PRIDE

Tags

Charlottetown, Gay, Japan, LGBT, Parade, PEI, Tokyo

June was Pride month and in PEI PRIDE week is 20-27 July with the usual big parade, everyone joins in, it’s the thing to do.

I was in the Parade here in Charlottetown last year and we had a lot of fun. Come and celebrate PRIDE in PEI,  www.pridepei.ca

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the first pride parade on P.E.I. Pride P.E.I. is planning 12 days of events and learning opportunities for Islanders, beginning on Saturday, July 20.

The theme of this year’s parade is ‘shapes + forms’. The organization says love comes in many different shapes and forms. Inspiration for the theme comes from the vibrant spectrum of gender and sexual diversity visible in the province.

For something completely different here is PRIDE TOKYO. Japan has a lot of Festivals and Pride is another one. I love Tokyo, visited the city on 2 occasions for several days each time and travelled in Japan also. Very impressive place, just love it.

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Things in life

Tags

AGCC, art., artists, Charlottetown, life, PEI, Summer

The old song says “The best things in life are free”, I wonder if many today still think this way in our hyper consumer society. This song was very popular back in the XXth century written by the songwriting team of Buddy DeSylva and Lew Brown (lyrics) and Ray Henderson (music) and published in 1927 but it continued to be popular up to the 1960’s and you can still hear it today on some radio stations, a classic you could say.

This week was the opening of the Summer show at the Art Gallery of the Confederation Centre and since I am a guide there, as always I make a point of attending all the lectures with the curators and artists.

This year the theme is about life and its transitions from birth to death. The artists are all emerging young artists funded by the Royal Bank Of Canada (RBC) for the last 10 years. This program in cooperation with the Curator of the Art Gallery gives an opportunity to young artists to work with a gallery and curators in a professional setting, organize an exhibit and get exposure. In PEI  the Art Gallery is the only venue offering such an opportunity. All the art is Canadian as per the mandate of the Gallery.

The funny thing is that people are not always comfortable with the idea that we all die one day, it is the human condition can’t escape it. We have two solo shows one by Philippa Jones (Perpetual) of St-John’s, NFLD. Perpetual brings together a selection of recent work by Philippa Jones that explores ways of dealing with loss and mortality through the neutralizing effects of preservation, aesthetic arrangement, immersive ritual, and ultimately recognition of a natural continuum, the temporal cycle that encompasses all being. Catalyzed by the untimely death of close friend and collaborator, Newfoundland curator Mary MacDonald, the artist’s explorations of the processes of extraction from the everyday world, common to art and science, take on a heightened resonance.

The other solo show by Inuit artist Shuvinai Ashoona (Mapping Worlds) from Kinngait (Cape Dorset) Nunavut which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year as an Inuit territory in Canada. This gigantic area of Arctic Canada is 1500 miles North of PEI with a population of 33,000 mostly young people.

The other shows are group exhibits and explore the transitory aspect of life, Split Images: Truth and Fiction,  something that also disturbs a lot of people.  

In the concourse of the Centre is the exhibit of Ian Funke-Mackay: Serpentine Signs, an artist from Halifax, produces images and signs for a new visual field in which past energies resonate within the present. His colourful and faceted arrays and forms echo the worlds of computer-generated imaging and video-game animations, aspiring to fuse the future-oriented legacies of abstract painting.

 

I do like Philippa Jones work because it is challenging and offers a chance to listen to what our visitors have to say and see their reaction. So this is the show for this wet and cold Summer so far in Charlottetown. Let’s hope it warms up!

In closing I have added this video of a favourite singer of mine Peggy Lee with Benny Goodman sextet and the famous song On the Sunny Side of the Street. Right now we have no Sun in PEI.

 

 

Cold weather and travels

Tags

Charlottetown, Festivals, Franconia, Germany, lobster, Moncton, Moose, NB, PEI, Petitcodiac, Reykjavik, Travel, wines

I am constantly amazed at the amount of people who simply do not believe anything is wrong with the climate. Winter started in PEI in early November, it was not a snowy Winter, it was mostly ice rain and high winds. April was rain and more rain, May not much better so far with one warm day. The Weather is so out of wack that farmers cannot plant anything the fields are mud, big sticky red mud. Tourists are staying away given the cold around the freezing point and rain weather. Of course the joke is that PEI only has 2 Seasons, Winter and Summer, in Quebec its Winter and Construction.

So last week I decided to travel off Island to Moncton, New Brunswick which is all of 2 hours away by car and across the Sea bridge of 12 Km. Going was not bad in terms of driving but coming back 2 days later the wind was high so crossing the Sea bridge, you are 350 feet above the Sea, I had both hands gripping the steering wheel and all the big transport trucks 18 wheelers were in convoys. It is a 2 lane bridge and you cannot go any faster than 80km  per hour, but with high winds around 60 miles per hour you do not want to go fast.

Moncton is poorly planned or not planned at all, shopping malls everywhere, a new COSTCO by the highway, a very beautiful river crosses the city with lots of marshland all around, because of the muddy banks it is called the Chocolate river or by its real name Petitcodiac river and it has a very powerful tidal wave coming all the way from Shepody Bay (Bay of Fundy) some 52 Km away. Moncton also has 2 Universities so lots of academic stuff and students. I stayed in Dieppe a suburb of Moncton but you could confuse the two since only a street separates the two cities. Also a large airport serves the area which is handy if you want to fly to other large Canadian cities and cannot do so from Charlottetown PEI.

I saw friends in Moncton and went for lunch to a very nice Café called Tony’s, tonysbistro.ca the food was excellent and they have the most wonderful French pastry shop. I really do not know anymore if COSTCO is all that worth it, I cannot say I saved much money. The real bargain is cheese, for the quantity and price it is unbeatable. Cheese in Canada in general is so expensive that I wonder why they do not have armed guards in supermarkets. After 30 minutes of shopping I had to get out, I was feeling tired by the place.

Chocolate river or Petitcodiac river.

Since I was staying with friends, I brought them Lobsters, now of course you will think don’t they have lobster in New Brunswick, of course they do BUT it is coastal lobster fished in the Strait whereas my lobster is fished in the Gulf on the open sea side of PEI. The taste fishermen tell me is different because of the salt water content. I am not a big lobster eater and will have one per year. However I bought mine at the Water Prince restaurant across the street from my home and Shane and his son Cody sell wonderful seafood. The lobsters were each 2 pounders, the meat was rich and creamy, very good and at $11. per pound well worth it. Now I bought them cooked because I do not know how to cook them in Salt Water and you have to know how to do it. Salt Water in the cooking is very important, many people make the mistake of cooking lobster in unsalted water, big mistake as it changes the taste and the quality of the meat. The best way is to take the water straight from the Sea.

This was my lobster, please note the long antennas which indicates that this lobster was well fed and very fresh. If the antennas are damaged or missing, that is a bad sign, lobster if they are hungry and have no food, will eat their antennas.

Going to Moncton was fun and seeing my friends was a nice brake from the Island. We will be travelling again in June but this time to Ottawa for a week. A first return trip since we left 3 years ago. We are driving 14 hours, but we will need the car in town anyways. I also visited Memramcook (Micmac language meaning Crooked river) which is the birthplace of the first French Language University in the Maritime Provinces, U de Moncton. The Eudistes Fathers opened the university in 1864, the village of Memramcook is ancient, the Micmac indians have lived there since the beginning of time and the French speaking Acadians arrived in 1700. They were deported by British colonial troops coming mostly from the Boston area in 1755. However those who survived the ethnic cleansing returned after 1765. It remains an important historical and cultural site for the Acadians.

Whenever you travel on the highways in N.B. you have to be mindful that the vast forests all around you are full of Moose, you do not want an encounter with one of them, they are very large animals weighing often for a full grown male around one ton or a little more. There is a special number to call if you see one near the road and it is important to remember to stop if the Moose is on the road and stay well away from it. They can charge your car and will injure or kill you in the process if it is mating season.

Monument Lefebvre, first French speaking University in the Maritimes, now known as the Université de Moncton. These buildings are part of the National historical park now, the University moved to Moncton some years ago.

