There was an election

As a resident I got to vote in the municipal election yesterday. Since I always vote, and I always make informed votes, I had a lot of catching up to do to get ready for the ballot. Thankfully this little brochure arrives with our registration cards so that I could scope the candidates out and spell their names correctly when I went to the Internet for further details.

Since I'd rather not discuss the people I voted for, and the process is so different from what I'm used to in Canada, let's talk about that.

First of all, candidates have party affiliations here, even at the municipal level. While I'm sure we can all guess most of the affiliations in Canadian municipal elections, they're not declared. That was new and meant I got a crash course in all the major (and a number of lesser known) parties. There were seven candidates for mayor, with seven different parties represented. 

The voting for mayor was probably the most interesting component of this process. You make a first choice and then you get to make a second choice! I know, this blew my mind too - what are they on about with a second choice?! Well, the idea is that if no one wins the first column votes by receiving more than fifty percent of the votes, the top two candidates move the round two and the second column votes for them are allocated. The winner is the person with the highest combined score. It made my head spin to think of the strategic possibilities, but I must admit, I didn't investigate the prevalence of strategic voting.

If you want to know more about the process, London Elects has details.

Anyway, after you vote for mayor, you get to vote for the assembly member for your borough. We're in Westminster so we had five options and, again, party affiliations abound. The assembly is made up of additional London-wide members, so once you've chosen your borough member you get your third ballot out and you vote for the party that you would like to give your vote to. Seats are then divided up based on votes.

See? I told you this party affiliation phenomenon was serious stuff!

Aside from the above differences, you know what else I noticed about the election? There were no election signs to be seen in our area. It was so refreshing not to walk by sign after sign or to see them blowing down the street or filling ditches.

The cutest part of voting was the actual building where we voted: we walked in through the kitchen and were met by two women with scratch pads in a sort of closet-type room. They asked our numbers and then sent us into a bigger room (with a really strange assortment of items piled into the one end...I noticed a faux military helmet on top of one box). In the bigger room we stated our names, then took our ballots to tables with little wooden make-shift dividers that were probably older than I am. Much like in Canada it was all over before we knew it, but unlike in Canada, we couldn't go home to watch the counts roll in or get the results. Polls didn't close until 10pm, so the winner is announced tonight. I suspect the second column has a lot to do with the delay too. 

There you go. We've voted in a new mayor....can't wait to find out who it is!!

Hmm, the dishwasher could use more salt

I wish I was joking, but I'm serious. The dishwasher needs more salt. The hard reality of hard water is that apparently the dishwasher requires special salt to operate. And, because they require special salt, it means that I can't just use my never-run-out-until-you're-dead-or-maybe-even-later* supply of salt. I have to BUY MORE SALT. Groan.

When we moved in I read all the manuals for the appliances and made a note of the salt issue, but I didn't give it another thought until I went to clean the dishwasher. James, however, beat me to it and actually cleaned the dishwasher himself just a day earlier (there may be hope for him yet on the cleaning front!). 

Anyway, as I was marvelling at the fact that someone else had gotten to the grubby dishwasher seals before me, I noticed the salt compartment and thought back to what I'd read. I fished out the manual and tried to figure out how the dishwasher would tell me it needed more salt. Apparently it uses an indicator light. In fact, it uses the light on the control panel that has been very brightly on since we moved into the flat. In January. Oops.

Join me, when I finally make it to the grocery store, for another riveting salt-filled adventure. Alternatively, if Finish, whose dishwasher tabs we already use, would like to just send me a packet, that would be awesome too.

Also upcoming: I will talk at length about hard water. I know, you can hardly wait!

*A little nod to Purple, Green and Yellow by Robert Munsch. Thanks to my parents for reading to me all the time as a child!

English Weather

People seem to get pretty down about the weather in London, but I've gotta say, it's amazing for me. No word of a lie, I much prefer this to Canada (so far). Hear me out:

• No snow...or at least very little. It's currently snowing in certain parts of Canada. I'd rather not be a part of that. But when it does snow here, people are all a-tizzy about it and act like children. Do you remember, Canada, what it felt like to experience snow as a child? Yeah, I'd forgotten as well, but these people aren't so over-exposed that they're complacent. It's wonderful. We had snowball fights.

• Along with that no snow thing, imagine no crazy freezing temperatures. Some of the people I've talked to didn't even realise negative 34C was a temperature people CHOSE to live in for months at a time.

• We may not be getting the extreme highs that Ontario is (unseasonally) getting, but then again, we're also not going from 28C to 6C in a 24 hour period. I'll take a consistent 12C or 14C for the better part of the spring, thank you very much.

• English rain is actually pretty calming and subtle. Granted, this week we've also had some serious thunder, but from what people at the pub told me, it's unusual and they were pretty freaked out by it all. I, of course, loved it. I was reminded of standing on the front porch or in the garage with my dad and watching the weather change and tire itself out. Today I was certain people thought I'd gone loony - I willingly walked home from the gym in an amazing downpour (including a moment of hail) with a huge grin on my face. It was just really peaceful and felt like the perfect moment.

