Sunny

Do those sunny faces make you feel happy? Artist group gathering, drawing and painting the sunflowers. We had big smiles on our faces as we wandered through the fields, clippers in hand, looking for the perfect flowers to take home. 

Yes that's me, wading through those huge plants looking for the perfect bloom. Wow, those blossoms are heavy! And tough and scratchy. 

St Lawrence II

Grandson Callum is on an amazing maritime adventure.... cruising the Great Lakes while sail training on board the brigantine St Lawrence II. No phone, no TV, no comfy bed, just lots of hard work and exposed to whatever the weather throws at him for two weeks on board ship. The cruise started on August 17 in the port of  Midland on Georgian Bay, then through Lake Huron to Sarnia and Port Huron.  From there along the St Clair River, across Lake St Clair, then the Detroit River past the City of Detroit.

The ship has been caught on various web cams along the route.

From there into Lake Erie, and a stop at Erie, Pennsylvania, to take part in the Erie Tall Ships Festival August 22 -24.  Then with a flotilla of the other tall ships to Port Colborne and through the Welland Canal to Lake Ontario. 

There will be a stop at Harbourfront in Toronto and I'm hoping to be able to meet with Callum and sing a few sea shanties! Not sure what day that will be though. 

From Toronto it will be sailing the waters of Lake Ontario to the port of Kingston where the cruise will end on August 31. And then it's back to school!

St Lawrence II was built by Kingston Shipyards in 1953 to a design by the legendary Francis MacLachlan & Mike Eames. The ship is designed to create teamwork, community, and cooperative effort between participants; to connect people with the natural world through tactile experiences, to deliver an understanding of both the power and fragility of nature; and to foster the creation of lasting friendships.

Teatime and Lavender

Lavender seems to be a very fashionable flower these days. My Mum grew lavender, and harvested the flowers and sewed fragrant lavender sachets that were scattered in dresser drawers and given away to friends at Christmas. My grandma did too. Today lavender has a new use. It's used in cake flavourings, and you can wash it all down with lavender tea.

Vive Lavender is a lavender farm just a little north of where I live, and last week I went with a group of five other ladies (yes, I'm a lady) to have tea at the farm. A wander round the lavender beds.... getting near the end of the season now.  And a lovely garden of perennials, sorry I didn't take a pic.

It was another hot day so we sat in the shade of the big tent, white tablecloths and linen napkins. A choice of around 15 different teas, all served in china teapots, and fancy bone china cups and saucers. An array of sandwiches and wraps, fruit, vegetables, scones with jam and cream, and on the top layer, fancy cakes. Are you envious?

ISKCON

Last week the town park was buzzing with colourful activity, it was ISKCON day.  This is the celebration of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness.  I know nothing about the Krishna followers, so I thought I would have a look.

The event was billed as ChariotFest 2025, also known as Ratha Yatra, and was well attended by hundreds of devotees. So many people there, many wearing their colourful clothes, to me it was quite a spectacle. The ladies looked so gorgeous in their saris. Food was being served, and I was invited to enjoy lemonade and some really good vegetable curry. 

The Chariot was carried through the street, and was displayed near the temple tent. There were dance and music performances on the stage, and everyone looked so happy. I was definitely in the ethnic minority, but I'm so glad I gatecrashed the party.

Let's Sing!

Take 19 vibrant young people between the ages of 11 and 18, put them on the stage and give them a list of songs and some very creative choreography, and it's a wonderful concert. The performers are all part of Sarah's Singing Studio, and they showed their many talents at our local theatre yesterday.

It's the Summer Vocal Outreach Initiative, a volunteer based programme that gives the music students an opportunity to perform for an audience, especially for a senior audience. The young people are performing at eight different senior residences in the area and certainly create moments of shared joy and reflection.

Songs ranged from top of the pops of the 1950s all the way to the 2020s, finishing with an emotional "One Day More" from Les Mis. The concert was a full hour of non-stop music and colour and fun, and those kids could really sing! 

There was even a visit from the Backstreet Boys. I spoke to some of the kids after the show, they were full of smiles and so excited and happy to be part of this event. Well done everyone, this was a marvellous concert, and it had everyone in the theatre tapping their feet. Good luck to all those talented young people... follow your dreams and keep singing!

R & J

The Dream in High Park..... each year the outdoor auditorium in Toronto's High Park is the setting for one of Shakespeare's plays. This year it was the romantic tragedy, Romeo and Juliet.  Shakespeare wrote this play some time between 1591 and 1595.  It was one of Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetime along with Hamlet (last year's play), and is one of his most frequently performed. 

Shakespeare contrasts some of his very serious scenes with comedy, and as female roles were normally played by men in the 16th century, some of the scenes must have been very funny to audiences of the day.

This summer theatre tradition of Shakespeare Under the Stars has been running for 42 years.  I took Older Son to the park to see Romeo and Juliet when he was just a kid and even though he decided he wasn't going to enjoy it and wouldn't understand it, he loved it. And now I'm going with him and Oldest Grandson to see it again. We took folding chairs and sat high up at the back. a great view, and I didn't want to sit on the ground, I'm too old for that!

The ill-fated lovers come from rival families, the Capulets and the Montagues, families locked in a brutal feud. They meet.... fall in love.... secretly marry in spite of their families.... and you know the rest.

Here is Romeo conversing with the good Friar.... and below here is Juliet on the balcony outside her bedroom. Oh so romantic.

But as we all know, there was not a happy outcome to this story.  A terrific evening's entertainment. I wonder what play will be performed in 2026. 

Mural

What's going on? Why is that road closed? What's that cherry picker equipment doing in the road? Who's that guy with the hard hat?

Our small town is getting a new mural covering up some ancient walls. Lots of older buildings in the downtown area that could do with a facelift and this is a great idea. This is the second large scale mural in town, the first one is here, although that photo was when the work was unfinished. I'll have to take another photo. 

Painted by local talented artist Colin Whitebread, the mural is bright and full of fun.

No doubt there will be grumbles about the waste of town money, but I think it's great! This is painted on the wall opposite the entrance to the Funeral Home. I hope it will bring some cheer to the mourners.