Kelsey's -- The End Of An Era

Quotation of the day: J.R.R. Tolkein ~ Orcs, and talking trees, and leagues of grass, and galloping riders, and glittering caves, and white towers and golden halls, and battles and tall ships sailing.

As my regular reader will know, my favourite pub in town for many years has been Kelsey's, and the primary reason i went there three or four times a week was that i liked the people who worked there (and in fact loved one of them) (although she was 'way too young for me) (or i was 'way too old for her, your choice).

The staff were great: new hires, upon realising that i was a regular, would make an effort to learn my name and it was almost like family. At one point i was Facebook friends with virtually everyone there.

And they were good to me, too: i would go in on my birthday and i wasn't allowed to spend any money. I would go in for lunch on Christmas Eve and i wasn't allowed to spend any money. One year, i went in on Thanksgiving Day. The Kitchen Manager had made turkey dinner with all the fixin's for the staff -- and they gave me a huge plate of it to take home. Then there was the occasional free pint (the way to a man's heart is through his liver, etc.) and the occasional complimentary dinner. They appreciated my business and they earned my loyalty in spades.

But, about a year ago, the place deteriorated drastically. They had an almost 100% staff turnover, very few of my friends were left, the atmosphere deteriorated terribly. One of my friends there told me that the thought of going to work gave her anxiety attacks. She's much happier where she is now (i saw her the other day). (I still love her.)

They can no longer keep staff -- no one wants to work there any more; it seems that every time i go in there now, there's someone working i've never seen before. And of all of these new people, i am impressed with ... none of them.

Today was the last straw. I went in, no one i knew was working, and the Muzak channel they had on was utter disco-pop rubbish. I mean, really. It was like having needles driven into my ears. It couldn't possibly appeal to anyone over the age of fifteen, why would a pub play such shit? I stayed for my usual two pints, trying to cover my ear holes as i used my phone to try to catch up on email and Facebook, but it was hopeless -- the noise in the background was too painful. And i said to the manager, "this music is fuck'n horrible." She tried to make a joke of it but didn't offer to change the channel so i downed my second pint very quickly and fled.

I may never go back.

The Muzak at Crabby Joe's -- and at Bentley's -- is much better.

Here, have a playlist:

Florence + The Machine -- How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful
Van der Graaf Generator -- Merlin Atmos
Rory Gallagher - Irishman In New York
Various -- Essential Drive
Max Webster -- High Class In Borrowed Shoes
Fairport Convention -- The Wood And The Wire
Peter Hammill --This
Jefferson Airplane -- After Bathing At Baxter's
Pat Benatar -- Best Shots
Bruce Guthro -- Guthro
Colin James -- Take It From The Top
Jeff Beck -- Live +
Richard Thompson -- Still
Marillion -- The Thieving Magpie
Matchbox Twenty -- North
The Albion Band -- The Vice Of The People
Max Webster -- Mutiny Up My Sleeve
Ian Anderson -- TAAB2
Paula Cole -- 7
Stephane Grappelli -- Live At The Cambridge Folk Festival

Re-Assessing Crabby Joe's

Quotation Of The Day ~ Clive James: Common sense and a sense of humor are the same thing, moving at different speeds. A sense of humor is just common sense, dancing. Those who lack humor are without judgment and should be trusted with nothing.

As i wrote recently, Crabby Joe's Tap & Grill Stratford is a lovely new boozer in town. In my previous post about it, i wrote that the only reason that i probably wouldn't frequent it was that they didn't have open Wi-fi. Nevertheless, i had lunch there a second time, had an excellent clubhouse sandwich and had the same barmaid with the spray-painted-on trousers and trust me, on her, they work!

And my dear friend Jill came in for a drink with her brother, and i bought her one and i was liking the place more and more by the minute (in spite of no Wi-fi).

However, although they don't have open Wi-fi, they do have Wi-fi, and i have a friend who works in the kitchen there and (chortle) he gave me the password. And so, armed with this, i went in for a drink after work on Wednesday. And the first thing i noticed was a new sign on the door suggesting Wi-fi was available. Oh, cool, i thought, but when i tried to connect to their network, it still required a password (?). Maybe the staff are empowered to give you the password if you ask for it? But i wasn't worried: i had it!

