In Which mashed potato is thrown, much food is consumed and the chocolate fudge cake is all out!

Starring roles from this letter:

Don Brinton - my boss at CKVU TV
Gail - P.A. to Don Brinton
Carolynn and Riyaz - friends
Cheryl and Monique - more friends
Sheila and Patrick - our landlords


JO:

Dear Mum and Dad,
Ready for more news?  Then here we go.

Wednesday 4th April 1990
I was on my own at work this afternoon as Gail was out.  My boss, Don, had just returned from Atlanta and had been shown around the set of "Gone With The Wind" so he brought us all back an information package.  When I've read it, I'll send it on to you to keep as you're a "Gone with the Wind" fan!

Thursday 5th April 1990
Got home from work to find a letter from James, so sat in the garden and read it.  He's so funny.  Do you read his letters to us?  He's so short and to the point like it's a real effort to sit down and write to us!  He is amusing though and I am glad he writes at least.
I felt in a stupid mood at dinner and had a big urge to throw some mashed potato at Vince!  He kept saying "just you dare and see what happens".  Anyway, in the end I was a coward and didn't but would you believe it he splodged a lump on me! And it went all over the carpet.  I got some potato on my fork and ran after him, but he locked himself in the bathroom.  Cowardly custard! Good job Sheila and Patrick didn't see us!

Friday 6th April 1990
Stayed behind for a little while at work to have some of Gail's birthday cake.  It was chocolate with a hint of brandy.  Yummy!
When I got home I watched Smokey Cat in the garden with the birds, he's so funny.  We have these great big birds that are black and blue with crowns on their heads, they are Blue Jays.  When I first saw them I thought a neighbour's pet had escaped.  Well Smokey was fascinated, but I think the birds would put up quite a fight.  We also have these tiny little birds that look like canaries and they dart around really fast.  Smokey was pursuing some of them and in the process knocked down a load of poles that Sheila and Patrick had propped up against the wall.  Well he ran back indoors with his ears back as fast as his legs would carry him.  Daft cat!

Smokey in the garden with his balloon

Went out in the evening to a bar/restaurant called Leons, with Carolynn and Riyaz and had such a nice time.  There was a female jazz and blues singer and she was so good.  Halfway through the act, she asked another lady from the audience to come and sing and her voice was just incredible.  How wonderful to be able to get up and sing just like that.  Got to bed at about 1.30 in the morning.

Saturday 7th April 1990
Got up with great effort to go to aerobics.  Just about made it through the session, I was pretty tired.  Went out to breakfast at a place in town called The Elbow Room.  It's called that because it's so tiny.  Also, they have a gimmick, the staff insult you and are as sarcastic as hell, you have to have a good sense of humour to be able to take it, but it is hilarious!! Lots of famous people go there and they have autographed photos all over the walls.  The food is wonderful and it was dirt cheap.  Vince had a great big fat pancake with apples and cinnamon and I had eggs benedict.  Cheryl and her friend Monique came too, so there were five of us at breakfast and Vince was the only man.
Went to Monique's apartment and she lent me a pair of shorts because it was yet another sunny day.  It's the first time I've ever worn shorts in April I think!  We walked past the beach at Kitsilano (that's kind of South Vancouver) and people were sunbathing in their bikinis and trunks.  It was warm, but not that warm.  I think these Canadians are a bit barmy!  Walked to Granville Island which was a really lovely walk, right around the water's edge, looking at all the boats.
On the way home, stopped at Lonsdale Quay and got a pizza made up, then stayed in this evening as we were both quite tired.

Granville Island - an amazing place to visit

Sunday 8th April 1990
Had a lay-in, then got up and called you. It's just so lovely to speak to you both once a week.
Today, the weather was completely different.  It was raining and chilly.  Couldn't believe I had shorts on yesterday.  Went to the Dutch Pannecoek House for lunch, but as usual, my eyes were bigger than my belly, but it was nice.
Drove around and looked at some older houses.  Some weren't bad, but we didn't really see anything we could have done much with.  Prices are dropping though which is good.
In the evening, I sat and wrote something for the newsletter at work as they asked me to write about moving to Canada and the differences between the two countries.  I'll send it to you when it comes out.
Started to watch "The French Revolution" with Jane Seymour, but it was a bit hard going so gave up.

