1999

	On Moving House
Why did we move house? Ideally we should have gone on holiday from the old house and returned to the new one with all the chores of moving being done. Perhaps we have not moved often enough. We were at 54a for 23 years and although having it re-roofed necessitated clearing the loft some eight years ago, we still had a lot of stuff to move.
We had been wanting to move for some time. Although Newbury increasingly frustrates me, our searches elsewhere have revealed nothing to compare. We adore Cornwall but surrounded by sea on three sides there is only one direction out. From Newbury we can go North, South, East or West. Similarly we have found nothing which offers the variety of Snelsmore.
We really wanted to move to the south side of Speen Lane, but those houses only rarely come on the market and when they do it is for really silly money.
34 is a good compromise. It has a south facing garden, easy access for the caravan and accommodation arranged to sort our changed life-style. And there is good dog walking opposite including a footpath to "The Blackbird", our local.
One tends to forget how over the years one moulds one’s habitat to suit. Of the things we perceive we need 34 already had them or had the potential to acquire them. However, we had no idea of the problems we would encounter finding people to do work.

I tried my hardest to rationalise potential archive material to be moved, and have currently reduced the number of lever arched files by about half, but there are still far too many. We also have too many books. Given that my actuary age is something like 76, I find myself posing the question will I ever look at, let alone read this publication again? The answer is, I don’t know. This year two key local figures passed away and I became involved in writing or providing information for their obituaries.
Of course, the information is of little use on my shelves, so I am gradually sifting through it and put it on appropriate web-sites. I am encouraged that a number of my friends are now active in the internet community – these include Lavinia Phillips and Liz Camfield.

		On 6th April Charmian and I celebrated our silver wedding anniversary.
Pictures from our Silver Wedding Anniversary
(Click on a picture to ENLARGE.)


It was good that so many were able to come to our party at St. Nicolas Hall.

When ever I meet an accident victim, tramp or divorcee I say to myself "there, but for the grace of God, go I". In the circle of friends we have known for a quarter of a century or more, the number of marriages which have survived is above the national average.

	In June we toured in Canada traveling coast to coast from Montreal to Vancouver.
	Canada is a big country. On the east coast temperatures were in the upper 20°C. In the Rockies there was still snow around. One exciting trip was to go on the snow coach over the glacier. All very safe and comfortable but it did give one an idea of what the pioneers had to contend with.

	Niagara Falls were spectacular. We boarded a "Maid of the Mist" boat for a cruise under the falls. Each passenger was given a blue cape in an attempt to keep dry.
What I hadn’t appreciated was how close Japan is to Vancouver – a lot nearer than Vancouver is to London. Another "revelation" was the thrill that the 1½ hour boat journey between Vancouver and Victoria was to mid-state Americans obliged to travel thousands of miles to see the sea. The adventure is aptly captured by the livery of this coach. Victoria Island is certainly the furthest west I have been but, nevertheless, it is very English, and not just the red double decker buses. The weather in Vancouver was also typically English – it rained for the whole three days that we were there!
	Did I enjoy Canada? Frankly I expected to enjoy it more. I suppose in recent years our "package" holidays have been to the comparably compact middle east where contrast was found round every corner, in a group of whom we already knew the majority. In Canada one had to travel long distances to find change – one lake looked very much like another, one pine tree like another and so on. Possibly it me not being able to cope with vast expanse of the same. I do like variety, be it in scenery, music, art, history.
Ottawa, come closest to providing this variety. Its House of Parliament is a "double-take" of our own complete with its version of "Big Ben". In 1998 we visited Gallipoli in Turkey. You may have seen the David Jason TV drama in which he led the Norfolk Regiment. Before going to Turkey I had not given the battle too much thought. In Ottawa's "Big-Ben" there was a memorial chapel with one Book of Remembrance dedicated to the Canadians slain in that ill-planned campaign. The guide in her mid-20s seemed truly interested to talk to someone who had trod the battlefield. The above and below ground culture in the eastern cities was disturbing. At street level the area around the hotel we stayed in Montreal was run down with not a few beggars. But below ground it was rich and opulent with plush shops and much dazzle. I’m glad I’ve been, but it was hard work.

Guide Driver, Gil	"Maid of the Mist Boat" setting off to view the falls.

I was brave (or foolish) enough to lay on the glass floor of the observation platform in the CN Tower, the world's tallest free standing structure.

For the complete set of pictures please click HERE.

		We saw the New Year in at "The Blackbird". Here are some pictures!

(Click on a picture to ENLARGE.)