate use of the word screaming, but I'll leave it!)

So - it transpires that Canadians 'do' Halloween, and that 'anything is normal'. Precisely what this means I am not sure. But i have on my computer an invite "to consume copious amounts of liquids and blood, while enjoying the fine company of others and discussing non-work related activities." Should i be scared? Amongst the entertainment will be "Most revealing costume contest/Gambling/Socializing/Snacks/Finger foods/Drinking". And as for the dress code? Well my Canadian advisor has told me to come dressed as a 'Canadian'. No, I'm not sure i would immediately recognise the difference either. But I am sure it will involve all or some of: Canadian flag, tuque, ice skates, lumberjack shirt, ice hockey stick... but nothing revealing. Apparently thats just for the ladies. Which is fine by me!

Anything is normal on halloween... that is still scaring me just thinking about it. But dont expect to hear much about it. I could be in a state of shock. And even if I am not, I am sworn to secrecy. 'What happens at halloween, stays at halloween'..

Bonfire night next week. Maybe I can start a cultural exchange!

Cottage country - photos

2005-10-23T22:27:00.000-04:00

Serious stuff during our no limit Texas Holdem session.....

2005-10-23T22:24:00.000-04:00

The view from the cottage - and the family boat. Appropriately named too. 'Peterborough'

2005-10-23T22:22:00.000-04:00

The view (2) - a bit further down...

2005-10-23T22:10:00.000-04:00

the cottage

The Canadian weekend - cottage country

2005-10-23T21:37:00.000-04:00

I couldnt possibly leave here without at least experiencing a small semblance of cottage country. After all, its what Torontonians do. They work in the GTA all week, then migrate northwards up the 400 and highway 11 to 'cottage country'. I am sure there is a double entendre in there somewhere.. Reminds me of a joke Doug told me in the car today. A girl walks in to a bar and asks for a double entendre, so the bar tender gives her one. Yes. I know. Shite.

So, having randomly met Katie about 3 weeks ago in bizarre cicumstances (she had a blanket wrapped round her legs, all very strange..) we got talking the following night and we agreed to visit her at her cottage for the weekend of 22nd. Now this is the kind of thing I do when I am drunk. Compare with 'do you want to come and visit me in Canada?' (My personal visitor count moves to 5 with Joe's arrival on Tuesday.)

So. Me and another English guy Doug jump in a car, at 7 on a Saturday night bucketing with rain, armed with only a hand drawn map that Katie had given me in the pub the previous Monday. How scared was I? This journey was 250km, and to be honest, we had no idea a) where we were going and b) what we would find when we got there...

What we found was a group of 10 youngsters, 17 to 25, drinking beer and listening to music. And for the rest of the night, and the Sunday morning, we did what Canadians do. We sat in the cottage, we drank, we warmed ourselves in front of a log fire, we watched Vancouver win the hockey 6-4, we played poker at 2am (note to self: must stop agreeing to play poker for money at random times of the night after several beers), we went for a hot tub (it wasnt quite a Kiminator hot tub, that one still wins!), and sat and stared out at the lake, taking photos the next morning.

Its the middle of nowhere. Its peaceful. Its quiet. Its scenic. Its an escape from what surrounds the working week. And its fun. I guess thats why they do it!

Paul's leaving - 21 October

2005-10-23T21:27:00.000-04:00

The pictures below are from Paul's leaving on Friday night. He had a good time. Unfortunately, for some reason, the people I seem to make best friends with in this firm, both here and in the UK, leave with alarming regularity... Should I be taking anything personally here? Or perhaps just changing my deodrant?! Let the comments (abuse) begin...

Paul - thank you for everything, hope you had a great time on Friday, and all the best in the new job. See you on Friday (when another one abandons us.....)

2005-10-23T21:24:00.001-04:00

and a group huddle to end the evening..

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and a few more...

2005-10-23T21:22:00.000-04:00

lots of (mostly) happy faces

2005-10-23T21:20:00.000-04:00

Paul clearly delighted to have escaped the asylum

2005-10-23T21:19:00.000-04:00

I swear it was this big....

It tastes awful, but it works...

2005-10-23T21:07:00.000-04:00

You know you are living beyond the tourist existence when you end up experiencing the things that Canadians daren’t share with anyone else – not even Americans. After all, if you’re going to try and send your visitors away with a positive lasting impression of your country, why would you do anything to risk that?

Then again, its cold here and people get ill. Or specifically, ME! (I swear this is the only calendar month I have ever experienced where the temperatures in the same city have been above 30 and below 0 – and there are still 8 days to go) So, dressed in a suitably inappropriate shirt and jeans last weekend, I picked up a chill for my sins, caught a cough and lost my voice. Which, as some people will tell you, isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Some people here think I talk too much…

Toronto’s urban angel Amy suggested the cure. “Try an over the counter cold medication called Buckley's...it tastes awful but it really does work for getting your voice back”

“It tastes awful…” Would you really buy a product that had that endorsement? Because that is how they advertise it! http://www.buckleys.com/ – See for yourselves.

Can I describe the taste? Putrid. The aftertaste is something resembling warm liquid fishermans friend. Sickening. And, if I am honest, the look of the liquid is not something that should be being described before the watershed. Canadians may understand what I mean by that. You wouldn’t drink it if you didn’t know what it was, lets leave it at that…

And does it work? Well, 5 days into my treatment, my cough is much better, but my voice is still weak. Then again, as people will tell you, maybe I talk too much!

The CN tower climb - the post mortem

2005-10-23T20:10:00.000-04:00

Actually, that title's closer to the truth than ought to be the case! I really did for a stage feel rough on the climb, and, well, the more morbid contract writers of United Way had ensured that they included the word 'death' on the disclaimers we were signing before starting the ascent. Just in case, you understand!

United Way very kindly give you a t shirt at the end of the event with your time on it, as a souvenir, and perhaps a reminder to exercise more before next years climb! Watching the t shirts of the finished climbers go past as we were approaching the start, there were a couple in the teens (ie sub 20 min), a lot in the 20s, some in the 30s…. then the sounds of ridicule from Jonathan behind me when a woman walks past with something like 37 minutes on the shirt. I wasn't liking this! I had been ill all week, and, in the context of what my legs have been able to do for the past 5 years, the climb, not the time, was the challenge in itself. That said, I didnt want to take hours!

What was i hoping to do it in? Well, frankly, the elevator! But Bruce, our team captain, was asking us for our targets as we queued up to sign our lives away. Kim was aiming for 30 min, Jonathan nearer 20. Then he tells Bruce that "Matt is going for 20.." "Yeah", says Matt enthusiastically. "20, maybe even 15....... floors" (I really wasnt joking!)

So my personal stats: Steps: 1776. Floors 142. Stops 4 (yes, that’s really lame and yes, I was knackered – I had to leave Kim at about floor 118 and I needed 5 minutes more than her to finish off those last 20 floors, although the breather was nice!) Time 38.01. I was happy to follow Kim all the way up in her ‘slow and steady wins the race’ pacing. Which was definitely for the best, as if I had been in control I would have been jogging up the first 50 or 60 steps thinking ‘no sweat’, only to die a death on floor 10. Personal satisfaction gained? Yes. Humiliating time? - probably, but as was pointed out to me later, all the people with the slow times probably didnt bother wearing their T shirts as they walked away. Clever people!

And what did we gain? Well, we raised a few more thousand for United Way. And this is the cool bit. Our GTA practice has raised $1.1m in the past month for United Way, which will fund more than 200 social and health service agencies. 79% of our staff have contributed. You can read more at www.unitedwaytoronto.com and see what rewards others will get for our efforts.

For me, my reward was the top of the tower. But, unlike my previous visits, I really wasnt in the physical state to enjoy the view! Kim very kindly stayed behind to walk with me to the office, and in the process learned a new English word. Chunder. Enough said.

I'd do it all again tomorrow. Except maybe the mars bars...!

Jack and Dougal in parish newsletter front cover pose

2005-10-23T20:05:00.000-04:00

Its a priest thing - you wouldn't understand

2005-10-23T19:56:00.000-04:00

One of you will get the title! (Dad?) Well the priests are off. The 10 day stay ended on Thursday night with them flying off back safely to London, whilst I was nursing a giddy tummy at the top of the CN tower.

It was a really good time, I really appreciated talking about home subjects, the European Union, the state of the church, further education back home, the Iraq war (from a British angle..), what it means to be British (as compared with Canadian..) It was nice to engage in that, and made me really relish the talking time we had.

Not that it was all perfect you understand! Don’t ever let anyone tell you that priests don’t gossip! They are the kings of it. And, what is worse, they get away with it under the veil of being ‘good men’… (not that I really think it’s a veil guys!) And Dan is the king of questions. ‘Why are you going to the office Matt?’ ‘Whats Sharon doing tonight Matt?’ ‘Who is Cathy, Matt?’ ‘How come Suzanne has got the same cold you have got Matt?’ ‘Why have you got a toy pirate set Matt?’ (I really need to stop here before I write something I could be arrested for…!)

