Smoke in the air from US wildfires

 This photo from Dallas Road in Victoria. They seem particularly hit.

It's not too bad yet in Vancouver and hope it stays that way. Jim has a golf game tomorrow. We actually went for an ocean swim at 11:30 this morning. Good tide but cool water and very breezy.

VICTORIA -- Greater Victoria residents woke up to smoky skies and the worst air quality conditions in the country Tuesday morning.

The smoky haze is due to shifting overnight winds that carried a blanket of smoke into the region from wildfires in eastern and central Washington state.

The Victoria-Saanich air quality health index on Tuesday morning was rated at 9, or high health risk, just before 8 a.m., according to Environment Canada. 

Related Stories

• Noticing smoke or haze in Metro Vancouver? You're not alone.
• B.C. weather: Heat heading for southern, coastal parts of the province

By 9 a.m., the severity was increased to 10, and then increased again to 10+, the highest possible risk.

The B.C. government is advising Victoria-Saanich residents to keep strenuous outdoor activity to a minimum, especially for children and the elderly.

Carol and Dave's new dog....looks like a real sweetheart!

50 years of marriage and starting off a new adventure with Miss Sheila. Sheila will arrive on Oct. 7. In this picture she is 3 weeks old. She is a tricolour, mini Aussie Shepherd!

Itty Bitty Book Review: "Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine"

 "Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine" by Gail Honeyman

This seems to be her first and only novel. It was very successful in terms of money apparently and short-listed for the Lucy Cavendish  College Fiction Prize.  It was this month's choice for my "Young Bookclub". I really liked it and it certainly was very polished in terms of writing. It primarily revolves around the main character "Eleanor" who is lonely and has experienced a great trauma. It would be a very sad tale but Eleanor is very amusing and her reflections on many aspects of society are spot on. 

Down at Spanish Banks the other day....

Must be a lot of ships waiting given the position of these one

We got talking to this fellow. He makes these sculptures and sets them up for people to enjoy He's from Delta.

 

Nothing quite like young people who are family...

 I'm not really posting social things these days but we had so much fun with Richard and Grace last night...thanks, guys!

Glad to see Catfé is still going strong

Good on them in these difficult times for businesses.

Thank mew for your continued support during these strange times... Adoptions have been through the roof — we're about to surpass adoption #900! (The super silly JB was #899.)We are so happy to have a chance to bring love to so many people and cats alike by matching all these cuties with their purrfect homes. We are working extra hard to keep everyone safe while staying open — click here to learn more about our COVID-19 precautions. We hope to see mew soon! Book your visit at catfe.ca/reservations today!

 — Love, Catfe and all of the fur babes

Interesting mail boxes...

I saw a lot of different mail boxes in the Palm Springs area but I think people are being less creative since mail boxes are being stolen and perhaps even more importantly the contents in them. Guess it was the end of an era a while ago.

Carol posted this one on her blog from Saltspring....love it!  I think this might be one of a kind in the world.

Update: It's actually not a mailbox just an address marker.

Sunset the other night...

Well,  it looks like I have to use the new blogger...very annoying since I can't seem to do what I like to do. Perhaps Richard can sort if out for me this week-end. I wanted this to post Friday morning.

Itty Bitty Book Review: "Swamp Angel"

"Swamp Angel" by Ethel Wilson

This was a Brock House Bookclub choice. I read it when I was 20 years old at UBC. I remember it being ok but I was much more interested in the D.H. Lawrence and other modern Briish writers I was also reading in another course. At the time the wonderful descriptions of B.C. scenery were rather lost on me. It seemed very ordinary....I wanted to go to London and Paris where there was real life and not dull boring Vancouver.  I certainly got a lot more out of the novel this time round.

Loved these street photos from Europe 50 years ago....

When in 2014, Dylan Scalet inherited a sizable collection of photos captured by his grandfather Jack Sharp, he didn’t expect much. It actually took him 6 years—and COVID-19 lockdown happening—to finally begin to digitize the film. What he discovered was a treasure trove of incredible photographs depicting street life in Europe more than half a century ago. Scroll down for Bored Panda’s interview with Scalet!

