Tim’s

Yesterday I took part in a weekly ritual: fitness with friends followed by coffee at Tim Horton’s. As I looked around the restaurant, I wondered how many other people make a visit to Tim’s as part of a routine in their lives. Do you?

I don’t remember when Tim Horton’s first opened in 1964 as a donut shop in Hamilton:

But I do remember when Tim Horton himself died in 1974, the result of a fiery crash on the QEW near St. Catharines. He was a young hockey star with a wife and family, and the accident was truly tragic. And what was going to happen to those 40 Tim’s locations? Apparently his widow Lori sold them to a business person for $1million plus a Cadillac. Not a great deal in retrospect. Today there are almost 6,000 locations in 13 countries around the world.

Tim’s restaurants have a language all their own. Who doesn’t know what a “double double” is? And “timbits” are a menu staple. As a summer treat, nothing beats an “iced cap.” The line-ups for the pumpkin spiced lattes and muffins in October are long. Everyone grabs a ‘smile cookie” in November to support various charities. Oher holidays such as Valentine’s Day and St. Patrick’s Day have their specially-named treats also.

Every Monday afternoon my 3 friends and I rush out of fitness class, grab our warm coats and drive to our favourite Tim’s location. We try to beat the crowds so we can have the table and chairs in front of the fireplace. It’s an electric fireplace which doesn’t emit any heat. But sitting there on Blue Monday feels warm and cozy when the outside temperature is minus 20. We take on world issues – climate change, politics, and of course gossip – while relaxing in the padded chairs. Not too much gets resolved but we have a great time pretending we are world leaders.

Occasionally I have a chance to look around. The clientele is varied: a university student glued to his laptop as he does his research, a mother and 2 squabbling kids escaping from their home on a PD Day, a wannabe applicant trying to score points with her prospective boss, 2 couples following the rules of social engagement for older people.

Tim’s performs a lot of services for a lot of us. Think of all the folks who hurry to a location to buy cards for stocking stuffers, a last-minute gift for the mail carrier, an extra prize for a raffle at work. In fact this past Christmas Peter, mindful of my Monday addiction, bought me a Tim’s card for $100, all his shopping problems solved with one quick stop.

But Tim’s failed us in Portugal recently. We arrived in Porto late one evening for a couple of days’ stay. The next morning we were hungry and needed a quick bite before our first activity. Where was a Tim’s when we needed it? Well, apparently Portugal is one of the few places in the world where Tim’s has not gone. So we were directed to the local – dare I say it – McDonald’s!

This was a McDonald’s like no other. The entrance is embellished with a large spread-winged eagle. The furniture is modern and sleek. The ordering is all online. The inside was decorated with a Christmas tree and packaged gifts. And overhead? Crystal chandeliers. How could Tim Horton’s ever compete with that?

Sue

A Square To Be Proud Of

In 2021 the Canadian government voted to mark an official Day Of Truth and Reconciliation, on September 30. This September a new installation was opened in Nathan Phillis Square, Toronto. Last week we decided to investigate this new Spirit Garden.

We took the Yonge subway to Dundas and wandered through the Eaton Centre, stopping for lunch at the Food Court and remarking, as we headed through the shopping maze, that neither Peter nor I had been to Nathan Phillips Square in Ages. We have visited on a few occasions such as New Year’s Eve, but mostly we have used the square as a short-cut between Yonge St And University Ave.

This time we entered from the east side and had to weave through a lot of props, signage and equipment, as we made our way to the south-west corner of the square. Construction workers and event planners were setting up for the Diwali Festival Of Lights, happening on the weekend.

Then a series of new installations, the Spirit Garden, caught our eye. Attracting us first was a large turtle, symbolizing the First Mother. She is labouring up a hill, a look of determination on her face. She represents the Indigenous people struggling against land and cultural appropriation, evidenced by the residential school tragedy. The turtle is staring at the roadblock of listed schools in its path.

On one side of the turtle’s journey sits a large inuksuk, (a human-like figure guiding travellers and warning of danger ahead) and on the other side a shiny copper teaching lodge, built to be an Indigenous classroom. Nearby rests a canoe, symbolic of early travel from the north along Carrying Place, to the Great Lakes. Unlike practical vessels, this one is shimmering stainless steel with colourful patterns etched on its sides.

At one end of the Spirit Garden, a natural garden features crops of the 3 sisters: corn with its tall stalks planted at the back, beans next, using the corn stalks as support, and squash for groundcover to keep the weeds out and moisture in. These 3 vegetables are often cooked and served together in an Indigenous meal.

Satisfied with our tour of this new garden, we decided to explore the square a little further. Built in 1965, on land originally occupied by Chinese and Jewish immigrants, the square was named after former Mayor Nathan Phillips and placed adjacent to the new Toronto City Hall. In the northwest corner of the square a reflecting pool and eternal flame highlight a Peace Garden. A Henry Moore Sculpture has also resided here for over 60 years. A statue of Winston Churchill was added in 1977.

Around 2010 the city decided that a facelift was in order. A design concept, based on the ancient Greek “agora,” a large gathering place and market, led to the changes. A new restaurant with a rooftop patio replaced the old skate shack. Now it’s an updated eatery beside the skating rink, which features a colourful Toronto sigh, installed during the 2015 Pan Am Games. One of the Freedom Arches above the rink contains a piece of the Berlin wall at its base.

In the centre of the square a new stage was built to replace the temporary structures used for concerts and special events. This stage area, referred to as the Podium, has a “green” roof and feels very open and welcoming.

In fact, the entire area of Nathan Phillips Square feels welcoming. Whether you are a politician, a skater, a concert-goer, a Raptors fan, a shopper, a tourist, or an Indigenous person, there is a place for you there.

