The Lovin’ Spoonful was a popular American folk-rock band formed in Greenwich Village, New York City, in 1964 by primary songwriter John Sebastian and guitarist Zal Yanovsky.
The group took their name from a lyric in Mississippi John Hurt’s song “Coffee Blues”. Their style blended folk, blues, jug-band music, and rock and roll, which they called “good-time music”. Beginning in 1965 with “Do You Believe in Magic,” the band achieved seven consecutive Top Ten US hits in 18 months, including “Daydream,” “Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind?”, and their chart-topping number-one hit “Summer in the City”
Recently I started doing water color painting again and turned a photo of the result into a poster about music which I do on a regular basis. Hope you enjoy this and I will be writing something in the near future regarding the subject of the painting – Merlin in an upcoming post. So….do you believe?
The former Daily Telegraph Building (also known as Peterborough Court or Peterborough House) was located at 135–141 Fleet Street. It features a prominent, ornate Art Deco/Art Nouveau style public clock projecting over Fleet Street. The iconic, jewel-toned clock is highly celebrated for its bright blue and gold face decorated with geometric sunburst patterns.
The Portland stone facade is heavily framed by massive, stylized fluted columns (pillars) with stepped capitals. The building’s monumental facade stretches across the upper storeys; giving the structure its powerful, temple-like presence on the street.
Daily Telegraph
Directly above the main metalwork entrance doors sits a beautiful bas-relief panel carved by Alfred James Oakley depicting two stylized, wing-footed figures of Mercury (the Roman god of communication and messages) back to back and flying over a stylized globe – symbolizing the global transmission of news (Fitting for a newspaper company.)
Designed by architect Charles Ernest Elcock in consultation with Thomas S. Tait, the Daily Telegraph building was constructed between 1927 and 1928. It represents monumental Art Deco blended with Neo-Egyptian and Greco-Roman revival motifs. with top-floor winged mask sculptures (The Past and The Future) by Samuel Rabin, and an entryway bas-relief depicting the winged god Mercury by Alfred James Oakley. Served as the long-time headquarters for The Daily Telegraph from 1928-1980. The building was also referred to as Peterborough Court, referencing the medieval residence of the Bishop of Peterborough on Fleet Street. After the newspaper migrated away, the building was adapted as the European headquarters for Goldman Sachs.
Underwent a major multi-million-pound restoration and structural refurbishment through January 2023 to 2025 to modernize the interior spaces. Nearly 300,000 square feet of former investment banking space were remodeled into Grade A commercial office space, multi-functional courtyards, and ground-floor retail/restaurants. Designed as a green refit, retaining existing structural elements while converting the building into a 100% all-electric, low-carbon facility.
The 4th annual Festival hosted by Fergus, Ontario this past weekend, and my first visit. It will certainly not be the last. The costumes, the people, the incredible creativity and the friendliness of the occasion was off the charts.
Steampunk is a subgenre of science fiction and a lifestyle movement that imagines an alternate world where 19th-century steam power and clockwork machinery kept advancing instead of being replaced by electricity and electronics. Machines run on steam, gears, cogs, brass pipes, and dials rather than digital microchips.
Stories and styles typically take place during the 19th-century Industrial Revolution or an imaginary Victorian/Edwardian era. While it borrows from the 1980s cyberpunk naming convention, the “punk” in steampunk represents a DIY crafting ethic, independence, and a rebellion against modern disposable consumer culture but pretty much anything goes. Goth, Victorian, the Mandalorian, explorers, plague doctors, Poe, fairies, Around the world in 80 days, and numerous other influences from Jules Verne to H.G. Wells.
The main aspect is having fun with whatever you choose to create and making friends and having a good time. People often wear top hats, corsets, leather goggles, and brass accessories. Most people start out with an elaborate hat and accessorize as they attend more events as there are booths full of great ideas. Gathering a mood board and collecting small hardware items like springs, old keys, and gears is a good way to start any steampunk crafting session.
Key Clothing Pieces
Corsets and Waist Cinchers: Worn over blouses or shirts to create a classic Victorian silhouette.
Vests and Waistcoats: Structured layers in velvet, brocade, or tweed for both men and women.
Shirts and Blouses: High-neck ruffled blouses or crisp collared button-downs.
Skirts and Trousers: High-waisted, tiered, or asymmetrical skirts (often shorter in the front and longer in the back) paired with tailored or striped trousers.
