It has been a good year ...

Where did the year go? This was a good year in a lot of ways … maybe the best part is that everyone in the family is okay. The other highlight this year was visiting Scotland and the village or Morar where my paternal ancestors came from back in the 1800s. And maybe I have some regrets that right now I am not in Edinburgh. It is said, that Edinburgh is the best city in the world for New Year's Eve celebrations. This past week was excellent because I got to spend a lot of good time with Jennifer, her family and my son Neil. Neil is headed back south to Toronto for a day or two with friends and then back home to Vancouver. I say home because he is quite certain that the west coast is where he wants to be. He was NOT impressed Thursday morning when the temperature was minus 35! He doesn’t even have a winter coat. He wore a heavy fall rain jacket (popular in Vancouver) and dressed in layers, and then added a scarf and toque. I offered him any coat in my closet but he said he was fine. It was a great visit. I mentioned to Jennifer this morning that I stocked up on groceries and vegetarian stuff that Neil likes, but we managed to find a lot of restaurants. It was more fun for Neil as he was able to see people he hasn’t seen in four or five years. Either way, I have a fridge full of fresh vegetables, which I suppose is a good thing.
Tomorrow, Timmins celebrates its official centennial as a municipality. I am amazed to think back to the people who built this community and how they managed to carry on and survive 100 years ago. The Northern Ontario wilderness is very unforgiving, but when people search out gold, they don’t hold back.
It was on this day in 1910 that Noah Timmins was trekking through the bush for his first ever visit to Timmins. He had grubstaked Benny Hollinger and Alex Gillies to work some claims, which eventually became the world famous Hollinger Mine, one of the world's richest gold mines. It was the next day, on January 1, 1911 that Mr. Timmins first arrived to see his new property. Obviously, his mine had an impact on the city that bears his name. Quite the history in this town.
In a couple of weeks from now, I will be marking my own anniversary of the day I arrived here back in the 1970s. I figured I would stay maybe six months. But the people here are nice. So I hung around.
So I will sign off for 2011 and wish everyone the very best in the coming year. Tonight I will think of all those I love, and I will toast you, as I enjoy the warmth of a great whisky.

A perfect Christmas ...

