Peter McGregor Inn, Tavern and Apartment Building

The apartment building in the centre is The Peter McGregor Building named after the first official resident and business owner in London, Ontario. Almost two hundred years ago he opened his log cabin inn and tavern very close to the where the McGregor building is today at the forks of the Thames in the city core.

The first permanent settler in London, Ontario, was Peter McGregor, a tavern and hotel owner who had pulled up stakes from down river to settle in a more lucrative location. His first tavern at the corner of Ridout and King Streets consisted of a stump outside a small log house, with a tin cup and a jug of whisky. His inn was but a rough log cabin.

Thus McGregor established the first business and residence in London. In January of 1827 when the court opened, he acted as jailer and frequently brought the prisoners over to his tavern for dinner.

Taken from Thames Topics, Booklet 2.

How ducks got their colours

	A Lakota Legend

A young warrior, who from childhood had been very fond of bright colours, walked far from camp. He loved the beautiful colours of Indian summer. Now and then he would stop and take from his pouch some clay and oil to paint the colours he saw. As the shadows grew long, he knew that it would soon be time for the night fire, so he made his way to a nearby lake where he built a small lodge.

As he sat looking at the red sun, which was about to go down under the coloured sky, he heard the talk of waterfowl coming toward him. He saw large and small ducks, gray geese, and loons diving and playing. They were all his friends and he was glad to see them. He cupped his hands about his mouth and called to them. They were startled at first, but when they recognized him they paddled to shore.

The young man invited them all to his lodge. There they visited and took turns telling what they had done that day. When the young warrior told then that he had been studying and mixing colours, a gray duck became interested.

"You are our friend," said the duck. "Would you be so kind as to paint us with some of your beautiful colours?"

The large gray duck decided that he wished a pretty green head with a white stripe around his neck, a brown breast, and yellow legs. When he was painted, the duck flapped his wings. Ducks with these colours are now called mallard ducks.

"I hope you will not paint my mate with the same colours I have," he said. So she was painted mostly brown.

Then the teal had himself and his family painted as he desired.

By this time the paints were almost gone, so there were no bright colours left for the goose and the loon.

From Canku Ota (Many Paths) - an online newsletter celebrating Native America

These cars say, "Slow down!"

Isn't this impersonating a policeperson, or at least police car? Isn't this technically illegal? If it is, the police are looking the other way for these two police car look-alikes are parked in front of Mattress Depot and Discount Furniture on Exeter Road in the city's southern end.

No matter how many times my wife and I drive by the Mattress Depot we always slow down the moment we spot these two parked cars. Heck, we slow down and we aren't even speeding!

The growing, expanding city devours nearby farms.

This old farm house, its barn, in fact the entire farm on which these buildings sit, all are on the way out. But it is clear from the look of the farm house that this place has been fading into oblivion for some time. It always amazes me to see the work people expend in destroying a building.

I'm old, really old. Not as old as this home but within a decade or two. I can almost remember when asphalt rolled siding was new. Let me assure you, covering a home with this imitation-stone-patterned stuff was never cool. Never. It was always cheap and tacky.

I wonder what this home looked like when new. I bet it was rather nice. Inside, it had wide, solid wood trim. It has solid wooden doors, not the hollow core one's installed today --- which often have more in common with treated paper than wood. It had a fireplace in the living room with two matching windows on each side. It had some fancy beveled glass interior doors as visual accents.

When new it might have housed a happy family that would never have imagined how their beloved home would be allowed to decay with the passing decades.

Geek get-together

Geeks are good at multi-tasking.

JL had designs on the blonde.

Food, friends and phones

The first Wednesday of every month the geeks of London rise up from their computers and migrate downtown to enjoy a good dinner, some draft beer and lots of conversation.

This month there was a new guest at the Geek Dinner, the new Apple iPad.

Next month there are two geek events: The monthly Geek Dinner and another PodCamp. If interested, click the link.

Cheers,
Rockinon

Addendum: When I worked at the paper I used to hear the term 'social networking'. I thought it was nothing more than another buzzword, full of whatever and signifying nothing. I'm an ag'iner and not believing in stuff comes easy and often my doubts are justified. Not here. Social networking is real. I was wrong.

By 8 a.m. I had about 60 hits. Now, it is not quite 2 p.m. and I'm at about 140 hits. It is clear from the locations from which these hits are coming and from what is being hit that the action is all be driven by this one post. You couldn't look for better evidence of social networking.

