26July1997

End July 1997
Calgary, Canada
My dear folks,

My holiday is nearly done. I wish I could start it all over again for I haven’t the least inclination to return to work. I looked enviously at Rolf when he arrived from Germany on Friday evening to join his family, with the prospect of several weeks’ holiday ahead of them. There are all kinds of exciting things they plan to do but I shall let my sister recount those in due course.

I was reflecting as we sat out on Kevin’s deck, relishing the sunset over the remains of a barbecued salmon supper, that it would be very nice to take home the view to London as a memento. I should add that the Calgary Bensons’ home is situated in a small development which borders the Heritage Point Golf Course on the southern outskirts of the city. The view extends across the back lawn & fairway & takes in a vigorous sweep of countryside before fading into the distant hills. Not that it’s a perfect view. It’s encroached on slightly by neighbouring houses & disturbed by golfers zooting past on their little moon buggies. I suppose one might even complain about the incursion of the fat air balloons that hang motionless in Alberta’s justly famous blue sky. But at the end of the day it’s a pretty good view. As I’ve told Kevin, you have to go to the Portuguese Algarve to get a better one & it’s time he did so.

So where have the days gone? Let’ see. On Tuesday we visited the dinosaur museum outside the town of Drumheller some 2 hours north east of Calgary. By that stage (my US cousin) Margaret & husband, Hubert, had returned to Salt Lake City. So our party comprised me & cousin Tricia, Cathy & daughters, Erica & Anita; Mum & her sister, Iris. We fitted comfortably into the van Cathy has hired for the duration. Our only navigational problem was trying to work out in time whether the numerous turns we had to take off the multi-laned highways would peel off right or right-angle left.

Drumheller is a small, unremarkable Alberta town on the fringes of the badlands. But there’s nothing small or unremarkable about its museum located in the furnace of a nearby lunar landscape valley. Hell, but it was hot! The museum focuses on the dinosaur remains to be found in Canada, taking in fossils & lots of evolutionary history. It’s designed to keep kids as fascinated & busy as the adults. After an introductory talk & show, we split up & agreed to rendezvous in 90 minutes. But it proved barely enough to take in the main features of the various halls. We peered into the laboratories where finds were being cleaned & chatted to staff who were painstakingly unearthing ancient bones. There were dinosaurs of every shape & size everywhere. I was struck by the hugeness of Tyrannosaurus Rex who glared menacingly down on the crowds flocking around his feet. We voted the museum a winner.

Wednesday we went shopping. Calgary is studded with shopping malls, none better than South Centre. I was after recreational shoes, the girls wanted jeans as well as roller blades for Anita, & the family was looking for linen for Penny & Mike. Prices are significantly lower than those in Europe, an advantage much emphasised by Cathy & her daughters & one we set out to exploit. As Rolf wryly remarked, this meant that after buying what they wanted, they could go out again & spend their savings. We gathered for lunch at a restaurant where Mark works as a barman to supplement his income from his true love, the theatre.

Mark is the Properties Manager for a theatre company & it was to his latest production that we all repaired that evening for supper & the show. The audience dines on a lavish buffet at the theatre first & then merely adjusts the seating around the dinner tables to focus on the show. It’s a splendid arrangement. Mark explained over supper how he went about getting his props & setting them up.

He was with a friend, Shannon, who’s training as a soprano while pursuing her own theatrical career. The show itself was a modest musical with a cast of four, based around a collection of 60s songs. It was good fun although we found it too loud for comfort – a universal adult complaint.

Alan left midweek to join his girlfriend, Ashley, & her family at their holiday cottage. We met Ashley briefly at the wedding where she struck me as an attractive young woman. It was only the following day when she, Mark & Alan were playing rollerblade hockey on the road outside the house that it became apparent that she was also a talented sportswoman. She gave no quarter as she wheeled & whacked as vigorously & stylishly as the guys – who are very vigorous & stylish indeed. Erica has brought her own rollerblades along & demonstrated her proficiency. Anita is learning. She manages perfectly well but with the still awkward stance of the novice, bum protruding & arms out to steady herself. The pair of them often accompanied me as we walked Tomba (the family Alsatian) on his daily pooh run.

Kevin was able to take Thursday off, an event we celebrated with a visit to Calaway Park, Calgary’s mini-Disneyland. Mum, Iris, Cathy & Ann were content to watch the action from the sidelines. Trish was choosy, joining me for a session in the bumper cars but declining a ride on the double loop rollercoaster. Erica & Anita were goers for everything in sight, with some competition between Terry & Kevin for the title of most enthusiastic uncle. The climax was the water ride which ended in a steep descent & a huge spray of water over all of those silly enough to try it, including Trish. We dried off contentedly over huge icecreams.

Out trips in & out of Calgary were interspersed with frequent stops at Penny & Mike’s house where turf has just been laid in their absence & has required frequent watering. The house is in a new suburb – 15 mins away – what the Canadians call a starter home & what I call a finisher home – 3 bedrooms & a double garage. We had an admiring look around & can only envy them such a start in life. Penny is an English teacher at her former school; Mike is a financial analyst with Canadian Airlines.

Friday I spent with Mum while Iris joined Trish for the day. It was another glorious day – we’ve been blessed with good weather - & went on one of Mum’s favourite walks. Calgary’s main reservoir, a big yacht-studded lake, is barely five minutes from the Renoir & one can walk the whole of its 7 km shoreline. We followed Mum’s preferred route, along the asphalt path to the entrance of Heritage Park & back down to the shopping centre for lunch. Rollerbladers, cyclists & other walkers were much in evidence. Mum has become a fit & vigorous walker herself, up hill & down dale. She covered 3 kms effortlessly. She has joined the committee at the Renoir & become an organiser of some of the many activities it offers. She’s amazing.

Saturday began with a visit to the market at Millarville, a small rural town 20 mins away. I expected a few hundred folk to turn up but there were several thousand who gathered at the town’s (muddy & weed-ridden) race course for what was evidently the highpoint of the week. The place was lined with dozens of stalls at which farmers – including Hutterite women in shawls - were flogging produce of every kind. Clothes, trinkets, ceramics, woodwork & other home industries were much in evidence. I came away with a shirt, Erica with leather gloves & the rest of us with masses of fruit & veggies.

The day ended, like most days, at the Benson home, with a leisurely walk around the golf course & our company dispersed over supper around the lounge, dining-room & deck. Our hosts have spoiled us silly. Many many thanks & may we meet again soon.