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