the truth is...

i'm really in canada.

my siblings and i have been orchestrating a 60th surprise birthday party for my dad so i couldn't spoil it by letting everyone know i was actually flying to canada on friday afternoon and not just taking a long weekend! and we pulled it off, quite spetacularily too.

i flew to toronto on friday and spent the night with my mum and ron, before getting my hair cut on saturday morning - yes, it's short - and heading into toronto on the subway to meet up with karen, glen, wendy, terran, jack, abby, jamie and chloe at the hotel. we booted it up to the restaurant where we waited for darryl, melissa and brian to show up before my dad and christine arrived.

considering my dad is always on time, if not 15 minutes early, christine did an excellent job of keeping him out of the restaurant until 5:30 pm.

the look on his face was priceless. i don't think i've ever seen a bigger smile combined with shock, tears, laughter, and probably a bit of swearing under his breath ;) i think my dad was more impressed that we were able to keep this lie up and that he had absolutely no idea, than by anything else.

it was doubly good because we all got to spend a good chunk of time all together, since us kids also headed back to markham on sunday to see my mum and ron for his birthday celebration.

so i'll be in canada for the next two weeks and am so happy to be home. although i did forget how *brown* everything is after the winter.

cold is abating

my cold is getting much better. monday and tuesday i felt absolutely wretched, but the fever has subsided and i just have a runny nose and a bit of a cough. god bless boots sinus and cold remedy, strepsils and hot lemon lymans.

off to the philharmonic last night...got a long weekend ahead of me since i worked last weekend and looking forward to it very much indeed!

full of cold

my nasal passages don't seem to be working, my eyes are running and my throat is sore. i'm blaming working all weekend and the warmth and then sudden "cold" snap we're now experiencing.

i haven't been sick all winter, but of course my body waits until the very end of the season. still going to work because there is too much to be done to stay home, but we'll see if that changes later in the week. another long weekend coming up thanks to working unsociable hours last weekend.

bah.

where's the kleenex?

spreading the word

my letter to the daily post was actually published.

i think i get this letter writing bug from my grandpa gould, famous for writing letters ;)

and here it is...

i went down to the pier head this morning to see the tree stumps for myself and took my camera along. what i find interesting is that they cut down both sides of the tree-lined boulevard. there is construction happening to the right of the hoarding that you can't quite see in the picture above, but they're not doing any works on this side. could they not simply have waited?
one of the contractors on the building site came over to chat with me. he said there had been a lot of uproar over it and was sure the council was going to have to do something about it. apparently one of the guys working on the site is canadian and he wasn't too pleased about it either.
admittedly not the best pictures in the world, but it was an extraordinarily beautifully sunny morning and it's hard to frame pictures when you can't even see the screen. digital does have its downfalls.

on a lighter note...

i finally got to see buckingham palace and yes, the queen was home.

told you there was daffodils!

the man himself: richard schiff. davoud's responsible for the red eye in this one ;)

nick and i in need of a pint

canada house from the window at albannach...the whisky bar that has now been banned due to exorberant prices and way too anxious staff

goodbye, canada boulevard

as i flipped through the liverpool daily post on my lunch hour today, i was horrified to see the picture of a very bare canada boulevard that previously was home to 54 trees. since i moved here in july 2005, this is *always* where i went when i felt homesick. this was not only the place now dedicated to fallen countrymen during WWII, but i felt i could breath some canadian air from those maples. it was also right in front of the three graces - including the liver buildings - where my family left liverpool just over 40 years ago.

liverpool city council decided to cut down *all* of the trees and i'll let you read the story for yourself on the liverpool daily post website. i'm sure that someone at the canadian high commission did give the okay, but did they consult veteran affairs? how would the people of holland feel if we suddenly decided that all the tulips they planted in ottawa to thank canadian soldiers were going to be replaced by roses because we thought they would survive longer?

granted the specie of maple may not have been suited for the environment, but it doesn't sound as though they were properly cared for either. the right soil and amount of watering will keep any plant healthy and you would think with so few green spaces in the city centre - and the ones that do exist being overrun by drunks and junkies - liverpool city council would have taken the time and energy to care for these trees.

as it reads on the plaque "This boulevard of maple trees is dedicated as a living memorial to the sacrifice, valour and industry of Canadians in the defence of freedom during the Battle of the Atlantic 1939-1945 and in recognition of the special relationship that developed between Canada and the City of Liverpool during those dark days. Commemorating the 50th anniversary of allied victory in Europe. Dedicated 15th May 1995. Lest we forget."

