One man's rubbish...

I was led to muse on the matter of taste by seeing a frequent visitor in our back yard, rooting through the recycling bins as he often does on collection day; this made me ponder on several lines of thought. My first impression on seeing this man poking in the rubbish skip early one Sunday morning, was one of disgust; he arrived in a car, and to my mind to have enough money to afford a car surely means that people do not have to resort to digging in trash to augment their living? I was secretly hoping that he would be discouraged by accidentally bursting one of our sacks which contained the rejected cat litter or the bones of a chicken that had been there almost a week. The phenomenon of going through garbage cans can be seen in almost any place in the world, here in Quebec I would presume people are often searching for discarded drink cans, as there is a 5 cent deposit on each can. I find it difficult to see how people have so little personal pride that they resort to raiding the recycling bins; and in a sense it offended my sense of privacy.

Nobody in their right mind would throw personal data in the recycling without shredding it. This does not remove the fact that the recycling bins are somewhat personal, as they contain a cross section of the packaged goods which a household consumes during a week. I doubt market researchers resort to this kind of thing, but there is something almost as unpleasant to me seeing someone going through recently recycled items, as seeing a stranger exploring my clothing cupboard! Another side thought, surely the recycling becomes property of the company which is providing the bins, either the municipality or the disposal company. The general public is effectively stealing by removing anything from the bins after it has been discarded. I realise I am beginning to sound increasingly Meldrewian in this vein, but my gripe is over. Reflecting on this strange character this morning made me think of Noddy Boffin, the "golden dustman" of Dickensian fame. It is probably true that going through trash and recycling could result in discovering things which could bring down whole governments, start wars, and end careers, not to mention occasionally resulting in discoveries of amazing value.

All this musing brings to mind a piece of my past, not deliberately left behind, but rather lost in the events of life and the necessities of moving continent; my strange nack for turning cheap or cast off things into models or usable items, and a prediliction for hoarding. When I was at the height of "boredom" with the life I led, I invested considerable time searching for materials to replicate items in real life, for building models for my garden railways. This was an influence of my late friend Graham, whose life was tragically cut short by his long term alcohol abuse. In his lucid days, he was a great person and also a wonderful example of ingenuity; we scoured the charity stores together, mostly in search of small figurines in the toys section, which could be adapted with a little imagination into all kinds of dioramas and set pieces! I recall particularly the discovery of an evil, brutal looking Disney figurine which lent itself admirably to my "demon butcher", complete with a chopping motion of his arm and bloodied cleaver, powered by a discarded toy mechanism.

The modelling, the creating from scratch from so many discarded materials, was a hobby which I am missing a little... even when I was making many of these models, I technically did not have the time, because I "should have been attending church meetings", according to doctrine; model making was one of the few releases in an otherwise unbearably high-pressure life, and creating these microcosms was a comforting way of taking control and living vicariously in the lives of others, much as with my writing . Now would not be a good time to begin with this hobby again, both because hoarding junk and making finely detailed models is incompatible with having feline family members, but also because I am scared of becoming too absorbed in the models and not giving enough attention to those things which matter, such as keeping a clean home, having enough food, and earning a living. There is always a balance to be struck, and to do this I would need to allow a little hobby activity, and concentrate on that at times when I am bored. It is too easy to waste large amounts of time on the computer, and have nothing at the end to show for it... all these musings even, take more time than I can spare, but enable me to get my thoughts in order.



On an altogether different note, I am really pleased to have some green in our home at last! A very thoughtful gift from a distant penpal has grown, and for the first time in many years, I have a crop of cress almost ready for sandwich production! Of course, I could easily have bought the seeds locally, but sometimes we need our friends to sow the seeds of ideas in our brains- and also to give us a little push. With the success of the cress seeds fresh in my mind, I have in mind to grow some bean sprouts eventually. The choice of seeds in Canada is not too limited, although the general public does not take vegetable gardening at home very seriously. Today's is a quick-solution society, where people seem to have lost the patience to wait for seedlings to emerge, the patience to nurture and then enjoy the fruits of their labours! Of course this is not typical in every case, and I would not like to pigeonhole people- it seems that people do not even have time to peel and chop their own potatoes, according to a recent commercial, something I find rather sad. It is the same with food preperation; of course, some busy people do not find the time to make their own pizza dough or burger patties, but perhaps they are not aware how easy it is to freeze both these items and use them when there is less time; the added advantage of course being that one is totally aware of the contents of these foods!

