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.

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It was a great day

Tags

2017, Canada Day, Canada., Confederation, Ottawa, Parliament, Prince of Wales, Winnipeg

We had fun yesterday with all our friends.

On Parliament Hill in Ottawa, huge crowds and lots of rain, but the show did go on.

HRH Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall, the Governor General and PM Justin Trudeau were there. The noontime speech by the Prime Minister had large parts of it in French and he also acknowledged a fact that Canada is far older than the 150 years. In terms of European settlement and history it goes back 500 years and if you had the idea that Aboriginals have been known to live and prosper in Canada for 15,000 years. So we are an old  country.  Confederation is a political union of various parts into one but you cannot ignore all that went on before.

The Prince of Wales also made his speech in French, many do not think or know that he does speak the language fluently.

The Prince of Wales and Prime Minister Trudeau at Rideau Hall in Ottawa.

Here in Charlottetown PEI, we went to see the fireworks at Victoria Park which were spectacular. We had a great view, standing on the lawn of Beaconsfield House facing the open bay. We spent the evening with friends and it was a lot of fun.

In Winnipeg which is a geographical centre of Canada, here is a shot of the intersection of Portage and Main street. Said to be the coldest intersection of the country. The maple leaf is hundreds of people standing in formation.

 

In Ottawa a street sign in front of a house. In French, English and Arabic.

Well it is here

Tags

150, 1535, 1867, Canada., Confederation

So the big long weekend is upon us, the 150th Birthday of Canada’s Confederation which gave us our Constitution and our Federal system of governance under the Westminster Parliamentary system. I remember in school the teacher would describe Canada as a Federation, which we are, and also a Constitutional Monarchy, this is why we are the Dominion of Canada. The word dominion was chosen because the Fathers of Confederation did not want to offend the USA with the word Kingdom, in 1867 the USA had just come out of a bloody Civil War, some would argue they are still fighting it today.

A funny country Canada, we are the second largest country in the World in terms of geographical space, Russia being larger. We have borders with the USA, Russia, Denmark and 3 oceans, Arctic, Atlantic, Pacific.  Our population is 37 million people and let’s not forget the 6 time zones.  At the current population growth rate we will reach 40 million people by 2025. Our largest cities are Toronto at 6 million, Montreal at 4.5 million, Vancouver 3 million, Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa the National Capital, all at 1 million pop.

The Native population of Canada is about 1 million people, the Métis are 500,000 and the Inuit 65,000. As a group they are a very young population, whereas the non-Native in Canada are an aging population the largest group being over 55 years of age.

In 1867 our population was 3.6 million, mostly French, English, Irish, Scottish. Massive immigration from Europe in the years to follow would change the make-up of the population and then after 1976 Canada would start admitting mostly Asian and Sub-Asian immigrants and we still do. Cities like Vancouver are majority Asian now, Toronto a close second. Montreal has a greater mix of population, African, Arab, Asian and European.

We do have a lot to celebrate on this anniversary, but mostly Peace and Social cohesion in our society is something that I note. Few countries in the World have what we have. Nothing is perfect in this World but we are OK.

As I write this, I note that today 29 June 2017 marks the arrival on PEI in 1534 of French explorer Jacques Cartier who would claim all for the King of France, Francis I.

Coat of Arms of the King of France and Canada 

Coat of Arms of Canada 1867

 

Coat of Arms of Canada, today

 

 

A painting

Tags

AGCC, art., Canada., docent, guide, ingres, Museums, NGOC, paintings

Years ago in my first job as a guide-docent at the National Gallery of Canada I came across many paintings from as early as 1200 to today, many periods and artists from Europe and North America. We were trained by the Education dept., as part of our training we were also advised on what to expect from visitors. We were told to be careful with children under the age of 11 and with children between 11 and 16. We were told what not to show and how to avoid controversy or questions which might be delicate to answer. The real concern was not the kids but the parents, some parents who have a certain world view or philosophy of life might object to art depicting topics like nudity, violence, religious or biblical scenes, young naked children, dark colours or modern contemporary art like the surrealist art of Dali, Picasso, Magritte.

