Last Day North Van

Gibsons Beckons

Fri Jul 2nd

Today is our last day in North Van and our hosts at the property, where we spent our first month, have been as welcoming as ever.  Jack, who got on well with the resident lady boxer, Josie, has renewed the acquaintance and has had the temerity to abscond to their upper deck and steal her soft toys.  I'm sure there are better ways to a girls heart but it seems to bring her down to ground level each time!

Temperatures have returned to seasonal normal in Vancouver, though the interior is not faring so well.  The number of wildfires has increased by 228 this week. See map below.  There is a suggestion of rain Wednesday next week, but only at 40% chance at the moment. Not great prospects at the moment for dampening down the prevailing arid conditions.

On the Sunshine Coast where we return on Saturday, the three month anniversary to the day and date of our arrival in Canada, watering gardens has already been restricted, unlike in North Vancouver.  For a province that has so many natural water sources, it is odd that water can be such a scarce commodity.  A bit like the UK though, years of under-investment, leaking pipes and political indecision has left water management in a precarious position; particularly on the Sunshine Coast.

BC Wildfires

Today was spent acquiring last minute bits and pieces for the new rental, collecting the car back from Jaguar Land Rover and a late afternoon walk up to the Seymour River suspension bridge.

The fault on the Land Rover was a failed battery (3.5 years old) which was replaced under warranty.  It only took three days to charge and test the battery to ascertain it was faulty and replace it.

Not a great customer experience.  They rang at 1130 to say the car was completed, only for me to arrive to wait three quarters of an hour for it to be cleaned.  Nice and clean but not ready and not customer-centric.  It is little different to the UK, where the focus is on selling the car, not the subsequent after sales experience.  Time is my most precious commodity and I really resent others wasting it.  It is alas, a sign of the times where large organisations think offering comfortable seats, refreshments and platitudes is what customer service is all about.

Back in North Van we took a final walk around the local trails to the Seymour suspension bridge.  A  lot of Canadians had taken today, the Friday after Canada Day, off work and the gin-clear river, lower than its April levels,  was being enjoyed by many families. But no fires or BBQ's to be seen!





The next chapter begins tomorrow!


 




 






Comments

  1. BobJuly 3, 2021 at 11:50 AM

    Ha! Time wasters. Don't you just love 'em. Mind you, BC should have mellowed you by now though Bro! Bruv

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. MikeT67MJuly 3, 2021 at 2:08 PM

      It had, until I got to Land Rover then I became un-mellowed!

      Delete

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