So the priests decided I simultaneously fancied Sharon, Katie, Suzanne, Cathy, Paul (hell, in for a penny, question whether I might be batting for the other team while you’re here!). Not that I intend on divulging any truths through this medium. Not satisfied with that, Danny boy took a comment I made about a couple of the guys we had been out with on Friday night, and turned a smouldering ember of potential gossip in to a raging inferno by telling Suzanne the potential relationship brewing between Sheppard and Davisville. Please guys. Where is that priestly intuition you learned at Oscott?! For the record, and because Dan in particular will be desperate, between his runs to the loo (ha ha), to know what’s what, nothing happened between Amy and Doug that night. Now go and say 2 Hail Marys!

Accusations aren’t above the holies either!! There is only one word for this. Milk! (And no, Dan, I wasn’t thirsty last night!)

But they had a great time. Dinner dates, science trips, masses, the Toronto hippo, and visits to Stratford and Niagara falls. And then for the highlight – Nashville North! Kim kindly arranged a night out for us and we took them line dancing at a country and western pub!

There must have been 120 people there - nearly all women aged 40+. It was going well for a bit, then Kim told the teacher that there were 3 people in from the UK, and the teacher got us up on stage! Joy. The woman on stage said "you'll never guess what they do for a living... 2 priests and an accountant" (given Johnny’s amorous response to his 15 seconds of fame, giving the teacher a nice big Irish kiss, I’m not sure they knew who was who…) Then she said they were leaving the country tomorrow, to which all the old women in particular go 'ahhhhh".

We had women coming up to us for the rest of the evening wishing us well and a safe journey home, and someone from Ward End in Birmingham was delighted to be in the midst of 3 former adopted Brummies.

A nice way to finish the trip. So, priests! Thanks for coming. And Suzanne, Andy, Paul, Amy, Kim and everyone else who helped entertain them during their stay, thank you too. We’ll be sharing these stories for ever…

Why do Canadians say EH?

2005-10-20T21:47:00.000-04:00

One for the Canadians - a dictionary definition*

EH? (ay), n. [Colloq.] Canadian term for right, okay?. Please, maybe, thank you, how about it?, don't you?. Used after a statement or question. Said with spirit & pride even to Americans and other visitors. It's better than saying HUH!

* - May not actually be found in any existing published dictionary

United Way CN tower stair climb - and more language barriers..

2005-10-19T14:07:00.000-04:00

Just to let you know, this is happening tomorrow - in case my legs give up for 3 or 4 days and you dont hear from me...

In the meantime, I have just had this email regarding the climb tomorrow:

"Water is permissible if carried in a closed fanny pack. Fanny packs will be inspected."

Fanny packs will be inspected... That should heighten interest for a few people anyway! (And no, Brian, I dont think thats a job you can apply for!)

When English isnt English

2005-10-14T00:10:00.000-04:00

Ok here goes - in presumably a quiet working spell for several people yesterday, one of the girls in our extended friendship group sent an email round asking if people wanted to go to the pub on Friday night. (names withheld in case the authorities try and work out who they were ha ha)

So, one Englishman replies with the following email:

"Count me in. Im also happy to demonstrate my pool skills (not so wonderful). Cracking Lampard finish eh?"

Anyone confused so far? Me neither. So here are some responses to that email - in the order they came in - and here is the game. Was the respondent Canadian or English? You decide...

1) "Didn't see the finish mate. Is it on line?"

2) "Indeed, and the Owen goal was a pretty neat touch too. Amazing the effect that having Rooney on the pitch has on the team."

3) "What are you Brits talking about? All I understood was eh! I'm so confused"

4) "What language are you speaking? I didn't understand half of the last 3 e-mails"

5) "What does 'Cracking Lampard' mean?"

My personal favourite is number 3. "All I understood was 'eh'". Very Canadian. 5 runs it close though! Just goes to show, you can spend months here communicating normally, and then once you're in a group, still there is a language barrier.

That said, I feel exactly the same when they start referring to 'touching base', 'heads up', 'noogie' and 'tuques'. That Oxford Canadian dictionary is getting closer by the day...

Anyone else for bean counting - or just bean spotting?

2005-10-13T12:37:00.000-04:00

Find the man between the coffee beans.

Doctors have (apparently) concluded that if you find the man in 3 seconds that your right half of your brain is better developed than most people. If you find the man between 3 seconds and one minute, then your right half of the brain is developed normally. If you find the man between one minute and 3 minutes, then the right half of your brain is functioning slowly and You need to eat more protein. If you have not found the man after 3 minutes your right half of your brain is a mess, and the only advise is to look more for these types of exercises to make that part of the brain stronger. The man really is there - Infact, once you find him, you cannot miss him afterwards

(And there is no way I'm disclosing how long I stared at this picture for before deciding whether there was a man there or not!)

2005-10-13T12:33:00.000-04:00

Well, counting beans seemed appropriate....

In the prescence of holy men

2005-10-13T00:31:00.000-04:00

Not that they would call themselves that! But Monday afternoon, Dan and Johnny arrived from Gatwick for a 10 day stay over here. Two catholic priests. Where do you start with that?! I have a colourful past, leave it there!

They arrived bearing gifts (well one gift). No gold frankincense and myrrh (or however you spell that horrid word). No Jamesons either, since Johnny left it - unintentionally so says he - for some eternally grateful baggage handler to pick up from LGW. But the gift that arrived was priceless - a souvenir T shirt of the 2005 Ashes series, with England 2 Australia 1 on the back of it. Currently my favourite possession.

It has been interesting introducing them into my Canadian lifestyle. The comments from the locals have been wideranging - from "Do priests drink?" (there is a beer festival in Kitchener this weekend - can you tell this girl isnt a catholic?!) to "they dont fit the stereotype" to "you guys arent seriously priests" - clearly not exuding holiness throughout then eh?

Certainly not! Because whilst Dan was introducing Suzanne to good old fashioned English expressions like "rumpy pumpy" - not through any physical deed I feel I should add (!) - Johnny was demonstrating his empathy with those of somewhat different persuasions by referring to Paul as "Jew-boy". Jesus. How many days til they fly?! And will they avert a public relations disaster while they are here?

Who knows what the answer to that question is - they went to mass today, a televised affair at St Michaels catholic cathedral in downtown Toronto. And I left them this evening giving a critical appraisal of the service they had witnessed, although I am sure they will be secretly scanning the TV channels tomorrow looking for themselves singing in the congregation. Lets hope they werent holding up any banners, making any gestures or... anything else.

And tomorrow brings another day, and it could go in any direction. They have a cinema date with Suzanne at 730, which - at the time of writing - will result in them watching 'Wallace & Gromit' or 'The Corpse Bride'. Now there is an either/or. My money is on the corpse bride...

This wont be a typical week in Canada thats for sure...

Hey Suzanne - there are priests in the house

2005-10-12T13:41:00.000-04:00

Priests? I cant see priests...

Photo of the week - no 1 - the roundabout

2005-10-10T00:30:00.000-04:00

This was taken in a posh suburb near Rosedale Park in the north of Toronto. I found it fairly difficult (ok, my colleagues thought i was insane) to explain why I wanted this picture taken.

So, just to clarify: this is the only roundabout that I have seen in Canada so far. Not the busiest! And I am still having trouble explaining why roundabouts are good things. Oh well, i should count my blessings. I'm not entirely sure I'd remember to drive around one the wrong way anyway! Perhaps traffic lights are for the best!

Thanksgiving - and 'word for the day'

2005-10-09T23:54:00.000-04:00

One more 3 day weekend, before winter kicks in, for the Canadians to enjoy themselves. This is 'thanksgiving', something that we dont have at home (isnt one turkey a year enough?) so, as a mini lesson to you all, and aided by Kim who fowarded me a web page with the thanksgiving history in it, I have posted underneath a mini history of the event from a Canadian perspective. I wonder whether anyone in England gave thanks in 1872 that Edward recovered from his illness...

Thanksgiving is a chance to be with your loved ones and, so it would appear, gather together and eat turkey dinners. If the occasion is anything like as overcatered as a normal UK Christmas, these guys will just be putting the finishing touches to this turkey when its time to go shopping for the next one..

Thinking of such gluttony, i did mention to Kim that she would be 'eating turkey for the next fortnight'.. at which point I discovered that I clearly havent been speaking enough English, since she had, despite a lifetime's immersion into Coronation Street (another story altogether), never heard of the word fortnight. A pub poll of 4 last night (and no i'm not suggesting that's necessarily representative, but it might be!) indicates that at least 60% of Canadians dont use this word.

So for any readers that do not know, the word fortnight, as explained by Wikipedia, turns out to be as follows:

A fortnight is a unit of time equal to two weeks: that is 14 days, or literally 14 nights. The term derives from the Old English "feowertiene niht", meaning "fourteen nights". Your little lesson of the day - the history of a word you've probably never thought about before.