Monday 9th April 1990
Well, I'm sorry about this, but I don't have much to tell you today.  Both went to work, then came home and went to dinner at White Spot.  Vince ordered chocolate fudge cake for dessert.  The waitress spent 5 minutes telling him how delicious it was and that he'd really enjoy it and then came back to tell him they were out!  HA HA so funny!!

Tuesday 10th April 1990
Vince went off to do his TQ Refresher course tonight only arrived to find out it's been cancelled until September as they don't have a teacher!  So they'll be sending him a refund.  Luckily Vince is not relying on the certificate to work, but other people probably are.
Your letter arrived today and it was so full of lovely news.  We were telling Sheila about your bees and she thought you just bought a hive, stuck it in the garden and bees came to live there, haha.  So we had to explain to her that there's a little more involved than that.
By the way, we also had an earth tremor, but a bit further south of the border I think, although some of lower British Columbia felt it.  Perhaps the world is falling apart.

Wednesday 11th April 1990
Carolynn came to pick me up from work and we went for a walk in Stanley Park.  The weather is now nice again.  We walked through the zoo, round the sea-wall for a little way, then Carolynn showed me where Beaver Lake is.  We've never been able to find it before.  When we walked past one of the ponds, we saw a little duckling just inside the fence, we thought he was hurt at first, but a man standing nearby said that someone had dumped the little duckling there after keeping it as a pet and he was waiting for the park keeper to come and take care of the poor baby.

Beaver Lake, hidden away in Stanley Park

In the evening, we went to see Diana Ross at the PNE Coliseum.  I got free tickets from work because we were sponsoring the show.  Anyway, Diana was very good, much better than I expected.  She really loves her audience and she went around talking to people and pulling some of them up to dance.  She's 52 and looks fantastic!

Thursday 12th April 1990
Vince didn't have any work today so he pulled the TR6 to bits and fixed it up a bit.  He took out the amplifier and speakers as they didn't really suit the car's image and fixed up the original speaker, which looks much better.  He put in some new carpet and fixed the chair runners.  I think he enjoyed himself.
I had a barbecue at work today which was fun and I got to meet a few more people.  We've also bought tickets for a dinner and dance on a boat cruise in July, so that should be interesting.
I went into town and found this beautiful shop called The Music Box Company - everything they sell is musical and they have such lovely things there.
Stopped at Lonsdale Quay on the way home and bought Vince an Easter Egg with his name on it!!

Friday 13th April 1990
Happy Anniversary to you both - 27 years!
Vince's Mum called this morning which was a nice surprise.  She sounds fine and said she would be calling you soon.  We went to Gastown to have a look around and got talking to the Welsh lady in the country shop "Calico Cat".
Went to the cinema to see a film "Bad Influence" which was really good

Saturday 14th April 1990
Aerobics this morning, then breakfast at Cafe Boulevard.  Just the three of us this time.  The weather was dull in the morning, but it turned out fine, so we put the car roof down and drove out to Fort Langley.  You would love it there, it's a pretty little village with a Fort is in "Mavis Street"!  It's really interesting and there are people dressed up in costume who tell you all about the history.  It is the original Hudson Bay Company, where trade first started with the Indians and then with gold during the Gold Rush.  After that we found this old house that was built for the first doctor in town, in about 1910, and a lovely lady now runs it as a country gift shop and tea room.  I could just imagine you running something like this, Mum.  I wish you could have seen it.  She served her tea and cakes on an assortment of antique plates and cups, so pretty.  The lady was chatting to us and asked Vince if he could fix her fridge, so there's his first customer if he goes self-employed.

