Back In UK

Oh well, landed in Gatwick yesterday morning and drove up to Brum to pick up Gizmo, Jan and I have got another dose of jet lag and I'm back into work tonight. I cant believe the last 2 weeks have gone so fast. All we need t do now is to get this house sold so we can get our selves back over there.

Goodbye Canada (for now)

Well thats it, we fly back to UK in a couple of hours. Canada had one last surprise for us and that was the snow. This time last week it was 27C in Lethbridge and the sun was shining, and now................. just look at the photo.

Last Day in Canada

Wednesday morning and our last full day in The Great White North, we fly back tomorrow afternoon and because of the 7 hour time diference we land back in UK at about 01:30 Friday morning.

Its been an eventful 2 weeks and i think we achieved everything we wanted over here. If anyone reading this is thinking of moving over here i wold recomend doing the visit first, especially if you are coming over as a family.

The verdict on Canada as our future home is a big YES, dont get me wrong, Canada has got its problems and not everything is ideal, if you are looking for paradise on earth then you will be disapointed but we believe this is the place for us and that it will give us all a better quality of life and a better future for Luke.

Calgary Tower

When you are in Calgary ts the law that you have to visit the Calgary Tower, its very easy to get to but i would recomend using the C-Train as i have been told parking is very expensive Downtown.

Whats Calgary Like?

Out of the 3 cities we have visited, I am afraid Calgary comes in 3rd. Its not the reason we are coming to Canada. It is a huge city and seems to come with all the bustle and stress that is a part of big city life. If I had to describe Calgary would say it is a cross between London and Barcelona. The C-Train (light railway) is handy and cheap although only really services Downtown. I would compare that with the Docklands Light Railway.

There are loads of attractions to see in and arond the city and i would recomend visiting, its just that wouldnt want to live here.

Calgary, The Last Leg

Got into Calgary it was throwing down with rain, we found the motel and booked in (still raining) after we unpacked and got our selves sorted we went out to get food (still raining) We were told by the Super 8 that if we went into the local Dominos we would get discount so thats what we did. Unfortunatly the shop was run (if that is the correct word) by by the asian equivilent of the McKenzie brothers. After their slight misunderstandings with the customers in front of us they kept us waiting at the counter for about 10 mins while they faffed around and managed to break the till. When they eventually decided to serve us they couldnt even understand us. Bacon was the biggest stumbling block, i tried to explain, my wife tried to explain. I was about to run up and down the shop doing pig impressions when Jan made a break through, she turned up the decibles and souted "bacon" at him, this worked and he replied "ah, bacon". With the toppings sorted out we made a start on the delivery details. As i told him where we were staying, i mentioned the discount, in perfect English he explained to me that because part of the order was a combo, it was already discounted. That was the last straw cos we just walked out laughing, i didnt even tell him he could deliver it up his own arse, which in hind sight i am a litle annoyed about, never mind eh?

Went round the corner and had fish, chips and battered clams, very nice and washed down with a glass of traditional beer, it tasted just like our bitter.

Today was a late start cos we sunk a few tinnies last night along with a couple of canadian whiskeys. Still managed to find Ikea and have a mosey around, pretty much the same as in UK except this one was a little smaller, also went into the Chinook Mall, not bad but pretty much the same as UK.

Took a drive by H & R Transport, nothing special, yard looks a little small and crowded.

I dont think Calgary is for us, after what we have seen it looks "big city" and thats not what we are coming to Canada for, by the way it is still raining. Found this shop last night and thought the name was hilarious, if you dont get the joke dont worry about it, its just my filthy mind.

Last Day In Lethbridge

Everythings in place now so our work here in Lethbridge is done. I think a week is long enough to spend here as a tourist, we have tried to do something new every day and now we are running out of ideas. Last night we went to see Shrek 3rd at the local cinema and his afternoon we went over to see Fort Whoop Up which was fun. Years ago it was a notorious trading post tha specialised in whiskey and other contraband, the whole fort has been recreated. Took loads of photos and i have posted a few.

Oh well off the Calgary tomorrow for the last leg of our little trip.

Visit to H & R Transport

Went to H & R this morning and met my new boss, after going over paperwork and a few things about the company we went out to the vehicle park to have a look around the vehicle. i was very surprised to see that the tractors were a lot smaller than i expected, the wheels were tiny. Also the suzies are completely different. Now i have sat in one i cant wait to get started, its a shame we have to come back to england but i suppose the house has got to be sold.

Later went looking at cars, had a test drive in a Jeep Cherokee Liberty and i think that is going to be the car for us.

Bank accounts and houses

its been a busy day today, opened up our bank accounts then went to view a house, i am sitting in the room now with a beer and i think its going to be an early night. Bank accounts were relatively easy although we have a computer glitch on one of the cards, that should be sorted in the morning. The house was fantastic, a little big for what we need but its afordable, we are meeting with realtors (estate agents) tomorrow so if we dont see anything better then i think this place will be for us. Well thats it for tonight cos i am so tired.

