Bard's birthplace

William Shakespeare's birthplace in Stratford-Upon-Avon in December.





Was told off for taking the picture of the inside. Wished I had chosen something else to take a picture of afterwards.


Thought about working at the Stratford Festival in Ontario while I was there.

Retracing Mum's routes

These are some London congestion charge "Cs" painted on the road. I took pictures as we roamed a route familiar to my mother who used to live and work in London.








My mother used to work for Bill Linnit, a theatre producer, in this building. The Linnits moved to the flat from Barton Street around the corner.

This was once the home of Lawrence of Arabia.


John Gielgud lived at the end of Barton in the house with the green door.


Number 11 is where my mother worked for the Linnits before they moved around the corner. She had a bedroom at the back of the house.


Lord Reith also lived on Barton Street, which is behind the Dean's Yard at Westminster Cathedral.


As we wandered, we encountered these signs.



Big Ben with the London Eye in the background.


Whitehall protest.

A windfall week

I went for dinner this evening with a friend who works for Cadbury. She brought me a bag full of candy. It should last a few years--unless I decide to share it.


This is the old elastic band ball started in about 1990 by my father. It is now almost a foot in diameter.


And I was lucky enough to go for a couple of cold ones at P.J. O'Brien's the day after St. Patrick's Day. I'm not Irish, but it is a good pub. The white spots in the photo are rain. Unfortunately, we didn't get more snow--I was hoping we'd break our snow accumulation record.

End of an era

A big day.

Fidel Castro retired and the Thomson takeover of Reuters was approved in the U.S. and the EU.

A look back at the press barons

Please click on each of the six images to enlarge and read this 1981 Maclean's story.

A different kind of altar

Story and more pictures to be added later . . .

Queues and exits at the film festival

Today was tough because I had a very early 9 a.m. screening of David Cronenberg's Eastern Promises followed by a 2:30 p.m. screening of Roger Spottiswoode's Shake Hands with the Devil.


Eastern Promises was shown at Ryerson University. There was a densely packed line up of people penned inside crowd-control fences outside when I arrived.

The film started half an hour late. Cronenberg made an appearance to introduce the film.


"What are you doing here?!" he said to the audience in jest because of the early start time. "This is the premiere of this film at this time of day."

The film had its gala premiere opening last night.

He also said that this is the first time he's made a film entirely shot outside of Canada.

Eastern Promises revolves around the story of a woman who dies in childbirth at Trafalgar Hospital in London. It is an urban gangster film about Russians in London--an interesting twist to the genre at a time when west and east seem to be reigniting a Cold War.

Although the film does not specifically make reference to the Alexander Litvinenko affair--Litvinenko was a former FSB officer who died in London last year from radiation poisoning--it shows aspects of the secret underworld of international espionage and gangster activity. The Russian gang is involved in trading heroin from Afghanistan.

In Eastern Promises, Cronenberg deploys elements of the urban gangster film that hearken back to Mervyn LeRoy's 1931 classic Little Caesar, including a strong subtext of homosexuality and impotence.

It also includes Cronenbergesque scenes of over-the-top gore and exaggerated caricatures that delighted the audience. Squeals and groans were heard throughout the auditorium at various particularly grisly points in the film.

GRAND EXIT

After the film, getting out of the theatre was a challenge: It was even more difficult to get out than it was to get in.

I wanted to take the usual shortcut across the Ryerson University Kerr Hall Quadrangle after leaving the screening because I was headed to points southwest of the theatre. However, in order to do so, I had to hastily and stealthily remove several crowd-control fences and squeeze between large oil drum-like containers to make my escape. I think I made a gracious, if illicit, departure from Ryerson considering the circumstances and didn't notice any angry staffers in pursuit.


I had been caught the previous evening trying (oh horrors) to get out the "in" door at the Elgin Theatre and was chastised by front-of-house staff.


After lunching at Eggspectation on Yonge Street with a Facebook friend I once again joined the queue outside the Elgin for Shake Hands with the Devil.

POWER OF VISA

I was with a friend for this screening. We were told that the platinum and gold Visa card advance entry privileges do not apply for films that begin before 6 p.m.

After the screening I buttonholed the front-of-house manager to discuss the procedure for platinum and gold Visa card holders. It turns out that those in possession of the cards are allowed to enter the theatre up to an hour and a half ahead of time. They are entitled to use a lounge where they are given complimentary "things" including Lindt chocolates, she said, and then escorted into the theatre before anyone else so they can choose their seats.

Once inside the Elgin, I made a dash for the balcony and my friend made a dash for the orchestra. I phoned her and we consulted from our respective seats on which was the best location. She felt she would be too close to the screen in the seventh row and came upstairs.

RWANDA FILM

Producer, director and cast all traipsed out on stage to introduce the film, which tells the story of former Canadian General Romeo Dallaire and the U.N. mission he headed in Rwanda in 1993.


The film focuses more on the story of the Rwandan genocide than Dallaire's ability to cope emotionally with the situation, although the film is based on his autobiography. The cinematography is dark and there are titles to explain where and when the action is occurring from time to time.

The film got a standing ovation as did a surprise visit from Dallaire as the credits were rolling.


"This film is part of a campaign to never let the Rwandan genocide be forgotten," Dallaire said. "I believe we have entered an era more evil than the colonial era."

Then--completely unrelated to the film festival--on the way home, there was an unusual sighting on the subway.

