Last Saturday, 27th Oct., we were invited to a Hallowe'en Party in the village. Quite a pleasant gathering, and it was great to meet more of the neighbours. The evening was organised by the Alexander Scottish Association. Alexander seems to be the place for Brits to move to.
Sheriff George
Hallowe'en itself was more 'enjoyable' than I had previously experienced in the UK. Firstly, we went down to George's school. Several activities were organised, and again this was attended by members of the community, mostly parents and grand-parents, but quite a gathering nevertheless. Firstly, there was the costume parade. Each grade dressed up, and there was an introduction by the principal, Barb Miller. Also, a craft session, where the kids made a 'ghost' wind sock. Both George and Ovie enjoyed this, and we have ours still flying above the garage. A scary story reading was well presented, with the kids closing their eyes, and various props handed around to immitate body parts etc. My fave was the 'dance hall'. Watching teachers, in costume, trying to lure kids to do the macharena, and whatever else was 'trendy' at this time. Oh, one thing, THEY PLAYED 'T.N.T' by AC/DC, how cool is that.......
Pirate Ov.
The evening was great. Freezing cold, but great. We drove into town and parked outside Jeff and Lori's house. Off we set, not knowing what to expect as we knocked on stranger's doors, 'begging' for candy! Lori joked that we should've brought a pillow case each... little did we know.
Fire-Officer Buttery and Police-Officer Buttery
After 5 or 6 houses, it became quite evident that the buckets we got for the kids were not big enough to do too many more houses. But, each house we went to, the kids were invited in, and loaded up with chocolate, pop, crisps and sugary goodness... MMmmmmmm!!
When we got home, I was surprised at how much thought and planning people put into this night! There were bags of candy, that had been sorted, and tagged, and everyone was so friendly and welcoming.
WORK
CJ is enjoying work, and hating nights. But we're finally settling into a routine, of sorts. Hopefully, we've sold one of the greenhouses to a farmer from Regina, SK. Apparently, this gentleman has cycled across Canada, alone, when he was 60!! With a tent, and very little else, he set out from Vancouver, and flew back home from Halifax, all within 54|(ish) days.
I had some interest in storage. A guy came out looking to store his car for the winter. Watch this space.Have been busy 'reclaiming' timber from inside one of the greenhouses, hopefully this will save quite a bit on fencing for the alpacas, and various other projects around the place.
SPORT
Well done to Boston Red Sox for winning the World Series last week. 4 straight games, almost unheard of!, and taking the series away from home... What gets me is, why is it called the World Series when only North American teams contest it?
We're just waiting for the Patriot game to kick off... well done too to New England Revolution for making the Championship play off final. Beating New York Red Bulls 1-0. Bit of a wrench as JP Angel plays for NY.
Villa are back into winning ways, thankfully. 2-0 over Derby wasn't too much to ask, just need to thrash the blose next weekend...
PATRIOTISM
Today marks the start of a week of Remeberance here. Events and programmes leading upto next Sundays services are constantly promoted.
The Canadians are a very proud people. They're proud of their country, and are not afraid to show it, they're proud that you may wish to visit, and they're proud to shop Canadian (goods are clearly marked 'produce of Canada' 'made in Canada', if they can't find Canadian then they're not afraid to ask for it).
But what has stood out is they are proud of their troops, their military personnel. And it is shown. No dissidence towards the Gulf Wars. Most cars have magnetic ribbons supporting the troops, most places you drive through, especially Kemnay, have yellow ribbons tied to tree and mail boxes. I applaud this, but at the same time feel quite sad that I have had to move thousands of miles to be patriotic.
In the school gym
No, there shall not be any Maple Leaf tattoos, but I am free to fly my Union Flag and St George's Cross next to the National Flag. Totally frowned on in the UK (and illegal t'boot!). Public buildings and offices proudly display their national emblem, even gas stations have flags (the one at the top of 18th street and highway 1 is HUGE). It's just a shame...
AND FINALLY...
We had our first snow. Quite exciting, but it didn't last too long, this time...
View from the lounge
CJ is at work this evening, so it's Daddy time again for the boys. I have wired 'English' power to one of the rooms, and George is ecstatic to be able to play the Playstation 2. We have 240v in the kitchen too, we can now use the food processor, the George Forman grill and our coffee maker, plus CJ has her cd player back (bad move on my part Heart, Gabrielle et al...)
Speak soon.
God Save The Queen
God Bless Canada
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