Codename WFNS (Wedding For Nancy and Scott) was originally created to provide a countdown and information for our wedding day. Now with 31st May 2008 passing into history, the Blog now provides stories and updates on our married life (in Vancouver and Victoria)......
The Vancouver Polar Bear Swim is one of the largest and oldest Polar Bear Clubs in the world. Its initial swim was in 1920 when a small number of hardy swimmers took the plunge into English Bay on New Year's Day. Led by their founder, Peter Pantages, the swim has grown from around 10 swimmers in that year to the record number of 2,128 official entries in 2000.
This year, the Polar Bear swim takes place at 2:30pm on Friday 1st January 2010. Nancy has stated that this is on her "bucket list" and plans to take a dip in the cold water. And this is where the question comes.... should I join her? Anthony has also laid down the gauntlet by using blackmail, saying that he will only do it, if I do! What do you think?
Yesterday, proved to be a great day... it all started with Nancy and I watching Fulham FC crushing Manchester United 3-0, a convincing victory on the football pitch. Not my words but the comments of ESPN Soccernet website and so I cannot wait to see Match of the Day highlights. This was followed by my Fantasy Football Team performing well and once again showing Ross's team how it is done.
The afternoon saw me head up to Grouse Mountain for my first skiing of the winter season. The snow conditions were ok as there was quite a bit of ice and not enough powder, however, the clear skies meant awesome views of Vancouver. The three hours on the slopes also meant I broke in my new ski-boots, in preparation for Anthony's forthcoming visit to Vancouver.
The great day didn't end there, as the evening saw Nancy cook a roast dinner with the highlight being the roasted parsnips.... YUUUUUMMMYY! We then watched a movie and enjoyed a relaxing evening with hot chocolate. If only all days were like this.
With Scott’s move to Vancouver and our reunion in March, 2009 certainly proved to be a busy year for us.As we will not get the opportunity to see all our family and friends this Christmas, we thought we would send a few snapshots, to show our year at a glance.As the famous Chinese proverb explains “a picture is worth ten-thousand words”.
We started the year, sharing the New Year with Ross, Laura and the kids in Washington DC, seeing all the sights of the USA capital.After this holiday we were apart until early March when Scott moved to Vancouver and so February saw Scott visiting family and friends all over the UK.The 28th February was Scott’s last day at Mercedes-Benz UK after twelve years of service; he celebrated this by undertaking a boy’s road trip to Lands End.
On arriving in Vancouver, we enjoyed spring by sharing many laughs and drinks with Anthony on his travels to Canada in April and skiing on Grouse Mountain, just before the snow melted for an unseasonably warm summer. We returned to Poets Cove on Pender Island to celebrate our 1st wedding anniversary.Then by a stroke of luck, Mercedes-Benz Canada advertised the same role Scott had left in the UK and he proved himself worthy to start in June.
This summer we had the pleasure of many trips and activities.Most notably, Emily and Kris’s wedding on the 31st July provided a perfect reason to visit the UK and complete a whistle-stop tour of all our family and friends.The wedding day was an amazing event and what a great couple Emily and Kris make – all the happiness to them for the future.On returning to Canada, we explored various places including wine tasting in the Okanagan vineyards, zip-lining in Whistler for an amazing adrenalin rush and weekend trips to Vancouver Island.Locally, Scott decided to jump out of a perfectly good airplane, by skydiving in August, which proved to be exhilarating to say the least.
September was all about Las Vegas where we met up with Emily and Kris to enjoy the best of Sin City, including drinks at a minus five degree ice bar. In October, Nancy enjoyed a short but sweet trip to Ireland for Claire and Gregg’s wedding and said hello to some UK-based friends. A big thank you to everyone who supported the We’re with Bob! Team, which helped Nancy raise over $12,000 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.Nancy will be in touch soon regarding her next feat – a ½ marathon jog for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society followed by a skydive in the same afternoon of her 35th birthday!
In 2010, a variety of people are planning to visit us in Vancouver, including Anthony in early January and Emily and Kris in the spring.The city hosts the Winter Olympics in February and the Olympic rings are already lit in the harbour. We have a trip planned to visit Betty (Nancy’s grandmother) in Palm Springs, California in mid-March, which means we can experience the Indian Wells tennis tournament.The 10K run challenge reaches its conclusion by the start of May as well.We are especially looking forward to meeting the new branches of the Shears family tree, with Ross and Laura, Craig and Ra’anaa both expecting in April/May time.So there are many things to look forward to already in 2010.
We are always thinking about our family and friends dotted around the globe and keen to hear from you. Feel free to contact us via telephone, email or Skype.You can also keep up-to-date with us on our blog: http://codenamewfns.blogspot.com/
Best wishes to you and your family over the holiday period and hope 2010 brings you all that you desire.Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
With the start of advent calendars being opened, festive lights appearing on the shopping streets and office Christmas parties invites landing on desks it certainly feels like Christmas is round the corner. In the last few days, the build up of the festive spirit has being flourishing with Nancy and myself through a variety of Christmas events.
Firstly, last weekend saw us, Bob and Wendy attending the Sidney Santa Claus parade which was quaint to say the least. The parade involved a number of homely decorated trucks, cars and fire engines. We followed this by attending my work Christmas party on Grouse Mountain, where we enjoyed drinks, food, watched ice skaters and admired the amazing view of Vancouver by night - a glittering array of city lights. Last night, we wandered into Gas Town for a friend's birthday party at a Mexican restaurant and the streets were aligned with white lights in the trees - our salsa dancing was probably not that festive but still fun. Today was the Vancouver Christmas parade and Nancy was involved as a volunteer for the Food Bank charity. I took the opportunity to finish off my Christmas shopping and so Christmas is coming ever closer.
With participants uploading their training runs onto the blog now and the banter getting increasingly serious, I thought I would step up the pressure just a little.... by signing up for two 10K runs next year. I have completed the registration process for the Vancouver Sun Run on 9th May 2010 and the Victoria Garden City Run on Sunday April 25th.
