Oh Canada

Greetings earthlings, this is thefunkydrummer, back with fresh tales from the great white north. That’s right, this spring holiday saw me jump on a plane and head to my old stomping ground of beautiful British Columbia, Canada.

After a night mare journey involving an overnight stay at Nagoya airport, (the pain of which was greatly eased by a friendly Zimbabwean who was in the same predicament, which lead to us drinking the night away), a less than enjoyable China Air flight, an annoying wait in Taiwan, and a road blocking mudslide to top it all off, I finally arrived in Whistler, shattered, but ready for duty.

Having called this part of the world “home” at one point in my life, it was a joy to re-visit Whistler and Vancouver, catching up with old friends and making some new ones. I stayed at my little bro’s log cabin, who is currently following in my footsteps and enjoying the care free life of a Whistler local.

Four of my former uni house mates also made the trip from the UK to hit the slopes so we had a little Bristol reunion going on. Having had the worst season of snow for some 30 odd years, we were pleasantly surprised to find it had been dumping for a couple of days prior to our arrival, and continued with much of the same for the duration of our stay, meaning the conditions were pretty good, especially for spring.

Being back in Canada made me long for the untamed wilds of forest and rock that Fukui lacks. Despite being considered as countryside by the Japanese, you are rarely more than a few minutes from some form of civilisation, be it a concrete apartment block or a cigarette vending machine.

The highlight of the trips night life was the jamming sessions at Pat’s cabin. Here we were introduced to a man with a unique talent. Going by the name of Dom, this Quebecois had the rare ability to play old Nintendo soundtracks with prefect precision on his electric piano. He welcomed requests such as “end of level boss, 4-4, Mario 3” or “Megaman bonus level”. Armed with a couple of guitars, some make shift percussion consisting of a kindling xylophone and a mini keg bongo, we jammed the night away in front of the flickering flames of the fire, fuelled by a slab of Kokanee and the occasional shot of Baja Rosa.

I could see myself living somewhere in British Columbia one day, in fact if it weren’t for the tricky visa situation, I’d probably be there now. The outdoors opportunities are vast, and the scenery exquisite. However, it’s nice to be back in Japan. The spring is most definitely here, things are warming up nicely and I can smell the balmy summer evenings heading our way,

A big thanks goes out to brother Padrica, lady friend Becky, and house mates Heather and Tobin for the great hospitality, Sammy Sam Chan (did you get my gift?), Jim the master chef for cooking up some marvellous sh*t, Krazee Chistopher Mansbridge and his wild side burns, The Bristol Boys aka Mikey, Yoda, Jonny Bongo and Benito, and Dom and Dave for their musical expertise.

Keep enjoying the BC bud.