rae

is that a morgan, if it is i would have thought you would leave it out in the winter to kill all the woodworm. and yes i am only jealous.

sorry, schools here far far better, for all the reasons quoted and so many more i could write about for hours.

Shawn_ldn

I've taught in the UK and am teaching now in Calgary. Teaching here has been amazing, incredibly hard work, practically impossible to get into, but you get treated like a professional and in class you can actually teach.
The kids that I have met have been receptive, want to learn, are engaged and are respectful of each other. Has been quite an eye-opener and I have been to a range of schools in a range of areas while I have done the subbing rounds, junior and senior high.

There is no doubt in my mind where I'd send my kids to school. Even though some of the schools in what are considered to be the rougher areas of Calgary there were kids who were disaffected kids who were a bit of a handful but compared to London it was a walk in the park.
There is much more diversity in the offering here, I find it refreshing that you can have very academic students going from their Physics class to the shop to do cabinet-making.
I went to a school sports tournament recently over a weekend, the students spent the Friday afternoon setting up the gyms with mats, arranged the catering and set up tables. At the end of the weekend, the entire team of 30 students happily cleaned up, swept, rolled gym mats and packed everything away. No arguments and they seemed to even have fun doing it. Epitomises the maturity they seem to show here.
If you're in Calgary, I'd say you'd be well served by the public education system.

Oakvillian

It was my dad's. He owned it from new (1985 4/4 4-seater) but last year took the decision that, owing to Parkinson's disease, he can no longer get the enjoyment out of it that he once did. Rather than sell it, he decided (in his infinite wisdom!) to arrange to ship it over here. It's definitely neither a concours car nor a pocket rocket (100,000 miles on the clock, a very ordinary unmodified Ford 1.6 CVH under the bonnet, vinyl and rubber rather than leather and carpet...), but my attitude is definitely that it is to be driven for enjoyment rather than displayed for admiration.

And yes, even with Dad sorting out the UK end of the arrangements, shipping and importing was a tediously laborious process, thanks mostly to the CFIA jobsworths at the Port of Montreal. Customs officers here in Toronto, conversely, were extremely friendly and helpful.