Last day

Tags

Canada., Charlottetown, Fanningbank, Maritimes, PEI, River Clyde, Weather

Living in the Maritimes and here on this Province Island you learn about the weather and you also appreciate that the weather here is very different from Central Canada (Ontario-Quebec). The Weather Network and other weather services are located in Toronto and the weather bulletin reflect that fact. You usually get the weather of Ontario and Quebec first then the weather in B.C. and Alberta. They don’t mention the rest of the country too much if at all. One day recently I sent them a message asking, when are we getting the Maritimes weather? The testy response was, we’re getting to it!

Our weather is strongly influenced by the Ocean and the winds coming in from the coastal areas up the US seaboard or from the North Atlantic. So if you are living in Central Canada you get a skewed picture of what is happening in the Maritimes. Just a week ago weather reports mentioned heavy snowfall in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, high winds in Cape Breton. Here on the Island is was sun and clouds and some wind, we never saw the storm.

What we do have is hurricane strength winds 90-150 Km per hour which can last for hours. If it is just the wind and no snow that is not too bad though electricity can go out and buildings can be damaged by the wind, this is what happened yesterday when 15,000 people lost electrical power due to the wind and the 12 Km long Sea bridge had to close for a few hours. This is not reported outside of PEI and we get lumped in weather report with the rest of the Maritimes. Only if you go to CBC PEI do you get an accurate picture. However we do cope quite easily, a storm day is decreed and every one stays homes, time to read and do things around the house. No one stresses over the fact that you cannot get to work or to school, every one gets a day off.

Here is a view from the Garden of Hope of the Clyde River in New Glasgow, just 20 minutes away from Charlottetown. One of my favourite areas to visit, the garden of Hope is quite beautiful. A typical Winter scene in PEI.

St-Dunstan RC Basilica up our street, the bells are being re-installed after being out of service for 38 years. Special citizen funded project led by historians and business people.

Prince Street seen from my window on this 31 December morning.

Morning view of Water Street looking West from my window.

Glass balloon we got as a gift in one of the kitchen windows

So for New Year’s Eve on the menu on the Island most people do a medley of Seafood, Oysters are very good at this time of the year, Lobster is also a favourite.

Tomorrow is the Levee and we will probably go to Fanningbank to shake hands with the Lieutenant Governor and wish him a Happy New Year. In fact you can spend the day doing the rounds of all the Levee to shake hands with the Premier, the Mayor, Police Chief, the Fire Chief,the Bishop, numerous Clubs like the Irish Benevolent Society, etc… Hundreds of people will do the rounds, it’s an Island tradition.

Fanningbank, the Official Residence of the Lieutenant Governor of PEI.

Buona Vigilia di Capodanno a tutti voi!

From one year to the next

Tags

2017, Charlottetown, life, New Year, PEI, World

Here we are on the Eve of a New Year, despite our fears and hopes, we really do not know what the year will bring.

For us it was quite the year, it was a new beginning, new friends and a new life chapter, I really had no idea on New Year’s Eve 2016 how any of this would turn out. In the end now I would say it was a wonderful year.

Now on the Eve of 2017, the 150th Anniversary of Confederation, the birth of modern Canada, I think of 1967 the year of the Centennial, I was 11 years old living in Montreal at the time and it was the year of the World Exhibition, “Man and his world” with all it’s wonders and 90 National pavilions to so many countries and over 5 million visitors during the Summer months. I remember all the Heads of State who came, from the Emperor of Ethiopia to the Shah of Iran. All Canadian currency that year in circulation was designed by famed Canadian Artist Alex Colville (1920-2013). We were displaying our new National Flag adopted just 2 years previously, there was a lot of optimism in the air, anything and everything was possible. Progress was good for everyone.

Now 50 years later, so many things have changed some for the better and some we need to really work on, but Canada is still a fantastic country, we have social peace, stability and the rule of Law. Considering that of the 190 countries on Earth many simply don’t have any of this, we are pretty lucky and should be thankful. I finished my education, had a great career, travelled the world, lived in many countries and saw incredible things, most never have a chance to witness. I have also been with the same person for almost 40 years.

This New Year’s Eve we will be with friends in this house pictured here in Charlottetown (it is a lovely house) celebrating, steps from Province House to see the two fireworks at 7:30pm and at Midnight. The best part is we can walk to it all it is only a few steps from our home.

To all my readers and followers, thank you for reading my blog and your comments, I really appreciate it.

The very best of good wishes to you all for a peaceful and prosperous New Year 2017.

 

 

 

29 December 2012

Tags

Charlottetown, Ottawa, PEI, Retirement, Rome

I just realized that four years ago today I was retiring from the Foreign Service after 33 yrs of service to Canada, serving in 8 different posts over 22 years abroad.

