Help, Help, Here Come The Bears

Here we are at the ice - only 'big ice' on until October (when 'Little Ice' and free sessions start) so we have to pay . . . a whole £1.20! It's about the size of Deeside, but there are only 10 other people out there so fab.

We're just about back into the swing of things with school. Hannah and Jack are in Grade 5 - the highest grade at Spitzee. This qualifies them for patrol duties (no lollipop men out here), which involves officious use of a 'stop' paddle and whistle - in teams of 3 - and heaven forbid you should try and sneak across before that whistle is blown!!! Jack was tepted by the promise of an end-of-year patrol party, but thought better of it. The latest initiative in Mr Baldwin's class is the option to discard your chair and sit on an exercise ball. I had to give written permission, and we have been warned that bouncing will result in immediate removal of ball and shameful return to chair status. Apparently it will stimulate their brains no end. We shall see.

My job is OK, apart from the ludicrously low pay. I have a little cowboy in class . . . complete with checked shirt, big buckle (not conducive to success in the washroom) and huge boots. He can barely walk on carpet, bless him, so seeing him tackle the gravel in the play area has to be seen to be believed. Looks like it's the boots that gives cowboys the bandy gait - and I always thought it was the riding!

Bert has been interviewing lots of potential employees - except the majority back out once they realise there is a drugs test at the medical. What is it with this country and drugs??? If it's not pot it's alcohol, and if it's not alcohol it's caffeine . . . they queue right around the block for morning coffee at the Tim Hortons drive-through. Scary.

Great excitement in town last week when there were several sightings of a black bear!!!! It certainly caused a bit of a stir . . . I thought they were all miles away! Seems they are tempted in by fruit trees when there are not enough berries. There have been 3 in the city, too . . . one wandered in to the hospital lobby! We still haven't seen one, but they're obviously out there.

Not much else to report this time, so I'm off to thaw out. How goes it in good old Blighty??

Lots and lots of love to all,

Nicki xxxxxxxx

Bare, Not Bear! (Bert, Not Nicki)

Whilst on the subject of bear spottings I've suddenly remembered a classic from our hols.

On the way back from Vancouver Nicki spotted a car stopped in the distance. She suddenly shrieked that something black had run behind the car and gone down into the ditch at the side of the road. I fumbled for the camera, Nicki slowed down and we talked of how he must have stopped because of a bear sighting.

As we approached, camera at the ready, we saw the 'bear' clearly. It was the bloke from the car (dressed in black hooded sweatshirt) having a waz.

Priceless.

Bert

A Whale Of A Time

Well we're all back at school and the holiday is already starting to feel like a dim and distant memory, so time to commit a few memories to print before they are lost forever.

We set off on our mega drive across the Rockies. Not a challenge I relished, given that 4 of my passengers do not generally feel the need to respect each others personal space and were unlikely to be enamoured of the view. Thankfully, a peaceful journey was enjoyed . . . all hail the god of nintendo!!!

For 3 hours west of Banff we saw the most spectacular scenery ever . . . it has to be seen to be appreciated. Suffice it to say that one quarter of all the world's forests are in Canada, and it felt like we must have seen most of those trees. Wow.

Victoria Island had narrow roads, double decker buses, English style houses and drizzle . . . we thought we'd taken a wrong turn and ended up in the UK!

We headed for the harbour to see the sea-planes, street theatre and the cute little water taxis . . . and book our whale watching trip. Whales are not guaranteed, but the preparations are pretty hilarious as you get bundled up in your bright yellow float suits.

We set off with 7 or 8 other boats - all searching in different areas, all in radio contact. The kids thought the boat ride beat anything Disney had to offer! It was obvious there had been a sighting when all the boats changed course and raced in the same direction, slamming over the water - squeals of delight from the kids, me and Bert hanging on to Jack and Hannah - very exciting stuff. Then engines were turned off, all was quiet . . and whales appeared from all directions!!! It was fantastic (click on the pic at the top to enlarge it). The guide told us we were incredibly lucky - the 3 resident pods had stayed west of the Island for most of the summer (200 miles away) and this was the first time they had seen 'Superpod' (all 3 pods in at once) all year. Right time , right place at last - hurray! Then to add to the drama a 'transient' whale appeared - transients and residents don't mix so they were expecting a showdown, but they gave each other a wide berth (phew - 'whales 1 / blow-up boat nil' was not the experience we signed up for!).

We had been told that if we did nothing else in Canada, to make sure we saw the Orcas. It was the best bit of advice ever . . . thanks Mr Jones !!!! We wouldn't have missed it for the world.

We had a great time on the Island, loved karting (so much for Penelope Pitstop - I was lapped 3 times by Jack!!), tried the baseball nets (how hard are those balls??? It is like being pelted with rocks!), and finished off with 'Tree-Go' . . . a tree top obstacle course with zip wires, like 'Go-Ape' in the UK but with a lower version that Eleanor, Jack and Hannah could do. Fab.

Then we got the ferry to Vancouver.

Vancouver is a beautiful city. The boats in the harbour were something else . . . one had a helicopter and landing pad. We bounced bravely across the Capilano suspension bridge, hired bikes to go round Stanley Park, and even managed to meet up with Bert's friend Marc . . . still with a scouse accent after 29 years away, and still reading The Echo on-line!! Thanks for making us so welcome Marc and Heather, and for the fantastic meal . . . Jack has very happy memories of the garlic bread!

