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Reminiscing Part II

29/1/2015

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Reminiscing Part II




With so much happening in the first two years of the 21st century, where I thought I would never be, what next is in store for me and the family?

In early 2002 (probably February) I was offered a posting to Islamabad, Pakistan which was, I believe, my first choice on my list of posting preferences.  Even though we both knew of the dangerous security situation there we decided to accept the posting.  DFAIT is much different in regards to postings than the military.  DFAIT gives you a number of choices which you can think over and discuss with your spouse and children before accepting or rejecting.  With a military posting there was no thinking or choice it was simply pack up and go!

The security situation in Pakistan continued to deteriorate and the Canadian High Commission in Islamabad had all soused and dependents evacuated to Vienna twice and then returned to the Mission.  With the church bombing within the diplomatic compound in March of 2002 all dependents were once again evacuated but this time back to Ottawa.  Islamabad became an ‘unaccompanied posting.’

I was informed of this and because the terms of the posting had changed (no dependents) I was given the option of refusing the posting with no consequences.  I asked what were the options if I did refuse the posting, another posting or stay in Nairobi?  Because all other posting had been filled, included my replacement, the only option was to return to Headquarters.  I talked it over with Wendy, and because on the previous evacuations dependents were returned to post fairly quickly, we made the mutual decision that I would go to Islamabad and Wendy would return to Ottawa.

In May we used our final travel perk for a trip to South Africa which included the Garden Tour.  Our return happened to be on the day that our granddaughter Olivia was born and then it was the task of personal effects inventory and determining what would go where and how!  On overseas postings you are required to complete a personal effects inventory listing all items, including date of purchase, value and how they are to be shipped.  Shipping methods include, sea, air, accompanied or placed in Long Term Storage (LTS).  This is for customs and insurance purposes.  It can be quite a daunting task although it is made much easier when you have a copy of your previous inventory as well as entering the items into a computer spreadsheet.

After everything was sorted as to shipping methods and the ultimate location and submitted it was then time to choose the shipping company.  The Mission has a list of accredited moving companies and representative from three companies take a survey and submit a quote.  We are given a choice of the three and if the Mission decides that our choice falls within the criteria (usual cost) that is who will receive the contract.

Now came the negotiations on when I would be leaving Nairobi, my replacement would arrive, the incumbent in Islamabad would leave and I would arrive. Because the department is only interested in saving money there is no hand over from one person to another.  Therefore, it makes it a lot less complicated than it sounds because the two people who are moving, myself and the person in Islamabad, would come to an agreement that was acceptable to the Mission.

Once departure and arrive dates were worked out it was then to arrange for the movers to come in and pack us up  In July, 2002, four packers arrived at out home in Nairobi to begin the job of sorting into the various categories, wrapping and packing our effects.  There was one person and the only thing he did was warp and package all of our framed photos and pictures in the special crates he made for them. After three days of packing the moving truck arrived and out effects were on there way to there new destinations.  The only other thing to ship was our vehicle and it would be going with be to Islamabad.

With only a couple of days remaining in Nairobi I drove the vehicle, A Toyota Surf, that I had imported from Japan, to the shipping company to have it safely secured in a shipping container.  The Surf is the right hand drive version of the Toyota Forerunner.  It was a great safari vehicle, the slide back ‘moon roof’ allowed you to stand on the seats and get a great all around view.  Of course the four wheel drive came in handy when the dirt roads became muddy with the rains.

With everything packed up and shipped out it was our turn a couple of days later.  Heather, Kim and Olivia had preceded us and we all met up once again in Ottawa.  After getting everyone settled in back ‘home’ it was time for me to be off to Islamabad.  Our home certainly was filled with people - Don and his Labrador London, Kim, Heather, Olivia and of course mom Wendy.

My Air Canada flight from Ottawa to London, England was uneventful but landing at Heathrow and getting to Gatwick was a bit of a rush because the shuttle bus missed one of the time slots.  No fear though because I still arrived in time to only find out that the Emirates flight to Dubai was delayed, and delayed and finally cancelled.  Apparently a food truck had ruptured one of the fuel tanks.  I must say the the ground staff worked their hearts out getting everyone rerouted.  We ended up being bussed back to Heathrow and boarding another Emirates flight to Dubai and then myself and another lady went via Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) from Dubai to Islamabad.  That flight in economy was something to experience; for our meal we had a choice of food, and after seeing what the person beside me was eating I declined, speaking of the person beside me he spent an inordinate time picking his toes!  One of the stewardess spent the entire flight standing in the aisle observing the passengers.  it was quite evident that no one had any idea of bathroom cleanliness!  