Time to start setting up the new life

Well here we are in Lethbridge, the nasty rain has gone away and we had a good day today. Spoke to the Education Superintendant and it looks like when we come over pernanantly we just register Luke and he will be in the school of our choice the next day, that is if we do decide to live within the city, we booked a school visit and we are of to see the Principle on Friday morning.

We took a drive down to Raymond to have a sneak preview at the house rental and all i can say is WOW. Set up a Pay as you go mobile for use over here now, Luke will proberbly have that when we come back over and we set up contracts. We also drove around a lot to get used to the city, the Canadian way of numbering the roads is fantastic, its so easy to find your way around.

Streets go north to south and avenues go east to west, the name also tells you where you are in the city. Our car has a compas which makes it even easier.

example

7th Ave South = You are in the south of the city traveling either east or west.

Lethbridge looks a fantasic place to live an again the people are so friendly and helpful.

The Long Drive to Lethbridge

Awoke quite early again this morning and did laundry at Super 8, we didithis more to try out the canadian top loaders more than anything else. Had breakfast and loaded the car ready for the drive south.

We quite liked Edmonton although i think it would be the colder option in the winter, anyway itsime to go now and we have got other ities to see. I took a pic of the luggage in the trunk to show how much room there is there with 3 cases so there was no need fo Thrifty to try and upgrade su in the 1st place.

With all our belongings safely in the Cruiser aout merry little band headed south with just under a full tank of gas. We refueled once just below Calgary and the whole journey took a little over 5 hours. Unfortunatly when we got below Calgary the weather turned bad and we had rain for the rest of the trip.

We did stop off at a burger bar on the way down, its worth mentioning because it had so much character and the food was so nice, Luke had a double cheeseburger and only managed about a quarter of it, luckily dad was on hand to give it a good home :¬)

Saw a great truck but looks like the spelled my name wrong, and th picture of the clown was missing too.

Got down into a wet Lethbridge, booked into the motel got food, a few beers (for later) and went exploring........................busy day tomorrow.

Last day in Edmonton

Went round to the bank to see if i could sort out the cards. Looks like the older card readers and ATMs wont work but you can draw money on both at the banks' ATMs. Not a major problem, just make sure you got enough money to last till you next see a bank. They have drive thru banking over here, i couldnt believe it.

Drove up to H & R depot to have a mosey around, nothing much to see, its in the north of the town, easy access down a dirt track, its seems they dont have nice tarmaced yards like back in UK.

Carried on up into Prince Albert (isnt that the name of a piercing) and had some food and did a little shopping, nice easy lazy day.

Went back to the room pretty early with a few beers and watched a couple of dvds on the laptop, fell asleep early too, didnt realise we were so tired.

Friday and its off up to Edmonton

After spending the night in Airdrie Super 8 we drove up to Edmonton, took just over 2 hours and all on one road, not a bad road and not as boring as you would think. I always imagined Canada to be pretty empty between towns and cities but there were loads of things going on, there are a lot of cattle farms.

Got into Edmonton about midday and Super 8 let us book in early. We dumped all the cases in the room and grabbed a cab down to the West Edmonton Mall which is huge, i think its the biggest mall in North America but dont quote me on that. Anyway we spent the rest of the day there, if you are in the area it is a must see. Played a game of crazy golf which was fun and managed to resist spending a fortune.

A lot of places wouldnt accept my bankers card and some wouldnt even accept my master card, also couldnt use normal ATM's so thats something to watch out for.

First day findings

Another 30 minutes till breakfast starts so i will share some more info with you. Landed at Calgary and fought with Shifty Thrifty, you know all about that. In our short little time here we have learnt to drive the Canadian way and not hit or been it by anything, managed to cross roads on foot without being hit by anything and even managed to buy stuff. First thing was a map, that was easy out of the local Petro, then we went to Tim Hortons to sample wraps, donuts and coffee, WOW Tim Hortons are fantastic, you might want to be careful with the donuts though, when you go in i would suggest starting with a simple donut without coverings and practice on that, or watch how the locals eat them. We went straight for the chocolate covered and things got a little messy.

Another place i would recomend is Wendy's, its a burger restaurant similar to MacDonalds except a million times better (and the patties are square???) they taste absolutely fantastic, the pattie actually tasted of beef and the relish was great.

I have heared some people say grocery shopping is more expensive over here, well we had a look in The Real Canadian Superstore and i would say its the same or a little cheaper, there are a lot of no name brands and i suppose its the same as in UK, some things are eatable, sometings arnt. Familiar brands like Weetabix, HP and Kellogs are expensive but when you look at exchange rates and the import export costs then that is to be expected.

Anyway its breakfast time now so here goes a new day and i will post a few pics tonight.

Jet Lag

Its 05:37 mountain time and im sat in a Super 8 motel in a small town called Airdrie which is just north of Calgary on Highway 2. Why am i sat at the computer at this time in the morning/night you may well ask yourself, well i am jet lagged, very jet lagged actually.

