Beautiful British Columbia & Beyond! Boating, Fishing, Social Media, Travel and Daily Life in British Columbia

I have a bug! Luckily it’s not the ‘Hiney Flu’ as my 96 year old Pop calls it, it’s the British Airways travel bug! Having only just returned from New York, I’m already planning my next trip.

British Airways is selling the world – wanna buy it? The prices are GREAT right now for flights or complete packages, including hotel and car rental, from many cities in Canada, including Vancouver.

I flew to London in 1971 – can you imagine the culture back then? It was totally amazing to be there at 19 years old, visiting the center of the universe if you were a Beatles fan! I have some great memories of my trip, the incredible architecture, the sightseeing and the atmosphere. I remember the earrings I wore – long dangly gold that looked fab with my long blonde hair. Thinking of that time makes me nostalgic… I want to experience London all over again.

Think about this – smoking was allowed on the flight back then. I actually smoked on an airplane – the armrests had little metal ashtrays with lids which popped open. Heh heh – now that’s a thing of the long distant past – a very good thing!

to see the great November airfare deals! Travel from Canada is very reasonable – and being upgraded on British Airways would be my idea of heaven! I think you might be captivated by the prices. Meet me in London and we’ll have a blast from the past! Or perhaps we should go to Cairo? A friend was recently telling me of Egypt and the pyramids – now that’s another trip I want to take.

Book by November 19, then imagine yourself relaxing in ergonomically designed seats with food and beverages, then your very own eyeshades, blanket and travel socks to complete the picture of luxury. Sounds like my idea of the perfect flight!

Mimi was one of the first people I was introduced to online in 2006 when I first started blogging and I’m very impressed she’s still working hard a promoting her Blog Blast for Peace 3 years later. I know all too well how easy it is to get sidetracked from your intended plan!

World peace is a wonderful cause, perhaps rather idealistic but I think we all wish for it. How to overcome religious differences, racial hatred and boundary lines is another matter. I don’t think it’s possible as long as men rule the world!

For some reason women are more compassionate, nurturers and family oriented rather than trying to dominate the world and fight. We’re definitely changing over the years, beginning to fight for our rights and become equal, but I think many of us lack the drive men have to prove themselves as superior beings!

What are your thoughts? Is world peace a possibility in our lifetime? Does it actually make a difference to blog in support of peace? Are our words significant enough to matter in the larger scheme of this planet?

YES! Today, I leave for New York (yes, again) to attend ad:tech, a Digital Marketing Conference November 4 to 6 at the Javits Convention Center.

There are over 200 speakers and I’m attending as many of the seminars as I can fit in, then will be blogging on the ad:tech blog to let you know what I’m learning, how digital marketing is being used in the advertising world and how it will affect you and me.

Networking at the meetups, cocktail hours, dinners, parties, and after party parties is where the work is accomplished of course. We don’t just have fun and drink to excess! Okay, then – we do have fun!

Stay tuned – you’ll be hearing from me!

My 96 year old ‘Pop’ and I drove to Madeira Park to shop, do errands and to get our H1N1 flu shots, to protect ourselves from the pandemic. The receptionist at the local clinic assured me on Tuesday we could get the H1N1 shot on Thursday at the Legion. Perfect because I’m leaving for New York next week and will be exposed to thousands of people from around the world, at a conference, never mind the recirculated air on the airplane.

While shopping we heard from two different people that the H1N1 shots were only being given to First Nations, children and people under 65 with chronic illnesses. Surely at 96 they wouldn’t turn away Pop – would they? He’s had pneumonia a number of times and is getting weaker every year.

Yep, they refused to give it to him, so now we have to wait until mid November. I’m not very happy with this as I heard on the Victoria news last night that ‘no one would be refused’. I guess every city, municipality, village or community in BC runs under different rules because the Public Health Nurses were firm in their refusal. Apparently, if you are over 65 or you have no underlying health conditions you have immunities built up in your system (they told us). We were both given the regular flu shot, which we have every year.

So, now I’m confused… the news media in the USA and Canada is suggesting the H1N1 flu is spreading rapidly and becoming more severe. Apparently in Canada we have no shortage of the flu shot. So, why were we turned away? The flu clinic at the Legion certainly wasn’t overly busy. We waited perhaps 10 minutes for our regular flu shots, and right on the dot of 2pm the clinic nurses packed up and left.

Oh, and they were having a lunch break when we arrived at 12:30. The hours were 10:00 – 2:00. What’s up with that? In a 4 hour shift they take a lunch break??? I don’t get it

AND, I better not get it – the Hiney Flu that is!

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Whats the difference between bird flu & swine flu? Bird flu requires tweetment, swine flu requires oinkment.

UPDATE! I heard on the news the Cowichan Tribes Knitters WILL be providing their hand knit ‘work of art’ Cowichan Sweaters to the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games!

A few days ago I wrote about the planned protest against the IOC and Hudson’s Bay choice of knitted sweaters being provided for the athletes and the public. The straw that broke the camel’s back (IMHO) was that the HBC sweaters were made in China. No wonder the Cowichan’s were ready to show their displeasure by protesting.

Now, the lovely ‘authentic’ Cowichan sweaters (similar to the one above) will be for sale with the Olympic seal of approval.

Go Cowichan Knitters!

This is how the Pender Harbour fishermen spend October!

How cute is that? Someone was very creative!

I was surprised to see a number of local businesses in Madeira Park (Pender Harbour) decorated for Halloween. It’s awesome they get into the spirit, and some of the displays were very well done – like the fisherman atop the building.