This past week has been the best week of the year I think. In the past some Christmas weeks have been too stressful and too much of a headache. Not this time. For some reason, everything was just right and spending so much time with people was just perfect.
It was a week ago today that I arrived in Sudbury to catch some much anticipated Rest and Relaxation at Jenn and Scott’s place in the Valley. Denise and Don had arrived from Westree. Nathan and Tyler were being the best grandsons I can imagine and I was ready to unwind. I was able to enjoy Jennifer’s latest cooking effort of Chicken Kiev which she mastered. Well, that was just the beginning of a week long bash of really good food, delicious desserts, really great company and a few fine drinks. It wasn’t long after arriving at Jenn’s that we got a call from Neil to let us know he would be on the overnight bus from Toronto after flying in from Vancouver. As good as that news was, we also discovered that Victoria would be arriving on the same overnight bus. Cool. So we all went off to bed that night looking forward to more company in the morning. Don and Denise were up bright and early to get to the bus station and before long Neil and Vic had arrived for Christmas. I was just pleased to see Jennifer and Neil again. I thank God I am blessed with two wonderful children. So that Friday was just perfect. Jennifer went all “Martha Stewart” again cooking up a fabulous breakfast for everyone. Neil slipped off to grab a snooze but he was up again by noon so we could do some father-son shopping. That was good and before long we were in a pub enjoying brewski’s and having a late lunch. We even managed to get some shopping done before heading “home” to Chez Alexander. I should mention that Nathan and Tyler were perfect hosts. Nathan let me stay in his room while Neil stayed in Tyler’s room. The boys were able to sleep in the “fort” they created with furniture in sleeping bags in the rec room. And as you can see in the photo, Neil enjoyed seeing Buddy again and said he was amazed at how big Buddy has become. On Christmas Eve, the boys and I carried on what might now be a tradition. We headed off to Perkins to for pancakes, just like last year. Neil came along and so did Victoria. It was great. We all ordered huge breakfasts and really mucked out. Then we went shopping on Christmas Eve! Which every man knows is the best day of the year for shopping. We walked and shopped and shopped and walked so much!!!
I was having fun except for the fact I had twisted my knee the night before playing a bit of ball hockey with the boys. So I was limping a bit, but still having too much fun to complain.
I remember giving Vic, Tyler and Nathan some spending money so they could run off by themselves. And then they did something amazing. They came back with a fabulous photo of themselves with Santa. I nearly had tears in my eyes. I have never seen them look as perfect as they did in that photo.
I should mention that going back to the Valley was excellent. Up until this point, it looked like it was going to be a green Christmas in Sudbury. But then it started snowing. Nice big fat fluffy snowflakes were coming down and covering everything.
Back at the house it was time to wrap gifts and munch a bit. I should mention that Denise created a fabulous seafood chowder and cheese tea biscuits that are too good to describe. I won’t waste words. I wolfed down four biscuits and two bowls of chowder. As the evening wore on, it was nice to sit back and enjoy the conversation. I got such a kick out of seeing Jennifer playing the perfect hostess. You have to remember it was only two years ago that Jenn was still at the cancer centre and they let her out with a two-day pass for Christmas. She was in the wheelchair then and wearing a bandana because she had no hair after her chemo treatments. What a change.
By the way, Jennifer gets a bit stressed about the fact that she had another birthday just a few weeks ago…I would never give away her age, but being a normal woman, Jennifer frets about it. The best part is that she was at the liquor store recently and the clerk carded her! Yup, she got asked for her I.D. How nice was that? Jenn tells the story with a big smile. And she’s no baldie anymore. Her hair is long and wavy and she looks as fabulous as the day she was married.
At 10:30 p.m. on Christmas Eve, I was able to declare that Christmas had arrived in Canada (in Newfoundland right!). That was the occasion I needed to open up the bottle of single malt whisky I brought back from the Isle of Skye in August. We kept it at Jenn’s place so I wouldn’t be tempted to open it before then. It was a litre of Talisker. It’s the only whisky made on Skye. It was warm and wonderful and so very, very, very smooth.
Anyway, Christmas morning was normal. Tyler was first up the stairs from the rec room. I could hear his feet thumping up the stairs and into the living room. So I got up and sure enough he and Nathan and Vic were all standing by the tree with big smiles. Yes, Santa remembered them. But it was 7:00 a.m. and still dark, so I told the kids we had to wait. Each year I snap a photo of the children by the tree. This year, Victoria declined. She’s a teenager now and her hair wasn’t quite right! Once we got the coffee on and cracked open the Bailey’s, the adults were ready and so it went smoothly and with great fun and joy. I was amazed at the wealth we Canadians all enjoy and I am pleased and thankful we are all so blessed. CHRISTMAS MORNING!Later, the children and I enjoyed some chocolate cake for breakfast!
Christmas Day turned out to be nicer than expected. The snow kept falling and the temperature was mild. Scott headed out with a few friends for a special tour of the Xstrata copper smelter, since there was a minimum staff on. The lucky guys got to see them pouring a million dollars worth of molten nickel from the huge ladle crane. The ladle is about the size of a house. I didn’t mention that in Timmins you can pour a million bucks worth of molten gold into something the size of a breadpan!
Scottie brought home his good friend Ritchie, who always shows up on Christmas. And Ritchie brought along fishing pal Howard, a genuine Bay Street lawyer. Howard was amazed to get such a warm welcome, but the best part was that he was a cool guy and so the warm welcome wasn’t wasted!
Before long we had a nice ball hockey game going in the backyard rink with all the men and the boys. My twisted knee ached, but the whisky was soothing and warm, and took my mind off the pain. I was goalie and took a few hard shots, but am happy to say I stopped a few hard shots. And yes, I actually have the bruises to prove it. It was a good game until poor Tyler took a slapshot in the face. He went down. We thought he was faking, but then realized he wasn’t. We put the sticks away and after a few hugs and atta-boys, Tyler was okay. He has a nice little scar near his eye to show off to the gang at school.
As the afternoon progressed, we got wind of the wonderful smells from the kitchen where Denise and Jennifer were hard at work creating the perfect Christmas dinner of turkey, potatoes, turnip, stuffing, ham and salads.
Howard and Ritchie didn’t need much coaxing as they agreed to stay for dinner. How nice was that? Vic, Tyler and Nathan got to sit at “the kid’s table” as they ate from the coffee table in the living room. Doesn’t get much more Canadian than that eh?

