August 2018

August 31, 2018

Gudren took the girls this morning. I guess we’ll take them in a couple of times next week as well, as it’ll feel different going at rush hour. I’m looking forward to the day they start doing it alone, but it’s a huge help to have two other families to share it with.Knocked off another two-mile run — putting together a good string at the moment. Nothing like a looming public weigh-in to focus the motivation…;-)

Travelled into town to collect Lyra for 3pm and go along to a picnic with some new mums in Regents Park. The weather had looked iffy, but it brightened at just the right time, and we had a pleasant couple of hours sitting in the sun drinking prosecco.

Tanja and I took the girls home on the bus, as she had the big buggy for Liam, and it would have been fraught on the tube at rush hour. As both Lyra and Lily were sleeping over at Grace’s house this evening, I hopped off with them at the closest stop and walked them over.

The door opened on a right madhouse — six over-excited screaming eleven-year-olds, and poor Ann-Marie looking like she needed a stiff drink or three. Nova’s out as well, this evening so it’s just Adam and I for once…

He returned home with a smile on his face, having just sold 4K of work, to be delivered in September. On that happy note, we decided to go out for a spontaneous celebration dinner at Del Parc.

They don’t follow a menu there, bringing a series of small tapas-like things until you’ve had enough. The food is Spanish with north African influences: charcuterie, olives, hot peppers, chicken simmered in yogurt with dates and pomegranate… All very delicious, and didn’t feel stuffed afterwards.

We were just settling up at 10:30pm, when my phone went. It was Ann-Marie, calling to say that Lyra was feeling sick. Headed straight over there to collect her. She was standing on the sidewalk in her pjs with a group of concerned little girls around her.

Another one of those bloody migraines…:-( She was in a lot of pain and feeling queasy as well. Back home, she threw up almost at once and felt a bit better for it. Sleep is always the best thing for it, and she was able to nod off pretty quickly…

August 30, 2018

Tanja’s turn to take the girls this morning. Personally, I’d have them make the journey on their own one day this week, but I doubt the other parents would be up for that…Got Lyra out the door, then turned my attention to my day. Decided to do the supermarket run before getting down to client work, as there was nothing but a single overripe pear in the fruit bowl.

What with two sets of roadworks and stopping to fill the car with petrol, it was almost 1:30 by the time I got home. Fortunately, Nova was happy to collect the girls from school, so I could start work on the executive summary.

Lyra was home for a matter of minutes before heading down to Charlotte’s, and Adam the same, between pilates and an evening meeting. Just Nova and I for dinner — orange-ginger salmon with noodles and green veg.

Finished watching The Miniaturist before bed — a cracking adaptation, for sure…

August 29, 2018

Nina’s dad did both the school journeys today — all I needed to do was get Lyra out the door by 8:55 with a packed lunch.It was pouring with rain when she set off, so I decided to delay my run. I would have been soaked by the time I got to the top of the path. Went at 10:30 when it had pretty much stopped — 2.25 miles round the Woods.

By the time I’d showered, eaten something and done the requisite household chores it was almost 2pm. Put in a couple of hours on the sustainable finance report I’m editing for Adam. To my surprise, it’s interesting stuff.

Seafood soup for dinner with the girls (Adam was at a “restorative yoga” class this evening). Spent most of it self-identifying our strengths and weaknesses, which was interesting:

Adam returned and got straight on the phone to Trevor for “fifteen minutes”. When that stretched past half an hour, I started watching The Miniaturist (a BBC two-parter I’d recorded over a year ago). Cracking stuff, and reminds me how much I enjoyed the novel…

August 28, 2018

Lyra is attending summer school at St Marylebone this week. I don’t think they’ll be learning that much, it’s more to get them used to the journey and layout and make a few friends before classes start next week.According to Lyra, she’d rather they didn’t do it at all, but if other students are going, she wouldn’t want to skip it. Tanja took the girls in the morning and I said I’d do the 3pm pick-up.

The window cleaners paid an overdue visit this morning, which meant shifting everything off the window sills and covering the new sofas. Seemed like a good opportunity to polish all that wood, and dust everything before putting it back.

I thought I’d better allow an hour for the journey into town to collect the girls, which was more than enough. Did some work reading in the adjacent square until 3pm.

Lyra and Lily were out first, buzzing excitedly about everything that had happened and the new friends they’d met. Then Nina emerged in floods of tears. Her older sister was there to console her, so I never did hear exactly what had happened.

(She’s in a different group to Lyra and Lily, and I think she hadn’t made any new friends.) Took about twenty minutes to calm her down enough to travel, and it certainly cast a pall of gloom over the return journey.

Spinach mushroom kitchri for dinner. It’s the first episode of Bake-off this evening, which we greeted with a pot of tea and a loaf of freshly bake banana bread, courtesy of Nova. I’m not going to bake along this time, but I think it would be nice if someone would bake something each week to eat while we watch…

Adam is going to Singapore next week — it was confirmed this afternoon. So that’s exciting — for him, at least…;-)

August 27, 2018

It’s Bank Holiday Monday here it the UK, but not in Geneva unfortunately, which meant Adam had a meeting at noon. He was going to get up early to prepare but instead stayed up all night, undoing the benefit of yesterday’s great sleep…When for a slightly longer, faster run this morning. The longer part was intentional, the faster bit just happened. Slightly compensated for the three people I ended up chatting to on the walk back from the Woods. Now that people are returning from their holidays, walking the streets of Highgate is like running a gauntlet.

Made a red rice and lentil salad for lunch — a somewhat worthy dish I used to make regularly back in the day. In general, I should be avoiding carbohydrates from a blood sugar perspective, but these are pretty good ones to eat.

Black bean burgers and sweet potato fries for dinner tonight. I haven’t hit on a killer veggie burger recipe yet, but I’m working on it. It should: use straightforward ingredients like tinned beans, breadcrumbs and grated veg; be suitable for frying pan and barbeque; work in a bun; and have some bite (not be a big pile of mush).

Started a new BBC drama series called Bodyguard that is right up our street — politics, domestic terrorism, family strife…;-)

August 26, 2018

That wine tasting and late night did wonders for knocking our jetlag on the head. I slept through until 9:30am and the rest of the family didn’t surface until noon…It was our annual street party this afternoon. In the event of rain, Jemima always hosts it at their place, and that’s what happened today. It’s a bring-and-share event. There’s always way too much booze, so I didn’t worry about that, but I needed to rustle up some sort of dish to bring by 1pm.

Things weren’t looking promising until I noticed a package of crispy duck pancakes that were accidently thawed in the deep freeze incident last month. Made a quick smoked salmon paté with some cream cheese, rolled them into cigars and shallow fried them, and voilá!

