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Life in BC

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“When I forget how talented God is, I look to the sea.”

Whoopi Goldberg

Time for some pictures!

A few weeks back – on my way to the Pride festival in James Bay – I parked on the seafront near Ogden Point overlooking the Strait of Juan de Fuca. It was impossible not to be overwhelmed in by the breathless beauty of the sea on that particular morning. As an ever evolving sky created a constantly changing vista I snapped these studies on my cell phone. Unable to choose between them I offer the gentle reader a pallet from which to make your own choice. As ever, double-clicking will reveal the full effect:

Photo by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson Reid

 

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I have written on previous occasions (most recently at around this time last year) of the free summer music concerts most diligently and generously organised by the Brentwood Bay Community Association at Pioneer Park in Brentwood Bay. These fabulous free Wednesday evening shows run throughout July and August each year and really brighten up the mid-week, in addition to exposing us to local talent and to new (to us!) acts that we might not otherwise get to see and hear.

This year’s concerts licked off last week with Coldwater Road and continued this with the most excellent Daniel Cook and the Radiators (blessed with a really solid rhythm section) who gave us a great evening. Full details of the program and links to the bands’ sites can be found on the BBCA website.

The big news for 2018 (as trailed heavily in the post of last year mentioned above) is the advent of the beautiful new stage. This has been built over the winter entirely by volunteers from funds raised by the community association. The result is absolutely splendid. The opportunity was taken to re-orient the park with regard to music use and the new stage is in a much better position. Before and after pictures below…

Kudos indeed to the BBCA!

Spot the difference – 2017:

Photo by Andy Dawson ReidSpot the difference – 2018:

Photo by Andy Dawson Reid

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By dint of an extraordinarily poor piece of planning on my part our trip to Montreal this May coincided exactly with the greater part of the first Intrepid Theatre festival of the year – UNO Fest. As a result, out of the ten day program of solo performances we were only able to see two shows – one at the very start of the festival and one at the end.

Much humble pie has been eaten for this faux pas and I have to report that of the many cuisines that I have enjoyed over the decades this hugely overrated dish will not be making my top ten anytime soon!

We were most happy, however, to have been able to see the wonderful Margaret McAuliffe in the Fishamble production – “The Humours of Brandon“. Mags is from Dublin and spins the tale of her attempt to become Irish Dancing’s open champion with exactly the kind of brio that one associates with her race.

The second festival of the year – OutStages – is considerably shorter, taking place over six days toward the end of June. Once again we saw two shows: this time they were both wonderful!

Up first was a rare appearance by the divine Queer Songbook Orchestra from Toronto in a show entitled “Songs of Resilience“. The conceit of the work is in the choices of popular songs made by members of the LGBTQ community and the frequently dramatic stories behind those choices. The show features guest narrators who read these submissions, to be followed by the twelve piece orchestra’s often startling re-interpretation of what might well be a familiar piece. The effect – engendered in no small degree by the excellence of the arrangements, of the musicianship and of the stunning vocal performances – is really most remarkably moving. I was not alone in wondering how nearly two and a half hours passed in a flash, leaving us wanting much, much more.

More concerning the QSO – including full recordings of their wonderful music – can be found on their website.

OutStages was closed by Peale Harbour’s extraordinary “Chautauqua“. Pearle is a drag queen also from Toronto (the creation of Justin Miller), and the show may best be summed up in words from her own publicity:

“Chautauqua is an immersive extravaganza: part cabaret, part tragicomedy, part Tent Revival. There’s music, sing-a-longs, puppet shows and even an exorcism! The world may be falling apart, but Pearle will show you that there’s more that unites us than divides us.”

From the moment that we were ushered into Pearle’s tent – ‘pitched’ on the stage of the Metro Studio – and directed to sit in pre-ordained places on backless benches, it was clear that this was going to be an unusual experience. That it was as memorable as it proved to be was in great part down to Pearle’s extraordinary stage presence. As Jennifer Enchin reported on “Mooney on Theatre”:

“She promised us that by the end of the night, we will be rid of all of our pain and sorrows. I’ll tell you one thing, with stage presence like that — I would believe pretty much anything this woman told me.”

