LET’S GET a swimming pool. my wife suggested. Or was
it me who suggested it? Could be. T have a. selective

memory about disasters.

If you dig a hole tn our vard,
of course, the taxman parachutes
in, Go for the above-ground
models, we reasoned calmly.

There were models at the right
price, but it was funny-peculiar
when we phoned up the depart-
ment stores that flog such stuff.

By the time you bought all the
necessary pumps and chemicals
and fadders and skimmers and
tons of peat moss to put under
the thing, and then added the
labor,the price amazingly doubl-
ed. Oh well. It was only Cana-
dian pesos.

New
church
to rise
in NV

A PLANNED church
development in North Van-
couver will be ‘‘a great im-
provement’’ having ‘‘incred-
ible stabilizing effects’? on
the area, North Vancouver

City Council was told Mon-
day.

By STEPHEN BARRINGTON
Contributing Writer

And following a brief public
hearing, counci! gave second and
third readings to two bylaw
amendments that will allow a
church to be built at the southeast
corner of 23rd and St. Georges in
North Vancouver.

North Shore Alliance Church
pastor Arnie Toews told the hear-
ing he had talked to the area’s res-
idents and found them to be sup-
portive of the plan.

IMPROVES AREA

“P’ve only got to look at the
dandelions and the blackberry
bushes there now to say I believe it
will be a great improvement,”
Toews added.

Said Ald. Ralph Hall: ‘I think
this project is an outstanding one
for the community.”

Ald. John Braithwaite agreed
the project had merit, but asked
that council wait for a forthcoming
staff report on area planning be-
fore voting on the proposal.

“Our job is to look at the entire
community,’’ Braithwaite said.
“We are elected to look at the best
use of the land and we haven’t had
the report to do that.”’

PASSAGE URGED

But Hall said he was not ‘a
slave to staff reports’? and urged
council to pass the amendments.
“To delay this is not wise,’’ Hall
said.

“I think this is good community
planning.”’

Toews said later he has been
confident the development would
be approved. ‘‘We’re delighted
they've seen fit to proceed,’’ he
said. ‘‘I’m elated.‘

Toews estimated that construc-
tion on the $500,000 structure will
begin in September.

The key factor in the installa.
tion of the pool was the hiring of
samebody to set ib up for us,

He was a young man when he
started, Cool, competent, not
knowing the meaning of fear. |
left him behind the carport: on
the lawn, happily digging away to
remove the sod and lay the peat
moss.

I glimpsed him once a couple
of hours later, the digging done.
He had just opened the box in
which the pool had arrived. He
still looked okay.

I went off for a beer — pardon

me, to do some research -- and
came back in mid-afternoon,

It wasn't a pretty sight. The
young man had grown old. He
had a kind of crucified expres-
sion on his face,

Although nobody ato the
department store had admitted it,
the fact was that the assembling
of the pool was a job for a min-
imum of four bilingual engineer:
ing vraduutes.

The product had been
manufactured in) Quebeo. No
problem. One of iny grandfathers
was manutactured there too. ft
was just thatthe English transla.
tion of the instructions was so
bad that entire steps were left
out.

Then there was this thin sheet
of corrugated metal, a sort. of
giint Mobius Strip that had to be
fitted into a delicate interlocking
ring. The metal sheet wiggled in
the wind. Old sections popped
out of place as soon ay new sec-
tions clicked in,

The young man’s hands were
bloodied and sweat poured down
his face. He had already, in des-
peration, enlisted two neighbors.
And now, of course, I was drag-

ged into the fray.

It took the rest of the after-
noon, all of us sweating and cur-
sing under the naked sun, but by
suppertime the beast was
assembled and water was flowing
in.

Vhat evening [ tried to fizure
out the right chemical combina-
tion to keep the pool fram
becoming a bacterial stew-pot
Not onfy were the instruction.
salt in) French with a faulty
knglish translation, but to com.
plicate matters ever so. slightly,
the measurements were all given
— you guessed if — in metric.

It was along night.

The neat day, we flopped into
the pool to try her out. Cold?
Well, our seven-year-okl kid
thought it was just fantastic until
about 6:30 pom. when the sun
went down behind the trees along
the west side of the yard. He then
proceeded to nearly die of
hypothermia, Old Dad by this
time fad already turned blue.

The kid complained bitterly,
through chattering tecth, about
the fact that the east side of the
yard was still bathed in sunlight
and only here, where the pool

stood, was there shadow,

We contemplated drowning
him, but settled fur going and
sulking on the porch, darkly try-
ing to remember whose idea it
had been to put the pool on the
west side of the yard. Probably
hers. Must have been.

The hgaventy light that
Calvinists Joelieve shines on the
virtuous Ht us a kind of ekancing
blow the fest morning.

Tt turnfd out the weight of the
water prfssing down on the peat
moss bgnked of the slope of
lawn haf left the water level close
to the ffp on one side of the pool
while rfing no higher chan a foot
from “he top on the opposite
side.

We brought: back the young
man and naik- him up on the
hydraulic cross again. His
horoscope that day said: ‘You
have a chance to correct past
nustakes; built on a firm founda-
lion.”

While we were at it, we got
him to set the pool up on the east
side of the yard, where the
sunlight lasts so much longer.

Why is it that fun is so much
work?

Fun starts when you
sfop in Nanaimo.

We've scheduled a summer full of fun
in Nanaimo.

Ifyou like shopping, were a shoppers’
paradise, Fishing? Our salmon are the
best. So are our golf courses: And wien
the wind is up. soul love our sitiling:
and wintburfing.

Jog, sirall, or cvele around the cits
Discover our busy waterfront. We've got
nore than two dozen beautiful parks tor
walking, prenicing, and relaxing
Unspoiled Takes and nature trails nearby
offer reat canoe and Inking

Be sure to visit Newcastle Ishand, the
jewel of Nanaimo farbour, Dont miss
the Morrell Sanctuan, where wildlite
roctins free

Our zany Bathtub Race every July ty
world famous. In July and August our
Shakespeare Plus festival brings vou
Shakespeare and professionally staged
and acted contemporary phys

Get ourself te one of our renowned
restaurant Where the chefs v1! pamper
sour palate. Step out ad enjoy our
nightlife with pubs, danemy. and fue tor
evervbodk, And whert sour ever ts
over, fest comfort in decammoda tions
to pertecth suit vou and veur budget

June 20-21
Heritage Festival

July
Canada Day Festivities
duly 12-13
Second Annual Parachute Jump

July - 20
Bathtub Race and Festivities

July 2h-Aug 2
Island Wide Multicultural Festival

July 3- Aug 23
Shakespeare Plus Festival
1. Side by Side: a musical
2, fitters: a comedy
3.4 Midsummer's Night Drean:
Shakespeare
1. Thomasina: Children’s Comedy

Branch out. Explore Gabriola Island,
go trout fishing at French Creek, see the
wall murals of Chemainus, take a day
trip to the Big Qualicum Fish Hatchery.
Wherever vou go on the Island, Nanaimo
is at the heart of it all.

When vou stop in Nauaimo this
summer, the fun starts.

ISLAND

NANAIMO9

Contact Nanainie Tourisn for further information:

260 Brvden St. Nanaimo, BC. VOS TAS CO0E) 73 #8474