I missed the first part of a work ‘cakeathon’ (a colleague’s birthday cake) today because we were at our Citizenship Ceremony, but contributed the second – it seemed only appropriate to order a celebratory ‘Canada’ cake! It was a special moment to cut this in the staff-room, with Bishop Poole (my boss), standing behind me.

What I didn’t yet know was that, one floor up, my work area had been decked out with a flag and piled high with Canadian themed gifts; a red and white tulip, a mug, a pen, a special photo frame with the Prime Minister, just for the occasion, masking a lovely group photo of my colleagues taken at our summer BBQ, a towel embroidered with the flag and ‘Bearne’ (a gift from a priest friend), maple syrup, maple tea and maple filled chocolates, cards and a brooch made from copper that originally was used in the Parliament buildings in Ottawa . My Bishop reckons that if you can be over-whelmed, you should be able to be ‘whelmed’. He instructed  me that I was to be whelmed rather than overwhelmed!

What a wonderful welcome from my fellow Canadians, eh!