This morning

Tags

#PEIPOLI, Canada, Charlottetown, homeless, PEI, tourism

This picture is of the Norwegian Cruise ship arriving in Charlottetown this morning, carrying 3800 passengers + crew. It was raining so we saw no one on the street until 11am.

I have to wonder why they even come there is still debris everywhere from FIONA and tonight 4,700 are still without power 3+ weeks after the hurricane.

We are told cruise tourism is very important, really? Well maybe we should go out in our canoe and welcome the rich foreigners with trinkets for sale, sing and dance to get money. The whole tourism industry is such a joke in PEI, it’s all about gouging the tourists. Since FIONA many restaurants and shops have closed early and will not re-open before May 2023. So what is the point?

Well the tourists can visit our solution to homelessness in Charlottetown, since the police refused to beat them up and push them off Island as it had been suggested by some politicians in Charlottetown. We have stark looking containers where they can sleep at night during winter months behind a nice barbed wire fence. Security will also control their movements. They will only have access to the shelter at night after 8pm. This is how much our political class think of anyone who is poor. I am sure they will not mention that to the tourists in Charlottetown a village of 40,000 people.

A slow recovery

Tags

Charlottetown, Fiona, PEI, Stanley Bridge, tourism

More pictures are emerging now of the devastation on the Island. The picture below of Stanley Bridge and area around Cavendish on PEI very bit spot for summer cottages and the Anne of Green Gables story. I was there this summer and the restaurant Carr’s is famous, it all appears gone now destroyed by Fiona.

The problem here like in so many places in PEI, instead of building a proper bridge most are artificial causeway which restrict the normal flow of water. A Hurricane hits and bingo, all is destroyed.

For all lot of tourists coming to PEI they will not recognize the Island after this storm. It will take many decades to see nature in a more picturesque setting. The tourist season took a abrupt halt on Friday and now it is truly over until at least May 2023. After two years of shut down because of Covid now this, it will push many into bankruptcy. Farms have lots their crops, buildings and machinery, a total disaster and harvesting of potatoes and corn had not even started yet. Many farmers will be out of the business all together and probably forced to sell farm land to build tourist cottages and homes. But with the great shortage of manpower, I do not see how any of this can be done. For sure some savvy entrepreneur will buy land cheap from desperate farmers.

Currently what I cannot stomach is our Premier Dennis King constantly telling us how good we are and how we can overcome this, he loves to talk down to people as if we were 5 year old kids. Uncle Denny will explain it all to you, why does he not tell us what his government can do or is doing. Same with the smiling clown Philip Brown Mayor of Charlottetown who tells us he spoke with the Prime Minister in Ottawa, so what! Why is the City not cleaning up the mess already, what are they waiting for. The Federal Government has already sent the army, 100 soldiers, teams of people are arriving to clean up and funds are available. So now I want to see what the Provincial Government will do, to improve infrastructure to bring it up to 2022. Or like in the past will they simply line their bottom line and make us believe in a budget surplus.

Stanley Bridge same area this Summer, the before picture, all gone now. The red roof building above under water.

Tourist season closing slowly

Tags

Canada, cruise ships, gouging, PEI, Politics, Province house, tourism

Well it is a blessing in disguise that the tourists are leaving and every day is more quiet. This has been a busy season but overall there have been big problems the PEI Government and the Tourism Board are not willing to admit openly. The biggest crisis is the lack of staff everywhere, forcing restaurants to operate without enough staff in kitchens or on the floor. Many operators have forced staff to work very long hours for little pay and pushed prices up, gouging the tourist for very average product. One example box wine sold as premium bottled wine. Not uncommon to see $12 to $15 for a 5oz glass of vin ordinaire.

Menus have been slashed, keeping only the most expensive items and no dessert is offered, people are pushed out the door as soon as possible. The other down side with the large extension of the docks in the port, now very large cruise ships at 4000 passengers can come in. The city is simply not equipped to deal with thousands of people arriving in one day. Politicians simply continue to do the happy face and hope for even more people. Profits dictates the course of events. We even had some racist incidents and bear spraying of people and drunk driving at high speed on narrow city streets in the tourist area.

