Photos - Tom McCartney (right) and Cliff Murray (left) - two of my oldest friends from school, Ali and Erith on Ali's farm, there's a new sheriff in town... and Erith will Ali's donkeys.
Marcus says:
As usual, we found ourselves too rushed to see everyone and there were a couple of people that I missed, but I did manage to spend one day catching up with a few people that I really wanted to see. We got up early and went to Tom McCartney's place and met his wife Valaine and their two kids. I've known Tom since grade one at school and still swap quite a bit of email with him, so it was great to catch up in person after 10 years. Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to see his parents which was a real pity, as I spent a lot of time with them when I was young and aside from a fleeting visit 10 years ago, I haven't seen them for 20 years.
We met Cliff Murray (Spuggy, though he'll likely curse me for publishing that) for lunch. Cliff's an architect and seems to be doing really well - he's also an empty nester, though we're the same age. I met his son by chance - yep, he's a grown-up. It was great to see Cliff too, as I hadn't seen him in over 20 years. He's great - exactly the same guy, only mellower, like the rest of us, I guess.
After lunch, we went back to the Capri so we could hang around with Ali while he was working but before we went to his farm. He very kindly bought Erith a new bathing suit so she could spend the afternoon in the pool while he and I caught up. Later we went out to his farm to see the donkeys and hang around in the warm evening sun. The farm is so tranquil - the only sound is the whisle of the trains off in the distance, evoking imagery of riding the rails and Johnny Cash songs. The serenity seems to suit Ali - it probably counter-balances the hectic workplace of the hotel.
The day ended with me realising that I still have closer friends in Canada than I thought I did. I'm not big on maintaining contact or relationships, but with some people it doesn't matter. You get together and it's just the way it always was.
The next day we went to Calgary to pick up a different car - one that we could drop off in Vancouver. We got a PT Cruiser, which suited me pretty well as I'd always liked the looks of them. We took our time getting there and stopped at Peters for a burger. Peters has been around for ever and is the best burger place in the world. (There, I said it. You want to refute it, put your money where your mouth is.)
I was still steamed about my smashed suitcase, so we alsop sought out an authorised repairer for a replacement. I explained the situation and the woman in charge started telling me that she couldn't do anything because... I don't remember why - I didn't even listen. I explained it again, in a way that left little room for negotiation. After a quick call to someone else, she told me that it was my lucky day, as she was going to replace it with a much better one than I had lost. I didn't bother pointing out that it was a lucky day for both of us - I just thanked her for her understanding and left with a really nice new piece of luggage, unmistakenly better than the one that Air Canada had operated on.
We stayed across from the Olympic Park that night rather than rushing to Banff and having to find a place to stay. We watched mountain bikers ride down the side of the mountain kamikaze style, then went to Safeways to get some fruit and other food for sandwiches, as we were now officially on the road. Ahhh, I love a road trip, especially through the Rockies in the summer...
As usual, we found ourselves too rushed to see everyone and there were a couple of people that I missed, but I did manage to spend one day catching up with a few people that I really wanted to see. We got up early and went to Tom McCartney's place and met his wife Valaine and their two kids. I've known Tom since grade one at school and still swap quite a bit of email with him, so it was great to catch up in person after 10 years. Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to see his parents which was a real pity, as I spent a lot of time with them when I was young and aside from a fleeting visit 10 years ago, I haven't seen them for 20 years.
We met Cliff Murray (Spuggy, though he'll likely curse me for publishing that) for lunch. Cliff's an architect and seems to be doing really well - he's also an empty nester, though we're the same age. I met his son by chance - yep, he's a grown-up. It was great to see Cliff too, as I hadn't seen him in over 20 years. He's great - exactly the same guy, only mellower, like the rest of us, I guess.
After lunch, we went back to the Capri so we could hang around with Ali while he was working but before we went to his farm. He very kindly bought Erith a new bathing suit so she could spend the afternoon in the pool while he and I caught up. Later we went out to his farm to see the donkeys and hang around in the warm evening sun. The farm is so tranquil - the only sound is the whisle of the trains off in the distance, evoking imagery of riding the rails and Johnny Cash songs. The serenity seems to suit Ali - it probably counter-balances the hectic workplace of the hotel.
The day ended with me realising that I still have closer friends in Canada than I thought I did. I'm not big on maintaining contact or relationships, but with some people it doesn't matter. You get together and it's just the way it always was.
The next day we went to Calgary to pick up a different car - one that we could drop off in Vancouver. We got a PT Cruiser, which suited me pretty well as I'd always liked the looks of them. We took our time getting there and stopped at Peters for a burger. Peters has been around for ever and is the best burger place in the world. (There, I said it. You want to refute it, put your money where your mouth is.)
I was still steamed about my smashed suitcase, so we alsop sought out an authorised repairer for a replacement. I explained the situation and the woman in charge started telling me that she couldn't do anything because... I don't remember why - I didn't even listen. I explained it again, in a way that left little room for negotiation. After a quick call to someone else, she told me that it was my lucky day, as she was going to replace it with a much better one than I had lost. I didn't bother pointing out that it was a lucky day for both of us - I just thanked her for her understanding and left with a really nice new piece of luggage, unmistakenly better than the one that Air Canada had operated on.
We stayed across from the Olympic Park that night rather than rushing to Banff and having to find a place to stay. We watched mountain bikers ride down the side of the mountain kamikaze style, then went to Safeways to get some fruit and other food for sandwiches, as we were now officially on the road. Ahhh, I love a road trip, especially through the Rockies in the summer...
1 comment:
Well done Marcus for finding time to update - and the photos! That one of Cliff and Tom is a classic - and Gerry and Andy too - somehow all recognisable to me even though I haven't seen any of them since the eighties or maybe the seventies. Looking forward to the next edition and can't wait to get back to Canada! Love to you both, Joanie
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