More information, as ever, here:

Many thanks once again to Intrepid Theatre – and in particular to Executive Director Heather Lindsay and to Marketing and Development Manager Sean Guist who curated UNO Fest and OutStages respectively – for bringing such amazing talent to Victoria and for making us so very happy to be living here.

Ta muchly!

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Photo: Myrabella / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0Way back in the dim and distant… (before, even, the Kickass Canada Girl and I had landed upon these verdant shores) I posted an item to this blog entitled ‘A Sense of Place‘. Should you care to refresh your memory (hah!) of that inestimable entry you will (re)discover that it included a description of how I came to learn of the wonderful works of Kwakwaka’wakw carver and First Nation chief – Beau Dick.

The piece included a link to a YouTube clip which contained a trailer for an as yet unfinished documentary on Beau Dick which was at that point still in the process of creation by Vancouver gallery owner – LaTiesha Fazakas – and her  co-director – Natalia Tudge. I contacted them by email to enquire as to when the film might be completed and was advised that they were hoping so to do later that same year.

That was in January 2015!

The next reference within these pages to Beau was a less happy one, on the occasion of his sad and untimely death in March last year. This was widely reported at the time and  many who were not previously aware of his work and achievements may well have been enlightened as a result of that unhappy event.

Finally, late last year I received notice that the documentary had at last been completed and was to be shown in the Vancouver International Film Festival. There were also to be other screenings – in Vancouver and elsewhere – but none that I could readily attend. Then – in the spring of this year – I learned that the documentary was to be released on DVD. Hoorah! When we were in Vancouver last month – on the occasion of the Paul Simon concert to which I have made previous reference – I found my way to the Fazakas Gallery and purchased a copy.

You might well grumble at this point that – even should you be interested – this does not help you very much. This is true. However, last night the documentary was also aired on CBC. Again – my apologies for not having given prior notice of this within these meanderings. I had heard that it was to be aired but not when. I only discovered yesterday that that was indeed to be the day.

The documentary can be found – however – here on the CBC website.  Now – I can stream it thence but I’m afraid I have no idea if it will work abroad, or how long it will be available there. Give it a go and let me know.

Needless to say it is well worth viewing. Beautifully crafted and most evocative – not to mention thought-provoking.

 

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After a considerable period during which the summer attempted in only a somewhat lacklustre fashion to get properly started… now, suddenly, here it is! Temperatures kicked up by six or seven degrees Celsius almost overnight and the sun is now truly hot.

Nice!

We entertained friends on Saturday evening last and it was the first occasion this year on which we were able comfortably to sit out late on our now year-old deck. Indeed, ’twas so balmy that we stayed out ’til midnight or thereabouts, clad only in t-shirts, shorts and summer dresses (as appropriate to our genders and inclinations!). A splendid evening was had by all even if we were too busy chewing the fat to venture onto the freshly mowed croquet lawn. Oh well – plenty more opportunities now that summer is truly here.

On the Sunday – and only a little worse for wear – I was on Intrepid Theatre board duty. As part of its outreach program the company mans a feature at a number of Victoria public events. On this occasion it was ‘Car Free Day’, for which one of the city’s main thoroughfares – Douglas Street – is closed to vehicular traffic and given over to all manner of stalls and amusements. Next month it will be ‘Pride’ and then in August ‘Fringe Kids’ as part of the Victoria Fringe Festival.

For these events the company creates a 65 sq metre ‘Cardboard Castle’ for youngsters to paint. Those eager to express themselves are given an oversized t-shirt to cover their own clothes, a small container of poster paint in a colour of their choice and a brush, before being set loose inside the castle to cover its walls in any manner that they choose.

They may, of course, return at any point to top up with further colours and some spend a considerable amount of time creating their own masterpieces… either that or just painting each other! Either seems to work and the attraction is hugely popular, not least with parents who can come to rest for a while knowing that their offspring are safely pre-occupied within.

Golly… we are nearly at the solstice already! Now, how did that happen?

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Swiftsure

“For years, sailing bound us. We were racers, builders and cruisers. It was our family business, our sport, our drug of choice. Yet eventually, sailing blew us apart, too.”

