Heritage London barn demolished

The barn as it looked some months ago. See The London Free Press for full story. (Below)

The barn as it appears today. (Below) Just days ago it was declared a heritage property. It seems that designation sealed its fate. Now, some are questioning the value of the heritage laws.

Read: Demolition of heritage-designated London barn has some questioning worth of law

All photos shown were taken by journalists at the local paper, The London Free Press. Click the link to find out more.

Western False Front Architecture gets the nod

I don't understand the design elements sometimes used in new housing in London. Note the Western False Front Architecture on the right side of the front of this home. Why? I didn't even know there was such a thing as Western False Front Architecture but, inspired by this home and others, I googled it and found it.

And I don't understand the mixture of what appears to be grey stone combined with warm concrete brick. Why not use one approach consistently?

In the same vein, I wonder why the builder used a very modern, smooth grey material on the front of the home but a warm, wood-look vinyl siding on the upper floor of the home on the sides.

These homes are quite popular. So, I must be getting old and out-of-tune with the world.

Two-storey portico columns

Two-storey porticos, supported by tall, not all that visually large, columns, are very common in the newer subdivisions in London. In some neighbourhoods, home after home sports this feature. Why?

Clearly, a lot of folk love these tall, rather spindly-looking, columns. But I see them and I must ask myself why are these here? Does anyone have an idea why these are so very popular. What am I missing?

Contemporary-styled housing gaining in popularity in London

The style is squared contemporary, or so I've been told. In London, more and more builders are embracing this modernist style. Some homes come closer to the ideal than others. This home is a fine example as far as the front is concerned.

Often the interior detailing of these homes, such as this one, will not include crown mouldings, and the fixtures, such as lever-style door handles, proclaim modern while taking great pains to avoid anything that suggests nostalgia.

Berries important winter food source

The red holly berries look like plastic with their bright red colour that travels right down the stems.

The pretty, red berries, so common in suburbia, are an important food source for wild birds in the winter.

The berries may be a fine food but they seem to be an even better laxative by the look of the nearby window sill.

When you think of London, think of eggs.

I'm sure you have heard the controversy surrounding the eating of eggs. The media love this story. Journalists contact a doctor at SPARC (Stroke Prevention & Atherosclerosis Research Centre) in London, Ontario, and then, forgive me, egg them on until the researcher gives the journalist a good quote. Why call SPARC? It was this research centre in London that did a lot of the early research confirming eating eggs has a downside: cholesterol.

But the story is not as black and white as usually reported. It's nuanced. If you are young and healthy, eating an egg or two isn't going to harm you. If you've read that only about 20% of your blood cholesterol can be traced to diet, you heard correctly.

The problem crops up when we are not healthy and often not young. We no longer handle cholesterol well and our arteries are beginning to harden. Anything that decreases the amount of cholesterol circulating in our blood is clearly good. Since just two large eggs can contain from 400-500mg of cholesterol, clearly eliminating something from our diet that can contribute such a big hit of dietary cholesterol is most likely a good move.

Unfortunately, this story is often reported as an either/or story. It's not. But the reporting often riles people up and that's too bad. Our intake of dietery cholesterol is a topic worth discussing and more research is necessary.

I'm a patient at SPARC. At the beginning of each year, I have the plaque in my neck mapped using ultra-sound. Since removing eggs from my diet and making a number of other changes to my diet, my measurable plaque has actually decreased. Are the changes to my diet responsible? There's no way to know. You see, I am also on a couple of cholesterol lowering drugs. SPARC believes the improvements may well be the result of all the measures working together.

And so tonight I made pasta alla carbonara with Egg Beaters. Egg Beaters are pasteurized eggs minus the yolks. I miss the flavour of the yolks; I don't miss the 750mg of cholesterol that this dish once contained.

Recalling our old London-made buses

Someone has posted an FB page called If You Grew Up In London, Ontario, You Will Remember When... This bus photo was posted today. I find it extra interesting as the bus shown was possibly build right here in London. London had a deep, rich, strong economy in those now distant days.