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Written by: Rod Boyle

Category: Blog

Published: 09 August 2025

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Thursday, a long, slow day at work - days, slow, nights, stupidly busy. I'm on the day shift. 

A customer from the old restaurant comes in for take away, tells me that the old restaurant, the old "Cock-n-Suck" has re-opened, new owners, new name, new menu.

I get a lot of news about this place, on the street, old customers, and I'm curious, of course, I spent 6 long years there and I'd be glad to see what they've done. And while I'd be - not loathe, but cautious about returning I've had enough people recommend the new owners that I'll at least case the place.

Head out, they've done a great job. Literally unrecognizable, all the hardwood wainscotting painted white, tables - white, walls, white, I'd post photos only the staff are in them and they might not want the publicity. It looks great. No longer the dim, dingy and dated pub. The new owners' there, she recognizes me, is hyper-cheerful, I offer my sincerest congratulations, they've done a great job of the place, they've perhaps 8 or 10 staff on the floor, I take a seat on the patio. 

I've never seen that many staff in the restaurant at once, ever, and the ones I'm seeing, they're all front of house. I get A**** as my server, she's a local, used to own the bar/grill at the golf course, a professional, a little older than me. 

Chat, I'm recognized by a few of old customers...It's not spoken aloud but I get the question.

Glance over the menu, the've done an OK job - it's much truncated with more interesting food - a lot better for the kitchen, for the servers. The prices, well, nowhere is cheap and I've got to come back when I'm a little more flush and try the "Puttanesca" - $35, I'm curious, though skeptical that they can pull off a $35 pasta (remember, I worked in ---*** Vancouver, where a plate of Bolognese cost $50, $150 with shaved truffles - but chef there, world renowned, everything was made from scratch. Pasta, tomatoes hand picked by chef and the cow was named "Bob". And I'm pretty sure that's not the case here in sunny Balfour...). 

I let A**** order for me, she would know what's best...

A sushi roll. Their own take. I look at her, "you gotta be kidding me...", but she doesn't know where I work, and I can't fault her...

I ask about the staff, why, how are there so many, and she's explaining this is a "try-out/training", they won't have that many when they're fully up and running. And they tip-pool, which - well, in Vancouver, Calgary, when you're working amongst peers that's not a bad thing. But out here you're seldom rubbing shoulders with equals, and that makes me a little skeptical. Surveying the talent pool they've recruited so far, a few incompetent, some inept, A****, who knows what she's doing, a nameless bartender, older, who probably knows what he's doing as well, a demon (not on tonight, thankfully, who knows what she's doing but does it badly served with a big helping of indifference). I ask A**** about her, a quick micro-smile tells me all I need to know, ...

So that's that.  

***

I've run out of data, I didn't think it was a big deal but dealing with 256 Kb streaming is painful, music, videos, reddit, facebook, impossible, and there's another week left on my cycle. I have to stop lending my phone to the neighbour, she watches movies all night and the data has been used up, I talk to her, she's welcome to borrow it, watch movies on her TV, but she's got to shut it off when she's done, she's been falling asleep and the movie runs all night...

***

Unity. Old friend moving to Saskatchewan to nurse her elderly/ailing parents comes to her senses, the parents, all promises now off the table and there's a list of draconian rules and expectations. She's decided to go to Calgary instead.

Only the day her moving out BC income support comes through, to her rescue, and so they find her another place to live, pronto, upper Rosemont, a shabby building under perpetual renovation, income support. And so she's staying, only for the sake of 24 hours she lost the best community housing gig in Nelson, close to downtown, and got moved about a 45 minute walk from basically any and everything. Not that it matters, she has a car, but - , well, ... Nelson's a walking town if you can manage it. 

***

Friday, Saturday night at the Sushi Place surprisingly dead. Surprising given that weekdays they've been hopping. And Sunday the boy comes down from Calgary for a couple of days to visit. He's packed a few boxes for me - 4 boxes of Antique Candlesticks (52 in total, 12 pairs and the rest singles), I keep two of my favourites, the rest are taken in 2 loads to the Antique shop. "I was a regular Jean-Val-Jean when I was younger..." but they don't get it. Nobody does. There are some treasures, mint Georgian, Late Victorian pairs, some singles even older, but - I'm done, as is I probably still have 20 in a tiny apartment and the boy assures me I have many more boxes in the locker.

2 boxes of books, and I'm amused to note that I have a couple of them already on my shelf. These will have to go as well.

1 large box filled with kitchen stuff, rice cooker, coffee grinder, Belgian Waffle press which I have to keep for sentimental reasons (to make waffles for the kids...). A pile of unnecessary cutlery, garlic presses, wooden spoons and ladles, and a mint condition complete set of Lagostina Cookware. I dispose of my thrifted pots and pans, there's no need. 

1 broken riding crop, it wasn't me and the boy argues it wasn't him but I'm sad, there will be no riding the magic pony until I get that replaced. 1 empty briefcase.

2 boxes of art supplies, mostly defunct and expired acrylics and oils, I'll have to go through and salvage what I can.

1 box of mixed media, those things to all other eyes are inexplicable but I'm delighted.

And one box of "ju-ju", those dumb-ass tiny things I've collected, roman coins, trifles, relics, reliquaries, portable shrines, fonts for holy water, religious kitsch, Catholica, buddhist amulets, Indian Gods, etcetera, etcetera, my own Wunder-Kabinet of sorts, only there's not the cabinet for display. 

The boy assures me the locker, it's fast becoming orderly...

***

The visit, good, evenings a few drinks on the patio, I confess the dearth of cinematic interest and excellence, he tells me he's been watching "House" - all 7 seasons, and he's had to watch them all to process my parenting style...

I've had a few friends recommend this to me, "I'd like it", for reasons they wouldn't elaborate upon, but with the boys recommendation I'll give it a try...

***

The apartment, bathroom, it's a mess. The added boxes make it impossible to sweep, the forms and abstractions of my paper mache, the shredded newsprint, confetti, have drifted all over the floor, and - a little at a time, hard to believe only a few months ago I passed inspection. But with the riddance of the candlesticks, tomorrow the books, I should be able to begin again. Time now to wring out my liver and grow a new one and get to work...