It's Party Time

Me - at Squamish Canyon Trail

I am late with this blog, very late, it's two months since my last ramblings.

In mitigation May has been full-on with visitors and by the time I realised I'd missed April, it was too late.

We have loved sharing our beautiful part of BC’s Sunshine Coast with all of them. But it has been non-stop.

L to R - me, Alex, Maddy, Graham, Alice & Fred at
Smuggler Cove

Our visitors have all been delightful guests, every single one. They have mucked in with the household chores and all been gracious, keeping the drinks cupboard stocked, and of course helped empty it. Thinking we could manage a continuous stream of guests was ambitious....we’re knackered.

Firstly friends from the UK with Vancouver based son and fiancée. What a delight to share our home with old work pal of Fred's and since long-time friends. Hikes, walks, lunches and the odd glass of wine and cider!

This was closely followed by family from the UK.

Firstly Fred's sister who was over for two weeks. Closely followed Ros from NZ (via the UK) accompanying the North Vancouver branch on May 14th for a weekend of celebration - 170 years of birthdays. Ros's 40th (May 11), Fred's sister's 60th (May 18), and on the same day, my soixante-dix; it sounds so much better in French I've decided.

Health Trail Hike - pre birthday dinner
Me, Lizzie with Laurie, Lena, Fred, Ros, Sebby, Nick

A local chef and server came in and prepared an 'at table' dinner service on Monday May 18th. Canapés on the deck and then an excellent 4-course meal... oh and then it was birthday cake with 40-60-70 sparklers when Sebby delightedly led the candle placement and birthday anthem. A splendid finish was the accompanying glass (or two) of 1970 Port which Fred managed to track down in Victoria, whilst on her Gibsons Garden Club tour of Vancouver Island. Fred tells me she searched for a bottle of 1963 but none could be found in BC (we used to drink a bottle of '63 every year with friends (forming the Club of 63) - long story). The '70 was just as good and very special.

Happy Birthday to us!

The following weekend a bunch of Ros's friends arrived from Whistler, Vancouver and beyond (some kiwi's amongst them). I lost count how many but it might have been 8 at the peak over their 3-4 days with us. Followed by (and overlapping with Ros’ guests) was the arrival of my goddaughter, Anna, from the UK, who left on the last day of May.

Ros managed to stretch her birthday celebrations from 4th May, which started when she swung through the UK on route to Canada; culminating with her pals' visit on the penultimate May weekend.

Her pals were a lovely bunch of young people, (well younger than us) and fun to have around us in Cronk Towers.

Alongside the Birthdays, there was rehearsals for concerts, two with each of two different choirs; plus performances of 'dance, piano, voice' shows in collaboration with two world-class professional instrumentalists and Coast dancers and singers.

Plus multiple trips to Vancouver to get my truck camera system repaired which failed in December.

Ros and mates chillin' on the deck with sundowners!

If Ros’s journey to Canada via the UK went well, her return trip to New Zealand, was a travel nightmare.

Her 18 hr itinerary was extended by over 24 hours of delays, diversions and missed connections. Summary below.

Finally on the last day of May Anna headed off with friends to go camping.

So wall to wall visitors.

Rehab commenced on June 1st.

I missed the final two days of concerts as my voice sounded like the tenor equivalent of a boy soprano whose voice was breaking.

So frustrating after five months of rehearsals. Probably due to the May excursions and exertions, though several other members of the choir had been struck down.

The diary this week has been largely empty (deep joy), so a chance to get back into the workshop.

Apart from birthday celebrations, what else has been going on.

Early April we spent an evening in Vancouver for Fred's birthday.

Dinner followed by an amazing Jacob Collier concert. What an exceptional talent he is, over and above his perfect pitch. It was a solo concert with a local artist doing a set before he came on stage, and a duet with him towards the end.

No orchestra, just the tuneful audience who provided the 'instrumentals'. One of our choir music directors who was also in the audience noted that most of the audience must have been musicians. If you love music do try and get to one of his concerts, or at least check him out on YouTube.

Late April was Sebby's 'Slithering' birthday party. As well as a dozen or so youngsters, reptiles with and without legs (snakes) made an appearance which kept the vast majority of littluns spellbound for the best part of an hour.

Sebby was quite happy to be draped with a python, have a lizard or two crawl all over him (or was it an iguana or gecko I do not recall), plus a rather large and fearsome Tarantula. Even Lizzie got close and personal with the spider. I declined!

As for my Toyota Tundra it has finally been fixed, five months after it was first reported to the dealership, and just a couple of days before Nick and Lizzie were due to take our truck and the trailer out for a weekend before their main vacation in early July to the Okanagan Valley.

Though it does not sound a significant problem, the Tundra's surround camera system had failed, including the back-up camera that assists getting the trailer hitched to the truck. It took seven ferry trips to Vancouver, and multitude of loan cars and a huge amount of time, my most precious commodity.

Toyota refused to reimburse me for over $500 of ferry trips to take the truck into the dealership. They do not cover consequential loss, "it says so in the manual", even though they designated the problem as a safety issue.

The vehicle I loved driving is now the most unreliable set of wheels I have ever owned, and I would not buy another. How it can score so highly in comparative reliability tables in North America is a mystery to me. So be warned - the more complex the vehicle, the less reliable it is. Don't buy Toyota.

The beginning of May, I was part of an eight person vocal ensemble, providing the 'music' for the dancers of a 'dance, piano, voice' production in collaboration with a local choreographer. Five shows over a weekend in the rather intimate setting of the Waldorf Ballet Dance Studio in nearby Sechelt.

It was such great fun and included Isabella Perron and Simon Gidora who I have mentioned before. Some pieces were a cappella, some accompanied by piano and violin/viola. Link here. Much of the music was by Australian composer Luke Howard.

Concerts finished, Fred departed on a Gibsons Gardening Club tour of Vancouver Island which included a number of cideries, breweries and wineries and possibly the odd garden! She arrived back the day before our first visitors arrived.

In other news, little Laurie, now 7 months old, is getting into solid food, inside and outside.

He's started crawling, sorta, usually after his older sibling who he wants to play with, or Jack who is getting used to his ears and hair being pulled again by another toddler. Jack is very tolerant of all this physical attention.

Our neighbours opposite have removed some large Cedars that overhung their property and were a constant maintenance liability, clogging drains and gutters.

It has improved our view across to Vancouver Island and we can now see Mt Arrowsmith in the gap between the trees.

It took just a day to fell all three trees, which had to be sectionally removed, because of their proximity to the house.

Before and after below.

I saw my first bear of the year up in Whistler, while coming down from Whistler mountain with Anna (her first ever bear). The Marmots were out of hibernation on the top of Blackcomb Mountain.

Anna mused over whether they'd had Marmites yet (they are actually called pups or kits) but I thought it was a pretty good name for them.

Speaking of which we are now well stocked with Marmite thanks to our various guests.

The Big Birthday Weekend coincided with the annual Salmon release day at the Chapman Creek hatchery.

It's a fun family event and also a good fundraiser for the hatchery.

This year they released circa 14,000 Coho Salmon fry into Chapman Creek, assisted by Sebby who helped with releasing a bucket of fry.

Ros's trip to Canada was the first chance to meet her new nephew.

I have to chuckle when I remember being told off by Sebby a few weeks back. I was in North Vancouver for an appointment and popped into the North Vancouver branch during breakfast. Sebby was tucking into some pancakes and I remarked how he must have such a big tummy, to which Sebby replied "Gramps, you should not talk about people's bodies". I think this won't be the last time that I get pulled up by my grandson!

Other pics from the last couple of months.