The Slingshot is unique

 

The Polaris Slingshot is a three-wheeled motorcycle. The manufacturer, Polaris, makes it very clear that it is not an automobile. And because it is not an automobile, it does not have airbags nor meet many other automotive safety standards. 

Both the driver and passenger, must always wear a DOT-approved full-face helmet and fastened seatbelts. And since the Slingshot is classified as a motorcycle, a driver's licence for motorcycle is also required.

According to Wikipedia:

The Slingshot is made by Polaris Industries in Alabama. It has a tilt-adjustable steering wheel, side-by-side bucket seats, no roof, doors, or side windows. The interior is waterproof so it can be hosed down and the water drained out via drain holes in the floor.

A specialty motorcycle shop in London sells the Slingshot and with this local availability these are not uncommon on London streets.

2400 years later, whirligigs are still popular

 

There is evidence that early whirligigs were popular in China as long ago as 400 B.C. And evidence that whirligigs are still popular today can be found in my garage right now. True to the toy's roots, my whirligigs, or pin wheels, are also from China.

It is said that pin wheels symbolize "turning one's luck around." If so, these decorative, spinning toys were the perfect decoration for backyards this summer. As masks and vaccines didn't immediately banish COVID-19, a little extra assistance from some colourful whirligigs cannot be anything but a good call.

A monkey among the bananas

 

Little markets are not like the large supermarkets. For instance, I have never seen a monkey, even if only a monkey doll, sitting among the bananas. But the little guy won't be there for long. He's for sale.

Bill Paul, town crier, has died. RIP.

Bill Paul, London's self-appointed town crier, in full regalia and mid-proclamation downtown in 2005. (Ken Wightman/The London Free Press)

Bill Paul clearly loved London. And Londoners clearly loved him back, as shown by the outpouring of memories by Londoners mourning the self-appointed town crier’s death. It’s believed Bill Paul was in his mid-60s. 

“He was everywhere,” one friend recalled – and it seems everyone has a memory of meeting Bill over the years. He was hard to forget and he made it clear that he found the people he met equally hard to forget. He would take a person's name, birthday and phone number and every year he'd call and wish that person a happy birthday.

I must say that I will miss those calls but I will smile as I remember London's town crier, founder of the Laff Guards and a man I will always call a friend. I met Bill for the first time back in the mid '70s when a young Bill Paul was partying next door. The only person I every met who had mixed memories of Bill was the mother of the boy who threw the party. She told me that the clean up the next day was Bill Paul sized and Bill was always a big guy.

Be careful what you wish for

When I was a boy at big family gatherings like Thanksgiving or Christmas, the kids were ordered to be seen but not heard. Well, the wish has been granted. 

Yesterday was the Thanksgiving holiday in Canada. In the States it come about a month later. And kids today, thanks to their iPads, computer notebooks and smart-phones are truly seen but not heard. With all their attention directed toward their electronic time-waster, often not a peep is heard from the youngest family members.

I'm sure this is something that in many homes across the country played out just as pictured. I never thought I'd be saying this but I miss the loud, boisterous kids of days past. I wonder how many other parents and grandparents are considering cutting the wifi for the next family gathering to encourage a little old fashioned interaction.

Practicality Reigns

 

Pâtisserie sounds so much better than bakery. Pâtisserie has mystery. Romance. At least to the ear of this anglais. And most of the pâtisseries I have know in France have glorious looking store fronts. In Canada, practicality reigns. It goes with the name.

But if you are looking for still-hot-from-the-oven cheese bread, then this Canadian bakery in a small town on the edge of London is a great place to go. And their sour dough bread has body, a nice crust and a lovely tangy flavour. Their raisin bread has oodles of raisins sprinkled throughout the loaf. Very fruity.

Sunshine Bakery has been baking bread and desserts for the residents of Mount Brydges for some 64 years. Maybe in the next 64 years they can add a table or two so that customers can sit and enjoy a slice or two of freshly baked bread with some local jam. And who knows, maybe, just maybe they would sell more baked goods too with a warmer, friendlier look.

Growing commutes demand 3-car garages

 

As large subdivisions pop up well out into the countryside, commutes are becoming longer and longer. Not having a car is getting harder and harder. The damn things are becoming a necessity. 

Getting by with one or even two cars can be difficult for many families. For that reason, three are garages are becoming the norm in many new subdivisions close to London but clearly not in the city proper.

For the moment, walking to stores has become a feature out of the past for many London area home owners.