Summer – Page 2 – The Imperceptible Immigrant

You win some…

August 8, 2020 by admin

…you lose some!

My last posting celebrated our recent tenth anniversary dinner at the Deep Cove Chalet at the top end of the Saanich peninsula. Though obviously meaningful in its own right this event carried an extra significance in that it was our first meal out at a restaurant since the COVID-19 lock-down took effect in mid-March. We have somewhat lost the habit of dining out and it felt slightly surreal to be doing so again. We were glad in the circumstances that we got to dine outside on the terrace; we are still not sure how we feel about repeating the experience indoors.

In any case the evening started me thinking about all of those good things that have been lost to us all in this peculiar summer as a result of the pandemic. I am not in this instance referring to those who have tragically lost loved ones, friends or colleagues (or even of those who have themselves been ill) – our hearts go out to them all and those that we know are very much in our thoughts.

No – in this case I am thinking of the everyday things that have disappeared or been put on indefinite hold and have as such left a hole in our lives. In addition to dining out and gathering together with friends we very much miss going to the theatre and the loss of the live music scene is keenly felt; at this time of the year we would normally be enjoying the weekly music in the park series in nearby Brentwood Bay.

Travel is not so much missed – the thought of flying at the moment gives me the shivers – but the pleasures of planning the next trip are. I do, of course, also miss live sport. International cricket has recently resumed in the UK – played in empty grounds and with the players essentially quarantined for the duration of the series. Rugby has yet to restart and is sorely missed. We have still not yet seen the end of the Six Nations tournament that was so abruptly truncated in March.

As is my nature I also fell to wondering if any positives could be identified from this much disrupted period. I believe that there are. Not having to commute to work is a definite plus, as is being able to spend more time at home. We are fortunate in that we have not – as have some – gone stir-crazy as a result of a paucity of things to do. We have both been busy, busy, busy… (in my case this includes the writing of many new songs and the re-writing much of my course material for the autumn).

Some people’s gardens have had more attention than they have had for a good long while and one of my great joys has been just how much more time we have spent entertaining in our garden (in a suitably socially distanced manner, of course). In some years this wonderful garden does not seem to get enough use – what with one thing and another. This year has more than made up for any previous lack.

Of course, we have not yet arrived at the hardest part of the lock-down. At the start of it we were all in a state of some shock and just wanted to hunker down and stay out of trouble. By the time we started getting really restless again the summer was upon us and there we pleasant diversions – even if only just outside our doors. Now we are heading rapidly towards the autumn and the winter – with no relief currently in sight.

I fear that it is going to be a long, hard winter…

Garden shots!

June 30, 2020 by admin

High time for some more shots of things growing in our garden!…

…and possibly some other random images that I have overlooked throughout the last couple of months. Let’s see what I can find…

Oh deer (sic)!

August 19, 2019 by admin

I thought I would post some images (before it was too late) of the relatively few remaining plants in our garden that have not been savaged by deer…

They are contrary ba**ards, these creatures. One year they are picky customers – turning their noses up at all manner of succulence. The next – they will (and do!) eat anything. If it’s green and has leaves – it’s lunch!

This makes planning a deer-proof garden almost impossible. If one is unable – as are we – to circle one’s little plot with a rugged deer-proof fence of some variety then one has little choice but to search out plants that deer don’t care to eat. That would be a good sight easier if they didn’t change their minds from season to season.

Purveyors of plants like to advertise particular combinations of perennials as being deer-proof. I think the deer just see this as a challenge.

“Doesn’t matter if I don’t much care for this – I am going to choke it down anyway just to make a point! Hah!”

Once one has reached the point of imagining deer internal monologues it is probably time to stop, though…

The Fugitives

August 11, 2019 by admin

…and talking of the Brentwood bay ‘Music in the Park’ (see last post)…

One of the things that has impressed us most since our arrival in Greater Victoria is the strength, variety and high standard of the local music scene. These posts have already been sprinkled generously with glowing reports of musical experiences that we have enjoyed hereabouts.

Our local ‘Music in the Park’ has played a healthy role in the provision of such new experiences, which – considering that it is an entirely free event that runs weekly throughout July and August each year – is a truly wonderful blessing. Yet again we acknowledge that we are extremely lucky folks.

The gentle reader – being no slouch – will by now have figured out that I am about to wax lyrical concerning some new musical ‘combo’ hitherforeto unknown outside these parts…

…and he or she would not be wrong!

On Wednesday a couple of weeks back I observed that that night’s entertainment was to be provided by an outfit called ‘The Fugitives’. The InterWebNet informed me that they are:

“…a Canadian Folk music group formed in 2004 in Vancouver….

