Like many attractive buildings that once dotted the London streetscape, it was designed by the famous Detroit architect F. H. Spier. Spier designed numerous buildings in London and throughout southwestern Ontario. Many of which, I understand, are now gone.
In Canada we have provinces and not states as in the U.S. I live in the province of Ontario, Canada's largest province. Today Ontario is operating under a provincewide shutdown edict. But one thing folk can still do is get out and exercise if alone or with only those living in your personal bubble. An emergency has been declared as the province battles a very severe covid-19 outbreak.
Say walking stick and I think of a rather odd insect that looks a lot more like a walking stick, and by that I mean a stick that walks, rather than an insect. But today walking stick means something different. Maybe even a little more straight forward. Walking stick refers to a pole often used by seniors to assist them when walking.
I don't use a walking stick or pole. Maybe I should. The lightweight poles, it is claimed, take weight off the ankles, knees and hips. Using the poles activate the upper body muscles and help in keeping one's balance. I walk but I have taken a few falls. I have two bruised knees as a write this. My wife doesn't walk because she's taken a couple of bad falls. Maybe I should be reconsidering my resistance to walking sticks.
Although I see a fair number of Teslas on the streets of London, Ontario, I am always surprised to see one. An electric powered car. Purely powered by a battery. No engine. None. Amazing. And the cost . . . wow! All that money and no engine and lots of sales. Who would have thought?
London once had a Ford Motor Company plant just outside town. I understand it was located there to save the company money on local taxes. A hundred years ago Ford may have pulled a similar stunt when it moved automobile production from Detroit to Highland Park.
Ford may return to the London area in the future. It is talking about building electric vehicles in Canada. I wonder if the Fords will be as slick in appearance as the Teslas.
Today for a number of reasons, I'd like to simply post a link to an article I wrote some years ago for a digital newspaper. Click the link and be rewarded with an interesting story.
Celebrating the Doomed Domes of Woodstock Service Centre (Includes interview) (digitaljournal.com)
Skiing is on hold with the local hill is closed thanks to covid-19. And school work is being done from home using notebooks and pads. With few places to go, Londoners are finding ways to entertain themselves while remaining in their family bubble. In our home, it appears jigsaw puzzles are one answer.
Many Londoners don't even realize the little St. Luke's in the Garden chapel exists. Situated well back from the road, the non denominational chapel was built in 1932 by the Women's Sanatorium Aid Society in memory of Sir Adam Beck and his wife Lady Beck.
To learn more about Beck, here is an excellent link: Sir Adam Beck.
The chapel sits on the CPRI grounds. CPRI was originally The Queen Alexandra Sanatorium, a facility for the treatment of people suffering from tuberculosis. It opened its doors on April 5, 1910. In April, 1949 it was renamed The Beck Memorial Sanatorium. It closed September 6, 1972 only to be renamed and repurposed as CPRI.
Today the chapel is a popular choice as a place to hold a wedding. It's a place to say one's wedding vows without having patina of religion hanging over the ceremony.
