Yesterday I went with a group of friends and the CAA on a trip to Toronto. We had a very good lunch at the Town & Country Restaurant Buffet. Every kind of fresh salad, freshly cooked meats and irresistable desserts. Then we went to a matinee performance of the Lion King at the Princess of Wales Theatre. What a treat! No wonder the seats are so difficult to obtain. This is a Walt Disney Production. The scenery and costume designers have used every kind of trompe d'oeil and puppetry. The effect is amazing. I have run out of superlatives. At the end the performers received a long "standing ovation". Well deserved.

Thursday January 25, 2001

Really bright beautiful day - but it's so terribly cold. Windchill of minus 15. The light on such days is strange and blinding bright. It is almost as though the atmosphere had blown away, leaving only the stark black and white landscape.

I often see new immigrants walking back from the FoodBank with their children. I particularly felt sorry for a young woman I saw this morning. She was wearing a black sari; No gloves or hat; holding a very young child. Her hands were black with the cold. They frequently cannot speak English and are kept cooped in overheated apartments.

At this time of year the Canadian winter is becoming unbearable for even the most steadfast enthusiasts. If we can afford to travel we usually head south for at least a short break from the unremitting mind-bending cold.

Last weekend I chose to see the movie "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon". Although it had subtitles, which I usually find annoying, the movie was such a delight that I really didn't notice them. The choreography of the Ninja movements was so smooth and fast that I couldn't really recognize any of them. The photography was beautiful and the landscapes unusual and fascinating. I can see why the critics gave this movie high marks. I wouldn't mind seeing it again.

Tuesday January 16, 2001

Received my gas bill today for home heating! I'm still in a state of shock. Not only did the price double, but the amount used increased considerably, due to the very cold weather. Ho hum, things don't improve do they.

It seems to me that the energy producers have declared an ugly kind of psychotic war on the users. If we are dependent and weak, then we will be whipped. Reminds me of the dependent and weak people in the story of the Time Machine. What did he call them now, I can't remember .. was it the Awoks? Something like that. It was The Eloi (I had a look around the Internet and found a Library on Line, with H.G. Wells books at http://www.literature.org/authors/wells-herbert-george/the-time-machine/). Anyway, I'm going to have extra insulation; wear extra clothes in layers; not drive any more than absolutely necessary .. etc. Anything I can think of to use less fuel. If everyone did that then one day we would be able to tell them to take their environmentally unfriendly fossil fuels and stuff them! Really makes me annoyed - they have nothing better to do than fly around the world in total luxury, having all-male meetings and discussing how they're going to sock it to the rest of us.

For the past few days the weather has been a little warmer, just above zero. The snow banks have melted somewhat.

On the weekend I went to see "Miss Congeniality". As usual I enjoyed this entertainment very much. There were numerous sparring matches. Nicely choreographed, reminded me of our katas and defensive moves of the Wen Do. (I see the Wen Do have a page at: http://www.icomm.ca/~wendo/pages/home.htm ) It was good to see such fit people able to carry out the moves to perfection and with the grace of a dance.

Monday, January 8, 2001

Lovely sunny day. Thank goodness, we needed that. Snow sparkling and the sun so warm, like Switzerland.

Sunday, January 7, 2001

Bit warmer today, must be about 0 or 1ºC. To me the difference is considerable. I wish it would go up to 15 though. Despite having shares in different energy companies I still don't think they will pass much of their profits on to the shareholders.

Yesterday I went to see a comic cartoon movie "The King's New Groove". It was very pleasant and quite funny. I didn't think the actual art work was up to the standard of "Antz". Antz seemed to have a peculiar three dimensional effect which I hadn't seen in a cartoon before. The cinema was filled with parents and children. They all seemed to enjoy the movie very much. Only two really small children had to be taken out: the King, who had been changed into a llama, was being pursued through a dark forest by hideous black panthers. So I'd say, if your children are really tiny and a bit nervous, avoid the bit about the panthers!

Talking of Antsy, yesterday morning I was walking around the back streets with Sue and came upon a mountain of snow right in the middle of some man's driveway exit. He was talking into his cellphone somewhat animated. Apparently the previous evening he had put some of his snow on a neighbour's boulevard (that's the strip of grass between the sidewalk and the road). Unfortunately we are running out of room for all the snow. The neighbour happened to own a front-end loader. You can guess the rest! On Monday I walked by again and noticed the huge loader parked in an intimidating way .. "Any more snow on my boulevard and I'll bury you!".
On Monday I was nearly a cause of rage myself. I had to reverse in beside the gasoline pumps - to get the hose on the left side of my car. That made it impossible for me to drive around to the car wash, without going in front of someone at the end of a long queue. He came around and I thought he was going to sock me!
There are just too many of us nowadays, don't you think? I find such crowding and jostling for everything extremely stressful. Sometimes I think even the planet earth is treating us like a disease - coming over hot and cold and dripping with various precipitation. Just like a person with a severe fever.

Friday, January 5, 2001

Still more snow. If you are right (that you get our weather, in the U.K., in about two weeks) then brace yourselves! There is plenty more precipitation where the last lot came from. I was out shovelling and blowing again today and took a few pictures:-

Wednesday, January 3, 2001

Just a little warmer today - because we have cloud cover, high winds and snow! That all makes for a wind-chill enough to flash freeze the face .. so, no skiing. My continual consolation is being able to go to the gym. There's always someone to chat with, a beautiful swimming pool, sauna, whirlpool and, in the restaurant the best hot coffee, freshly made soups and muffins etc. Very pleasant.

Tuesday, January 2, 2001

Weather is still very cold. Another dangerously cold warning was issued last night. This is for the homeless, to ask people to inform authorities if they see homeless wandering the streets or trying to sleep in the open. What an incredible difference from last year. I was just looking at this date in my diary for last year. The temperature had been up to 50. To get to last year you will have to go back to my index page for these letters - http://www.sentex.net/~oficserv/Jan2000.html I had taken some really pretty pictures of the effects of an ice storm, the next morning.

This evening I went to see "Best of Show". An unusual film about the interesting and eccentric dog people who plan to compete with their dogs in a big show. I thought the Brits had a copyright out on being totally weird and eccentric! I enjoyed the film very much. The Bookshelf of Guelph is a charming little cinema. It was packed, as usual. The only place on the Web I could find to check the show times for the Bookshelf is at the KW Record site. http://www.therecord.com/

Link to the Movies Pages at "movies.yahoo.com"

Visit a site for many photographs of North American Birds and animals.

Rhona Raskin Home Page at http://www.rhona.com.