Imitating a Canadian

Today is Canada Day, which is apparently a big thing here. It's hot and sunny, so after spending most of the day outside I have retreated for a bit. I got up at half six (yeah I know I'm a morning person back home, but here I've started sleeping until 10am) to volunteer at the pancake breakfast, which has earned me another T-shirt, two helpings of pancakes and a big goofy Canada hat. The hat was kind of accidental though.

There was stuff in Central Park this afternoon, but nothing mesmerising apart from an a capella group from Calgary called The Heebie Jeebies. Their bass was a guy called Cedrick who looked weedy and wafer-thin, but he could sing so low and powerfully. It was funny. I just hung around with Laura for a bit. Liz, there were mounties there whose job it was to hang around and get photographed with people.


Going back in time, it turns out I used to be a cowgirl/boy/person in a past life, because when we went to Wild Bill's on Wednesday I managed to rope a fake cow on the first attempt. I was only the second person in a whole load to rope it at all.



That is Laura, above. With me.

Wedding yesterday, down in the foothills. It was kind of refreshing to get out of the mountains. I missed the deciduous trees; here it's covered in pine. It was some kind of Indian (as in India) ceremony although the couple were white Canadians, which I didn't quite understand. There was some amazing natural woodland about, with so many wild flowers. Then I went straight to this outdoor concert up the hill at the Banff Centre, which Peggy had managed to get me a ticket for. We sat on blankets on this soft grass and had a picnic with some of her friends. The concert was this African/Canadian guy called Alpha Yaya Diallo, or something similar, and the weather was beautiful. Most of the audience (including me) ended up down at the front, dancing. We let everything go and had a great time.

Next up; fireworks tonight.