More here:
https://www.boredpanda.com/man-inherits-his-grandfathers-photos-photography-jack-sharp/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Newsletter

It was a great getaway that November in 2010

We started in London as Jim had some research to do at the British Library then flew to Almeria. Jesuias picked us up at the airport and drove us to our hotel in Almeria. He has a place in Almeria where he teaches and also in Granada. The weather was just gorgeous in Spain and after the conference we spent a few days in Nerja. We were tempted to go swimming in the ocean but it was a bit too chilly even for us.

We packed a lot into two weeks. We had never been to Europe before less than two months. Jim gave a talk to the Architecture Club in London, we visited Regent Street with all the Christmas lights and decorations, went to Huxley's private club in London (The Atheneum), saw the Bradshaws in Oxford and the Horne family in London. Susan made a trip from Otley to join us!

It was really fun looking at my blog posts beginning Nov 6, 20010 when we arrived. I've posted a few photos but if you're yearning for travel, you might want to take a look :)

Katey, Susan, me, Madsie, David (Vicky was in St. Andrews at university)

Regent Street

We had some great meals on that trip.

Suckling pig

Paella

We then went to Malaga for a couple of days then flew to Vancouver via London and didn't have to get to Victoria since we had our one bedroom apartment on Beach Avenue so stayed overnight. What a treat not to have to do that final painful leg after a transatlantic flight.

This is what awaited us in Victoria...our sundeck covered in snow. That was a lot of snow for Victoria!

A message from Spain...

We met Jesuias when Jim was presenting a paper at a conference in Almeria, Spain, in November, 2010. He is a professor of English at the University of Almeria. We stayed in Granada at the Alhambra Palace Hotel which is about a 5 minute walk to the Alhambra...fabulous place to stay. (Bill and Hilary Clinton thought so as well). Jesuias  showed us all around the region and and also gave us a tour of the Alhambra which was a good thing since I got a little claustrophobic at one point and really needed to get out into the air. It's a bit of a maze in there and I don't think we would have got out quickly on our own.

We knew things weren't so good in Spain and hope they improve.  Jim is really looking forward to being involved with his students!

Jim and Jesuias

Hola Jaime, 

Thanks for the update! Sorry for such a long silence from my side. I have been really busy with red tape and being adapted to the new "normality" of this dystopian pandemic. We have been giving lectures and conferences and classes online all the time. The situation is getting worse here in spite of the hot summer weather. There are not so many dead, but there are lots of people infected with the virus as more people are being tested.  We think this horrible virus is going to stay with us for years, I personally think that we will not be able to overcome it in less than 5 years. We have to survive and go through it. But our lives have changed and things are not the same, regarding the Huxley Symposium, I think that if everything is better for next spring, maybe I could register and try to attend and offer some contribution. We shall see. 

With concern to your work on The Road to Wigan Pier, I congratulate you, it is one of the most convincing and brilliant Orwell's memoirs. 

Thank you for telling me about the audios and videos on MSOffice, I will try to take advantage of them even today. I haved checked your two documents, they are awesome! Thanks a lot. Yes, you can keep sending me more of your analysis and short lectures for students as I can use them for my next online classes the following course 2020-21, as most classes will be online again. Obviously, if you do not mind, I would like them to be in touch with you and to do so, I could ask you to give them some email to stay in touch with you in case some of them want to ask you some questions. I hope that due to these "online classes" in all Spanish Universities there will be more chances of collaboration with teachers and colleagues from different countries. We have a very ambitious "Aula Virtual" that works very well and it comes out with a very good "blackboard" with online videoconferences.

 I am thinking of certain possibilities, such as, for example, including you to give us one of our lectures for the Master Degree in English Studies we have. I am teaching a subject titled "English as an Intercultural Vehicle: Literature and Society", and I devote three sessions to the following: Aldous Huxley, George Orwell and Ray Bradbury. You could offer the session devoted to either Huxley or Orwell. Such Videoconference is about 2 hours and students participate and ask you some questions and finally there is a debate with the whole group on some topics we have previously arranged. 

As you are about 10 hours behind us, you could record your videoconference on our platform beforehand and then I would be conducting the session. Well, this is just an idea. We will start these videoconferences in the first week of November. 

