Campbell/King Christmas Note 2009

As an exercise to prepare myself to write this year’s edition of the Campbell/King Family Christmas letter I had a look at last year’s missive. I think in keeping with tradition I will now exclaim at what a difference a year can make, especially when you have a young child.



Last year at this time Madeleine was just cruising around the furniture, enjoying the world from the crawling vantage point. Today, as I write, she is enjoying the company of a little friend by running and chasing around the furniture and shouting ‘go’ after counting to three to set the race in motion! But let’s not skip too far into this year’s story or vital nuggets of information will be missed out and the whole plot of the story will be lost!

Gentle reader, this time last year in the unfolding adventures of the Campbell/King saw us setting off on the first leg of their Canadian adventure: ‘Christmas 2008 in Montreal’. I would not normally mention last year’s festivities but there are some significant events that bear mention.

The first wonderful experience of Christmas 2008 was having the opportunity to meet and spend time with my Father’s partner Janet. She is a lovely woman he met in his walking group and is now on my list (pretty much at the top) of favourite people. It is lovely to see my Father so happy and to know he has someone so special in his life.

The second event was a suprise I organised for my Father: Madeleine Anne’s christening at Montreal West United Church. Janet helped me keep this a surprise (no mean feat when my Father is on the committee approving all services at the church). Madeleine, dressed in her fabulous finest, was very well behaved and it was a wonderful present to give my Father – who didn’t even guess when we were sat in the very front pew and read ‘Christening’ in the order of service!

Moving on… and speaking of moving: if you know one thing about me it is that I am not one to shirk duty. While I may moan about it (a lot, frequently and vociferously) I get on with it. So while planning a surprise christening, Christmas with an under one-year-old child in a different country, and a bit of freelance graphic design, I was also organising our move to Edmonton, Alberta.

Ah, Edmonton, land of the frozen north – location of scary numbers below zero on the weather channel… and scene of the next part of the Campbell/King story.

We arrived in Edmonton to a furnished flat kindly organised for us by Darren’s new employer PCL Construction. It was a large suit in a converted hotel right near Jasper Avenue in downtown Edmonton. It was quite cold in Edmonton those first few weeks. To say that it was cold here compared to what we were used to in Market Harborough was to understate things significantly! The weather hovered around -40 for the first few weeks and we were sure we would turn our child into a human popsicle!

Madeleine was a pretty good sport about putting on the absurdly thick snowsuit we got her in Montreal – but looked a bit like the blob out of some horror film (only with a button nose and a really cute hat on)!

In late January our shipping container arrived and we were able to move into our rented house in a lovely part of Edmonton known as Glastonbury. It was wonderful to be reunited with more than a suitcase full of clothing and be able to do some proper cooking and baking.

Our house backs on to some walking paths overlooking a large pond which doubles, in the winter, as a full-sized hockey rink and has water features spraying in summer. Some of the local families put nets out on the ice and have matches most weekends. Great fun to watch from our upstairs windows and a complete novelty for my English husband (who is one step away from becoming a binocular toting anorak while trying to get a better look at it).

The house itself is only a few years old and is very modern in style – with an open concept great room downstairs combining living room, dining area and an open kitchen. It is done in neutral colours throughout so we pretty much have a blank canvas. When we arrived in Edmonton we were introduced to a new architectural feature unique to the area: the bonus room. A bonus room, for the uninitiated, is a room extending over the two-car garage. It is a bonus in that it provides an additional reception area, or in our case a television come play room for Madeleine. While the builders mean ‘bonus’ to be extra space, I see it as a bonus not to have every toy strewn throughout the house and out of the public eye.

When we moved in to our new home one thing we did notice is the difference in space between our Edwardian terrace and what is a small- to medium-sized home here. The dimensions of most North American furniture look like older brothers on steroids compared to what we had known in England. This bonus room presented us with another room to furnish and so off we went to look at couches and tables. This time there was no dissuading me from getting a leather suite as our last cream coloured linen was not exactly the most practical of choices when considering how active Maddie can be (incidentally she drew in brown crayon on one of the couches in the summer – and I mean all over it – so my choice has been more than justified)!

