Getting back to old news, I hadn’t finished writing about our honeymoon travels. I left you last in the Port McNeill area. Very early the next morning we were in a queue at the ferry terminal in Port Hardy waiting for the 9 a.m. ferry to Bella Coola to allow us to board and set sail.

Many visitors to Western Canada take the Inside Passage ferry route from Port Hardy to Prince Rupert, an all-day journey of 15 hours. The Discovery Coast ferry route takes in the southern portion of that trip then veers eastwards to the mid-coast inland port of Bella Coola, a trip of 13 hours unless the ferry also makes stops in the tiny communities of Bella Bella, McLoughlin Bay, Klemtu, Namu, Shearwater and Ocean Falls. I haven’t been on the Port Hardy to Prince Rupert trip to compare, but I imagine that the scenery cannot be much more stunning on that trip than on the trip to Bella Coola.

For the first hour or so on board the ferry I couldn’t take my eyes of the amazing scenery - the ocean full of perfectly  green, mountainous little islands. After a little while I came to realise that the scenery wasn’t going to get any worse and, in fact, was  likely going to get better as it went along, becoming more remote and the channel becoming narrower, so I managed to tear my eyes away for a while and explore the ferry, trying to find a spot to settle for the journey.

The ferry was old and small and definitely in need of an upgrade. After a brief stop in the gift shop and a breakfast in the cafeteria there was literally nothing to do so you have a choice. You can either totally relax, or get bored. We chose the first option. The day was gorgeously sunny and we found a place to lie on our backs - on top of one of the huge boxes of lifejackets and we dozed.

Then we woke up and chatted, taking in the scenery and deciding which of the little valleys in the unpopulated islands we were going to build our cabin in.

Then we dozed some more. Then we took photos of the gorgeous scenery. Then we watched a pod of dolphins play around the ferry. Then we dozed some more - you get the idea? I can honestly say that by the end of that voyage I had never felt so relaxed in my entire life.

It was a fabulous experience and made all the better in the last couple of hours of the journey when we met Frank. Frank is a lifelong resident of Bella Coola who was returning from visiting his family in Port Hardy. He was our first experience of Bella Coola friendliness and hospitality. By the end of our conversation we had learned about his life, seen pictures of most of his family and been invited to call him when we were staying in Bella Coola so that he could open up the local school for us and show us the totem pole and the entire building which he had helped to build. He also offered to take us on a personal tour of the petroglyphs that we wanted to see. On our part we offered him a lift home from the ferry terminal which he politely declined.

When the ferry docked there were about 20 locals on the dock, with 5 or 6 children running around yelling “Uncle Frankie! UN-CLE FRAAANKIE!”. Yep, the man didn’t need a lift as it turned out that all of those people were Frank’s family come to greet him and take him home!

It took us a long time to get off the ferry and we had a very dark drive to our accommodation which was a 30-minute drive away. We were scared that we may hit a bear or a coyote but the nearest we came to seeing wildlife was a local dog running along the side of the road. By the time we got to our accommodation we were whacked out from our tiring day of doing nothing, and I had the best night’s sleep I’ve ever had!

The unthinkable has happened. When we moved to Canada we had to constantly tell people that it wasn’t all a land of snow and ice, that Vancouver and the coast was actually really mild, with very little snowfall but plenty of rain in winter. However, Vancouver is currently experiencing a long period of sub-zero temperatures and huge dumps of snow unlke anything that the city has seen in decades. The last few days the temperature has struggled to get above -5C during the day, when it is usually hovering at about +5C at  this time of year. With the arctic wind blowing it feels much colder. The snow is coming down horizontally and diagonally in fine, powdery form which is settling fast. And I’m not just enduring it, I’m loving it! I never thought I could cope with living in a colder climate, but I have learned that although I don’t like being cold I love the cold. I would also like to boast that despite walking around in the snow and ice a fair bit this last week, I haven’t slipped and fallen over - yet!

I have dressed in layers and felt very snug throughout the entire period, when everyone else has been shivering and saying “Brrrr” a lot. The first time that word left my lips was on Friday night when we were walking around in -10 degree C weather and my cheeks and nose started going a bit numb. It is heartening to know that, with a balaclava, I could quite happily live in a place where winter temperatures hover around the -20C mark - it opens up lots more possibilities of places to retire to! The problem is that all those places that are usually as cold as Vancouver is now are even colder at the moment - it’s really is coast-to-coast snow and ice and Arctic temperatures right now and it is expected to be the first coast-to-coast white Christmas since 1971.

