Sutton’s Newest Citizen

Hopefully, this is the last article I write for Le Tour as an English woman because, with luck, I will be writing my next article as a Canadian. Yes, next week I take the test which is the last step in my becoming a Canadian citizen, the end of a journey that started, quite by chance, ten years ago. When I first came to Sutton it was hot on the heels of that infamous ice storm. I had come here from London, England for a long ski weekend to rendez-vous with my good friends Laura and Chris from Toronto. We stayed at La Paimpolaise and on our first evening went to Les Alleghanys for supper where I met the then owner and, the rest, as they say, is history. I shuttled back and forth with increasing frequency and longer and longer visits and then moved here full-time in 2001. Here I still am almost exactly ten years after that first fateful ski weekend and some things have certainly changed: La Paimpolaise and Les Alleghanys are no more, having disappeared along with the Poissonnerie and the Emporium. Conversely I have witnessed the success of new ventures such as La Rumeur affamée’s wonderful foodstore and the thrills of d’Arbre en arbre, as well as the re-invigoration of existing businesses including perennial favourite Tartin’izza and my own business here at Gîte Vert Le Mont B&B. On the other hand “Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose”: Lionel still serves Sutton’s best value lunch at La Fontaine, Alban continues to purvey excellent fruit and vegetables and Sutton, My Mountain Resort, whose spell I fell under a decade ago, remains a magical place to ski.

From the very first time I came to Sutton I felt at home and that too has not changed. I have always felt welcome in the village but increasingly I felt that I wanted my link to be a more formal one. I felt it important to make a statement that I am so happy and proud to live here that I am prepared to make a formal declaration that I will observe the laws of Canada and fulfill my duties as a Canadian citizen. You might regard it as a small thing, a nuance say, as to what passport I carry or to whose flag I pledge allegiance. After all will I look any different when you pass me in the street? Will my French improve dramatically over night— ah, if only! Will my clients expect me to stop serving afternoon tea? The answer to all these things is of course a resounding ‘No’! I will however have done what I can to express my commitment to Canada and to Quebec but primarily to Sutton who welcomed me with open arms and whose warm embrace I still feel—Thank You!