Back in the UK

Our last few days in Canada passed quickly. The guys got a lot of skiing in. We enjoyed our Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve since they were keen to ski for the last time on Christmas day, & we were also leaving quite early on boxing day. Lorenza cooked a lovely turkey dinner with all the trimmings. We got another full Christmas dinner on Christmas day anyway with all the leftovers! Will managed to drag himself away from the slopes for a couple of hours, enough time to go into town & stock up on some new jeans. He tried on 16 & ended up getting 4 very nice designer pairs. They were about a third of the price you would pay in the UK. I did quite a bit of walking in the last few days, the whole forest park where they live is riddled with mountain bike tracks & hiking trails. I met a very picturesque stag on my last day, he was sitting right in the middle of the path & I was afraid he wasn't going to budge! After bit of a stare off he finally wandered off... I was hoping to see a moose, but apparently they cause more injuries in Canada than bears, so it's probably a good thing I didn't...

Will took his camera up the mountain on one of the days & got some nice shots. That's Jon in the middle pic underneath the helmet & goggles.

On boxing day we were up early to start our long trip home. Jon & Lorenza had very kindly offered to drive us the 5 or so hours back to Calgary. They are staying on for a further week before flying back to Scotland. They are both working in a boarding school in St Andrews. We arrived at the airport with plenty of time to spare, said our goodbyes, then it was onto the big blue bird to take us home...

I enjoyed the flight back, we didn't have a screaming kid like on the way over! They were also showing the Simpson movie which we both enjoyed. It was nice to finally make it home & find our little house in one piece.

On Saturday we had lunch with Will's parents who were pleased to see us & hear all about the trip. On New Years Eve we have a big barn dance at school which should be a lot of fun, then Will is back to work on the 2nd. I have a few extra days off (as usual!) & am back to school on the afternoon of the 7th for teacher only day, then the kids are back on the 8th.

A bit chilly!

Yesterday was very cold, too cold to snow even. The temperature didn't get above freezing all day, & it was supposed to get down to -15 overnight. It was a glorious day however, with clear blue skies. The guys were having a rest day from the slopes, so we went into Kimberley for a couple of hours in the morning, as they've been too busy skiing to think about Christmas shopping! That afternoon Jon & I went for a long walk. It was beautiful, but bloody hard going. We climbed up a hill to get some lovely views over the area, but then up on the plateau we had to trudge through knee deep powder, which was knackering to say the least! Oh well, it's all good fitness I suppose...
When we got back there were two deer in the back yard who let me get very close to them. In the bottom photo you can just about make out Will watching them from the kitchen window. They were enjoying walking along the path he had dug out!

Today Jon & Will are back on the slopes. Lorenza dropped them at the ski hill this morning. I'm enjoying a nice relaxing morning pottering around. I might wrap a few Christmas pressies, then I'm planning on heading out for a walk by myself this afternoon. Tonight we've all been invited to a winter solstice party at their next door neighbours.

Snow, glorious snow!

Welcome to my 100th post!

We've had quite a bit of snow over here. The guys had a good day at Fernie on Tuesday, although they spent the morning in near white-out conditions. They went their own way quite early on as Will wasn't overly comfortable in such poor visibility. He had ice freezing to the outside of his goggles. It improved a lot in the afternoon however. Lorenza & I dropped them off in the morning, had a nice day in the town, then picked them up in the afternoon. Each Christmas Jon & Lorenza have a tradition of watching old festive movies, so that night we watched Bing Crosby's 'White Christmas' which was very enjoyable.

Wednesday was an active day, Will & I tried cross-country skiing in the morning. I really enjoyed it, it was incredibly scenic & very peaceful. We only saw a few other people out on the trail. The only bit I wasn't as fussed on was the downhill bits, although for the 2 bigger hills there were bypasses you could take to avoid them. We came across the very cute squirrel below.

In the afternoon we built a snowman. I managed most of it by myself, but needed Will to give me a hand when the big bottom snowball got too heavy to roll by myself. It then took all 4 of us to get the other 2 snowballs on top. While I was making Frosty, Will was busy shovelling a path through the snow from the house to the road out back. He did a very good job of it too. After the snowman was complete we came inside & watched 'The Snowman', one of Jon's all-time favourite movies. After the movie we went for an hour & a half night walk in the snow which was lovely.

Kimberley, BC

The end of term all went smoothly and Saturday we flew to Calgary. Jon & Lorenza were on the same flight as us, so at Calgary airport we picked up a hire car for the 5 or so hour drive to their home in Kimberley. We got a beast of a car, a new 5.4 litre Dodge Charger. They don't know the meaning of the word small in this country!

Jon & Lorenza have a lovely home in a forest park 5-10 minutes drive from Kimberley town centre. The first 2 photos below were taken in their back yard, & the deer brazenly walking down the street is right in front of their house! Bears have even been known to come right near the house in the summer, & their neighbour has even spotted a cougar.