One of the major attractions of the City was the Legislative building Province House, it has been closed for 5 years now due to a massive $100 million dollar renovation program long overdue for a 188 year old building. The building will now be closed for one more year as the interior renovation and reconstruction takes place before it can re-open as a Legislature. Built in the Georgian style of the early 1800, it is a beautiful building.

This week the steel skeleton built on the outside to uphold the walls and prevent their collapse were removed. Thousands of stones had to be replaced due to wear and tear. The roof is slate and the flashing copper. All 103 windows also had to be completely restored to keep the original look.

This is the South Side of Province House facing Great George Street and the river. The huts and barricades will come down once the project is completed in 2023.

The North side of Province House facing Great George street and the war memorial.

Two shows

Tags

car, Halifax, PEI, Spring, tourism, Travel, tune-up

Being members of the Haviland Club and doing the newsletter and involved with memberships means that every week I have a lot to do, all on a volunteer basis. Will being the musical one, his involved with the theatre play reading group and with entertainment.

On Friday 1 and 2 April, we had 2 shows dinner/theatre style. It was a great success and lots of fun. All the shows are done by volunteers, many are Club Members, so it is a lot of work and fun.

The Friday show was located in a real small Italian village of Poggi Bonzi, in central Tuscany.

The second show was about Gypsies or Travellers as they are called now.

It really is Spring now, the weather is mild and rainy. On April 22 in about 3 weeks the first Cruise ship in two years is scheduled to arrive, restaurants are frantically looking for staff and the use of frantically is not an exaggeration. The owners still don’t get it, low pay means no staff after these 2 years of shut down. This also applies to kitchen staff and cooks. It is a really serious issue, but greed has made a lot of owners blind and obtuse in facing this problem. Our politicians do not help either, too many back door deals with business groups at the expense of employees, this is the Island way as they say here.

We also have now a serious problem with Covid infections in PEI, the highest rate in Canada per Capita. The Government gave in to business groups who were crying poverty while riding around in the Mercedes Benz S class. So the policy now is do nothing and let it ride. Not too happy about that but you know money talks.

I really need to go to Halifax at some point, probably next week for 2 days to get some oriental carpet cleaned. It’s an easy drive and it will be nice to leave the Island for the first time in almost 3 years.

Halifax, 500,000 population, originally the city as a military garrison city and sea port was heavily fortified, the citadel is a sight to see. When Halifax was founded in 1749, the majority of residents were from England, Ireland and Scotland. Soon after they were joined by immigrants from Germany and New England. Black people, some from Africa, others escaping enslavement in the United States, settled in or near Halifax beginning in the 18th century.

Today Monday off to the garage for a Spring Tune up and change of tires. I also need my annual inspection for my car licence, it is a bit silly to do this each year but this is the way in PEI. Of course this morning it is snowing lightly, it is called a Spring Snow, how poetic.

Well the weather person was not …

Tags

PEI, tourism, winter

This first part was written on 3 February it was completed on 7 February.

The weather person was not wrong for once, we had the first major snow storm of the Winter, what we usually get in early November happened on 2 February, it was heavy snow, followed by ice pellets, lots of rain and high winds between 80 to 120 km per hour. The sea bridge is closed because of the wind, I am not brave enough to drive on a bridge for 10 minutes when the wind is blowing at such speed.

My poor Nicky was not feeling well this morning, stomach problems, he probably ate something outside which made him sick, his stomach was growling something fierce and he was off food. He only wanted to sleep next to me on the sofa, all snuggled up, so that is what we did.

On a day like today, everything is closed, no schools, no shops, no government, it’s too miserable to go anywhere. Tonight it all looks wet and icy only hoping it does not freeze over because it will be miserable. Mind you I have no where to go.

