The bus was going from Edmonton to Winnipeg and the attack happened somewhere in the province of Manitoba. I don’t know anything about the loony who did this but having lived in Canada for the last nine months it’s obvious that the biggest problem in this country is the cyclical triumvirate of homelessness, mental illness and substance abuse. It wouldn’t be a surprise to anyone if we learned over the next few days that the killer was afflicted with any or all of these conditions.

It must’ve been a horrible sight for the other passengers and something that will stick with them forever. I watched a couple of Al-Qaeda’s decapitation videos a few years ago and it’s not anything I’d like to see again.

(2) The upper part of North America is called Canada. It differs from its southern neighbour in that its inhabitants generally aren’t grossly obese and don’t go around shooting each other.

(3) On the west coast of Canada is the province of British Columbia (with Alberta to its right). The city of Vancouver is located in the south-west of BC and is pretty close to the US border.

(4)  The area of Metro Vancouver has a population of over 2 million.

(5) Downtown Vancouver is located on the peninsula sticking out into the Burrard Inlet with Stanley Park on the north end of it.

(6) The northwestern part of the downtown area is known as the West End. It’s a fantastic place to live. It has the feel of a suburban community but it’s a bustling, lively area where you’re only a few minutes walk from almost everything you need.

(7) My apartment is somewhere here.