It is the hardest thing in the world to be in love, and yet attend to
business. A gentleman asked me this morning, 'What news from Lisbon?'
and I answered, 'She is exquisitely handsome.' -Richard Steele, writer
and politician (bap. 12 Mar 1672-1729)
Dear Patrick and Corinne and Chloe and Baby Rowan James Wow what times we are living in!! Right now we are in Toronto. Had a Flight Pass which enabled me to visit Edmonton and destinations in Canada on an unlimited basis between Feb. 13 and May 13. So Colin and I decided to go to Toronto to see the ballet and to catch up with his brother who lives out of Toronto in Prince Edward County. However, this is not turning out to be the best trip possible. As innumerable large group events have been cancelled in Toronto and the ballet as yet isn't on the list.
I was in touch with Karen Armstrong who I had worked with at UBC and who maintains a residence in Toronto and one on Galiano Island -- one of the Gulf Islands off the BC coast. If you can imagine she is not in Toronto right now but is at her second home in Galiano! What are the odds. Will meet Diane Davy a fellow CCBC board member tomorrow for lunch--but it is Friday the 13th. Tonight we are supposed to go to the ballet but who knows if this is a good idea but we are going.
My son John and his partner, Yulin are in Marseilles France on business and it has been a turmoil for them given Trump's announcement about banning travel from Europe. Harvard is now shut down and all of John's subsequent meetings in Europe cancelled. So instead of going to Boston because they couldn't get flights there, they are hoping to fly to Vancouver. They will leave on Monday and we will also leave from Toronto.
Anyways I hope that you are surviving. Now I am worried about going to Edmonton on March 19th as I might carry something to my 94 year old father. My niece, Hannah in Calgary was to leave for London next Friday so her travel plans are up in turmoil. 2020 is some year all the way around. I hope you are okay. Please take care and please know I am thinking of you loads and loads. Lots of hugs but no kisses Jo-Anne
Hi Brave Jet-Setters! Wow! I cannot begin to imagine what you are going through, with your travels, even in Canada, let alone John's and Yulin's international flights from Europe, given recent travel bans Trump just imposed for US and now Canada's breaking restrictions. Will they even be allowed to fly to Vancouver? If so, will there be mandatory quarantine restrictions? So many, many unanswered questions!
These rapidly unfolding developments, [various newscasters can barely keep up with breaking releases!], are hitting quite close to home, inasmuch as we have a close friend, currently on tour with Bach Choir, now in Philadelphia, is supposed to visit us at the end of next week. Just had a message from him and he is not sure, as of this writing, what the future holds. He may well have to return directly to London. This reminds me of the SARS outbreak in 2003 when I was on sabbatical in Australia. Lady Dar had been with me for six weeks but I remained for another month or so to work on my project. Our flights went through Singpore and I had planned to spend a week there, on return leg, to explore the city and surrounding countryside. I wasn't worried about myself, per se, but was worried about Mom, perhaps infecting her, akin to your own concerns regarding your 94 year old father!
In the end I was able to book a return flight through Seoul. Had to pay around $100, or more, can't really remember, to extend my Australian visa, for two or three weeks, as most of the flights were already fully booked for same reasons! One of the benefits was that I spent the day in Seoul with the son of a close friend who was teaching there for a year. He gave me a wonderful overview of the city. Would love to go back to see more of it and the country, of course. [Even more of a pull as we just finished watching final episodes of Saimdang: Memoir of Colors, on Netflix, last night, after coming home from seeing latest Kitchen Stove series.
Furthermore, this calls into question our planned driving trip to LA in early May, to attend Pierre's graduation, from Engineering. At the moment all campus classes have been cancelled and are only offered on-line. Whether this will affect actual graduation, in terms of completed course work, exams passed, etc., and/or the physical graduation ceremony itself, remains to be seen. As you know, travel south has been restricted. Looking even further ahead, we are currently in the planning stage for a trip to Viet Nam, Laos and Cambodia, with close friends, this coming September. We haven't yet booked any flights, tours or hotels so that is not a worry. However, given what is happening, [and can only become worse in the foreseeable future], to the world economy, it simply may not be prudent to incur the considerable expense of such travel, especially when we are facing bearing most of the costs for the basement suite we are helping Chloë put in her townhouse, in great good part to help her "survive" as a single parent, and on maternity leave, let alone in the face of a recession.
At any rate, I/We feel we will be able to weather this current crisis, better than so many others, of course, given our financial/housing situation, so are grateful for that, it goes without saying. Still, certainly not something that we could ever have imagined when we all wished in 2020!