In other news the groundhog did not see its shadow so it is going to be an early Spring. I am inclined to believe it given how abnormally mild the Winter has been so far. Gives the lie to the Farmer’s Almanac who had predicted a long harsh Winter with record snow fall, well the old farmer missed the mark.

Monday 8 February another snow storm but what came from the previous storm on 2 February all melted away. This means that Monday is going to be a snow day, all will be closed again. Will see if the mild weather will once again melt it all away but at this point Winter is well advanced and Spring is close.

We learned this week that there will be NO cruise ships in Canadian waters in 2021. The Government of Canada is keeping all ports closed until March 2022. I really don’t mind it just means a quiet Summer.

Today the Government of PEI authorized pharmacists to give the vaccines in house. So with the doctors at their Office and Hospital and walk-in clinics it will be very easy to get the vaccine. But when I look at the other Provinces outside of the Maritimes, I am shocked by the gross incompetence of politicians and their lack of clear thinking and constant flip-flopping on what to do and on the other hand the selfishness of people, the me first attitude seems to be the rule. We still have a year to go at least with this pandemic. I know we will not go back to normal or like in the good old days before March 2020, but hopefully the worst will be over soon.

In PEI the good news is vaccination is going well. In Canada over 1 million people have now received their vaccines. It is all looking good.

The look on 2 February 2021 after the first snowstorm of the Season.

This morning 7 February 2021, what will it be like tomorrow after the promised storm.

Is it Friday already?

Tags

Berlin, Cheese, Friday, life, Macaroni, Sword, tourism, week

The weeks are moving faster and faster, the days are long, strange way time is moving, is it all part of this Pandemic. My sense of time has changed and it is related in part to the fact that there is little to do and tomorrow well there is nothing to do. We have to invent activities.

So the mighty Island is closed off to non Islanders, that is people who do not live here permanently and have the paperwork to prove it. The Government of PEI today decreed a State of Emergency which empowers the police to assist the public service in their duties, this decree comes on top of another decree of Public Health Emergency. Both are valid until 30 April 2020 and will most probably be extended beyond that date.

All this means that no one can come to PEI to occupy their Summer Season Cottage, in the Summer we usually have a surge of tourists, many from the USA who have been coming for years to PEI to occupy their second home. Not this year, no that won’t happen. The Sea Bridge, the ferries, all ports and harbours are closed and under surveillance to prevent people from entering PEI. Some have already argued that this goes against Section 2 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms but given our current circumstances it is an acceptable and reasonable infringement on this right to restrict movement.

As an Islander and like many other people living here permanently I am happy with this decision by my Government on this matter. We have been spared the worst of this Pandemic and want to keep it that way. As of 16 April 2020, PEI has 3 active cases, no deaths and no hospitalizations.

ABOUT MAC AND CHEESE

I have been having this discussion on Kraft Macaroni and Cheese with fellow blogger Moving with Mitchell. movingwithmitchell.wordpress.com  who has been delighting us with tales of culinary delight…  So tonight I phoned my little sister who lives in Brooklyn and who loves Mac & Cheese, to ask her if she remembers that Kraft Mac and Cheese dinners congeal quickly once they cool. She confirmed that yes, it is better to make it in your crockpot and simply eat it directly from said crockpot while it is hot and not bother with plates and eating at the dinner table. I should have known this but this fact escaped me. Then I remembered that when at home and I was babysitting her and my younger brother I would make proper macaroni and cheese not the box stuff. This did not prevent them from accusing me in front of our Mom of trying to poison them, such grateful siblings I have.

My sister works at a big palliative care hospital in the Bronx and she is doing fine, though a bit tired. Nonetheless it is a stressful situation for her and her husband who also works at the same facility.

ON OTHER TOPICS

I found this sketch of what the Humboldt Forum former City Palace in Berlin will look like once opened later this year. The dome and the large former chapel below is now called in this diagram the Hall of the Sword Bearer, I do not know why this name is given. The other interesting part which I did see during excavations of the former parking lot in 1998 is the ruined underground portion of what was once the Palace kitchens, it will be possible to visit them, I remember the walls covered in white porcelain tiles.

