20th Anniversary

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We celebrated our 20th Wedding Anniversary with a luncheon dinner party July 27, 2000 at the Westover Inn here in St Marys. We were married August 2, 1980 in London at the University of Western Ontario where Kate and I were in graduate school. These days I'm working at the University of Waterloo while Kate continues with CAMH (and it's evolution from ARF).

This party was sponsored by Kate's parents — Jack and Doreta. Kate says Doreta was always a bit disappointed that our wedding dinner wasn't more "formal". On our wedding day we had a buffet dinner catered by Food Services and served in Sommerville House at Western where we were married. This today was quite different — an elegant service with gourmet food, white table cloths, stemware, fine china and more. We had planned on having about 50 guests but it turned out there was about 60 of us who came and we had to take over two separate dining rooms at the inn.

We had all of our bridal party in attendance except for Monica (Gord's first wife was an attendant for the bride and we've lost track of her). Alison Preston was the maid of honor with Joan Watson as the other attendant. Mike Schwan was my best man with Gord (Kate's brother) and Ken Edmonstone (my nephew) as groom's men.

I don't recall any speeches that day but I do recall that both my dad Maurice and Kate's dad Jack took an opportunity to say a few words. Jack told a long and winding shaggy dog story, we wondered where in the heck he was going, which ended in a punch line about a "cat scan and lab report".

The day had started with cocktails and a visit outdoors on the patio deck at the inn, followed by the luncheon indoors, and ended with more drinks and tom foolery at our home and on our deck. The day started sunny but by the late afternoon a gentle rain had started that made for some summer tobogganing on the slope in our back yard. Leo, Paul (my younger brother) and I would take turns pulling a plastic sheet with a rider on it down the hill. We had done this before when the kids were visiting so it wasn't that weird. There's a picture in the album of Leo and me pulling Cindy on a ride down the hill. I worried that we might trip on the way down but, although we were winded, there were no casualties that day. Sam's husband Al took it as an opportunity to do a sliding dive into some wet grass — still crazy after all these years.

One of the interesting and traditional things we did for our party was to serve some of our original wedding cake. We had been keeping it wrapped up in our freezer all these many years. The other was to give everyone a C90 cassette mixtape of "Hits at our House" — that tape is now in my iTunes library as well as available on my YouTube channel. There are many tunes there that still mean a lot to us. Here's that playlist with the original commentary:

1. Marilyn & Joe (Kinky Friedman). Our trailer park love song.
2. Weekend Punks (63 Monroe). We were weekend punks ... for a while.
3. Passing Through (Leonard Cohen). I'll always remember that bus ride!!
4. London Calling (The Clash). A favorite punk band.
5. Night Rider's Lament (Jerry Jeff Walker). Life's about choices — marrying you was one of the good ones.
6. General Strike (DOA). Our favorite suburban punkers (we like their politics as well as their music).
7. One More Spring (Garrison Keillor). A good excuse to go to Mpls (we did too — to see the PHC show).
8. Sonny (Jean Redpath). Another song we both love and another definition of Canada
9. Reason for It All (Eric Bogle). We saw Eric at the Horseshow Tavern and will again on our anniversary.
10. Rodeo Wind (Chris Wall). Cowboy music should be defined by songs like this.
11. The Crawl (Spirit of the West). Been there, done that.
12. Passionate Kisses (Lucinda Williams). Pat introduced this to us by making Reg wear headphones to listen intently.
13. Fairytale of New York City (The Pogues). It's just so much fun to sing "you scumbag, you maggot!"
14. Memories of East Texas (Michelle Shocked). I think of Kate as a girl who has seen the ocean.
15. Gulf Coast Highway (Nanci Griffith). Just a great love/life song (and another artist Pat introduced us to).
16. Road to Bayamon (Tom Russell). Life is a circus on the Road to Bayamon (Reg wanted "Homestead Steel").
17. Crossing the Causeway (Grievous Angels). Our dessert island band — about 10 years running.
18. 45 Years from Now (Stan Rogers). Make the most of the moment.
19. Corpus Christi Bay (Robert Earl Keen). We've had great times in altered states and the state of Texas.
20. Pico de Gallo (Emily Kaitz). We were in the audience when they recorded this one!
21. What I Like About Texas (Gary P. Nunn). People wonder why anyone would like Texas — here's a few reasons.
22. Dublin Blues (Guy Clark). We've seen the Spanish Steps and the David (and I loved you from the get-go).
23. Rivers of Babylon (Steve Earle). Psalm 137 — religion makes for some good music.
24. In Spite of Ourselves (John Prine/Iris Dement). She's my baby, I'm her honey.

