http://www.momandhops.ca/now-playing-straight-up-the-issue-of-alcohol-in-ontario/

I'm about to check out a video detailing the anomalous rules and regulations governing the sale of alcohol in Ontario. Perhaps afterwards I'll be able to answer the questions that inevitably arise when newcomers to the province discover the Beer Store.

Canada Day Film Recommendation

I just watched One Week staring Joshua Jackson and enjoyed it thoroughly. I thought it was a quirky and intelligent film and unashamedly Canadian. I would recommend it to anyone looking for something to watch surrounding our nation's 146th birthday.

The soundtrack is also pretty awesome. CBC Radio 3 had this to say about it...

"Michael McGowan, writer and director of the new Canadian film One Week, says that with this film, he wanted to "create a narrative that was also a love-letter to the county." Well, if his movie is a love letter, then the soundtrack is the mixtape he made for his girlfriend, Canada."

Butter Tarts

I pinched this recipe from the internet. I've made a few adjustments and had things turn out really well. The original was apparently from Brantford.

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

PASTRY
2 cups flour
1 cup shortening
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 tablespoon vinegar
2 tablespoons cold water

FILLING
1 egg
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 tablespoon melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup raisins (optional, or can be replaced with pecans)

Preparation:
Pastry:

Blend the shortening, salt and the flour with a pastry cutter, or two knives, until you've created a uniform mixture that is crumbly and about the size of frozen peas.

In a separate bowl, mix 1 egg, 1 tbsp white vinegar and 2 tbsp cold water.

Add to shortening and flour mixture. Mix all ingredients together, but only until just mixed and no more. The key to flaky pastry is not to overhandle the dough.

For ease of handling, make a ball of the dough, wrap in cellophane and place in freezer for 10-15 mins.

Roll out dough onto floured surface to about the thickness of a CD case. Using either a cookie cutter or something like a jar lid, cut out circles from the dough.

Press dough circles into a muffin pan.

Filling:

In another bowl, mix well the maple syrup, brown sugar, melted butter and egg.

Add vanilla and stir in raisins.

Spoon filling into pastry shell to just below the rim. Bake at 200c for about 10 mins until golden brown.

Makes about a dozen tarts.

Are you kidding me??

I don't even know what to say! This is either too awesome for words, or not worth the effort!

Read this...
http://ugonnaeatthat.com/2010/04/24/star-trek-romulan-ale/

And then check this out...
http://www.vulcantourism.com/

If you don't know anything about Star Trek you can read this...
http://memory-alpha.org/wiki/Vulcan

And, if you just don't care, have a look at this...
http://cuteoverload.com/

Canada Day in Trafalgar Square

Yesterday we went to Canada day in London! We saw a load of great Canadian bands including Radio Radio, Hawksly Workman, Sarah Harmer, and Jully Black! We ate bison burgers and had a Tim Horton's Doughnut! We had our pictures taken with a Mountie and I signed up for a Canadain social club in London and the mailing list for Canadian music in Europe! I also bumped into this guy...

But he wasn't as scary as he looked, and after a few beer, and one accidental bomb scare, we all lived happily ever after! Oh Canada, what a great day!

Radio 1's top 50

I was trying to find great songs and albums for Canada day in Galway, and remembered a few years ago I heard on CBC radio 1 counting some of the best ones down. I don't know the number 1 hit, but the rest seem pretty representative!

