Canada Day - Trafalgar Square

[Chas]

Friday 1st of July 2011 in Trafalgar Square, right next to Canada House was held the biggest Canada Day celebration outside of Canada itself.



Alex and I met up for it last year and arranged to do the same again this year. They advertised a 10 o'clock start, but they meant 10:30. I got there just after 10 and found Alex in the distance.



Note how empty everything looks - not for long! At 10:30 the official welcoming started.

The man in white is Canada's Consul General, and he gave a very good speech in both English and French, switching between the two with ease - some times in mid sentence!





Then there was the Big Screen welcome from Stephen Harper the Canadian Prime Minister.





And then the National Anthem sung by someone famous.



More to come.

Regards

Chas

[Chas]

The bars weren't open at the start of the day.



But the queue for Tim Hortons never got any shorter.



We checked out some of the food stalls, but they weren't open yet. We would have to wait for our poutine.



Quite prominent in the Square is the Olympic Countdown Clock.



There was some laughing and joking, because the other side gives a different number of days. And some cries of "Way to go Omega". Until we read the small print, which says that it is the countdown to the Paralympic Games.



More to come

Regards

Chas

[Chas]

What was really big this year were the temporary tattoos.





They weren't the ones I remember as a child. These were good quality and the promise was that they should last a week. The "I love Canada" in either English or French were free, but they were doing a good trade in 'Celtic Style' upper arm tattoos and some rather nice native art eagles for back or chest.

There was a stall, selling a speciality bread. Baked that morning in Canada and fast frozen. It goes into a combination oven and is backed/microwaved and ready to serve in minutes. The taste is supposed to be mouthwatering. I don't know - the price certainly was, so Alex and I gave it a miss.



In the Saskatchewan Tourist Tent they were giving away little flag pins. So it became a new kilt pin.



And close up.



More to come

Regards

Chas

[Chas]

The totem carvers from last year had obviously finished their job and weren't there. In stead we saw some First Nation dancers.

This guy could not keep still. And as he danced and jumped and stomped, his whole costume shimmered and danced with him.

In his daytime job, he is a Sergeant in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.







This young lady represents a different tribe and her dancing style was, although still animated, more subdued. Her dance and throat singing was to plead with the Rain Gods to not visit us on that day. It must have worked as we had no rain.



This little girl is the daughter of one of the Consul Staff and is half First Nations. Her outfit was made for her by her grandmother and is typical of plains dress.



More to come

Regards

Chas

[CMcG]

Up Canada!

[Chas]

So finally the food stalls were open. Poutine time!





Alex has a shot of me actually eating. What can I say. It was OK, but nothing to write home about. Yes the flavours melded together, but to my mind was a bit too salty.

As we were eating a group of youngsters came up and asked in all seriousness "How's the poutine, today?" I said it was a bit salty. This set them off. One said that poutine should never be mass produced. Another that eight portions at a time was max. One wondered how long the onions for the gravy were cooked for and whether they had used both roast and boiled. The discussion raged as to whether the cheese should be vintage or just mature. They went off in deep discussion. This was all said in the same tone that one would discuss world politics or a major natural disaster. Alex and I were dumbfounded and were left to eat our poutine.

And all the time the queue for Tim Hortons never got any shorter.



Of course, one of the major events of the day is the street hockey. Here is last year's winning team.



The play is fast and furious and injuries are common. Here their opposition is taking a break as as one of last year' winners is helped off after a clash of sticks and shins.



More to come

Regards

Chas

[The Wizard of BC]

Wonderful pics Alex and Chas, thanks for posting them eh.

When I first came up to Canada I was told about the National dish of Canada, Poutine but didn't believe it eh.

But I'm afraid Chas and Alex you were given some Englishized version of real Poutine as the dish here is served with cheese curds not grated cheese. I suspect that this was done so as not to offend your highly trained and sensitive palettes eh.

Here is one recipe eh:

"In the basic recipe for poutine, French fries are topped with fresh cheese curds, and covered with brown gravy or sauce. The French fries are of medium thickness, and fried so that the inside stays soft, while the outside is crunchy. The gravy used is generally a light chicken, veal or turkey gravy, mildly spiced with a hint of pepper, or a sauce brune which is a combination of beef and chicken stock, originating in Quebec. Heavy beef or pork-based brown gravies are rarely used. Fresh cheese curds (not more than a day old) are used. To maintain the texture of the fries, the cheese curd and gravy is added immediately prior to serving the dish eh."

[AFS1970]

I am surprised that with a discussion on this dish, nobody beat me to posting this:

The Night They Invented Poutine

[Paul Henry]

Wonderful pics Alex and Chas, thanks for posting them eh.

When I first came up to Canada I was told about the National dish of Canada, Poutine but didn't believe it eh.

But I'm afraid Chas and Alex you were given some Englishized version of real Poutine as the dish here is served with cheese curds not grated cheese. I suspect that this was done so as not to offend your highly trained and sensitive palettes eh.

Here is one recipe eh:

"In the basic recipe for poutine, French fries are topped with fresh cheese curds, and covered with brown gravy or sauce. The French fries are of medium thickness, and fried so that the inside stays soft, while the outside is crunchy. The gravy used is generally a light chicken, veal or turkey gravy, mildly spiced with a hint of pepper, or a sauce brune which is a combination of beef and chicken stock, originating in Quebec. Heavy beef or pork-based brown gravies are rarely used. Fresh cheese curds (not more than a day old) are used. To maintain the texture of the fries, the cheese curd and gravy is added immediately prior to serving the dish eh."

But, Steve, the rest of the wiki article you quoted does indeed give options for grated cheese, so it appears that's it's not just a variation over here, but well known over there as well.
Of course with any regional dish there isn't really one version, as every decent cook and chef will have their own version, whether it is traditional, historic or even modern. ( to borrow something from another thread....)

[Chas]

Oh, Steve - Now you've got me hungry all over again! I knew it couldn't be right. People kept mentioning curds, but then we were served cheese... I am going to log this in my mind as 'Ersatz Poutine' and say that I have never eaten poutine, but am eagerly awaiting my first time!

And I could have gone for the Buffalo Burgers instead - Oh well.

A few more pictures.

This young lady must have some fantastic charisma. She invited people from the audience to come into the centre to do 'Canadian Yoga'.











As many will tell you I am no yoga expert, but all the exercises seemed to involve having your head down and your bum in the air!

As I said, she must have had charisma.

More to come

Regards

Chas