I was re-reading the post I wrote in Ottawa on that day and how I came to that conclusion to retire by end of year in 2012. This is the motto I have been following since, which led to our move to PEI.

To invent the life you want to have rather than the life someone says you must have. It takes time.

Old Charlottetown seen from the roof of the Holman Hotel, I can see our house.  

In March 2012 I decided to return to Rome to consult with friends, I walked a lot in Rome  something I truly enjoy doing, the City is built like a theatre set and anywhere you look there is always something to attract your eyes.

Via Sistina at the top of the Spanish Steps

Looking down this street Via Sistina that morning in March I was just waiting around for Nancy de C. to visit the Convent at Trinita dei Monti, top of the Spanish stairs. So I was just looking down the street, Via Sistina, I took this photo at 9:55 am, if you look all the way you can see at the other end the steeple of the Papal Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. The street changes names twice before you arrive at the other end, to Via Quattro Fontane and then to Via Agostino DePretis. It was busy that morning like all morning in Rome are and I do not know why, but a calm little voice told me, you know retiring would not be such a bad thing after all, you had a wonderful career. Rome and it’s sunlight can inspire.
That is when I decided that I would retire by year end. I came back to Ottawa, told Will of my decision. He arranged a very nice party with friends at our home on the 29 December 2012 and had our florist Minou make the most beautiful flower arrangement for that day.

How many times Will and I lived by that Chinese saying, our home has been the world and now four years later here we are in Charlottetown.

The Blockhouse at Blockhouse Point — Sailstrait

Tags

Charlottetown, PEI, Sailstrait

Re-Posting here an interesting blog entry from Sailstrait who has this great blog on all things PEI and Charlottetown. Helping readers understand the history of the Province since its beginning in 1765.

Today the lighthouse on the point marking the western side of the channel leading to Charlottetown is an iconic symbol of the Island’s past. This year the building itself is 150 years old. But what was there before? During the French period on the Island the point at least had a name. Early maps identified the […]

via The Blockhouse at Blockhouse Point — Sailstrait

Christmas Day 2016

Tags

2017, Canada., Charlottetown, Christmas message, Confederation, EIIR, PEI, Santa Claus

We had a wonderful Christmas Eve party-buffet here in our home with friends.

We had on the menu Vegetable quiche, it was quite good and rich. Tourtière, one of the best I have had in a long time, a beautiful ham and Chicken Pot pie. Will also made a wonderful salad with citrus, radicchio and glazed roasted carrots.  Will also made Mulled wine jellies served with whipped cream, he was concerned because he did not think it would work, but it did and our guests loved it and thought it a refreshing dessert after such a copious meal. Funny thing happened at the grocery store when I bought the radicchio, the cashier could not find the code item for radicchio, so she says to me, is this cabbage? No I tell her its a lettuce to make salads. She looks puzzled and still cannot find the code item for ring in the purchase. So I tell her I will go back to the shelf and get the code for her which was 37898. She rings it in and it comes out as Red Moose, now she is really confused and given that other people were waiting in line to check out, she simply gave me the radicchio FREE of charge, I got $10 dollars worth for nothing. I was happy, but I did go to the customer service desk to report it and the manager was confused, he too was sure it was cabbage. This is a big superstore of a major Canadian chain, so it’s not like they would not know what they are selling, but he too could not find it on his computer. Oh well I did give them a chance, in the end I got the item for free.

Photo of the formal drawing room at Fanningbank (Government House) Charlottetown PEI. With the portrait of Colonel, Sir Aretas William Young, Governor of PEI in 1831-1835. He was the first occupant of the Residence and died of pneumonia the next year, the new house was said to be very cold in Winter. The Christmas decoration in this 2016 picture are done by a friend of the current Lieutenant-Governor, His Honour Frank Lewis and his wife Dorothy Lewis.

So this afternoon being one of those Island blustery day with Sun and rushing clouds and a bit of snow I went walking the streets of old Charlottetown, delivering Gingerbread men made by Cristal our baker at Riverview Market to friends who live near by us.

The streets are deserted everyone is either visiting relatives in town or cooking for tonight’s Christmas dinner. I also noticed at the bottom of Queen Street on the quay where the Canadian Coast Guard usually docks the giant red number sign has been changed to 2017 in time for New Year’s Eve celebration marking the start of Canada’s 150th Birthday, there will be special Festivities this New Year’s Eve with a pirothecnic  show and then a great firework display, music etc. Not to mention special art exhibits many coming at the Art Gallery, special Canadian coins are also issued for this year.

So this being Christmas Day, we listened to the Message from the Sovereign, every year H.M. Queen Elizabeth II will have a special message. They are always well written and thoughtful, this year she is not well, suffering from a heavy cold, at 90 years of age that could be serious. She did not attend the Morning Church Service with the rest of the Royal Family.

