Extra time

It's been more than 'a couple of days' since my last post I know, but as I've said before I tend to lose all track of chronological perspective at this time of year so you will have to excuse me. Christmas has now been and gone but we had a good one, and I've been able to catch up with most our friends in and around Kingston. I've also been catching up with eating too and have put on about eight pounds since I've been back, but when you consider the fact that I lost twenty pounds between August and December then it's probably not such a bad thing. I don't eat badly in the North, but there's less snacking - trips to Tim Hortons are not a particularly realistic proposition - and I guess the cold must effect my metabolism in a weight reducing manner.

It should be less than a week before my return to Kangiqsujuaq, but as is rapidly becoming a Christmas tradition (well, it happened last year as well) I need to visit the dentist, and with my appointment booked for Monday - the day I should have flown back - this will necessitate a few extra days in the South. Whilst the prospect of going under the knife (or whatever instruments dentists use) is not a pleasant one, a few extra days at home with Melanie is a good pay-off, so it might be a little while yet before the blog comes to you live from Nunavik once again.

Not sure what we're doing for New Year's yet, but I shall wish you a happy one for now as the next post probably won't be until 2010 (that's next year, not ten past eight). Happy New Year!

Christmas top 10 (part five)

Well, we finally arrive at the top of our festive countdown. Many songs failed to make the cut that, on another day, could quite easily have been there, and if I were to repeat the exercise on another occasion then we would most probably not end up with the same ten tunes. However, my top two would most certainly still be in there somewhere, and without further ado, here they are:

2. Greg Lake - I Believe In Father Christmas (1975)
Grand. Play Loud. I'll say no more.




1. Bing Crosby & David Bowie - Peace On Earth/The Little Drummer Boy (1977)
The ultimate Christmas song? In my book, yes. Log fires, woolly jumpers, harmonies around the piano, snow falling outside...and Bing Crosby. It has to be the full version though, complete with the two minute introduction from the Bing Crosby's Merrie Olde Christmas show of which it was a part; did you know that the 'Peace On Earth' part that Bowie sings was written especially for the show as Bowie actually hated Little Drummer Boy and refused to sing it? Kind of glad he refused, because the end result was true Christmas magic.



Hope you enjoyed our Christmas top ten, and all that remains now is to wish you all, wherever you may be, a truly Merry Christmas; see you in a couple of days.

Christmas top 10 (part four)

I'm back home now, and I really must be in holiday mode as I'm already losing track of what day of the week it is. Christmas shopping is almost done, and whilst in town yesterday (or was it the day before?) we said goodbye to Tarni and Dave, who are heading back to Australia; we shall certainly miss our friends, but at least we now have a holiday location sorted out for some time in the future. Haven't had the opportunity to catch up with any other friends yet - yes, we do have some and we pay them well - but there is all that to look forward to in the next week or so.

And speaking of things to look forward to, here's the penultimate part of our Christmas top 10, where we have reached the number 4 spot:

4. Jethro Tull - Ring Out Solstice Bells (1976)
One of my favourites for many years - wouldn't be in this list otherwise - and it brings some good old English eccentricity to our countdown. A song that always makes me go 'ahh..' when it comes on.




3. Band Aid - Do They Know It's Christmas? (1984)
The track that spawned a charitable phenomenon, and a classic the moment it was recorded. Impossible to hear it without replaying the video in your head, and a testament to the durability of the pop stars of yesteryear when compared to their modern counterparts (although quite how Marilyn got into the recording session was as much a mystery back then as it is now). Tonight thank God it's them instead of you...

Almost home

I'm writing this courtesy of the wi-fi service at the Via Rail station in Montreal, which means that I'm almost, repeat almost, home. After a hugely frustrating 48 hours I'm not counting any chickens though.

I managed to get to Kuujjuaq yesterday where, as I mentioned before, I was on standby for Montreal. Happily First Air got me on board the Montreal flight, but after two hours waiting on the tarmac, those of us who had been on standby were asked to raise their hands. Oh dear...this didn't look good.

And indeed it wasn't. The flight was going to stop in Iqaluit first - check your atlas to see how little sense this route makes - where we would take on more passengers, and there was a chance that the 'standbyers' would be asked to leave the plane and be forced to remain in Iqaluit. When I asked what was meant by a 'chance' I couldn't be given a precise answer, which was a little worrying given that planes have a finite number of seats so, given that the next flight out of Iqaluit was not until Monday, I decided to get off.