I like the idea of thanksgiving. The thought of being thankful for what you have been given and what life has provided you with - it appears to be wholly removed from religion, and i like that too. We dont have to agree who is responsible for putting us on this planet, how it was created, and whether there is a God, or several.

I think we have all, as human beings, been in positions where we could wake up one morning and genuinely think 'I am lucky to be here'. Perhaps it needs a life changing moment to trigger that, sometimes it's just a realisation that the sheer existence of our world as it is, where it is placed, and how delicately balanced it is, is a minor miracle.. perhaps for some of us, it is the realisation that our lot is hopefully a pretty fortunate one in the main... who knows?

For me personally, I know how lucky I am to be here, healthy (i've had my moments..), to be where I am, doing what I do, and getting paid what I get paid. Its a fairly privileged position. So, to my family, friends, colleagues past and present, and my adopted country, thank you. Turkey? No, thank you. We'll save that for Christmas.

Thanksgiving - Canadian history

2005-10-09T23:50:00.000-04:00

The first Canadian Thanksgiving was celebrated on April 15, 1872 in thanks for the recovery of the future King Edward VII from a serious illness. The next Thanksgiving didn't occur until 1879 when it was celebrated on a Thursday in November. Much like the United States, Canada seemed to have a difficult time deciding when a day of Thanksgiving should occur. From 1879 to 1898 it was celebrated on a Thursday in November; from 1899 to 1907 on a Thursday in October (except in 1901 and 1904 when it was celebrated on a Thursday in November); from 1908 to 1921 on a Monday in October; and between 1922 and 1930 the Armistice Day Act declared that Thanksgiving would be celebrated on Armistice Day, the Monday of November 11. In 1931 the Act was amended and the old practice of Parliament declaring a day of Thanksgiving each year was resumed. On January 31, 1957 Parliament issued a proclamation to fix permanently the second Monday in October as "a day of general Thanksgiving to Almighty God for the bountiful harvest with which Canada has been blessed." Much like the United States' Thanksgiving Day, the Canadian celebration includes parades and festive meals, often including turkey and all the "fixins." Yet, again, at the heart of the celebration is the idea of giving thanks for the goodness of the season past.

Rushed for time.....

2005-10-05T23:03:00.000-04:00

Really rushed for time at the moment, but will find the time to get back to all this at the weekend, while its a 3 day weekend (thanksgiving). But just a summary of the last few days.

Spent Saturday wholly unproductive in work whilst my guests continued their tour of Toronto. Liz thinks that Ian Fleming took his inspiration for the character name 'James Bond' from somewhere in Toronto, so there is a small piece of homework for one of you. Personally, I've not been on the tour bus here yet so I've no idea what little odds and ends you can pick up...

Sunday was spent at Niagara falls, and my digital camera was at work once again - as you can see from the efforts below. (i am waiting now for someone to tell me not to post so many pictures, but at the moment it beats thinking of words, and I have not been too receptive to the world around me in the last week or so..)

Monday, the 3 of us went up the CN tower for dinner. There is a 360 degree restaurant at 351m, and you can sit and watch the city spin by while you indulge in the posh cuisine. Food good, pricy place (but definitely a highlight of any visit to the city and the price of the food includes the $20 cost of getting up the tower to view... ) I still didnt summon up the courage to walk on the glass floor... but like I said back in July, there is time for that.

Because, in this charitable place I work, there is always another opportunity, and this time it is the United Way CN tower climb. 1776 steps. Apparently I only need half an hour. And possibly about 10 breathers. And several litres of water. And an oxygen mask. And possibly even a doctor if and when I make the finish!

So, Thursday 20th, I will be able to tell you what it is like to walk up the tallest building in the world. I should count my blessings really! We stop about 3/5 of the way up!

86 of our firm are engaging in this, the firm are sponsoring the first 100 of us $50 each, and I am hoping to make, well, anything I can rustle up really. Anyone that fancies sponsoring me $1 for a good cause can drop me an email.

The girls flew home yesterday filled with memories of the tower, the falls, the shoes museum, science centre, Toronto islands and Casa Loma. And I got back to my SOX testing, for the accountants amongst you, whilst considering posts about James Bond, fall, Casa Loma, the Grey cup, Canadian invention and much much more.... round every corner, Toronto has a story to tell, and there is still time to tell them....

2005-10-05T22:58:00.000-04:00

and after... (i like the hand in the background!)

2005-10-05T22:57:00.001-04:00

2005-10-05T22:57:00.000-04:00

.before the Maid of the Mist.....

2005-10-05T22:56:00.001-04:00

2005-10-05T22:56:00.000-04:00

2005-10-05T22:55:00.000-04:00

check out the rainbow - was quite chuffed with that

30 September - Impact day

2005-10-01T13:54:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I got a day off work. To do good in the community. Along with (according to our non audited website!) 4,801 of my Canadian colleagues, I am out to give something to the community we serve.

Impact Day is a single day when all of the people of our firm are encouraged to spend firm-paid time away from the office to volunteer for locally sponsored and organized community improvement projects. Our people do everything from painting and cleaning, to building playgrounds, to serving meals to the less fortunate. Now, they’ll be joined by their colleagues from all functions, coast to coast. 78% of our firm has given up the day.

How much does that cost? well lets say for sake of argument, that half of those people are fee earning. Say 2,400. Thats (very) conservative. And lets say their average daily income for the firm is $1,000 (my charge out rate is above $300 an hour).

So, doing the math, thats $2.4m of income we turned down today to do community work. Not only giving up our time, our leaders are also giving up money... for today, I was actually proud to be an accountant!

The photos below are a few of the images i took from my travels round Canada. Amazing - especially the fact I kept them in focus!

2005-10-01T13:49:00.000-04:00

Spot the trees changing in the foreground. Just your typical Rockies view...

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Glacier walking

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lake Louise

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Lake Peyto, at 7000 ft - and yes the water does look that green in real life

2005-10-01T13:45:00.000-04:00

world's most scenic traffic Jam?

Canadian invention and English invasion

2005-09-28T08:14:00.000-04:00

Did you know Canadians discovered insulin? Apparently. And the in line skate. And the hockey goalie mask. And the telephone. And, for those less useful inventions, the garbage bag. Or bin liner, as I like to call it.

I feel a blog coming along the lines of "what the Canadians did for us.." Told you. Educational site this blog!

In the meantime, and for those of you who know them, Serena and Liz made it safely to Toronto yesterday, found my flat and got in safely. Excellent. Except they had my keys! So when i spent the afternoon ringing (and no one answering) I (naturally?) assumed they were out sight seeing. Course not! They were sleeping! No excuse for jetlag today ladies...

Mr Not Anonymous will not be surprised to know that, by dinner last night, tensions were already mounting faster than a bunny on viagra. Liz and I went for a tour of the office, so she could email her husband, leaving Serena to wash and change.. "you could have done that tomorrow Liz, you've already rung him to let him know you've arrived". I think i'll just leave them to it.

They spent the evening making itineries (spelling?!) for the next few days, starting with the Eaton Centre today... My week consists of work, and the couch. Which wasnt all that bad last night.

Holiday snaps i shall try and download over the next day or two....

How many lightbulbs does it take to change Toronto?

2005-09-25T19:17:00.000-04:00

Two, and they're free.

Toronto Hydro is giving every household in Toronto two compact flourescent light bulbs (CFLs). Using just one of these will apparently save $27 off a hydro bill over the life of the bulb. According to Toronto Hydro, if every household swaps 2 regular light bulbs for CFLs, then the reduction in energy demand from the city of Toronto will be equal to the amount required to power Stratford (Ontario, not east London or Warks, but still, population in excess of 20,000) on an average day. (see www.homedepot.ca for more energy saving initiatives around here)

In a city which can still remember a black out in the summer of 2003, energy availablity is a sore point. Even now, on hot days when demand for air con is high, there are energy saving measures taken, like turning escalators off, or using fewer lifts in skyscrapers...

Incidentally, for anyone at home still confused (it took me weeks to work out what hydro was), Hydro is what they call electricity here. It takes its origins from Hydro electricity, which was first used nearly 100 years ago, channelled from Niagara falls to fuel Toronto.

Even in 2005, two thirds of Canada's electricity is produced by means of hydro electric power. Renewable and clean. Those Canadians were clever people 100 years ago. The rest of us are still trying to work out how we can achieve that kind of energy mix now...

Sadly, I cant bring you guys any lightbulbs home, as these seem to be screw fitting... on the other hand, there's a lad i know in Pboro who might be able to sort you out...

(unfunny) joke

2005-09-25T19:15:00.000-04:00

Now that sold it to you didnt it!

So why did the auditor cross the road?
Because they did it last year.