it's not exactly a living memorial anymore though is it?

i'm sure i'm not the only one angered by this move by the liverpool crappy council - and yes, i do pay my national *and* council tax - and i'm hoping this news story isn't going to die out. i've already sent an e-mail to the post and intend to send one to the council as well.

thankfully, i did spend a sunny time with janine and carole on canada boulevard when they were visiting and there's a picture underneath the archive links on the blog.

i'll try and get down there to get a few pics...it was the picture that made me really upset, tears in my eyes and it wasn't because i was eating onions.

arcade *on* fire

there are few gigs where i literally ignore the people i arrived with just because i'm so into the band and they actually succed at captivating me and make me not want it to end. as much as i love music, i have to admit that i'm sometimes pleased when they're done their set and i can go somewhere and sit down.

but arcade fire was phenomenal last night as always. it's only the second time i've seen them, but they are absolutely brilliant live. everyone seems to share their instruments and the abundance of talent is something i've only ever seen in canadian bands like broken social scene and hawksley workman (who is very skilled at playing all the instruments on stage and will play entire songs on the drums while somehow continuing to sing...wow).

the stuff from neon bible came off great live, but it was songs from funeral that really got the crowd going. they used to open a show with "wake up" and now it's their final encore.

on a side note: the brits really need to learn how to run a coat check. i almost had my arm crushed. for a people that has a great reputation for patience in a queue, you'd think there was gold dust lining their coat pockets.

tea-ed up

it was an early morning and i'm already 3 cups of tea into the day. jam packed weekend so i'll just summarize the highlights for ya:

giraffe restaurant: davoud, nick and i met up with davoud's sister royah in london for lunch before the theatre. really, really good food and have to say that even though the blueberry pancakes looked tasty, i think the falafel burger i opted for was *much* better.

richard schiff (aka toby ziegler from the west wing): the purpose of the trip to london was to see underneath the lintel a one-man play at the duchess theatre. schiff was amazing playing a dutchman and successfully echoed goldmember's crazy dutch laugh from austin powers. we waited with davoud so he could get his programme autographed, had a drink on the balcony of a pub whilst we watched the lunar eclipse, and then headed home.

yummy iranian food: davoud's mum served up some tasty, tasty iranian food for me - as well as davoud and his brother amir, but let's face it, mainly for me ;) - on sunday afternoon. dried limes should be in *everything*.

hockey night in coventry: a bit of a beef about this one. yes, it's nice to go watch a live hockey game, but it's a distinctly british thing to ask "so, fighting is allowed in hockey...right?" well, no actually. that's why everytime there is a punch up someone is sent to the penalty box. i've never seen a full blown both teams on teh ice brawl, but they were pretty close on sunday night. as always, there was *history* between the players that started it. yeah, yeah...i went to see a boxing match and a hockey game broke out.

ludovico einaudi: yesterday davoud, nick and i got all dolled up and went to birmingham to see this italian master of the piano. absolutely incredible, except for the group behind us that kept talking despite my evil death stairs. it was also really nice to catch up with peter, abi and ruby for a drink before the concert...i was only in slight shock to finally see that ring on peter's finger.

it's 11:30 am. i've already eaten my lunch, but then that's what happens when there is food sat on my desk.

hair, glorious hair

...or, i really can't decide whether to cut the mop or leave it be. my hair has grown a wee bit past my shoulders and it's the longest it's been in ten years. for some reason, i feel like long hair means i'm grown up although i know it's more of a convention to crop your hair as you get older.

now i'm at the stage where i just don't know what to do. some days i desperately want it short again, but other days i wonder if i'd miss that ponytail that i worked so hard to be able to do. long hair maintenance is hard, especially since mine doesn't know whether it's curly or straight. conditioners, waxes, blow drying...it's all a bit too much if you ask me.

so long or short. any comments welcome.

it's been busy of late, half term holidays meant madness at work, went down to london on monday for a seminar, off to coventry/london/birmingham for a four day weekend on friday night and i'm very excited. when i only have one day off on the weekend - like i did this past one - it makes it feel like i'm in constant need of a holiday.

oooo...but davoud and i did go see back to the future on the *BIG* screen at FACT on saturday morning, which was awesome. chris shotton has now been christened george mcfly.