One Year Served!

Hello everyone! It seems so strange to say it's been a year this week since we arrived in Toronto. It really has flown and the forthcoming year looks pretty well mapped out already.

The past month has passed fairly calmly. We have had some snow but it hasn't lingered and although we've had extremely low temperatures at times we've also had ridiculously mild weather which would be so much more enjoyable if it heralded crocuses and daffodils but sadly it doesn't. The 'green' spaces will remain bare for a good few weeks yet.

We've been to see a few more films, all of which we really enjoyed: War Horse (I want to know how they made it!), Albert Nobbs (so moving, Glenn Close was brilliant) and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (totally absorbing). We've also been to a National Theatre Live broadcast at the local cinema of Comedy of Errors with Lenny Henry. It was very funny and I fully expected to walk out on to the Embankment afterwards - but no. 
I have just finished a 6 week art course on drawing and using mixed media - great fun and hard work! I might do the longer course next. 
Newcomers' activities continue and a I've joined a new group for Photography; we meet and share photos and ideas and go to little exhibitions. We also watched a fascinating and touching film about Bill Cunningham, an eccentric New York photographer, who is totally dedicated to taking photos of street fashion. He's an elderly man now, still working, but shows a great humanity in this film, the kind of person you'd like to sit and chat with. You can find it on Youtube.

The offending and offensive pigeons

 Wednesday, 8th February was an extraordinary day for me: I'd arranged to meet a young Toronto Newcomers' member downtown. On my way to meet her I stopped by a church to take a photo of the Roy Thompson Hall and was instantly surrounded by about 40 pigeons! They're not my favourite creature so I grabbed my bag, waving my arm to scatter them as I left but one of them flew right into my face, walloping my glasses with its wing. I got away and stood looking back while picking feathers out of my hair - thinking I was on 'Candid Camera' or something. The pigeons had immediately reassembled at that spot on the pavement. I guessed that there must be some 'animal lover' who feeds them regularly just at that spot and they thought I'd come to feed them! Perhaps they recognised Big Ben on my patriotic bag and felt at home! I felt so silly but I composed myself and strode off. 

 

Roy Thompson Concert Hall

I'd agreed to go to a tv recording with this young woman, it was a daytime magazine programme called 'Steven and Chris', (along the lines of 'Colin and Justin' back home). I'd never seen it but thought it would be fun and maybe interesting. We had to be clapping and smiling all the time! We also had to whoop enthusiastically at the slightest thing - typical North American nonsense. Being excessively cheerful was exhausting. I was really hoping I hadn't come out on screen - this really represented all my worst nightmares (apart from the one where you're running down the road naked (Not really)). The anxiety levels kept climbing as first, I saw the studio, then dodged past the make-up girls waiting to give you a 'touch-up', then was told to sit in the front row! I was almost in meltdown. I had expected to be in the shadows at the back but it was all so brightly lit we wouldn't be missed wherever we sat. We also had to stand and clap at times so I felt really uncomfortable being the tallest person around! Actually, the items were quite interesting but fairly useless to me: choosing upholstery for cat owners, making madeleines, storage tips for condo living and fashion (for young, skinny people). It took about 2 and a half hours and I felt like an observer from another planet! The finished programme was broadcast on Valentine's Day, so I recorded it and eventually plucked up the courage to watch it. Unfortunately, I was quite visible especially with a mouthful of madeleine and a goofy expression! It didn't help that I was sitting next to a pretty blonde that the camera loved!

Following this I had to get to the Gallery for my art course so I went straight to the members' lounge, flopped into an armchair and had a restful lunch and read. So by the time I got home at 6pm I was absolutely pooped!! It really was a day of the ridiculous to the sublime. The course covered practising drawing techniques, looking at artefacts and drawings in the gallery and making our own sketches from them and also using mixed media to produce a finished piece. We've had a whirlwind tour of stencilling, printing from lino cuts, wax resist, using chalk pastels, plus many other ways of image making. All thoroughly enjoyable. The tutor also laid on an extra session in the Gallery's Print and Drawing Centre where we sketched our own versions of works by Rembrandt, Freud, Munch, Henry Moore and some Canadian artists. 

 
Views of Yorkville: a wealthy downtown area. These houses here remind me of home!

