Big Toys: That's the company name and product

Some of the new playground equipment in London is quite imaginative. Now that the playgrounds are open around the city, my granddaughters and I are touring the burg looking for unique installations. The playground pictured features equipment from Big Toys of Chattanooga, Tennessee.

My granddaughters are playing on the Rock 'n Cross, a combination of a multi-rider teeter-totter with a dynamic overhead challenge. Hey, that's the company's description, not mine. I asked my youngest granddaughter how she liked it. "Not too much," she said. She found it a little frightening. The older girl was more positive. The big, high loop with equally-spaced handholds is one of the few monkey bar type installations she can still use. At ten, she now finds her feet drag on the ground most of the time. She also agreed with the company that the movement added an extra challenge.

I cannot help but wonder, what does a piece of equipment like this cost the city? And how long will it last? And are replacement parts easily available? Are the parts expensive? I noticed plastic collars on some of the equipment had grown brittle with time and cracked and chipped.

I'd like to see some research on these types of fancy playground "toys." I'm not convinced that some of these things are worth the cost. The city might be able to buy more equipment and keep more kids occupied if they went with equipment that was a lot less complex.

The wading pool has a long history. Surprising!

The short, twin pillars framing the sidewalk bear a clue to their origin. The one on the left says, "Rotary Club 1928." The one on the right reads "Service Above Self." But why were these placed in this location in Springbank Park some 90 or so years ago? The answer is right there before one's eyes.

The Rotary Club of London donated the funds to build the original Springbank Wading Pool in 1928. Who'd have known the little pool had such a history?

The urban texture is richer today

When I was a boy a lot of the urban landscape was better. For instance, it was easier to get around town, around the county and around the province without a car. We had buses and trolleys in the city, for outside town we had intercity buses and we had frequent passenger trains run by not one but two railroads.

But when it came to food, the old urban landscape of the late '40s and early '50s was pretty dull. If we got a crusty loaf  of white, enriched bread from the bakery, we had something special.

Today my city and my province is no longer as dull. We have oodles of different ethnic groups and with their arrival came new, interesting foods The other night I made my wife a rice and vegetable dish spiced with harissa. My granddaughters call harissa the North African curry.

And the breads that are available today puts a big smile on my face. I've been known to go to the store for some lettuce and come home with five loaves of bread—all different. Today I resisted. I brought home just one extra load: an olive and parmesan focaccia loaf.

Focaccia is a flat, oven-baked, Italian bread similar in style and texture to pizza dough. Focaccia can be served with meals or, and this is one is a favourite, it can be used to make wonderful sandwiches.

There's more to cities than bricks and mortar. There are the residents of the city. And a rich mix of residents makes for a richer, more diverse, more interesting and exciting place to live.

New cable laid by new Canadians/

New cable is being run in my neighbourhood. It is being installed by a crew from Rogers, the telephone and Internet provider. I was curious and tried asking the installers some questions. I didn't get a straight answer from anyone of them and one admitted he didn't speak English and didn't understand what I was asking.

I don't mind that the crew seemed more comfortable talking among themselves in what I assume was Spanish. If I moved to another country, I don't think I'd pick up a new language easily. I'd speak English at every opportunity. I'm just curious.

In Ontario, we take advantage of workers from Central America to pick many of our crops. The hot house area in the far south of the province has a big problem with COVID-19 being transmitted from worker to worker because of the cramped living arrangements that they are given. Some of the farm workers have actually died from the virus.

Are we now bringing in workers from Central America to lay our Internet cable? I'd call around but I don't want to get these fellows in any trouble. Still, this has left me puzzled.

It took time and the London Health Sciences Centre to reach 73

I've reached the ripe, old age of 73. I have now enjoyed all the years promised by God in the Bible. It wasn't easy getting here. About 18 years ago it took a talented surgeon at the controls of a Da Vinci medical robot to repair my leaking mitral valve in my heart. The small, robot "hands" only needed a small entry incision to gain access to my heart. No breastbone splitting for me.

An interesting mix of drugs keep my TIAs in check while not aggravating my micro-bleeding in the brain.

And a pacemaker/ICD unit keeps my heart beating despite my having a one hundred percent heart block. I am now on my second unit.

My granddaughters call me a cyborg as I have both natural and mechanical body parts working together to keep me alive. When we go biking, my inboard computer speeds up my heart and when I lie down at night my pacemaker senses this and goes into sleep mode. My heart rate drops to 50 bpm.

I have been in an American hospital and it was excellent. I cannot say enough good things about the care I received while in Marin General outside San Francisco. That said, I prefer the hospitals here in London. Why? Cost. After just a bit more than a day of care in the U.S. I faced a hospital bill of about $40,000 Canadian. My insurance company tried claiming I was not covered as my heart problem was a pre-existing condition. I was hounded by collection agencies for eight months or so.

In Canada, in London, my medical costs are covered by the government plan. There is no worry about pre-existing conditions or of being dropped from coverage for any reason. And so far the medical care has been excellent. Hey, I'm still here!

Tornado Warning!

Judy and I got two phone calls today from Environment Canada. These calls were to inform us that a tornado warning was in effect for our area. We were advised to head for our basement and stay well clear of windows.

Judy took the advice. Me? I grabbed my camera. The clouds were certainly threatening and the wind got awfully high. It was the wall of water that drove me off the street and into the basement with my wife. I watched the rain approaching and when it hit, it engulfed me, soaked my clothing and caused me to flee for cover.

Was there a tornado? Not that I know of. We did get a third telephone call while hunkered down in the basement. It was the all clear signal. With that the excitement drained from the moment, and not a moment too soon for my wife.

The play areas are open!

Yes, the yellow caution ribbons are gone. Playground equipment out-of-bounds for months is again available to children in London neighbourhoods. And not a minute too soon I might add. Kids need exercise.

Balancing the threat of COVID-19 with the healthy promise of ample outdoor exercise was tough. I'm not sure the right balance was struck but we may have to weigh our options again at some point in the future. This viral battle is not over.