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Canada, Madeira, Home
BACK again. I've been away for all of August and it's the strangest feeling.
Stepping out of the routine, living in two very different countries and returning home as the season changes. It takes some readjustment.
I'm intensely grateful for having had the opportunity to have had such an adventure. I always say that "Life is an adventure" is my metaphor for life. To me it is an adventure, full of variety and surprises even when plans are made and schedules are set.
I've been to Canada before in different circumstances. The first time I went, my sister was pregnant with her first and only child. My husband was serving in Northern Ireland, and I had two small children.
It was bliss to go to Canada, spend time with her, and comfortably pass the anxious months in a world where everything was different and Northern Ireland was not in the news every single day.
We were not to know that those months were especially precious, as she only had a couple of years to live.
This most recent visit was to attend the wedding of that expected child, now aged 27. What a different trip. I didn't just go for the wedding, and decided to travel with my cousin to Vancouver, cross the Rockies on "The Rocky Mountaineer" train, explore the beauties of Banff and Lake Louise, take in Calgary for a day and then travel to Saskatoon for the big day.
My brother-in-law and his new wife had hired a coach to take us from Calgary to Saskatoon. Normally I would not relish the idea of a six-hour coach ride, but this was something else. It was an opportunity to get to know some of the guests before arriving.
The family has become very mixed. There were Germans, Scots, Indians and Canadians. People read, played cards, watched videos and moved around chatting to different groups. The time raced by like the flat plains of Alberta.
We arrived just in time for the wedding rehearsal and felt as if we were in a film, clambering off this great bus into the world of a wedding. It was a superbly organised affair and different enough from our way of doing things to provide lots of interest! Canadians love the wedding photo part of wedding - this was scheduled to take five hours! I hope they are fabulous photographs. It did give those of us who had been in one or two happy snaps a chance to relax, have a rest, and visit the shops or just chill.
Then came the feast, and feast it was. Speeches were interspersed between the courses, culminating in the bride and groom both making emotional tributes to their parents, friends, relatives and each other. It would have brought tears to a glass eye!
When the meal was over, the young couple took to the dance floor. They surprised us all by performing a dance which they had obviously practiced for months. It was straight from "Strictly Come Dancing." They danced to the Sting number "Fields of Gold." It may sound a bit cheesy, but I promise you it was not. It was lovely, because they had gone to so much trouble, looked so professional, and were obviously enjoying themselves enormously.
We were all very proud to be part of it. In this cynical age, there was something very innocent and pure going on. We all felt that this young couple will be able to face whatever life throws at them and still survive. That was a good feeling to have.
The next day we were back on the bus after tearful farewells, and our magical holiday was all but over. We still had to negotiate the annoying new rules for boarding a plane, but the rumours were not as bad as the reality, and we were only deprived of carrying on water in the end.
As soon as I touched down, I went home, quickly unpacked, and then repacked for a night at the Tattoo and then off to Madeira.
I had to take this second holiday, because my poor old husband hadn't had any time off and I simply had to accompany him! It was bliss. Go if you can.
It was hot and pretty with great food and lovely people. It is quite touristy, but the island somehow seems to cope with that beautifully. The sea is warm enough to swim in and very inviting. The local people are absolutely charming and there are no lager louts to keep you awake at night.
The scenery is spectacular and every bus ride is like an expensive Disney ride, as the roads are so narrow and steep, and the drivers keep up a pretty hairy speed. Still it all seems to work. It was a wonderfully lazy week and simple bliss to only have to decide where to have your coffee and cake, and how much time you have to digest it before lunch!
I started this article with talk of a young couple embarking on their married life and I'd like to end with the story of some fabulous friends, who've been married for fifty years and could tell the young couple a thing or two about how it all works. Joe and Ella McIntosh are a shining example of how to keep on loving through thick and thin.
They could tell them about keeping a positive mental attitude whatever is happening, and of generous hearts. Anyone who knows them will know what I mean. They make the world a better place. Here's to the next 50 years Joe and Ella.
- Jo Middlemiss is a Life Coach, working from home in Edzell. (01356) 648 329.
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Weather for Brechin
Friday 25 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 10 C to 14 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 8 C to 15 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: East
