All posts by Gina

Winter shores

General, Sightseeing,

We have continued to be blessed by the most amazing mild, sunny weather. The sunlight seems much more intense than in the UK – so often as I look at the Lake I think of the phrase ‘shining waters’. Perhaps this is less surprising when you realise that London is actually a lot further north at latitude 51N than Toronto at latitude 43N – the sun really is stronger.

Whenever we go walking on the shore, as we did on Sunday, I still pinch myself! It is so beautiful, so incredibly peaceful and restorative, yet here we are living in a major city.

And the expanse of sand at Woodbine Beach as it curves into Ashridge Bay is to die for . . .

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Film at the Fox

Leisure,

__FOX_logo Last night we became members of the longest running cinema in Canada. It opened its doors in 1914 without a name, briefly running as The Pastime, before becoming the Prince Edward in response to Great War patriotism. For more than 70 years, since 1937, it has been known as The Fox Theatre, a mainstay of the Beach community.

In going to a film at the Fox, what struck me was the way in which our homogenised, glossy multi-screens have actually reduced rather than heightened pleasure in a trip to the cinema. I can’t remember the last time I enjoyed going to a cinema this much, as opposed to enjoying the film. There was a sense of being part of an audience sharing an experience; as well as fresh popcorn and candy, coffee, gourmet teas, homemade cakes and more are available at really reasonable prices (with 10% discount for members). It restored to the experience a sense of the personal and of connection.

There is only one screen, yet the Fox caters to all tastes. With two to four showings each day, it rarely screens any film more than half a dozen times – you have to make a conscious choice to put films that you really want to see into your diary! In the last month, possible choices have included Michael Moore’s Capitalism: A Love Story (which is what we saw last night), The Invention of Lying (mainstream), Handmade Nation (a documentary about an arts and crafts movement), Cairo Time (winner of Best Canadian Feature Film at the Toronto Film Festival), French film Coco Before Chanel and Hayao Miyazaki’s Ponyo. For those so inclined, there’s even an all-night showing of B-movies of questionable taste and quality!

Even from our new home, we should be able to walk to the Fox within less than 20 minutes. With membership at only $10 per year and member tickets at $7, I think there is little doubt that we will become regulars!

Paul’s Prize

Work

A definite highlight (and proud moment) of the last week was when Paul opened the door to our UPS mailbox and found a card indicating that there was something too big to fit and to ask at the desk.

There he was, all bundled up in coat and hat, jumping up and down saying ‘It’s my prize! It’s my prize!’

Just as we left the UK he had discovered that he was one of a team awarded Tyco’s annual Impact Innovation Award. I had temporarily forgotten that the corporate trophy was on its way to him but, sure enough, the cardboard gave way to a smart black box, which gave way to glass and steel . . . and a very nice note from Tyco Electronics CEO Tom Lynch! Appreciation is always welcome.

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Paul's Prize Paul's Temporary Home Office

Paul’s Temporary Home Office

Markham Office

Paul’s Cube in Pod-land at Markham

Highlights (week beginning 9 November 2009)

Festivals,

Although we still have the most glorious mild, sunny days, the winter festivals have begun! Our highlights this week have included:

  • A highly intellectual Meetup for Paul at Ryerson University about the Semantic Web (no, I’m not entirely sure I understand what this means!) [Tuesday]
  • For me, a free concert by the Canadian Children’s Opera Company at the Four Seasons Centre, home of the Canadian Opera Company. This encompassed winter and Christmas music in at least half a dozen languages across a wide spectrum of styles sung by children of all races. The auditorium used for the free concert series has a wall of glass, with views out across the city. I particularly loved a Huron Carol, sung in English, French and Huron, as well as a poem written by a member of the company and read by a professional actor. This was entitled Celebration and reflected a celebration of Christmas that crosses cultural and religious boundaries – the writer was Jewish. A lovely start to the season, and very moving. [Wednesday]
  • The free public opening (with nibbles & atmosphere!) of the latest exhibition at the Harbourfront Centre. The two exhibitions I have now seen here have both expanded my sense of what it is to be Canadian and challenged my perceptions in so many stimulating ways! This exhibition was playful at the same time as psychologically and intellectually challenging, particularly Hinterlands, which resonated very personally with an acknowledgement over the last week of a disorientating lack of grounding or clear boundaries inevitable in the hinterland that follows immigration. [Friday]

