Hi from "Edzell" in Port Alberni, BC

9 posts / 0 new

Fri, 2016-12-09 19:49

Edzell

Hello.

I've looked at a few forum sites and so far this is one of the most civil ones I've found (with the exception of some devoted to gardening :).)

I hope for very open-minded civil discourse on a wide range of subjects, emphasising curiosity & exploration of ideas rather than debating fixed positions & polarised ideologies, with which I'm thoroughly fed up. Not too keen on the use of labels although they have some convenience if their meaning is clearly defined/undrestood. Interested in philosophical discussion & amateur psycholgy but not as academic disciplines - "homespun", even a bit naive, is good.

My user name - Edzell - has nothing to do with an unsuccessful Ford automobile. It's a nostalgicre reference to the Scottish village where I first went to school during the war. Spelled with a zed, not an ess (or a zee!)

I believe I have a keen sense of humour and of irony, which can backfire when people don't "get it" and feel insulted. Wish the forums supported vocal inflecion and facial expressions.

I can get pretty voluble as you see. So I'll quit now and hope to find some convivial but thought-provoking conversations here.

Sat, 2016-12-10 02:08

NorthReport

Welcome amigo, that's a great place to be from, as you are almost in Tofino, one of my very favourite places on the planet.

If you can put up with a few broken records you will enjoy it here.

Thu, 2016-12-15 17:57

lagatta4

Welcome to babble (and rabble), Edzell! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edzell

"Zee" is USian, unless it is Dutch...

Fri, 2016-12-16 21:17

Edzell

lagatta4 wrote:

Welcome to babble (and rabble), Edzell! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edzell[/quote]

Thanks, lagatta

Quote:
"Zee" is USian, unless it is Dutch...

Or a roll of toilet paper!

Sun, 2016-12-18 16:24

Edzell

lagatta4 wrote:
Welcome to babble (and rabble), Edzell! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edzell[/quote]

Thanks for the welcome and the link re. Edzell (some locals still called it "Aigle.") As you can guess it was great place for a city kid to spend a few of his early years, especially in wartime. My Dad was posted to RAF Edzell.

Sun, 2016-12-18 16:29

Ken Burch

So...what is Port Alberni like?

I've seen the name of the place for years but have no idea about what might be there, what the cultural mix is, what people do for a living, and the political culture of the place.

Could you bring us up to speed?

Sun, 2016-12-18 18:12

Edzell

Ken Burch wrote:
So...what is Port Alberni like?

Port Alberni; my personal quick summary:

A municipality & regional district of about 18,000 people with a good deep-water port, at the head of a broad inlet, approximately 40 miles inland from the west coast of Vancouver Island. Formerly very prosperous with high-paying, mostly manual employment in fishing, logging & lumber producion and pulp & paper making - all industries now in serious decline. The populace now is quite divided on whether to look for a new major industry, or promote diversity, retirement facilities, tourism, what? How? Argument happens :)

The town is in a very picturesque location but with a single access road, in a wide area with lots of opportunity for open-air recreation on land or water. Many tourists pass through but few stop, on their way to Tofino and the Pacific Rim.

Housing is relatively inexpensive and it's a good place to live but with industry shrinking, property taxes have risen significantly. many excellent small businesses have closed so if you can't get what you want at big box stores, it's often over-the-hump (1000m pass) to the east side of the island. Nanaimo is the closest major city there.

Sun, 2016-12-18 18:13

Edzell

Edzell wrote:

Ken Burch wrote:
So...what is Port Alberni like?
Port Alberni; my personal quick summary:

A municipality & regional district of about 18,000 people with a good deep-water port, at the head of a broad inlet, approximately 40 miles inland from the west coast of Vancouver Island. Formerly very prosperous with high-paying, mostly manual employment in fishing, logging & lumber producion and pulp & paper making - all industries now in serious decline. The populace now is quite divided on whether to look for a new major industry, or promote diversity, retirement facilities, tourism, what? How? Argument happens :)

The town is in a very picturesque location but with a single access road, in a wide area with lots of opportunity for open-air recreation on land or water. Many tourists pass through but few stop, on their way to Tofino and the Pacific Rim.

Housing is relatively inexpensive and it's a good place to live but with industry shrinking, property taxes have risen significantly. many excellent small businesses have closed so if you can't get what you want at the big box stores that squeezed them out, it's often over-the-hump (1000m pass) to the east side of the island. Nanaimo is the closest major city there.

Mon, 2016-12-19 00:35

Ken Burch

Thanks.