July 2002
At the start of the month it was the annual ‘Dragon Boat’ races, which we could watch from our flat, as it overlooks False Creek. It proved to be an exciting event for all spectators. The park seen in the first photo is where Tania fell whilst roller-blading, since her full recovery she has decided to not venture out on them again. She has now bought herself a bike which she cycles alongside Bryan on his roller-blades (he is very good now!) We have spent a few enjoyable afternoons in this manner going around the sea-wall with all the other fitter Canadians. Kitsilano Pool and beach is along part of our route; it is a heated 137 m length pool next to the ocean. We are currently trying to get in training to be able to manage a couple of these lengths, but we realise this may take a while as our apartment pool is only 15 m! It is hard to see from the photos of ‘Views from our Apartment’, but we overlook a huge stadium called B.C Place - it holds 60,000. Because of its proximity we decided it would be a nice idea to have a guided tour around it to learn about its unusual roof (it is purely air-supported and is only 5mm thick. The locals call it the ‘giant marshmallow’.) Big names have used the stadium in the past including The Pope, Rolling Stones and the Three Tenors, although usually it is the home to the B.C Lions ‘football’ team. The Canadians seem fond of fireworks and the Canada Day celebrations were no exception. There was a great atmosphere in town as everyone met to soak up the sun and carnival spirit during the day and to watch the firework show in the evening. We met up with an old school friend of Tania’s, Nicky Calvert (whom she hadn’t seen for 15 years) and we all enjoyed a mini-pub crawl before choosing our spot to watch the show. Nicky is planning to emigrate out here, so Tania has been able to enjoy her company before she started work last week. Tania has also been keeping herself busy with a nine hour course on paper mache spread over three weeks. The course is run by a lady who sells her paper mache models in Granville Island Market and has been making caricature animals for over 20 years. Tania has enjoyed being creative during these evenings and her mouse (Hugh) is now completed. Bryan has enjoyed having these evenings to himself!! We are now looking forward to Bryan’s family arriving tomorrow.
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