…to friends, acquaintances and gentle readers…
…from the Kickass Canada Girl and the Imperceptible Immigrant…
we wish you a safe and peaceful Christmas and a Happy Hogmany!
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Tags: Celebration, Christmas, Photo
We have arrived at the time of year that most self-respecting Canadians are putting the finishing touches to their Christmas decorations (mostly public-facing… unlike us shy and retiring Brits) and settling in to await the feast itself. Mind you, some of our neighbours started constructing their displays the very moment that they had packed away the last of the Halloween decorations; I guess on the principle that the show must… you know… go on!
The Girl nobly puts up with my seasonal cavils and my demands that nothing Christmas related should be addressed before the first of December (with the honourable exception, for obvious reasons, of the purchase of the Advent calendar – for those who go in for such things).
Now, once December is here, the first Christmas related item on my agenda is usually the sending of Christmas cards, the which (given that a fair number of them are headed for Blighty) must needs be tackled as soon as possible after the turn of the month if they are to stand a chance of arriving in time for the big day.
…and that is, of course, where Mr Sod and his eponymous law – comes into play.
Yup! The postal workers at Canada Post went on strike some three weeks ago now and currently show no signs of backing down from their demands.
So – here’s the quandary. If we set about writing, addressing and posting our greetings there is a very good chance that (assuming we can actually post them at all) they will simply join the gazillions of already posted screeds – none of which is likely to make it through until Easter – or thereabouts.
Now, the strike could be resolved at any second, of course, but the worry is that it is already too late to make a difference as far as Christmas is concerned. Should we be wise virgins we should probably resort immediately to online cardage this year – whilst being cognisant of the fact that a number of folks whose addresses we have are an unknown quantity in the online arena.
I guess we just have to do the best we can.
Of course, this all takes no account of those operating in the opposite direction. Since many such will have no idea that Canada Post in on strike they will simply and happily post their festive greetings, unaware that they these will probably simply be tossed onto some huge card mountain – never to be seen again.
What to do? What to do? How will we make it through in the face of all these first-world problems?
Tags: Canada Post, Christmas, Modern life
…to friends, acquaintances and gentle readers…
…from the Kickass Canada Girl and the Imperceptible Immigrant…
we wish you a safe and peaceful Christmas and a Happy Hogmany!
Tags: Celebration, Christmas, Photo
“Everything has seasons, and we have to be able to recognize when something’s time has passed and be able to move into the next season. Everything that is alive requires pruning as well, which is a great metaphor for endings”.
Henry Cloud
Those who are anything but the most casual of visitors to this digital bailiwick will be aware that this has been a particularly trying year for The Girl and I. The implications of our various travails will inevitably rumble on for some time yet to come, but I will do my very best not to bore on about them too much here.
However, as the prepended Henry Cloud quote aptly reminds us, we are approaching the ending of the year and the changing of the seasons. Things can and do change constantly (of which there is nothing to be afraid) and we must needs indeed carry out some regular pruning, so that the blossoms may flourish anew in the years to come.
Those here for the long haul will already be aware of my habit of looking both forward and back (Janus-like) at this juncture of the year and will be unsurprised to find me taking full advantage of that annual ritual to update the gentle reader on a variety of present topics over the festive season.
These subjects I will certainly address:
- The fallout from our aborted ‘trip of a lifetime’ to Botswana back in May/June. Progress on the recovery of our disbursements is glacial – but just consider what those gargantuan ice-flows are capable of inflicting upon a landscape. It may be a grind but ‘justice’ must eventually be done.
- The Girl has decided that it is time for some major changes in her life. Old doors will be closed but new ones almost certainly opened. Stay tuned for the full details.
- This time last year The Chanteuse and I proposed some loftily ambitious extensions to our musical project. Whereas things are taking longer to realise than we might have hoped, we are making good progress. There is exciting news to report – the which will be the subject of a post very soon.
