Hockey Night in London et al.

Woo-hoo. Hockey Night in Canada is on this side of the pond to kick of the 2007-2008 NHL Season. This will be the first NHL game I’ve seen in 13 months. I wonder if I’ll be able to follow the puck. I wonder if I’ll remember what the offside rule is. What other rules did they slip in while I was away? Anyway, given our tentative albeit impending return to Canada, it’s probably about time that I re-Canadianized myself (you’ll note that I used the “z” there and not the “s”). I’ll have to say elevator, not lift; apartment, not flat; truck, not lorry; cold, not parky; wanker, not wanka … you get the idea.

To help me along, I am going to start acclimatizing myself to the pillars of Canadian culture. First, I have quit drinking English/imported beer – only Canadian beer from now on. Now, this turned into a bit of a blunder since at the time I made the vow, my local pub had Sleeman on tap. To my horror, on my last visit to the pub there was no Sleeman. It’s been 2 weeks and so far, so good. Luckily, I’ve got enough Scotch to last until Christmas. Next, I am going to watch Season 5 of the Trailer Park Boys. If I remember correctly, Canada is exactly like the Trailer Park Boys, except some people live in houses, not trailers. Otherwise, identical.

Hopefully, after 12 weeks of this, I’ll be as Canadian as I was before I left.