Today is the 79th anniversary of the Allied invasion of France, the first step in liberating occupied Europe from Nazi domination. I thought it might be appropriate to repeat this post from 2014. They knew it was coming. Not the exact date or time, but there was a sense of inevitability. One day they would […]
It had been a long day. And the friend I was with lives just outside London, so I didn’t want to bore him by visiting sites he’d seen dozens of times before. But he’d never seen the Burghers of Calais, one of Auguste Rodin’s most famous sculptures. I will admit to being a little surprised. […]
It is the annual Doors Open weekend in Ottawa, where various public buildings – churches, embassies, museums and other public and private places of interest – are open for free tours. You can’t possibly squeeze them all in. I’ve probably been in about half of them before anyway, and it being a busy weekend already, […]
I’ll admit it. I’m addicted to the printed word. I’m happiest with a book to read. Pretty much any book. I went to the British Museum in London last month. It was information overload in many ways, and I will share some thoughts about the exhibitions shortly. It was what I couldn’t see that intrigued […]
As the booths went up I realized it has been five years since I last was able to participate in the annual Ottawa Ribfest. I had forgotten just how much I had missed it. I missed a couple of years because I was living in Germany. Then they canceled it due to the pandemic. Ribfest […]
My friend Carolyn, who had a hit a few decades ago (my how time flies) with a song called “Seize The Day,” posted the image above. Apparently it has been floating around the internet for a while and people keep sending it to her. I too have days when I realize it was probably a […]
In all the pageantry and ceremony surrounding the coronation of King Charles III, I doubt the British people have paid much attention to his relationship with the colonies. Which doesn’t mean there has been no discussion of the monarchy in those colonies. Canada had strong ties to Queen Elizabeth II as the only Queen most […]
It’s not often you hold an almost 2,000 year old coin in your hands. The rare time I use cash and get change in return, none of the coins is older than a decade. I got the opportunity to hold this one at the British Museum last week. To bring the experience home to museum-goers […]
It seems more civilized somehow, but I can’t see it going over in North America. Our sports system is different. I went to a football (soccer) game in London. I figured while I was in the UK I should take in a Premier League game, arguably the best in the world. Many of the team […]
I went to services at two different Anglican churches last Sunday, which is not my usual practice. I wanted to experience a bit of family history. My father-in-law came to Canada from the UK, but had during his lifetime also lived in India, Ireland and Palestine. He was an inventor, working primarily in the automotive […]
random thoughts from lorne 
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