My story of trucking in North America: Gainford Leek Show Sept 2009

Monday, September 14, 2009

Gainford Leek Show Sept 2009

Hi all, things are going well and the recuperation is going well. Had more blood tests today and will need to wait to see if any adjustments need to be made to my medication.
Last Saturday was the village Leek Show and I popped along to give my dad some support as he had quite a few leeks, vegtables and flowers entered into the show.
The photographer didnt turn up so I took some pictures not only for myself but for the Leek Club itself and for its website. I was quite pleased with the results considering I have never photographed vegtables before.
My dad did very well and was either placed 1st, 2nd or 3rd in pretty much every class he entered. Pretty good !!

My dad with his prize winning trench leeks

4 comments:

Ian Sayer said...: Gainford leek show, eh? Good job you had those nights in Vegas to prepare you for the glamorous life you're living now. Before you now it you'll be judging the the jam at the WI. And you must have photographed some vegtables during your time in Canada - what about Mike Nash? LOL

Take it easy, Phil

All the best.

Ian; September 14, 2009 at 7:31 AM
mickfly said...: Interesting Phil.
The red onions look like Christmas glass decorations, and your Dad's leeks look delicious.; September 15, 2009 at 10:45 AM
Montedarlo said...: Hi Ian, pleased I hammered Las Vegas when I had the chance but the Leek Show is just as glamorous. I even won a prize in the raffle !!!
Your comment made me laugh so thanks for that.
Take it easy, Phil; September 17, 2009 at 3:13 AM
Montedarlo said...: Hi Mick, getting sick of eating leek and potato soup now that my dad made but it was delicious. I even won a prize in the raffle so all in all it was a good day.
Hope things are going well for you and Cath.
Cheers,Phil; September 17, 2009 at 3:14 AM

Your bank, its your choice.

I have already covered a bit about credit here but something has come to light.
When you arrive in Canada you will be taken to a bank and an account will be opened for you.
You are no way obliged to open an account at a branch you dont want.
I have had a few hiccups lately with ATB, the latest being having to wait 2.5hrs to have it authorised for me to be able to but my new laptop as I was going over my daily withdrawl limit.
If you are not happy with your bank then you can always change it, just as I am about to do

Rubbish pic but I have seen it

The Salton Sea is an inland saline lake, occupying the lowest elevations of the Salton Sink, part of the larger Colorado Desert in Southern California, north of the Imperial Valley. The lake covers a surface area of approximately 376 square miles (974 km²), the largest in California. While it varies in dimensions and area due to changes in agricultural runoff and rain, it averages 15 by 35 miles (24 by 56 km), with a maximum depth of 51 feet (15½ m), giving a total volume of about 7.5 million acre-feet (9.3 km³). Sea inflow averages 1.36 million acre-feet per year (53.2 m³/s).

Facts about Canada

Canada invented the baseball glove in 1883
Canada does not own the North Pole.
Santa Claus does !!
Its population equates to 3 people per square Km
Canadians rank 6th in the worlds standard of living
Canada has almost 2 million lakes
Cigarettes and Alcohol are cheaper in the UK
Hockey is the national sport
The word Canada translates as "Village"
it has the longest highway,7604km long
Canada has 42 National parks
25% of the worlds fresh water is in Canada
Second largest country in the world
There are 3 oceans on 3 sides
Canada hs the worlds longest coastline
population is roughly 33 million
6 million of those speak french
It has six time zones

Winter is coming and its serious

A few weeks ago my night heater packed in through the night. I woke at 2am and the temp in the cab was -2. I was freezing in my pants and summer quilt. I told a canadian lad about it and received the biggest bollocking. How was I to survive if I got stuck somewhere for a few days in temps as low as -30 ? Basically I would die so the need for proper winter clothing is essential and needs to be in the front of the mind of lads coming over in the winter time. I have added a list of what I consider essentials and a rough guide to the prices.

Bank accounts and Credit

When you arrive in Canada you will be taken to open a bank account which is easy enough. Unless you can prove your credit worthyness from the UK its unlikely you will be offered a credit card. You will need one in the USA unless you pay cash for everything. The answer is to put cash up front. Mastercard/visa will give you a card if you put say $500 up front so in theory you are spending your own money but it will build you a credit history in Canada. Its worth budgeting for this before you arrive over here.