“It’s said that you can never go home again, and it’s true enough, of course. But the opposite is also true. You must go back, and you always go back, and you can never stop going back, no matter how hard you try.”
Gregory David Roberts, ‘Shantaram’
We find ourselves in a brief period of anniversaries – the which are as ever cause for celebration… and in these difficult times any reason so to do is to be seized upon with gratitude.
The weekend before last saw the fifth anniversary of our arrival (or re-arrival in the case of The Girl) as residents in Canada. As I have noted in other recent posts, this milestone is significant for various reasons – not least because I can now apply for Canadian citizenship to add to my British variant. It seems somehow appropriate that The Girl and I should each be a citizen of both countries, as both have been particularly good to us.
On which note – the image that accompanies this post is apt and heart-felt. I am most grateful both to Canada and to Canadians for taking me in and helping me to feel at home here. I will never forget the kindnesses that we have been shown. Canadians are – by and large – a generous, modest and gentle people (traits shown up all the more by the manners of their nearest neighbours) and have thus earned my undying respect. Thank you one and all.
We will certainly be making the journey across the water again (when the current crisis has abated) and I will naturally always be drawn there – but Vancouver Island is now my home and I am delighted at that.
Next time – yet more anniversary news…!
Tags: Anniversary, Canada, Celebration, gratitude
Today’s image
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