Mid-July I went back to the UK on a flying visit to celebrate my mum's 60th birthday. It was great to catch up with friends and family but the two and a half days at home soon flew by! The culmination was my mum's 'sort-of-surprise' shoe-themed party which was great fun and I must say a HUGE thank you to all who helped in getting the show off the ground, particularly Rose and Anne who did so much. I avoided the flooding (unlike my granny, and many others, who spent the next few weeks unable to return home due to power/water cuts in the Cotswolds) and returned to a blistering hot Toronto rather tired but happy!
Somewhat bleary-eyed, I went straight into work the next day and greeted my latest group of 42 Chinese teachers. A nice bunch and as well as regular classes we've had a couple of good trips, which to my delight have been on a yellow school us, including a jolly to the 
countryside north of Toronto and the town of Gravenhurst, near the Muskoka Lakes. Gravenhurst was the family home of Norman Bethune, a much revered Canadian in China. Bethune was a communist doctor and after a stint during the war in Spain took his medical expertise to China where he saved many Chinese soldiers who might otherwise have died on the battlefields in the Sino-Japanese war. His efforts were praised by Mao and he received an honourable burial in China, where he died. My students were very moved by the experience of visiting his home and many were in tears.
The trip to Gravenhurst was not my only trip to the countryside this month. I was lucky enough to be invited to stay with Rosemary Marsh and David Robinson at their 'cottage' in Prince Edward County for a weekend. Rosemary and I first met when we were in a pantomime together but I know her mainly as she was my boss for the first few years I worked at the Language Centre at Leeds. Her partner, David, is Canadian and so they now spend a few months each year here and the rest of the time in the UK. I had a super weekend with them at their lovely house on Lake Ontario, a few hours to the East of Toronto. We toured the county taking in the art galleries, vineyards and cider presses as well as doing a spot of blueberry picking. It was a really relaxing weekend and lovely to spend it in such great company.As soon as I got back from my trip to Prince Edward County, I was at the airport again but this time to meet Rachel, a friend from my Cairo days. Rach came to stay for a week and seemed to 'do' Toronto at even more of a breakneck speed than I! I was working for some of the time but Rachel joined us for an outing to an ice-wine winery and Niagra Falls. We had a super day and really enjoyed the Falls, which were spectacular. We looked ridiculous in our Maid of the Mist
waterproofs but they were very necessary. The boat
takes you right into the spray and we would have got soaked without our blue 'bags'! The weather was great as we had sunshine mixed with an incoming storm so were able to see rainbows in the mist and experienced hailstones despite 32 degree centigrade temperatures! It was another long weekend holiday so after the Falls we spent the weekend enjoying the Caribana festival, a day at the beach (yes, there is a beach in Toronto!), and seeing David Beckham (twice!). We also had a great meal up the CN Tower seing the city in all it's twinkling glory from the world's tallest tower.
This week I've felt life has been somewhat calmer but have still managed to pack in a visit to the Ontario Legislature
(a bit like the provincial House of Commons), see the Toronto Blue Jays beat the New York Yankees and go to the Toronto Beer Festival. I move house again this week and that should be my last move for a while. It looks as though my contract at the University of Toronto is going to be extended into the fall (autumn) term and I've signed an agreement to rent a downtown 'condo' in a brand new apartment building complete with rooftop garden and swanky gym! I'm looking forward to trying city centre living for a while. Guests welcome!
