Setting Day

Tags

Charlottetown, Food, PEI, Seafood, Summer, tourists

Today 30 April is the last day to do your income tax report in Canada and pay whatever you may owe, it is also Setting Day in PEI. This is the opening of the Lobster Spring harvest Season. At dawn from all the ports around the Island, lobster boats went off to set the traps, they will do this every day until 30 June. Setting means laying down the traps to catch Lobsters. It will be interesting to see what prices will be set for 1 lbs. In the supermarket today a pound lobster was selling at $14.99 I do not know if this price will fall or rise. Of course you can go down to the dock and buy your lobster directly from any fisherman and it is likely you will pay a lot less probably around $5 to $7 dollars a pound. Will see…

Many people come out to see them go, it is quite the sight. This also means that the Summer tourist season is about to open, in 48 hours the first cruise ship will arrive in Port at Charlottetown. I believe the first is a Holland American ship. Tomorrow morning the restaurants catering to the tourist crowds open at 11:30am for lunch.

 

 

Advertisements

# It has been 2 months folks!

Tags

Campaign, Charlottetown, City Hall, Councillor, Election, Municipality, PEI

Yes two full months already on the municipal campaign trail, a lot of work and meeting a lot of people, business people, investors, entrepreneurs, developers, social activists, new comers and just plain people who reside here in Ward 1 Queen Square in Downtown Charlottetown.

I am very proud of the fact that I have been able to talk face to face with so many people in our Ward. It has been very interesting and the reception has been very good, so thank you all. For those people I have not met yet, I will meet you soon, promise!

It is not over and I continue to hammer home the point that I am here for you and to work on your behalf. That my campaign is about accountability at City Council. Time for a new vision of progressive ideas at City Council, an up-beat can do attitude. There is so much to do in the next four years.

Charlottetown is a great multi-ethnic and multi-racial Capital, full of diversity and the future is here for us all. What is important now is how to approach the opportunities presented to us, what will we make of our Capital City.

I need your support and I need to hear from you. Please contact me and let’s talk. I have a blog on many topics and I continue to add topics as we go, all of it based on conversations with you, I am listening to you.

I am convinced like you that change is in the air at City Hall, so many of you wish for it. Let’s make it happen!

Contact me;   Lbwardone@gmail.com

My blog on WordPress, Laurent Beaulieu in 2018 or click on the link 

Ward1councillor2018.wordpress.com

 This Municipal Election is about you!  What can I do for you? 

 Laurent Beaulieu for City Councillor, Ward 1.

 

Campaign trail

Tags

2018, Charlottetown, City Council, Councillor, Election, November 5, PEI

For several months now I have been preparing for my candidacy as City Councillor in Ward 1 in Charlottetown. Ward 1 as the name indicates is the old original footprint of Charlottetown of 1765 when the city grid was designed on paper by Captain Samuel Holland and others. The story goes that the grid pattern is copied from a Roman Military Camp, the centre occupied by the Commander’s tent and his entourage, here we call it Queen’s Square with the Legislature building and other government buildings in a park setting. The other city streets all lead to this rectangular park, the main ceremonial avenue Great George starts at the river bank and is cut in two by Queen’s Park. Other green squares in the city are distributed in this plan. It is not a large ward physically speaking and can be walked easily from one end to the other, about 2100 people live in Ward 1.

Because of the many challenges facing our Ward in the coming years and the lack of effective representation at City Council, our present councillor has been missing in action for the last 7 months, I, like many others worry that we are not well represented and are forgotten at decision making time.

Ward 1 is a hub as the business downtown core, tourist central, cruise ship terminal, cultural and artistic centre and a residential neighbourhood of beautiful and well preserved mansions on average 180 years old. It is very difficult to imagine Charlottetown without Ward 1.

Given my decades long work experience in government, national and municipal, on the international scene and in Canada, I know the processes and I am interested in applying myself to modernizing the municipal government in Charlottetown, to make it more responsive to what the residents want. I propose to do that during this election campaign by visiting each resident of the ward and also businesses and service groups.