These photos, probably none that I took, some that Kate took and many by friends and family who shared with us, were in a small photo album which, at Kate's urging, I scanned during the summer of 2023 (some 23 years after the fact). When I look at these photos there are many fond memories of the event, the people and that time. Some of friends we still hang around with, some of friends and family who have passed away, and some of friends who have simply drifted away.

In My Life —

There are places I remember

All my life though some have changed

Some forever, not for better

Some have gone and some remain

All these places have their moments

With lovers and friends I still can recall

Some are dead and some are living

In my life I've loved them all

But of all these friends and lovers

There is no one compares with you

And these memories lose their meaning

When I think of love as something new

Though I know I'll never lose affection

For people and things that went before

I know I'll often stop and think about them

In my life I love you more

Though I remember I’ll never lose affection

For people and things that went before

I know I’ll often stop and think about them

In my life I’ll love you more

— Lennon & McCartney 

This note, these photos and the YouTube playlist were created during the summer of 2023.

Madrid

 

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After Kate's ISRA conference in Valencia, July 9-14, we took a train to Madrid where we stayed for a couple of nights before winging our way home. We visited a couple of important museums, there's not too many photos from either, and spent an evening wandering the streets and snacking in tapas bars.

That first evening we wandered the streets through Plaza Mayor and over to the Royal Palace of Madrid and the nearby gardens. It was a pleasantly warm evening, much cooler than the day, which had brought people out. I can understand dining late in a country where it's so warm.

The next day we went to the Prado Museum (the Spanish National Art Museum) and were pleasantly surprised there was an exhibit of "The Garden of Delights" by by the Dutch painter Heronimus Bosch. It's actually been part of the permanent collection since 1939. There's some debate about when this religious triptych (an altar panel of three pieces) was painted but there is agreement that it's sometime around the year 1500. For me it was instantly recognizable from posters we used to have in our drug addled university years — the right hand panel entitled "Hell" is most impressive and a popular poster. That's some detail from the panel above. I had no idea that the work was 500 years old!!

There's lots of works to explore at the Prado. I found The Miraculous Lactation of Saint Bernard (Alonso Cano, c. 1650, oil on panel) particularly and weirdly interesting. I've since read:

Exact details of the vision(s) known as the "Lactation of St. Bernard" are unclear. One account indicates a statue of the Virgin Mary came to life while Bernard was praying. The animated statue of Mary sprayed milk from her breast onto the parched lips of Bernard, forever proving her status as the Virgin Mother of God.

Very near the train station is the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía. Within is the huge (approximately 12'x25') grey, black and white Guernica by Pablo Picasso. The painting is in response to, and vividly documents, the 1937 bombing of Guernica by fascists from Germany and Italy in support of the dictator Franciso Franco during the Spanish Civil War (1936-39) which brought General Franco to power as dictator of Spain. Picasso refused to have the painting shown in Spain so long as Franco was in power and the painting was kept in trust by the MoMA in New York City. Picasso died in 1973, Franco in 1975 and Spain became a constitutional monarchy in 1978. MoMA ceded the piece to Spain in 1981. It was on exhibit at the Prado (as per Picasso's will)  but moved here to the Reina Sofia to a purpose built gallery in 1992. It's an impressive piece both historically and artistically. 

I recall the weather being incredibly hot and we were in a crappy little flat, not too far from the train station, where the air did not move. There were some night clubs in the area and I recall being wakened one late night as someone tried to fit their car into a space which was far too tight. They'd squeeze back until they bumped the car behind, then inch forward to bump the car in front, then repeat as both of these cars are honking away having set off some bump detector.