On the trip back to Heathrow I was able to place a telephone call, as a distressed Canadian, to the ‘Watch Office’ back at the Pearson Building in Ottawa and explain my situation and rearrange for an airport pickup.  I later found out that the Watch Office had phoned 3 or 4 people in Islamabad not once but 2 or 3 times to alert them to my situation.  I was met by a driver at the airport and driven to my staff quarters in ‘C’ compound, minus my bags, which were delivered the next day.

The High Commission(H. C.) in Islamabad is located within the Diplomatic Enclave and consists of three separate locations; ‘A’ Compound which comprised the Chancery (Headquarters), the Official Residence (High Commissioners residence), and some workshops,  ‘B’ Compound consisting of 3 and 4 bedroom two story staff housing as well as more workshops/storage and some locally engaged staff housing, which is across the street from the U.S. Embassy, ‘C’ Compound with 2 and 3 bedroom houses as well as a one bedroom row housing unit, the Canadian Club which included the bar, restaurant and movie theatre/games room, swimming pool and gym.  Some senior staff members also lived off the Diplomatic Compound in the city. Each of the 3 compounds are within 10 minutes walking distance of each other.

I got myself all settled in and as it was the weekend I made a trip across the compound to the Canadian Club to see what was going on.  I met a former colleague from the HC in London, sitting on the patio, and he was one of the people who had been called about my change of plans.  I thought it would be a good idea to buy him a beer for being woken up more than once in the night.  As I walked into the bar i was met by 3 people sitting at one of the tables with; “do you hash?”  That was my introduction to who would become three very good friends.  I said that I had but would wait until all of my shipment had arrived before I restarted.

The weekend being Friday and Saturday which makes the first day of the work week being Monday I had two days to get over any jet lag and really try and get settled in.  One of the other people in the compound kind of took me under his wing and took me off grocery shopping which was an experience in itself!  You can forget about major supermarkets and think more along the lines of a 7-11 or Mac’s Milk for all of your groceries and a butcher shop for meat, hopefully the butcher shop will have a refrigerator.  All in all the city was only slightly more modern than Damascus.  The main difference was the quality of the city streets and general housing, this was probably the result of Pakistan once being a British Colony which had an overall effect on the city planning and housing.  The city is laid out in a grid pattern and different ‘suburbs’ are referred to as Sector [letter]and a sub-sector number i.e. Sector A-9 which makes it easy to find your way around.

Work was work and not much more can be said about that.  I had my own office on the second floor and a locally engaged worker on the first floor.  He looked after most of the locally engaged staff user problems while I managed the servers and Canadian-based staff problems.

The separation certainly had some psychological problems and I was certainly glad that I had restarted hashing.  It was the one place where you could blow off a little steam and just let yourself go and have a bit of fun.  I also found that it was almost as cheap to simply eat supper in the restaurant in the Canadian Club and would have lunch at the very small cafeteria in the H.C.  The only problem with eating in the Club and the hash was the consumption of beer, in the later months I started using the gym, swimming pool and outdoor running on a more regular basis.

One of the benefits for being on an unaccompanied post is two extra 90% paid trips back to Ottawa a year.  So this would mean three trips plus on our overseas allowance there was also a monthly payment towards travel.  In the end it could/should mean four trips home a year or eight in total.  Of course I used two of the trips get home for Christmas but the other trips were used for more exotic travel.

Since I had restarted hashing again I learned much more about the world wide appeal of the hash.  One of the first trips that I did was a Hash Cruise out of Split, Croatia organized by the Dalmatian Hash House Harriers.  I did not do this entirely alone not only did three of us from Islamabad go on this trip but I convinced Wendy that she should come along as well.   Three of us left Islamabad for Vienna, Austria where we would meet up with Wendy whose plane would land a half hour after ours.  However, there was a bit of a mix up because I was told that she would be leaving from Montreal on an Air Canada flight but when we checked on the arrivals board there was NO Air Canada flight nor any flights from Montreal.  One of the hashers got in touch with the arrivals desk while I called home to find out what was happening.  I was on the phone confirming everything when I saw Wendy’s distinctive bag whizzing around on the baggage carousel.  What happened was, the flight was an Austrian Air Lines co-share with Air Canada and the flight originated in Toronto.  Those worries were over.

Chalk up two more countries on the list; Pakistan and Austria.




