Nov 6, 2017 |
by William Kendall @WilliamKendall1
November 11th is a day of commemoration, drawn out of the First World War. On that date in 1918, an armistice was signed, ending the war between Germany and the Allies. The War To End All Wars didn’t accomplish that, of course, but out of that particular date came a long standing tradition. The day goes by different names- Armistice Day initially, Remembrance Day throughout the Commonwealth, and Veterans Day in the United States. At cenotaphs and memorials around the world, wreaths are placed, prayers are given, and mournful, subdued music rings out, including universal choices, such as The Last Post.
Ottawa has its share of memorials and ceremonies on Remembrance Day, as is the case across the country. The national service takes place at the War Memorial, with thousands of people attending each year to pay tribute to veterans. The veterans of the Great War are all gone, and those of the Second World War dwindle by the year. Other services are held in outlying communities in the area, at the Canadian War Museum, and even at the military cemetery area at Beechwood Cemetery.
William Kendall, Photoblogger: Canadian National War Memorial, Evening Vigil
William Kendall, Photoblogger: Canadian National War Memorial, Exterior
The services are about commemoration, not about celebration. Which fits our character. If you look at the War Memorial itself, there’s nothing to it that would strike you as a monument of triumph, but one of mourning and reflection. Finished in 1939 as a monument to the war dead of the Great War, and re-dedicated following subsequent conflicts, the War Memorial features a group of soldiers and servicemen, men and women, moving through a gate. They come from each branch of the services, even including horses. Allegorical figures representing peace and freedom loom above.
The Memorial is solemnity- especially with the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier standing before it. That solemnity matches other war memorials that can be found scattered across the city, some known, some not as well visited. And it also matches those Canadian memorials found in other parts of the world, including the massive one at Vimy Ridge, site of a pivotal First World War battle and a Canadian victory. The Vimy Memorial does not strike the visitor as a salute to triumph, but instead as a mourning of those who gave their lives and paid the ultimate price in the line of duty.
William Kendall, Photoblogger: Plaster Casts, Vimy Ridge Memorial
That quality of commemoration reflects elsewhere. On Parliament Hill, within our Peace Tower, is the Memorial Chamber, a beautifully vaulted space containing books of remembrance in cases. The names of the dead of wars and military service are in those books, and each morning, a page is turned in those books as part of a ritual so that names are on display at least once a year. The result makes the chamber a solemn, sacred space, something that it has in common with the War Memorial.
William Kendall, Photoblogger: The Flag, Canadian National War Memorial
Commemoration carries itself over to the War Museum. The current building replaced the previous one in 2005 after the collection had outgrown its former location. It has a very modern look, resembling a bunker. The museum tells the story of Canadian military history, both on the national and global context, but in a way that doesn’t relish in victory, but instead educates and does so in a respectful way. Part of its design includes a space with a single soldier’s tombstone (the original tombstone of our Unknown Soldier, in fact); the design is specified so that on November 11th, at 11 in the morning, sunlight will be shining on that tombstone from an overhead window. Another portion of its design includes a large space where the original plaster sculptures of those statues on the Vimy Memorial are placed. Those sculptures, smaller than their final counterparts, convey mourning, anguish, and remembrance in a way that is effective and poignant.
This November 11th, wherever you may be, take time out to pay your respects. Wear a poppy. Attend a service. Thank a veteran for their service.
TWEET THIS: Remember to Remember November 11th. @MollyJoRealy @WilliamKendall1 #november11 #weremember
And Frankly, My Dear . . . That’s all she wrote!
William Kendall
William Kendall is a photoblogger who finds the unique perspective in everyday life. You can follow him on his writing blog, Speak Of The Devil, his photoblog Ottawa Daily Posts, and Twitter @WilliamKendall1.
Oct 12, 2017 |
by William Kendall @WilliamKendall1
Ghost stories abound throughout the world, from isolated homes in the countryside to small towns and even large cities.
Especially when October comes around and our thoughts turn to ghosts, goblins, and jack-o-lanterns. Such is the case in Ottawa, which has a wealth of ghost stories in some unexpected places, and even a tour company, the Haunted Walk, with several tailored tours of the city’s core and spooky stories that go along with it. One of those locales just happens to be our most prestigious hotel.
