A dreary weekend - with a couple of highlights

We spent the weekend on the west end of Beaurivage this weekend. Last week was absolutely gorgeous so, of course, it began to rain on Friday and continued until late Sunday afternoon. We are beginning to reach the point in the year when docking is somewhat determined by water levels (which are declining by the minute - down 30 inches from the mid-August). Even mooring at our own dock is becoming dicey.

We were, according to the Parks Canada staff, the only boat on Beaurivage this weekend. The wind was from the east and the north-east, so the west dock seemed the logical place to go. It was actually quite calm and pleasant there and if we were looking for solitude it was the perfect place. It drizzled and rained pretty much all weekend so we got a lot of reading done. We also watched several episodes of "Monk"; bro-in-law gave us a box set of this very clever TV show which is only occasionally seen in Canada and they have become our boating entertainment.

We came in earlier than usual on Sunday to connect with PetDoc on Skype. We had a nice chat and got a chance to see Noise playing tennis, baseball, and bowling on their new Wii. Buggy and Geordie got to say hello through the miracle of cyber-communication. Have a great time in Paris next weekend (PetDoc & Noise, that is - not Buggy and Geordie!)

The second highlight of the weekend was a concert we attended tonight at MacNeil's Landing. Maryanne Wainman (with whom I've worked many times), Len Whalen who, in his own words "has been Jesus longer than Jesus was Jesus" and Scott Davey did a dinner/concert programme of Broadway selections. We oldsters tend to do Broadway songs from "Carousel", "The Sound of Music", and the like - these 'youngsters' put together a fabulous evening of songs from "Jesus Christ, Superstar", "Phantom", "Les Mis", "Rent", "Hairspray". It was thoroughly enjoyable. Kudos to Cliff Edwards for making his restaurant venue available for this kind of entertainment.

Not really a new post, but ...

Now that the whole Bluffdweller clan has visited Platform 9 3/4 - thought it would be appropriate to post all the documentary photos:

Poker is NOT a Game Show

On a trip to visit bro-in-law in Atlanta, we were exposed to the Game Show Network (GSN). When it became available on digital cable in Canada, we subscribed and immediately became addicted to Family Feud (with a Match Game chaser). Now, due to the constant broadcast of poker on GSN, we have become addicted, instead, to CSI on Spike TV. The Sports Network (TSN) broadcasts a lot of poker, too. This leads us to state, unequivocally: POKER IS NOT A GAME SHOW or A SPORT! Get your own network - TPN!

Back on the River

We're back in the 1000 Islands and have enjoyed two nice weekends in the islands. Although less boat traffic is probably an indication of some sort of economic down-turn, it sure has a positive side for us locals. We spent Labour Day weekend on a dock where we've never spent a night before - the main crib dock on the north-east side of Aubrey (Burnt) Island. Although there was a lot of bouncing because a main channel runs past nearby, we met some very interesting people and had a great time. Although one might expect the greatest amount of wash would come from the passing tour boats, they're actually very considerate. It's the yahoos zipping by full-out in their pseudo-cigarette boats that cause the greatest problem. Mix testosterone with gasoline and it's way more of a nuisance than alcohol - maybe not as dangerous, but certainly a pain.

This weekend we spent Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights on Beau Rivage. Met up with some boater friends and enjoyed the weekend immensely. There's still enough water for us at the south floating dock in the main bay (though the water has dropped at least a foot from mid-summer), but it dropped another 6 inches during the three days we were there. The weatherman threatened rain most of the weekend but Friday was gorgeous, Saturday was overcast but no rain, and it only rained a tiny little bit Sunday afternoon. With three dinghy-shuttles to make, that was a relief.

Olympic fever

Sunday, August 24 - Today is our last day in London (this time) and also the last day of the Beijing Olympics. As the 2012 Olympics are in London, there was great interest in the closing ceremonies and the Olympic Flag 'Handover Ceremony'. A party on The Mall has been sold out for months but the festivities in Beijing were being broadcast on big screens in a couple of other locations in London. We chose Trafalgar Square and about 11 am headed out on the tube. We found a fabulous seating spot on the wall of a fountain very near the big screen and PetDoc headed off to get us some sandwiches while we held the spaces. VISA handed out 2012 flags for us all to wave and the crowd cheered as the successes of Team GB were displayed by the BBC on the screen.

The handover of the Olympic Flag and the British presentation featuring a double-decker bus, Leona Lewis, Jimmy Page and David Beckham were enjoyed by the crowd. The fireworks were not nearly as exciting, however, on the screen as I'm sure they were in Beijing.

After the show we headed over to see 'The Gherkin' and went souvenir shopping through Leicester Square, Tower Hill and Piccadilly Circus. Satisfied with our remembrances, we headed back to Greyhound.