Fort Langley - really interesting museum and pretty village

Sheila and Patrick invited us up to share their Easter Turkey in the evening which was nice.  She is such a good cook - we stayed up there all evening.  I showed Sheila all the old photos I brought with me.  She thought that you and Dad were a beautiful couple and that you looked like a movie star in your wedding photos.  I agreed with her, you both still look wonderful!

Sunday 15th April 1990
Waited in desperation for the phone to ring.  It was lovely to hear you both, except there was a delay on the line which made it a bit difficult.
Thank you both so much for the Easter presents - I got so excited opening the parcel and I shed a tear or two!  The earrings are very pretty and I wore them today and Vince was very pleased with his saxophone pin.  That was clever of you to remember what he wanted.
Went to Capilano Suspension Bridge to watch the kids doing an Easter egg hunt, they really get into it!  It was lovely and the bridge had lots of different coloured balloons on it and looked really pretty.  It was very wobbly today though because of the amount of people on it.  It did make me a bit nervous!  Went to Horsehoe Bay and had fish and chips for lunch which was quite tasty, then went to the Woolstones for Easter Dinner, which was great fun as they had about fourteen people there, relations and friends.

Vince at Capilano Suspension Bridge

Monday 16th April 1990
Oh well, it's the first Easter Monday I've ever had to work but actually I didn't mind too much.  Got the seabus home and Vince met me at Lonsdale Quay.  After dinner, we walked up the road to Lynn Valley Canyon and went for a lovely long walk in the woods.  There are some lovely trails with old rickety paths and steps along the way.  It's so quiet and peaceful.  Apparently a lot of people have died there by not keeping to the trails and falling.  I don't know how people cannot understand that going beyond a fenced boundary could end badly!

Lynn Valley Canyon - breathtakingly beautiful and right on our doorstep!

Wrote my news when I got home and now I'm going to finish so I can post it tomorrow.  It's now 11.50pm, but I think I could sit here all night and ramble on and on to you both.  Vince and Smokey are fast asleep!

Well, until the next letter, take care and remember I love and miss you both so much.  I think of you constantly every day.

Sign-off from Jo 16.4.90

In Which Dad Dances Like a Heavyweight Ballerina

Starring roles in this letter:

Jacquie and Kevin (my favourite cousins) - Sadly we are out of touch, but I have such fond memories of their visits.
Old Face Ache - Mum's boss at the dentist
Pat and Mick - Mum's friend and her husband
Dr. Currivan - Our family doctor in Dartford
Nanny Annie - you all know her by now
James - my baby brother 



Our Dear Joanne/Vince,

Tuesday 27th March 1990

Here we go again.  The weather has turned quite cold again, I suppose it is to be expected for England, but it's very sunny as well although not a lot of warmth in it yet.  Apart from the other week of course, which came out of the blue.  Everywhere is looking very pretty though, the pink clematis down near the bird house is full of pink buds, should be lovely when it is out.  I really do love Spring.
Nanny rang me to say that Kevin rang her (surprise surprise) to say Jacquie has had a little girl.  I can't send a card because I don't know where she is in Australia, but maybe she will send Nanny a letter.
Dad has just come back from the careers centre with James - he's got a load of forms to fill in, but he hasn't got a clue what he wants to do, well apart from that he wants to work outside in Summer, inside in Winter and wants to take home £100 a week.  Dad said you'll be lucky.  I think he's got a shock coming to him, or the people who employ him will have a shock coming to them!!

Wednesday 28th March 1990

Pay day today and our quarterly bonus.  Lovely!  Poor Angie did not get her full bonus because she is still away.  Old Face Ache gave it to Pat and me - he said because we have been doing most of her work.  I suppose that was good of him, so he is not that bad really?  Anyway, did not go to the pub today as Pat had to go and see the solicitor about Mick's old house.  So I went and had a good spend up - wish you had been with me.
James has been in the wars again, he has chipped a bone in his elbow, but there is nothing they can do about it, it has to heal on its own.  He was rock climbing at the time with the school, he said he did it trying to save somebody's life (oh sorry, he DID save someone's life) - you can both stop laughing now!  James is a hero and he hopes he'll have all the girls running after him.
Just been outside to try and get Sam Cat in before I go to bed, but the little devil keeps running away.  The house at the end of the block has new people living there and they have this pretty black and white cat and Sam thinks she's a bit of alright.  He sits with her on top of the garage in the daytime, but can't get him in at night.  Randy little bugger!