• This is serious pants weather. And by pants, I mean trousers. Because pants are underwear, according to Brits. And I'd rather not talk about my underwear on the blog since my family reads this (shout out to Lilac Lingerie in Ottawa! I miss you!). So North America pants = trousers. I love trousers. I'm not huge on shorts and I've only recently really branched out into dresses and skirts, but oh man, can I rock a pair of trousers. Therefore, this weather is pleasing to my sartorial direction.

• Also, I hate to sweat. Or rather, I hate to sweat when I'm doing NOTHING. Sweating at the gym or because it is warranted it completely acceptable. But what I don't care for is sitting on a patio in the middle of Elgin St, having a drink with friends and feeling sweat run down my back. Humid, sweaty Ottawa, I'm sorry, you lose on this point too.

• The light here is remarkable. Even when it's overcast and rainy, it's still abundantly luminous. I like that a lot.

• Weather here is constantly changing, which I adore. I love getting up to a bright sunny day and getting things done, then getting a good dose of rain in the afternoon just in time for tea so that I get all snuggly on the couch. It's fantastic. Sort of schizophrenic, but fantastic.

So yeah, the weather is making my day, these days. And the rain is also brilliant right now because England has been in the worst drought in decades, so even if this isn't enough to make a huge difference, hopefully it helps a little. 

Down pour outside my gym this morning

Oh look, it's Wednesday

This last little while has been full of much-needed me time. After the commotion of trying to settle in and set up our new home (or get as close to finished as I can for the moment) I felt exhausted and also couldn't quite figure out how to manage my new routine. As if adapting to British living and exploring the neighbourhood weren't enough, I took on all the laundry, ironing, house work, shopping and, don't die from shock....in fact, if you know me well, sit down.....I also do all of our cooking now. Yeah, I know. I'll let that soak in a minute.

I found I needed a little break from talking about things. I have told my parents a few bits and pieces, but FaceTime has been very useful in letting me know that people really don't get as excited as I do about things like finding the perfect garbage can, the back-and-forth ordeal with my recent trolley purchase (spoiler: it was resolved and I love my trolley), and, as I learned today, not everyone shares my enthusiasm over finding the best glass/mirror cleaner I've ever used. Seriously, this stuff is incredible and I now fully trust that man in the little hardware store. He will always get my business first, if ever necessary.

Last week had me back at a doctor's office. I actually got in touch with my specialist in Ottawa and explained to her that I need help. My leg is painful far too often and, for a while there, the colour was going off again. On her recommendation I contacted a doctor who deals in "difficult" cases. I've seen a few really impressive docs, but I think he might have the best resume. He's also lovely and things move quickly in his clinic. I had my appointment on the Thursday. Friday morning I had my ultrasound and X-ray and tomorrow, because they cannot do it in-house at the clinic, I've been farmed out to a hospital for my CT scan. Optional MRI back at the clinic may follow if warranted. To say I'm thrilled with my treatment thus far is an understatement. Now, it is private care, so I can expect things will be top notch, but it also happens to be the clinic where all of the London-based football teams send their stars for treatment, so I'm in good company. Will I finally get this chronic injury resolved? I don't know. I can only hope that they've got an idea that my Canadian team hadn't considered. I'm hopeful. Above all, it does give me a different perspective on health care and the state of the Canadian health care system. I'm dismayed when I think about the way my injury was first treated in light of the conversations I've had with my new doctor here. I know we have a lot to be proud of in Canada when it comes to our health care, but in retrospect, it feels like some backwater village in terms of priorities and advocacy for the patient. Without becoming mired in a conversation I don't quite feel I'm prepared to have at the moment, I do know that I'm incredibly grateful for the chance to be able to access private health care coverage in ways that I could only dream of in Ontario. I know just how lucky I am.

Oh hey, let's lighten this up! Here's a picture of coffee....I'm going to go make coffee now...

 

 

Weather....or not

Now, I don't wish to sound as though I'm complaining (since so much of what I've written so far could come off in that vein if you weren't aware of my general sarcasm), but I don't own any cold weather clothing. The yard sale cleared me out of so many of the items I didn't wish to bring to England, and consequently, the majority of my winter wear. Let's be honest, I'm not expecting to need so many woolen turtlenecks in London. And I expect to replenish my wardrobe considerably upon arrival.

I'm also not a cold weather person. I have resigned myself to it in Ottawa and have subsequently purchased snow pants to combat my hatred of chills. But look at the difference in the forecasts today between London and Ottawa! I'm practically gleeful looking at London:

And then there's Ottawa. Today. Right now...outside my front door...brrr!

You'll all have to excuse me while I have a solo dance party in honour of my soon-to-be city and the best weather I could hope for it in October!

Only 45 days to go....