The Golden Boy

As part of my on-going quest to see what I can do for free this summer, and because the Queen was coming to town, I decided it was high time I explored our Legistlative Building. We've lived in Winnipeg for almost 20 years and I've never been! So, once again, I rounded up a friend and set off with the camera.

The Legislative Building is located in the south part of downtown Winnipeg on 30 acres of beautifully landscaped grounds. Government House, residence of the Lieutenant-Governor, is located on the southeast corner of the grounds. The Assiniboine River, once a route used by fur traders and explorers, forms the southern boundary.



The river was really high when we were there and the dock was under water - and I doubt the tour boats were around when the building was under construction!

The other three boundaries are formed by Osborne Street on the west, Broadway Avenue to the north and Kennedy Street on the east.




Excavation of the "Ledge" began in 1913. By the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, walls were beginning to take shape above the foundation, but a shortage of material, labour and funds delayed construction to such an extent that the building was not ready for partial occupancy until 1919, well after the end of the war. On July 15, 1920, the province's 50th anniversary date, opening ceremonies were performed by Sir James Aikins, then Lieutenant-Governor of Manitoba. (Just a bit of history to make reading all this semi-worthwhile!)







The Building is actually steeped in mystery!





Many of the designs in the building are repeated. The Grecian key, as well as other symbols of eternity, such as the wave or running dog pattern and the circle motif, are found throughout the interior and the exterior of the building.

Also repeated throughout the building is the number 13, as seen in the number of bulbs in the Roman Standard Lamps that help light the Rotunda. Some believe the number symbolized luck for the ancient Egyptians. Others believe the number holds symbolic importance to freemasons, whose members were, no doubt, involved in the design and construction of the Legislative Building. Frank Albo, who wrote the book, The Hermetic Code, a best seller in Manitoba, has attempted to explain the trail of secret messages and symbols concealed in the architecture of the building. Shades of Dan Brown!!!! Others believe such repetition is because ancient Romans felt the number 13 to be bad luck and hoped that honouring the number was the way to escape its curse. Most agree it is an intriguing but unsolvable mystery. (Another history lesson)

Guided tours of the building are available, however the tour costs just under $40.00 (and just over $50.00 if you want a copy of the book) and as I am trying to do this without spending any money, I just wandered on my own. I have put the book on my 'want to read' list.




The 'high' point of my self guided tour was, of course, the Golden Boy. Here comes the history lesson again!

The Golden Boy, a magnificently gilded 5.25M (17.2-foot) figure, is probably Manitoba's best known symbol. Embodying the spirit of enterprise and eternal youth, he is poised atop the dome of the building. He faces the north, with its mineral resources, fish, forest, furs, hydroelectric power and seaport, where his province's future lies.

The boy is a runner, like the messengers in Greek mythology. He carries a sheaf of golden grain in his left arm, while his right hand holds high a torch, calling youth to enter the race. The top of his torch is 77 metres (255 feet) above ground and before the more recent construction of high-rise buildings that today form Winnipeg's skyline, it was the highest point in the city.



The figure was sculpted by Charles Gardet of Paris, and cast in 1918 at the Barbidienne foundry in France. The foundry was partially destroyed by bombs during the First World War, but the Golden Boy emerged unharmed. The figure was rushed to a seaport and put aboard a French ship carrying wheat. Before the ship could put out to sea, it was commandeered for the transport of troops.

The boy lay in the hold of the ship, travelling many miles, constantly in danger. When the war was over, the figure arrived at Halifax and was shipped to Winnipeg and finally hoisted to the top of Manitoba's then-new Legislative Building.

The Golden Boy was in place for the official opening of the Legislative Building in 1920. Except for several months during 2002, when workers lowered the Golden Boy from the dome for repair and refurbishing, he has stood proud as a symbol for all Manitobans.



I even sumbled across a piece of Mexico in the building - an extraordinary artwork donated to the Province of Manitoba by the State of Jalisco!

Enough with the history lesson. By the way, I'm going to be honest - I plagerized some of the history part - I honestly didn't already know all of this - and the close up of the Golden Boy was taken in the Gift Shop (there are Gift Shops everywhere!) Apparently climbing to the roof top of the Legislative Building is frowned upon.

Assiniboine Park

We have been having the most beautiful weather and I decided last Thursday that it was far too nice a day to be spent indoors cleaning the house and preparing dinner. So, a friend and I set off to explore Assiniboine Park. We used to live within walking distance but I must confess I haven't been there in years and a visit was long overdue. I took the camera and, of course, took way too many pictures and the hard part has been deciding which ones to share!

But first, some history .....

Assiniboine Park was established in 1904 and today it covers 1,100 acres, 400 acres designed in the English landscape style.

The Park includes the 700-acre Assiniboine Forest, Assiniboine Park Zoo, Assiniboine Park Conservatory, the historic Assiniboine Park Pavilion, formal and informal gardens, a sculpture garden, a miniature railway, and an outdoor bandshell theatre for performing arts and numerous other attractions.




