June 30th

10pm: I picked up a Lap Steel at the local guitar store today, I have been meaning to get one of these for ages. No idea how to play it, but it sure sounds cool - I have it on approval for a few days to decide if i want to buy it...........

June 29th

11am. I discovered a real gem in Calgary today, Orchid Pastry up in the North of the city is a new Persian bakery making exquisite confections & selling imported middle-eastern delicacies like these amazing pistachios. They didn't last long in our house....

June 28th

7pm. Predictably after the weekend's exertions part of today was spent lying on my back recovering. Here I am on my back at 7pm watching the clouds scud by between the tall pines in the backyard. A fleeting moment in time captured.

June 27th

9am. After yesterday's exertions & a good nights rest, the first 25kms of Day Two's ride was a breeze, glorious countryside, cool but sunny weather & everybody in good spirits. This pit stop, in open country between the Chain Lakes Campground & Longview is on Highway 22. The ride got a bit harder after this, especially around Longview with some sharp hills, but every km covered was a km closer to the end. We stopped in Black Diamond for lunch where I met the family - after that it was a grind back into Calgary & the end of the 105km stage. Felt good crossing the line, really good - a great event all in all. Lots of support from friends & family - was a very humbling experience.

June 26th

4.30pm. I had hoped that this was the summit of Highway 533 between Nanton & our Chain Lake camp destination, sadly I was very wrong. This was about 7 hours into Day One's ride (The Ride to Conquer Cancer event), I am estimating about 95km into the 115km stage. Very hot, thirsty & tired at this stage - my bike was playing up, the front brake rubbing against the wheel making it an even more arduous ride. However I made it in the end!! The early part of the dat between Spruce Meadows & Nanton was easy enough, predominantly flat & I made good time up the Nanton break, but then this hill of doom kicked in. I dismounted a couple of times, but otherwise completed the whole 220km over two days without stopping, other than the scheduled breaks.

June 25th

6pm: Tabby has been practising ballet all year & tonight is her big night, the first performance in Banff!

June 24th

6pm: On the way home from the airport I bought a couple of basil plants, I don't know why - growing basil in Canmore's unpredictable climate has been a failure over the last few years but I love this herb so much I am always willing to give it one more try!! Lets see how these beauties fare.........

June 23rd

June 22nd

6.30pm: The final night of Minor Soccer in Canmore & everyone could play, kids & parents. Charlie finally let loose in his big sisters football domain showed dazzling skills & speed as he literally rang rings around everyone. I think he's got natural aptitude for the beautiful game.

June 21st

8pm: Tabby outside her school, end of her first year there in Kindergarten. We had our doubts sending her to a Catholic School, given we don't have a religious bone in our bodies but she has really enjoyed it - her teacher Mrs Goodfellow is excellent & the facilities & activities the kids are able to engage in are so much better than anything I ever experienced at school. This week is a week of awards & concerts before they split for the summer.....

June 20th

2pm: On the old Highway between Canmore & Exshaw, a 65km bike ride in the heat - one of the things I love about cycling is the freedom to stop & take photos, or just observe. A few minutes after this view of the Three Sisters was taken I stopped & watched an eagle hunting in the tall grass by the roadside. It was a big ride though & I didn't hydrate properly, wasn't feeling too good by the end of it - lesson learned.

June 19th

1pm: Canmore Street Festival, a really impressive affair - it stretched from one end of Main Street to the other - lots of interesting stalls & a strong showing from the local artistic community. After lunch at Beamers Coffee Bar we watched a street performer catapulting food over buildings, odd entertainment but the kids absolutely loved it!

June 18th

7pm: Morels!! In my back garden & quite a few of them, I love mushrooms & these were a real treat - they ended up in a quiche & were predictably tasty............

June 17th

8pm: Finally the cold lifted & the clouds departed after one last downpour. Wilson Way & looking east towards the Three Sisters..

June 16th

11pm: June 16th & it's 4° outside & dropping. Rubbish, rubbish, rubbish!!! Only the World Cup to keep us going through the second coming of winter!!

