New Year and the Polar Bear Swim

So, how did I celebrate the start of a new year in another country. Well on New Years Eve's Eve if that makes any sense we all got together and decided where we were going to go. The following afternoon armed with two different locations both myself and Ian set off into downtown and tried to get some tickets. To our shocking surprise both places had sold out. Shouldn't have left it so late really. After panicking we tried out a bar we've been to a few times before known as Malones. To our relief they had tickets and we bought enough for everyone.

We met at 9pm and had an enjoyable evening. They had a good band playing who we had seen there before and they eventually chucked us out at 2.30am (even though said on the tickets it closed at 4am). Gavin informed us though that ther people living above him pretty much have a party every night of the week so myself, Gavin, Gaz and Andrew set off for Gavin's. Gavin almost didn't make it when after bumping into a guy was suddenly surrounded by about 10 of his mates all pushing him for no reason. We managed to drag him away and got back to his basement dwelling via 2 incredibly packed night buses. It may come as a shock to you back home but you can catch buses till about 3am every day of the week. And on New Years Eve they were free which didn't make much difference to me as I have a bus pass but it was a nice gesture.

Having finally got back to Gavin's we found out that there was in fact no party going on upstairs, although it was about 4am in the morning. We spent the next hour and a half sitting around as Gavin entertained us with his new ipod and his Rolf Harris music collection he has stored on there.

Keenie is instantly entertained as Gavin puts on Rolf's cover of "I can't get no satisfaction"

At about 5.30am me and Gaz decided to set off back home and managed to flag down a taxi. To our surprise, the usually quiet Kerrisdale had been disrupted when the front window in the coffee shop around the corner had been smashed to peices. In the paper the next day I discovered it was part of a police chase where a driver had been ramming into things during his flee. He evntually crashed into a lampost and was arrested. So I finally got to bed around 6am but no, I wasn't going to have a long lie in, the Polar Bear Swim awaited me in only a few short hours.

The Polar Bear Swim is an annual event in Vancouver at English Bay. It started in the early 1900's and involves lots of crazy people running into the sea in freezing cold temperatures. So I met Ian and Andy around 1pm, the weather seemed nice and we thought it should be alright. In the next hour and a half before it was due to start the wind picked up and it started to rain. Also no one else who said they were coming had made it down yet, meaning there was no on to leave our stuff with.

The crowds begin to gather as the clock counts down to the 2006 Polar Bear Swim

Eventually Andy's girlfreind along with her mum and brother arrived meaning we could get changed and prepare for the event. At this point Chris was running down Davie Street in an attempt to get there.


Me, Ian and Andy before the swim. Yes it was freezing

So, now in our swimming gear we fought our way through the crowds and finally made it to the rundown into the sea. To our surprise people were already coming back out so as we got closer a gap opened up and we ran into the sea. Now to get the badge for taking part you have to be completely wet from head to toe. So after diving in I submerged myself in the water and resurfaced to see Ian legging it back out as fast as his legs could carry him. We then went to collect our badges which you can see proudly displayed in the next picture.

A badge, it made it all worth it

It was a gret experience over all. Over 1500 people took part and many more slightly saner people were watching from the sideline. I might not have been able to stop shivering but it was a once in a lifetime experience that we shall never forget. We then met up with Chris (who had managed to do it as well), Debs, Andrew and Gavin and went to get some fish n chips from a nearby restaurant. After going home to have a shower I then raced back out to the cinema and had a relaxing evening watching The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

Other things I have done recently include going ice skating for the first time. It turns out we have an ice rink about 20 seconds from our house. And then I beat everyone at 5 pin bowling. After making a slow start I soon picked it up and managed to fly past Keenie in a breathtaking finish. The natural order of the world was resumed and everyone went home happy.

I also went to to the Vancouver museum with Ian where we saw this gret car in the 50's section.

If only there was a way to sneak it out without anyone noticing