1. ‘Four Strong Winds' by Ian and Sylvia (1963)
(3850) 4%


2. ‘If I had $1000000” by the Barenaked Ladies (1992)
(3814) 4%


3. ‘Heart of Gold' by Neil Young (1971)
(3761) 4%


4. ‘Northwest Passage' by Stan Rogers (1981)
(3598) 4%


5. ‘American Woman' by The Guess Who (1970)
(3531) 4%


6. ‘Canadian Railroad Trilogy' by Gordon Lightfoot (1967)
(3397) 3%


7. ‘Both Sides Now' by Joni Mitchell (1969)
(3105) 3%


8. ‘Suzanne' by Leonard Cohen (1967)
(3067) 3%


9. ‘Big Yellow Taxi' by Joni Mitchell (1970)
(2998) 3%


10. ‘Early Morning Rain' by Gordon Lightfoot (1966)
(2798) 3%


11. ‘Lovers in a Dangerous Time' by Bruce Cockburn (1984)
(2782) 3%


12. ‘The Hockey Song' by Stompin' Tom Connors (1973)
(2701) 3%


13. ‘Life is a Highway' by Tom Cochrane (1991)
(2586) 3%


14. ‘Try' by Blue Rodeo (1987)
(2581) 3%


15. ‘The Weight' by The Band (1968)
(2553) 3%


16. ‘New Orleans is Sinking” by The Tragically Hip (1989)
(2534) 3%


17. ‘Summer of '69' by Bryan Adams (1984)
(2509) 3%


18. ‘Takin' Care of Business' by Bachman-Turner Overdrive (1974)
(2251) 2%


19. ‘Snowbird' Anne Murray (1970)
(2234) 2%


20. ‘Angel' by Sarah McLachlan (1997)
(2207) 2%


21. ‘Constant Craving' by k.d. lang (1992)
(2113) 2%


22. ‘Home for a Rest' by Spirit of the West (1990)
(2062) 2%


23. ‘These Eyes' by The Guess Who (1969)
(2054) 2%


24. ‘Rockin' in the Free World' by Neil Young (1989)
(2006) 2%


25. ‘Sundown' by Gordon Lightfoot (1973)
(1929) 2%


26. ‘The Universal Soldier' by Buffy Sainte-Marie (1964)
(1910) 2%


27. ‘Courage' by the Tragically Hip (1992)
(1859) 2%


28. ‘You Oughta Know' by Alanis Morissette (1995)
(1846) 2%


29. ‘Wondering Where The Lions Are” by Bruce Cockburn (1979)
(1659) 2%


30. ‘Mon Pays' by Gilles Vigneault (1965)
(1648) 2%


31. ‘Raise a Little Hell' by Trooper (1978)
(1616) 2%


32. ‘Hasn't Hit Me Yet” Blue Rodeo (1993)
(1569) 2%


33. 'Tom Sawyer' by Rush (1981)
(1424) 1%


34. ‘I'm Movin' On” by Hank Snow (1950)
(1258) 1%


35. ‘Echo Beach' by Martha and the Muffins (1980)
(1166) 1%


36. ‘The Safety Dance' by Men Without Hats (1982)
(1118) 1%


37. ‘Crabbuckit' K-OS (2004)
(1043) 1%


38. ‘High School Confidential' by Rough Trade (1980)
(1055) 1%


39. ‘Brother Down' Sam Roberts (2001)
(1003) 1%


40. ‘Diana' by Paul Anka (1957)
(994) 1%


41. ‘Sonny's Dream' by The Wonderful Grand Band (1981)
(941) 1%


42. ‘Tower of Song' by Leonard Cohen (1988)
(924) 1%


43. ‘Sh-Boom (Life Could Be A Dream)' by the Crew Cuts (1954)
(890) 1%


44. ‘Rise Up' by The Parachute Club (1983)
(874) 1%


45. ‘Coax Me” by Sloan (1994)
(832) 1%


46. ‘Let Your Backbone Slide' Maestro Fresh-Wes (1990)
(809) 1%


47. ‘I'll Never Smile Again' by Ruth Lowe, performed by the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra (1940)
(619) 1%


48. “Fly By Night” by Rush (1975)
(552) 1%


49. ‘Disco Sucks ' by D.O.A. (1978)
(366) 0%


50. ‘My Swiss Moonlight Lullaby' by Wilf Carter (1933)
(250) 0%

Canada IS a great country!

Yesterday I got roped into moving my brother out of University. Not normally a tragedy in any sense but I had other plans I was eager to get to so this mammoth move (it took us almost 12 hours to get everything loaded and the flat tidied up) I was ready to get home and then head back out.

This didn’t exactly happen as on our drive home the right wheel of the trailer behind the van decided to lock up and we had to pull over.

No matter what we tried (we drove both forwards AND backwards!!) We couldn’t seem to make this stubborn wheel turn, so we were just resigning ourselves to our fate and getting ready for a long walk to the closest phone when a friendly stranger and good Samaritan (both the same person) pulled over in their pickup truck and lent us his phone to call for a tow truck. As it turned out this helpful gentleman happened to hail from Caistor Centre and only a hop, skip and a jump (and perhaps a final lunge) from where I’m situated. We only chatted briefly but during this time I excused my appalling geographical knowledge of the area by saying that I’d been away for a long time and was just coming back.

After we’d called the truck and our new pal had driven off we were all sitting in the van chatting about how fortunate we’d been to have him stop, when who should come driving back towards us but the man himself. He got out of his truck and walked up to us and said something along the lines of . . .

“As I was driving away I was thinking. You said you just got back, and that probably meant you don’t have a job yet. Do you want a job?”

I of course accepted, shook hands and exchanged information before he headed off again. It’s a landscaping position which is good because I’ll get to be outside, doing different stuff all the time, getting to travel to different areas, and it pays well enough that I’ll be able to save up some money during the work season and then bugger off again once the season turns.

Cha Ching!

Unrelated events call for unrelated images.

Last night Martin (the German who's now leaving my in charge of his flat in Dublin while he goes on vacation to Albania) and I went to see a free outdoor screening of the movie Totsti about South African thugs. It was fantastic, if you ever get the opportunity, watch it. If you never get the opportunity, get off your ass and make it happen, it's a good film.

Immediately following that I walked into the street and some Spanish woman looked at me and said 'red'. I responded with 'Huh? . . . Wha . . ? Are you talking to me?' Then things went more or less like this . . .

Spanish Woman: You have red hair.
Confused Grayson: Yes, that's right, I do.
Spanish Woman: I want to have a baby with red hair.

At this point she puts her arm around mine and starts walking beside me in the direction of the closest pub. Within the next few steps she starts telling me about Spain and asks me if I know it well. I confessed that I didn't know Spain very well at all, and also that I was Canadian. Upon hearing that I wasn't Irish, she unlinked our arms and the whirlwind romance was over. Martin and I continued on to a different pub, and the Spanish folk (although they did still invite us to join them) continued in the direction they were originally heading.

Timmy O'Horton

Where am I anyway? Apparently you can get Horton's coffee in the back of some shops. I've not seen any yet, this cup was found by Jill (from P.E.I.) in a pub with a name I can't spell. It's been a grand 2 weeks in Galway, especially since I was only supposed to be here for a couple of nights.

The other night Karol had a big BBQ, we spent a good hour putting her BBQ together and then found out the connection wasn't right for the propane we had! Fortunately one of the guests was a chef and he cooked everything up in the kitchen. After a bottle of Buckfast and a few beers we went downtown to a pub to dance, then to an after party in a condo uptown with a D.J. We were supposed to go clubbing but I wasn't allowed in with my shoes, despite the fact that there were a few other folks inside wearing runners. My theory is they heard my accent or saw that I was having fun and decided I wasn't getting in. My response to them went a little like this . . .
Ignore the funny looking Italian guy giving me the fingers, I don't know him. He only lives with me.