Some are still proud of the flag

It has been a hard year for the Canadian flag, the red maple leaf. Indigenous communities across Canada have hundreds of reasons to flying the flag at half staff and many are. But many have simply taken their Canadian flags down. If you don't know why, please google "Canada, indigenous and residential schools." You will be shocked.

With more and more stories related to the residential school system coming to light, I was a little surprised to see that this home had dozens of small flags waving in the wind in anticipation of Canada Day this coming July 1.

We still have sunsets.

Things are opening up in Ontario and as restaurants open and movie theatres and other activities are again available, I expect the evening crowds that gather on Lookout Court to view the sunset will dissipate. The usually quiet little court is often lined with cars and sometimes the court even has vehicles parked in the middle of the circle. Before  COVID-19 it was never this way. Never. Viewing a sunset is the new family outing.

Bubbles were smaller at one time

When I was a boy the fluid for making bubbles came in small, glass jars with small, plastic bubble-making wands attached, usually with a strong elastic. The entire package usually originated in Toronto. The bubbles we made were possibly as large as four inches, but that would be pushing it.

Today bubble making fluid is big business and the bottles are huge, the wands large and sometimes even gigantic and the bubble these kits make are at least a foot in diameter and often much, much larger. The kits come from China.

Trade, we are told, is good. It is the life blood of our economies. Still, I cannot help but wonder why bubble-making kits cannot be made anywhere. Why it is necessary to ship the stuff literally halfway around the world so little kids can make bubbles? Why?

Thames in Southwest Ontario is the little brother

When the name Thames was originally considered for the river flowing through London, Ontario, the river was known mostly by reputation. The river was reputed to be big and long. It was said that it might well be the biggest river system in southwestern Ontario. It's reputation brought to mind its English namesake. It is long but big? I don't think so. The biggest river in the area is the well named Grand River. 

The picture shows the Thames River flowing out of London heading toward Chatham before it empties into Lake St. Clair. Head up river from here and after very few kilometres one reaches the Forks of the Thames in the core of the city. 

The North Branch of the Thames meets the Thames River proper at the forks but one would not know it from the local stories, mostly wrong. The North Branch is bigger than the Thames River itself. The North Branch tributary carries more water than the Thames River. This leads folk to call the Thames River the South Branch. Many believe the Thames River is the result of the merging of the two branches. Nope.

The Thames River flows east of the city to Woodstock and then turns north to its headwaters in some marsh land near Tavistock. In truth, the Thames River in southwestern Ontario is a slow, meandering, shallow river that picks up a little extra water at The Forks of Thames and then continues its lazy way west.

Cities often offer wildlife a perk or two

According to the New York Times, birds in North America are in decline. Numbers are down by almost 30% since 1970. This is not something one would think based on the number and variety of birds sighted in London, Ontario.

And North American is not alone. In Europe, as well, common bird species are in decline. And what is driving this decline? Habitat destruction takes a big toll. Pesticides and chemicals in general are big culprits. And, of course, there is urban sprawl. Dr. Young, of the University of California, says humans are overusing the world. 

And yet humans do offer wildlife, such as birds, some appreciated perks. Bird feeders, bird houses and bird baths are all very popular with the feathered wildlife found in cities.

Proposed tower is closer to being built

The tall tower on the left is not there -- yet. At this time it is only a proposed tower but it has cleared every hurdle tossed in its path. At 40 storeys, the tower will be the tallest building in London and a side benefit of its size may be that it will also possibly be the most hated building in London. 

Some of the oldest heritage buildings in the city are owned by the same developer and stand immediately beside the proposed tower. The developer claims the new structure will respect the much smaller, 1800s structures. Heritage activists find this claim hard to believe.

Many also say that the new tower will be built partially on floodplain. This is a strict no-no but it appears the tower is being given a waiver.

Although it is hard to see in this illustration, the tower overlooks the Forks of the Thames in London's core. A number of nearby high rises will have their lines of sight to the forks blocked or partially blocked by the new, proposed tower.

And then there are those who find the new tower design just plain boring and that in itself is enough not to build the monster in such a historic and valued site. The Forks of the Thames deserves something much better architecturally.

Once millionaires supported their hometowns

 

When I moved to London it was said that London had more backyard, in-ground pools per capita than any other community in Canada. This is another way of saying that London was known for wealth.

For a small city, London had more than its fair share of millionaires and these millionaires made the community a better place to live for everyone. One very wealthy family with deep roots in the town was the Ivey family, the family behind EMCO.

If the millionaire families had only given London jobs that would have been wonderful, but many of the families contributed generously to the city, their city, as well. 

That is why today when I had cataract surgery, I had the operation at the Ivey Eye Institute. The Iveys were a very generous London family. They left their mark in many ways on the city.

One often reads that Canada has socialized medicine. Technically, it doesn't. It has a single payer system. But I like to think that our system has benefited from the participation of capitalism and capitalists as well as government.

As a former photojournalist at the local paper, I met many of the Iveys. I especially liked Richard and Beryl Ivey. They were a classy, interesting couple and amazingly down-to-earth. I believe it was Richard's sister Lorraine Shuttleworth who was an original contributors to the clinic that carries the family name today.