(fellow bean counters will understand)

Summary of the 3 week world tour of Canada

2005-09-22T09:05:00.000-04:00

OK. It is over. 24 days. 16 nights away. Some of the bean counting highlights of my trips around Canada.

Longest journey – 2755 miles Toronto to Vancouver
Longest journey (time) – Kelowna to Banff – 11 hours
Total mileage covered (nearest 100) 9500 (ish)

No of provinces experienced: 4 (British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and Quebec)

No of provinces not seen: 6 (plus 3 territories…). God this country is big.

No of time zones experienced: 3 (Eastern Standard time, Pacific standard time and Mountain standard time)
No of time zones not experienced:3 (Central Standard time, Atlantic standard time and Newfoundland standard time)

Public transport – 9000 miles. The 160 mile round trip to Niagara was also done car pooling and the 350 miles to Algonquin too, if that earns me any points?

Transport used? Plane (5500 miles+), coach (1300 miles+), train (750 miles) and undergrounds in Montreal and Toronto, as well as bus, seabus, skytrain and cable car in Vancouver and snowmobile in Banff National Park.

Biggest extravagance (travel) – my flight ticket to Vancouver - $650 all in.
Biggest extravagance night – Sandman, Kelowna, $160 a night
Biggest extravagance (food) - $60 on 3 course venison dinner in Jasper (I have been intrigued by venison since the Billy Connolly sketch – ‘an ideal way to get rid of that left over venison..’
Bargain night- C & N backpackers, Vancouver $18
(or perhaps the overnight train from Montreal to Toronto)
Or perhaps camping in Algonquin park!

Highest point (mechanically assisted) – Bow Summit at Lake Peyto, Banff national park, Alberta, 2135m, or 7000 ft.

Highest point (walking) – St Josephs, Montreal.

Lowest point – Algonquin Park – knee deep in water!

Total cost of trips (nearest $100) - $3,000 (and yes I do feel broke now!)

Random additional achievement – getting from Montreal Central Station, via the train, the Toronto Union station underground network, the TTC subway, and the underground network to my apartment, all without going out doors once. Got to be well over 300 miles. Do I win anything for that?!

So what did I learn?

Well I learned very quickly that you cant get to know a place in a day, couple of days or even a week… it made me laugh to meet British people in Vancouver saying that they had ‘well and truly done British Columbia now..’. What on earth does that mean? You can see monuments, and places, smell the air and taste the weather. But to really understand a place needs time, lots of time… its time that teaches you 4 or 5 options for a nice quiet evening out in Toronto for yourself… for 4 or 5 places to be with the crowds (or away from them) and to be able to tell visitors of a place where they might look for similar…

This country is truly memorable, and the country’s folk deserves to be very proud of it. To assign a ‘best’ to any part of it is futile, as how can you equate the view from a Rockies’ mountain hillside or glacier with a view of the stars in the open countryside at night, or the view of a wild bear eating at the side of the road with the sight of the Niagara falls being lit up, with fireworks going off above them… not to mention the uniqueness of the CN tower and Skydome in Toronto, the public library in Vancouver and the Notre Dame basilica in Montreal.

All I can say is it’s a fantastic experience and it deserves to be seen. More than that, it has to be seen to be believed. I cant believe there isn’t a sight in the places I saw that wouldn’t have moved most people in some manner or other.

If there was a place I could wrap up? Well, Banff to Jasper was a mindblowing journey, and for me, Revelstoke National Park summed up what I wanted to experience in Canada. Such a powerful sight. I can only enthusiastically say to you that all of these places are worthy of attention, and they will all leave you with something new.

But for the rest of my Canadian stay, or certainly this phase pre Christmas, I am going to settle for Southern Ontario. There is plenty there, both for me, and anyone else coming to visit…

And I am so pleased I chose Toronto. The best place in Canada? Well, GTA has 4.6m people, which says a lot. Well, it says that with that many people about, most things you could want and need are there. Apart from quiet. That’s what makes Canada so good, as quiet is everywhere. Even an hour or two out of Toronto. So I feel privileged to have landed up here, but lucky too to have seen what else there is. And the answer is… well, practically anything you could imagine.

Vancouver

2005-09-22T08:56:00.000-04:00

Ok here it is. Canada’s 3rd city, and possibly host city for the 2010 Olympic games. Must do my research better. (WINTER Olympics – and really it is only the hockey Olympic golds that matter!). Vancouver is smaller than Toronto and Montreal, but equally, a long long way. Over 3000 miles to Montreal from here. We are over on the other side of the country, 3 time zones away, with the Pacific ocean lapping the shores not too far away. Most people I meet that have ever been to Vancouver wax lyrical about it. Apparently cleaner, more beautiful and more scenic than Toronto, with better weather too… hmm. Battle lines drawn?! Maybe. But I like to think I go in open minded. Some observations about Vancouver.

The buildings are, compared with other cities, nothing spectacular. But don’t miss Canada Place, the site of Expo 86, which was, by all accounts, the best ever version of the Expo. The focal point of the building is a rooftop in a sail formation, with 10 points for the sail. One point for each province of Canada I believe (so they tell me!)

Despite comments about the buildings, the public library is really worth a look. A $30m building as part of a $100m overall project opened in 1995. Has a Roman theme, and has been designed as modern day coliseum. For its uniqueness alone, well worth the look.

The first thing you notice is the fresh air. I went at 7am to see sunrise at Stanley Park. While walking along the shore, you can smell the sea, hear the seagulls and even see seaweed on the stones below. Which reminds me. Is there anyone else out there who has ever eaten sea weed, or is this an Irish thing? (In Northern Ireland its apparently a ‘speciality’, but from my memories, was minging – sorry dad.)

Stanley Park is North America’s 3rd largest Urban park, and attracts 8 million people a year. 1000 acres, its focal point is probably the collection of totem poles in the middle of the park. Awesome. It is named after the 1886 Governor General of Canada, Lord Stanley, who dedicated the park ‘to the use and enjoyment of people of all colours, creeds and customs for all time’. He made himself useful did that Governor General. In 1893, he created a trophy in his name for ‘excellence in hockey’. Its called the Stanley Cup, and it’s the biggest prize in ice hockey, for the winners of the NHL finals. (Biggest apart from the Olympic Gold, and yes, Canada are the proud owners of that right now.)

Another not to miss is the Grouse Mountain in North Vancouver, which you can get to via the Seabus across the water and a bus up a short hill. Once there, you can walk the 2.9 km climb to a height of 1129m. Or, as I did, you can get the cable car up to the top. What a fantastic view down on the city below. And, to be honest, what a fantastic view from the city over to the mountain range. How high is 1129m? Well, its higher than any point in the UK. Which is high enough. And given that Vancouver is at sea level, imagine the view you get..

Vancouver is a city of islands, and the most impressive bridge is the Lions Gate Bridge which links Vancouver downtown to North Vancouver. A bit smaller than the Golden gate bridge. But similarly impressive in view.

Public transport is mainly electric buses, which would impress Sullivan, and a Skytrain, which is a monorail and links to the expo site, as well as the sports stadia and out to the southern suburbs. Pretty good.

One last not to miss is the Capilano suspension bridge, again in the north of Vancouver. It was built in 1889 to access prime forest lands to be protected from logging. 230 feet above the wet canyon below. 450 feet across. And feels less rickety than you would expect from a wooden bridge built 116 years ago. My advice? Hold tight and don’t look down!

Only 2 days in Vancouver was hardly enough to do the place justice, but then that was the same with Montreal. Vancouver is not like Toronto, it is much closer to nature, and with the forests, parks, hills and water being such an integral part of this city, there is probably something for everyone. And in the winter, there is skiing too. And the air is clean and fresh, blowing in from the pacific.

No wonder the inhabitants here work 15% less than the rest of Canadians. On the other hand, in 1976 there was an earthquake measuring 5.3, and experts say the area is overdue for a major quake, though they cant say when it will happen, or how strong (can they ever?). Rough with the smooth eh?

4 more days of Rockies diary

2005-09-21T15:16:00.000-04:00

Sorry its all together - couldnt get a chance to get it from the laptop to the net...

17 September – Kelowna to Banff

Another day, another bus. Bit early for my liking (8am), but it gave me the chance to be up and out by 640 am, to have spoken to my mum and sister at home, and to be prepared for another day of sights and experiences.

And it was a long experience. 11 hours. Didn’t arrive until 7, at which point I discovered that there was a Mountain Standard Time for this part of the region, and that it was actually 8!

Kelowna is actually in the heart of the Okanagan Valley and has some great views. I hear my sister’s in laws are moving out here soon. Being slightly too practical, I am not sure what they are hoping to do when they get here. But tourism is clearly high on the agenda, with winter sports available for half the year, and road trips, sailing and wine tasting some of the summer attractions.