Writing this has reminded me that I have a batch of pizza dough on the counter, just risen to perfection; I have already prepared the pineapple and ham for Sylvie's pizza (she prefers Hawaiian) and the bacon, tomato and sliced onion for my own, so we simply have to roll, top and bake them when supper time arrives. It feels wonderful to have a fully equipped kitchen, but also, to have an accommodating wife who is willing to allow her husband to take on a share of the cooking! I enjoy cooking, but not when trying to entertain at the same time, and hope that I will find more time and energy for the latter, when I have built up enough confidence and experience in the former! Now I must attend to the kitchen and attempt to discover the perfect Victoria Sponge cake!

In brief

Unusual words for me to use, I know! Today I have to face making or breaking my confidence in my mathematical ability, as I decided to finally sit the long-dreaded first Chemistry exam. Not only am I completely lacking in confidence that I have sufficiently learned the course material, I am very short of faith in the designers of the course book, particularly if those who have taken this course already are to be believed. It is always hard to motivate oneself for a distance learning, or individualised learning course, as my sixth form experience testifies, so I am not setting my self-expectations too high.

This last sentence raised a word which has been passing to and fro repeatedly in my mind: expectations. We are not born with them. How much are they conditioned in us by our upbringing, and how much are they a part of our growing process? I know that in my case, expectations have played a part in making me very unhappy; my parents' expectation that I would fulfil the role into which I was born, as a committed and devoted Christian was a constant source of conflict until I discovered that we have to set our own expectations in life. Also, the expectations I have had of other people, have contributed to discontent and unhappiness. It is probably a matter of taste, opinion and conjecture, people having "reasonable expectations": who is the arbiter of "reasonable"? Does this mean legally justifiable, conventional or simply traditional? In that case I have fallen far short of the "reasonable expectations" of those I was born among, but now that I have not set the same unrealistic target for myself, I feel much happier and more settled than ever before in my life. I am also very much happier for not setting my expectations of others too high. One cannot go through life, expecting people to react to our decisions in exactly the way we desire them to. One of my friends has a whole series of useful phrases which are proving invaluable in guiding my life and its decisions, without resorting to meaningless platitudes, and I am grateful to this and all of my friends for being just that- a reality check and a foil for my impetuous and sometimes prejudgmental nature.

This is a rambling post, and not with the pleasure of any illustrations, news etc; for that I don't apologise, as I have an examination on my mind. I need this outlet for my feelings, for the part of my brain that has to be suppressed while I attempt math to flex its muscle and thus relax. I hope that more newsworthy and interesting thoughts will follow shortly in a future post, perhaps even this evening, household and time conditions permitting!

A bad smell in the night and a hazy start to the week!

No, I don't have gas! The reason for the alarming smell of smoke which enveloped our apartment via the newly installed air conditioning at 2am, was the forest fires further North in the province, some of which have been burning all weekend. I feel vaguely guilty to be relieved that it was not our apartment block, but I am also relieved for the fact that the forests are thinly populated. It will no doubt impact the tourist season late in the month, and many people have been displaced by precautionary evacuation. Hopefully the wildlife will not be too impacted by the conditions.

Here there is little visible sign of the drama that is being enacted further to the North, except that the haze over the city is unusually dense, and the air smells unpleasantly of burning carpet... taking me back in my olfactory memory to living in a poorer suburb of Peterborough where house fires were a frequent occurrence. Asthsma alerts have been issued, and rain is eagerly anticipated to both cleanse the air and help put out the fires. If anyone believes that Canada is an ice-locked, wet and cold place to live, I would recommend visiting right now, while the above 30C temperatures and Australasian-style brush fires are bucking the stereotypical trend.

It was fortuitous that this weekend enabled me to install our second air conditioner, which combined with the smaller unit we have run for one week, makes our apartment tolerably cool at all times. I still feel a little nervous at the manner in which the units are secured in the sliding windows, although an analysis of the physics reveals that they are relatively safe; living on the third storey makes one conscious of the obligation to consider the safety of the residents below!

