Since posting about Google Street Views, I've learned that others have also discovered the richness of the Street Views coverage. One person told me, "Their (Google's) camera even went down all the pedestrian paths in Parc Buttes Chaumont in Paris."
I thought the amount of time spent visually mapping Machu Picchu was impressive. I'm adding the Parc Buttes Chaumont to my still short list.
I may be in my 70s with a failing heart but I'd still hit the road for some serious travelling but my doctors, grandchildren and wife are standing in my way. I admit to being intimidated.
But, I've found a way to visit the world without leaving London: Google Street Views. Click on this link and you can walk around the Maya ruins at Uxmal in Mexico. Maya ruins at Uxmal
These links are not quite like strolling about the site but wait till you see how completely Google documented the site we will visit tomorrow.
I understand the British Museum is again being pressured to return the Elgin marbles to Greece. The sculptures, or more accurately the parts of larger works, were stripped from the Parthenon in the ancient Acropolis above Athens by Lord Elgin. After more than two centuries, isn't it time for these pieces to return home?
As I read about the dismembered marble forms, utterly divorced from their original sculptural origins, with a foot here and a head there, I recalled the art adorning a London home. The sculptures looked to me to be composed of bits and pieces of fired-hardened clay lawn ornaments melded together into works of show-stopping art.
So, why do so many folk wrapped their trees as winter approaches and do it without fail? First, this grouping of evergreens represents a fair investment. Each one of those wrapped trees would cost many hundreds of dollars to replace.
The trees are close to a busy road and therefore may suffer damage from salt spray drifting over from the road. Also, considering where these tree are located, near a large cemetery frequented by deer, the wrapping protects the trees from being nibbled by the neighbourhood pests.
And evergreen trees are prone to suffering ice damage. A heavy build-up of ice can deform tree limbs or even break them. Many evergreens never fully recover from such damage. The burlap wrap prevents this.
Now, what is with the grey, squarish individual fence panels? I can offer no explanation.
The little boy looks no older than three but certain events etched into my memory when I was that age. I think coming down the slopes with dad at Boler Mountain, a hill with not even a two hundred foot drop, will be one this child's earliest memories and it will be a fond one.
Despite so much in the province being closed on account of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Boler Mountain in the east end of London was open for business Saturday. Everyone was, of course, masked. After skiing, the ski gear was returned to an outdoor desk outside the ski rental building. The indoor sit down dining was closed but take-out was allowed. The number of skiers on the hill was carefully controlled with the lift tickets, I believe, being ordered a day in advance.
With the theatres operating at reduced capacity, unable to offer food, drinks and popcorn, it is hard to imagine that the theatres were pulling in anywhere near the mone they were in pre COVID days. Food, dring and popcorn are big money maker for theatre chains.
When it reopens its theatres, movie goers will almost certainly have to present proof of vaccination papers, wear a mandatory mask while in the theatre complex and all seats in each auditorium will most likely be by reservation only.
COVID-19 is becoming the gift that keeps on giving.
The youths are long gone but the buildings remain. Each unit is occupied by a different tenant, many of the units have been converted into offices uses by local charities. The village atmosphere left with the kids. The village has a somewhat forlorn feel today.
Many believe the village is living on borrowed time. The land is too valuable for such a low density use.
