A winter storm rolls into Southwestern Ontario

A passenger gets a shot of winter driving conditions through a wet windshield.

Traffic moves slowly as vehicles navigate the snowy roads in London, Ontario. Canada may be famous for snow and winter but often Canadians living in the Southwest Region of Ontario are not well prepared for winter snow storms. Many drivers save money by not equipping their vehicles with winter tires. It's foolish but not uncommon.

Former country roads often missing sidewalks

Walking to the bank, the grocery store, the drugstore and other assorted places is not a long walk from my suburban home. The above photo was taken with a 28mm wide angle lens. The red light in the distance is clearly not all that far away. The stores are at that corner.

Yet, a lot of folk won't make the walk from my neighbourhood to the new stores that recently opened nearby. Why? Because of the lack of a sidewalk beside the major road which is the only reasonable route by foot to the new stores.

Luckily, there is an option. There is an older shopping area just a little farther away. There are sidewalks all the way to the older shopping disrict.

Not a lot of snow but certainly cold enough

I decided to walk to the bank this afternoon. Luckily I brought along a balaclava. It was -17 degrees Centigrade with the wind chill factored into the equation here in London, Ontario. I met no one else walking anywhere. The bank is rather nearby but it was still take-the-car weather.

Walking on water

One of the lights that guide vessels into the harbour can be seen in the distance.

Lake Erie is frozen. The lake is not frozen all the way accross, although this has happened when the winter is much, much colder than this year. On my visit to Port Stanley, forty-five minutes south of London, I found the ice simply hugging the shoreline.

Some years the ice creates massive, sculptural shapes thanks to the wind and the cold, but so far the results this winter are dull. Maybe the spring thaw will break the ice into large blocks to be blown into tall, jagged piles.

Living in the city

Suburban families enjoy the neighbourhood toboggan hill.

I've kept my granddaughter away from 'the hill.' It doesn't frighten her; It attracts her. I see the threat of injury; She sees the promise of fun — excitement. I'm a senior; She's a kid — a three-year-old kid.

'The hill' is a slope behind the houses immediately across from my suburban home. My granddaughter sometimes sees families leaving 'the hill' after an afternoon of sledding. She knows other kids use the long slope and doesn't understand why I won't take her there.

It frightens me. And after chatting with some of the parents, I've learned it frightens some of them, too. One common solution is to take the kids to the half-way point, or maybe a little further down, and let them slide down from there.

Most kids don't argue and I think some are quietly happy not to have to muster up the courage to slide down 'the hill' from the very top. It can be a heck of a ride.

Cold and snowy but spring is in the air

It is still quite cold in London, Ontario. The ground is still hidden under a blanket of snow. Yet, to someone who has lived his entire life in Southwestern Ontario, spring is in the air. The sun is strong and warm, it is no longer dark at six in the evening and warm days don't seem like a lucky breaks from winter cold but a sample of the warm spring days to come.

In less than a month Londoners will begin removing their snow tires and the first robins will be bathing in the bird bath which is now quite frozen.

Modern apartment tower cluster in London

After developments like the Pruitt-Igoe housing project in St. Louis failed in such a spectacular fashion, a myth grew up around vertical neighbourhoods. In the States the failed clusters became known as the projects and the most infamous have now either been demolished or soon will be: Pruitt-Igoe is demolished; Cabrini-Green in Chicago is gone; Brewster-Douglass in Detroit is slated for removal this year.

There are those who believe the death of the American projects sounded the death knell for modern architecture as it applied to housing. Nothing could be farther from the truth. In fact, despite the myth, all three of the developments mentioned were good places to live in the early years.

The developments in London are not unique. All over the world highrise neighbourhoods have succeeded. Still, I look at these buildings, so alike, huddled so tightly together, and I cannot help but think -- surely this could have been done so much better.

Mid-winter snow storm moves through London

A walk about my London neighbourhood did not find one car stuck in the snow.

It was billed as a big, mid-snow storm storm. So far it has not lived up to its advance billing.

It will be interesting to see how the media reports the storm. For instance, the OPP are reporting a lot of accidents, about 150, but they also add that there was no reason for such a high number. This may be Canada, famous for snow, but lots of Canadians haven't a clue how to drive in the stuff.

It is amazing how many Canadians don't bother with snow tires.

