Some good news

Tags

Berlin, Canada, Charlottetown, diet, life, palace, weight

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.

James Duncan – Charlottetown’s Biggest Bankrupt — Sailstrait

Tags

bankruptcy, Harry Holman, history, James Duncan, PEI, Sailstrait, Water Street

I read the new entry in the blog Sailstrait of Harry Holman, who for years was the PEI Chief Archivist. Harry knows his stuff and he knows it in detail, he wrote the history of the house were we live currently. I knew that it was the Duncan family home and the Hon. James Duncan was a shipbuilder in PEI. However there was lots of details I did not know and was very surprised to read it all in Harry’s entry. Suddenly I do not look at the building in the same way now nor the land surrounding the house and the incredible physical changes that have occurred in the last 200 years.

Here is the story of our house on Water Street.

Between the Steam Navigation Wharf (which had carried the names of Reddin’s Wharf and Pope’s Wharf) and the Ferry Wharf at the end of Prince Street lies a property of some significance to the history of Prince Edward Island. Here the foreshore stood at the foot of a high embankment and the waters were relatively […]

via James Duncan – Charlottetown’s Biggest Bankrupt — Sailstrait

As the year ends

Tags

2020, age, levee, New Year, PEI, seniors, tradition, Travel

Well now we look at the New Year 2020, what will it bring, who knows.  My only wish is really for good health, because if you are in good health then you can do pretty much anything. For me this new decade means I will truly be in my so called golden years.

I still do want to travel to cities like Berlin in 2021 and maybe to other European countries, but has one ages the window of opportunity for travel closes and it becomes more difficult to travel given the stresses involved nowadays. I also have to look at priorities, living on this small island, spend more time going to the beach, visiting the Maritimes, going to Nova Scotia and Cape Breton all of which is very close to us. As for my volunteer activities, I may become more picky about it, I really don’t want to spend an entire Summer doing guided tours at the Art Gallery, there are other things to do.

This week between Christmas Day and New Year’s Day is always a bit of a loss, people are away on vacation or visiting family. Then the question is what to do with New Year’s Eve, well frankly speaking we do not have any plans and not sure we want any. We are in no mood to go to a pub to listen to some music with a rowdy crowd. Maybe these parties are for the under 40 crowd or go to a restaurant for more rich food, we have a fridge full of food. The big day is Wednesday 1 January for the Levée activities, this is a very big thing in PEI and everyone participates, it is rare to find someone who does not partake in visiting all the different Levée held not only around Charlottetown but in other towns and communities on the Island.  The tradition of the Levée, a French word meaning to rise, dates back to Louis XIV, the Sun King, who made his courtiers attend his rising every morning, if you missed that event you were banished. With time the tradition transformed itself into this event on New Year’s Day where the population comes to pay their respect to the personal representative of the Sovereign in PEI, the Lieutenant Governor and to other elected Officials Civic and Military.  Anyone can hold a Levée, if you are willing to put up with the crowds. Government House will see about 700 people, our Club will have about 500 people show up.

This 1 January I will be at the Haviland Club in the greeting party to welcome all the visitors to our Club. Our time slot is 11am to 1pm. Many will go to pay their respect to the Lieutenant Governor at Government House at Fanningbank first and then wander down to the other venues like the PEI Regiment barracks to see the Military Commander, to City Hall to see the Mayor, to the Fire Hall, to the Premier’s Office, etc… Everyone offers a drink, a piece of cake and coffee.

Government House, Charlottetown, PEI.

The Haviland Club, Charlottetown, PEI.

WISHING EVERYONE A HAPPY AND PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR 2020. BONNE ANNÉE!

16 October Poll

Tags

#PEIPOLI, Charlottetown, elections, municipal, PEI, Politics, urban

Here is a Poll from The Guardian in PEI on the possible results of the Municipal Election in Ward 1 Charlottetown. Voting Day is November 5.

 

Have your say in our online poll

Today’s question: Who will win in Ward 1

Laurent Beaulieu  46.15%  

 

Paul Haddad  25%  

 

Alanna Jankov  15.38%  

 

Leo Killorn  9.62%  

 

Ron Dowling  3.85%  

 

This is day 215

Tags

City, life, Politics

 

Recent photos

Tags

Campaign, Election, Friends, GenZ, life

Lately I have had my picture taken quite a bit at varied locations, some I am using in my municipal campaign and others I am keeping as a memory of this year 2018 and life in PEI.