Spent most of the afternoon at the party, chatting to neighbours and scoffing canapés. I never look forward to this event, but always end up enjoying it more than I expect, and I do think it’s a very positive things to have some level of relationship with your neighbours.

The rest of the day was spent sorting out Lyra’s bedroom. She’d broken one of the side supports on her bed, so we dismantled and repaired that, which was a great opportunity to clear out the toys and games stashed beneath.

We have a small fortune worth of Sylvanian family dolls and furniture, but it needs to be organised before we move it along. Spent far too long trying to get variously sized rabbits, cats and squirrels into fiddly little outfits that had been pointlessly removed.

Adam cooked tonight — cauliflower butterbean stew — and we had a rare nice family dinner before watching the last two episodes of Unforgotten. To bed by 11:30…

August 25, 2018

Kicked off the family weigh-in this morning. David has joined in as well, so there’s four of us this time. There’s work to be done…;-)That might be what inspired me to run again this morning. Also awareness that we were going to Will and Sara’s for dinner tonight and I was unlikely to feel like running tomorrow.

That’s one thing I like about committing to the weigh-ins. It sets up the habit of looking at the week as a whole and deciding how to compensate for things like dinner parties, restaurant meals and so on. Better than waking up tired tomorrow and skipping the run then…

Adam went to a pilates class with Pete and Pasc this morning for his exercise. A few other friends go as well, and it sounds good, but you’re £10 out of pocket each time and you have to drive to Colney Hatch to do it. Much less hassle to run…

He and Sara went to the Arsenal v West Ham match this season. First they’ve gone to and the first Arsenal has won. Coincidence?…;-) I spent the afternoon doing house stuff — helping Lyra sort out her swamp of a fish tank took a good chunk of time.

We emptied nearly all the water (the fish were scuttling around in a few inches). Scrubbed the glass, filter, heater, thermometer, and even washed the plants before putting it all back together again and treating the water. Looks much better for it.

Family dinner round Will and Sara’s tonight. No Chad, but they have a twenty-year-old nephew called Charlie staying, and there was an architect from Berlin there as well — a slightly random group.

They holidayed on the Costa Brava this summer, so there was a Spanish theme to the meal. They’d bought six wines, and organised a tasting with individual score sheets and everything. Everyone participated, including Lyra who rated most wines 0 or 1. She even handed out negative numbers though one red worryingly scored a 4 (out of 7).

Dinner was a pork and olive stew, eggplant lasagne, rice, asparagus and green salad, followed by a pear tart and strawberries and nectarines macerated in sauternes.

I stopped drinking after the meal, and let Adam go for it. Didn’t get home until 1:30, after dropping Susannah (the architect) home first…

August 24, 2018

Feeling much more myself this morning, enough so that I actually felt like running for the first time in a good while. Did the two-mile loop — going to lay down a handful of those as a foundation before attempting anything longer.Lyra made waffles for breakfast. She wants to do a guest post on my food blog, and took some photos in anticipation. I think it’s a great idea…:)

Adam is still pushing himself hard, up before 4am to work on an impact assessment report, and then a series of phone calls. He was planning to go into the office for the afternoon, but when he discovered his colleague Shayla was with a client all afternoon he decided to stay home.

When I went downstairs, he was dozing at his desk, and later I was pleased to see him crashed out on the bed. He’s been pushing himself too hard — you can go on like that for a while, but then something has to give…

Three of us for dinner — spinach salad — as Nova was out with her friend Maya adding to her piercings, and ate round theirs. She had one in her helix and another in the tragus of her opposite ear.

Not her actual ear (yet)

Watched an episode of Unforgotten (first time we’ve turned the telly on since getting back, then bath and bed by 10:30pm…

August 23, 2018

Woke a little earlier this morning, but still feel pretty sluggish. Running definitely not on the table — maybe tomorrow…Medical appointments for the girls. Nova headed off to the emergency dentist before lunch. According to her, he spent about 30 seconds looking at her wisdom tooth, said “yep, that’s infected” and scrawled a prescription for antibiotics. Given she’s just completed a course, I’m going to give it a few days to see if things improve before filling it.

In the afternoon, I took Lyra to an emergency doctor’s appointment about the bouts of tightness in her chest she’s been experiencing. It was particularly bad the day we flew back to Canada (what with all the forest fire smoke), but she’s mentioned it a few times in the last few months.

After conducting a few tests and listening to her chest, she was given a prescription for an inhaler, which we filled on the way home. She’s meant to use it when she gets the tight feeling and see if it helps. If she has asthma it will do, and at that point we need to make another appointment with the asthma nurse to get her more fully assessed.

Adam and Nova both out this evening, so it was just Lyra and me for dinner — salmon and vermicelli noodle salad with lots of green beans, mange tout and peas, in an orange & red curry paste dressing. Pretty good, but I’ll take it in an orange-ginger-miso direction next time…

Had a long chat with Beulah before bed. I’m sure Adam has been too busy to call since we’ve been back. As well as catching up on their news I didn’t want her to get the hump…

August 22, 2018

Nova woke me at 9am, like dragging myself out of glue. She’s hit the lake paddling — when i went downstairs, her bed was made, bags unpacked, and she’d showered and dressed after a quick workout. Long may it continue…Lyra is feeling more like me. After I roused her at 10am, she staggered around like something from a zombie apocalypse. As for Adam, he’d struggled through most of the night at his desk, stopping for a few hours sleep when exhaustion overwhelmed him.

I came upstairs to find him most of the way through a two-hour international conference call, giving a presentation to a group of banking execs. The minute that ended he was out the door for an MRI at the Royal Free (part of the investigation into what is going on with his stomach)…

Once my brain was firing, I ordered a heap of school uniform for Lyra, made an emergency dental appointment for Nova, continued the laundry marathon (six loads in all), and hit the supermarket to stock up on groceries.

Tacos for dinner, with soya mince instead of ground beef. Spent an hour dusting off the weight loss website I started five years ago. Wade and I were talking about it in Vancouver, and we’re going to do it for a few months to support our weight loss efforts.

Adam is going to join in this time. He’s developed a bit of a tummy over the last year that he’s keen to get rid of. I’ve invited David and Greg as well (and any spouses who want to join in), and plan to get going on Saturday. To bed about 11pm…

August 21, 2018

I think we arrived a bit early into Gatwick. However by the time traipsed to the immigration hall, collected bags, cleared customs, hiked to the monorail, then the train station, chugged into Kings Cross and caught a cab to Highgate, it was mid-afternoon.Cleo was standoffish at first then cautiously friendly, the hamster blinked at us blankly, and the fish desperately nosebutted the glass of their murky tank. As ever, we did all the unpacking before even making a cup of tea.

