Ottawa, September 15, 2025

Hello all; Well, summer is over, so it is time for Bedier to travel again. I have not yet had the surgery, and they tell me it could be two years before I could get it here in Ontario. I have looked elsewhere, and my best opportunity seems to be Thailand. More about that later in this update.

On  Thursday September 26, I and my eldest daughter Marina, will be going to Istanbul Turkiye for just over two weeks. (That is now the official way to write the country). We will take VIA Rail from Ottawa to Montreal, (Dorval), and fly to Istanbul with Turkish Airlines. As I have noted before, they are the oldest continuously operated airline in the world.....started in 1933. The plan is to visit our friends there who now have permanent residency . My friend from Warsaw will attempt to come over to Istanbul for a few days. We will return to Montreal with the same airline on October 12. 

Around the first week of November, I will fly via Vancouver to Bangkok Thailand for a visit of 4 to 6 weeks. I will book that flight soon after my return from Turkiye. I have been working with a hospital at Udon Thani which is about an hour flight north of Bangkok. We will finalize details in October. At this time, it is looking very positive that they will be willing to do the hernia surgery soon after I arrive and, at a reasonable price. A number of places that I have checked with want around six thousand U.S. Dollars and up.

I will have more information either from Istanbul, or on my return home.

Take care, enjoy the Autumn.

Ottawa, August 4, 2025

 Hello All.

This is just a short note to let you know that I am still waiting for surgery, so not much exciting to report.

I was called , and we did  the X-rays two weeks ago, so that is one step closer to the main event.

Any day now, I hope to get called for a consultation, and that will be soon before the operation.

 If the surgery is soon, I will still be grounded for a further six weeks.

 My eldest daughter, Marina and I, are planning to do an approximate three week trip to Western Europe this fall, before winter sets in over there. We are considering Holland, Germany, Poland, and Paris. There will be some adjustments when we get to know just when this will be.....if at all.

Take care

                   

                                               STILL W A I T I NG    June 11, 2025                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

Hello all. Here we are, a few months later, and not much to report on my situation. I am now on the Waiting List for surgery, but no idea when that may be. Some events have happened, which will have me changing my travels a bit when I am able to do so.                       

Firstly, my friend's Hanan and her son  Hussian now  living in Istanbul have been advised that  they are no longer able to remain in Turkiye as Residents. They must be out of there by the end of June. Her parents are refugees living in Denmark, so they will go there to visit for a while, then visit with other family members in England. During those visits, they will decide with family what is best for them. As Canadians, they have many options. Turkiye is now accomodating over one million people seeking a better life, and those on Residence cards are being encouraged to return to their safe home countries. This will mean that I will drop Istanbul from my future travel plans....and perhaps go to Europe instead. If they return to Canada, then there will be no foreign travel involved to visit them.

My friends in Thailand have suggested that they would like to come here to Canada for a visit. We have discussed the idea that with direct flights  between Vancouver and Bangkok, I would meet them in Vancouver when I am able to fly again. We would tour the Banff, Jasper , Icefields area. If I am unable to travel until the winter months, it would be me travelling to Bangkok. I would not like to expose them to our winters.

Take care as you travel, and I will update when I have something to report.

 

Grounded Again March 27, 2025

 Hello all;  As I indicated in my last posting, I had developed what appeared to be a hernia. This has now been confirmed, and the w a i t i n g starts again. I have another medical with a doctor next week, however it will be months before I have the surgery....unless there is a cancellation, and I can get in. As I understand the system, there are several factors in play when operating room time is allotted. One is the hours required for specific types of surgery. For example, if a hernia surgery is allotted three hours, then it would need to be a three hour  type surgery cancellation for them to schedule a hernia surgery.

My granddaughter and her boyfriend that live in Calgary recently cancelled their wedding, so that is off the table. 

As many know, Canada is now into a General Election for April 28. I have been asked by Elections Canada to apply to work for them, as I have done election work many times before. I had actually applied almost three months ago when they opened a site for applications. I received an acknowledgement at the time, however, that application appears to have been lost, as I  received a new  request two days ago. I sent in a new application. I have left messages at the local Riding office here on Draper avenue, but so far, no calls with a job offer.

Take care, and I will update you when I have an idea of when I will be able to travel again.

Ottawa, February 10, 2025

 Hello All; This update is about a month late from my plan.  The reason is the fact that I may be grounded again this spring and, thus unable to fly. For several weeks, I have had pain from time to time on my lower left side, similar to what I had on the right side last spring. This could be the forerunner to another hernia...just like last year. This side it is called..a  femal hernia. I am waiting to see what happens.

