A day in Prince County

Tags

art., Canada., covid, Food, French River, life, lighthouse, PEI, vacation

We drove up to Kensington on HWY 2 to go to the groomers for our two puppies, being wirehair Dachshunds their coat needs to be stripped not shaved. Our groomer does a very good job. Since we were in the area we decided to drop by the cottage at French River at the end of Cape Rd. where we are going in about 3 weeks. The place is just as lovely as ever and today being a beautiful sunny warm day, it was just perfect.

We then went for lunch just down the road to SouWest which is a restaurant with a very nice terrace on the water where you can see oysters and mussels being harvested. Nice quiet place and good food, had a nice chat with the staff. The roads in the area are country roads and you rarely see another car, lots of nice farms and homes. Historical old churches mostly protestant and ancient graveyards. There are a lot of good restaurants in the area, given the proximity to water, fish and seafood dominates. You will find some art galleries with local artists, the theme of course is about the sea, beaches and maritime atmosphere.

We also stopped at St-Mary’s Church at Indian River which is a decommissioned church built about 130 years ago by the famous Island architect William Critchlow Harris, who was a musician. His churches are all wood inside and the sonority is wonderful, some say it is like being inside a violin. This year is the 25th anniversary of the Indian River Festival and we will attend the concerts. The church has kept all of its furniture and decoration in a style called Canadian Gothic. It’s steeple has life sized sculptures of the 12 Apostles. It is located in an area surrounded by fields.

We collected the kids from the Groomer, they were happy to see us and get the hell out of there. Any visit to the groomer is always stressful and we gave them liver treats and drove home, upon arrival they had a lot of water and then promptly went to sleep. 

They got up to have their dinner and a little walk, only to return to have a cuddle and fall fast to sleep. 

We are looking into planning what we will bring to the cottage, liquor and food, there is a nice big bar-b-q and of course we will go to some restaurants. Will made a fresh batch of Colette’s Cocktail and we will call our butcher for some nice cuts of meat.

Also last night Will suddenly remembered that this will be our 14^th Wedding Anniversary, we have been toghether 43 years all together. The appropriate gift for 14 years of marriage is Gold, lucky me, I can only wear gold and I have my favourite jeweller BULGARI on speed dial. Though in November for 43 years together would be travel. Gee we have travelled so much in our life time, but then again if some kind hearted friends said, come visit us we are sending you First Class plane tickets to Palm Springs, gee that would be nice. 

We finally did a major clean-up of our wardrobe and gave away bags full of shirts and other items. All good and clean but well they all shrank while in the closet and no longer fit. I wonder if some scientist is working on this problem or maybe the Fashion industry is conspiring to prevent any research in order to sell more and more clothing. 

On the Health News, now that the population is vaccinated to 70% on PEI and we are in fact approaching the 80% mark, no cases at all of Covid and only a handful of new infections in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, the bubble of Atlantic Provinces is re-forming and travel will be allowed next week for all persons who apply for a PEI Pass to enter PEI by the bridge or by the Ferry service, you will need a certificate to prove vaccination and submit to a test at the border. Other Canadians will be allowed to come from 28 July under similar conditions. As for USA citizens an announcement is expected by Monday. So part of the Summer Season may be salvaged. All good news.

Car wash days

Tags

Africa, Canada., Charlottetown, Food, life, PEI

It looks like we are having 7 days of sunshine now, so today I got the car washed. The gas is now 1.40 a litre meaning that is $5.60 a gallon and this is not the top most expensive gas at the pump. The most expensive supreme is $1.60 a litre.

Another beautiful day, so very nice and not so hot, still at 22C very nice.