The actual voting day is November 5 but there is a lot of work to do and people to meet. I do not want to leave anything to chance and do not take victory for granted. This is a great opportunity to learn.

 

 

A picture of town

Tags

Canada., Charlottetown, cruise ships, home, PEI

The picture of the waterfront of Charlottetown in mid-1960’s show how industrial the waterfront was with its port facilities, railway yard and vestiges of the 19th century ship building period. If compared to today’s waterfront park, the area is unrecognizable. In 1989 with the demise of the railway in the Province, all rail equipment was removed and instead parks and hiking trails were built, now covering extensive areas not only in the Capital but across the Province.

At the bottom of the photo is the old potato storage terminal, today it’s the Cruise ship terminal completely rebuilt and renovated. Behind it the rail yards  and a rail car repair shop now transformed into a great hall soon to become a Farmer’s Market. Next to it the old oil tank park of a giant oil company, the tank park disappeared and now the area is totally transformed into a lush green park known as Confederation Landing, a gift of the City of Quebec who shares with Charlottetown in 1864 the honour of hosting the conferences which led to the formation of Canada. Next to that more empty land now occupied by the Conference centre and the Delta Hotel, shops and restaurants. This coming Summer Charlottetown will welcome 94 cruise ships from various companies with over 100,000 passengers landing a few meters away from my house.

The waterfront today, you cannot recognize it.   

Winter perspectives

Tags

Canada., Charlottetown, Fanningbank, PEI, winter

Today Sunday is a bright sunny day and the temperature is mild for Winter at -5C, in the sunshine you feel warm. Though there is now snow on the ground since 17 January, it is a mild Winter with the exception of the wind.

The entrance to Fanningbank the Official Residence of the Lieutenant-Governor of the Province of PEI.

In the countryside at dusk

I came to a realization….

Tags

age, Charlottetown, generation, Laurent, life, Me, PEI

Last night I suddenly came to a realization, we were at Baba’s Lounge which is upstairs from Cedar’s Lebanese Restaurant on Great George Street. Baba’s is an institution and is known by all musicians on PEI. Several nights a week they have music, on Thursday nights it’s Jazz night and last night Island Jazz was performing. The group is Ben on piano, Marlee on saxophone and Evan on bass guitar and Brandon Roy sang and what a wonderful voice he has. All are either music teachers or musicians and Brandon is a professional singer with that wonderful booming voice appearing in several shows here and in Toronto. The age group last night was between 25 and 35, the new up and coming generation, in this case talented, fun, full of energy, nice people.

This is not a pity me post but more a sudden realization that I am older now by about 30 years from that generation. I have turned a corner like you do at 20 or 50, life changes and you change. People also react to you differently, I hear references to being older meaning you belong to a different generation. We socialize with people more our age or somewhat older, though I do not necessarily share the same world view. This may have to do with the fact that I travelled around the world and my views are maybe more based on my own life experience in different cultures. If we meet with younger people I am very aware that we may not speak the same language because age can create a distance.

I had pictures taken recently by a professional photographer, the results were quite good, this has to do with a project I will speak of later, looking at them though I thought do I look this old now or is this what people see.

Maybe it is, by looking at pictures at another time in life I see a familiar face at a different time, this is where I am now. Maybe this is why I find the change so shocking in some ways, but then it happens to all of us.

I do not really see myself at 61, it just does not make sense to me. I do not feel older, just the same. I do think from time to time that I may have another 25 years to go, if I look at my close family relations and my parents, if good health holds then another quarter century is not bad. It’s just that everything looks shorter now in terms of time span. One might think that at 30 or 40 you can still think I got decades in front of me, but the reality is that no one can be certain of what they have left.

Maybe this is what comes with age, you know the past, you have experience and your life is shaped by all the years of living. Is this what is meant by, Life changes us, I think it does, we stay the same but life experience and time changes us. So maybe this set of photos are what I do look like today, just make the best of it and move on.

