Monthly Archives: April 2017

Vimy Ridge Centenary

It was one hundred years ago today that Canada became a nation, or so the social historians like to put it. Nationhood is an elusive idea. Canada became a country on July 1, 1867. We were not completely independent though. It wasn’t until 1931 that our Supreme Court actually became supreme. Before that you could […]

Feeling Lazy This Morning

The National Gallery

I had been walking around central London for about three hours, just drinking in the atmosphere. Wandering through Trafalgar Square I noted that admission to the National Gallery was free. I don’t usually mind paying for museums and similar attractions, not even the inflated places some of them charge. I know it costs money to […]

Crown Jewels

The governor general is irrelevant to most Canadians, even though he is the head of state. Strangely enough though, he managed to inconvenience me when I was in Stockholm. I know, Sweden is far from Ottawa, but he managed it. It was Sunday and I was headed to a 3 p.m. church service, which left […]

The Phone Booth

I think they leave them up for the tourists to take selfies. It’s not like anyone uses them to make a phone call. These days everyone has a mobile phone. I didn’t even look to see how much a call costs. The red phone booths are prominent in downtown London. They are an iconic image […]

A River With Personality?

I hope they were only trying to make a point about our duty to the planet. When I read the news story I wondered. Maybe they had completely lost their mind. After all, we are talking about politicians here. Legislators in New Zealand have bestowed personhood on a river. I have a few problems with […]

The Guards’ Chapel – II

I had my say yesterday about this church. Today some extra pictures.

The Guards’ Chapel – I

I am always uneasy at the relationship between church and state, especially when they become intertwined. Jesus said we should give the state the respect it deserved. Paul, a little later, urged Christians to pray for those in authority, which seems like a really good idea these days. No matter which country you are in, […]

The 2017 Juno Awards

I’m not a big fan of music awards. Inevitably the wrong artist or record wins, at least in my opinion. I even found that to be true when I was on a panel judging a national music award that shall remain nameless. I was the only judge from outside a certain geographic region – and […]