I am very busy at the Club with the newsletter every week, lots happening, events of all kinds and now that the PEI Government has announced the first relaxation of the rules, the only change is the number of people you can have inside. With this good weather, we have a large garden with big mature trees around 100 years old and the cedar deck, bar-b-q so we can do lots. Our membership is also getting more diverse, in the Maritimes there is a large African community, mostly educated West Africans and from Cameroon and Kenya. So one member who is from Kenya is doing a special dinner for the Club member this Friday, she is very well known and has cooked for lots of big names here in PEI and has her own restaurant for the last 20 years. Her food is wonderful, this woman has a sense for good food. Another member is from Senegal, a charming fellow and I am trying to entice him to do one of his signature dishes. He started to cook for friends and PEI is still a place where people are discovering exotic dishes. Some 10 years ago it was still pretty much meat and potatoes country, not anymore. So our friend also makes great desserts and pastries, however he is an executive with a big corporation and he can’t cook all the time for friends, our lost. Thanks to the Vietnamese and Africans community their grocery stores carry all manner of wonderful spices, you can find pretty much everything that the regular grocery stores do not carry.

A view below of one of our many beaches, quiet and clean.

Recipe requested

Tags

Canada., cuisine, ice cream, Irish whiskey

Well dear readers you requested the recipe of the Irish Whiskey Browned Bread Ice Cream and here it is from Glen, who is a Canadian cooking all manner of nice dishes for our pleasure. Please enjoy!  We tried it and it is really good, sorry Ben and Jerry, here is your pink slip.

For Dr. Spo,  Glen also has an Absinthe Ice Cream recipe, I know you will enjoy it.

 

Autumn is coming

Tags

Canada., Counsellor, Crown, Food, Lascelles, PEI, Wine

As if on the dot as of the 15 August the weather cooled all of a sudden, as it does every year, we went from 38C to 22C. and it is more comfortable now. The weather is still sunny and though it is nice for us in the City it is a crisis for farmers with lack of rainfall and the fire index is critically high, so no open fires are allowed anywhere. Though I noticed today that the Sun is lower in the sky and enters the house at a more horizontal angle and the days are progressively getting shorter.

Everyday we have our activities planned for the day and marked on the calendar. Now because of the pandemic most of our volunteer activities are on hold. But we still have to shop or see friends or get a haircut or simply travel on the island. This Summer we went to French River in the New London area and stayed at a nice cottage, something we are sure to repeat, we enjoyed ourselves so much. Being Summer, we drink a lot of Rosé and across the street from our house is a new wine shop with 400 labels of wines which would fall in the more notable category. The prices are from $20 to $900 a bottle depending of the wine and vintage, found some very good German white and Italian rosé from Puglia.

Lately we have been to small diner parties at friends. Now we all brace ourselves for the coming Fall Season and the return to school for so many. Fortunately our little island has been sparred the worst and we only have a handful of cases and all came from people returning from abroad. Self-isolating at home and all cases have been mild, no hospitalization, lucky indeed.

What I really like to do is to start the day with quiet music with my morning Espresso with Nicky by my side. On the Weekend, Radio-Canada has music programs with a host who talks on various topics engaging the listener, the music is soft, classical, I like piano music like Satie, Grieg, Ravel or Debussy. Every evening, we rarely go out at night, after dinner, which for us is around 08:30pm because we have dinner late by Canadian 5pm standard, I like to sit in my chair in the living room with Nicky beside me and listen to classical music, reading. Currently I am reading the letters and journals of Sir Alan Frederick Lascelles, known as Tommy, private secretary to the King and later to his daughter Elizabeth II, fascinating behind the scene stuff, so well written a real page turner, the documents were edited by Duff Hart-Davis, who did all the necessary work to put the book together and sought all necessary permissions. A difficult task because the Courtiers are protective of such documents seen as State Papers, in the end the Queen agreed and gave permission for publication.

We did not have the annual parade on 15 August due to Covid 19 but our neighbour will have a lunch outdoor on Friday as she does every year. A simple get together. A week from now we invited 20 friends (this is the legal limit) to have dinner and our good friend Pico will make his famous Seafood Paella in his metre wide dish, that alone is worth the show, quite a nice dish. We are using a friend’s secluded yard which is nice and private on a quiet street. I know that small gatherings are now allowed as long as you follow precautions.

