I found that I had too many photographs of the Fall leaves in Centennial Park in Saanichton to fit into a single post…
…so here are the rest of them.
That is one serious bunch of leaves!
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Tags: Autumn, British Columbia, Fall, nature, Photo
“And all at once, summer collapsed into fall.”
Oscar Wilde
Should there be any doubts as to why Autumn is known as Fall here in North America, these images may well satisfy them.
They also provide an interesting illustration of the fact that – even when one is apparently walking through a forest predominantly comprising mixed conifers – there are always more maples present than appears to be the case at first (or even second) sight.
“The artist is nothing without the gift, but the gift is nothing without work”
Emile Zola
I am currently reading “The Gift”, by the estimable Lewis Hyde. I shall have more to say about the book once I have finished it, but already all manner of fascinating thoughts and notions have been triggered thereby.
Sadly, as befits my increasingly elderly status, I cannot now recall exactly how I came to the book in the first place, though I feel certain that it must have been referenced in something else that I was investigating. That is normally the way these things happen – to me in any case. I do know that I was greatly attracted by this quote from the foreword by Canadian icon – Margaret Atwood:
”[A] classic… If you want to write, paint, sing, compose, act or make films – read ‘The Gift’”
One motif from the book has already attracted my attention and formed itself into the outline of a song. I certainly did not set out with this in mind, but the muse – as we all surely know – works in wondrous and unexpected ways…
…as became all the more apparent late one night last week.
I find quite frequently that one of more elements of a new song will unfurl themselves relatively rapidly and without my having any real idea as to how this has happened. At this point I might well get stuck – with no idea how the piece will proceed from its temporary conclusion.
My normal procedure – with a view to jump-starting proceedings – is to play/sing repeatedly that which I have already written, in the hope that the next part of the composition will suddenly reveal itself to me by emerging organically from the elements that I already have. This sometimes has the desired effect but as often as not simply results in my straining way too hard for a result and ending up with nothing of any use.
Now I am a night owl. The Girl heads for bed reasonably early but I often get in a couple of hours work before I follow her. This I was doing the other night, in my search for a suitable chorus for the new track. I could feel that my efforts were going nowhere and – having an early start the following morning – I decided to call it a day.
I shut everything down in the studio – doused the lights and tip-toed upstairs in the dark. No sooner than I had emerged onto our main floor than the whole chorus arrived in my head – out of nowhere! Not only did I get the melody and the phrasing but also the harmonic progression and half of the words.
Now – how did that happen!
Of course – to ensure that my flash of inspiration was not lost to posterity I was obliged to scuttle back downstairs, to power everything up again and to rapidly commit this latest gift to my recording software – lest I should forget it again overnight…
What a wondrous thing is the creative process!
Thank you…!
I imagine that, as a rule of thumb, all ex-pats respond in their own manner to having removed themselves from the immediate orbit of the mother country. Some may well walk away with nary a backward glance. Others might occasionally have a look to see how the old country is making out. Those who have family and friends yet back home will doubtless get regular updates as to how things are going there…
…or they may be more like me and follow the news from home daily through one or more of the media sources – in my case primarily the BBC and the Guardian newspaper (online version).
I suspect that so doing has never been an entirely comfortable experience, but it seems to have been particularly tough in the six years that have elapsed since we crossed the pond. The Brexit referendum and subsequent long drawn-out shambles of a transition – the COVID-19 pandemic (in response to which the UK has contrived to perform worse than practically any other European country) – the repeated election of a government apparently spectacularly ill-equipped to deal with the tough challenges of this turbulent era…
At certain points I have been moved to post my own thoughts on the goings-on back home within these pages. Of late I have increasingly refrained from so doing, if for no reason other than an attempt to keep my blood pressure down.
The tragic assassination last weekend of Tory MP Sir David Amess, however, cannot go un-noted. For what it is worth we offer our deepest condolences to his family, friends and constituents.
It is only five years since the appalling murder of Labour MP Jo Cox in the run-up to the referendum and it is no surprise that questions were already being asked concerning the safety not only of those in public service but also of democracy itself. Of course, though such events are horrifying and unexpected, there is – in the UK and elsewhere – and long and ignoble history of attacks upon those holding public office. Is this period really worse in this regard than decades passed?
It may well prove to be the case that – in purely statistical terms – things have not really changed so much, but there have been other societal developments that are deeply worrying. The is no denying that the InterWebNet is a wonderful thing which has transformed lives in many ways. That it also has, however, dark sides cannot be disputed. There has been a dramatic rise in online abuse and in virtual attacks on individuals and institutions that may well be proved to be having a knock-on effect in the physical world.
On the BBC’s ‘Newsnight’ programme last Friday the Tory MP and Father of the House, Sir Peter Bottomley, talked of the increasing levels of online abuse with which he and other MPs of all parties now have to deal. He described how he had subsequently met some of those who posted such offensive missives, but who would not admit that there was anything wrong with having expressed themselves in such a manner.
This saddens me deeply. I find it hard to accept a world in which politeness and consideration do not primarily inform all of our dealings with others. It does not matter how strongly some belief or conviction is held – abuse is not an acceptable way to express one’s point of view. It does not surprise me that the casual disregard for facts, the truth and indeed logic displayed by some of those in the public eye has stoked a febrile climate of rumour, disinformation and suspicions of conspiracy – all of which feeds into this particular cesspit.
