How is that possible, so many Easters, if as a child in Montreal, Toronto or Quebec City, Easter was with Good Friday still very religious holidays though it was starting to change with consumerism at every corner. Back then it was the thing to do, to give children live rabbits or live chicks, small children had no idea how to treat these poor animals and many died within 72 hours. It was an Easter massacre but hey it was suppose to be fun for the kids. By the 1980’s the practice had disappeared instead replaced by an orgy of gifts and chocolates and treats for the kids.
In our home we never had live animals, my mother did not like that because it dirtied her house. At Easter we would go for Brunch at some big hotel and would get one chocolate bunny, usually milk chocolate, which I do not like.
So this is a 4 day long weekend. Good Friday is a Statutory Holiday, Saturday some shops will be open for last minute shopping and Sunday is a Holiday. Monday for everyone not working in the private sector it is a Holiday. So around noon time on Thursday lots of people were leaving work for this holiday.
I did all my shopping ahead of time to avoid the crowds on Saturday. The weather however is not good, lots of April Showers and cloudy skies for at least a week.
We are going to friends for dinner on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon for Lunch we are having a few friends. Ham is on the menu this year, panna cotta for dessert.
Hope everyone has a good Passover and a Happy Easter.
The current Pope Francis, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, a Jesuit, has certainly set the Curia (government of the Holy See) on its head. His announcement that he would create new Cardinals from mostly areas of the world where no Cardinals were named before, like Tonga, Panama, Cape Verde, Myanmar (Burma) or to Diocese like Ancona on the Adriatic and Agrigento in Sicily which had been left to bishops for a century surprised many in the Curia and among Vatican watchers. It was noted that this is the second time around where Pope Francis has not appointed any new Cardinals from the USA. There are reasons for that state of affair and the Church hierarchy in the USA is seen as too conservative and unwilling to follow any new direction as presented by Pope Francis, Cardinal Bernard Law is one,Cardinal Raymond Burke who was recently demoted is another example, conservative, narrow-minded and unwilling to follow direction from the boss, unable to understand that a new wind is blowing. In these new appointments Pope Francis is signalling that those who were on the fringe are being brought into the circle. This will no doubt help him with getting the support he needs in the 238 member College of Cardinals for his reform projects.
We have a friend Robert M. who has been a Vatican insider for years and worked for some years at Vatican Radio. He originally had gone to Rome to study theology and become a priest. Then he had a change of heart but decided to stay nonetheless and work as a civilian at the Vatican and later became a journalist and is currently the Editor and contributor to the National Catholic Reporter. His knowledge of the actors and the different Offices and who is in charge of this or that Office or precedent such as who is likely to become a Bishop, Archbishop or Cardinal, the whole political scene at the Vatican etc…He knows it inside out and it is fascinating to hear him talk about a current situation or a past one.
The Holy See (Vatican) is a far more complex affair than most people know. It is a country, albeit a small one, surrounded by Italy and has diplomatic relations with 120 countries with accredited Ambassadors to the Holy See. So there is the political,economic, cultural and diplomatic side of the Holy See and then there is the religious side of it which most people know at the Roman Catholic Church. Pope Francis is trying to reform the political side of the Curia at the Vatican and at the same time presenting a new Pastoral message. A commission of advisors (Cardinals), he chose to advise him on reforms was formed one year ago. He is likely to listen to the like minded Cardinals and sideline the recalcitrant.
I know that some people may think that some in the Curia might try to bump him off to protect themselves and their privileges. This notion comes from the fact the Jean Paul I (Albino Luciani) died in September 1978 after only 33 days in Office, it was said that he wanted to reform the Vatican, no proof was ever presented to these stories of murder plots, Hollywood once again spins a good story. There is also the notion in the publics mind that the Church cannot change or be reformed, many would like to believe the Church is evil, painting a dire picture of corrupt old men. Maybe this is a factor of the age in which we live, everything is seen with a cynical, jaundice eye. This is not to say that there is not intrigue at the Vatican and political games and Pope Francis has called out those practices. What had been tolerated under Jean-Paul II is no longer acceptable.
Pope Francis is proceeding carefully and step by step has introduced new pastoral thinking and guidelines, the Vatican is a huge ship of State which cannot be turned around on a whim. He is also surrounded by Jesuits who are a powerful group within the Church. What is certain is that we are leaving behind the conservative often unbending dogmas of Jean-Paul II, a man who was more of a Public Relations figure too involved in Cold War Politics and that of his successor Benedict XVI who was more about administration and academe than anything else.