So what do you show exactly beyond a vase with flowers and more importantly how do you avoid such art on the walls as you walk through the galleries.

This painting is a case in point,  it is in the National Gallery in Ottawa on the Second floor. The subject is Actaea the Nymph on the sea, by Frederic Lord Leighton, in his Pre-Raphaelite style so loved by Queen Victoria.

So we were instructed by the Education Dept to avoid that corridor and if not, see if we could not attract the attention of the children to the opposite wall where one could look at Italian and French landscapes. Did you notice that Actaea is looking at dolphins? Kids love dolphins, they fascinate them. So one day I had a class of grade 5 student, so around 10 years old, also with our group was their teacher and one parent who appeared indifferent which is often the case.

I was trying to get this group of 20 kids to look at a painting by Camille Corot, The bridge at Narni.

We had just walked by the Venus by Lucas Cranach the Elder and one boy asked me why was the Lady naked.

So back to Actaea, while I do my best to speak of the Corot painting and the ruined bridge at Narni, I suddenly notice that I lost my audience, the kids are all looking at the dolphins. I look at the teacher and ask, what should I do? Teacher says; you better explain the dolphins. The children were oblivious to the naked Nymph and all they wanted to know was the names of the dolphins and where they could see them. Now that was a tough question to answer. After that episode I decided that whatever was in the Museum I would simply present and give honest answers to children’s questions. I have found that they are perfectly happy with that approach.

Kids are fascinated at that age by things they see and are trying to understand  and make it fit in their world view, which is completely different from the adult world.   Renaissance paintings with Biblical scenes of violence as a moral lesson, also attracts them, what they want to know is how was it done, not the violence itself.

Currently at the Art Gallery of the Confederation Centre I have not had this dilemma, with one exception recently. We currently have a study in our Summer show one art work the artist took as a subject La grande baigneuse de Valpinçon by Ingres and modernized or updated it.

So last week I had two groups of 13 year old students and the boys found it quite funny, sort of the funny embarrassed laughter of boys in puberty.

This is where it gets tricky as children enter puberty and their world changes drastically, no longer children but teenagers. Luckily I have lots of other works to show them and start discussions around. Never a dull moment at the Gallery.

The National Anthem

Tags

Anthem, Canada., CBC, EXPO 67, Montreal, Quebec City

This morning on CBC Radio 1, Michael Enright on Sunday Edition had a program all about Canada. The first segment was about our National Anthem O Canada, the second part about EXPO 67 which was held 50 years ago in Montreal, the most successful World  Exhibition ever held in the World, something I remember well I was 11 yrs old. How wonderful that was, one of my best childhood memories. The third segment was about how there his 3 founding Nations in Canada, the Indigenous, the French, the English and how we are finally coming to understand that fact.

He had Musicologist and Historian, Robert Harris to explain it all and how wonderful it was to hear. http://www.cbc.ca/listen/shows/sunday-edition/episode/13062323

Just wonderful, Robert Harris explained so many secrets about our National Anthem, the opening two stanzas of O Canada is taken from Mozart’s March of the Priest from the Opera Magic Flute. How wonderful is that given that our Country was born from a series of drinking and dancing parties here in Charlottetown and Quebec City held by the Fathers of Confederation in 1864.

The second incredible secret is that the National Anthem of Canada was written/com posed for the Saint Jean Baptiste Society in June of 1880. A French Nationalist Anthem to be sung at a Convention of French Canadians who had gathered from all over North America in Quebec City. The lyrics are about the French in North America and the music is martial, reference to God, the King (France) and our ancestors in this land.

How did it become the National Anthem of Canada? Harris explained that in 1902 King Edward VII was visiting Canada and the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir in Toronto decided that they needed to sing an Anthem about Canada and not the Royal Anthem, God Save the King. So they arrange for a quick translation of the lyrics into English to sing for the Royal visit, the result was not very good and was difficult, cumbersome to sing, nothing like the French version. A few years later in 1906 Judge and poet Robert Stanley Weir wrote the English lyrics to O Canada, he changed them again in 1908, 1909, 1913. For a long time we had the 1921 lyrics which most English speaking Canadians know.

We will have to wait 1964 and the debate on the New Canadian Flag in Parliament to have another debate about making O Canada the Official National Anthem.  But that did not work out, to much opposition, too many English Canadians wanted to keep the Royal Anthem and having to swallow a new flag to replace the old Red Ensign was too much politically. Again in 1967 and 1968 Parliament tried and failed and again in 1976 and again in 1980 at the time of the first referendum on Quebec Independence. This time it worked and O Canada became our Official Anthem. Though many Canadians had taken it as the Official Anthem for many previous decades.

Currently a Bill in the Senate C-210 would amend one sentence of the English Lyrics of O Canada from IN ALL THEY SONS COMMAND to IN ALL OF US COMMAND. This to satisfy the Feminists in Canada. It would appear that many do not know that the English lyrics have been amended in the past many times, this includes the media who are very confused on the topic. Senators who hold a more traditional point of view oppose any change.

All this to say that the radio program was most interesting on the history of our Anthem, they also played several various versions from 1908, 1910,1927 and a famous one by Roger Doucet, tenor who for years would sing the National Anthem in both French and English before the beginning of a Hockey game at the old Forum in Montreal. He changed 2 words of the Anthem in 1979 before a game, at first the crowd in the Forum is silent not quite understanding what went on and then suddenly the reaction. The words, inserted by Doucet were Our Rights and Liberty, a reference to the upcoming Quebec Referendum and the demands of French speaking Canadians.

Nothing is ever simple in Canada. My favourite rendition c.1960 is the one with the Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal with Maestro Wilfrid Pelletier and chorus sung in French. It is quite beautiful.

 

Ô Canada! Terre de nos aïeux,
Ton front est ceint de fleurons glorieux!
Car ton bras sait porter l’épée,
Il sait porter la croix!
Ton histoire est une épopée
Des plus brillants exploits.
Et ta valeur, de foi trempée,
Protégera nos foyers et nos droits,
Protégera nos foyers et nos droits.
Sous l’œil de Dieu, près du fleuve géant,
Le Canadien grandit en espérant.
Il est né d’une race fière,
Béni fut son berceau.
Le ciel a marqué sa carrière
Dans ce monde nouveau.
Toujours guidé par sa lumière,
Il gardera l’honneur de son drapeau,
Il gardera l’honneur de son drapeau.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Interviews

Tags

Canada., EIIR, Prince Harry, Royal

Interviews by celebrities great and minor is a business for many magazines and talk shows. It brings viewers or readers and it boost attention to a person with a public profile. It’s good PR if you know how to spin the message. The following is based on my own observation and experience while in the Foreign Service over 35 years.

The Canadian and British Royal Family knows how to spin a good tale and the Palace has a team of experts who always present the right message or image to the public.

Nothing new really, if you want to be a popular King, Queen, Emperor or Prince you need to justify your existence every day, this is what Lord Louis Mountbatten the uncle of Prince Charles use to tell him.

Queen Victoria cultivated the image of the happy housewife and mother, she had 9 kids. Then when her husband Price Albert died in 1861, she transformed herself into a professional widow supported by her children. Most of it was rubbish but the public lapped it up. The government cultivated that image, so that by the end of her life, she had become an iconic image of mother of the Empire. An image that had been carefully fabricated and endures.

Examples of Kings who did not care much for public opinion, King Charles I of England who lost his head to a rebellious Parliament under Oliver Cromwell. Louis XV of France who was an old débauché who had to be secretly buried when he died in 1774.

King Georges VI who became king after his brother renounced the Throne in 1936 to marry Wallis Simpson, he was keenly aware that the public was not happy with the Royal Family and during the time of his reign did all he could to build up his image with the public, staying in London during the raids on the City and then visiting neighbourhoods after bombings to speak with the people and show solidarity during the war years. His daughters Elizabeth and Margaret were encouraged to also give this example of service to the Nation. Again the government and the Palace cultivated this image carefully.