These are, as a result, dangerous times… and not just for the UK. The situation in the US is inevitably worse still and even in Canada – whose inhabitants as a whole have a reputation for being even more polite than us (old-fashioned) Brits – there are worrying signs of a decline.
I wish that I knew what might be done about this sad state of affairs. All I can think of immediately is to ensure that my behaviour to others accords with the manner in which I would wish them to behave to me.
R.I.P – Sir David Amess.
Tags: Loss, Modern life, Politics, UK
It feels to me as though it has been quite a long time now since even the blowsy days of August – when everything in the garden wore the appearance of having enjoyed rather too good a night out and was, in the aftermath thereof, trying just that bit too hard to convince that all was still coming up roses (see what I did there?)… Never mind looking back even further to the true highlights of the season (as far as our garden is concerned, anyway) in May, June and early July…
And as I say – even August is now but a memory…
Yet here we are – with the race to the shortest day well underway and nature – if not quite yet in full retreat – certainly considering carefully turning tail and joining the rout.
Kudos, then, to that flora still determined to see things through to the bitter end. Your loyalty is much appreciated and we thank you for yet bringing a little colour and light into our lives.
Some images, by way of illustration:
Tags: Autumn, British Columbia, garden, Photo
“As it is with all stories, fast cars, wild bears, mental illness, and even life, only one truth remains: your mileage may vary”
Jenny Lawson
Last November I posted to these pages a brief item which celebrated (should that be the appropriate expression) the fact that my much loved Lexus GX470 had just passed the 200,000 mile mark (miles rather than kilometres since she is of US origin).
That post went on to muse upon the annual mileage that this now eighteen year old vehicle had clearly done throughout its life to date.
Based on the mileage that was on the clock when we purchased her she had to that point apparently averaged some 14,000 miles per annum. Since coming to us she had enjoyed a considerably less energetic existence, covering only around 6,000 miles each year…
…until last year!
The COVID-19 pandemic has had many side-effects, one of which – as you might expect – is that we have all stayed home a great deal more than we had done previously. Working from home and not being able to travel or to get out on the town as we had been used to doing, meant that our vehicles have only been used for short, essential(ish) trips.
I mention this here because just the other day I noticed the odometer click over 203,000 miles. Now – I know that there is another month before a year will have elapsed since my last post on the subject, but I will be very surprised if I cover more than another few hundred miles in that time.
I can’t be entirely sure – but the last time that I did such a low annual mileage might well have been the year that I started riding motorbikes – back when I was in my very early twenties…
…and a lot of water has flowed under a great many bridges since then!
Hmmm! Interesting!!
So – today I received an email from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). It contained the following document (which I have redacted appropriately):
This – the first acknowledgement from IRCC that I have, indeed, applied for Canadian Citizenship – is the reason for the “Huzzah!” in the title of this missive.
The “Hmmm! Interesting!!” at the head of the post comes from the realisation – reinforced by a quick scan back over previous posts – that I did not actually report to this journal the fact that I had finally submitted said application back in July.
Given that I have logged exhaustively to this channel every other little detail concerning my odyssey to the New World – including last year’s renewals of both my Permanent Resident card and my UK passport – that is remiss and should be corrected immediately.
The final process of application for citizenship – having lived in Canada as a Permanent Resident for six years – was relatively straightforward. The first thing that one does is to check that one is eligible. This entails going through a checklist of requirements – including that of having been resident in Canada for at least 1,095 days over the 5 year period leading up to the application. IRCC provides a handy online calculator (the Online Physical Presence Calculator – CIT 0407) for this part of the operation, the results of which feed forward into the application itself.
The application is effected by completing form CIT 0002 (10-2020) – the latter part of the form number being the current version number which will change from time to time. Form CIT 0007 (06-2021) is the accompanying document checklist. In my case this indicated that I should submit the following:
- The application form itself (CIT 0002)
- The output from the Online Presence Calculator (CIT 0407)
- A colour photocopy of every page of my UK passport
- Photocopies of two personal identification documents – which must include name, photo and date of birth
- Two identical citizenship photographs
- The fee receipt – the application fee having been paid online in advance
- The document checklist itself (CIT 0007)
If one completes the application form online – as did I – one also generates a couple of pages of barcodes, the which should be printed and submitted as part of the application.
IRCC do not respond in any way until they actually start processing the application. In my case I posted everything off back in July and – as you see above – have only just received the acknowledgement that the application has been received.
The IRCC Application Tracker – to which I can now log on – tells me that my application is ‘In Progress’ – which is good news. Even better news is that – because I am (well) over 54 years old I do not need to take (or pass) the citizenship test, or to provide proof that I can in fact speak English.
Now – following that brief flurry of excitement – it is back to the waiting game!
Tags: Canada, citizenship, passport, permanent resident
It is The Girl’s birthday! Yaaaaay! Happy birthday to The Girl…
It is always nice when such celebration days fall upon a weekend – ‘cos then one can really relax and go to town (or indeed stay home should one prefer!).
We have already indulged in a certain amount of (non-alcoholic) celebration and this afternoon will find us visiting a nearby spa – followed mayhap by a celebratory repast…
…and it is not actually raining or blowing half a gale at the moment!
Life can still be good…
Tags: Birthday, Celebration, The Girl
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