In Vancouver

We've arrived in Vancouver. It's Monday morning and we're feeling quite refreshed. I suppose that, short of having a private jet, a transatlantic flight couldn't possibly be less than stressful, and ours was no exception, so we're glad to be on the far side of our trip.

Our travel day started in Ipswich at 5 am. Our flight left Heathrow just after noon so we left the house around 6 am, giving us three hours to arrive and park, and three hours to check in.

I worry as a hobby, and this trip was a field day because of our immigration requirements. All our years of waiting and preparing documents could be for naught if we miss our landing; our Canadian immigration visas expire in just a few weeks, making it hard to reschedule a missed flight. One missing document could ruin our careful plans! So I lost a bit of sleep as it was.

Heathrow is on the far side of London, so we drove the top half of the M25 ring road to get there. The M25 is inside a green belt that surrounds London, so it's interesting to drive through so much countryside but know that one of the world's largest cities is always just over your shoulder and out of view. The trip to Heathrow from Ipswich is normally two hours, but as we had some rain that morning, and there had been some flood-related delays earlier that week, we gave ourselves extra time. Fortunately, we didn't need it.

At checkin we got a scare: it looked like our online reservations had been canceled. Margo had booked through a third party, Travelocity, so there was some glitch in the communication with Air Canada. However, staff had us sorted in minutes. Getting through security wasn't painful and we found ourselves with lots of time on our hands. There were some food stalls about but we did a bit of exploring and found a nice French patisserie where we settled in for a relaxing, civilised breakfast.



Our flight left Heathrow on time. We had a stopover in Edmonton with a three hour wait for our Vancouver flight. Gate to gate time to Edmonton was about nine hours. Margo and Sarah were seated together, and I was nearby. My seatmate was a physicist at the Max Planck institute in Berlin en route to present at a conference in Vancouver about the behaviour of atoms at near-zero temperatures (apparently they behave much more consistently) so I got to talk geeky on science and programming and also travel.

We weren't sure if we'd be processed by Canada immigration in Vancouver or Edmonton, but it was done in Edmonton, so we were a bit relieved as that airport is far less busy. The process was understandably anticlimactic. After clearing customs, we went into a small room, presented our documents, and signed what we needed to sign. The mayor was not there to greet us. There was not a brass band playing "O Canada". We were not even given T-shirts.

But all the same I was feeling quite emotional and excited. We settled in a restaurant and ordered drinks and a plate of nachos for our first meal in our newly adopted homeland. And how did we celebrate this momentous occasion? The culmination of years of planning? A bold new step for our family's future? Margo read a paperback, and Sarah was in a workbook about spelling. Me: excited. Margo: nonplussed. Sarah: completely indifferent.

We cleared another security checkpoint and found a spot to wait. Margo got some rest; we'd been awake for around twenty hours.





We boarded a smaller, newer Airbus jet. After a while, we noticed a blue-capped technician on board and, as time passed, the lights and fans went out as the plane "rebooted". This went on a few more times. After about an hour we were notified of a "small problem". After two hours we were informed that the small problem was actually not so small and that we'd need to deplane.

Back at our gate, the news got worse: we'd need to fend for ourselves, mostly, and book seats on one of the day's three remaining Vancouver flights (without paying extra, fortunately). Unfortunately we had to retrieve our baggage and re-check it ourselves also. We got seats on a plane scheduled three hours after our originally scheduled departure and went through security once more, the third time that day. By now we were finally seeing the sun go down; it was of course with us all day.

We're quite proud of how well Sarah held up, which was better than some adults were doing. While we waited, she got another nap, after an earlier one on the plane from London.



Our Vancouver flight was only half an hour late, which wasn't bad considering the adjustments they'd had to make. I got a bit of sleep on the way also, which I really wanted since I'd planned to be the one driving to our hotel soon.

We had a few more gauntlets to run: the wait for our bags, and then the wait for our rental car. We'd packed Margo's satnav, which helped us get to our nearby hotel. Our hotel is nothing special, a generic box by the airport, but we've probably never been happier to get the chance to wash up and sleep. And one silver lining of being awake for just over 24 hours is that the effects of jet lag are more minimised.

Square Mile Landmarks

Yesterday a mate and I went for a stroll to see some nearby landmark office towers over lunch. Along the walk we saw something that made both of us stop in our tracks and say "Whoa". I'll reveal that later, but the point is, we both vowed to bring our cameras to work today and come back to capture some of these buildings.

We'll start our tour with the new building at Bishopsgate, almost on top of Liverpool Street station.



There are several interesting towers going up nearby. It seems you're never far from a construction crane in London.

Looking up the street, also named Bishopsgate, gives a good view of our next tower, the Swiss Reinsurance building, known as "The Gherkin".





Just down the street from there is a first look at the Lloyds building. I've learned that the architect designed this famously "inside-out" for maximum flexibility of the interior space. So, for instance, parts of the plumbing could be replaced without refactoring interior plans.



And now for the subject of our previous day's astonishment.



What is the story of this, I wonder? How have the bottom stories been removed - were they just dropped down when no one was around? And how come no one was around? I'd expect demolition crews or something. Why start at the bottom? Why not just bring the whole thing down? It's like some half-alien artifact. You wonder how it came to be.