Anthony has to take the credit for this idea, as entering more than one run means that I can choose the best timed result to help my cause. More chance of me avoiding being the guy on YouTube! If you are interested in registering for the Vancouver and Victoria runs, links enclosed:
The week that was saw me once again fly around Western Canada and visit the Prairies, including Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Regina and Edmonton. Building up the air miles that's for sure - nearly 25,000 in 5 months! Although it was a busy traveling week, the highlight was easily on Wednesday night when I was taken to a ice hockey game - Edmonton Oilers versus Colorado Avalanche. We had front row seats, up against the boards, next the away team players bench - up close and personal. Not only was it a privilege to have these VIP seats, but the game itself was fantastic with ten goals, couple of good fights and a player concussion. The home team, the Oilers, were down 2-4 going into the final period and managed to turn it around to win 6-4 with some spectacular hockey. As you can imagine the crowd went wild!
In other news, Nancy has announced is her unassuming way she has signed up for a half marathon, on her birthday in May, as part of Team in Training program with the Leukemia Lymphoma Society. The aim is to raise more valuable funds for research into cancer treatment. But not only that, but she will be following this run up with a sky dive in the afternoon to add to her birthday celebrations. She already has a couple of people joining her so if you'd like to do this as well - game on! Nancy's training schedule starts this Sunday.
This week provided us with a public holiday on Wednesday, as it was Remembrance Day, so Nancy and I took the opportunity for a last minute getaway. We choose to explore a part of Canada that I had not been to before - Harrison Hot Springs and the town of Hope. After an hour and half drive on Tuesday night we made it to Harrison and we spent the next morning enjoying a relaxing dip in the hot springs - just what the doctor ordered. The views from the hotel were stunning as you can see from the photos.
The season is certainly turning to winter as we saw our first snow on the roads out to Hope. We were stopped from seeing the local tourist attraction of Hope Slide due to snow covered roads. The Hope Slide is one of the largest landslides ever recorded in Canada. It occurred in the early hours of January 9th 1965 and killed four people. Although the picture of Nancy posing as Rambo makes up for the disappointment. Snow is also appearing on all the local Vancouver mountains and even the ski slopes are starting to open early. Winter skiing here we come!
On Friday night, Nancy and I enjoyed a fund raising event at the Vancouver Aquarium - all thanks to tickets from Mercedes-Benz who were a main sponsor. The event was great fun with local wineries and restaurants offering their product for tasting. Although, it felt slightly wrong eating fish and chips in an aquarium with the live fish staring back at you.... maybe that was just me.
As you can imagine, at this sort of event an auction was par for the course. The main prize was an Olympic torch that was used on day two of the current torch relay across Canada. I seized the opportunity to have my photo with this torch and we even considered bidding for the item. However, when the price went past $2000 it proved too high for us, eventually selling for $2500.
The rest of the weekend was enjoyably spent in Victoria with Bob, Wendy and the other Scott as Bob reached the grand age of 68. Couldn't quite fit 68 candles onto his cake though. Nancy and I also went along to see Salmon spawning in a local river, which proved fascinating as there were thousands of fish heading upstream. Nature at its best!
An impressive set of 14-metre tall Olympic rings were lit on Coal Harbour Wednesday night, marking the 100-day countdown to the opening of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. Certainly took Nancy and and myself by surprise, as these are right outside our window.
"The Olympic Rings are one of the iconic symbols of these Games and this inner harbour showpiece will be a visual focal point for billions of people watching 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games worldwide and for visitors and residents to our province during the Games," B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell announced.
The rings have thousands of individual LED lights that can be programmed for complex light show displays and will be visible from around the harbour, the premier's office said. They measure 13.7 metres (45 feet) high by 29.3 metres (96 feet) wide. As part of B.C.'s commitment to a green games the lights in the display use energy efficient bulbs that consume approximately eight per cent of the electricity of equivalent incandescent bulbs.
There are now two sets of LED Olympic rings in the lower mainland. The other is near Vancouver International Airport.
Irish rockers U2 wrapped up the second leg of the 360° Tour in Vancouver last night. It was the last full concert show for 2009 and brought out many emotions from a hugging U2 to a grateful Black Eyed Peas. The emotions became evident when Bono, who actually looked touched, paused to speak to the crowd about the end of the 2009 leg of the tour. It was certainly an evening of hysteria and excitement for the massive audience of 55,000, including Nancy, myself and some guy called Bill Gates. Turned out he was in the audience and it was his birthday - Bono sang Happy Birthday to him with crowd participation.
The band worked its way through more than two hours of songs from eight of their albums on a magnificent stage that can only be described as a claw-shaped. Nancy described it as something that looked like it was out of the District 9 film, but the carousel HD screen provided a perfect view of the concert. The majority of the tracks were from their latest No Line On The Horizon. Although the crowd noise was strong on the newer tracks, it was the classics, like Sunday Bloody Sunday, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For and With or Without You that really got everyone on their feet. My personal favourites and highlights were Stuck in a Moment, Beautiful Day and Elevation.
Opening act Black Eyed Peas were exciting to watch. Their short set had all their top hits, the performance was fun and it got the crowd pumped for U2. Fergie’s performance of her solo hit Big Girls Don’t Cry was a standout, as it was obviously heartfelt. I have to say best warm-up act I have seen at a concert.
Was it the best concert ever.... U2 definitely went out with a bang with the place coming alive and everyone sharing this band's amazing music together. Bono at one point took a moment to describe his own feelings about this particular tour and expressed that no tour had ever quite given him this feeling and that he was literally in awe of the support that had been given back to the band. We definitely won't be forgetting this show anytime soon.