Let's stay in touch and see what we can develop. 

Give my regards to Janice and a hug for both of you with my very best wishes, 

Jesuias, un abrazo

Nota Bene: Si quieres, podemos hablar mediante una videoconferencia directa cualquier día de septiembre (Skype, zoom, etc.).

Looks like Fern had a great tomato harvest...

And I'm sure she will be making her wonderful tomato chutney.

Hi Janice
A few tomatoes to spare.  And it doesn’t count was has been eaten, given away and still on the vine. 
Wish you were here.
Love,
Fern

School coming soon but probably not the snow just yet...

From FB:
Remember walking to school in the winter when we were kids? Our parents never drove us - ever.

Well, of course now it's mainly because of safety. And even more concerns about safety once school begins.  Tough times for everybody.

A day out....

We took the car in for its usual servicing yesterday to the Hyundai Dealership in North Van. It was so great to drive over the Lion's Gate Bridge...probably my favourite view of Vancouver.  Wow....the ocean and the mountains and the beauty of the bridge.  As per usual, we had them drive us to Lonsdale Quai and had lunch at the Cheshire Cheese. So wonderful to sit outside and the halibut and chips were even better than I remember.

Interesting that the dealership is using Uber now rather than taxis. I guess this has quite an impact on North Shore Taxi. Uber was pretty quick. The driver picked us up in 3 minutes after the call was made. We were hanging around for quite a while sometimes waiting for the taxi.

We were hoping to take in the Polygon Gallery but they were closed because they were installing their next exhibit.  Great to walk around outside and also through the shops. Most things are open. Jim bought a couple of belts and I got some peanut brittle....yum, yum.

Looking forward to taking the Seabus again one of these days.

Black Lives Matter

We've been enjoying watching baseball and were looking forward to the game this afternoon but tuned in to learn that all major league hockey, baseball, and basketball games were postposed. I totally support what they are doing and really hope it is just the beginning of major league sports' players using  their influence to do something about racism.

Good on them all for this beginning but it is only the beginning. Big things need to happen now and I believe major league players can make a big difference.

It's Jackie Robinson Day tomorrow. It will be interesting to see how they celebrate that. It's pretty perfect timing. I collected Dodger cards and I remember my father telling me that Jackie Robinson was the first black player in the major leagues and was barred from playing for many years because he was black. I remember being very confused by that.

They couldn't take topless swimming and sunbathing away in France!

Well, you never know what the EU for rules might come up with next. It's such a tradition and just seems so normal in France. I loved it but I would now be off to the side on the rocks with the old ladies now. In Bandol, the older women had a little group to the side of the main beach on the rocks so they weren't in complete view. I found that quite charming at the time that they were still going topless.  

France's interior minister ensured that no one will be stripped of the right to sunbathe topless.

It comes following an "incident" on the beach of Sainte-Marie la Mer, south-west France, where three women got asked by police to cover up after complaints by an "uncomfortable" family with children on August 20.

Interior minister Gérald Darmanin said that the local administration was in error, stressing that "freedom is a precious commodity."

The decision by the local authorities caused an uproar in France and on social media, prompting the national spokesperson for the Gendarmerie to clarify the situation.
France's interior minister ensured that no one will be stripped of the right to sunbathe topless.

It comes following an "incident" on the beach of Sainte-Marie la Mer, south-west France, where three women got asked by police to cover up after complaints by an "uncomfortable" family with children on August 20.

Interior minister Gérald Darmanin said that the local administration was in error, stressing that "freedom is a precious commodity."

The decision by the local authorities caused an uproar in France and on social media, prompting the national spokesperson for the Gendarmerie to clarify the situation.

"You will always see me in uniform", said ironically female lieutenant colonel Maddy Scheurer, "but the practice of tanning topless is well authorised on the beach of Sainte-Marie la Mer".

The Pyrénées-Orientales Gendarmerie said that the officers were just trying to calm the situation but acknowledged their blunder.

I thought this was pretty funny...thanks for sending, Linda!

For all those who have driven in the UK and France....

This actually happened to 

an Englishman in France who was totally drunk.

A French policeman stops 

the Englishman's car and asks if he has been 

drinking.