For our last supper (and since we hadn't been to a pub yet today) we caught a bus to The Jolly Maltster, where we all had the Sunday Roast (some had lamb and some beef). It was generous and delicious! A great way to wrap up our London visit.

Tomorrow it's home again. Our flight is at 1 pm, so we can be relatively leisurely in the morning to pack and get to the airport. The Singer is meeting us in Ottawa and after a brief tea-stop we'll be off to Gananoque.

Bognor Regis

Saturday, August 23 - When we went to see 'Glorious' at the 1000 Islands Playhouse earlier this summer, there were references in the piece to 'Bognor Regis'. We figured at the time that we were probably the only ones in the audience who had ever actually BEEN to Bognor Regis. Let me tell you why ...

Gananoque has got quite an airport for a community of 5000 residents. There's a reason! The Link Manufacturing Company in Gananoque produced the 'Link Trainer' - a flight simulating device to train pilots. In 1943-1944 hundreds of allied pilots were brought to Gananoque airport - some to train, others to be trained. One of the trainers was an RAF pilot named John. These visiting airmen were often entertained in Gananoque - one such event was a dance at the Gananoque Golf Club. At this dance John met a young woman named Alice, one of my mother's best friends (see, this isn't just a random World War II story!!)

Well, as you can guess, the two fell in love and Alice moved abroad, to be married in a little church in John's home town of Bognor Regis, on the south coast of England. They had four children and (since Alice's family still lived in Gananoque and John was a BOAC pilot with staff privileges) made frequent trips to Canada. The children were sort of like cousins to me and the eldest, Kate, is my mother's god-child. In later years, John and Alice often holidayed with Mom & Dad and and Ted and Clare, travelling across Canada and to Florida. This continued connection with John, Alice and their family has always been special for us. One of the reasons for our trip to Clovelly when we were in Cornwall last week was Mom's fond recollection of her trip to Clovelly when she and Dad visited John and Alice in England.

Sadly, both Alice and Mom are now gone but the Bognor Regis connection lives on.




Saturday we, along with PetDoc and Noise, took the train to Bognor Regis and had a lovely day at John's cottage in Felpham, visiting with him and two of his daughters. We had a delightful lunch, walked along the seashore, watched some Olympics, and then caught the late afternoon train back to London. I doubt that this will be our last trip to Bognor Regis.


Tonight we went to a pub which specializes in Bangers and Mash - I ordered a safe choice (pork with cheese) and was startled when my dinner arrived with the announcement that they were out of that selection and had substituted Wild Boar. Delicious!!!!

Tourists again

Friday, August 22 - Today we visited a couple of London must-see institutions - the British Museum and the British Library. Of particular interest in the former were the Greece exhibits, wherein the frieze and sculptures from the Parthenon are displayed, the Rosetta Stone, and the Egyptian wing with its sculptures (including a piece of the Sphinx) and mummies.

It was a nice day so we decided to walk to the Library. Note to self: the number 91 bus which stops outside the Museum stops shortly thereafter at the Library! We limited our visit to the Sir John Ritblat Gallery: Treasures of the British Library. Among these are: original musical manuscripts by Handel, Mendelssohn, Beethoven and Mozart; the Magna Carta; early maps showing Ireland nearly as big as England; Shakespeare manuscripts; a Gutenburg Bible; pages from Leonarda da Vinci's notebook - well, you get the idea. One highlight for me (sounds plebian after the aforementioned list, but it's not) is the Beatles display. Here there are handwritten lyrics (some with corrections) for many familiar Beatle songs. I think my favourite (maybe it's the teacher in me) is the handwritten lyrics to "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" with the notation "3/10 - See Me"

Our daily pub visit today was to O'Neill's, near the King's Cross tube station. We went for the 'Pickers and Sharers' - a combo of 4 starters (we chose cod, prawns, potatoes (with cheese and bacon) and chicken wings). We thought we'd get a plate with a couple of each (as we had at 'The Shakespeare' near Victoria Station) and were startled to be presented with generous portions of all four choices. The atmosphere was a little more like Kelsey's than a pub, but the food was great!

We stopped at the butcher shop near the Baron's Court station to pick up lamb burgers and chicken brochettes to barbecue and then walked through the cemetery (a wonderful short-cut and well-used) to Greyhound. Took Buggy for a short walk and then relaxed until PetDoc and Noise returned home from work for supper.

Saturday we're off to Bognor Regis, but that's a separate entry. Sunday we're planning to participate (as spectators) at Trafalgar Square in the Handover Ceremonies being broadcast from Beijing. The Olympic Flag will be handed over by the mayor of Beijing to the mayor of London (2012 and all that, you know) and there's going to be a city-wide party here. We wouldn't come to London for it, but since we're here ...