It’s funny how we’re both like that. Sometimes I’ll drop in on a friend who got back from holiday a week earlier, and they’ll cheerfully admit that they haven’t got round to unpacking yet…

Adam had three phone meetings to get through and a heap of work to plough through for tomorrow morning. I started my ascent of the laundry Matterhorn, cleared the phone messages, and rustled up a simple pasta supper.

When vertigo overtook me — exhaustion and a middle ear infection I think, as it was happening on Vancouver Island too — I had a little nap on the couch.

Hot bath and a double melatonin about 11pm, in hope of a decent night’s sleep. I’m certainly tired enough after not sleeping on the plane, but jetlag’s a bitch when you fly east…

August 20, 2018

Got up about 7am, just as Adam was finishing his call. All’s well, aside from the unwelcome news that he needs to prepare and make a presentation the morning after we land in London…:-(All this work is gearing towards a global meeting in Singapore at the start of September. It’s not yet decided whether Adam will attend. It definitely makes sense for him to go — otherwise he’ll need to get up at 2am for three days running to make presentations to a room full of everyone but him…

Rob made us a cooked breakfast before we set off. I spent an hour repacking the girls’ suitcases and ensuring that their carry-on bags were kosher (no liquid surprises at the airport).

Set off at 10:15, and had a smooth drive to Swartz Bay. It’s very smoky today, and you could see very far past the shoreline. We had a reservation on the noon ferry, and were actually the second car to board.

Scored front row seats in the middle of the viewing gallery, though there wasn’t much to view. We did have a pretty scary perspective on a sailboat that was right in our path in Active Pass. The ferry captain gave five blasts sharp blasts and actually had to veer the ferry to avoid collision. Can’t recall that ever happening before…

Dropped the rental car at the Enterprise office, which is just before the airport, then waited for the free shuttle bus. It pulled up within a few minutes, with a couple from Manchester inside. Her seatbelt had jammed somehow and it took a good five minutes to loosen it up so she could contort her way out of it.

Arrived at the airport with llots of time before our flight. Certainly enough to queue for a Japadog at a food truck outside arrivals. I’m pleased to say that it was as tasty as anticipated…

After we cleared security, Lyra told me she wasn’t feeling well. It seems like the smoky air is affecting her chest, and she was having a mild asthmatic reaction. It isn’t the first time she’s experienced that. I’ll make an appointment with the GP to get her a puffer when we get home…

Westjet came through again, with smooth check-in, painless loading and perfectly adequate seats. I hadn’t brought any food this time, so we purchased some snack packs and a glass of wine.

I was unable to sleep, but lay there listening to podcasts with my eyes closed. I remember Mrs Feeley telling me that just lying quietly like that was about 80% as good as sleeping when I was anxious and unable to fall asleep before a swim meet. Don’t know if it’s true, but it used to help me from stressing about being unable to sleep…

Lyra had no such worries. She conked out within fifteen minutes of boarding the plane, and pretty much slept straight through until we started our descent into London…

August 19, 2018

Our last day at Sproat Lake, sigh…
It occurs to me that this place comes closest to feeling like my Canadian home…The girls were up much earlier than usual…;-) Apparently, they’d had a quiet night of it — and no mosquitos, which is lucky.

Bacon and tomato sandwiches for breakfast, after which I tackled the first stage of our packing. I’d thought I might need an extra bag but I was able to fit every all in just fine. The big suitcase is heavy though…

Aaron and I took Nova for another driving lesson at the old fire hall. He’s an expert driver, and I thought he’d have more knowledge to pass on and probably be better at explaining things.

He’s also not her parent… In my experience, children will go to great lengths to avoid learning anything from parents. Aaron was a very patient instructor, and got her driving very slow and controlled. She was greatly improved by the end.

Spent a couple of hours on the wharf before we left. The smoke in the air is now obscuring the mountains and giving everything a faintly beige tint.

Lyra spent some time dancing around on the ball like there was nothing to it, and Adam rose to the bait. Having seen a photo of himself balancing one-footed on a similar float ten years ago, he wanted to prove he was still up to the task. He managed it, scuffing up his feet and knees in the process…

We managed to cram more bags into our miniature boot for the drive to Victoria this time, which made for a more comfortable ride. (I took a photo so we can achieve it again tomorrow…)

It was smooth sailing until the Malahat, where we hit a massive tailback that meant it took almost an hour and a half to get from Duncan to Goldstream park. At least I had a few episodes of my “I Only Listen to the Mountain Goats” podcast to keep us entertained…;-)

Arrived at our friend Rob’s flat in the Gorge — where we’re spending the night before catching the ferry in the morning — about half an hour late in the end.

Rob’s brother Dave was also there — I haven’t seen him since he was about twenty. He was a slim, blond, Californian surfer boy back then, and is now a döppelganger for Rob. (I remember seeing a photo of Rob before his early hair loss and middle-aged spread and being surprised at what a scrawny little surfer boy he’d been as well…)

Rob’s had a bad time of it lately. Following a series of panic attacks, he’s been signed off from his stressful government job for the last two months…

Dave did the cooking this evening (he worked in restaurants for years before going to uni at 40 and becoming a geologist). Grilled sockeye with a fruit salsa, steamed rice, grilled zucchini, and a tossed salad — all delicious…

Sat up talking until about 10:30 then called it a night. Adam has a conference call at 5am, and Rob is nurturing his health. We’re on a pullout bed in the den, and the girls on sofa and inflatable mattress in the living room.

August 18, 2018

Bagels for breakfast, then into town to pick up a few things. Shoppers Drug Mart mostly covered it (and the liquor store). I’d promised the girls a trip to Tim Hortons so we delivered on that as well. The coffee is still good, but I thought the TimBits were pretty nasty — flavourless, greasy, over-sweet, misshapen little lumps…Adam was keen to repeat the swim across the lake we did on our last visit. I was less so, but didn’t want him to do it alone, especially after Nova opted out. Aaron and Lyra travelled alongside us to avoid the risk of our getting mowed down by a speed bump as we made the attempt.

It was easier than I remember it being, and I was scarcely out of breath at the end (though we certainly took it slowly). We were just approaching the rocky little beach that marked the end of our effort when two guys emerged onto the beach like something out of Deliverance.

I thought they were shifty as fuck… The dad (I hope it was a dad) insisted on needless helping Aaron with the boat, while rabbiting on about how they “just got the idea to camp on the island, and anyway it isn’t anybody’s land, and anybody can camp on it, it’s not your land is it?, Hey, do you know the someone or others?, We know them, they live over there don’t they?”, while the son character skulked in the background.