…Fans and critics find the group difficult to classify—they have been categorized as slam folk, folk hop, and spoken word cabaret. The Georgia Straight called The Fugitives “wildly talented spoken-word artists”.“

This all sounded interesting, as did the description of their last album as being:

“…an album of dedications – the majority of which were written for people the band has never said a word to.”

Eager now to hear this fascinating music I followed a link to a live recording of their song – ‘No Words‘ – dedicated after his death to Leonard Cohen. This proved to be a mighty song and I was instantly hooked. In the belief that others might feel the same I do recommend having a look. Listen all the way through…

If the vocal breakout doesn’t send shivers up your spine then I fear for your medical condition!

It hardly need be said that the group – playing as a four piece that night – were excellent and that their harmony work was exceptional. The two leaders – Adrian Glynn and Brendan McLeod – are both gifted songwriters and I for one was grateful all over again for having been introduced to another as yet unknown (to me, anyway!) talent.

Should the gentle reader also be interested here be their website:

https://www.fugitives.ca/

Enjoy!

Meanwhile…

August 7, 2019 by admin

…back at the ranch!

Well – I have posted a good number of missives since we returned to Canada in June – most of which concerned our recent trip to Europe. As a result I have been somewhat guilty of late of neglecting to keep the gentle reader up to date with the summer’s going on here at the southern end of Vancouver Island.

Time to catch up!

Weather-wise this has been a mixed summer thus far. There have been good days and there have been overcast, chilly days. There has not been much rain, however, so the garden has needed help.

I really liked this ‘end of the rainbow’…

Nothing has deterred us from lunching at ‘The Farmer’s Daughter’ – where they do a splendid plate of charcuterie and a decent variety of wine flights:

…or indeed from walking in Centennial Park:

We have also been regular attendees – as ever – at the Brentwood Bay ‘Music in the Park’ on Wednesday evenings and – though the temperatures have occasionally been on the nippy side and the winds blustered more than strictly necessary – we have enjoyed ourselves.

Note the detail from above. No sense in wasting good spinning time!

It’s a West Coast thing…

New boots and panties

July 14, 2018July 13, 2018 by admin

I have written on previous occasions (most recently at around this time last year) of the free summer music concerts most diligently and generously organised by the Brentwood Bay Community Association at Pioneer Park in Brentwood Bay. These fabulous free Wednesday evening shows run throughout July and August each year and really brighten up the mid-week, in addition to exposing us to local talent and to new (to us!) acts that we might not otherwise get to see and hear.

This year’s concerts licked off last week with Coldwater Road and continued this with the most excellent Daniel Cook and the Radiators (blessed with a really solid rhythm section) who gave us a great evening. Full details of the program and links to the bands’ sites can be found on the BBCA website.

The big news for 2018 (as trailed heavily in the post of last year mentioned above) is the advent of the beautiful new stage. This has been built over the winter entirely by volunteers from funds raised by the community association. The result is absolutely splendid. The opportunity was taken to re-orient the park with regard to music use and the new stage is in a much better position. Before and after pictures below…

Kudos indeed to the BBCA!

Spot the difference – 2017:

Spot the difference – 2018:

Suddenly it’s summer

June 19, 2018 by admin

After a considerable period during which the summer attempted in only a somewhat lacklustre fashion to get properly started… now, suddenly, here it is! Temperatures kicked up by six or seven degrees Celsius almost overnight and the sun is now truly hot.

Nice!

We entertained friends on Saturday evening last and it was the first occasion this year on which we were able comfortably to sit out late on our now year-old deck. Indeed, ’twas so balmy that we stayed out ’til midnight or thereabouts, clad only in t-shirts, shorts and summer dresses (as appropriate to our genders and inclinations!). A splendid evening was had by all even if we were too busy chewing the fat to venture onto the freshly mowed croquet lawn. Oh well – plenty more opportunities now that summer is truly here.

On the Sunday – and only a little worse for wear – I was on Intrepid Theatre board duty. As part of its outreach program the company mans a feature at a number of Victoria public events. On this occasion it was ‘Car Free Day’, for which one of the city’s main thoroughfares – Douglas Street – is closed to vehicular traffic and given over to all manner of stalls and amusements. Next month it will be ‘Pride’ and then in August ‘Fringe Kids’ as part of the Victoria Fringe Festival.

For these events the company creates a 65 sq metre ‘Cardboard Castle’ for youngsters to paint. Those eager to express themselves are given an oversized t-shirt to cover their own clothes, a small container of poster paint in a colour of their choice and a brush, before being set loose inside the castle to cover its walls in any manner that they choose.

