My father and the Sea

Tags

Dad, Funeral, Music, PEI, Sea, sun

My Dad died 2 years ago on 12 July, it was very sudden a hot Sunday in Montreal. He did not want the usual funeral service, did not like the expense of it all, could not see the point. He had spoken with his doctor who was also affiliated with the Medical School at McGill University in Montreal. He had made all his arrangements ahead of time, so we had no involvement but to honour his commitment.

In June 2017 McGill University notified us that they were releasing his remains and according to their protocol, they had a service of thanks for all those who donated their bodies to the advancement of medical science, very nice service done in one of the grand halls of the University, the funeral parlour then took care of the cremation.

My Dad also had a wish, he wanted to be buried at sea. So I made those arrangements with music, a fiddler, French Champagne Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin and a floral tribute.

So we honoured his wish. My sister and brother-in-law were with us and Will on whom I can always count and have all these years for his support. What was uncertain was the weather, stormy and unpredictable, though today by 2pm the heavens cleared up and the sun appeared, turning the clouds into shiny silver streaks on a blue background.

It was quite beautiful, the captain took the ship out some distance and at a certain point in the open sea his ashes were released and the flowers thrown into the water while the fiddler played. My sister reminded me that today 28 September was the date of the death of our mother 4 years ago. I thought it was Fate who wanted this event to coincide with the date of her death. My parents had been together some 64 years.

The sea was calm and a cool breeze was felt while the sky smiled on us. I just looked at the vast expanse of the sea and became reflective about my parents, time and our place in the universe, there was not a sound except for the wind. The captain and his wife were very kind and thoughtful throughout this journey on the waters.

On our way home going West the sun was very bright as it was setting, the clouds where now golden with a hint of pink and violet. We were quiet in the car, tired from the day and happy it had gone so well. Our duty is done and Dad got his wish and we know, all of us, that he would have been very happy with this day.

Dad on vacation in Greece with the Aegean sea behind him.

Our brother Stephan who lives in Florida could not be with us unfortunately, but here we are Will, Sophie, Andrew and me on the boat.

 

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PEI Symphony Gala Evening

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Benefit, Canada., Charlottetown, Gala, PEI, PEISO, Symphony

Well our big fundraising Gala evening was a huge success and I am very proud with the turn out. The theme of the evening was the period 1920-1930 so everyone was encouraged to dress up the part. Turns out that I have worn my tuxedo in PEI more often than anywhere else, though usually people dress in a more comfortable way given that we are all about agriculture, beaches and a relax atmosphere, but when the occasion calls for something different we know how to do it. The evening was a success and we raised quite a bit of money for the Symphony which will be helpful for the operations and musicians.

Our photographer Bev did a superb job as always. cardsbybev.com

It gave me a chance to wear my white cashmere dinner jacket.

Here are some photos of our evening.

Here we are with the PEI Symphony Maestro from Julliard in New York City, Mark Shapiro.

With Katie Kerr, who has appeared in many musicals at the Confederation Centre and was Anne a few years ago. An incredibly talented person it was by pure coincidence that we found our home in Charlottetown through her and her husband.

Our little group.

more of our group of friends

We did have a Jazz orchestra and a Burlesque show

And now on to Culture Days and Thanksgiving and then Christmas, with lots of parties in between, it never stops.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo

Tags

Bernini, Borromini, Canadian Club of Rome, Hotel, luxury, Rome

Last week i received the newsletter of the Canadian Club of Rome, a few years ago while living in Rome, I was the V.P. of the Club and we organized quite a few nice events. One being the beginning of the Season usually in September after the Summer vacations when everyone returns to Rome. Usually it was a cocktail party in a out of the ordinary place, that is not difficult to find in Rome or Italy for that matter.

This year the opening party is at a new hotel on Piazza Navona, the old palace known as Palazzo Pamphilj was once the home of the Princely Pamphilj family around 1644. It has become the Eitch Borromini Hotel.

