Post a good thing that happened in your life today

[John Mitchell]

Interesting. I didn't realize that visiting the US could be such a hassle for Brits. Crossing into the US by land is easy for Canadians. It's more or less an open border, with most "folks" coming and going as they please. However, US border guards can be snarky, and busy border crossings often look like armed fortresses on the American side. Have to say, somewhat smugly, that the Canadian side looks a lot friendlier, and our border guards tend be "nicer" (IME). Probably the only difficulty Americans have entering Canada is trying to figure out the speed limit signs, which are in Km/h rather than MPH. Air travel between the two counties is a little more stringent, but still relatively hassle-free.

[Michael Ventura]

1 hour ago, John Mitchell said:

Interesting. I didn't realize that visiting the US could be such a hassle for Brits. Crossing into the US by land is easy for Canadians. It's more or less an open border, with most "folks" coming and going as they please. However, US border guards can be snarky, and busy border crossings often look like armed fortresses on the American side. Have to say, somewhat smugly, that the Canadian side looks a lot friendlier, and our border guards tend be "nicer" (IME). Probably the only difficulty Americans have entering Canada is trying to figure out the speed limit signs, which are in Km/h rather than MPH. Air travel between the two counties is a little more stringent, but still relatively hassle-free.

 

I don't think the U.S. Government is too worried about Canadians overstaying.   I too didn't realize that about Brits coming here.  I once got a lengthy interview by Canadian immigration, back in the early 80s, flying into Montreal, got pulled aside and taken into a room for questioning.  In all fairness though, I had a one-way plane ticket and was driving back home with my oldest brother, so that raised a red flag.

[Rebecca Ore]

18 hours ago, John Mitchell said:

In Canada, which has a relatively small population (for such a huge country) of about 40 million, people can apparently apply for Permanent Residency at any age. However, there is a complicated points system based on factors like education and skills, language abilities , adaptability, etc. Also, it gets more difficult to earn enough points as you get older, especially after the age of 47. Those in the 18-36 age bracket have the best chance of getting PR by the sounds of it.

 

Canada is looking for more working tax payers. 

 

If a country has a young population that's underemployed, it isn't looking for more workers, but wants people to bring money in and do some hiring.   If it's got an aging population, younger working aged people are better. 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_median_age  

[John Mitchell]

49 minutes ago, Rebecca Ore said:

 

Canada is looking for more working tax payers. 

 

If a country has a young population that's underemployed, it isn't looking for more workers, but wants people to bring money in and do some hiring.   If it's got an aging population, younger working aged people are better. 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_median_age  

 

Yes, that's correct. Canada already has a good supply (or oversupply) of high-maintenance oldsters like me. My family immigrated to Canada from England in the 50's. I have a feeling that things were a lot easier back then when it came to securing permanent residency. My father had landed a good job in Montreal, which no doubt helped matters.

 

 

[Betty LaRue]

While vacationing in our conversion van and trying to enter Canada, we were hassled big time. Pulled over & had to unpack every.single.item. When one is on the road for 3 weeks in a large van, there is a lot of stuff and it was packed very carefully over several hours. It wasn’t so easy getting it back in. Then our apples were confiscated. Then our driftwood was confiscated. That was promised to be returned to us on the way out, but when we asked for it, it was GONE. We only planned to be there with a ferry trip to Vancouver Island, one day.

We vowed to never go again. Now the people? The campground we stayed in…very friendly people who gave our dead battery a jump start. The waiters at a restaurant were great.

Border guards…not so much.

[John Mitchell]

1 hour ago, Michael Ventura said:

 

I don't think the U.S. Government is too worried about Canadians overstaying.   I too didn't realize that about Brits coming here.  I once got a lengthy interview by Canadian immigration, back in the early 80s, flying into Montreal, got pulled aside and taken into a room for questioning.  In all fairness though, I had a one-way plane ticket and was driving back home with my oldest brother, so that raised a red flag.