Too many holidays, too much housework.

I have too many holidays. Really. The Boss told me this week I have more than five weeks to use up between now and my birthday next spring. Then I have another four weeks after that. Sheesh. I took three weeks in August! Now, I have to take Fridays off until I use up my extra time. I like my work. I have been doing it so long that's it's not a chore any more. Maybe that's why I don't mind being at work. I get to meet lots of new people every week. When something really important and interesting is going on, I get a front row seat. Oh well, today I have the day off. I was bored. So I cleaned the bathroom. Still bored. I cleaned the fridge. Then I vacuumed the little tracks at the bottom of the window sills. How the dirt gets in there I will never know. And they're brand new windows too. Oh well, gonna do the floors next. And it's just after 9:00 a.m. Good thing I have to do some Christmas shopping. That should take about half an hour. I chatted with Jenn yesterday and told her I will probably finish my shopping at the mall on Christmas Eve. She said "Yeah, you and all the other men!"

Minus 22 this morning

Well winter has arrived in Timmins, finally. The snow is on the ground to stay and hopefully it can provide some nice trails for the skiiers and snow shoe crowd. And a local businessman is creating a public skating oval in the Hollinger Park. I also snapped a photo of my outdoor thermometer at 7:00 a.m. today and it was a pleasant minus 22. I guess I am going to have to start drying my hair more thoroughly ... it was crunchy this morning when I jumped out of the shower, got dressed and headed out the door. Had a nice phone chat with my brothers this week. Gary, on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, celebrated in his 60th birthday on the weekend. And he was quite pleased there was a cake for him provided at the parish hall in Mira.
I spoke to Ronald Monday morning to get some background on a military story. He lives on Vancouver Island on the other side of the country. He should be a media researcher. He pointed me in the right direction to find all sorts of public information on the internet. There was also some exciting family news. Ron and Loni are also new grandparents! Daughter Christina had a baby girl several days ago and everyone is happy and healthy.

Sunday and the shipping news

Sunday morning and I slept in until 10:00 a.m.!!! I was out last night, all evening actually, since it was the annual Christmas telethon at the local TV station. Myself and some of the other oldtimers get invited back each year to take part. So it was fun, if only to see some of the news reporters I haven’t seen for several years. Two out-of-town reporters, one from Hamilton and one from Kingston, actually drove nearly ten hours just to come back to Timmins for a visit. I thought that was fabulous. Jennifer sent me a text saying she and the boys saw me on the Bell satellite. Cool. As usual it was a good show with excellent work by so many people willing to help out some families in difficulty. The telethon provides grocery vouchers at Christmas.
It was around 2:00 a.m. when I finally got to be bed and I ignored my alarm this morning. What did awake me was a fire alarm call (I have a radio locked on the emergency frequency) in the west end. It was just after 10:00 a.m. The 9-1-1 call had a woman screaming on the phone that her kitchen on fire. So I was out of bed, dressed and ready to go out of the door when the fire commander called back saying it was a grease fire, the fire was out, the stove was unplugged. Wow, that was fast. I realized the house address was about three blocks away from the Mountjoy fire station. Good news. So I stayed home, put the coffee on and realized how glad I was not to go. I know there are always news photos of fires, but I really don’t want to see anyone lose their home or go through all the emotional trauma of a house fire.
So now for my addiction. I am a gamer! For nearly ten years, I have been playing a video game called Silent Hunter. It’s all about German u-Boats. It has great video graphics, campaigns and missions and it is a very relaxing passtime. The player, me, is a submarine commander attacking enemy ships. This year, I picked up a copy of a new updated version of the game, Silent Hunter-4. Oh my! The game is so technically improved that I couldn’t play it on my desktop computer, which is about four years old. I have to play it on my new laptop. The best part is that the game has an Artificial Intelligence feature. That means the better I get, the more challenging the game gets.(click on the pic for a periscope view) I read in a gaming website that I should expect hours of boredom in order to set up an attack. It’s just like a real submarine. It’s true. This week, I spent more than 60 hours creeping silently through the depths to complete an attack. Well, I really didn’t do the whole 60 hours, but it has taken about five days of playing to complete one attack. So everyday after work, I set up my laptop and proceed on a patrol beneath the ocean. I do other stuff, like read a book, wash the dishes, fold the laundry etc. while this is going on and if there is an alarm, I rush back to my computer to deal with it. This week I sank two Japanese destroyers and three cargo ships in the South China Sea! Sure beats watching TV!
One other thing. Yesterday was Gary's birthday!!! Happy day big brother.

