The Imperceptible Immigrant

Arts and crafts – 2

September 8, 2015 in Life in BC | Permalink

I have in the past within the pages of this almanac expressed my views – in what can only really be considered a somewhat intemperate fashion – of the less than optimal behaviour of some of those who attend the showings at public cinema multiplexes. This based – of course – primarily on my experiences in the south east of England.

We were lucky enough – when residing in Buckinghamshire – to live within a couple of miles of Pinewood Studios. Further good fortune was evinced in that one of our neighbours ran – in the plush screening studio therein – a members’ cinema club. By this agency we we’re able to go to the movies in a civilized fashion… comfy seats, a bar, no adverts or trailers… and no children!

We are – of course – no longer in the UK, and the Pinewood film club has in any case sadly been wound up.

You might imagine my delight, therefore, to discover in Sidney, BC, a wonderful if diminutive movie house going by the name of the Star Cinema. Perhaps all you need to know of this operation is that a couple of years back – whilst the auditorium was undergoing an upgrade and on hearing that delivery of the new seats would be delayed – the patrons were invited to bring in their own couches and armchairs to keep things going… the which – of course – they duly did.

We saw there recently the estimable Sir Ian McKellen exercising his acting chops in ‘Mr Holmes‘. ‘Serena‘ was – as you might expect – excellent. The film was adequate. It seemed to me that the writer had either not quite the courage to fully exploit the premise of the film, or was perhaps subjected to the now obligatory interference by ‘those who know better‘ – whose number includes, of course, the men with the money!

On to drama of the live variety…

I have mentioned before Victoria’s Belfry Theatre. A couple of weeks back we paid our first visit there since we moved back to the province. The play concerned was ‘Boom‘ – Rick Miller’s solo multi-media tour de force that took us through two and a half decades of the cultural history of the baby boomers. Miller is massively talented and the show was certainly a hit with the Victoria audience who – it must be said – pretty much exactly fitted the demographic featured in the work.

The past week and a half has also seen the annual Victoria Fringe Festival. As a long running attendee – as both audience member and participant – of the Edinburgh Fringe I was particularly looking forward to this event. There can be no comparison in terms of scale, of course, but I was looking for a similar atmosphere of experimentation and inclusivity. I was not disappointed.

We attended six shows in a little over a week and I can honestly say that not one of them was a complete dud – which is a better hit rate that I have sometimes experienced in the land of my fathers.

Here is my pick of the fringe:

Mike Delamont – brilliant local Victorian comedian – gave us the second part of his trilogy – ‘God is a Scottish Drag Queen‘. I feel that I hardly need tell you more about this wickedly funny show… you can use your imagination. Needless to say the Girl and I were reduced to tears at several points, we were laughing so hard. Some of the best comic timing you will ever encounter.

Englishman Rob Gee offered his exquisite one man play Icarus Dancing. Informed by his previous existence as a psychiatric nurse the piece is beautifully written and performed with the lightest of touches – both funny and affecting. If you get a chance to see it you will not be disappointed.

Corin Raymond’s ‘The Great Canadian Tire Money Caper‘ is quite simply perhaps the show with the biggest heart that you will ever encounter. Corin is a Toronto based musician and storyteller who financed the making of a live double album with Canadian Tire Money. Non-Canadians will want to know that this incentive scheme by the auto-store company turned multi-department giant has been running since the fifties. Older UK readers might best compare Canadian Tire Money to Green Shield Stamps, though in the form of a Monopoly-like currency. Pretty much every Canadian has some – but no-one ever has enough to do anything worthwhile with. Corin tells the story in such a big-hearted manner that you just want to love him. (The Girl goes all gooey at the thought, which might not be an entirely good thing!) If you live in or around Vancouver the good news is that you can catch Corin at the Vancouver Fringe. The bad news – if you are in England – is that he was at the London Fringe in June.

Right! That’s about all the arts news for now. More to follow…

Tags: Arts, Culture, Victoria

Arts and crafts – 1

September 4, 2015 in Life in BC | Permalink

Lest I should leave the gentle reader with the impression that all of our time here on the west coast of Canada is currently taken up with explorations into hardwood flooring (well – some of it is!) or trying to find the perfect bathtub…

…actually, I must needs digress at this point. What springs to mind when one thinks of the normal Canadian chap (settle down at the back there!)? Yes – that’s right – a tall, swarthy outdoor type who climbs mountains for fun, drives around in a huge pickup, hunts wild animals and skates and rows and skis, etc, etc.