Anyway, we took time to take some more detailed shots.







Around the corner is a fine view of Tower 42, which before Canary Wharf was the tallest building in London. If you view it from any other angle, you lose the symmetry. This is deliberate, I've noticed. Many buildings present their finest front directly to a certain street, where the most viewers will be.





And I've been waiting months to write this caption: What a magnificent erection. (The crane does spoil the view a bit; I swear it wasn't there a week ago.) I assure you, the view from other angles is much more conservative.

Sarah Goes to Camp

Today we brought Sarah to a summer camp where she'll spend the next week. The camp is in Norfolk, about an hour's drive away.

We met several counselors. One gave us a tour, starting in the commons area, where Sarah and the others will spend much of their time:



On the way to the residence hall, we passed the swimming pool, football and cricket pitches, shooting range, and rooms for arts and crafts, even seeing the stable where two donkeys are kept. Sarah's residence hall can house just over a hundred kids.



We brought Sarah's luggage up to her room, which she'll share with about four other girls of a similar age.



We parted ways in the commons after Sarah had meet her counselor. She seemed both a bit scared to leave us, yet eager to, at the same time.

She's never spent so much time away from us. We know she was a bit scared at first, but when we pick her up next weekend we're certain she won't want to leave.

Trust and Apologies

One of today's news stories concerns further revelations of occasions when BBC television programmes have deliberately misled viewers. A prominent example came to light not long ago concerning the childrens' programme Blue Peter. A contest was being run, but due to technical difficulties, viewers' calls were not being received, so someone found a child in the building and announced the child as the winner. The newer occasions were of a similar nature.

In response, the BBC has suspended all contest programmes across all its media, has initiated an inquiry, and will train staff in maintaining the public's trust.

Maybe America has made me cynical, since we get used to being told plenty of whoppers from our governments and businesses, but to me this seems quite ... trivial. But it's impressive to see how highly regarded trust is here.

Apologies also come quickly here. When my train is late, often due to external factors like line maintenance or a slow freight train, the conductor apologises profusely and often. Once, when several trains were delayed or cancelled due to an engineering problem, the next day I saw signs displayed all over Liverpool Street Station with an extensive apology, with the manager's signature. I was impressed.

Rain

You're probably reading this in some heat. Not us. It's going to rain here tomorrow. It's been raining pretty regularly since May. Our April was sunny and warm, but the April showers were delayed until May and then decided to stick around for a while.

I'm lucky to ride my bike two days a week. Every morning I decide whether I'm going to ride or call a cab. I'm rubbish at trying to guess. There have been times when I've rode home with soaked trousers, but much more often, I'm feeling like a chump as I pay ten quid each way to ride in the back seat through decent weather just because some rain is predicted at some point in the day. Because it never rains all day long. It's just typically overcast, and often windy, and it looks like it could rain at any moment, even though it often doesn't, or for a few minutes at a time when it does.

Pupil Report

Another parenting milestone .... Sarah brought home her first school evaluation. (Next week is her last week of the school year.)

She's been graded on about 75 criteria and Sarah has earned good to excellent marks in each. She has top marks in English (reading) and also excels in English (writing), Science, and Music. (Hmmm, sounds like someone I know.) The other areas of evaluation are English (speaking and listening), Mathematics, Geography, History, Physical Education, Personal and Social Health Education, Religious Education, Art and Design, Design and Technology, and Information and Communication Technology.

Here's what her teachers had to say:



And this is what Sarah had so say:



We've been impressed with her school and we're all looking forward to another school year.

London Events

Today the Tour de France starts here in London. My office isn't very close to the route so I won't be seeing it in person, but it's still quite exciting.

Last night I walked across the London Bridge and along the Thames to the Design Museum. The exhibition on Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid featured much of what I'd already seen last summer at an exhibit at the Guggenheim in New York. Her work is so unique; to me, to view her work is to see the world differently. Her shapes are so different as to look alien, yet one still recognises a sense of balance and proper form in them. Frank Gehry has that same effect for me.

On my walk I also took in the Gibson Guitar Town artwork surrounding London City Hall, a collection of 10-foot fiberglass Gibson guitars decorated by artists and signed by famous guitarists. My favourites were the Gerald Scarfe painting for Ozzy Osbourne, and (of course) the Peter Saville design signed by Barney and Hooky from New Order.

I also had a stop for a pint at a pub I'd picked earlier, The Market Porter. Months ago I came across Fancy a Pint and have been using it to find great pubs in London.

Tomorrow the Live Earth concert begins. I won't be seeing it in person in London but I do plan to watch lots of it on the telly. I agree it's silly to have all these musicians jetting all over the planet to combat global warming, but I'll watch it for the same reasons I watched Band Aid and Live Aid and Live 8: it's inspiring to see all these musicians, many of whom I enjoy anyway, coming together for a noble cause.

Nit Picking

Last week we got a note from Sarah's school that nits (head lice) had been found in her classroom. Sunday morning Margo decided to check herself with a fine comb after her shower and found two. We applied special conditioner to Sarah's hair and combed through it and removed dozens of them; Margo guessed sixty.

So far I've avoided it. We spent much of Sunday washing sheets and blankets. We've been treating Sarah's hair and finding fewer nits each day; just two in the last count.