The schooling is becoming a little tough, and every student I speak with has confirmed that the Chemistry is impossible to complete in just one term, without a class led by a tutor. This means that I wish to try and find another college near enough to make study practical for the summer. Through all this, I'm eternally grateful that I have a loving and supportive wife who keeps her confidence in my ability to study even when I have lost it myself! One of my largest stumbling blocks in life has been to talk about, rather than actually pursue possible courses of action, and I am getting tired of so many unfulfilled plans. I am not a brilliant person, but can make a satisfactory result from almost anything I turn my hand to. That is why I want to secure a job as soon as I can, and contribute more to our home and life. It is too much to expect even from a dedicated wife like mine, to indefinitely fund all of our needs.

I have to cut short this post, a)because I am rambling off at a tangent and b) because our freshly shaven cats are a little on edge for a few days and I want to feed them before a full scale riot erupts.

So to all and any of my loyal readers, here`s to a good week from a smoggy and warm Montréal!

Renaissance, etc...

Spring is supposed to inspire a feeling of rebirth; I would have to agree with the great poets, as spring has coincided for me with the opening of new worlds and opportunities. Outwardly, the spring in Canada has been little different from that which I experienced in England, shortly before leaving the country of my birth. The picture above was taken during the penultimate walk with my "actives" walking group, a collection of people with whom I would spend every winter and spring Sunday, discovering the joys of being in the open air, appreciating the countryside and history of our region, and getting to know some great people. I feel nostalgic for these times, when I could temporarily forget the stress of trying to sell my house, plan emigration, and generally spend some time out of doors.

I feel nostalgic too, for the sight of spring lambs which are, for me, the greatest manifestation that a long winter is finally over. This wistfulness is not enough to be termed "regret", as it would be completely untruthful to pretend that I regret my move to Canada. With the move came opportunity, fulfilment of a dream, and the pleasure of meeting yet more people with a different outlook on life; rather, the nostalgia is a type of bittersweet pride, a desire to share the country of my birth with others now that I appreciate it more for being an expatriot.

I recently completed a self-set exercise in which I made up a "balance sheet" with four headings, namely:

The things I miss most about England
The things I was glad to leave behind
What I love about Canada, one year on
Which things I dislike about living here.

It could not be said that the balance was heavier in any one heading. Going through my brainstorm list, I was surprised how many things I could miss from England, many of them interrelated. I was also surprised that I could not find a larger list of things to like about Canada, until I reasoned that I have not as yet tried many things here! True, I accomplished more in the last year than I ever expected to, adding up to an intensive experience... a great road trip to an entirely different part of this vast country:

plus finding and working at two jobs, spending a lot of time getting to know the way of life here, working out how to do all the things which I had been denied in previous life, but some of which I was glad to be shielded from. I have a large bucket list, yet some of the things need a great deal more money than we have to dispose of at this juncture! We are still establishing our own place, not having many basics such as a microwave or dish washer, not to mention an air conditioning unit which will shortly be needed! The lists of key words which I came up with are very thought provoking, and I felt helped to define who I was, how I related to life both here and in England, and helped to give me a close look at what changes I should be making.

Life is a constant process of evaluation and re-evaluation. I never again want to become stuck in the rut that is believing "I can't change things so they will have to stay as they are until they change of their own accord". Some people are mortally afraid of change, and stay unhappy until they either learn to accept change with open hands, or shelter in some absurdly restrictive bubble, cut off from the outside world, from all that could help them to be a more complete person. It is this bubble protection which I believe is so hard for ex members of closed religious groups to burst, mostly through fear of change. They believe that they are changing or attempting to change the infalliable "word of God" from whichever dogmatic text they are taught, and that to question, alter or adjust this word is the greatest heresy... how hypocritical then, that these very religious organisations have to change perhaps not the "word" itself, but their official interpretation of it to survive in the current world! This very fact makes me believe that religion is like a very weak but addictive drug. As with an alcohol addiction, ringing the changes and drinking for example, whisky instead of beer, making the addict feel for a moment that he is not drinking the "same thing"- so is religion, in my opinion. Many churches believe that they are the only true church, many cult leaders believe that their personal vision is the only one which will bring salvation to the world... but taken abstractly, all the views add up to the same thing: a need to belong, to be a part of something.

