Confusingly North American.

When I was a kid, Brit TV was still showing old re-runs of ‘I Love Lucy’ starring Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz Jr. I didn’t understand why Arnaz should be pronounced Arnez, and I didn’t get the humour at all.

Many years later, I encountered an American woman who was remarkably like Lucy. I still didn’t get it.

And I was telling another woman today that I was thinking of going to New York, and she said I should go to Canada instead. She said that Canadians are very sensible, have a disarmingly old fashioned attitude to propriety, and insist on inviting you to all their parties once they get to know you. But only in Vancouver. I don’t think she quite gets me.