I'm uncomfortable with the term geek. Oh I know it is being used somewhat tongue in cheek here, but many of these folk are beyond geekdom, and I mean that in a good way. They all have lives outside of the computer world. If you could take away their cell phones and their notebooks (I wouldn't try.), you would still have a group of interesting people.

Primulas

Primula blooms

The first blooms of spring are beginning to brighten the land. I noticed these primula blooms hiding in the post winter wreckage of my wife flower garden. She doesn't read my blog so I'm safe.

Seven homes collapsed. Why?

A row of five unfinished homes collapsed in northeast London Saturday around dinner hour. Another two, several kilometres away, were also taken down by what were reportedly light winds. Why did these homes collapse?

Yes, seven homes were dropped to their knees by winds gusting to 67 km/h as measured at London International Airport. All were only partially built and thus were quite vulnerable, but vulnerable to what? All were two storey homes but after they collapsed it was mighty hard to tell.

One onlooker said, "It wasn't even that windy."

For the complete story and the answer to this puzzle, I have posted more information plus more pictures on Digital Journal.

Rabbits and chipmunks frequent my yard

Rabbits and chipmunks are common in my London, Ontario, subdivision.

If you have followed this blog at all, you know that rabbits, chipmunks, foxes, raccoons, skunks, groundhogs and other small animals frequent my yard. One winter there were deer tracks in the snow behind my home and one summer an armadillo was spotted. You might think that I live in the country, or almost, and you'd be right --- at least, for a few more short years. New subdivisions are going up and the day is coming when I will be deep in the urban landscape.

Winter is Over!

Warm weather brought thousands out to enjoy London's parks.

Warm enough to carry water

With the temperature climbing into the seventies on Good Friday in London, Ontario, Londoners in the thousands hit the parks: Some to walk, others to jog, or bike, or skateboard, but all to enjoy. Winter is over and these Canadians have come out to celebrate the spring.

London wasn't alone. People across the province, plus Quebec and Atlantic Canada, were all enjoying unseasonably warm temperatures. Forecasters were expecting warm weather records to fall in many places.

In London it's possible to walk from the north end of town, above the university, all the way to the southwest end of the city past Springbank Park using mainly walking paths along the Thames River. No one need battle traffic and congestion, unless you count other walkers, jogger, bikers and skateboarders.

Historic London

You'd never know from this picture but in London, Ontario, it is often down with the old and up with the new. In this picture, the castle-like building on the left is the former courthouse designed in 1827. On the right is the former jail which was added in 1842. The last hanging in London occurred on the grounds of the old jail.

Towering over both is a recently completed apartment tower. The bird sculpture featured recently hangs just above street level in one corner of this building.

It is believed that the courthouse was partially modelled after the ancestral home of Thomas Talbot's Malahide Castle, near Dublin, Ireland. In future London Daily Photo posts we will revisit these buildings and spend more time examining the old courthouse and jail. Both are worth a more extensive look.

Art Gallery

Museum London is now skinned with simple grey plates. Note chimney-like vent.

Officially it's Museum London but locally it's simply The Art Gallery. Located at The Forks of the Thames in downtown London, Ontario, the building itself is rather interesting, both to look at and to write about. First, the story which ran as an investigative news story when the local paper claimed the design is a rip-off of Louis Kahn’s Kimbell Art museum in Fort Worth, Texas. I don't think so. The Kahn building is an inspiration for the London's building. And, as any student of art can tell you, inspiration of this nature has a long and very proud history in the world of art. This is a non-issue.

Louis Kahn’s Kimbell Art museum is in Fort Worth, Texas.

Designed by Canadian architect Raymond Moriyama and built in 1980, Museum London was originally a deep rich blue, a colour almost demanded because of the gallery's location at the forks of the Thames. The original blue plates had a dynamic fan design filling each arch.

Unfortunately the metal plates rusted badly and a few years ago the blue skin disappeared to be replaced by the present grey panels. The dynamic fan shapes were replaced with rectangles. Some say this was done to save money. Supposedly, the fancy shapes came with a fancy price.

Inside, the lower level shallow pool has been removed. Rumour has it that a lady tumbled into the pool during the opening night celebration. Deemed a safety hazard, the pool was removed. Others say the pool was causing humidity problems in the gallery but I recall a similar pool in a large hall just past the entrance to the Detroit Institute of Art. It apparently caused no grief.

Note the original blue colour and fan shapes under arches.

And the unpainted, grey concrete walls are no longer unpainted and grey. Many have been sloppily painted white. Personally, I liked the unpainted walls but then I liked the original blue colour and the fan shapes at the top of the arches.