So – what sort of bathtub might you expect such a specimen to require? Yes – so did I, but the standard Canadian bathtub is a mere five foot long and no more than about twelve inches deep! Scarcely enough to dampen one’s… well – you get the idea. Should you require the sort of soaker that we Brits demand – at least five foot five (if not six foot) long and a good twenty two inches deep – then one is looking at a special order. Weird – huh?

Where was I?

Ah yes – culture!

I thought I would regale you with some of the cultural and artistic events that we have attending since landing in BC. Victoria is a really buzzing place and there is a pretty constant schedule of interesting stuff with which to get involved. Should the island not provide enough stimulation on its own it is but a hop and a step to either Vancouver or Seattle.

Anyway – this is what we have been up to:

On the first day of our trip to the interior we stopped in Vancouver, partly to conduct some business but also to visit the Bill Reid Gallery. For those who know nothing about this seminal figure of west coast First Nations art I commend to you the ‘About Bill Reid’ section of the above site. Should you further wish to see an example of Bill Reid’s exquisite sculpture then you need look no further than the facsimile of ‘The Raven and the First Men’ that you will find the top of this post.

The current exhibition at the Bill Reid Gallery – ‘The Box of Treasures’ – features amongst other wonders the extraordinary masks of Beau Dick – whom I have eulogised before in this post entitled ‘A sense of place’.

I most strongly recommend both artists to you – as I do the gallery, should you find yourself in Vancouver.

Much of our cultural month – however – has been given over to the arts dramatic. More – much more – of that in part two of this post.

Tags: Art, British Columbia, Culture, Victoria

All and sundry

August 22, 2015 in Life in BC, Photos | Permalink

A final potpourri of images from our recent travels to the interior of British Columbia…

Our last night in Kamloops:

A five hour drive back to the coast the next morning took us to Horseshoe Bay, whence we took the ferry to Nanaimo – home both to the famous Nanaimo bar (look it up!) and to the Girl’s mother.

A night in Nanaimo was followed by a final drive down the east coast of Vancouver Island and a last short ferry crossing – the (slow) shortcut across the Saanich inlet from Mill Bay to Brentwood Bay.

How am I doing at selling you the delights of beautiful British Columbia?

Tags: British Columbia, Fuji x10, Holiday, Photo

Over the mountain

August 16, 2015 in Life in BC, Photos | Permalink

Over every mountain there is a path, although it may not be seen from the valley.

Theodore Roethke

Whilst at the cabin on the lake last week we took the GX470 up into the mountains to see what it could do. Naturally I took some pictures.

This is the pretty Saskum Lake:

Here is the Lexus in its natural habitat – on the way up Vavenby Mountain.

Having crossed the mountain and dropped down into Vavenby itself we took the Yellowhead down to Clearwater and stopped for a bite to eat at the highly rated Strawberry Moose!

A little further down the highway we turned off at Little Fort and took the tiny ferry across the North Thompson.

The ferry runs on demand and can only carry two vehicles at a time. We were on this occasion the sole occupants and happily paid the ferryman the only ‘fee’ requested – engagement in a lengthy conversation before being allowed to continue up into the hills again.

We took the back route down to Barriere through Chu Chua. I have mentioned before in these posts that that The Girl is part First Nations on her mother’s side. Her band – Simpcw First Nation – is based now in Chu Chua and we passed the band office and school on the way down.

Tags: 4x4, British Columbia, Fuji x10, Holiday, Photo

Cabinessence

August 14, 2015 in Life in BC, Photos | Permalink

Light the lamp and fire mellow
Cabin essence timely hello
Welcomes the time for a change

Van Dyke Parks, Brian Wilson

The lack of posts over the last week is simply explained. The Kickass Canada Girl and I have journeyed to the BC interior to visit The Girl’s birthplace – Kamloops. For the past week we have been even further up the North Thompson valley, staying in The Girl’s cousin’s cabin on one of the lakes above Barriere.