After a night in the Co-op hotel in Kuujjuaq and a further six hours waiting at the airport I finally got my flight, and here I am, waiting for my train. I shall be so glad to get home and get clean - I've travelled light on this trip so no changes of clothes - but I shall also be sparing a thought for my teaching friends and colleagues back up in Kangiqsujuaq, who were unable to leave today because of the weather. I have every sympathy and I know how they feel, and I can only hope that they will make it back in time for Christmas.

As for me, the holiday now begins, and for once I think I've earned it. Tims here I come...

Grounded

Big.

Huge.

Blizzard.

I'm still in Kangiqsujuaq. Full-on blizzard all day today so no flights anywhere. Had to go to the airport nonetheless as flights are rarely cancelled until the last minute up here, and the drive there was a very interesting experience. Roland was at the wheel and quite how he got us there I will never know; you literally could not see five feet in front of you for much of the journey.

I'm now booked on a flight for tomorrow which will get me to Kuujjuaq, but I'm then only on standby to Montreal and there are six people ahead of me on the waiting list, so I look like facing an overnight stop somewhere in Nunavik's capital-in-waiting. However, maybe the weather will mean that some other people won't make their connecting flights tomorrow, and this might sneak me on board; we shall have to wait and see.

Until then I remain hunkered down in Kangiqsujuaq, and with the wind still howling and my house still shaking I'm beginning to wonder if we'll actually fly tomorrow morning at all. But let's not go there, unless 'there' is actually home, in which case then we will go, thank you.

More news tomorrow (maybe)...

Taking flight

Well, all things being equal I fly home tomorrow (the 17th), which is also the same date that the Wright Brothers made their first flight back in 1903. I just hope that my flight lasts a little bit longer than theirs.

As as I write the weather forecast for tomorrow is not encouraging though, and if we do fly it looks as though it will be a bumpy ride. This time last year we were grounded by mechanical failure rather than the weather and I don't want a repeat of those frustrations again, but there's no use in fretting over things that are out of my control. So I shall think positively, and hopefully my next posting will come from south of the tree line.

Christmas top 10 (part three)

Well, I've just completed my last day of teaching before the holiday, and in 48 hours time I shall be in the middle of my flight back home (or at least to Montreal). I let my students watch a movie today, but in retrospect 'Alive' probably wasn't the best choice. At least we now all know what to do if the plane goes down en route on Thursday. We just need to find a Uruguayan rugby team to help us and all will be fine.

Now back to the serious matter of our Christmas top 10. When last we looked in the countdown had reached number 7, so today I present to you numbers 6 and 5:

6. Slade - Merry Xmas Everybody (1973)
The only time I will ever write 'Xmas' rather than 'Christmas' because that's how it's spelt in the title (although I realise that I've now written Xmas twice...damn - now it's three; this could go on for some time if we're not careful). I always think of my first Christmas teaching at MK Prep back in the UK when I hear this song. The music teacher (not you Barry, it was the one before you and Mr G!) got the choir to sing it at the big Christmas concert, and I have this abiding memory of a mass of angelic little faces singing the lines:

Does he ride a red nosed reindeer?
Does a ton-up on his sleigh
Do the fairies keep him sober for a day?

Everybody now: IT'S CHRIIIIIIIISTMAAAAAAAAAS!




5. Chris Rea - Driving Home For Christmas (1988)
A tune that always reminds me of the times when I actually did drive home for Christmas: Bedford to Corfe Mullen via Milton Keynes, Buckingham, Bicester, Oxford, Newbury, Winchester and Ringwood. Now I travel from Kangiqsujuaq to Gananoque with stops in Quaqtaq, Kangirsuk, Kuujjuaq, Montreal and Kingston. How times change. For the better? Probably, but at this time of year I wish I could be making the former journey rather than the latter. Maybe next year...

You've got to hand it to her...

Just watching a program on TLC Channel called 'Born Without Arms' (kinda have to, don't you?). We've just seen Jessica, one of the women featured in the show, driving to work, which was incredible enough, but halfway through her journey she got out her mobile phone and started making a call. I'd like to see her explaining that one to the cop who pulls her over.

Oh, and the job she was driving to? She's a pilot!

I suddenly feel wholly inadequate.

P.S.
Still watching the show, and we've now found out that Jessica is a black belt in taekwondo.

I'll get my coat.