We decided to focus on just a few areas of the park on our visit, so started off in the Pavilion, wandering through several of the galleries.



We checked out the Mask and Mythologies series by Ivan Eyre




and also a display of works by Clarence Tillenius, a noted nature artist, where his sculpture of Leo Mol was being exhibited. More on Leo Mol later!




The art galleries are lovely and some of the art on display this week was interesting (!!)




but the whole point of the day was to be outside so we headed over to the English Garden and the Leo Mol Sculpture Garden.




The English Garden, established between 1926 and 1927, is known throughout North America for its display of thousands of annual and perennial flowers. The English Garden contains nearly three acres of flowers, shrubs and trees in the traditional English style and is the perfect place to spend a peaceful hour or so.





My favourite spot in the Park is The Leo Mol Sculpture Garden which was opened in 1992. Leo Mol was a Ukrainian Canadian artist and sculptor. The Sculpture Garden is supported by private donations, and Leo Mol personally donated most of the sculpture. In 2002, his sculpture, Lumberjacks, was featured on a Canadian postage stamp.






Some of Leo Mol's most famous works include likenesses of three different Popes which stand in museums in the Vatican. Other important subjects sculpted by Mol include members of the Group of 7, Sir Winston Churchill, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy and Terry Fox. His over life-size standing portrait figure of Prime Minister John George Diefenbaker stands on Parliament Hill in Ottawa. Also on Parliament Hill stands a bronze statue of Queen Elizabeth II, the replica of which she unveiled here in Winnipeg on her recent visit.

More than 300 of his works are on display in the Sculpture Garden.




Leo Mol died July 4, 2009. He was 94.

So, where to next .... I've made a list! The goal is to find places to go that are free to get into which means that I'll have to face the crowds and hit the Zoo on a Tuesday!

143 Years

July 1st was Canada Day, our 143rd Birthday.

It was a special one this year, as the Queen, Elizabeth II, came for one of her whirlwind visits, her 22nd to Canada. She spent time in Halifax (in the pouring rain) to join the Canadian Navy in the celebration of the 100th Anniversary of the fleet, and she and Prince Philip were in Ottawa on the 1st for the Big Day. We were one of the lucky cities to host the Royals this visit. It was a whirlwind - they spent just a little over 6 hours in Winnipeg on Saturday, July 3, flying in to our new airport around noon (not quite finished yet in case anyone is planning to fly in any day soon) and leaving at 6:30 in the evening from 17 Wing, the Air Force Base close to our place.

I have never been lucky enough to have had the opportunity to see our Queen and jumped at the chance when a close friend, who works on the Base, invited me to be there to say goodbye to Elizabeth and Philip. Because we were on the base and admittance was restricted there were only about 150 of us and we didn't get all that close, but I think I was probably nearer to her than several of the 10,000 who waited at the other stops in the City.

It was fascinating watching the preparations for what was probably all of a 15 minute 'out of the car onto the plane' stopover ..

The flags were flying,



and the Mounties were there



plus many members of other police forces.



The steward was waiting



as were the pilots



and some of the 'dignataries' were getting very wet





The man in the wheelchair is our Member of Parliament, Stephen Fletcher. He is a quadripelegiac after a run-in with a moose in his teens (okay, I know, how Canadian can you get!) and a special area has been prepared in the House of Commons in Ottawa to accommodate his wheelchair, and his assistant, who is with him at all times.

The suitcases and hat boxes were carried on board


as were some of the flowers that were collected throughout the day.



The Honour Guard arrived,



got into position and everyone was ready.



The Royal couple arrived right on schedule. Prince Philip was out of the car first (love the hat, and he needed it as it was drippingly hot earlier in the day) and then we saw the Queen!




Off they went up the ramp for the final wave

.

and then they left, off into the sunset (theoretically speaking, as it was pouring at this point!)



I think this woman is amazing! She is 84, during her visit to Canada this year she has been rained on, she has roasted in temperatures that were well over 30 degrees, she has walked for miles in definitely not sensible shoes for a woman in her eighties, and yet she still smiles and always looks cool and perfectly groomed. It was sort of fun watching them load the airplane with the luggage - there really is such a thing as a hat box!

It seems silly, but it was a big thrill, and it was worth getting absolutely soaked!!

Long Live the Queen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Still Waiting

We've always told people who complain about the weather in Manitoba that if you live here for any length of time you learn very quickly to just wait for a few hours as it will change. We have lived through many summer days that started off dismally and ended with lovely evenings spent on the deck enjoying the sunny sky and lovely sunset.

However, this year has been a little different. Or perhaps we have just been spoiled by the months spent in Mazatlan! Friends have told us that we are spoiled and to get a grip, after all, it is just June. We're not listening.