Meeting nice people ... again

One of the best parts about my job is that I get to meet some of the most interesting people. That came back to me this week when I had to cover a speech by a fellow named Robert Deluce. He is the CEO and president of Porter Airlines. As I walked into the hall, Mr. Deluce turned, smiled and said hello. We shook hands. He's the same Bob Deluce I knew from many years ago in Timmins when his family ran Austin Airways. I travelled quite a bit with the Austin crews up north. Bob's dad was the legendary Stan Deluce who helped bring commercial aviation to Canada's far north. Bob was in Timmins to outline how Porter is going to bring three flights a day to Timmins from Toronto to be in direct competition with Air Canada Jazz. Bob put everyone at ease in Timmins when he said "it's nice to be back home." Here's the interesting part ... Jazz was born out of Air Ontario, which was born out of Austin Airways. The Deluce family bought Air Ontario and Air Manitoba back in the 1980's and then eventually sold the whole deal to Air Canada. I like free enterprise and I like that the Deluce family is still breaking ground in Canadian aviation. I am told that Porter offers deluxe service at an everyday price. What a difference from those days of bouncing around the Eastern Arctic in a DC3 or a Twin Otter eh?

Where did November go?

For a guy who writes for a living, I have to learn to be a bit more faithful to this blog. Especially since I am one of the loudest critics of twitter. If you’re going to broadcast a thought, I think it should be something a bit more substantive than 142 keyboard characters long.
Anyway, here we are in the last week of November, and as I ramble along through the days of the week I am amazed that I am still wandering around without a toque or heavy mitts here in November, in Timmins.
When I first arrived here back in the 1970s, this place was c-c-c-c-old. Now it seems winter is only a tease. I have to admit I am a cold weather person. I like winter. I can’t wait for a big blizzard and two week long deep freeze.
Then you go for a walk in the forest and you hear the snow squeak and the twigs crack and you just know how good it feels to be alive. The air is cleaner and fresher than you can imagine and when you get home a cup of hot tea tastes excellent. Hmmm… maybe it’s just me.
Anyway, some news. Jenn called this week to let me know she had a wonderful time out with Scott last weekend at a fancy company dinner. They both got all dressed up and had a lovely time, with dinner, wine and the company of friends.
As they were heading home, Jenn had a mis-step with her high heels. Her left foot rolled and OUCH! Did that ever hurt or what? That’s what she told me. High heels and icy sidewalks don’t mix. But it seems her sore foot was a bit more than a sore foot. Sure enough, she went to the emergency room the next day because it was so painful. Sure enough, a broken foot. Jenn now has a cast on her left foot.
That got me thinking. It was this time of year (October 5, 1981) some 30 years ago, that I got a broken foot! I was working in the mine then and had a little accident. So I can empathize with Jenn.
Had a nice chat with Debra last week and we got caught up on family stuff. She and her men are all well, which is good. Deb and John are planning a big trip next summer… Europe! They will have a great time I’m sure. They’ve been to all the popular “southern” places, so I am sure the tour of Europe will be so enjoyable for them.
I am pretty sure I will be hanging around Timmins all next year at this city celebrates its official 100th anniversary. The people here are fun and apparently a centennial event is something worth celebrating. I will keep you posted.
In the meantime, we are all planning for Christmas again. Jenn will be celebrating in Sudbury with her guys and the Alexanders and I am told that Neil will be joining us. Woohoo!

Yes, I am watching TV!

I was so pleased today to see so many citizens attend the Remembrance Day ceremonies at the cenotaph in Timmins. Today was the first really cold day of the season and I was happy that more than 200 people showed up. Of course, the old WWII veterans were there too, but there are now less than five local vets who attend the ceremonies. Still it was a good day to remember. Of course I was thinking of people like my Dad, Danny Gillis and my brother Ron Gillis, both of whom have served in wartime.
On another matter, I have been enjoying some great television shows lately. I tell people I don’t watch TV. That’s kind of a lie. I don’t watch regular commercial TV. But I do watch good television programs when I find them. HBO, an American production network, has produced some excellent television. In recent weeks I have watched a series called The Wire, another series called Rome and now I am watching a series called John Adams. If you can get your hands on those programs, you will be amazed. Americans are masters of serious television drama. The writing, the acting, the producing is so damned good. How good? So good that tonight I put aside a book to watch television! What does that tell ya?

