Winter Games

This is a very strange place to live. I mean, there are no constants, other than it changes all the time!

I’ve lived here many long years, and I still am surprised by the weather. Just a few days ago, I rode my bike to work, and came home very slowly since I didn’t want to get splashed by all the spray from the street. You see, there was slush everywhere. We had a sciff of snow, just enough to sprinkle icing sugar over everything, but it’s very warm here, and so it all turned into wet, dirty slush. There was actually water running in the gutters! This is Early February, remember.

That evening, on my way to the laundramat, I actually stopped and using a small stick I found, I cleared a path for the rivulet of water that couldn’t get down the street to the drain. I loved making rivers when I was a kid!! I still do! What fun that was! I should have been an engineer, I think.

The next morning, I didn’t take the bike to work. It had all frozen over; there was ice over everything. Good thing, for it snowed a bit more in the afternoon. We get these sudden snowstorms without warning. It changed from +10 one night, to -28 the next day. It’s kept snowing for the last two days! Not heavily, but there are these soft white fluffy things flying around everywhere. There is just a bit of snow on the ground, the trees have a layer only on the tops of every branch, it all looks so pretty. Did you ever play with a snow-globe as a child, and thought how wonderful it would be to be inside? Yup, I got that now!!

Here is a pic of Olympic Plaza this week:

Yes, that’s all ice, and yes, you do see a Zamboni on the ice, and yes, those are “bulls eyes” painted on the ice. What’s THAT all about?!! Perhaps I should explain it to you.

That is called “Human Bonspiel”. Those of you in Canada will know what that means, but for the rest of you, I will tell you this: Canada LUVS curling. That is a winter game where you throw these heavy round rocks along the ice surface, and get them to land in the centre of the circles, and the opposing team throws their rocks and tries to knock you out of the circle. There are others with brooms and they run in front of the rock and sweep the ice surface clean to make the rock go faster. I know, I know – but that is how they play the game!

Now, with Human Bonspiel, there are many players from the corporate world that will come down to this plaza at noon, and play the game. There are teams (always have to have teams) and one person is called a runner. He/she will run and jump doing a belly-flop onto a huge inner tube causing it to slide across the ice to the other end, and getting as close to the centre of those circles. Yes, and this is great fun -- in the cold, in winter! I don’t understand it much myself. But all the on-lookers get a real kick out of it, there is lots of cheering, and I would imagine some kind of prize, too.

I am NOT making this up! Here, see for yourself: