The year 2018

Tags

Charlottetown, Halifax, memories, municipal, New Year, Nova Scotia, PEI, volunteerism, Wolfville

I was reminded this morning that on 28 December 2012, some 6 years ago I retired from the Foreign Service, time flies when you are having fun as they say. In that time I started to work as a volunteer at the National Gallery in Ottawa, then some 3 years ago we moved to Charlottetown, PEI. We had been looking for some time for a place to retire and the condo we were renting was up for sale, we had to move. Only on the day the new owners took possession which was also the day we moved out,  they told us why don’t you stay,  the new owners had no plan to move in, in the foreseeable future.

We moved with the old puppies and 4 tons of furniture to PEI some 1100 Km away and one time zone Eastward. We have made a new life for ourselves here, involved in a myriad of volunteer activities.

In November 2017 I floated the idea that I might want to run for Office at City Hall. This is a considerable challenge, first I was unknown here in town. I was also warned that not being born in PEI was also a handicap. This is a small Island Province with a total population no bigger than a neighbourhood in a large metropolitan area. It is an Island and though the mainland of Canada is only 12 Km away and visible, it often feels like we are in another country. The Islanders are a friendly bunch but being a small community they are weary of foreigners even if they are fellow Canadians. The Island still operates on the idea that they are a Summer resort which is a shame since there is so much to do year round.

I started my campaign in February 2018 for the seat of City Councillor in Ward 1 in Charlottetown, I met tons of people, made 7 YouTube videos on issues, attended all manner of events around our Ward, knocked on doors, talked with people, participated in a candidates debate, gave interviews to the press etc. It was a huge learning experience, my neighbours are chatty and will give you their opinion on any topic. Many have lived here all their lives, some were even born on the very street the now live on in old age. Some rarely leave the City, let alone cross the river to visit Stratford which is 2 minutes away.  I really enjoyed the inter-action and talking to people, I met and had coffee with other politicians, got advice from other city mayors, councillors in other Wards, Provincial politicians, everyone seemed interested in my campaign, many told me I was a brave soul to throw my name into the hat.

During the Summer, in August I took a small vacation and we visited with our friends MCR & DAW from Phoenix the Province of Nova Scotia which is about 90 minutes away from our home. We met in Halifax, a great city with wonderful attractions and restaurants. Designer Cocktails are all the rage and quite fun. We then drove leisurely towards Annapolis Royal which at one point was a bouncing ball between the French and British Empire with a hostage population of Acadians. This small town is an object lesson in how Empires can mismanage their colonies when distracted by other events in Europe. We then proceeded to Wolfville a college town on the Bay of Fundy and Grand Pré the celebrated Acadian settlement with its museum. The area is dotted with vineyards and good restaurants not to forget the beautiful scenery.

I never realized how much work campaigning was all about. In the end I did not win but did get more than 10% of the vote, which for an unknown like me was an accomplishment. Many people have since asked me to stay involved in City politics and I remain involved and have met with our new Councillor several times since election night. But I was exhausted and quite happy to take a Holiday to Portugal which I really enjoyed. It was a celebration, since Will and I were celebrating our 40 years together.

Finally in the week of 17 December Parliament in Ottawa ended its Fall Session and this will be the last in the Old Central Block of Parliament. The House of Commons is moving to the West Block next door for the next 15 years and the Senate will move across the street to the old Train Station. The Central block built between 1917-21 is undergoing the first renovation ever of all its mechanical system and the entire building will undergo a great renovation to bring it up to the modern age. This means when it re-opens again all the Members sitting in the House will be retired and the same applies to the Senators. The cost of renovating the buildings of Parliament is estimated at $3.1 billion dollars. Already the West Block alone cost $250 million in renovations and the old Train Station was another $210 million.

What will 2019 bring, well I do not know. I will continue with my volunteer activities and will follow developments at City Hall. Our New Mayor is a progressive guy with good ideas and vision for the City, which is a relief and an improvement on the past.

Her Honour the Lieutenant Governor of PEI, the Honorable Antoinette Perry and I at Government House. Every year the public comes to pay their respect on January 1 at the Annual Levée on January 1. I will be on site volunteering on that day and greeting people.

 

Wishing all a very Happy New Year with all manner of good things. 