Coming back to Charlottetown, we had tickets to go to the Wine Festival held at this time each year. This year was featuring German Wines, we bought a few bottles mostly of dry Rieslings and met with the owner of a winery in the Franconia region of Germany, Regina ZenZen (from the German word for Licence collector) a very nice lady and in her presentation she paired her wines, in this case a wonderful Silvaner with raw Tuna in a light acidic vinaigrette, the chef was Mitchell from Claddagh Oyster House in Charlottetown, one of my favourite restaurant. Mitchell is a great guy only 28 but talented.

We are also now booking a 7 day cruise with Holland America from Amsterdam to Norway, we will spend some time in Holland, I want to re-visit the Rijks Museum now that the renovations are completed. We will also fly first to Iceland for a few days, there are direct flights from Montreal to Reykjavik on our way to join the cruise in September. Other than that we lead a dull life.

Reykjavik, Iceland

 

 

 

 

 

 

As advertised

Tags

#Fake, Charlottetown, life, Montague, PEI, rural, Stratford, villages

The internet is a strange thing and you will find just about anything and everything on it. Living on a small Island, you can drive across, East to West in 6 hours top and go from South to North in 30 minutes, with the total population of one neighbourhood at 150K. PEI is mostly very rural with 2 big towns, Charlottetown 36K and Summerside at 15K, so you can imagine that we do not have the sort of development seen in larger cities in Canada.

So on the internet when I read news items  at the bottom of the page there will be advertisement disguised as more news or general interests stories. The picture will show you an exciting urban development for seniors or top rated lawyers for affordable rates or a dating site for singles in PEI, alluring pictures with promises of varied sexual encounters literally next door. The pictures, for anyone living in PEI, are dead give away, you know this is a scam, none of what is featured would exist so blatantly.

Take the accommodations for seniors said to be very affordable. First the housing situation on the Island at the moment is at 0 (zero) vacancy. Rents on average for a 2 bedroom is $1650 CDN. which is not much in a large city like Halifax or Moncton in the Maritimes or even Montreal or Toronto, but in PEI for many this is near unaffordable. We have the lowest wages in all of Canada coupled with a high cost of living.

Houses for sale average about $450K and this is a huge increase from 3 years ago when houses were half that price. Laundered money from Asia changed that picture all across Canada including here in PEI and has created a real crisis in housing which our governments are struggling to address.

So photos like these appear in ads and will say that this is Montague a small town of 2000 persons 25 minutes from Charlottetown, such buildings simply do not exist anywhere on the Island. Wonder to who this is appealing and what is the message here.

Here we have advertisement for high powered lawyers in Charlottetown at reasonable rates. No one appearing in these photos practice law in PEI. Just generic ads and in fact these actors are Americans. Again who is the target population? The legal profession in PEI is very close knit and like the rest of this little island most lawyers are related to each other in some fashion.

The dating site for singles in Stratford PEI a suburb of Charlottetown, 9000 population is hilarious. Stratford is a mix of suburban and rural setting only 5 minutes across the river from Charlottetown. None of the people appearing in such ads are from the Island, not difficult to figure out. In fact having an affairs in PEI is quite possible and frequent if one goes by the high divorce rate, but keeping it a secret is the real hard part. The joke is that PEI is a lot like the American soap opera Peyton Place.

ACTUAL PICTURE OF MONTAGUE PEI

ACTUAL PICTURE OF STRATFORD PEI under the wing

What do these strange and misleading advertisements say about the people publishing them. They are obviously misinformed about this Island and its place in the Maritime, but do they care? They are promoting a globalist view of PEI, it is not different it is just like any large metropolitan area. We are not rural as a Province but appear in photo as just like any other place in North America, PEI could be Southern Ontario. Whoever creates those is interested only in selling a concept which is unrecognizable from its reality.

 

May 2019

Tags

Charlottetown, island, lobster, Province

Well this month marks our third anniversary living in PEI. I moved with Nicky and Nora in the back of the car snoozing all the way from Ottawa an 1100 Km, fourteen hour drive. Arriving on May 1 from the mainland. The truck with our four and a half ton of belonging would follow a few days later. Will came to PEI in late September, he had to finish a work contract.