Essential Accessories
Goggles and Spectacles: Often worn perched on a top hat or across the forehead.
Hats: Top hats, bowler hats, or feathered mini-pillbox hats and fascinators.
Gear and Timepieces: Pocket watches on chains, brass jewelry, and decorative cogs.
Footwear and Gear Bags: Sturdy leather lace-up boots and utility belts with pouches or satchels
vendorbirdman
The Steampunk Capital of the world is in Oamaru, New Zealand.
Steampunk HQ was founded in 2011 by a group of creative minds (Don Patterson, Jac Grenfell and Brian de Geest), who were passionate about Steampunk, and showcasing it to the public. They are constantly working with talented individuals to collaborate on projects and expand their collection.
Steampunk HQ promotes sustainability and recycling; it features an interesting collection of retro-futuristic sci-fi art, movies, sculpture and sound.
Oamaru’s Victorian precinct (historical building) is the perfect setting for steampunk, as the architecture is a great backdrop for this alternative version of 19th century England.
Let me know if you have attended a similar festival and what you liked most about it!
Whistling Gardens in Wilsonville, Ontario was established in 2012 by founders Darren and Wanda Heimbecker, who transformed a former 20-acre cornfield into an award-winning botanical landscape. Not very old by garden standards but they have incorporated the right mixture of splendour and delight to keep you looking forward to what is around the next bend. You can see the entirety of the garden in about two hours but you can linger at several places and really take in the gardens in an afternoon or evening. Total cost for our visit was $37.95 (two adults) which might feel steep to some but strolling around here was almost magical and very peaceful. There are 4 km of walking paths that are wheelchair accessible. You can find Pheasants, Peacocks, Swans, Egyptian Geese, Serama (the smallest breed of chicken) in the aviary.
We arrived shortly before noon and caught the one o’clock water fountain show which lasts about 11 minutes and is choreographed to two pieces of music. Owner Darren Heimbecker engineered a massive computerized water theater featuring over 100 water jets set across three 90-foot staircases and a stage floor. The show that they feature at night is much more colourful and lasts almost an hour…so I guess we will have to go back sometime and see the gardens at night.
The lady at the front said the best time to see the Gardens is in June when the peonies are blooming so I may note that on my calendar for next year. We went on Labour Day Sunday and though there wasn’t an abundance of flowers, it was worth the time and money. They have an aviary with some pheasants and a peacock and a very loud rooster, two ponds, a rock garden, a temple garden for weddings and a cactus garden. They also have flush toilets as well as the usual porta potties.
Hydrangea
The site houses one of the world’s largest public conifer collections with roughly 2,500 varieties, species, and hybrids—including rare specimens like the critically endangered Baishan fir and Canada’s only foxtail pine. Starting with major donations beginning around 2013, the public peony collection expanded to roughly 1,300 varieties, making it the largest collection of its kind in North America. The gardens display upwards of 4,500 total plant types. The property is expansive, thoughtfully designed, and full of distinct garden areas that each feel like their own little world. You’ll find formal gardens, winding woodland paths, colourful perennial borders, and beautifully maintained themed sections that showcase rare and unusual plants.
The spring brings the Peony season that opens May 15th until about June 30th. There are displays that offer 400 varieties of iris in May, along with magnolia, red bud, and other flowering trees. During the summer months from July to mid-August there are summer blooms of Lilies, Echinacea, Red Hot Pokers, Gaillardia and lots more. As the season changes to Autumn, fall perennials and Ornamental Grasses are features. Streams, ponds, cascades, as well as cottage garden strolls, magnificent formal gardens and European influenced architecture all await you. It’s a perfect place for exploring, relaxing, and enjoying a peaceful day outdoors. Whether you love horticulture or simply want a serene escape, Whistling Gardens is a must-visit.
Note: There are many benches for a short rest strategically placed in the Gardens, mostly memorial benches for a family member, and a picnic area where you can bring in a lunch. All in all, a great way to spend the day.
Long before glowing smartphones and endless streaming algorithms fractured our evenings, Sunday nights belonged to a single living room ritual: turning on CBS at 8:00 PM to see what Ed Sullivan had brought into the living room.