Bonne et Joyeuse Année 2019.

Canadian Coast Guard wharf, Port of Charlottetown, December 2018 the number 9 has been put in place. 

Sister Wendy Beckett

Tags

Art Historian, artists, Carmelite, Sister Wendy, UK

I just learned that this afternoon Sister Wendy died at the age of 88. She rose to fame in the early 1990’s. She was hired by the BBC to present Art and she did so in front of a camera, without any script or notes in the most natural way. She was an Art historian and had an in depth knowledge of Art and she spoke well, bringing Art to people in a simple manner, inviting you to observe and get the deeper meaning in what the artist was trying to convey. She spoke on all kinds of Art works did so in an intelligent enlighten manner.

I often looked at her video on YouTube to get inspiration for my own presentation in the Art Gallery or when speaking with school groups. She was a gem for the Art World and for us all. She lived at the Carmelite Convent of Quidenham in Norfolk. You can see Sister Wendy on one of her presentation. YouTube has many other videos on her presentations.

Thank you Sister Wendy.

 

 

Another Christmas 2018

Tags

Canada Français, choir, Christmas, Montreal, Noël, traditions

We had friends today for Christmas Lunch, it took me about an hour to set the table. I had polished all the silverware a few days ago and all the linens had been ironed.

The menu was classic French Canada fare, tourtières, Ragoût de pattes de cochon avec boulettes, a breast of turkey. For dessert we had mulled wine jellies and Plum Pudding flambé with brandy, a great meal.

Later I watched the Christmas Day message of the Queen, her messages are well crafted and never say more than need to be said on this day. The photos on the desk are related to what the Sovereign is saying, they also convey the message of continuity. This year a photo of her father as a young man in the Royal Navy during the First World War, not yet aware that one day he would become King. Then a photo of a young bride and husband with their first child, the Prince of Wales, who one day will be King. The group photo is of her son HRH Prince Charles on his 70th birthday with the Duchess of Cornwall surrounded by his own children and grand children. Continuity, the Queen is a great-grand mother now. The one absence today HRH Prince Philip who at 96 has retired from the public eye.

Today on Radio-Canada Christmas programming the host tenor Marc Hervieux spoke of his childhood and played this great classic of the Midnight Mass in parishes in French Canada, Ça berger, assemblons-nous. ( Shepherds let’s gather) the singer was one of the very great operatic tenors in Canada in the 1950’s  Richard Verreau (1926-2005). He was a neighbour in Montreal for about 10 years. A wonderful voice with a tragic ending. The Choir is Les Disciples de Massenet, a group with a 90 year history.

 

Such sacred music is muscular and sounds almost like a martial air. It says come let’s go now, nothing is more important, leave your flocks to look after themselves, the Messiah awaits you. There is no greater calling.

Ça bergers assemblons-nous
Allons voir le Messie
Cherchons cet enfant si doux
Dans les bras de Marie
Je l’entends, il nous appelle tous
Ô sort digne d’envie

Laissons là  tout le troupeau
Qu’il erre à  l’aventure
Que sans nous sur ce coteau
Il cherche sa pâture
Allons voir dans un petit berceau
L’auteur de la nature

Ça bergers assemblons-nous
Allons voir le Messie

Cherchons cet enfant si doux
Dans les bras de Marie
Je l’entends, il nous appelle tous
Ô sort digne d’envie

Que l’hiver par ses frimas
Ait endurci la plaine
S’il croit arrêter nos pas
Cette espérance est vaine
Quand on cherche un Dieu rempli d’appas
On ne craint point la peine

Ça bergers assemblons-nous
Allons voir le Messie
Cherchons cet enfant si doux
Dans les bras de Marie
Je l’entends, il nous appelle tous
Ô sort digne d’envie

 

Something I learned today

Tags

Acadians, Cape Breton, Christmas, Holiday, Mi'k Maq, native, New Brunswick, New Year, Nova Scotia

The Maritime Provinces of Canada are part of what is the ancestral homeland of the Mi’k Maq people. CBC PEI interviewed Elder Bernie Francis who was raised in Membertou, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia and asked him how do you say Merry Christmas and Happy New Year in the Mi’k Maq language. Elder Francis is a linguist and he explained how it came about. The two holidays are foreign to the Mi’k Maq people and in living alongside French Acadian settlers they came in contact with the celebration of Christmas and New Year. They simply used their own words to do a simple translation into their language.

Per example seeing Midnight Mass, the Mi’k Maq of Nova Scotia will say Etawey Wli Nipi Alasutman or Happy Midnight Prayer, while their cousins in New Brunswick will say Wli Newelewin based on the French saying of Joyeux Noël.

As for New Year seeing the French say to them Bonjour, Bonne Année and extending their hand to shake the Mi’k Maq simply translated it into  Pusu’l Punane. The Mi’k Maq are all around us here in the Maritime Provinces and their ancient history mixed in with the Acadians in the 17th Century.

A fun fact to learn.

Towards Xmas

Tags

Canada., Christmas, Food, French, life, Montreal, Music, Quebec

This week listening to Radio-Canada in the morning I heard some old Christmas favourites from my childhood. One was Mon Beau Sapin, Roi des Forêts known in English as O Tannenbaum. This was the song the second wife of my maternal grandfather, we called Tante Fernande would sing each Christmas at lunch at my grandfather’s house when all his children and spouses and us grandkids would gather for the traditional meal, gifts and benediction. It was an old, I dare say a very old tradition going back several generations, the family patriarch would bless is family for the New Year. Tante Fernande would have cooked a turkey it was always an excellent birds and very juicy, serving peas and mash potatoes and cranberries which she called Atoka, dessert would be a mix of chocolates, Bûche de Noël and other sweets. I always thought that Atoka was the real name for cranberries but it turn out that Atoka is a Quebec recipe for processing cranberries after they are harvested. It gives a much sweeter fruit and has none of the tartness found in canned cranberries. Tante Fernande was a cook who did everything from scratch including her cranberries. You could not buy canned cranberries back then or if you could it was not done on good homes.

The dishes used to serve the Christmas meal was on two dinner sets, one was white with a dark blue and gold rim, the other set was their wedding dinner set which I have now.

There were other songs and my aunts knew one each, a favourite, one was Petit Papa Noël, my Mom use to sing that one. It is not an old song, the melody is taken from an old Ukrainian song and the words written in 1944 were about a child asking Santa to bring his father home for Xmas from the POW camp in Germany. After the war the words were changed erasing any reference to the war to what we hear today. It is a song that you would learn in school and my mother knew it well.  It was part of every Christmas music recital at school in French Canada. Tino Rossi premiered this song in 1946 and it became his Christmas signature song. Radio-Canada played it today as part of their weekend Christmas show it brought back a tidal wave of memories.

On this score the French service Radio-Canada is doing a much better job with their Christmas programming than the CBC who is playing a mix of commercial music. Tomorrow 23 December, the CBC will have an all day Christmas concert as they do every year from the European Union broadcasted live starting at 9am. Radio-Canada will have its programming, vintage shows from the 1940 to 1970. Despite the fact that such programming might be speaking to an older generation, it is still enormously popular.

Maybe it speaks about a time when Christmas was not about shopping and stress. The Media today puts a heavy emphasis on how stressful and unpleasant it is, with those awful relatives. I wonder why it has to be this way, not to mention the trove of bad news. It sounds almost perverse.

Gifts use to be in my mother’s childhood an orange which was a luxury then, books, clothing like a scarf or a sweater. For us it was books, sweets or the dreaded Fentex slippers your gradma knitted for you, some small amount of money like a $5. bill new and crisp or a board game. The adults were not stressed, no one was driving around shopping in malls, it was a nice holiday with a focus in Roman Catholic Quebec on religion and midnight mass recalling the traditions of Old Canada and France.

The other popular song and remains so to this day is J’ai vu maman embrassé le Père Noël sung by Line Renaud who is 90 years old. This 1956 version is one you will hear on the radio. Renaud was and remains one of the great French singer of her time.

Well we avoided the stress of Christmas and it is something I never quite understood why so many people whipped themselves into a frenzy.  I think that a lot of the stress is made up on false notions about gifts and having to please other people, it is somewhat artificial. I hope you all have lots of fun and enjoyment out of the Holiday Season.

My Best Wishes to You!