If is does not develop, I plan to attend my second eldest granddaughter's wedding in Calgary on May 17. It is my plan to travel to Turkiye in late June. My little friend, Hussian will be nine on June 24, and I would like to be there for that. By mid April, I hope to be able to make final decisions on both trips...go, or, no go.

Here is an interesting, and true story about myself. Just before my friend Hanan and her son Hussian returned to Turkiye in October 2021, we visited a store here in Ottawa called Canada's Four Corners. In that shop, she found a sweater with 12 lines of Canadiana on the back. She asked my permission to take a photo of me reading those 12 lines so she could send the clip to her family in Europe.(All are refugees from the mid-east). I had no problem with that, so she made the clip on Snapchat. I only remember the first three lines....I am a Canadian/ I do not live in an Igloo/I do not travel to work in a dog sled. Some where along the line as family passed that along, someone put it on Facebook, and translated into Arabic at the bottom. 

Two times in the last ten days, I have been approached by ladies I did not know...saying....YOU ARE THE CANADIAN ON FACEBOOK.! They tell me it has been viewed over three million times in the mid-east. Thursday, I went to the 4 Corners shop to buy one, but the store did not continue that item.

Take care, I will update in a month or so, as soon as I have some answers

  

Ottawa Ontario December 14, 2024

 Hello All; I had a great trip home on 11 December, with a surprise ending at the Ottawa airport. I was up at 04;00 on that morning, and at the airport and checked in at 05;00. They need three hours for International flights. Since we had a tail wind all the way to Vancouver, this leg of the trip was just over 13 hours. While we were still climbing to our assigned altitude of 33,000 feet, a meal was served. At 09;00, one would expect breakfast...but no, Air Canada served a very large dinner!. Twelve hours later, breakfast was served.  Upon arrival we had to claim our checked luggage, then go through Customs and Immigration which was very quick....two people on duty, but dozens of machines for passport checking and declarations of purchases. I was through the process in less than five minutes, and gave the printout to a staff member on my way out of Arrivals. We then went to a counter where our luggage was to be put on a conveyer to be routed to our respective aircraft.  At that counter, there was no one on duty....they admitted later to forgetting to staff it. I found that we could go up three floors to a check-in counter and place our luggage on a conveyer, which I did, with several others following...over a hundred waiting at the first location.

As soon as we departed Vancouver for Toronto, just after 09;00, breakfast was served. Everything went smooth for the Toronto flight, and the transfer and flight to Ottawa. I waited until the last piece of luggage was delivered on the conveyer, but...mine was not there. I went to the Air Canada counter in the luggage area and discussed the situation with the chap on duty. He checked my receipt on the system and informed me that my one piece of luggage was in Toronto, and was already loaded for the next flight to Ottawa. It would arrive, if on schedule at 01;30. It was 11;30 already, so I took a taxi home, and my luggage arrived at 09;00 in the morning. All in all, it was a great vacation.

I had one day to relax and sort out a number of things, then on Friday, I worked two hours on the Salvation Army Christmas Bells, at a Loblaws Superstore. I will be doing a shift each day until 23 December.

Take care, and have a great holiday season. I will do an update around mid January, as to where and when I will travel next.   

Bangkok Thailand December 10, 2024

 Hello all. I am now at a hotel close to the airport, where I will depart for Vancouver at 08;30 tomorrow morning.  The stay at Pattaya was great, but time has run out for this trip.  I received an email from AC this morning, so I have already checked in and have my boarding pass. I had to call the Air Canada office here in Bangkok this morning, as they had made several omissions. They still had me in Economy, to Vancouver and then on to Toronto. It was a small omission, but their request to me for meal selection only applied to the flight from Vancouver to Toronto. While speaking with the AC agent at the Bangkok office, they confirmed I was in Premier Economy for both legs. Their  system was ahead of the Head Office. I explained the meal issue and said they would pass it on. The problem nowdays is the fact that technology  is replacing people, so at times we see many issues when machines talk to each other. 

I brought my winter parka with me because I expected cold wet snow when I returned to Canada, and it looks like I will not be disappointed.

I will do a follow up from Ottawa before long after I get there. I am volunteering again for the Salvation Army Christmas kettles, so will soon be back to working a few hours a week until December 24.

Take care