Jim Lynch – ‘Before the Wind’

Photo by Andy Dawson ReidShould you have any interest in sailing – or in this particular (pacific northwest) neck of the woods – then I heartily recommend Jim Lynch’s novel – “Before the Wind”. Indeed, if you have not yet encountered Mr Lynch’s oeuvre I encourage you to take a look. I don’t read anywhere near as much fiction as I would like (my fault – too much fascinating non-fiction to cover) but I really admire what he does and how he does it. The characters, the situations… just speak to me somehow.

Anyway – the centre-piece of “Before the wind” is set at the annual Swiftsure International Yacht Race – the seventy-fifth running of which took place here in Victoria a couple of weekends back. The Swiftsure is actually no less than six different races run contemporaneously. The staggered starts are on Saturday mid-morning at Clover Point in Victoria, with the courses then following a variety of different circular tracks westwards through the Strait of Juan de Fuca before returning to Victoria. The biggest and fastest boats complete the course by early evening the same day; this year the slowest yacht finished sometime after 4:00 am on the Monday morning!

The image above gives an idea of the rolling starts. Close inspection should reveal HMCS Nanaimo in the midst of the flurry of yachts, with the tell-tale puff of smoke from the blank round just fired to start one of the sections. (As ever, double-clicking on the image will give you a better idea).

Now – I love the sea (what – you hadn’t noticed?!) and I have greatly enjoyed what sailing I have done – but… I would be the first to admit that this just isn’t a spectator sport. Whereas at the serious end of the Americas Cup only two (massive!) yachts are involved (whilst at Cowes there are other distractions altogether) with a complex ocean race like this is is well nigh impossible to tell at any moment what is going on. For those who really must know the race organisers helpfully provide a splendid race-tracker on their website, but that’s not really spectating – is it? It is impossible not to to be reminded of this splendid spoof Irish commentary from the 2012 Olympics.

Whilst on the subject of sailing – this rather lovely schooner was maneuvering out in our bay on the same weekend as the race:

Photo by Andy Dawson ReidWhat a splendid sight!

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Image from PixabayI am one of that supposedly rare breed of souls (in all probability actually considerably less rare than urban myth would have us believe) that is happy to pay my taxes. Well – ‘happy’ might be going a bit far, but let us agree at least on ‘content’…

This does not – of course – imply that I am at all content with some of things upon which my tax dollars are spent, but that is a matter between me and my government (or would be, if I had one. As I am not eligible to vote here until such time as I can apply for and am accepted as a citizen it could be argued that I don’t actually have a government, though that does not stop them being eager to get their hands on my ill-gotten gains).

Should the gentle reader care to cast an eye back over the proceedings on this site he or she will discover a fair number of entries dealing with matters of taxation. Transferring one’s financial affairs from one continent to another is no trivial matter though, naturally, one in which revenue offices everywhere take a particularly keen interest. It is of no great import now – of course – all such issues having been settled. These days my tax affairs are simplicity itself –  not least because The Girl and I employ an extremely efficient tax accountant (an old friend of hers) to process everything for us. Worth every cent, too!

The Canadian tax year runs from January to the end of December each year. Tax returns must be completed and outstanding monies paid by the end of April. Up to the end of the last tax year my income consisted solely of the three pensions paid to me in the UK, the which I transfer monthly to Canada at whatever favourable rate I have been able to negotiate. I simply submit the transfer slips for the year and on that basis my taxes are calculated.

Now – this should all be sufficiently straightforward that there be no surprises. We pay both Federal and Provincial taxes but the formulae for each are widely published and there are plenty of online tax calculators on the InterWebNet which can be used to predict how much should be put aside to cover the resultant bill.

I must admit to being slightly disconcerted by the fact that the three or four calculators that I tried this year all gave different results for the same initial data – but as they were all roughly within spitting distance of each other I resolved simply to save conservatively and to keep my fingers crossed.

The paperwork was submitted as usual and on the very last day possible – April 30th – I visited our tax accountant to pick up the account and pay the bill. I was in for a most pleasant surprise. The reckoning was several thousand dollars less than any of the estimates had indicated.

I am not one to look a gift horse in the mouth and I am certainly not complaining at this unexpected good fortune. I think I can also live with any feelings of guilt by which I might be assailed. I am – however – somewhat concerned that I clearly still don’t fully understand how tax arrangements here work.

