SMALL WORLD EH!

The April 5,09 session of The White Rock Trad Jazz Society saw the welcome return of Red Beans and Rice. Rice Honeywell(Cnt), Ray Batten(Tbn), Gerry Green(Clt), Scott Robertson(Dms), Casey Tolhurst(Bs), Don Ogilvie(Gtr) and Alastair Taylor(Pno). All in fine form. At the end of the afternoon I went to congratulate the band and talked to Alistair who adds a special dimension to the rhythm section. It came out that he is the actual Al of the Al Peters Jazz Band in Montreal. The Peter was Peter Hartigan(Clt). Both had left Montreal when I joined the band on Clarinet in 1973. Amazing! Alastair lives on Bowen Island with his charming wife to be. He particularly remembered Robin Shepherdson who played bass with the band.

AGEING BY PASSPORT!

Yesterday in an excess of birthday zeal I decided to get my Canadian Passport application together. Photo taken, application completed and guarantor signatures appended(my landlady) I was ready this morning to go to the passport office. Google gave me directions and off I went. The commissionaire told me to get a number in the basement and then go back and see him. This I did and he directed me to the 9th floor(your $$ at work). Here I joined a crowd of very suspicious looking folks waiting for the ticket number to come up on a big screen. Very quickly my number was up(so to speak) and $87. later I was on my way home. The rest of the waiting crowd could be still there for all I know. It will arrive by Express Mail in two and a half weeks. Great! As I was putting the evidence back in its file I glanced at previous cancelled passports. Uh-oh! I seem to have aged - evidence above (bottom left anticlockwise to top left - 1986/1996/2006/2009) Quite startling when I feel not a whit older, less fit, or duller. I have however become more adept at converting alcohol into water. Heigh-Ho!