 

Continuing on Museums Lisbon

Tags

Braganza, Carriages, Coches, Lisbon, museum, Portugal, Royal

 

The other Museum that was of interest to me, was the Royal Carriages Museum across the street from the Belem Palace, a former Royal Palace now the Presidential Palace. The Coches or Carriages used to be housed in the old Royal Stables, they are now housed in a modern building where they are well displayed with ample explanations on their style and usage.

It is a very large collection and spans 500 years of Portuguese history. Not only are there carriages but also uniforms of staff and all the accoutrement for horses and musical instruments used in processions.

The Carriages were manufactured in Italy, Holland, France, England and Austria and brought to Lisbon by ship, because some carriages are very large, often bigger than a modern large SUV and weighing several tons, up to 12 ships would be required to bring them to Portugal. The monarchy was abolished in 1910 but the Government of Portugal kept the accoutrement of royalty in its museums, certainly makes for a rich collection.

Many were gifts from the Sun King Louis XIV to mark the wedding of one of his relative to the Royal Portuguese Family. Some were manufactured to be used in processions during diplomatic missions to the Holy See, in all cases they were made to impress. It seems that you simply had to have the carriage that fit the occasion to convey the right message about the King of Portugal and his intentions.

This carriage is very similar to the carriage used by King Henri IV of France on the day he was stabbed to death. It is 400 years old and typical of the type of carriage used by Royalty at the time. It has glass panes in the windows, an unbelievable luxury at the time. Cannot imagine it was very comfortable to ride given the poor suspension mechanism. Made of wood, leather and decorated with expensive cloth.

This coach was used by the King for his trip from Madrid to Lisbon in 1619.

State Carriage, ordered by Austrian Emperor Joseph I in 1708 for the marriage of his sister Marie-Anne of Austria to the King of Portugal, Joao V. This carriage is all sculpted wood with gold leaf incrustation. It has royal symbols like the lions and painting at the back of the carriage, windows in glass. A crew of 4 men would served on it. Two Postillon at the back and 2 coach men at the front. Up to 6 horses would be used.

The carriage was made in the Netherlands and came to Lisbon transported on 11 ships.

The elaborate uniforms worn by the escort who would walk along on either side of the carriage. They also carried mace in solid sterling silver, to be used to clobber any one who presented a threat to the royal person. Pretty sure a blow would kill anyone.

Here is some embroidered cloth to dress the horses of the carriage, robes for the drums and a trumpeter’s uniform.

At the back of the carriages a special crank used to tighten the leather straps which were used as suspension for the box compartment carrying the passenger. The Coronation coach used to go to the Opening of Parliament in London has exactly the same suspension devices. Queen Elizabeth remarked in an interview how uncomfortable the carriage is bouncing around even at low speed. I suppose these royal carriages were made for show not comfort.

The collection is quite complete with carriages for every purpose including one to transport Royal BUT illegitimate children around town, another one to transport Princesses who are going to be married to the King from one Kingdom to the other and then would change to a new carriage to indicate the crossing of the border and their impending new status. Carriages for Archbishops, Carriages for religious icons during major Christian Festivals and then this carriage to transport a Blessed ribbon sent by  Pope Clement XI in 1715 for the baptism of the Heir to the Portuguese throne Don José. The figures on the four corners represents the 4 continents where the Portuguese Empire extend and the foot step is a Sea shell, Christian symbol of baptism.

The most impressive carriage was this one with its highly decorated human figures almost life size made of carved cork wood which is very light in weight.

This carriage ordered by King Joao V in 1716 was to celebrate a triumph in Rome and display the might of the Portuguese Empire in the World. The Ambassador of King Joao V would have ridden in it on his way to see the Holy Father, Pope Clement XI who at the time also ruled over the City of Rome and Central Italy and was a power broker amongst the Catholic Sovereigns.

At the back of the carriage covered in gold leaf we see the two Oceans the Atlantic and the Indian Oceans shaking hands. This celebrated the passage of the Cape of Good Hope by Portuguese navigators.

