Letter from Calgary

I am in Calgary where I am being seduced by the iPad and catching up with my Canadian family. Inevitably, this is going to be a domestic blog and non-family readers will readily be forgiven for abandoning it at this early stage.

My journey began last weekend with a Saturday flight from Faro to Frankfurt and an overnight stay at an hotel on the fringes of the airport. I mention this only to justify this attempted picture of a large owl (you have to look closely) abandoning a tree near the hotel as I tried to photograph it.

On the Sunday I flew to Calgary, where I was very pleased to be met by my brother Kevin and his wife Ann. This gave me my first opportunity to admire his (relatively) new 6.3L Mercedes AMG which he likes a great deal and I rather liked as well. Like the rest of their family, my hosts are both high-tech and seriously into vehicles of every shape and size, of which (inevitably) more later.

ANN & DAUGHTER-IN-LAW MINDY....... All the talk on my arrival was of the election for a new provincial government the following day by the good people of Alberta. The only question was whether the incumbent Progressive Conservatives would turn out enough supporters to defeat the challenge from the new, even more conservative Wild Rose party - which they did. This is not a part of the world much given to liberal views.

MEGAN ON TRACTOR....... More importantly, that was the day that I was introduced to the iPad. Forgive me! Those of you familiar with the device will marvel at my previous ignorance; those still unfamiliar are hardly likely to be interested. But this is the risk I must run. While I had been well aware of the iPad’s existence and popularity, I had never seriously contemplated getting one because I like to touch-type on a real keyboard. Well! I’m won over.

ANN, SARAH & GIRLS....... To PC users like me, the versatility, immediacy and screen quality of this tablet are a wonder to behold. There’s no waiting around for the computer to boot up; open the leather jacket and you can instantly start surfing. I’m hooked – and I suspect that even my technophobic wife will be impressed. Not that I’m abandoning my Sony Vaio travelling companion; for serious typing or file processing it can’t be beaten. But for most other functions, the iPad leaves it in the dust. Little wonder that Apple has doubled its profits this past quarter.

SUPPER WITH AL & CO....... However, all this is incidental. The real aim of my visit was merely to hang out and catch up with family. Family are all located within an easy ride of Kevin and Ann’s house in a newish suburb on the southern edge of Calgary. Nearest – in fact within walking distance - are Alan and Sarah and their four young children.

Since my last visit they had moved from a lovely house into a truly splendid home overlooking a lake. The lake, like most of the city’s lakes, had been constructed by developers to attract occupants to the surrounding houses. But a lake’s a lake, whatever its origins and you can't beat it for a view.

The house, a mansion really, is magnificent and had been beautifully and expensively finished by the previous occupant who, I understand, ran into financial difficulties. Alan must have used his realtor skills in acquiring it.

After being introduced to the children (Rachel [6 and bouncy], Esther [5 and charming] Juliet [18mts and serious about food] and baby Christian I was taken on a tour. My admiration was entirely sincere. What a stunning home!

The garage houses Alan’s Merc and Sarah’s long-wheelbase Cadillac SUV, just about the only vehicle big enough - as he explained - to take the four child-seats and kit that are essential to family outing. Not much further away – perhaps 15 minutes – live Mark and Mindy and their three children (Conner 13, Ethan 5 and Megan 2). As it happens, they too have moved since my last visit – with Alan’s assistance - to a large and beautiful home also overlooking a lake, quite a big one.

I’m in danger of overdoing the superlatives. Such lakeside houses are much sought after and built to attract upmarket buyers. Each comes with a small pier to take kayaks and dinghies. In winter the lake offers ice fishing, skating and hockey. All year round it offers a wonderful outlook. Mindy says she’s never moving again and it’s not hard to understand why.

There had been other noticeable changes since last I’d seen them. Conner was mature beyond his years and a pleasure to converse with on a range of subjects; Ethan appreciated my efforts to read his Chukka Chukka Boom Boom (if I remember correctly) book about letters of the alphabet ascending the coconut tree, and Megan (who was new to me) was a hoot - an athletic, expressive, delightful little girl.

MEGAN & ETHAN........ We went for an evening stroll with the family dogs, big Louie (a pup last time round) and Bailey, who complete the family line-up. Mark, a pilot like his wife, is teaching aviation at college; Mindy has taken time off to raise their family. She too had acquired a vast vehicle to move the children about; but then this is a part of the world where vast vehicles, like large houses, are pretty much taken for granted.

Speaking of which, we had occasion to visit the warehouse in Calgary where the family keep vehicles that are not immediately required. These include a tractor, several trailers, a couple of quad-bikes and a glorious Airstream caravan, with which Kevin and Ann hope to tour those parts of North America

– they want to visit Alaska - that are not best suited to their motorhome. I regret that I was not able to see the motorhome, which they had left behind in Palm Springs, their winter base. It was a relief to find Penny (seemingly unchanged) and Mike (now sprouting a few senatorial grey hairs) in a familiar house although it had been extended to create an extra garage and more spacious rooms.

Jackson (9) had shot up and was clearly following his 2-metre tall father skywards. Wyatt (nearly 7) still regarded strangers quizzically before coming out with his reflective observations.

Gone was the winter ice-rink that had occupied the back garden but I gathered that both boys had become pretty expert skaters since last I had watched them in action. And they were certainly dab hands at video games. We spent my last evening with them while Mike and Penny took themselves off to a function. Mark, Mindy and co were also present. We chatted as Batman chased Superman or similar around the house, returning to mum for occasional costume repairs.