Strange Happenings ...

Hello all! Thank goodness August is gone. It really was a bit of a low point for me, got quite fed up with my own company, but that's over now and there's plenty of activity to look forward to. But first, let me tell you about our Weird Week. First, on Sunday 21st August, a terrific storm blew over Ontario, blasting us with wind and very heavy rain. We were lucky because a tornado hit a town, 3 hours away, on the shores of Lake Huron and destroyed its centre. Then on the following Tuesday, I was relaxing on the sofa, feet up after my lunch, when I felt a really peculiar sensation under me. I immediately thought I was having some kind of 'episode' and was scared I'd pass out, so I jumped to my feet and took a good breath. Then I put on the tv for the news and they were reporting an earthquake down in Virginia! It was just the sofa vibrating! It seems that because of the geology here the vibrations travelled all the way to Quebec. Then on the next day a fantastic storm descended on Toronto. We get quite a lot of storms here because of the high humidity so we could feel it coming. There wasn't much rain or thunder but there was a fantastic lightning show which lasted 3 hours. We sat in the dark mesmerised by the forks of lightning going in all directions; we'd never seen cloud-to-cloud lightning before. These pictures give you some idea of what it was like:

To those of you now back at school - good luck and have a good term. Everyone's back here too so I'm hoping to get some voluntary work in a local elementary school. Because uniforms aren't so common here you get fashion items on tv for back to school outfits - how to make a good impression on your first day! - and there was an ad at a local health spa offering facials for teens returning to school!

One weekend we went to an area west of Toronto called St. Jacob's. It's an area farmed by many Mennonite families who originally came here from the Low Countries, Germany and Eastern Europe. There's a pretty village and a huge market. We were there on a Saturday and the place was heaving with families buying all their fresh goods. They are obviously a very hard working community. They seem to have achieved a good balance between maintaining their own way of life while not becoming a theme park for tourists. We had the most fantastic brunch there: a full Canadian breakfast which includes fruit and pancakes. We actually have to be careful what we eat as it's so easy to keep going for the carbs so a big meal like that has to balanced out with exercise and salad! I'm dreading everyone at home saying how much fatter/greyer/older we look when we come home! We're still trying out local eating places. One is a French restaurant which has an excellent reputation for its food and we had a lovely meal but it's in an old house which is really shabby - a bit off-putting. 

One Saturday we went to some Gardens in town with glasshouses based on Kew but that was another disappointment; the park area was unkempt although the hothouses were quite well done. But on the following day we joined a nature walk in a large park which was very interesting and we learned a few things, including how to spot 'poison ivy', which many people are allergic to. I don't recall coming across it at home. There were Kentucky coffee trees and lots of different oaks. Between the bugs and the weeds this is quite a tricky place in the summer. 

Obedient birders, looking at wild turkeys!

Black swallowtail caterpillar

We've joined a couple of birding groups and got up really early one Sunday to join our first field trip. It was a full day going to 3 locations. There were about 40 people in 25 cars travelling in convoy. We'd stop, all get out and set off walking, following the leader. There were quite a few expats in the group and a retired doctor looked after us. He explained what to do if wood ticks burrowed into our flesh! So I'll be wearing long trousers tucked into my socks from here on. I was able to take some bug pictures for a chap who wanted to identify them which was fun. There was a nice elderly chap whom I quickly recognised as a Yorkshireman although he'd been here quite a long time, so I asked where he was from. He said: ' Northern Islamabad!', and he was pleased we knew what he meant. Anyway, our bird list is growing nicely but I couldn't help smiling at the 'geekiness' of some of the twitchers.

Martyrs' Shrine, Midland

St. Joseph Ptron Saint of Canada

Last weekend we went north to Georgian Bay which is part of Lake Huron for the Labour Day weekend. We stayed in a beautiful B&B 10 minutes from Midland. It had a wonderful garden and fields nearby. We spotted hummingbirds, woodpeckers, finches, cute chipmunks and lots of frogs. It was like  a real-life Disney park! We met some Brits there including a woman who is also on secondment from home. She lives Downtown so we will be seeing her again. She came a year ago on her own which must have been very hard.