The hotel seen here next to the Church of St-Agnes in Agony is located on Piazza Navona which was the former stadium built by Emperor Domitian for chariot races which explains the design of the piazza to this day. Originally this palace was a college built by Cardinal Pamphilj then when he was elected Pope in 1644 taking the name of Innocent X he converted the college into a palace for his family, every Pontiff did that at the time, they would reside at the Lateran Palace seat of the Bishop of Rome but have another Palace built to show off the grandeur and prestige of his own family. It was called a lay palace and because this was the Baroque era, the Age of Princes, would be decorated by the finest artist of the time in this case Francesco Borromini a Swiss from the Ticino. The Church of St-Agnes in Agony was the private chapel of the Pamphilj family and Pope Innocent X did not want you to forget whose palace it was, asked Gian Lorenzo Bernini to help him redecorate and re-structure Piazza Navona in what you see today with the enormous Egyptian obelisk standing above the Four Rivers fountain ( Nile, Danube, Ganges, Rio de la Plata) to the greater glory of his family and the Universal Catholic Church, an age of excess but also of art and refinement. Today the Pamphilj family live in one of their other far larger palace on Piazza Venezia and Prince Jonathan Doria-Pamphilj has opened his family’s art gallery to the public. It is composed of treasures of the Renaissance and Baroque era by of course the greatest artists of the time.

Imagine having an elegant lunch on the rooftop of the Palace with this view.  The dome you see in this pictures is San Andrea della Valle, known as Tosca’s Church because of its association with the Opera by Puccini. Brings back lots of memories.

 

 

Autumn

Tags

Berlin, german romanticism, painting

On this first day of Autumn, I chose this painting by a German romantic painter I like Caspar David  Friedrich (1774-1840)

this painting is entitled; Two men contemplating the Moon.  Alte Nationalgalerie, Berlin.

 

Fascinating photos

Tags

Basilica, Canada., Charlottetown, PEI, St-Dunstan

We have on FB a site which publishes old photos of PEI and Charlottetown. The author is Earles Picture Restoration PEI.

The old Saint Dunstan R.C. Basilica in 1909 before the fire which destroyed the building in 1913.

After the fire, the ruins being demolished. The church was rebuilt.

Saint Dunstan today on Great George Street. The architect was François Xavier Berlinguet of Quebec city. To this day the twin spires can be seen from a great distance.

A book I am reading

Tags

Bishops, Charles V, God, Luther, pope, Protestant, Reformation, Saxony, Zwigli

I am coming to the end of the biography of Martin Luther, one of the Protestant Reformers who 500 years ago in 2017 publishes his 95 theses on Church reform.

Luther was a doctor of Canon Law, a monk of the Augustinian Order in the Catholic Church. His Reforms were aimed at correcting errors which according to him had been created by Popes and Bishops since the 4th Century A. D. creating a situation of fear and ignorance in a world dominate by the Roman Catholic Church and the Popes who were the only one capable of interpreting God’s Will and teachings.

For many years Luther tried to come to an agreement with the Pope on what was necessary to have a more faithful understanding of the teachings of Christ and a relinquishing of Papal authority. In the end that proved impossible for reasons mainly of European politics and the power of Princes and the Pope, authority which at the times could never be questioned.

In this biography Luther is shown unvarnished, he is an anti-semite, misogynist, a racist, he dislikes anyone who is not German, cruel, fixated on his bowel movements which he describes in great analytical terms. Though he wishes painful deaths on anyone who disagrees with him, roasted dissenters alive seemed to be a favourite of his, he was also very concerned with his own salvation.

Though some of his 95 theses address directly the excess of Papal authority on Salvation and remittance of sins others were changed and modified many times depending on what other Reformers like Zwigli and Calvin advocated. Luther always the clever politician, never angering the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V (a Catholic) and always making sure he was in the good grace of his Protector the Prince of Saxony,(a Protestant).

The whole reform movement also came at a time of rising Nationalism in the German Principalities and in Switzerland, followed by England with Henry VIII, though Luther did not consider him a Prince bent on Reforming the Church but more doing what he wanted as King. This national fervour rejected the authority of the Pope in Rome and was also in opposition to Emperor Charles V, a Spanish Habsbourg, who ruled over the New World, Spain and most of Europe and defender of the Pope’s authority. As Holy Roman Emperor, most European Princes owed their power to him.

This is why when Luther was summoned to the Imperial Diet in Worms in 1521 to defend his 95 Theses in front of the Emperor, the Papal Ambassador and the Princes, it required a lot of courage and determination, knowing that he could easily be arrested and condemned to die by torture and fire, Luther had a martyr’s wish, though he died in his own bed, fat and rich in 1546.  He was very opinionated and did not hesitate to berate and abuse his own colleagues and friends.