This coach also part of the triumphal procession shows Victory with a trumpet crowning Portugal at her feet two male figures, one African (African colonies) and the other Asian (Macau). The Ambassador of the King, Rodrigo Anes de Sa Menezes, Count of Fontes would ride in this carriage. The whole idea of such parades in Rome was to show the power and magnificence of Portugal and its King Don Joao V. Though these carriage are 300 years old, they remain truly impressive in terms of the artistry used to tell a story. Note also in the photo below between the two male figures the symbol of the Royal House of Braganza, the winged mythical dragon.

 

 

 

Museums Lisbon

Tags

art., International, museum, Portugal, puppets, World

There are many wonderful sites to visit in Lisbon. We visited the Castle of Sao Jorge, the Mosteiro Dos Jeronimos, the Museo de la marioneta (Puppet Museum), the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum & Gardens, the archeological ruins of the Carmo, the museum of Royal Carriages (Dos Coches), the church of Sao Roque, the Tower of Belem and the monument to the Navigators.

Just to give you un aperçu as we say in French of what we saw, but that is not all.

One museum which might be dismissed as ”for children” is the beautiful and well curated puppet museum (Museo de la marioneta). It is housed in an old convent and on display are puppets from all continents of the world, from many cultures. Puppets after all are used in telling a story and as humans we need to tell others our stories. This museum brings this message of commonality amongst people, from Africa to Asia to Europe.

There are also many displays of Portuguese artist families who devoted their lives to developing this art form, many are very famous in Portugal like Maria Emilia Perestrelo. The last display is about puppets today in the age of technology, how camera are used to give them life. There is a special inter-active exhibit which you can use to make your own movie using puppets and sets.

It is a very interesting museum because it appeals to young and old and reminded me of my own childhood playing with puppets.

African Puppets

Some German puppets found on a German U-Boat, used to entertain the crew.

Puppets from Brazil

French Puppets

Portuguese Puppet theatre

here is the display exhibit with a computer who helps you create a moving scene and tell a story. Very laborious affair but fascinating for children and adults.

In the next post I will write about the other museums we visited.

 

Getting ready, we are ready

Tags

Charlottetown, dachshunds, Food, gingerbread cookies, pasties, Seafood, thongs, Xmas tree

Well we are 9 days away from Peace of Earth day to quote Mel Tormé. We have our menu all figured out for Christmas day Lunch. Christmas Eve it’s drinks Chez Nous with select friends and for New Year’s Eve we are going to our Club for a drink and sit by the fireplace. That is it, simple no fuss.

Today Will made gingerbread cookies (male-female) for equity sake following the Justin Trudeau Ideology on the topic. I decorated them with icing and was immediately cited by the Morality police, can you believe it. Do I look like Michael Cohen to you? I was directed to decorate them. You be the judge I think they are lovely.

Later I put the star at the top of the tree as is the tradition in this last 40 years in our household. Same dollar store star which has graced all our trees in the best capitals of the World.

 

The Christmas Dachshunds with their home made Xmas scarves, so festive. Our friend Lori gave them to Nicky and Nora.

the ladies have pasties and the men wear thongs all in Xmas colours of course.

Will also made some wonderful sausage rolls, they are soooo good!

This picture is the taste test batch, we will be making more for Xmas Eve Cocktail party.

Will is also making a Tourtière for our Xmas Lunch and another friend is making Ragout de pattes de cochon avec boulettes de viande. (Ragout of pigs feet with meatballs) DIVINE! Typical French Canada fare. We will also have a breast of turkey just to say we have it. For dessert Mulled Wine jellies and Plum Pudding (home made). We will have our Christmas crackers as always. I am thinking of poor Duchess Meghan who will be introduced to this custom this year. Oh well it is all part of her becoming more civilized.

Finally last night after drinks at the Haviland Club where we go every Friday with the other cognocensti of Charlottetown, we had dinner across the street from our home at the Water Prince restaurant, it was their last night before closing for the Season, they will re-open in Mid-April. It is always fun to mark the end of the year this way and Shane Campbell who is the owner and his son are there. The fare is lobster, haddock, mussels, oysters and other seafood. I had oysters to start from Malpeque and grilled haddock, Will had a lobster and a chowder.

Maureen standing behind Will is the manager. The place is an institution in town, it is extremely popular in the Summer time. You can easily wait 45 minutes for a table.

Happy Christmas and Happy Festive Holidays to all! 