Hmmm! More study required…

 

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As the drear dark days of winter finally pack their bags and grumble off to the southern hemisphere to bother somebody else, nature rubs its sleepy eyes, yawns and sticks its head outside for a quick recce. To its surprise and great delight there is no-one home! The adults are apparently all away and that mischievous little imp has the garden (yard) all to itself.

The results are pretty much in line with the description that the excellent Glaswegian comedian – Kevin Bridges – ascribes to the teenage gangs from his boyhood whenever one of their number discovered that he was the fortunate possessor of an ’empty’* for the weekend!

Mayhem ensues!

 

By the time the rain has drifted away, the temperature risen to an acceptable level and I get around to dragging my sorry behind out into the garden – it looks as though the rain-forest has dropped by and decided to stay for the duration. There follows a month (and more) of hard labour!

 

Now – this is where ‘relativity’ comes in.

I am – you must understand – not talking about Einstein here – nor Galileo nor Newton. I am referencing neither the Sapir–Whorf hypothesis nor meta-ethical morality (which turns out to be a good thing as my knowledge of either is limited to the world of Wikipedia!).

I refer to the fact that what appears during the height of the summer (I don’t venture out there at all in winter!) to be a perfectly sensibly-sized plot – just about large enough that the neighbours on either side don’t intrude in any way – metamorphoses in the inchoate springtime into a vast overgrown estate full of fiendish flora resembling nothing so much as Wyndham’s Triffids.

A whole bunch of seemingly endless hard work – in other words.

Worth it though, of course. Best get back to it…

* Parents away – house to themselves – party!!

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Like Topsy

Not much later this time last year I was (ab)using the pages of this ‘journal’ to elicit assistance with the wildness that flourishes but a few yards outside my window. In that instance I was trying to establish which of the abundant flora in my garden (yard) were plants that I should be encouraging (not, of course, that that would make any difference either way!) and which were weeds and other undesirables.

The answer was – naturally – that all the things that were doing particularly well were the weeds!

Anyway – here I am again – begging free gardening advice from those amongst you who are horticulturally inclined (or perhaps make a living from said pursuit).

This – I take to be a Yukka of some variety:

Photo by Andy Dawson ReidPhoto by Andy Dawson ReidAs you can see it is doing its damnedest to push everything else out of the bed in which it resides.

The question is – how on earth does one prune such a beast?

Answers on a postcard please (as the saying goes)…

Ithankyou!

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Photo by Andy Dawson Reid…the grass is riz.
I wonder where dem boidies is.
They say the boid is on the wing.
But that’s absoid.
The wing is on the boid!

Anon (as far as anyone knows!)

Three signs that spring is actually already here – however much the weather might be doing its very best to suggest otherwise.

 

First – the hummingbirds are back at the feeders again. The Kickass Canada Girl calls them ‘the diabetics‘ and observing just how much sugar nectar these tiny creatures tuck away I concede that she has a good point. Anyway – great to see them back again.

We did not have Christmas lights along the front of our house this year, since the upstairs was still in the hands of our contractors when the festive season rolled around. As a result there was no question of the lights being left up late – and thus no possibility of the hummingbirds using the strand again for their nesting ground as they did last year. Apparently hummingbirds like to stay pretty close to previous nest sites so we will see what they do this year.

Photo by Andy Dawson ReidSecondly – the dogwood tree is in bloom. The Girl has apparently long hankered for a dogwood tree and we now have one. This makes her happy – and that makes me happy.

I read that dogwoods often suffer badly from lawnmower and trimmer cuts if they happen to be adjacent to lawns. If the bark is damaged at a low level the trees can become prone to infestation. Ours is a big tree as set so far back from the grass that it is actually in next door’s yard, so it is not in any such danger. If anything the reverse is the case. When the flowers drop on the lawn they do so in the form of hard husks which very rapidly take the edge off one’s mower blades!

Final sign of spring? The return of the Anacortes ferry! During the winter months of January, February and March the little green and white car ferry – a familiar presence during the rest of the year and regular viewing from our windows and deck – voyages no further than the San Juan Islands, eschewing the last leg of the trip into Sidney. There is always a little quiet celebration in downtown Sidney when it is back on its usual route.

Good to see that spring is here again. Now let’s have some sunshine!

 

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