Adam and I climbed in the boat and we headed for home. When I looked back twenty seconds later, they’ll melted back into the trees again. I had a good appetite for lunch when we got back — I really have to stop eating everything that isn’t nailed down when I get home…

Had another go with the paddleboard this afternoon. There are two of them, and the long, narrow, firmer orange one is definitely easier to use. I’d have thought the wider one might be more stable, but I felt like I was wallowing on it. I could see myself getting into paddleboarding if I could do it regularly.

Margo served classic mai tais for tonight’s cocktail. I don’t think I’ve ever had one before, or certainly not one that tasted like that. I would have put mai tais in the pina colada / tequila sunrise camp, but it’s a more complex and refined than that.

Crab and prawn for dinner tonight — such a treat for us — with a caprese salad and bread. Buffalo milk gelato for dessert. I thought the lavender was surprisingly delicious — I’m not usually a big fan of floral flavours.

The girls are sleeping in hammocks on the beach this evening. Aaron rigged a night light they can turn on if necessary, and they each have a stout length of wood to use if any unwanted wildlife pays a visit. Checked on them before bed, and it was all peaceful down there…

August 17, 2018

Egg McMuffins with Cheez Whiz for breakfast — Aaron is a kindred spirit when it comes to an appreciation for Cheez Whiz…;-)Paid a visit to a local farm that keeps a herd of water buffalo. It’s an idyllic place — lovely old farm house, beautifully tended flowers and vegetable gardens, dogs and chickens running free, and a beautiful valley view.

The water buffalo were funny, gentle things — kind, mournful eyes looking out beneath odd, toupee-like topknots. Their names were amusing too — the two bulls were Lorenzo and Romeo, while the ladies went by names like Lilly and Grace.

At the farm shop, we sampled their delicious gelato flavours under the pretence we weren’t just going to buy all three. Bought some mozzarella, and a pack of ground meat as well. “What kind of meat is that?” Lyra asked, and was pretty unimpressed to discover it was buffalo…

Took Nova for her first driving lesson afterwards in the parking lot of the old fire hall. I thought an automatic hire car was the perfect vehicle to make her start in…;-) There was a circular sort of drive, and she did numerous laps round that, gradually gaining more control over her steering and braking.

Driving is one of those skills that becomes so automatic that it’s hard to remember how unfamiliar it once was. At least there was no clutch involved. I learned to drive on a standard car — I can’t remember now, but I’m sure my first attempts must have been pretty atrocious.

Aaron took us all for a spin on his motorcycle in the afternoon. It’s been years since I’ve been on the back of a motorcycle — I used to spend a fair amount of time on them, and had forgotten how much I love it. I’m sure they’re great to ride as well (and I have had a few goes myself over the years), but I also really enjoy being the passenger. As my friend Peter used to say, “chicks dig bikes”…;-)

Margo and Aaron have borrowed a couple of paddleboards from their next door neighbour Gerri, so we gave that a try this afternoon. I was expecting it to be more difficult than it was. I got up relatively easily, and didn’t find balancing a problem. It wasn’t that straightforward how to turn the thing, but I started to get the hang of it.

Went out for a Chinese meal in town with their friend Gerri. Margo had arranged the menu in advance, and the dishes kept arriving: Chinese pork, wonton soup, crispy duck (first with pancakes then in a mixed dish), spicy prawns, mixed seafood dish in a noodle basket, Singapore noodles, chicken with vegetables, (and I think a couple more…) All very authentic and delicious…

We drank modestly at dinner — a beer each — and back home, a bottle of prosecco before bed seemed a grand idea…;-)

August 16, 2018

I was so pleased to wake up this morning and realise where I was… We all love visiting Sproat Lake and spending time with Margo and Aaron.After a breakfast of fruit and homemade granola, Margo and I did our traditional walk round the neighbourhood. She brought me up to date on the various building projects and developments in her neighbours’ lives. Never a dull moment round here…

Adam and Aaron made a run into town (barbershop and beer), while Margo, the girls and I headed down to the wharf, to sunbathe and swim. Lyra got the hang of the balancing wooden float in minutes — all that gymnastics coming in handy…

When the guys returned, we lunched on the wharf — sandwiches and G&Ts, followed by a then a snooze. I could get used to this life…;-)

Headed back up to the house late afternoon. I was tasked with making Sacred Gin martinis — rinse chilled glasses with a bit of vermouth, pour in chilled gin, spritz a strip of lemon peel over the surface and round the rim, and enjoy!

Chicken and salads for dinner this evening, followed by Margo’s cherry garcia ice cream. Definitely want to get my hands on that recipe! To bed about 11pm…

 
Face masks before bed…

August 15, 2018

Slept like a log in their beautifully appointed, tranquil guest room. Adam didn’t disturb me when he got up to work, and I made it straight through to 8am…Poor Nova is still feeling rough. The meds aren’t making a difference yet, and her gums are almost fluorescent in their redness. With several canker sores on her tongue, multiple cold sore blisters in her mouth, and an abscessed wisdom tooth, it’s not surprising she feels lousy.

Like myself, John and Bradley are also coldsore sufferers. They swear by Abreva and have had good results with the the antivirals as well. I’m not sure if the antivirals are available on the NHS, but I’ll look into it when we get back…

After last night’s feast, I didn’t feel like breakfast, but coffee was most welcome. Had a bit of a visit, but we were conscious of the time. John had a ferry reservation to hit, plus it’s a 45 minute drive to the terminal from their place.

In the end, we timed it just right. Grabbed coffee and a muffin and settled down for a good chat — that old friend thing where you talk as if your last visit was three weeks ago, not three years.

John dropped us back at our car in the parkade. Dumped our bags in the car and went for something to eat before driving round and joining the ferry queue to Nanaimo.

Felt a bit weird to be on our second ferry of the day. Grabbed seats, sat and read the whole crossing (or napped in Adam’s case). Stopped for petrol just off the ferry then cruised up to Margo and Aaron’s place, which looked as wonderful as ever.

Made it!

Noticed more big houses springing up as we drove in. Their next-door neighbour is erecting a particularly irksome concrete monstrosity. It’s painted a strange shade of off-white, with pointless roofs jutting this way and that, and a processional staircase down to the lake like something out of Game of Thrones…

What are people like? I sometimes think of the modest houses my parents, or my family grew up in, and I knew plenty of kids from school whose homes were smaller than that. This pair of numpties rattling around in their tasteless, concrete Port Alberni palazzo. I can’t see the appeal…

Barbeque sockeye and corn on the cob from the garden for dinner 🙂

Felt both odd and kind of fitting to return here three years to the day dad died…

August 14, 2018

Our final morning in Vancouver…:(
Poor Nova isn’t feel any better, so we decided I’d take Lyra to the cat café as planned while Adam took Nova to a walk-in clinic.He drove us to Chinatown first, which was a bit of an adventure. We’re a bit rusty on the routes and regulations, but traffic is so mellow compared to London and we made it without incident.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from a cat café, but I should have anticipated that it would be full of full-on, weird cat people… The cats seemed low-level stressed but grudgingly allowed some interaction before skulking away. Lyra loved it anyway, and that was the main thing.

