The Isaac Brock Diaries: Friday, May 24th

I have a trunk containing continents. -Beryl Markham, adventurer (1902-1986) 

Hi Patrick Just an update on Monty bikes. I visited Evans Cycles at York yesterday hoping to deposit your money against the two bikes. Each time I go in or call them I deal with different people and obtain a slightly different story after starting from scratch explaining our requirement.

The latest is that they will order the FIT and a Navigator for you but only if I call again in mid June to ask them to place a order. Their reason was that if they ordered earler, say in late May, the York store would have to take delivery by June 6 and they have difficulty holding stock for that duration- seems surprising to me!

So, if acceptable to you, I shall call them towards mid June and ask them to place a order on Montague( two week lead time apparently) for pre-mid July delivery. This would be done through their central office in the south-east.

I have to say I am not 100% confident in these people with the deadline we have- however if they let us down I am sure we can readily arrange a bike hire or loan from local shops or a friend. I know this doesn't satisfy your requirements. In the meantime I shall try other local shops again to see if there is an alternative source and  shall continue to claim the interest on your deposit as partial payment against the Mounties' iniquitous fine especially  given that locals over there clearly are not required to pay theirs'.

Raining today and I still have  a heavy cold for the last ten days, my second since April. Laura and William are here most of the time except when Sylvia was here for two nights when we visited Fountains Abbey and Studly Royal, Middleham Castle(Richard III's home) and Ripley Castle Gardens. 

I shall give some thought to how best to arrage a short visit to the Lakes District if you and Corinne are still interested. Unusually for us we haven't visited there ourselves this year due to family duties. Ed's final exams start next week by the way- hence Laura's keeping William out of the way for the time being. We are due to meet him at York this evening for a brief stay here.

More West Hartlepudlians in Vancouver and taking over the Banks household as you may be aware Does Ray look any the worse for hosting the Arnolds on his own? We have had a couple of Skype coversations with all of them since Sylvia explained to David how to install said software. I am told they are cycling frequently when not visiting Vacouver Island, Kimberley( to see the Wilkinsons) and Alaska. Have your paths crossed? 

Please let me know your thoughts on Evans Cycles and the elusive Monties. Best wishes, Jim and Christine

Hi Goils! Just a quick note before I head out with Sally. Cora Lee could you please phone Revenue Canada and ask if I need to contact them before I return next week. If so, please send along number to call and let me know if it is toll free and/or long distance as I don't want to have S/F have to pay charges. Also, please phone Chris Kite and let him know I'm out of town, as well as Probe Plumbing. Chap was kind enough to call about sink at loft and I don't want him to think we didn't appreciate his advice. While you are at it you could transfer a couple of grand to my account and send money to Jim Brownlee in England to pay for my foldable bike. That's all for now but I'm sure there will be other things I'll have forgotten! Much Warm Love to one and all, The Great Patrizzio!

The plan is to foist ourselves upon Kurt and Natalia at their Nanaimo estate for the days of the 1st and 2nd of June. Kurt has graciously (foolishly) offered a place to sleep to all who are interested in staying. Please let us know if you intend to attend and if you are coming over Saturday or early Sunday. The bridge players in the group intend to arrive by bicycle in the late morning or early afternoon of the 1st of June. Kurt has offered to pick up walk on passengers on the Discovery Bay side. As always, my decision is unanimous.                                          Really, that's all?? C

Gentlemen: I gots to know. STOP. Need to know how many straw mattresses to fill. STOP. Need to know how much gruel to make. STOP. R.S.V.P. STOP. Your personable host. STOP.

P.S. It's Departure Bay terminal (Discovery Bay side?). STOP.

Dear Departure Bay/Discovery Bay side Host STOP Allergic to straw STOP Hate gruel STOP Never eat with my meals STOP Only tolerate high test, non-anaemic, non pedestrian, rare malts STOP Count me one RSVP STOP Stop using "personable" STOP Faulty Bay much more appropriate STOP Your demanding guest STOP PS: Send money for ferry passage STOP ASAP Stop 

Dear bookingsdotcom.  Thank you for the kind offer, but I won't be there for Saturday night, so straw not required.  I may make it Sunday a.m. - will confirm soon.  I trust this is satisfactory.  