June 15th

6.30pm. Guu Izakaya bar in Vancouver - one of my favourite restaurants ever. Izakaya is Japanese tapas/pub food & this branch of Guu with it's casual atmosphere & delicious food is wonderful. Every trip to Vancouver should include an Izakaya experience in my book & as I am fortunate to be there so often I get my fair share. One of my favourite dishes is the kabocha korokke (deep fried pumpkin with egg inside) - such a nice & unusual combination of flavours & textures. Again apologies for the crappy Blackberry picture....

June 14th

7pm. Vancouver & I have left my trusty camera at home for this 3 day trip, thus forced to use my rubbish Blackberry phone camera. Suitably uninspired I just took a quick shot out of my downtown Vancouver hotel window!

June 13th

10am. At last a relatively warm night & the kids insist on the back porch light being left on. Here Tabby shows why with this large Smerinthus cerisyi, more commonly known as the one-eyed sphinx moth. These things are huge, you can hear their wings humming & seem to be pretty common here - although endangered elsewhere I hear. Not unusual to be woken by Tabby thrusting one she has caught into my face early on a weekend morning!!

June 12th

11pm: Despite the miserable start to June, I love the long Mountain evenings we get here - with the light staying until way past 11pm!! We get some nice sunsets thrown in as well.

June 11th

12.30pm. Yes!! The World Cup starts today, one month of the best sporting action in the World. Not sure I will get to see a lot of it live as the games are on mostly in the morning & lunchtimes. I have picked Argentina & Brazil in the Canmore United pool, also have a feeling Nigeria will do well today. Today's game is the opener between South Africa & Mexico.

June 10th

9.30pm: The end of another cold, wet training session. The season is underway & it feels like England in January!

June 9th

4pm: On the way back to Canmore, Calgary City limits - rain!

June 8th

9.45pm: On my way home after training, another less than summery evening - the really annoying thing is just how late the evenings remain light for - perfect if it wasn't such crappy weather. Here is the bottom end of Canmore Main Street, normally a hive of activity but pretty much deserted this evening.

June 7th

4pm: Day-off, with Nicky's mum over we took the kids to Calgary Zoo. The Zoo, despite it's poor reputation for animal husbandry, is pretty good. A wide range of exhibits, although the Canadian section featuring elk, bears, moose, mountain goats is really just a facsimile of what is lurking in the forests beyond our back garden!! This is the rather tranquil butterfly house, tranquil that is to everyone other than Charlie who hated the butterflies & wanted out ASAP. We took him to the dinosaur park, an excellent exhibit chock-a-block with full size, animatronic dinosaurs - he was terrified at first, creeping past them with as low a profile as you will ever see, but after a while became acclimatised & then fascinated. We ended the day in Fatburger!!! A nice day off indeed...........

June 6th

11pm: Wet, cold, miserable!

June 5th

11pm: OK so I am a sucker & I have bought an i-pad. Haven't really had much time to play with it yet, today was the Big Head Soccer Tournament in Canmore - my team bowed out on Day One - undefeated in 3 games, but unable to win any of them either. We played incredibly well, hit the woodwork about 6 times in those games but sometimes it ain't meant to me. Good fun though............

June 4th

6.45pm: The Peaks of Grassi kids - Matt & Eilena are moving to the warmer climes of Chilliwack, BC very soon  - so they threw a little street party for everyone. Very nice of them & we will miss them, T&C are good friends with their kids. The group photo features Tabby (in pink at the front) & Charlie (on his own far left) - he didn't quite get the group picture idea!

June 3rd

11pm: Late night guitar practise!

June 2nd

11-pm: Cramming in some last minute revising prior to taking a lesson tomorrow at OLS. I must have been out of my mind to agree to teach cricket to 20 or so 13yr old Canadian school kids. Hard enough to explain under normal circumstances! I think I have it though, a quiz, some video, demonstration of the equipment & then an hour of chucking the ball around on the school field.

June 1st

6.15pm. Tabby has been slowly improving at football, with much cajoling from me she is abandoning the picking of daisies & larking around with friends & concentrating on the game! Here she is in goal, enjoying the experience & within a few minutes of this shot making a good save. Charlie on the other hand is a natural, he loves chasing the ball & has remarkably good control - my little soccer kids!