Had a little browse round Tinseltown mall afterwards, then caught a bus home. Got back before Adam and Nova, who were waiting for to have prescriptions for antibiotics, antivirals and antiseptic numbing mouthwash filled. A lot of “antis”…

Set off about 2pm for Horseshoe Bay, hoping to get the 3:15 Langdale ferry. It seemed a stretch, but traffic was light and we had just enough time to dump the car in the parkade and walk on.

Didn’t hurt that the ferry was ten minutes late in leaving. I don’t remember ferries ever being late, but maybe now they’re privatised things are different…?

The air is hazy with forest fire smoke. It doesn’t appear yellow to the eye — though it photographs quite sepia — but more like mist. We could barely see the coast and islands on the crossing, which was a shame.

John was there to meet us and drove us to their fab cliffside home. They bought it a decade ago and have been working on it all that time. Just this summer, they shifted from the West End to make Sechelt their main home.

After a round of Pimms and chips and salsa, we had a full tour of the house, grounds and outbuildings, including Bradley’s stunning new office, from where he now runs his trauma coaching practice. The girls were pretty thrilled to discover the hot tub perched above the house, and managed to fit in two soaks — pre- and post-dinner.

Ate a wonderful dinner on the deck — fresh figs wrapped in proscuitto and grilled on the barbeque, an incredible seafood risotto, and a homemade apple pie — and got through a few bottles of wine as well…

Adam and I had a soak in the hot tub before bed. It was a bit hazy but I managed to see five shooting stars. Life is very, very good…:)

August 13, 2018

Nova is still feeling rough. Her bottom wisdom teeth are coming through and causing her grief, and now her whole mouth is hurting…:-( Bought some meds at Shoppers DrugMart — Advil, disinfectant mouthwash, Abesol gel — we’ll see whether that sorts her out…We’d arranged to meet at Celia’s Starbucks, where she kindly comped us a round of drinks.

When they turned up, we walked along the seawall to Second Beach and had a picnic lunch. It’s still hazy with forest fire smoke which is suppressing the temperature, but we decided was warm enough for a dip in the pool.

Adam, Wade and I did laps while Lyra and Isobel frolicked. Nova wasn’t well enough to swim, and Gale and Liam weren’t interested, so they headed off to do some shopping on Denman.

Picked up our rental car this afternoon from Enterprise. It’s very small — usually when you ask for a compact they upgrade you — but not this time. It’s also not that clean, which makes it feel more like borrowing a friend’s car. And it has an Albertan license plate… Quibbles aside, it feels good to have our transportation after ten days of relying on public transport.

Spent a bit of time in Kits and had a drink with Bruce before heading back downtown to meet Wade’s crew for dinner. After some back and forth, we decided on the Cactus Club on the waterfront as the best bet.

Without a reservation we could have been in for a long wait, but they managed to seat us in the lounge. Calamari and sweet potato fries to share, then burgers for us, and steaks for Wade and Gale (who generously picked up the tab).

Poor Nova had trouble eating hers — her mouth is getting worse. If there’s no improvement by tomorrow morning, we’ll have to take her to a doctor…:(

Managed to mess up the bus ride home. We were well along East Hastings before I noticed we were on a #22 instead of a #2. There was no way we were disembarking in that ropey neighbourhood. Waited untll the bus swung up to Broadway and Fraser, where we caught a #9 back to Kits…

August 12, 2018

Happy birthday, Greg!
Met Wade’s family at the Planetarium for the 2pm show. The original plan was to picnic at Kits Beach, swim in the pool or sea and roll the astronomy show into that, but the weather is hazy and not as warm as predicted.Ate lunch afterwards at an excellent pizza place on Cornwall. They had bloody Caesars on special, so I availed myself of a couple of those…;-)

Adam and Nova headed back home afterwards — he has work to do for his meeting early tomorrow, and Nova still isn’t feeling right. The rest of us caught the bus downtown. (I’m pretty sure I heard Isobel say it was her first time on public transport…)

While the girls had another swim, Wade and I called David and had a visit. They are in the middle of a big road trip to Quebec to see Den’s family, so that was the closest we’re going to get to a family reunion this trip.

Caught the bus home about 10pm. Ate the leftover bun cha from our Linh meal for a late supper — hot and delicious as ever…

August 11, 2018

Nova’s headache worsened in the night, and I was up with her finding pain pills, cold compresses and so on. Made for a late start…After a cooked breakfast, I spent a couple of hours helping Bruce with his website. When his third novel came out, someone from his publisher got in touch asking for access to his site. I assumed they wanted to post something and made them an author, but the woman came back saying she wanted to make some changes to the structure.

Headed over to Mount Pleasant for the Murals and Music Festival around noon. Wade’s famly was already there, but it took us a good hour to connect. It was quite spread out for one thing, plus I’m only using my phone when I have wifi.

The minute we met up, the rain started. Gale’s sister Janice knew a little cantina at about 3rd & Main, so we headed there to wait it out.

Back at the festival, keeping the group together was like herding cats, what with the girls darting into shops, people needing the loo, and Janice losing her jacket.

Eventually ended up in the beer garden at top of the festival, before heading to a local Vietnamese café that Mark recommended for dinner.

The gave us all lift downtown afterward. Lyra and Isobel went for a swim with Nova supervising while we hung out. Taxi home about 10pm — Nova’s headache had persisted all day, and I wanted to get her home and to bed.

August 10, 2018

Wade’s family are arriving in Vancouver this evening, and we’re planning to meet them downtown. Opted for a lazy morning at home. Hung around reading my current Elizabeth Strout novel. I love her writing, and am gorging myself on it this trip…Conversation between the girls overheard downstairs:

Lyra: I wouldn’t care if cauliflower disappeared off the face of the earth.
Nova: I’d be a bit sad.

Bruce returned from Lac La Hache this afternoon. He hadn’t been clear about his plans but has no decided to spend the next week in Vancouver. Overruled his plans to sleep in the den and shifted our stuff. Makes far more sense for the four of us to sleep on the ground floor and restore him to the master bedroom and en suite.