In the end what I retain of Luther and the Reformation movement is that any person can take Scripture and interpret them in his own way, coming to a personal understanding of what is the Word of God. Luther lived at a time when the World was changing, politically and socially and he was part of that change. After him came the Wars of Religion and the Thirty years War which decimated the population of Europe.

42e Lieutenant-Governor PEI

 

The Lieutenant-Governor of the Province is the personal representative of the Sovereign and is the Head of State in the Province. The role is to listen and advise the Premier (head of Government) on Provincial matters. Our current L.G. is retiring after 6 years in Office, the end of his mandate and yesterday morning the Prime Minister phone to tell her that Her Majesty had accepted her nomination to the post and so the name of Antoinette Perry was announced as the 42e Lieutenant-Governor of PEI.  She will be sworn in probably in October since the Legislature re-opens for the Fall Session on 12 November and the L.G. delivers the Speech from the Throne which is the government Legislative program.

In the mean time discussions have to take place on when Her Honour will move from her home to the Official Residence of Fanningbank. Ms Perry is currently living in Tignish in Prince County which is the Western most point of the Island some 2 hours away by car from the Capital Charlottetown.

Perry taught French and music at Tignish Elementary School for 32 years until her retirement in 2009. She is a church organist in Tignish, a role she hopes to be able to continue. She became guardian of the church’s pipe organ with the passing of J. Henri Gaudet in 2000 and spearheaded a restoration of the instrument in 2011.

She has been active with the arts in West Prince, helped establish the West Prince Music Festival and directed Tignish’s Bicentennial Choir for the first recording of Ave Maris Stella, the Acadian National Anthem, with the official French verses.

 

Perry, who is fluently bilingual, will become Prince Edward Island’s 42 lieutenant-governor and the third from Tignish.

Highlighted on this map Prince County, which has a large Acadian population. Ms Perry is of Acadian descent.

SUNFLOWER Season.

Tags

Apple cake, Chappell, Isaac Smith, Methodist, Paella, Paula Red, PEI, Rocky Point, Sputnik, USSR

Now in mid-September we are in Sunflower season, they are everywhere, such happy flowers. In Spring we have the tulips of Vanco Farms owned by the VanNieuwenhuyzen and Tjepkema Family and in the Fall we have the Sunflowers. There is a large Dutch Community on the Island and most are involved in agriculture, they call PEI the Garden Province.

This month of course is PEI Corn and Brocoli month, Corn sells for 0.40 cents and brocoli for $1. a head, never seen such low prices before. Potatoes are in and you can buy 10lbs for $2. we also have quite a variety of potatoes, we do produce 25% of the National output in Canada.

This little house is a few steps away from our place, built around 1840, the owners decided to re-shingle it this summer, the old blue coloured shingles are coming off and the new natural coloured ones are going on, you only need to do this work every 90 years, not bad really.

 

Here it is now in the background with the late afternoon setting Sun.

The tourists are all gone now, only passengers from Cruise ships are seen on Tuesday and Wednesday, otherwise the city is nice and quiet, the last cruise ship is on 28 October.

This is an art installation in front of the Art Gallery of the Confederation Centre. Yes car meets crashing Sputnik returning to Earth. It has attracted quite a bit of interests from the Police and the public, it seems no one remembers Sputnik, ah for the good old days of the USSR.

This is the view as you arrive at the house on Rocky Point of our dear friends D.A.S. and P.S. A beautiful property overlooking the Strait of Northumberland, the band of land on the other side is Point Prim where the lighthouse is located. The house is on a cliff built of wood taken from the Old Railway station in Charlottetown. It is isolated and very quiet, it is a pleasure to be invited.

This was our dinner a wonderful Paella made by P.S. such talent, the food is always wonderful.

For dessert a Dacquoise, it was very good with eatable flowers from the Garden.

This week very sad news, our favorite and old standby LOCAL 343 went out of business without notice after 2 years. Always a nice place for lunch, dinner or a drink. We are going to miss it.

A month ago we went to a lecture on Isaac Smith who arrived in Charlottetown from England 200 years ago this month. He lived at 100 Prince Street with his brother, the house still stands and he was influenced by Benjamin Chappell a Methodist preacher who lived just next door to our house on Prince street, that house is long gone and has been replaced by a modern replica which is now a radio station. Our own home built in 1840 and completely renovated in 2011 stands where the Post Office use to be. In 1817 Charlottetown was a very scruffy town with very few buildings and mostly mud streets and tree stumps everywhere. The Governor in those days lived at Port La-Joye or Fort Amherst where the ruins stand on Rocky Point.

