Aunt Margaret and Sarah came up with Kevin in tow. Sarah actually asked me beforehand if he could come up when they did, which she needn't have done because, like I said, he seems a nice enough fella, though I was worried when she said he had something for me. A nice guy for sure, but stick to my cousin thank you kindly! Turns out the gift he had for me was a biography of John Lennon written by his half-sister Julia, and as I'm reconnecting with The Beatles, it was a really nice present to get. My Uncle Eddie also got me a book—an autobiography of Dave Hanson, one of the 'Hanson Brothers' (pictured below) who starred in the iconic Ice-Hockey film, Slapshot. Definitely wasn't short of reading material. Aunt Margaret, Sarah and Kevin stayed for about an hour—with the former two managing to squeeze in a couple of fag breaks on the balcony—before heading off. It was great to see Aunt Margaret and Sarah and to go clubbing with the latter!
With Aunt Margaret's gifts having added to a Vanessa Feltz sized case, myself and Uncle Eddie set off for Bramalea to watch the Celtic vs Hearts game, which beforehand, was supposed to entail a spot of fish and chips at a place called Heritage Fish and Chips. I say 'was' because we drove around trying in vain to find the place. We seemed to be on the right road but the lack of numbers on any of the buildings proved to be a colossal hindrance. We eventually gave up and opted for a McDonald's instead. On entering, we were met by the son of Scottish boxing legend Benny Lynch (pictured below), who, if I had met him at the start and not the end of the holiday, I'd love to have spent time talking to. I picked up a Bramalea CSC polo shirt for my Da before I settled down with my Uncle Eddie and my Uncle Brian—who was working nearby—to watch the game. It turned out to be a bit of a horror show—Celtic lost 2-0 rather meekly to Hearts, with a soft red card and penalty decision going against us. Worse still though, or perhaps a slight cold comfort, over at Ibrox Rangers were being gubbed 3-0 by Hibs. I realised too that in terms of watching Celtic on TV, Uncle Eddie and myself are quite vocal and, on occasion, I admit, foul-mouthed! My Uncle Brian is much more reserved and today he seemed strangely subdued, football aside. Really not like him to be like that, hope I've not pissed him off in some way. You never know, sometimes any given family member's sensitivities can be a minefield. to negotiate. I gave him a big hug, which I hope cheered him up a bit.
After the match, Uncle Eddie bowed to the awesome power of the GPS and found the chippy eventually. It was quite surreal actually, sitting in the place with our Celtic scarves on, tucking into a plate of fish and chips—which due to the fact that the fish in question is halibut is better than anything you get back home—while two Rangers fans were doing the same at another table! That wouldn't happen post-match in Glasgow! The queue at the airport for the Air Transat desk was a total farce. It was longer than Ron Jeremy's dick and just as tired looking (pictured below). In their infinite wisdom, Air Transat had decided to dump passengers on flights going to Manchester, London and Glasgow into the same queue, only to then, when whatever flight was leaving first, call people on that particular flight to the front of the queue. We were in line for about 1 hour 10 mins and despite the check-in desk apparently closing at 7.35pm, I only got checked in at 7.15pm. That, allied to the fact that I had to pay an extra $60 due to my overweight case, left me in a bit of a mood. However that was lifted when I said goodbye to my Uncle Eddie and he said that he was 'missing me already.' My Da's side of the family is not that emotional a bunch at the best of times and Uncle Eddie is considered by many, as a man of few words, so that made it even more special. It felt good to be loved at that very moment.
With no time to buy any duty free, it was straight onto the plane and I said goodbye to Canada for another year. I had fully intended to read and sleep on the plane but I ended up talking to a lovely lady from Hamilton, Ontario, who was travelling to visit relatives in Girvan. Who would have thought that it would take that long to travel from Hamilton to Girvan or indeed that anyone would want to! we got on so swimmingly that we exchanged e-mail addresses, which is a first for me with a fellow passenger, but like they say, there's a first time for everything. The exchange of e-mails addresses actually reminded me to try and keep in touch a bit better with family and friends. The Internet, mercifully, can make the Atlantic seem that little bit less expansive.
