First day of spring ~ between the rain storms

It's been a wild first weekend of spring on the Left Coast. Mainly rain, sometimes heavy. Wind. Thunder. Lightning too apparently.

Yet, there were brief moments of calm and peaceful surrender. And beauty in the blossoms.

Photos by Jeeem. Copyright 2016 by Jim Murray.

Vancouver Story Slam

It is one of the most basic of human things we do: to tell stories. We've been doing it since the very beginning.

Sherry MacDonald 

And yet it is something that is missing from many of our lives. We don't often tell stories anymore. We let television and movies and Facebook tell us stories, but that isn't the same as coming together with friends and strangers alike, and sharing stories. Our stories, personal and collective, are important; we don't need ad agencies or movie studios to frame the narratives for us; these are our stories. Or at least they should be in a civil society.







Vancouver Story Slam is the second-oldest storytelling group of its kind in North America. It provides a safe and inviting space for storytellers, and lovers of stories, on the second Tuesday of every month at the Cottage Bistro on Main in Vancouver.

It's a competition of sorts to be sure; prizes are awarded as determined by the audience, but it's also a place to connect with other people in that simplest of ways: the telling of stories. Some are funny, some reverential, and sometimes, some aren't even stories. It's the gamble we take when we enter the door; stories, and their tellers, are not pre-screened. There's a sense of wonder with every new month, and it's always fun.

Susan Cormier

Susan Cormier is the organiser of Vancouver Story Slam and Bryant Ross is its genial host, and together they've created a new and impressive buzz around the event, with increasing audience numbers and more and more new storytellers vying for one of ten spots each month.

Bryant Ross

Sherry and I have told stories at the Story Slam, and we've become regular audience members. My sister Susan Dickson has also been attending for many months and took to the stage in March, telling a highly personal story of loss and healing.

Susan Dickson

At times the Vancouver Story Slam can be quite amazing. The Cottage Bistro is worthy of a story in itself. Come. Laugh, cry and celebrate storytelling. Mood swings are acceptable.

Photos by Jeem. Copyright 2016 by Jim Murray.

Phở Tan Vietnamese Restaurant ~ in Kerrisdale

Raw bits of shaved beef, cooked in broth before your eyes. I first tasted Vietnamese phở in the 1980s. when my family and I came to the left coast from the Canadian prairies, though I learned about Vietnam's popular street food while reading about the country's culture and politics years before during the American War.










At its simplest, phở is a noodle soup made of broth, rice noodles, a few herbs, and either chicken or beef. Historically, people in the south of Vietnam ate it for breakfast and sometimes lunch, whereas those from the north tended to eat it anytime of the day. In Canada, phở is usually consumed for lunch, and often dinner too.


























Along West 41st, in Kerrisdale, is a local favourite spot for phở, called Phở Tan. It's a small place and the decor, like many Vietnamese restaurants, is somewhat kitschy. Service is prompt and friendly. The usual Vietnamese dishes are available but it's the Phở Tai I come for, as do hundreds of others, and it's excellent.

Phở Tan is a small restaurant and during the prime lunch hours it fills up. Dishes come out quickly so wait times, inside by the door, or outside, are relatively brief.

 

Phở Tan is a wonderful neighbourhood gem. Located at 2076 West 41st, it's open most days 10:30 to 20:30. Debit and cash only. No credit cards.

Photos by Jeem. Copyright 2016 by Jim Murray.

Springtime in Kerrisdale ~ in between the rainstorms the trees are blooming

Rains and winds have battered Canada's left coast for several weeks, with no end in sight. It is depressing.


Yet, between storms, the sun comes out, however briefly, and temperatures rise. Spring is here.

A brief walk through almost any neighbourhood on the south coast, and this particular walk to Kerrisdale in Vancouver, gives evidence of the beauty of the season.

Photos by Jeem. Copyright 2016 by Jim Murray.

Hiking at Alice Lake Provincial Park ~ Jeem goes out of bounds

Close to Brackendale is the highly popular Alice Lake Provincial Park. In the summer this is one of the province's busiest parks and a favourite for locals and tourists alike. The 411 hectare park was established in 1956. Before that, the area was heavily logged.





The are four fresh water lakes that dominate the park, and Alice Lake is the largest, which isn't saying much as it is only a few hundred metres across at any given point.








There's a walkabout around Alice Lake, which is quite wonderful and easily accessible for most. Along the walk there are many picnic tables, benches and barbecue spots, and it's easy to see why this park is packed with people during the summer months.












It was incredibly warm for the first weekend in March and the skies were a brilliant blue. Signs of spring were everywhere, and it was just what Jeem y Sherry had hoped to find on this brief weekend away from Vancouver.









Alice Lake is surrounded by mountains and forest that can be quite dense in parts. A variety of trails provide for more adventurous hiking and after doing the walking trail around the lake, Sherry y Jeem decided to hike DeBeck's Hill Trail, slightly more difficult and certainly steeper as it made its way up the hill named for a logging company's founder.








Intially Jeem y Sherry were walking together, but as Jeem stopped to take photographs, Sherry walked ahead of Jeem.  Not necessarily a problem, as this often happens on their travels. Ten paces behind, always ten paces behind.









But this time, as the forest enveloped the trail and the sun disappeared in the trees, and the pathway itself narrowed dramatically, Jeem fell further and further behind. Eventually Sherry was nowhere to be seen.















Jeem tried to catch up to Sherry, but to no avail, and, in those moments of transcendental panic that seem to happen to people from Buenos Aires, Jeem began to worry. His major fear was of bears and something he had seen in a video shown in an immigration class he attended. "This is about the time of year  when hibernating bears come out of their winter's slumber and ... they are probably hungry," he thought to himself as he looked around. Nervously.For reasons unclear Jeem decided to venture off the path and cut through the dense forest to meet up with Sherry.



In theory, this might have worked, if only he had any real knowledge of the area, and was prepared, physically, and mentally, to carry out his plan. "It's a short cut," he said aloud in an attempt scare away bears.















And so.... three hours later, Jeem was found, muddied, bloodied, bruised and dehydrated by two park rangers, as he stumbled onto the path not thirty metres from where he started. After a rambling and largely incoherent conversation with the rangers, Jeem was released into the care of Sherry after she promised, on the Argentino's behalf, that he would never visit Alice Lake Provincial Park again.











Alice Lake is a beautiful place, and the trails are great, especially when recalling the sage advice of a much wiser man, "No short cuts!"

Photos by Jeem. Copyright 2016 by Jim Murray.