I don’t know how to start this week’s blog. I’m not too sure of what I’m feeling right now. Maybe a little anxiety. Why anxiety? Well, my Canadian Aunty had to drive to the airport tonight to pick up my British Aunty, however, my Canadian Aunty doesn’t like driving at night and I have a feeling she would have liked me to go with her. She should be back home by now and I’ve called and text her but had no response, hence the anxiety. Is she ok? Did she get home safe? Argh, it is rather late after all, maybe she’s back home and sleeping. I’m overthinking. Let me have a look at my phone…Ha! See Roman! She’s text you back! Everyone is fine. Relax!

I’ve always been a thinker/over thinker. It has been both a blessing and a curse. There are times that I wish I could quiet my mind but it ticks on and on. So, whenever people or situations give me reason to think more than I wish to it is a real pain to me. This reminds me of a story. One night my sister and I were talking on the phone when she became unresponsive. I called her name a few times but nothing. I couldn’t even hear her breathing. Anyway, me being the “over thinker” that I am decided to call the ambulance and tell them that my sister had become unresponsive while on the phone, 30 minutes later my sister called me back telling me how embarrassed she was that the police and ambulance had broken into her apartment and she woke up to find them standing over her. Can you believe??? My sister fell asleep on the phone to me! I mean come on! I’m not that boring! Maybe most people would have figured she’d fallen asleep but not me. I thought of all the worst scenarios possible, thankfully it wasn’t any of them…but what if it was? And that’s the space in which I live my life. The “what if?”

Prior to leaving Toronto I treated myself to a night out. A night out for me these days doesn’t consist of poppin’ bottles and trying to pull, not that I wouldn’t go to a club anymore, trust me, I like to shake a leg, but of late it’s more going to comedy clubs. I searched Google for comedy clubs in Toronto and came across one called ‘The Corner Comedy Club’ the tag line for this club was ‘So small it’s funny’ and believe me, this is a small club but so cool. It was a Sunday night so it wasn’t packed but the comedians on the bill brought the funnies! I spoke to the organiser and asked her whether I could get 5 mins but unfortunately the bill was full. Maybe next time. Check it out if you’re ever in Toronto.

After a bus ride from Toronto to Montreal and a day of rest I decided I would have a little adventure. I woke early and prepared myself for a trip to a place called Mont-Royal, which is a large volcanic hill here in Montreal with amazing views over the city but before I headed out for the day I went to spend the morning at my Auntie’s house. If you ever wanted to feel good about yourself then my Aunty is the woman to be around. She’s very complimentary. I remember her once saying to me “Roman, look at your head! You have such a perfectly shaped head”, now if that’s not enough to make you feel like some kind of king then I don’t know what more you need. I arrived to find her in the kitchen making pine tarts and my uncle sitting at the table on his laptop, coffee was brewing and I helped myself to a cup. After an hour of conversation and trips down memory lane I told my Aunty I was going to leave for my trip.

Aunty: Roman, why are you leaving?

Me: Aunty, I’m going to Mont-Royal remember?

Aunty: By yourself?

Me: Yes aunty, I do a lot on my own

Aunty: But you’re leaving so soon, you just got here

Me: I’ve been here for an hour and a half

Aunty: But how will you get there? Do you know the way?

Me: Yeah sure, Google Maps

Aunty: Let me drive you to the train station

Me: But my bus is coming in 5 minutes

Aunty: NO! I’m going to drive you!

30 minutes later I’m still sat there talking with her, hmmmmm, I see the strategy. But hey, it’s always lovely catching up with family, especially when your presence is appreciated. She finally did drive me to the train station and my adventure began.

I arrived at Mont-Royal station and began my walk towards the mountain. I stopped off en route to sit and have a coffee before my ascent. There’s something truly wonderful about sitting in your own company, the sun on your face, in an unfamiliar place and just being, even if only for a short while. After a lovely latte, I began the journey to the top of the mountain, it was a good walk and the views once arriving at the top were amazing. After the mountain walk I went to a restaurant for Poutine #3. It was nice but still not as good as the first one. In my opinion, what makes a good Poutine is hot and crispy fries, some of the cheese must be melted but not all of it and the gravy must be hot too, I don’t like it luke warm, anyway, I’m not sure whether I have the will to eat any more Poutine while I’m here. My stomach may never forgive me. Yep, I think that’s it for Poutine…That’s definitely it!

So! After all of that big talk about no more Poutine, Poutine # 4 came about a few days later. I fell hard off the Poutine wagon or I guess you could say I jumped back on to it, but that’s not important, let’s not dwell on my developing Poutine addiction. However, what lead me to Poutine #4 was that earlier in the week I had gone to a comedy club in Montreal called The Comedy Nest and met a few comedians, one of which advised me to go to a show at a place called ‘Art Loft’ I found the Facebook page for the event, and decided I would check it out.. Comedy at Art Loft is a bring your own booze type event and since weed is legal here in Canada it’s a bring your own weed type event too. It’s been going for about 3 years now and takes place in a private apartment. 4 young men convert their place into a comedy club every week and invite local comedians to come and do a set. It is such a great idea and the vibe is fantastic! You pay $10 to get in and you are then treated to 4 – 5 acts. The doors open from 9pm so I was there at 8:55pm not wanting to miss a second of the action. What I didn’t read was that the show started at 10:30pm so I was uncomfortably the first person there, just chilling with the 4 guys that live there. Luckily they were pretty chill and after about 30 minutes people started to arrive. It was a great night of comedy and such a cross section of people attended the event. I met people from Italy, Holland and even Botswana. The show is hosted by Quinn McMorrow who was ridiculously funny and headlining was a young man called Aba Atlas. He was great and has performed at ‘Just for Laughs’ a huge comedy festival that takes place annually in Montreal. After the show, I mingled for a bit finished my 3rd beer and then popped over the road to a corner restaurant called Patati Patata, where Poutine # 4 was demolished.

