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The Lookers make it to Edmonton

The Looker family started thinking about emigrating to Canada in August 2006. Jo-ann Hodgson finds out about their new life in Edmonton, Alberta.

Due to the time-difference its hard to know what response to expect when ringing a family home in Canada, and as Paul passes the phone to Elli the buzz in the Looker's St Albert house is tangible. Paul, now working shifts for the Edmonton police force, is busy getting the kids, Megan, 7, and Joshua, 4, ready for another day of summer-holiday fun and when Elli comes to the phone she is in a state of excitement. "Oh, it's just great here," she says. "It's looking like a bit of a miserable day at the moment but after two weeks of temperatures over 26 and reaching up to 36 it's nice to cool down."

Twelve months ago the Lookers were thousands of miles away from the sun-baked streets of Alberta in Kent when Paul logged on to a police recruitment website and saw that the Edmonton Police force was looking for British policemen. Two fact-, house- and school-finding trips later and after Paul passed the Edmonton force's rigorous entry tests, the family of four moved to Alberta via the Provincial Nominee Programme in late January 2007 and haven't regretted a single moment since. "The whole pace of life here is so different and everything feels a lot safer than in the UK," says Elli. "Everyone leaves their doors unlocked and our kids know all the other kids in the neighbourhood and the adults look out for them." Painting an attractive picture of her new community-centred life, Elli continues: "People walk in and out of people's houses, which I'm still not 100 per cent comfortable with," she hesitates. "But really it's great. I'll look out into my garden and they'll be loads of neighbourhood kids all playing together. In the UK I wanted to know where the kids were all the time and to watch them but I'm more relaxed now. Even the teenagers here seem more level-headed. They take on more responsibility earlier and are more family-orientated, helping their families out with chores. "When I was shovelling snow in the winter I had a conversation with the teenage boy next door and I thought to myself, "what a polite, mature boy" whereas in the UK the most you can usually expect from teenagers is a grunt."

Although the Lookers have had their fair share of snow-shovelling, arriving in the dead of winter their first few months weren't as traumatic as one might expect, but the
Canadian weather did take a while to get used to, as Elli recalls. "As the only two times we visited Canada were in the snow we kind of knew what to expect from the Canadian winter but there were some days when the wind chill just cut you in two. Just walking Megan to the bus stop was like going to the Arctic!" she laughs. "You always know its cold when the Canadians say they've had a bad winter, so the first things we bought in Canada were a snow shovel, ice pick and snow brushes." With one winter under their belts the Lookers feel they are now prepared for the next, although they're not particularly looking forward to it. "The snow was a novelty this year but I'll give it a year for it to lose that novelty," Elli says. "However, as long as you're geared up it's fine. You have to buy snow gear in winter as is goes out of stock in the spring and summer months and you need to be prepared for the snow of the coming winter." And, as Elli notes, snow is one thing they certainly seem to be prepared for in Canada. "They are used to the snow here and clear the roads really quickly. Paul even went out running in the snow," Elli says, obviously impressed by her husbands bravado. "However, there is a by-law Edmonton that says if you don't clear your driveway of snow in 48 hours you get fined. At first, when people said I should clear the drive I was like "yeah I'll do it later", I didn't realise it was the law!"

In the eight months the family have been in Canada they've really been thrown into each season. As well as thunderstorms, of which Elli confesses she isn't a big fan, they've also had "crazy winds" that once lifted their patio furniture into the air and hailstones the size of golf balls. "You really get the four seasons here," says Elli. "Spring was beautiful and our garden turned from snow to brown slush to beautiful green grass in a few weeks and since then it's got hotter and hotter." With the weather now perfect for barbecues and community garden parties the Lookers are able to enjoy the company of the new friends they've made. However, even several inches of snow and freezing temperatures didn't stop them throwing themselves into their new community, nor did it put their neighbours off making them welcome. "We've made a lot of friends," says Elli. "When we arrived in the snow the neighbours stopped round to say hello and as Paul was at the academy a lot everyone was lovely and made me feel welcome. "The Edmonton police have a newcomers club and I'm now friends with some of other policemen's wives through the movie clubs the force put on. It was great that I could become known in my own right and not just as a wife to Paul and mother of Megan and Joshua. "It's important to remember that Canadians are very friendly but they have lots of friends already so it's quite difficult to get in their friendship groups," Elli warns. "But nothing is a bother for them. When they say "come round for a cup of coffee" they really mean it, they want you to go round, have a chat and stay for a while."

The kids have also adapted well to their new Canadian life, despite obvious worries from Ellie and Paul that everything would be too much for them. "We were so surprised at how quickly they got used to everything," Elli says. "It was hard for Megan to leave her class and everyone was so upset about her leaving her old school but they've made her feel so welcome here. Shortly after she started the local Catholic school they held a concert based on songs from around the world and Megan got up in front of everyone and sung Chinese songs. "It was amazing," she gushes. " We remembered our shy little girl and now here she was, so confident. "Megan's school is just great, there are small class sizes – Megan is the 18th child in hers – with two classes per grade and they take a softly, softly approach with the kids. Also, as the school is a sports academy they have more funding from the state and in grade four the kids can specialise in either hockey or soccer. "Our kids absolutely love sport; I think they've done more here in six months than they have in their lives. Joshua even plays for an under-fives soccer team in St Albert's."

The only really stressful part of the relocation process, Elli recalls with great angst, was when the family's removals container was stranded in Ontario due to a CNT strike, meaning that they had to wait much longer than their removals firm had promised before being re-united with their possessions. "It was all fine at the UK end and obviously our removals company couldn't be blamed for the strike but they shouldn't make promises they couldn't keep," Elli says, the emotion of those stressful weeks apparent in her voice. "As they don't have a franchise here and had to hire a different company the service wasn't up to standard. They were so unorganised and I was really stressed and upset. "When they did arrive the removals men were trudging snow into the house and unpacking things in the wrong places and at one point they had my computer balancing on a trolley down the basement steps. I was having kittens," she laughs, and then, noting the contrast of emotions in her tale: "I can laugh about it now and it's nice to have everything with us but at the time it was terrible." Despite the time, a couple of months ago, when Paul had to travel back to the UK for his brother's funeral, Elli assures me that the family have not longed for 'home'. "People always ask me if I'm homesick but I'm really not," she says. "Of course, I miss my family but when Paul returned from the UK he said he felt so glad that we'd made the move. "We don't even miss British brands that much, you just get used to Canadian products, although it is annoying that everything isn't under one roof. You have to go to different stores and shop around to get the best quality and deals here whereas in the UK I used to do all my shopping in Sainsbury's. She continues: "I tend to buy in bulk now so I don't have to go out as much, especially in the snow! But you do get to know when and where to shop, for example if you do your shopping on the first Tuesday of each month you get money off your shopping bill."

After a few weeks in Canada, the Lookers took some time away from the fact-finding missions that had shaped their previous visits and spent a weekend in the Rockies. For Elli, this break seems to sum up the reasons they came so far to start a new life, with family, relaxation and nature at the fore. "When we actually stepped back, relaxed and looked at Canada it was breathtaking," she remembers fondly. "The kids went tobogganing and loved it and when my mum came to visit for a couple of weeks recently she couldn't believe how beautiful it was here.

So is it fair to say that the Lookers are pleased with their decision to emigrate? Elli is in no doubt: "We're very happy that we made the move and our only regret is that we didn't do it sooner."

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22 January 2008

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