And yet again i had the same attractive bartender. She's very nice (turns out her name is Jess) but i suspect she's high-maintenance: everything about her appearance is perfect (or purr-fect, if you prefer). (On the other hand, maybe she's just naturally perfect; further research is indicated.) (I actually found a photograph of her on the Internet, too, but i'm not going to post it. Invasion of privacy and all that, although it was scary how easy it was to find....)

So, i'll just post some different eye candy, a pic of Kira Milan, one of my favourite girls of all time.

And my playlist, too!

Fairport Convention -- Myths And Heroes
John Kirkpatrick -- Plain Capers
Oysterband -- Holy Bandits
The Albion Country Band -- The Battle Of The Field
Saga -- Images At Twilight
Runrig -- In Search Of Angels
Cat Stevens -- Mona Bone Jakon
Marillion -- Brave Live 2013
Saga -- House Of Cards
Ten Years After -- Live At Reading, 1983

Crabby Joe's, Stratford

Quotation Of The Day: Joe Cocker ~ I think the only thing I would've ever been any good at was probably being a pub landlord. I've thought of that a couple of times.

And so today, my afternoon off, i hied me to Crabby Joe's Stratford outlet – a restaurant that had been closed for over a year after their erstwhile manager did a bunk with the day's takings and the contents of the safe. It's a small franchise and it was taken over by Corporate, completely gutted and re-designed and re-opened just a couple of weeks ago. Today was my first – and probably my last visit.

I didn't go in very often when they were open previously. They used to have complementary peanuts on the bar and the peanut shells all over the floor deterred me more than a little.

When i walked in at lunch time today, i was at first very impressed: the place looks great! Bright and spacious and cheerful, totally different to what it had been. Another point in its favour – they sell my beer. (Not everywhere does, and one factor in my going there today was that i knew that my usual pub was out of it until later this afternoon) (and i'm fussy about my beer – if i can't get it i'm lost).

A third point was, i am not ashamed to admit (shallow and dirty-old-mannish as i am) the servers' uniforms consist of low-cut and very tight t-shirts, and trousers that look like they were spray-painted on. If my bartender had been a blimp, this could have been grotesque, but she wasn't – she was, in fact, quite attractive and extraordinarily callipygous.

As for the food, there was nothing too different on the menu – same old schtuff you get everywhere. Burgers, wings, fingers, all that. I ordered a burger (they wouldn't cook it medium well for me, unfortunately – but the trend these days, especially in franchises, seems to be that all burgers shall be well done) with caesar salad and it was fine, very tasty in fact.

And my bill was very reasonable – two pints + lunch came to $28 + tip.

So far, so good, right? So why will my first visit quite possibly also be my last? Very simple: no Wi-Fi. I mean, WTF??? I mean, everywhere has free Wi-Fi, even the lowliest of the low, like A & W. When i go to a pub, usually alone, i like to catch up on email and Facebook and all the news of the day using the phone or the iPad, and that is what i like to do, dammit it. Couldn't do it today, though.

Oh, well, here's my most recent playlist:

Steeleye Span -- Commoner's Crown

Van der Graaf Generator -- Pawn Hearts

Peter Hammill -- Skin

Brand X -- Unorthodox Behaviour

Steeleye Span -- Ten Man Mop, Or, Mr Reservoir Butler Rides Again

Sky -- Sky 2

Marillion -- Anoraknophobia

Jon Anderson -- Olias Of Sunhillow

Colin James -- Bad Habits

Fairport Convention -- Myths And Heroes

Jon Anderson -- Deseo

Max Webster -- High Class In Borrowed Shoes

Steeleye Span -- Commoner's Crown

The Cecil Sharp Centenary Collective -- As I Cycled Out On A May Morning

Donovan -- What's Bin Did And What's Bin Hid

Dead Can Dance -- Within The Realm Of A Dying Sun

The Allman Brothers Band -- Beginnings

Adventures In Modern Drinking

Quotation of the day ~ George Jones: Maybe some folks are alcoholics and others are just voluntary drunks. Maybe some folks drink due to body chemistry and others due to their lazy characters. Maybe some have drinking problems, while others have problems enough to drink.
 
