Dream a little dream

I have been lucky enough to be the temporary occupant of an awfully comfortable bed here at Heather's place in Vancouver, which has enabled me to enjoy a few long deep sleeps of late. I was very much in need of these uber-slumbers having worn down my batteries substantially, however an unexpected side-effect has been some highly bizarre nocturnal imagination experiences (or dreams). To give you an idea, last night I dreamt that the entire cast of Eastenders was killed off in dramatic fashion, when all the buildings in the Albert Square area were demolished overnight using explosives, as the unsuspecting residents slept. Miraculously 4 elderly residents were the only survivors. I believe one was Dot Cotton and one was Dr Legg (though I'm sure he died some years ago). Another one I couldn't place, but was probably Ethel (also dead) while the fourth was curiously Mr Smith, who used to live down the road from my house in Liverpool, before he too died a few years back. Quite what inspired this rather morbidly spectacular episode in my subconscious is entirely beyond me. I haven't seen Benders for ages, nor have I witnessed any controlled explosions. I'm stumped, but then most of my dreams are fairly inexplicable.

Take another recent example, where I was Face from the A Team. I can't remember the ins and outs of this one, but I do recall being on an undercover scouting mission (as Face always did) and spending quite a lot of time hiding under a table, before escaping from a marquee and driving my car very fast up some muddy tracks. There were random supermodel types and various people from my past scattered throughout this little adventure, as well as some big bad guys. I saw the A Team about a month ago, but why should it crop up now?

An equally exciting, though more explicable dream I also had lately found me riding a very twisty turny roller coaster, that went up and over the Golden Gate Bridge. This one freaked me out so much that I woke up about 5 times, each time at the bit where there was an insane death-defying plummet into the sea. I kept falling asleep again and having the same dream. Some Wikipedia-enhanced research didn't really get me any nearer to explaining these dreams (though I did learn that Armadillos are the animal kingdom's biggest dreamers and cats most commonly dream about chasing prey). So if anyone has any ideas, please let me know.

Back in the real world there's not much to report. I've been taking it easy the past 2 days to try and recharge my flagging batteries and avoid the disappointingly English weather. I've managed to see a fair bit of Vancouver, and while there's not a whole lot to do, its very nice. Its a bit crazy here though as the city seems to be rebuilding on a grand scale to accommodate the huge number of people who've chosen to set up home here. I've never seen so many high-rise residential blocks in a city of this size and they've all been built in the last few years. Its definitely boomtown here, and this is in no small measure due to the 2010 Winter Olympics taking place in Vancouver. I wonder if this is a window into the future for London's pre-Olympics transformation?

I'm having a quiet few days so I'll be all set for a big weekend, followed by the epic train journey to Toronto, which I can't put off much longer. I'm going to a ginuwine Rock gig tomorrow (another first) to see The Killers. I got offered a spare ticket and though I've never really heard of them, thought 'what the hell'. After that I'm heading to nearby Whistler for the weekend to party. I'm gonna be staying with the little sister of a guy I just met (good) and am hoping to sample to ker-azy party action this resort is famous for. I might check some mountain vistas n'all, but we'll see.

OK, you're all up-to-date now. Marvellous. Glad to see the mighty England are returning to form with a surprisingly entertaining victory today. Maybe we do have a chance after all?? Commiserations to the European Champion Greeks and World Cup regulars, Nigeria who missed the cut. The tournament will be poorer without them.

Finally, a big hello to my Mum and Dad, who are now back from their umpteenth holiday of the year in Crete. Welcome Home!

Toodle-pip. Here's a random picture of an ugly fish from Seattle.