Progress

Tags

City Palace, Germany, Hohenzollern, Humboldt Forum, museum

For the last 20 years I have been following the progress of the re-building of the old Royal Palace in Berlin. It stood in the centre of the City on the Island Museum from 1445 to 1944 when heavy fire bombing over the city at the end of the Second World War did great damage to it. After 1946 the Palace was in the Soviet Occupied Zone of Berlin it came under the puppet East German Regime and like so many buildings deem ideologically unacceptable it was demolished in the 1950’s, the ground became a parking lot and stage for military parade the Communist loved so much. There was opposition in Berlin and in Germany to the demolition of the Palace and its ruins, the palace was so well built that it took months to demolish and 19 tons of explosives. It was and had been a symbol of the city and much history was attached to it.

In 1989 with re-unification of Germany a fellow by the name of Wilhelm von Boddien proposed that the Palace be re-built as it was before the war with its Baroque facade, he further proposed that the palace be renamed Humboldt Forum for the famous German scientists and academics, the interior space would be modern and house a museum of civilizations, conference centre, 2 restaurants, a theatre and be used as a gathering place for all Germans. The financing of 750 Million Euros to be divided between the City of Berlin, the Federal Government of Germany and the public as donors.

In December 2018 here is the almost complete Palace now called Humboldt Forum, it will  re-open in the Summer of 2019.

The Western Facade of the Palace as of December 16, 2018.

The Eastern facade, modern as designed by the Italian Architect with its entrance of the Spree river. It was designed this way to symbolize that it is a reconstruction and a view on the future. The Palace sits next to the Lutheran Cathedral of Berlin on Island Museum.

For the opening of the Humboldt Forum it is likely that the current head of the Imperial Hohenzollern Family of Germany, Prince Georg Frederich of Prussia will be attending. He is the cousin of Prince Harry and Prince William of Great Britain. His great grand father Kaiser Wilhelm II was the favourite grandson of Queen Victoria.

 

 

Souvenir from long ago

Tags

Augusta Holmes, Canada., France, long ago, Mathé Altery, Noël, operetta, Quebec

This morning we were listening to Radio-Canada programming from Montréal and the weekly show was playing music from the 1950’s and 1960’s. French singers who are well known and were the big names of their time with many hits. On the weekend Radio-Canada has a programming of Oldies but goodies, tunes anyone over the age of 45 will recognize. This programming of French musical hits is highly popular. This is the sort of music my Mom would listen too and often sing along, she had a nice singing voice.

One of the French singers was Mathé Altery,  a French soprano singer prominent in the 1950s and 1960s for singing operettas and French songs. She was my Mom’s favourite French singer and we had all her records at home. Altery came to Montréal and gave several concerts. My parents met her, she was staying at the hotel my father managed at the time.

Here she sings an old favourite, Noël, trois anges sont venus. This piece was composed in 1884 by French composer Augusta Holmès. It is so very nice to hear this music for its quality in composition and lyrics.

This brings back a lot of memories from my childhood and Christmas then. Altery who is 91 years old now, lives in France. Her singing voice and her French diction was impeccable. She was the French voice of Julie Andrews in the movie the Sound of Music which came out 53 years ago. She sang the well known musical score in French, it is just as charming as the English version.

 

The words to this Christmas song,

Trois anges sont venus ce soir

M’apporter de bien belles choses,

L’un d’eux avait un encensoir,

L’autre avait un chapeau de roses,

Et le troisième avait en main

Une robe toute fleurie

De perles d’or et de jasmin

Comme en a Madame Marie.

Noël ! Noël !

Nous venons du ciel

T’apporter ce que tu désires,

Car le bon Dieu

Au fond du ciel bleu,

Est chagrin lorsque tu soupires.

Veux-tu le bel encensoir d’or

Ou la rose éclose en couronne ?

Veux-tu la robe, ou bien encore

Un collier où l’argent fleuronne ?

Veux-tu des fruits du Paradis

Ou du blé des célestes granges ?

Ou comme les bergers, jadis,

Veux-tu voir  Jésus dans ses langes ?

Noël ! Noël !

Retournez au ciel

Mes beaux anges, à l’instant même ;

Dans le ciel bleu,

Demandez à Dieu,

Le bonheur pour celui que j’aime.

Augusta Holmès