On other news, we have a new Minister of Finance, Chrystia Freeland, who has been Minister of Foreign Affairs and is currently Deputy Prime Minister, she will now have the Finance Portfolio as well and will present in the Fall an economic forecast. Also yesterday the Prime Minister went to see the Governor General and ask her to * Prorogue Parliament until 23 September, when the House will return and we will have a Speech from the Throne giving out the details of the Government’s new program to renew the economy after this first Covid phase. Freeland is famous for having handled the negotiations to the new Free Trade Agreement CUSMA with the Trump administration, a difficult task if there ever was one.

It looks like we may have a general election in October despite the fact that most people do not want one due to the Pandemic. But the other parties in the House appear keen, despite the fact that the Conservative will have a brand new leader and the NDP have no money for an election, the Green Party should also have a new leader by then. The Separatist Bloc Quebecois are pushing for an election but remains to be seen if they will be able to win over other MPs to vote against the Government. The test may come as soon as 23 September since a vote of confidence must take place after the Speech from the Throne.  At the moment PM Trudeau has a minority of seats in the House but the poles show him winning the next election, time will tell.

 

*Prorogue; Prorogation is a political process which marks the end of a parliamentary session, and also refers to the time between the end of one parliamentary session and the start of another.

 

 

 

 

 

Dealing with changes

Tags

Canada., Italy, museum, NGC, Ottawa, painting

Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione, An Offering to Pan​ (detail), c.1645–60. Photo: NGC

This painting I have seen countless times at the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa on the second floor in the baroque room. It’s a very big painting and a fascinating one. The title of my post is about change, but what it refers to is the change that occurs in a painting over the years as paint ages and nature takes its toll. Like people paintings do age and decay with time and they need restoration and cleaning.

I presented this painting to school groups who come to the National gallery in Ottawa. Children and adults are fascinated by the subject and all the items shown. Doing interpretative work on paintings is to me always interesting, this is something I love doing.

This painting has changed, the colours are much darker with age. The darkening has changed the view we have of the painting.

Here is what Stephen Gritt, Director, Conservation &  Technical Research, at the National Gallery of Canada has to say about it.

When William Hogarth published his book The Analysis of Beauty in 1753, he touched upon a subject that could potentially strike fear into the heart of any art lover. “When colours change at all, it must be somewhat in the manner following, for as they are made some of metal, some of stone, and others of more perishable materials, time cannot operate on them otherwise than as daily experience we find it doth, which is, that one changes darker, another lighter, one quite to a different colour, whilst another, as ultramarine, will keep its natural brightness,” he stated. “Therefore how is it possible that such different materials, ever variously changing … should naturally coincide with the artist’s intention.” The English painter was stating, in effect, that art objects – here specifically paintings – begin changing right from day one, so what we ultimately see is not the work the artist originally intended.

These changes in a work may occur on their own, within the object’s raw materials – for example, drying oil in oil paints darkening over time. There are also changes that can be engendered by “misuse” of these materials, typically called “inherent vice”, for example when the use of too much oil produces even greater darkening. Although this term is usually thought to apply to works of art that may be experimental in nature and made in the last 50 years, artists have always pushed the limits of their craft and knowingly used materials that were going to change. One could argue that we have centuries of inherent vice with which to contend.

Typically the artworks we see today have changed in a way that stems from the interaction of these various phenomena and the environments in which they have been kept. What often has a more profound effect on the nature and appearance of these works is the way conservator-restorers have treated them, and what they may have done to correct or simply hide any changes. Today, one of the roles a conservator-restorer should play is to look at the forensics of the situation, while trying to unravel the causes and effects of the changes over time. If the conservator-restorer is able to achieve this, thoughtful treatment can mediate these effects and enable a presentation of the work that has it talking in something like its own voice once more.

Painted in the mid-17th century by the painter Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione, An Offering to Pan illustrates examples of such compound effects. The painting depicts an altar-like structure, heaped with offerings and trophies to a damaged sculpture of the ancient god Pan, shown in his characteristic form as half-man, half-goat. Pan was an embodiment of wild and eruptive nature, as well as fertility. His followers were mainly people in remote and rural areas, and in this portrayal one sees hunters, shepherds and herdsmen making offerings, in the hope that he will assist them.

