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My Canadian Experience
February/March/April 2009
Headed in to Toronto for the baptism of Onora Elizabeth Jane Boadicea and here she is...


and here is the family picture


And this was the caviar pie and the Baptismal service at St. Pauls.


And Aunt Morgana

Got the final clean up after getting my house re-roofed.  They found some 80 nails on the lawn so was well worth doing.  They also fixed the down pipe that had got blocked and was in danger of falling off the house when we had that freezing weather.

Had an argument with my bank as for the past couple of years I've been able to deposit one cheque from my US company to my Canadian bank for my salary. That cheque goes right into my account with no delay. On April 1st I went in to deposit my usual cheque only to be told I had to wait 10 days before the funds would be available.  Eventually I had to argue with the bank and then the Manager and eventually got them to agree to continue the system but this time it is being written into my bank record so I shouldn't have this issue in future.

Work wise I've been focusing on content on the site and have a body of work done now that would allow me to go away for a month if needed.  It's always good to have a buffer as it's not always possible to do useful work when you're away from home.

I've become the newsletter publisher for the Priory of St James in Toronto so I now get the task of pulling together all the news items and creating a pdf file every 2 months.

April also saw the delivery of my "Kindle" which is a reading device for books, newspapers and periodicals. As I'm in Canada I had to order it for delivery to our USA office and and Steve posted it on to me here in Canada.  Also when you wish to order a book you then need to download it to your computer and then transfer it my Kindle through the USB port.  Were I in the USA I'd be able to download the books through the built in wireless network.

On 7th April I got in my letter from Canadian Citizenship saying they'd got my application and it was now being processed.  I might note that the letter was dated 24 February 2009 so it sure took a long time to get to me.  With the letter they sent a brochure "A look at Canada" which if studied properly will enable you to pass the citizenship test. You can see a pdf file of it here!

I attended the "Scot of the Year" in Toronto where the Hon Flora MacDonald was the recipient. You can see pictures of the event at Scot of the Year Award 2009. This was the start of a wee holiday in Toronto with the Crewe-Nelson household.

On the following Saturday attended the AGM of the Scottish Studies where I became President of the Scottish Studies Society.

On the Sunday the extended family (19) went to church for the Easter service and then we all headed down to a local hotel for a marvellous brunch. In the afternoon I helped Nola create an application letter for the Knights Templar of Canada to host the 2010 International convention of the Knights Templar.

I then headed home on the Monday 13th.

On closing this report I might note that on May 1st there was an accident outside my house which resulted in one car actually running into my house.

Essentially, the car smashed into the brick support column that supported the corner of the porch which is the main damage but also a bit of the privacy fencing on either side and a bit of the garden.  I phoned my insurance company and they sent out a company that put in a temporary support for the pillar. I'll get a quote next week for the repair and my insurance company said I shouldn't be out of pocket.  The police gave me a case number of ck09014230 which I need to quote if I need to contact them. The constable was Joshua Flikweert of the Chatham Community Patrol Branch on 519 436 6646.

The other car involved is on the right in the last picture.  I presume someone ran a stop sign but don't yet know the circumstances.  One passer by did say to the chap in the green shirt, whose car ran into my home, that his mother wasn't going to be happy :-)

One thing I didn't understand is that the police asked me for my name and telephone number which was fine but they also asked for my date of birth which I didn't understand.  I did ask the officer why he needed that but he didn't provide an answer. 

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