Can you believe November is already here?

Hard to believe November is already here. I wasn’t planning it, but I have already begun Christmas shopping and thinking of how much fun that will be again. I guess it’s different because there really has not been any big change in the weather yet this season. I have seen Octobers in the past where we were whipped by snowstorms. Oh well, I am NOT complaining.
This was a busy week and I got out on the road, up north towards Kapuskasing this week. There was an interesting convoy bringing some heavy mining and milling equipment all the way from the Port of Thunder Bay. It was a sight to see as those oversized trucks were hauling a superload to the Bell Creek mill in Timmins, which is owned by Lake Shore Gold. The equipment was purchased in Europe and it’s interesting because the company is rushing to expand the gold mill and refinery at a cost of roughly $80 million. That’s NOT a lot of money for a gold company, especially when you consider the price of gold is more than US$1750 per ounce. The company wants to produce as much gold as fast as it can at those prices. Everyone is enjoying the high gold price here in Timmins and wondering when the bust is going to happen in the old boom and bust cycle. Canada’s economy is doing fine, but as long as the economy in the US and Europe keeps crapping out, people will want to buy gold. That’s what the experts say!
Had a nice chat with Nathan this week... He was feeling a bit under the weather on Monday and didn't really get a good run for Halloween. Jenn took him out for a bit, but she said he must have been feeling poorly because he quit early.
Also had a nice chat with Jenn and she is doing quite well. I am very proud of her for her new volunteer work. Jenn goes to the Sudbury Cancer Centre each week and helps out processing new patients that arrive. I think it's a very nice way to give back considering the excellent treatment she got there in 2009 and 2010.

I don’t use normal whiskey glasses anymore. I have discovered that many of the bars and most of the distilleries that make good whiskey use the newly designed Glencairn Glass, which is supposed to heighten the whiskey experience by concentrating the aroma before you sip. I don’t know if I have mastered the art of concentrating the aroma, or whether there’s enough time before I sip a whiskey, but I am learning. The “new” design came out only ten years ago, which is an innovation considering that most good whiskies on the market today were laid down even before the first glasses came out. So I haven’t really risen to the occasion because I have not been able to find a proper Glencairn glass in Timmins. But I was at Winners last week and I saw these stemmed glasses which are quite close in design. So I bought them. They will make do until I am able to find a set of the right glasses. In meantime, I am going to sign off so I can practice my sipping.

Whisky, whisky and me ...

I was absolutely delighted today to learn something new about whisky and about my own taste in whisky. I have a new textbook on the history of world whiskies and how various forms were developed. People who know me know I am not a whisky snob. I don’t stick to single-malts, only. I like some very nice blended whiskies. Two of my favourites are J&B and Cutty Sark. Can you imagine my surprise when I discovered that both brands were developed more than 80 years ago by master blender Charles H. Julian. As the story goes, Julian created Cutty first, for the U.S. market. It was such a hit that he was hired by Justerini & Brooks to create a similar blend for the U.K. market. Well that just blew me away because I remember the first time I tasted both ( a couple of years apart) and thinking what a nice whisky it was. Tonight I will drink a toast, or two, to Mr. Julian. By the way, that photo is from the blog posting I first entered here on August 3, 2006. Go ahead and check the archives over there on the right side of the page. Soon, I will explain why I have changed my style of whisky glass.

October weather is strange this year ...

Almost two weeks into October and this is my first posting this month. I have been busy and I am glad to say the Ontario election is over. I am not glad with the result. Interestingly, Northern Ontario rejected the Liberals. It was also the lowest voter turnout in Ontario since Confederation! I guess people are just fed up with politicians. Back at work today after spending a few days with Jenn and Scott and Tyler and Nathan. It was so good. I was glad to spend a lot of time with them, but we missed other members of the family. Don and Denise were in Arizona. Christine, Dimitrios and Victoria had to stay in the city. We still had fun. We got a few cases of warm pop, set them up as targets and shot them with pellet guns, making them explode. Yes, it's silly … but still a lot of fun.
Jenn and I called up Neil and had a nice chat with him. He is making plans for a visit at Christmas. Maybe by then we will have some seasonal weather. The weather this past weekend was bizarre because it was so much like July! The high temperature Saturday was 28. Who would believe it. And there was a forest fire up near Westree. They had to close highway 560 near the sawmill for two days. Some finished lumber and some heavy equipment was destroyed in the mill yard. This is definitely not normal October weather. The sun is still shining brightly today and the weather is so warm. Not going to complain at all.