This idyllic hideaway is everything one might expect and hope for – beautiful setting, fabulous weather, total peace and quiet and no phone or Interwebnet coverage.

it is the sort of place where you are wakened by a pair of chipmunks fifteen foot up a tree outside the window, chasing each other round and round the trunk to ecstatic squeals. Or the sort of place – as it was this very morning – where one may be awoken at 5:30am by what at first sounded like rifle shots, but turned out to be a squirrel bombarding the tin roof of the cabin with pine cones from fifty foot up a conifer!

All one can do is stumble down the short path to the dock and tumble into the lake clutching one’s toothbrush.

I think some pictures are in order:

Here are some studies of the light on the water at different times of day:

Tags: British Columbia, Fuji x10, Holiday, Photo

Unreal estate – 2

August 4, 2015 in Life in BC | Permalink

I have in the past eulogised the Canadian real estate market vis a vis that extant in the UK. Mind you – the operation of just about any other real estate market might seem preferable to the cack handed (and I write as a southpaw myself!) methodology that we must needs follow in England. Do please refer to this previous post on the subject for yet another example thereof. The truth of the matter is more probably that any other system appears superior to one’s own – until one experiences it first hand.

One of the definite benefits of the Canadian system is that the two realtors (estate agents) involved in the process actually have subtly different roles. Rather than visiting many different realtors in the search for a property one always works with the same concern who bring to the purchaser details of all suitable properties, whether or not they are listed with that realtor. If a sale is eventually agreed both realtors take a share of the commission. If nothing else, this means that one works with someone whom one knows and trusts and the immediate individuals involved always have one’s best interests at heart.

The second major benefit is that the basic contracts are drawn up by the realtors at the point of offer. Certain conditions may be applied – such as the outcome of a house inspection – but if the offer is accepted and the conditions are satisfied then the purchase is signed and sealed and there is no possibility of gazumping or of any other such devious practice.

There is – however – plenty that can go amiss up to that point. Herewith details of our own recent experience…

We had seen – before we left the UK – a property of which we liked the look. Our dear friends in Saanichton – with whom we are currently living – had even been for a visit and had given us a sneak preview via Facetime. Ah – the wonders of technology…

Once landed in the province we quickly organised a viewing in person and – having very much liked what we saw – further arranged a second such. Though the house was priced rather higher than we felt was merited we prepared an offer. At this juncture – however – the vendors’ realtor disclosed that there was already an offer on the table to which the vendors had not responded. We should have been informed of this before we made the second viewing, but the vendors’ realtor omitted so to do.

Given that no offer had yet been accepted we found ourself in an unpleasant ‘multiple-offer’ situation. The mechanism here seems to be that both prospective purchasers are informed of each other’s presence and invited to make their best offer. Neither party may know, however, what the other has – or has previously -offered and one must therefore make a wild stab in the dark.

We felt obliged to offer rather more than we had wished, but were told that the vendor would – in any case – make a counter-offer to our ‘opponents’ first. They -quite understandably – walked away at this point and the vendor then made a counter-offer to us.

It rapidly became clear that they really weren’t prepared to make much of a concession at all and several rounds of us upping our offer and them giving nothing away left us frustrated and angry. Our sole conclusion from this bizarre behaviour was that – in spite of having listed their property – they didn’t actually want to sell it at all.

At this point we also decided to back out but – after a number of further days of fruitless searching in what has become a sellers’ market – reluctantly settled on making one last attempt at this house with which we had become enamoured. We gave the vendors pretty much everything they wanted, only to be told that they had gone away for a week on their sail boat! Needless to say, The Girl was by now spitting tacks!

The vendors’ realtor suggested that – could we agree to a completion date of the end of October (some three months hence) – then a deal might be done. The vendors had clearly not yet themselves found a property to purchase and had no idea what to do.

At this point we did finally walk away. The vendors’ realtor was most apologetic concerning his clients’ strange behaviour, but at this point no parsnips were buttered – as the saying goes.

There is clearly – as with all such things – some meaning behind all of this emotional upheaval. We await with interest to see what it is.