Since the early 1980’s the Queen and Prince Philip have cultivated a less formal image of Royalty, Palace advisors were keen to present the Royal Family as modern and not as museum exhibits.

Last week Prince Harry, the younger son of Diana Princess of Wales and Prince Charles, gave an interview to Newsweek. It made a sensation, he too is being groomed to give interviews at various moments in his life to show that as a young man now 33 yrs old, he can be approachable and almost a normal person, whatever that means for a Prince.

His brother William who one day will be King is groomed differently because he is closer to the Throne and because of his destiny. Their father Prince Charles now 68 belongs to another generation and his image has been cast a long time ago. He never fully recovered from the damage the accidental death of his first wife Diana and the ensuing media frenzy created. Though the Queen at the time was seen as unfeeling or even mean, this image was pure fabrication by the media and Prime Minister Tony Blair who wanted to increase his own image with the public, calling Diana the People’s Princess. In many ways Diana created her own problems, she forgot that when you marry the Heir to the Throne you have to play the part no matter what happens. Her first duty and that of Charles was to produce an Heir, the second duty was to keep up appearances so as not to damage the image of the Sovereign or the Royal Family. Yes Charles had a long time mistress Camilla and that was known in Royal Circles, he certainly was not the first Prince or Heir to have a mistress, many before him had mistresses and were also married with children and everyone played the game. Diana thought she could use the media against the Royals and win. If she was still alive today, she would probably be discredited and living abroad with some lover pensioned off. Instead she is no more than a distant memory, Tony Blair is discredited and the Queen is celebrating the first ever Sapphire Jubilee in British history. Prince Charles married the Princess Consort Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall and obtained for her titles never given to Diana,  the two boys William and Harry have lives of their own.

What often the public fails to see is that the Royal Family is not at our level and they live in a world totally removed from ours. A world difficult to imagine, where everything is choreographed and scripted to the last detail. What you wear everyday, the honours you receive, your salary, how people address you, where you will live, your daily program of activities every day of the year, what you say, even private family functions are programmed completely. You don’t have to think, everything is done ahead of time all prepared by advisors and counsellors, just follow the instructions. Much of it is controlled by the Queen and her advisors, she decides who gets the helicopter, there is only one, what car will be put at your disposal, what honours and titles she will bestow upon you, what apartment you will get at this or that Palace, all of it based on rank in the family.

Per example Prince Harry like many Royals lives at Kensington Palace, he has a small flat, nothing fancy but quite nice. His brother William who is married and has children and being that he will succeed Charles one day as King, gets a much nicer living space befitting his station in life, he also has a Duchy with a generous revenue. Same for Prince Charles who has Heir gets to have his own palace in London on the Mall, Clarence House.

Can you imagine living like that all of your life, you can’t quit and you cannot tell the Sovereign who happens to be your grandmother off.

The interview in Newsweek was very interesting in how it re-enforced stereotypes and myths about the Royal Family. Prince Harry said the wished for a life other than the one he has now. This is a nice thing to say because it gives the people the impression that he wants to be just like all the other commoners.

He then went on to say he wanted to do his own shopping and live his life as normally as possible. I had a good laugh on that one, again it is exactly what the media wants to hear. You see he is a normal bloke and he like his mother wants to escape. In reality that is nonsense, the only life he knows is that of the Palace, with all the privileges which comes with being the grandson of the Sovereign and a Prince of the United Kingdom.

He went on to say that no one wants to be King or Queen, but we will all do our duties. Well yes, he is a decorated Officer in Her Majesty’s Army and he owes allegiance to the Queen as his Sovereign. His life is one of service to the Crown and duty is what governs his life. It is also treason to say that you would like to be king or that someone else should be, saying this would imply you wish for the death of the Monarch.

