Sports, squares and fairs in Victoria

---

It's 9.08 on 13th July. So now we're drawing towards the end of out time in Victoria, and we will be leaving for the U.S. in just a few days. In this blog I will write about our weekend here with Donna and Bob, and it'll be the the penultimate blog written in Canada.
Friday I got up at a reasonable time - 8am maybe, and went for a run. As usual, the last of us were up by 10.30, and we were ready to discuss plans for the day. As we were going to watch a lacrosse game that evening, the girls were happy to spend the day sunbathing while Matt seemed content doing something on his phone. So, I decided to walk the hour or so down to the new mall that had just been built about halfway between us and downtown as I needed to pick a few things up from Walmart anyway.
The walk was primarily through the suburbia of Victoria, emerging occasionally onto a busy intersection or onto the edge of a business park. The Walmart in the centre was vast, a two storey construction with every imaginable section, and it took me a good 30 minutes to find what a want. I popped into the McDonalds that are always attached to Walmart and picked up a large diet coke for just $1 (good thing I didn't get a regular coke, just worked out that would have been just shy of 120g of sugar, or 30 teaspoons per drink; no wonder North Americans are fat), then walked back the way I came.
I came home by about 3pm, and got myself some lunch. We stayed in the rest of the afternoon, Donna and Bob getting home by 5pm, then headed out to the game by 6.45. It was a box Lacrosse game that we were going to, the Victoria Shamrocks (who Bob used to play for and coach) against a team from Vancouver. It was held in a smallish stadium, but with plenty of fans to give it a really good atmosphere. Some of the rules were similar to hockey (which, I realise, means nothing to most people in Britain), and it was just as brutal. Within the first 14 seconds two players were in the penalty box for 2 minutes each for fighting and - like hockey - the refs let the fights continue as long as the gloves are off and no one is on the ground).
It was a really exciting game to watch despite the Shamrocks losing 11-13, and is another sport that is unfortunately missing from the UK.
We were home by 10ish that evening, and sat around with a beer a little while longer then, by 11, made our way to bed.
Saturday started the same as any other day, up earlyish for exercise and breakfast, then make plans for the day once everyone else was up. Bob was playing golf that morning so was gone by the time everyone else was up, while Donna was going to see her Mum at noon, and offered to give us a lift into town on her way. So by 11.30 Kate, Rosie and I were ready to go (Matt decided to stay behind and watch something on his phone) and squeezed into the back of Donna's Mustang.
Donna dropped us off at the corner of Fisgard and Government and said to message her when we were ready to come back. From there we spent the next few hours exploring Chinatown and Government street, which were filled with all kinds of hidden alleyways and market squares. We snaked our way towards the inner harbour, then made our way back along Government. We then saw (well, heard before we saw) a Mexican Festival going on in one of the many squares, so sat and watched one of the Mariachi bands play old South American classics for a little while, before taking shelter in a nearby Starbucks as a shower passed over.
Rosie and Kate wanted to pop into a few clothes shops 'just to look', so I agreed to meet them in the Starbucks an hour later, at 4.30, where we had arranged to meet Donna. I stayed in the Starbucks, people-watching and nursing my tall Americano (with no room for diary, thank you). Before I knew it an hour was passed and we all met in the square outside the Bucks and headed home.
Bob and Matt were both at home when we got back and, after I had popped out for a run, we decided to order pizza and watch a film. We all had a small pizza each and settled down to watch Focus with Will Smith (who we feel we now have a special connection with after we briefly met in Toronto). The film was good and the pizza was good, and by the time it was over it was getting on. As usual, we sat around for a little while longer before someone finally gathered the energy to get up and head off to bed. However, I realised that our bed was deflating fast, and when I tried to pump it back up saw that there was a small hole in the material.
We tried, in vain, to patch it up with duct take, and were all but resigned to a night on the sofas when Donna realised that the Walmart was open until 11pm (it was gone 10pm at this point). So Donna, Bob, Kate, Rosie and I hopped in the car and headed over. We picked what looked like a queen sized inflatable mattress but realised when we got back that it was actually a real mattress that had been vacuum packed. Gingerly, we cut into the plastic wrappings, and the mattress sprung up into full size. After all of this excitement we were pretty soon into our new bed.
We woke up a little later Sunday, maybe 8.30, feeling refreshed. The mattress was a dream compared to the previous one which had got so deflated in the last couple of nights that it dipped into the middle so Matt and I kept rolling towards each other. The plan for that day was to head up to Beaver lake where there was the 64th annual strawberry festival. Everyone was up early enough to be ready by 12.30, and we made our way up the hill to the lake.
We headed up the hill, but unfortunately Kate wasn't feeling too good that day, so decided she would head back and meet us at home. So the three of us carried on up to Beaver Lake. The festival was a collection of tents and stalls spread out over 2 big lawns next to the river, the main attraction being a pot strawberries and cream for 50c each, so we all got 2 each (they were so good).
After that we grabbed a coffee from a stall and wandered around. There were pie eating contests, pony rides, face painting and the lake. All pretty gentle, but it made for an enjoyable couple of hours in the sunshine. By 3 we felt we'd seen everything we needed to see, and headed back, popping into the bar of a hotel on the way home for a pint. Donna and Bob weren't home by the time we were (they'd gone for a round of golf with their son), so we relaxed a little before they got back.
We decided to pop up to the Howard Johnson that evening for a meal, and left by about 6.30. The food was really good - I had the Jack Daniels bbq burger - and we sat for quite a while after the food talking about work and university, before heading home, via the Supermarket to pick up a few bits and bobs. I trained down the park when we got home, getting back just after 10. By this point everyone was getting ready for bed - it was a work night - and I did the same.
And so that was our second and last weekend here in Victoria, before headed south for the first time in the trip.