Chateau Laurier in winter
The Chateau Laurier is right downtown, on the east bank of the Rideau Canal, across from Parliament Hill. It forms part of what’s called Confederation Square, and dates back a century now. It is luxurious, welcoming, and has hosted the great and the good over a hundred plus years. Politicians, dignitaries, and celebrities have spent time here. The great portrait photographer Yousuf Karsh ran his studios out of the Chateau for the latter part of his career. Photographs of the hotel’s grand history can be found within. It is a landmark and a national historic site, and rightfully so.
Charles Melville Hays
And it has its ghosts.
The Chateau has the look of a castle, built in the French Gothic Chateau style. It was part of the era of railroad luxury hotels, commissioned by the president of the Grand Trunk Railway in tandem with his Union Station across the street. Charles Melville Hays named it in honour of the prime minister who helped get it built, and dreamed of it as a crown jewel in his railway hotels. It’s certainly maintained that crown jewel status, which Hays would approve of. In a way, he never left.
Chateau Laurier and Ceremonial Guards
The hotel was to open in late April, 1912. Hays and his family had gone to Europe so that the railroad baron could secure further investment and purchase antique furnishings for his new hotel, soon to be opened. Returning from overseas, Hays booked passage on a ship you might have heard of.
Titanic.
Long story short, an iceberg decided to teach the “unsinkable” ship a lesson in respect, the ship went down with 1500 souls aboard, and Hays, his son-in-law, and his secretary were among them. It was said that he noted of the fierce competition between ocean crossing cruise lines: “The time will come soon when this trend will be checked by some appalling disaster.”
His body was recovered, and he was buried in Montreal. The opening of the hotel was delayed two months out of respect for the dead. And yet his spirit seems to have lingered, occasionally seen or felt in the hotel, the last major project he’d worked on in life. A spectre matching his description is sometimes seen, as is the ghost of a child. Unseen presences are known to move doors, furniture, or objects. Sounds are heard in rooms where no one should be.
In 2012, the centennial of the official opening was held, with the hotel open for business, cake marking the occasion, and people in period clothing of the time strolling around its corridors and promenades. One of the images of that day that sticks with me (and which I wish I would have photographed) was a young woman in Edwardian era formal wear, descending a staircase… and checking her messages on her mobile. I wonder what Hays would have thought of that.
Chateau Laurier interior
The Chateau is an enchanting sight in the city, and a favourite photo subject for me. It remains the place to be seen today, with countless souls having had enjoyed its hospitality down through a century. Some of those souls appear to be staying there on a permanent basis… and in doing so have added to the mystique and character of the place.
What are some of your favorite haunts?
TWEET THIS: Photoblogger William Kendall: The Haunted Chateau Laurier @RealMojo68 @WilliamKendall1 #haunted
And Frankly, My Dear . . . That’s all she wrote!
William Kendall
William Kendall is a photoblogger who finds the unique perspective in everyday life. You can follow him on his writing blog, Speak Of The Devil, his photoblog Ottawa Daily Posts, and Twitter @WilliamKendall1.
Sep 11, 2017 |
by William Kendall @WilliamKendall1
Sometimes you pass by a building of significance, shut off to the public, and wonder what it would be like to step past those doors.
Doors Open is an opportunity that lets you do precisely that.
Frankly, My Dear . . . Photoblogger William Kendall, Ottawa Doors Open
In the province of Ontario, from late April to early October each year, Doors Open Ontario presents events in cities and towns across the province, opening buildings to the public on a given date- buildings of historic and architectural interest. Some are churches, synagogues, mosques, or temples. Others are infrastructure related. Some are museums and galleries that might give the visitor a look at the archives or vaults. Others are working buildings usually closed to the public at large, such as government buildings with a particular drawing power, or diplomatic missions.
The idea has been around for years; while the provincial program is well established, there are Doors Open events in other Canadian provinces, and similar programs in the United States, such as Open House Chicago or Open House New York. And in Europe, a similar program across the continent dedicates itself to museums at night.
In Ontario, the program has caught on over time. Toronto and Ottawa are big sites for the event on their respective weekends, each featuring more than 100 sites open to public visits. Small towns have caught on as well, some featuring twenty odd places in their boundaries and opening them up for a day or two. Some counties or districts will shuffle locations each year- one township in that district might host it one year, another the next.
