Notes from Penticton

After posting last, I was off to Penticton, British Columbia for a regional bridge tournament with bridge partner Alex and his wife Vicki.  For those of you who don't know, Penticton is in the Okanagan, the fruit basket of the province about 4 hours east of Vancouver.  I have never been as fond of the Okanagan as most British Columbians - give me New Jersey any time - but it is close enough to go for a tournament, and Alex was kind enough to volunteer to drive.....

We stayed in a small, family run motel called Black Sea (funnily enough, the family is from Turkey, on the Black Sea), right on Okanagan Lake.  I wouldn't exactly recommend it - the only two rooms on the lake were the ones snagged by Alex for us, and it is otherwise unremarkable - but it did have the virtues of being cheap, clean, and convenient enough to the bridge venue.

Salty's, the current favourite fish and chips joint, ......

.....and Starbucks (for Vicki - as most of you know, I am not a fan)

.....were close by, as were some other local sights...

I wasn't really fond of Salty's either, but Villa Rosa, a rather more up-scale Italian restaurant, did turn my crank - we went back twice.

.....a peach bellini (above) and veal picatta (below)....

.....what's not to like?

That's the good news.  The bad news is that the bridge tournament itself was a disaster.  Not only was their "hospitality" not very hospitable (no free coffee in the A.M., candy bowls empty by noon, "free"gift worth what you paid for it), but we didn't score a single point - master points being, of course, the point of the whole exercise.  

Oh, P.S.  No adult should sit in the back seat of a car for 4 hours, no matter how expensive the car.  They are inherently uncomfortable.  The return trip was broken up, however, by a stop at a great fruit stand.  They had picked the local cherries while we were playing bridge. The stands were full of them, and they were delicious. And Alex is always good company.

My next outing was considerably more successful; notes from San Francisco to follow. 

Strange Encounter

This was really strange.  Bridge partner Alex was at my place - we were strategizing about bridge in anticipation of the upcoming tournament in Penticton - when my phone rang.  When I picked up, the voice said "Hi.  Remember me?"  My response was "No, you'll have to give me some more clues.  Your name might help".  (For future reference, I hate people who do that.)  We got cut off, and then the phone rang again.  This time a name was added:  "This is Gerry, you really don't remember me?"  Again we got cut off, and again he called, now to say "I'm at your front door.|

I had no idea, of course.  We haven't had a working intercom since I moved in 3 years ago, and I had forgotten that it was reactivated while I was away this winter, and worked through my cel phone. Meanwhile, Alex had said his goodbyes and left, and I - flustered by this time - let a complete stranger into my house. 

I can hear the groans from out there already.  I know, I know.  In any event, I lived to tell the tale, and, trust me, it won't happen again.  And it turned out that, indeed, I had known this person.  He was my neighbor, having lived in my building in downtown Vancouver in the mid-70's.  Even after seeing him I didn't remember him, but after he told me his last name, and innumerable details about the time - the name of my cat (which I hadn't remembered until he mentioned it) and dog, my secretary, the cars I drove at the time (including the leaky roofed Toyota Celica, I accepted that, indeed, I must have known him.  The creepy part of it was that I have gone through one name change and about 13 moves since then.  How exactly did he find me?  And more to the point, why?  He left about 1 1/2 hours later, with those questions still unanswered.

Creepy.  Really creepy.  I was shaken for quite a while after that encounter, and have no wish to have it repeated.

On a happier note, it has been a good week for theater.  Jack and I saw Angels in America Part I and II this week, encore performances by National Theater Live.  Actually, because of difficulties in scheduling, we saw them in reverse order.  It didn't matter, nor did it matter that we had both seen the plays in various iterations several times before.  It is grand theater with grand themes, fabulously acted and staged.  If you have not seen these, you must, you absolutely must.  (Tony Kushner, the playwright, also co-authored the screen play for Munich, and got an Academy Award for the screen play for Abraham Lincoln.)