 

Actually, one of my worst experiences with border officials was at the Vancouver airport. I was returning to Canada from a fam/press trip (remember those?) to Mexico, and for some reason that triggered a lot of suspicion. The officers ushered me into a back room and took my luggage apart while asking probing questions. However, usually it was just a friendly "Welcome back" or "Bienvenue".  Borders are always scary, unpredictable places, though.

[spacecadet]

12 hours ago, Betty LaRue said:

Then our apples were confiscated. Then our driftwood was confiscated.

Sounds like basic biosecurity........think what could be inside fruit and wood. Presumably the regulations were clearly stated somewhere but you still had the items with you hence the search.

A few years ago at Wellington airport a sharp-eyed officer looked very closely at my walking boots and removed a small English grass seed. I was impressed, not offended.

New Zealand takes the threat of invasive species very seriously and so, evidently, does Canada. So does CA with citrus.

When in Rome......

[wiskerke]

18 hours ago, Betty LaRue said:

Then our driftwood was confiscated.

They probably thought it was firewood. Have you ever seen this map? Check your own state and neighboring states. The Invasive species tab is for horror fans.

We found that lots if not all National and State Parks nowadays have signs that bringing your own wood is forbidden.

(Nowadays meaning 2019 😁)

 

wim

[Rebecca Ore]

18 hours ago, John Mitchell said:

 

Yes, that's correct. Canada already has a good supply (or oversupply) of high-maintenance oldsters like me. My family immigrated to Canada from England in the 50's. I have a feeling that things were a lot easier back then when it came to securing permanent residency. My father had landed a good job in Montreal, which no doubt helped matters.

 

 

 

Also, guess which nationality has the highest rate of overstayers in Australia according to an Australian net friend?   People from the US, who also overstay in Mexico and a range of other countries.   Haven't heard of Canadians overstaying and ripping off people or killing their interpreters, but the USA people are shameless about defying the laws of small countries.   I had to explain to a British tourist, no, a gringo in Jinotega was not killed by a Nicaraguan.   He killed a Nicaraguan.  Took  repeat to stop the Anglo brain edit to poor us killed by one of them.   Another gringo here was deported when he stiffed a restaurant bar and the cops found out he'd overstayed his visa by several years.  A gringa stole $3K from the guy who killed his interpreter and went to Mexico and got stranded there, bailed out by an NGO guy.  The $3K was for the killer's lawyers.  

 

Being a English speaker doesn't give anyone any special consideration here.

[John Mitchell]

2 hours ago, wiskerke said:

They probably thought it was firewood. Have you ever seen this map? Check your own state and neighboring states. The Invasive species tab is for horror fans.

We found that lots if not all National and State Parks nowadays have signs that bringing your own wood is forbidden.

(Nowadays meaning 2019 😁)

 

wim

 

Firewood apparently cannot be imported into Canada because of the risk of introducing invasive species. Fresh fruits and vegetables along with animal products are also prohibited.

[John Mitchell]

2 hours ago, Rebecca Ore said:

 

Also, guess which nationality has the highest rate of overstayers in Australia according to an Australian net friend?   People from the US, who also overstay in Mexico and a range of other countries.   Haven't heard of Canadians overstaying and ripping off people or killing their interpreters, but the USA people are shameless about defying the laws of small countries.   I had to explain to a British tourist, no, a gringo in Jinotega was not killed by a Nicaraguan.   He killed a Nicaraguan.  Took  repeat to stop the Anglo brain edit to poor us killed by one of them.   Another gringo here was deported when he stiffed a restaurant bar and the cops found out he'd overstayed his visa by several years.  A gringa stole $3K from the guy who killed his interpreter and went to Mexico and got stranded there, bailed out by an NGO guy.  The $3K was for the killer's lawyers.  

 

Being a English speaker doesn't give anyone any special consideration here.

 

Sounds like fodder for a couple of new novels. This Canadian gringo couldn't afford to overstay his welcome in the US due to the unfavourable CAN/USD exchange rate. Having to add 30+% to everything really puts a damper on travel south of the border these days.