I do have a Prussian Artillery Officer’s sword, c.1889. It was given to me around 1999 as a Birthday gift by a friend when we lived in Poland. It has the name of the manufacturer on the blade, J.R.O. Brecht, Hoelieferant, (supplier), Berlin. Preussischer Kavalerie-Offizier- Säbel mit Löwenkopf.

 

Delays

Tags

Canada., cuisine, Fishermen, lobster, PEI, Seafood, tourism

Well the good news is that PEI has had NO new infections from COVID19 for the last 6 days and of the 25 people who were sick 23 are now recovered and 2 are at home. The Government of PEI is looking into making even more stringent requirements about anyone coming to PEI and at the moment it is strict, I would say you cannot get to the Island unless you live here permanently and have a home. All others are turned away at the Sea bridge. Our Chief Medical Officer Dr Heather Morisson says this is the only way to beat this thing and everyone must pitch in and observe the rules.

Tomorrow is 15 April and this would have been the day our favourite restaurant for seafood and lobster The Water Prince was to open for the Season. That is not going to happen now. The manager is a good friend of ours and we were talking about the situation.

Of course being a seafood and lobster restaurant, they need the supplies and it will only happen if the Season Opens at the end of the Month. Currently the Province is waiting for the Federal Government and the Ministry of Fisheries and Oceans to give the go ahead. Hopefully it will happen, otherwise it will be an economic disaster for all the fishers all around the Island, the industry is worth tens of millions of dollars to our economy but the fear of Covid19 is great.

Last year I posted pictures of Setting Day which opens the lobster fishing season and how much it means to people here. This year 2020 we do not know yet and it is worrisome. Usually the boats leave at dawn to set their cages in designated area.

I never was much of a lobster eater before coming to PEI, but here the fresh product coming right off the boat into your plate and the quality of the Lobster makes all the difference. Then there is also the Oysters harvested from various coves and bays around the Island, PEI Mussels famous in North America and scallops and the Halibut my favourite fish.

The problem with the Lobster boats is that you really cannot have distancing between people. You have 4 to 5 guys working side by side and it is hard and difficult work. So we will have to see how this is worked out. At the moment PEI will loose about 20,000 jobs just in the Hospitality/tourism industry this Summer. Many operators will not survive since the Summer Season was how many made their money. No tourists allowed on the Island, no business, you cannot really count on Islanders alone to support the whole sector.

Gardens are another area affected, will we be able to visit garden centres and buy some flower flats for our garden, will they open this year. Usually you wait until about 10 June to plant and to organize flower boxes and pots.

So yes there are delays and we have to be patient and all good things will eventually come.

Let’s pray to the Goddess Hestia, whose attributes are Patience, keeper of the Hearth and eternal fire of the home for a quick resolution to this pandemic.

Late Winter

Tags

art., flowers, Roses, Summer, tourism

Today may be the 25 February but the Sun is shining and it is +7 C and the snow is melting. Less than a month from now we will be in Spring, businesses will post help wanted since the tourist season opens around 15 April and the first cruise ship arrives 1 May. It’s also a good thing psychologically to think that Winter is almost done. Also on March 7 the Art Gallery of the Confederation Centre will open a new show by artist Victor Cicansky of Regina and then the Summer show which is a retrospective of painter Robert Harris (1849-1919) who is the famous painter of PEI, though he was born in Wales, studied in Europe and spent most his life in Montreal.

This photo of a bouquet of roses was taken some years ago in our home in Ottawa. I love the colours. To me such a bouquet is a sign of Spring.