Snow hardly reaches the kid's knees.

No sled? There are still ways to get in a good slide.

Swings and slides are found in numerous neighbourhood parks dotting London, Ontario. One would think that winter would be down-time for the little parkettes. Nope.

While Fiona cleaned the slide with her snow suit, another child, sitting in a sled, was being pulled about the park by her mother and grandmother. It's funny but urban planners never make a big deal of these busy little spots. Places where children meet children and adults meet adults. Neighbourhood friendships are born and nurtured in these little parks.

Braywick Bistro in the urban core

The Braywick Bistro is a pleasant little restaurant on London's main street right in the heart of the downtown core. Taking pictures inside the restaurant at night, unless one uses a flash, is impossible. This is too bad as I would have loved to post pictures of our dinner.

We started by sharing an appetizer of mussels in a saffron sauce with a side order of hot, crispy, fried-to-perfection french fries. It brought back memories of Paris, France, where there is a chain of mussel-serving restaurants called Chez Léon. Other dishes are served but mussels with fries are the big draw. The serving size in Paris is far larger than anyone should ever be given. I found the only way to finish one's dinner in Paris was by washing all down with pints of Belgium beer.

My wife followed the appetizer with duck served with fingerling potatoes and fresh green beans. I had pan fried trout served on a bed of couscous and arugula. My wife had dessert and I finished with a coffee.

We live in the suburbs and like to dine at restaurants in the area where we live. I found it interesting that all the restaurants we frequent in Byron were full, unable to handle even one more reservation.

It takes less than fifteen minutes to drive from my far, southwest suburb into the city core. With a diesel powered Jetta it costs about a buck an half to make the trip. Why folk are always pitting the London suburbs against the old downtown core is a puzzle to me. It really should not be an either or situation.

Cities, at least small cities like London, should be working to stay small, to stop the sprawl and to improve transit. A hundred years ago, I believe, one could have taken a streetcar from my suburb to the downtown. Today, this is impossible; The streetcar service is long gone.

Another approach to dense housing

Clusters of low-rise apartment building in the above style are found in a number of locations in London, Ontario.

I watched some of these going up in North London. I was surprised to see what appeared to be a form of platform construction being used. Platform construction uses 2x4s. It is lumber and not steel that supports these buildings.

I worked at the local newspaper back then and I had a chance to chat with a fireman about the buildings in North London. He expressed misgivings about such large structures, housing so many people, boasting wood framed walls.

The science of building materials is often at odds with our gut feelings. I would not be surprised to learn that these buildings, despite the wood used in the construction, are as safe in a fire as other low-rise apartment buildings.

Dense residentail housing

Density is the word of the day when it comes to residential housing in London, Ontario. "More residents per square kilometre" is the mantra chanted by city planners. Today's picture shows one response to that oft repeated goal of high density neighbourhoods.

Personally, I prefer a highrise to a townhouse. I wonder how others feel.

Record high enjoyed by London, Ontario

Heavy fog Tuesday made driving to the grocery store in London a daunting task.

Monday it was heavy, wet snow. Today it is fog accompanied at times by pounding rain with thunder and lightening. The cause of this out-of-the-ordinary weather is the out-of-the-ordinary high January temperature for Southern Ontario: Environment Canada pegs the current temperature at 10.5°C. The previous record was 8.9°C set in 1975 and matched in 2006.

Tomorrow should start warm with the temperature surpassing today's high. By late evening sub-zero weather should return along with blowing snow.

[The store pictured is a Loblaw grocery store. The Loblaw chain is owned by George Weston Limited. Along with the Loblaw stores, the Weston folk also own No Frills, Fortinos, Zehrs, Provigo, Maxi, Real Canadian Superstore, Your Independent Grocer, and Extra Foods. And there may be more that I don't know about.]

A good snowfall brings out good neigbours

A snow scoop in young hands quickly clears a snowy drive.

I have a heart condition and all my neighbours know it. Last night a heavy, wet snowfall blanketed London, Ontario. I was not looking forward to starting up the snow blower.

At 8:30 a.m. the front doorbell rang. It was a lad from across the court. "Would you like your walk and driveway cleared?" I answered, "Yes."

I have always found that good snowfalls bring out good neighbours.