Our agenda took us through the random name award winning Salmon Arm – presumably so named because of the fishing possibilities. (Winner of this prestigious award on day 1 was Chilliwack – to be fair though, no name in this country can be quite as weird as Shepton Mallett, Stratton on the Fosse or, well, the Welsh railway station one. You know what I’m talking about Brits. There is a prize for anyone who can add a comment with this name for our Canadian readers, together with pronunciation tips!)

3 or 4 hours in and I found, perhaps, the sight I was looking for in Canada. We arrived for a break in Revelstoke, which is a national park. A small settlement on the Columbia river, which feeds from the Columbia fields glacier way up in the Rockies. Rivers, trees, snow capped mountains and sunshine. And McDonalds. My friend Scribbles says that she has her ‘somewhere else’. Well I’m not sure I do, but this for me was the place I would have chosen. I was happy that, regardless of what I was going to see for the remainder of my trip, I had experienced what I had wanted to look for. Emptiness. Scenery. Blue Skies. Fresh air. Stunning.

Our journey took us further along the trans Canada highway (which links pacific with atlantic Canada), through towns like Golden, Prospect and Canyon, which perhaps get their names from the local history of British Columbia, which filled very quickly in the late 1800s as people came for the gold rush.

The 11 hour journey was caused by a traffic jam. A blocked road. Not much scope for finding alternative roads in the mountains, so we sat there. About 90 minutes. Until it was discovered that the blockage about 7km further up the road wasn’t moving, and that we would be better served to turn around and find a diversion – see comment about alternative routes! I took photos of the jam. Stuck on the side of a mountain, it was easily the most scenic traffic jam I had ever been involved in (you cant see much from the 401, and, well, I am not sure a birds eye view of Walsall FC and the RAC control centre on the M6 counts as scenic!). People were all quite relaxed about it. This isn’t National Express, and perhaps people just accept when things don’t go quite as planned. I would be interested to write to Greyhound and see what reply I get (A14, L25, L26, Z77 probably! – Scribbles understands).

The diversion though did end up being a bonus, as I was treated to a road, and sights, I probably wasn’t supposed to get. As the sun got slightly lower, it was incredible how the drive between 2 mountain peaks could plunge the area in between into darkness – I’d never have got that at 2 in the afternoon.

I also got to experience wildlife. A black bear eating at the side of the road, and 3 deer later on. Only in Vancouver had I heard someone say all they needed to do now was see a bear. It all happened too quickly to get a picture sadly. Don’t ask me to say how big it was. Bigger than a dog! And far enough away to be no hassle! No need to say more!

Got to Banff as the sun was setting. The trouble with seeing so many nice things is the superlatives run thin, and comparisons blur somewhat. So what can I say about Banff? Its buildings are like a permanent German Christmas market, triangular pointed rooves decorated with lights. And surrounded on 3 sides by mountains. I was treated to a full moon above a mountain silhouette, with a river running underneath me as I stood observing from a bridge. Almost a proposal point for any romantics amongst you. Banff Avenue by Canada place. (I’ll stop here)

Random sign contender today was the cut out of a creature, which could have been a bear, deer or moose, but was probably a cross between the 3, with the simple word – ‘attention’. Tell you what, if I came across an animal anything like resembling that picture, that animal would get all the attention it wanted.

New category opened too. The random satellite dish award. These people are in the mountains, and need to communicate somehow, so no criticism for that. The humour is merely how big the dishes are, and what they are attached to, often with no apparent dwelling nearby. One attached to a tree about 20km from Banff currently leads in this category, but it is early days. Next stop Jasper.

18 September – Banff to Jasper

A much shorter journey, and instead of Greyhounding it, I got on a tour bus. So a couple of hundred km of journey, and a day of stops and commentary to talk about it. The journey took in Lake Louise, the Icefields Parkway, the Columbia Icefields, including a tour of the Athabasca glacier, and the Athabasca falls before ending up in Jasper. Enough talking about scenery, how good it was/looked etc. To be honest, once you have had 25 stop offs in 3 days to look at various mountain and lake formations, they all start looking the same! Which is harsh, but then again, I am not an artist, I am an uncouth city boy and I don’t know any better!

Some of the highlights of the day though:

1) By doing a tour run in a proper touristy group, you do get to pick up so much more – the driver provided commentary for the full 3+ driving hours which really made a difference, and he also had the flexibility to stop off, break, slow down, when people saw animals, wanted to take autumn pictures, or when we were simply running ahead of schedule. Very impressed. I wonder how well we do that at home by comparison.

2) I also wonder what the age gap was between me and the next youngest on my bus. I guess at no less than 10 years, and that is being generous!

3) The names of places are always interesting. The two most interesting for me though were the Bow river and the Athabasca river.

4) The Bow river takes its name as a result of the Douglas fur sapling trees which surround it. The locals used these trees to make their Bows for their bow and arrows.

5) The word Athabasca means ‘place where the reeds grow’. Unsurprisingly, there are no reeds anywhere near these mountains. However, I am reliably informed that if you follow the river all the way up to Athabasca, you will see these aforementioned reeds. I’ll take their word for it.

6) The water in the lakes around here is a fantastic blue/green like you would not believe. Turquoise doesn’t begin to cover it. I hope my photos come out. I was silly enough to ask whether it was just the effect of the sky – but apparently not. The reason is that all the water in the lakes is glacial water (ie has melted from glaciers above). As glaciers form, they erode small bits of dust and rock from the ground below, and these are compressed into the rock. The smallest particles are called ‘rock flour’ because they are like flour in consistency. Unlike most solids, they do not drop to the bottom of the lakes/rivers, they remain in the water. These particles are so small that they absorb the entire spectrum of colour as the sun shines, except for blue and green, which is reflected back. That’s the colour you see. End of science/geography lesson! (That little one is to (try and) impress Marie)

7) Walking on a glacier is a really exhilarating experience. The stats for the Athabasca glacier in the Columbia Icefields? Well it is 6 square km of ice, it is 6km long, and it is between 90m and 300m thick. I’ve no idea how many Baileys you can ice with that!

8) And in case that isn’t enough, the ice within the entire field (the field feeds the glacier) is 50 times the amount of ice on the glacier…

9) Sometimes you can just be so blown away by the views that you don’t know where to look. When you have snow peaks surrounding you on all 4 sides, it is difficult to know where to point the camera. No wonder there are so many great artists in Canada.

For a mere city boy like me, this was a truly once in a lifetime experience. I am not sure I would want to do this again. But you don’t need to. Its enough to know it is there, and to have seen it.

Animal count? Well one Elk (they told me it was an elk, and would I really know differently?! It could have been anything for all I know!). 3 deer. No bears. Oh well.

Random sign of the day? :’You are in avalanche country. http://www.avalanche.ca/’ I haven’t seen this website yet, but got to be worth a look! I am not entirely sure my wireless technology would have helped out all that much if there had been an avalanche either! Still, glad to report that I didn’t need to find this out!

Random number of the day. 77.7%. That’s the number of Germans that turned out for the general election. Good work. And yet still they couldn’t decide. By the time I post this maybe they will have worked out who is going to form a coalition with who(m). Anyone in the UK for proportional representation? Lets give Labour 35, Conservatives 35 and Liberal 25, and let them deal with each other who is going to form a government… our way is at times highly unsatisfactory, but at least once its done its done eh? The trouble with coalitions is the fall out if people, well, fall out… or maybe we should try it one day? Just to see…

19 September – Jasper to Kamloops

Jasper is actually the national park which is home to the Athabasca Glacier. The end of yesterdays trip had brought me to Jasper, and today I was staying the morning here, before leaving early afternoon to get the bus to Kamloops. It was actually mainly a way of breaking the return to Vancouver, but it was worth it.

Jasper is 100 years old (as is Alberta, its province, I believe). Happy birthday. Jasper was formed in 1905 as a settlement point on the Canadian National Railway line that was built from east to west. It ran through here, and a settlement was formed. Even today, 10% of the population work for CN.

I spent a bit of time at the railway station, which is a heritage station, with memorabilia and old locomotives dating back a hundred years. My brother in law and uncle would love it. Managed to send John a postcard of a Canadian Pacific train. Coming from a place like Peterborough (which most people have only usually heard of because they had to change trains there once..) I have developed a healthy respect for trains. Which is more than I had when I had to take them every day…

Another link with Peterborough. Well our bus driver Terry the day before was from Pboro, Ontario. Not a direct link. But there is a mountain in Jasper named the Edith Cavell mountain, after the first world war heroine. Readers from Pboro UK will understand why I mention this – for the rest of you, I shall make one of my ‘educational’ posts “who was Edith Cavell” – unless one of you wishes to enlighten people (and me for that matter!) why she was a first world war heroine?

But the time came to leave, and with it a 4 hour afternoon ride to Kamloops. The shortest Greyhound journey I had made, and the most uneventful. Having lost some of my interest in the sights after 3 days in awe of them, I even caught up with an hours sleep before getting there.