Sue

Canadian Chroma

Are the advantages of living in a big city worth the aggravations that sometimes happen? Last weekend we got to find out.

We took the subway to the Eaton Centre, the busiest shopping mall in all of Canada, with over 50 million visitors annually. Built in the 1970’s, it has been anchored by at least one major department store during most of its life. But that all changed when Nordstrom recently moved out.

The same thing has been happening to other malls across Canada and the US. Competition from Amazon and other online stores has drastically reduced in-person shopping. Sherway Gardens filled up vacated retail space with unique Christmas Markets. Another mall near us, Cloverdale, replaced a big Target store with – wait for it – pickleball courts! What would the Eaton Centre come up with to replace Nordstrom’s footprint? We read about it in the newspaper: Canadian Chroma.

Soon after we arrived at the Eaton Centre, the fire alarm began to beep at us. Shoppers stopped in their tracks, waiting patiently until we got the ‘all clear’ signal several minutes later. After lunch, Peter went to the washroom and came out reporting that a guy in one of the stalls was having a melt-down and the bathroom was full of security guards.

Finally we found our way safely to the new exhibit, a series of interactive displays highlighting the beautiful colours of our Canadian geography. The first stop shows dramatic photographs from coast to coast to coast: the majestic mountains of the north and west covered in sparkly snow, the golden wheat fields of Alberta and Saskatchewan ready for harvesting, the forests of Ontario dressed in autumn colours, the turqouise-blue waters of the maritime provinces. There are hundreds of photos in gorgeous hues; available by touching a colour and then a button.

Here’s one of the buttons between pink and coral:

The second stop in the display shows 4 photos of a log farmhouse from a nearby window, in all 4 seasons. The third stop depicts the Northern Lights in beautiful shades of green. The viewer stands on a set of footprints in front of the lights which respond to body movements with bubble columns and explosions.

Display number 4 promotes Indigenous art in a unique and fun way. There are 7 murals painted by 7 different artists, each divided into 7 panels. Viewers can mix and match the panels to create one entire mural by one artist or, if you have the patience, up to 49 different murals with 1 panel from each artist. It would be a good way to entertain grandchildren for quite a while.

(Here is your cheat sheet for the murals):

The final display is an interactive map showing where we Canadians originally came from. Virtual threads in different colours link places in Canada to other places around the world. For example, Peter found a fuscia thread connecting Toronto to Italy. He was so pleased to see his journey on display. All in all, Canadian Chroma was well worth a visit. And it was free!

Then we headed for home.

When we got to our subway station, the line was closed to sort out a security issue. We decided to walk south to Queen, and take a streetcar west to the University line. At Queen we discoveed that the streetcars were not running due to construction. So we had to walk to King, and then along King to the next streetcar stop. Finally we found a streetcar, and another subway, and then home.

Were the security issues, the costruction, and the subway delays stressful? Well they did slow us down. But heck, we are retired – we have the time. That seems a small price to pay for experiencing life in a big city.

Sue

PS Since our winter in Toronto seems to have passed with barely a dusting of snow so far, I thought you’d like to see this photo from the exhibit:

Heliconian

Come on, admit it. You remember Yorkville during the 1960’s too! We were either in university or checking out the job market. On Friday nights we went to Yorkville to see Gordon Lightfoot, or Joni Mitchell, or even Neil Young at the Riverboat or one of the other clubs or coffee shops that popped up during that intoxicating decade. After that we moved on to building careers and raising children, while Yorkvillke went downhill when biker gangs and drug dealers moved in.

Soon the new Bloor-Danforth subway line enticed high-end businesss, and a new class of patrons, rich shoppers, started coming by. That area is now referred to as the “mink mile.” Stores like Versace, Louis Vutton and Cartier sell exclusive items, and restaurants serve the latest in food trends, with a negroni cocktail, and a serving of kale on the side.

Through all of this a lot of renovation and rebuilding has taken place. But there are still a few old gems hanging around. The Yorkville Library at 229 Yorkville Ave is one of the earliest branches of the city library system, designed in 1929 in the Carnegie architectural style. The first site of Mount Sinai Hospital, built in 1923 at 100 Yorkville Ave, is now a trendy store.

My favourite old building is the Heliconian Hall at 35 Hazleton Ave. Originally a Baptist Church built in 1875, it was bought by a feisty group of women who had founded an arts group in 1909 and were loking for a permanent home. The building, designed in a style referred to as Carpenter Gothic, ie Gothic in wood, is the oldest building standing in Yorkville.

Inside the building that feisty group of women, or nowadays their grand daughters, still run an active arts program open to the public. The name comes from Mount Heliconian in Greece, said to be a source of poetic inspiration for the muses. There are concerts, performances, and art shows on a regular basis. And the best known? A literary lecture series once a month. The club invites Canadian authors with recently-published books to come and speak to an audience of about 150. There are rarely any empty seats.

I have seen many reputable authors there. Marie Henein comes to mind. She was the laywer for that controversial case involving Jian Ghomeshi a few years ago. I expectd her to be another feisty woman. And she was! I also heard Ann-Marie MacDonald and Wayne Johnston, 2 Canadian authors whose fame is well-known, even in the US. Later this season we are being treated to a lecture by Dr. Vincent Lam who now spends a lot of his spare time writing. His latest novel takes place in a Toronto ravine and deals with a timely subject – drug overdosing.

I attend these presentations with an old friend who shares my love of writing. On our subway trips we discuss our latest novels, stories and yes, even blog posts! When the subway arives at our stop, we have a short walk through Yorkville, beautifully lit up at night, until we arrive at Heliconain Hall. We share tea and cookies with other members of the audience. Then we all settle in for the lecture and audience questions.

What better way to spend a winter evening? Friendship, food and our favourite Canadian writers, in an historic setting.

Sue