Stay tuned……

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Reminiscing

16/1/2015

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Time for a little bit of reminiscing.  Someone once said that; ‘old people’ should write down some of their exploits or at least some of the things that they did as children so they could be passed down.  As we look back on our childhood it seems very different from that of our own children and now our grandchildren.  Was it really as innocent as we believe it to be?




THOUGHTS ON AGING.

Remember when you were a child and what you perceived what it would be like to be ‘old’?  Or even if you would get to be old?




I can remember what may have been my first thoughts about getting old would have been when I was nine or ten years old in the very, very early 1950s.  I was living in the small town of Merritton, Ontario, (which was amalgamated by St. Catharines, Ontario in 1960) and playing in the sand pile by what we referred to as “the town barn.”  The town barn was located behind our house and housed several of the town’s vehicles as well as a large sand pile which was used to sand the roads in winter.  Of course the sand pile was a draw for the children in the neighbourhood and the ‘town-men’ (town workers) did not seem to mind us playing in the sand.  That in itself seems to be quite different from today!




If I recall correctly there were three of us, myself, David Glover who lived across the street from me, and Johnny Michaud, who lived one house away on the same side of the street.  We were having a good time playing what-ever it was, it could have been anything from toy cars to war toys or cowboys and indians.  This was way before the days of political correctness and as WWII had only ceased a few years before and the Korean Conflict was on going, boys being boys gravitated to more violent play and military toys and figures were readily available in Woolworth’s or Kresge’s.  Figures and other paraphernalia was also available for cowboys and indians.




Somehow the conversation between the three of us came to aging or at least getting old.  Looking back our grandparents seemed to be so much older than they are today.  Or is just hat I am now that much older?  As a bit of a side note, my grandfather more or less retired when he was less than fifty years old to become a gentleman farmer.  So in my eyes, because he was retired, he was old!  Back to the story — as I said the conversation came to being old or aging and I can remember saying that I would not live to see the year 2000 or if I did I would be too old to enjoy it!  Ahh! The wonderful thinking of youth.  I cannot remember if there were any comments about my earth shattering proclamation. But her it is the beginning of 2015 and I am still around.




So have I been too old to enjoy the 14 years since the beginning of the new century?  In 2000, I was thirteen years into a second career.  After serving twenty years in the Royal Canadian Navy/Canadian Armed Forces I took early retirement (1982) — no not afraid that I would not see the year 2000 and wanted to get some pension money from the government but another reason.  In 1987 I was lucky enough to join External Affairs Canada/Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade as a term employee and then as indeterminate employee and enjoy several overseas posting.




As the New Year of 2000 was being rung in at midnight, because of the Y2K scare, I was to be found in the Canadian High Commission, in Nairobi, Kenya, ensuring that the Mission computerized network was still functioning.  Needless to say nothing happened and the bits and bytes kept flowing as per normal.

So there I was working in Africa a continent that in the early 50s I could only dream about and learn a little about the early explorers in school.  A place so far away that, in the mind of a nine or ten year old, it could not even be perceived as being an actual place.  When we got our first television in 1954 or 1955 I was enthralled by the wildlife programmes depicting the wonders of the Masai Mara or Serengeti Plains.  In the 1950s and 60s most of these programmes dwelled on the big game hunting aspects of the African Plains, however, I remember in the mid 1960s that I would love to go hunting in Africa with a camera not a rifle.  No, I am not anti hunting at all.  In fact I have been known to shoot game for food.  At that time I could never see myself ever having the remotest chance of such a trip.




The Masai Mara National Park was only four and a half to five hour drive from Nairobi as was Amboseli National Park but Nairobi National Park was a mere half hour and it had four of the big five animals.  The one missing ‘Big Five' were elephants.  Lake Nakuru was also a close two hour drive.  Being this close to the African wild life  I was able to watch National Geographic unfold before my eyes.  Needless to say I did spend many an hour on safari.  But, it wasn’t only safaris a trip to the coast was also a welcome break from Nairobi.  Mombasa was a gruelling eight hour drive over some very rough roads and Malindi with several seaside resorts was only a couple of hours flight and then an airport pick to a resort.




It was not all safari or lazing around on the Eastern beaches I was there to do a job and a job I did, not only in Nairobi but also to other exotic places like, Addis Ababa Ethiopia, Kigali Rwanda and Khartoum Sudan.  




One of the perks of Foreign Affairs for working in a hardship post like Nairobi was a 90% full fare plane ticket from Mission to Ottawa.  While the cost of the ticket was Mission/Ottawa you could use this fare for another travel to any place of your choice.  This perk gave us the chance to holiday in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.