Ottawa’s Doors Open always takes place in early June. This year there were more than 160 sites open over the two days- completely impossible to catch every last one. The city runs a free shuttle bus that can connect up to around fifty of them, but realistically speaking, you’re only going to be able to catch so many, especially in a city of our geographic size- Ottawa might just have a population of 800 000 odd souls, but it ranges over urban and rural environments, and Doors Open Ottawa sites are all over that ground.
There are a multitude of places of worship, embassies, restaurants, government centers, sporting clubs, and other buildings to be visited. Some I get to each year. Others are new discoveries for me. This past year, getting into the Sir John A. Macdonald Building, a government conference building across from Parliament Hill, was a delight, and my first time inside. The former bank is only open to the public at large on a weekend like this, and it is a beauty inside. So is Earnscliffe- the present home of Britain’s top diplomat here, and the final home of Sir John himself- our first prime minister died there in his last residence.
Frankly, My Dear . . . : Photoblogger William Kendall at Earnscliffe
Frankly, My Dear . . . : Photoblogger William Kendall at Earnscliffe
Frankly, My Dear . . . Photoblogger William Kendall, Doors Open Ontario
Doors Open is the only time you can go in and have a look, and the place is popular each year.
Some places participate every year, or every other year. Others, a bit more sporadically, but each year, the offerings are good, coming to see historical buildings of personal significance. If you’ve got an interest in architecture and history, Doors Open is the ideal kind of weekend for you.
TWEET THIS: #Photoblogger @WilliamKendall1: Doors Open #Ontario @RealMojo68
And Frankly, My Dear . . . That’s all she wrote!
William Kendall
William Kendall is a photoblogger who finds the unique perspective in everyday life. You can follow him on his writing blog, Speak Of The Devil, his photoblog Ottawa Daily Posts, and Twitter @WilliamKendall1.
Aug 9, 2017 |
by William Kendall @WilliamKendall1
Rideau Hall, by photoblogger William Kendall
The job of a Governor General is not the sort of post that would show up in the want ads, but if it did, it might read like this:
“Wanted: challenging temporary job applicant, generous pay and perks, official residence for five to seven years. The applicant must be fluent in English and French (with additional language comprehension a bonus), must be apolitical, well-educated and distinguished in their field, be well-traveled and willing to deal with endless ceremonies, be willing to put up with a battalion of Mounties in a protective detail 95% of the day…”
Canada’s Parliamentary system of government includes a largely ceremonial position: the Governor General. Along with the Lieutenant Governors of the provinces and territories, the person in the job represents the Monarchy. We’ve retained that tie- so Queen Elizabeth is Queen of Canada in addition to being Queen in Great Britain. The Governor General (and the ranks of Lieutenant Governors) represent her in state functions like the opening of Parliament or legislatures, but a multitude of ceremonial functions- swearing in of cabinets, presiding over state ceremonies like the Order of Canada, or meeting with foreign ambassadors presenting credentials. Mostly ceremonial- there are a few powers someone of that position can exercise in our system of government- such as telling a desperate politician trying to cobble together a coalition in a minority government situation that other party leaders might well have a go at it. It’s an appointed position, worked out by the governing party of the day, but meant to be strictly apolitical and above the fray of the down and dirty world of politics.
For the last few years we’ve had a good one, the soft-spoken David Johnston, whose tenure in the job has seen him do a lot of travel around the country and beyond, with a great deal of interest in education. His term was extended by the previous government, and is coming to an end this fall. It’s been a tradition to alternate between Anglophones and Francophones since the days when the Governor General was to be strictly a Canadian citizen. There’s been diversity- two of our other recent Governor Generals have been women of colour, one an immigrant, the other an African-Canadian. At some point in the not too distant future, the traditional rotation of Anglophones and Francophones in the job will add a third component- a Governor General of First Nations heritage.
This fall we will have a new posting in the job. It’s been announced in recent weeks that the next Governor-General of Canada will be Julie Payette. She’s more than qualified for the job. A Quebec native, she’s well educated, speaks six languages, and is more traveled than any of her predecessors. Ms. Payette has worked at NASA as the Chief Astronaut for the Canadian Space Agency, and has been on shuttle missions in space twice- in 1999 and in 2009. If anything, she’s overqualified for the job.