Ah, and there was a MacDonald's across the street. Kate found it was one of the few places where she could get a proper garden salad!

— Slides scanned during the pandemic, these notes composed 2023/01/08.

Valencia

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Kate's ISRA (International Society for Research on Aggression) conference was in Valencia, Spain July 9-14. We had first visited Barcelona for a couple of days and had taken a train, along with Sam,  Kate's work colleague from London, to Valencia. Both are old cities on the Mediterranean coast; Barcelona is in the Catalan province and very near the French border while Valencia is further to the South West. It's over 4 hours on a coastal train between the two cites. Both are well worth exploring.

The old city, which we really loved, is quite a distance from the water. We had booked conference lodging at the nearby University which was quite modern and near the coast. However, it was deadly modern, boring and a LRT ride from the old city where the conference was held. We tried it one night and all agreed that we would much rather be in the old city. We found a room near the Plaça de l'Ajuntament (Town Hall Square) where the streets are crowded with grand turn of the century Beaux Artes buildings. Kate and I had a lovely corner room that overlooked the Plaza, Sam had a nearby room. This was a perfect spot to explore the old city and it was only a reasonable walk to the conference.

I recall wandering the narrow streets and back lanes of the old city and enjoying the surprises found round every corner. As I'm composing this note many years after I'll highlight a few things.

The Valencia Cathedral is a beautiful old (consecrated 1238) Catholic Cathedral on Plaça de la Verge (Plaza of the Virgin), also known as or Plaça de la Mare de Déu (Plaza of the Mother of God), with an imposing octagonal bell tower that I climbed (the Miguelete Tower). There are a couple of important religious relics here the most important of which is ..... off in a side chapel .... drum roll .... The Holy Grail!! There is some dispute off course whether this is or is not the "real" deal; e.g. the Wikipedia page says "A purported Holy Chalice, believed by many to be the true Holy Grail, is kept in one of the cathedral's chapels." They don't seem to make a big deal of it. There's also the Arm of St Vincent on display in another chapel of the cathedral. Gruesome!

The "Round Square" (Plaza Redonda) is one of those quirky and interesting plazas in the old city. As the name implies it's round rather than square. There's a modest fountain in the center with shops around the edge. One day when I returned there were these old ladies, a club of some sort I would guess, who were making intricate needle point or lace.

When not visiting cathedrals and churches one of the places I found most interesting was the huge The Central Market of Valencia. It's huge, well stocked and active. People who live in the old city shop there. Fresh vegetables, fresh seafood and hams hanging overhead with little drip buckets to catch the fat leaching out. And paella pans in every size from single serving to banquet sized. I recall a fellow who had purchased a very large pan struggling to get it into his car — it was way too big and would never fit!

We, of course, had paella many times. It seems to be national dish of the area with endless variations, e.g., a black version from squid ink. It's all pretty tasty, especially when washed down with Sangria or perhaps a beer. Kate was not so keen about all the olive oil and really longed for a garden salad with fresh veggies and greens.

One day the conference took us on a bus trip out of the city and along the coast. On our return, with our friend Cathy from Buffalo, we four went out to some night clubs for dancing and to continue carrying on. Kate and I returned at a sensible hour while Sam and Cathy danced the night away. When Sam and Cathy arrived back at our hotel somewhat later the front desk had shut down and Sam couldn't figure out how to get back in (it turns out there's a button to page the desk clerk). She ended up sleeping on the floor at Cathy's place!! We met up with her the next morning over breakfast at our hotel.

There's much I cannot recall from our photos (there's a photo of some fellows watching a bull fight, I recall that it was local but can't find where the stadium was). I do recall Valencia being a very interesting historic city with lots of well preserved architecture, interesting squares, fountains and public art, and lots of interesting back lanes to explore. We enjoyed it very much and would recommend the old city which, at the time, was very much alive.

— Slides scanned during the pandemic, these notes composed 2023/01/08.

Barcelona

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In July of 2000 Kate had a conference in Valencia, Spain. We made it a bit of an extended holiday visiting Barcelona first and Madrid afterwards. Kate's colleague Sam, who attended the same conference, travelled with us for a good part of this trip — Barcelona and Valencia.

