MAC'S PROM

The rain continues to fall here in the South Okanagan and this is unseasonal to say the least. Wherever I go the weather is the hot topic of conversation. At the same time last year there was little to no rain at all and the daily temperatures were in the high twenties and thirties. For the past month it has rained most days and on most of those occasions the temperature has struggled to climb of the twenty degree mark.

Fortunately the weekend gone by was a little different, sunny and temperatures in the mid to high twenties. That was a good excuse to hit our small, lakeside beach with the fantastic views. The Christie Memorial Park beach would have to be the prettiest beach in all of the Okanagan and what makes it even better is that it is a secret to most and even on the hottest of summer days the beach is never crowded.


An added bonus of this beach is a portion of it is reserved for dogs and it is not uncommon to see a bunch of dogs chasing one another or balls into the water. Tammie and I went for a dip both days and the water was cold……..very cold!

Tammie’s eldest daughter McKenzie had her high school prom last Friday night. Mac looked great in a vintage dress we got for her in Vancouver. Tammie arranged a 1957 Metropolitan car to take her to the Prom. It is such a tiny vehicle that it was a squeeze to fit both her and the date into the car.

Apparently for some in this area the age of chivalry is over as Mac’s date did none of the organizing for the big night. Mac had to pick him up only to find him undressed and uninspired. He threw on an odd assortment of clothes which appeared to have been salvaged from the local Salvation Army store. He didn’t buy a corsage for Mac though Mac did buy a button-hole flower for him.

Sometimes we all make bad choices.


Now that the prom is over graduation is a just a week or so away and soon after that Mac will fly off to Ontario to start university there in September.


Our July plans are little up in the air at the moment. Two of my son’s arrive in Vancouver on the 7th July. Originally we were going to buy an RV and head towards Alaska, but that fell through when we realized that would not be an economical move. I was also going to take them down to Seattle to see a major league baseball game but that is in doubt now as well. Regardless of this they will have a great time here, the weather should be warm by then (hopefully) and if nothing else they will escape the Australian winter cold.

Spotted my first bear yesterday! This is the first one I have seen on this visit. It was just a fleeting glimpse from the car as we sped down Highway 97. The bear was only a little ways from the highway unconcerned with the traffic and noise. He was just poking along probably on the lookout for berries. There have been local reports of late that bear(s) have been raining garbage cans in Okanagan Falls. Perhaps this was one of the culprits.


We have visitors arriving this weekend and it is really the start of a busy two month period for us all.

FIRST DIP OF THE SEASON

Quiet time in downtown OK Falls these past few weeks. Cameo played soccer last weekend and her team found a way to lose a game they shouldn’t have. Coach Tammie yelled and cajoled but it was to no avail at all. Cameo did score a goal though so that is some consolation.

On the soccer front Cameo went and had a try out at a local soccer academy and she has now been well and truly inoculated with the soccer bug (not to mention the cute boy’s at the Academy). We have spent the week to the sound of soccer balls bouncing off the walls in her downstairs flat. We also get a constant update of how many times she can juggle the ball.



If this week is any indication she has the determination to make it.



Tammie and I went for our first swim of the season on Sunday. It was a balmy 26c but the water was freezing. Not much of a crowd at the beach, but I am sure it will build in the coming weeks as the weather warms up. The top is off on the jeep now so we are hoping for fine and warm weather going forward.

 

It is the Victoria Day long weekend and we are considering going to the Keremeos Rodeo on Sunday it will all depend what the weather is like.


Next week we make a flying visit to Currie Mountain which is near Whistler. Apparently it is beautiful country there so I am looking forward to that little adventure.

 

Looking forward into the future we have a busy 3-4 months with prom, high school graduation, family visits, a trip for the girls back East, two of my son’s visiting as well as some scenic holidays. That will give us just enough time to draw breath before a holiday in Australia before I undertake some Air Force training. Busy, busy.

RECREATIONAL VEHICLES

You don’t have to be a meteorologist to predict that the warm weather is now with us. As the tell-tale signs abound around this part of British Columbia.


Firstly the roads are starting to be jammed with RV’s of all shapes and sizes.


In the colder months it is rare to see a RV on the road as most are stored away awaiting the warmer weather. RVing appears to be a way of life here in Canada. You see them parked in so many suburban front yards or lining the numerous RV parks. Many are the size of a Greyhound bus and cost hundred’s of thousands of dollars. They are mansions on wheels. Others are a little smaller but no less well-appointed.


At the bottom of the RV food chain are the fifth wheelers, camper trailers and camper vans. Even so these come in a variety of sizes, shapes and value. It is not uncommon as you drive the roads around the Okanagan to come upon a line of five or more RV’s. These are usually driven by senior citizens who either strictly adhere to the speed limit or insist on traveling 10-20 kilometers below the speed limit which results in a long line of frustrated drivers who because of the narrow lakeside and mountain roads have little opportunity to pass.

Not that I have anything against RV’s and those that drive them. I don’t even resent those who drive an RV which have a little runaround car hitched to the back and a swag of pushbikes staked to the front.