There's interesting history in the area as a Jesuit mission was built in the 1600s but the priests all died as they got caught up in the fighting between the Huron and Iroquois peoples. There is now a shrine to them and a reconstruction of the mission site. As you can see from the photos the outside of the church looks fairly traditional in stone but the inside is lined with birch panels, reminiscent of long houses used by the First Nations people and the ceiling is shaped like an upturned canoe. The church is surrounded by gardens with quiet areas for prayer and there is a Way of the Cross to follow. We went back there on Sunday morning for mass on our 35th Wedding Anniversary. That's just a ridiculously big number!

We had some lovely meals, one on our anniversary, in a place called 'Mad Michael's' which we had to try of course. The owner makes all the furniture from found wood and bits and pieces so to say the place is eccentric is no understatement. We also had a couple of great fish meals at this marina:

We had a walk around Midland which is known for its murals. Many buildings are painted with scenes from local history and they have been lovingly restored. This statue, in Penetanguishene, is of a giant from First Nations myths called Kitchikewana. He was broken-hearted by a woman and, in his rage, gouged the earth with his hand, creating the Great Lakes and then he threw the earth far and wide, creating the 30,000 Islands in Georgian Bay.

Ste. Marie Among the Hurons, Jesuit Mission

Stainless steel sculpture of a goose in Midland

We took a boat cruise around the islands on a cold, grey afternoon for 3 and a half hours. We were the only people who stayed on top! The commentary was very entertaining; the captain seems to be related to everyone in the area. We saw a pair of trumpeter swans which were almost wiped out here by hunting so are still quite a rare sight. People are still building homes on these islands, a very expensive, time consuming task. The waters here are completely frozen in the winter. A group of Mennonite women were on the boat and weren't really dressed for the cold wind but they were impressed that we managed it! I hope they don't mind me taking this picture:

Eamonn's doing fine. Someone left Carillion so he's been asked to take on some extra roles and he's been volunteering at a local neighbourhood garden but he forgot to spray himself and is now covered in bites - ugh. I'm going to try out a choir this week and also join a CWL group nearby, so we'll see how that goes!

We're off to the Last Night of the Proms this afternoon at a local cinema so that's going to be a new experience!!

'It's so flat in Saskatchewan if you stand on a tall milkcan you can see the back of your head.'

Looking forward to hearing from you. 

Lots of love,

Mary and Eamonn xx

Holiday Season

Hello everyone, thought it was about time for a new epistle. If you're on holiday I hope you're having a good time. It's holiday time here too. August is a quiet month as so many people are out of town at their cottages. There's plenty of activity around town at the weekends with sports fixtures, food events, etc but we don't tend to seek out crowded places like that. We have had a heatwave with temperatures in the high 30s when I really found it too hot to go out, but now it's settled down to high twenties. Thanks to the Great Lakes we also have high humidity which really adds to the discomfort factor. The authorities even set up 'Emergency Cooling Centres' in each neighbourhood. Thank goodness the subway and buses are air-conditioned.

Water Park in Barrie

The cottage culture here is interesting. It seems that many families have a holiday cottage where they can relax between Easter and September. It encourages outdoor pursuits of barbecuing, swimming, fishing, canoeing, boating, etc which is fine but some of these cottages are in very remote locations, even on private islands, so I don't know if I could stay more than a few days in such a place. The owners obviously invest a lot of time and money setting them up and maintaining them. But we recently had a taste of cottage life when a colleague at Eamonn's site held his annual 'Family Day' at his cottage near Orillia, about an hour and a half north of here. He invites people from work to bring their families to his cottage which he shares with his family throughout the year. This happened on the July 30th Bank Holiday weekend so we decided to take a leisurely drive up there, away from the 400 Highway which was a good choice because we later heard horror stories of delays due to the volume of cottage bound traffic. After stopping off en route for coffee we were in good time to get to his house but we ended up being very late because Eamonn thought he knew the address and it turned out he didn't so we spent an hour and a half looking in the wrong place! We have got really sloppy about checking details since we got here! Anyway, all  was fine and we had a great time, swimming in the lake and chatting with the other Brits from Eamonn's site. 