New Year activities

Tags

2018, Charlottetown, Fanningbank, levee, New Year, PEI

For New Years Eve we went down the street to the Haviland Club which is an old Club in Charlottetown, at the corner of Water and Haviland street with views of the Hillsborough river, once a grand private residence built in 1866 by Mrs Esther Lowden in the Italianate style. She was a widow, her husband had been a prominent ship builder. At her death in 1896 her family leased the house to the USA Consulate, the American Consul  was Delmer J. Vail. At the time of the closing of the US Consulate around 1917 all the expensive mahogany furniture and carpets were sold at auction. For a few years the house was rented out to various tenants. Then in 1932 it became an Officers Mess, being across the street from the PEI Regiment HQ was ideal, the Royal Canadian Navy and the Royal Canadian Air Force also had its mess on the premises. Finally in 1997 it became a private Club. The Club has an ornate decor of the period with marble fireplaces and grand views, wood paneling and ornate ceilings.

Quite a few members were present and we spent the night drinking and eating, we also decided to become members on the spot.

This morning, New Year’s Day I had to be up early, I was on duty at Fanningbank, the Residence of the Lieutenant Governor for the New Year’s day Levee, the 40th, the first one open to the public was in 1978. My first station was as greeter at the door, though I was near one of the fireplaces, it was a cold spot, the door opening and closing and the temperature outside with the wind chill was -25C. Some 800 people came through that door in 90 minutes. Amongst the general public, quite a few dignitaries, politicians, the Premier wearing is clan kilt, Leader of the other political parties, the commanders of the army, navy and air force, the Archbishop, the President of the University, the CEO of the Art Centre, etc.

I got to shake hands with about 500 people as they came in and greeted them before they proceeded into the receiving room to shake hands with the Lieutenant Governor. I was asked how do you address the L.G., a few men were told to remove their hats out of respect for the Sovereign’s representative. Two people asked me to take pictures of them, which I politely declined, too busy with the crowd. We had also a 15 member string orchestra playing which gave a very nice atmosphere to the event. Once past the L.G. people would then proceed into the dining room of the residence for cake and refreshments and out they went. It all went very well considering the numbers, many were making their first visit to the residence and were impressed by the surroundings. Lots of comments on the Christmas decorations and the house.

On my way home other levees were taking place, at City Hall, at the Legislature, at the PEI Regiment HQ, I was too tired to go to any other, pretty sure I would have met the same crowd making the rounds. Everyone comes first to Fanningbank to see the L.G.

I got lunch out of it, the cook made Fricot, which is a clear broth of carrots, potatoes, onion and celery with big pieces of shredded chicken, it was quite good and hit the spot. It was served to all of us volunteers and Aide de Camp in the private dining room of the L.G. in the meantime Her Honour was gone to another function, today for public officials it is a very busy day, I would not want to be in their shoes, even if you are chauffeured around.

Tonight a quiet night at home, Salmon steaks for dinner.

 

New Year Blessings!

Tags

2018, Canada., Charlottetown, New Year, PEI

A new Year is upon us with all its promise of renewal, Spring around the corner, may your cup overflow with good health, happiness, success and may your days be sunny and bright.

Generous New Year blessings to you all!

 

 

Christmas day 2017

Tags

Canada., Charlottetown, Christmas day, EIIR, PEI, Queen of Canada

Today was a day of storms here on the Island, high winds around 80km per hour, icy rain and snow, in the end not much of an accumulation but it now feels like Winter.

This morning opening of gifts including an Amazon gift certificate from Nicky and Nora  and a nice breakfast with croissant made by John of Breadworks, at noon we listened to H.M. the Queen’s message broadcasted on the CBC across Canada. On Christmas day it is the tradition to listen to her broadcast which comes from London (pre-recorded) and heard in Canada and in all other Commonwealth countries.

Her Majesty’s message is followed by the Royal Anthem.

Then we got ready to go to Vernon Bridge for late lunch at friends house by the water. A very nice house beautifully decorated. Their house is only 20 minutes from our home in town but the weather was awful and the wind. But we made it very nicely with no problems. We had wild goose with a few lead buckshot in the meat. Which I thought made it more authentic and some nice roasted vegetables, dessert was Plum Pudding with hard sauce. We met some new comers to the Island, Turkish immigrants who opened businesses here and are making a go of it.