As a matter of fact I am thinking of getting a RV. A cheap one of course, and taking it for a scoot around the countryside. I kinda like the idea of just stopping where the fancy takes me, beside a mountain stream or overlooking the ocean and of course I think it would be cool making a sandwich or a cup of coffee in the back of the RV whilst you are choofing down the highway.


Another sure harbinger of the warmer months is the proliferation of cyclists you see on the roads. The Okanagan is the cycling capital of Canada and in the warmer months they flock to the roadways like lemmings to a cliff. They appear to be everywhere, from the busiest highway to the obscure back road.

In British Columbia pedestrians and cyclists have ownership of the road regardless of the circumstance, so those groups can do whatever they please. It is not unusual around here for a pedestrian to walk across the road without care or mind for the traffic. It is up to the driver of the vehicle to see them and take evasive action.


Bike riders are quite happy to sit three and four abreast chatting away as traffic piles up behind them, whilst frustrated car drivers look for an opportunity to pass them. Many bike riders here in the Okanagan believe the roadway is theirs and ride accordingly.

So if a driver finally manages to pass a group of cyclists their relief is short lived as they now come upon a line of ponderous RV’s tooting down the highway. All you can do then is turn the air conditioning up and enjoy the beautiful scenery.

OSOYOOS INDIAN BAND

A couple of days ago I was lucky enough to be invited along to a peer group training session that was being jointly conducted by the Osoyoos Indian Band (OIB) and Vincor Canada.

The OIB are one of the most successful Indian Bands in Canada and perhaps the world. Much of this success can be attributed to Chief Clarence Louis.

Chief Louis is much demand all around Canada and beyond to speak primarily about Indian issues and how hard work, planning and perserverence can make First Nation people self-sufficient and proud.

Vincor is Canada's largest wine producer and has vineyards and facilities scattered throughout Canada. Vincor operates a major wine facility in the Okanagan Valley of British Colunbia, near the town of Oliver. Vincor has a very good working relationship with the OIB and this peer group training session was developed to strengthen these ties.

Two well regarded drug and alcohol facilitators flew in from Ontario to conduct the session which around 30 people attended.

Chief Loius, adorned in a colourful Washington Redskins jacket addressed the audience and said to them that eighty percent of people on the OIB Reservation could handle alcohol and of those the ones who worked attended on a regular basis. He said the problem lay with the twenty percent who had drug and alcohol issues, and if members of this group worked their attendance was sketchy at best.

He said he wasn't against alcohol, especially since some of OIB businesses sold or produced alcoholic beverages. He said the problem was that many Indian's couldn't control their drinking and did not know when to stop. He said that he hoped that by training and providing peer mentors on the Reservation and in the workplace many of the issues that OIB members and Vincor employees faced around drug and alcohol issues may be avoided and that the peer counsellors would become the first step towards further treatment or other services.

After hearing from the Chief attendees were asked for their input around current issues on the Reservation and in the workplace.

Lunch was a interesting experience. Instead of the usual sandwiches and salad we had stew and fried bread a specialty of Mona, one of the OIB members.

CANADIAN CRICKET

Over the past five days I have been avidly watching the progress of the Second Cricket Test, Australia v West Indies from Adelaide. A draw seemed a fair result. To someone not familiar with the noble game of cricket playing a game for five days, for six hours a day and then at the end of that time not getting a result would appear a little bizarre. But to those of us who grew up with the game, this is one of crickets attractions.

What other game can you have such quaint terminology as: leg before wicket, silly mid on, square leg, a maiden over or silly point.....well the list goes on and on.

To an Australian the dulcet tones of Richie Benaud signals summer as surely as cicada's blaring from a eucalyptus tree. For those who may not be aware, Richie is Australia's equivalent of Howard Cossell.

Thinking of cricket reminded me of a strange encounter I had about a month into my stay here in Canada.

I was driving into OK Falls and off in the distance I spied something that looked familiar. It couldn't be I thought to myself. No it couldn't be not here in OK Falls, British Columbia. I stopped the vehicle and said to my companion that that strip of green over yonder in the local park looks like a cricket pitch.

"A cricket what?" she answered with a vague look on her face.

"It looks like a cricket pitch. And look at either end there's a set of stumps!" Now she really thought I had lost it. Talk of crickets, stumps and pitches tends to do that with sweet Canadian gals.

I knew an explanation wouldn't suffice so I said lets drive to the park and have a look. She was only too happy to comply with the request of this weird Australian.

We pulled up at the park and to my amazement there were the two opening batsman going out to the pitch to take guard. One team were dressed in blue one-day garb and the other in yellow.

A cricket match was about to be played here in Okanagan Falls, population of around 1000. Go figure!

It turns out that the two teams were made up exclusively of expatriates from the sub-continent and a thriving competition is conducted in and around the Okanagan Valley.

So here I was sitting in my car watching a cricket match in OK Falls, trying to explain the convoluted rules to my companion, whilst just a short distance away a group of boys were playing an impromptu game of baseball.

Cricket being played was the last thing I expected to see here in rural Canada. Life is strange!