Canada

[Under development 6 January 1999]

Canada remains, for me, a magical place.

It was once a land only of dreams. The Rockies were Moominland, Norway already having been explored. British Columbia (BC as I now know it) was a vast primeval forest, like Britain in the so-called Dark Ages, or the scenery in Return of the Jedi. Montreal was the height of sophistication. Toronto was an English version of America (i.e. the U.S.).

Then it became a country whose British and French incomers exploited and persecuted the indigenous peoples; ripped out the trees, raped Claquot Sound and gouged the tundra; and harboured triad gangsters and nazi-style fascists.

Yet it still has dreamscape Rocky Mountains, rolling prairies and dinosaur-infested badlands; orcas off Victoria (tick), wolves in Alberta (tick)and polar bears in Manitoba (awaited); Vancouver, Toronto, Quebec City.

 p.g.h@btinternet.com