Caught the bus downtown about 4pm. I was feeling a bit crappy — I think I might have a middle ear infection, as I’ve been getting little bouts of vertigo. (The first time it happened, I blamed it on jetlag but it’s ongoing). I was pleasantly surprised when a man automatically stood and gave me his seat.

I’ve seen quite a few people vacate their seat for women and the elderly. I’ve also seen a couple of women announce that they need a seat and be offered one, including a bag lady who said “I’m over 50, someone give me a seat” and an obese young woman who said she needed a seat because she had a bad back.

Adam met our bus at the bottom of Granville, and we fell into the nearest pub. A couple of bloody Caesars (my first of the trip) proved most restorative, the deep-fried pickles less so, though they were pretty good as well.

When I saw that they’d arrived on FindMyFriend, we gave them a bit of time to settle in then headed over to the Marriott. Their room is on the 28th floor, with an amazing view across Burrard Inlet.

After a drink we headed out to find some food, ending up on Robson Street.. I’d my sights on a Japadog, but by the time we’d hit A&W (Liam, Isobel, Lyra), and Fresh Slice (Nova, Gale), it was 10:02pm by the time we got there, and they’d just closed.

Five Guys was a pretty good fallback position, then caught a bus home…

August 9, 2018

Caught the bus downtown after breakfast and hit the Bay looking for that particular Teeez lipstick Nova is after. Success this time, and a lipgloss for Lyra and highlighter for me. Managed to spend enough for the girls to get gift packs with nail varnish and a portable charger each.Swung by Adam’s office in Gastown to collect him for lunch. Met Scott at Meat & Bread for a round of their classic porchetta sandwiches. Everything looks tempting, but the few times I’ve been there I’ve always stuck with the porchetta.

Did a bit of shopping and mooching round Gastown afterwards, and bought Lyra some fab sunglasses. Hit the Starbucks then caught the skytrain out to Langara to visit Brenda.

Managed to make a meal of it — getting turned around at Marine Drive station, then lost on Langara golf course. Didn’t help that it was crazy hot — it was probably impacting my sense of direction and decision making.

Pretty glad to finally find Brenda’s place, and crack a beer on her shady balcony. Her girls arrived about an hour later, but once again no Adam… Ended up eating before he got there — salmon, lentils, asparagus, followed by chocolate mousse.

After our botched journey out, the girls were pushing for a taxi home, but that would have been pretty pricey. Caught the bus down Cambie to Broadway instead, and grabbed a one there…

August 8, 2018

Didn’t run this morning. It was roasting hot last night and I slept badly, tormented by a single mosquito (all it takes). Plus my ankle is feeling a bit fragile, and it’s usually best not to push it…The girls were complaining there’s nothing for breakfast. What they mean is they have run out of Eggos and Pop Tarts (I let them buy a box of each), and there’s only cereal, toast, yogurt and blueberries on offer.

We were low on milk, so I popped out for some but struggled to find a convenient shop on 4th. Both gas station corner stores been flattened. There was a little place doing prepared food that had a few rows of groceries. Bought some half & half — we can’t get it in UK, so always indulge when we are here.

Hoofed it up to the Safeway on Broadway for bread, juice concentrate, and fresh fruit. Carol had just arrived when I got back to collect us for a shopping expedition to Richmond.

Headed out to Steveston first to see where she’d worked on Once Upon a Time. The girls were less interested than I’d hoped, so I tried to make up the slack, which was tricky as I’ve only seen one episode myself.

They were much more enthusiastic about getting blizzards at the Dairy Queen, and I was pretty happy with the honking great loaf of Romanian bread I bought:

Next stop, Richmond Centre… The Bay sells Teeez cosmetics (some Dutch brand Nova wanted to track down having had a sample from Millie). Shades of dragging my parents out to Lansdowne Mall to buy Le Cullotier jeans when I was in my teens. No luck, but the Bay downtown might come through…

Onto Aberdeen Centre and Daiso, where we spent a happy hour filling our baskets with $2 Japanese goodies. Then the food court for bubble tea and veggie sushi, before hitting Winners on the way home.

The girls had a whale of a time there as well, scoring more booty to drag home. Adam was at Darby’s with John and Bradley by the time we got back. Sorted ourselves out then joined them at Linh, a French-Vietnamese fusion place nearby.

It’s an informal, café-style place, that hadn’t jumped out the few times I’d walked past it. I was startled to see things like whole suckling pig for $650 on the specials menu. The prices weren’t cheap, but my god that food was good…

The guys insisted on making it their treat and ensured we order plenty: red shrimps in a garlicky sauce, mussels in a spicy cream broth, chicken livers, candied beet salad, beef ribs, bun cha, a fancy take on poutine — it was an absolute feast.

I was already stuffed to the gills when they brought us a complimentary tray of desserts. Pastries mostly: chocolate tart, lemon tart, poached pear tart, apple turnover, a stack of palmiers, some sablé biscuits…

Said our goodbyes outside the restaurant and staggered off into the night. Straight to bed, though I was almost too full to lie down…

August 7, 2018

This was our laziest day so far, at least for the girls and me… After Adam headed to the office, I hung out at the house with the girls — tidying up, doing laundry, reading.At noon, we strolled down to Kits Beach with our swimming gear. Bought the girls some lunch at the café then headed to the pool. The e coli restriction has been lifted and people were swimming in the sea, but it’s such a lovely pool and recented renovated as well.

Found a piece of pavement to spread out our towels, and the girls headed off to splash around. When they came back, I swam a couple of laps — literally a couple — the pool is 125m long, and without the breaks to change direction, two laps is more tiring than ten in a standard pool.

Home in time to get ready for dinner at Sheila and Larry’s. We were expected at 6pm, but the time came and Adam didn’t. I was getting a bit stressed. It wasn’t the kind of invite to be fashionably late for, or even late at all. I tried calling, but she wasn’t answering the phone or responding to email.

Got there just after 7pm to find Sheila, Larry and Kathy sitting beside an untouched platter of chips and guacamole. “We’ve been waiting for you to arrive so we could have a drink!” Larry exclaimed. Not the approach I would have taken in their situation…

After a generous G&T, we headed outside so that Larry could barbeque the salmon and have a bowl of chilled mango and cucumber soup. They served the salmon with a green salad, cornbread and wedges of watermelon. Dessert was Meyer lemon mousse with blackberries, lovely little meringues and these interesting flat egg white type biscuits scattered with a mixture of black pepper, red pepper and coarse sugar.

Got through a fair amount of wine as well — their house white, which is a Californian wine called Conundrum. I thought it must have chenin blanc in it, but when I scanned the label, I discovered it was muscat grapes contributing the sweetness.