This plaque to Chappell stands in the entrance of Trinity United Church on Prince street, the current building was built in 1863 but the former Methodist Chapel stood on that site. Isaac Smith was greatly influenced by Chappell and became a Methodist Missionary later in life. Smith of famous for the many buildings he built in Charlottetown, Point Prim Lighthouse, Province House (Legislative building of PEI) and Fanningbank the Official Residence of the Lieutenant Governor of PEI. Smith left PEI never to return 2 weeks after completing the construction of Province House, it is said that he was angry with local politicians who pressured him to change his design of Province House. Smith moved to Nova Scotia and preached there until his death.

So the apples are coming in and I bought 3 lbs of Paula Red, it is an apple that has a reddish flesh colour. The results this Apple cake made by W.J.H. my own little baker at home.

 

Busy few days

Tags

Family, Florida, hurricane, Irma, Musicals, PEI, theatre

Despite being retired we do have a busy schedule of activities. We completed our week of attendance at the Theatre conference at the Confederation Centre, on show Canadian musical theatre by Canadian authors. We had visitors from out of Province and then Irma the hurricane.

My brother and sister-in-law both Americans, live in the Tampa Florida area where they have a house. They bought on higher ground and away from the beach front, they prepared for the coming storm and getting all necessary supplies. Stay or go what to do, at one point on Wednesday last it looked good and the storm was to be on the Atlantic side only. Suddenly all changed on Friday, they have her family near Atlanta, Georgia, could they risk driving up, was there time. On Saturday morning, my brother and his wife decided to make a go of it, they said goodbye to their neighbours, those who were left and did not want to go. They offered to drive them North but no they wanted to stay. The big truck was already loaded up, so they left their home and drove non-stop at snail pace North. It was pretty slow and in heavy traffic up to Gainsville, Fla. after that the road opened up and they arrived at their destination in Georgia, very tired but relieved to be away from immediate danger. They plan to return but who knows now when they can go home and what will be waiting for them.

We also have other friends in Florida vacationing in Venice or friends who have homes and condos for the Winter months, they are beachfront properties in this area also South of St-Petersburg. They fear for the worst and do not know when they will be able to go down to survey the situation after the storm.

Another friend has family in Chiapas, Mexico which was struck by a huge 8.9 scale earthquake. The quake was so strong that people in the Capital Mexico City felt the vibrations more than 1000 Km away, the good news the family is fine and safe.

In Canada we also have the enormous forest fires on the West Coast which have been raging for the last 6 weeks, something never seen before.

Sunday morning 10 September 2017.

 

20 years ago

Today some 20 years ago I had flown form Amman, Jordan where I worked at the Canadian Embassy to attend the wedding of friends in Istanbul. What a wonderful time we had visiting the old Imperial Ottoman Capital on the Bosphorus. We all stayed at a wonderful small private hotel near the Aga Sophia and the Topkapi Palace.

The wedding was at an old imperial palace on the Bosphorus, Ciragan Palace is today a Kempinski hotel. It was really a dream location for a wedding, the weather was perfect, it was a very elegant affair. The bride was a Turkish diplomat in Amman and her Ambassador had flown to Istanbul to attend the wedding, the groom was a British diplomat. At the end of the evening a boat came to the sea gate of the palace and took the newlyweds up the Bosphorus, it was quite magical. I remember they stayed at the Pera Palace Hotel which was once the hotel of the Orient Express. What a wonderful time we had.

It was a weekend of parties and visits to museums like the Aga Sophia (Holy Wisdom) and to the Topkapi Palace which is built around 3 courtyard following an Asiatic palace plan. I in fact conducted a tour of the place with our little group. We had a dinner of seafood and fish in an old neighbourhood by the Sea of Marmara, in Kumkapi. I remember a belly dancer came by the restaurant with her mother who held her beautiful fur coat while she danced for us. Each male guest was to pay her an amount in Turkish Lira which in those days was always millions of Lira.

Topkapi Palace with the Divan of the Sultan, he would sit on this Divan or Diwan and the Court Officials would sit on the floor.

The Bagdat Pavillon on the grounds of the Palace, it contained a collection of rare books.