[Rebecca Ore]

2 minutes ago, John Mitchell said:

 

Sounds like fodder for a couple of new novels. This Canadian gringo couldn't afford to overstay his welcome in the US due to the unfavourable CAN/USD exchange rate. Having to add 30+% to everything really puts a damper on travel south of the border these days.

 

Malcolm Lowry's "Under the Volcano" and any number of things by Hemingway.   Expat novels about expats.   Sigh.   I just don't drink enough.  Thanks for knowing that "gringo" covers all foreigners and has nothing to do with US popular songs or the color of the US troop uniforms during the Mexican American war.  

 

I liked what I saw of Toronto back in the 1970s, but haven't been back since.

 

On the theme of good things happening today, Luis was back to tell me that he didn't have Covid, either.  He went out for cat and dog food, and worming and anti-parasite meds for the cats (one not mine but he sleeps here and eats) and my dog.  He's in training to be a vet and is taking vet tech classes, and got the meds down the uncooperative cat and dog throats.   Dog also got an external treatment for fleas and ticks.

 

The hospital remember him from when he was helping with me.  

[John Mitchell]

8 minutes ago, Rebecca Ore said:

 

Malcolm Lowry's "Under the Volcano" and any number of things by Hemingway.   Expat novels about expats.   Sigh.   I just don't drink enough.  Thanks for knowing that "gringo" covers all foreigners and has nothing to do with US popular songs or the color of the US troop uniforms during the Mexican American war.  

 

I liked what I saw of Toronto back in the 1970s, but haven't been back since.

 

On the theme of good things happening today, Luis was back to tell me that he didn't have Covid, either.  He went out for cat and dog food, and worming and anti-parasite meds for the cats (one not mine but he sleeps here and eats) and my dog.  He's in training to be a vet and is taking vet tech classes, and got the meds down the uncooperative cat and dog throats.   Dog also got an external treatment for fleas and ticks.

 

The hospital remember him from when he was helping with me.  

 

Loved "Under the Volcano" -- both the novel and movie with Albert Finney. Lowry did a lot of his drinking and writing in Vancouver, as you may know.

 

 

 

 

Edited January 10, 2023 by John Mitchell

[gvallee]

I'm not sure if I should post this in the good or bad section. Another day, another very wacky petsit. Bearing in mind that we never know in advance what the property looks like when we book a housesit,  this time round is the largest luxurious house I have ever seen. Absolutely enormous, I still haven't seen all the rooms. Everything inside is top of the range, latest high tech making the use of any electrical appliance fiendish (wink wink to Edo, I sympathise). The tropical grounds are immaculate with lime and dragon fruit growing along wild ginger and bromeliads, and a spectacular bat flower which took 6 years to blossom. A little corner of paradise.

Our job, in addition to watering zillion exotic pot plants, is to take care of 3 dogs, 2 cats, 10 beloved Polish chickens that go on shows, 3 ducks and fish. The poultry residence is called Chook Mahal. The owner instructs us to defend Chook Mahal against large goannas which sneak in to steal eggs, and even larger bush pythons after a chook dinner or two. Day 1: a chook died on us.

Days before, two female chicks suddenly started crowing and fighting to reveal Donna was Don and Rhonda was Ron. Before the imposters were ejected, they successfully beat up the alpha hen and poked her in the eye, so now she is like Admiral Nelson after the Battle of Trafalgar.

The dogs and cats are spoilt rotten (but adorable) and dine on a la carte courses of mince, chicken necks, eggs, dry biscuits and snacks. Tuna this morning old? Not over my dead body!

Two of the dogs expect to sleep in our bed. The sheep dog gets picked up at 5:10am for a walk twice a week. Yes, you read this right, AM. I think we'll  need a holiday after this housesit...