Account of the Battle of Vimy Ridge

Battle of Vimy Ridge

Easter, 1917
From World War I Pocket Diary
Canadian Artilleryman Harry Whitfield Mollins

Hometown Moncton N.B., served 1915-1918, originally with the 2nd Siege Battery, formed at Charlottetown, P.E.I., later incorporated into the 98th Canadian Siege Battery.

Born November 11, 1895, Melrose, Mass. (In his teens, joined his parents’ return to their original home in Moncton.) Died December 8, 1945, in Toronto.

Thursday, April 5 Weather: Fine

Carrying ammunition to the No. 4 gun all day. We are getting a reserve store ready for the “strafe” which “comes off” in a few days. Aeroplanes very active today.

Good Friday, April 6 Weather: Rain

On duty at the guns all day. Did considerable firing. Mailed letters to Walter Ryder & Grandma and Grandpa Duncan. A “Fritz” plane brought down one of ours, in flames, this evening. He then came right over toward our battery after another, but was driven off by our planes.

Saturday, April 7 Weather: Fine

On ammunition fatigues all day. Did considerable firing. Had to take a count of all the shells et cetera. A “Fritz” plane brought down one of our observation balloons this morning. It came down in flames. Letter from Mrs. Blackmore this evening & Easter cards from Mrs. Morton and Marcella Mollins of Moncton. On the guns all night. Fired 123 rounds.

Easter Sunday, April 8 Weather: Fine

Easter Sunday and a beautiful day. Nothing of importance happened. A few German shells dropped around the position. Our infantry goes over tomorrow in an attempt to capture Vimy Ridge. Expect it will be a big day.

Easter Monday, April 9 Weather: Fine

On fatigues all day. This is the day of the big “strafe.” There was a heavy bombardment at 5:30 a.m. and the infantry went over from Vimy Ridge to the right. Large numbers of prisoners and guns were taken. Vimy Ridge fell into our hands. Parties of prisoners passed our position all day. All seemed glad to have been captured. Our casualties were not very heavy. Nice parcel from mother this evening containing fountain pen, cake, candy, etc.

Tuesday, April 10 Weather: Fine

On the guns all day. Very quiet this morning. We started firing about 11:30 A.M. and from then till six fired 215 rounds. The infantry went over again this afternoon & gained their objective. More prisoners & guns were taken. The reports are very encouraging, in fact, too much so. However, everybody is very happy over the good results. “Fritz” put quite a few shells quite near our position today.
USA has entered the war on the side of the Allies.

Wednesday, April 11 Weather: Rain

On ammunition fatigues today. Had an easy day. “Fritz” shelled quite heavily today. Everything is still going favorably for us. Everyone is jubilant. We expect to be moving forward in a few days. On the guns all night. No firing up till twelve o’clock. Snowing very heavily this evening. “Fritz” shelled in this vicinity.
An ammunition dump of the No. 2 “Heavies” was blown up.

Thursday. April 12 Weather: Snow & Rain

We were called out at 3:30 A.M. and fired twenty rounds. At 5 A.M. there was a twenty minutes “strafe.” It was snowing and blowing something awful & very cold. Our infantry went over & gained their objective, and captured 600 prisoners. Off duty all day. It is reported this evening that 12,000 prisoners have been taken south of Arras, also 400 guns.
USA has declared war on Germany and severed relations with Austria. It is rumored the Argentine & Brazil are at war with Germany & have seized all Hun shipping in their ports.

Friday, April 13 Weather: Fine & warm

Easy day. A very interesting report of operations to date was posted this morning. Wancourt & Heeinel have been captured. The Hindenberg Line has been cleared 2,000 yds. south of Cojeul. The 1st Army (which includes the Canadians) has captured 4,000 prisoners, 33 guns, 112 Machine guns & 40 Trench Mortars. The Third Army on our right has captured 7,526 prisoners, 126 guns, 113 Machine guns, 44 Trench Mortars. The guns captured include 8”, 5.9”, 4.5” & field guns. “Fritz” has retired and our infantry is after him. Got orders to move this evening.


The following morning, the Canadian artillery unit began moving a few kilometres to a battlefront near the villages of Souchez and Carency, where, on Monday, April 16, the Canadian gunners re-engaged German artillery. The diary says:

"While we were firing the Huns burst two shrapnel [shells] right over the gun. No one was hurt. Spent the night in an old cellar, which we cleaned out. We dug up two skeletons in the debris.”

That evening, the diary notes, he received another Easter greeting card from home. It was to be almost 19 months before the war ended—on Harry Mollins’s 23rd birthday.

------------

Back home in Moncton, he worked for a time as manager of the furniture section of the local Eaton’s department store and polished his reputation as a baritone soloist in the city’s Baptist church and other choirs.

In the 1920s, he married Vera Grace Nickerson, gained B.A. and B.D. degrees at Acadia University in Wolfville, N.S., and became minister of the Baptist church in nearby Windsor, N.S.

He later served ministries in Ottawa (Fourth Avenue Baptist Church, 1933-1939) and in Brantford, Ont. (Park Baptist Church, 1939-1945, where his first sermon was given on the first day of World War II, Sunday, September 3, 1939) before the final 10 weeks of his life in Toronto (College Street Baptist Church) after the end of World War II.

Compiled by Carl Mollins, son of Harry, 5-4-07