It was refreshing to see that coach drivers over here have the same capacity to scare the crap out of their passengers as their UK counterparts. As we went through a thunderstorm shortly after entering BC, while we were doing 110kmh and it was hailing down golfball sized lumps of ice, the driver came on the tannoy and said that we were experiencing some difficult weather conditions, but that he was confident through the mountain roads that he could keep going, and that he would ‘ride it out’. Whatever that means. He also added ‘fasten your seatbelts’. Which I would have done. Had there been any.

The guy sat in front of me wanted to get out early at his stop, so asked the driver
“Can I get out at the CN junction?”
“yeah…. But remind me”
“If its still raining though, don’t stop as I’ll have to walk”
“No problem. Remind me though, as I’m usually day dreaming when I go through that junction..”

I’m glad I don’t have to deal with Greyhound complaints… well, you never know. People these days have no sense of humour.

Random stat of the day. 97. That’s the number of carriages on the CN train that passed us in Vavenloy while we were at the level crossing. Perhaps someone (maybe John?!) could tell us what the max number of carriages on a goods train could be, and why. Our driver Terry the other day seemed to think that, although there are the physical limitations (ie what an engine can pull and what the couplings can hold) the length is often dictated by the distance between level crossings, as the train will not be allowed to stretch 2 at any one time… there is some homework for wannabe train spotters amongst you.

Other items of note. 2 cattle herders on horseback rounding up cows in the rain as we came in towards Kamloops. I’d only ever seen this in movies before!

Found myself a nice Irish pub to have dinner in, on the advice of the concierge in the hotel, and drank a couple of Kilkenny beers for my mums birthday (she comes from co Kilkenny in Ireland). Back to the Canadian and the Stella once I’m back in the GTA though!

20 September – Kamloops to Vancouver

A long lie in to prepare myself for the trip to Toronto that was coming, and the resulting jetlag. (I am back in work on 22nd!). Its also a farily pain free trip to Vancouver, and was wholly unexciting. I spent the entire journey talking to a woman from Denmark who came here in 1956, and was impressed, if that’s the right word, with my use of technology ( I was texting and using my lap top for pretty mundane stuff!)

I spent the afternoon in Vancouver wandering the shops, looking for a couple of buildings and staring at a ship. A boat the size of Canada Place (the Expo 86 site) came in to port, the Island Princess from Hamilton. I can see why these cruises cost so much money. The tanker brought in to help refuel the thing was smaller than the lifeboats on the side of the boat!

I managed to catch up with the Marine Building, which I had been looking for since my last visit (ie since last week!). It was built in 1930 and was at the time the largest building in the British Empire. Today, it is dwarfed by the Vancouver skyline, which, in relative North American terms, is tiny. Just shows how far we have come. ( I was interested anyway – I think this traveling thing has mellowed me somewhat!)

Vancouver itself I shall write about separately – I know, I am miles behind on posts. It is different, but definitely has some unique things. It also has a highly efficient airport with self check in, and sports TV, so the wait for the flight home should be pretty painless.

16 September - Vancouver to Kelowna

2005-09-18T08:48:00.000-04:00

So, my first trip on a Canadian Greyhound bus. I am planning a couple of these, in the spirit of travelling (a) by public means and (b) to see as much of this place as I can. So off I trotted to the Vancouver Pacific Central Station at 930 to get my bus towards Kelowna, which is in the Okanagan valley, and more importantly, heading towards the Rockies.

I am intrigued by coach travel. 2 years at National Express does that for you. Now this is the scary bit. National Express seems advanced beyond its years. Stop sweating Scribbles!! But no, it is. Imagine, for example, the surprise of having a 42 seater waiting for you, and then 60 people turn up with valid tickets to get on it!

So I was on a 'dupe' as we call it (a duplicate replacement vehicle) bound only for Kelowna. Or so it should have been. At Abbotsford, we were told that neither of the buses had seen fit to pull in to Langley City, so off we went back again, 30 km back up the road to pick up the passengers.. (and pass by Abbotsford again!)

A couple of numbers of note. 38. The number of hours in British Columbia before i saw blue sky (basically once we had risen above the clouds on our journey into the mountains!). 12. The degrees celcius temperature as we left Vancouver. I can see why they call it BRITISH Columbia. In fact, it used to be called New Caledonia I believe. Caledonian weather it certainly is. Meanwhile last week in Toronto it was 30. God its cold over here.. good job i brought clothes for the mountains.

3 hours in, I passed by a town called Merritt. Random sign 1: "Check your fuel. Next service Hope 112km". Middle of nowhere doesnt begin to cover it. This was the place I was scared of ending up in when I wanted to come to North America. A bus stop, a car park, a filling station and a shop. Merritt, British Columbia. Homework is for anyone to find out whether anyone lives there or not...!

I am planning on having a random sign award on this tour. The first scary sign was the "End avalanche area" sign in the mountains. Scary because I'd never noticed the area had begun! I'd like to think that, if we truly were in danger, we might have selected a different route. Maybe I'll ask Greyhound that... or maybe ignorance is bliss!

200m past the end avalanche sign was another "Critical accident zone next 20km". Thats the trouble with driving through the mountains, the views are great, but if the driver looks left or right to admire them, then the car takes a closer look too...

Winner on day 1 of the sign award definitely goes to "Hunting and Shooting prohibited within 400m of highway" No one else seemed bothered by this. So basically, I am on a coach, i am on the most dangerous road in Canada, I have the potential for avalanches above me, and, failing that, a deer or bear hunter is going to jump out and shoot me. And I paid $66 for this? Someone has a sense of humour!

Just on the way into Kelowna, which is lovely by the way, you cross the water by means of what is called a 'floating bridge', a 650m work of engineering miracle. This isnt the 17km Ponte Vasco de Gama in Lisbon by any means. I am sure we have floating things in the UK too. Oh yes. We call them boats. Still, after the threats of avalanches and gunshots, whats the risk of drowning when it comes to it. Besides, I was beside the emergency exit!

Number of the day? $10,000,000. Thats how much the Canadian federal government donated to the Terry Fox foundation.

Other awards to consider? Well, i am looking at the Random Grazing Cattle Award. Some brave early contenders there too. They say Canada has a problem with mad cows. After seeing a cow grazing about 15m up what must have been a 40 degree incline, I tend to agree!

17 September - 21.33 hrs (mountain standard time)

2005-09-17T23:27:00.000-04:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MUM.

(mountain standard time really does exist!) Will post more soon. Just got off a 12 hour bus ride from Kelowna (rhymes with Corona and not downer) to Banff. Banff looks so beautiful. Gotta get the camera out quick, as i've only got tonight...

Its the 18th in the UK right now, but like a good boy i managed to talk to her at 7am PST this morning to convey my regards... now, when is fathers day?!

2005-09-14T02:08:00.000-04:00

In case you have to wait another 18 years..

Terry Fox -perhaps the greatest Canadian?

2005-09-13T23:58:00.000-04:00

OK. I am off again tomorrow for any regular readers of CBC. I fly to Vancouver tomorrow night, and intend to go towards the Rockies next week, so you may be spared my rantings for a few days, as I dont expect to be in meaningful contact with technology, except perhaps to call my mom and wish her happy birthday on Saturday.. (but this is to say it now, in case i forget or am stranded somewhere without access to telephone..)

Before i go, just a quick note about one of the most amazing people I have read about since i have been here. Terry Fox. For most of you, you wont know who he is, and i can hardly do his story justice in a couple of paragraphs. I have linked his web site to this page. He was diagnosed with bone cancer as an 18 year old, and lost a leg to the disease.

In 1980 as a 21 year old, he set out to run across Canada, at the rate of a marathon a day, with the aim of raising $1 per person in the country for cancer research. Before cancer overcame his lungs, he ran a marathon a day for 143 days, and covered over 5000km of Canada. He raised $24m before dying in 1981, and since then the country has continued to run in his memory, and over $360m has been raised.

The concept of running a marathon is for me almost impossible, but people manage it after training and preparation. The idea of running one every day for 5 months is quite astonishing. Through lonely land too, as the vast majority of Canada is empty..

The strength of feeling I can see for Terry Fox is overwhelming. A 21 year old that performed miracles in life, and in whose memory people are trying to make those miracles keep running...

Anyway, 18th September is this year's Terry Fox run. People will run and in this 25th anniversary year will hope to push that total towards $400m.

I wouldnt be as rude as to say make a donation necessarily. Back home, 1 in 3 people suffer from cancer, so it is something that hits us all, and it is difficult to push money in one direction at the expense of another.. so i'll make a donation for you, to the 2 people running from our office. And if anyone did want to give $1 (50p), you can trace the web page from mine.

Sometimes though the real inspiration is just in the story. Canada deserves to be proud to have had Terry Fox, and long may the work he started continue...

A week in the life....