The photo album at left is of Barcelona where we wanted to go to see some of the works of Antonio Gaudi (1852-1926). He was an important Catalan architect in the Art Nouveaux period of the early 20th century and he left a very big and unique mark on Barcelona. The Sagrada Família, an imposing Catholic Basilica, is perhaps the most famous. It was still under construction when we visited. But there's so much more to see.

We arrived late in the day having had problems in Toronto. Our flight was cancelled due to mechanical problems. Kate resolved that problem by insisting that the airline get us to Barcelona via some other route. We ending up flying overnight to Miami and arriving in Madrid late the next day (we were originally scheduled to be there in the morning). The airline had wanted to shunt us away, "come back tomorrow" kind of thing. But Kate stood her ground and insisted, we had only a few days in Barcelona and were not coming back the "next day".

We stayed in a funky little 3-star hotel just off Las Ramblas (Hostal R. Ramos on Plaza San Agustin, we were near the Liceu Metro stop). Our rooms were on the second floor, we had a corner room, and the interior of the building had a courtyard. There was a prominent sign in the lobby — "Beware of Pickpckets/Cuidado Con Cos Carteristas"). We can't say we weren't warned. The buildings in the neighborhood were quite old and more than a little worse for wear. 

The street, Las Ramblas, is a pleasant wide green avenue with shops and lots of cafes on a central green space scattered along the way. We enjoyed some Sangria wine with the many people who had gathered  on La Rambla to enjoy the pleasant summer evening. At the far end of La Rambla there's the Port of Barcelona and the Colon (Christopher Columbus) monument. His trips to the new world were sponsored by Spain but he was actually Italian (Genoa), his name in Italian is Cristoforo Colombo, and in Spanish Cristóbal Colón.

We did a bit of wander around exploring the streets that evening, down to the port and back around through the neighborhood to the south and west of our hotel. Along the way we passed a local tavern and a young fellow came out to greet us. Kate and Sam wisely continued on. Reg, ever so trusting, let the fellow engage him and show him the "Barcelona Handshake" which involved a lot of gyrations and jumping about. After the fellow had done so, and had quickly disappeared, Reg discovered that he had just been the victim of the ever so common pick pocket scam. His wallet was gone, damn!!

The next morning Reg queued up at the local police station to report the crime. Along the way he stopped to take some photos of the wrought iron gates to the Güell Palace (1886-188) — it's one of Gaudi's creations and quite lovely. It was originally built as a private mansion with Gaudi as the architect. Reg didn't tour the palace, from the outside, apart from the gates, it looks pretty conventional. The police duly filed Reg's report (and the reports of the many others who had queued up with him) which no doubt was filed in the circular bin.

Our first Gaudi stop together (Kate, Sam and Reg) was the Casa Milà (aka La Pedrera) (1906-1912_. It was built as an apartment block and is a stunning piece of architecture. The architect has been given licence to really let go. It's amazing. It's now a museum that you can tour. The building bulges and flows like waves or some living beast. The many balconies are wrought iron and much like the gates of the Güell Palace from this morning. There was also a Goya exhibit going on. We did get inside the courtyard but didn't take a tour of the building. I wish we had but there was lots more Gaudi to see.

Our next Gaudi stop was the Sagrada Família (1915 - now) — Gaudi's unfinished cathedral. At our visit the cathedral was still open to the sky; there was no roof on it. But we were able to ascend to one of the spires for a view of the work in progress and the surrounding city. I gather there was some effort to implement Gaudi's intentions as plans had been lost along the way.

Our last Gaudi stop of the day was the Park Güell (1900-1914). This is a large green space overlooking the city with whimsical buildings; especially the gates. It's my understanding it was originally intending as a housing development but that never took off. It became a public park in 1926. The picture above is of the entrance buildings to the park. There's also another impressive wrought iron gate. For me the most impressive feature is the broken tile mosaics, we also saw the same technique at the Sagrada on the spires.

The next day we crammed in more visits closer to our hotel (the Museu D'Historia De La Cuitat) and in the late day took a train to Valencia.

— These notes composed January 3, 2023 from fading memories. Slides scanned during pandemic lockdown.