Not such a grey day

I am now in a much better mood.

Since my last post my flight home for Christmas has been moved forward two days, Monday has been made a ped day (just this particular Monday alas, not every Monday), and yesterday Queen's University won the Vanier Cup, the Canadian college equivalent of the Grey Cup which is, in turn, the Canadian Football equivalent of the Superbowl. For those of you not in the know, Queen's is based in my adopted home town of Kingston, and yesterday's 33-31 victory over the University of Calgary saw the Golden Gaels mount the biggest second half comeback in Vanier Cup history after trailing 27-7 at the break.

The Queen's football team is known as the 'Golden Gaels' because of their garish yellow - sorry, golden - jerseys and the fact that all the players speak fluent Gaelic. I actually made that last part up; the 'Gaels' part of the name is apparently in reference to the University's Scottish heritage, and although I was jesting earlier the team's fight song is partly sung in Gaelic. It is known as 'Oil Thigh' after a phrase that is sung repeatedly - to the tune of 'The Battle Hymn of the Republic,' or 'Glory, Glory Hallelujah' to common folk like us - in the chorus: Oil thigh na Banrighinn a'Banrighinn gu brath, or 'College of the Queen forever.'

Speaking of the Grey Cup, which we were earlier, it's the Grey Cup final tonight, with the Montreal Allouettes, last year's beaten finalists, taking on the Saskatchewan Roughriders. I have no real affiliation with either team, but as Corner Gas is set in Saskatchewan I guess I'll be cheering for the latter.

Go Riders!

Happy Birthday Canada

It's Canada Day today, the day that the nation celebrates its birthday. Everybody gets a day off, and there are parades, fireworks and beer, although not necessarily in that order; indeed, if the beer comes first then the other two may not materialise at all or, if they do, the results may well be interesting and possibly life threatening to boot.

I've been celebrating by being even more lazy than usual, and I've been embracing my Canadian-ness by watching the all-day Corner Gas marathon on the Comedy Channel, although I will probably peel myself off the couch to go and see the fireworks in town this evening; I hope that the beer hasn't come first in this instance.

Most people here are surprised when I explain that there is no equivalent of a 'national day' in the UK, and that surprise turns to disbelief when I regale them with stories of Brits who are banned from flying the Cross of St George or the Union Jack for fear of offending immigrants or because they might constitute a health hazard. That would simply never happen here; Canadian flags are proudly flown all year round - gladly without the gung-ho approach that you so often see in the States - and the national anthem is sung every morning in the nation's schools.

Despite what I said recently about Canada being a 'collection of thirteen independent nations', the notion of being Canadian still binds its population together - well, maybe not in Quebec - with a closeness that is fast disappearing in the UK, and that's one of the reasons that I like living in Canada. Patriotism is not a dirty word here, so happy Canada Day to you all, and to all a good night!

And we're back...

After ten most relaxing days of vacation, I am now firmly ensconced back in the North and the blog is finally back online. I hadn't planned such a hiatus from my musings, but with irony of which Ms. Morissette could only dream, I was more busy on holiday than I usually am at work, so blogging ended up being put very much on the back burner.

It was great to see Melanie again, and she still has another week in Canada before she has to go back to the UK for the summer term at her school. She is going to use that week to draw up a list of chores for me, so that when I return home in May I will be suitably occupied until her school year ends in July, at which time she will be coming back out to Canada. Just how many of these chores can be left to the last minute I don't know yet, but I'm sure that I'll be able to work that out soon enough.

So, what were the highlights of my vacation, I hear you ask? Well, I managed to get the haircut I was looking forward to, rather a good one I thought as well, but both Dave and Celine have commented that I must have gone to the same barber as Simon Cowell. Now, I happen to like Simon Cowell so I will take this as a huge compliment, but I don't know if that's what was intended! Alongside the long-awaited haircut I was also able to enjoy my long-awaited return to Tim Horton's - three visits on the first day back alone - and I managed to win three coffees and a donut by rolling up the rim, which is a very good return, given my track record of (not) winning things. I did win a Jimmy Hill football trivia book once on a Radio Bristol phone-in quiz, but that's about it. I wonder how many donuts you could fit on Jimmy Hill's chin...

But I digest.

It was also mighty fine to catch up with friends over the course of the last week, and the normal southern staples of fast internet - yes, Cogeco did finally reconnect us - and being able to drive felt like refreshing novelties. It was also very pleasant to be able to see trees and grass again; I had forgotten what the colour green looked like. One sad happening during the week was the broadcast of the final ever episode of Corner Gas. I admire Brent Butt's decision to end the show whilst it was still at the height of its popularity, but I wish he hadn't made it! Maybe a trip to Dog River will be in order during the summer...

Not long after watching Corner Gas on Monday I had to leave in order to start my journey north, and on Tuesday afternoon I found myself back in Inukjuak, which is still cold and white, but not quite as cold as when I left. My flight was uneventful, although I was treated to a full body search as I passed through security in Montreal. The officer even searched my hair - I kid you not - but unsurprisingly found nothing; maybe he just wanted to admire the fine craftsmanship of my haircut at close quarters. I wonder if Simon Cowell has to go through all this when he flies? Bet he doesn't.

There's not a lot going on...

I feel like I've been living in an episode of Corner Gas this week, and whilst this is a reference that will leave all non-Canucks completely nonplussed, those of you who abide in Canada will know exactly what I mean. There's really not been a lot going on, and the week's trickled by like tomato sauce out of a bottle that's been in the fridge for too long. Not one of the modern, squeezy plastic bottles, but a good old-fashioned glass one, the type where you had to slap the bottom really hard to get anything out at all.

School has been slow, Shatner-Net has been slow even by its own slow standards, and the Board have been slow to pay me. In fact, they didn't pay me at all; apparently I didn't officially exist until yesterday, but I've been assured that as I am now real, I will receive some remuneration for my efforts. Probably.