First roll of the Summer

Tags

Beach, lobster, PEI, Richard's, Summer, tourism, West Cove Head

Today finally we had some nice weather which was inviting enough for us to go to the beach at Cove Head. We are only 20 minutes away from the beach and the drive up is quiet usually alone on the road. The beach at Brackley is part of the National Park and so it is forested with maritime pines and sand dunes, marshy land and tall grass, beautiful and quiet. There are also some small harbours for lobster boats like Cove Head and a simple shack like restaurant called Richard’s which only serves seafood and lobster prepared very simply like you would have in your kitchen at home. You place your order and pay at the window then you are given an electronic device the size of a small phone and when it beeps your order is ready, you can sit at one of the simple wood tables looking out to the sea and beach or you can sit in your car to eat. The parking lot is small about 30 cars.  Richard’s has become very popular and it is best to go between 3 and 4pm to avoid crowds but still today we waited 20 minutes for our Lobster roll and fries.  It is a generous portion of lobster, I would say half to a full one pounder, chopped up and mixed with celery, salt and pepper and mayo on a hot dog bun. It was delicious. Having lunch late meant no dinner tonight, we are too full.

This being the long weekend of two in a row, June 24 Quebec St-Jean Baptiste Day and then 1 July Canada Day, schools are out for the Summer and so family vacations should start. But where are the tourists? Last night at the Summer Opening of the Art Gallery of the Confederation Centre, a person I know who is well connected to the business circles told me that tourism is down 50% so far this year. There are no tourist, I am not making this up, since May 15 we should have had droves of them all over the place, no what we have is lots of vacancies and half empty flights in and out of the Island. Cruise ships come but passengers do not get off. They are usually in port from 9am to 5pm. Last week only 20% got off a ship carrying 2600 people. The only reason I see so far has to do with the terrible weather we have had in April, May and June. Too many days of heavy rain and blustery winds with well below average in temperature. Even today with a lot of sunshine at the beach is was around 16C and in town it was around 19C not exactly Summer weather. The wind is still strong and cold.

Going to the beach so close to our home is pure luxury, it is so quiet, all you hear is the wind, the surf and the birds.

 

September 1

Tags

climate change, elections, Food, harvest, tourism, USA, Weather

This is the long Labour Day Weekend, the tourism season is drawing to a close, though the cruise ships are still coming until end October and more tourist restaurants are staying open until either Thanksgiving weekend on 8 October some until mid-December.

We certainly did not have the crowds of last year for the 150th Anniversary of Confederation and I was happy that the numbers were more manageable. Charlottetown is a small capital of 36,000. people and when a cruise ship disgorges 1000+ passengers you really feel it. The weather also was far more humid and well above normal range for the Summer at 35C usually the temperatures are more around 25C in the day time and around 18C at night. So this Summer climate change was very apparent and many felt it was a bit weird, get use to it people this is the future. Some days in fact it was too hot to go to the beach and even the sea water bath water warmish.

There are 65 days left before the Municipal election and I can’t wait for the campaigning to end. At the moment things remain very fluid, tonight one candidate withdrew and another one came into the race. Just in my Ward 1 we are 4 candidates for Councillor. In the other 9 Wards there is either the incumbent or one challenger or no one. Ward 1 attracts a lot of attention because it is the original footprint of the City, the old downtown with all the attractions and activity. It is also a very mix neighbourhood in terms of population. Lots of businesses, government offices, historical sites and the harbour.

We have been promised or I should say the predictions are for a warm Winter, last year we got a lot of rain instead of snow and it made for a miserable gray Winter, more like Northern Europe.

What is nice about this time of the year is the harvest of vegetables and potatoes, prices tend to be good.

Now this coming week we will find out about the results of the NAFTA negotiations with Washington DC. Now that Trump has said he is not negotiating in good faith and does not care if Canada does not accept his terms, many Canadians are starting to think that maybe we should pull out of NAFTA. There was life before this trade agreement and as our Prime Minister said ”better to say no to a bad deal than having to live with it”.

I am afraid that after all the insults of the past year from Trump many Canadians including myself will never be able to see the USA in a favourable light again. It appears that Trump believes that the USA can live without Canada, well let him believe that, eventually he will find out it’s not that simple.