A Longing In My Heart-2014 Edition

[braveheart]

Hi John (partner)
Lovely story about your Auntie's wake. Well John you can tell Ingrid she has one up on me there as I've never been to a wake in my life. When I lived in Scotland and had family die, I was just a kid so we kids were never allowed at the wakes. Over here I've never been to a wake either, but that was wonderful that Ingrid was able to be a part of such a special moment in your family's life. Although I've never been to one I can just imagine the scene and poor Ingrid hearing the babbling at 1000 words a minute of pure Glesga slang
I hope you & Ingrid do a trip to Scotland, think you would enjoy it.

Our trip is still on but have had to change plans regarding our dates, due to the expected grand baby's arrival, (unexpected by us ) so haven't figured out an exact month yet, looking like either June or September.
"Shhh, surprise, Mr/Mrs Silent you've got a visitor from Canada "

Regarding Bacardi and coke John, that's what I drink so Amelia and I have a thing or two in common.

Yes you can get real ale here at least here in BC. Lots of Micro breweries around and some of them award winners for the ale. Will take their word for it that their good, as ale is definitely not my thing. (see above)

Well partner thanks for the lovely story and keep them coming.

Take care my friend and hello to the lovely Ingrid from me. Cheers, Sheila

Hi Sheila,

We will definitely be making a trip to Scotland this year, I hope. I will have to start planning some dates to fit the calendar, but I'm sure it will work out and I'm looking forward to it. Yes it's going to be difficult for you and your husband to make some arrangements due to the impending birth of your Grandchild, congratulations to you all by the way.

Yes I can remember coming across some micro-breweries when I was over in Vancouver a few years ago. In fact I sat in a seat next to a guy who had a business in BC making beer and he was telling me all about the process, it was quite fascinating.

Ingrid sends her best regards to you also Sheila.

Take care partner.

John

[Granny911]

[quote="braveheart[/quote]

Hi Sheila,

We will definitely be making a trip to Scotland this year, I hope. I will have to start planning some dates to fit the calendar, but I'm sure it will work out and I'm looking forward to it. Yes it's going to be difficult for you and your husband to make some arrangements due to the impending birth of your Grandchild, congratulations to you all by the way.

Yes I can remember coming across some micro-breweries when I was over in Vancouver a few years ago. In fact I sat in a seat next to a guy who had a business in BC making beer and he was telling me all about the process, it was quite fascinating.

Ingrid sends her best regards to you also Sheila.

Take care partner.

John[/quote]


Hi John (partner)
That's great you're going to Scotland, glad to hear it. Should we get together and go visit the "Silents?"

We're looking forward to our trip, and hubby is busy planning out a few places he wants to see. Also going to be spending some time in England, so I'll be needing a holiday after the holiday. Thanks for the congrats on the baba in waiting.

So you were in Vancouver, was it for a holiday? Did you enjoy it? Were you visiting someone?

Fancy you sitting next to a guy who had a beer business, you should have asked him for a sample visit. Was he Canadian?

How is Ingrid? Is she any closer to taking her Glaswegian status exam?

I think you or Amelia should start a new thread about wakes, apparently I've been missing out on some fun by never having been to one.

Take care John and give Ingrid my best. Cheers, Sheila

[braveheart]

Hi Sheila,

It will be nice to go home for a visit it's been too long since the last one and I'm really looking forward to it. Yes let's make plans to meet outside No 31 and we will get Amelia to come along with us, we can have some placards held on our shoulders saying " Please help the needy " or something Actually, I just remembered, I still have a key to the front door so if the place is empty we could just let ourselves in and have a party!

I hope you guys have a great time in Scotland and England when you are over, travelling can be so tiring, I know because I done a lot of it for a living for 30 odd years, which was fun in the early days but became a chore after a while

My trips to Vancouver were all business trips as I worked for an American corporate company that had offices and subsidiaries all over the world, so I spent a lot of my time visiting customers and subs offices quite often. I enjoyed my time there and some of the people I was having a business meeting with would invite me to there homes to have a meal or go to the mall for a shopping trip or take in a Hockey game, good fun

Yeah the chap on the plane was Canadian and he was flying back after a trip to England to meet a supplier. This was around late Eighties early Nineties, so I guess the Micro Brewery industry was just getting up and running then. Nice chap, seemed to know his stuff.

I'm in the process of figuring out a good exam paper for Ingrid's Glaswegian examination, this should be fun!

Got to go Partner dinner is ready.

Take care.