It was really good to see them — not least because they still sort of see me as a young whippersnapper of 25, which is flattering. We talked a lot about Trump and Brexit.

All three of them are Americans who have lived in Canada since the 1970s. Larry was an economics prof at UBC, Sheila a Harvard graduate who started up International Wordsmiths with Kathy — my first “proper” job after I stopped travelling and settled down a bit.

Kathy dropped us home about 10:30, and straight to bed…

August 6, 2018

Another three mile run this morning. Didn’t manage to get out as early — I got talking with Adam who had been up most of the night preparing for his phone call at 5am.It was already in the mid-20s by the time I left the house at 9:15. I was okay up to Jericho beach, but really felt the heat on the return lap. Switching to the shady side of the road made a small difference, but I was glad to reach the relative coolness of the house and neck a glass of limeade. It’s good to be back in the land of frozen concentrate. I’ve never understood why it hasn’t caught on in the UK…

Today’s outing started with a visit Granville Island. Ate lunch in cooked food bit — salad roll for me, falafel for Adam and Nova, udon soup for Lyra. After a wander round the market and a few shops, we crashed for an hour on a grassy hill over by where Isadora’s used to be.

After that, we caught the little ferry across False Creek, made our way to the SeaBus terminal and sailed across to meet Trevor and Marni in North Van.

Lonsdale Quay seems to have finally found its mojo — it was such of dud of a public space for decades. Critical mass, right mix of facilities, who knows… Had a pint and shared a giant pretzel at the Tap and Barrel, then walked back to their condo along the newly constructed Spirit Trail.

Their condo is as lovely as ever, though there’s been a lot of development since we last visited and they’ve lost their view of the water. It’s clearly designed for childless professionals — one bedroom plus a study — big open living-dining room, then upstairs to a massive roof deck.

Sat up there snacking and having another beer followed by dinner: roast chicken thighs, salads, corn on the cob, followed by meringues, yogurt and berries… and by these amazing finger grapes, which we’d bought at Granville Island. I’ve never seen them before…

Finger grapes (bought in Granville Island)

Left about 9:30 by cab, not fancying the walk, Seabus, land bus alternative. Straight to bed…

August 5, 2018

Later start this morning… no one was up before 9am today. After breakfast, I headed over to Shoppers Drugmart on Broadway to pick up some coldsore cream… sigh… I’ve had a few years with next to nothing on the coldsore front, but this is my third in as many months. Stress/tiredness can be a trigger (tick), and too much sun (double tick).Bought some Abreva and a bottle of lysine capsules. I’ve never had much success treating the damn things, but maybe the creams have improved in the last few years…

Caught the bus downtown to the top of Davie Street, then walked to English Bay from there as the street was closed for the Pride parade.

Carol and Scott had the prosecco and bagels ready, and we watched the floats pass by from their seventh-story vantage point.

We just missed Justin Trudeau, but caught Hedy Fry in her red lamé gown and heels, the UBC “engiqueers” (all nine of them) and numerous other businesses, groups and organisations. Lyra wasn’t feeling great — headachy and low appetite. Probably the jetlag… Gave her an Advil and she napped for more than two hours on their sofa.

Carol drove us home late afternoon as Scott needed to work on his radio show that goes out on Tuesday.

Headed up to 4th Ave for some dinner at a little Greek place. Calamari, Greek pizza, a salad, and some slightly watery retsina. Food not exceptional, but a nice relaxed vibe. Home and to bed not long after…

August 4, 2018

Not quite so early a start this morning — and just the one wake up at around 4am. Didn’t manage to get to sleep again though…:( At least I got out for a run before it got too hot and managed a three mile loop to Jericho Beach and back.Being in this part of Vancouver triggers so many memories –it’s almost disconcerting. I was jogging along by the beach and was suddenly tugged back to an autumn night drinking wine with Roman in that very spot. I wonder if it’s so intense because I haven’t lived here for years, laying down new layers of memory. Something similar happened in Japan when revisited a few years ago…

Cycled the entire seawall with the girls this afternoon. We rented bikes from Reckless Cycles near Granville Island. Lyra was anxious about riding on the road, so we walked to the path then set off nice and slow. She managed the bike okay this time, but found the cycling hard going and needed regular rest stops.

We went all around False Creek and the Science Centre then back along the north side. When we got to the West End we parked up and went for a sushi lunch, before tackling the Stanley Park stretch.

When we set off again, Lyra was as slow as ever, which was more of an issue on this crazy-busy stretch. Around Brockton Point she realised that one of her brake pads would stick after she used them and needed to be pushed out again. Once she figured that out, she was a speed demon on two wheels.

There was a bottleneck as we approached the Lions Gate Bridge. I was in front and Lyra just behind, when I heard her scream. A little boy had veered into the back wheel of his sister’s bike. They collapsed in a heap in front of Lyra who had no option but to run into them and fall off herself.

The children’s dad was riding in front of me. He threw his bike in the middle of the path and ran back to the heap of bikes and kids. It took a bit of time to disentangle them. A woman with a first aid kit stopped and attended to the little French boy who was howling. He had a graze on his chin and another on his knee.

Lyra was grazed as well, but had no interest in being attended to. She kept alternately apologizing and saying that it wasn’t her fault. Eventually, the French dad conceded that it was pas grave, and we headed on our way.

By the time we’d made it around the rest of the wall, through the West End and onto the Burrard Bridge, my legs were feeling pretty tired. I think we did almost 25km in the end…

Walked up to the London Drugs at Broadway and Arbutus, where we finally charged our transit cards. Caught the bus home and grabbed a nap before it was time to catch a cab to Carol and Scott’s for the fireworks.

Great to see those two looking fab as ever. A round of perfect martinis, some excellent tacos from a local taqueria, and it was time for the show.

We all managed to see nearly all of the fireworks (South Korea) this time, though Lyra was fading out by the end.

After the show ended, we had dessert (chocolate cake and ice cream) and another drink to give the crowd time to disperse before calling a cab. Quite a palaver before we finally got one, and almost 2am by the time we made it home to Kits…

August 3, 2018

We were wake before 2am — all Adam’s fault and he’s to blame…;-) Managed to fall asleep again at 3am, to be woken by Adam getting up again at 3:30am, then again at 5:30 when he had a series of calls scheduled.While Adam conferenced, I ate an early breakfast with Bruce, then headed out to buy some groceries with the girls. Started with a coffee at Starbucks then spoent some time gazing through the chainlink fence at the ruins of Topanga Cafe.

The fire happened just a few weeks ago, not long after we’d booked our tickets and arranged to stay with Bruce (who lived one block away). Eating there would have been one of the first things we did.

