The article was reprinted along with photographs in February/April 2011 issue of the Island RV Guide (p. 38ff)

Dining with a Difference stakes a claim at Clover Point in Victoria, British Columbia

In our third month of outdoor exploration, Lynn and I continue to search for novel ways to experience our city. While “Dinner and a Movie” proved to be a lot of fun during the winter (see Movie Reviews), we wanted to keep to the outdoors as September is such a special time of the year.

In Victoria, and indeed across Canada, beginning in September there is a period of time referred to for centuries as Indian Summer. In the prairies, it came after the first frosts began to darken the tops and vines of garden plants, and the trees slowly displayed their fall colours. I remember my first days of school as lazy and warm, perhaps a time to escape for a few days or weeks to help with the fall harvest. The evening chill and frost was a sure sign that the bitter cold days of winter were patiently waiting to attack with their penetrating winds.

Here on the coast, it is a time when banks of fog drift across the coastal waters (see Island View Post) and envelop our Island paradise. The drifting fog slowly fills the low lying valleys well before dawn and can often take until noon to burn off. Looking across the Strait of Juan de Fuca, the base of the Olympic Mountains is often buried to half their depth.

Photo: Early morning fog drifts in over Island View Beach.

In past times, one could hear the forlorn sound of a foghorn. It was a sound that reminded me of my first winter in Victoria in the fall of 1963 while living in James Bay. Most recently, Lynn and I awoke in a forested area at Kemp Lake (west of Sooke) to the sound of a foghorn somewhere in our midst. Perhaps it was Shearingham Point? This surprised me as I thought all horns had been silenced in favour of satellite navigation systems.

As for finding new ways to incorporate a September evening walk along the waterfront, we decided to try dining at a few of our favourite spots?  Accompanied by our good friends, Linda and Bjorn Simonsen,we headed down to a wonderful Victoria waterfront walk around Clover Point. 

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Crow at Sunrise (more in the series footer)
Island View Beach

Over the years, Lynn and I, along with various friends, have camped in all manner of locations in the Capital Region.  Most times we found very scenic campsites, but sometimes, just out a sense of adventure, we would set up camp for dinner and an evening of cards in places such as Beacon Hill Park, Clover Point, Oak Bay Marina and other spots.  No one ever bothered us as we were respectful of where we were and what we were doing.

The article was reprinted along with photographs in September/October 2011 issue of the Island RV Guide (p. 37ff)

 Keeping with our plan to camp close to home over the summer, we drove north along Pat Bay Highway (#17), intending to camp at McDonald National Park, five minutes north of Sidney. While enroute, we decided to stop at Island View Beach and have a peek at the final resting place Lynn’s Mom’s ashes (story previously posted on FB).  While we have often visited the Island View, we had not realized the Capital Regional District (CRD) had established a Campground just north of the public picnic area. It was a serendipitous find and we ended up camping right next to the beach for ten days.  McDonald Park will have to wait until another day.

Since setting out on our summer trek on June 28, we have travelled just over 5000 km, camped at fifteen or more sites across the Interior, and on Vancouver Island as far north as Campbell River and Elk Falls. While each of the many camping areas offers a unique experience, Island View Beach clearly ranks with the very best.

While services at the site (now in its second year of operation) are limited, that only adds to the ‘get-a-way’ flavour. Not only does one get to camp next to the incredibly beautiful driftwood and sand-covered beach, but there is also an ever-changing view of James Island (a short distance across Cordova Channel) and numerous other Islands that extend all the way to the Washington State shoreline.

The ever stately, snow-covered, Mount Baker, a mountain well known to residents of the region, stands majestically in the distance. With the amount of white still displayed on the west and south slopes, this late August, one can only imagine how deep the winter’s pack must have been just a few months back.