And that's the kind of day it has been...

Well here we are on the final day of September and I am happy to say Timmins had one of the best summers and one of the nicest fall seasons I can remember. It was cool this morning. Cool enough that I had to wear my Cowichan sweater which was nice. But really it was a nice day overall. That got me thinking about the west coast and Neil. It seems that Neil, according to my sources, is having some second thoughts about moving back east this fall. That’s okay, but I sure do miss him. Maybe he will be able to get away for a bit this coming winter.
Some friends of mine from Timmins are on the VIA rail train to Vancouver this week and I insisted they drop in to see Neil. So just before they left on Wednesday, they called to get his info so they could drop by. Then on Thursday, cousin Valerie was the guest of honour at a lunch at Casey’s. Marie and Moe called to make sure I dropped by. Val (actually she is my neice) is on her way to Arizona for a job with a mining company. So she will be away for awhile. Her man Dennis, a mining engineer, is on his way up to Vancouver next week, so we are insisting that Dennis drop in for a beer with Neil. Lunch at Casey’s was nice as I got caught up with a lot of the family. Speaking of family, I have been chatting with Jennifer and we will all be together for Thanksgiving. But we are not sure whether it will be at camp, or in Val Caron. Either way it will be nice to spend time with the boys again. The boys are all excited because they’re gearing up for hockey season. They may be doing some bird hunting and Jennifer said it’s okay to have a pop shoot! That’s what we did last year and it was a hoot. So I will have to grab some ammo and a few cases of really stale and warm cream soda. You’re gonna love the pictures.

Is it really news?

Poor Mr. Einstein is probably spinning in his grave... maybe spinning faster than we can imagine. There was news this week that scientists clocked a burst of sub-atomic particles travelling at a speed FASTER than the speed of light. Mr. Einstein's Theory of Relativity calculations many years ago said nothing could travel faster than the speed of light... roughly 186,000 miles per second. It seems that swiss physicists determined that the sub-atomic particles were travelling faster ... by roughly ten one-billionths of a second. Did you get that? Ten one-billionths of a second. I don't know about you, but I'm gonna buy some new light switches to see for myself!!!

Tipping

Tipping is usually a matter of personal choice. But I noticed on my recent travels that several restaurants in the UK list a “service charge” of 10 per cent. When I asked about it, I was told it was the “gratuity tax” imposed on the credit card bill by the restaurant. When I asked if there was a choice in the matter, the waiter was a bit red-faced and explained that if I insisted, they could remove the tax. I said no, I was pleased to give a tip… but added that I usually tip more than 10 per cent. Terry, Jennifer and Neil have all convinced me that tipping is good. If one decides to go out for drinks or food, one must be prepared to offer a tip for the good service that usually follows. As my conversation with the waiter went further, he explained that the 10 per cent service charge is collected by the restaurant which takes a tiny share of the money collected and then splits it among all the staff, servers, host and kitchen staff. He admitted he didn’t really like the system. I asked what if a customer wants to make sure the tip goes to the server who provided good service. He said the customer then has to make a point of giving the cash tip to the server and deleting the tip from the credit card bill. So that’s what I did. I also noticed that virtually every restaurant I visited used the hand-held credit card device so that you deal with your bill right at the table… the waiter doesn’t walk away with your credit card for several minutes, something I am always suspicious of.

Museums

I like visiting museums. On my recent holiday there was one thing I noticed about all the big museums in the U.K. They're free. Once you're inside, there is a good effort to get you to buy programs, souvenirs and such, but there is no admission charge. It's not like that here in Canada. I was pleased to be able to visit museums and once I discovered there was no charge, I was pleased to make a donation ... usually five or ten pounds, which it what I might have paid anyway. The nice thing about the no admission system is that I pleased to see lots of children and families visiting the museums. I am glad I took lots of photos. I was able to see the one of the captured Nazi Enigma code machines that British Intelligence used in World War Two. It was a huge secret, but some historians estimate that by having this little code machine, Britain was able to shorten the war by two years.