Mum and Pat, her good friend from work

Thursday 29th March 1990

Your letter arrived this morning. I get so excited when the postman comes, I can hardly contain myself.  What a lovely letter, a bit sad to start with, but then I have bad days as well, it's to be expected I guess.  Your letters are so long and you explain everything so beautifully, it's just wonderful and everything seems to be going so well for you both.  I must say you seem to be doing a lot of eating.  Hope you're not putting on too much weight or you won't be able to get in your new car!!  You sound very proud of your car, can't wait to see it - does Vince wear a flat cap?  Ha Ha.
Sorry to hear about Heather's Mum, hope she will be alright.  Would you please thank them from me and Dad for giving you a happy birthday.  They do sound so nice and next time Sheila invites you up for desert, let us know, and we will join you.  Can you imagine how much weight I would put on?!  I better go on a crash diet before we come at Christmas.
Glad Vince didn't stay with Cool King Refrigeration, they didn't sound very reliable and it's going to take some time before people realise how good he is at his work, then they'll be crying out for him.
You'll have to tell us more about your job - will you drive there when you get used to the car or will you get the seabus.  It must be better than going by British Rail!
Went to see Nanny this afternoon - she had a red final notice to pay her electric bill, but she hadn't told us about the first bill that came.  I found it in her cupboard so now I have to rush down and pay it before they cut her off.  I don't know what we are going to do with Nan, bless her.

Friday 30th March 1990

Lovely and warm today.  Went shopping with no coat and made Dad come with me.  I think it does him good to see how much the Sainsbury's shopping costs these days.  I am sure it goes up each week.  We had to buy some more brandy for me today and it would not all go in the decanter, so I will have to drink what's left in the bottle tonight.  If you would like to come down tonight, we could share it together!
James is going to a fair in Dartford tonight and wants me to take him and Darren, so I told him he has to clean his bedroom thoroughly, put everything away and leave it spotless AND change his bed linen.  He's not very pleased and said he would rather walk, but he's getting lazy, perhaps you can nag him for me.
I have just cooked Sam cat some coley fish steaks - the ones you gave us.  He really loves them, sits and looks at the microwave all the time they are cooking.  He said to say thank you to Smokey Cat because it was really nice of him to leave them in England.
I must tell you this now: I have just said to James 'have you got anymore washing for the machine?' and he promptly took off his pants and gave them to me.  I might add that he was walking around in his pants and t-shirt and after giving me his pants, ran up the stairs and bent over at the top, it was not a pretty sight I can tell you!  I told him I'd tell you in my letter and he just creased up laughing!

Saturday 31st March 1990

Another beautiful day.  Waited for Dad to get up so he could come shopping with me and again we went without coats.  Dad bought himself a new pair of trainers, really posh ones.  Came home, he put them on and was dancing round the kitchen like a heavy weight ballerina!  After lunch, we went through the beehive for the first time this year and, well, we were gobsmacked!!  Three weeks ago, we put on a Super without the Queen excluder, to give them more room to stop them from swarming.  Well, she has laid eggs up there too and it was absolutely full of stores and bee larvae and brace comb.  The brace comb was full of larvae in all stages, which unfortunately we had to destroy.  It was so sad, but we had to cut it off so we could put the queen excluder on to stop her from going up there again.  They are working so well, bless their hearts.  We should be able to take honey from them in June and then again in August, so we will be able to bring some for you at Christmas.
We have bought some new bed linen for our bedroom.  It's called Cottage Garden and is so pretty.  Dad said blimey if he wakes up in the middle of the night, he will think he is sleeping in the garden.
As I'm writing this, Dad is cooking Saturday tea:
From Dad - "Nothing changes does it?  Still bossing me about!  Get the tea on then, she says.  There I am trying to do my crossword, no peace for me at all, so I suppose I had better get on with it, keep her quiet!  And there's poor old me nursing a bee sting on the palm of my right hand.  Nag, nag, nag!!
Sorry about that rude interruption, leave my letter writing for two minutes and Dad takes over, cheek!!  Anyway, where was I?  Oh yes, after dinner Dad and I walked up the video shop, all the ones we wanted were out, so we got "When the Whales Came".  It was a bit slow-going, one of those films you have to really listen to, but it was good.

