Honouring a Hero

Things didn't go exactly as I planned on Saturday.

 

First, I was late arriving at Queenston Heights for the reenactment of the famous 1812 battle.

 

AND every last one of the 15,000 attendees stood directly in front of me.

 

I didn't see a thing. 

 

As far as I knew General Brock might have been able to dodge the American sniper's bullet this time.

 

 

 

 

The only thing I saw was some of the cast of 22 Minutes suddenly materialize in from of me.

(22 Minutes is a satirical Canadian news show.)

I watched Shaun Majumder interview an Iroquois warrior.

If they use any of the clips, they will be on TV Tuesday night.

Then, when I was chatting up these handsome fellows my camera battery died and it started to rain.

I went home grumpy.

The nexr day was better.

I arrived in front of the Niagara-on-the-Lake Court House early.

General Isaac Brock's body was lying in it's coffin beside the body of  his aide-de-camp, Lieutenant Colonel John Macdonnell.

There were a few speeches about the War of 1812 and how nice it is that we are friends with the Americans now, then two horses pulling flat bed carts pulled up in front of the coffins.

General Brock's beloved horse Alfred followed.
 
(Okay it isn't the real Alfred.  There are horse reenactors too.)

We heard the sound of flutes and drums as the funeral procession marched towards the Court House.

British soldiers marched in the lead.

The Canadian Militia followed. 

Many of us in this area had ancestors who fought in the Militia.

Tecumseh survived the Battle of Queenston Heights.* (see comment section for correction)

200 of his warriors were in Brock's funeral procession.

After the warriors passed, Brock's casket was carefully loaded onto the cart. 

Notice the modern military presence.  When one of the reenactors in the uniform of a British officer walked by the soldier he saluted and the man saluted back.

It was very eerie.

As if we'd passed through a portal in time briefly.

More British soldiers followed the cart.

Finally the women, elders and children walked to the funeral to honour General Brock. 

"I well remember the day General Brock ... was killed.  I was at the funeral. I remember hearing the muffled drum and seeing the soldiers standing in line and the bands marched between the two lines of soldiers as the body was carried ... to Fort George and was buried there.  While the American flag at Fort Niagara was at half mast."

Elizabeth Quade


It was an amazing week-end. 

A job well done by reenactors from both sides of the border.

Handy Information

The problem with socks is that when two go into the washing machine, sometimes, very mysteriously, only one comes out.

 I don't feel that we have much control over socks. 

They are a law unto themselves.

Gloves on the other hand are easier to understand because over thousands of years they have become domesticated.

In fact if they are lost, chances are you'll get home and know exactly where you left them.   

Unfortunately it is usually a place to which  you can't easily or quickly return.

And because gloves have no morals, getting them back the next day is a lost cause.

They will go home with any stranger who picks them up.

  

In the above picture you can see Flynn standing guard over my new winter gloves. 

 

I wore them outside this morning.

It is 5 p.m. and


I still have them!!



What a great start to the season!
 

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Judging Others

I watched this video (above) by Sam Harris on TED the other day.

He was speaking about how science can be used to answer moral questions.

He believes that we have the right to judge other cultures. 

He assures us that is not only okay to say that a nation that doesn't allow women to vote or a culture that keeps its women "in cloth bags" and cuts out their clitorises is immoral, it is right for us to speak out against such practices.

And he teaches us how to justify our stand scientifically.

 

My first reaction was one of hope.  "Maybe with a person like Sam Harris in the lead we are actually moving forward," I thought.

But something has been bothering me about the video and it grows with each passing day.

And it is the fact that he assumes we all have to be convinced of this and that we need to stand behind science.

Only men need to be convinced that it is right to speak against a culture that practices something like female genital mutilation.

That one complaint aside, I really enjoyed his talk. 

He is a wonderful speaker and the video is not long.