Saw And The Birds Rained Down this evening, at The Kitchen Stove, PAG series, as mentioned above, and it was, perhaps, one of the most powerful, if not the most powerful films I've seen for some time! From TIFF:
As acclaimed director Louise Archambault's elegiac and charming And the Birds Rained Down opens, we meet three hermits living in cabins in the Quebec countryside, miles from civilization. Tom (Rémy Girard), Charlie (Gilbert Sicotte), and Ted (Kenneth Welsh) fled society years ago, and have eked out a back-to-the-land existence, selling pot to the closest locals with help from local hotelier Stephen (Éric Robidoux).
But their lifestyle is increasingly endangered by nature, infirmity, and age. Ted collapses from a heart attack. Photographer/ researcher Ange-Aimee (Eve Landry) threatens to disrupt their lives when she starts looking for survivors of a catastrophic blaze that happened decades ago, most notably Ted, whose actions during the fire have assumed heroic stature.
A poignant meditation on the possibilities of living outside modernity, And the Birds Rained Down is a tribute to the need to live independently and on one's own terms — and to those courageous enough to pursue this. (It's also a cry for respect for people and their choices, regardless of age.) Driven by an astonishing cast boasting some of Quebec's most esteemed performers — including Andrée Lachapelle, [Made even more heartrendingly poignant when I discovered she died on November 21, 2019, via assisted suicide, at the age of 88 following a battle with cancer.], whose career stretches back to 1954 — the film features one of the most beautiful musical moments of the year, when Girard's ailing musician Tom, coaxed into performing at a nearby club, delivers a soulful and heartbreaking rendition of one of Tom Waits' best tunes.
Hi Patrick, I am on Aart and Jim's list, but somehow I am not on your Monday hiking list. Please add my name with my new email address. Thanks so much,
Dorothy Hi Dorothy! Lovely to see you at Paul's talk. I enjoyed it immensely and we are certainly looking forward to the exhibition, coming soon to an art gallery near you!
Thanks for providing me with your current email address as I knew I had an expired one when broadcast mailings were not able to be delivered to one I had on file. At the time, I wasn't sure if you wanted to be on my lists so I didn't make an effort to contact you by other means. However, I'm delighted that you do want to be included and have already added you to my group "Hikers" list. I trust your wrist will allow you to join the regular outings in the near future. Until our paths cross, either on the hills or the streets of Penticton, stay well. Cheers, Patrizzio!
Happy St Patrick's Day to all my wonderful friends and loving family! May there be rainbows aplenty for everyone in these all too, too troubled times! Sláinte, Patrick!
Dear Patrick and Corinne and Chloe and Baby Rowan James Wow what times we are living in!! Right now we are in Toronto. Had a Flight Pass which enabled me to visit Edmonton and destinations in Canada on an unlimited basis between Feb. 13 and May 13. So Colin and I decided to go to Toronto to see the ballet and to catch up with his brother who lives out of Toronto in Prince Edward County. However, this is not turning out to be the best trip possible. As innumerable large group events have been cancelled in Toronto and the ballet as yet isn't on the list.
I was in touch with Karen Armstrong who I had worked with at UBC and who maintains a residence in Toronto and one on Galiano Island -- one of the Gulf Islands off the BC coast. If you can imagine she is not in Toronto right now but is at her second home in Galiano! What are the odds. Will meet Diane Davy a fellow CCBC board member tomorrow for lunch--but it is Friday the 13th. Tonight we are supposed to go to the ballet but who knows if this is a good idea but we are going.
My son John and his partner, Yulin are in Marseilles France on business and it has been a turmoil for them given Trump's announcement about banning travel from Europe. Harvard is now shut down and all of John's subsequent meetings in Europe cancelled. So instead of going to Boston because they couldn't get flights there, they are hoping to fly to Vancouver. They will leave on Monday and we will also leave from Toronto.
Anyways I hope that you are surviving. Now I am worried about going to Edmonton on March 19th as I might carry something to my 94 year old father. My niece, Hannah in Calgary was to leave for London next Friday so her travel plans are up in turmoil. 2020 is some year all the way around. I hope you are okay. Please take care and please know I am thinking of you loads and loads. Lots of hugs but no kisses Jo-Anne
Hi Brave Jet-Setters! Wow! I cannot begin to imagine what you are going through, with your travels, even in Canada, let alone John's and Yulin's international flights from Europe, given recent travel bans Trump just imposed for US and now Canada's breaking restrictions. Will they even be allowed to fly to Vancouver? If so, will there be mandatory quarantine restrictions? So many, many unanswered questions!
These rapidly unfolding developments, [various newscasters can barely keep up with breaking releases!], are hitting quite close to home, inasmuch as we have a close friend, currently on tour with Bach Choir, now in Philadelphia, is supposed to visit us at the end of next week. Just had a message from him and he is not sure, as of this writing, what the future holds. He may well have to return directly to London. This reminds me of the SARS outbreak in 2003 when I was on sabbatical in Australia. Lady Dar had been with me for six weeks but I remained for another month or so to work on my project. Our flights went through Singpore and I had planned to spend a week there, on return leg, to explore the city and surrounding countryside. I wasn't worried about myself, per se, but was worried about Mom, perhaps infecting her, akin to your own concerns regarding your 94 year old father!
