2008: Queen's Park War Memorial

In the front of Queen's Park Parlimentary buildings there is a rather large War Memorial. I don't remember when it was built or dedicated, but it's very recent as memorials go in Toronto. It is in essence a large wall. On the wall they have images from every single war and action Canada has been in that there was pictures taken. I can't guess how long it is but I would put it at about 100 meters in length. Visually it's very striking to see. First I will show the poem they have on one spot.



The pictures are etched into the granite and are really well done. A collage of images just stand there. Glimpses into the past for us to see.





I have to apologize for some of the images. I was still getting used to my point and shoot at this time. I will return and get better pictures and try to create a panorama of the memorial. It is still a very good piece of work and I am surprised how I never heard of it being built or dedicated. I guess I wasn't paying attention when it happened. Finally on the east side of the memorial is a listing of every single action that Canada has been involved in. From South Africa to all the Peace Keeping missions and Afghanistan. Most people aren't aware of how widely spread around the world our soldiers have been.



We are a quiet people. Not much to blowing our horns for the world to hear. Always has been that way, probably will be that way for years to come. I would like to go there one year for the Rememberance Day memorial. The only thing I wouldn't like about that would be all the politicians that would attend. Nothing to be done about that anyway. It's in the end about those that have served and given the ultimate sacrifice. In my walks, I sometimes pause to honour those that have gone before.

Paladin Phil

2008: More Puppy

Couldn't really think of what to talk about for today. So I dove into my Flickr account and looked at my sets. I figure I have two more posts to do on Nietzsche and here I go. Now Susie was doing as much as possible with him. Taking him every where and where ever she could. Needless to say she was spending a lot of time out doors. I didn't care. He's a great dog and loving too. It was amazing how many excursions we went on. I loved the randomness of the time that summer and early fall. Of course we had to drive everywhere to get anywhere.

I always made sure that I had my camera with me. And sometimes spare batteries even. The trips to where we were going were fun. Trying to keep Nietzsche out of the front seats was and still is hilarious. In the warm times he does like hanging his nose out the window.



He is an irascable pup. Always wanting to be the center of attention. that means he has to be right beside you always. Of course some places frown upon this. Like bars, and pubs with patios. Something to do with the health regulations I think. So he trys to sneak in until we shoo him out again.


He does get some attention though. A lot of wandering people and kids. He's great with the wee ones too. Oh and other dogs as well. He loves to play.



Now Susie can be a bashful girl. A lovely lady I do believe.



But this isn't about her. I just had to throw that one in(I am probably going to get my ear talked off about that one. :)).

Well, I thought I had some other pictures around here somewhere with kids and a patio. Unfortunately I can't find them. I will search high and low till I track them down. Save them for another post then. And remember, sometimes you can rest during the walk.

PaladinPhil

2008: Public Sculpture, Details Part 2

Well, back to 2008 and my point and shoot camera. Today we are going to look at a set of sculpture that's around the Metropolitan Police Headquarters in Downtown Toronto on College street between Yonge and Bay st. These pieces are located at the main entrance on College, the corner of Bay and Grenville, and at the rear Grenville entrance. They are a combination of granite and bronze and try to embody the police service here in Toronto, or at least that's my take on it. The artist that created these pieces is Eldon Grant.

The first piece on College is of a female officer with a trowel with a foot on a stack of granite "bricks". The trowel is held out and has mortar on it. As if she's setting up the placement of another brick. It's a good sculpture with the officer in proper gear for a patrol officer. Of course it isn't what a normal officer wears these days.



On the corner of Bay and Grenville is the next one. It's of a young boy pulling a wagon which contains an obelisk style column. On each face of the column are the words "To Serve And Protect". Such a large task for a young lad, and such a weighty responsibility as well.




One thing I have seen is the defacing of some pieces with graffiti. It ticks me off when I see it. Some is easily cleaned off like on the granite shown in the last picture. I have also seen it scratched on bronze pieces and once it sets into the patina, forget about removing it cheaply. Any way rant off and the last piece.

At the Grenville entrance stands a man holding a board on his shoulders carrying a stack of books on each side. Now this could be two things. Either the rule of law, or knowledge. It could go either way. Todays modern police are rarely the knuckle dragging neanderthals that they are sometimes portrayed to be in certain medias. It takes a lot of education in just the law in order for them to do their job effectively.



Well that's it for today. Keep walking.

PaladinPhil