As anyone who knows me will tell you, and as i've probably mentioned here ad nauseam, i am very fond of my beer. I'm also very fond of pubs, they're (quite possibly) my natural habitat, but i don't go to pubs to drink. No, really. If i just wanted to drink, i could do it at home and save a lot of money. I like the atmosphere and, as i spent a part of my childhood in England, living above a pub, they're in my blood somehow. (Same as, when i lived in Toronto, i lived upstairs from a pizza parlour. Starting at around 10 a.m., the aroma of pepperoni & cheese would waft up and imbue my studio, and, to this day, i have a Pavlovian reaction at the very thought of pizza.)

My favourite pub where i live now, is Kelsey's. Easy walking distance from both home and my work. There are one or two other places i drop into occasionally, but i've been going to Kelsey's on average maybe twice or thrice a week ever since it opened and it's my home away from home. Really. I feel that comfortable there.

I know you're curious as to why, and i'll tell you one reason. It's because i have friends who work there, i like everyone who works there, and some of the waitresses, i am far more fond of than i should be, at my age. (I'm honestly not a dirty old man but if i were 35 years younger....) Kelsey's -- as a good pub should be -- is a large part of my social life.

I like to think that i drink in a mature, responsible and "sober" (if that word applies) manner, though (except on Christmas Eve!). In public, anyway.  My usual routine is, have two pints (never fewer, rarely more), look at email, Facebook & Twitter on my phone, and then spend the rest of the hour or so reading my book (and occasionally flirting outrageously with the waitresses). And, let me tell you: every single server at Kelsey's is an attractive female, some of them i would even class as beautiful. Well, i DID say i don't go there to drink!

OK, that was rather a lengthy preamble, covering territory i've most likely covered before on these pages. On to the adventure.

On Friday, i dropped in, Jill had my pint before me in a record-setting ten seconds (she'd seen me coming) and i relaxed, did the Facebook / Twitter thing, and started to read my book (Ian Rankin's "Fleshmarket Close" if you're interested).

The only other people at the bar were a couple, a fairly loud woman and her very mousy male companion, but i paid them no heed and concentrated on my book. But then Jilly sent me a Facebook message saying "oh, dear." I thought (and hoped) at first that she was about to profess undying love, you know, like saying "oh, dear" after some world-obliterating sex, (i think it's okay for me to say that, she knows how fond of her i am) but then realised that she was dismayed about the stentorian female.

There was an argument over something (probably trivial). She started to yell at her "date," and he left, but heck, i wasn't paying too much attention, huge fan of Ian Rankin that i am, but apparently she was in a state of high dudgeon. A woman scorned and all that schtuff. Still and all, though, she was sitting relatively quietly. I'm not sure of the exact chronology, but i think that it was about this time that she ordered a couple of meals to take out. And slipped a salt cellar into her purse.... (And i told Jill so, via Facebook.)

But then she turned her attention on me, the only other person at the bar, alas.... "What are YOU looking at?" she called at me across the bar. I said (in my best Robert deNiro manner) "You talkin' to me?" I was looking at my book, in fact i even showed it to her. "It's called a book, see?" i said. "You can't be reading, you're not really reading, you're a liar." "Thank you very much," i replied, refusing to rise to the challenge. "Why are you pretending to read?" -- and she was literally yelling at this point.  "Well, you're right, i'm not reading now, you're interrupting me."

"You can't be reading," she repeated, with a certain lack of imagination, "not with the Muzak and the tv on. You look stupid!"

Again, i thanked her for her insight. She repeated her opinion on my appearance, more loudly this time,  and again, i thanked her for her view and admitted that she was 100% correct, i was only pretending to read. And, agreed that yes, i do look stupid -- but at my age i try to avoid mirrors and so i was grateful for that assessment. Maybe she was right!