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Note

This week the National Post, as well as many other media outlets, is carrying a series of articles and stories related September 11 2001.  While 911 was monumental tragedy in terms of lives lost and families torn apart, the damage done over the past ten years by governments, particularly in the USA who have lead the world, is much greater both in terms of lives lost and families destroyed.  Beyond that, the invasion of privacy by security agencies, including our very own, is unprecedented. 911 was no D Day, VE or VJ Day. It was a criminal act that deserved only to be treated as such. The following editorial touchs on only a few aspects of the changes that have taken place.

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Preserving Our Civil Liberties

July 7, 2011: Closure of the British Tabloid “News of the World”

The demise of the 168-year-old British paper that held a readership of nearly three million, all over a ‘mobile phone – internet hacking’ scandal, was a bit of overkill when compared to the attack on our civil liberties by our own governments over the past decade. In the case of News of the World a high price will now be paid by the thousands of dedicated, honest workers all because of a few dishonest people at high levels, including the owner’s son, James Murdock.

It is reported Murdock closed the paper because he wanted to protect his reputation (and that of his father, Rupert) as well “protecting” other money making schemes he currently has on the table.  I have little sympathy for Murdock and for those who cheat and scheme in order to make an extra dollar, what hurts is seeing all those jobs taken away from thousands of honest workers who toiled at the paper.

While the allegations against a few reporters and senior administrators at World News was serious and needed to be addressed, the transgressions were positively minor compared to the widespread intrusions on civil liberties conducted by various government security organziations around the world.

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It was a discouraging time deep in the depression of the 1930s when men were riding the rails in search of work and their next meal. Labour laws were non-existent and abuse of the less fortunate a reality of every day life.  A naive young man, Jacob ((Robert Pattison), was about to graduate from Cornel Veterinary School when his world was suddenly turned up side down.

He fleed school and joined a second rate circus run by an unscrupulous and abusive owner, August (Christopher Waltz), who was married to the seductive centre ring performer Marlena (Reese Witherspoon).  Events spun out of control as the circus crossed the country and Jacob found himself in a love triangle fighting not only for his own life but also for the lives of the animals in his charge and some of the carnies who had befriended him.

The show engagingly begins and ends by means of flashbacks with Hal Holbrook playing ‘Old Jacob’ in a manner that brings into close focus the ephemeral nature of love, life, birth and death. 

Lynn and I very much enjoyed this 120 minute movie and gave it four thumbs up. Without reservation we encourage you to put this movie on your ‘must see’ list.

Cheers
Harold     
 

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 Jack Tackles the Giants on the Beanstalk

Do you remember ever having the feeling your world has just been turned upside down?  Perhaps you were nearing 50 when your wife came home and calmly stated: “Guess what honey, I’m pregnant?” Or, in the worst case, it was not your wife it was that less than full time girl friend (not as uncommon as you might think). In either case it was a game changer.  I experienced the former but, thanks to my chaste behaviour, never the latter.

In another case perhaps it was your boss who came in and said:  “Sorry, but due to the recession we are cutting back, ah, but not to worry, you are a good worker so you should have no trouble finding a new job!” Bummer dude! Perhaps we are about to experience a similar type ‘game changer’ on the national political scene.

Having closely followed the campaign over the past few weeks I was struck by how mundane everything seemed to be evolving when, suddenly, late last week, the folks in Quebec decided they might just want to try something different.  No, they did not start importing tons of the best BC Bud (not a bad idea through), they just found a new religion called NDP. It is now possible the Bloc might soon be a footnote in history.  Can’t say I would be sorry to see them finally exit stage left.

Now what about poor Jack?  How would you like to have the whole La Belle Province riding on your coat tails?  All I can say is he had better have a strong ‘constitution’. After the election he could be leading a group of neophyte politicians, including a number of young student candidates with no political background, into the blood sport that is Ottawa. Perhaps that is just what we need in opposition, a bunch of young idealists with nothing to lose.

