Day 85: Helicopters

And with that, the hockey season is done. After starting off so well, the Vancouver Canucks caved at the last and lost the Stanley Cup final to the Boston Bruins. I didn't see much of the game, just the final period, where we sat on the sofa drinking beer and eating pizza. Unfortunately, some idiots decided that Vancouver needed a replay of the events that unfolded when Vancouver lost the Stanley Cup back in 1994. Live on TV, right outside the local CBC studios, a couple of cars were overturned and set alight.

All in all it seems a fairly small affair (thinking back to the kinds of riots we saw in Northern Ireland, Liverpool and east London in the 80s), but it gives a really bad impression of Vancouver to the watching media. The top headline on CNN is "Boston Bruins win Stanley Cup; Vancouver fans riot". Jeez, thanks. From our balcony we could see the plume of smoke rising over the city, and three police helicopters circling. Now it's dark and I hope things settle down. Maybe I'll wander out to see tonight's full moon.

Police helicopters over Vancouver