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Okay so I headed up to Wiarton this past week as the winner of the Fan 590's "Live Like A Legend, Live like Wiarton Willie" contest.

My first clue that this would be an interesting experience was when I hit the highway 6 & 10 junction on the drive up and the weather started to go in the toilet with some snow covered sections of road....

and then I hit Hepworth and everything went as white as a laundry commercial, blowing & drifting snow and I'm going "Nokians, now I test thee" they passed, but I felt like I was riding a razor's edge.

Thursday night was a "meet the media night" because the weather had gone into the hole, it was sparsely attended (Total number was pegged at about 90 between dignitaries & media) but I made my way around the room being introduced and found myself easily getting into the spirit of the thing (while consuming copious amounts off spirits natch :P)

Friday morning I'm up at half past six having gotten almost nil for sleep as the room I'm occupying has mental heating controls that go up during the night (When I woke up the indicated temp was 27C in the room) I'm getting into the white tux and marvelling how well it fits me considering how few measurements I was able to give them, but then I notice something missing according to the tag that came with the suit I'm supposed to have a purple shawl to help ward off the cold. So I go out to meet the owners of the B&B who are taking me to the event and they dig up a black overcoat for me (for which I am eternally grateful)

We get to the prediction site and its started snowing again, I just make it onto a slippery platform as my name is called (at this point, I'm fearing doing a Chevy Chase and landing on my ass in front of the cameras) They bring Willie out and its at this point I should mention that this Willie is all of ten months old and has very little experience with crowds, so the poor thing is bouncing around in its cage like its on crack and gets close to taking off the nose of the mayor of Wiarton as she's 'talking" to him :D as Willie predicts an early spring I'm wondering "what next"?

First a reporter from The Star talks to me for a few minutes, I explain who I am and how I got there along with what I do for a living, I found out today that she butchered my occupation, being called a "paralegal" is an insult to a community legal worker such as myself, since community legal workers are supervised by lawyers and work for the poorest citizens in Ontario for no fee from them. Paralegals by contrast have no supervision and are solely motivated by profit -sigh-

Next is breakfast which while nearly cold is delicious. Afterwards I go wandering, do the tourist thing and pick up some pins as souvenirs and wander past where the local radio crew has me on (Now bear in mind these guys, The Bear 106 IIRC) are hardly "big time" and came across to me as kinda scary (In contrast CFRB was also there and they showed zero interest in what we were doing just a few feet away from them)

Afterwards I go back to the Bed & Breakfast (The Bay View B&B on Sauble Beach, wonderful place) and do some stuff while awaiting my afternoon duties as "Minister of Marmots" along with the other nine members of Willie's "Shadow Cabinet"

First was a stop at a local old age home to help present awards to the residents along with the other cabinet members and the Wiarton Willie mascot. Then the Mayor, the Wiarton Willie mascot and I make several stops presenting birthday greetings to children whose birthdays fall on Feb 2 and helping to present medals to Special Olympic atheletes.

Then return to the B&B as the weather worsens, but I'm bound & determined to get dinner and catch the Luba Goy (of Royal Canadian Air Farce) appearance I also won tickets to (funny story, after the ceremony I had my picture taken with her and she was saying how they managed to bung up her tuxedo, giving her a jacket with overlong arms while the person she was traveling with, CBC's chief meteorologist had a tux jacket with the sleeves way too short... Methinks I can guess what happened there)

Anyways, the concert was fantastic, the opening act was a local band whose name escapes me and though they hardly played "happy" music, it was still entertaining. Luba was terrific, though she kept making cracks about a stagehand who had been rude to her while she was trying to find a working mic :D

After the concert, the snow had let up and I made my way back to the B&B, hopping in the jacuzzi tub to warm up and relax, day one done and day two yet to come.

I'll stop here for now and add day two when I get time to type it up.

Fu ckin' hilarious!

Sounds more like you WON A JOB than a contest.

What's in it for you? Other than a stay at B&B and whole lot of community work.

That doesn't sound like a vacation at all. Sounds more like they only way they could get someone to do that was to give the job away disguised as a contest.

Day Two

Day two (Saturday) starts out much like day one, except this time the heat has decided to take an unscheduled vacation and the room is approximately 12C when I got up :blink:

This day's activities were more my choice, do which ones struck my fancy. Since I wasn't keen on standing as a race marshall at 9AM for the soapbox derby through Wiarton, I decided to take in the breakfast at the B&B where I was staying...