By the way, having almost finished Indian Horse, I began looking for the Muddy Waters bio, but so far no success at library and book shops new and used.  Is your copy available for lending around the NRBC? Guy

Great. Look forward to seeing you. Please let me know when your ferry will arrive at the Departure Bay terminal and I will come and pick you up. --Kurt

Guy: Just let me know when your ferry arrives at Departure Bay terminal and I will gladly pick you up. My Muddy Waters is, indeed, available for loan and is currently in George's, or Pat's, possession. --Kurt

Sorry for possibly sounding like an ignoramus, but is the muddy waters bio after Indian Horse? I know, I could probably check our old emails for the answer...VL 

Thank you, Kurt, Plan to join an external NRBC session on Sunday morning with the earliest possible ferry. Will it work? (or this book is discussed by this time? :) and back late afternoon (back to work on Monday).Greetings, Misha

ps: had a couple of weeks of deja vu after the last NRBC meeting when was still finishing 560pages of the Katherine The Great (finished!). Reread some Pushkin afterwords and dig out my St.Pitersburg's pictures book. Rather different view of her and her role now.

Kurt, I cannot speak for Pat but we will do our best to get to Departure Bay shortly after noon. That means getting on a 10:40 ferry. Either that or the noon ferry. Either way shuld be there around 2:PM. Thanks, G 

  

Hi guys Thanks for hosting Ted, it was a fun evening and the cookies were delicious.

I can play on Wednesday or Thursday next week, at any venue. Cheers, Mike

Tahramy’s parents are Iris and Milton Barnes…and so ends my research for today…office is closed and I am off to prep for the big wedding tomorrow…will send pics! Love you!! Say hi to Sally and Filmore! I meant Iris (nee Dilton) and Milton Dyson…and it would have been “Milton Dilton”  had Milton instead taken Iris’ maiden name…tee hee hee

• Patrick James Dunn I'll be doing my homework tonight, checking out the websites you sent along earlier. On a related matter did you receive my email about wine delivery?
• 

  Ayn P Wine has arrived but Sergio wants to crack one open in the mail room!!
• 

  Patrick James Dunn Drink it all! Fine!!! Lucky I just went to Grant Park and came back with a case of my own. We spit on California wine, especially when held for ransom!

Dear Melissa's Friends and Family,

Our entire office at Create Now has been touched by your tributes to Melissa through the "Flesh" gallery show. It was so clear to us as outsiders how much she was loved by those who knew her and we were humbled by your invitation to let us be part of such a special event.

We wanted to make sure you we thanked you and let you know how much your donations have impacted our organization. We've raised nearly $3000 in Melissa's name through donations given at the event, and every day a little more is donated in her honor. Create Now has never had an event where every attendee donated and funds of this magnitude can cover our visual art supplies costs for the remainder of 2013, pay for the rental of our recording studio for an ENTIRE year, or completely fund a screenwriting workshop for youth in need.

We tried our best to get everyone's email, as well as their donation amount in case they required a letter for their taxes. We'll begin emailing these letters out at the beginning of the week. If you would prefer to receive a hard copy of the letter, please respond to this email with your address and we'll be sure to get it to you!

Also, some people expressed interest in volunteering. Here is the link to the volunteer application on our website: http://www.createnow.org/volunteer/volunteer-mentor-app. I also wanted to point you all to our Facebook site at www.facebook.com/CreateNow, please "Like Us" if you'd like to see your impact in your news feed!

Thank you again for including us and it would be a joy to partner with any of you on future fundraising events. Kindly, Kelly Noonan, Development Associate, Create Now

Dust off your kilt, gather your friends and grab a glass, A Dram Come True takes place in one week! Due to popular demand we’ve expanded this year’s event, which will now feature ten tasting bars with 37 different types of whisky on offer, including: Eight rare bottlings from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society—a privilege previously only extended to Society members. Macallan’s much anticipated 1824 line, which replaces age with color. Don’t miss the first opportunity to taste Gold, Amber and Sienna, which aren’t yet available in BC. Glan Garioch 1797 Founder’s Reserve and Glen Garioch 12 Years Old Jura Boutique Barrels JI Sherry Cask Strength Dalmore Cigar Malt Reserve Coopers Choice, Macallan Private Cask 14 Year Old Glenmorangie 12 Year Old, The Nectar D’Or Sauternes Cask Finish We’ve got something for everyone at A Dram Come True—even those of you who want to whet your whistle with something other than whisky, the event will feature: A fabulous silent auction A Tinhorn Creek wine bar Pemberton Distillery’s tasting bar featuring vodka, gin and brandy A decadent selection of savory snacks will be provided by Emelle’s Catering.