---

Comments

[Dr John HW]

Last days in Canada
Sitting here in my hotel in Dudley in the Black Country watching the Ashes on silent (Australia now 321-1 in their first innings: looks like we might lose this one) and Gaslight Anthem playing on my x-mini speakers (of which more later). Rather an unpleasant humid evening with temperatures about 24*. Could be a restless night. Have enjoyed your last two blogs where it seems that you are almost taking a deep breath before 3 weeks of constant travel ending up in Heathrow. Will be great to see you. Good idea to buy an American football - lots on happy hours can be spent with such simple pleasures. Box Lacrosse is something that I had not heard of before, but sounds good - what is it about Canadians that seems to have a natural propensity to physical violence in the sports that they play? Pleased that you got the airbed sorted later and were not reduced (like Gejtu was on one occasion) to desperately trying to go to sleep on a deflating lilo as a knee and then an elbow started to bump onto the ground. He was not successful as I recall and within an hour or so of going to sleep had only about 3mm of rubber between him and the hard floor. Back to Sink or Swim. Thanks for your guide and I generally agree with your comments about it. There is some very hurt and angry words in there, which fuel music with a restless, relentless but sometimes sad and reflective energy. Highlights for me are many but particularly 'I Could'a Been a Contender' with it's great hook line and chorus - 'There's a storm front coming in'. The track 'I Came to Dance' is the only one I knew previously I think and that's another good one. '1930' is one of my favourite tracks on the album. 'The Navesink Banks' is an odd one, very different tempo and style and the lyrics obviously mean something very personal. I love 'Drive' which is such an archetypal GL song and although still raw, starts to point the way forward towards the style development on their subsequent albums. Hear echoes of 'Red Violins' and other later gems. The closing track 'Red at Night' has to be one of the main contributors to the Springsteen comparisons that used to be made about GL - great track, but could almost have been a cover from BS's Nebraska album. So: a great album, without a weak track in my view. Will continue to listen to the Ben Howard which I'm also enjoying and will give you a more detailed view soon. Dad