Winter at Rideau Hall, by photoblogger William Kendall
I mentioned the official residence. Rideau Hall stands in the New Edinburgh neighbourhood of Ottawa, and it’s the house that comes with the job. House? More like a palace. 80 acres of land, 170 rooms, 9500 square meters of space. A lot of that is used for state occasions, and it’s changed drastically from its earliest days in the first half of the 19th century, when it was first built as a stone mason and businessman’s family home. Starting from when it became an official residence to the Governor-General in 1867, it’s been expanded over time, with large ballrooms and formal spaces to be found, lovely gardens, a fine collection of art, and a centerpiece of the Canadian story.
Tent Room, Rideau Hall, by photoblogger William Kendall
A lot of that’s open to the public for tours. Sections of the building the public can see include the Tent Room or the ballroom, all used to explain the Hall’s place in Canadian society and history, and the role of the Governor-General in our system of government. Guides talk about the history of the building, the use of the room, and much more. Out on the grounds, which are lovely to explore in any season, one might find a cricket pitch (the only one I know of here), the rose garden, or have a look at the multitude of trees that have been planted for more than a century by distinguished visitors from royalty or government leadership around the world- among them Queen Elizabeth herself, the Reagans, the Eisenhowers, the Kennedys, the Trumans… The trees, mainly oaks and maples, have plaques beneath them designating who planted them and when.
Fall Colours Rideau Hall, by photoblogger William Kendall
Rideau Hall is one of those delights to visit here. I have been in each season to visit… and since my first visit have wondered why it is I didn’t come to visit the place much sooner.
Rose Gardens Rideau Hall, by photoblogger William Kendall
TWEET THIS: Visit Canada’s Rideau Hall with @WilliamKendall1. @RealMojo68 #Canada #photoblog #RideauHall
And Frankly, My Dear . . . That’s all she wrote!
William Kendall
William Kendall is a photoblogger who finds the unique perspective in everyday life. You can follow him on his writing blog, Speak Of The Devil, his photoblog Ottawa Daily Posts, and Twitter @WilliamKendall1.
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Jul 12, 2017 |
by William Kendall @WilliamKendall1
One of my early memories in childhood was going with my parents to an event held somewhere in the greater Toronto area. It was held in something like a convention center or other large space, where booths were set up to showcase different countries around the world, with a good many people spending time exploring the area. I don’t know why that memory sticks with me, but it’s left a curiosity about the world at large in me- even if I have yet to get out of North America.
This year is the 150th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, and the city of Ottawa is holding several events throughout the year as well. One of those events is Ottawa Welcomes The World, a collaborative event between the city, numerous embassies here, and various organizations with ties to the countries involved. Different countries are showcased throughout the year in an event held in the Horticulture Building, at Lansdowne Park. It started in March and will run through to the beginning of December.
![Horticulture Building, Ottawa Welcomes the World [photo credit: W. Kendall]](https://i0.wp.com/franklymydearmojo.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/19893898_1539887389403789_845341311_o.jpg?resize=584%2C438)
Horticulture Building, Ottawa Welcomes the World [photo credit: W. Kendall]
![Ottawa Welcomes the World: Ireland Showcase [photo credit: W. Kendall]](https://i0.wp.com/franklymydearmojo.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/19911683_1539887446070450_2069196604_o.jpg?resize=584%2C438)
Ottawa Welcomes the World: Ireland Showcase [photo credit: W. Kendall]
![Ottawa Welcomes the World: Rwanda [photo credit: W. Kendall]](https://i0.wp.com/franklymydearmojo.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/20049057_1539891899403338_444932110_o.jpg?resize=584%2C438)
Ottawa Welcomes the World: Rwanda [photo credit: W. Kendall]
![Ottawa Welcomes the World: Taiwan [photo credit: W. Kendall]](https://i0.wp.com/franklymydearmojo.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/20049296_1539896519402876_30689205_o.jpg?resize=584%2C779)
Ottawa Welcomes the World: Taiwan [photo credit: W. Kendall]
TWEET THIS: Frankly, My Dear . . .: #Photoblogger William Kendall: #Ottawa Welcomes the World @RealMojo68 @WilliamKendall1
William Kendall
William Kendall is a photoblogger who finds the unique perspective in everyday life. You can follow him on his writing blog, Speak Of The Devil, his photoblog Ottawa Daily Posts, and Twitter @WilliamKendall1.
And Frankly, My Dear . . . That’s all she wrote!
