2011 in review… and what a year it’s been!
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for Expatlogue and I’d like to share it with you… because without you guys, none of this would have the same meaning. READERS, YOU ROCK!!!! Here’s an excerpt: The concert hall at the Syndey Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 11,000 times in 2011. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take over 4 sold-out performances for that many people to see it. Click here to see the complete report.
A Merry Muslim Christmas
This year, we had our first Ashraf Christmas dinner - halal turkey with all the trimmings! In England, whenever we were home over Christmas, we would put up our tree and enjoy the sparkly beauty of the tinsel and lights, and the festive, feel-good vibe. Usually though, the Christmas holiday period would be an opportunity to visit my husband's family in Edinburgh, where there would be no tree, or gifts or Christmas dinner...
The Spirit of Giving
After finishing his breakfast at the Lumberjack Restaurant, Windsor, a couple of weeks ago, an anonymous diner picked up the tab for the other twenty-odd patrons. According to waitress Tina Boomer, "He said, "Tell me what I owe, add $20 a head for each person in here and add an additional $40 for tipping." The total was more than $500. He told staff not to tell anyone until he had left the building.
How an overseas job can affect family life
It's not all suntans and smiles, but if you don't mind being different, it might work for you. An insightful article about the challenges faced by "trailing spouses".
Lowe’s sinks to new low
Lowe's, the home improvement chain, removed their ads from a programme that portrays muslims as decent average people - just like you and me.
Nude yoga: Now available in Toronto
I didn't even know nude yoga existed, nevermind that you can do it in Toronto if you so choose. Why anyone would want to practice their asanas naked in a roomful of similarly (un)clad people completely eludes me, unless it is to decrease their sensitivity to unpleasant sights.
View from a (car) window…
Out on the road with a camera...
Do hunters have a place in today’s world?
In Canada there still exists such a thing as an "outdoorsman". Hunters, trappers and anglers, whose specialist knowledge allows them to navigate and subsist in the wilds of Canada's less densely populated areas (that being, most of it), are numerous here, and a reminder of the pioneer and First Nations legacy of the land.
Corruption in Canada
We can all name a few lawless locations in countries around the world, where the authorities are authorities in name only - parts of Mexico, Pakistan, Afghanistan, readily spring to mind. But what about Canada - good old calm, conservative, wouldn't-dream-of-being-rude Canada?
Fed up of the Fords
Toronto city council has endorsed a private members bill calling for the government to make side under-run guards on large trucks mandatory. The bill comes a month after Jenna Morrison - a 38 year old mother of one, who was pregnant with her second child - was killed beneath the wheels of a truck at a street corner in Toronto.
