A bike bars window

 

A single bar obstructed the lowest windows of this apartment building in East London. Interestingly, a scrapped bike minus its wheels also blocked the windows. If the bike frames have been attached to the windows in place of proper bars, one has to wonder if this is really better or is it just messy. Maybe the building owner should have stuck with simple, traditional bars.

Original City of Toronto coat of arms in London

My nephew from the States is visiting, finally. After two years of restrictive COVID-19 border rules, the rules have relaxed. To celebrate his visit, we went prowling about East London.

A clock above the entrance of  a boarded up building aroused our curiosity. Actually, it was the coat of arms surrounding the clock that caught our attention. We took a picture. On getting home we discovered the elegant building was originally a branch of the Bank of Toronto. Hence, the City of Toronto coat of arms above the entrance. 

 

The London building is not alone in sporting this adornment. Another former Bank of Toronto branch, this one in downtown Brockville, also has a similar decoration.

Over the years the City of Toronto coat of arms had gone through a number of changes. These last remaining bank versions predate most of the changes and for that reason are reportedly very close to the original vision for the coat of arms.

It's odd to think that the best examples of the original City of Toronto coat of arms are found on former bank buildings scattered about the province. And now, unappreciated, they are in danger of being lost.

iPhone bests point and shoot camera

 

While taking a sunset evening stroll with a friend, we noticed a branch with buds about to open. A couple of raindrops added to the image, as did the warm light from the setting sun. My Canon point and shoot failed to take a good quality picture. It was too contrasty.

Then I tried my Fuji Superzoom, a glorified point and shoot. The image was soft. It was certainly not a super picture by an means.

My friend held up his iPhone. Click! He then emailed me the images as attachments. Done.

One more view

 

One last look at the shipping container-inspired office building being built in London, Ontario. An architect told me that this really is quite a feat. Getting a building of such a small size by the zoning inspectors must have been difficult. Office buildings must meet a lot of guidelines, such as ones governing access and emergency exits. Clearly, this structure has managed to meet all appropriate regulations. The architect was amazed.

It was nearly a building made from shipping containers.

The original plans called for a few stacked shipping containers. Unfortunately, shipping containers were unavailable. Still, the look of the new building is still clearly inspired by the size and shape of shipping containers.

New subdivisions have hidden walkways

Today, people like to walk. This is a fact not lost on the developers of the newest subdivisions in London. Often the walkways are finished and in use even before the subdivision itself is finished.

Deer in the suburb

As the City of London spreads out further and further into the farmland surrounding the city, city dwellers are coming in contact with the area wildlife more and more often. Tonight, while exploring a new suburban residential development still under construction, a small herd of deer darted across the road right in front of me.