On Saturday evening, the "We're with Bob" Team completed the 5KM walk to celebrate the fantastic fund raising effort. The team raised $11,000 (with more pledges still to be included), which meant that we were the number one sponsored team at the Victoria Light the Night event. Nancy, as team captain, raised $1,150, however Wendy achieved the highest amount at $2,860. Great effort all round! The team was supported by over thirty people completing the walk and as the photos show everyone signed the team banner. Bob achieved the complete distance and enjoyed the post-walk party with a cheeky glass of wine.
Light The Night is an annual walk and event hosted by The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada (LLSC). The Society’s mission is to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families.
Thank you to everyone that donated, provided support and came on the walk.
The low cloud cover outside my window and the recent heavy rain, in addition to Nancy being away in Northern Ireland is about all the news that I have from Vancouver. The past week has seen me travel to Calgary and experience my first snow of the season - about three inches was covering the city. Also I have meetings planned at the MB head office next week in Toronto for a few days.
So all there is for me to do is get outside and complete a Sunday morning run. Especially, as I have seen from the blog that Anthony (aka ex smoker or Marlboro Man) has been stepping up the pace and getting a number of runs on the board.
DON'T FORGET TO SPONSOR NANCY or MYSELF THIS WEEK!! Bob's charity walk is NEXT Saturday (24th Oct) and so get your sponsorship in NOW! Thank you for your support.
This weekend was my first Canadian Thanksgiving in Canada, which we spent enjoying the company of Bob, Wendy and Scott Marks on Vancouver Island. We had a turkey dinner with local neighbours, the Player family and Abi the dog, on Saturday night. Sunday was the Marks thanksgiving dinner which as an alternative was roast beef. Both were great events and good times.
However, what are Canadians thankful for???? The American thanksgiving holiday is famous for the celebration of the Pilgrim Fathers and the Mayflower ship landing on the East coast of the USA. This was the much discussed question at the dinner table from the only Brit and the less than convincing answer seemed to be linked to harvest festival. On further research, i.e. a search on Wikipedia, I discovered that The history of Thanksgiving in Canada goes back to an explorer, Martin Frobisher, who had been trying to find a northern passage to the Pacific Ocean. Frobisher's Thanksgiving was not for harvest but homecoming. He had safely returned from a search for the Northwest Passage, avoiding the later fate of Henry Hudson and Sir John Franklin who died.
Hey, whatever.... the important thing to me was that I get an extra day-off work! Here's to Canada Thanksgiving.
A busy week at work involved me taking a long drive to a place called Kamloops for a grand opening of a new Mercedes Dealer. The four-hour drive through the mountains is usually scenic, but pretty dull, except this time, there was FIRE! We came across a logging-truck that was ablaze, surrounded by emergency services, who were all standing around watching the fire. It would seem the truck driver was smoking, threw his cigarette butt out the window, onto the wood and created the fire. DOH!
On Wednesday, we had a team "bonding" session with senior management at Whistler mountain and the main activity was quad biking. I have done quad biking before in the UK, but certainly not up the side of a mountain and through dense forests. A great laugh and experience had by all, plus as a bonus we got to see the new bobsleigh track for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics.
Last weekend was my first trip to Seattle. Although Nancy has been there many times in the past it was a trip we both enjoyed as a shared experience, in the remaining Autumn sunshine. We stayed with friends, who live in White Rock, on the Friday night as there are only minutes from the border crossing. On Saturday morning we headed for the USA border and due to my British passport, had to wait about 45 minutes and pay my six bucks.
Once in the US, it was an easy highway drive down to Seattle, stopping off only for the premium outlet malls - very similar to Potomac Mills or Bicester village. After a couple of bargain buys, we reached Seattle itself and on the Saturday evening we watched the flicking city lights from the top of the Space Needle. As the photos show it was an impressive vista across the ocean and city. The next morning we wandered around the area, including the local market where the world famous Pike Place Fish Market is situated. This involved watching the guys throwing fish and shouting at each other - very theatrical indeed. Following brunch we heading for the baseball stadium, called Safeco Field, and enjoyed the Seattle Mariners beat the Texas Rangers 4-3, in their last game of the season. Great enjoyment and good seats in the sunshine, near third base. A baseball was hit into the stands a few rows in front of us and so watched a big crowd scramble. However, the main highlight was Nancy's singing in the seventh inning - check out the video! She reminds me of the finger-pointing girl in some wedding video I've seen somewhere!!??!
Just to show how serious I am about learning the golfing fundamentals, I even allowed myself to be videoed for training purposes! Check out the enclosed video clips for a bit of a laugh. These are now available for your viewing pleasure on YouTube as well!
These videos were taken in the early days of my golf coaching from my coach Brett and Mr Smiley Face is helping to establish my golf swing.
As many of you know Nancy's father, Bob, was diagnosed with Lymphoma cancer (actually two types of Lymphoma) early this year. Since his diagnosis, Bob has been undergoing a regime that includes an experimental chemotherapy cocktail. This cocktail literally didn’t exist a few months ago – so we can attest that medical research is producing advancements that benefit current and future patients.
So it only seems fitting that Nancy and myself contribute to this ongoing research into lymphoma. Accordingly, a small group of us, including Bob, will be participating in the Light-the-Night fundraising 5km walk in Victoria, Vancouver Island on 24th October.
If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation and sponsor my participation, please make a secure online donation using your credit card by clicking the following link:
With the great summer weather continuing over last weekend, we ceased the advantage and went for a local walk on the Island to visit Fort Rodd Hill and Fisgard Lighthouse. This is a National Historic Site which is a coast artillery fort built in the late 1890s to defend Victoria and the Esquimalt Naval Base. The Fort includes three gun batteries, underground magazines, command posts, guardhouses, barracks and searchlight emplacements.
The waterfront sites at Fort Rodd Hill and Fisgard Lighthouse are extremely photogenic, especially with the scenic backdrop of the Olympic Mountains in neighbouring Washington state. The Strait of Juan de Fuca offered a wide variety of ships, from small sailing vessels, to enormous cargo ships, and close proximity to the Canadian Navy base with military craft of several different nations at close range.