My newest addiction!

I can't believe I am addicted to old news stories. I was reading a novel Friday and I wanted to check some historical facts ... so I went online and found myself looking at a website that had old newspaper stories. Here's the thing. The website gave the first two paragraphs of the story and then stopped. If you want to read more, you have to pay. So I clicked on the pay website and learned that the first month is only 99-cents and then it is $15 a month after that. You can quit anytime after you sign up. So I signed up.It was about 9:00 p.m. when i started. I got my access code and password to news stories going all the way back to 1850. The NY Times has more than a million stories! Before I knew it, I was deep into reading stories from the last 100 years by some of the world's best news writers. I was thrilled to read original stories by Ernest Hemingway. Two glasses of whiskey later I looked at the clock in the dining room and it was 2:25 a.m. I had been reading for about five hours and barely noticed it. Well it's Saturday morning. I have fresh pot of tea on and I will read as long as I can before I get feeling guilty about staying inside on such a nice day.

Little Sony cam did the job nicely...

I am usually pretty darned fussy when it comes to shooting photos, especially when you want to get a photo of the oldest church in London. I try to get pictures as sharp as possible, good color, good lighting, good quality and all that. Going on vacation with my tiny little SONY shirt-pocket cam was a bit of a risk, but I told myself if I wasn’t happy with the photos I could always pick up a Nikon cheaply in a duty free shop. Well I didn’t need to do that. The little digi-cam was just right for the holidays. I was more than happy I didn’t have to lug around the big cameras like I did last summer. I took a handful of photos, about 100 in all in think, which will serve as a nice record of my trip to the UK. There were a few instances I wished I had the big cams, but overall I am pleased with the quality of photos from the little SONY.

Getting around in London

One of the best things about being a tourist in London is that I have learned to use The Tube, also known as the London Underground or the subway. The taxis are good, but to go for any distance, you want to use the subway. It is amazing and it will get you virtually anywhere in the city along with a three or four minute walk. This week I am staying at The Hotel Indigo right next to Paddington Station. Yesterday I was able to ride the train from Paddington all the way out to Wembley Stadium in about 45 minutes. It is so easy. Also, I use a plastic "Oyster" card that I tap at the turnstile to gain entry. No farting around with tickets. I get a daily low rate no matter how many times I use the train.
Speaking of Wembley, it is a fantastic stadium big enough for 90-thousand people! That's twice the population of Timmins!! I was convinced by some fellows to go to the championship rugby game for all of England. It's the biggest rugby game of the year they told me ... something like the Stanley Cup for hockey. It was my first time seeing a pro rugby game. They pronounce it ROOG-beh. What a party. The teams were the Wigan Warriors in red and the Leeds Rhinos in blue. So I wore both colors. I met up with some fellows from Oxford who play rugby and also enjoyed drinking massive jugs of beer.

Leaving Glasgow on the Virgin ...

Just got back into London today. After leaving the highlands, I spent a couple of days in Glasgow and it was nice. I was pleased to visit the Kelvingrove art gallery and museum. I love that kind of stuff. They’re very accommodating there and let you take photos inside. I was pleased to snap a photo of a Vincent Van Gogh painting. I also saw paintings by Rembrandt, Monet, Rubens and Degas. I never thought I would ever see such masterpieces up close. The architecture in Glasgow is also something to appreciate. I can’t get over how nicely the older buildings have survived over so many years with the sandstone and limestone. Even the train station looks like a fabulous castle. I spent some time walking around downtown Glasgow, but it was frustrating that seven or eight downtown areas were blocked off because Brad Pitt is filming a movie. I also took a walk along the River Clyde, which was famous many years for shipbuilding. In fact, it was so important that the German air force, the Luftwaffe, bombed the shipyards during World War II.
I departed Glasgow Friday morning aboard the Virgin high speed train to London which reached speeds of more than 220 kilometres per hour. I also went first class which meant I got free breakfast and free lunch. I hooked up with a bunch of fellows from Northern England who traveled to London for a rugby cup final. We plan to meet at O’Neill’s pub sometime tonight or tomorrow and they promise to teach me how to drink like an Englishman! I am not sure what I am in for.