During my time in Rome, I was accredited to the Italian Republic and not to the Vatican but I would go from time to time visit our Ambassador to the Holy See whose Office is on Via della Conciliazione, the great street that leads up to St-Peter’s Basilica. We were also invited via the Canadian Embassy to the Holy See to State functions at the Vatican like the Christmas Mass or Easter Mass or for special private visits like at the Apostolic Palace where the Pope works to see art collections or rooms not open to the public. It was a great learning experience to see up close how the Vatican operated.
The world of the Vatican was and is a very special place unlike anything the common mortal might encounter but it is not the world described by the popular press or in movies, that is far too inaccurate.
Georg Philipp Telemann, overture for trumpet and Oboe.
Each year I update in some fashion my blog, a bit like re-painting a wall or re-decorating, a question of refreshing a presentation since time is passing and events of the past take on a different perspective. Per example when I first starting blogging I was in China, I started to put things on a blog to document what I was doing, it was a slow start. Then in Rome the blog took a life of its own because we saw and experienced so many things. We travelled in Europe and our experience were enriching. Now I am retired and though we still travel it is not as frequently and my life activity is different. I am not sitting at home, no not at all, I have many activities and I read a lot and keep busy. But our life now is here in Ottawa and it is not Europe, though we make an effort to live in a European style as much as possible. It is very much part of my life, I have been travelling to Europe since I was 12 years old that was 47 years ago. All this to say that in 2015 I hope my blog will take on a different look and cover different topics.
New Year Puppies enjoying the Festivities. Forefront Nicholas and in the background Nora.
Maybe I will talk more about my Museum experience and what I learn. Maybe more on food and recipes, I always love to read recipes. There will be posts about travel and friends. So keep reading.
Best Wishes to all and thank you for reading and commenting.
Happy New Year 2015!
A recording of 1930, Auld Lang Syne, with Peter Dawson, Australian Bass-Baritone (1882-1961). A spirited rendition.
The Christmas Tree in the great Hall of the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa. (click to enlarge)
On the theme of understanding which I touched upon on my last post entitled Starting Over, I mentioned the idea of understanding other cultures from Foreign Lands and how important it is to make an effort when you travel or live for an extended period of time in a foreign country to get to know the people. Understanding is a word but it is also a concept which brings you to take a different look at others with a more neutral or detached eye. I will not say that understanding means accepting, no, many things are understood but not accepted.They are however not incorrect no matter what one may think.
One place where I lived and where culture, language, tradition and thinking was vastly different was China and countries I visited in Asia, Cambodia, Vietnam and Japan. Simple concepts of everyday life or the way you express yourself and the manner in which you do it, where vastly different. Language is always the number one barrier and the ability to learn another language is a gift. I made the effort to learn the languages with the exception of Mandarin which defeated me.
In many other countries where I lived there were little things of life that could become an Everest and lead to negative thoughts, an example, no fresh milk, for years I drank UHT milk before most people knew what it was here in Canada. Or suddenly having a shortage of eggs, butter or flour, for no apparent reason. Electric power cuts happening at any moment of the day, again for no reason other than the electrical supply was unreliable. You have to accept the fact that a giant power emergency generator is required, sitting in your home garden and must be kept fuelled up, they are also extremely noisy.
Having to wash in iodine solution all non-peelable vegetable and peeling all the others. This meant that any lettuce or berries were off the menu because of the danger of being contaminated. Having to closely supervise any kitchen staff to ensure they kept strict hygiene norms in handling food. You do understand why you have to do all this it is time consuming but nonetheless it does affect the way you look at the country where you live.
Your life is changed by the health condition of the country and you must adapt to it in order to stay healthy but also to maintain a positive frame of mind. There are also safety risks and concerns and it is important to be aware and not play dumb or uninformed.
I also found it important to try to understand the conditions of the country, social and political without offering opinions or suggestions. People will speak of their country you do not need to agree or disagree with them, just listen. History shapes the way countries evolve, the geography does the rest. It was not for me to express an opinion positive or negative or to offer facile suggestions. It was far more important to listen to what people were saying and try to understand their point of view and how they felt vis a vis the West or other neighbouring countries. In Western Africa, I discovered that the many African ethnic groups had deep rivalry and hatreds, racism was alive and well amongst Africans. Many did not think much of those Americans who came to visit Ghana or other Western African countries in search of their roots. They had little sympathy for them, all they were was rich tourists, like all the others. Inter-racial conflicts and wars have been raging in most African countries for years since the 1960’s and such conflicts are exploited by large multinational business interests from the old colonial masters, Belgium, France, Britain, Portugal to this day and African politicians also play wedge politics to retain power. It was a very different scenario from the usual one presented to us by the Media, far more complex, requiring reading and actually living in the region to grasp the situation.
