Hello friends!
After walking el Camino del Norte in September and October, we popped across the Channel to old Blighty to spend a couple of weeks catching up with friends, while sorting out my remaining belongings from my house sale in 2019, which we had stored in a container. We had hoped to go back to the UK sooner to sort them out but Covid19 intervened and we ended up staying put on Salt Spring Island and so we built our house instead.
Brett and I were very busy going through container and deciding which items to keep and pack up for shipping to Canada and those we could give away. Brett returned to Canada ahead of me so he could do a final check on the boat for the winter, pick up the car and drive westwards. I remained in the UK for a few more days until the shipping company came to pick up our boxes of belongings. Afterwards, I was free to travel back to Canada via London to spend a couple of days catching up with friends. I flew to Calgary, Alberta on 17th November, where Brett met me. This was the easiest (and cheapest) rendezvous point for us both, where I could catch up with him on his journey westwards from Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Having lived and worked in the tropics and arid or semi arid zones for a few years, I find any temperatures below about 15 degrees C incredibly cold and uncomfortable!
I knew the weather would be cold, but compared to the balmy, autumn weather in Warwickshire and London, I was in for a shock to the system. It was about minus 20 degrees Celsius, which made my face hurt in the few moments it took us to walk from the airport exit to the car. We had booked a couple of nights in a hotel not far from the airport, so that I could finish studying for my Canadian citizenship test and take the test online the next day (more on the outcome another day). After the test, Brett and I enjoyed some time in the spa pool, sauna and jacuzzi. The following day, we headed out of Calgary towards British Columbia and home.
I brought my ukulele with me from the UK and one early morning, while it was minus 15 degrees outside in Osoyoos the words and melody of a ditty appeared to me. I quickly captured it en route the same day and uploaded the music video to my YouTube Channel. By the way, YouTube restricted this video to people over 18 years of age, owing to a good old english word I have used. It is really annoying, because I hear many people under the age of 18 years of age using it, especially here in Canada. Anyway, I think the word is appropriate for the circumstances, but if you are of a sensitive disposition then don’t watch the video. For those of you who are okay with it and if you would like to watch this video, please go to this link.
Ukelele sing-along with Sarah
You can join in with me if you like. Here are the lyrics:
Oh f*ck, it’s cold!
Verse 1
We are sitting in our EV while we’re charging up,
It’s minus 15 Cs outside and we’re warming up our butts,
I’m grateful for the in-seat heater and our buns our getting hot,
If we didn’t have our Nissan Leaf, then we surely would be f*cked…
Chorus
‘Cos outside, oh f*ck it’s cold!
And I can’t feel my nose
Verse 2
We’re driving home to Salt Spring, it’s much warmer there,
We’re going to our tiny home that we built with love and care,
But we’ve got many mile to go and there is snow all around,
In our cosy Nissan Leaf we are safe and sound..
Chorus
Cos outside, oh f*ck it’s cold!
And I can’t feel my nose
(Repeat to fade)
© Sarah Justine Packwood, November 2022
Wayfaring Sarah 