 

 

 

Edited January 10, 2023 by gvallee

[gvallee]

3 hours ago, John Mitchell said:

 

Firewood apparently cannot be imported into Canada because of the risk of introducing invasive species. Fresh fruits and vegetables along with animal products are also prohibited.

 

I think it's pretty standard across international borders. Worse, in Australia you cannot have fruit and vegs or honey across certain regions to protect crops from fruit flies. It makes travelling an art where you have to calculate how many days you have left to finish those. It used to be a common sight at quarantine check points to see people stuffing their face with their remaining bananas or fruit rather than losing them. It's not allowed any more as it slows down the checking process.

 

I once got in trouble at US immigration because I said I didn't have any food with me. Then they discovered a chocolate bar that the airline had given us during the flight. It had never crossed my mind. They were not pleasant.

[Bryan]

4 hours ago, gvallee said:

I'm not sure if I should post this in the good or bad section. Another day, another very wacky petsit.

 

I'm not sure that I could handle the responsibility, and I certainly couldn't deal with all those animals! I guess that you have acquired the skills and confidence from experience, but it sounds like hard, if interestingly, work to me !

[Bryan]

I'm at the next stage of our Juniper tree removal, having removed the top growth, and excavated around the stump the time has come to tackle the roots. The weather forecast looks to be ok today, so I need to hire a suitable saw for the job. Internet research suggests that an electric reciprocating saw will be the thing to get, but I've never used one before. Apparently it costs about £25 per day to hire such a thing. I'm not sure whether that includes a blade.  In the past I would have persevered with a pruning saw and axe, but, becoming longer in the tooth, those days are no more. In the worst case I'll borrow a friend's chain saw and just cut off the stump at ground level, but I would prefer to remove the roots so that the ground is cleared for further planting.

 

Edit - weather forecast has deteriorated, now a threat of heavy rain. Saw hire deferred !

Edited January 11, 2023 by Bryan

[gvallee]

11 minutes ago, Bryan said:

I'm not sure that I could handle the responsibility, and I certainly couldn't deal with all those animals! I guess that you have acquired the skills and confidence from experience, but it sounds like hard, if interestingly, work to me !

 

I am never totally relaxed with the animals we take care of. It would be bad enough if something happened and they were ours, but someone else's is a responsibility. This place is particularly difficult because of the size of the 'garden'. There are various parts: rainforest, orchard, greenhouse and they disappear from sight in seconds. The two small dogs never obey. We were told to supervise them at all times because of snakes and cane toads. So far, no python no cry.

[StokeCreative]

On 09/01/2023 at 07:44, geogphotos said:

EDIT - Not a good thing, just on the topic of permissions

 

I just had a look at the possibility of a holiday/vacation in USA. They don't make it easy do they! 

 

And NO I am not asking

 

 

 

 

"You must include a contact person's home address, phone number, and valid ID number. This principle also applies if this is your first overnight stay. If you don't have a point of contact or a first overnight stay, it may be more difficult to obtain ESTA travel clearance."

 

So without an ESTA it looks like a face-to-face interview in London and £160 for starters.

 

Gulp!

 

 

 

 

I've taken students (from uk) many times to NYC and the hotel/street address has always been fine for the ESTA.

 

More worrying for me is if you've been to Cuba (even as a UK citizen) there is still an issue with entry to the States on ESTA. I need to do more research because we are planning a US road trip and supposedly immigration can turn you away at the gate if you don't have a full visa and have been to Cuba.

[geogphotos]

1 hour ago, StokeCreative said:

I've taken students (from uk) many times to NYC and the hotel/street address has always been fine for the ESTA.

 

More worrying for me is if you've been to Cuba (even as a UK citizen) there is still an issue with entry to the States on ESTA. I need to do more research because we are planning a US road trip and supposedly immigration can turn you away at the gate if you don't have a full visa and have been to Cuba.