Another area which is much misunderstood these days and where I lived for 8 years, is the Levant or Middle-East as it is commonly called. Egypt in 1989 was not the country of today and my frequent travels to the Sudan gave me a very good appreciation for this ancient culture and its people. I read quite a few books on the history and the geography of the area and it’s more modern history. Anyone can read about the Pharaohs but that is so far away from us to have little bearing on today’s world. I was more interested in the history from 1750 to today.
Then there was my stay and travel to Jordan, Syria and Iran. All in the newspapers constantly these days with much myth making to make the Official story stick. All this to say that all those countries have fascinating history and people. I met so many interesting people, many were just citizens and others belonged to prominent families but everyone had an interesting point of view which made for good listening and a very different perspective on their countries and the world. I came away far better informed and enlightened.
Why is it then that our Politicians get the analysis wrong most of the time? Many are un-educated and motivated by a political agenda based on their own personal quest for Power and greed. I cannot say that I met many intelligent politicians in my years, there were exceptions like Flora MacDonald who was a great lady or Joe Clark a very intelligent and capable man but too honest. Unfortunately I usually had to meet and escort the idiot politicians and staff, who formulate their ideas based on what they think will be popular with the masses and get them votes. The age of great policy making like that of Miracles is past. I also had Ambassadors I respected and who were good career diplomats and people you could learn from by listening to them explain a situation. I also had idiots in that group who thought too highly themselves.
To come back to my original point, I survived 33 years in the Foreign Service because I was willing to be flexible, look at the adventure or opportunities offered, make the effort to see the positive side of each of my 7 postings and other numerous area trips, read and study the area, learn the language and listen to the people and stay away from the poisonous ex-pat crowd, the locals are far more interesting.
To conclude I have here a bit of Russian Music, something to enjoy, best listened to if it is snowing lightly outside, if not close your eyes.
For some time I have been thinking of moving to WordPress, I was since 2007 at Blogger and had made about 740 posts with well over 134,000 readers so far. But I had done nothing about moving until the 26 December when disaster struck. I forgot my password and am unable to remember it. It will not come to me, so I thought here is my chance to move to WordPress. I am starting a new blog with a familiar name Larry Muffin at Home.
Larry is the English version of my name Laurent. The Muffin part am not sure where that came from, since I do not eat muffins and have no particular affection for them. But it came to me and I like the word. Maybe it is because Muffins are nice and give you a warm feeling, like warm Apple Pie or a good soup in Winter.
At home well home has been a theme in my life, since I have travelled our little planet most of my life. I travelled so much in the last 40 years that some people are envious, but travelling is not what it was and I not only travelled but also lived in exotic places when it was still nice out there and fairly safe. But to do this during a lifetime you have to be very flexible, like a 14-year-old ballerina, you have to be willing to accept pretty much everything that is presented to you no matter how foreign it is to you. So my home has been where I made a home for the time being, be it one year or two or more. Then it is time to move and establish a new home. So I re-invented myself all the time in various cultures and continents and made friends with all manner of people. I learned a lot about people but I also learned that often complete strangers were more interesting than my fellow Canadians.
Oh and if you think that I live alone and have no attachments, not so, I have been in a relationship, I say married for 38 years and have had 4 dogs during that time, all Dachshunds, short hair, long hair, and now wire hair.
So now I have re-invented a new life in Ottawa, the Capital of all the Canada. Retired and working as a volunteer interpreter, docent, guide and presenter in our National Museums.
Which brings me in contact with the public and has open a new field of study and learning. Working in the National Museums is also a charm and it makes me happy just to be there. I can say I have been lucky to land there in retirement and thank Fate who propelled me in that direction. I do believe in Fate.
So 2014 comes to a close and I look to the future and I know that 2015 will be full of new adventures.
As for the photo featured in this entry, I took this photo in June 2014 during our Summer visit to Dresden on the Elbe River. It is the Brühl Terrace facing the river Elbe a magnificent area of a city reborn of its ashes in all its Baroque splendour.
Jerry and I get around. In 2011, we moved from the USA to Spain. We now live near Málaga. Jerry y yo nos movemos. En 2011, nos mudamos de EEUU a España. Ahora vivimos cerca de Málaga.
Tutto iniziò con Memorie di Adriano, sulle strade dell'Impero Romano tra foto, storia e mito - It all began with Memoirs of Hadrian, on the roads of the Roman Empire among photos, history and myth!
Telling the stories of the history of the port of Charlottetown and the marine heritage of Northumberland Strait on Canada's East Coast. Winner of the Heritage Award from the PEI Museum and Heritage Foundation and a Heritage Preservation Award from the City of Charlottetown
Larry Muffin At Home 