My challenge training took an interesting twist today, as I completed the Grouse Grind. You are probably wondering what the Grouse Grind is....
Often referred to as “Mother Nature’s Stairmaster,” the Grouse Grind is a trail that winds it's way up the side of Grouse Mountain. This is the mountain that is directly opposite our apartment and makes up a large proportion of the view from our sofa. More than 100-thousand hikers a year take on the challenge of the rugged terrain and steep climb, up an approximate 56 per cent slope (30°), which starts at the Valley Station of Grouse Mountain and finishes at the Peak’s plateau. In length the Grind is 2.9 KMs or 1.8 miles, the elevation gain is 853 metres or 2,800 feet and the summit is 1,127 metres above sea level.
On average this hike takes up to an hour and a half, however, the official record to date for men is 26.19 held by Michael Simpson, set in 2007. I was happy in simply completing, but managed a respectable time of 1 hour 11mins for the total of 2,830 steps. Although I was spurred on by a couple of young kids passing me on the way up!
Following the successful Anthony and Scott weight loss challenge (combined loss of 42 pounds) prior to the wedding of the year, it has been agreed that the next challenge is the fastest 10KM run before 1st May 2010.
The group of contenders includes, Nancy, Scott M, Ross, Emily, Kris, me and of course Anthony.
The rules are simple: - Need to complete an official, timed 10KM run before the 1st May 2010. - The timed result needs to be on offical paperwork from an organised run or from the organisers website. - The FASTEST TIME wins the challenge!
A handicap system is available to those who want to use it and is based on their BMI score. Enclosed is a link to a BMI calculating website http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/. This is purely optional.
Eyes of the prize - major bragging rights are awarded to the winner! Also a few people are asking for a betting book to be run on the winning time, so we may look into this at a later date and donate any winnings to a cancer charity. An embarrassing punishment for the loser has also been mentioned in passing and so we will see how that develops over the next few weeks.
So if there is anyone else you wants to join in the challenge then please let me know, however, if you just want to watch our progress keep an eye on the blog for updates. Furthermore, you can track our run training via the blog through the Nike widgets on the right-hand menu bar. These track the distances run in training and related timings.
Anyway, enough of the talk for now and down to the training (minus the ice cream). See you all at the finish line! Good luck and eat my dust.
After a busy week at work and the Vegas trip, Friday night saw us taking in a concert with the English band Keane. This was Keane's third concert from their tour of North America and it was a privilege to see them in such a great venue. The Centre for Performing Arts was high quality in its seating, accoustics and view of the stage and we felt really part of the atmosphere. It also helped that the lead singer, Tom, was on fire - full of energy and adrenalin for the occasion and really got the audience going.
Keane tracks were on our wedding reception playlist, so it seemed apt that the concert tickets were one of my wedding anniversary presents to Nancy earlier in the year. Turned out to be an enjoyable gift with both of us coming away looking to rediscover albums by Keane. Although, this was the first of two concerts for Nancy this weekend as on Saturday she went to see Neil Young, Sheryl Crow and various other artists at Ambleside on the North Shore.
It has now been a few days since our return from Las Vegas, aka Sin City, and we had a great visit with the clear highlight spending time with the new Mr and Mrs King. We enjoyed Vegas to its maximum including shows, bars, gambling, swimming, beaches, dining-out and M&Ms. The newly married couple are certainly enjoying their honeymoon travels across California and we heard all about San Fransisco, Yosemite Park, drive through Death Valley and Grand Canyon.
Once we met up with Emily and Kris, we all headed for the -5 degree ice bar, which could have proved a trauma for someone with small finger syndrome! Despite this, we had a real laugh in rented coats, drinking vodka cocktails from ice glasses and even a quick drink from an ice statue of a lady's chest (not quite sure what that was doing there). On Sunday morning, we enjoyed a gospel brunch with was as much food as we could eat at the House of Blues, but the real entertainment was from the gossip band which got the crowd on their feet and even on the stage. This set us up for the day with lots of energy and we then toured the strip, including the M&M brand store - I think the colourful pictures tell their own story.
That evening the Beatles Cirque du Soleil show called Love, was simply spectacular! The show combined the best of the Beatles songs with amazing acrobatic displays. There is no easy way of describing the content of the show, but suffice to say that everyone thought it was a fantastic highlight of Vegas. This was followed by us walking back to the hotel and admiring the Bellagio Hotel dancing water fountains - check out the video for the full experience, shot by my video assistant Emily.
The next day saw us relaxing at the lazy river and wave pool at the Hotel, followed by a late brunch and Kris discovering the joy of maple syrup on pancakes and bacon. Sweeeet....! We then popped along to the Little White Wedding Chapel which seemed to be in honour of Elvis, with the realization that you could get married at the chapel drive-thru. We all decided that it wasn't the best place to renew our wedding vows on this particular occasion. Dinner later that night was at a Rainforest restaurant, which involved sitting very close to a noisy elephant (I will leave the rest to your imagination). The remainder of the trip was spent drinking, eating, gambling and swimming until we said our farewells in the hotel lobby - with Emily and Kris heading onto LA and us returning to Vancouver. Good times!
Well, not quite... we have a stop over in Seattle on the way through to Las Vegas. However, the important thing is that we have cleared US customs and currently sitting in Vancouver Airport awaiting our flight. Exciting times ahead and really looking forward to see the new Mr and Mrs King for some fun and gambling.
With Emily and Kris now officially on their honeymoon road trip in California, the days are on countdown for us to join them in Las Vegas.
We are looking forward to four days in the entertainment capital of the world and especially spending time with the new Mr and Mrs King. Although, Kris and I need to ensure that we do not come home bankrupt, thanks to our wives gambling!
Last Friday evening, prior to the skydive, Nancy and I went to our first Canadian Football League (CFL) game at the BC Place, which is one of the major indoor stadia in Vancouver. I had never heard of CFL until moving to Vancouver, but its the Canadian version of the NFL that the Americans play only there is less players on each team and fewer teams in the league. It is the second most watched league sport after the NHL in Canada. We watched the BC Lions play the Winnipeg Bombers with split loyalties. As you should, we were cheering for the local team but Bob wanted us to support his team from Winnipeg.
