VANCOUVER WINTER OLYMPICS DAY 3 (Sunday 14 Feb)

Just as rain can dampen the spirits of any city in the world, so can a sunny Sunday restore the spirits, particularly one on which the home town wins its first gold. Let’s Go Canada Go, has arrived.

The time honoured tradition of the Sunday family stroll is alive and well in Olympic Vancouver. As the skies cleared for the first time, families promenaded in their Canada red along the seawall of False Creek to the breaches beyond. For the unwary cyclist the otherwise delightful multitude of two-legged and four-wheeled strollers became a slalom course – until it finally dawned on us that the “cycle bypass” signs pointed away from the shared path to a saner road route. A somewhat further than anticipated 17km later we arrived at the Museum of Anthropology.

The mere mention of anthropology conjures up images of preachers in pith hats trading beads for native artefacts that will find their way to stuffy rooms lined with glass cabinets crammed with carvings and shrunken boiled skulls. No such fears at the University of British Columbia’s museum. A magnificent glass and concrete structure design in the tradition of a First Nation meeting place. Intimate spaces of low light housing the most delicate treasures mingle amongst large, bright, open galleries displaying works both ancient and contemporary. For the Cultural Olympiad “Border Zones: New Art Across Cultures” brings together 12 working artists to explore the translation of art across national and cultural borders.

A Canadian on the run and welcomed by that favourite haunt of convicts and rogues Australia was favourite to take out the men’s Moguls, Dale Begg-Smith. Had he won he might not have got out of Canada alive, even the fastidiously polite CTV host couldn’t resist a few pointed remarks. Fortunately for Mr Begg-Smith Alexandre Bilodeau was both smarter and faster down the slope. Let’s Go Canada Go, your moment of glory has arrived.