Currently he is still single, but apparently he could marry this TV model Meghan Markle, really? Even that question is controlled and governed by his grandmother.  It is very unlikely that permission would be given at this time. The big concern for the Queen and the Palace advisors is if Ms Markle is suitable, no one wants another blow-up like the Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson or another Diana. Other events that could play are the old age of Prince Philip at 96 or the death of the Queen and Charles becoming King, any and all family events can have an impact on him and on all other members of the Royal Family, Brexit may also be another factor.

Eventually as years go by Prince Harry will be so far from the succession line that no one will care who he marries or his shacked up with, the Palace will focus their attention on Prince William, Catherine Duchess of Cambridge and his children George and Charlotte. Harry is destined to be like Princess Margaret (1930-2002) in the shadow of his sibling William. Let’s hope he does not start drinking and carousing. Let’s hope that Palace advisors find a role for him which is meaningful but that is not likely given the history of the family.

So yes Harry is a nice guy and has a nice public image and the press and the public love those interviews, they are so much fun and in the end gives a good image of the Royal Family.

 

 

This week

Tags

AGCC, Art Gallery, Canada Day, Canada., Charlottetown, CN, national anthem, PEI, Railway, West Covehead

It was  a busy week both at the Art Gallery and in general, we were invited to attend a fundraising cocktail at the home of the Premier of PEI. It was all very informal, the food was prepared by the our Premier Wade MacLauchlan, he is a very good cook. The drinks or special cocktails were very good, one made with gin and the other with bourbon. He and his husband Duncan MacIntosh have a beautiful home on the beach. The scenery is spectacular and so peaceful.

Here we are at Covehead with our friends Blake and Alex. The Sunset in the West over the Gulf was amazing in its brilliance. Alex is the President of Pride PEI and Blake is the top hairstylist in Charlottetown. Will is enjoying one of the special cocktails.

The Art Gallery was also very busy this week, lots of visitors, with the end of June suddenly the tourist appear. We had the big opening night and now it is regular Summer traffic.

We were told by Robert Houle, the new commissioned canvass for the 150th Anniversary of Confederation.  Beside it is the famous and celebrated canvass by Jean-Paul Lemieux, Charlottetown Revisited, created in 1964 for the opening of the Art Gallery.

All the various canvasses on Canada and Confederation have a political message to them, my job is to steer clear of it and speak solely about the art itself and the artist.

Today is June 24 and is the National day of all of us French Canadians across Canada, originally called Saint Jean-Baptiste Day. From this old celebration comes the Canadian National Anthem O’Canada, with original lyrics in French by Adolphe-Basile Routhier and music by Calixa Lavallée. It was originally commissioned by Lieutenant-Governor of Québec, Théodore Robitaille in 1880. Like everything else in Canada, the original French version is very different in its wording from the English version composed many years later.

Ô Canada ! Terre de nos aïeux,
Ton front est ceint de fleurons glorieux !
Car ton bras sait porter l’épée,
Il sait porter la croix !
Ton histoire est une épopée
Des plus brillants exploits.
Et ta valeur, de foi trempée,
Protégera nos foyers et nos droits,
Protégera nos foyers et nos droits.
Sous l’œil de Dieu, près du fleuve géant,
Le Canadien grandit en espérant.
Il est né d’une race fière,
Béni fut son berceau.
Le ciel a marqué sa carrière
Dans ce monde nouveau.
Toujours guidé par sa lumière,
Il gardera l’honneur de son drapeau,
Il gardera l’honneur de son drapeau.
De son patron, précurseur du vrai Dieu,
Il porte au front l’auréole de feu.
Ennemi de la tyrannie
Mais plein de loyauté,
Il veut garder dans l’harmonie,
Sa fière liberté.
Et par l’effort de son génie,
Sur notre sol asseoir la vérité,
Sur notre sol asseoir la vérité.
Amour sacré du trône et de l’autel,
Remplis nos cœurs de ton souffle immortel !
Parmi les races étrangères,
Notre guide est la loi :
Sachons être un peuple de frères,
Sous le joug de la foi.
Et répétons, comme nos pères,
Le cri vainqueur : « Pour le Christ et le roi ! »
Le cri vainqueur : « Pour le Christ et le roi ! ».

