Updates, updates! Sorry it's been a while, you probably think I've not been doing anything exciting to write about- quite the opposite; I've just not had the time to sit down and write a proper entry!! Christmas and New Year were fun; my first spent out of the U.K. Everything is celebrated in much the same way here in Canada as is done back at home, (especially when you spend it with a British family- doh!). People take great pride in their Christmas lights and I have to say they're very tastefully done, none of the tacky flashing Santa in his sleigh stuff that you see too much of some years. The weather continued to be weird and batter Vancouver; Stanley Park is said to look like a bomb hit it. A real shame, they say it might not open up in time for the summer. Global warming hey- you can't deny it. The arrival of January meant, yay, Panto!! After months of rehearsal, the performances finally arrived. The week before is pleasantly referred to as Hell Week, I soon discovered why. Rehearsals and run throughs every night until the real thing starts on the Friday, by which time it's engraved into your brain so the chances of screwing up are greatly reduced. Plus by this point people are so immersed in their character it really shows on stage. The audiences were great; most nights were a sell out, which is nice in a country where most people don't know the definition of a pantomime!! We did seven performances in all, the last being the most fun as all the hardcore panto goers’ book that night up in advance, and make a racket- at all the right moments of course! Talk about panto withdrawal- after spending so much time with the same people it's hard to have it all end so suddenly. Anyway, I was lucky as I was distracted by the arrival of my friend Lizzie from home- yay!!! She arrived on the last night of the panto, jumped into a taxi and managed to catch the second half of the performance! Lizzie was here mainly to attend a Geology conference and meet some prospective supervisors. She left with about a zillion offers for various PhDs and jobs across the world so now has some hard decisions to make. If anyone’s wondering what to do with their lives, Geology seems to be where all the opportunities are!! We managed to squeeze in some sightseeing while she was here too. We were blessed with some fantastic weather so the views from Grouse Mountain were stunning. Watching the sun set over the city with a Canadian beer and a cup of tea was memorable to say the least. We spent some time at UBC to check out the facilities and get a feel of the campus. Lizzie said she could definitely see herself there so you never know, we might be swapping places come September. We visited Granville Island, before grabbing a curry and then heading off to a Keane concert. As their not as well known here in Canada as back at home it was a much more intimate affair and they gave it 110% as it was the last night of their tour. So now I have to tidy my room (again!) as Mum and John arrive in a week’s time- yay! I'm very much looking forward to seeing them as it's been quite a while. Hopefully we'll spend some time over on Vancouver Island and it'll be nice for us to be here for Nikki's (my cousin) 40th birthday.