Unlike depictions of the Classical world by Castiglione’s contemporaries, the eclectic and exotic nature of the clothing and objects is designed to invoke Pan’s non-Olympian strangeness, and potentially his origins in the East. Castiglione is attempting to bring that world to life by making it vibrant and exotic, full of unusual beauty, which allows him to show off his ability to represent the sumptuous and glittering bounty. Castiglione was also an excellent painter of animals, and the spaniel is simply one of the best depictions of a dog in the Gallery’s collection.

The upper part of the canvas shows some of the changes that have occurred over the years. In addition to the top section of the sky looking uneven and blotchy due to cleaning damage and discoloured old restoration, a horizontal line has become very prominent. It is a seam where two sections of fabric were originally stitched together to make the large canvas, and the seam has been pushed forward by past structural treatment of the painting.

The mottled cloud-forms should actually read as a more even, luminous pale blue, set against and contrasted with the gold colour. The blue pigment used here is called “smalt”, which typically decolourizes and ultimately is more susceptible to damage during cleaning operations. In this particular instance, the combination of the colour change in smalt, an increased visual effect of the dark red-brown underlayer and the significant cleaning damage twists the painting away from Castiglione’s originally realized intention.

On the left, the same effects can be seen in the darker clouds. The black lines rising up above the ducks are actually the artist’s initial drawing in paint, which has been revealed by the changes, and it appears that Castiglione originally intended to include a tree. On the right, the foliage of the trees has also changed over time. Green tints were typically based on copper, which causes the oil medium to turn brown. Pan was associated with springtime, and this change potentially takes the viewer to a different season. Overall, the effects of restoration processes and the basic aging of the materials will have caused the painting to be generally darker, and to have lost force in the mid-tones, creating an effect of heightened tonal contrast.

So what does all this mean? How does one interpret and understand works that are far from their intentional state? Much of Castiglione’s fine-tuning in finalizing this painting has simply disappeared, although some sections have survived relatively unscathed. As Hogarth noted, the blue ultramarine, used here in the mountains and drapery, has proved resilient, and now consequently stands out as strident.

This should give us pause for thought, but it should not be critically unnerving. With the right kind of information, one can meet the work halfway and, in turn, achieve something more meaningful. Helping us do this is one of the key roles of Museums, and has been since their inception. With enough information we can retrieve more of the work’s nature and its original grandeur and, in turn, engage with it and appreciate it in a more meaningful way.

https://www.gallery.ca/magazine/in-the-spotlight/coping-with-changes-a-work-by-giovanni-benedetto-castiglione?

 

Fallacies about Art

Tags

Canada., culture, life, NGC, Ottawa

A few years ago I was a volunteer guide at the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa, Marc Mayer was the Director of the NGC and he was a great fellow as a director and very personable. He has an interesting background in Art, as a curator and art lover. Here is a short presentation on the 5 Fallacies about Art which is helpful to those who wish to appreciate art in its various forms. I find this presentation to be enlightening. These are some points I try to impart to visitors who come to the Gallery and who may not know how or have preconceived notions about art. Mayer debunks it all for us.

Allons danser

Tags

Canada., Holiday, Summer

Allons danser sous les ormeaux, animez-vous jeunes fillettes, galants prenez vos chalumeaux! an aria of the opera by French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau composed in 1752 in Fontainbleau. Painting of the goddesses by Antoine Watteau.

Perfect music for the Summer, carefree and joyous on the Eve of Canada’s National Day 1 July. Grateful to live in such a peaceful and stable country.

94th Birthday of H.M.

Tags

Canada., Crown, life, the Queen

The Official Birthday of HM Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada and UK in the 68 year of her Reign, the longest in Canadian and British history at Windsor Castle. Very Best Wishes for a Happy 94th Birthday from Canada.

 

Happy Birthday!

Tags

Birthday, Canada., Denmark, Germany, Greece, Prince Philip, Royal Family, UK

June 10, 2020.

Today HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh celebrates his 99 Birthday.

Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark was born in the villa Mon Repos on the Greek island of Corfu on 10 June 1921, the only son and fifth and final child of Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark and Princess Alice of Battenberg. A member of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, itself a branch of the House of Oldenburg, he was a prince of both Greece and Denmark by virtue of his patrilineal descent from King George I of Greece and King Christian IX of Denmark and he was from birth in the line of succession to both thrones;  Philip’s four elder sisters were Margarita, Theodora, Cecilie, and Sophie. He was baptised in the Greek Orthodox rite at St George’s Church in Corfu.

The Greek-Turkish War 1919-1922 went badly for Greece, and the Turks made large gains. On 22 September 1922, Philip’s uncle, King Constantine I, was forced to abdicate and the new Greek military government arrested Prince Andrew, along with others. His family were banished from Greece, the British naval vessel HMS Calypso evacuated Prince Andrew’s family, with Philip carried to safety in a cot made from a fruit box. Philip’s family went to France.

Because Philip left Greece as a baby, he does not speak Greek. In 1992, he said that he “could understand a certain amount”. Philip has stated that he thought of himself as Danish, and his family spoke English, French, and German.

In 1928, he was sent to the United Kingdom to attend school living with his maternal grandmother, Victoria Mountbatten, Dowager Marchioness of Milford-Haven, at Kensington Palace. In the next three years, his four sisters married German princes and moved to Germany, his mother was diagnosed with schizophrenia and placed in an asylum, and his father took up residence in Monte Carlo with his new mistress. Philip had little contact with his mother for the remainder of his childhood. It was his uncle Lord Louis Mountbatten who became his tutor. In March 1947, Philip had abandoned his Greek and Danish royal titles, had adopted the surname Mountbatten and became a British subject.

The day before the wedding, King George VI bestowed the style of Royal Highness on Philip and, on the morning of the wedding, 20 November 1947, he was made the Duke of Edinburgh, Earl of Merioneth, and Baron Greenwich. Consequently, being already a Knight of the Garter, between 19 and 20 November 1947. He married Princess Elizabeth in 1947 and on her accession to the Throne in 1952 the now Queen Elizabeth announced that the Duke was to have “place, pre-eminence and precedence” next to her “on all occasions and in all meetings, except where otherwise provided by Act of Parliament”.

Philip was not crowned in the Coronation service, but knelt before Elizabeth, with her hands enclosing his, and swore to be her “liege man of life and limb”. On 22 February 1957, she granted her husband the style and title of a Prince of the United Kingdom, and it was gazetted that he was to be known as “His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh”. Philip was appointed to the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada on 14 October 1957, taking his Oath of Allegiance before the Queen in person at her Canadian residence, Rideau Hall in Ottawa.

HRH Prince Philip,  his Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Canadian Regiment

Official 99th Birthday portrait taken this week at Windsor Castle.

Coat of Arms of HRH Prince Philip

More Spring Cleaning

Tags

appliances, Canada., cleaning, clothes, Spring, Summer

This week has been busy, the 18 large windows of your home were washed by a company, we cannot do it ourselves because of the height and you need equipment for that. We did however remove all the screens and washed them one by one. Here on the Island the word WASH is pronounced WARSH. You do WARSHING, etc.

Today I decided to do my clothes closet and get rid of all the clothing I no longer wear. Some items of clothing I have not worn in 4 years, lovely as they are I thought someone else could enjoy them.

Living in Canada this is a bi-annual ritual Spring/Fall.  The weather has suddenly shot up to 20C as is typical of Canada at this time of the year, this is a clear signal that the sweaters must be put away, too hot, Summer clothing must come out. Same in the Fall but it is not as thorough of a clean-up. This means a lot of stuff to wash before it is put away, of course the washing machine died all of a sudden today. I heard a clunk and crack and suddenly nothing works. Look all over nope, it is dead. The washing machine is about 11 years old. So far in the 4 years we have been here we have replaced the microwave, the oven, the dryer. It seems that modern appliances are not made to last.

So I sorted out all the clothing and gave away pants, T-shirts, shirts, Sweaters, all in good clean conditions and all natural fibres, no synthetics. Many items are Italian fashions.

I still have a lot of clothing for the Summer. Next will be to clear all the Fall/Winter coats, pairs of boots and other accoutrement.