 

Around the corner is this fire station, dwarfed by a 55 storey hotel /condo 

development

Yorkville's subway is called Bloor Station. It's a very busy interchange station (well, 2 lines cross!). 

British Tourism has gone totally overboard advertising the 'Greatness' of Britain here! Every surface is plastered with patriotic images. They've covered the barriers, walls and staircases!

 

Since we came back in January Eamonn hasn't driven to work as the parking area is now part of the building site. The journey's fine, 2 stops on the subway and a bus ride. The crazy thing is that he was paid expenses for driving to work whereas he's not paid expenses for using the public transport system! Car really is king here.

Actually the subway rush hour here is every bit as uncomfortable as at home if not worse. Because it's a very small system compared to ours it becomes extremely packed and you really can't move. In fact, one day I was travelling home and it was standing rooom only; the train was travelling slowly and kept stopping. The driver came on the speaker and said, (imagine a pleasant Canadian accent): "Hello folks. I know you're all packed in there like sardines but I'd really appreciate it if you could do something for me - please don't rest against the doors - if you can do that I'll bring you all cookies tomorrow!" He made us all smile which was a refreshing change on a Toronto subway train.

This is the rink across the road from us. We Brits always think it's strange that these facilities are provided free but there's no First Aid provision of any sort, not even a disclaimer! The Canadians are very relaxed about some things.

We've had a few walks, including one in Tommy Thompson Park. The park is built on a man-made peninsula, which extends 5 km into Lake Ontario and is over 500 hectares in size. It is constructed from dredged material from the Outer Harbour and surplus fill from development sites within Toronto. We were directed to a female snowy owl by a chap who spotted Eamonn's Chelsea FC gloves; he himself was wearing a Fulham FC hat! He'd arrived here 35 years ago and this was his first sighting of one. This was very exciting for us. Here she is, nicely camouflaged amongst the concrete rubble:

 

I understand if you have trouble spotting her!

 


We also thought we'd seen a beaver but a very nice lady put us right - it was a muskrat.
This beach area is composed of old bricks. I was very taken by their colours and their worn edges. We picked a white one and a red one to bring home. I think they'll make good candle holders! At first I felt a bit guilty but they were only bricks, not fossils, and then we saw a man collecting more usable bricks into a sack! Perhaps he had a garden wall to finish. There is quite a mixture of building materials lying around. Some clever character has laced the bricks and reinforcement together to make these sculptures!!

In the cold weather even the dogs need layers!

One Sunday, we went to a ski resort area called 'Blue Mountain' which manages to stay snowy (with the help of snow making machines sometimes) as it's 2 hours north of here but you won't find any mountains, just hills. It's got a toboggan type run, a skating area, shops and restaurants and several ski runs which aren't really long enough for experienced skiers but they're popular nevertheless. I was quite happy watching the young ones (and Eamonn) having fun until he decided to go skating! He ignored all my doomladen warnings and took off. He turned out to be rather good! I managed to post a video clip on Facebook but haven't managed it here. At the time I didn't realise the camera recorded sound too so you can hear me wittering away as he pirouettes (almost). At least he didn't break anything. We drove to a nearby beach which was covered with snow - lovely! Large chunks of Nottawasaga Bay (part of Lake Huron) were partly frozen.



 

Here you can see how early they get their children on the ice!

 








Snow-covered Muskoka chairs. You see these everywhere. The best ones are made of wood and look very elegant outside your cottage by the lake!


 













This is a very important Inuit symbol: Inuksuk has become the main cultural symbol of recognition for the Inuit people and the Canadian North. It is seen as a marker for navigation, it denotes a memorial or sacred space; it can be a warning of danger, as here - open water. It is a sign of friendship, hope, safety, protection and is a welcome sight of greeting. You might remember seeing it being used during the Vancouver Winter Olympics.


Following my description of the First Nations' Summit last time I thought I'd let you read a little from a CTV news item about a recent report that has just been published concerning the children who were taken from their families to residential homes:
 

'The chairman of Canada's truth and reconciliation commission says removing more than 100,000 aboriginal children from their homes and placing them in residential schools was an act of genocide.

Justice Murray Sinclair says the United Nations defines genocide to include the removal of children based on race, then placing them with another race to indoctrinate them. He says Canada has been careful to ensure its residential school policy was not "caught up" in the UN's definition.

"That's why the minister of Indian affairs can say this was not an act of genocide," Sinclair told students at the University of Manitoba Friday. "But the reality is that to take children away and to place them with another group in society for the purpose of racial indoctrination was -- and is -- an act of genocide and it occurs all around the world."

About 150,000 First Nations, Inuit and Metis children were forced to attend the government schools over much of the last century. The last school closed outside Regina in 1996.

The $60-million Truth and Reconciliation Commission is part of a landmark compensation deal between the federal government, the Crown and residential school survivors. It is about halfway through its mandate and has visited about 500 communities, where it has heard graphic details of rampant sexual and physical abuse.
Canada will have to work hard to undo the damage done by the schools long after the commission has finished its work, Sinclair suggested. Generations of children -- both aboriginal and non-aboriginal -- have been brought up on a curriculum that dismissed aboriginal culture and history as worthless and inferior.

Another consequence is that there is a spiritual void in many aboriginal communities, Sinclair added. Churches that once had strong congregations in aboriginal communities have moved out and elders who could pass on traditional spiritual teachings are no longer living.

"It took 130 years to create this problem. It's probably going to take us 130 years to undo it.”'

Walking around the Queen's Park area I saw this beautiful memorial to the Canadian Forces. A 30 metre granite wall has photographic images of war laser-etched onto its surface. The pictures show Canada's military role in times of war and peace since 1867.

 Part of the inscription reads:


'One by one, they left behind the bright fields of innocence and stepped into the darkness of experience. Their departures were discrete and humble. Some did not return. Their absence is as big as sorrow, as wide as grief...'

Nearby is this touching memorial to Fire Fighters lost in service. The Fire Fighters' Prayer is displayed beside it.






Available here: 
Peanut butter flavoured Cheerios
and 
Cadbury's (now Kraft) chocolate containing pretzels and peanut butter!!

Toronto's City Hall, completed in 1965, was designed by a Finnish architect, Viljo Revell. 

In front of it is this skating rink in Nathan Phillips Square.

 











Becoming North American? A couple of times I have to admit we have driven to the supermarket (next door!) to avoid having to put on so many layers! We can go down to the underground carpark and drive around the block into their underground carpark.

Ontario College of Art and Design
It appears to be standing on pencils!

 












I've been on a Newcomers' visit to an 18th Century house, the last home of William Mackenzie Lyon, the first mayor of Toronto. He came from Scotland, had quite a colourful life and was very involved in politics here. Mackenzie was forced into exile in the US after having led the Rebellion of 1837. He returned to the newly-created Province of Canada in 1850, and died in this house in 1861. Mackenzie House is said to be haunted by him, allegedly seen working his printing press. So few old buildings still stand in Toronto and this one is surrounded by shabby office buildings and scruffy car parks. Once inside though it was very carefully restored and appropriately furnished. The printing press has been reconstructed and we were able to set the type for our names.

How about this??

There's been a dispute here relating to the issue of 'sick days'. This is a strange arrangement where a set number of sick days are allowed each year - whether or not you need them. Most teachers in Ontario can bank 20 sick days a year, up to 200 days over their careers, and then get paid a lump sum averaging about $46,000 when they retire. As far as I understand it teachers are paid for all the sick days they didn't take!!! Some version of this applies to other occupations too! Accumulated teachers' sick days have left the government with a $1.7 billion liability. The government wants to limit teachers to six sick days a year and eliminate their ability to accumulate them and be paid out. Teachers also move up in their pay grid every year for the first 10 years and also when they upgrade their qualifications and the Government wants to freeze all movement within the grid as well.

Scanned from a paper napkin. It reads:
"You seem familiar, yet somehow strange - are you by any chance Canadian?"

The highway exit near us.

Two of our local vistas!

Some of our young friends live in this right hand condo block. In the foreground is the development of another condo and mall development. Eventually they'll have no view!

This weekend our clocks change so we'll only be 4 hours behind you but only for 2 weeks.
It's been lovely to hear from you all whether by Skype, email, Facebook or even Royal Mail! 
With thanks and love,
Mary and Eamonn

Goodbye January!

'I hate winter'

Hello and a belated Happy New Year! Having had such a lovely time at home for 6 weeks it's been a bit of a struggle to settle back in Toronto. At home I could pick up the phone whenever I wanted and I buzzed around enjoying - yes enjoying - London Transport. I had so missed the smaller scale of things at home and pretty front gardens and the milkman! (For the convenience, you understand!) I went to some great productions: Juno and the Paycock - Sinead Cusack was very moving, the Lion in Winter - Robert Lindsay wished us a happy 1184 as it was New Year's Eve! - and Slava's SnowShow - extraordinary! Plus visiting John Lewis, M&S and Waitrose - aah! And of course it was so lovely seeing YOU. And apologies to Gemma for throwing the Christmas tree into the garden and then forgetting all about it!

Skiing in the park near us

Lakeshore ice

The trip back was very stressful: first, I wasn't very well, nursing that cold bug so many people had at home; second: an hour's delay sitting on a packed plane because so many airlines were using the southerly route to avoid those awful winds in the North Atlantic at the time; third, huge queues in the arrivals hall. We snaked our way to the Passport desk walking about 600m in total (we paced it out: 12 lengths of about 50m, 1 and a half times around the Olympic Stadium track!). We thought it would be sensible to get my work permit altered at Immigration as well following the medical I had last summer so we joined the queue there. The cheerful young chap told us we should have jumped the queue as we weren't immigrating but of course we were being polite in our British way. He also said that we could have sorted this months ago just by ringing the number on the back of the permit - grrr! We've had such bad information from Eamonn's company all the way through this process. He sensed our (MY) frustration and decided he could help us out on his system which confirmed me as a healthy specimen, although I felt like death at the time. So another $150 handed over and new permit, hooray. Four: staring at the sea of orphaned cases in the baggage hall. The Heathrow flight had long gone through so we raced around checking all the piles of abandoned luggage. Where were these owners? Relief when we found Eamonn's case but mine was nowhere to be seen - more running around to check and double check. More queuing to report it missing. Probably on the next flight we were told - so why couldn't we have been told - more grrr! Our young friend Orfhlaith had been waiting all this time on the slip road outside - at least 2 hours by my reckoning. There's friendship for you. And another small plus was the warm Canadian pilot's accent from the cockpit - mmm.

Northern pintail

I have joined a women's choir in town which I discovered is much more my thing so I have given up the other choir which I found too difficult. This new choir sings 'world' music and very often the songs have a history to them connected to human rights, spirituality, etc. They also take time to teach the songs and don't assume too much ability in sight reading. A lovely expat there suggested I volunteer at the hospital in town and explained how I should go about it. I was vey keen and thought that at last I'd sorted something useful to do. I went and had a chat with a very nice woman, brought the paperwork home and - bang - I can't even apply until I've been here a year and then it can take up to 8 weeks to process! I was so disappointed and felt like coming home but then I remembered we have visitors coming so I couldn't do that! To cheer myself up I decided to do something that I knew I'd enjoy and I've enrolled on a 6 week drawing course at the Art Gallery of Ontario in town - pretty much my favourite place here. I've had my first session which I thoroughly enjoyed - sketching in the Henry Moore and African galleries. I can tell you more about this next time.

Toronto Newcomers activities have started up again and I've had a couple of very interesting outings. The first was to a charity which provides good quality clothing for immigrant / low income families. You can imagine arriving here from warmer climes would be a shock and these families would have no way to afford the winter clothes necessary. So it was a small thing to spend a morning there but I found out that I'm very good at steaming! Other people were sorting or tagging clothes to be given away. I've thought about committing half a day a week there but it's perhaps just as well I haven't as I can see there would be many times when I wouldn't be able to go for one reason or another. In fact, that's going to be the problem with any volunteering.

Holocaust Memorial Earl Bales Park

The second trip was to a talk given to celebrate International Women's Day. Raheel Raza, a woman of Pakistani origin came here many years ago with her young family and found Canada a welcoming place where she was free to develop in all aspects of her life. She is a documentary film maker, freelance journalist and founder of SAMA (Sacred Arts and Music Alliance). She campaigns for women's rights and greater understanding between faiths. She especially wants people to understand what it means to be a Muslim, particularly a Muslim woman in modern society. She was explaining how 9/11 changed everyone's perceptions of Islam so that Muslim women were no longer seen first as mothers, wives, workers,etc., but as Muslims first, and how that has created so many problems since. When she and her husband came 25 years ago as graduates with good experience she described having to continually overcome the barrier of needing to show 'Canadian experience', which of course they didn't have. I was tempted to say that it's pretty much still the same!

I've also joined a new Newcomers group for photography which was very enjoyable, about 12 women who all enjoy snapping away. It was good to hear what interests the others had so hopefully we'll be going to exhibitions together on occasion. I am hoping to get some knitting done too, especially as I paid rather a lot at the 'Knit Cafe' for some 'ecological' wool - hence the price, but wool's expensive at home too I think. Maybe it'll be finished before we leave here. At last I've got into a book, 'Her Fearful Symmetry' - I started it last November but didn't get far and as it happened we had a lovely walk on Boxing Day around Highgate where it's set so the images are fresh in my mind. And I've even spent an afternoon making soup, that's how desperate I was for something to do! But things have picked up, thank goodness.

This memorial is to Raoul Wallenberg, part of the Holocaust Memorial in Earl Bales Park near us. He was a Swedish diplomat who saved tens of thousands of Hungarian Jews from the Holocaust by providing protective passports and shelter in buildings designated as Swedish territory. He was arrested and tortured by Lenin's troops. No one knows where or when he died.

Many parks have skating circuits like this

There was a very interesting political event in Ottawa last week: a summit between 400 of the First Nations' representatives and the Government took place.This is a pretty rare event, which surprised me, considering the problems that exist here for many of these people. Many First Nations people have been campaigning for a long time for improved conditions as there are
serious problems of poor housing, lower education standards and poverty in their communities. The summit began with a 'smudging' ceremony, rather like an incensing of the main dignitaries, including the Prime Minister and then there were the opening speeches. I was particularly struck by the speech of the National Chief of the First Nations. The issue of land rights is still a large area of conflict. They feel that their generosity in sharing their land with the white settlers has not benefitted them in terms of the valuable resources contained there. Canada is self-sufficient in oil and has huge mineral wealth and most of this is found on First Nations' land. There is great disparity between the educational achievements of white Canadian children compared with those of First Nations children.

The Chief said that many problems stem from the Indian Act of 1876 which they feel aimed to destroy their identitiy and this Act is still in place today. There have been many other treaties and alliances made which have not lived up to their promise either so there is a clear lack of trust on both sides. The summit was aiming to restore some of this trust and some effort was made to plan a way forward. I gathered that many Canadians feel that the First Nations have not been efficient enough in using the government funds they are given. A few areas have been very successful in providing employment and creating wealth for their people but they are very much the minority and in some areas the funds are capped despite the growing population which is increasing their poverty. I also came across 'redneck' comments about the use of costumes and ceremonies, etc, showing a lack of respect for their ancient traditions. Some Canadians feel they should live less in the past and work harder for their futures. A very interesting subject with a huge history involving of course the French and British settlers. I hope to follow up on this.

Eamonn and I have been on a couple of snowy walks. We joined a free photography walk in High Park where a professional photographer showed us how to take pictures in snowy conditions - so he led us to the little zoo there! I'd expected to be taking frozen landscape shots but he'd organised for us to get close to the llamas and reindeer for photos. I'm pretty lazy with the camera, I let it do the work for me but he did encourage me to make more use of the manual settings.

Our second walk was with the Toronto Ornithologists' Club. Both of the these walks were in minus temperatures but we've learned how to dress appropriately and I just have to wear a hat and get on with it! My new Canadian boots are fab too, toasty.

We have a long list of good films to see. So far we've seen 'The Artist', so witty and refreshing and 'Hugo', another feelgood film, but you must see it in 3D in the cinema to get the best effect.

For those, like me, exasperated by the changes in the Mass, the priest here said, after making quite a few slips one day, "I find this new mass impossible!" Aah.

I decided that I've been too kind to Toronto in my choice of photos so I will slip in more 'honest' ones occasionally to show the unattractive side of North American sprawl.

I hope you can just make this out - our Valentine to you all! Some nice person must have scrambled on to the ice to do it!

Now we're sweltering in positive temperatures so if you have some to spare, please send snow!

With love

from

Mary and Eamonn