There were quite a few children there; it was the most fantastic playground for them: swings on the grass, a bouncy raft on the lake, kayaks and canoes to ride in and local turtles to observe. These families are planning to settle in Canada for good, having sold up at home so it's a very different situation for them. The lake was very shallow for a long way out so very safe and the water was warm! In the evening we shared a barbecue and the children got to toast marshmallows over the fire pit by the lake. To round off the night, Ron set off some fireworks, the old-fashioned way, which pleased me more than the children I think. It showed a wonderful spirit of hospitality and it was all done in such an understated way.

The next day we headed off to Peterborough, a town which is surrounded by more lakes and cottages. We had 2 days there, 'enjoying' the hot sun and seeing new places. The scenery was reminiscent of the Southern Uplands in Scotland with gentle hills and conifers so we warmed to the place immediately. This part of Ontario is known for its 'Trent-Severn' Waterway believe it or not, which is 386 km long, stretching from the Eastern end of Lake Ontario through 40 locks to Georgian Bay, 2 hours north of Toronto. At Peterborough is a famous Lift Lock which uses hydraulic rams to raise and lower boats through 20m so that they can continue their journey through the Kawartha Lakes. We enjoyed the museum and Eamonn enjoyed the technical stuff especially. It was opened in 1904 and the towers are solid concrete, without any reinforcement which was a very new technique then. It was fascinating watching the 'tubs' that held boats and water take just 10 minutes to swap places. 

Peterborough Lift Lock

At the furniture barn

The next day was Monday, 1st August, so we meandered our way towards Toronto stopping off to visit an antiques barn where I bought a chair for the bedroom (I could have bought something in Ikea but this was more fun) and a couple of colourful pots. We had a delicious lunch nearby and took in more scenery and collected a few more bites along the way. We even passed a place called 'Little Britain' and we parked beside this sign:

Hope the rubbish bin gets cropped off this group photo!

Another outing was to Kleinburg, just half an hour from here, which is a very pretty village. Considering its proximity to Greater Toronto it has avoided being swallowed up by the highways and there  is not a chain brand in sight. It is, presumably, very expensive to live there! There is a fantastic art gallery there, the McMichael Collection, which specialises in Canadian art and houses a permanent collection of the 'Group of 7'. Because it's relatively close I was hoping to be able to take myself there during the week but it's impossible to get there by public transport which is really annoying. After visiting the gallery and sculpture garden we had a lovely lunch, watching bridal parties arrive to have their photos taken in front of the pretty buildings along the main street. This kept us amused for a good while, watching bridesmaids sitting around, eating ice cream in their frothy dresses, while the wedding group was being photographed - in this case beside a hole in the ground and a rubbish bin!

 

Works by Ivan Eyre

 

We finally made it to the CN Tower in July with a couple of Carillion friends, Mel and Jack. We booked for dinner on a Friday evening in their rotating restaurant so that we could see the sun go down over the city. It was a lovely night. The meal was very good, expensive, but a lovely occasion.

We've visited a few parks around town - no-one does parks like the UK. We found High Park in the west of town to be a pleasant, interesting area with an excellent cafe so we'll be back on a cooler day. We actually had to scamper back to the cooling air con of the car. We tried another park area near here but it felt very neglected and it didn't feel safe so that's off the list.

 A feature of the summer here is free music. The Square here has music on Friday and Sunday evenings, featuring swing and jazz particularly. There are lots of enthusiastic dancers and it's a lovely way to spend an evening. There are lots of free music events around town, at lunchtime and after work. It's noticeable at events like this that alcohol is completely absent. I know at home we'd have groups of people sitting, sharing wine or beer and there would be stalls selling too probably, but not here. Alcohol is much harder to get hold of here; there are only 2 retailers who specialise in it and of course you have to be 19 years old to buy it, providing ID if necessary. We could really do with a tighter hold on things like this at home. You are much less likely to see anyone drunk on a warm summer's evening here. But on the other hand, this puritanical approach goes too far in that they are not allowed to transport alcohol across province borders so if you bought some wine in British Columbia you're not really supposed to bring it back to Ontario! This is a common complaint from local wine producers.