While we had the chance to use our ‘perk’ to travel to much more exotic places in 2000 we came back to Canada to see Heather graduate from Wilfred Laurier University in Waterloo with ah Honours Degree.




In 2001 certainly made up for the lack of travel in 2000!




We began my making our second trip to New Zealand to visit with Wendy’s relatives on the North Island.  Along the way we had an overnight stop in Dubai which gave us time for a day trip for the next leg which took us to Singapore.  As we would be in several hours it gave us a chance to met up with one of my work colleagues that I had met on a training course in Ottawa.  She gave us a quick tour of the city and of course a stop at Raffles Hotel for a Singapore Sling.  




We flew into Whangarei via Auckland where we were picked up by Wendy’s cousins.  Wendy found the flight from Auckland to not as pleasant as it could have been.  We were on a small propeller plane and as we approached Whangarei there was little bit of turbulence and the pilot said that we would be delayed a little in landing.  We circled the airport two or three times and Wendy really was feeling uneasy but we made it down safe and sound.  As we got off the plane we were met by Wendy’s cousin Marc who informed her that she had been sitting beside a very famous New Zealand All Black Rugby player.  Even that did not impress Wendy.




We stayed with Marc and Carol in Whakapara  were wonderful hosts and showed us around the North Island, getting to visit so many places that we had not seen on our first visit.  We toured much of the North Island visiting; Bay of Islands, Kerikeri, Waiting where the treaty between the Maoris and British was signed.  A trip to Dargaville on the Kauri Coast to visit Brett and Delma meant a walk along Ninety Mile Beach, which we were informed was really only seventy-five miles long.  ANZAC Day saw us in Northland to meet up with the rest of the cousins and their family.  It certainly was a wonderful visit and seeing all of these relatives.




And speaking of relatives, we were not finished New Zealand as it was off to Australia to see another lot of Wendy’s far-flung family.




We arrived in Melbourne and remained with Wendy’s cousin for a couple of days and then it was off to Corowa by train to visit with one of Wendy’s aunts.  While in Corowa the three of us made a trip to Canberra for a couple of days.  While in Canberra we had the privilege  to walk on top of the Australian Parliament Building.   Their Parliament building is built into the side of a hill, consequently the roof was actually the lawn, at time the grounds were free to walk on.  We then returned to Melbourne and Wendy’s cousin and her husband took us on a tour of “The Great Coast Road” were we got to see the 12 Apostles.  Jodi (Wendy’s cousins daughter) took us to Philip Island to see the penguins and of course a stop at a Koala Bear sanctuary.   We did get to see a little bit of the country that we had not seen on our previous visit — and it is always good to get caught up with distant relatives.




Is the trip over yet?  Not by a long shot because it was back to Aukland, New Zealand, but only to catch a flight to Johannesburg for two nights.  We managed to do a day tour of Jo’burg while we were there and then continued on the final leg to Nairobi.




So to recap the trip:

Nairobi, (depart 15 April 2001)

Dubai, (15 > 16 Apr - over night & day tour)

Singapore (17 Apr - 8 hours & quick city tour)

New Zealand (18 Apr > 01 May)

Australia (01 May > 17 May)

Singapore (change planes)

Johannesburg (18 May > 20 May)

Nairobi (arrive 20 May 2001)




Nairobi was a two year posting but because we were enjoying not only the opportunities to see and enjoy the country and both Wendy and I had jobs that we enjoyed I decided to ask for a one year extension.  Headquarters did shine upon us and the extension was granted.  Consequently it was another year spent, on safari and coast holidays with good friends.




As a result of the extension it also meant one more ‘trip home.’  Again we opted to do a bit of travel rather than head back to Canada.  This time it was a guided GardenValley Tour of South Africa.




While South Africa may not seem to be as exotic as Australia or New Zealand it was a country that we thought would be interest - and it was.




In May of 2000, we flew from Nairobi to Johannesburg where we picked up the South African tour instructions and package.  From here it was on to Cape Town, with a visit to the top of Table Mountain and city tour.  The biggest surprise of the trip was that I had originally thought that we would be on a “tour” complete with a bus and other passengers.  It was a pleasant surprise when we were met at the hotel with our driver and a Toyota! It would just be the three of us on our Garden Valley Tour.  After this tour we also did another one which took us to Pretoria, and Sun City.




