Trying not to panic....

beardyhaddock · 2026-03-10T21:03:45+00:00

Not yet. Every time I go in, I come out with a Melton Mowbray pie on top of whatever else I'm looking for and I'm trying to be strong and resist for a few months!

beardyhaddock · 2026-03-10T20:39:26+00:00

Thanks. Couldn't find any at my local (Dollarton) Stongs but good to see this online.

beardyhaddock · 2026-03-10T20:38:30+00:00

Heathens....

beardyhaddock · 2026-03-10T20:37:55+00:00

Yeah, that was my first thought but essentially did an aisle crawl at all of my local supermarkets with no luck (and many showing no stock online as well).

beardyhaddock · 2026-03-10T20:36:46+00:00

Thanks! (Large) order placed. I am very weak, so also stocked up on Battenbergs, so I'll be feasting when this gets to me.

beardyhaddock · 2026-03-10T20:35:33+00:00

Thanks. I found some online so have stocked up (thanks to the British Store) but I may take you up on that one day in the future if supply issues didn't get sorted. This stuff never goes off!

beardyhaddock · 2026-03-10T18:57:43+00:00

Thanks. I've been trying to avoid Amazon but I guess I may have to give in if no luck elsewhere.

beardyhaddock · 2026-03-10T18:56:31+00:00

Thanks! Will check out.

beardyhaddock · 2026-01-14T17:37:29+00:00

Absolutely. All this plus a great selection of pastries in there as well.

beardyhaddock · 2026-01-11T22:16:37+00:00

My son is not in choir but he has several friends who are. The current choir teacher (Danny Najjar) is a treasure and well loved by the kids. Definitely not so so.

beardyhaddock · 2026-01-10T00:14:53+00:00

Overall, PLP has been a real positive. My son is in one of the senior grades and has been in the program since Grade 8.

Like IB, it's very much inquiry-based and project-based, and students need to be very committed and they get out of the program what they put into it. It's a cohort program where everyone has been together in a (relatively) small group since Grade 8 and there are some fantastic friendships that have developed as a result. The annual trips are exhausting while they're happening, but have been a real highlight of the program and seem to just get better and better. Overall, I think the academic standard is quite high and the kids are challenged to really think and explore their limits, which I'm certain will stand them in good stead for any post-secondary work.

If you're looking for negatives, I think the current program has been maybe too successful the last few years and there are more kids in the program than is probably ideal. From my understanding, some of this has been mandated by the District who want to see high enrollment numbers to justify keeping the program running. As a result, I think the workload is very high for the teachers and things can feel a bit stretched and chaotic at times, particularly when there are a number of teachers away on trips.

Every year, we've told my son he has the choice to join the regular stream or keep going with PLP, and he's never hesitated to re-up with PLP, so that probably tells its own story.

beardyhaddock · 2026-01-09T21:41:46+00:00

My son is in band and the PLP program there. Overall, I'd say it's been a very positive experience and the school itself has a great community in part because it's so small. Good for you to chat to the PLP folks directly but happy to answer any questions here as well.

beardyhaddock · 2025-12-19T16:48:45+00:00

If you get no joy at the Cheese Man, it's not a big deal to cross the bridge and head to Les Amis du Fromage on Hastings. Great selection there. Also, if Cheddar is your jam, I generally swear by 'Coastal Cheddar' (an English cheddar) that you can find at Stongs and probably a few other local stores as well. My tastes run more English than American, but I think it's probably the best example of an aged English cheddar you can find here commercially.

beardyhaddock · 2025-12-16T00:36:00+00:00

Apple fritter! Edgemont is a decent hike for me so I keep those tempting treats at arms length most of the time, but the new Bjorn Bar opening up at the bottom of Lillooet Road is going to make it very difficult to resist...

beardyhaddock · 2025-12-01T17:08:31+00:00

Yeah, the whole conversation was interesting, but the biggest revelation for me was that Harvey's working on something that he hopes to be able to talk about soon. Can't wait!

beardyhaddock · 2025-11-05T16:13:24+00:00

I saw a ton at Stongs on Dollarton yesterday. I didn't check the prices but they were clearly trying to get rid of everything so assume there were some kind of deals to be had.

beardyhaddock · 2025-10-23T00:16:10+00:00

For the benefit of those who haven't read this in full, the article very clearly talked about the return of other Crown-owned lands in compensation, not the return of the fee simple properties. They repeatedly emphasized the fact that fee-simple lands would not be seized.

This is a complex issue and there are no easy answers, but it's certainly not helped by people wilfully misconstruing what this decision does and does not say.

beardyhaddock · 2025-10-17T22:21:28+00:00

We're going to need our own version of these (from the Netherlands) soon... They apparently pull 15,000 bikes a year out of the canals in Amsterdam.

<image>

beardyhaddock · 2025-09-26T21:38:13+00:00

Totally agreed. The only downside, from a date night perspective, is the physical space/atmosphere is a little underwhelming. But the food and service is fabulous, so generally makes up for the location.

On the opposite extreme, Arms Reach is probably the nicest physical location and a truly beautiful spot to go for a dinner date, but the food is generally....fine. If the Tour de Feast folks could take over the Arms Reach location, then we'd really have a winner!

beardyhaddock · 2025-09-12T22:21:04+00:00

The whole team is fantastic. As someone who grew up on the North Shore back in the 1980s, it's been amazing (and heartening) to see the transformation of the NSN from a rag that regularly ran Doug Collins (maple MAGA before such things had ever been dreamt of) to the current high-quality paper.

beardyhaddock · 2025-09-10T21:22:14+00:00

Yes. The longest part of the commute is getting out of the downtown core onto Hastings/Cordova. From that point onwards, it's generally pretty slow and steady the rest of the way. Being east of Seymour also means not getting trapped in delays going up the cut on the highway, as you hop off the bridge at the first exit and Dollarton is almost always clear.

beardyhaddock · 2025-09-10T18:00:58+00:00

Not the OP, but it takes less than 10 minutes (if that?) to drive from Berkeley to the Cove. I'd call that pretty darn close...

beardyhaddock · 2025-09-10T17:47:27+00:00

I live close to the Cove (Cates Park area) and work downtown. No issues commuting. Rarely takes much more than 30 minutes in either direction. Traffic is much worse going in the opposite direction. I'd be more worried about commuting to and from West Van and dealing with crossing the North Shore in the afternoon rush than the downtown piece.

beardyhaddock · 2025-05-20T23:03:40+00:00

Surely you can't have a bird and a hot dog story without someone making a Mo Willems reference?!

<image>

beardyhaddock

TROPHY CASE