- Each year I ask myself afresh if I wish to continue with my periodic teaching at the College. Now, I have a big birthday coming up shortly (I do not really celebrate the lesser ones) so the question is particularly pertinent. I find to my surprise that the playing field has altered somewhat since last I gave the matter my consideration.
These – and other pressing subjects – will have lights shone bright upon them in the interests of illumination.
For now – I am writing this at 10 o’clock of the evening in the arrivals hall at Victoria International airport – awaiting The Girl’s timely return from Mexico. As I am considerably less than half the chap that I can be whenever she is not around, this is not a moment too soon.
The Encyclopedia Britannica (online edition) says on the subject of rituals:
“A complete analysis of ritual would also include its relation to art, architecture, and the specific objects used in ritual such as specific forms of ritual dress. All of these components are found in ritual contexts, and all of them are nonverbal in structure and meaning.”
“Huh!” – I hear you exclaim… “Where is he going with this?”
“Patience!” – say I. The encyclopedia continues:
“Most rituals mark off a particular time of the day, month, year, stage in life, or commencement of a new event or vocation. This temporal characteristic of ritual is often called “sacred time .” What must not be forgotten in the study of ritual is a special aspect of ritual that is often described as “sacred space.” Time and place are essential features of ritual action, and both mark a specific orientation or setting for ritual. Time and space, whether a plot of ground or a magnificent temple, are ritually created and become, in turn, the context for other rituals.”
What time of the year is more endowed with ritual than the winter festival season that includes – amongst other celebrations – Christmas? And do we not imbue the occasion with timely rituals both old and newly devised?
“Yes!” and “yes” would be appropriate responses to those questions.
Yes – the run in to Christmas is upon us and we each mark the season in our own particular fashions. For example, The Girl and I know that Christmas is shortly to be upon us when it is time to make a festive run up island to partake of luncheon with The Girl’s mother – and other venerable friends – and to exchange the first gifts of the season. This usually happens at about the same point on the calendar as does the annual charitable event that sees Barney Bentall’s Cariboo Express pull in to the Mary Winspear Centre in Sidney for its annual fundraising concert. I have written about the Cariboo Express repeatedly over the years and I will continue so to do as long as each occasion proves to be the same festival of joy and love to which we have become accustomed… the which it happily continues to be.
Sacred times – sacred spaces!
Here are some boat pictures from our ferry crossing to Mill Bay on our way up island.
Tags: Barney Bentall, Cariboo Express, Christmas, Photo, spirituality
…this year – for which my humble apologies:
…to friends, acquaintances and gentle readers…
…from the Kickass Canada Girl and the Imperceptible Immigrant…
we wish you a safe and peaceful Christmas and a Happy Hogmany!
Tags: Celebration, Christmas, Photo
…Holy Moley – I can’t feel my face degrees!
The winter weather is doing its bit to make the run in to Christmas something of a challenge! Notice that I didn’t qualify that with: “Here on the west coast of Canada“. I am well aware that we are not alone in experiencing exceptional climatic conditions. We have had quite a lot to do of late (as of course have many people at this time of year) and needing to keep a constant eye on the weather only makes things more exacting.
Here are some ‘highlights’ – complete with pictures:
Last weekend we made a overnight trip up island to Nanaimo – for a Christmas visit with The Girl’s mum – stopping on the way back on the Sunday for lunch with a dear friend in Duncan. As ever we took the Mill Bay ferry to avoid traversing the Malahat (always a good idea when there is snow in the air).
We figured that the snow would start to fall at some point during this trip and sure enough it did – whilst we were in Nanaimo. We stayed overnight in the Coast Bastion hotel overlooking Nanaimo harbour – with which we are very familiar from previous visits.
We had a lovely visit with both family and friends – dined splendidly at the Nanaimo Golf Club, the Minnoz restaurant at the Coast Bastion – and, of course, with our lovely friend in Duncan. Happy Christmas to you all.
Once back in Victoria the winter storm really swept in and soon everything disappeared under about a foot of snow. This was the view from my studio window by Tuesday.
