Well, this month it seems Leeds has come to Toronto. Firstly, an old schoolfriend, Chris, has been in town and it's been lovely catching up with him over the last month. He's been house-sitting for another friend of mine and using the time to research a novel, which is partly set in Toronto, that he's writing. He brought another friend from home, Jon, and the good weather with him. Summer appears to now be here with warmth, sunshine and a dollop of humidity.My second visitor from the homeland was a former colleague from my University of Leeds days...which ones I hear a few people ask?! Jude was here on her first visit to Canada and stayed for just over a week with a few days in Quebec City half way through her stay. She seemed to discover much that I love about Toronto and Canada during her few days 'on the loose' whilst I was at work. She made good use of my bicycle to peddle her way around the city and across the harbour via the ferry to the Toronto Islands.
I was able to show her some of the city's sights and, given that she is a former teacher, particularly enjoyed taking her for brunch at a cafe called School complete with chalkboards and an apple on the table for teacher. During the week she was here Toronto threw open many of its normally closed-to-the-public buildings as part of a city-wide event called Doors Open. We were able to gain access to a few architectural gems and see parts of buildings that have been closed off for many years. One particular highlight was the ballroom at the King Edward Hotel, which has been closed and untouched since the 1920s. The King Eddy, as it's known locally, has hosted guests such as Liz Taylor and Richard Burton, John and Yoko...oh, and I saw David Beckham there a couple of years ago!
We also saw the stunning Elgin and Winter Garden Theatres. These theatres make up the only operating double-decker theatre complex in the world, which has been restored to its original vaudeville days splendour. Finally, we strolled the new green roof at City Hall, which has been designed in order to provide a model for other public buildings.
Another highlight of Jude's stay was that we were able to take part in the Commodore's Sailpast, the official start to the 2010 season at 'my' sailing club, the National Yacht Club. We arrived dressed, as instructed, in our nautical attire, white trousers and blue tops hoping to hitch a ride as crew on a boat. When we asked an organizer if he knew of anyone looking for a boat he asked me what kind of boat I'd like...next thing I knew an announcement goes out over the loud-speaker system asking if anyone with a "big" and "expensive" yacht needs crew. Well, we certainly got what we asked for and spent a superb afternoon on board a beauty of a boat called Cadenza in great company. The conditions were perfect and it was good fun if a little hair-raising at times trying to ensure we didn't crash into the rest of the fleet as we all tacked back and forth waiting to get in the line to sailpast the commodore as he gave our boat his salute.I'd had another great day on the water a week before for Victoria Day and am really enjoying being outside on Lake Ontario whilst mucking about on other people's (very big and very expensive yet very beautiful) boats [tip: turn your speakers on]:
In addition to taking in Toronto's architecture and aqua, I've also been enjoying the art (see what I did there?) I spent a lovely day taking in a variety of artists who were participating in the Riverdale Art Walk and particularly loved the work of Jon Muldoon, a photographer with a penchant for storm drains.
I love Toronto in the summer as it seems to come alive with festivals and outdoor events. Perhaps the biggest thing to hit Toronto this summer, however, is going to be the G20 summit later this month. Living as close as I do to the venue, I'm starting to get quite concerned about how this event is going to impact on those of us who live in the locality. Huge swathes of the downtown core are to be closed (see the blue area of the map below). Bus shelters, benches and bins have already been removed, fencing is going up and my former workplace, the University of Toronto, has declared it's shutting down completely due to the protest zone being at its core. This action is forcing students, including international students, to have classes cancelled and to move to residential accommodation elsewhere. In order to get to work I will need to use the subway which goes under the no-go zone and the designated protest area. We have been advised to 'expect delays'. I suspect it may be quite a challenging journey. Much of the harbour will be closed and they've been sweeping it for weeks turning up bodies encased in concrete in the process. Weddings which were due to be held on the islands have had to be cancelled, postponed or re-located. The total costs of hosting this event are now running into the hundreds of millions and that's before the costs of re-locating the French delegation are factored in. The staff at the French-owned Novotel, where they were booked into, are going on strike.
Whilst I accept world leaders need to talk, I question the need to move their entourages and their wake around the world's city centres and whether the money could be better spent since it seems most of the decisions are made beforehand and it's really just a good photo op. Surely the technology exists for them to just hold a big tele-conference? Or if they do have to meet in person, why can't they do it at the UN HQ, where the infrastructure already exists to host such diplomatic shin-digs? I'd even opt for a cruise liner in the middle of the ocean. I may sound somewhat NIMBY-ish but I would have thought that, by now, the world leaders may have twigged the impact these events have on communities, the economy and fuelling violence when hosted in a metropolis, wherever that might be. These events, with their disruption, riots, gun-toting security officers, tear gas and sound canons, do not exactly engender the same community spirit as the staging of the Olympics or World Cup. That's just my opinion, but, then...I wonder if the politicians that represent me are actually paying attention?? Rant over!Anyway, here's to a peaceful summer/summit!
