Winter and Lockdown

Tags

CBC PEI, Food, island, Mainstreet, Matt Rainnie, PANDEMIC, Radio, winter

For the last 2 years PEI had avoided Covid19 and the worst of the pandemic, we had some cases but overall it was as if the pandemic had forgotten about the Island. With the New Year 2022, suddenly cases are surging, from a handful to suddenly hundreds of cases, the 2 first death and some 8 hospitalizations. You might say only 8 people in hospital that is nothing, however we only have a total of 20 ICU beds.

What has caused this upsurge? During the Christmas Holiday everybody was travelling around the world or elsewhere in Canada. They had to travel, to see family they don’t really like or because of mental health, which has become a new separate pandemic. It use to be peanut allergy now it’s mental health.

Yesterday the Chief Medical Officer for PEI announced that all restaurants, bars and gyms would close for 2 weeks at midnight. Guess what, the announcement came in the afternoon and last night restaurants and bars were packed to the gills. It would appear that we are dealing with a society full of indulged, selfish, spoiled brats who are unable to think like adults. On the radio, Matt Rainnie who has the popular late afternoon show Mainstreet on CBC, was going on about how times were tough and could people call in to suggest happy songs to get us through these tough times. I sent a message to Matt asking if he was serious, I can think of much worse times in the last 100 years, World Wars, Great depression, Cuban missile crisis, Vietnam war, economic crisis. Now we may get a war in Europe between NATO, Ukraine against Russia, with the possible threat of nuclear war, which would be curtains for all of us.

The weather here is definitely cold -29C today, bone chilling at least it is sunny and the city has started to clean the streets from last Friday’s storm. I also got my booster shot yesterday at the pharmacy, took all of 4 minutes. No reaction so far and things are fine.

I did do a bit of grocery shopping also on Monday, I had a bit of a shock as I entered the store, the display on the right which is all fruits, salads, vegetables, the shelves were completely bare, nothing at all. On the left side the shelves were full of breads, biscuits, cakes, package cheese, deli counter offerings etc. In Winter if the bridge to the mainland is closed for a day or two, suddenly we have shortages in the grocery stores. The bridge was close on Friday/Saturday/Sunday the winds over the Strait were so high at 130Km per hour at one point, no one can cross the 12 Km over the sea far too dangerous. At some point the bridge is 300 feet above the water to allow for large ship to sail under it. Before 1997 when the bridge did not exist, shortages of food on the Island were frequent, but people had farms and gardens so amply supply for meat, eggs, cheese and potatoes not to mention other dry goods. But it was a more simple time.

The old Abegweit ferry of PEI bought by the Chicago Yacht Club and used since 1983 as their Club House at Monroe Harbor in Chicago.

On Monday night we also had a power outage for about 90 minutes, which is rare for us. Luckily this happened after 08:30pm. This is why we always have candles around the house just in case all Winter long. It was dark but only in the old downtown area by the river where we live. There was an aura in the distance in newer parts of the City, across the river in South Port lights were on. We simply went to bed early, the dogs did right away, it’s dark, we sleep. However this darkness was peaceful and relaxing the neighbourhood looked different, quiet.

I heard a good joke the other day, For 5000 years man ate bread, suddenly in just the last 10 years we are all Gluten intolerant. Yep that explains a lot about today’s world.

MDR

Tags

Claude Monet, dachshunds, Japan, MDR, MDR MITTELDEUTSCHER RUNDFUNK., NHK, Radio

For some years now we listen to international radio broadcast on the internet. When we live in Italy it was RAI the Italian radio and television broadcaster. In Beijing I use to listen to NHK the Japanese national broadcaster, ok it was all in Japanese but I just loved the way they read the news, it was so relaxing no matter what the disaster.

At the moment it’s MDR (MITTELDEUTSCHER RUNDFUNK), they have a great selection of classical music and concerts and news of course all in German. When I listen to it, it is usually during the night in Germany due to the time difference +7 hours with Canada. It maintains the illusion that we are in Europe.

Tomorrow at the National Gallery the Claude Monet show opens. It is all about bridges, a bridge to modernity, young Monet paintings before he was known or truly appreciated. The National Gallery has 9 Monet and for this exhibit other paintings featuring bridges painted either when he was in living in London or Paris after the Franco-Prussian war of 1870 or elsewhere will be featured. Truly modern paintings when you look at the Academic and romantic style of the time, including the Pre-Raphaelites. http://www.gallery.ca

The National Gallery is having a Pre-Raphaelite exhibit at the moment built around a recent gift by Dr. Lanigan of Saskatoon who all his life collected their work.

The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (later known as the Pre-Raphaelites) was a group of English painters, poets, and critics, founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais and Dante Gabriel Rossetti. The three founders were joined by William Michael Rossetti, James Collinson, Frederic George Stephens and Thomas Woolner to form the seven-member “brotherhood”.

The group’s intention was to reform art by rejecting what it considered the mechanistic approach first adopted by Mannerist artists who succeeded Raphael and Michelangelo. Its members believed the Classical poses and elegant compositions of Raphael in particular had been a corrupting influence on the academic teaching of art, hence the name “Pre-Raphaelite”. In particular, the group objected to the influence of Sir Joshua Reynolds, founder of the English Royal Academy of Arts, whom they called “Sir Sloshua”. To the Pre-Raphaelites, according to William Michael Rossetti, “sloshy” meant “anything lax or scamped in the process of painting … and hence … any thing or person of a commonplace or conventional kind”. In contrast, the brotherhood wanted a return to the abundant detail, intense colours and complex compositions of 14th century Italian art. The group associated their work with John Ruskin, an English artist whose influences were driven by his religious background.

Well it is now Official our lease ends on 31 July 2016 and we must move. Our landlord has told us that he is selling the condo. We have been here for almost 5 years and enjoyed the area. So the wheels are in motion and more announcements to come.

As for our little Hounds Nick and Nora, well on Wednesday they are starting another 8 week session of training. It will be a bit of a shock for them, so used they are to lounging. Dachshunds are a difficult breed to train because they are very independently minded and very intelligent.

Nicola di Capena or Nicky for his friends

Eleonora di Capena, Nora for her friends.