Zellers: A bit of Canadian history fades from London

This is the new, soon to open, Target store in Westmount Mall in London, Ontario. Just a short time ago this store was a Zellers outlet. The Zellers chain had a long, rich history in London.

In 1928 Walter Zeller, from the Kitchener-Waterloo area, opened four stores in Ontario, and one of his original stores was in London. His stores were such an immediate success that they attracted the attention of an American firm Schulte-United Ltd. The Yanks bought Zeller out and then the depression hit. The Yanks went bankrupt. Zeller bought back his chain in 1932 and he was on roll that would last decades.

Walter Zeller retired in 1955 at 65. He died just two years later. He was buried in Montreal where he had lived for some time. This is why the Zellers head office was located in Montreal. The years after the death of Walter Zeller were tumultuous ones with control of the chain almost falling into the hands of the American Fields Stores. In the end, Zellers made Fields into its own subsidiary. Then in 1978 Hudson's Bay Company became the sole owner of Zellers.

HBC struggled for years under different owners until in 2008 the U.S. based investment firm, NRDC Equity Partners, bought Hudson’s Bay Co. for $1.1 billion. The Yanks peeled Zellers free of HBC, selling the rights to approximately 200 Zellers’ leaseholds for $1.825 billion to the American Target. All but three of the remaining Zellers stores are slated for closure by March 2013.

By late spring, three Zellers stores, one in Toronto, another in Montreal and a last one in Vancouver, will be the only stores remaining open from the once oh-so-successful Canadian chain.

London: view from city hall

Two new apartment towers, one still under construction, grace the city's downtown.

Saturday, the City of London held the Build a Budget Workshop. The event presented Londoners with a window into the complex world of city budget development. With many on city council striving to maintain a zero percent budget increase for a third straight year, the budgeting task in London is becoming more and more difficult. City costs go up over time, that's just a fact of life; If a city's income doesn't go up too, cuts or increased borrowing will result.

Session looking at draft budget allocation for city services.

Unfortunately, my health was not good Saturday and I had to excuse myself after attending only one session. I believe the event was divided up into four main sessions with numerous other associated activities available.

For instance, there was a speaker's corner, based on the MuchMusic concept. Participants recorded 30 second video clips in which they presented their thoughts on the budget. The mayor and members of council were encouraged to make short video clips as well. All the clips will be edited together and the resulting video posted on YouTube.

The folk at city hall are certainly imaginative and aware of the strengths of social media. Using a free web-based service, tweets with the hashtag #LdnBudget13 were projected for immediate viewing at the event. Plus, all tweets tagged with #LdnBudget13 were collected for later analysis.

Mayor Joe Fontana at event on left.

Even though I could not stay for the entire event, I left feeling concerned that clinging to an arbitrary 0% budget goal may keep my taxes from jumping this year but it is just putting off the inevitable.  I have always believed that the day will come when one must pay the piper, or the snowplow operator, or the fireman, or policeman or the sewer repair crew, or the street repaving team . . .

Today the public discussion seems to be centred around whether of not to cut Sunday library hours at the downtown branch but there is far more involved. Reserve funds have been fair game in the past and the sale of city assets is again being discussed.

Oddly enough, some costs associated with the mayor's office have gone up by tens of thousands of dollars since the pursuit of a zero increase goal began. Maybe if the mayor were to show some leadership in making the tough economic decisions . . .

London, Ontario, igloo

Igloo on front lawn of a home in a London, Ont., suburb.

My granddaughter and I were amazed when a large, white igloo slowly took shape in our neighbourhood. It has now been standing for a number of days. Sadly, it may be in for a hard few days starting tomorrow; Warmer weather is forecast, as well as rain.

I especially like the whale sculpture adorning the entrance.

An urban constant: change

Cities, like everything in life, are not static. How cities, and the buildings within them, change through time has been a topic of interest to many. I gave a book to a friend delving into this very topic. In some cases, it was downright amazing to see a picture of a structure shortly after it was built published beside another picture of the same building a hundred years later. A lot can happen in a hundred years.

London children celebrate the New Year

Fiona, 3, puts on the hat made earlier.

It is not just adults who enjoy celebrating the arrival of the new year. In London, Ontario, there were are number of celebrations are held about the city aimed at satisfying children ready to party.

The Children's Museum in London held a four hour long event with face painting and new year hat making keeping kids busy while waiting for the 12 o'clock countdown, that's 12 noon and not 12 midnight.

