Novocastrian

<turns beetroot red>

Hi all. Be good. This internet dongle thingy costs a mortgage per hour, so my interventions will be pithy and swift, as ever.

A bientot.

Souvenir

Thank you for murdering the French language.

Mayle's portrayal is an idyll and one that I would love to live in. Most people don't, of course. It's like imagining that you'll move to Canada, buy a huge house for $100k, have sixteen SUV's, a cottage etc etc.

I lived in France for two years as a student in the early 80s. I saw the gritty side.

Mr Lee

http://www.allistonpotatofestival.com/

I think it clashes with Shelburne's Fiddle Festival though, as it does every year.

Oh decisions decisions...

dbd33

Oh dear. I have to go and be fiddled with, I might have enjoyed brawling farm boys.

bazzz

There must be some overlap where you can go and fiddle with farm boys.

Mr Lee

The brawling farm boys is a late night thing, usually after too many goes on the fairground rides mixed with watered down Canadian and an overdose of country music. Apparently, one bit of loose talk about someone's truck being sub-par and all hell breaks loose.
The only bit I may be attending this year is the Wheat Kings gig on the Saturday night. They're a Tragically Hip tribute band (only in Canada, eh?) and I've heard good things about them. Apart fom that I'm working all weekend again (missed all of last year's festival due to work...shame).

Mikey B - there are going to be a lot of drunken people hanging around town from out of the area. Should be easy pickings for a smooth talker like yourself.

Mikey B

Me a smooth talker? Its all lies but the potato festival looks like a place to start although I was thinking more downtown TO that Alliston - even though I am getting to old for that sh*t! Get your violins out haha!

Mrs Miggins

I get the distinct feeling some of you may have gone to public school....

Now where were those farm boys?

Mrs M x

Rich_007

Make les internets posting things very swift, si vous plaits.

R.

Mikey B

At the potato festival in Alliston!

Mrs Miggins

Bloody Ontario though! I'm stuck with cowboys and mormons here........Don't know which is worse.

Mind you potato festival.......it would be like going back to my roots

A considering
Mrs Miggins

dbd33

Today a colleague said to me "I used to live in Lethbridge, in Alberta."

I don't know why he said this but then he said.

"It wasn't the single colour of the people that bothered me, they're white, I'm white, that's ok. It was the single thought. I can't live in Lethbridge or London ON or Cambridge ON because there's no room for anyone who doesn't think the way the town thinks. Those places have a single thought"

Any merit in that?

Mrs Miggins

Ummmm, I think there is a large majority of people here who are involved quite heavily with religion in some form or another....thus having a very similar set of moral values whether they be Lutheran, Baptist or Christian Funadamental. However, I think there is also something like 15000 students in the city who don't have much of a voice outside their own student bodies, and from this there is also many faculty members of the Uni and the college, who I have found to be enlightened thinkers and generally really interesting and educated people, as well as being Canadian and generally "nice" with it. I have watched some quite brilliant academics have to modify their teaching materials this year though, so as not to offend the more conservative young students, and it's killed me to see it happen. I have found people interested in my outside the box approach to life, but they have mainly been in my own profession or fellow students.

I will always maintain that for a couple who don't have children, the beauty of Lethbridge can be lost, for a couple who intend to be parents or a parent this city is completely "awesome". I am like a parasite who lives off the religious values this town is built on, I benefit from its safety and family orientation. Can I see myself here when the kids are at college - maybe not.......I miss culture, I miss diversity but I will always value my childrens needs above my own. Therefore, the Bridge is the perfect city for us, (for me for now.).

I wouldn't be at all shocked to be slated by someone for my comments dbd, but I'm with Voltaire, so I thought I would answer.

dbd33

My. That doesn't sound like a place that can offer much in the way of education. What can kids learn without culture and diversity?

Mrs Miggins

Well I do what I can, but as soon as they are college age, I would like my kids to go and see a bit of the world, broaden the mind all that.

To give you an idea of how conservative it can be here, we were in a lecture from someone very experienced in his field who decided to portray just how cheap life was by putting a clip from "every sperm counts" or something from Monty Python, can't remember the proper name of it. There was a large enough minority to make life difficult for him and complain at the insulting nature it had towards the Christians in the room................

That's what I am up against

However my children are safer and happier here than they could be back in the UK.

Mrs M x