Xmas comes early in the UK

Fremlin Walk is an old brewery which was transformed into a lifestyle shopping centre amid controversy. People were upset that old shops were torn down to make way for the new mall.



Marks & Spencer's sells these pig candles.

And all kinds of interesting things.

Including Christmas cakes and puddings in September.

This is Gabriel's Hill.

Bank Street . . .

Click on the pic for detail.

Travels with Air Transat

The trip to London Gatwick yesterday was a bit of an ordeal. After a final walk around Toronto in the morning, I headed home to finish packing.













Got to Pearson airport by 6:30 p.m. The seats on an Airbus 310 are quite narrow and uncomfortable as it turns out. Airbus has a reputation for packing people in. I spent most of the eight-hour journey hanging off the side of the seat into the aisle due to the cramped space. Passersby apparently had no qualms about smashing into my shoulder and arm. Liberal amounts of wine and acetaminophen helped alleviate the agony of the experience.





The dinner was basically a box of rice. I counted three peas in the "traveller's format" "vegetarian biryani." There was no butter for the roll.



The airline even provides a plastic bag to use for garbage.

Stay tuned . . .

I am moving to England on a temporary work assignment. It could become longer term. Just found out on Thursday. It's been a busy few days. I'll be working just off Fleet Street.

Disgraceland tomatoes

A new place opened nearby this summer. It is called Disgraceland and its chef produces such delicacies as grilled peanut butter sandwiches and fried green tomatoes.


I was surprised that the fried green tomatoes were breaded. I thought they would be plain. The chef emerged from the kitchen to see who was (actually?) eating the food.


It's all very Generation Why, but the server gave us a complimentary round of drinks and didn't give us the "whatever" 'tude after she spilled a glass of wine on one of us.

And did those feet?

Edible Australian delicacy

I confess I had the smallest of nibbles of this dried kangaroo meat brought directly from Australia.

It tastes like it looks: dry and hard. Not something I plan to eat when I visit Australia.

Click on the pic for a close-up look.

Mid-afternoon Mateus

I went to a friend's place on Saturday afternoon with a bottle of Mateus that had made the rounds for a couple of months without ever ending up in the hands of someone brave enough to open it.


It went down very well.




Mid-afternoon became dusk and I returned home shortly thereafter.

Injection to pen collection

I bought a new pen this week. It's chrome with black swirls and contains blue ink.


I bought it in a shop called The Ultimate Gift Shop at Queen and Yonge Streets.


I've been collecting souvenir floaty pens for a long time. They are all fine point pens with blue ink.


The trick with floaty pens is to buy only the ones made in Denmark. If they are made anywhere else toss them directly into the trash because the quality is substandard.

There are two basic models of floaty pens made in Denmark. The ones with the solid, flat chrome pen clip have "Made in Denmark" etched into them lengthwise. The ones with the clip made of thick wire have "Made in Denmark" imprinted in circular relief with very tiny letters on the end of the pen. Beware of imitators!


Sometimes people give me floaty pens, but most I have collected myself from trips I have made.

Bloorcourt Village shop window

There's not really a lot to say about this window display. It accentuates the creepy sensation dolls can emit.

Christie Pits lightning tree

A man died under this tree last month when he was struck by lightning.



I dropped by today to leave a memento at the base of the tree.



I sat for a while thinking about how much the victim, 28, enjoyed reading in the park.


I think I'll return with a book sometime.



R.I.P.