We came in towards Vancouver through the Narrows in the early evening and I think that the majority opinion was that its setting, with the high mountains and fjords stretching inland, was even more beautiful than the San Francisco Bay itself. Besides, it was good to see the Union Jack again! On the pierhead my friends of the press were out in full force and Sir William, Denis Capel-Dunn and Mr Peel all had to stand up to questioning on the Conference. They acquitted themselves nobly, and I tucked in a word or two about the valuable contribution of the Canadians at San Francisco; so our Conference publicity remained foolproof to the end.
The Canadian Pacific supplied Sir William with a fine compartment on the train from Vancouver to Banff and this became a social centre for us all. We were a very congenial party and the journey passed quickly.
The train rolled on up through Kicking-Horse Pass, the Spiral Tunnels and the Great Divide, till we reached Banff in the heart of the Rockies, where we broke our journey. There we found ourselves faced with a shortage of hotel accommodation and everyone started offering to move out in favour of everyone else. In the end, amidst much merriment, it was Joanna and Agnes who moved to the hotel annex above the Hudson Bay Company store across the street - and found there quieter and more comfortable quarters than we did in the hotel! That night we celebrated Jane Scupham's birthday in milk-shakes and presented her with two little Indian wood-carvings which we found in Banff.
The Canadian Pacific supplied Sir William with a fine compartment on the train from Vancouver to Banff and this became a social centre for us all. We were a very congenial party and the journey passed quickly.
The train rolled on up through Kicking-Horse Pass, the Spiral Tunnels and the Great Divide, till we reached Banff in the heart of the Rockies, where we broke our journey. There we found ourselves faced with a shortage of hotel accommodation and everyone started offering to move out in favour of everyone else. In the end, amidst much merriment, it was Joanna and Agnes who moved to the hotel annex above the Hudson Bay Company store across the street - and found there quieter and more comfortable quarters than we did in the hotel! That night we celebrated Jane Scupham's birthday in milk-shakes and presented her with two little Indian wood-carvings which we found in Banff.
Who DID write this? Not our father, but I began to recognise some of the descriptive bits as appear in his letters.
ReplyDeleteWho was 'David' ?
Oh goodness, knowing what is to come is almost unbearable.