Martyn Holmes is one of those nice guys. You know, the type who will hold the door open for a stranger, who smiles easily and who genuinely seems to like people.
The Chief caught up with Holmes for a chat about his life and how he ended up behind the meat counter in Squamish — hint, it’s a love story.
What follows is an edited version of that conversation.
Q: You have been at Squamish’s Nesters Market, as a journeyman meat cutter, for about two years. Where did you come from before that?
A: I was born in England, but I lived in Wales for 25 years before I moved over. I was living in Newport, in southeast Wales.
Q: What brought you over here?
A: A lady.
Q: As is often the case. Tell us about that.
A: I actually met my wife back in 2009. We met online and chatted on Skype and all that stuff for quite awhile. About six months later she invited me for a visit. She met me at the airport and we just clicked.
Actually, my last name is Holmes, as in Sherlock Holmes, and my wife’s last name is Watson! [Dr. John Watson is the best friend and assistant of fictional character Sherlock Holmes]
I stayed for two weeks and then had to go back. She came over next for 10 days and then I was back and forth. Then, in 2011 I proposed on April 1 — the day before I had to go back home. She said yes and that October we got married, on the Peak-to-Peak Gondola, in Whistler.
I began to do my work for residency and moved here a year later, in 2012.
Q: That is quite the whirlwind you guys went through! It must have been a bit of a culture shock to be settled here, no?
A: You could say that. We also just adopted two daughters. We just got the paperwork back from the judge. They are signed, sealed and officially ours. They are sisters from Victoria, who are seven and eight years old.
Q: That must be quite the experience to go from not being parents to two growing daughters?
A: Yes, just a little! From no kids to two is like hitting a brick wall with a balloon.
We got them in February. We did the online, 12-week adoption course last year and then you have to wait to be matched. It was weird because we were matched within a couple of weeks after the course and all the police checks and home visits were complete. That was all in February. The day we were going over to Vancouver Island to see them for the first time, my mother called me and said she had cancer.
So it has been an up and down year, for sure.
I took a month off for parental leave so we went to Ontario for a holiday with the girls. We were in Ottawa for the Canada 150 celebrations and then five days later, I had to fly back home overseas for my mom’s funeral. A lot has gone on this year.
Q: What is fatherhood like for you?
A: Oh, my word.
It is interesting for sure and a big learning curve. And with the experiences the girls have been through, it can be hard. There’s a lot of trauma there.
It is really nice over all.
On the good days, they can be so affectionate and they are happy go-lucky. On other days, it is harder. You just have to be there for them. That’s all you can do.
Q: How did you get into being a meat cutter? [A butcher deals with breaking down the carcass into primal cuts, while a meat cutter does the specialty cuts for customers]
A: I first started back in 1987, straight after school. I learned the trade and everything. I applied for a work permit in Squamish while I waited for residency. I had already seen Sean [Sean Daly, general manager at Nesters] a year or two before. He had said maybe I could work there. When Sean talked to the meat manager he said to me, “Great. When can you start, tomorrow?” I couldn’t because I had to wait to be able to work.
Q: Meat cutting and the grocery business has changed so much since you started. Trained butchers are rare now, correct?
A: Yeah, sure. Where I worked before was only a butcher shop, it sold nothing else. Then for a long time I worked at a place where we supplied bacon to other shops. So, I missed working with the customers on a daily basis. To be able to provide that service — I was just so happy to get back into it.
Q: What meat is really popular with customers?
A: I get asked a lot how to cook roasts. We get a few requests from people who want things cut thin, or thick, different things. But I am honestly happy to do whatever they want. I really am. I just love being able to provide that service, and answer their questions. It is a cool thing.
Q: With you coming from Wales, is there anything that stands out as different in Squamish?
A: With the meat, some cuts are called different things here than what I am used to: Like, people ask for an ‘inside’ cut, but I am thinking, ‘that is a topside.’ Here they say ‘top sirloin,’ back home we call it ‘rump.’
Otherwise, it is pretty diverse here, but it’s the same as in Newport. I miss my friends back home, but I have made friends here too. Not really big differences, actually.
People back home are really nosy, they are friendly. Here in Squamish they are really friendly, which has really helped me settle in. I am lucky that way.
Q: Having lived in other places, what do you hope for Squamish as we mature?
A: I hope we get a few more amenities now. We could do with a cinema and a bowling alley.
There’s not much for teenagers to do. We need to start thinking about things for them where they can go and have fun. Unless they are into sports, there’s not much they can do locally.
