Well yesterday I went shopping for new jeans because the old ones did not fit me at all, too big now, so on sale they had Levi’s 501 and I got a size 34 which is 2 inches better on my waist. That made my day and shows that the diet works. I am now at 80Kg and hope that by next week I will be at 79kg or my weight of 2011. Met with my nutritionist today and he also coaches fitness training. He suggested that if I did not have a glass of wine with dinner I could easily reach my initial goal. Wine has a lot of calories around 250 per 9 oz glass. If you have 2 glasses which I do then with a meal this makes for a lot of extra calories. I will try it and see what happens. Exercise like walking is also very important. This is my little project.
Canada Day is coming up this Friday and because of the major renovation work at Parliament in Ottawa the festivities have been moved to a large vacant site below the hill called LeBreton Flats by the Outaouais River. I never went to Parliament Hill for the show too many people, upwards of 100K. Here in Charlottetown 1100 km away, I am the BBQ guy for the party at the Club. Looks like we will get nice weather.
Today I stumbled upon this picture in the German Newspaper, Berliner Zeitung. It’s a photo of the Cartouche or great coat of arms that will be placed above portal III of the reconstructed Berlin Palace. It will be made of copper, the photo shows the model to follow. The undamaged original was destroyed by the communist regime of East Germany in 1958.
The artist is Andreas Hoferick on the left with Oleg Bessonov, both are responsible for many sculptures on the rebuilt palace, the cartouche is 8 meters high. The second photo is the middle part which is inserted. It is to be installed in November.
This week has been strange in some ways and worrisome. On one hand we have the media in Canada going into overdrive with negativity and what is presented as fact then becomes muddled and is no longer clear.
A story that made headlines around the world that of the discovery of the remains (bones) of what is believed to be 215 indigenous children who died at a Residential School run by the Catholic Church. At first it was reported as small bones, then as bodies, then as remains and no one appears to know if it is 215 or 250. However this was enough for activists to turn this matter into a highly emotional question.
Politicians in the House of Commons made some very controversial statements all trying to look more concerned than the next guy or girl. The gist of it, Canada as we know it today and all non-native people are squatters and they stole everything from the Indigenous people. Some Cities in Canada have cancelled National Day 1 July celebrations because nothing good has come from this project called Canada and 38 million people living here today should just pack up and go back where they came from. Victoria the Capital of British Columbia has announced such plans.
If you go to any show which receives funding from the Canadian Government you will hear the message that whatever building you are in and the land on which it stands belongs to Native groups and you must atone for your past wrongs. A silly message given that no one has any intentions of giving anything back to indigenous groups.
So this message you hear each day has a corrosive effect, and it is not about to stop. The idea of the Prime Minister is to force change upon society through a social engineering. The belief is that we will achieve reconciliation. The problem is after 500 years of European building a country and 45 Canadian Parliaments and 8 Sovereigns, it is not going to happen.
So statues of people long dead have been attacked and defaced as if they and they alone are responsible for what happened while society at large appears to suffer from amnesia.
Now we are finally getting to the short list of who will be the next Governor General and the Government and the Prime Minister are making noises that it will be an Indigenous person. I wonder how that will work out if that rumour proves true.
What is interesting is the push back by people who immigrated to Canada and who are non-white. The attack on Canada, a country they chose for their future life is not acceptable to them. They found acceptance here and prosperity something they did not have in the country of their birth.
Not all indigenous groups accept the current approach, many prefer a pragmatic approach of teaching history correctly and fully and let’s all move along. Unfortunately our Prime Minister is Mr WOKE but it remains to be seen if he can be re-elected serving that line to Canadians daily.
I am a tad tired of Justin T. and his attitude, he lacks judgement and he is dividing the country dangerously. He truly opened the Box of Pandora and this is not going to end well.
We had a lovely day at our Friend Pam in Lower Montague at St-Andrew’s point. Will made a beautiful Lobster Quiche, he used a pound of lobster, my God it was so good and so rich, we drank champagne and for dessert he made a Summer Pudding of fresh berries, it was so light and refreshing topped off with freshly made whipped cream and more champagne.
Before the meal I made an appetizer of cucumber, large shrimp, cherry tomatoes and Bocconcini in fine herbs with a nice bottle of Pink Champagne. The weather was overcast but her house is on the water looking out unto the Strait and the Panmure Island.
It was a quiet day today all around, a bit unusual for Canada Day, no festivities and no fireworks because of the pandemic. Friday the Bridge re-opens for the first time in 3 months and people living in the Maritimes can travel only in the Maritimes without self-isolating. However today a bit of a stain on this good news, it was reported that a passenger coming from Toronto on a flight to Halifax is suspected of having Covid 19. It still has to be confirmed. but if it is true, this may mean that Nova Scotia will be excluded from our Maritime bubble and have to go back into lockdown. No playing around with this matter.
There are also reports that the border with the USA could remain closed for a further year to all but essential travellers. The news from our southern neighbour is disastrous and very difficult to understand.
Today I thought of Hector Berlioz, Les nuits d’été and the first song Villanelle and I wanted a singer who had perfect French diction, so I chose Régine Crespin, (1927-2007) who had a major international career. Les nuits d’été (Summer Nights), is a song cycle by the French composer Hector Berlioz. It is a setting of six poems by Théophile Gauthier. The cycle, completed in 1841, was originally for soloist and piano accompaniment. The cycle was neglected for many years, but during the 20th century it became, and has remained, one of the composer’s most popular works. The full orchestral version is more frequently performed in concert. The cycle was complete in its original version for voice Mezzo-Soprano or Tenor in 1841.
Words are by Théophile Gauthier, Villanelle
Quand viendra la saison nouvelle,
Quand auront disparu les froids,
Tous les deux nous irons, ma belle,
Pour cueillir le muguet aux bois.
Sous nos pieds égrenant les perles,
Que l’on voit au matin trembler,
Nous irons écouter les merles siffler.
Le printemps est venu, ma belle,
C’est le mois des amants béni;
Et l’oiseau, satinant son aile,
Dit des vers au rebord du nid.
Oh! viens donc, sur ce banc de mousse
Pour parler de nos beaux amours,
Et dis-moi de ta voix si douce:
“Toujours!”
Loin, bien loin, égarant nos courses,
Faisant fuir le lapin caché,
Et le daim au miroir des sources
Admirant son grand bois penché,
Puis chez nous, tout heureux, tout aises,
En panier enlaçant nos doigts,
Revenons, rapportant des fraises
Des bois.
Today is Canada Day, 1 July, 486 years old. The Canadian National Anthem first composed by Calixa Lavallée as a French-Canadian Patriotic Song in 4 couplets and performed on 24 June 1880. It Officially became the National Anthem of Canada by Act of Parliament in 1980, though everyone considered O Canada the National Anthem prior to that date. The english words to the Anthem are recent and have been modified several times to suit the taste of the times. The French version is the original, though only the short version is sung usually.
Some dates in the History of Canada,
1534 arrival of French Navigator Jacques Cartier in the Gaspé area and his first encounter with native people. He was looking for a route to China.
1608 Samuel de Champlain founding of Quebec City which becomes the Capital of the French Empire in North America.
1642 Paul de Chomedey De Maisonneuve founder of Montreal with Jeanne Mance who creates the first hospital, L’Hôtel Dieu de Montreal, still in operation today 378 years later.
1755, Deportation of thousands of Acadian people from the Maritime region of Canada by British forces.
1763, Treaty of Paris at the end of the Seven Years War in Europe, France ceding vast territories in North America to England.
1837-38 Rebellion against British rule and demands for elected responsible government by French Canadians.
1855 Creation of the Canadian Militia later known as the Canadian Army whose commander in Chief is H.M. the Queen.
1864-1867 Three Conferences between the British North American Colonies (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, PEI and Ontario-Quebec) to establish an independent country. 1 July 1867 Proclamation of the Constitution and establishment of Canada as a unified country. Ottawa designated as the National Capital.
1875 Supreme Court of Canada is established by Act of Parliament.
1910 Creation by Royal Decree of the Royal Canadian Navy. Commander in Chief H.M. the Queen.
1914-1918 Canada participates in First World War as an independent nation and sign the Peace Treaty of Versailles in 1919.
1921, The discovery of insulin occurred in 1921 following the ideas of Canadian orthopedic surgeon Dr. Frederick G. Banting, the chemistry skills of his assistant Charles Best, and John MacLeod of the University of Toronto
1924 Creation of the Canadian Royal Air Force, Commander in Chief H.M. the Queen.
1931 Statute of Westminster, British Parliament affirmed Canadian autonomy and recognized the virtual independence.
1956 Canadian diplomat and Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson won the Nobel Peace Prize for “saving the world” with a UN peacekeeping force, during the Suez Canal Crisis in the Middle East.
1965, Royal Proclamation of the Canadian Maple Leaf Flag.
1976 Olympics Games are held in Montreal under the mandate of Mayor Jean Drapeau.
1980, O Canada by Act of Parliament becomes the Official Anthem of Canada.
1982 Proclamation by Constitutional Act of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
1984, Marc Garneau is the first Canadian Astronaut to go to space.
1999 The Ottawa Treaty signed by 133 countries banning Land mines, Canadian minister of Foreign Affairs Lloyd Axworthy launched the Ottawa Process, which led to the treaty ratification banning of Land mines in armed conflicts.
2005, The Civil Marriage Act was introduced by Prime Minister Paul Martin in Parliament on February 1, as Bill C-38. It was passed by the House of Commons on June 28, becoming law in Canada in July 2005. Canada is the fourth country in the World to legalize same-sex marriage.
This rendition of the National Anthem is performed by the Band of the Ceremonial Guard of the Canadian Armed Forces.
No I am not 55 today it is not my Birthday but that of the Canadian Flag which was proclaimed on 15 February 1965 today.
Parliament in Ottawa had debated this question for years, Canada needed to get rid of the old British Red Ensign flag with its colonial undertones and have its own distinct flag as a Sovereign Country.
It was under Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson that we finally got our own flag. The colours symbolize the two founding nations France and England (White and Red) but it is also the colours of St-George a patron Saint in Normandy and in England. The Maple Leaf is the ancient symbol of Canada since always. In terms of Heraldic symbolism expert agree that the design is clean and easily recognizable by all.
On this day 2 Kings died, Charles II son of the unfortunate Charles I who died at the hand of Cromwell, died on 6 February 1685 at age 54 at WhiteHall Palace of kidney failure. Having no children of his own, his brother James II became King.
Nearer to us on 6 February 1952 King George VI died in his sleep at age 56 at Sandrigham House, his daughter Princess Elizabeth was proclaimed Queen 68 years ago today. Her Coronation was held in June 1953 respecting the rules of mourning. She is today the longest reigning Monarch of Canada. Queen Elizabeth II will be 94 years old in April. The 6 February is not celebrated but a day of remembrance for Queen Elizabeth of her late father.
King George VI and his daughter Princess Elizabeth, the future Queen.
The Funeral of the late King George VI in London, February 1952. He is buried in St-George’s Chapel in Windsor with his wife the Queen Mother, d. March 2002 and daughter Princess Margaret, d. February 2002.
Philippe Lagassé is an academic and an associate professor and William and Jeanie Barton Chair at the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, Carleton University. His current research focuses on the Crown, the royal prerogative, and legislative-executive relations in Westminster states like Canada.
Currently completing a project on legislative oversight of military affairs and beginning a project prerogative power reform in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. Both projects are funded by the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
In addition to his academic work, he is a part-time public office holder with the Government of Canada as a member of the Independent Review Panel for Defence Acquisition.
Professor Lagassé is truly a National treasure in Canada, a very learned fellow for whom I have a great deal of respect. Monday is Election Day in Canada, this is helpful to understand where we are going as Canadians.
For the last few weeks we have been bombarded on the news with an alleged scandal based on an unverified account of interference based on anonymous allegations of undue pressure on the Attorney General of Canada by a senior member of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), the Globe and Mail published the story and it has been a circus ever since. As of today, 15 days after the story broke the allegations are still un-verified and we have no idea who spoke with the G&M. The newspaper has made no effort to verify the story.
The CBC and other papers owned by Post Media (a right wing media organization akin Fox News) all have repeated the allegations endlessly and with much speculations and innuendoes, we are now analyzing body language and every sentence for hidden meaning, it is very tiresome.
The story surrounds the Minister of Justice and Attorney General Jody Wilson-Raybould who in a recent Cabinet shuffle was moved to the Veterans Affairs Portfolio. The undue pressure allegedly by the PMO was over the trial of the engineering firm SNC-Lavalin which has 9000 employees and operates around the world. It is headquartered in Montreal. Apparently this important company wanted to avoid prosecution over charges of corruption in Libya prior to the overthrow of Muhamar Ghaddafi. After the story broke Jody Wilson-Raybould resigned her Cabinet position. She also claimed that she could not speak about the matter at all, citing Client-Solicitor privilege, in Canada the Attorney General is the lawyer of the Government and there is also the matter of Cabinet Secret. So this gave an opening to all those who wish to see PM Trudeau out of Office to suddenly attack. In the House of Commons the Conservative leader Andrew Scheer spoke of criminal behaviour, of issues that would destroy the country if not cleared, etc.. much theatre. The media loves it and speculate over every pronouncement. However Mr Scheer suddenly realized that what he was saying outside the House of Commons on Twitter could lead to criminal charges of defamation against him, so he stopped speaking outside the House and only made statements in the House where he enjoys immunity.
Then a caravan of 60 trucks appeared on Parliament Hill, the Canadian yellow vest movement which is a largely white supremacist and nativist organization promoting a hate agenda against immigrants and anyone who disagrees with their view point. Senator David Tkachuk Conservative from Saskatchewan, spoke with them and advocated murdering all those Liberals. Conservative Party Leader Andrew Scheer also spoke to the group surrounded by hate message calling for the Prime Minister to be killed. Today the CBC was comparing Donald Trump to PM Trudeau, it is that gross of a media manipulation of a non-story.
So this is the circus provided by Western Canada. For 3 years now we have had pipeline politics in Alberta, by far the richest province in Canada with a population of 2.5 million producing oil in the dirty Tar Sand variety. The price of oil are not what they use to be, World markets and other economic factors all played a role in keeping prices down for crude. Companies are no longer interested in building pipelines the economic case cannot be made. So Conservative politicians allied to the Alt-Right demand that the Government of Canada build them. This year 2019 is an election year so anything goes.
Very sad but it looks like the Conservatives have taken a page or two from the GOP and people like US Senator Mitch McConnell.
As you can see the truckers from Western Canada were a very small group about 150, not the mass demonstration the media was claiming.
Jerry and I get around. In 2011, we moved from the USA to Spain. We now live near Málaga. Jerry y yo nos movemos. En 2011, nos mudamos de EEUU a España. Ahora vivimos cerca de Málaga.
Tutto iniziò con Memorie di Adriano, sulle strade dell'Impero Romano tra foto, storia e mito - It all began with Memoirs of Hadrian, on the roads of the Roman Empire among photos, history and myth!
Telling the stories of the history of the port of Charlottetown and the marine heritage of Northumberland Strait on Canada's East Coast. Winner of the Heritage Award from the PEI Museum and Heritage Foundation and a Heritage Preservation Award from the City of Charlottetown
Larry Muffin At Home 