The vast majority of readers who have responded to this post, favoured the original Moriyama design over either the Fort Worth building or the modified London gallery.

Moriyama had it right.

Cheers!

Ratty not a Muskrat

Kenneth Grahame's Wind in the Willows, written early in the last century, is one of the best-loved children's books. In 2003 it was voted one of the UK's top 21 books in the BBC's Big Read. Some folk think that Ratty in the Wind in the Willows is a muskrat. Wrong! Ratty, contrary to what his name may imply, is a British water vole, a distant relative of his cousin from across the pond.

This muskrat was spotted in a marshy area leading to a rain runoff collector pond in one of the newest suburbs in London, Ontario. The culvert under the nearby major roadway, seen at bottom right, gives the muskrat quite the large range.

But if Ratty wasn't a muskrat, don't worry. The muskrat still has made it into pop culture. Are you old enough to recall The Captain and Tennille and their hit single Muskrat Love? No? Well, check out the YouTube video of Toni Tennille.

Pipeline Serving 350,000 Ruptures

The damaged pipe sits off to the side as workers finish the pipeline repairs.

A 48-inch pipeline runs for 48-km through Southwestern Ontario carrying water from Lake Huron north of Grand Bend to Arva on the north edge of London, Ontario. Early Monday morning that pipeline broke, pressure dropped in the line and a small pond formed near the village of Mount Carmel.

Tuesday the break, which affected two sections of pipe, was repaired. By afternoon the line was being refilled and would then be flushed to return it to full operation by sometime that night.

London, Ontario, and area is growing and the pipeline is admittedly overtaxed both in volume of water carried and by the velocity of the water being transported. The line has been partially twinned and this break has underlined the importance of finishing the twinning job.

Full story on Digital Journal.

Art

A simple sculpture dresses up the exterior of a new apartment building.

There's a new apartment building in downtown London, Ontario. It was built as an upscale place to live but it is getting mixed reviews. A retired gentleman told me that he and his wife considered moving there but when they saw the apartment that was in their budget range, it was far too small. It made them feel claustrophobic, he said.

Today I was downtown and noticed that a large piece of art has been hung at the corner of the building. The place does keep trying.

Getting Ready for Spring

Spring is here. Winter is gone. It's time to get the snow tires taken off and stored safely until next winter. Stroll through the neighbourhood and you'll see lots of signs of spring --- like these two brothers washing their twin motorcycles.

Wanna Play?

It looks like the little ones at the Saturday learn to swim class at the London Aquatic Centre are learning more than how to swim; They're learning how to share.

Little Miss Baby on the right was struggling not to cry. Dad, a certified lifeguard, loves the water and Little Miss Baby found it hard to share dad's enthusiasm. But when little Mr. Baby was near, the little girl's tears stopped. The little baby girl loves other babies; She smiles and laughs on seeing herself in the hallway mirror --- finding a cute baby at the pool with whom to share a moment was a real bonus.

Before leaving the pool dad checked out little Miss Baby's mammalian diving reflex; Babies are supposed to naturally hold their breath when submerged. Miss Baby passed the test and without any tears.

Ann Coulter Again

Ann Coulter at book signing in London, Ont.

I don't do this often but this lady gave a talk in London and made a lot of waves, which is not unexpected if you know anything about Ann Coulter.

She then went to Ottawa where her talk was cancelled and a lot of media reports have made it sound as if she were prevented from speaking. I made some calls to people in the newspaper industry and discovered the general feeling was the protests were small and pretty mild. I called the Ottawa police for the straight goods. Please read the following and then mentally let Canada off the hook for the Ann Coulter brouhaha.

Conservative commentator Ann Coulter was in the middle of a Canadian tour this week to promote her new book. After a stop in London, ON, Coulter headed to Ottawa. Ahead of the Ottawa appearance, however, Coulter's security detail informed her it may not be safe to speak and so the event was cancelled. Since then, Coulter has publicly lashed out at organizers and officials in Ottawa over the way she has been treated.

Despite media reports and angry words from Coulter, Ottawa police say they did not shut down the event. I spoke directly with Alain Boucher, Ottawa Police Services media relations officer, who said, "It was a decision by organizers and her own security." He said, in no uncertain terms, "We didn't shut it (the event) down."

Furthermore, there weren't thousands of protesters as has been reported by some media outlets. In fact, the best police estimate of the crowd size is 1,500 and that is everyone. Many in the crowd were there simply to hear Coulter speak and were not there to protest. Boucher refused to be drawn into estimating the exact number of protesters.