Speaking with a group of young people, students who I learned today are part of Generation Z born before 1997. They replace the Millennials who are now over 30 or over the hill so to speak. Pollsters and social scientists say that GenZ is very different from the millennials in their outlook on life, they are the first generation who do not know a time before electronics or dial up internet.

At a public meeting recently speaking with a participant about a big infrastructure project in our town.

At another public meeting, I seem to be doing this a lot in the last 5 months.

Very happy with this picture, here with Her Honour the Lieutenant Governor of PEI, Antoinette Perry in the great hall of Fanningbank, her Official Residence.

A group of friends on Rochford Street this past weekend. Will is looking very good in this photo.

 

 

Campaign photo

Tags

Campaign, canvassing, Election, Government House, street, Ward1

I hired a photographer to work with me during my campaign to take live candid shots has events unfold, I do not want pose picture. All my photos so far are candid on the spot. I have been very lucky with my photographer, Jared Doyle and Stephen Clarke, both are young under 25 but very good with all the new gadgets and electronics.

As we go along the street to meet people in my Ward and speak face to face which is very important here in PEI if you want people to vote for you. If the weather can only get warmer, it will be easier to canvas door to door.

I am also working on a new media project which I hope will be up and running next week.

In this photo I like the fact that my pamphlet is being held up by the person I am speaking with on the street. I was not aware that he was holding it up until I saw this photo.

Here at Government House or Fanningbank as it is known, I am listening to the Lieutenant Governor of PEI, who is addressing a group of young people who came to visit the Official Residence last week.

I make notes of what people say and who they are, etc. It is a good way to document what is of interest to people and what is of concern to them.

Lobster

Tags

cuisine, Delmonico's, lobster newburg, Recipe, Restaurant

Lobster Spring Season opened 2 weeks ago and the boats went out to sea. Lobster fishermen live on the North Coast of the Island about 25 minutes from our house. At the moment lobster bought from Fishers at the dock on arrival go for about $5 a pound, in stores like at Mr Seafood https://mrseafoods.com  you will pay $7 dollars per pound uncooked or $8 dollars cooked.  In the restaurant you will pay about $40 dollars per pound.

So today being Mother’s Day which is apparently a Feast invented in the 20th Century, grocery stores and Mr Seafood were offering a special on Lobster and we bought 2 one pounder for $16 dollars, a good price really.

For dinner we are having Lobster Newburg which originally was called Lobster Wenburg. The story goes that Mr Wenburg was a client of DelMonico on Beaver street in New York and he asked the Chef to prepare the lobster according to a recipe he provided. Later a dispute arose between Wenburg and the management of the restaurant so they changed the name of the recipe to Newburg. This was the age when restaurants did not have a formula or a Corporate set menu and were courting clients and trying to cater to their taste. A good restaurant will cater to their clients taste, though by today’s standard it is a rare thing.

So to start you need 2 one pound lobster cooked. 

break them up and take the meat out carefully, the shells seen above can be use to make a very good stock, which can be used for chowder or bisque.  

One pound lobster will give you this much meat, remember the recipe calls for heavy cream, sherry, eggs, nutmeg, cayenne. So it is rich.

Voilà, Lobster Newburg served on hot puff pastry. Just a simple little Sunday dinner and your guests will think you fussed. To be enjoyed with a Chardonnay, Pouilly -Fuissé.

Because we must have them, here are 2 tourists across the street waiting for a table inside this seafood restaurant to have their $$$$$ lobster. Note their accoutrement the Anne of Green Gables hat with pig tails. Ah, Summer!

 

 

Because it’s Spring

Tags

flowers, Fox, Spring

The weather is most Spring like now, mild winds and sunny days.

A photo by Paul g. our official provincial animal the Red Fox with her little cub. The big black crow which is also plentiful in Charlottetown is nesting in the tree beside our house and we can also hear the little ones.

Beautiful white magnolias just around the corner from us. Flowers everywhere.