More Photos from the Strength Behind the Uniform Walk/Run

There was a request for more photos from the weekend charity walk/run. For more info click the Strength Behind the Uniform Walk/Run link.

This was the second year for this charity event. The walk/run attracted more participants this year than last. Maybe this event will become an annual opportunity for the community to show support for our troops.

Strength Behind the Uniform Walk/Run

Sunday morning hundreds of Londoners turned out to participate in the Strength Behind the Uniform charity walk/run honouring the Canadian military and giving support to their families. The 5km/8km walk/run was hosted by the London Military Family Resource Centre (LMFRC) with the aim of raising community awareness of the number of military families living in London and to gather funds to support local LMFRC programs and services.

Yellow ribbons marked the route through Springbank Park but one could just as easily have followed the yellow T-shirts worn by many of the participants. The yellow ribbon is the support-our-troops symbol adorning the backs of many Canadians cars

This is the second year the LMFRC has held Strength Behind the Uniform and this year's event proved to be even bigger and better than the first.

A ceremonial start was provided by the London Police Pipe and Drum band. Earlier, one member of the band was spotted warming up, marching and playing his bagpipe in a distant parking lot at the large park.

Shannon Kisslinger, Chair of the LMFRC board of directors, told The Londoner, a weekly tab carried by The London Free Press, "This event is important to promote awareness of the military families in the London region. There is a particular focus this year on the families who are combating stress while their loved ones are deployed. Even joyful times, from weddings and baptisms to graduations and birthdays, can be stressful both for the soldier who is unable to be there and the family who feel their loved one's absence even more acutely on those special occasions."

Kisslinger continued, "Aside from deployments, family separation is common for some military families as Canadian Forces personnel are required to be away for overseas and domestic operations and for training. The military lifestyle is certainly unique and we work to enhance the quality of life for all military families living in our catchment area, across Southwestern Ontario."

While participants had the choice of  either a 5 km or 8 km route, there was an third option taken by some, especially those with young children on the course. Do a little walking or running and then take the kids to the reptile tent or allow the kids have their faces painted or involve them in some of the family games.

For more photos, please click here. This was done for you, Matt.

A walk in the woods

I had heard that there was a walk scheduled for the Sifton Bog Saturday morning. I went but found no one. Maybe I was a little late; I don't know. (Now, I believe I was early --- a day early. I think there is a walk at the Oxford West bog tomorrow, Sunday, Oct. 25th.)

Oh well, I still got a picture when these wild flowers, purple asters, caught my eye.

Holy Roller

The Holy Roller is a Second World War Sherman tank sitting in the northern end of Victoria Park in central London, Ontario. It sits as an everlasting memorial to the soldiers of the 1st Hussars who, together with other Canadian and allied servicemen, liberated The Netherlands. A plaque notes that many lost their lives liberating France, Belgium and Holland following the allied invasion of Normandy on D-Day, June 6, 1944.

For a trivia quiz on the tank, click here.

It's all how you look at it.

There's a decades old office building in downtown London that I have heard criticized at times. I admit, it has a very dated look but I still like it.

It reminds me of the late '50s and '60s. And it is in very good condition for its age. Oh heck, I confess --- I really like this building.

When I tried to take a picture of this turquoise coloured structure, it just didn't work. The magic was gone. So, whispering, "Work with me baby," under my breath, I set to work.

I think today's picture captures the cool look. And notice this is an office building with windows that open. Amazing! Maybe even avant garde.

Jumbo the elephant

High on a cliff, a sculpture of Jumbo graces the western entrance to St. Thomas.

It is just past the anniversary of the untimely death of Jumbo the elephant. The star of the Barnum and Bailey Circus was struck and killed by a Grand Trunk locomotive on September 15, 1885, in St. Thomas, Ontario.

Today the giant elephant is memorialized by more than a brand of popcorn. A massive monument to the famous beast was erected more than a dozen years ago at the western entrance to the Southwestern Ontario city just a few kilometres to the south of London.

The sculpture was designed and constructed in Sussex, New Brunswick, by the late artist Winston Bronnum.

For more information on Jumbo, read the recent piece by James Reaney of The London Free Press.

Rafting up

One of the nicest things about London Ontario is it location. It is less than an hour from London to either Lake Erie or to Lake Huron. Both lakes are fine spots for boating, deep and incredibly huge. I once kept a sailboat docked in Bayfield on Lake Huron. On a hot summer afternoon a fine thing was to rafting up to one or more other sailboats to enjoy a cool pop and a dive off the stern of the boats.

It is almost fall and diving off the stern is not as inviting as it was a few weeks ago. But, these boats were spotted rafting up off Port Stanley on Lake Erie this weekend. It is still a fun, social thing to do.