Perhaps I am one of a breed of lone wolves, but how can this be true? I love people. I love helping people, getting to know people, understanding their thoughts, their dreams, their experiences and their problems. I could understand, if I was a true misanthrope, why I could leave a religious group without a qualm and very quickly adjust to the outside world, by simply distrusting everyone. Instead, I find that the more I discover about people, the more I want to learn. I am so relieved that my experiences do not appear to make me feel cynical about life. Yes, I like to complain, to the point where my wife draws indubitable parallels between myself and Victor Meldrew; yes, I like to occasionally "bash" something or other, such as the public transport system, youth's inability to stand in orderly queues, the wastage of food in this country; yes, I do like to admit there is a dark side to life, some of which is best not investigated; but by and large I am a happy person who likes to give everyone the benefit of the doubt. This came out in the balance sheet exercise: although I had more negative dislikes, the things I liked were weighted with far more significance than the things which I could do without. It was great fun to do the exercise, as it offered me a good comparison of life in the two countries, and also helped me to evaluate my own situation at this point.


1)What do I miss about England/Britain/Europe?

Cathedrals and churches * Cider * Scenic train trips Lightweight sports cars * affordable cheddar cheese * Country roads with hedgerows and dry stone walls * Sweets * the local pub * debit cards accepted everywhere * local Post Office * badgers * the Geordie accent * affordable real ale * Morrisons * Irish jokes, and people who understand them * Devonshire cream * Attractive postage stamps * Branston pickle * Hedgehogs * lamb curry * Cockneys * 240 Volt power tools * Lambs in the spring fields * Derby Sage cheese at Christmas * Sunday walking group * Bovril sold in a jar as a spread * Wilkinsons * Burghley house * Zoos * Stiles and cattle grids * Roman roads * Monster Munch * Heritage steam railways * Car boot sales * Second hand book stores * Chocolate without vanilla * free personal banking * Affordable cell phones and contracts * Cycle paths and traffic management


2)What do I NOT miss from the old country?

Racial segregation * London taxis * Greasy spoon/rat burger layby cafes * Terrible quality chicken * Fruit from the other side of the world * Caravans * Poor healthcare * High fuel prices * the M25 * over priced takeaways * employment agencies * council tax * frequent rain * dirty streets in the cities * high priced new technology * being on an island * crowded cities * senior schools * Gatso speed cameras * demise of photographic film * Boy racers * filthy trains * expensive booze * corrupt local governments * ancient public toilets * insularity of the people * late release of music and films * football hooligans * public drinking * roundabouts


3) What do I love about Montreal/ Canada?

Chez Cora breakfast restaurants- sans pareil! * Clear divisions between the seasons... winter IS winter! * Clean streets * Powerful sunshine * Cultural integration, not appeasement * Snow * Tim Hortons coffee houses * grain fed pork and chicken * Friendly population * Affordable and reliable public transport * excellent education and opportunity * Huge domestic appliances * Camping in serene and wild places * Raccoons * The tip culture * Choice of TV channels * Snails * cheap vehicles * positive outlook on life * choice of recreation activities * The Underground City, (shopping, eating... and just keeping warm!) * The metro system * Amazing national parks * responsible pet owners * Government that cares for citizens and new arrivals * the European accent on life style * chipmunks * Film still available for cameras * Cheap electronic consumer goods * excellent service in stores * Rona DIY centres * self effacing but proud people * financial stability and employment * absence of personal surveillance and respect of privacy * cities laid out in planned blocks * big, wide roads * courtesy and priority for pedestrians


4)What do I dislike about life here?

Huge, uneconomical vehicles * proximity to the USA * occasional reluctance to break down the language barrier * Huge distances between places * too much processed food products * Automatic cars * bureaucracy and complex paperwork * Debit card technology behind- cards not accepted in many places, even online * High salt and fat in the traditional diet * snow ploughing and blowing at 3am in winter * Banking charges * lack of cycle paths and facilities... rapidly improving * Pet stores selling puppy/kitten mill-raised animals * hideous tastes in music * availability of quality stationery and art materials * being told I have a cute “accent” * cost of cellphones and poor coverage * destruction of nature * casual attitude to food wastage * uninspiring architecture * being told I sound Australian * people who don't know what England is (football team, province, island in the Caribbean...?) * Obsession with hockey * high priced wine * laid back attitude to time keeping * Poor choice of clothing * distance from the beach * absence of motor sports * arrogant cops * antiquated deposit scheme for cans and bottles * casual attitude to drink driving and speeding * stop lines and strange priority rules on the road


I hope these words and comments will provoke comments from my readers! Life is full of variety, and yet there are not enough hours for all that there is to discover... nor are there enough hours in each day to discuss all those discoveries!

On a positive note...