At noon balloons dropped and children screamed: "Happy New Year!" The museum is three floors filled with fun stuff and after the balloons dropped, the children dispersed to all corners of the museum the check out the exhibits.

London Community News found Fiona at Victoria Park.

In the evening, there was a celebration held in Victoria Park in the downtown core. Again, children are encouraged to attend but early in the evening. Since not many toddlers are up at midnight, a truncated fireworks display was presented at 9 p.m keeping the young ones happy.

The local paper (The London Free Press) often runs stories referring to the Southwestern city as boring. Today there are hundreds of young people who would find fault with that description.

Corrigan School of Irish Dancing, London, ON

The Corrigan School of Irish Dancing presented their Christmas show Sunday at the Wolf Performance Hall in the Central Library in downtown London.

The dance troupe, mostly young girls, put on a great show. With taps loudly keeping time, they danced about the stage both to the music of the muscians and while tapping out music themselves.

Legs kicking high, hair and skirts flying, they kicked their heels and spun about the stage.

It was wonderful but no one was too astonished at the talent. During the year, many of the girls on stage travel great distances to compete in Irish dance contests right across North America and even occasionally in Europe.

When I used to work for the local paper, covering something like this was easy. I had a professional camera and fast lenses that let in enough light to shoot at the high shutter speeds action photography demands.

I'm retired. I shoot with two point and shoots: A Canon S90 and a Fuji FinePix HS10. Dance offers great picture moments but capturing these is tough.

The best bet, although it doesn't capture the all important action, is to wait until the end of the reel or the jig and grab a quick shot of the girls posing. This offers good form and almost guarantees a sharp picture.

I can't settle just for images of the girls taking a pose before leaving the stage. I have to at least try for action. Here it is very important to keep the camera steady. The subject movement will destroy almost all your images. Do not add camera movement to the mix. I found a steel post to steady my camera.

And sometimes, sharpness is not the deciding factor on whether a picture is a keeper. When my 3-year-old granddaughter performed a beginner reel with Nora Corrigan, sharp or not the picture was a keeper.

Still even a strong emotional attachment to an image doesn't grant it the right to be played large. It just doesn't have the quality. I upped the contrast of the image to hide a little of its defects.

I wish everyone reading this post, and everyone filing pictures to the City Daily Photo group, a very Merry Christmas and hope you all have better luck than I when shooting the difficult moving subject stuff for your blog.

Cheers!

Most homes do not last forever

 
It looks like it was a fine home not all that many years ago. Sitting on one of London's widest roads — a road that was probably just two, narrow lanes when it was built — today, the classic, little home sits empty of family, awaiting demolition.

I understand that most homes will not last forever. Still, it seems a shame when a home able to deliver many more years of shelter is forced to renege on the promise.

Yes, there are still Christmas pageants!

If you watch Fox News from the States, I can't imagine why you would, you have probably caught one of their mentions of the war on Christmas. Jon Stewart of The Daily Show has had fun poking fun at their seasonal paranoia.

I cannot speak for the U.S., but here in London, Ontario, Christmas is alive and well. (Although, I cannot say the same for my pocket book.)

Last night I attended a Christmas pageant at one of the local schools. The little ones sang Christmas carols, clapped to the music and at the end enjoyed a visit from Santa Claus.

It's official: Christmas is on its way.

 

Saturday morning Santa Claus made his annual visit to the Hyde Park area of London, Ontario. Crowds lined Gainsborough Road from Wonderland Road to Hyde Park Road in anticipation of the red suited gentleman.

Floats, marching bands, dance troops and more preceded the arrival of Saint Nick. And then it was over. Once the kids got a wave from Santa, the parade was done for another year.

 . . . but for many, the shopping has just begun.

Children's Museum still a draw

Fiona, my granddaughter, loved "ice fishing" at the Children's Museum.

 The Children's Museum in London has been going for decades. At one time it was located in some pretty tight quarters on London's main street just east of downtown. It was popular even then.

Today it can be found in the former Riverside Public School which the museum modified for its use. Brilliant. The museum provides three floors of entertaining instruction for area kids, although it attracts children from far and wide. I've encountered children there who are from out-of-province and even out-of-country.