 

 

 

Related articles

• 'Mitts off my muff': the debate on female genital mutilation
• Can Female Genital Mutilation Be Surgically Undone?

Happy Thanksgiving, Pilgrim

English: "The First Thanksgiving at Plymouth" (1914) By Jennie A. Brownscombe (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

The Puritans and Pilgrims, (the former wished to stay within the English fold, the latter were Separatists), arrived in North America in 1620. 

The painting By Jennie A. Brownscombe, (above), done in 1914 is called The First Thanksgiving.

It shows healthy, clean settlers a year after the landing gathered in a lovely meadow in front of a cosy cabin. 

The table is heavily laden with the fruits of their labours while a docile group of native warriors sits like happy, grateful children in the background.

Right.

The truth is that the Puritans and Pilgrims blundered about for years, always on the edge of starvation. 

They managed to unfriend many of the aboriginal people whose land they were expropriating and they argued incessantly with each other and with their English overlords over theology and money. 

And if you've ever thought that you might have enjoyed being a part of that fun little group please remember that they are the same people who left us the legacy of the Salem witch trials.

 

But hey, I'm not here to spoil your Thanksgiving week-end!

If you are Canadian, eat, drink, be merry for the harvest is gathered.

And be thankful that beef was recalled this week, not turkey.

I Heart a Parade!

I love parades. 

And today was the Niagara Grape and Wine Festival Parade!


The theme this year was "War of 1812".

Grapes are big business here.

This giant wine keg was left outside the American encampment at Queenston Heights in 1813. 

Just as the Americans were getting ready to uncork it, a brave battalion of Canadian Militia plus Laura Secord and Tecumpseh jumped out of it and killed every last one of them.

And that is how we won that war.   In case you were wondering.

Here is one of the descendants of our Six Nation allies.

 
Red coats and plumed hats! 

Very 19th century!

Of course everyone remembers the brave ladies who rode horses into battle with stars stuck to their rumps during the war of 1812!   

Nobody remembered what side they were on so we just cheered and pointed.

There was a large 2012 police presence at this year's parade for some reason.

And the fire fighters were also out in full force. 

Here they are taking donations for Community Cares and the food bank.

All the little girls wanted a princess hat!

Did I mention there were lots of horses in the parade this year?

This was my favourite part of the parade. 

These guys put on quite  show!

And they were "mature'! 

I told my friend Nadine that if we were lucky we might get a date!

I liked them, okay?

Really!

These fellas were just beautiful!

This is a replica of the plane WestJet flew during the War of 1812.

Now here is something that they never tell you in history class.

Apparently after he fell during the War of 1812, General Isaac Brock started a rock and roll band.

But he still finds time to keep the Americans on their side of the Niagara River with his trusty cannon.

A great many Irish and Scots fought in the War of 1812.

Then they all moved to Grimsby.

As I was taking all of this in, I felt someone tickling my foot.

He looked up at me and laughed.

This is the latest in grape harvesting machines. 

It's beautiful, all shiny and new!

 This was the best parade I've seen in years! 



 Rather than fight Our way upstream we followed the crowd to Montebello Park.

Because that's where the food was.


I had a piece of pizza.

All of the local wineries were there - serving and selling.

Next I tried a rice ball.

It was a 5 YUM experience.  I hadn't had one before and was pleasantly surprised by the cheesy centre.

Then I had a local vegetable tostada.

And little piggy that I am I finished with an apple kirchen with caramel.

Then we sat and watched the Six Nations Dancers.

They invited some people to go up on the stage and join them but by this time I weighed 2,567 pounds so I just watched.

It was a great day for a parade and a picnic in the park.

I can't wait for next year!

Related articles

• Multiple events to mark War of 1812
• Plattsburgh commemorates War of 1812 victory

The New American Normal

Moby Dick (2010 film) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sometimes I despair for our American friends.

Watching them go through their painful election process is like being forced to stand by and watch the death throes of Moby Dick.   Except that this Moby Dick never dies - just keeps on suffering for months and months and months every four years.