We stopped at Lake Louise on the way home, which is just beautiful - turquoise blue because of the way the glacier grinds the rock to powder, and it freezes to about 70 feet over the winter, so we'll be taking the ice-skates next time.

So that was our 'vacation'. It will be winter before we know it . . . the geese have started gathering on the lake, ready to exit stage left at the first sign of frost. Mind you, it's t-shirt weather just now so we are holding out as long as we can.

On to birthdays. Bert had a new fishing rod for his so he has been off catching tiddlers in the pond. Hannah and Jack have told me about the birthday tradition at their school - the Principle and Vice-Principle appear in your classroom wearing big hats with bells on, sing 'Happy Birthday' in a dramatic style, and let you have a dip in the candy jar. . . a tradition I think should be adopted by all UK schools! (I'm sure Mrs Davies and Miss Cronin would be game for a laugh, but I can think of a few heads who might be forced to retire!!).

That's 3 down and one to go this month - Eleanor is having a 'trail ride' in the Rockies, complete with cowboy hats. And it doesn't even seem odd. How Canadian are we ?!?

That's all folks. Hope you are all happy and thriving and planning to email us soon ?!? Victoria is definately top of the premiership for blog comments . . . while some of you are still languishing in the conference league (has there been a communication black-out on Wirral???)

Bye for now.

Lots and lots of big Canadian bear hugs,

Nicki and the gang xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Holiday pics can be viewed here:

http://www.photobox.co.uk/slideshow?album_id=27481855

It's Kananaskis, Not Indianapolis

Howdie,

Well, after years of escaping the long arm of the law, Nicki (aka Penelope Pitstop) finally got caught speeding in Kananaskis country. No surprises here; the funny thing is she is genuinely wondering whether to appeal. I've advised her against it ......... 122 km/hr in a 90 zone is a fair cop in my view.

They do love it though. Just about every Brit we know out here has been caught speeding (not me I hasten to add). They're everywhere with their little radar guns (in bushes, behind trees, in unmarked cars etc) ...... I'd put money on them having their Christmas do at Lazerquest. I had a Sheriff behind me last week whilst going through roadworks .....the tempory limit was 20 km/hr! I could've walked faster. They should be out catching real criminals ....... rustlers, poachers or restaurant runners for instance.

Nicki will write up our 8 day jaunt to BC in a few days. It was a 12 hour drive, but well worth it. Some of the scenery driving through the mountains was stunning.

My job hasn't lived up to expectations as I seem to have become the solution to every departments problems and have been doing 2 weeks here, 3 weeks there and not really progressing. I voiced my concerns and have arranged a meeting for mid-September to map out my future. I was asked if I'd consider moving to our other plant in Guelph (Toronto). I said 'no,' but after looking into it in more detail (house prices, proximity to New York/Niagra Falls) I may well have a change of heart if a decent package is on offer. Watch this space.

Living here really makes you appreciate the decent levels of customer service taken for granted at home. We've turned into serial complainers due to shoddy/downright appalling service. Our builder, Holiday Inn, Denny's and Photolab have all had an irate Nicki to contend with. Who's next? Shoddy service providers beware!

That's all folks. Love to all.

Bert xx

Morris Mayhem!!

Hiya All!

Here we are, back again after a brief break, and missing (?) the sudden upturn in dramatic events which seemed to accompany Julie and Millie on their visit!

In addition to seeing the sights we visited the spray park . . . just before it closed due to an outbreak of bubonic plague (or ecoli, or some such) ; we visited the theme park . . . where Julie had the roller-coaster stopped so she could get off . . . and on the way home we were accused of trying to 'do a runner' from the restaurant (ate, went to washroom, Bert was paying, kids were confronted . . . still in negotiation with Dennys re shame and trauma inflicted!) ; next I was done for speeding on a deserted road (surly sheriff appeared from nowhere and did a u-turn with lights and sirens to get me ! . . . thought of pleading temporary insanity due to 5 kids in car, but recognised signs of sense-of-humour by-pass so went on my way with a $194 bill and a cheery request to "have a nice day, Ma'am" . . . . why sure, officer!!!) ; then Julie hurled a hamster across 3 cages in Pet World (claiming it had jumped), tried to catch it, dropped it again, then trapped it in a wheel . . . only to find a second hamster dangling by a leg from the bottom af the wheel! No deaths were caused . . . but a close call on wetting ourselves laughing!! Such fun in Pet World . . . who knew? ; and as a departing thrill our cooker top cracked from one side to the other and we are now awaiting a replacement (on order . . . so we are anticipating December).

So, a fabulous time was had by all. . . and all it took to recover was a week off and a trip to Vancouver! (watch this space).
Seriously though, Julie and Millie were perfect house guests and it was great having them to stay . . . bring on the next lot of visitors !!

Some of Julie's holiday snaps can be viewed here:

http://www.photobox.co.uk/slideshow?album_id=27447159

Lots and lots of love and hugs to all . . . especially new baby James! (well done, Gail).

Nicki xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx