The lockdown continues

No shopping. No dining. Even going to the park is frowned upon. But kids just gotta get outside and my youngest granddaughter did just that. She went sledding on the small slope across from our London home.

She had fun and I got tested. Now, I am sure I do not have osteoporosis. Despite my age, my bones are fine. The slope was damn slippery, and yes that is the correct use of the word damn. Down I went. Spread-eagled. A slow check of all my limbs revealed nothing amiss. No broken bones. I got a pass.

Immediately afterwards I got a hot chocolate. My granddaughter didn't think I should play any longer on the hill. I take too many risks. I could get hurt. She took me home.

How do you spell optimism? B-O-L-E-R M-T

 

How do you spell optimism? Me, I spell it B-o-l-e-r M-o-u-n-t-a-i-n. Why? The province is in the middle of an almost complete lockdown to check the soaring number of covid-19 cases and what is Boler Mountain doing? Making snow. Boler believes it will open soon and the staff is busy making snow in order to be ready for the anticipated crowds of mask-wearing skiers.

Yup. That's optimism.

Tracks in the snow confirm wildlife lives in the city

 

Huge expanses of unbroken snow don't last long in the city. And no it's not kids playing in the snow who are leaving the tracks. It's wildlife. Getting about in winter can be hard for small animals, especially when the snow is deep. So, the first animal to pass makes the path and the following critters deepen and widen the now preferred route.

Sadly, our natural world is shrinking. According to the BBC, "Wildlife populations have fallen by more than two-thirds in less than 50 years." The tracks, so common in the wild sections of the city, are signs of hope alerting us to the fact that we share our world.

A Blanket of Snow Keeps Burrows Warm

 

Under all that snow there's life. Lot's of life. Squirrels, rabbits possibly even a fox or two. And of course there are birds. All are protected from the harshest cold by the warm blanket of snow. It insulates and keeps the cold arctic wind at bay. It even provides clean water for the wintering wildlife.

How do we know for certain that there is life under the deep snow and sagging tree limbs? Footprints. Lots and lots of footprints left by little animals scampering here and scampering there.

Neighbours Sharing Culture and Cookies at Christmas

Canada is a land of immigrants. Even families like mine with supposedly deep family roots going back decades, even centuries, are relative newcomers, Unless you are an indigenous Canadian, you are a newbie.

At Christmas one of our neighbours, a lovely lady originally from Turkey, makes baklava and shares it with friends and relatives. This year she sent her daughter to our home with a plate of Turkish sweets.

Baklava is the sweet on the right. It is made from thin layers of phyllo pastry separated by coarsely chopped nuts in a thick syrup with a honey-base. I'm not sure what is on the left but it might be maamoul, a type of date-filled cookie. Our neighbour's version is coated with icing sugar and flaked coconut.

Is baklava a Turkish dessert? Today yes but it may have originated in Greece. At least, that is the story according to many Greeks. But keep digging and you will find claims piled on claims until, if you dig deep enough and go back far enough, you might find your search ending in Assyria in the 8th century B.C.

As for the maamoul, it may have originated with the Phoenicians although the Egyptians often take credit.

What can we learn from a plate of cookies? Well, that our world is place in flux. What you consider "your culture" may just be "something borrowed."

Covid moves turkey pick-up outdoors

 

The local turkey farm is not selling the number of turkeys it usually does at Christmas. With the provincial government asking folk not to meet at Christmas, the turkey farm had an unprecedented number of turkey order cancellations. 

My wife didn't cancel. The family running the turkey farm were appreciative. At pick-up we found the turkeys being held outside for pick-up. When my wife asked if her turkey could be halved as she no longer needed such a large turkey. 

Our turkey may not have been cancelled but our family Christmas dinner has been. The turkey was quickly halved at no charge: "Merry Christmas!"

Cold cameras lead to cool photos

 

I left my camera bag in the trunk of my car and I left my car outside. Oops! When the grandkids started decorating the Christmas tree I retrieved my camera to get some shots of the decorations. Oops again! Taken into the warm, somewhat humid home, the lens fogged up. 

But the images shot with the fogged lens were inspiring. I shot numerous pictures. I even carefully blew warm, moist breath on the lens to enhance the foggy quality. I shared the results with my granddaughters and actually accented the soft final images with photo software. The lesson? Go with the flow.

Creative at Christmas

 

The decorations are simple but imaginative. My wife was the first to remark on the creative Christmas look of a neighbour's twin garage doors. When my granddaughters also mentioned how cool the neighbour's house looked, it was time to get out the camera. As I took the photo, passing motorists honked their approval.

RM Sotheby's Auto Show

 

In just days it will be Christmas and then New Year's. It will be 2021. Or will it be 2020 take two? It doesn't seem like this year ever got off the ground. It was a bit of a non event. Car shows, like the RM Sotheby's show held annually outside Chatham, about an hour southwest of London, were cancelled. One word explains why: covid.

One word explains why 2021 will not be a repeat of this year: vaccine. Science to the rescue.

Once a force in the London, Ontario, business community

 

Supertest service stations were a fixture across southwestern Ontario when I was a boy but the company's reach went right across the province. Headquartered in London, it operated from 1923 to 1973. In 1971 it was aquired by BP Canada and after two years the name was dropped.

There are a number of Londoners with extensive collections of historical photos documenting London over the years. Today's image is from one of those collections.

Six days till Christmas and no snow

 

Six days till Christmas and there is almost no snow to be seen. Will it be a white Christmas? Maybe not. Snow is in the forecasts but so is warmish, for winter, weather. And come Wednesday it is supposed to be not only above freezing but rain is forecast. 

But, if we have to have a green Christmas, this might be the right year. Thanks to Covid-19 we may not have children for Christmas either. The number of ill folk is climbing in the province. Business are going into lock down, my wife had her hair appointment canceled.

If we get together at all at Christmas it will be a Christmas dominated by masks and social distancing.

Why just here? Why just this section of power line?

Yes, I know. It's an old, well-told story: why birds sit on power lines. I've been told the lines are slightly warmer than other surfaces in the winter. This warmth, from the passing electricity, makes the lines a favourite perch. 

But I have another question: why did the birds pick these three power lines. No bird perched on the wires to the other side of the wooden poles. Not a one.

 And if one looks about, one immediately notices that there are no birds, not a one, perched on any of surrounding lines -- and there are a lot!

Hoping for a summer like those remembered

 

The summer of 2020 will go down for our family as the non-summer summer. Lockdowns, closures, masks and distancing. Not the words one usually associates with summer. Heck, even the playgrounds were closed, wrapped in cautioning yellow tape. 

With a second vaccine now being given to Canadians eager to put an end to the pandemic, a better summer, a more traditional summer, a summer saturated with family fun is now waiting in the wings, ready to make its appearance.

Until then, we have our memories.

Building under construction collapses; 2 killed.

 

Last September I took a picture of a small, apartment building under construction. The elevator shafts were in and they appeared as concrete towers looking almost like giant works of sculptural art.

Sadly, today the construction has been put on hold. Why? A partial building collapse left two people dead and injured five others. An investigation is underway. According to The London Free Press, our local paper, a partner in apartment building that collapsed had lost his licence to build new homes for sale in London.

Elegant home; elegant seasonal decorations

 

Once can only see this home from the roadway and it is quite the distance from the roadway to the home. In other words, one doesn't get a detailed view of this place from the roadway. It does appear to be a fine, somewhat sprawling, home with a four car garage off to the side and possibly some residential space above the garage as well.

Its grey stone exterior gives it an elegant feel. Now, with the Christmas Season getting into full swing, elegant light-grey wire deer have made their appearance on the grounds around the home and garage. All so very, very classy.

Some of the best farmland in Canada

The farmland surrounding London is often some of the very best farmland in the entire country. But soon this land to the northwest of the city will be sprouting homes rather than crops. The soil is rich with good depth. And the growing season in the London area is almost the longest in the country. Yet the urban sprawl continues.

