Tag Archives: Ottawa
Canada Day Celebrations – I
I remember Canada’s 100th birthday, July 1, 1967. I celebrated at Expo67 in Montreal, part of a crowd of, if I remember correctly, 471,000 people who gathered to celebrate the centennial. So when they predicted 450,000-500,000 people converging in Ottawa for Canada Day 2017 I wasn’t deterred by the thought of a crowd that […]
Canada Day 2017
Canada celebrates its 150th birthday today. I can’t decide whether I should head downtown to Parliament Hill for the festivities and fireworks. I haven’t made the trek for at least 15 years, but had decided that this year I should. The fireworks show will be extra-spectacular given the year, and Bono and The Edge (from […]
Into The Sunset
Yesterday’s post was a milestone, and I didn’t realize it at the time. It was my 1,000th post in this space. I just thought it was worth mentioning, given that today’s post is about another milestone. Today is my last day on Parliament Hill. After 10 years of working at the heart of our democracy, […]
A Beautiful Day In Ottawa?
As I was sitting in the upper level of Toronto’s Rogers Centre on Friday, listening to U2, Bono, the band’s vocalist, started talking about Canada. He seems to hold a high view of us as a country. That may be because he hasn’t spent all that much time here, hasn’t had time to get a […]
Ribfest 2017
One of the nice things about working on Parliament Hill is that it is only a block from Sparks Street, which is home to several Ottawa festivals. This year’s edition of Ribfest started on Wednesday and runs until tomorrow. At the annual Poutinefest I have difficulty making a choice, so many tasty possibilities. I find […]
Presto!
I broke the law and have no regrets. They didn’t catch me. Well, technically it wasn’t a law, but I think a city bylaw. I didn’t ask what rules I was about to break, just told the transit employee I was going to take my chances and be riding the bus without paying. Now before […]
Canadian Tulip Festival 2017 – VI
One last look at this year’s Tulipfest with a photo essay. I have at least a hundred photos that aren’t going to get used, but I guess that is the way these things go.
Canadian Tulip Festival 2017 – V
When I go to a tulip festival I expect to see tulips. After all, there are literally millions of bulbs planted in Ottawa as the basis for the Canadian Tulip Festival, here as a reminder of the enduring friendship between Canada and The Netherlands. So I’m not sure how or why one flowerbed this year […]
Canadian Tulip Festival 2017 – IV
A TALE OF TWO CITIES There is a rivalry between Ottawa and Toronto that doesn’t make much sense to outsiders. I hadn’t expected to see it played out though as part of the Canadian Tulip Festival. Ottawa is the national capital. Toronto, five times as large is the provincial capital. Toronto thinks it is the […]
Canadian Tulip Festival 2017 – III
A photo essay today, just to give you a sampling of what you missed at the 2017 Canadian Tulip Festival. Even though essentially I see the same thing every year (I mean, a tulip is a tulip after all), somehow it does seem fresh and new each time. I think that may have something to […]
random thoughts from lorne 
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