It has been a busy 3 years, full of events and happenings. Living in the Maritimes and on a small island with a population equal to old neighbourhood in Ottawa, has its challenges. We always lived in cities of a million plus people, great capitals of the world. Charlottetown at 36,000 often feels like Mayberry, everyone knows everybody, 88% of the population is white and christian.  There is no real diversity, just the beginning of some multiculturalism which is seen by Islanders as quaint. But since 2000 Charlottetown has changed quite a bit and more change is on the way, a large Asian population is visible. Indian families from the Sub-continent form a large contingent. Other towns and villages remain largely homogenous with the exception of Stratford and Cornwall, the satellites towns around Charlottetown. A cosmopolitan area near Montague, pop 2000 with two large Buddhist Monasteries and their distinctive architecture at Brudenell with 1400 monks has attracted a lot of attention, not always positive, despite the charitable work and influx of cash brought by the Monastery.  The challenge is for the Provincial Government to find a way to have these new comers stay in PEI and not leave after 3 to 4 years for cities like Toronto or Montreal, which offer easier integration into society if you are not white and better schools, better health care, better work opportunities, a large international airport. More and more Canadians from the other provinces come to PEI to live and work but they too, like us often face a wall of resistance. Older Islanders the +50 crowd are very afraid of change and our Ex-Premier who was defeated in the last general election on 23 April was very good at playing the xenophobic card to get votes from older people. During the campaign he did not miss an opportunity to remind people of his family ties to the Island compared to his opponents. However the demographics have changed quite a bit and the millennials who voted in the last election point to more progressive and enlighten views and this is a very good thing for PEI. This is why the Green Party has made such a breakthrough, a first in Canada.

So what have we done in the last 3 years in PEI. Well we have volunteered in many areas, got to know a lot of people, been socially active, I ran for Municipal Office. Got involved in the last general election and again met a lot of people. Joined a Club am now am sitting on the board. Raised funds for the PEI Symphony, etc.. Learned about the Island and the people and its place in the Maritimes.

So our lives have become involved in the fabric of Island society. Socially speaking we have been super busy much more so than when we lived in Ottawa. It is easier here to meet people and often spontaneous kitchen parties take place, you just show up.

Has it been a good move?  On the sum of it I would say yes. It took some adjustment and getting to know the Island way. Yes some times we thought what are we doing here, but then we think back and realize that we have a good life.

 

 

 

 

Provincial Elections PEI

Tags

23 april, Charlottetown, elections, Green, Green party, PBB, Politics

Well it seems that we are in election season in Canada. Today Alberta elected an Alt-Right Government, but then that is Alberta for you, a wealthy province with a population known for its racism and bigotry and proud of it. The exception being the 2 large Cities of Calgary and Edmonton who tend to be more progressive compared to the rural areas. The new Premier is Jason Kenney, a closet case, former Federal Minister in the Harper Regime. He is a bigot, a racist, etc and when the media brings it up he simply scoffs saying he was misquoted. We all heard that before. Kenney  wants to declare war on Canada, imagine the Premier of a Province with a 3 million population. Sad little man.

Newfoundland and Labrador is going to the Polls on May 12 and in PEI we are in the final days of our election which promises, if the projections hold, to give us the first Green Party Government.  Very exciting for us in PEI it would finally break the old feudal system of a handful of families ruling the Province as personal property. The current Premier Wade MacLaughlan, Liberal, is very unpopular. A man who came in 4 years ago with lots of high promises and hopes that things would change and nothing did. The Conservatives are no where with 6 leaders in 9 years and a fear mongering agenda. The NDP have two or three candidates and no one believes they will be able to have even one person elected. This leaves the Green with Leader Peter Bevan-Baker who has done a superb campaign, people see him as a gentleman, polite and courteous. Addressing every issue and presenting a no nonsense approach to social questions. I have spoken with him several times in the last 3 years and I am impressed by him. I remember the first time I saw him in a coffee shop near the Legislature, he was busy talking to his staff and it looked like a meeting of sorts over coffee. I nonetheless went up to him, apologize for disturbing their conversation, we shook hands and he asked me a few questions and we had a short conversation but it was very natural and interesting. He also during my own campaign for Municipal Office, listen to what I had to say and engaged me in conversation.  On the other hand I had a chance also to speak several times with the Premier but his manner is totally different, more aloof, distant and not interested. A very different experience.

Peter Bevan-Baker, Leader of the Green Party PEI.

PEI needs a change politically, the current system has produced nothing but stagnation for the last 100 years and the same people and families are always in power or in plum jobs. Corruption is rampant, the mafia could take lessons from the old style politicians here.

