What Canadians talk about

We were back in Bourget at the weekend for the sake of Bob's birthday party, starting at noon and ending whenever, as it said on the invitation.

Those of you so inclined can, weather permitting, enjoy skating on the pond and cross country skiing or snowshoeing on our trails. Those who'd rather stay warm (Bob is the leader of this group) can sit around inside and watch the outdoorsy types.

The house being so comfortable, Carol and I with our snowshoes were the only outdoorsy types present, especially as the skating option had been cancelled, owing to the weight of Bob's snow blower that had apparently caused a resounding crack in the ice, a crack that ran between Bob's legs as he was attempting to clear the surface snow off his pond and occasioned a hasty withdrawal.

"You wouldn't want your guests to go under!"

"If we did, we'd invite a completely different set of people."

So after supper (smelling delicious as we came in out of the snow to eat it) the favoured ones sat around in the living room while four children rushed around upstairs and downstairs, playing hide and seek with walkie-talkies. From a recent immigrant's point of view, it was interesting to see which topics of conversation were the most lengthily discussed: how to chop down maple trees, how to shingle roofs, the habits of wild turkeys, and Monty, whom some of us hadn't met before, turned out to be a great raconteur, holding the floor with his account of how he and his wife fought wind and waves on a yachting trip to Hamilton, across Lake Ontario.