2005-09-13T23:44:00.000-04:00

Just thought i'd stick a few pictures on the page from the last week or so. A couple from Algonquin, although i am sure there will be many more to come.. one of Andy from the UK, who arrived over to work with us on Sat, his first day was Monday so we took him out for his birthday.. and of course the obligatory celebratory pictures from London after England finally beat the Aussies. I almost felt homesick! Almost. I'm glad the cricket is over. At least now i can concentrate on doing proper work. As for my Canadian colleagues, they will be spared any more conversation on the topic. Poor Danny will be relieved. At Niagara, which started the day after England won the 4th test, we were discussing the finish to the game. "Holy Shit - are they still talking about cricket?", to which Dave (Canadian, but he 'understands' the game) replied "Well the games last 5 days, so you have to expect them to discuss it for 2.."

To Canadians who neither like nor understand cricket, my apologies.
The two best banners - "Aussies Exterminated" and "Ashes to ashes, Aussies to dust".

Roll on the winter olympics. The Canadians and I can diiscuss curling as team GB attempts to defend its gold medal, whilst Canada attempts to defend the hockey one.

2005-09-13T23:42:00.000-04:00

Algonquin by morning

2005-09-13T23:37:00.000-04:00

Ashes to Ashes, Ozzies to dust

2005-09-13T23:36:00.000-04:00

2005-09-13T23:35:00.001-04:00

2005-09-13T23:35:00.000-04:00

me earning my lunch in Algonquin

2005-09-13T23:33:00.000-04:00

Williams with women in birthday pose

Quebec : Je me souviens

2005-09-10T13:59:00.000-04:00

Unlike at home, there isnt one number plate system for the whole country. Instead, each province issues its own driving licences, and each province has its own car licensing system. In Ontario, where i live, the plates say "Ontario - yours to discover" - and there is plenty here.

In Quebec, they say "je me souviens" - I remember.

My initial question to myself was 'remember what?', but as i surfed the net to find out a little more about the history of the phrase and its relevance today, I found a more interesting site of an artist. Use the links on the Harry Palmer site to get to Canadian places and people (low on the home page), and follow through to the personal statements made by people of Quebec back in 1992.

This was 3 years before the referendum of 1995, where 49.42% of Quebec voted for separation, against 50.58% who voted to remain part of Canada. Basically then, half of Quebec doesnt want to be part of Canada..

So what does Je me souviens mean to them?. There are some wonderful, yet revealing inputs into the feelings of various Quebecois about their home and its history.

Denis Gobeil writes "that of being conscious of our originality and remaining faithful to what it represents, for the brilliance of Canadian entirety", which for me is in a spirit of embracing the whole.

Francois Könitzer wrote:
"I remember being born under the lys and having suffered under the rose." This expression, more or less exaggerated, has been often repeated before. Even today, Quebeckers show some "pseudo-patriotism" that revealed a sectarian attitude towards other Canadians.
Independance is a "biodegradable idea." The real patriotism is in a united Canada.

Marie-José Labbé wrote:
It reminds me of my grandparents talking about their lives and how quickly they passed. Their memories, punctuated by wonderful moments, are what happiness is all about.
In the future, "Je me souviens" will surely make me glad. These historical events will continue to enrich future generations, and, I will be part of it.

Claude Martin: "I remembr how our ancestors were driven by hopes of settlement in America and how much their dreams of cultural influence were highly inspired. These hopes were slowed down by the conquest, but not completely killed... I remember also those shady deals imposed upon our ancestors, which have severely restricted their rights while efficiently protecting those of the majority... I am utterly convinced that Canada could have been a much richer country if only the majority would have accepted to integrate our particular and different values into their own. They rather invited us to deny our original strengths... Sorry, I hope it is not too late now!"

Annick Gignac: "As a Québécoise I REMEMBER the ways under which my people grew in recent centuries. From the time of the conquest until nearly 30 years ago there was the assimilation of the French Canadians into the anglo-saxon empire when my peoples' place was to become English throughout the province. I REMEMBER why my people have for the last several years begun again to fight for their survival and for the survival of future generations"

Suzanne Breton :I remember also Lord Durham, who looked upon us as a nation with a worthless history, which had to be assimilated as soon as possible, and reluctantly, I still remember the humiliation and indignation my ancestors felt"

Ann Martell:
"Je me souviens... the kindness of friends and new acquaintances while I massacred their language, and then the delight I took in eventually being mistaken for a québecoise.
Je me souviens... telling a friend that I had never really been challenged, that I had never really accomplished anything difficult in my life and I remember her chastising me for overlooking the challenge of learning a second language and living another culture.
And finally, je me souviens... that I have been fortunate to have had the opportuntiy to live in la belle province and that it has been, and will continue to be, an enriching, rewarding experience."

Sylvain Fortier : "Je me souviens". Maybe it will be the last sentence that I will utter. For me, the motto of Québec is very justifiable for this province. Because, who can forget this combination of lands and waters that form this beautiful province. Québec remembers its citizens, who make it a proud province. Québec also remembers everyone who came to to visit. "Quebec I remember you, you remember me".

There is a huge amount of history and feeling in these 3 words, whether it be in the shared history of Canada, in the personal memories of peoples own lives, or in the historic conflicts between England and France.

This isnt a time for opening up political arguments. But the feelings expressed in Quebec in some ways are a demonstration of the feelings that we all encounter in every part of our own lives. From the small life lessons that we try not to repeat, we take small memories with us. At the other end of the scale, a sense of cultural history is impressed into each of us. I for one carry the cultural past of the Irish. Its not that i necessarily want to ignore Irish history, it is more that I believe that, unless I embrace my position as part of the society in which I now live, rather than look to blame it for its previous indiscretions, how can I play my part in carrying my society forward. In many nations around the world right now, countries, faced with the cultural issues that global reorganisation has brought with it, each have to answer their own questions about where they belong, where they have come from and where they are going. No country I have seen or visited is immune from that...

On the other hand, as the great Christian Nerlinger once said, "he who closes his eyes to the past cannot take responsibility for the future". And perhaps the biggest lesson any of us learn from personal and collective history is that we should learn from the lessons of the past, so we don't repeat our mistakes.

Maybe there should be a bit of 'je me souviens' in all of us.

Une visite a Montreal

2005-09-10T12:12:00.000-04:00

You've heard or imagined the best and worst about Quebec, how it fits into Canada, what the differences are, what its future is... but for me, Montreal was simply the next biggest city on the tourist trail so, armed with guide book, back pack and train ticket, off I went.

First impressions of Montreal? Well the city has been both the focal points for many things Canadian in the last 40 years (expo and Olympics among others) but remains the window through which the world can view Quebec, the potentially seperatist state. But, to be fair, there is no feeling that you have arrived in the 'republic of Quebec' when you arrive. There are the same number of Canadian flags as Quebec ones in the station concourse, and the words of the national anthem adorn the walls both in French and English.

You are quickly aware of some of the differences though. For a start, the French dont do queues, so expect to get shoved about while waiting for your coffee; and in the washrooms, if one letter is broken on the sinks and the other says 'c', dont make the mistake I did of assuming its cold. Its chaud. F*cking chaud.

I wasnt sure of what exactly I should look to see in my 2 days, so I allowed Marco Polo to guide me, courtesy of the 'je suis touriste' top 10. Some observations..

1) Overview
The buildings in this city are beautiful. This is a very old city compared with Toronto, more than 350 years old. The ratio of old to new is much more akin to Europe. It looks like Europe too, at least compared with Toronto, which is very much a North American sky scraper city in the best sense.

On the other hand, to call it a 'Canadianised Europe' misses the uniqueness of the history here. The old Montreal of the 17th century is very French, and you could easily be in any French or Belgian town as you wander the narrow cobbled streets. Architecture fits too. But the 19th century buildings would fit perfectly in Bham or London. British monuments everywhere reflect the fashion of their time, with various statues to monarchs gone past.

Perhaps Montreal's uniqueness comes from the fact that it may be the only city in the world to combine such obviously different fashions as the French and British architecture in its mixed history, together with modern icons like the Expo 67 site and the Olympic park from 76. These really have not dated in the way 60s and 70s British buildings have!

2) Places not to miss?
St Josephs Oratory. The inside of the church is nothing special (compared with, say, the notre dame basilica in the centre of Montreal) but, at one of the highest points of the city, the view overlooking the place is excellent. Also worth a visit is the parc Jean Drapeau, on an outlying island. This was the site of the 1967 Expo, and it gets you out across the water, where you can then turn back and admire the city skyline, with the old town and port on the water, modern skyscrapers behind them, and in the background the Mount Royal, a huge hill overlooking the whole area. The city is in fact an island, and Mount Royal, as the central and highest point of this island, is what gives the place its modern name. Mont Real. I knew that classical education would come in handy one day!

3) Negatives
The language mainly. Although this shouldn't be viewed in entirely a negative manner, you do really need to know that the station is called 'la gare centrale', as there is no attempt to translate it (since 1977, in an attempt to protect the rights of the francophones here, French is the only official language in Quebec). But most of us can get by, and, to be honest, most people speak enough English that you need not worry. The real loss, though, is in some of the monuments, buildings, statues where the commentaries were only in French. I was a bit disappointed by that, if only because it diminished the educational and touristic experience.

