Well, that makes sense

Since moving to Toronto I have wandered up and down University Avenue manys a time. I have ambled past the Canada Life building and looked at the spire that sits on top of it. Today I was informed that the spire is actually a weather beacon. It shines red for rain, white for snow, and lights run up or down to indicate changes in temperature. I had wondered about the significance of the different coloured lights and now I know. I have also learnt that Canadians are avid weather watchers, having an entire TV channel devoted to the weather.

I too find myself checking the weather forecast frequently and dressing accordingly.

Hurricane Hazel

Mississauga is a city that borders Toronto. It has had the same mayor for thirty years, "Hurricane Hazel" McCallion. I discovered this yesterday while watching the news. She is much beloved by her city, in fact she has been re-elected on more than one occasion without her running an election campaign, and with a 90% majority. What is even more amazing is that she is 87 years old and still going strong.

The beginning...?

I am known as something of an adventurous eater, and last night I was celebrating the New Year with friends from foreign parts. While there my Mexican hosts said that I should consume something Mexican and promptly brought out some dulce de leche. Presumably expecting to introduce me to a new food, and perhaps the beginning of a life long love affair. I had already sampled this South American delight and promptly enjoyed a spoonful or two. However their dulce de leche tasted a little different to what I was expecting. It was sweet but it had a slight tang to it, which was familiar but I couldn't quite place it. Then I my friends told me that their dulce de leche was made with goat's milk. This promptly explained the tang that I had tasted.

I'm still not sure whether I liked it enough to want more, though the tang did cut the sweetness.

May you all have a healthy and prosperous 2009!

The end...?

So 2008 is drawing to a close, in fact in several places across the globe it is already 2009. I have learned many things this year and it must be said that I am glad to have learned most of them. So as the year draws to a close I have been indulging in my love of words and have learned a new word with which to pepper my conversations and such. It is a word to describe a fake suicide, pseudocide. I can't honestly think of an occasion when it would come in useful.

But it is a word that invokes ideas of a fake end and a new beginning (plus an insurance scam).

Dry State

Tomorrow is New Year's Eve, an occasion not noted for its sobriety. Thus as a contrast to the gallons of alcohol that will be consumed tomorrow night I give you the example of Oregon. As I am sure you are all aware the USA banned alcohol for a period from 1919 to 1933. However Oregon had twice baned alcohol before then. The first time was in 1844, but this was repealed in 1845. The second time was in 1915. After 1933 alcohol in Oregon can only be bought in OLCC (Oregon Liquor Control Commission) run liquor stores. Which is in some way similar to the situation in Ontario.

But where there's a will, there's a way...

Big Red Bus

One of the stereotypical images of the UK is the red double decker buses that tootle around London. However most of these Routemaster buses were replaced by flexi-buses, leaving only two heritage routes. I was surprised to learn that the re-introduction of Routemaster buses was an issue on the 2008 London Mayoral election. Seeing as Boris Johnston, who won the election, favours a return of these buses. There was a competition to design a new Routemaster, and the winners have been closed. It is expected that a proto-type will be unveiled in 2011.

Just in time for the Olympics, eh?

Foreign Parts

The mothership has a habit of referring to far away places as foreign parts. So you can imagine my amusement when doing some reading today I discovered that there was a Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts. This society was founded in 1701 as an Anglican missionary organisation. Amazingly it is still in existence, but its first missionaries did work in North America, which is how I came to learn of it.