It was so good that it should have been illegal to eat that well :ph34r: Homemade bread, peameal bacon, an omlette and tomato slices.

Around lunchtime I'm getting ready to attend the parade through town, the snow has picked up again and I'm a little leery of taking the hill outside the B&B again as the plows haven't been through yet. The B&B owners come through once again, giving me a lift into town in the truck that the husband uses for plumbing jobs, he guesses the truck clocks in at 7,000lbs fully loaded and is RWD but powers up the hill like it was dry as a bone :o

The parade was hilarious as the snow has really started coming down now and so I'm bundled up in a black overcoat over my tuxedo, a borrowed jacket to keep my legs warm. I've be put on a parade float in a Muskoka chair and for whatever reason I just decided to go with it and kept asking for someone in the crowd to get me a margarita :P

After the parade, most of the "shadow cabinet" retires to a local inn and I immediately ordered a Spanish coffee (Not that I even like 'em, but it was warming and had booze in it, so there you go :lol:)

Next the cabinet goes to a "bone china tea" which mostly consists of finger foods and real tea served in real bone china (dainty assed cups though, one sip and you've taken out half the teacup)

I head back to the inn, have a few beers and get taken back to the B&B, the weather has really gone into the dumper now so I decided to forgo any of the evening activities. The B&B owners invite me to stay in teh house and we watch some movies. Deloris Clayborne and The Seventh Sign (their picks) and Robin Williams - Live at the Metropolitan Opera House (Mine)

Next morning I'm back in my civilian clothes and looking outside at a sky that does not look safe to drive in, since its grey as hell and dumping snow steadily but after seeing nothing about road closures on any of the available media (Internet, Sat TV, local radio) so after another delicous breakfast (vegetarian this time to accomidate other guests) I pack up and make my way home.

Lordy, if I didn't have the Nokians I would have been screwed, blued & tattooed several times over, the 6 leaving Wiarton was basically a blizzard until outside Hepworth. I hit Ferndale and the #10 is actually closed but since the local cops can offer no other way for me to get home, I take my chances and proceed along the #10, just biding my time streching a three hour trip into four and a half, but I made it back in one piece instead of several ;) blowing by IIRC four road closures (Gawd, I'm such a rebel :P)

and now the moment you've all been waiting for (stop throwing those tomatoes damnit :P)

Pictures!

The main house at the Bay View B&B:


The building containing my room:


Luba Goy & I after the prediction ceremony:


Wiarton's Mayor, Wiarton Willie mascot & I @ Special Olympics presentation:


Me in the Wiarton Willie parade


More photos @ my photobucket site:
Wiarton 2007 photo album

NefCanuck

I can't even type I'm laughing so hard!!!!!!!

Oh s***, this is absolutely freakin; hilarious!!!!

:lol:

crist, Myy chest l:P:
oh my gowd!

WTF????

hahahjahahahahahahahahahahahhahahjahahahahahahahahahahahhahahjahahahahahahahahahahahhahahjahahahahahahahahahahahhahahjahahahahahahahahahahahhahahjahahahahahahahahahahahhahahjahahahahahahahahahahahhahahjahahahahahahahahahahahhahahjahahahahahahahahahahahhahahjahahahahahahahahahahahhahahjahahahahahahahahahahahhahahjahahahahahahahahahahahhahahjahahahahahahahahahahahhahahjahahahahahahahahahahahhahahjahahahahahahahahahahahhahahjahahahahahahahahahahahhahahjahahahahahahahahahahahhahahjahahahahahahahahahahah

when emoticons cant convey my thoughts!!!

SOMEONE PUT THIS IN THE CLASSIC THREADS SECTION!!!!!

I think I'm gonna die!

I started laughing at

Quote:Okay so I headed up to Wiarton this past week as the winner of the Fan 590's "Live Like A Legend, Live like Wiarton Willie" contest.

and thought I'd scroll down to the quick reply.... at which point I saw the pictures... culminating in the lawn-chair-on-a-trailer pic!!!!

BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! .classic!

you get to keep the tux?

oh damn man.. now that I've caught my breath...I gotta go back and read the text now...

By far the funniest thread in years on this site.

YEARS!

at least i now know if i ever win this contest, i will ask for the cash equivlaent, even if it means i have to pay them


as for your "parade float"(i use the term lightly), did buddy get lost on his way to the cottage?? get stuck in the snow and then they stuck you on his "tractor trailer"???

