Returned on Sunday from a fortnight in Canada, staying with the Murrays in Caledon – most of the time with Chrissy and her children, and all of the time with David, Oliver and Amy. Quite a strange time, really, in that we simply stayed at 88 Palmer Circle nearly the whole holiday and read books, plus playing a little croquet and badminton. The weather was mostly very hot, and the mosquitoes and other insects were biting.
My attempts to get Oliver and Amy to Niagara came to nothing, mainly because none of the three vehicles available could take seven people. Instead David, Chrissy and the children went into Toronto on the second Thursday (making use of the subway from Kipling), summited the CN Tower and visited the Aquarium. Roger and I assisted in the transportation to Kipling, both ways. The next day the Vanderkooy children departed, heading for camp somewhere up north.
Dot came to Kipling with us in the morning, and Roger took us to Glen Williams, a delightful little village with a cafe that served proper tea. There was also an art studio, glass-blowing and a river. We came home the pretty way, close by Forks of the Credit national park on the Niagara Escarpment, which we visited properly on the Saturday morning – yes, the day we came home.
Forks of the Credit sounds more like a financial institution than a national park, but it is in fact a beautiful stretch of wild land (the Credit is a river). We walked to near a waterfall and caught a glimpse of it, but the proper viewing platform was closed for safety reasons. On the way back, Dot and I took a short cut which no-one else believed was there (possibly excepting David and Oliver, who did the polite thing and stayed with their hosts) and got well ahead. A small but significant triumph.
Following this we went to Erin, where there was an excellent fish and chip shop, followed by a stop at Alton Mills Arts Centre, which was impressive. Beautifully landscaped and with good quality artists. Oliver, Dot and I got separated from the others and visited the mill race, which was spectacular, then stopped at the cafe, where Dot showed the assistant how to make tea.
Earlier in the week the girls went shopping at Don Mills shopping complex while the boys went to the Nottawasaga Inn Resort, where we played mini golf, table tennis and table hockey. We also went on various slot machines, and Oliver managed to obtain gifts for Amy and Sophie. We also had lunch in the restaurant, with which we were not very impressed, mainly because of the strangely tasting water. Good view, though.
Other than that our only outing was on Tuesday 27th – our wedding anniversary – to the Blu restaurant in Yorkville, Toronto, for an evening meal. This was excellent; even though we arrived quite late, the staff were very friendly and helpful (I think Roger’s brother Rob knew the waitress and had primed her). The food was first class, and we got an anniversary cake too! OK, the price we paid was very high (over $500) but for a special occasion it was worth it.
I almost forgot: we did have another couple of outings to buy food with David and Chrissy, and I took a couple of short walks, one of them with Dot. Chrissy also took us to the rail crossing on Mount Hope Road, because … well, because we wanted to go.
During the fortnight we read a number of books, mostly recommended by Barbara. They were: The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, by Rachel Joyce; Proof of Heaven by Eben Alexander; A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra; The Great Gatsby, by F Scott Fitzgerald; The Afterlife of Stars by Joseph Kertes; and two funny books by Nora Ephron – I Feel Bad about my Neck and I Remember Nothing.
The Joyce was brilliant, the Alexander intriguing ( a near-death experience), the Marra a complex but mainly good novel set in war-torn Chechnya, the Kertes a clever (sometimes too clever) novel of brothers escaping from Hungary, and the Fitzgerald classy.
I also wrote a few poems and walked into the pool with my iPhone in my pocket. Attempts to save it by putting it into rice proved futile, and yesterday I obtained a new iPhone 6 from O2. I had been planning to get one anyway; so I was not as distraught as I might have been.
The week was haunted by a guinea pig, which was resident in the girls’ room and which seemed to be causing serious allergy problems for Barbara. Fortunately, not for anyone else. She survived, but was clearly uncomfortable much of the time.
Barbara is writing a cookery book, and the first week consisted of meals that were destined for it – all of them delicious. On one occasion Chrissy’s friend Michelle, her children Jackson and Ryan and her parents (Lynn and Jim) came for lunch; and on another a couple of business colleagues – Rick and Shirley – with the addition of Rob Murray, who proved pleasant and entertaining but looked gaunt.
The journey both ways were largely uneventful. On the way there David had organised everything, and he and Chrissy were with us and the children. On the way back it was just us and the children. First problem was that Amy had to unwrap her present for her Mum at customs. This did not go down well, but she recovered. We distracted her agony by going to a restaurant in the airport that used iPads to order, and Oliver demonstrated his expertise. Good food too.
The flight was normal, but in England it was very warm, and we had difficulty finding the bus at first (I hadn’t noticed instructions were on the ticket). It was a long trip to the car park, via the North Terminal, but that was nothing compared to the journey from there to South Mimms, where Vicky was waiting. There were two accidents on the M23, holding us up, and the M25 was agonisingly slow: we came to a halt repeatedly. The children went to sleep until we speeded up nearer our destination.
Vicky, who had gone blonde, was cheerful despite her long wait, and we handed over successfully. Then we had quite a bit to eat in Starbuck’s, as well as drinks and drove home. I almost dozed off once, but was roused by rumble strips, and we paused for fresh air at the A11 Monument.
Happily our brown bin had been emptied, and although our parasol had been blown on to the bird bath, no damage resulted. We watched reruns of the Third Test, made do with minimal repast and went to bed about 10.30pm.
My talk to the CNS Old Boys on the Friday before our holiday went well after Dot dashed home to get a connector for the computer. The food at the White Horse in Trowse was also good, and the tour of the Norfolk Record Office that preceded it was excellent too. our journey to Gatwick was also fairly smooth, although after we were dropped by the APH bus at the airport we had a bit of a problem finding the hotel (there was a tunnel direct from the airport, but we didn’t know that). The room was OK, but we had trouble finding a small amount of food and eventually restored to a bar snack. The staff were all very friendly, though.
Since getting home we’ve been in a bit of a haze, but I had my glasses fixed after getting the iPhone 6, which I’m very pleased with. We’ve also unpacked, of course, been to the supermarket, had our hair cut by Linda (today) and sorted out stuff for the bins, including a particularly ugly food caddy.
I’ve also been to an Archant coffee morning, and Dot has been to see her Aunt Ethel, who is not at all well. Still not back in phase, and we have cake and compline tonight, though I’m not sure who’s coming.