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oliverbear.bsky.social
oliver
@oliverbear.bsky.social
In a world where you can be anything, be kind.

I'm a bear who's well read, sort of well traveled, cheerful, and friendly. Hugs freely given.
DO NOT WET!
Yes, November's selection is The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith. We'll be discussing it on Nov. 25.
And if you want to be early, December's selection is The Murder of Mr. Wickham by Claudia Gray.
November 18, 2025 at 9:19 AM
I would have thought the canals would be all connected. That's just me as an outsider though. Can you rent the narrow boats for a while to have a vacation the way you can rent RVs?

This is the video free on YouTube. www.youtube.com/watch?v=sq6Z...
What’s the Deal with the Falkirk Wheel?
YouTube video by Practical Engineering
www.youtube.com
November 16, 2025 at 12:18 AM
I was so disappointed in that edition. The explanatory note on the copyright page was easily missed until I went looking for the chapter I knew was part of the original.
Housemate didn't understand my frustration because he hadn't read the book before. We had to wait to get a proper, complete copy.
November 14, 2025 at 11:57 AM
The Oxford University Press Small Gift edition removed Chapter 7, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, as it does not relate to the "ongoing adventures of Ratty, Mole, Toad, Badger, and the others" but instead "pauses the action and is largely about the god Pan from Greek Mythology."
November 14, 2025 at 11:54 AM
The Wind in the Willows is one of our favorites. We read it as part of Story-Time this year. Though we had to buy a new-new copy. The first one we bought didn't have the chapter, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn.
November 14, 2025 at 11:23 AM
In 2000, Younger brother was detained on air entry in Quebec wven with a passport because his name & birthdate were the same as a criminal on the Do No Travel list. He had his Social Security card & driver's license as further ID otherwise he might not have gotten in. Took over an hour to sort out.
November 10, 2025 at 5:56 PM
Interesting. The information we got in 98 was passports for entry. We had them, so don't know if you could enter without. I know it was different for land crossings.
I've only ever entered by air or ship, and passports have been required for those. No Visas, just passport checks.
November 10, 2025 at 5:52 PM
Yes. Flew into Montreal from Newark. I think passports have always been required for air travel.
In the early 80s my then 12yo brother crossed in a car from Minnesota without ID, but I wasn't with him so I don't know if the driver needed ID or a passport. He didn't.
November 10, 2025 at 5:43 PM
I visited Canada for the first time in 1998-a passport was required at the Montreal. That stamp was the first stamp in my brand new passport.
I've never driven across the border, so I don't know about crossing that way.
I am so angry with the government for screwing up the relationship with Canada.
November 10, 2025 at 5:16 PM