Category Archives: Leisure

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!

Canadian Humour

General, sport, ,

Few people can fail to be aware that Ice Hockey is pretty important in Canada.

Toronto’s team, the Maple Leaves may be a financial success, but are not known as winners on the ice.

Recently the Toronto Star ran a selection of Maple Leaf jokes, of which the following is a taster:

Q: What do the Leafs and the Titanic have in common?

A: They both look good until they hit the ice!

Q: What do you call 25 millionaires sitting around watching the Stanley Cup playoffs on TV?

A: The Maple Leafs

(the Stanley Cup is the NHL championship trophy)

Q: What did the Leafs fan do after Toronto won the Stanley Cup?

A: He turned off his PlayStation.

Highlights (week beginning 2 November 2009)

Museums & galleries, Sightseeing, Toronto,

It’s been such a busy time doing that I don’t get to write things up! So here is a brief summary of the ‘firsts’ and highlights from the last week.

  • Buying a house (OK, I did report on this one)
  • Venturing downtown for the first time since we’ve been here to see Where the Wild Things Are at the Imax (as Imax is a Canadian technology, this seemed appropriate) and drifting out of the cinema into a bookshop where we browsed until well after 9.30 pm.
  • Quigley'sFriday night at our local (Quigley’s), doing our usual half-time swop between  risotto studded with PEI (Prince Edward Island) Mussels and bursting with calamari, scallops and prawns, tomato and basil and a spicy chicken, bacon and chipotle pasta, washed down with Creemore (a fine drop of beer from a small town we visited in July) and accompanied by live rock, much of which took me back to my early 20s.
  • Going to the mall (another first) and investing in a really good mattress – the Brick (a major furnishing store) had a one day 50% sale on mattresses.
  • Scarborough Bluffs – where sculpted cliffs rise steep and tall and, on an unseasonable November day, I basked on a rock in the sun, savouring the shore’s soothing susurrus and the dancing diamond path across the water to a sliver of silver tranquility on the horizon.

Doris McCarthy Trail to Guildwood Doris McCarthy Trail to Guildwood
Doris McCarthy Trail to Guildwood Doris McCarthy Trail to Guildwood
Doris McCarthy Trail to Guildwood Doris McCarthy Trail to Guildwood
Doris McCarthy Trail to Guildwood Doris McCarthy Trail to Guildwood
Doris McCarthy Trail to Guildwood Doris McCarthy Trail to Guildwood
Doris McCarthy Trail to Guildwood Doris McCarthy Trail to Guildwood
Doris McCarthy Trail to Guildwood Doris McCarthy Trail to Guildwood
Doris McCarthy Trail to Guildwood Doris McCarthy Trail to Guildwood
Doris McCarthy Trail to Guildwood Doris McCarthy Trail to Guildwood
Doris McCarthy Trail to Guildwood Doris McCarthy Trail to Guildwood
Doris McCarthy Trail to Guildwood Doris McCarthy Trail to Guildwood
Doris McCarthy Trail to Guildwood Doris McCarthy Trail to Guildwood
scarborough-bluffs-10-of-11-medium Scarborough Bluffs (November 2009)
scarborough-bluffs-3-of-11-medium Scarborough Bluffs (November 2009)
scarborough-bluffs-11-of-11-medium Scarborough Bluffs (November 2009)
scarborough-bluffs-4-of-11-medium Scarborough Bluffs (November 2009)
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scarborough-bluffs-1-of-11-medium Scarborough Bluffs (November 2009)
scarborough-bluffs-2-of-11-medium Scarborough Bluffs (November 2009)
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  • Saturday night supper – eating Catfish, which we thoroughly enjoyed. We have promised ourselves that we will try at least one new food each week when we go shopping!
  • Our first trip to ROM (the Royal Ontario Museum) and a magical exhibition of unusual gems, Light & Stone: Gems from the Collection of Michael Scott (one of the founders of Apple). This included some stones neither of us had heard of in raw form and as jewellery or sculpture – fabulous! We also took one of the museum tours to get an overview and went to photographic exhibitions of Vanity Fair portraits and key Canadians photographed by Michael Dickinson. Thanks to Paul’s brother Robin and his wife Justine who gave us a year’s membership, this should be the first of many visits – we have yet to take in the current major exhibition of the Dead Sea Scrolls.
  • Wandering back to the subway through upmarket Yorkville – Prada, Louis Vuitton, Max Mara ( you get the picture) – to be explored at our leisure, particularly Holt Renfrew, an upmarket department store.

A perfect Sunday in late fall . . .

Sightseeing, ,

We picked up breakfast-to-go at the Remarkable Bean (our favourite coffee shop on Queen St)  – great coffee, a roasted pepper and cream cheese muffin and a pear, walnut and blue cheese muffin.

An hour and a half or so of driving round Lake Ontario and we took off from the highway into the vineyards, fields and woodlands of the Niagara peninsular, soaking up the last of the fall glory before winter strips the trees.

fall-1-of-12-medium A vineyard in Niagara wine country, fall 2009
fall-10-of-12-medium Late fall 2009 (1 November)
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fall-4-of-12-medium Late fall 2009 (1 November) - looking across from Niagara on the Lake to the US
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A quick lunch and wander in Niagara on the Lake, the first capital of the province and a lovely, small historic town, whetted our appetites for future visits, perhaps taking in the Shaw festival (as in George Bernard Shaw).

Then on down the Niagara Parkway, along the banks of the Niagara river, to catch our first glimpse of the falls before heading back.

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The Falls Mascots The Falls Mascots
Niagara Falls - December 2011 Niagara Falls - December 2011
Niagara Falls Panoramic Niagara Falls Panoramic - from the Doubletree Hilton
Niagara Falls Panoramic Niagara Falls Panoramic - from the Doubletree Hilton
Horseshoe Falls - Niagara Horseshoe Falls - Niagara
Niagara Falls Panoramic Niagara Falls Panoramic - the Falls
Horseshoe Falls - Niagara Horseshoe Falls - Niagara (Gina)
American Falls - Niagara American Falls - Niagara
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Driving towards downtown Toronto from whatever direction, the CN Tower already gives me a sense of ‘homecoming’ to our adopted city, especially when it is surrounded by gilded skyscrapers giving back the day.

Oh, and then we bought a house . . .

A visitor

wild things,

As I came into the office this morning, I noticed the twitch of a big, fuzzy shape in the window above the back door . . .

Raccoon
Raccoon

(click on the images for a larger version!)

Raccoons look so amazingly cuddly, with their soft fur and big, dark ringed eyes! Actually most people here recognize them as disease ridden pests that chew the roofing shingles (and most everything else), raid unsecured bins, are almost fearless and pose a number of health risks.