Cst. Alain Boucher

In addition, there was no mob nor riot. "We had no fears that anything would occur," Boucher said. "When asked to leave, [the crowd] all left." Boucher said with large crowds the police are always alert to changes in the group mood, but said the crowd did not get way out of hand and there were no arrests.

Boucher also said the Ottawa police took the protest seriously and were not undermanned. There were 10 officers visible at the scene, "plus other resources" nearby. There was "more than enough" police presence at the event. That said, the police, while taking care not to aggravate the situation, were also prepared to handle any possible escalation of crowd action.

Although it has been widely reported that police were monitoring Facebook and had informed Coulter's people of an apparent menacing tone in Facebook activity ("bring sticks, bring rocks") Boucher had no knowledge of any of this and could not supply  any Facebook links.

Boucher confirmed "no damage was reported."

No. 67

I think my favourite place for Chinese food in London, Ontario, is Kambie Chinese Restaurant at 375 Horton. I take my wife there occasionally, and although I do try something new now and then, I almost always order No. 67. This is the Sliced Beef with Black Bean Sauce on Chow Mein. Yum.

I should resist giving restaurant tips as the last one I gave came back to haunt me but I've taken a number of people there, some of whom have been quite knowledgeable about Chinese cuisine, and I have yet to get a complaint.

One of my guests with whom I shared a Kambie meal ordered sauteed tender squid and I groaned. "Who has ever had 'tender' squid?" I asked. Pink pearl eraser texture without the flavour is how I have always described squid.

Well, now I know the answer: I have. I had it at Kambie.

By the way if you do go, there is a wonderful, smiling lady by the name of Isma who is always there. I believe she is an owner. If you were to tell Isma the former photographer for The London Free Press sent you and you'd like to have the sliced beef with black bean sauce with a bowl of white rice, the same dish that he loves, she'd know exactly what to bring to you.

Cheers,
Rockinon

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Speaks at the University of Western Ontario

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. spoke in Alumni Hall at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario, Wednesday evening.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. lost his battle with laryngitis Wednesday night at the University of Western Ontario. With his voice fading, Kennedy said, "I don't think I can talk anymore." For the full story see my take in Digital Journal. 


left: University of Western Ontario political science student Tiffany Santos stands beside Robert F. Kennedy Jr. who posed for pictures with students at a book signing after the question and answer session was cut short by his laryngitis.

English Bulldog

It's an English bulldog. Somewhat squat and quite muscular, this is a dog with an intimidating appearance. And when it walked by me the first time, I gave it lots of room. And yet, I felt guilty, that dog seemed friendly, approachable.

The route I take for my daily stroll is a loop and it didn't take long for the English bulldog and me to cross paths again. This time I chatted with the owner and got permission to try for a picture. This dog was clearly affectionate, curious, and gentle.

Since taking this picture, I did some research and sure enough English bulldogs love people and bask in the attention caring owners gives them. Still, I wouldn't want to pull this particular fellow's tail.

Uh, they do have pullable tails, don't they?

Ann Coulter Spoke in London

When signing books for admirers, Ann Coulter can be downright charming.

The right-wing American firebrand Ann Coulter is making a three-stop Canadian tour and Monday night she spoke in London, Ontario.

For more information on the evening, see the Digital Journal: Ann Coulter claims she's the victim of a hate crime.

More pictures of doomed dome east of London

The geodesic-dome like ceiling above the main dining room still looks cool.

Yesterday I posted pictures from the open house held to celebrate the '60s domed Woodstock service centre on 401 east. Personally, I find it sad that this building, and the others like it, are all going to be razed --- there were a number built beside 401 back in the early '60s.

The men's washroom has a gently curved wall.

They were well built with geodesic-like domes and solid stone walls. I like to think that if buildings like this were maintained, added to and modified with care and imagination, they could continue to function in the present. Then, in a hundred years we'd have a few cool heritage buildings giving architectural witness to a time long past.

But no, we tear them down before they even hit 40. In a hundred years no one will know a thing about them. They will be truly and completely gone and a bit of our heritage will have died.

Check out the stone wall curving behind this lady enjoying a Tim's and a cigarette. I wonder what happens to the stones after the building is demolished.

At one time civilizations reused building materials. My guess is that this stone is destined for a dump.

The old Scott's Chicken Villa rest stop on 401 near Woodstock wasn't built with the look of a building to be demolished within four decades.