For twenty-three years, from 1948 to 1971, Sullivan served as America’s grand master of ceremonies. Unlikely as it seemed—with his stiff posture, trademark hunch, and famously dry delivery—he possessed an incomparable knack for giving everyone in the house a reason to gather around the tube.
Ed Sullivan was popular because his Sunday night variety show offered a unique “window to the world” with something for every family member. On any given Sunday, 30 to 40 million viewers tuning in might witness: Opera singers belting a classic aria followed immediately by graceful ballet dancers, plate-spinners, acrobat troupes, ventriloquists, and trained animals doing backflips. Fiery rock ‘n’ roll legends, soothing folk singers, and soulful Motown hitmakers sharing the same stage. It was a delightful, eclectic mix where a teenager waiting for a pop star had to sit politely through a classical violinist, and a grandparent tuning in for a big band tune might just end up tapping their foot to rock ‘n’ roll.
Beyond the glitz, Sullivan was a quiet pioneer with a big heart. During a time of deep segregation, he routinely defied racist sponsor pressures and southern station resistance, insisted on booking prominent Black performers, and championed talents like Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, James Brown, and The Supremes on prime-time national television.
He also had a uncanny pulse on youth culture:
Elvis Presley’s 1956 appearances popularized rock and roll globally, despite network censors famously filming him only from the waist up to hide his provocative dancing. The Beatles made their legendary U.S. television debut on the show in February 1964, watched by an estimated 73 million people, which instantly ignited nationwide fandom.
The stage hosted breakthrough performances from foundational acts like the Rolling Stones, the Doors, and the Supremes. Young or counter-cultural comedians—including George Carlin, Richard Pryor, and Woody Allen—gained mainstream viability after performing on the program.
By the time the curtain finally fell in March 1971(after 23 years on the air) as networks shifted toward modern, youth-focused programming, The Ed Sullivan Show had left an indelible mark on history—a charming relic of a time when the whole family, and indeed the whole country, shared the very same front-row seat.
Many years ago, I took my nephews to a kite festival and they were just as enchanted as I to see all the various kites flying above them. Today there are much more elaborate kites available, and on show in abundance this past weekend. Kite flying apparently originated in ancient China over 2,000 years ago. (some say South Pacific)
A quaint little Ontario town by the name of Hopeville located just west of Dundalk held the largest kite festival in the province Saturday, Aug 29 through Sunday, Aug 30th., which turned out to be “a magical weekend of flight, music, food and more.”
Although it is a free event, organizers welcome donations to help put on the festival year after year. The festival address is 125849 Southgate Rd. 12 in Dundalk, Ontario and if you missed it this year, you will likely be able to catch it next August as it is an annual event. The Hopeville Kite Festival is proudly funded by the Government of Ontario. The Family Fun Zone is made possible by a grant from Community Foundation Grey Bruce.
Attendees could bring their own kites or purchase one at the venue — the festival welcomes flyers of every skill level. There was a designated fly zone for the public and many people brought their own lawn chairs just to sit and marvel at all the kites soaring above and around them. Where else would you be able to see an ice cream cone flying about. Not to mention an astronaut, a sea horse, a tall ship, octopi, fish, and dragons. You could get dizzy just from having to swivel your head around to catch them all.
Gone fishingOctopusRacingspiky collarOctopus
Tip: The ultimate trick to flying a kite is maintaining tension on the string. Always stand with your back to the wind, let the kite catch the breeze, and pull gently on the line when it dips or feed it line when it climbs. Never let the line go completely slack.
Some interesting facts regarding kites:
The smallest kite in the world which actually flies is 5mm high.
The largest number of kites flown on a single line is 11,284. This record is held by a Japanese kite maker.
The longest kite in the world is 7,700 metres in length.
The largest kite in the world is the Megabite 55 x 22 metres (630sq metres).
The fastest recorded speed of a kite is over 120 mph. (193 km/h).
The record for the highest single kite flown is 3801 metres (12,471ft).
Some Japanese kites weigh over 2 tons. And some of the longest Chinese Dragon kites are over 600 metres long.
You do not need wind to fly a kite.
Kite flying is one of the fastest growing sports in the world.
More adults in the world fly kites than children.
People were flying kites 1,000 years before paper was invented.
The first powered aircraft were large box kites with motors fitted to them.
Kites have been used for fishing, bird scaring, delivering mail and papers, forecasting the weather and frightening evil spirits away.
