come fly away

Not that it was ever an option, 

but I do regret that I never had the opportunity (or money) to fly on the Concorde. I did manage to see and hear it fly overhead at noon as it left Heathrow.

I have been on a BOAC, back in the days when air travel was still an event that one dressed up for. 

Today, I will be wearing my warmest clothes that won't fit into my small suitcase (because getting a blanket and pillow is no longer a certainty)

Ideally, I'd prefer to travel in the Tardis, except I might end up in some strange land and century, but it would be an adventure. (maybe instead of going to the 50th anniversary party, I might actually be transported back to the wedding. that would be cool.) 
And the New Doctor lands on Saturday!! (yes, I'm so excited. not sure if jet lag will allow me to stay awake to watch, but I've been assured that I will be able to see the 'catch up' if sleep overtakes me. and I've been warned that no one else in my family is interested! how can that be??)

See you again in about 3 weeks.

PostcardFriendshipFriday

grave post - Erlme

I stopped off to wander through the Clifford Cemetery, but the mosquitos at dusk made it a short visit.

The name and current date on this stone as well as the bear and rooster stone made me pause. 

FISHER, Erlme Anne – passed away quietly at Listowel Memorial Hospital on Saturday April 19, 2014 at the age of 78. Erlme was a member of Atwood Presbyterian Church and the Women’s Missionary Society. 

The Alex Dixon Stewart listed on the stone was her brother who died in infancy. Today would have been her 79th birthday.

It would seem she also had a truly unique name. According to the only baby name website that recognized Erlme, there is one other person, in Michigan, who currently has this name.

a touch of blue

 A trial safety measure was implemented in Southampton just days before I

arrived. It was fun to watch the reaction of visitors and locals as they came upon the shocking sight of the blue painted corners of High and Grosvenor Sts. Apparently it has had some mixed reviews.

High Street is very wide and has angled parking which makes it difficult to see traffic while standing at the curb waiting to cross. One person suggested that a crosswalk might have been less unsightly, but drivers still would have had trouble seeing anyone beyond some of these vehicles. These are called bump outs and are meant to slow traffic and give pedestrians better access to cross the street. Each bump out is 10' out onto the road at its widest point.

When I took these pictures it was late on a quiet Sunday afternoon. This is also the less busy end, down by the cenotaph and the lake with the B&Bs lining the street. At this corner is a restaurant, a bank, the post office and a pub.

We also had something similar (though not nearly as bumped out) in my town, but I had no idea what the reasoning was behind the new paint and when I checked to confirm what I remembered as being green, I see it has disappeared.

I'll be interested to see if this is still in place next summer when the experiment is over. At best, maybe the blue will have lost some of it's brightness after the winter wind and snow.


sharing with signs,signs

a quiet time

One of the oddities of being outside a major urban area, is the lack of wildlife. It was almost startling how few birds and animals were around. You see many more varieties in the city than at the cottage, which is not exactly what you expect.

there were some very noisy blue jays

and this hungry robin

and a hungry bunny

and quite a few gulls on the windy beach

as well as many crows and vultures

but I sortof missed the raccoons, of which Toronto has about 2 million

I did see a deer on the side of the road, actually he was standing in the oncoming lane of the two lane highway and fortunately, for him and us, he bolted back into the forest.

a tiny Jumbo

It's a tiny postcard, measuring only 3½" by 1½"

but it's JUMBO! 
and I've been looking for a vintage Jumbo postcard for ages.







this is larger than the real card!

the reverse side shows the embossing

greatly enlarged

My postcard dealer from the stamp show put him aside to show me because it was a miniature. I was so excited. My first miniature and my first Jumbo (of any era).

Wikipedia lists Jumbo's occupation as 'zoo and circus attraction'. He was born in Sudan and after his mother was killed by hunters, he ended up in captivity and was shuttled between various zoos until PT Barnum bought him and he lived the next few years being the star attraction of the "Greatest Show on Earth". The world mourned when the 12' Jumbo was hit by a freight train in St Thomas, Ontario in 1885.

Reports vary on the nature of his death and what happened afterwards, but apparently Jumbo's skeleton was donated to the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. The elephant's heart was sold to Cornell University. His hide was stuffed and traveled with Barnum's circus for a number of years. In 1889, Barnum donated the stuffed Jumbo to Tufts University, where it was displayed until destroyed by a fire in 1975. Jumbo's tail, which survived the fire, is kept in the University archives. The great elephant's ashes are kept in a 14-ounce Peter Pan Crunchy Peanut Butter jar in the office of the Tufts athletic director.

PostcardFriendshipFriday

grave post - Hepner

There isn't any information on how Private Gordon Hepner of the Canadian Infantry (1st Depot Battalion, Western Ontario Regiment) died, or where he saw service, but according to the Canadian Great War Project, he enlisted on January 8th 1918, and less than 2 weeks later, on January 21st he had died.

He was born on February 26th, 1883 the son of John and Elizabeth Hepner in Port Elgin. His mother predeceased him. At this mausoleum in the Port Elgin (Sanctuary Park) Cemetery, there are no other names beyond the family name though military records indicate that Private Hepner is buried here.

He is commemmorated in the First World War Book of Remembrance in the Memorial Chamber of the Peace Tower on a page that will be displayed on September 14, 2014

Russia

This week's Sunday Stamps theme is faraway (or exotic, romantic).  Well, all places seem faraway and exotic to me, though some more so than others. But, I decided to go with what I think of as my first, or most lingering (in spite of the sometimes appalling leaders) exotic faraway place. I have had a fascination with Russia for many years, though I've no idea where this came from. 

I could say it had something to do with the Cold War, or the space race, or even the Olympics, but I don't think so. 

Sputnik

That would be where I heard about Russia - except it was called the Soviet Union then - and really, it was Imperial Russia that held my interest. Or it could have come from Dr Zhivago, but I think that might have just furthered my romantic notion of Russia. 

a Dacha, anyone?

By the time Baryshnikov had defected and I was studying Russian history in high school, I was saving up for a trip to St Petersburg. By the time I was 30, I knew that wasn't going to happen, not with my poorly paying career choices. So I bought coffee table books instead. 

And dreamed of The Kirov 

Catherine the Great and the Romanovs and The Hermitage

I was so excited to get this mini sheet from a generous postcrosser

And, in a flight of fancy, bought a samovar. Though mine didn't look quite like this and it remained solely for decoration until I finally consigned it to an antique shop where it was eventually sold to grace someone else's china cabinet.

antique cable car

Over on my other blog, I posted photos of the Aerocar that crosses above the Whirlpool at  Niagara Falls. You can be assured that I did not go on  it.  I merely stood by and took pictures to share with all of you.

Here are two postcards of the same Spanish Aerocar from  almost 100 years ago. This card was mailed in 1921 on June 28th. Apparently it was raining, but  the sender did some sightseeing all the same. He doesn't say if he went on this cable car.

this card is probably from the same era, but I do wonder why there is only one person shown in the car?

The Aero Car was designed by a Spanish engineer, Leonardo Torres Quevedo and has been in operation since 1916. The cable car is suspended from six sturdy cables and offers a wonderful view of the Niagara Whirlpool which is formed at the end of the rapids where the gorge turns abruptly counterclockwise, and the river escapes through the narrowest channel in the gorge.

(Niagara Parks website)

something for PostcardFriendshipFriday