Continuing in the theater theme, I went off for a weekend in Seattle with friend Arlene, and we had two theater outings.    The first was in a small theater on Lake Union (Arlene had been on the board until recently), Seattle Public Theater.  They were putting on Hand To God, which played on Broadway - okay, maybe off Broadway - for ages.  It takes place in the basement of a church in Nowhere, Texas, and they described it this way:

After the death of his father, meek Jason finds an outlet for his anxiety at the Christian Puppet Ministry, in the devoutly religious, relatively quiet small town of Cypress, Texas.  Jason's complicated relationships with the town pastor, the school bully, the girl next door, and - most especially - his mother, are thrown into upheaval when Jason's puppet, Tyrone, takes on a shocking and dangerously irreverent personality all its own.  Hand to God explores the startlingly fragile nature of faith, morality, and the ties that bind us.

Generally speaking, I am not a big fan of puppets.  But this was a very clever way of externalizing Jason's thoughts and fears, not to mention I can't imagine seeing better puppet sex.  Anyway, it met my test for good theater - I cared about this people and their problems, and how they resolved them.  Although both Arlene and I had reservations, we ultimately agreed on two thumbs up.  And in discussing the play, I came up with the line of the weekend:  Subtlety is a tough sell!  (when discussing the lack of subtlety in the play....)

Our next outing couldn't have been more different.  It was Seattle Shakespeare's production of Shakespeare in Love.  The theater (formerly called Inteman Theater, now named after someone else who I can't remember but obviously gave them a lot of money) was lovely....

.... as was the very traditional production.  And Arlene and I agreed that the weekend' experiences were greatly enhanced by the company, and the ability to talk about the plays with another avid theater-goer.  You know I go to the theater a lot on my own, and will continue to do so.  Nonetheless, it is great to be able to clarify your thoughts by talking about them.

Of course, there was also food.  Monsoon on Saturday was a return visit to Arlene'w "go-to" neighborhood Vietnamese place.  Our last visit had not been terribly successful, but we returned, mostly based on Arlene's long - and tasty - past history.  We were glad we did.  Perhaps we just made better choices; in any event, a very nice meal.

Sunday, we returned to Racha, the Thai restaurant popular in the arts district of Seattle.  Again, we had had a bad experience last time (bad food and bad service), but choices are surprisingly limited in the neighborhood, considering it hosts the opera, the ballet, and two theaters (San Francisco'a Hayes Valley has ten or more to chose from).  Again, we were pleasantly surprised.

Altogether a lovely weekend, ended by a quick (2 hour) and uneventful drive home.

The bad news I have to report is that there is still no work.  It didn't stop me from spending time with my colleagues, though...

Paul and I got out to a new Japanese restaurant whose name escapes me (there are millions of these places popping up every week in Richmond, which is now about 80% Asian, compared to Vancouver, which is officially 54% Asian)

Paul is great company, and very adventurous in his eating choices.  We don't go out often, but always enjoy it when we do.

Also saw friends (from left to right) Susan, Joanne and Deirdre for dinner at the Dosa House...

.... a tiny, funky South Indian restaurant, close to home and previously mentioned in these pages.  For those of you who don't know, a dosa is the Indian version of a crepe (every culture seems to have one), pictured above.  They are filled with an assortment of goodies - in my case, spinach and lamb), and are amazingly filling - and cheap.  A little spicy for me, but we like this place for its other attributes!

Of course, a week wouldn't be complete without my walks....

And, of course, at least one dinner and bridge outing, in this case with Dennis, Jules, Ruixa, and John (and yes, I know that makes five of us, but we make it work...), first at the local Flamingo House, and then back to my place for bridge.

Reading this week was Carol Shield's Larry's Party (meh!) (apparently "meh" is an accepted word in whatever Dictionary Word is using these days.  Who knew?) and listening to Michael Pollen's book called "Changing your Mind".  Again, I was misled by the title - I didn't really understand that the book was about the use of mind-altering drugs to "change your mind", but again I was not sorry.  I have read several of Michael Pollen's books, and whatever he writes about, he does it well.  Also on the go is another of Peter Robinson's mysteries, this one called Final Account.  I haven't tired of them yet, and I have read at least 8 or 9. 

