Where Canada’s heart beats. It is a friendly province with a rich and diverse culture, located in the centre of the continent.
I never thought I’d say this but a week in Winnipeg was not long enough! I did not visit all the places (and people) I intended to despite spending a lot of time wandering around the city streets. One thing I did get to see a lot of on this trip was the fabulous mural art. When I lived in Winnipeg I couldn’t help but notice all the beautiful artwork decorating the walls, bridges and other surfaces around the city….
Since I moved to Canada in 2011 I have been fortunate enough to see a few incredible musicians and artists in concert. In Winnipeg we saw: The Eagles (amazing), Pink! (quite the acrobatic entertainer), Cher (costumes…), Queen & Adam Lambert (we were standing right by the stage – fantastic show), and finally, yesterday in Victoria we saw Sir Elton John, who will be celebrating his 70th birthday in two weeks time! Elton John did not disappoint. What a talented musician…
For those of us who didn’t grow up in North America, the words ‘spring break’ don’t really mean very much. In the UK, universities have a reading week in February preceding exams while the school holidays in March are centred around Easter so binge-eating chocolate takes priority over binge-drinking on the beach. In Canada however March-break is synonymous with escape-Winter or all-inclusive sun, sea, and sand. As I am living in Canada, taking a vacation in March is definitely something I…
Overlooking much of central Winnipeg is the statue of Eternal Youth, holding his beacon of light above the city to remind us that age is just a number and we can remain young at heart. It’s almost a paradox after the harsh Winter we faced in Winnipeg this year, that Eternal Youth is often said to be granted to the inhabitants of Paradise. It does however seem that with the arrival of June, the summer is at last approaching, the…
Not being much of a wine connoisseur, despite my years in France, my review of the Winnipeg Wine Festival is more of a wine tasting guide for beginners. When it comes to wine I usually just go with the flow – and it does seem to be the case that the more it flows, the better it tastes! Living in the small town of Ashern, up until May 5th, I had not experienced a night out in The Peg, 2 hours…
I don’t know who was more excited, me or the children, when Michael Manyeagles visited the Ashern Early Years School to share with us a bit about his craft and to give us the opportunity to try it out for ourselves. I must admit to having been eagerly awaiting his visit for a while because I just love the beautiful soapstone pieces that I have seen in various craft fairs and local markets (the Forks for example) and was interested…
Every year, for one weekend only, Winnipeg opens up the doors of its public buildings to the commonfolk, offering guided tours interspersed with historical facts and local legend. Although the Manitoba Legislative Building is actually accessible to the public on an almost daily basis, it is not often that we get the opportunity to hear some of the stories contained within its four walls (or whatever magical number of walls it happens to have) and even rarer that we might…
Why I think Winnipeg trumps New York and Paris for shopping – Between climbing the steps to the Sacre Coeur and the bustling streets of the Latin Quarter, or watching the sunset at the top of the Empire state Building and a boat ride to the Statue of Liberty; I‘m amazed that anyone finds time to do any shopping when in New York or Paris. During my year in Paris I didn’t buy a single item of clothing, and shopping…
On the subject of typical Canadian pastimes, I thought I’d talk about our last few weekends in Winnipeg. Over the past few weeks we have been actively searching for a base, a new (or new to us) house in Manitoba’s capital, the city of Winnipeg. In Canada, one of the major techniques for selling houses is to hold an Open House. This means potential buyers just show up at the advertised time, without having to call ahead to arrange viewings…
I had never heard of a Bonspiel until this week and as a linguist I couldn’t help but wonder if it might have a particular meaning; perhaps from the French ‘bon’ meaning good and German ‘Spiel’ meaning game. In any case the curling tournament held this week between the local schools was a good game. As I have mentioned before, Winter sports are big in Canada so curling is pretty popular around these parts, for people of all ages. Ashern’s…