Who recalls the numbers racket? Irish Sweepstakes?

When I was a boy we often heard talk of the numbers racket. It was mob run we were told. According to the New York Times: About half of the wagered money was returned as prize money to the lucky players who “hit the number.”

When it came to lotteries, the big one was the Irish Sweepstakes. The state run lottery was played around the world but it derived more revenue from the United States than from any other country, and this despite all the tickets sold being illegally.

I haven't heard of the numbers racket in years. Perhaps it is still played in big cities, I don't know. The Irish Sweepstakes is gone. It was replaced decades ago by a lottery. I believe it was also replaced by legal competition. 

Governments around the world have made lotteries, once illegal, big money makers for the governments. I read that the mafia was more generous when it came to returning money to the players than the governments. From what I could determine online, this is often not true. Governments are fairly generous with their ill-gotten gains.

The Lotto 649 in Ontario starts at 5 Million. If there is no winner, the price grows with the unrewarded funds being returned to the pot. There are two draws a week. With the prize now at $25 million, it is clear there has not been a winner for sometime. Depending on how you feel like the big pots, you might have preferred the mob's game of chance. The numbers game had smaller prizes and far more winners.

Memories of the past and hope for the future

In previous years London has had two Santa Claus parades. A big one in the core held at night oddly enough and a smaller, somewhat more community-oriented one in a northwest suburb. We never took the grandkids downtown but we never missed the Hyde Park Santa Claus parade. Never. Well, not until this year.

Both parades were canceled: Covid-19. Our grandkids missed the small, suburban parade just a short walk from their home. Area kids were welcome to participate and many did. I had no idea that so many kids would join a marching bank if given a chance.

Banting Broncos is the name under which the students from the area high school, Banting Secondary School, complete. And the teens out marching most likely play their instruments at various sporting events held during the year at the school. I understand the students enjoy being given the chance to play at an event attended by more than just other students. The kids missed the opportunity this year.

The Christmas festival is but a memory this year

The annual seasonal celebration at my granddaughters' public school is but a memory this year. All too sad. The celebration was arranged in such a manner that every child could take part and they all did. It was a fun celebration that brought the school community together. The year Covid-19 has pushed the celebration off the calendar.

Morgans were once common in southwestern Ontario

 

Morgans were once common in southwestern Ontario. In the '50s and into the '70s, these English roadsters were sold by a dealer in Windsor, Ontario, two hours from London. Then the government banned the little cars. The little sports cars did not meet the automobile regulations of the time and they still do meet the regulations today. Buying a new Morgan has been an impossible dream for the many decades now.

Car manufacturing has been important to Ontario and it put a lot of folk in the ranks of the middle class. With extra money to spend, it is not all that surprising that a car like the Morgan would find lots of buyers. Morgans were not cheap but they were affordable.

It was said that there were Morgans in Windsor on a per capita basis than in London, England. And the cars spilled out of Windsor into other communities in southern Ontario. London had its fair share. Even today there are a half dozen or so Morgans running about town each summer.

The green Morgan roadster shown was mine. I drove it for 45 years. It was a fine car. My wife and I drove it across the States twice, the last time in 2010. One often reads that English sports cars were unreliable. Not true. The cars were persnickety. With the right mechanic, a mechanic who understood the car's needs, these cars were very dependable. Heck, when I sold mine, it still had its original transmission, rear suspension, twin S.U. carburetors and more. It was a car that simply wouldn't die -- damn the regulations.

Waiting for the snow

Warm days and wet nights spells green grass. We are now waiting for the snow. Simple Christmas decorations can get lost in the visual clutter when the blanket of white snow is missing.

Salvation Army Village

It's called the Salvation Army Village. Once it had residents. Today it has offices.

The Salvation Army is a Christian church famous for its charity work. Its motto is "Giving Hope Today." Formed in 1865 in London, England, it came to Canada in 1882 and is still a going concern today.

According the the Salvation Army Internet page the Salvation Army London Village has a history going back to 1954. Originally it was a Children’s Village with six cottages providing accommodation for orphaned children. With the increasing use of foster care, the Village slowly changed its purpose.