Now, Kelsey's people stepped in. Michelle (manager) insisted that she leave. The customer screamed (literally) "FUCK OFF" (or words to that effect), "today would have been my son's 25th birthday, but he committed suicide!!!! AND NONE OF YOU LOT CARES!!!" Meanwhile, Jen was calling the police.

(Now, all right, if her son's suicide was a fact, it's a tragedy. No parent should have to bury their child. But none of us knew this woman, which, in light of her behaviour, made sympathy difficult. We've all -- every one of us -- lost someone we love. We don't all go doolally at the pub....)

After another brief bout of swearing and shouting, she left, damning us all to hell. Calm descended -- and her take-out dinners appeared from the kitchen, LOL. And then two police officers arrived, one to get the details of the incident, the other to return the salt cellar -- and the pepper shaker and the two plates she had also stuffed into her purse. I didn't notice her doing that -- i must have been too busy "pretending" to read Ian Rankin.

And then i left -- my daily quota of two pints having been taken and my excitement quota for the day (for the month, in fact!) having been more than reached. And Michelle & Jilly paid for one of my beers and gave me the two dinners that this harridan had ordered but left without -- and without paying for -- which i thought was very nice of them, quite unnecessary but much appreciated. That kind of gesture reinforces my loyalty to the place. (The food was good, too -- steak and wings -- Kelsey's food is excellent, although re-heating it four hours later doesn't show it off at its best.)

Now, in all fairness, i don't know for sure that this person was "under the influence." They told me that she hadn't been there all that long (although who knows what she'd been into before her arrival). She may have been a borderline sociopath, maybe mildly schozophrenic, who knows? But she was certainly out of control, and that was what was so disturbing.

All right, all right, as adventures go, this isn't quite up there with The Odyssey, but emotions were running high for me and my friends, and that doesn't happen -- to me, anyway -- all that often. So there.

Toronto, October 2012, Part One

Quotation of the day ~ Jimi Hendrix (upon being asked what it felt like to be the greatest guitarist in the world): "I don't know, ask Rory Gallagher."

Okay, well, in my last post, as you, my regular reader, may recall, i suggested that i would write about the trip to Toronto i took at the beginning of October.  Not sure if it was a suggestion, a promise, or a threat, but, well, whatever.  I love Toronto.  I don't get there often enough.  I don't have enough time off, really, working five and a half days a week, c'est la vie.

Anyway! The primary purpose of my visit was to see Oysterband http://www.oysterband.co.uk/ at Hugh's Room http://hughsroom.com/  

It was the third time i'd seen them in four years, and they didn't disappoint.  Such a great band. 










Here's the venue:

Oh, and here's a pic of me with my companions at the show, Barbara & Eric, outside Hugh's Room:

 (i'm the somewhat sozzled-looking one with glasses askew and rapidly-greying hair on the right). (Spatulate fingers out of shot.)

Anyway.  The show was on Tuesday, i arrived via Via Rail an hour after the scheduled arrival time that morning, and headed straight to The Wolf & Firkin pub in Elm Street (stopping only at an ATM en route) to have lunch with Julian & Andrea, my friends with whom i'd be staying that night.  We always meet at The Wolf & Firkin, it's a great pub.  Unfortunately, there was something lacking this lunchtime: Andrea.  She's an actress and she was working or rehearsing or something, and sent her regrets. I was sorry to miss her, but Julian & i made the best of it, had a lovely lunch but then he had to go off to work -- he was busy directing a play and he gave me a card with the title of the play on it but i regret i can't find it just now. Sorry, Julian, i can't give you a plug!

So i just went off to explore the mean streets of Toronto.  I walked. North. I love walking in the first place (my doctor says it's why i'm in the good shape that i am in spite of years of over-indulgence in cigarettes and alcohol) and i especially love walking around in Toronto and it was a great day for it, sunny and mild, and my ultimate destination was my old neighbourhood of Yonge & Eglinton, a distance of three miles or so.

