But last night the plans of a future war/Was all I saw on Channel Four

I've never considered myself to be much of a TV watcher, more so now that cable is well beyond my budget. But there are times when an hour or two in front of the idiot box (four channels or no) becomes the perfect way to pass the time.

When I first arrived here, I was less than impressed with the British offerings available. But as time has gone by, I've found myself enjoying my BBC and Channel 4 more than I thought I would. I suppose if you are exposed to something long enough...

Anyway - here are five things that I love about British TV:

1. BBC Documentaries
What is it about the British accent that can bring credibility to even the most ridiculous subject matters? Ditto for the BBC production values that make the driest of history seem exciting.

2. Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles
I do love retro cartoons on Saturday morning. And coz over here, they're more than ninjas - they're HEROES!

3. BBC is Commerical Free
This is mostly a good thing. But have you ever tried to watch a movie on TV with no commercials? There are no pauses, so prepare yourself for a two-hour sit. If nature calls, tough decisions must be made!

4. Big Brother
Confession time. I have become hooked on Big Brother UK. And for all the wrong reasons. Apparently this year's edition is the "worst ever" because all the housemates are so boring. But I think this is the reason I love it so much. I feel like I'm watching average blokes on TV doing a whole lot of nothing rather than characters of a "reality television programme". And how does this make it better? It doesn't. On a positive note though, I can now identify Liverpool, Newcastle and Orkney accents with little trouble.

5. Graham Norton
The concept: A talk-show where the host is flamboyant and spouts double-entendres, gets A-level celebrity guests and ignores them in order to play games with the crowd. Works for me!

So here goes. I never thought the blog concept was going to work for me, but as time goes by I'm finding personal emails to be harder to pump out as internet access becomes that much more of a precious comodity. After seeing what can be done through my good buddy Drew's site, I figure I'd give it a go. Not that I expect this to be quite as comprehensive as Drew's, but if anybody is interested in reading about the odd update from a lone Canadian making his way as an honourary Glaswegian in Bonnie Scotland, you need look no further.

Life in Scotland has been a blast so far. No need to do a full update since day one, as anybody who'd be reading this will undoubtably already know most of it. I'll start with July as it should be a busy a month. First off will be the mother of all concerts in the form of T in the Park which will be featuring, among many others: Coldplay, White Stripes, Teenage Fanclub, Supergrass, and Super Furry Animals. The only slight disappointment I might have is the fact that Zwan was scheduled to play but had to pull out this week due to a family emergency. Fair enough. The original plan was to catch only Sunday's show, but as the single day tickets have sold out, we're going to do the full weekend show - scorching sun or pouring rain be damned (or, as this is Scotland, l expect a heathly combination of the two). This is my first outdoor festival show since Summersault back in August 2000 in Barrie (featuring Our Lady Peace and the dearly missed Pumpkins) so I'm pretty psyched.

July will also see my next set of visitors in the form of Steve and Rachel. They'll unfortunately only be here for three days, but we'll be doing a lot and can't wait to see them. Have already had the privilege of my buddies Mike and the two Ryan's paying me a visit. Mike has already done a great job of providing a synopsis so I won't bother with my own. But needless to say it was an absolute blast - thanks for the laughs boys, it was great to see you!

July will also be a great time to be in Glasgow as there is a lot going on such as outdoor Shakespeare festivals, mini music festivals and the like. I'm pumped - the weather doesn't often get above 20 degrees in these parts, and July is the best chance for it to happen. Though I can't say I miss the 30+ degree smog filled days of July that Toronto experiences.

Anyway - better cut off here for now. Being a blog virgin, I wouldn't be surprised for this whole thing to crap out on me, so no point in wasting half an hour of Internet time just in case. It ain't cheap folks!

If this does work, I'll see if I can stick to some sort of regular update pattern. Awaiting with baited breath I'm sure, huh kids?