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

edit:

O btw, i officially announce the photoshop contest open, best chop gets a beer at the next meet

2 rules:

1) it better be f***ing funny
2) no hog on hog scenes ( "beastiality" porn)


:lol:

ANTHONYD,Feb 6 2007, 11:05 AM Wrote:I can't even type I'm laughing so hard!!!!!!!

Oh s***, this is absolutely freakin; hilarious!!!!

:lol:

crist, Myy chest l:P:
oh my gowd!
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Breathe Anthony! Last thing I'd want is for you to hurt yourself :D

Me on the other hand? Methinks I'm into self multialtion, esp. that parade pic :P

NefCanuck

You look good in that suite :wub:

darkpuppet,Feb 6 2007, 11:29 AM Wrote:SOMEONE PUT THIS IN THE CLASSIC THREADS SECTION!!!!!

I think I'm gonna die!

I started laughing at

Quote:Okay so I headed up to Wiarton this past week as the winner of the Fan 590's "Live Like A Legend, Live like Wiarton Willie" contest.

and thought I'd scroll down to the quick reply.... at which point I saw the pictures... culminating in the lawn-chair-on-a-trailer pic!!!!

BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! .classic!

you get to keep the tux?
[right][snapback]225893[/snapback][/right]

Sadly no, the tux was a rental :lol: But I somehow ended up with the cane that came with the tux in my car and I have a bad feeling that the cufflinks that came with the tux are somewhere in there as well... Anyone have a bling-bling detector I can borrow to check? ;)

NefCanuck

ZX5focused,Feb 6 2007, 12:48 PM Wrote:at least i now know if i ever win this contest, i will ask for the cash equivlaent, even if it means i have to pay them


as for your "parade float"(i use the term lightly), did buddy get lost on his way to the cottage?? get stuck in the snow and then they stuck you on his "tractor trailer"???

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

edit:

O btw, i officially announce the photoshop contest open, best chop gets a beer at the next meet

2 rules:

1) it better be f***ing funny
2) no hog on hog scenes ( "beastiality" porn)


:lol:
[right][snapback]225896[/snapback][/right]

I'm out!

I don't show up to meets.

ZX5focused,Feb 6 2007, 11:48 AM Wrote:as for your "parade float"(i use the term lightly), did buddy get lost on his way to the cottage?? get stuck in the snow and then they stuck you on his "tractor trailer"???

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

edit:

O btw, i officially announce the photoshop contest open, best chop gets a beer at the next meet

2 rules:

1) it better be f***ing funny
2) no hog on hog scenes ( "beastiality" porn)


:lol:
[right][snapback]225896[/snapback][/right]

Yeah, but then again, considering the number of cancellations they had, I'm surprised that the "parade" even got off the ground (In fact they had prizes left over, there were so few floats)

But just think, it could have been worse, I could have been in the Wiarton Willie suit walking through that crap instead of riding through it :P

Oh and I'm adding special bonus rule #3

Using whatever photos I've posted here or on my photobucket site of the parade, someone 'chop me with a margarita on the Muskoka chair. I'll buy THEM a margarita (or drink of their choice) at the next meet ;)

NefCanuck
(Still waiting for that margarita damnit <_< :D )

Flofocus,Feb 6 2007, 12:00 PM Wrote:You look good in that suite :wub:
[right][snapback]225898[/snapback][/right]

:blink: O-kay... :D

Aside from the fact that the suit fit so well with me giving them so few measurements, I'm just glad the pant legs were wide enough to accomidate my leg brace... I probably would have rusted solid in place otherwise :D

NefCanuck

Daniel... seriously, that's the funniest s*** - EVER.


+1 for the classic threads vote! :lol: :lol: :lol:

And the towed Muskoka chair is a classic! :D :rofl:

Oh my!!

Damn that was funny. Sounds to me like you should've had a film crew with you the whole time and made a documentary called the Wiarton Gong Show.

NOS2Go4Me,Feb 6 2007, 03:05 PM Wrote:Daniel... seriously, that's the funniest s*** - EVER.


+1 for the classic threads vote! :lol: :lol: :lol:

And the towed Muskoka chair is a classic! :D :rofl:
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Nothing says "Welcome to Wiarton" like a towed Muskoka chair during a blizzard eh? :D

NefCanuck