On the other hand, there was also an 'ignorance is bliss' moment. While at the Berri-Uqam underground station on a train towards Mont Royal, we were removed from the station following various announcements, all in French. Then out came the emergency plastic saying 'danger', the sort of stuff the police wheel out when there has just been a murder or something.. I never did find out why we were chucked off that train... but on the other hand, never felt in any danger, mainly because i would never have known!

4) Only in Montreal moments?
Well there were a couple of oddities. But actually the nicest thing about the city in some ways is the fact that the rules of the city dictate that 1% of all construction costs of a building project have to be invested in art. This means there is a nice budget for all sorts of paintings and sculptures all over the city. There is also one tree in the city for every 2 people who live here.

I wasnt sure if i was part of a Montreal practical joke or not. Enjoyed a nice cooked breakfast on my 2nd morning of beans, sausage, bacon, eggs, toast with jam, melon and orange. All on the same plate. I wasnt sure whether i was being expected to mix eggs with melon, whether this was an artistic garnish, or whether the staff in the cafe were watching to see exactly what parts of the various items i would choose to mix together... oh well. In for a penny. I ate it all. Not at the same time, I might add..

So Montreal in conclusion? Well, i have long since learned that you can't appreciate everything about a city in 2 days, but the place really is worth a look. There's plenty to do for the longer staying visitor, everything from wildlife sanctuaries to olympic park tours to museums, and there's a history lesson round every corner... so well worth a visit. Having said that, it really was a relief to get back into English speaking Ontario!

Sink or swim - 3 days in Algonquin Park

2005-09-06T01:10:00.000-04:00

Sink or swim was my option this morning at 10am, as we began packing up camp for the 3 canoe stages and 2 portages back to the canoe park and 'home' - well, the Chevrolet Malibu that was waiting patiently for the 5 of us at any rate - home was still 250km+ for the closest of us..

Swim - well thats what would have been needed to perform a canoe over canoe rescue in the lake. Or Sink - the relative serenity of cleaning from breakfast, rather than the morbid prospect of a losing battle against the wet stuff. If my bank holiday Monday morning had had to involve canoe rescue and trying to remember how i earned that 25m green swimming badge when i was 11 (remember those anyone, the oval things? - i think i cheated. But thats another matter!), then i dont think it would really have felt like a holiday. Besides, I did some pretty beefy weight lifting over the weekend, and felt like i had earned (= i was in desperate need of!) a bit of a rest....

In keeping with fellow bloggers, I think i shall just make some observations from 1 to x about the weekend. To introduce it however, there were 9 of us. Jeff (our guide), me, Szilvia, Lajos, Perrine and Alfonso from work, Quinn, from Kitchener/Waterloo, which is a couple of hours from Toronto, and Ana and Mark (from Columbia and the US, now living in Canada).

Comments and highlights from the trip:

1) Algonquin Park (please google it, you'll love it) really is in the middle of nowhere. And with an area of 7,725 square kilometres, it is probably larger than any city in the world. Draw a rectangle 80km by 90km. You'd still be 500 sq km short.

2) With geography like that, you wont need your mobile phone! So leave it at home. Canoes can be wet, and its just not worth the bother!

3) There are the most amazing numbers of stars in the sky. I remember the South West tip of Portugal. That was dark. But here, there isnt a light for 15km in any direction maybe. Pure dark. And no clouds. Its amazing just how large that world is out there beyond us...

4) The silence was awe inspiring. It took me a day to notice. Right now I can hear air conditioning, my keys typing (very slowly!), the computer whirring. Even in the countryside back home, you'll hear birds singing and grasshoppers doing, er, whatever they do.... (i live in Bham, what would i know?!!). Here, there is nothing. Absolutely nothing....

5) ...until darkness falls! But dont have nightmares. As long as all the food is up a tree and out of harms (=bears) way, you'll be fine!

6) Scousers get everywhere. Sorry, mr not anonymous, they do. In a parallel 9 that we met up with at various stages of the tour, there were 2 of them. Got me thinking though, i wonder just how many people from home are here, or in the States, or in Aus, or NZ or Africa or Thailand... and i wonder how many of them have truly explored the UK...

7) Using a saw to chop through a tree trunk makes you feel manly!

8) ... but my God it hurts the next morning.

9) As does carrying a canoe and backpack 435m through a forest trail between lakes, up and down some pretty uneven, rocky terrain...

10) and as does canoeing for anything up to 10 to 15km a day.

11) Which made me grateful that this was a holiday rather than my job. Combining the lifting with the rowing, as well as a 1 hour hike during the Saturday afternoon really is hard work... after the abuse my body got at Niagara, I was really pleased i pushed myself through it though. And the views and memories are priceless.

12) Cooking was just like being indoors. You see, the best outdoor equipment is so sophisticated, that you really can cook up anything you want.

13) So. Anyone for a camping practical joke? How about our dinner on Sat night. Spaghetti bolognese? Is there anyone else out there who cant eat that stuff without getting tomato sauce all over your face? Try eating it in the pitch black, or one handed with a torch in the other to help guide you. Either way, just wait til you see the colour of everyone's face the next morning!

14) Observation that is new to me. The maple leaf really is bright bright red. Amazing. Not sure what i was expecting, but... wow. I feel an educational blog coming along about why leaves turn colour in autumn (fall). I didnt know it until i looked it up... and i am here to educate. Something for next week maybe..

15) Sunrise. Now i am from the city. In the city of Toronto, as far as i am concerned, the sun rises at 720. Thats the moment when its right in my face and i cant drive without shades. For some reason, i decided i wanted to get up and see a sunrise, so i got up at 610am. The sky was light, but no red. At 645 the sky was lighter, with some red, and i was knackered. So I went back to bed! For anyone who didnt know, the sun takes longer than 35 minutes to rise. Poor Jeff must have felt he got lumbered with a right city freak on Saturday night.. "oh yeah, i'll get up, watch the sun rise and then go back to bed...." God i'm dense sometimes!

A fantastic weekend. 27 photos taken, and i will take the film in maybe tomorrow, and hopefully have something to put on the computer by the end of the week, so you can see i am still eating! I wish i was a better photo taker, but i will take the memories. The red of the early turning leaves. The clear blue water. The mist rising up over the lake at 6am and the sunset across the water on a clear night. Trees and lakes. Now that is a piece of real Canada.

You have to try this. Its like nowhere else on earth. But dont expect washrooms. This isnt a UK campsite, this is the wilderness. If you want to wash, you do it in the lake! Jeff didnt bother, which led one of our group to notice that he hadnt washed or changed clothes in 3 days... and he was off for another 5 day treck tonight.. We came to a consensus that, actually, western comfort probably meant that we washed ourselves and clothes more than we really needed to... as Lajos put it "3 days without washing and the same clothes.. thats wildlife." Not sure Jeff would appreciate the use of the word 'wild'! But it is wilderness life, and it has to be seen. Both to appreciate what we have got in the city... and to appreciate what we have got elsewhere too, and how valuable it is to protect it all....

AWOL - not national bean counting week...

2005-09-02T22:27:00.000-04:00

Sorry guys. I have been AWOL this week. Believe it or not, thats Audit Week Of Learning. They've run 2 of these this year, and given a weeks training to 500 people in total in a posh hotel in Niagara falls. Training from 830 til 5, and free bar every night.

Back in April when i was trying with DBH to negotiate my escape date from Bham to here, one stumbling block was a week that DBH had understood to be the Canadian National Auditors week. Sounded really dull. Come to think of it, how much better does Audit Week of Learning sound?! I really need to get out more...

Or maybe not. 200 people, 4.5 days of learning, and 5 nights of quality food, wine tasting, beer and shot drinking, casino gambling and poker playing... we literally took over the clubs we were in for 4 of those nights... it was like freshers again back home, or Eckenberg maybe... well, freshers without the whole meat market element... this is Auditors we are talking about after all, and whole bunch of these guys are married off (there were no non qualified accountants there, which ages them a bit).

I will post later more on the trip later, but it was the best 'working' week i have ever had, and i cannot offer greater praise to the guys than that..

Might need to get the beans out tomorrow. Petrol (gas) is now $1.33 a litre here, mainly as a result of Katrina's work down south. Whilst this pales in comparison to UK prices (133 is still only 60 to 65p), it was $1.05 last week, 85c when i arrived late June, and apparently as low as 60c in January. 200% annual equivalent inflation rates... lets see if the Canadians see fit to try a fuel strike!! You can at least sympathise with why they are somewhat perturbed at the latest position..

And the 25c rise this week is just in time for our 500km round trip to Algonquin Park. Nice. Oh well. Luckily, I'll be spending the weekend with 4 accountants, so we should be alright for a few bob..