Next week on Friday 1 July is Canada Day, in Charlottetown the tall ships are sailing in at 9am. Hopefully it will be a nice clear day, to watch this spectacle.

We will be able to observe them from our house and it will make the harbour look as it was in 1900.

This week Earle Macdonald who has a blog on Facebook about old Charlottetown published a photo of what the city was like before 1989 showing the rail yards across the street from our home. The waterfront which today has been reclaimed and turned into parkland was then a very industrial area.

In this photo you can see, barely, our house, hidden by trees.

The big round house for locomotives and the rail cars refurbishment buildings with other Canadian National Railway buildings. Only the Brass shop and what is now called Founder’s Hall remain today the rest is parkland. The cruise ships dock at the end of the wharf now Prince Street.

The old Brass shop, still standing and completely renovated housing today Receiver Coffee Co. and John’s Bread Works.

Today the Brass Shop c.1876 much improved.

Founder’s Hall today, to be soon re-developed into a market 

Opening and closing

Tags

Canada., EIIR, Parliament, Queen, Speech, Westminster

This morning the Queen went to Parliament to read what is called the Queen Speech or the Throne Speech as we say in Canada. Because Prince Philip who is 96 is unwell with what appears to be a recurring bladder infection in hospital, it was the Prince of Wales and Heir to the Throne accompanied her.

They arrived by car taking a different route following Birdcage Walk Rd unto Great George Street bringing them directly to Parliament instead of following Pall Mall down through Admiralty Arch.  It is just a 3 minute drive and it was certainly not the leisurely procession by carriage and horse mounted escort seen on such an occasion.

The Queen entered Westminster Palace through the Sovereign’s Entrance greeted by David Cholmondeley, KCVO, Lord Great Chamberlain who is an Officer of the Royal House.

She was not wearing the Robes of State, or the Imperial State Crown as is customary. Prince Charles was in morning dress.

The Crown which arrived in its own late model Rolls Royce, placed on a cushion and carried by one of the Great Officers of the Royal Household, it was placed on the right hand of the Sovereign.  It all had the look of a hurry up event, this scaled back version is the first one since 1974. In fact when the Gentleman of the Black Rod was sent from the House of Peers to the House of Commons to summon the members to attend the Queen, one veteran member of the Labour Party Dennis Skinner said quite loudly, put on your skates, meaning that someone was in a hurry to go to Ascot for the races. Everyone laughed.  It is understood he meant the Queen. The Queen read the speech with no great enthusiasm, going through the paces but trying not to give anything away. This is the Westminster parliamentary system and PM May does have to show that she can govern and given the chance to prove it. It is the same thing in Canada, as long as a Prime Minister has the confidence of the House, he or she can stay in Office.

From the speech it is clear that the current government of Theresa May will not last very long it was a hollow speech with nothing of significance in it. I expect a vote of no confidence and either the Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn will be asked to form a government or there will be fresh elections. Not a good start to the Brexit talks this week.

In the meantime in Canada, Parliament could go into recess today Wednesday or tomorrow Thursday depending on what the Senate will do with the Budget bill. Much protest by the Prime Minister Justin Trudeau about Senators trying to delay or question the content of the bill and the part relating to the Infrastructure Bank. This is all too strange, it is the Constitutional duty of the Senate to examine and raise question. The Government representative in the Senate, Peter Harder even went so far as too say that it was costing money to delay passage of the Budget bill. As if he was suggesting we could have democracy only if it was on the cheap. In an unheard of move, some government member and Minister Bardish Chaggar, Liberal House Leader even came to the Senate Chamber and stood at the bar to observe the vote of the Senators. This was seen by the Conservatives Senators as an intimidation gesture. What was also strange was the tabling of 4 new bills by the Government, on important matters. Obviously they will not be debated until the House returns in the Fall. There are also rumours of a Cabinet shuffle by PM Trudeau and a possible prorogation of Parliament in the Fall which would see all unfinished business abandoned unless the Government decided to re-table the same bills. It has also been announced that the Governor General David Johnston’s mandate will expire in September. So who will be the new Governor General?  At any rate Members of Parliament are in a rush to go on vacation for the Summer.