Basically i walked straight up Yonge Street, but there was one diversion: Bloor Street East and a visit to a pub called The Spotted Dick http://spotteddickpub.com/  

Here's the view from their smoking section (i.e., outside):

I've been there before, and i like the place, and this time, to my great delight, their satellite muzak (©) system was tuned in to a blues station! So i had a couple of pints there and listened to Muddy Waters, George Thorogood, Otis Rush et al and could have stayed there for the afternoon.  Maybe next time.





I continued my trek and by the time i reached St. Clair Avenue, i was desperate for a pee.  Fortunately, i found -- who'd have thought it possible? -- a pub.  (I forget its name.)  The pub was all right, the barmaid was cute, and the pee was a blessed relief and no mistake....

I could have relaxed there -- yes, become as relaxed as a newt -- but time was now becoming a factor.  It was only a couple of hours until i was to meet Barbara & Eric at Hugh's Room, so i forged ahead, continued the northward-walking scenario.  And when i passed Yonge & Davisville, i took this picture of my old apartment:

Yep, i lived upstairs from Pizza Pizza for quite a while.  I've written somewhere -- maybe not on this blog, but somewhere -- maybe an email to Vera Farmiga? -- that my lust for pizza (nature's most perfect food IMFFHO) derives from the fact that i would have the aroma wafting into my nostrils starting at ten a.m. every day.....











So, then, nevermind, further north to Yonge & Eglinton, and here's the approach:

Yes, there be potholes!

And i paid my customary visit to my old neighbourhood pub, The Duke Of Kent. Nice to be there, it was indeed, but i saw no one i knew.  Not that i really expected to but you never know....

Anyway, i had one pint there and then it was off to the subway, to Dundas West station and Eric and Barbara and Oysterband! 









More later.... 

Pubs, Friends, Loss Thereof

Quotation Of The Day: Sting ~ There's a hole in my life / Be a happy man / I try the best I can / Or maybe I'm just looking for too much. There's something missing from my life.

As my regular reader will know, my favourite pub in this god-forsaken town is Kelsey's.  I pop in there after work, oh, i don't know, maybe twice a week.  Sometimes more, sometimes less.  But i really do look upon it as my home away from home.  I don't exactly have a rip-snortin' social life, pathetic computer addict that i am, generally more comfortable in cyberspace than in meatspace,  but i have friends who work at Kelsey's and i invariably enjoy seeing them, and that's why i go there. (LOL, i don't go there to drink, if i only wanted to drink i could do it at home and save heaps o'money....)

A couple of weeks ago, i wrote about how my friend Nicole had left the pub in order to go back to school -- good move for her, of course, but unhappy for me.

Two days ago, i learned that another friend, Josh, had quit, in a state of high dudgeon.  I know why, but i can't really say why. I mean, it's true but i, personally, have no proof and i can't go tossing allegations around; suffice to say that Josh was quite justified in leaving.  He is a man of principle.

And so ... i've lost another friend. Josh and i.... Well, we really didn't have a lot in common -- two totally different character types, but we always had enjoyable natters about this 'n' that.  And what really worries me now, is that Josh's girlfriend Jen (oh, look, here's a picture of them both, a handsome couple for sure) (pic used with permission)

-- who also works at Kelsey's but whom i've known since before she worked there -- is now pretty damned miserable, working there, and may soon be gone....  (I said to her today, don't do anything hasty.)

If she goes, my best friend there will be, er, Natalie.  Who's really nice and extraordinarily cute (in fact, as she's only about 20 years old makes me feel like a dirty old man but, as i've said, i'm a miserable failure as a dirty old man) (hey, my "girlfriend" of 22 years is older than i am!) but anyway, where was i?  I've known Natalie for maybe two months....



She's...

It's...
I'm...





Miserable.