Benjamin Franklin used a kite to prove that lightning was electricity.
What began as a community kite festival has grown into an event that attracts professional kite flyers from across North America and visitors from Ontario and beyond. Now in its fourth year, the Hopeville Kite Festival continues to combine the excitement of a major kite display with the welcoming atmosphere of a rural Ontario community.
If you have never had the opportunity to experience a kite flying festival, let your inner child emerge and attend one.
Upcoming 2026 Kite Festivals in Ontario
New Park Unveiling (Newmarket): September 19–20, 2026
Kites in the Field (Lucknow): September 26–27, 2026
Eau To Joy on the Beach (Erieau): October 17–18, 2026
Dale Chihuly is a renowned American glass sculptor who has created a successful glass-blowing empire and has various works of art displayed throughout the world. His work is known for vibrant colors, organic shapes, and immense scale—often imitating natural forms like sea life, flowers, and botanical structures. Born in Tacoma, Washington, in 1941, Chihuly initially studied interior design at the University of Washington before taking up glassblowing.
In 1967, Chihuly earned the distinction of being the first American to work at the famous Venini glass factory on the island of Murano in Venice. His time there clearly influenced both his aesthetics and his glassblowing techniques. The team-based, fluid approach he learned there heavily shaped his collaborative studio model. Over the years he has created a number of masterful “Venetian” blown-glass works that look to the traditions of that city’s glass-making industry while also maintaining a striking sense of sculptural originality.
He co-founded the Pilchuck Glass School in Washington in 1971, turning the Pacific Northwest into a global hub for glass art. After a 1976 car accident cost him vision in his left eye, Chihuly stepped back from holding the blowpipe. Instead, he transitioned into an “orchestrator,” leading teams of master glassblowers to execute his vision. The Chihuly Garden and Glass complex at Seattle Center broke ground in 2011 and opened to the public on May 21st, 2012.
In 2016, The ROM (Royal Ontario Museum) featured an exhibition that showcased an extraordinary collection of glass in ways I had not seen before.
‘The Fiori di Como’ at the Bellagio Hotel covers 2100 square feet and contains over 2000 hand-blown glass blossoms and weighs 20 tons. It is an incredible feat of engineering and originality.
You can also find a glass Chihuly ceiling in the lobby of the Soho Hotel in Toronto.
Suspended directly under the ceramic dome of the Victoria and Albert Museum’s main entrance on Cromwell Road is the V&A Chandelier; it is a massive, vibrant explosion of blue, green, and yellow blown glass. Another permanent commercial installation, the Amber and Gold Chandelier, is located inside Harrods of London.
His recurrent stylistic groups—such as Seaforms, Macchia, Persians, and Baskets—are staples in over 200 museum collections worldwide. In 2019 in Kew Gardens in London Chihuly had a fantastic open air exhibition that my sister-in-law, Joyce was lucky enough to see and who took the following photos!
If you should find yourself travelling and have the opportunity to see some of his work, especially in a landscaped environment, I urge you to go and see up close and personal these fantastical works of art. You will not regret it!
A long, long time ago in a long forgotten land lived a young girl who had a teenage crush on a young actor who played one of the sons of the Mother and Father on Ozzie and Harriet. Sort of the world’s first reality series in a way, as the family were all related. Those were the days when there wasn’t much programming on TV and you had your choice of maybe 3 channels to watch but he will always be the first McDreamy to me. Men with striking blue eyes that you could just dive into!
Ricky Nelson was born on May 8th, 1940 and was an American musician and actor who grew up on ‘The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet’ which starred his real life parents, Ozzie who was a band leader and director and Harriet, his mother who was a singer, and his older brother David (who later became a producer and director with a star on the Hollywood Walk of fame). Ricky used the show to launch a massive music career. His smooth tenor and blue-eyes made him an instant teen idol. Between 1947 and 1962 he had twenty Top 40 hits, second only to Elvis Presley. His chart topping hits included “Poor Little Fool” “Hello Marylou” and “Travelin’ Man,” which was released along with one of the first ever music videos.
Nelson would never again achieve the success he had in the 50’s and early 60’s. In the 70’s, he formed The Stone Canyon Band, whose laid-back country sound was an influence on acts like The Eagles, Jackson Browne and Linda Ronstadt. He also continued to act, record and tour until 1985, when he was killed in a plane crash. He was inducted posthumously into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. Though his death didn’t have the same impact on me that John Lennon’s murder did in 1980 at 40 years old, he was still very young (45) and it was extremely tragic.