Meeting people in a new town is always an interesting process. It is made all the more difficult in an Edmonton winter during a cold snap. People here hide in their homes, driving straight into their garages, and never even setting foot outside unless absolutely necessary. Finally, a warm day with lots of snow got the neighbourhood out and shovelling and making snowmen. A rather saucy snow-penguin who bore a striking resemblance to Pamela Anderson being built gave me my first introduction to one of our neighbours (Saskia, Aidan and not forgetting Erasmus). From this meeting I have been introduced to a book club, and taken up running, Darren has found a fellow Brit to have the odd beer with after a weekly workout and Madeleine has found her first hero to worship – other than ‘Super Dad’ that is.

While reading the ingredients on the labels of various children’s yoghurt I met another friend. Kim’s name is one of the first Maddie could say – and boy does she like to say it. Kim’s daughter Megan ( Meggy as Mimi calls her) is a regular at our house, as we are at hers and we attend both swimming lessons and the same playgroup together. Kim has been one of the main reasons I didn’t jump back on a plane to England or under the wheels of a bus during the long, long, long, long wait for spring and summer. What is also nice is that Darren has found a buddy in the family too – golfing with Meggy’s daddy, Eden, has allowed him to see much of the local courses and enjoy many a beer cart too.



Summer finally came to Edmonton. Just when all hope was lost and it had snowed in May; suddenly the heat and sun were there like an apology for the hideously long wait! An interesting thing happens here, and very convenient too, it rains at night and is sunny all day. Fabulous!

The fine weather had people coming out of hibernation and saying hello. The walking paths behind the house were teaming with people pushing prams and walking dogs.

We spent time chalking up the sidewalks with a group of neighbourhood sisters (four girls live next door and Maddie loves watching everything they do).

Amongst the walkers with prams we met Jenny and Lorna. Madeleine has learned a few interesting things from Jenny (who is slightly older than her): like how to hop, how to say ‘Elmo’ and that running up and down, and back again is great fun. Lorna and I enjoy this activity from the sidelines while chatting – a sensible division of labour I think!

The summer whizzed by with various weekend outingsto keep us busy. We visited some local museums and parks as well as some of the nearest national parks. We even had a chance to see some buffalo roaming around free at Elk Island National Park. As I love buffalo this was a huge treat for me.

Madeleine enjoyed the summer splashing in the garden-hose and blowing bubbles in the shade of the patio. Lots of barbecue was had (it would have been unbearable to cook anything in the oven in the kind of heat we had). I actually managed to get a tan (by accident) from bicycle rides to the gym with Madeleine, trips to the park and generally staying outside as much as possible.

The end of our summer saw us meeting some friends in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Chosen as the midway point between ourselves and our friends in Utah (Brian, Nola and their daughter Geneva) it is still eight hours by car to get to: quite an experience with a child under two (my ears are still ringing from the screams of boredom from the car seat). We spent a lovely few days cycling in the area, and playing poker and ‘Taboo’ in the evenings in the hallway by the lifts at the hotel so as not to wake our babies.

Our journey there and back took us through some of the most breath-taking National Parks in Canada. Scenery so beautiful it didn’t seem real and wildlife that you could reach out and touch (including a bear running out in front of our car) made us long to get back as soon as we can. On our return journey we even managed to stop and walk up the Columbia Icefields – an UNESCO World Heritage Site.



This last year Madeleine has been growing and changing from a baby into a toddler. She walks, runs, and jumps. She speaks in sentences, jokes with us and plays hide and seek. She laughs a lot and is a genuinely fun person to be around (when not having one of her rare but spectacular ‘moments’). She loves to read books and is a lovely cuddly type who gives loud kisses and tight hugs. Mummy really enjoys dressing her up and Daddy (although he will be cross for my saying this) loves to brush her hair (he says because he has none himself!). The tenderness between she and Darren is something I cherish and every evening his arrival home from work is an event, celebrated by her shout of ‘Daddy-Daddy!’. We are very proud of her and we enjoy her more and more each day.

Life in Edmonton has taken on a nice rhythm and is pretty good. We have recently purchased the house we were renting and are making plans to decorate it. Darren is enjoying the perks of a different work culture which is both family oriented and seems to involve a lot more golfing and social opportunities than the UK. Madeleine and I have made some more friends in the neighbourhood and get out frequently to play groups, indoor play parks and play dates.

It all flies by in a blur and I am sure I will be stunned by what changes occur between now and the next Christmas letter. We both hope that you and your families have had as exciting and interesting a year as we have and we look forward to hearing your news. And we wish you all the best for this holiday season and for 2010.