I am always reluctant to use a blog as a place on which to post my negative feelings; in this world, there is already sufficient negativity for several milennia, and nobody likes to hear people raving about wholly negative subjects unless of course, they read the tabloids!

My most positive news is that I have finally started on the career path which I chose before coming to Canada. True, I have had to downgrade some of the ambitions; to become a nurse or nurse practitioner rather than a full MD is of necessity a reduction of my ambition. One has to go through life prepared to make these changes to plans, otherwise nothing would ever be achieved. There is nothing wrong with aiming higher than reality permits on occasion, because this way one can sometimes be surprised by what can be achieved!

The change to plan “A” was brought about by my being laid off from the call centre at which I was working. Having worked for over 900 hours and contributed to the employment insurance pool, I am able to draw on this rather than being totally dependant on my wife's salary, which is a huge relief. In the free time since the end of March, I have been able to prepare for advancing my grades to a level which will permit me to take a bachelor's degree in nursing and perhaps specialise still further while working. It is a long term plan, and one which I feel very confident I can stick with.

So what does this career choice mean in the shorter term? Basically my grades from my English schooling are fine, these can be converted by the immigration department here. The requirements for the nursing college, however demand that I sit my sciences again, as the grade has to be credited in the last five years, and my grades are more than 14 years old. We managed to locate a school nearby enough for me to travel by regular bus without crossing the river, and I duly registered for the term which started last week. It is a wonderful feeling to finally be a) doing something genuinely useful towards my career and learning again, and b) to be at school through choice and not because of state demands or conventionality.

I am of course, not familiar with the North American, Canadian or Quebec scholastic environment, so it was with some trepidation that I attended my first class last week. As the Access education centre is specifically a “continued” or adult education centre, it is thankfully free of many of the problems associated with a mainstream school. People in general are there to learn, some of them at their own expense, and are respectful of others. This was the impression I received at the first session, which was individualised learning of Chemistry; everyone had their own books, and worked through at different paces and stages, with recourse to a teacher where necessary. The session was deathly quiet without a teacher lecturing or explaining, and I greatly enjoyed it. Physical Science was a shared class, and here I experienced a great deal more deja vu back to my school days. The class ranged quite widely in age, and was taken by a teacher some 8 years my junior, who was in fact qualified in Gym instruction! Although the other students by and large respect the teacher, it is a very noisy class, hard to concentrate, and some of the pupils are in class merely because it is financially beneficial to them. That means that I experience a lot more frustration, as I have paid out of pocket for the books and materials, and hate my class time being wasted. I ended up taking the first session myself, as the tutor was coming down with bronchitis and could not talk, but I enjoyed the experience! Yet another strata of Canadian society revealed to me!

The school is in a nice suburb of the South Shore, which most people regard as strictly outside of Montréal. As I only have 18-20 hours' study per week, or classes rather, the commute is much more relaxed than while I was employed. I like the experience of meeting many more people, as the school is everything I missed out on while at high school myself; I am free to take part in the school board, debates, have my lunch with fellow students and to discuss careers with like-minded people, all of whom speak English well. I am discovering yet again that the “British accent”, that strange and elusive thing which I cannot myself observe, is a passport to people's interest. Some students are flabbergasted that I left England, which they regard as the acme of opportunity, to move to a colonial place such as Canada. It is long and complicated to go into my reasons, so I always bring up my main motive, that of love!

As I have no pictures of the school available, this entry will be strictly text, my photographic skills are somewhat on the back burner whilst I am trying to concentrate on getting the best possible grades. When I have these, I can then seek work, as the induction for the nursing college's autumn term begins next February, and I will have more than a year's gap in which to study French also. It is available at the Access centre, but I have to wait until September to take “new arrivals” integration French as a second language. It is an exciting prospect, and will help me no end to integrate and feel yet more of a part of this country.

On a quick note...

I am often asked by people to explain my background, and with little time to sit down and explain the ins and outs of my upbringing, what I have left behind, and why I am more comfortable living as I am now, I believe the best thing is to enclose some links to currently viewable documentaries. I may of course eventually add my own video blog, when my home computer technology permits; for now, links seem to work best for the majority of people, so here are some which save me going into many details, some of them painful to recall:

http://video.msn.com/video.aspx?mkt=en-au&brand=ninemsn&from=truveo&vid=dbe19b55-8a15-445c-94ab-b285291052a1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ui9W2IsNYg8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43kH91vHfKo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1_vRjycrb4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skV3nwIsIq8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eF5QOK8If6M

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCbnLx24mcw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUA2MS1doJY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZygrhNHGIUY&feature=related

Hopefully these will give the picture to those who have expressed interest!