Doomed Dome

It was very futuristic, the look of tomorrow, when it opened in 1962. Today it is the dated look of yesterday.

The well known domed Woodstock service centre on 401 east is slated for closure. Saturday an open house was held, and some of the staff from the early years attended. One woman, Eunice Moore was 91. Another lady was much younger, but then she was only 17 when she worked for the colonel back in 1963. For the full story and more pictures see: Digital Journal - Doomed Domes.

It is hard to see the original Scott's Chicken Villa in the present building. The dome is still prominent, but the tall, antenna-like structure is gone.

A great place to visit but . . .

Toronto-born Frank Gehry, has done his first building in Canada, the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto. The famous architect put a long expanse of slanted, reflective glass above the Dundas St. W. entrance to reflect the townhouses across the street.

Gehry used a lot of warm wood inside the AGO.

Many of us living in Southwestern Ontario have a love/hate relationship with Toronto. We love visiting the big city but we don't want to live there. Toronto has great theatres, athletic events, restaurants. The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) and the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) are wonderful places to spend a day.

Right now King Tut: The Golden King and the Great Pharaohs is at the AGO.

King Tut is two hours from London.

The tickets are available online. Buy in advance online and when you walk in the door, you can immediately line-up for entry at the time on your ticket. It's pretty slick.

To go home, one gets on the Gardner Expressway or maybe the 401, and if it is rush hour you just about park your car on the expressway. The going is slow. It gives one a lot of time to consider why, "Toronto is a great place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there."

Art Gallery of Ontario

It's location, location, location --- or is it?

I always thought with real estate it was location, location, location. Well, this is the location of the upscale apartments featured yesterday.

On the right edge of the picture is the Men's Mission and in the foreground is a complex of storage units. I'll bet folk who live in the apartments rent space here as it's handy.

Between the storage buildings and the apartments run the Canadian National Railway tracks. This is the CNR mainline through London and it is heavily travelled.

And behind the Men's Mission at the CNR tracks, both men and women often gather to chum about. The London police seem to think of this more as loitering, or something, and are often there breaking it up and moving it on.

When my wife worked in the area I always had to pick her up after work because she was afraid to walk to her car. She feared the fellows who, when moved on from party-hardy-city, loitered in front of the door to her building.

This is not a criticism but an observation. I personally found the wording of the sign fastened to the side of the apartment building odd, but hey that's probably just me.

Cheers,
Rockinon

Love the sign

Love the sign: "Upscale 1 & 2 Bedroom for Lease." Admittedly, this is a good building and my wife, who worked in an office on the second floor, assures me it is very well maintained. Yet, let's be honest; This building, and the other two in the complex, is as dull as they come. Similar looking buildings in the States have been demolished with dynamite, dropped dramatically to the ground and the rubble carted away.

Come back tomorrow and I'll show you this "upscale" building's neighbourhood.

For now,
Cheers,
Rockinon

Somethings don't change

Somethings are the same the world over --- likes babies. And the lessons that babies can teach us are as valid in London, Ontario, as they are in London, England.

Babies are curious. They constantly investigate the world that surrounds them.

Babies don't hold a grudge. Give them a bath and they may howl but moments after leaving the water all is forgiven. "Don't live in the past." They seem to be telling us. "You gotta have a life. When it's over, move on."

And it is good to laugh if given the opportunity. At least, that is Fiona's strong belief. She jumps at the chance to share a laugh with a friend, and it does help to be her friend as Fiona is no naive fool. She knows you don't just trust anyone on first meeting. Relationships can't be rushed.

Babies everywhere have sparkle. It is too bad that for many of us, life dulls our sparkle, our native curiosity and enthusiasm.

Cheers,
Rockinon

Spring flooding

Behind the Canada goose is Harris Park at the forks of the Thames in downtown London, Ontario. This park is located on flood plain and so it is no surprise that it is under water in mid March. What is a surprise is how little flooding has occurred. Some years the flooding can be quite extensive when a late, heavy snow is followed by a sudden warm spell accompanied by rain.

In the background, on the left, can be seen a high concrete levee. This levee is necessary because the homes on that side of the river are also on flood plain.

I liked this picture so much, I wrote a weather article just so I could post it on Digital Journal.

The clock jumps forward, the snow pulls back

Except for some areas where the drifted snow was exceptionally deep and somewhat sheltered from day long sunshine, like my backyard, most of the snow cover in the London area is gone.

I saw this and thought if grass was blue, this scene would resemble many of the aerial pictures I've seen showing polar glaciers where they meet the sea.