I thought i knew what jet lagged meant, i thought it was when you were tired because of moving time zones. Well now i know that its not, last night we had a couple of tinnies and retired at about 22:00 which was 05:00 back in UK, yes we were tired so we were asleep practically as our heads touched the pillow.

Well at 03:00 mountain time (10:00 in UK) the jet lag kicked in and now we are wide awake, oh yes and it gets light over here quite early too, didnt hear a dawn chorus though like in UK.

By the way Canada is fantastic, wha we have seen so far has exceeded all expectations, Thrifty car Hire tried to rip me off so i had my fun with them but thats another story, that was interesting but i dont think they will welcome my business again LOL.

Thrifty alked me into upgrading the car to a Grande Cherokee, lovely car till i realised they stung me for another $450 on top of what i had already paid. When i booked it in UK i ordered a car that would fit 3 people and 3 large cases, they recomended a Chrysler Sebring which fitted the bill nicely. When i got to Calgary airport they told me that the PT Cruiser was a similar car and thats what i was going to get unless i upgraded, personally i thik that is unfair because i had already described what i required and now they were saying it was unsuitable.

Anyway, i origionally paid the extra and we drove up to Airdrie and booked into the hotel, itwas then i decided i wasnt happy so i drove back down and gave them shit, We are now driving a PT Cruiser and it is absolutely fine, while we were back there we also saw another family arguing with another member of Thrifty and i also witnessed them stitching up another family just like they tried to do to us. Buyer Beware of Shifty Thrifty.

Apart from that, everyone else we have met have been helpful and friendly, everyone we have spoken to has asked us if we are on vacation or moving over, i think that tells a story, there are a lot of Brits moving over here.

Canada tomorrow

Spent the last couple of days just chillin' out and getting things together for the trip. Everythings done now so its just a case of packing and driving down to the airport.

I will be updating the blog as and when over the next couple of weeks and hopefully there should be quite a few photos.

Flying into Calgary, up to Edmonton for a couple of days then driving down to Lethbridge.
This is when we do most of the setting up, meeting my new boss, viewing houses, setting up schools etc.....

After a week in Lethbridge we spend 4 days in Calgary then fly back to UK.

1st Day Of Holiday

Walked


Walking


Walking

____________________________________________

Sunday was easy enough for a last day

Asda Lutterworth, Lidl Lutterworth then round to Thrapston for a load of oranges back to Gloucester. I got back at mid day so plenty of time to walk Gizmo round the reservoir before a roast chicken lunch washed down with red wine and a few Pimms and lemonades. Perfect way to finish off a Sunday afternoon and a lie in this morning.

Today (when can get motivated) we are dismantling the desktop computer ready to be sold and were dropping Gizmo off at my parents in Birmingham. Then i think we will do a litle packing ready for the Canada trip. Later on i have to stop off in town to get a presentation folder for all the documents i have to take with us

One more day to go

and it ends up on the trailer

then one of these turns up

Here it sits, waiting to get loaded onto the trailer

This is how the get the film wrap onto the product, it spins on the wheel while the wrap moves up and down

After the dairy product is made it travels along this coridor where it is blast frozen down to the required temperature in a matter of seconds..........and yes it would kill you if you were in there at the wrong time.

________________________________________________________

Thats Thursday out of the way, because i have had a long week and used up all of my extra hours, i asked for a shorter shift.

Well they sent me to Corby Chilled (just north of Manchester)
Followed by Morrisons in Northwich (Cheshire) and Cuddington for a backload.

That little lot took me 13 hours and 4 minutes, so much for a short day. Never mind, i have finished my normal shifts now for 3 weeks, i just got 1 more overtime Saturday night so i am definitely on a wind down.

We fly out to Calgary next Thursday and we are all starting to get excited now. Looks we got somewhere to live when we go out there permenently, we found a nice 4 bedroomed rental just outside Lethbridge so thats hust one less thing to worry about.

Enough funny films (for now)

Another busy week in the chilled dairy goods delivery world, and those of you who have followed this blog will know that i take this very, very seriously. Yoghurt and cottage cheese waits for no man !!!

The week so far;

Sunday - Tesco Doncaster then Princes Bradford
Monday - Tesco Doncaster then the nut-house
Tuesday - COOP Peterborough then Rushden Morissons
Wednesday - Wakefield Morrisons then Princes Bradford

Today was a nightmare, i went into the warhouse at Wakefield because if you help then count the stuff in they let you go without waiting for paperwork which can take up to 4 hours. Well it all came off okay till the last pallet which fell over. This pallet was stacked about 4 foot high with cases of peach yoghurt, we had great fun restacking it and i only took about an hour, fantastic.

Next i went to Princes and the truck in front of me had a slight problem, they couldnt get the forklift onto the back so the pop (soda) had to be loaded by hand. I also helped with this but only to hurry things up so i could get away. I got back t the depot with 6 minutes to spare for a 15 hour shift, i cant wait to see what tonight brings.