Leaving Edmonton

Tuesday was my last full day in Edmonton; a sad day for both myself and landlords of various local pubs and bars.

What can I say? I'm still not a convert, I like to live in places that you can enjoy on the hoof (Edmonton's greatest fault lies in it city-planning and reliance on the car), but I have warmed to Edmonton in the twelve months that I lived there. It has its moments and the people are genuinely friendly, which counts for a lot. I can truthfully say that it began to feel like home.

Thanks to the Alberta and Edmonton bloggers who welcomed me into the fold - in particular to the individuals whose blogs I have read, and who occasionally comment upon my ramblngs (you know who you are).

On my last day we took the opportunity to visit Speedrat at Westmount School. Regular readers will be pleased to know that he seems happy in his new home, and became happier still with the delivery of veggie lasagna, pistachio nuts, spitz and biscuit that we brought him.

Naturally I am very excited to get back to England, my excitement heightened by the fact that the nation is gearing up for the World Cup. But spare a thought for Mrs Toque. She is an Oilers fan, and looks likely to miss the Stanley Cup final unless we can find somewhere, or some channel, that shows the games in England. If there are any Canadian Expats that can give us any information on where we can see the games in England.

So here I am back in England. What was all the fuss about; what did I miss? Well, how about views like this taken from the balcony this morning?

Ah yes, England...Even with fascist bastards in government it's still, just sometimes, a joy to behold.