With the closure of institutional facilities for people with developmental disabilities, in 1973 the Village began operating services dedicated to helping such children. This led to a Community Living program which was operated by the Village throughout London starting in 1989 and running for more than a decade.

Today the residents are gone. In the summer there may be day camps held on the grounds. The cottages on the circle are now offices used by various charitable organizations.

The wooden nativity scene on display at The Village today looks as if it has a long history. One doesn't see many like it in the city today. Although one gets the feeling that displays like this were quite common at one time. This display is a trip into the past.

Do apartment blocks have to be so massive?

Do apartment blocks have to be so massive? I wonder. When I was a boy we had two and three floor walk-ups here and there about the neighbourhood. These structures blended easily into the urban fabric. Plus, sometimes the apartments inside had floor plans reminiscent of a small home with large kitchens and two and three bedrooms.

In Paris most of the older apartment blocks are, I believe, no more than six floors. I understand that some city planners argue phenomenal urban density can be obtained by building rows of six floor apartment blocks similar to the ones in Paris rather that staggering tall apartment towers about the subdivision.

Personally, I am not against massive apartment buildings but I do wish the units inside offered floor space in keeping with the apparent size of the building.

Stink bugs shelter in homes for winter

Stink bugs are a common pest in London homes this winter. Many London homes, including ours, have a real infestation. Somehow the little bugs are working their way through the exterior walls and finding their way inside. In our case, the bugs are appearing in our kitchen, ugh, and our hallways.

Curious as to why, I googled the problem. I learned the reason I don't recall these pests from my youth is that these little critters are new to London. Called brown marmorated stink bugs, this invasive species is native to Asia. First discovered in the northeastern United States in the early 2000s, now, almost two decades later, they are in southwestern Ontario.

Apparently, they do no damage to one's home. They are only seeking a warm place to hang out until warm weather returns. They don't lay eggs or raise young indoors. Their presence is simply an an annoyance -- unless, one is not careful when grabbing one with a small bundle of bathroom tissue in order to flush it away. Crush the bug and you'll be sorry. Apparently these bugs are appropriately named.

Christmas shopper numbers down

 

The mall, one of London's oldest and largest, was not in the least bit busy the other night. No Christmas shopping crowds in sight. But lots of sign and symbols of the Covid-19 virus responsible for the shopping freeze that has seized so much of the world.

The vaccines cannot come too soon.

t

Comfort food was the topic of the month

 

I understand that comfort food was the topic to be covered on the first of December. Oops! Uh, better late than never?

Both my wife and I must watch our weight. But we both love pasta. We've found that the usual serving amount of 85g of pasta, dry weight prior to boiling, is too much. We have settled on 55g as the perfect amount and this allows the other ingredients to shine.

This lobster pasta is a bit pricey but I call it a restaurant substitution dinner. To the lobster I like to add a vegetable for colour, texture and flavour. This time, as you can see, I added big pieces of asparagus and chunks of mushroom. To give this a bit of a sauce, about 60g of soft goat cheese has been stirred into the mix and all has been topped with some grated Parmesan immediately before serving.

For medical reasons, I am only allowed the occasional small glass of wine. For a dinner like this I usually allow myself a small glass of white wine.

Some things don't change. Virus on no virus.

Holding a door is technically wrong but we do it!

I've noticed that holding the door for others is so ingrained in most of us that this is one habit that has persevered despite the virus. Enter the store and start down an aisle and if someone enters the aisle from the other end the approaching customer may well stop and retreat. A lot of folk try always to keep a safe distance from others, strangers especially. 

Line up at the check out and everyone is standing on a big, brightly coloured sticker. Each sticker is six plus feet away from the next closest sticker. I say six plus because in Canada many of the stickers are a full two metres apart and two metres translates into almost six feet seven inches in Imperial measure.

Holding a door breaks the distance rule. Oh well, I think it's worth it. Hey, the doors are often outside, it is only a moments long violation and we are wearing masks. 😊