***

I don't usually blog about television shows, definitely not American ones, but last night by happenstance I watched a show called "The New Normal". 

Probably everybody in the world knows about it but me, but just in case you haven't seen it I can tell you that it is about a gay couple, (not sure if they are married), who have hired a surrogate mom to have their child.

Last night episode had a lot to say about American politics. 

Don't get me wrong - it is a sitcom, but underlying it all there was a serious message.

 

On the surface the 'good' characters were mostly young Democrats. (In Canada this would be like the Liberal Party with maybe the NDP thrown in for good measure).   

The audience was set up to dislike the Republican, rich old lady who spoke in a nasty, strident voice. (Think Stephen Harper and the Conservative Party).

 

The problem is that she spoke some truths that many of us left leaning types don't want to hear.

 

It was a bit heavy handed, but I haven't seen a decent show that dealt with current issues this well since "All in the Family".

 

It helped me get a better grasp of what this election means to Americans. 

(I just wish they could do it faster.)

 

Anyway I'm going to try to remember to watch it next week.

 

***

PS Just so I don't feel compelled to do a second blog on TV shows, I must tell you that I've become hooked on "The Murdoch Mysteries." Set in Toronto in the 1890's it is wonderful and in its own way deals with some interesting issues such as women's right, religion and abortion. 

Looking Bon Here In TROC, M. Charest

English: Quebec premier, Jean Charest (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So there I was, innocently drinking my morning coffee, curled up on the couch catching the news out of Toronto this morning.

It was an early Fall morning like any other in Troc, (i.e.,The Rest of Canada, as in 'Quebec and the Rest of Canada'), coolish and rainyish. 

The television pumped out the usual news: Armageddon in the middle east; election Armageddon in the USA; more nude pictures of the Duchess, etc. etc. 

Nothing that would prepare me for what was to come.

 

Suddenly the camera cut to Alberta.

Edmonton, Alberta to be exact.

 

Peter Loughheed's funeral to be even more exact.

(Peter Loughheed was a giant among Canadian politicians.  A former premier of Alberta and admired right across the country.)

 

But who the heck was speaking at the podium - in English, right here in Troc, and looking all rested and Prime Ministerial??????

None other than the former Premier of la belle province, M. Jean Charest!! 

 

And I must say that  after years of only seeing him in grainy photos smuggled out of Quebec by Peter Mansbridge, he was looking good.

 

Now it isn't for backwoods Troclanders like me to wonder why. 

Ours is but to do and die and speculate along the way.

 

Hmmmm.

A seasoned bilingual Liberal politician is on the loose.

One with deep Quebec roots and experience at the Federal level.

The Federal Liberal Leadership campaign is coming up.

Does anybody else add it up and get an answer that might scare Justin Trudeau?

 

 

3 Cheers For The Star Spangled Maple Leaf

Evidently the Brits are behind us 100% in our campaign to become
the next president of the USA.

In case you missed it here is the Queen endorsing our bid:

Honk if You Still Love Quebec

Canadian Flag (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They are at it again.

Yes the Parti Quebecois no sooner took power than they got rid of the Canadian flag in their legislature.

(Where it oughta stayed.)

 

I've blogged about this before and I haven't changed my mind.

I can't see why, in our wireless, computerized world, it would matter if Quebec goes or stays.

 

Figuratively speaking. 

Literally they aren't going anyplace.

 

Suppose ten years down the line, they have another referendum, as they are promising that they will, and that time, the unthinkable happens.

 

What are we going to do?

Send in the army?

Put tanks on the streets of Montreal?

 

I can't imagine anyone wanting that.

 

 

We need to get over our hurt feelings. 

If they decide to go, so be it.

And, my sorrowful, somewhat bitter friends,

that means making sure that they are financially able to manage independence. 

Jeesh.

I wish I cared more.





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