Here's the playlist -- cos i know you're fascinated by all of this obscure shit i listen to ;o)

Various Artists -- The Blues White Album
Man -- Live At The Rainbow 1972
Peter Hammill -- Consequences
City Boy -- Live At My Father's Place
Freddie King -- Taking Care Of Business, disc 5
Rod Stewart -- Blondes Have More Fun
McGuinn, Clark & Hillman -- Long Island
Curved Air -- Airborne
Richard Thompson -- Cambridge Festival 1987
The Albion Band -- The Vice of The People
Bob Marley & The Wailers -- Catch A Fire
Bob Dylan -- Tempest
George Harrison -- Wonderwall Music
Van der Graaf Generator -- Live In Concert At Metropolis Studios, London
Saga -- 10,000 Days
Anne Briggs -- The Time Has Come
Roy Wood -- Music Book, disc 2
Pink Floyd -- Wish You Were Here

The Problem With Pubs

Quotation of the day ~ Samuel Johnson: There is nothing which has been yet contrived by man, by which so much happiness is produced as by a good tavern or inn.

I don't have an alcohol problem -- i drink, i fall asleep, no problem tra la.

But i will confess to being a pub-a-holic.  I love pubs.  I think this goes back to my youth in England.  As an infant, i lived above one. My auntie and uncle ran a pub on Lindisfarne -- the fabulous holy isle -- and for a while my parents shared the living space.  So from a very early age i was accustomed to the aroma of hopped beverages wafting into my nose.

(The same thing happened to me with pizza: when i lived in Toronto i lived, for a while, upstairs from a pizzeria, and at around ten o'clock every morning, the aroma of pepperoni pizzas would soar upwards; it may explain why i now consider pizza to be nature's most perfect food.)

Pubs are not to be confused with bars and hotels -- nasty, dark places and often pretty dirty.  Pubs are bright and friendly and -- if i may quote the theme song from "Cheers," "sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name, and they're always glad you came."  That's what i mean by a pub.

Here's a pic of the very first place i ever considered to be "my" local pub:

The Duke Of Kent at Yonge & Eglinton, in Toronto.  I lived behind it, a minute's walk away, my neighbours went there and most of my few remaining friendships were forged there.  It changed my life in many ways (for there, f'rinstance, it was that i met my ex-wife and if that wasn't life - changing...).






 I now live in Stratford, and there are only two pubs here that i go to: my favourite is Kelsey's, which is close to where i live.  I go there, oh, i dunno, maybe on average, twice a week.  I've been going there since it opened, 12 (?) years ago.  And check my flickr page for views from their smoking area (i.e., outside): http://www.flickr.com/photos/34806425@N02/sets/72157619393471020/ The other one is Bentley's, which is close to where i used to live.  I've been going there since it opened, 23 (?) years ago -- but now that i live way a long way away from it, maybe only twice a month.

Anyway, on to the point of this post.

If you go into anywhere regularly, you become friendly with some of the people who work there.  Friend each other on Facebook and exchange email addresses, etc.  But -- people in the "hospitality" industry being notoriously nomadic -- all of a sudden they leave and you never see them again.  Someone you like just simply disappears from your life.  It ... leaves a hole.  (And i have so many holes now you might mistake me   for a Swiss cheese....)

What has brought this post on, is, that i have made many friends at Kelsey's over the years and one of my all-time favourites, Nicole, left, to go back to school.  Yesterday was her last day. I envy her, one of the greatest regrets of my life is that i didn't finish university. Maybe, just maybe, if i had finished, i wouldn't be stuck in such a crap job now, but nevermind that.

Here's Nicole (i'm using this picture with her permission).

Cute, eh?  But also -- and more importantly to me -- someone so full of positive vibes it was a pleasure to be in the same room. If i'd ever had a daughter, i would have liked her to be like Nicole.... I shall miss her, but that's what happens when you go to pubs, and that's why drinking is dangerous.

You lose friends....










And it's another playlist, boys 'n' girls:

Freddie King -- The Very Best Of
Glenn Frey -- No Fun Aloud
Glenn Frey -- The Allnighter
Joan Osborne -- Bring It On Home
The Albion Band -- The Vice Of The People
John Renbourn -- The Guitar Of John Renbourn
Marianne Faithful -- Love In A Mist
OutKast -- Stankonia

Oh, Demon Alcohol

Quotation of the day: W.C. Fields (attrib.) -- A woman drove me to drink and i never even had the courtesy to thank her.