Edit: December 22, 2008. OK, it can stop snowing now! It was a bit of a hassle getting to work. Never having experienced much snow before I was caught a little off-guard when I cut diagonally across the road in front of my apartment as usual and came across a 2 foot pile of snow between me and the sidewalk. So I had to follow the road around until I could find an entry point onto the sidewalk. Following the channels created in the sidewalk by the nice people who had shovelled it proved rather frustrating in that they are so narrow that you cannot overtake slow-moving people. Hence I missed the bus by 5 seconds. Then I was late, the next bus was really crowded and when I got off there was no where to step except into a pile of snow up to my knee!

All fun and games. I wish I had my camera this morning though as the view eastwards down the Georgia Viaduct with the pale sun rising next to a gleaming, silver Science World framed by big powdery piles of snow on either side and NO CARS was just gorgeous.

We were treated to an early Christmas gift on Thursday when Mats Sundin finally ended the saga that has been frustrating hockey fans since July 1st. He chose to play rather than retire, and he chose to play for the Vancouver Canucks over the New York Rangers - a move that made the most sense but which shocked the hell of a lot of hockey pundits. Everyone assumed that the New York Rangers was his first choice and that he would certainly end up there for the rest of the season, but instead he decided with his head rather than his heart.

The former Toronto Maple Leaf captain claims that Vancouver was his first choice all along, since Mike Gillis offered him the 2-year $20 million dollar contract all those months ago, but I’m not so sure. It doesn’t matter though, because he will play for the Canucks for the rest of the year and play his socks off, then when the summer comes round he can decide if it is really the Canucks that he likes or whether his heart and head take him some place else.

Many people are deriding his decision, saying that he has been selfish, that it is all about the money and calling him a sell-out but this is simply unfair. Firstly, if he had taken less money than his market worth just to play for a team he fancied playing for it would be a dangerous precedent to set for the rest of the league and could possibly drive prices down for other players going into contract negotiations - clearly not a good thing for the league as a whole.

Secondly, if he had gone to New York the Rangers would have had to trade or waive some of their players just to make room for his salary - that would mess with team chemistry and perhaps create ill-feeling towards him in the locker room which would not have been a good starting point for resuming his career. And who is to say that the team would be better with him on it rather than the players that had to be moved for him? Conversely, the Canucks had targeted him from the very beginning as the player that would make the most impact on the team and had kept the money clear for him (and a roster spot open) all season long so that he could sign with no disruption if he decided that he did want to play - Sundin must have admired that kind of patience and commitment to him and maybe that helped him decide as he knew that he was wanted by everyone in the organization.

Thirdly, when he did sign with the Canucks he signed for less than the original offer. He signed for one year rather than two because he wanted to make sure that he would continue playing into next season - he could have just taken the money and retired anyway, leaving the team to pick up the tab. And he signed for about $8.5 million rather than $10 million, leaving enough cap room to add another player before the trade deadline in order to make the team truly competitive. That doesn’t sound like a selfish decision to me.

People are bitter that he will play for the Canucks, but the only people that should feel put out are the Toronto Maple Leafs, who tried to get him to waive his no-trade clause at the end of last season so that the team could get a package of players, prospects and draft picks to really get a head-start in rebuilding for the future. Mats declined to move, saying that he didn’t want to be a rental player, that he didn’t believe in joining a team midway through the season and that he wanted to retire a Leaf. Now that he is not retiring and is joining a team other than the Leafs midway through the season, he has become a hypocrite and traitor in the eyes of Leafs fans. I understand their sentiment, but also want to point out that the new GM of the Maple Leafs, Brian Burke, told Sundin that he didn’t want him this season, so it isn’t exactly like he had the choice to play there and retire a Leaf like he wanted to.

I am ecstatic that he chose Vancouver - there is no way that this signing can be a bad thing for the Canucks. He has been a consistent point-a-game, goal-every-other-game guy throughout his entire career and there is no reason those figures should change too much, but even if he only scores 15 points over the rest of the season, just the very fact that someone of his reputation is on the ice will be enough. He will make his linemates better with his leadership and experience, and he will allow all of the top 6 players to increase their points totals just by drawing defenders towards him and allowing them more space. So long as he doesn’t play with the Sedin twins, he will draw the top checking line to him and the Sedins can work their puck-cycling magic as a second line - and that will be just too much for many opponents. His presence on the power play should also make an immediate improvement.

