Last updated 2006.12.08
For the next couple of weeks this will be the house renovation quick update section. This link
will take you to more info
I'm currently working on updating the front page, and getting a more consistent look to the whole site,
meanwhile please scroll down to below the Totem Pole for useful bits of info, updates, and some text only links.
At present small images and non-white text are clickable, to give more information.
The updating process will temporarily improve! As you should know by now we've just bought a
property overlooking False Creek, (try V5Z 3Z6 in google maps, our front door is opposite the white car parked SSW of the arrow), and are in the
middle of fairly serious work on it. You may also know that Cathy is back in the UK for a few days in December to do HBOS, and visit various people,
so the easy way to inform her of progress will be via this site, (especially since I can update it while sitting in the pub)
The page for our bit of Canada is work in progress, (as is the reno. work), but I've alread found plenty of evidence that the cowboys over
here do not work only on the ranches.
We both now have Social Insurance numbers, and Permanent resident cards, our possessions are with us, Cathy has a permanent job,
cable tv, broadband and digital phone are up and running,
and I'm still spending the equivalent of a small country's GDP at furniture and high-tech stores around the city. You will also be pleased to know that after nine weeks,
the rain has finally arrived. The idiots guide to settling in Canada
is now up but waiting for more input from me, you can forget details of the apartment,( but I may still put up the pictures of it
just after 400 cubic feet/1 ton of possessions had appeared) and the beer/bar guide is suffering from a problem that many of you will have predicted. After
a trip to Powell River to see a friend, ( 5 hours by bus, or a twenty minute flight at twice the price, - guess which we did ) I also have photographic evidence of what bears
do in the woods, but an still debating which page this information belongs on,(hint - bears are wildlife). The links section is also still due for an update from my bookmarks.
Thursday 07: Various internal walls terminated with extreme prejudice.
Friday 08: More walls destroyed, having discovered a previous bodged reno. Framing started.
Saturday 09: Framing completed, first wall reinstated.
Sunday 10: More walls re-appearing, more kitchen dis-appearing.
Monday 11: Sorted wood collection, stove + extract in
Tuesday 12: Washer/Dryer in and working.
Wednesday 13: Walling and floor repairs, timber purchased.
Page getting too big, work from 14 December is here
Thursday 14: New door in.
Saturday 16: At last, the first section of floor.
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 One of the Totem Poles in Stanley Park
2006.06.20 Not so much an update, as a temporary link to where we will be putting the various leaving party
photos Please allow time for recovery after parties before photos are published.
This will also allow those who feel that there may be incriminating evidence on film or memory card to contact us to make the neccessary financial
arrangements.
2006.07.05 Bit of a hiccup on the photo front. The expedition photographer for Chris' do used analogue, and the scanner is packed for shipping,
and I haven't yet had chance to transfer any of Cathy's photos to this pc. If anyone claims to remember my party, I refer them to an old sixties
quote which states that if you were there you would't be able to remember it. Apologies to anyone who went to certain theatre shows on that night
but its not my fault if the substitute crew were not as good as the originals, and sorry to anyone trying to find a theatre rf engineer, I knew
where they were even if you didn't.
2006.07.14 We're in Vancouver, and I'm in the Granville Island Brewery
as I update these pages. Until I actually get round to completely rebuilding this site please check the photo links to the left,
as they may well lead to a new page. Also please note that Cathy's e-mail address has changed to reflect our new status.
All previous private addresses will continue to work, except for Compuserve.
2006.08.05 After three nights in the luxury of the Granville Island Hotel
we've just moved from the first of the rentals, a one bed apartment on West King Edward, near Queen Elizabeth Park,
to the house sitting appointment in Point Grey, and are feeling more as if we actually live here. Cathy has found us
an apartment for 1 year from September,
Google Maps will show you where.
I've also found a bar,The Main,
which is my temporary home in the evenings, especially since I discovered the free wireless, and where I am currently updating this
site on the fly!
2006.08.11 Now happily ensconced in Point Grey, with two cats, and a dog to look after. Found a replacement watering hole the
Think coffee lounge,
which despite its name, is not alcohol free. Eagerly anticipating the first batch of
mail from the UK (thanks CJ),to see who's still trying to get us to pay bills, and on a spending spree to furnish and generally equip the apartment.
The recce of Vancouver is now at a level where we know where to find most things we're ever likely to need, and several we aren't. Also anticipating
the imminent arrival of bicycles to avoid paying transit fares. Cathy promises pictures of me+bike in due course.
2006.08.16 Bike duly bought, to be collected tommorrow, with 7Km. ride home! I was hoping to add pictures of the latest wildlife
spotted, but hummingbirds move too fast for digital cameras, and I wasn't about to follow the skunk for a decent photo op. Cathy's bike due on the 1st.
September, which, for those of you who have forgotten, is her birthday.
2006.08.31 Cycled 9 Km to the new apartment today, and immediately made the decision to buy an electric assist kit.
Vancouver is not as flat as I thought it was, although to be fair the bit around False Creek is.
I've also temporarily satisfied the radio control helicopter obsession with an indoor version from Walmart of all places.
2006.09.01 We're in the apartment, follow the header text link to idiot's guide to settling, or the piclink to new apartment for more info, and many thanks
to Pedro's Coffee bar, no link unfortunately, but they're first on the right as you arrive
on Granville Island, for the wi-fi I'm using until we get connected at home. Their coffee, cookies and
food are worth it alone. Unfortunately my new local, the Stamp's Landing Pub, has no internet, but, after four days, I'm accepted as a (slightly eccentric,
as I'm writing this on the Libretto while drinking there) regular. Next planned new page is beer of BC, but I keep on forgetting what I'm doing while
researching it.
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This site has been tested with Firefox, Opera, and Avant on PCs, Safari on Macs, and at various resolutions, down to 800x600. If you use IE, good luck. All photos are copyright red panda, all tradenames etc. are acknowledged, and if anyone objects to our linking to their site, or using their name, please contact us, so we may take the appropriate action. If you spot any mistakes, or have suggestions for improvements (thanks Derek, Cy, and CJ), please let us know.
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