Accidental arty night shot of CN Tower

I listen to a lot of news here, especially on the BBC, and it's been very depressing lately. There seems to be so much bad news and now this news from London is very upsetting. Every summer now at home there seems to be trouble in London. It was mentioned on CTV here, helpfully pointing out that Totttenham is just 8 km from the Olympic site. The comparison between UK and Canada is stark: the population here is about 35 million in the 2nd largest country in the world; we have 62 million in one of the smallest. The UK would fit into Canada 40 times with room to spare. It's a testament to the British character that we are able to function so well and that we still have some of the best scenery anywhere. I hope things calm down soon and that people see sense.

I still have too much time on my hands. I wrote to a local school in June and rang a local charity last week offering to volunteer but I've had no reply. I'll wait until the end of the month and try again. September will be busier as my Newcomers Club will start again and we're expecting visitors on 17th so I just have to get myself through this lull. Eamonn's fine at work, busy, and enjoying Friday afternoons off. He's played a few games of golf but hasn't found any decent competition yet but he has spotted lots of ground hogs and even a coyote last week!

Coffee mug humour seen in Leamington: 'If it weren't for the caffeine I'd have no personality at all!' It was in Leamington that we saw an advert for 'Oil Wrestling' too!

Our Pool

It's time to finish now. I hope you're all well and look forward to hearing from you.

With love, Mary and Eamonn xx

Exploring Ontario

'Happy Bear'

Hello everyone. We are gradually getting used to the summer culture here: hot sun, plenty of weekend festivals and outdoor activities. The ice hockey season finally finished - it seemed to go on forever and it's a real obsession here, often making the headline story in the news! Someone on the radio justified the blanket coverage equating it to the World Cup - not quite the same I'd say. I expect you heard about the riot in Vancouver when they lost to Boston in the finals. Ordinary Canadians were really upset and offended that their own fans could be so destructive and many locals came out the next day to help clean up. I heard a comic on Radio 4 say that at least when it happens in Britain the fans are not usually trashing their home city. There are lots of channels showing baseball now which I don't watch but Eamonn quite likes it. We were delighted to see Rory McIlroy win the US Open and we saw a fair bit of  Wimbledon. The coverage here is pretty good but they will still stick in as many ads as they can between games. I got to see it live in the mornings but could also watch it on the iplayer with Eamonn in the evenings. We follow the Grand Prix and now I'm glued to Will and Kate. They love them here (mostly) and they seem to be having a really good time.

St. James Cathedral:The Calling of St. James  by Stuart Reid

I'm beginning to get some rhythm into my free time. Thank heavens for the BBC, both radio and tv. I would be miserable without them.  I have finally got back into reading and am on my 2nd book from the stack I brought over. I think it's a sign that I feel more settled now. I'd like to be someone who is never without a book but I have to be very comfortable in my surroundings to do that. I like to listen to the Archbishop of Toronto sometimes; he is a wonderful speaker and he leads Lectio Divina sessions once a month here in the Cathedral. We haven't been to any yet but they are posted on the diocesan website:  http://www.archtoronto.org/lectio/reflections.htm I can recommend them if you want a time of guided reflection. In the February broadcast he comments on St. James' letter in which he said: 'Be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger.' Good advice, for me anyway.

I still have a lot of free time because my work permit doesn't allow me to do much, not even voluntary work or study so I have applied to have it relaxed which involved having a medical. We had to pay $300 (£200) cash - I asked if I should give it to the receptionist but the doctor said , no, he would take it. A very new experience for me, handing a wad of cash to a doctor! I had to have an X- ray to check that I don't have TB, which he said he knew I didn't have (!) and blood tests to show that I don't have HIV / Aids. I now have to wait to hear from Ottawa and if I am given the all-clear then I can approach a few organisations about volunteering. We've also registered with a local doctor who has already got us booked in for a colon cancer check on November 1st. A lovely birthday present for Eamonn. They do the same checks as at home but more frequently: mammograms are every 1 - 2 years and smears are yearly along with a yearly physical. While I'm on the subject, there are some subway and tv adverts out at the moment reminding people to get checked: Colon Cancer Canada has a slogan: 'We're behind your behind.' !! I've made enquiries about joining the CWL here as it doesn't exist in all parishes. I've also put my name on the waiting list for a choir but I may not get in until next year! There are no Newcomer activities until September but at least we get around at the weekends. 