With great difficulty, 

the Englishman admits that he has been drinking all day, that his 

daughter got married that morning, and that he drank champagne and a few 

bottles of wine at the reception, and many single malts scotches 

thereafter.

Quite upset, the 

policeman proceeds to alcohol-test (breath test) the Englishman and 

verifies that he is indeed totally sloshed.

He asks the Englishman if 

he knows why, under French Law, he is going to be 

arrested.

The Englishman answers 

with a bit of humour,

"No sir, I do not! But 

while we're asking questions, do you realize that this is a British car 

and that my wife is driving . . . . . on the other 

side?"

Blue Jays won yesterday!

Wow...they took 2 out of 4 from Tampa Bay Rays who are a great team. They usually don't play very well against them.  And all without Bo Bichette. Let's hope he'll be back before long. The Jays have just been playing amazing baseball...really fun to watch!

Richard and I loved Dr. Seuss

It's fun to read to your child when you love the books as much as they do. Neat idea for a mask.

Bungled high school marks....

Well, I'm glad they are going to make an attempt to compensate students and I hope they have checks and balances in place so this doesn't happen again. This was obviously a pretty big mix up but there have been mistakes before that probably weren't detected and made a big negative difference to students.

When I was teaching I got a call from a Grade 12 student in the summer after the exam results were out. Now, office staff never gives out the phone numbers of teachers but this student had received a 35% grade on the English 12 final exam and then added to my grade it resulted in a Fail which meant she wouldn't graduate. I was so glad she was able to call me. Her whole life could have changed if she didn't graduate. I assured her there must be a mistake because I estimated she would get 70-75% on the exam and I was pretty good at estimating what students would get since it was mainly a test of literacy rather than "facts". I told her not to worry but I'm sure she did.

I did confirm that she put in punctuation and capitals. She was a creative type who liked to write in all small letters and not put in punctuation. She left appropriate spaces for commas, periods, etc. Her handwriting was like a work of art and she felt punctuation messed it up. I was ok with it but I did make it clear that the teachers marking the final exams wouldn't be impressed or amused.

I got in touch with the Ministry of Education and told them to check it out immediately given the circumstances. I was surprised they did get back later that day with the information that there was a mistake and her grade was 74%. They had neglected to add the subjective part to the objective part.

"The B.C. Ministry of Education says it will apologize to and compensate students who were financially harmed by botched provincial exam scores revealed in July 2019.

The error resulted in panic for many students in the graduating class of 2019 who were counting on the grades for crucial post-secondary admissions that summer.

The move comes following an investigation by the B.C. Ombudsperson, whose office released its report on the matter on Thursday.

According to the report, the ministry posted about 18,000 incorrect exam scores, about half of which were too high and half of which too low."

Quite something....a 14 yr. old girl wrote it.

As Cohen says..."there is a crack in everything...that's how the light gets in".

"Being broken is what makes us human. We all have our reasons. Sometimes we’re fractured by the choices we make; sometimes we’re shattered by things we would never have chosen. But our brokenness is also the source of our common humanity, the basis for our shared search for comfort, meaning, and healing."

-- Bryan Stevenson, Just Mercy (Amazon, Bookshop)

---

Between the pages ...interesting hobby but not pandemic friendly.

(CNN)Many weekends, high school teacher Emma Smreker can be found searching for treasure. Not at the bottom of the sea -- but at the bottom of bookshelves.
In her search, she hopes to unearth forgotten mementoes left between the pages of used paperbacks at her local book store or thrift shop. She often finds old plane tickets, business cards or receipts hastily used as bookmarks -- small clues that tell a story about the book's previous owner.
But occasionally she strikes gold and finds a poem written between pages, a long-lost photo from a previous reader or a love letter meant for a stranger.
"Through the reselling or donating or borrowing of books, you're connected to another person in another way, especially if we leave notes in margins or a sticky note on a certain page or even a bookmark or a dog-eared page, which, god forbid," said Smreker, who teaches high school French in Oklahoma City.
"It almost takes the solitary out of books because you've connected to this person who had the book before you, as well as their impressions and who they were when they had that book."

Rest of the article here:
https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/16/us/teacher-searches-for-forgotten-mementoes-used-books-trnd/index.html