Tags: British Columbia, Modern life, Real estate

Saanich scenes

August 2, 2015 in Life in BC, Photos | Permalink

Though the last two weeks have found us near to our busiest we have found the time for a little relaxation. Naturally the Fuji x10 tagged along.

We had a bite to eat in Estevan Village on the east coast of the peninsular north of Victoria. I particularly liked these boxes that hold free magazines and circulars.

In Bazan Bay there is a splendid and relatively recently opened farm centre/bakery/bistro/winery called The Roost, where one can feast on very un-North American wood-fired oven-baked pizza and sup the local nectar, whilst relaxing in a sun-drenched courtyard. This chicken ruled the… er…

Last Wednesday evening found us at Pioneer Park in Brentwood Bay for one of the summer season’s ‘Music in the Park‘ sessions. These splendidly bucolic and completely free concerts – at which the locals and visitors alike picnic and chill in the warm evening sunshine whilst appreciating some good beats – are a regular feature of life on the peninsular. This particular occasion featured regular performers, the ‘Pretzel Logic Orchestra‘, who offer an evening of Steely Dan tunes. The Kickass Canada Girl has always somewhat snootily delcared the Dan to be a ‘boys’ band’ and she was not best pleased when I caught her ‘bopping’ along (though I will doubtless get ‘bopped’ myself when she reads this!).

Finally some more shots of Sidney, which regular readers will know that I love dearly – for (hopefully) obvious reasons – and have eulogised before.

Here is Mount Baker across the water from Sidney. Gorgeous!

Tags: British Columbia, Fuji x10, Music, Photo, Victoria

Compare and contrast

June 10, 2015 in Life in BC, Life in England | Permalink

On Saturday last the Kickass Canada Girl and I enjoyed a really rather splendid day in town. ‘In town‘ refers – of course – to ‘The Smoke‘… to London! I don’t normally feel much inclined to drive all the way in to town again at the weekend – having done most of the journey each and every day during the working week – but on occasion exception must be made – and made it was on Saturday.

We lunched with good friends in what was probably the first of a number of such ‘farewell’ events at one of our favourite eateries in St James – The Wolseley. We then indulged in a little retail therapy in one of London’s iconic department stores – Selfridges – before heading for the West End to see a show. This latter – David Mamet’s ‘American Buffalo‘ starring John Goodman and Damian Lewis and currently playing at Wyndham’s – was a late addition to the day’s festivities in that we only decided to try for seats on the morning itself.

Why – you might wonder – am I regaling you with this directory of Dionysian delights?

The answer is that it occurs to us – as it must do to others in a similar position – that we might, subsequent to our departure from these shores, rapidly come to realise that we miss terribly all the cultural and epicurean delights of the big city. We might even compare – unfavourably – our new home with that which we have left behind and become – as a consequence – ‘homesick’.

I decided to get my comparison in first!

The Wolseley is indeed lovely and serves one of the three best ‘Eggs Benedicts‘ in the world (from my admittedly somewhat limited experience). The second such of these may be obtained just a few hundred yards further along Piccadilly at The Fountain restaurant at Fortnum and Mason. The third – at John’s Place in Victoria!

You might cavil that this latter is clearly an entirely different proposition when compared with the pomp of London’s finest, and you would be right… the ambiance is very different. One need only – however – look at the testimonials on their website to realise that John’s is a very special Place, and that their food really is of the highest order. That one has to fight to get a table for Sunday brunch tells you all you need to know.

Victoria can also offer plenty of other good dining experiences and you will doubtless find me waxing lyrical as to their qualities in future posts.

Could The Bay in Victoria really be compared to Selfridges? There is no denying that the London store is really rather flash and that if one is searching for what the younger folk might at some juncture have referred as ‘bling‘ – then it is probably the place to be. Of a weekend – however – it is also jam packed, overheated and extremely noisy. Frankly I prefer my retail experiences to be a little more civilised.