In the end I was able to book a return flight through Seoul. Had to pay around $100, or more, can't really remember, to extend my Australian visa, for two or three weeks, as most of the flights were already fully booked for same reasons! One of the benefits was that I spent the day in Seoul with the son of a close friend who was teaching there for a year. He gave me a wonderful overview of the city. Would love to go back to see more of it and the country, of course. [Even more of a pull as we just finished watching final episodes of Saimdang: Memoir of Colors, on Netflix, last night, after coming home from seeing latest Kitchen Stove series.
Furthermore, this calls into question our planned driving trip to LA in early May, to attend Pierre's graduation, from Engineering. At the moment all campus classes have been cancelled and are only offered on-line. Whether this will affect actual graduation, in terms of completed course work, exams passed, etc., and/or the physical graduation ceremony itself, remains to be seen. As you know, travel south has been restricted. Looking even further ahead, we are currently in the planning stage for a trip to Viet Nam, Laos and Cambodia, with close friends, this coming September. We haven't yet booked any flights, tours or hotels so that is not a worry. However, given what is happening, [and can only become worse in the foreseeable future], to the world economy, it simply may not be prudent to incur the considerable expense of such travel, especially when we are facing bearing most of the costs for the basement suite we are helping Chloë put in her townhouse, in great good part to help her "survive" as a single parent, and on maternity leave, let alone in the face of a recession.
At any rate, I/We feel we will be able to weather this current crisis, better than so many others, of course, given our financial/housing situation, so are grateful for that, it goes without saying. Still, certainly not something that we could ever have imagined when we all wished in 2020!
Saw And The Birds Rained Down this evening, at The Kitchen Stove, PAG series, as mentioned above, and it was, perhaps, one of the most powerful, if not the most powerful films I've seen for some time! From TIFF:
As acclaimed director Louise Archambault's elegiac and charming And the Birds Rained Down opens, we meet three hermits living in cabins in the Quebec countryside, miles from civilization. Tom (Rémy Girard), Charlie (Gilbert Sicotte), and Ted (Kenneth Welsh) fled society years ago, and have eked out a back-to-the-land existence, selling pot to the closest locals with help from local hotelier Stephen (Éric Robidoux).
But their lifestyle is increasingly endangered by nature, infirmity, and age. Ted collapses from a heart attack. Photographer/ researcher Ange-Aimee (Eve Landry) threatens to disrupt their lives when she starts looking for survivors of a catastrophic blaze that happened decades ago, most notably Ted, whose actions during the fire have assumed heroic stature.
A poignant meditation on the possibilities of living outside modernity, And the Birds Rained Down is a tribute to the need to live independently and on one's own terms — and to those courageous enough to pursue this. (It's also a cry for respect for people and their choices, regardless of age.) Driven by an astonishing cast boasting some of Quebec's most esteemed performers — including Andrée Lachapelle, [Made even more heartrendingly poignant when I discovered she died on November 21, 2019, via assisted suicide, at the age of 88 following a battle with cancer.], whose career stretches back to 1954 — the film features one of the most beautiful musical moments of the year, when Girard's ailing musician Tom, coaxed into performing at a nearby club, delivers a soulful and heartbreaking rendition of one of Tom Waits' best tunes.
Hi Patrick, I am on Aart and Jim's list, but somehow I am not on your Monday hiking list. Please add my name with my new email address. Thanks so much,
Dorothy Hi Dorothy! Lovely to see you at Paul's talk. I enjoyed it immensely and we are certainly looking forward to the exhibition, coming soon to an art gallery near you!
Thanks for providing me with your current email address as I knew I had an expired one when broadcast mailings were not able to be delivered to one I had on file. At the time, I wasn't sure if you wanted to be on my lists so I didn't make an effort to contact you by other means. However, I'm delighted that you do want to be included and have already added you to my group "Hikers" list. I trust your wrist will allow you to join the regular outings in the near future. Until our paths cross, either on the hills or the streets of Penticton, stay well. Cheers, Patrizzio!
Sir Pat and Lady Dar. Sorry. Problems with my Samsung phone and nothing works hopefully temporarily! Using hotel computer in Philadelphia. Tour almost finished and lots of interesting experiences, but corona virus causing potential problems eg getting out of USA and around.. I just hope the situation does not worsen. Patrizzia is doing her nut. Shall be in touch as soon as situation changes. Pics are as cute as ever. All our love. Sir James and Lady Patrizzia.
Happy St Patrick's Day to all my wonderful friends and loving family! May there be rainbows aplenty for everyone in these all too, too troubled times! Sláinte, Patrick!
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