New Contributor - Irene

Hello everyone!

It’s great to be here blogging in a community of West Coast Women!

Now here’s a little secret … Vancouver is my very favourite city and I’ve lived in quite a few … Winnipeg, Calgary, Toronto, Glasgow, Largs, London, Paris, Milan, Genoa … and even though all those places are marvellous in a myriad of ways, Vancouver has always haunted my travels, my dreams. The splash of rain drops and sidewalks glistening wet in the evening light, these are things that never left me. Never. And wherever I went, no matter the country, I always met someone who would say, “Oh… Vancouver …” suspending the sentence with a sigh. And in that sound I recognized the exact flavour of yearning.

Who am I? Writer - teacher - technical communicator - labyrinth-walker - curious about all things cultural, human, animal, and spiritual. And as far-flung as my travels have been, my explorations now focus on the emotional landscapes of the characters in the novels and short stories that I pen in my spare time.

Then there’s the part of me that likes to do community work and I’ve volunteered with many humanitarian and arts organizations. For years, I facilitated weekly meditation classes at the YWCA downtown. And last September, I organized “Invisible Connections” an assisted walk for the visually impaired at the Labyrinth in the West End of Vancouver. It was the first event of its kind, special in every way.

(As long as you don’t forget to return to this most interesting site here at Wet Coast Women, you can see a brief and current snapshot of my life at: http://www.claimid.com/ireneallison )

Anyway … as a happy Vancouver WestEnder, I’ll be posting anecdotes from this most wonderful, strange, vibrant neighbourhood, stories about people, animals, brooding storms and power outages, nooks and crannies, festivals, secrets, oddities, and all manner of unusual experiences that choose to tickle my imagination. And don’t forget to write back because I’m so looking forward to hearing from all of you too!

Great big congratulations to Laura and Chris – wedding bells!