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 |
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 |
No comments:
Post a Comment