Christmas top 10 (part two)

Still cold here, but not as bad as a couple of days ago and certainly not as bad as in the Prairies, where it's been as low as -25 in Winnipeg and -28 in Regina. I shall be flying home this time next week - well, the plane I'm in will actually be doing most of the hard work - so as long as the weather's fine then I really don't care what it's like now.

In the meantime, let's carry on with our festive top ten; today we reveal numbers 8 and 7:

8. Jona Lewie - Stop The Cavalry (1980)
Never intended to be a Christmas hit but it's got sleigh bells and a brass band and will always be indelibly linked with the festive season. Only kept off the number one spot by the posthumous back-catalogue of John Lennon.




7. Chris de Burgh - A Spaceman Came Travelling (1975)
"And it went laaa la la laaa la la laaa la la la..." A Christmas song that actually debunks the whole foundation of Christianity, and the only time that Chris de Burgh will ever appear in one of my top tens. Wonderful.

Christmas top 10 (part one)

It's starting to get cold here now. I'm trying to keep the Canada Goose in mothballs for as long as possible, but it was -20 today, which felt distinctly chilly even given my short journey to school. Still, in little more than a week I shall be back in the relative warmth of of the south, although with impeccable timing Gananoque is in the midst of its first winter storm warning of the season. Better now than next week, I guess.

Now, a few posts ago I talked about my penchant for Christmas music and I threatened to give you a rundown of my top ten. Well, it may be somewhat self-ingratiating, but it is my blog after all, so we will start today with numbers ten and nine and hopefully work our way up to number one before Christmas day itself.

10. Stan Freberg - Green Christmas (1958)
Not really a song and will be completely unknown to virtually everyone except my family, but I've loved this track since I was very small. We had it on 7" vinyl and the record always got stuck when it got to the "All right, Abercrombie" part, and even though I now have it on mp3 and CD I'm still always surprised when we get past that bit without me having to shove the player or weigh down the needle with coins. Ah, memories...




9. Johnny Mathis - When A Child Is Born (1976)
Whenever I hear this song I must be the only person on Earth who thinks of Subbuteo; the table football set I got for Christmas that year was just about my best present ever, and the warbling voice of Johnny Mathis serenaded my plastic players as they took the field (well, green baize) for their first game.

Food, glorious food

There hasn't been any more snow since my last post so we had to go back to school on Thursday and Friday, but a food-filled weekend more than made up for such a disappointment. On Saturday James and Sophie hosted a potluck and today (Sunday) was the day of the Christmas meal for the students at the residence. It's a bit early for Christmas meals I know, but some students and staff will be leaving in the next few days so this was the last weekend before the holidays when the whole group would be together.

It will probably be back to ramen noodles for lunch on Monday so I made the most of my two day smorgasbord, and I will now have to pacify myself with the knowledge that it's only nine days until I'm back home and able to access a full larder again (assuming Melanie's done the shopping). Until then I will be whittling down what I have left up here, which means there might be some interesting culinary combinations on the table over the coming week.

Pineapple chunks and water chestnuts on toast, anyone?

Snow day!

The week just keeps getting better!

We were forecast to have a blizzard both yesterday and today, and although it never really materialized we still got today off; the wind may not have arrived but the snow most certainly did! Never in my entire time in the North - or, for that matter, in my entire life - have I ever seen so much snow fall in a 24 hour period.

There's meant to be a phone tree in place in case the school is ever closed, but it didn't work this morning, which is understandable as trees don't grow this far north. Consequently I tried to get into school, but the snow at the back of my house was literally up to my waist! Having extricated myself I then saw a colleague of mine who had just found out that there was no school, so it was back home for an unexpected day off, which of course I filled with important work of a school-related nature.

Not.

It's the most wonderful time of the year

I like December 1st.

It's my mum's birthday - happy birthday mater! - and it's also the day when I allow myself to start playing Christmas music. Now, I know most Christmas hits are full of throwaway cheesiness, but I've loved them ever since I was small; when I was much younger I probably liked them simply because they were associated with holidays and presents, but nowadays I find they help evoke happy memories of the days of Christmas past.

It's around Christmas time that I most miss my family back in the UK, and I guess that wrapping myself in my festive music helps create a sort of mental pathway back to the Christmases we used to have together. It's also easier and more practical than wrapping myself in actual wrapping paper, which would be messy, difficult, wasteful and just plain bizarre.

If I get around to it I might give you a rundown of my 'Festive Top 10' or something like that over the next few posts, but in the meantime I shall bid you adieu and wish you, dear reader, an early and nostalgia-filled Happy Christmas.