Hello everyone! I returned to Vancouver, to an empty house; as a small favour and some way to begin to repay the wonderful generosity shown to me over the course of the past eight months in the city, I had agreed to house- (and kitten-) sit for Mike and Jenna whilst they took a trip to the east coast for the week. So it was that I entered the house late the night that I arrived back from the Island, trepidation weighing against my happiness: "I hate cats,...

Hello everyone! No sooner had I waved goodbye to Victoria, the keening solitude crashing back over me even as she disappeared through the entrance to the airport's inner sanctum, than I found myself stood once more in an arrivals area rapidly becoming familiar to me, the darkness of the late hour held back by the flood-lit terminal building. My mind wrapped in nostalgia, warmed by these memoires of the city airport and Vic's recent stay, but also of firmer, ol...

Hello everyone! A word of warning: this is the second of a pair of entries, both of which I have posted this afternoon. For those who may care, it makes much more sense to read the preceding entry before moving forward to this one! Still floating on air (well, a little bit) in the aftermath of our wondrous night at 'db', Vic and I readied ourselves for a trip north to Whistler, snow-capital of British Columbia in the winter and a summer-time paradise for hikers...

Hello everyone! One evening in late May (ha; three entries in the last two days and I am no longer all that far behind) saw me making my way out to the Vancouver International Airport, for the first time since my wonderful Christmas trip to Alberta. In my head I was ticking off a check-list: the house was as clear as I had seen it in my three months of occupation – the floors swept, the bed made up properly, kitchen and bathroom both cleaned; yet again I went ...

Hello everyone! Hours turn to days, days to weeks and so time rolls on interminably. Thus were the happy days in the Dunbar house and then at 'db' brought to a close. Yes, things certainly improved at the restaurant and this progression from dull despair to deep reluctance to leave when time called for me will shape the main substance of this entry. All good things must come to an end (allowing other good things to find the room to start). The end of Apri...