Work!

WORK!?! .... crikey what the heck is that?

In an ideal world i would have waited in South America for the third attempt at going to Ushuaia but the bank account was desperate. $1,500- Cdn doesn't get you far for long.
So my cunning plan ....go to England. I had a summer job lined up working for a "newsagent".
This was no regular 9 to 5 job it was like joining a traveling circus. The "RingMaster" was Glynn ''kumansukme'' Roberts = Slave Driver and Juggler Extrodinaire able to be 3 places at once; why double-book when you can triple-book!?
Glynn sets up a "24 hour camp-site shop" for weekend shows; bike rallyes, pop festivals and even geriatric camper shows. Craziest of all was the Download Festival, a weekend of mental metal music fans...

Glynn also runs a permanent kiosk in the ''paddock'' of Donington Park Race Circuit. A very exciting place to be during Moto GP or Superbike but on a wet and windy day with just a small club meeting it can be torturous.

It had been 3 years since i was in England and it was good to see everyone again.
Thanks to Hazel i had my own room and mobile phone and thanks to Glynn i even had my own 'company' car.
True to form for the Roberts' fleet of vehicles it was a quirky one - a Citroen Xantia with hydraulic suspension -not a quick-get-away car. In the 7 months i was there i clocked up over 6000 miles delivering stock.
The work is hard and at times i couldn't wait for it to end but when it came time to leave i wished for more.
Can't have it all ways though and i wanted to spend time with my family in Canada before heading back to the bike.

My sisters, Sandra and Patricia, were over one hour late meeting me at the airport. They had to drive 3 hrs through the mountains over the Continental Divide in mid october... my worrying was for nothing; they had to stop in Canmore to shop at the Thrift Store!
They don't often come to Calgary so we shopped 'til we absolutely dropped, slept on Pat's sister-in-law's floor, then went at it again the next day.
Things were about same in Canada.
Bernice, my octogenarian mum, busy as ever -curling, singing and volunteering on frosty mornings at the hospital auxillary Thrift Store (sorting through and cleaning yard sale left-overs and christmas decorations).
Sister Sandra with hubby Kerry figuring out the teenage mind of daughter Katelin and being hockey mum and dad to Winston.
Sister Patricia with hubby Jimmy running a sawmilling business and building their mountain home. Their daughters Lillian and Rya (8 and 6 yrs old) fearless mountain girls waiting for the school bus on dark november mornings (a very active time for hungry bears...)

I lost count how many times i fell on the slippery snow. The most spectacular fall was while skating on the frozen lake. I was trying a pirouette in hockey skates...not recommended.
Once again i wished for more time but Ushuaia was calling....
Uuushhuuaiaaa.....