I’ve set myself a new goal and that is to attend an American Football, Ice Hockey, Baseball and Basketball game in my lifetime. I can happily say that I have now crossed one of these off my list. I’ve always loved sporting events and travelling to arenas and whilst here in Montreal I had the pleasure of going to the Bell Centre to see the Montreal Canadiens v Detroit Red Wings. The whole experience from start to finish was amazing, well, apart from the $12 I paid for a beer and the beer that spilled on my iPhone, but apart from that it was great! Canada is very much a hockey nation, they live and breathe it and although Montreal have not won a Stanley Cup (The ultimate prize in hockey) since 1993 the atmosphere was fantastic and the support for the team here in the city is strong. What amazes me about this sport is just how fast paced it is and how these guys can skate so effortlessly, of course they’ve been doing this since they were kids, hence the ability but my oh my, they have some skill. No matter where you travel to in North America definitely try to catch a game, you will not be disappointed. After the game my cousin and I went to a restaurant where I discovered why it is so easy to put on weight in North America/Canada. I was torn between getting a burger or getting macaroni cheese, until I discovered a burger that has breaded macaroni cheese as a bun. Do you understand what I am telling you!!!!! Madness!!!! So obviously I had to try it! I made it through most of the burger but could not finish it. I have some serious training to do when I get back to the UK, need to shed these extra pounds.

So, here we are, we finally made it to the reason I am here in Canada, the big day! The wedding day! The ceremony took place outdoors, which is something I don’t think I’d have the guts to do. I’d be too scared that it would rain or a bird would fly past and shit on my suit or on my bride’s wedding dress. If it had to hit one of us then let it be me, I think it would be easier to get out of my suit than a wedding dress, plus I think I could play it off better that she would, I mean no woman wants to be the bird shit bride. That has to be bad luck though, a bird shitting on you on your wedding day! Anyway, I digress. The ceremony was lovely, short and sweet, no singing, no sermon, just lovely words shared between the bride and groom, then pictures, then off to the reception. My cousin Kim and her husband Cliff truly seem like they’re made for one another, well, to have been together for 15 years so far you would hope so. He’s a really cool guy, granted I’ve only met him twice, well three times now, sometimes once is enough to know if someone is genuine and he sure is. No doubt they’re both great parents also and I wish them all very best and all my love.

The wedding reception was filled with warmth, some lovely speeches from the mother of the bride and the groom and not to mention the best man. The Groom’s father sadly passed away years ago and so his uncle said a few words on the father’s behalf which was truly wonderful. It was a revelation to me to find out that my Aunty had been married to her husband for over 50 years! Truly amazing. One of the highlights of the reception for me was when my 2nd cousin who was sat a few seats away from me got my attention once I had finished my main course and said “Roman, you eat so well”, now apart from compliments on the shape of my head this has to be the next funniest. But I remember eating at a friend’s house once and using my thumb to move the last few grains of rice on to my fork and being told off for it. Apparently their parents were horrified at my poor table manners. I felt really embarrassed and from that day I changed my ways. Sometimes we need to be embarrassed into change and sometimes we can do something a certain way for so long that we don’t even see anything wrong with it. This is why it’s important to be open minded and willing to change for the better.

Monday the 14th October is thanksgiving here in Canada and so on Sunday afternoon we all went around to my Auntie’s house for Dinner. There were no turkey’s involved in this meal but there was a lot of fish, lamb curry, friend rice, chow mien, boiled and friend provision, vegetables and the list goes on. The spread was lovely and the food was fantastic, all of the delicious foods you can find in Guyana were on offer and if you were wondering, yes, I fell off the vegetarian wagon and had a bit of meat, but I’ll be getting back on to it soon enough. There was also much Beer, Guinness, Rum and laughter listening to the stories of the older men and women, while watching the kids run around and play and somewhere in the middle was me and my generation of cousins enjoying each other’s company, looking at the youth we once had in the children running around us, and the wisdom that we may come to realise in the elders that surrounded us. It was a fitting end to a lovely time out here in Canada. Before my cousin Kim departed she told me “Roman, really enjoy your life” she encouraged me to the time to reflect on my accomplishments and enjoy the things I have achieved instead of constantly looking on to what’s next. We embraced, I kissed her on the cheek a smile was exchanged and off she went.

My time in Canada is winding down now and so is this blog. Much like the beginning of this blog I am not sure how to end it, so I’ll just finish the same way I started, by telling you how I feel right now. I have recently returned from the Sunday Dinner at my Auntie’s house. I am really, really full and tired and happy I made this trip happen and though I am not eager to get back to the grind of work I am grateful I have a job and I am also grateful that I have the capacity to continue doing the things I love. I feel blessed to have been able to spend this time with family, those I know and those I have come to know I feel blessed to have been there at my cousin’s wedding and to be a part of making the day so special for her and more than anything I’m truly grateful to be alive, to be well and to be sharing these words with you all.

Have an amazing week ahead and don’t forget to be great.

Roman Harris

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Homeward bound By Roman Harris