It will come as no surprise that Victoria cannot hope to compete with London when it comes to the theatre… but then – nowhere else in the world can either (not even the Big Apple!). We did see – however – only a few years ago Eric McCormack in Mamet’s ‘GlenGarry, Glen Ross‘ at the Arts Club Theatre in Vancouver. Certainly we could not reasonably wake up of a morning and expect to be able to book tickets for a hot show starring internationally respected talent that same evening! Both Vancouver and Seattle are within range, but serious planning would be required to mount an expedition to either. We will just have to spend more time on preparation. Fortunately, time will not be in short supply…

On the other side of the equation – driving into London from Berkshire can take up to two hours of traffic-crammed grind – and one must then repeat the odyssey on the way home later. The public transport alternative is no better – hot, exhausting and very, very long. From Saanichton into central Victoria takes around 20 minutes by car, and one gets to look across the Strait of Juan de Fuca at the Olympic mountains for much of the way.

Hmm! Not much in it by my reckoning…

Tags: Dining, England, Friends, Theatre, Victoria

Tsk!

January 28, 2015 in Life in BC | Permalink

The main point of yesterday’s post was to share with the gentle reader the video clip that I had found on the InterWebNet that features Beau Dick – the excellent Kwakwaka’wakw artist and carver.

Now – WordPress contains a smart feature that recognises that one has inserted the address of a Youtube clip and renders it nicely on the screen, running it when clicked in a neat inline player.

What I did not know – not having done this previously – is that the mechanism that I use to send out an email digest to those who have subscribed to this stream of (semi)-consciousness does not recognise Youtube clips in the same manner – indeed it simply removes the link completely.

As a result yesterday’s post made reference to a video clip that email readers could not see at all. My humble apologies for this. Should you wish to see the clip – and it is worth so doing – this link will take you to the post itself and you will be able to view the page the way that was intended.

Tags: Art, British Columbia, Canada

A sense of place

January 27, 2015 in Life in BC | Permalink

My first visit to the west coast of Canada – indeed to any part of Canada – was way back in the summer of 2006. The Kickass Canada Girl and I were still relatively new to each other and by the time we landed it was clear that the trip had become a sort of two-way audition. Canada was invited to show itself off to me – the idea being to entice me to want to live there some day – whilst at the same time I was paraded before the Girl’s family and friends to see if I passed muster.

Canada clearly passed the test – and it looks as though I just about squeaked home too…

…though not without the odd alarum! The Girl’s aunt – she whose 80th birthday celebration we attended in Kamloops back in April 2012 – was initially somewhat suspicious of my intentions. Fortunately, once we had met face to face my English charm won her over to the extent that she decided that since I would definitely be moving to BC at some point I should be fully briefed as to what to expect. To this end she has gifted me each year since then a subscription to British Columbia Magazine – for which I continue to be most grateful.

Leafing through the latest edition – which plopped into our mailbox just the other day – I came across a brief item on a Northwest Coast First Nations’ artist of Kwakwaka’wakw descent by the name of Beau Dick. The description of the man and his work fascinated me so much that I needed to know more. I turned – as ever – to the InterWebNet.

In a 2010 piece for Focus Online (‘Victoria’s magazine of people, ideas and culture’) Leslie Campbell wrote of Beau thus:

“Beau is tall and lanky, with long brown hair and a grey beard. He wears a rumpled black felt hat with feathers and speaks very thoughtfully. Though we didn’t know at the time of our meeting, he is regarded as one of the most creative and versatile Kwakwaka’wakw carvers of his generation, with works in many top museums. He’s a chief, an accomplished singer, composer, historian, and an initiated Hamat’sa, the highest-ranking secret society of the Kwakwaka’wakw.”

I subsequently found the wonderful trailer that I have linked below, for an as yet unfinished documentary on the man. Quite apart from the fascinating insight that it provides into this talented and thoughtful polymath the brief film captures something of the essence of the west coast – a sense of place, if you like.

Should the images, sounds, voices and words contained therein touch you even a fraction as much as they do me, then you might glean an inkling as to just why I feel drawn so strongly to this extraordinary coast.

Tags: Art, British Columbia, Canada

Life in BC

Arts and crafts – 2

Arts and crafts – 1

All and sundry

Over the mountain

Cabinessence

Unreal estate – 2

Saanich scenes

Compare and contrast

Tsk!

A sense of place

Featured Image

Musings

Categories

Recent Comments

Archives

Blogroll

Visitors since Nov 2016