As anyone who knows me will tell you, i'm a great aficionado of pubs.  Not bars, i hate bars, but generally a pub has an atmosphere that, even if i've never set foot in it in my life before, makes me feel at home.  Part of this may because, when i was growing up, i spent a lot of time with my uncle and auntie, who ran a pub on the island of Linsisfarne.  (I used to feel very much at home in record stores, but they don't really exist anymore, thanks to the record companies....)

I like to go into my two local pubs (Kelsey's & Bentley's) and do so probably once or twice a week (each). I have friends who work there, and i like to see them, but i also like to just enjoy the atmosphere, relax, have a couple of beers (usually two, occasionally more but never fewer) and read my book or newspaper, or take my laptop in and read the e-book i have saved to it.  But, why...?

Why oh why do drunks so frequently attach themselves to me like limpets?  I'll be standing (or sitting) there trying to read and -- it happens so often -- someone who has had a few already will decide that i must be bored and that i will benefit from his opinions on global warming/politics/Harry Potter.

It's almost -- almost -- enough to make me want to quit drinking; or at least, stop going into pubs....

Holidays, Part 2 (Sunday)

Quotation of the day -- Ray Davies: Holiday, oh what a lovely day today, i'm oh so glad they sent me away to have this little holiday.

Sunday dawned cool and dank, but that was okay, i wasn't kipping in the park, i stayed at Terry and Ann's, and i couldn't have asked for better accomodation.  Terry had recorded a couple of Saturday's football matches on the DVR, and he and i watched Wigan (my team) play Everton (it was 1-1) and then Arsenal (his team) defeat Manchester United, in a game that was very exciting indeed. 

But then it was time to say my farewells, and off i wandered into the rain -- and went downtown and bought a new camera.  The old one was "NWR" (not worth repairing) (they told me at the shop) and so i bought a cheap one (rank amateur that i am) that is in fact much better than the old, expensive one.  10.1 megapixels, as opposed to 3.2, and with a 4 gigabyte HD card (as opposed to the six or seven 64 megabyte cards i had for the other one).  Oh, look, there's a picture of it just over there to the right --------->

But it was a crappy day for taking photographs, pouring with rain by this time and so i went for lunch at, oh, guess where?  The Wolf & Firkin.....

On Saturday, at the Wolf, i had mentioned to Julian & Andrea that one possibility for Sunday was a visit to the cinema (for the first time in a decade).  (I'm an avid movie-watcher, but not an enthusiastic cinema-goer.  The cinemas in Stratford rarely show anything other than moronic movies with a target audience of moronic teenagers.)  Anyway, they unaninoi, aman, unanymously they both said that the one to see was "The Adjustment Bureau" (Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Terence Stamp) and so, man of action that i am, i did, not really knowing what to expect, and i loved it.  Thanks, J & A!


(Even though this is still in the theatres and thus quite a few months away from a DVD release, i found a torrent download for it and am leeching  even as we speak.  I want to see it again!)








After the film (did i mention that i loved it?) what did i do?  It was still raining, so i walked a bit, through The Eaton Centre (i hate shopping malls except as shelter, don't know if i've ever mentioned that) and out again to a pub called The Duke Of Richmond, another nice little boozer i often visit when i'm in the big city.  And it was there, in their smoking section (i.e., outside) that i took my one and only Toronto photograph for this visit.

And there it is.  Well, i did say that i was a rank amateur LOL.

But then it was time to dash off for the train station, pausing only for some street meat (spicy sausage on a bun) i caught the train with minutes to spare.

So that's that.  My semi-annual trip to Toronto in a nutshell or two.

p.s., when i arrived home at Spriggs Towers, i watched "Romy & Michelle's High School Reunion" of course, but also played with the camera a bit.  And here's my dear Cate, preparing to attack my case of beer: