Electric cars are not coming; they are here!

 

Although I see a fair number of Teslas on the streets of London, Ontario, I am always surprised to see one. An electric powered car. Purely powered by a battery. No engine. None. Amazing. And the cost . . . wow! All that money and no engine and lots of sales. Who would have thought?

London once had a Ford Motor Company plant just outside town. I understand it was located there to save the company money on local taxes. A hundred years ago Ford may have pulled a similar stunt when it moved automobile production from Detroit to Highland Park.

Ford may return to the London area in the future. It is talking about building electric vehicles in Canada. I wonder if the Fords will be as slick in appearance as the Teslas.

The gone but not forgotten domed Service Centres

Today for a number of reasons, I'd like to simply post a link to an article I wrote some years ago for a digital newspaper. Click the link and be rewarded with an interesting story.

Celebrating the Doomed Domes of Woodstock Service Centre (Includes interview) (digitaljournal.com)

Living in a bubble

 

 

Skiing is on hold with the local hill is closed thanks to covid-19. And school work is being done from home using notebooks and pads. With few places to go, Londoners are finding ways to entertain themselves while remaining in their family bubble. In our home, it appears jigsaw puzzles are one answer.

St. Luke's in the Garden connected to Sir Adam Beck

 Many Londoners don't even realize the little St. Luke's in the Garden chapel exists. Situated well back from the road, the non denominational chapel was built in 1932 by the Women's Sanatorium Aid Society in memory of Sir Adam Beck and his wife Lady Beck.

To learn more about Beck, here is an excellent link: Sir Adam Beck.

The chapel sits on the CPRI grounds. CPRI was originally The Queen Alexandra Sanatorium, a facility for the treatment of people suffering from tuberculosis. It opened its doors on April 5, 1910. In April, 1949 it was renamed The Beck Memorial Sanatorium. It closed September 6, 1972 only to be renamed and repurposed as CPRI.

Today the chapel is a popular choice as a place to hold a wedding. It's a place to say one's wedding vows without having patina of religion hanging over the ceremony.

CPRI: Child and Parent Resource Institute

 

Located in the west end of London is a multi-building facility known as CPRI. It is big and hard to miss. It is  located on a major connecting road. And yet, I doubt many Londoners could tell you what CPRI stands for. Answer: Child and Parent Resource Institute.

CPRI provides short-term highly specialized and individualized consultations, assessments and treatments for children and families. And the help is not always all that short-term.The treatment is tailored to the parents' and the child's specific needs and goals. It is seen as an interdisciplinary service with teams composed of many different professionals working together.

I once knew a nurse who enjoyed caring for a child on weekend who lived in one of the buildings on the grounds of the CPRI complex. She loved that little girl. In writing this post I checked out the CPRI online site. It explains how the institute provides needed attention and care for children suffering from mutism, having mood and anxiety issues, autism and much more.

Today all eyes were on Washington

Today, all around the world, there was one story: the seige of the U.S. Capitol. President Trump spoke to his followers, worked them into a frenzy and off they marched to the U.S. Capitol building. They pushed past barriers, climbed walls and broke windows to gain entry to the building, possibly the figurative heart of democracy in the United States.

I'm Canadian. I live hundreds of miles distant from Washington, D.C. And yet, I don't feel all that removed from the disastrous actions of the day. If there is one thing following the posts of members of this group has confirmed for me, it is that the concerns, the interests, the stuff that brings people joy are universal. 

But there is a corollary: it is not just the good, the positive, that is universal. It is also the bad. What happened in Washington today is a warning to all of us. The Yanks are not unique. 

I was born shortly after the end of the Second World War. I had a good friend who wore embroidered leather shorts held up by shoulder straps. His family had fled Austria and moved to Canada. Another friend was Japanese. His family had fled the distant island at war's end. I liked both boys and wondered how their nations could be the cause of a world war. 

"There but for the grace of God go I," my mother said. Don't watch what is happening in the States with Donald Trump and feel smug. Take it as a warning. "There but for the grace of God go I."

Masks, hand sanitizer and tissues are now de rigeur

This was taken in my dentist's waiting room but the objects shown are found today almost everywhere. 

Enter a building and immediately one is asked to use the hand sanitizer. If you don't have a mask, you will be offered one and you must take it or be prepared to leave. No mask, no entry. 

And the tissue may be on display but one must try not to use one. Using a tissue raises concern in those around you. Use one and someone may appear from nowhere wielding a thermometer.