On our last two visits, my granddaughter has been particularly taken with the display featuring life in northern Canada. She loved the "ice fishing" set-up. It was very well done with lots of ice holes and lots of fishing poles. Children did not have to wait to sample the fun.

There is talk of moving the museum, again, this time locating it closer to downtown. If the museum moves I wonder what will happen to the present building.

Fall: leaves turning, birds migrating

. . . and Londoners are taking pictures of it all. Yes, we are right in the middle of autumn here in London, Ontario.

London: a culturally rich community

Randy Richmond of The London Free Press, the local paper, has been on kick about London, Ontario, being boring. Geesh! He's been on this kick for more than a year. Talk about boring.

When I read his rants, I think: "No town needs this — being bad mouthed in print and online by the local daily paper." Talk about not being a team player.

My granddaughter just turned three. She is a second generation Canadian but she still has strong connections to Ireland. Since the little girl loves to dance, it was decided to give her an opportunity to sample Irish dance.

It was soon clear London was the perfect city for learning Irish dance. Nora Corrigan, a former female principal lead with Riverdance — The Show runs a fine Irish dance studio right here in town.

Corrigan moved to London with her parents when she was just a little girl. She considers London her hometown but she knows the world well. She toured with the famous show, performing throughout Asia, Australia, Europe and North America. She has even appeared on Broadway.

It says a lot about London that when this young woman decided to settle down, she returned to London, Ontario.

Springbank dam reflection sparkles at dusk

The dam at Springbank Park in London, Ontario, is brand new and out of commission. It didn't pass its first test. A hinge jammed and the affected gate stuck. Now, the entire problem is stuck in the courts. Still, the dam makes for some interesting pictures. This reflection has been posted before but it never looked as dramatic as it does in this image.

Fall goes out with a blaze of glory

When I was a boy I had friends from Western Europe who told me the fall colours here were better than in Europe. In researching this post I learned they weren't kidding. There are more species of trees here than in Western Europe. Hence there are more hues to be found here.

Still, the flipping of millions of leaves from green to bright hues of yellow and scarlet is a world wide phenomenon, and one that comes and goes all too quickly. The trees in Springbank Park may be past their peak but Sunday was a rain-free day and the park was filled with strollers with cameras.

I added to their number.

Traffic calming

This new neighbourhood being built in North London is but one of many being built in an expanding London on former agricultural land. The curved entry slows traffic as it passes beside the suburban children's playground.

Western Fair

The annual fall Western Fair is now on in London ON. Attendance is dropping at the old agricultural event. I know one reason: cost. To take my granddaughter set me back $85. Wow! She is only three and so entered for free. I'm more than 65 and got in under the senior discount. Still, tickets for the rides and some fish and chips for dinner set me back a whopping $85. A visit to the fair is no longer a fun day for a struggling family.

Easy getaways another London plus

I found these guarding a neighbourhood temple in the Cotes-des-Neiges area of Montreal.

I love living in London, Ontario. One nice perk, which I have mentioned before, is how easy it is to getaway from London.

London is located on 401, the major highway running from the southwestern end of the province all the way to the Quebec border. Montreal is but a day's drive away.

In the summer there is Montreal and Quebec City beckoning. In the winter one can add the call of the many ski resorts in La Belle Province: Mont Tremblant, Mont Ste. Anne, Le Massive de Charlevoix, and more. Some of the highest vertical drops this side of the Rockies are found in Quebec.

But it was late August when my wife and I made our quick, short visit to Montreal. Driving a Jetta powered by a VW designed diesel engine, we made it from London all the way to Quebec without one stop for fuel. Coming home we drove from the Ontario-Quebec border all the way to London on little more than a half tank of fuel. Getting to Montreal was not expensive.

The Cotes-des-Neiges neighbourhood has tree lined streets filled with duplexes.

 We stayed with friends in the Cotes-des-Neiges neighbourhood, strolled the duplex lined streets and later took the rubber-tired subway system downtown to see a film shown as part of the World Film Festival. We dined in Chinatown, visited old Montreal and savoured Montreal bagels (we brought dozens home for family and friends). We enjoyed cafe au lait served in a bowl.

And everywhere we went the Quebec folk were wonderful --- sometimes too wonderful. I had a young man offer me his seat on the subway. I didn't know I was "that" old.

The Montreal Biodome offers everything from penguins to bobcats.