Goat $4

Reading

I landed back in England this morning after my 10-day trip to Toronto. Apparently I haven't blogged since Wednesday, which is a shame because a lot has been going on: more than I can remember even a few days after the fact!

Niagara Falls

To display my blogging forgetfulness, even in my smorgasbord of a post last Wednesday I completely forgot to mention Nick's, James' and my trip to Niagara Falls for an evening. We took photos, went on the Maid of the Mist (only $14!) and spent a bit of time and money in the casino. All in all a fun day out - even the tacky tourist street was enjoyable in its own way.

Last week I was still at AMac's house in Scarborough. Unlike its English namesake, the only accents you're likely to hear are Chinese, and there is no fishing port (there is a DVP though). Like the Yorkshire version, however, Ontario's Scarborough is way out to the north-east, has a slightly optimistic regional identity and cheap-as-chips housing. While he made some phone calls on Wednesday night, he suggested that I go for a walk... along the railway line at the back of his garden. Walking on a railway line? I mean, who does that? Evidently it's not a social taboo in Canada, but then GO trains don't GO at 125mph every five minutes like my local railway here.


Getting to the Robinsons' for Sunday lunch is always popular

It was fun on Thursday night to see Shakespeare in the Park. Nearly 1000 people squeezed into the amphitheatre to see the play - a very modern rendition of A Midsummer Night's Dream - including quite a few Yorkies. Josh and the Robinsons took me in from Thursday night, which was nice as otherwise I'd have had to trek back to Scarborough like a putz.

Saturday was AMac's farewell barbeque before he goes off to North Africa, so it was only right that we ate lots of pork and had some beer. Apparently that's not too popular where he's going. Weston, where the Robinsons live, is popular with Somalis. For them pork is also a no-no, but they get around it by having their own cuisine, such as the eponymous fast food.


Is it OK to eat pork if you cut the feet off first?

Going to Grace church these past two Sundays has been great. I timed my visit to conveniently coincide with a two-part whopper on Romans 5 and the difference between Adam and Christ. You can listen to them online, but I nabbed a CD of both to bring back with me.