What are the Chances?

So! How many Blacksmiths do you know? Not too many I guess. How many Ontario Blacksmiths do you know? Probably less. How many Ontario Blacksmiths who went to Ness Creek Saskatoon for Caniron VII in August do you know? I know the answer to that question, it is a maximum of four. Caniron is a bi-annual series of Blacksmith conferences, it started out in BC, and traveled across Canada. It has also been located in Alberta, Saskatoon, Ontario and Nova Scotia. For us it is a great excuse to travel this wonderful country of ours and to go to places we would never otherwise see. Traveling the great expanse of Canada also has its drawbacks. In some areas washrooms can be few and far between, so you go whenever you can. One of the brightest lights on the horizon is the Tim Hortons sign, you know that the washrooms will be clean, you can stretch your legs, have a cup of great coffee and something that takes your fancy to eat. So! Wheres the story, as I said four Blacksmiths went to Caniron VII driving about 3,200Km each. After the conference, one smith left, with his brother to go to a family re-union in Battleford. One smith, who was demonstrating at the conference, she is very good, went to see family in BC. One smith stayed for an extra week of classes with a Blacksmith from the UK. One left, thats me, my wife and I went to Batoche, Prince Albert, Flin Flon, The Pas and a couple of interesting Provincial Parks on our way home. Like I said its an excuse. Passing through Portage la Prairie, we saw the familiar sign and stopped. I was in a bit of a hurry, so I rushed in the store, did what was required and joined my wife in the line up. I had just finished saying to her that a guy in the washroom looked like Darwin from the back (the one who went to Battleford) when who walks out of the washroom. You guessed, yes you are right, over 2,100Km from home, in Manitoba, two Ontario blacksmiths just happened to fancy a cup of Tims coffee at exactly the same time. What are the chances?