The Senate Chamber in Parliament in Ottawa.

 

On this day 19 June 1917

Tags

1917, Canada., King George V, Windsor, WWI

The First World War was raging and Canadians were fighting for King and Country against the German Kaiser.

In London, the King Emperor George V who was himself a German Prince and first cousin of Wilhelm II decided in the face of mounting criticism to change the family name from Saxe-Cobourg Gotha to Windsor and renounce all his titles and possessions in Germany. Other family members inherited land and holdings which they hold to this day in Hanover and Hesse.

 

Art Weekend

Tags

2017, AGCC, Art Gallery, art., Canada., CCOA, Charlottetown, Confederation, Festival, PEI, Robert Houle, Saulteaux, theatre

This has been a busy weekend with the Opening of the Summer Theatre Festival at the Confederation Centre of the Arts and then on the next night the Opening of the Summer Exhibit at the Art Gallery. In both cases it brought out the whose who of PEI Society from the Lieutenant-Governor to Members of Parliament, Senators, Chief Justice and many others actors on our social scene.

The Opening play is Million Dollar Quartet which tells the story of the meeting at Sun Records in December of 1956 of four greats of the Rock and Roll scene, Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins in Memphis.

The reception before and after was a lot of fun with a live orchestra and great food by the new Chef of Mavor’s Miguel Cervantes.

The next night was the opening of the Summer Exhibit of the Art Gallery of the Confederation Centre. This being the 150th Anniversary of Confederation, the exhibit highlights the Collection of the Art Gallery, the best pieces of our 17,000 works of Art by great Canadian artists. The Art Gallery is mandated to show only Canadian Art since the Centre is a Memorial to the Fathers of Confederation.

We also unveiled a new giant painting by Canadian Native Artist Robert Houle Aka Blue Thunder who is a  from St-Boniface, Manitoba. It joins the other great canvasses on the same theme by Jean-Paul Lemieux, John Fox, Jane Ash Poitras, Yvon Gallant, Wanda Koop, Jack Shadbolt.

Robert Houle, Blue Thunder (born 1947) is a Saulteaux First Nation Canadian artist, curator, critic, and educator. Houle has had an active curatorial and artistic practice since the mid-1970s. He played an important role in bridging the gap between contemporary First Nations artists and the broader Canadian art scene through his writing and involvement in early important high-profile exhibitions such as Land, Spirit, Power: First Nations at the National Gallery of Canada (Ottawa, 1992). As an artist, Houle has shown both nationally and internationally. He is predominately a painter working in the tradition of Abstraction, yet he has also embraced a pop sensibility by incorporating everyday images and text into his works.

We were told or ‘O-ween du muh waun’ by Robert Houle, 2017

Me and the artist

This great canvas represents the Delaware in the classical pose from the celebrated propaganda painting of Benjamin West, The Death of General Wolfe which is in the National Gallery of Canada.

The Death of General Wolfe by Benjamin West, 1770. The Official story as told is of Wolfe dying on the Plains of Abraham in September 1759 during the famous battle against French General Montcalm. This scene was pure fantasy but it was necessary for propaganda purpose in England to raise taxes to pay for the Seven Year War, the tax raise led a few years later to the American Revolution.

In his painting Houle presents a different narrative, he rejects the fantasy painting of West and presents not a battle scene, stating that who won the battle is not really important and should not be celebrated. For Houle on this anniversary we should celebrate today’s Canada. Further being from the Saulteaux First Nation the idea of 150 years does not apply to his people since they have lived in North America for 15,000 years.

 

I also got a very nice gift this weekend, I often give tours to school children aged 8 to 12.

Once class sent me several thank you notes designed and written by the students.

Each card as a personal message addressed to me as a thank you from a student. I am very proud of this gift and happy that for some kids the day at the Art Gallery meant something.