Is Britain more expensive?

Of course it is. However, next time I am being lectured on how Canada is cheaper, I shall simply tell this story. That really sucks.

A tad political

Okay, I promise this won't become a political blog. But a couple of things have come out of Canada in the past few weeks that have been particularly upsetting. I think more generally, the Canadian image has also taken a beating these past few weeks in Europe (at least).

First, the RCMP are caught using a taser on a confused and distressed imigrant who seems to be clearly no threat to the four (!) armed officers who confront him. I was horrified to learn the RCMP had lied about what happened and, to most observers, seemed to be covering it up until the video surfaced. That has played out very badly in Europe, especially in Poland. The actions of those four officers have not only cost a life, but have damaged Canada's image. From a personal, human level, I can't see how the officers involved haven't been charged.

The Picton thing has also got a lot of airplay over here. One crazed individual is, of course, how it is reported. But as I follow Canadian newspapers online, it is stiking how long the RCMP took to react to the possibility that dozens of women from the same community going missing might be linked.

Finally, the Canadian government in Bali over climate change: we're being obstructive over climate change (here's a Globe and Mail article)? There's lots to say about this, but I will sum it up: I think that this tact is short sighted.

Okay. Enough controversy (did you know that they pronounce that word differently over here? Emphasis is on the conTROVersy... really!). I just had to get it off my chest.

English Conifers

We have set up our tree and it really is excellent. Our house smells lovely. The tree is very pretty and really makes our little terrace feel like home during the holiday season.

Buying a tree in England was a good little piece of cultural nuance. For the most part, it was the same as Canada. Only more expensive. But then, when you're dealing in coniferous trees, do you really expect an overcrowded little island with few (if any) naturally occurring coniferous forests left to be able to offer trees at a similar price to an under-populated half continent with nothing but coniferous forests?

We met up with Emma and Stig. Emma is a colleague of mine from the university. Were it not for the fact she lives 20 miles the other side of Oxford from us (or 50 miles from us), I reckon we'd probably hang out some. We were trying to pick a place and, being entirely North American, I suggested somewhere with a coffee shop. Emma was baffled. As if the thought of going for a coffee on a Sunday afternoon had never occurred to her. Certainly not in her village. I then suggested a small town (called Woodstock) we'd been to for a work meeting some months earlier. Oh yes, she thought, they would have a coffee shop. I digress only to point out the irony that the Canadian who had been through this town once had noticed the coffee shops. Emma had grown up in the town.

We had our coffee and drove off to the tree/garden centre. There was a mist settled in the valleys of the rolling hills of the Cotswolds and the rain poured down as we arrived at the old house that had been converted into a one-stop garden centre... which, for the month of December, was a Christmas centre. There were lots of trees, but not overwhelmingly many. There were really big ones, but mostly in the 5 to 8 foot range. There were a couple that were basically shrubs. Little balls of conifer that didn't remotely resemble a tree. They were just evergreen bushes. Very odd.

The first step for us foreigners was to pick between the two basic types of trees. Ange liked one type and me the other. Sadly, I liked the more expensive one and Ange gives me a hard time about picking trees year on year. She was picking this year. So, we chose the type she liked and I went to pick it up.

"Ouch!" I said aloud as went to pick it up. The damn thing had bit me. I went in more cautiously, aware that the British version of an evergreen had clearly learned to defend itself from years of competition with the local population. By the time I got it in the car, by arms were covered in a rash of little pricks from the needles. Putting the tree up in the house only made the rash worse. Our tree is the perfect shape and lovely to look at but do not touch it! It is essentially 8 feet of stinging nettle.

Once up and covered in lights, Anna was nearly beside herself with excitement. The decorations were purchased from the local department store and completely lack any sort of soul. However, where the decorations lack soul, Anna's style of decorating has added character! You see, everything at shin height is in clumps. If Anna found a good branch--one worthy of a decoration--she would place as many decorations as possible on the same branch. You don't mess with a good thing! We also had Hilary and Nick (our friends from Ange's school) come by. They added loads of life to the tree decorating and Anna loves them. We had the Carpenters Christmas playing away in the background.

Anna's decorating style (on the dangerous nettle tree):

So, despite a dangerous stinging tree, cheap, plastic tree decorations, and lame 70s Christmas music, it was a wonderful--and very festive--night. Now... off to try and get going on Christmas cards...