New Year, New Decade, New Life

and though much has yet to change, reviewing the year of 2009, I have come a long way already!

As soon as one leaves a closed, high demand group such as I was born into, the process of re-education begins; some children or adults may have been better educated in life skills, the tools necessary to survive independantly without all their direction coming from notes and directives which masquerade as an individual "conscience"; others, such as myself, are undergoing a long, upward learning curve on the route to "normalcy", that desirable, yet unnatainable state! Since 2008, when I was officially excommunicated, this learning process has been ongoing- and though it has at times been difficult, it has at least been far from dull! I have always looked on my surrounding environment with a naive wonder, indeed when I was born, my father commented how enthralled I was with the lights and sensations of the hospital; this fascination with my surroundings has been extended enormously through my reading, and often prompted me to consider a career in, if not a fascination with, journalism. Blogging may not be the best way to begin a career in journalism, but it does at least provide a forum for my thoughts, on which people can comment if they wish. I am always cautious that this could become very egocentric, or rambling.

My aspirations must have been relatively conventional; though I desire strongly to travel, to write of my experiences and to have challenging experiences, I greatly enjoy simpler things in a typical family unit: shopping with my wife, cooking, cleaning our apartment and caring for the cats. I love the seasonal traditions of giving and receiving gifts, entertaining people in our home, and writing to the folks back home. Maybe my life is happier lived quietly, after all.

I am writing this after a period of introspection, especially about my past upbringing. I have been reading of others who left the religious group of which I was once a member, and who are now becoming almost militant, talking of flag waving, wearing tee shirts and ribbons, protesting at public conferences. There are many people out here in the real world who have had their lives ripped apart by the EB's, who have family and friends on both sides of the "Wall of Seperation", and who have horrific stories to tell; these people need a voice, but to react in the way some are, is going to merely further the interests of the reclusive but outwardly "friendly" group, who wish to discredit these people as disturbed, imbalanced and unsuitable for communal worship in the first place. My personal take is that I have more family on the "outside" of the group, and thus do not have any right to take an activist stance against them, merely to document my experiences while on the inside. I do not bear especial personal animosity against any individual, nor against the group as a whole; I learned many valuable life lessons whilst with them, and had some reasonably close friends too; also, I do not wish to be perceived as a victim, just to be permitted to get on with normal life outside of their direction. I will, however, be following with interest the cultic studies conference at which both ex and current members of the group will be present.

To return to normal life- whatever "normal" may be- work is very much easier now that I have a relatively conventional schedule of 9-5, Monday to Friday. I can choose between over twenty buses each morning, and have started forming friendships with more established faces within the company. I also have whispers that I could be promoted, which is a surprise after so short a time there. Selling is not proving to be my strong point, but at this stage I have just begun to find my feet, and it is not the highest of my priorities.

The temperature is very low outside, and I am learning that my skin reacts very badly to the cold, leaving raw patches around my face. Now that the temperature drops below -15C almost daily, wrapping up to leave the apartment is an important factor in my morning time budget. Amazingly, I have not yet slipped and had a serious fall on the frozen snow or black ice that covers most of the sidewalks. The shovelling operations still occur in the wee hours of the morning, but I am almost blasé to this now. The city looks very unattractive with a heavy layer of slush, frozen into jagged ruts almost covering every minor road. For the time being, I am glad we do not own a car! The sunlight is amazingly bright and clear on this continent, and it is very beautiful on the untouched banks of snow nearby; after the haze, fog and heavy humidity of Britain, I am surprised that this area has so little rain. The weather makes every day life that little degree more exciting, because of the challenges.

There is not any significant news since my last posting; Christmas was a pleasant but quiet time, and as our holiday was so limited, Sylvie's birthday was not held until last Sunday. Being on a limited budget and a postponed date meant that it was not the most romantic of occasions, and we had a mutual friend over from Longueuil, an ex-Parisien who works in the same call centre as myself, and who provided a lovely mocha birthday cake for Sylvie and gave her a nice candle holder as a surprise bonus gift! Now that we have two-day weekends every five days, we are able to relax a lot more and spend more time together, something that was important to both of us.

More to follow, as it occurs!