As for Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge, they with their two children Prince George and Princess Charlotte are spending the day with her family, the Middletons in Englefield, Berkshire, where her parents have their home.

So it is a quiet Christmas at home with the puppies for us. Yes Santa was by earlier and left nice gifts, including lobster dipped in chocolate. It seems that in PEI there is no end to what you can do with lobster.

From the quay looking out to Rocky Point and the entrance into the Straits of Northumberland, in the middle of the photo. 

 

 

 

 

 

Tomorrow 24th Dec.

Tags

Christmas, cuisine, Festivities, Food, Hanukkah, Italy, Rome

Tomorrow is Christmas eve but this year it is also the beginning of Chanukkah which in Hebrew means dedication. The Festival of Lights marks the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem in 165 BC. Having been desecrated by the Syrians, the 165 BC rededication occurred thanks to the Maccabees. Hanukkah is a holiday I like a lot, Jesus was Jewish after all and so were all of his relatives, so this link with this Christian Holiday is great. We spent quite a few Holiday Season in Rome and partook of all the great Roman Traditions, its food and the fun that comes with it.

Jews in Rome or Italy today can be traced back to 160 BC when the first Jews arrived in Rome. They had fled historic Israel from the Syrian King Antiochus. Having arrived in Rome, this was to be known as the oldest Jewish settlements in the Western Europe.

So Rome has a Jewish community for the last 1,856 years, they have stories to tell.

The centrepiece of the Hanukkah celebrations in Rome happens at Piazza Barberini where a massive Menorah is lighted. The Menorah stands at 6 meters tall, there is another one at Piazza Bologna.

Piazza Barberini, Rome

Roman Jews have their very own cuisine which is very different from what can be found in the Jewish communities in North America, no bagels here.

A common tradition is fried food – fried in its own special way, and created to give a unique but tasty eating experience at Hanukkah time. Pollo Fritto per Chanuka is a hearty meal of chicken fried with a winning combination of ingredients. The chicken is marinated in a mix of olive oil with lemon juice, garlic and nutmeg. After the chicken has been marinated, it is then covered in flour and egg before it’s fried to make a crispy but moist dish. A good accompaniment to the fried chicken is Fritelle di Patate, which is fried mashed potato pancakes. The mash is seasoned to add that extra flavour before receiving a smattering of coated breadcrumbs to add to that fried kick. Rome is known for its Carciofi alla Giudia (artichokes), and also for Melanzane alla Giudia. This dish is fried eggplant – simple to make, and delicious to eat, the eggplant’s seeds and majority of flesh are removed before being fried in a combination of garlic and olive oil.

In keeping with the fried theme, Fritelle de Chanuka is a big hit for Italians to eat at Hanukkah. This dessert is basically fried sweet dough fritters. The dough is mixed in with raisins and anise seeds. It’s then fried and topped off with hot honey. Another favourite dessert is Torta di Ricotta, which is Ricotta Pie filled with either sour cherries and/or chocolate.

To all my Jewish Friends, Chag Sameach!

Russia Today and the post-truth virus

This article is interesting and comes from Dr. Idress Ahmad of Stirling University.

P U L S E

A video is circulating of a woman revealing “the truth” on Syria that is being withheld from us by “the mainstream media”. The woman is introduced as an “independent Canadian journalist”. She is said to be speaking  “at the UN”. The date is December 9, 2016. The video has become viral.

Eva Bartlett, the woman in the video, writes for various conspiracy sites including SOTT.net, The Duran, MintPress and Globalresearch.ca. But more recently she has emerged as a contributor to Russia Today. And though her wordpress blog is called “In Gaza”, and though she has a past in Palestine solidarity work, unlike the people of Gaza, she is a strong supporter of Assad and she uses language to describe Assad’s opponents that is a virtual echo of the language Israeli propagandists use against Gazans.

Bartlett was recently a guest of the Assad regime, attending a regime sponsored PR conference and going on a tour of regime-controlled areas herded no doubt by the ubiquitous…

View original post 1,204 more words

Happy Winter Solstice

Tags

boys, Christmas, dancing, Fire, rituals, Saturnalia, Solstice, sun

Well 21 December is the Winter Solstice and we are told by our resident Meteorologist at the CBC Charlottetown, Kevin Boomer Gallant that now days will start to become longer and on this first day a good 68 seconds of light is added to the day.  Can Spring be far off?

Enjoy the Winter Solstice remade in to Christmas. An old Gaul tradition was to build a big fire to entice the Sun to return.

 painting by Sergey Sovkov.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Christmas trees

Tags

2011, 2016, Berlin, Charlottetown, Christmas, Milan, Munich, Ottawa, PEI, Rome, Strasbourg, Tree, Vienna, Vilnius, Warsaw

Some example of favourite City and their Christmas tree, 2016.

Milan in front of the Duomo (cathedral) of Milan 2016.