From my perspective, it would be an excellent outcome – a Harper minority (140 seats), NDP (90 seats, including a major position in Quebec), Liberal (60 seats) and Bloc (15), Independent (2) and Greens (1) as somebody has gotta finally throw poor Lizbeth a bone. Taken in combination it just might be the tonic we need to shake things up on the Federal scene. Just as the Conservatives moved to coalesce the right a few years back, the left needs an ‘earth shaker’ to cause them to put the left leaning house in order. 

Given the heavy turnout in the advance polls and if the current poll trends portend future seat results, we might just go to bed on May 2, 2011 with a game-changing Parliament.

Cheers
(Harold is a card carrying Liberal but willing to look at alternatives)

¹For a good chuckle on this very subject read “The Best Laid Plans” by Terry Fallis (McLellan Books, 2008), winner of the CBC Canada Reads Award, 2011.  The book takes a peek inside the back rooms of national political parties where a crusty old Scot, Angus McClintock, is suddenly and unwillingly thrust into the fray. He quickly becomes a media darling and throws every party, including his own Liberals, into disarray.  Just as has every movie and TV series hero that challenged the status quo found a cult following, so does the reluctant Angus McClintock.

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Traditions

Jamie and Kia Charko

 April 16, 2011

The matt upon which Jamie and Kia were married has been in the Simonsen family for over 300 years. During this time dozens of family members have been married. Here their daughter, Liala, shares in the celebration.

Cornucopia Cake: The Cornucopia (korn-yoo-KO-pee-uh) symbol stretches across many cultures and peoples from Ancient Greece to modern day. That it is part of many wedding celebrations is only natural.

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Harold doing some in-store testing of the new Blackberry Playbook for Seniors

It was chilly with a dusting of snow when I left home at 2:00 am yesterday to join the line a Future Shop to get my new Research in Motion Blackberry “Playbook for Seniors’. My trusty Tim Horton’s super mug in hand – a double, double, triple, triple with a couple of shots of Kahlua (and small bottle in my backpack) – helped to ward off the cold and calm the knot in the pit of my stomach. Would I be too late? Not to worry, by 9:30 am I was inside and the supplies looked to last.

Photo: Harold bikes our for his usual morning cuppa at Tim Horton’s. The two litre cup cuts down on refills.

My first surprise was the size. The new Seniors Edition was at least 32 X 55 cm (12 X 22 inches) but with a high definition screen and large print (even at 36-40 pt. you can still get a full page on the screen) it is certainly easy to read.  You know, you can actually enlarge words and flip pages with just the flick of a finger? Amazing!

Now, a word about price! At $700 (2 gb storage) a crack, plus $200 for the tax and extended guarantee, it is well within the means of most seniors. Just don’t forget to factor in an average $400 per month for Apps, internet access, download fees, book purchases, etc. so you don’t over extend yourself (1). My bets – move over Apple – this new RIM Seniors Edition Playbook is about to take the market by storm. 

The only real challenge I found was trying to fit the device in my jacket or briefcase and I am wondering whether getting through airport security is going to be a problem.  Perhaps, in the future, RIM will consider a folding model.

Congratulations to Jim Balsille and Mike Lazaridis, you and your RIM Team from Waterloo have made Canada proud – another first for Canadian Technology that is on a level with the Canada Arm.  From this Canadian Senior – two thumbs up.

Harold McNeill

Victoria, BC

(1) For BES (Blackberry Enterprise Server) there is connectivity from that BES to RIM’s NOC, and that’s an extra charge. This is done via the SRP (Service Routing Protocol). Each BES has a unique SRP, just like our handhelds have a unique PIN. BES has better guaranteed service versus a BIS plan. On a BES you get way more functionality than BIS and you get more security, etc. These are matters are near and dear to most seniors.

(My young friend Riyad at Future Shop, passed along these helpful tidbits)

Staff at both Future Shop and Staples had to catch a coffee on the run as business was so brisk.

IPad vs Blackberry:  While IPad has a jump on the market, the Blackberry Seniors model is likely to become a very big hit with the boomers who are just now entering those mellow years.  My guess is the larger Blackberry will outsell the IPad by a factor of two or three.

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