Mike Gillis, I salute you. In my opinion the guy hasn’t made one wrong move since becoming the GM of the Canucks this Spring and the way he played this waiting game with Sundin showed exceptional patience and foresight. I trust him to make the right decisions for the team and am excited for the future of the franchise under his management.

On the odd occasion that we want to surround ourselves in Britishness we have tried to locate a British-style pub in Vancouver, and we have almost always been disappointed. Many of the bars are just humble sports bars that serve a few British items on their menu - SOHO and The Dover Arms on Denman street are very good examples of this style of bar.

Of course there are many different styles of pub in Britain and so it is hard to pin down exactly what makes a pub feel British. I would say that there are three main types of British pubs -

1. the traditional pub that serves a good range of real ale and maybe whisky but has a very limited wine and spirits list. The bartender is usually the landlord or landlady and will laugh in your face if you order anything other than a pint of beer or cider, a glass of red or white wine, or a shot of liquor with or without a mixer. These places are small, cozy, often dark and in old buildings with plenty of seating and the locals have been going for years and years and years. Entertainment consists of good old-fashioned talking, along with one or more of darts, pool, bar billiards, table football and a pub quiz. Music, if there is any, is quiet and chosen by the landlord or a local’s request or, in rare cases, a jukebox. Food is usually home-cooked and cheap - whatever can be prepared ahead of time and heated up - lots of soups, chilli, stews, pasta, curry etc. Quite often has a nice little beer garden for the sunny days.
2. Wine bars/chain pubs that focus on wine and cocktails, having a huge bar full of spirits, a long wine and bottled beer list but normally only offering European lager and one or two English brewed bitters on tap. Usually they are large, bright, modern, nicely decorated spaces with not much seating - these places are normally very crowded and full of people standing up, milling around or sitting down at a table drinking pitchers of cocktails. Loud up-tempo music, chosen by the many bar staff, is normally the only entertainment, unless there is a sporting event on in which case it is shown on large TVs. These places are normally patronized by young(ish) people getting drunk before heading to the next pub or a club, though some have dance floors themselves and basically turn into clubs after 10 p.m. Food is normally fairly good and cheap but mass produced - fish and chips, burgers and pasta dishes, and deep-fried things.
3. Family pubs and gastropubs, usually with a big garden, serving a good mix of drinks but focusing more on food. Often the same size as chain pubs and wine bars, but with more traditional decor and more seating. These sort of pubs are pretty much exactly a cross of the other 2 categories, with a total mix of patrons to match. There are usually a couple of pool tables and maybe a darts board, quiet music playing, sports events on TV but a much less rowdy atmosphere than the wine bars.

There are also many pubs/bars that are an exact cross between categories 2 and 3.

There are 3 pubs in downtown Vancouver that remind me of British pub chains - two of which (Rosie’s, The Lions) remind me of more expensive Wetherspoons with music and less choice of drink, and one (Elephant and Castle) reminds me of a Hogshead. The Cheshire Cheese Inn in Kerrisdale is quite like a British family pub, but I’m clutching at straws here! Really there is no comparison - Canadian bars are very Canadian, whatever their style, and the fact that you nearly always must have table service and a tab, that you can’t just buy a beer at the bar and wander around freely is the biggest difference at all. The next biggest difference is that there are always lots of TVs in Canadian bars showing different sports, and the third biggest difference is that you are usually expected and encouraged to eat a meal when you are drinking - if you go into a British pub after 6 O’clock you are not presented with a menu - you have to ask for it!

So, I am giving up on trying to find a British pub in Vancouver because I don’t think one exists and I know that I’ll never feel the specialness of being part of a lock-in again. On the plus side many of the Irish-style pubs are very well done and really hit the mark and there is always the WISEhall, which is very much like the traditional sports and social houses, or clubhouses, that are provided for various company employees in the UK. I must also visit the ANZA club at some point as it seems like it is extremely similar to the WISE, except founded by Aussies and Kiwis rather than Welsh, Irish, Scots, and English.