Once a force in the London, Ontario, business community

 

Supertest service stations were a fixture across southwestern Ontario when I was a boy but the company's reach went right across the province. Headquartered in London, it operated from 1923 to 1973. In 1971 it was aquired by BP Canada and after two years the name was dropped.

There are a number of Londoners with extensive collections of historical photos documenting London over the years. Today's image is from one of those collections.

Six days till Christmas and no snow

 

Six days till Christmas and there is almost no snow to be seen. Will it be a white Christmas? Maybe not. Snow is in the forecasts but so is warmish, for winter, weather. And come Wednesday it is supposed to be not only above freezing but rain is forecast. 

But, if we have to have a green Christmas, this might be the right year. Thanks to Covid-19 we may not have children for Christmas either. The number of ill folk is climbing in the province. Business are going into lock down, my wife had her hair appointment canceled.

If we get together at all at Christmas it will be a Christmas dominated by masks and social distancing.

Why just here? Why just this section of power line?

Yes, I know. It's an old, well-told story: why birds sit on power lines. I've been told the lines are slightly warmer than other surfaces in the winter. This warmth, from the passing electricity, makes the lines a favourite perch. 

But I have another question: why did the birds pick these three power lines. No bird perched on the wires to the other side of the wooden poles. Not a one.

 And if one looks about, one immediately notices that there are no birds, not a one, perched on any of surrounding lines -- and there are a lot!

Hoping for a summer like those remembered

 

The summer of 2020 will go down for our family as the non-summer summer. Lockdowns, closures, masks and distancing. Not the words one usually associates with summer. Heck, even the playgrounds were closed, wrapped in cautioning yellow tape. 

With a second vaccine now being given to Canadians eager to put an end to the pandemic, a better summer, a more traditional summer, a summer saturated with family fun is now waiting in the wings, ready to make its appearance.

Until then, we have our memories.

Building under construction collapses; 2 killed.

 

Last September I took a picture of a small, apartment building under construction. The elevator shafts were in and they appeared as concrete towers looking almost like giant works of sculptural art.

Sadly, today the construction has been put on hold. Why? A partial building collapse left two people dead and injured five others. An investigation is underway. According to The London Free Press, our local paper, a partner in apartment building that collapsed had lost his licence to build new homes for sale in London.

Elegant home; elegant seasonal decorations

 

Once can only see this home from the roadway and it is quite the distance from the roadway to the home. In other words, one doesn't get a detailed view of this place from the roadway. It does appear to be a fine, somewhat sprawling, home with a four car garage off to the side and possibly some residential space above the garage as well.

Its grey stone exterior gives it an elegant feel. Now, with the Christmas Season getting into full swing, elegant light-grey wire deer have made their appearance on the grounds around the home and garage. All so very, very classy.

Some of the best farmland in Canada

The farmland surrounding London is often some of the very best farmland in the entire country. But soon this land to the northwest of the city will be sprouting homes rather than crops. The soil is rich with good depth. And the growing season in the London area is almost the longest in the country. Yet the urban sprawl continues.