The game itself was fun to watch when there was action on the pitch, but it was too stop/start and absolutely no flow to it. There were numerous interruptions in which the cheerleaders felt obliged to do a dance and wave to limited effect on the crowd. The play was slowed further by some guy in a red outfit that seemed to be in charge of syncing the game with the television commercials. However, the highlight of the whole experience was heightened by watching a colleague of Nancy wearing a Bestbuy mascot costume and attempting to play football (aka soccer) with fifteen other mascots in the half-time interval. The outcome was hilarious with mascots tripping over each other.
Bob was extremely happy with the overall result as the Bombers won 36 to 10 and the Lions got their arse kicked again this season. Based on the performance I don't think the BC Lions will be winning any trophies this year. Also not sure that we will be frequenting future games, but another experience ticked off our list - I think Nancy's facial expression says it all!
Yes I did it! I jumped out of a perfectly good plane in order to fall to the ground a rapid velocity and what a thrill it turned out to be. Don't get me wrong, I was wracked with nerves doing a tandem skydive especially when the side of the plane opened up at 10,000 feet. I'm not ashamed to say that there was nearly a code brown alert when my instructor shoved me towards the open door and we literally fell out of the plane in open air.
When I first arrived there was a couple of groups and I joined a stag-party of four guys, all of us were first timers and had fear etched onto our faces for the length of the briefing\ training. And when I say training, I mean lying on a chair and sticking my legs and arms in the air! After being suited up and harnessed, we were bundled into the plane and flown to the altitude of 10,000 feet. It was a great view, but none of us were enjoying it.
The only way to describe the feeling is when you reach the top of rollercoaster, start tipping over the edge in anticipation of freefall and your heart is in your mouth - multiplied by a thousand. When I pushed out of that plane it was exhilarating and scary all at the same time and the freefall lasted for about 40 seconds. The instructor informed me that we reached maximum velocity after a few seconds and plummeted at a speed of 200 km/hour. Then suddenly the ripcord goes and the parchute opens, the next thing I know the feeling of weightlessness is replaced by immerse pressure around my genitals as the harness yanks us upwards. The next five minutes is all about gliding down to the ground in a very calm, relaxed manner and as you can imagine with a awesome view of the world below. Landing was simple as I just kept my feet up and let the instructor do all the hard work.
The first question family and friends have asked is "would you do it again" and I can confidently reply that I would (but maybe not for a little while).
Day two at Whistler was last Sunday with the highlight being the two of us completing ZipTrek. This involved Nancy and myself being harnessed up and sliding down five different zip lines on Whistler mountain, through the forest and over the rushing glacier river. Nancy was especially nervous as she has a slight fear of heights and we were over 200 metres off the ground in the tree canopy. Furthermore, when we were not zipping through the air at up to 50 km per hour then we were crossing the area on treetop suspension bridges. The ziplines on the Ziptrek Bear tour were between 200 and 1100 feet (60m to 330m) in length. As you can see by the photos and video clip we had an fantastic experience and even managed to zip along the last line upside down! However, there is a more advanced tour called Ziptrek Eagle which involves longer and higher zip lines reaching up to 80 km per hour, and is a must for a future challenge.
With the exciting, adrenalin rush out of the way by lunchtime we headed back to Whistler Village for a spot of food. On the way back home to Vancouver we popped in to see Nancy's gran - Betty and then collapsed on the sofa at the end of the day. All in all the weekend in Whistler was fantastic, but we both agreed we need to revisit it in the winter time when everything is covered in snow.
In between the extensive traveling around Canada with work, last weekend, Nancy and I managed to visit Whistler up in the local Mountains. This turned out to be a fantastic trip that saw us complete a number of exciting activities, plus we got to stay in a top-class suite at Whistler Creek. Thanks to Nancy, we found a Vancouver-based couple renting out their suite at Whistler for a bargain price with access to all the facilities, including hot tub, steam room, gym, swimming pool and games room.
After a evening of relaxation on the Friday night which involved pizza, beer and a hot tub dip, we spent the early part of Saturday afternoon watching the 2nd Annual Cheese rolling contest. This involved watching a number of Canadians almost kill themselves chasing a round block of cheese down the side of the mountain - lots of fun was had by all contestants and spectators. Check out the video to see the carnage.
We then headed up the mountain using the chair lifts and then experienced the Peak to Peak cable car ride between Blackcomb Mountain and Whistler Mountain. This newly opened attraction boasts three world records, including the longest free span cable car ride in the world, and I have to say it was certainly a spectacular view of the nearby glacier. Once at the peak of Whistler we took another chair lift to the very top of the Whistler Mountain and we were literally on the top of the world at 7156 feet or 2181 metres.
And all this was just day one of our trip to Whistler, more to come.......
The last week has seen me traveling the length and breadth of Canada with work. I left Vancouver last Wednesday for Winnipeg, which was a 3 hour flight, and the very center of Canada. Winnipeg in the province of Manitoba (which is the home of Bob's family) didn't really offer much, except for 1970s architecture and a huge postal office.
My travels then took me to Regina which is in the province of Saskatchewan, where we have a great Mercedes-Benz Dealer, but the town did not offer too much. I then drove from Regina to Saskatoon, which took two and half hours, but on the straightest and most flat road I have ever driven. There was no distinguishing features of this road except for its flatest. The only interesting moment was the sight of Mount Blackstrap, which was a man-made hill created from rubbish and old tyres for the purpose of skiing! Let's just say I would have been highly disappointed if I had booked a ski-trip to Mt Blackstrap - more of an hillock than a mountain. Saskatoon had a scenic centre, with a little castle over a river, however, the rest of the town was similar in style to Regina and Winnipeg. Flying back to Vancouver on Friday, we visited Whistler for the weekend and more blog entries on that to come.