We've had some lovely outings in great weather. One weekend we went to Tommy Thompson Park, a man-made park built on reclaimed land into Lake Ontario. It forms a long spit and lagoons, ideal for wildlife. It's still  being developed so it's only open at weekends. There were plenty of people cycling and rollerblading and some walking like us. We identified an Eastern Kingbird and some Yellow Warblers but saw many others that we don't yet know. There were hundreds of cormorants flying around! We get a real buzz when we make a firm sighting! We have joined the Ontario Field Ornithologists. They do field trips which we would enjoy and there are a few coming up later in the summer.

The post strike is now over so the post will go back to being just bad rather than non-existent. I don't think it's really over because they were only forced back by Government legislation.

Eamonn's firm has had a fundraising week and he took part in a 2 km Big Bike Ride. They looked quite comical in their site gear and shorts. It was held around the corner so I went to wave them off. Apparently it was quite hard work. He's the one waving his tambourine!

Recently, we went on a guided walk of the Distillery District. It's one of the oldest areas of Toronto and was once the largest distillery in the world, producing beer and whisky. The buildings now house galleries, restaurants and shops. This is where I bought 'Happy Bear'. There were interesting artworks made of recycled Rubik's cubes. Quite a clever idea. There was a Bike Festival going on too.

The next day we went to the Islands to see the dragon boat racing, a two-day festival. Afterwards,  we had a lovely stroll along the beach away from the crowds and enjoyed the lakeviews.

 

Last Friday was Canada Day, a national holiday, so we went south to Leamington ('The Tomato Capital of the World' !) on the shores of Lake Erie, about 4 hours drive from here. It's a small town with a fantastic bakery/cafe that did a great cooked breakfast (the hotel only did continental). We spotted a 'drive-thru' ATM and a huge queue of cars for Tim Hortons 'drive-thru' coffee shop! No need to walk anywhere. And you can get your skates sharpened too. We spent the evening beside the Marina listening to a very good band, singing along to familiar '70s songs. There were great fireworks at 10 pm but not before we all stood to sing the National Anthem. A nice tune but we don't know the words yet. We spotted a pastime in the local visitors' guide: duck and geese calling competitions - something to while away the evenings!

Latitude 42 sign

On Saturday we went to Point Pelee, a sand spit which is a National Park, a very important site for migrant birds. The park is on the same latitude as Rome and Barcelona and it was HOT! We spotted an Eastern Towhee, a Baltimore Oriole feeding its chick, some butterflies and other birds. There were painted turtles in the ponds and a family of barn swallows, one young bird posed for us. We had sprayed ourselves a bit before we started our visit but obviously not enough. Considering that it's such an important bird sanctuary we didn't see anyone else with binoculars and there are no hides there, just a viewing tower and a boardwalk. The RSPB needs to show them how it's done.

Young Barn Swallow

That night there was a fantastic storm which went on for nearly 3 hours and the rain was torrential. I suppose the Great Lakes drive the humidity which sets off the storms. There were sheets of lightning flashing among the clouds; we watched it until we fell asleep. On Sunday we made our way along the shore of Lake Erie spotting an indigo bunting ( a fantastic turquoise colour) and a couple of killdeers - a pretty shorebird despite its name. Southern Ontario is totally flat and reminded us of Holland without the windmills. There's quite a population of Mennonite families here, easily recognised as the young girls wear headscarves with long hair and pretty dresses. The shore is lined with beautiful detached houses which have their own jetties and decking facing the lake. But Manitoba is still suffering floods which began 3 months ago after the spring melt and there has been terrible fire damage in Alberta. The plains states seem to suffer a great deal of hardship.

Next stop: USA!

Canada Day Trivia:

Basketball was invented by a Canadian teacher as an indoor activity for his pupils in Massachusetts.

We spotted in the supermarket: Baked Beans in maple syrup - no, I didn't buy any, as much as I love maple syrup!

Subway advert seen for funeral packages: 'Eternal Rest is only a few clicks away.' If only it were that easy!



I'm sorry if these blogs are getting too long - I keep thinking I won't have much to say soon but it hasn't happened yet!

Do keep in touch and thanks for all your messages.

With lots of love,
Mary and Eamonn