Rome, Piazza Venezia in front of the Altar to the Italian Nation.

Berlin, Brandenburg gate, Pariser Platz

Munich in front of City Hall, Christmas market.

Athens, Syntagma Square in front of the Greek Parliament.

Shönbrunn Palace, suburbs of Vienna

Vilnius, Lithuania

Warsaw, Poland in front of the old Royal Palace.

Strasbourg, Alsace

Ottawa, Canada, behind the Parliament Buildings

Our tree at home in Charlottetown, PEI.

Christmas in Rome 2011, at the top of the stairs of the Church of Santa Maria Ara Coeli in Capitolinum. One of my favourite photos of us on that last Christmas in Rome, I remember it was a crisp but sunny day.

Things or Topics unrelated

Tags

Canada., divorce, EIIR, Felice de Fredis, Hanover, Hungary, Laocöon, Mariage, show business, UK, USA, Vatican, Zsa Zsa Gabor

Today this photo was published of the Sovereign and the Heir. HM Queen Elizabeth II is 90 years old this year and HRH Prince Charles is 68 years old. If the Queen lives another 10 years, which is quite possible since her own mother HM Queen Elizabeth, the late Queen Mother lived to be 101, that would mean that Prince Charles would be 78 yrs old when he would ascend the Throne. He already assumes quite a few of the responsibility of the Sovereign and is delegated by his mother for many tasks. Queen Victoria quickly passed on to her own children many of her own responsibilities after the death of her husband Prince Albert in 1864, she was then 45 years old, she lived until 1901, but did not do very much, her state of mind not being the best, though the fiction was maintained by the British Government that all was well.

HM King George III (1738-1820) also relinquished all his duties to his son HRH Prince George, the Prince Regent in 1810, he would become in 1820 as King George IV. Though the Prime Minister controlled all the affairs of State.

This means that HRH Prince William who is now 34 years old could easily be in his sixties when he becomes King one day. His grandfather HRH Prince Philip is 95 years old. They do live into grand old age in the Royal Family, most be the good German genes from Hanover.

Now for something completely different, the New York Times today reported that the last of the Gabor sisters, Zsa Zsa died of heart failure.

Zsa Zsa Gabor was 99 years old, born in Hungary in 1917 perhaps, was Miss Hungary 1936, immigrated to the USA in 1939 and had been married 8 times. At a US Lawyer’s Convention she was the guest speaker and famously said that ”A girls best friend was not diamonds but a good lawyer”, she knew what she was talking about.

When my parents lived on East 70th street in Manhattan many years ago, my mother had met and knew Jolie Gabor the mother of the three Gabor sisters, Magda, Eva and Zsa Zsa. Jolie ran a Jewellery shop and daughter Magda was often there. Zsa Zsa had a talent for promoting herself and marrying rich men.

Zsa Zsa Gabor in 1939.

I also saw this photo this week of a tomb of a famous person, which you can see if you visit in Rome the Church of Santa Maria in Ara Coeli (St Mary at the Altar of Heaven) located on the site of the Temple of the Augurs, completed in the 12th Century. It stands on the Capitoline Hill where the most important temples of Rome once stood, like Jupiter best and great.

The church has many famous people buried there, as is the custom in most churches in Rome. This tomb is to the man who discovered in 1506 the famous classical sculpture of the Laocöon and his sons , which is now housed in the Vatican Museum.

The story of the Trojan Priest Laocöon and his sons is a classical one, this art work was praised in antiquity by Pliny the Elder. The group is life size and a very impressive sculpture, it originally stood in the Palace of Emperor Titus on the Palatine Hill.

The group has been “the prototypical icon of human agony” in Western art and unlike the agony often depicted in Christian art showing the Passion of Jesus and martyrs, this suffering has no redemptive power or reward. The story of Laocoön, a Trojan priest, came from the Greek Epic Cycle on the Trojan Wars. Laocoön was a priest of Poseidon who was killed with both his sons after attempting to expose the ruse of the Trojan Horse by striking it with a spear. The two giant snakes are sent by the gods to punish him.

The group was unearthed in February 1506 in the vineyard of Felice De Fredis near Santa Maria Maggiore; informed of the fact, Pope Julius II, an enthusiastic classicist, sent for his court artists. Michelangelo was called to the site of the unearthing of the statue immediately after its discovery, along with the Florentine architect Giuliano da Sangallo.

Pope Julius acquired the group on March 23, giving De Fredis a job as a scribe as well as the customs revenues from one of the gates of Rome. By August the group was placed for public viewing in a niche in the wall of the brand new Belvedere Garden at the Vatican.

When Felice de Fredis died he was buried in the Church of Santa Maria in Ara Coeli and today when you visit the Church you can see his tomb.

This is what I like about those Roman Churches, so many interesting things to see and read about, knowing Latin does help a lot.