A Postcard from Canada: The last hurrah

Nov 11 2008 By Howard Nichols

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Down to my last stamp, so here's a final Canadian postcard - a Tale of Two Cities, contrasting Summerland in B.C's Okanagan region with Vancouver, host city for the 2010 Winter Olympics, on the Pacific Northwest coast.

Summerland has 11,000 inhabitants and is on the shores of Okanagan Lake, surrounded by hillsides of vineyards, orchards and golf courses. Main Street and downtown have very much an olde English look and the town feels comfortable to seniors and young families alike.

It is a safe place to live, there are eight churches, shops, beaches, parks and so on. "We travel a lot" said resident Patsy O'Sullivan, "but it's always great to come back to Summerland" - a typical sentiment with locals.

One of the main attractions is the Kettle Valley Railway (KVR). A 225-tonne 1912 steam engine pulls two vintage coaches, three open-air cars and a caboose, carrying 270 people at full capacity. Some train trips feature a 'hijacking' by the Garnett Valley Gang of train robbers, a hugely popular show.

"We're six percent up on last year" said KVR Marketing Manager Jo Anne Reynolds, "and we've carried 25,000 passengers this season."

Less appealing is the closure of Highway 97 which adjoins Summerland but which is also the connector highway for all towns on the west side of the huge Lake Okanagan. The closure is due to unstable rock above the highway (which is undergoing a huge widening programme).

The closure is indefinite, it being too dangerous to allow traffic through. Alternative routes are either sub-standard roads or so circuitous as to treble journey distances. Some workers are being motel'd by employers during the week. Water taxis are being used for short distances.

More happily, Summerland is currently basking in the success of two residents, Dean Goodine and his wife the Oscar-nominated Janice Blackie-Goodine, who were key crew members on the set of 'Passchendale,' the highest-budgeted Canadian film ever made and 10 years in the making, about the epic First World War battle. Essentially the couple amassed all the props, but their work went far beyond that.

The valour of the Canadian corps in the battle is faithfully portrayed and it is a wonderful film.

Last hurrah time - so let's ease ourselves west - to Vancouver, which has an inner city population of 612,000, extending to 2.25m in the metropolitan area. For some years this port city, first settled in the 1860's following the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush, and protected by a range of mountains and warmed by Pacific Ocean currents, has been voted one of the top cities in which to live and work.

It enjoys mild temperatures year-round, though gets its fair share of rain. It's an ethnically diverse city, with 52% of city residents speaking other than English as their first language. Vancouver exports more cargo than any other city in North America and it's economy has diversified into service industries and tourism, from it's root sectors of forestry, fishing, mining and agriculture.

But what will the visitor enjoy? For me, two favourites endure: the brilliant white sail-themed structure of Canada Place, and the natural beauty of Stanley Park, just south of Lion's Gate Bridge. Canada Place,  where cruise liners dock, includes the Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Centre, the CN IMAX theatre, the World Trade Centre, but in particular the glorious deck-styled promenades, from where you can watch seaplanes and helicopters take off, and ferries ply across Burrard Inlet to North Vancouver. Canada Place will be home to the Main Press Centre for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

Stanley Park, less than a mile away, is a 1000 acre wonderland, with avenues of cedar trees, the Rose Garden, impressive totem poles, sandy beaches and even a cricket pitch! A popular way to tour Stanley Park is by horse-drawn carriage. Aside from these personal favourites you'll enjoy the lively atmosphere of gastown, with its steam-powered clock in Water Street, Chinatown, the shops of Robson Street, Grouse Mountain, and Capilano Suspension Bridge (unless you get vertigo!).

Granville Island is a must to visit with its markets, bars, brewery, and creative atmosphere. It's impossible to round up Vancouver in a short space really, but it's a wonderful city.

It's time for me to head home to Weybridge. Hope you've enjoyed the postcards. Bye for now.