Our drive back this evening was uneventful despite the very high winds said to be in the 90 to 100km range. Another Christmas has come and gone, it was a good one, nice friends and good food. The puppies are fine what else can we ask for.

Tomorrow is Boxing Day and most things are closed, we are told it will be a sunny day.

 

 

Levee madness

Tags

Canada., Charlottetown, Fanningbank, levee, New Year's day, PEI

When we lived in Ottawa the only levee in the City was the one at Rideau Hall, the Residence of H.E. the Governor General where the public was invited to come pay their respects to Her Majesty’s representative.

Here in Charlottetown it is quite another affair, it starts at 8am and goes on all over the Island Province until 8 or 9 pm. It starts at Fanningbank the Residence of the Lieutenant Governor who is Her Majesty’s representative in PEI. Then the Premier who is the head of government has one, the mayor, the Colonel of the PEI Regiment, the Commander of the Canadian Navy, the Speaker of the Legislature, various other officials etc…  You get to shake hands, exchange pleasantries and get a drink and something to eat.  Usually people spend about 10 minutes and move on to the next one. Some people go or try to go to as many as possible in the day. Just in Charlottetown there must be at least 40. You can even hold one at your house and be registered officially so that people can follow the calendar for the day. We thought of doing the Meet Nicky and Nora the Hounds from Hell  Levee at our house, it would be novel. To see the full list go to ruk.ca  Peter Rukavina is my neighbour and for more than a decade now has compiled the list of the Levee in Charlottetown.

A Levee is an old tradition in Canada going back to the 17th century.

The word levee (from French, noun use of infinitive lever, “rising”, from Latin levāre, “to raise”) originated in the levée du soleil (rising of the sun) of King Louis XIV (1643–1715). It was his custom to receive his male subjects in his bedchamber just after arising, a practice that subsequently spread throughout Europe.

In the 18th century the levee in Great Britain and Ireland became a formal court reception given by the sovereign or his/her representative in the forenoon or early afternoon. In the New World colonies the levee was held by the governor acting on behalf of the monarch. Only men were received at these events. Women were presented in the evening at court.

It was in Canada that the levee became associated with New Year’s Day. The fur traders had the tradition of paying their respects to the master of the fort (their government representative) on New Year’s Day. This custom was adopted by the governor general and lieutenant governors for their levees.

The first recorded levee in Canada was held on January 1, 1646, in the Chateau St. Louis by Charles Huault de Montmagny, Governor of New France from 1636 to 1648. In addition to wishing a happy new year to the citizens the governor informed guests of significant events in France as well as the state of affairs within the colony. In turn, the settlers were expected to renew their pledges of allegiance to the Crown.

The levee tradition was continued by British colonial governors in Canada and subsequently by both the governor general and lieutenant governors. It continues to the present day.

As mentioned, the levee was historically a male preserve but during World War II levees were attended by female officers of the Canadian Armed Forces. Since then levees have been open to both women and men.

As has the levee itself, refreshments served at levees have undergone changes (both in importance and variety) over the years.

In colonial times, when the formalities of the levee had been completed, guests were treated to wine and cheeses from the homeland. Wines did not travel well during the long ocean voyage to Canada. To make the cloudy and somewhat sour wine more palatable it was heated with alcohol and spices. The concoction came to be known as le sang de Caribou (“caribou blood”).

Under British colonial rule the wine in le sang du caribou was replaced with whisky (which travelled better). This was then mixed with goat’s milk and flavoured with nutmeg and cinnamon to produce an Anglicized version called “Moose Milk”. Today’s versions of Moose Milk, in addition to whisky (or rum) and spices may use a combination of eggnog and ice cream, as well as other alcoholic supplements. The exact recipes used by specific groups may be jealously guarded secrets.

I have had both Caribou blood which is mighty potent and Moose Milk, great Canadian drinks, there is no better way to start the New Year. This year I will be volunteering at Fanningbank the Residence of our Lieutenant Governor. A big crowd is expected that day.

Levee New Year’s Day at Fanningbank in Charlottetown.