The hope is that with a Green party in power things can change. That is what we are all hoping for.

Also with this election, a referendum is being held to change the way we vote. Currently we have the old British system of First past the Post (FPTP) and the choice is to change it to MMP or Mix member proportional which makes every vote count and gives a more efficient level of representation. The old parties, the Liberals and the Conservatives are against any change to the voting system. If we adopt MMP system then we will be the first in North America to do so. If the Green’s are elected, the are currently leading we would also be the first in Canada to elect a Green Party Government. So this small island province of 150,000 people could make history.

Already with advance voting, some 30% of the electorate have voted, including me. The actual election day is Tuesday 23 April.

 

Battered and bruised

Tags

Charlottetown, Club, ER, Health, hospital, medical, nursing, QEH

I wanted to write about the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia we visited in Halifax last week. The City is not far from us at all and an easy ride, it also has great restaurants and many nice sights.

Instead I will speak of a little drama in my life which happened last night at the Club. As a retired person you would never know that I am retired, I volunteer in many causes and work often 30 to 40 hours a week, here and there. Currently I am involved in the renovation and redecoration of several rooms at the Haviland Club, an old mansion celebrating 150 years since its construction in 1869 by a young widow of 33 and single parent Esther Full Lowden, she was also a business women. Her older husband George had died suddenly in 1864 at age 47. She was left with a shipping empire and had to navigate the difficulty of being a women in an age when women were not heard from nor voted, in a very narrow minded society on a small Island.

The house at no. 2 Haviland street is in the Italianate style its quite beautiful and has many interesting features. Its a big job but an interesting one renovating the rooms but it is fascinating as you learn the history of this building.

We are also now in the midst of a Provincial Election campaign voting day is April 23, a strange date since is falls immediately after Easter and in Canada both Friday and Monday of the Easter weekend are holidays and you cannot campaign on Easter Sunday, nor on Good Friday, bad form.

I have been helping out our candidate in District 12 which means canvassing door to door. This week the winds have been very strong and cold even if the days were sunny. I was over tired and kept going anyway. Skipping lunch etc… You know sometimes you just have to stop and have a coffee and a sit down, something I have to learn, I am not 20 anymore.

So on Friday afternoon I went from canvassing on the streets to Party HQ to the Club for pizza and a glass of wine, I suddenly felt very dizzy and I knew I was going to faint. The Club has security cameras and this episode showed how well they work. I apparently fainted twice, broke my glasses and banged my head on a pillar thus the big bruise on my forehead. When I came to I was in the hallway with people around me and the paramedics. Off we went to the hospital sirens blaring. I apparently fainted in ER, have no recollection of that either. Everyone saw the security film at the Club and at the Hospital, I did not, made me smile.

I did ask Will to take the photo of me in ER, it just struck me as funny. We are also planning to rebuild the wheelchair ramp at the Club, a fellow club member had been after me on that topic, so I asked the paramedics how they found it structurally, it’s ok but could be a lot better, it is wood and dates from 1997. I got excellent care at the hospital, very kind and attentive staff, could not ask for anything more. Thank you to all at the QEH in Charlottetown.

The next day I was very tired and still a bit uncomfortable. I will be going back to my doctor to see what can be done about this despite the fact that after all the tests at the Hospital all was normal. Answered all the strange questions they ask to see if you are coherent, no problems there. So life goes on, but at a slower pace, no need to kill myself, I am retired after all.

Needless to say this photo is unretouched.

 

 

 

The year 2018

Tags

Charlottetown, Halifax, memories, municipal, New Year, Nova Scotia, PEI, volunteerism, Wolfville

I was reminded this morning that on 28 December 2012, some 6 years ago I retired from the Foreign Service, time flies when you are having fun as they say. In that time I started to work as a volunteer at the National Gallery in Ottawa, then some 3 years ago we moved to Charlottetown, PEI. We had been looking for some time for a place to retire and the condo we were renting was up for sale, we had to move. Only on the day the new owners took possession which was also the day we moved out,  they told us why don’t you stay,  the new owners had no plan to move in, in the foreseeable future.

We moved with the old puppies and 4 tons of furniture to PEI some 1100 Km away and one time zone Eastward. We have made a new life for ourselves here, involved in a myriad of volunteer activities.

In November 2017 I floated the idea that I might want to run for Office at City Hall. This is a considerable challenge, first I was unknown here in town. I was also warned that not being born in PEI was also a handicap. This is a small Island Province with a total population no bigger than a neighbourhood in a large metropolitan area. It is an Island and though the mainland of Canada is only 12 Km away and visible, it often feels like we are in another country. The Islanders are a friendly bunch but being a small community they are weary of foreigners even if they are fellow Canadians. The Island still operates on the idea that they are a Summer resort which is a shame since there is so much to do year round.

I started my campaign in February 2018 for the seat of City Councillor in Ward 1 in Charlottetown, I met tons of people, made 7 YouTube videos on issues, attended all manner of events around our Ward, knocked on doors, talked with people, participated in a candidates debate, gave interviews to the press etc. It was a huge learning experience, my neighbours are chatty and will give you their opinion on any topic. Many have lived here all their lives, some were even born on the very street the now live on in old age. Some rarely leave the City, let alone cross the river to visit Stratford which is 2 minutes away.  I really enjoyed the inter-action and talking to people, I met and had coffee with other politicians, got advice from other city mayors, councillors in other Wards, Provincial politicians, everyone seemed interested in my campaign, many told me I was a brave soul to throw my name into the hat.

During the Summer, in August I took a small vacation and we visited with our friends MCR & DAW from Phoenix the Province of Nova Scotia which is about 90 minutes away from our home. We met in Halifax, a great city with wonderful attractions and restaurants. Designer Cocktails are all the rage and quite fun. We then drove leisurely towards Annapolis Royal which at one point was a bouncing ball between the French and British Empire with a hostage population of Acadians. This small town is an object lesson in how Empires can mismanage their colonies when distracted by other events in Europe. We then proceeded to Wolfville a college town on the Bay of Fundy and Grand Pré the celebrated Acadian settlement with its museum. The area is dotted with vineyards and good restaurants not to forget the beautiful scenery.

I never realized how much work campaigning was all about. In the end I did not win but did get more than 10% of the vote, which for an unknown like me was an accomplishment. Many people have since asked me to stay involved in City politics and I remain involved and have met with our new Councillor several times since election night. But I was exhausted and quite happy to take a Holiday to Portugal which I really enjoyed. It was a celebration, since Will and I were celebrating our 40 years together.

Finally in the week of 17 December Parliament in Ottawa ended its Fall Session and this will be the last in the Old Central Block of Parliament. The House of Commons is moving to the West Block next door for the next 15 years and the Senate will move across the street to the old Train Station. The Central block built between 1917-21 is undergoing the first renovation ever of all its mechanical system and the entire building will undergo a great renovation to bring it up to the modern age. This means when it re-opens again all the Members sitting in the House will be retired and the same applies to the Senators. The cost of renovating the buildings of Parliament is estimated at $3.1 billion dollars. Already the West Block alone cost $250 million in renovations and the old Train Station was another $210 million.

What will 2019 bring, well I do not know. I will continue with my volunteer activities and will follow developments at City Hall. Our New Mayor is a progressive guy with good ideas and vision for the City, which is a relief and an improvement on the past.

Her Honour the Lieutenant Governor of PEI, the Honorable Antoinette Perry and I at Government House. Every year the public comes to pay their respect on January 1 at the Annual Levée on January 1. I will be on site volunteering on that day and greeting people.

 

Wishing all a very Happy New Year with all manner of good things. 

Bonne et Joyeuse Année 2019.

Canadian Coast Guard wharf, Port of Charlottetown, December 2018 the number 9 has been put in place. 

Getting ready, we are ready

Tags

Charlottetown, dachshunds, Food, gingerbread cookies, pasties, Seafood, thongs, Xmas tree

Well we are 9 days away from Peace of Earth day to quote Mel Tormé. We have our menu all figured out for Christmas day Lunch. Christmas Eve it’s drinks Chez Nous with select friends and for New Year’s Eve we are going to our Club for a drink and sit by the fireplace. That is it, simple no fuss.

Today Will made gingerbread cookies (male-female) for equity sake following the Justin Trudeau Ideology on the topic. I decorated them with icing and was immediately cited by the Morality police, can you believe it. Do I look like Michael Cohen to you? I was directed to decorate them. You be the judge I think they are lovely.

Later I put the star at the top of the tree as is the tradition in this last 40 years in our household. Same dollar store star which has graced all our trees in the best capitals of the World.

 

The Christmas Dachshunds with their home made Xmas scarves, so festive. Our friend Lori gave them to Nicky and Nora.

the ladies have pasties and the men wear thongs all in Xmas colours of course.

Will also made some wonderful sausage rolls, they are soooo good!

This picture is the taste test batch, we will be making more for Xmas Eve Cocktail party.

Will is also making a Tourtière for our Xmas Lunch and another friend is making Ragout de pattes de cochon avec boulettes de viande. (Ragout of pigs feet with meatballs) DIVINE! Typical French Canada fare. We will also have a breast of turkey just to say we have it. For dessert Mulled Wine jellies and Plum Pudding (home made). We will have our Christmas crackers as always. I am thinking of poor Duchess Meghan who will be introduced to this custom this year. Oh well it is all part of her becoming more civilized.

Finally last night after drinks at the Haviland Club where we go every Friday with the other cognocensti of Charlottetown, we had dinner across the street from our home at the Water Prince restaurant, it was their last night before closing for the Season, they will re-open in Mid-April. It is always fun to mark the end of the year this way and Shane Campbell who is the owner and his son are there. The fare is lobster, haddock, mussels, oysters and other seafood. I had oysters to start from Malpeque and grilled haddock, Will had a lobster and a chowder.

Maureen standing behind Will is the manager. The place is an institution in town, it is extremely popular in the Summer time. You can easily wait 45 minutes for a table.

Happy Christmas and Happy Festive Holidays to all! 

The results

Tags

CBC, Charlottetown, life

Well the election took place and the results surprised me and I am puzzled. The bulk of the votes went to one candidate, I think it is called a landslide in election parlance. No that person was not me. However I did receive a flood of message from friends and supporters this morning who congratulated me for a dignified campaign, well run, focused on issues and the City and that is always nice to hear. Yes I am proud of my campaign despite the nastiness, I stayed above it all and refused to engage in negativity.

During this campaign there was a lot of talk about change and how the people wanted fresh air, a new approach. There was also much talk about engaging youth and how they could be voting for change at City Council. All that was nothing more than talk and nothing came of it.

The local newspaper held a televised coverage on Eastlink which is a private service available only to subscribers, the CBC only offered radio coverage. The Guardian invited the out going Mayor to comment on the election of the new Mayor and for the youth panel we had the same 3 faces who represent all youth in the Province to offer their comments which were not terribly illuminating and dovetailed with the out going Mayor’s comments. Engaging youth and youth is our future are themes that come back all the time but I found few young people under 35 willing to put their money where their mouth is. Even the youth panel when asked why they had not put up their names for the election avoided answering and instead fell back on the old canard of no time and other priorities and blame the boomers.

On City Council only 2 new faces in my ward 1 (downtown) and ward 9 (near the airport) out of the ten councillors again not exactly the massive change the people were apparently asking for.

During this campaign I learned an awful lot, this being a small place, the political/business alliances do control all and in some cases in a pernicious way and if they support a candidate, will expect much for their support.

Ward 1 in particular being the downtown core is now firmly in the grasp of big corporate and business elite. This means that the corridor from Pownal to Prince streets and Euston street to the river will see the change business wants and gentrification will now happen in accelerated mode. This is not a bad thing much needs to be improved upon in that specific area if we are to revitalize the downtown core.

Now comes with the end of the year the Budget period and I have a project on this one I started last year and got a little bit of result and now with a new Mayor and renewed City Council I will propose again an open process for the budget. The one councillor who blocked my motion last year is gone, so I may get better results.  I have not lost any time and already reconnected with those councillors with whom I have been working in the last year.

So now time to move on and first a vacation with a departure date fairly soon to Portugal. For my new look, I know with this new look I could be Freddy Mercury’s twin, I bet that is what you are thinking or is it Hercule Poirot.

People now refer to me as a politician, in my life I have been a Public Servant, a Diplomat and now a Politician, it makes me smile.