Once again the entire trip brought back childhood memories of explorers travelling to unknown lands that one could only dream about; standing at the Cape of Good Hope and seeing the Atlantic and Indian Oceans collide, posting a letter from the Post Office Tree in Mossel Bay, actually feeding wild elephants, petting cheetahs, visiting a Zulu village or standing in the same place as Vasco da Gama.




Leaving Johannesburg and arriving back in Nairobi we were met at the airport and told we had to go directly to Nairobi Hospital! Our daughter Heather had been admitted to the maternity ward to give birth to her daughter Olivia.  That certainly was a surprising welcome home gift!




Earlier in the year I had been offered a posting to Islamabad, Pakistan and I had accepted the posting.  Unfortunately, in the following months the security situation had deteriorated to such an extent that families were no longer allowed to accompany members.  I had the option of refusing the posting or travelling unaccompanied to Islamabad or return to Headquarters in Ottawa.  Wendy and I talked it over and decided that, because the Mission had been evacuated twice and the dependents returned within two months, I would take the posting and hopefully the situation would soon be resolved.




That does not sound too bad for someone who had thought they would not even see the year 2000.




So far a total of nine countries visited:

Kenya

Ethiopia

Sudan

Rwanda

United Arab Emirates

Singapore

Australia

New Zealand

South Africa







Further adventures to follow…..

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More Hydroponics

3/1/2015

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Yesterday went and got a 50 litre tub to make a hydroponic setup for the beans that are growing in pots.

Toady transplanted the beans and after taking almost all of the soil off of the roots put them into 2" hydro-cups and filled with perlite.  Now have 8 beans and 2 basil in this hydro system.  Again it is a full Krakty enclosed system.  Also have one bean and one very small basil to use as a control group for comparison.   I was afraid that this tub which out weigh about 120 lbs when filled with water would be to heavy for the rack so I put the tub in the hallway and hopefully it will get enough light from the window.  



Control bean & basil                                              Hydro beans & basil - same height as               
                                                                                   control
Picture
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Hydroponic Setup

1/1/2015

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A strange start to the New Year but a little project that I started today.  But before I forget - - A HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ANYONE READING THIS.

Hydroponic Setup

On December 29, 2014, I transplanted some lettuce and basil sprouts that I had started on 09 December into a Krakty hydroponic setup.  And because of the results of this I transplanted the remaining lettuce and basil to a modified Krakty system.  I did quite a bit of research on hydroponics and from what I read found that the Krakty system seemed to be not only the best but also the easiest to set up and also the least amount of after setup work.  There is an abundant amount of information on this system on the internet.  The official site http://www.hemmaodlat.se/kratky.pdf gives several different options.

The Krakty Hydroponic System
It is a closed system meaning that there is no moving parts, i.e., water, air stone , etc.

Parts
light proof plastic/rubber storage tub with top
hydroponic grow pots (which ever size you think you need)
perlite or clay balls — for support
growing medium (I started in peat pots then transferred)
Hydroponic grow solution

December 29, 2014 setup
  • purchased 8, 2” hydroponic grow pots, Optimum grow solution and perlite from Brite-Lite Indoor Gardens in Ottawa ($32.91)
  • purchased 19 litre tub from Wal-Mart ($4.00)
  • drilled  8, 2 1/8” holes in tub top (only size of hole cutter)
  • added paper clips to make hole diameter smaller
  • 2” pots have a lip which will hold them in a 2” hole
  • place pots in holes (paper clips hold ok)
  • added small amount of perlite to bottom of pots
  • added lettuce 4 in peat pots, 3 only roots, 1 basil in peat
  • topped up with perlite
  • mixed and added hydroponic water solution
Because the growth of the lettuce in the hydroponic solution seems so vigorous I decided to add the remaining lettuce, basil and beans to a hydroponic system on 01 January 2015.  You can see the difference in growth.

January 01, 2015 setup
  • Because I did not have another tub decided to use a modified Krakty system where the solution would not be completely light proof 
  • I used an old seed tray by cutting out two triangles in the bottom
  • added a sheet of paper over holes in bottom to prevent perlite from falling out
  • added small amount of perlite
  • added lettuce & basil peat pots
  • added new peat pots and seeded with lettuce & basil
  • added perlite over peat pots
  • cut bamboo stakes to use as supports to keep seed tray off the bottom
  • put seed tray & supports in tinfoil baking pan
  • added Optimum solution
The problem with this system is that because it is not light proof there may be a problem with algae growth.



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    Bill Neelin

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