John

[Granny911]

Hi John (partner)
That's a great idea we'll meet up with Amelia at 31. Anyone else in?
But wait a minute! Now we're going in if the house is empty? God almighty John that'll be another charge, so it will be stalking, harassment and now break & enter! Now we will need Beltrami's entire legal team to defend us I like the idea of the party though sounds like fun!
As for our trip don't know what's more difficult, planning our trip around the impending birth date or the price of the flights, can't believe the price just since last year All down to the fact only one company goes direct from here to Glasgow so they're getting away with highway robbery. Also their flights are like cattle markets, don't think they could possibly fit one more seat in if they tried. Anyway we'll figure it out.
Sounds like an interesting job you had John. I did a bit of travelling with my job, just within Canada, but then Canada is so big it used to tire me out so I can see if someone was doing it a lot and going to different countries it would become exhausting especially as one gets older.
I hope Ingrid managed to pass her Glaswegian exam, maybe you should send me that exam paper for hubby.
Right then partner take good care of yourself and say hello to Ingrid for me.
All the best, Sheila

[braveheart]

Hi John (partner)
That's a great idea we'll meet up with Amelia at 31. Anyone else in?
But wait a minute! Now we're going in if the house is empty? God almighty John that'll be another charge, so it will be stalking, harassment and now break & enter! Now we will need Beltrami's entire legal team to defend us I like the idea of the party though sounds like fun!
As for our trip don't know what's more difficult, planning our trip around the impending birth date or the price of the flights, can't believe the price just since last year All down to the fact only one company goes direct from here to Glasgow so they're getting away with highway robbery. Also their flights are like cattle markets, don't think they could possibly fit one more seat in if they tried. Anyway we'll figure it out.
Sounds like an interesting job you had John. I did a bit of travelling with my job, just within Canada, but then Canada is so big it used to tire me out so I can see if someone was doing it a lot and going to different countries it would become exhausting especially as one gets older.
I hope Ingrid managed to pass her Glaswegian exam, maybe you should send me that exam paper for hubby.
Right then partner take good care of yourself and say hello to Ingrid for me.
All the best, Sheila

Hi Sheila,

That would be funny sending Mr Beltrami and his legal team a party invitation to be held at 31, at least we would be in good company when the cops turn up

Yes it is difficult trying to make plans especially when you have the birth of a Grandchild happening sometime in the future! I was thinking the air fares would be quite expensive, especially when there is only one company offering a direct flight. Is it Air Canada or maybe British Airways? I well remember doing these long haul flights many times in the past, usually around 6000 miles and about 11-12 hours Have you looked into flying to Seattle and getting a direct flight from there? Maybe more choice of aircraft companies, not sure though!

Still thinking up an exam paper for Ingrid, but when I do you will be the first one to know partner

Take care Sheila, Ingrid sends her regards too.

John

[Granny911]

Hi John (partner)
Maybe we should send Mr. Beltrami and his associates a formal invitation to our meet and greet at Blaeloch, the poor "Silents" would be gob smacked! Notice oor Amelia is not taking us up on the offer to join us, I was hoping she could wear her hat and we could all make like we're toffs or at least hauf boiled wans.
Regarding the flights from here they are by Air Transat, enough said if you know anything about them. They have what they call Club Class which you can upgrade to (but only have this sometimes) but they want almost the same price as the flight to upgrade. Anyway I find their seats very uncomfortable and honestly they could not pack another seat in if they tried. The guy sitting next to me last time was so close to me I thought for a minute we were engaged. British Airways and Air Canada only go to London from here. Their prices are higher than Air Transat but we're considering them to see if it would be any more comfortable. Add to that our last trip we had two kids (the Dad was sitting next to me) and they screamed and carried on the entire 9 1/2 hour flight. I wanted to run a mile, it was awful. We have considered Seattle but no direct flights from there either. That also means dealing with customs from Canada and U.S. and some of these border guys don't appreciate my sense of humour either John, so hubby keeps warning me to speak not! We'll eventually get it sorted out it's just annoying with this fare hike. Apparently due to Thomas Cook not partnering with Transat any more. Whatever way we go I have had my warnings from hubby that I am not to try to bring back bacon and black pudding, as if I would!
Now you better get busy with that exam paper for Ingrid because she needs it for the party in Blaeloch Hubby says he'll study for it too!
Take care John and all the best to the almost Glaswegian, Ingrid.

[braveheart]

Hi John (partner)
Maybe we should send Mr. Beltrami and his associates a formal invitation to our meet and greet at Blaeloch, the poor "Silents" would be gob smacked! Notice oor Amelia is not taking us up on the offer to join us, I was hoping she could wear her hat and we could all make like we're toffs or at least hauf boiled wans.
Regarding the flights from here they are by Air Transat, enough said if you know anything about them. They have what they call Club Class which you can upgrade to (but only have this sometimes) but they want almost the same price as the flight to upgrade. Anyway I find their seats very uncomfortable and honestly they could not pack another seat in if they tried. The guy sitting next to me last time was so close to me I thought for a minute we were engaged. British Airways and Air Canada only go to London from here. Their prices are higher than Air Transat but we're considering them to see if it would be any more comfortable. Add to that our last trip we had two kids (the Dad was sitting next to me) and they screamed and carried on the entire 9 1/2 hour flight. I wanted to run a mile, it was awful. We have considered Seattle but no direct flights from there either. That also means dealing with customs from Canada and U.S. and some of these border guys don't appreciate my sense of humour either John, so hubby keeps warning me to speak not! We'll eventually get it sorted out it's just annoying with this fare hike. Apparently due to Thomas Cook not partnering with Transat any more. Whatever way we go I have had my warnings from hubby that I am not to try to bring back bacon and black pudding, as if I would!
Now you better get busy with that exam paper for Ingrid because she needs it for the party in Blaeloch Hubby says he'll study for it too!
Take care John and all the best to the almost Glaswegian, Ingrid.

