Homeward bound, again.

We are not handling the cold as well as we should, mind you, the question remains; should one really attempt to live through a Canadian winter inside a recreation vehicle designed for summer use?   

The answer is of course.....no.   So we decided to head back to the UK for some warmer drizzle.    But, before we fly our neighbours invite us to a barbecue in the snow!!   We had a fire pit which helped, beers just left in the snow to chill.

We ate breaded oysters from the barbie followed by the most delicious home made beefburgers. I can still taste them.............🍔.

I worked out that a barbecue this time of year does not have the problem of running on too late. People go home early in the cold.

We stayed at Jo's for the night and flew from Penticton-Vancouver-Heathrow, arriving at a civilised 11.30am. Trouble was, it was 3.30 am for us plus we missed a whole nights sleep. Luckily Lyns brother Paul met us and drove us to Bristol where we spent a few days with Harley. 

On Sunday Ginny drove up from Cornwall to collect us so I cooked a roast for all including Harleys house mates.   Monday we drove to Cornwall and Michaelstow Manor where Ginny now calls home.      We were fed royally by Sue and listened to all the ghost stories about the manor in front of a log fire, wonderful.  Today we head for Truro.................

Royal Canadian Mounted Police

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police are no longer mounted as I found out recently.  Our friend Jo casually mentioned over dinner that if I might have the slightest interest in an evening out with an officer in his cruiser, she could arrange it!

Be at the detachment (police station) at 7pm she said.  I was there at ten to, and invited to sit in on the briefing which all felt very familiar.  The usual scrotes were discussed, outstanding warrants, who had assaulted who last night etc etc.

I was dumped on Brad for the honour of my company. He came from Newfounland and at 27 years old was one of the most professional police officers I have met anywhere. He was 6ft 3 or 4, body armoured, Smith & Wesson automatic pistol, Tazer, handcuffs etc. His car was something else and he asked that I didnt take any photos of our adventure, was a Black & white cruiser by Ford. Cameras everywhere, laptop built into the dash. Shotgun in the rack between the seats. The rear was completely separated off by perspex screens with the seat being a one piece foam job so a bucket of soapy water is all thats needed to preserve hygiene after use by a client.

So after we did the usual comparison between Canada and the UK police we dealt with a number of calls ranging from domestic upsets to abandoned 911 calls to drunken assaults......all very much the same as anywhere else.    After the obligatory coffee break at Tim Hortons to meet the rest of the shift it was time to go home as Brad needed to respond to a call way out of town that would have taken hours.

The guys were great and very happy to entertain me. Thank you.

Mother ships & aliens.

Well, I never did get that pesky rat. I removed his nest from my engine bay with a water pressure jet, I dowsed the engine in WD40. I put traps all around the truck and managed to catch a bird!

There was footprint evidence in the snow that pointed toward my neighbours car so good luck there.

December 21st was a pivotal turning point for us here in the frozen wastes because of the winter solstice, meaning, from hereonin the long bitterly cold nights begin to shorten and in theory, the days get warmer.

What a load of rubbish!     A week later and Im still freezing my whatsits off.

Lyn points out that a bunch of local Druids were climbing some mountain nearby to watch the final winter sun set and to herald in the dawning of spring....we should go she said.   I wonder if its Druids that dance around naked singing to the watery sun? Anyway, we go, they are not Druids and defo not naked at minus 12c or so, but were a gathering of interesting people some of whom talked about the meanings of solstice and stuff.  We were then invited to a community hall in Penticton to hear more on the subject of solar stuff by various informed people....oh, and a free lunch!

At the hall we were greeted with hot coffee and cakes and invited to sit and listen to a presentation covering almost every aspect of the seasons and how different people and cultures are affected by the changes.

Lyn introduced me to Jo, a most lovely lady from Penticton who works for the local police detachment and has a dog called Berkley.    Jo is one of those people you feel has been a friend all your life although you only just met.

Presentation done, lunch in the big hall at a big round table was an entertainment.

Sitting opposite me was Cindi. Tall willowy 50ish, slim with long greying hair and dressed as a hippy might dress on a cold day. She was the always present yoga teacher that claimed was different from all other yoga teachers, if you could see into her head you might see unicorns and fairies all smiling and floating around in a purple mist.

Next to Cindi was some guy she knew but I never got his name as he was on the planet Neptune or somewhere.

Then there was Brandt, very nervous 35 ish chap that could not stop talking which was ok because he was the only white alien in the room, apparently. When Brandt claimed his uniqueness, we all looked around the room to check he was telling the truth.

Brandts claim to fame was his fruit juice company. Not sure about his company but his juice was rather nice. He didn't touch his plate of food because aliens don't eat in human company, but he emptied his plate into his handy Tupperware box for later.

Half way through his story about how the mother ship skims Okanagan lake just for fun I lost interest in Brandt, which was a shame because I wanted to understand an aliens views on rodent control.