And, finally, a quote, from as it turns out, Larry's Party:  Getting older was to witness the decline of limitless possibility.  That's all it was.

Oh yes, two good articles passed on to me, both from the New York Times, I think.  (I would try to get the links from my mail, but I am afraid that I would not be able to get back to this post - you know how bad I am with technology....)  One touted Vancouver as the best place in the world for Asian food.  Not exactly a revelation, but interesting to read their recommendations.  And I had totally forgotten about the Richmond night market, which I will definitely have to add to my tourist repertoire. 

The other was an article about the 25 best plays since Angels in America, which was first performed 25 years ago. (I had forgotten that it has been 25 years - that must be why it is getting so much air time this year...) Considering how much theater I go to, I was amazed that I had only seen seven or eight of the plays listed, and I am not sure I would have put some of them on the list.  Still others that I had seen and thought worthy were not on the list.  Still interesting, though, and, considering what I think about Angels in America (see above), I think it is perfectly right to use that as a sort of watershed moment.

That's all.  I'm off tomorrow to Penticton, B.C. with Alex for the bridge tournament.  Wish me luck!!!!

A new career? Already?

So.  Since we last spoke, I had "the boys" over for bridge.  Tom hadn't been over since the renovations, so I got to "qvell" yet again.  (Bonus points for those of you who know what "qvell" means.)  So, sushi and bridge, and enough fun so that no one (that would be me) remembered to take pictures.

On Friday, a new adventure.  Neighbor Joan is on her second career as a tour director (following a successful stint at the airlines).  She asked me to join her on a Vancouver city tour.  Those of you who have known me for a while may (or may not) know that I actually worked as a tour guide in a prior life.  Back in San Francisco in the early 80's, I was feeling bored and at loose ends, and decided to do tour guiding, both to learn more about SF and to keep up my language skills (I was doing this in Spanish and German).  I actually quite liked it.  So, as I am once again feeling bored and at loose ends, I jumped at the chance to do it again.

It did not disappoint.  We picked up out group of 31 (Aussies) from the cruise ship terminal, and loaded them on the bus, and off we went (I should say that Joan had provided me with an itinerary and some appropriate patter in advance, so I wasn't completely unprepared.)

It was one of those glorious, warm, sunny days in Vancouver, so, after a drive through downtown, we headed for Stanley Park...

...making several stops, including this one at Prospect Point.  Here, our erstwhile leader Joan and intrepid bus driver David (I have trouble managing a car in Vancouver these days - how he managed to so maneuver that behemoth of a bus I don't know)...

..... and pointed out the Lions Gate Bridge....

There are some things you can say, of course, and some things you can't.  You can say that the bridge was designed by the same fellow - Joseph Strauss - who designed the Golden Gate Bridge.  You can say that it was financed by the Guiness people, because they owned a big chunk of land on the other side - now West Vancouver and noone would buy it unless there was a way to get there.  You CAN'T  say that British Properties, as it was later named, wouldn't - by covenant - sell to the Jews until after World War II.  (In one of the ultimate ironies, of course, it is now in large part populated by Chinese....) 

Then, after driving through Kitsilano and Kerrisdale, we landed in Queen Elizabeth Park...

.....and then to the airport, for their 14 hour flight home.

Joan let me do a bit of patter - and answer some questions - myself.  I have to tell you, I had a great time.  I don't, generally speaking, like Aussies all that well - too loud and beery for me - but this was a great group.  It was easy to be gracious to them, and I enjoyed showing off Vancouver.  I could do this again - and may get my chance.  Joan is putting me in touch with several outfits who use independent guides, for either single or multiple day outings, both here and Alberta (think Banff and Lake Louise.)  The pay is not bad either, and it will keep me off the streets.  I am hugely excited, and hope it pans out...

Having left our group at the airport, Joan and I took the Skytrain home, seeing this creature on the way...

One of the nicest parts of the day was the opportunity to get to know Joan better.  Turns out we have lots in common - including a mutual friend in Palm Springs - and a similar Weltanschaung.  Perhaps the beginning of being able to wean myself off using my office colleagues as a substitute for real friends?  Here's hoping.

I was exhausted at the end of the day, though - standing for two and a half hours at the cruise terminal was enough to do me in, not to mention the walking during the rest of the day, so I took Saturday off.  Sunday, I was back to walking, though.  There are four buildings and some town houses in my complex; that is my building on the right....

.......caught one of our many egrets taking a bath....

.....and the new family on the block settling in....

Beautiful place, no?

So, I promised you a review of The Immortalist.  After a slow start - so slow I almost gave up - I got into is.  I won't give it an unconditional review - a bit too predictable for me - but not a bad read.
As for D'Souza's The Big Lie, well, I think I mentioned that I got it by accident, thinking it was an anti-Trump screed. (It is pretty hard to read the subtitles when you are buying audible books on your phone...)  It turned out to be just the opposite, basically accusing  - pretty plausibly, I have to say - the Democrats of being the fascists in the picture, being the "big state knows best for you" people (as the fascists were) rather than the republicans.  As a piece of right wing propaganda, I actually found it pretty convincing.  Scary, really, but I am happy to have read it - or should I say, listened to it?

So, off to other things.  I just started listening to Fahrenheit 451.  I read it years ago, of course, but was reminded of it by a UTube clip I came across on Facebook (a place where I spend very little time - except for playing Scrabble).  It showed a comedian on the streets asking young people to name a book - any book.  The humour was in the fact that they couldn't.  I, however, did not find it at all funny, and am beginning to think I should start memorizing my book for posterity.  Ah, but which book, you might ask?  I am taking suggestions.....

(You might remember that last year I was re-reading 1984, which appeared on the best-seller lists after Trump's election.  That is another classic that deserves another re-read by us all....)

On a lighter note, my bedtime reading is currently "The Novel Habits of Happiness", another Alexander McCall Smith offering,  This was is the latest in the Isabel Dalhousie series.  So far, yet another thumbs up.

So many books, so little time....

Happily Busy Again

Happily, it has not been too hard to fill up my dance card (I've been catching myself recently using allusions which no one under 60 would recognize - like "dance card".  But you guys knew what I meant, didn't you?)

On Wednesday last, John booked me for a trip to the library, a walk in Central Park (no, not the one in New York, the one in Burnaby, right near the library), a short detour to see Dennis's new apartment, and, of course, a meal. 

You can tell it is a city walk when one of the "peek-a-boo" views is of the Sky Treain....

...lots of old growth stuff too, though....

Dennis was happy to show off his new place.  These guys have known each other since before high school, and I am grateful that they have now included me in their circle.

We had a nice lunch at Minoa's, Dennis's "go-to" neighborhood restaurant in Burnaby, the suburb immediately to the East of Vancouver).  Vancouver used to be awash in Greek restaurants.  Not so much anymore (now it's Asian restaurants of all stripes, of couse), and I'm glad to add this one to my repertoire; it is family run, atmospheric, has good food, and on top of that, it is cheap.  We will no doubt go again.

Back to the routine of bridge twice a week with Alex.  We are not doing too well in the winning department, but are still having a good time.

Thursday last brought dinner with my law school friends Robin and Debbie....

We only manage to do this three or four times a year, so have lots to talk about when we do.  (Not too bad for three old broads, huh?)

I had committed to Alex to playing in the bridge Sectional in New Westminster....

.....and there he is, organized, as usual.....

One of the nice things about these "do's" (aside from the bridge playing, of course), is seeing old acquaintances again.....

...including Bruce, below, one of erstwhile tournament directors....

....and old fiend Tom, seen on many previous occasions in these pages...

The daily (or almost daily) walks continue, and there seems to be a new family in the neighborhood....

Monday went on another "Met in the Movies" outing with friend Jack, to see Luisa Miller.  He had actually seen it before, but was kind enough to agree to see it again.  Truth of the matter is that it was not one of Verdi's better efforts - it was an early opera, and is rarely performed - and the plot was a bit convoluted even for an opera.  But the voices were lovely (as previously noted, New York - and San Francisco, and, for that matter, Vancouver - are awash with Russian artists - Putin's loss is our gain), and there were at least a few glorious arias, not to mention the infamous Placido Domingo singing the baritone role.  We left about half way through the second act, and called it a day.

I seem to be seeing a lot of Dennis and John recently.  On Tuesday (cheap movie day, of course), we went to see Deadpool 2, a send-up of the Marvel comic superheroes.  Most of you, being more up on popular culture than I am, no doubt saw the first one, and are more up on the superheroes.  Even without thosebenefits (I did get a running commentary - a bit like the Coles Notes version of the comics - from John),  I actually quite liked it, much to my shock and horror.  It was quite funny, the dialogue was snappy, there was a moral underpinning, and yes, I even liked the special effects.  Thumbs up!

I don't have too many evening outings, really, but this week I had two.  A neighbor in my complex, Karen, had invited me to play "kitchen bridge" with her group before, and we had a reprise on Tuesday evening.  It was fun, all right, but I have to admit that I miss the "kick" of playing for masterpoints.  

We had a bit of kerfluffle on the way home, though.  Having picked up Karen's dog from her son's place, we discovered that he (the dog, not the son) had been fed some grapes.  Panic ensued, as grapes are apparently deadly to a dog's liver (who knew?).  So instead of coming home, we went to the pet emergency room, to induce vomiting and put the dog on inter-venous to flush out its liver.  One hesitates to think how much this must cost,but Karen dotes on that dog and would be heartbroken it it died, so.....

And finally, bridge at Duplicate Lite (hate the name, love the club) in Surrey, B.C. with Dennis.  I was really honoured when he suggested it some time ago, as, although he is without question the best bridge player I know, he has not played in the clubs for years - decades, actually.  Anyway, off we went.  A bit of bother getting there - the club's premises are being renovated and I had never been to the temporary location before - but it was worth it.  Everyone was excited about seeing me again, which is always heartening.  More to the point, though, it was good bridge - and we came in first in our section and 4th overall in the room (around 28 tables, I think).

Yeah for us!! 

Head to include a picture of the director...

He has an unpronounceable last name, but everyone calls him "Happy Ed" because he is so good-natured.  (Actually, the saying is that all the directors have the last name of Please, as in "Director, Please" when you call them over to the table for a ruling.)

We called John to join us for a celebratory drink at the Deutches Haus, a neighborhood German restaurant previously mentioned in these pages. 

Well, I'm off to get on with my day (as you can see by the time of this post, I had one of my all-too-frequent bad nights, and have been up since four, doing pictures and bringing you guys up do date).  So, a few last odds and ends.

The quote of the week:

Tyrannies seem to be on the march; this may reflect a yearning for something outside ourselves, something to relieve us of the burden of fashioning our own plotline out of the thin air of our lives, or of sorting out the competing stories that increasingly are falling on us like a poisoned rain.  Our narrative engines may not be up to the task of making sense of our yearnings...

...and the book round-up of the week:

Alexander McColl Smith, The House of Unexpected Sisters, the latest in the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series.  I love this man's books, all of them.  They are charming and gentle and have lots of little lessons for living a better life.

John MacLachan Gray, The White Angel.  I wanted to like this.  I really did.  After all, he also wrote Billy Bishop Goes to War, which was both a good read and a good play.  This one didn't work for me, though.  It took place in Vancouver, and was based on a true (unsolved) crime, i.e., the murder of a maid in the Shaunessy mansion of a rich tycoon.  It never grabbed me, and I gave up after 50 pages, something I rarely do. 

Our library outing earlier in the week (see above) brought in a new crop of possibilities, so now I have on the go (among other books previously mentioned) The Immortalists, by Chloe Benjamin.  The premise is that in 1969, four children (13, 11, 9 and 7 respectively) illicitly seek out a fortune teller and find out the dates of their deaths, and what ensues as a result.  The writing is not terrific, but I am intrigues by the premise.  Final review to follow.

Ttttthat's all, Folks.