The Girl had taken most of the week off as well-earned pre-Christmas break, but the weather put paid to any notions of a relaxing run in to the festival itself. The Volunteer Agency of which The Girl is one of the mainstays delivers meals to elderly folk every week – with teams of volunteers driving routes around Greater Victoria to make deliveries to more than seventy locations. Given the weather it would have been totally unreasonable to expect these excellent volunteers – many of them elderly themselves – to be out on the roads in such treacherous conditions. It fell to a number of us folk with 4x4s equipped with snow tyres to get the food parcels out to the elderly in time for Christmas. This is – of course – is just the sort of thing at which Lorelei excels and she did not let us down. Here we are en route…
I guess the big question now is – will we get a white Christmas? Today is the 23rd and temperatures are starting to rise – though to this point they have only reached the ‘freezing rain on top of compacted snow‘ phase – so today we are going nowhere! We will see how things pan out tomorrow.
In my last post I promised further and better snow images – should the Arctic Outflow oblige by providing the requisite white stuff as it threatened to do. Yesterday evening it duly delivered. Herewith the evidence:
The inclement weather produced by the outflow led to a number of record low temperatures across the province, a notion which – given that large tracts of Canada are already notorious for bitterly cold winters – should cause the mind to boggle somewhat. Fortunately the worst of these records were set in parts of British Columbia to which right minded folk do not venture, should they be able at all to avoid so doing. Here in Victoria we reached a mere -5C yesterday – though the wind chill factor dropped that to a much less balmy -13C.
The Girl and I went for a swift walk around our neighbourhood yesterday and that gave me an opportunity to try out what has already become a favourite amongst her Christmas gifts to me – this fetching and most excellent tuke (for non-Canadians a tuke is a beanie!). This thing is awesomely warm which is clearly achieved by the appliance of some wonder of science or other… or possibly of magic. Either way it is a life (and ear) saver when the temperatures dip below -10C.
…a white(ish) Christmas!
Well – on the night of Christmas Eve there was fairly widespread snowfall here in western Canada. Naturally it wasn’t that widespread here at the southern end of Vancouver Island – because it usually isn’t. We did – however – wake on Christmas morning to enough of a dusting that we could officially declare it a White Christmas (though possible not the one of which Bing was dreaming!).
No need to be disappointed though. We are apparently trapped on the edge of yet another Arctic Outflow (I do love this modern weather terminology, which appears to come to us courtesy of the worlds of film or TV drama). It is so much more dramatic than simply saying ‘cold weather’. Anyways – this Arctic Outflow will doubtless dump a bunch more snow on us over the next week at some point and when it does I will take bigger and better (and much more dramatic!) snow pictures for your delectation and edification.
In a fit of supreme prescience I popped down to Sidney Tires (or ‘tyres’ should you prefer UK spelling) on the night before Christmas Eve and had them pop on our snow tires (or ‘tyres’ should you… etc, etc) – so we feel well prepared for anything that Mother Nature might care to throw at us.
That – and the fact that we intend remaining steadfastly indoors in the lovely warm over the coming days, rather than venturing out into the Arctic… well – that’s quite enough of that!
Hoping that all gentle readers continue to enjoy their Christmas (and/or other) holidays – and are getting in some serious relaxation.
…Not so sure about the ‘jolly’ though!…
Who would have thought when I was writing this last year:
“There is no getting away from the fact that this is a Christmas unlike any that we have known. In fact, unless one is old enough to remember the Second World War it is highly unlikely that such a level of disruption to the normal cycle of celebration will have been experienced before. None the less, we will persevere – because that is what we do. And come next year – when much has returned to a state considerably closer to the ‘old normal’ – we may find it difficult to recall just how weird this one was.”
…that a year down the line I could easily have found myself writing exactly the same thing!
Funny old world – ain’t it?
Still…
…to friends, acquaintances and gentle readers…
…from the Kickass Canada Girl and the Imperceptible Immigrant…
we wish you a safe and peaceful Christmas and a Happy Hogmany!
Christmas piccies…!
Tags: Celebration, Christmas, Photo
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