Day 20: What to do in Whistler?On Sunday I had the most bizarre thing happen!!I had a random call on my mobile and it was from the proprietor of one of the accommodation firms I've mentioned in this very blog!!

Believe it or not he had stumbled across the blog on the web.He politely explained to me that he was also a policeman - whileI sat in stunned silence for several minutes - and that he had not known the French guy with weed billowing out of his room (in day 16) had been living in his property. When, I believe after reading my blog, he went to check it out he found three people living in there, when there was only meant to be one.

I apologised and promised to remove mention of his company's name which I now have.Thanks Nathon for being so understanding and complimentary about my blog (and not arresting me).

Ok, well everyone, almost everyone has sorted out somewhere to live now (see day 16), including Nathan (who got offered a mountain job with accommodation) and Fili, who got a place in the centre of town yesterday.So no more shall be said about that if I can help it, other than good luck to everyone else still looking.

Right, now I have a job and accommodation sorted I find myself in a curious position, like everyone else, of going slightly mad from boredom while waiting for the season to start at the end of November.

To fill our days we'd eat, drink in Blenz coffee shop, walk around town with various tasks to do that quite often don't get done, bumping into acquaintances at every turn and drink (a lot - I went into Longhorns bar at 4pm to have one drink and left at 1am).

I decided to visit some Bunac friends I'd met early in the trip in Banff, Alberta next week and also visit Vancouver and possibly Victoria island with Jules (on the recommendation of a cab driver that claimed that the island was full of women and short on men - we obviously needed to see if this was true).

In the meantime pointless trips to town and the library (I hadn't been in a library this often since I had been a librarian, ok, technically I was a library assistant) were part of the daily routine.

In the absence of any real events I'd just like to share some cultural differences about Canada with you that you may not know:

1. They love Poutine. No, I'm not being rude (when drunk and ordering 'Poutine' this play on words of poomtang and poutine is a common joke shared amongst everyone not from Canada who have no idea generally what we're on about). It's basically what up North they call 'cheepsangraavey' but the Canadians go one step further by giving the drowning chips a liberal smattering in lumps of non-descript melting cheese. It's kind of gross and really nice all at once.A sort of forbidden pleasure like, I don't know, trying on your mum's high heels when your 9 years old and you just happened to open the cupboard door and there they were...ok, I'm kidding...or am I?

1. They put extremely pornographic images of women above the men's urinals (see pics http://www.statravelblogs.com/smarsha78/albums/whistler-baby/4400240) which actually gets a little distracting after a while.When I questioned a waitress about this and the degradation of these images to women who have fought hundreds of years for self respect and independence from their male counterparts she simply said "You gay aaww summing" much to the amusement of everyone present. So I left the subject there.

1. They have twisty, pushey-in, pulley-out, sidewaysey taps and an abundance of automated hand towels machines.So with taps you often turn and also push in and/or sideways.All showers and sinks have this and a bemusing amount of time has been spent pushing, twisting and pulling by me.If your not pumping a hand towel out you'll be waiting for an automated towel offering - I like it.

1. They call pints 'Sleeves'.Er, hmmm.I have nothing to say.

And that's it for the mo.Thanks everyone for your messages on the blog boards - It's so cool hearing from people.And a special thanks to my heavily pregnant......ex-boss, Caroline, who, even though on the verge of giving birth at any moment and in Bristol managed to write a glowing reference for me when I desperately needed it.

Caroline you're wicked and yes, you can, now definitely name the baby after me.I hope he has my good looks.

See ya till next time xx

ps Whooo hooooooo - it snowed today!!! (6/11/08)