Hi Sheila,

Sounds like a bit of a nightmare on the travel front No I don't know of Air Transat, they sound a bit like a live cattle transporter, get as many in as you can Its not fair really, doing long haul stuff is no joke, you need a bit of room to relax and make the journey less stressful. I know what you mean about the border guys, I remember a very strange situation happening with border control the last time I crossed from the States to Canada. I was on a trip to New York State visiting a customer ( Kodak ) in Rochester ( They call it Kodak City ) I had the weekend to myself when our meetings were concluded on the Friday, so I decided that the following day I would drive to Niagara Falls and take in the sights for they day. After spending a few hours doing the tourist thing in Niagara I decided to drive across to the Canadian side to get a good close up look at the horseshoe falls, spectacular by the way, and maybe pay a visit to Toronto which was not far away. So I set off over the border bridge, passed through U.S customs no questions asked and no problems, but when I got to the other side of the bridge and got to Canadian customs they started to ask a lot of questions. After a few minutes they informed me to drive my car over to a building a few hundred yards away and report there, but retained my passport, all very strange Off I went and arrived at the building where I was greeted by a mounty or two who wanted to know how long I was going to be in Canada and where I was going etc I must admit by this time Mr Beltrami's name was beginning to come into my mind a lot After a while they said I could go, have a good time in Canada and pick up your passport at the office when you get back All very, very strange So I set off for Toronto and had a good look round which I enjoyed very much. Got back to the border late evening, picked up my passport and they wished me fair well...........Don't ask me, I haven't got a clue what that was all about

Take care.

John

[Granny911]

Hi John
Update on Air Transat....
Our Canadian dollar has dropped to 90 cents compared to the US dollar so Air Transat has now added a new toll on all inclusive holidays called "a currency surcharge", this on top of the other surcharge they added called "a fuel surcharge". Cannot believe this lot and they're getting away with it too! So far they haven't added the new charge to just flights, but no doubt that will be next.
Interesting what you were put through at the Canadian border on your trip. It used to be Canadians could just drive through to the U.S. with next to no documentation, not so since 9/11, now passports required. Or you can apply to the U.S. for a nexus card which gives you expedited travel through wait lines at borders and airports. You have to apply and supply all kinds of info, then the U.S. check you out up the wazoo, then interview you (basically give you the third degree) then if approved you pay $50 for 5 years. If you breach any of the rules and get caught, you're banned from the U.S. and I think that's forever. All of our family has these cards as we only live 20 minutes from the U.S. border. It's interesting watching the cars in the queues, while they're waiting, the border guards are out with mirrors on big poles checking under the vehicles and dogs sniffing around the cars (usually a pit bull). With these nexus cards you don't go through this, just go straight into an express lane, a quick stop to say where you're going and for how long and you're sent on your way. Also at airports when we return to Canada we can do a scan of our eye at a machine or scan our nexus card then proceed without waiting in line ups. So in some ways it's great.
As for the Mounties John, I worked with them for many years so could write a book on my life in those days. So I can just imagine an International visitor coming in contact with them. Unfortunately people are usually too intimidated to ask questions of why certain things are being done and I think that's a real shame. I question everything, but that's just me.
Years ago, on one of our trips going from here to Scotland I was pulled out of the queue for what they called "a random body search" Hubby was ferr amused by this and me not quite so much. So when we got on the plane I told him I hoped Scotland would return the compliment to him when we were returning. Well John there is a God.... Leaving Glasgow, they pulled him out of the queue and he got a body search. Oh that just made my day in fact made my holiday!
So you may have seen in your papers, Canada has now barred Irn Bru, marmite, Bovril and penguin biscuits, it's certainly shook up any Scottish men I know here, as I had 5 emails this morning all from guys passing this info onto me. The powers that be here have too much time on their hands, banning these because they have ingredients banned in Canada, yet we can buy guns, have safe injection sites for addicts, grow marijuana for medicinal purposes, but God forbid we have a glass of Irn Bru and a penguin, because it might kill us! Such idiots!
Okay partner enough of my ranting for the day.
Have you got that invitation ready yet to the Blaeloch party for Mr. Beltrami & Associates? Also any progress yet on the Glasgow proficiency test for the lovely Ingrid? Hubby says he's studying big time so he's prepared when you send him the exam.
Bye for now John, take care. Sheila