This week has seen me take a ferry ride to Nanaimo - yes, where the famous nanaimo bars come from, although I didn't get a chance to taste any on this trip. On the way to down the Island to Victoria I stopped off at Bob and Wendy's for an excellent lamb chop. On returning to Vancouver on Tuesday evening, just in time for an early morning flight to Calgary. Wow, I'm knackered just writing the blog ariticle, but I am certainly seeing all the different parts of Canada at the cost of Mercedes.
With over a week gone by, the new Mr and Mrs King have had time to settle into their new lifestyle as a married couple. Ever since the 31st July at 1.30pm, Emily officially joined the King family with a gift of a bible and a pair of scissors from the Reverend. A fantastic day was had by all with everything going to plan, even the British Summer weather provided a chink of sunshine. All the wedding speeches were fantastic and one of my particular highlights were the goldfish bowls, complete with real, live goldfish as the table centerpieces.
I'm still coming to terms with the fact that my little sister is now all grown-up and a married lady! Once again congratulations to the happy couple.
Since 1990, Vancouver has been home to the Celebration of Light. This is an international pyro-musical fireworks competition that has attracted the world’s leading fireworks designers and is seen as a highly prestigious event. The fireworks festival creates an exciting display where spectators enjoy the latest explosive techniques and the most innovative fireworks materials are used as different country teams compete to be crowned the winner.
After a busy work day, Nancy and I wandered up to English Bay to sit on the seawall with the ocean waves lapping. At 10pm the Canadian Team's fireworks started to the theme and soundtrack of the Wizard of OZ and I have to say I was very impressed for the 30 mins. This was no ordinary fireworks display due to the scale, number of fireworks, noise and sound track plus the huge number of onlooking boats and yachts in the Bay. It turns out that over 10% of the Vancouver city population came out to watch the fireworks. My photos don't quite do it justice, but I can assure you for free entertainment is was fantastic.
Wow - it has been a busy ten days! Oh how I long for the days of no to-do lists, endless sofa sitting and limitless free time.
Since my last post, I have spent 6 days in Kelowna, which is approximately a four hour drive from downtown Vancouver, completed four more rounds of golf, watched wildfires, pop across to Edmonton, squeezed in a bit of work and finally finished writing a business plan!!
Most importantly, the trip to Kelowna was a fantastic experience with wall to wall sunshine at temperatures in the mid-thirties. Following, a week of working at a Dealer event with MB and the golf, Nancy joined me at the hotel for a weekend of relaxation and fun. We visited three local wineries and vineyards, including Mission Hill, which I discovered was where our wedding wine was from. Following a wander round the town centre and along the beaches, we enjoyed a trip out on a speed boat on the lake. This proved to be immense fun, especially with a couple of dips in the water to cool off from the afternoon heat.
While out on the lake, we noticed a plume of smoke from one corner of the lake which gradually developed over the afternoon. As you can see by the photos this turned out to be the start of the now infamous Kelowna wildfires, which resulted in over 17,000 residents having to be evacuated from their homes. From the waterside this was an impressive sight, but I have a great deal more respect for firefighters as I could only imagine the battle on their hands. Even now, as I write, the fires are not fully under control and there are still people staying away from their houses. For us we made it back to Vancouver safe and sound, which only a two hour delay on the return journey due to closed roads.
This Sunday saw my second round of 18 holes of golf at a Mercedes-Benz employee tournament. The venue was the WestWood Plateau Golf and Country Club in Coquitlam, which was about a 40 minute drive from downtown Vancouver. The golf course was literally on the side of a mountain and so the course was particular narrow with a large number of trees lining the course and significantly sloped away on certain fairways. This resulted in me losing a number of golf balls in the local forest, but the upside were the amazing views including a vista of Mt. Baker. My round was an improvement compared to my first ever round of golf by 11 shots, however, there was still a mixed bag of good, bad and ugly shots.
Continual improvement is required with my game, especially with four more rounds of golf due over the next two weeks. So my coach has provided me with further instructional video guides of the fundamentals and these are from the golfing greats - Mr Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods. I especially like the "Eye of the Tiger" clip with Tiger Woods using a camera on his cap to show his stance and swing.
It has been on my mind for a long while to arrange a tandem skydive jump and there just happens to be a place local to us, here in Downtown Vancouver. I have walked past the store front a number of times and today I went ahead a booked it for Saturday 22nd August.
The plan is for a "Freefall Tandem". So following the briefing, we take to the skies in an area over a place called Abbotsford, where myself and a Skydive Instructor jump out of a plane and I get to experience the magnificence of human flight harnessed together through: freefall, canopy descent and soft landing.
By the virtue of telling people via the blog it creates the pressure to deliver, as I can't then chicken out at the last minute and disappoint everyone!
With the pressure on from my new boss to learn golf and five rounds of golf due to be played over the next three weeks, I am having to spend my free time hitting golf balls. In the past few days alone, I have hit over 200 balls at the driving range and I have got to the stage when I have an understanding of the basic fundamentals. Although one of the outcomes of my blossoming golf game is painful blisters on my hands, heightened by borrowing Bob's ancient clubs yesterday.
I am far from perfecting a golf game as I can hit a small percentage of balls just right (which feels great) but the rest are all over the place. So I have a growing respect for the golf professionals on the TV who make it look so simply and able to hit the ball just where they want it to go. The enclosed video clip has been recommended to me by my colleague, who is acting as my coach, and so at least I can hold the club correctly and have a grasp of those golfing fundamentals.
It turns out that Canada has a birthday each year on 1st July and we get a public holiday to celebrate it. A day off from work is always welcome in my eyes. The occasion marks the joining of the British colonies of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and the Province of Canada into a federation on July 1, 1867. The British Government at first kept limited rights of political control over the new country, which were shed in stages over the years until the last vestiges were ended in 1982. Canada Day thus differs from Independence Day celebrations in other countries in that it does not commemorate a clear-cut date of complete independence.
More importantly, what did we get up to with a bank holiday..... well we decided doing a local tourist attraction was in order and we visited the Vancouver Aquarium, in Stanley Park. This was a good couple of hours looking at marine wildlife, tropical fish, frogs, dolphins and the major attraction of beluga whales. Turns out that there was a recent Beluga Whale calf born three weeks and was pride of place in the display.
A quick afternoon nap was followed by watching the Canada Day parade along West Pender Street, one block over from our building. This was a bunch of Canadians simply having a good time with a variety of floats, trucks, super cars, dancing/flag waving people and of course Santa Claus! The finale to our day was a firework display over the Burrard Inlet in Vancouver Harbour at 10.30pm and we had the perfect view from just outside our apartment. All in all a fun day and gorgeous weather to match - my first Canada day in Canada.
This week has seen me visit Toronto for the first time and saw me arrive on Monday and depart Friday lunchtime. A five-hour flight and a time zone change of 3 hours just to visit the main headquarters of Mercedes-Benz Canada for a week of induction meetings. Previously, it never took that long to get to the Mercedes UK offices in Milton Keynes or even to the global HQ in Stuttgart - wherever I was coming from. I suppose that is the joy of Canada and its massive, geographic expanse.
Couple of quick facts for you.... Canada is the second largest country in the world (after Russia of course) with 3,855,100 square miles and makes up 6.7% of the world's total land mass.
Anyway, my week in Toronto was pretty uneventful - saw the airport, decent hotel, endured the nightmare traffic and peered at the CN Tower from a distance. I met with a number of people at the Mercedes offices and all of them were very welcoming. I can now certainly say that I worked for the MB organisation in three different continents and as a good friend once said I have spent over a third of my life with the one company. What a terrifing thought!!
We are in the throws of organising a trip to the UK for the celebration of Emily and Kris's wedding, which is taking place on 31st July. Both of us are really looking forward to our seven day visit, especially as we get to see all our family and friends.
The excitement is becoming almost tangible and to reflect that I have created a countdown clock to the big day! Check out the blog's the new countdown.
The main news from this week is from the world of work, first day was Monday and it has not proved too demanding so far, simply meeting, greeting people, signing numerous forms and picking up a car. It feels less like starting with a new company, but more like changing departments within the same company. So far there has been many similarities between MB Canada and the UK version and I feel I have a headstart on certain things. Plus I met with a couple of Dealers and they do not seem too alien for me. Looking forward to the challenges ahead with Mercedes.
I have also been tasked by my new boss (Ted) with learning to play golf in the next 4 weeks. This is for two main reasons, firstly, everyone plays golf in the office, especially my boss, and there is a great deal of mickey-taking for being a tennis player and non-golfer. Secondly, there is a number of golfing events in the near future with the first being on 15th July and I have been told that I need to learn/play quickly to be prepared for that event. Nothing like a bit of pressure! Anyway one of the guys from the office has kindly taken me out to a driving range to learn the golf fundamentals and I completed my first round of 18 holes on Friday. Suffice to say that more practice is required before I am the next Tiger Woods.
The Vancouver summer weather continues to be bright, sunny and the temperature remains in the mid-twenties Celsius. So we took the opportunity on Saturday afternoon for a two hour wander around Stanley Park through its gardens and woodland. We enjoyed a two-hour walk and were surprised to discover Beaver Lake in the midst of the forest.
The walk to attractive Beaver Lake (so-called because it was once home to a beaver colony) was well worth the effort. In summer the lake, the only natural freshwater lake in the Park is a haunt for herons and ducks and is a mass of variously colored water lilies. Beaver Lake is a very tranquil area of Stanley Park, nice for a relaxing afternoon wander was our thought.
With my days numbered before I begin full-time working life again with Mercedes-Benz, I took the opportunity to visit Bowen Island for a day trip, with another Brit called John. We picked up the Bowen Island Express boat from Granville Island and in within 30 minutes we were at the quayside.
Similar to an adventure out of a Enid Blyton book, we hiked from the harbour to a forest trail that took us around a local lake. The three hour hike included seeing salmon hatching streams and stretches of lily pads in the water. With a beautifully rugged landscape and friendly laid-back pace in the tiny village, Bowen Island came across as a forested island retreat. It reminded me of Pender Island and I am sure akin to many other islands along the coast of British Columbia.
What can I say.... the pressure was on to achieve my Canadian driving test. A first-time pass was definitely required due to my forthcoming job with Mercedes-Benz and also that the 90 days allowance for my UK driving license expired on the same day. Plus a test retake could have been up to six week hence due to demand on the test center, creating issues for my new career.
The examiner originally was from the UK and was born in Liverpool, so we had common ground from the start. She nearly caught me out on hand signals though and only a last minute reminder from Bob, earlier in the day, saved my blushes. Apart from that, the test went relatively smoothly and I even enjoyed the only roundabout on the test route (reminding me of good ol' Milton Keynes). Furthermore, I was even marked down for going too slow at one point - probably the last time that will ever happen!
I have not felt that nervous for a long time and have certainly taken MBA exams with less stress and tension. Special thanks to Bob and Wendy for not only lending me their car but supporting me through the pre-match nerves. The open road lays ahead for me now!
After being in Vancouver for exactly three months I have now been offered full time employment (subject to final written offer). This is the last piece of the moving abroad jigsaw falling into place.
Admittedly, the new role is with Mercedes-Benz Canada and is similar to the job that I left in the UK. So I am certainly well-qualified to succeed and deliver on my new bonus targets. Although we haven't missed a car, it will also be a pleasure to have our own transport again and spending a little less time on the bus, aka "the loser cruiser". More importantly Nancy will be happy to have my arse off the sofa, but less happy to be losing her in-house cleaner, chef and personal assistant!
