The gods of Canada
The Hockey Hall of Fame
4 September 2007
In my head the Hockey Hall of Fame would consist of a few trophies, some photos on the wall and some souvenirs from an original player: the equivalent of a leather football and long baggy shorts. We had passed the exterior of the former Bank of Montréal which houses the collection and hadn't thought it enormous.
The main part of this huge collection of memorabilia is however in the mall under the bank. Each year a committee debates a short list of candidates and luckily for them this is a living museum so being dead isn't obligatory. JJ was disappointed though to find that the programme was only available in English. A surprise considering the NHL was founded in Québec.
Ice hockey is a fast moving, entertaining game of skill and passion, but even in slow motion it is a case of blam! goal! Did you miss it ?
The only player that I could name: Wayne Gretzky, was well represented. I can remember him playing for the Edmonton Oilers years ago and thinking that he was good. It appears I was right. The tributes to Gretzky recount how he saw the game through a different set of eyes and thought processes. Some consider him to be the greatest ever hockey player and his Oiler's number 99 shirt has been retired for all teams in the NHL. Such is his standing, I have just discovered that his name is included in my spell checker.
Coming out of the main galleries you climb the stairs into the old bank and here you finally see the Stanley Cup; offered in 1892 by Canada's Governor General: Lord Stanley. It is North America's oldest professional sports trophy and as you ascend into the bank's original entrance you could well be reminded of Napoleon's tomb with its dome overhead. This cup with its base encircled by engraved bands of winners has a setting worthy of the Holy Grail of ice hockey.
Casa Loma
5 September 2007
From the folly of Ice Hockey to another sort - building. We had been forced to have a quiet previous day because I had gone down with migraine. After a few hours rest I was better but the remainder of the day had consisted of buying a much needed suitcase for the return trip and a dander round to see Toronto's town hall.
The following day though I was up and ready for action again. It was grey but warm and we were going to walk over to the Royal Ontario Museum, all the interesting bits of which were closed for renovations, and then continue on foot to Casa Loma in the north of the city.
The Dragon Bells
In 1911 a Toronto industrialist by the name of Sir Henry Pellatt decided to realise his dream of having a castle on a hill overlooking the city. Three years and three million dollars later Casa Loma was ready for its lord and lady.
Sir Henry had been responsible for bringing hydro-electricity to Toronto and was a friend of Lord Baden-Powell and the scouting movement in general.
Unfortunately for the Pellatts the consequences of the First World War and the financial instability that followed caused his ruin. Ten years after moving in, the family was forced to sell everything.
For a while the buildings lay empty and much of the garden had to be sold off to developers but in 1937 the Kiwanis Club proposed turning the building into a tourist attraction and they have been the guiding hand ever since.
Sadly, the items of furniture you see are not the originals as much was sold to meet the family debts, but the house has been refurbished in an authentic style so you can have a good idea as to how life must have been lived here.
A guided audio tour can be taken and this explains much of the detail as you walk round the various rooms. The 18 metre high central hall with its beams and flags forms the centre point of the main building.
As you wander through the library with its Elizabethan styled ceiling, the Italian inspired winter garden, the office with its mahogany panels you soon realise that Sir Henry was not one to skimp on things.
Behind those panels in the office there are two secret passageways. One leading downstairs and the other leading to the first floor. You can't have a castle without secret passageways.
Sir Henry was an ardent royalist and much of his inspiration came from Windsor castle (The one in England for anybody from Ontario. It is near London - again the one in England ! ). He was also a great military man and was a life long member of the Queen's Own Rifles.
As with many things his enthusiasm knew no bounds and he paid for the entire regiment of 600 men to go to England in 1910 to attend a training event.
At a time when many houses in Toronto still didn't have running water the Pellatts had a bath and shower system second to none. The telephone switchboard within the house dealt with more internal calls than the city of Toronto.
Lady Mary Pellatt was confined to a wheelchair for much of her life but she was the first Chief Commissioner of the Girl Guides movement in Canada and there are a few items showing her with the guides.
Outside, the gardens have been renovated with the aid of the Gardens Club of Toronto and provide a particularly pleasent area for a moment's pause and rest.
It is all very well resting - but we lost time yesterday and it has to be recovered. Back down the hill, onto the subway and down to the harbour. We have a boat to catch.
See also