Sunday 1st April 1990

God, April already, I can't believe it.  Today is lovely, I would go as far as saying quite hot.  Dad's just cleaned all the windows and he is sweating buckets.  I have just put some pansies in the front garden to give it some colour.  What sort of flowers have you got out at the moment and do you have the same flowers for each season like us?
Went up and got Nanny for dinner and then took her to Cobham Church Yard to put some flowers on her Mum and Dad's grave.  It was a nice afternoon and it's a lovely little village.  Nanny went to school there and her old house where she was a child is there and the big house (Lady Baker's house) where Nanny was in service.  It was a nice history lesson.  However, when we got there, would you believe Nanny didn't know where the grave was! So we just put the flowers where we thought they were.  When we got home, she was going on and on about the poll tax, she said she is not going to pay it and that they can take her to prison if they want to!
Was so wonderful to speak to you later and love that we can do this every week.  I know we can't say much in the time we have, but just to hear your voice is enough.

My Nan (Annie) and her trusy dog, Judy

Monday 2nd April 1990

I forgot to tell you on Saturday that Oxford won the boat race, 14th year running.  HURRAH! Dad blew rude raspberries, he's a bad loser!
Came home from work and washed the curtains and cleaned windows inside, then did all the ironing.  Phew!  And now it's raining and has come over very dark.  It's so different from yesterday, the weather is so very changeable.
I don't know whether you had it on your news, but we had an earth tremor near Wrexham and it was felt as far as London.  We didn't feel anything here, good job too!  There was apparently some damage from it.

Tuesday 3rd April 1990

Really cold today with sleety rain.  You know I told you how exciting it is when the postman comes, well it was not this morning.  Our Poll Tax came - £324.00 for Dad and the same for me - bloody stupid!! Still we can't do anything about it - at least you've escaped that in Canada.
Cooked James some spag bog tonight for dinner (yes it was my own) but he always says 'not bad, but not as good as Jo's'.  Ah well, nobody's perfect.  How are you getting on with your dishwasher?  You won't want to ever wash up by hand again, but I must say you needed one (sorry Jo).
Sam cat is sitting here watching me write and it made me think of Smokey cat - how are you getting on cleaning his teeth?  They should be really nice and shiny with nice pink gums by now!  I bet he gets annoyed.

Wednesday 4th April 1990

Pay day again and would you believe it, we got a raise as well.  Don't laugh it was a grand sum of £3.00 - wow what can I do with that?  Still it paid for lunch today.
It is freezing today and we had snow that actually settled, but not for long.  I was going to take a photo of it and send to you, but I could hear Vince saying 'oh they're just copying us now' haha.
Had to go to the doctors to get some more of my pills.  Dr. Currivan is retiring at the end of the month.  It's a little bit sad because he has been my doctor since I was a little girl and he has seen all of my children come into the world.  He shook my hand and said it was nice to know the Figg Family.
James has got some new trainers and went out in them tonight, but he didn't want to get them dirty and wet, so put polythene bags over them.  Can you believe that?
We have a lovely song in the Eurovision song contest called "Give A Little Love Back To The World" - I think it will win and the girl who sings it is only 15.

I better stop writing and send this letter off now, otherwise I will go on and on.

Mum's sign off 4th April 1990