When we wrote the last blog post we were still at Poets Cove in anticipation for our return flight home via Seaplane or as they are locally known a Float plane. This flight turned out to be one of the highlights of our visit to Pender Island, partly because of the experience but also for the spectacular views of the city (see photos).
Firstly, when boarding the plane at Poets Cove I was offered the front seat, next to the pilot and so enjoyed a front row view all the way home. Then we flew between Pender Island and Salt Springs Island, which was no more than a 10 minute flight, and so we maintained an altitude of only about 100 metres above the sea and this felt like we were skimming across the water.
On the return flight into Vancouver the plane flew up the harbour, above tankers and cargo ships, then over the trees of Stanley Park, along the cityscape of the coastline and then swooped round to land directly in front on our apartment building. I assure you there is no better way to travel ....
We write this post as we sit at Poets Cove Bar, enjoying one last pint, while we wait for our float plane back to Vancouver. Very excited about the float plane!!! Nancy suspects she will have to give up the window view for me, so I can take pictures. We go back to Coal Harbour via Salt Spring so it should be an awesome scenic view.
Weather has been fabulous all weekend. Both of us were sun burnt on different days. We went bike riding down to where our wedding photos were taken and while on the beach we saw whales go by - about 50m off shore. AMAZING!!!
We enjoyed a Spa visit yesterday which proved to be fantastic - proper relaxation for both of us. This was followed up by dinner in the Poet's restaurant, then a couple of hours on our patio drinking our Wedding wine and talking about the previous year and the year ahead. Today, we took a canoe out and spent an hour canoeing along the shoreline of Bedwell Harbour. It was nice to be on the water and see the resort from a different perspective.
So we have yet to see an Eagle perched in a tree but we've seen many flying above our heads. Impressive bit of nature... Anyway the float plane is arriving, so time to go. Thank you to all for our Anniversary cards and best wishes. Check out the selection of photos from the weekend.
With our first wedding anniversary only two days away and our blog count-up clock nearly at 365 days, we are making the trip back to Poets Cove on Pender Island for the weekend.
Wow! Nancy and I have been married for a year, how time flies when you are having fun.
From our apartment window, we have a great view of the yachts in Coal Harbour and up till now we have been impressed by the magnificence of the Nova Spirit yacht (left photo). This yacht is owned by Jim Pattison, a local entrepreneur, and has been the largest boat in the harbour. Simply put, it stands out from the crowd.... until today! When the Kisses (right photo) rocked up with its own helicopter parked on board! Kisses is one of 30 largest yachts in the world, owned by Norman Bramans and he's an automobile tycoon, owning the largest chain of luxury automobile dealerships in Florida. It would seem size is everything in the world of boats!
Have you ever heard a boom and don't know where it is coming from? If you are in Vancouver, check the time, as if it is nine o'clock in the evening, it will be the Nine O'clock Gun. It has been ringing out nine o'clock for one hundred and eight years since it was placed in Stanley Park.
Why was the cannon set up in the park? The usual explanation is that it was originally installed by the federal department of fisheries to be shot off at 6 pm to alert salmon fishermen in the harbor that it was closing time for fishing. The 9 pm firing was later established as a time signal for the general population and to allow the chronometers of ships in port to be accurately set.
It’s fired electrically these days, and flashing red lights warn passers-by of the imminent blast. Unlike a number of places that have a gun booming out the time, it goes off at nine pm rather than noon. The boom is so loud that it is frequently heard more than three minutes after nine in parts of Vancouver. From our apartment sofa, we have a clear view of the gun and so see the flash and the plume of smoke each evening. I have tried to take my own video of this 9pm sight, but the results have been poor, so I borrowed the enclosed video clip from the internet.
Check out a new music playlist on the blog. On the right hand side of the blog, just underneath the article archive, you will find a music player with a selection of tracks.
On the request of Ross, who uses our wedding playlist as a lazy man's ipod, I have added this list of 65 tracks. Playing them straight from the blog gives you the first 30 seconds of each song, however, you can listen to the music in its entirety by clicking on the link - ROSS FULL TRACK PLAYLIST.
Enjoy songs from Kings of Leon, Muse, Robbie Williams, Faithless, Blur, Oasis, U2, Verve, Editors, Razorlight, The Killers and many more.... all for free.
Over the last five years of visits to Victoria, on Vancouver Island, I have never managed to see the world-famous attraction that befits the Royal BC Museum - The Woolly Mammoth. There has been a number of failed attempts previously, however, this May bank holiday saw us finally make the trip and see the Woolly Mammoth up close and personal.
Although, the trip nearly proved fruitless again as the admission price for the two of us would have been $50 - just to see the one exhibit for a matter of minutes! However, with explanation and negotiation with the attendant, I managed to get us free entry to the museum and capture these photos. It was certainly worth the wait and was an very impressive and imposing sight.
This Woolly Mammoth has been created from a full skeleton of bones for an adult male, nine pelts of a Muskox (an Arctic Mammal) and Styrofoam. For reference, the Woolly Mammoth roamed parts of British Columbia and North America about 25,000 to 12,000 years ago, but became extinct as the climate warmed and humans hunted them. These hairy elephants are also cousins to the existing Indian and African elephants.
Nanaimo Bars are THE best desert (except for Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream, of course) in the world.
It is a type of chocolate, no-bake square and consists of a wafer crumb based layer, topped by a layer of light custard (generally with coconut) which is then covered in chocolate.
The place to get Nanaimo Bars is on Vancouver Island or the ferries on the journey over. This is because it receives its name from the city of Nanaimo - a place on the Island. Receipe enclosed - NANAIMO BARS! Please note the six bars in the photo do not exist anymore - good times!
The Vancouver Polar Bear Swim is one of the largest and oldest Polar Bear Clubs in the world. Its initial swim was in 1920 when a small number of hardy swimmers took the plunge into English Bay on New Year's Day. Led by their founder, Peter Pantages, the swim has grown from around 10 swimmers in that year to the record number of 2,128 official entries in 2000. 
