55th anniversary of my graduation from University of Toronto

Convocation Hall, University of Toronto, May 31.

He was my 3rd year English professor. Photo taken on June 1. Statue is located on the campus of Victoria College, U of T.

This weekend of activities designed to celebrate the passage of 55 years since our graduation from U of T has brought back a lot of memories. It also was an occasion to meet old friends. We were the first people to see the new renovations and addition to Wymilwood, the student centre at Vic. The new Wymilwood is the beneficiary of big donations from the Goldring family who have been huge supporters of Vic.

The original Wymilwood was designed by famed architect Eric Arthur, and some of his greatest achievements have been preserved. The handsome staircase in Wymilwood that we all love and remember has been kept. Yay for that!

Our class, Vic 5T8, was the very first group to see the renewed and enlarged Wymilwood. We were honored – and we also were the very first to be served a meal (excellent) in the new cafeteria.
Getting my photo taken with (the statue of) Northrop Frye, my (famous) English professor, was a highlight of the weekend. But I did enjoy getting up in Convocation Hall to have my new medal (“55 years!”) draped around my neck.

Vic’s song:
The Old Ontario Strand is the traditional song of Victoria College
lyrics
1. O my father sent me to Victoria
And resolved I do the best I can
And so I settled down in a quiet college town
On the Old Ontario Strand.

2. At first they used me rather roughly
As I the fearful gauntlet ran,
They tossed me all about, and they turned me inside out
On the Old Ontario Strand.

Chorus: On the Old Ontario Strand, my friends
Where Victoria ever more shall stand,
For has she not stood since the time of the flood
On the Old Ontario Strand

3. Now don’t forget the theologians,
For they’re the finest in the land,
And with a little leaven
They will send us all to heaven
On the Old Ontario Strand.

Chorus

4. Then sing aloud to Alma Mater
And keep the scarlet in the van
For with our colors high, Vic’s name shall never die
On the Old Ontario Strand.

Chorus

RCAF Station St Hubert, Quebec

from Wikipedia:

RCAF Station St Hubert was a Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) base in the Montreal area. It became part of CFB Montreal upon the unification of the Canadian Forces in 1968. In its heyday as an operational Air Force Station, it was host to two CF 100 All Weather Fighter Squadrons, and two Air Force Reserve Sabre squadrons, in addition to being the host station to RCAF Air Defence Command Headquarters. The building later served as the Mobile Command Headquarters site until the base was decommissioned by the Canadian Forces in the mid 1990s. The airport remains in use as Montréal/Saint-Hubert Airport.

I was in the RCAF Reserves during the time that I was a university student. I spent my second RCAF summer (1956) stationed at St Hubert, Quebec, where I enjoyed easy access to downtown Montreal (as well as my military duties, of course!) I wrote the following in another blog post, My Military Career, Pt 2

“As my exams ended, the air force came though with my summer posting. I was sent to Quebec! My good friend Judy W., who was a lifelong friend of mine, and had gone through basic training with me, was also sent to the same station. How lucky could we get? On an early June evening, we boarded a train to Montreal, and the next day arrived at our summer posting, the RCAF’s Combat Operations Centre, at St. Hubert, Quebec. The COC was the heart and soul of Air Defence Command. The base itself, located on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River, across from Montreal, was also an active flying base. The jets were CF100 fighters, and our barracks were very close to the flight line. We soon become accustomed to the sound of jets taking off and landing (they were deafening!) and eventually could sleep through anything. The base post office, a tiny shack, was located right beside the flight line, and to get one’s mail, one had to go to the edge of the flight line, no matter if the planes were taking off, and the decibel level was off the scale. It was kind of thrilling. We never thought about the permanent damage that probably was occurring in our ears.”

~ You can read more about my ‘military career’ by searching my blog using the search term “military” (without the quotation marks, of course.) Today’s post was triggered by reading a reference to St Hubert online.

Spring days at Revera Leaside

The Don Valley has come to life and the birds are singing. The robin that sings in the maple tree out front has made her nest in the concrete overhang at the front door of #10. The downy woodpeckers are visiting the bird feeder every day, but with great enthusiasm, the squirrels are helping daily to empty the feeders. Methinks all of them are raising new families. I keep restocking the food every morning.

The trilliums are in bloom, yay! They are always a delight to see. These are just over the fence, right outside our back door. They love the woods that come right up to the fence. We have to enjoy them while they last.

New life is seen everywhere. I thought these leaves were beautiful, even tho I have no clue what the plant is. Anyone? Bueller?

Spring has also sprung inside the house. Yesterday we had a delightful spring fashion show. All the models were residents of the house. The gentlemen of the house enjoyed watching the show as much as the ladies did. The clothing was so great that each of the models wound up buying the pieces of the outfit that she modelled.
There were also lots of suggestions for sprucing up an existing spring wardrobe by using new scarves, jewellery, and accent pieces.
Also note that I was not the only resident taking photos. It was an entertaining afternoon.

10 Years Ago

Clay Aiken’s tweet today. Click on the link, go look, and enjoy.

Oh what a difference 10 years makes! Ten years ago this day:

Swan Lake

http://www.thestar.com/news/insight/2013/04/12/a_silent_ballet_for_mute_swans_at_humber_bay.html

The above link is to the front page of the online version of the Toronto Star, tonight, Fri. April 12.
Story and video are by my sister. The music is self explanatory, I think.
I hope you enjoy the video. Comments welcome here.

I stole this photo…

…from the Lakeland cam (google it!) in England….

A new version of ‘skinny dipping’

So funny I had to share it.

What Spring?

So much for spring! April 2nd, and the air temp is sitting right on the freezing point (32F or 0C) There’s a howling cold wind out of the north, and outside is not a nice place to be. With the wind chill, the temp is down around -10C.
It’s actually snowing hard right now outside my window. The squirrels were raiding my bird feeders while I was watching from inside in the comfort of the dining room. Poor squirrels are as hungry as the birds, and I don’t begrudge them one mouthful of birdseed. They also love the suet cake.

Waited for spring to deal with my dead car, and today was the day I arranged for it to be towed to the dealer’s service department. Of course, I had to go outside (having failed to dress warmly enough) to talk to the tow-truck driver and to give him the car key (for the dealer.) Just freezing cold out there; felt like February. As I type this, the major snow squall that’s going on outside my window is usually described on the weather newscast as “lake effect snow,” meaning that it is all the fault of Lake Ontario. Personally, I blame it on the weather gods, who are most definitely not on our side this year. Hope the green plants (tulips or daffs, not sure which) by our front door don’t succumb to today’s big freeze!