They may, of course, return at any point to top up with further colours and some spend a considerable amount of time creating their own masterpieces… either that or just painting each other! Either seems to work and the attraction is hugely popular, not least with parents who can come to rest for a while knowing that their offspring are safely pre-occupied within.

Golly… we are nearly at the solstice already! Now, how did that happen?

These are a few…

May 8, 2018 by admin

It is no secret that we have now entered my favourite time of the year – a subject on which I have almost certainly waxed lyrical any number of times in previous postings (at around this time). There are many reasons to delight in the season… nature reborn – the first hints of the summer to come – the warmth anew upon one’s shoulders – the fresh aromas on the balmy breeze – that strange golden light in the sky!…

My first instinct is to break out the trusty Fuji and to document the nascent spring/summer season as I have done so many times before. As the photos attached below will attest I am not about to refrain from so doing on this occasion either.

It is also time for the first Intrepid Theatre festival of the season – ‘UNO Fest’ – a feast of one man/woman shows which aim to amuse, inform, to move and to set the tone for the rest of the year. I am once again on airport/ferry pickup duty – an endeavour that brings me into contact with fascinating artists from around the world – and what’s not to like about that?!

Finally – in response to Aeroplan threatening to expire our precious points should we not have used them by the end of the month, a short but expedient trip has been arranged. We leave on Thursday for Montreal – a city that I have not yet visited but which am very much looking forward to seeing – before heading back to Vancouver early next week in time to catch the Paul Simon farewell concert that was the subject of a previous missive.

Further photographic images are bound to follow…

Pioneer Park, Wednesday night

July 30, 2017 by admin

“Even so, there were times I saw freshness and beauty. I could smell the air, and I really loved rock ‘n’ roll. Tears were warm, and girls were beautiful, like dreams. I liked movie theaters, the darkness and intimacy, and I liked the deep, sad summer nights.”

Haruki Murakami, ‘Dance Dance Dance’

Summer is at its height and that must perforce mean that Wednesday evenings are spent in Pioneer Park, Brentwood Bay, chilling with friends on the greensward, dining al fresco and listening to some good music.

The season was caressed into life at the beginning of July by the smooth but soulful stylings of The R & B Toasters and the Butterhorns from Vancouver. These guys are all old hands and could probably crank this stuff out in their sleep. They feature one of the tightest rhythm sections I have heard in a good long time and for an outdoor gig their sound was exemplary – punchy and tight. I expressed my admiration to the bass player and drummer at the end of the show and they admitted that they had been playing together for a very long time.

Week two brought us Auntie Kate and the Uncles of Funk. Auntie Kate sings the blues and The Girl and I have seen her before – The Girl many times! We both agreed that she was in even better voice than we had heard previously. There is obviously something in the Vancouver Island summer air that brings out the soul in a performer.

We were looking forward to week three as – it seems – were many other inhabitants of the Saanich peninsula, evidenced by the extensive crowd staking out their spots in the park well before kickoff time. The focus of this interest was Dustin Bentall and the incredible Kendel Carson. Dustin has been mentioned in these dispatches before – being the son of Canadian superstar Barney Bentall – and Kendel is his even more talented other half. We have seen them both with The Caribou Express and if expectations were high they were well lived-up to. Kendel has a gorgeous voice and is a hugely gifted fiddle player – not to mention being ‘awful easy on the eye!’ – as they saying (probably) goes.

Week four’s offering – Echo Nebraska (pictured above) – were always going to struggle to match the Bentalls. They have a decent singer but the rest of the band are a perhaps little one dimensional and they still have much to learn. They are yet young though…

As can be gleaned from the image above, the bands currently play on a small temporary stage just outside the Brentwood Bay library. As of next season they will instead grace a purpose built and very beautiful permanent stage (construction of which has just started) courtesy of the fundraising and organisational efforts of the Brentwood Bay Community Association. Kudos all round – say I – for such a splendid campaign and fantastic effort.

We are in little doubt the the remainder of this season will match the standards set thus far – which means that we are all in for further treats!

Good-oh!

Earthly delights

July 26, 2017 by admin

I am always quick – when friends or acquaintances make appreciative observations concerning our garden (yard!) – to sing the praises of the previous owners of this fair domicile, who clearly knew a great deal more about gardening than do I (though it must, of course, be pointed out that that is not difficult!).

Yet – even though I make reference to the fact that there is scarcely a week during the spring and summer months when there is not a riot of colour and activity somewhere within its boundaries – I still find myself surprised that – just when it looks as though the display is about to peter out – some fresh wonder bursts forth.

All this by way of making apology for yet more photos of plants!

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