Rick Nelson wrote “Garden Party” as a direct response to being booed during a 1971 rock and roll revival concert at Madison Square Garden. The song serves as a personal anthem about the necessity of staying true to your artistic vision rather than just playing the hits to please a crowd. At its core, the song is a statement of resilience for artists who refuse to be pigeonholed by their past success. Nelson famously concluded that if he only sang old memories, he would rather quit the business entirely, leading to the iconic refrain about pleasing yourself when you can’t satisfy everyone else.
In my previous post of June 11th (On a Carousel trying to catch up with you) I mentioned that I would be going to see this antique carousel in St. Catharines and how excited I would be to see it; and it did not disappoint! Every hand carved animal and chariot has been lovingly restored to its former glory by a group called Friends of the Carousel who help to keep it maintained with some help from City Council and public donations.
The Lakeside Carousel was carved between 1898 and 1905 in Brooklyn, New York by Charles I.D. Looff’s factory workers. The carousel was relocated in 1921 from its earlier home at an amusement park in Scarborough to St. Catharines. It was purchased for the amusement park flourishing in Port Dalhousie, which had 58 attractions. In those days, more than a quarter million people annually crossed the lake in steamships to visit Port Dalhousie on weekends. The carousel has 68 animals, including horses, lions, camels, goats and giraffes, plus four chariots. The accompanying music is played by an antique Frati band organ which uses a system of paper music rolls to serenade riders. Each animal was hand carved, and the horses still have real horsehair tails.
Lion
The Lakeside Park Carousel is one of approximately 350 antique hand-carved carousels still operating in North America – only nine of which are in Canada. The original Looff lion on the Lakeside Park Carousel is one of five existing Looff lions in North America and it is the only one that has its head turned to watch onlookers as it circles by.
The second lion on the Carousel was carved in 2004 by the Friends of the Carousel to replace the original lion that was stolen in the 1970s. One of the stipulations on selling the carousel to the City of St. Catharines was that the fee for riding the carousel would remain at 5 cents. This is the kind of attraction that you should take your kids and grandkids to see, not just for the history but for the genuine craftsmanship that went into its making and the fun of riding around in a circle with no place you have to be.
If you have done any extensive travelling you will have been introduced to various types of toilets (washrooms, etc.) around the world. Some not so nice, like those at some gas stations in North America to opulent bathrooms in higher end hotels. Access to these may be free, through a key on a peg or a swipe card, to a metered door lock but everyone needs a place to relieve themselves from time to time and the older you get the more frequently you need to use these facilities. I believe there is even an app now that tells you where a convenient location exists near you at anytime.
You cannot begin to understand my excitement and pleasure at coming across public toilets in New Zealand and Australia. They have taken mural art to the nth degree far from the boring half moon door in the outhouse behind a cottage in northern Ontario.
Bathroom in Lake Taupo
Women’s toilet in Napier
Men’s toilet in Napier, New Zealand
We have also come across some very inventive banos in Mexico on our travels. Sometimes just the markers that let you know whether they are male or female or unisex are pretty cool.
Institute of Art in San Miguel de Allende bano
Public Bathroom in Puerto Vallarta
Outhouse at Chapel of Jimmy Ray
Some unique restrooms that we have heard of but not yet experienced are:
1. A toilet in Arosa, Switzerland that is made of glass and sits over an old elevator shaft, letting you look straight down while you do your business through clear glass.
2. A club in Frankfurt, Germany where men step inside a giant, glittering set of red lips to use the urinal.
3. Kawakawa, New Zealand features public toilets designed by artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser using colorful tiles, stained glass, and a living tree growing right through the roof.
4. Tianmen Mountain in China features a clear glass restroom built onto the side of a sheer rock cliff, offering massive canyon views.
5. The Ice Igloo Restroom in Norway is built seasonally near famous hiking trails; these minimalist stalls freeze your surroundings into a stunning winter wonderland.
Blue Star Memorial Hwy rest stop on the way to Nashville,Tennessee
What are some of the best/worst public toilets you’ve experienced?
When adventure calls
I have been lucky enough to have travelled to some of the most beautiful places on earth but there are still many places I'd like to see.
