Hope Amongst The Mountains.

I would go out for a morning stroll and be awed by the mountains that surround the home of Heather and Wayne.  I marvelled at such majestic wonder.  Indeed, there I was in a town named Hope and hope was there, amongst the mountains.  This a view of Mount Hope that I took front outside their front door.
In case you are not already aware, if you click on the photos, they will enlarge and fill up your computer screen.

And this a view of another mountain that can be seen just outside their front door.  This breathtaking mountain is Mount Ogilvie.

A few minutes away from their house is this picturesque lake with a magnificent mountain backdrop.  This is Kawkawa Lake and the mountain in the background is Mount Ogilvie.  I spent a most reflective hour there, listening to the wind as it gently flowed through the valley.

And as day turned to night, one last look at Mount Hope.

One last glimpse of Mount Ogilvie, as the final moments of another day in Hope, drew to another profound and inspirational conclusion.

I looked out the bedroom window and watched as the moon set behind the mountains to the west.  I sensed hope amongst the mountains and I know that such feelings of hope resonates in the hearts of Heather and Wayne.  May hope and positivity embrace your heart.

And, Before I Go.

And, before I go, one last look, as the sun rises and shines upon my English country garden.

And, before I go, one last look at the glowing lights in my English country garden.

Time for one more late night stroll and note the magic amongst the leaves.

Goodbye for now, my 'wee folks' friends.

And 'Scarecat' shall watch over the garden.

And thus, in just a few hours time, I shall be heading west.  West to my other home, my other life, my other reality.  One last glimpse of my English country garden.  One last sleep and then it will be time to go.  My friend, I shall see you on the other side.

A Hint Of Sunshine.

To the west, I see the setting sun.  A hint of sunshine, obscured by clouds.  And through my cloudy mind, I see my hint of sunshine, of better times to come.
Off to the west, far, far away, is the land that was once my home.  Soon, very soon, this man, this reluctant recluse, will return to his other life, a life he almost forgot.  Here, I sit alone, alone and oh so scared.  Almost all I treasured, vanished with no answers to my questions of why it had to be.  I return a humbled man.  A man ravaged by a mental illness that pursued me, cornered me, almost killed me.
Yet, despite it all, I return as a man who knows that the hint of sunshine in my cloudy mind, grows ever brighter.  Through the murky and foreboding clouds, the reassuring glow of the warm rays of hope, will be treasured, will be nurtured, will see me through the most important journey of my life.   Indeed, a hint of sunshine, of better times to come.

And, most fittingly and thoughtfully, I have received the 'sunshine award' from Madeleine over at this wonderful site:  Scribble and Edit    If you have not had the delight and pleasure of visiting Madeleine's site, I would highly recommend that you kindly do so.  There, you will discover her superb haikus, poems, prose and interest excerpts on her interactive site.  Thank you, Madeleine, I am very grateful for this timely award.
I shall now forward this award onto three bloggers who may do with it as they so wish.

1.  Reverie Sanctuary :  My dear friend, Shanaz, writes beautifully and her stories are poignant, moving, uplifting.  A ray of sunshine.
2.  DC RELIEF :  Dixie, over at her wonderful and thoughtful site, has been of great support and encouragement to me through some very dark times.  For her kindness, I'm most grateful.  A ray of sunshine.
3.  W. M. Morrell's Musings From Down Under. :  Although Wendy, at this interesting and informative, superbly written blog, is not blogging, just now, due to her concentrating on her writing, I want to thank her for all her inspiration and encouragement in my ongoing writing endeavours.  I am most thankful to you.  A ray of sunshine.

Seventeen Days In Vancouver.

For seventeen days I was back in my other home.  Through the magic of television and the internet; I was transported back to the land of 'glowing hearts'; I was back in Canada, back in Vancouver.  A land of such diversity, a land of many creeds and cultures.  The land of those proud and noble people; the First Nations tribes.

I saw the venues for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics and the memories of youthful days, came flooding back.  'Hey', I thought, 'they're figure skating at the Pacific Coliseum.'  I recalled the ice hockey games and rock concerts I attended there.  'Wow! the opening and closing ceremonies are at B.C. Place Stadium.'  I remembered being there to see the first ever event.  Vancouver Whitecaps played before an enthusiastic crowd and Peter Beardsley scored the winning goal against the Seattle Sounders.  Yes, through the screen in my home in England, I saw the sights.  Heck, I recognise that tree.

For seventeen days I was back in Vancouver.  My 'body clock' went back eight time zones.  All through the night; I lived and breathed the wonders that were happening in my other home.  I thought of my friends, my family and the special memories I hold so dearly in my heart.  Even so far away; I sensed the great joy and pride that embraced all those I know and love.

 
The games started with such sadness.  A young man lost his life pursuing his Olympic dream.  Our thoughts are with Nodar Kumaritashvili and the people of Georgia.

I watched the Canada versus U.S.A. ice hockey, gold medal game.  I screamed with hysterical delight when Sidney Crosby scored the winning goal for Canada in 'sudden death' overtime.  My English neighbours must have wondered what was wrong with me.  I have some explaining to do eh?

And so, the Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver had drawn to a spectacular and thought provoking conclusion.  The family of humanity had gathered in the true spirit of the Olympic ideal.  Canada, a nation of glowing hearts.  Canada, you have shown the world a wonderful celebration of humanity at its finest.  The Olympic flame is now extinguished, but the afterglow of hope for Canada and for our world, burns bright.

The Freedom to Find Each Other

It was early July in 1980. Our 1973, silver grey, Dodge Polara, my 'Smokey and the Bandit' mobile, was packed and ready to go.
We had quit our jobs, given up our apartment and put our few possessions into storage. We knew we were taking a risk, it virtually assured an uncertain future. Yet an uncertain future seemed favourable in comparison to the tragic past my future wife had endured.
We sat in our car and prepared for a two month adventure on the open road. We left Vancouver to drive on the Trans Canada Highway to the wonderful city of Montreal, a distance of almost 3400 miles. Before us lay countryside, more diverse, more awe-inspiring that I had imagined. Once leaving the urban sprawl of Greater Vancouver, we reached the Fraser Valley. Onwards we drove through the splendour of British Columbia, through the Okanagan Valley, heading further east to the majesty of the Rockies.
Surrounded by the magnificent backdrop of the Rockies, Veronica and I found an ideal location to stay for the night. The sun was setting behind enormous mountains, the swirling river beside us produced sounds that reached into my inner tranquility. It was a night to remember, we both drifted of into a deep, peaceful sleep. Alone in the wilds, alone with the lady I loved so much.
Our adventure continued. Through the Rockies, through the foothills of Alberta and into Calgary. Calgary, affectionately known as 'Cowtown', and home of the world famous Calgary Stampede. Our stop in this city was a brief but an interesting experience. We had to keep going, Canada is a very large country.
The landscape began to change dramatically. No longer was the terrain a mountainous or even a hilly splendour. For now we had reached Medicine Hat, Alberta and beyond that was a vast, flat expanse. We had reached the Prairies. As far as the eye could could see, was a panorama of overwheming flatness. The contrast in scenery was truly staggering.
Hundreds upon hundreds of miles of prairie lay before us. As our adventure moved on we arrived in the Province of Saskatchewan. Veronica and I visited the towns of Swift Current and Moose Jaw (how Canadian does the town of 'Moose Jaw' sound eh?). I have fond memories of Moose Jaw. We went and watched 'Close Encounters of Third Kind'..(yeah and we also went to the cinema there!).
Soon our travels would take us to Regina, the capital of Saskatchewan. A grand old city, right in the heart of the Prairies. Yet we did not stay long. Our curiosity led us to a destination about thirty miles north east of Regina. We had got some information of a town that had landscape very different to what we had seen during the last week or so. Upon reaching Fort Qu'Appelle, the information we had been given was no exaggeration. From the incredibly flat land that we had grown accustomed too was this town with hills that could be best described as very large bumps. A bizarre extreme to the terrain that we had been experiencing. There are even facilities for downhill skiing. Hard to believe what we observed , such a short distance away from the flattest darn land I had ever seen.
Yet, it gets even better. Not only were these hills standing proudly in the heart of the Prairies, we found a beach! Yes that's right, a beach smack dab in the middle of Canada. The beach was by a lake named Echo. You guessed it..before our eyes was Echo Beach. ("Echo Beach..far away in time"..hmmm..).
Quite the memory but it was time to move on. Onwards to Manitoba, onwards to Winnipeg (also known fondly, well during the cold season, as 'Winterpeg'). Winnipeg, capital of Manitoba and home to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League. I like Winnipeg, however, there is one street corner you best avoid. The intersection of Portage and Main is evidently the windiest corner in all of North America. Beat that Chicago!
We moved onwards, ever further east, to the Province of Ontario. The land was no longer flat, we were now amongst the forested wilderness of north western Ontario. We came upon lake, a beautiful, pristine lake. Yet something was wrong. The water was clear, the fish floated on the surface, the fish were dead. We were sad, the tears streamed downed our faces. Had we witnessed the devastating consequences of industrial pollution?
We started heading south. Our southward route took us through Thunder Bay and past Lake Superior. Our next major destination would be Canada's largest city. Toronto, a huge cosmopolitan city. A 'melting pot' of humanity from all corners of the world. We went up to the top of the C.N. tower where the views were spectacular. One day, I hope to spend more time in this great Canadian city.
We had to move on, a month had nearly gone by and we were halfway through our money. Time to reach our final destination. Ah Montreal! Canada's second largest city and one of the biggest French speaking cities in the world. I loved Montreal. There is a quaint, 'old world' feel to this wonderful city. I recall, how we strolled through the grounds of the world's fair. I remember as a lad, seeing Expo 67 on the television. Expo 67 was a celebration of mankind. It also marked the centenary of the great nation of Canada. Montreal, a proud French-Canadian city in a proud, blessed country.
It was time return, to head west, to retrace the 3400 miles back to our home, back to Vancouver. I think back on those eventful two months in the summer of 1980. I smile as I remember those occasions that stay so fixed in my thoughts. The beer parlour in Pincher Creek, Alberta where all night long this one guy kept saying: "well I'll be a hound dog!" The night we slept in our car by a farm near Niagara Falls, only to be startled by a police officer, who shone a light on us. The time we slept in our tent by the shores of Lake Ontario, only to be woken up and virtually blown away, by an almighty hurricane.
It was an awesome experience. Our 1973, silver grey, Dodge Polara got us back to Vancouver. The journey had given us the chance to find each other, away from the evil that had left her so deeply traumatised. At last, without negative distractions, we began to discover the true love we had for each other. We had the freedom to find each other. If only that freedom had been lasting. For the 'ghosts' of her horrendous past continued to haunt her.
In a future blog, I will tell you about the disgraceful events that lead us to make a fresh start. I thank you for your time.