[□]
[□ | □]
[!□]
) Pam has to reapply for her job for the second time this year . They put a banana leaf on the floor in front of you , and spoon the food onto that . After one of those trips from hell where you find yourself stranded in the US , wearing only shorts , T-shirt and sandals , carrying only a computer ( no toothbrush , sweater , or clean undies ) , at an airport thousands of miles from anywhere on your itinerary , getting to a hotel at 1 AM ( after a long argy-bargy with airline officials ) and being collected from it at 4 AM , with a dinner voucher and a breakfast voucher ( only to be used on that day , at that hotel ) , he eventually arrived at Calgary and set off in search of Anna . But that afternoon , just nine . After some searching she got a job with a car rental agency ( which she had done temporarily in Hamilton ) , and , on the strength of this , committed to a six-month lease with a friend on a downtown apartment . She could n't get back home this Christmas as she has just started a new job , as a receptionist . Off to Bari on the east coast of Italy for a conference . Our little red car had a minor accident ( not all by itself , but let 's keep this as anonymous as possible ) which damaged the radiator ; there were various difficulties in getting and installing a replacement from a wrecker 's yard . She has been studying Travel and Tourism at the local Polytechnic , and has picked up all sorts of useful skills including mixing drinks . It never rains but it pours : Pam has been inundated with jobs this year . Lindsey , Pam 's eight year old niece , is appalled yet fascinated by the French penchant for eating unusual things , and on discovering a large frog squashed on the road outside the pub said " cor look at the size of that - - you 'd have thought someone would have nicked the legs off of it by now " ! So she stayed , and we're all at home together this summer and very much enjoying a family Christmas . Never one to miss the chance of honing his racing skills , Ian kept upwind of them , tacking when they tacked to blanket them ( this is all nautical talk too ) . The clarinet quartet he organises has been having a lot of fun , with weekly meetings as either quartet or trio , and has also been indulging in some jazz along with the regular diet of modern classical music . At this point Pam turned off the lights and sat in the dark , with the so-called guard dog , listening to the eerie silence . The night after arriving directly from Europe they gave a superb concert in Nelson Cathedral . In a less successful musical adventure , brother Brian arranged for him to sit in with one of his jazz groups at lunchtime in the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield ; not a success , for the music was too different and a crestfallen Ian did rather badly . ) They were relaxed and friendly , not at all standoffish or intimidating or judgmental , and joined in wholeheartedly with all the crazy activities - - like musical skits and renaissance dancing . Imagine our consternation in seeing , just a few minutes afterwards , a fin cruising nearby that turned out to be a 2m shark : no more swimming that day . The organiser informed us that the only vacancy was in the " two-day option , " laconically remarking that this was only 15 to 18 km per day and therefore perfectly straightforward for anyone of moderate fitness .