Sunday was a leisurely day. Saturday had been a long long day of travelling so we had a nice lie-in. We then went into Kimberley so Jon could put his skis & snowboard in for a service & Will could sort some hire gear. That afternoon we went for a walk on the hill right near the house. We saw lots more deer which was very cool, & even organised a self-timer portrait of the 4 of us by balancing the camera in a tree, which would account for the wonkiness of the photo!

Sunday night we were all invited to their neighbours for a lovely meal, but after a big feed & a few glasses of wine we were all pretty shattered by 9pm, so came home & got an early night. It's not surprising really considering that due to the 7 hour time difference our bodies thought it was 4am!!!Today the boys hit the slopes for the first time. Lorenza & I dropped them off at the ski hill, then went into Cranbrook which is another town about 20 minutes drive away for a spot of shopping. I had forgotten to bring my contact lenses with me (which will serve me right for packing at midnight after a few drinks the night before we leave!). I went into an optometrists & explained my situation, & they gave me a pair of monthly lenses plus solution for free! I was very impressed, it would never happen in the UK...

At the moment I'm sitting in front of a cosy fire while it snows outside. Tomorrow Will & Jon are keen to ski at Fernie which is another resort about an hour & a half away. Life is pretty good...

1 day of school to go...

Am counting down till the holidays, we fly Saturday morning. I'm getting excited, there has been loads of snow in Canada...


It's been a busy social time of late, with things on most nights. Friday night we went for dinner at Ben & Anna's. Ben used to work with Will at the university. They cooked Mexican which is up there with my all-time favourite foods, so I was happy!

Saturday morning I had my boys' rugby in the pouring rain. The weather was pretty atrocious over the weekend, really wet & wild. The rest of the day was spent pottering around, doing a bit of housework, a bit of schoolwork, & watching LOTS of rugby... It was a Heineken cup weekend & Sky was showing 4 live games back-to-back. It was pretty much solid rugby from midday to about 9pm! Don't worry, I didn't watch it all... I was meant to have an away match on Sunday against Old Cats which is a Surrey based team, but it was cancelled due to water-logged pitches. It was great being able to have a nice lie-in & a bonus free day.


Sunday night we drove into London to watch Crowded House play Wembley Arena. They were brilliant, they put on a fantastic show. They played for a full 2 & a half hours, & did a really nice mix of everything you would expect from them, as well as a few songs from their new album. It was bassist Nick Seymour's birthday as well which added to the sense of occasion. At times it was just like a huge karaoke party with the whole venue singing along... They took requests from the audience, & one of the highlights was a gorgeous rendition of the Hunters & Collectors 'Throw your arms around me'. With so many kiwis in the one place it was almost inevitable that I'd run into someone I knew. Sure enough, walking back to the car I heard someone calling my name & it was Scott Atherton from Hamilton. He's been over here even longer than me & we catch up every now & then.

Last night was 'all you can eat' Chinese as an end of season do for the staff at school who coach rugby. It was 8 blokes & myself, & I stopped eating long before the guys. It almost became a contest as to who could keep going the longest... It was really really good food.

Tonight is a break from festivities, although today I did have a pub lunch at our local with the science department. I'm an honorary member due to teaching a form 1 physics class. Tomorrow is very busy. We teach in the morning then have games in the afternoon as usual. We then have a final headmasters assembly (yawn!) followed by Christmas dinner with the kids. It's then straight over to the chapel for a candle-lit carol service, after which is a big knees-up in the common room to celebrate the end of term. Next time you here from me I'll be on holiday. Yay!!!

Another week over...

Time is flying by, we've got 1 & a half weeks of school left, then this time in 2 weeks we'll be in Canada. It's busy times though, I've got something on nearly every night of the week until we depart. Tomorrow night is Will's work Christmas do at an Italian restaurant in Reading. I've been a couple of times before & they do great pizza, so it should be an enjoyable evening.

This weekend was nice & relaxed. On Friday night we went to our local, the Walters Arms, for a few pints. It's just a few minute walk from school so you get a good Bearwood crowd there most Fridays. Will & I hadn't made it there the last few weeks, so it was good to have a catch-up. On Saturday night we went to Will's parents for dinner. Again, I hadn't caught up with them for ages, so it was a very pleasant evening. We took a camera with us because Will realised the most recent photo of them he had was a family portrait taken about 10 years ago! Will's Dad is actually wearing the llama wool jumper we bought him in Bolivia. Hopefully it's because he does like it & wear it, & not just that he knew we were coming & was being polite!

Sunday was a rare day when I didn't have a rugby match, & Will wasn't gallivanting around the country on a korfball tournament, so we had a nice lie-in & a lazy morning. In the afternoon I was very domesticated... I cleaned the house (which has been VERY neglected over the last few weeks), hemmed some curtains, did a couple of loads of washing, marked some exam papers, then cooked a chicken roast dinner! Tomorrow will be a light day at school as we are still in the middle of exams. I've now got 4 of my 5 classes marked, & my final class sit their exam tomorrow morning.