From what we have been told, April was lovely here. We were very optimistic when we arrived home on the 23rd to a perfect early summer day; unfortunately the early signs of spring and summer were just a teaser. Quite frankly, the weather has been dreadful since then. May was a complete wash out, almost literally, as we had about twice as much rain as usual and had a downpour in one weekend of 77mm which on it's own surpassed the average of 53mm for the month. We have even seen a funnel cloud, something which rarely happens in Winnipeg. There was no damage as it didn't touch ground, but it was interesting nonetheless.



The sun did shine in May, but not nearly often enough and we did make it through the month with a dry basement, more than can be said for many residents of the City.

June was coming however and we were still optimistic.

What a surprise - it's June and it's still raining. Not every day, but it just won't stop. We were quite excited this week as we had 3 days in a row when the sun shone and it was hot enough to think about perhaps someday in the future actually turning on the air conditioning. This was more like it - summer had arrived! It was time to break out the sun block and the bathing suits....until we woke up this morning - to more rain. I am now listening to thunder and looking at the every darkening skies. Wait a minute - is that a ray of sunshine??? Nope, just a lighter shade of grey. Sigh.

The herbs are thriving



and our neighbour Tyler is loving his soccer games (when the rain stops long enough to play)



Mike is not happy - this is seriously interfering with his goal of playing 100 games this season. He's pretty much accepted the fact that the 100 game goal is not happening this year, but he would very much like the chance to break in his new Ping Irons and Driver.



Abi is freezing. I took her to the groomer for what I hoped would be her usual very cute 'perky' cut and they gave a Mexican Shave!!!! I am not happy, Abi is miserable. So, what could we do, we were forced to send Mike out shopping to buy her clothing. Abi was hoping for a nice little sweater, or maybe a little tartan jacket, but apparently it's summer here (haa haa haa) and all they had was T-shirts. So, he did the best he could and we laughed ourselves silly after we got her all gussied up.

Abi, by the way, loves her new shirt (just like the ones her Mexican friends wear)and yes, she is "Bad to the Bone"!!!!!

I have to confess, if it is going to be horrid, there is nothing like a good storm, within reason. I will quite happily pass on hurricanes, typhoons and tsunamis. However, I do love blizzards, if I can stay inside til the snow melts, and a good thunder and lightening storms is as good as fireworks as long as I haven't planned on an outside meal. Which I did today.

It is not the end of the world - the chicken can be cooked in the oven and I'll just set the table in the dining room - I just wish it would STOP RAINING!!!!!!!!

But before I do anything, right now I have to go shut all the windows because it's pouring and the floors are getting wet.

My mood, by the way? Best not to ask. Suffice it to say, this has not been a good hair day.

Deja Vu

What is with me and birds?

In November, shortly after we arrived in Mazatlan, we had a visitor for lunch, a tiny little parrot who perched on one of the power lines near our terrace. We had no idea what, or who, he was but discovered later that it was Pancho, one of the little fellows who were rescued and fostered by the wonderful people living in Mazatlan until they were ready to be released. Pancho, and his cohort, Lefty, were adopted by our friends Nancy and Paul and lived happily on their terrace until he decided to go exploring. I was thrilled to read recently on Nancy's blog, Countdown to Mexico, that Pancho has come home - a little worn out after his adventure but strong enough to find his way back to sanctuary with Nancy, Paul and Lefty.

We have had dreadful weather since we arrived home the end of April - lots of grey skies and way too much rain. We've planted all the flowers in the pots on our patio but rarely have to water them. We're actually worried that they might drown. A few weeks ago we had 77mm of rain in two days - the average for the month is 53mm. Today the forecast is for a high of 10 (we're not there yet) and, what a surprise, it's raining. Again. I just glanced out the window and one of the young men who works in our development is out using the weed eater to finish up the lawn mowing that was done yesterday (when it wasn't raining). He is wearing 2 hoodies, jeans, boots, and I can see his gloves in his back pocket. This is June!!!!!

However, 2 days ago it was 25 and sunny and so I decided to spend the day outside working on a project that we've been putting off. We have a very large mirror in our bedroom built into a nook in the wall that desperately needs a frame, so on the weekend we took a trip to Home Depot to pick up supplies. It was lovely on Monday and so I set up shop outside on the patio and had a lovely morning, just Abi and I, a can of white paint and a paint brush, getting the frame ready to be cut and mounted. Well, I thought it was just Abi and I, until we had an unexpected visitor!




He was adorable and stayed with us for hours. He hopped along the top of the fence, sat on the back of the chairs, even walked along the board I had just painted. Good thing it was hot and the paint dried almost instantly or we would have had little birdie footprints everywhere. I have no idea who he belongs to. He must live close by as he wasn't terribly good at flying and just did short dashes from fence to fence, coming back repeatedly to our yard.

He left us mid-afternoon and although I put snacks out for him he hasn't returned. I have canvassed the neighbourhood to see if anyone has any idea where he came from, but no luck. We haven't seen him since, but we also haven't run into anyone looking for him, so I have my fingers crossed that he has found his way home.

He was so darned cute!