 

I applied just for the Transit ESTA because at the time I couldn't see a way around the address and ID number requirement. We are going to Mexico City and one option is to break the flight and transit through USA ( it makes it cheaper). My application was accepted within a day or so - probably done through IT and I guess fairly light touch given that it was limited to the transit request. It cost $21

 

My sense is that they have tightened up in recent years so getting current information is key

 

As you say in the end it all comes down to the immigration official at the border. Make sure not to turn up with t-shirt showing Karl Marx smoking a joint!😃

 

I do like the idea of having a stay in USA before or after Mexico so may well apply for the full ESTA nearer the time.

[Harry Harrison]

6 hours ago, Bryan said:

In the past I would have persevered with a pruning saw and axe, but, becoming longer in the tooth, those days are no more.

When Lockdown started I decided to tackle a slightly contentious and rather straggly tree close to our neighbour's fence. There wasn't much else to do so I could take my time. I treated it more like an archaeological dig, literally using a trowel to clear round the roots and doing a section each day weather permitting. It took me weeks, I've never seen so many roots going off in all directions, most of them downwards and out of sight of course and it's really tiring working below the soil level. I didn't know of these reciprocating saws so it was axe and pruning saw for me. I see that the are like giant jigsaws, I'm almost certain that you will have to buy the blades yourself though, there are lots of different types and I imagine you'll get through quite a few as they won't like hitting stones and flints much. Once the root ball was out I then had to get it down to a reasonable size just to get it into the car but fortunately the local tip had no problems with me taking it there to dispose of.

[Bryan]

4 hours ago, Harry Harrison said:

When Lockdown started I decided to tackle a slightly contentious and rather straggly tree close to our neighbour's fence. There wasn't much else to do so I could take my time. I treated it more like an archaeological dig, literally using a trowel to clear round the roots and doing a section each day weather permitting. It took me weeks, I've never seen so many roots going off in all directions, most of them downwards and out of sight of course and it's really tiring working below the soil level. I didn't know of these reciprocating saws so it was axe and pruning saw for me. I see that the are like giant jigsaws, I'm almost certain that you will have to buy the blades yourself though, there are lots of different types and I imagine you'll get through quite a few as they won't like hitting stones and flints much. Once the root ball was out I then had to get it down to a reasonable size just to get it into the car but fortunately the local tip had no problems with me taking it there to dispose of.

I've taken a few out in the past and it's always a struggle ! We once paid a bloke to take out a cherry tree, but he left the roots ! It took ages for us to dig them all out, and, since then, I've always done it myself.  Professionals use a root grinder, but they are very expensive bits of kit,  and, as far as I am aware, they only deal with the top section of the roots.

 

On the basis that you should always make the best of every photo opportunity, I have recorded the stump. 🙂 

 

[spacecadet]

16 minutes ago, Bryan said:

I've taken a few out in the past and it's always a struggle ! We once paid a bloke to take out a cherry tree, but he left the roots ! It took ages for us to dig them all out, and, since then, I've always done it myself.  Professionals use a root grinder, but they are very expensive bits of kit,  and, as far as I am aware, they only deal with the top section of the roots.

 

On the basis that you should always make the best of every photo opportunity, I have recorded the stump. 🙂 

 

Years ago we got one out with a power washer. I say "we" because I personally had nothing to do with it. But that's how it was done, a pine of some sort IIRC, trunk at least 8". Sounds a bit soggy though.

Edited January 11, 2023 by spacecadet

[Harry Harrison]

13 minutes ago, Bryan said:

 

On the basis that you should always make the best of every photo opportunity, I have recorded the stump. 🙂 

Yes, that's quite a job, very similar to mine, I can see you've done a lot just to get that far. I didn't think to photograph it but of course I should have done, mind you at the beginning of lockdown it was probably far from my mind.

[Mr Standfast]

Blaster Bates was an advocate of blowing up tree stumps with dynamite. Trouble is I can't find anything PC enough for the forum.

 

Found this though:

 

I think you've got about 5 foot from the back wall? Tons of room!

🙂

 

 

Edited January 11, 2023 by Mr Standfast
Typo.