“If I am on the periphery, then where is the centre? . . .Otherness becomes a kind of wilderness that can’t be entirely mapped or understood. So the question becomes one of negotiating this distance, acknowledging separateness regardless of location. The idea of a center or margin is one of belonging, rooted in a notion of place.” (Sky Glabush)

  • Illuminite, part of the City of Toronto’s Winter Magic festival, held in neon-bright Dundas Square – I couldn’t help feeling that this was a very pagan winter fire ritual! (The video-clip below very roughly crashes together a few of the highlights) [Saturday]

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  • The 105th Annual Santa Claus Parade – Since 1905, the Toronto Santa Claus parade has made its way through the streets of downtown Toronto. Today, The Santa Claus Parade is the longest running children’s parade in the world and one of the largest. After a free breakfast in Dundas square, we took up position on the parade route just opposite the Royal Ontario Museum, where the parade turns south from Bloor – an excellent vantage point. A tartan clad pipe band makes a sudden switch from a traditional Scottish air to a manic Mexican free for all and back to a highland fling; a shower of candy canes; children with saucer eyes; cheerleaders and clowns; fantasy floats; and finally, the big man himself, flanked by the first Mounties we have seen! [Sunday] – as well as the small selection below, there are more photos in the Events gallery!

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All this alongside measuring up and planning for our new home, researching our furnishing needs and buying a bed and bedside tables, a sofa, the smaller kitchen appliances, and the seemingly endless tail of settling our UK affairs!

Why Canada? (Background and initial promptings)

arrival, Why Canada?, ,

There is a very apparent strand of wanderlust and adventuring in both our families, so the urge to live somewhere other than the land of our birth is perhaps not surprising. So some of our motivation was simply about the challenge of new learning, new experiences and new opportunities.

We started examining the possibilities almost a decade ago, deciding to concentrate on the English speaking world as Paul was never going to find it easy to become fluent in another language and an expatriate enclave was not really what we were looking for.

Canada soon emerged as a front-runner for so many reasons. Although it is inevitable that many issues are common across the developed world, it did (and still does) feel to us that Canada retained more of the values that matter to us.

Included on lists that we wrote in 2005 were:

  • A sense that people were more open. Recent reading suggests that young people are encouraged far more than in the UK to be informed and have opinions, but also to listen to the opinions of others.
  • Linked to this, a friendliness and mannerliness with apparent concern for the wellbeing of others.
  • A better work/life balance, despite shorter vacations (holidays) – this suggests that Canadians are good at making the most of what is on offer.
  • A sense of a genuine basis for multi-ethnic fusion – the cultural mosaic.
  • An impression that commitment to the community remains a central part of Canadian culture, even in its cities. In the UK my perception is that the constant focus on individual rights has skewed collective consciousness to the point where awareness of the responsibility of that individual to society has almost disappeared.
  • Distinct seasons – yes, we know that current temperatures of up to 17C are not representative of a normal November in Toronto! It is going to get cold. But we have also met Canadians who have experienced the British winter and acknowledge that even in Toronto’s ‘vicious’ winter, they have never felt so cold as in the much less extreme damp cold in the UK and that the lack of sunlight saps the spirit. Talk to us in March . . .
  • Cleaner air – even in Toronto, this feels to be the case and certainly out of the city it is wonderful.
  • Empty roads – OK, again not in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), but driving to and from Georgian Bay in July was a delight and a recent trip out to Niagara so much less stressful than a similar expedition in England.
  • Open spaces, glorious scenery, lakes, mountains – so much to explore!
  • The wide range of physical activities available – skating, snow-shoeing, skiing, snowmobiles, sailing, canoeing, cycling, blading,  hiking – many of them possible even in the city and certainly available within an easy drive.
  • Social and cultural opportunities – in particular with the shift from our original focus of the Kootenay Rockies (Nelson) to Toronto, we have wonderful access to theatre, art galleries and local art and artisan culture, film, music and more.
  • Intellectual stimulation – Paul has already been to a conference the like of which he did not have access to in the UK and has three meet-up groups on his schedule in the next couple of weeks. I am beginning to tap into talks organised by the Library, Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) and others.

Our main difficulty as incomers is to find enough focus and not to be ‘kids in a candy shop’, either cramming our lives too full or unable to choose. We still need to schedule in sleep time!