Since it happened, I’ve received a few texts and emails from Canadians breaking the news. I’m clearly associated with that place in people’s minds — which is fair enough, it has been a longtime favourite.

I nearly always found an opportunity to eat there when I visited Vancouver. Adam remembers that I wearing a Topanga Café teeshirt when we met in Bruges more than 30 years ago. And I remember using copies of their menu to teach my Japanese students about ordering food in restaurants.

I’d misremembered where the Safeway was, and we walked almost to Arbutus — a good mile. Stocked up on breakfast food and snacked, then headed back. Cutting through a Vancouver alley with a couple of bags of groceries, I was violently thrown back into my twenties and my life her. It was like the intervening decades hadn’t happened, even with my two beautiful girls walking my side…

Bruce had left when we got back, and Adam was finally off the phone. Flew at the kitchen and gave it a good cleaning — clearing piles of books and papers off the table, sweeping, mopping, wiping down surfaces, throwing out bad food, running the dishwasher. We all felt better for that…

Made BLTs for lunch, then set off to visit UBC. I haven’t been back there in decades and it has certainly changed. It appears to have doubled in size for one thing. There was lots that was familiar, but lots obliterated and transformed as well. It felt like those dreams where things are both the same and utterly different at the same time.

Totem Park hasn’t changed much, and it was easy to transport myself back to my misspent years living there. One of those moments when you can see how time is a spiral. If it was September 1981 instead of August 2018, there I’d be sitting on the grass with Roman, or my parents would be sleeping in their Honda Civic in the firelane to save on accommodation…

The girls were pretty oblivious to the whole thing. Nova’s not interested in UBC, having formed the view somewhere that it is sub-standard to McGill and U of T. The idea that she’d be the third generation of her family to study there is utterly unimpressive to her.

Spent a couple of hours at the Museum of Anthropology. The girls weren’t much impressed with that either, but Adam and I were both blown away. They’ve added some Bill Reid jewellry since my last visit (I hadn’t realised that he came from a line of goldsmiths on the Scots side of his family). Hadn’t ever spent much time in the multiversity galleries either, which puts the First Nations exhibits into context with artefacts from around the world.

Checked out the SUB, which is in the same spot but completely transformed. Apparently the Pit is quite nice now — I’m pretty sure I’d prefer it the old way. CITR is still there, but no sign of the Cinema 16…

We’d thought about going out for a Greek pizza, but girls wanted to stay in. They still wanted dinner, so I rustled up some pasta with Paul Newman marinara sauce that suited them fine.

Beer and Stoned Wheat Thins with Cheez Whiz for Adam and me. The kids saw the stuff at IGA and made disparaging remarks about it. They thought I was joking when I said I liked Cheez Whiz, and taking the joke too far when I bought a jar. They were both sceptical about trying it, but had to admit it wasn’t bad.

Bed at 9:30…

August 2, 2018

And off we go… after the usual merry-go-round of final tasks. Up at 5:30am to make it all happen by the time the taxi turned up at 9:30, which included making packed lunches for the four of us.

Our “banquet” x4

We were just about to board our train at King’s Cross when we realised that we’d forgotten our family railcard. Had our tickets been checked, we’d have been required to pay an adjustment fee and possibly a fine. This didn’t end up happening, but was the the little distracting that so often appears for one to stress about instead of the big looming thing.

Arrived at Gatwick in good time, and were pleased to discover that Westjet runs a nice, efficient check-in operation. We were also pleased to discover that we were allowed a checked bag each, which we hadn’t anticipated.

Bought some whisky for Bruce in the duty free, but we have to keep our belts tight for the next couple of weeks. We have very little ready money. Our cards and lines of credit are pretty maxed out, and it’s going to be a juggling act for another month or so before things improve.

I have a bit of Canadian money I can access when we’re there, Adam is waiting on a couple of small invoices that might come in, and I’ve got £1200 in outstanding invoices as well…

The flight was pretty nice. The actual plane was a bit shabby, and the girls were horrified when there were no television screens. Turns out you can stream things onto your own devices using their app, which is fair enough.

Unfortunately, Lyra’s phone hasn’t been receiving any data, and it was a race against time to contact Vodafone, get an unintended data bar lifted, figure out why she couldn’t access the App Store (she’d been messing with her settings), download the app over 3G and log her in before the plane left the ground. Made it with seconds to spare…

There were no meals on offer, but that didn’t prevent them from being hospitable. The stewards came round a few times with soft drinks and coffee, pretzels and cookies. And they were all so nice and friendly — patient when the girls dithered over their choice of snackbox, genuinely interested in which of the two red wines we preferred.

Vancouver airport was as gorgeous as ever, efficient and common sense. Of course Adam can go through the Canadian line if he’s travelling with his Canadian family. I have no doubt at all they’d do it the other way round in the UK just to make people’s lives worse…

Had a real Mister Magoo of a taxi driver for the journey to Kitsilano. He was about 80 years old, with bottle thick glasses and a tendency to drift from lane to lane. I was relieved when we finally pulled up at Bruce’s place.

He seemed a little startled to see us (we had arrived about an hour earlier than expected). Took us for dinner at the Jericho yacht club, an easy walk from his house. Great food, friendly service, amazing view — it’s so bloody nice here… (Not that it’s utopia… Some of the beaches are closed due to an e coli outbreak, the grass is parched yellow from the heatwave.)

In bed by 8:30. Bruce kindly given us his room, and is sleeping on a foldout in the study tonight before heading off tomorrow to his place in Lac La Hache.

August 1, 2018

Our penultimate day before we leave for Canada. I’m working four lists today, but m anaged to make time for a two-mile run. Adam joined me, which was nice. We used to run together all the time, but haven’t done so in years…Finally put my committee website to rest this afternoon and submitted my invoice. It would be lovely if they paid that promptly…

Drove the hamster and Lyra over to Christine’s in the afternoon. Alice is stoked to take care of Barblin for most of the time we’re away. Both her siblings have had their own hamster over the years, while she never has.

The afternoon whizzed past too quickly… Had a late dinner with the girls (Adam is out this evening). I’m still working through the freezer defrosting incident, and Lyra broke her vegetarian status to eat a defrosted chicken pad thai ready meal that has been in there for a good long while.

Made that aubergine tomato Persian dish from the World Cup cook-off for Nova and me, with some leftover flatbread. Had another long conversation with Wade about his travel plans (airbnb is not coming through, so they are looking for hotels now).

Jackie McLaughlin has suggested Canim Lake, which could work. They’d like to meet up as well, but it’s tricky time for them. John has an operation scheduled, their second grandchild was born last week, and it sounds like they have a steady stream of house guests all summer.

To bed about 1am, feeling in pretty good shape for tomorrow…