St-Jean-Baptiste Day in Willows Beach Oak Bay

Something we had not realized until we moved to Victoria was how strong the French Canadian presence is despite making up just 2% of BC's population. Today was St-Jean-Baptiste Day in Willows Beach Oak Bay. Every year, on the 24th of June, all Québécois get together with friends and family to celebrate their National Holiday; la Saint-Jean-Baptiste. It is a privileged moment to celebrate their identity, pride of what they were, are, and dream of becoming.

Beachcombing in Ross Bay

Ross Bay Cemetery's south side faces Ross Bay on the Pacific Ocean. When the tide is high, winter winds would blow waves into the cemetery causing severe erosion. In order to absorb the energy of the waves and reduce the damage they cause, the city dumped tones of pebbles on the beach just a few years ago. However, the relentless waves now push the pebbles ever higher on the beach towards Dallas Road posing a danger to passing traffic. As a result the city engineers have decided to comb the beach with an excavator to smooth out the pebbles and push them back towards the water line.The excavator is also used to move wayward logs to help form a barrier along the shingle beach.

Cause to pause - The Gulf oil disaster brought home

The continually updated website at http://www.ifitwasmyhome.com/ enables you to center the impact of the current BP oil disaster anywhere on the globe. Particularly frightening when centered on your home town.

Goofy cars

Victoria is the only city where we've seen these vehicles en masse. In fact, I don't think we've seen them in any other part of the country. The micro trucks are known as "Kei Trucks" and are imported from Japan. Some brands include Daihatsu Hi-jet, Honda Acty, Mazda Scrum, Mitsubishi Minicab, and Subaru Sambar.
Developed in the 1960s, they are all right-hand drive and feature 660cc water-cooled gasoline engines. Owners will very often go to great lengths to personalize their trucks with elaborate paint schemes.

The stone village

On the corner of Quamichan St. and Foul Bay Rd., hidden under the branches of some mature fir trees, lies this little model of a sleepy village complete with castle, Grecian inspired temple and defensive tower.

The sign toppers of Clare Street

They do add a whimsical touch to this very neighbourly street.

A skater wedding on our street

They just liked our street.

Clearing the beach wood

Gonzales Bay is home to Victoria's only sandy beach and as result is a very popular destination for young folks on their summer holiday break. In order to discourage beach fires, which can be dangerous, city staff, for the first time, are clearing the beach of small branches and logs that could be used to build a bonfire.

The naming of houses

One delightful custom seen in some of the older and posher neighbourhoods is the tradition of naming the house. It seems that in the 1930s the most popular names were of Scottish origin and were proudly cut into the stonework at the entrance gate to the home - which in some cases is no longer there or replaced by a more humble dwelling."Locharkaig"
"Knockcool"
"Rappahannock"
"Ashton"
"Cavignol"
"Clenlyon"
"Gisburn"
"Illahie"
"Tancred"
"Gonzales"
"Tredinnock"
"Wilmar"

They're baaack!

"Scooter People" on rental mini-motorbikes herald the official start of the tourist season in Victoria.

The stone ship

In the northwest corner of the grounds of St. Ann's Academy rests a curious pile of stone and iron.
Click on images to enlarge.It takes a few minutes to realize that this is not a haphazard pile of rocks but is in fact a ship. A ship of stone.The ship (bark or barque, barchetta) has been a symbol of the Christian church since the first century. It represents the Church tossed on the sea of disbelief, worldliness, and persecution but finally reaching safe harbor with its cargo of human souls.Saint Anne, on whose Academy grounds this stone ship rests, is the patron Saint of among other places, Canada.

Traffic Watchers

When the city engineers need to find out details about how traffic intersections are working - or not - they will send out cadres of folks with diabolical appearing gadgets to monitor traffic patterns.
At the push of a button, these Jamar Technologies devices can collect information such as turning movement data while classifying up to 14 groups of vehicles. Measure delay and queues at stop sign controlled intersections and do speed studies to find running speeds on signalized intersections.

Apparently very exciting information for city engineers to ponder while considering changes in intersection design.

In Ross Bay Cemetery

Ross Bay Cemetery has become as much a garden park as a cemetery. It relies on the dedication of its caretakers and volunteers like The Old Cemeteries Society to conduct cleaning and restoration of graves on a regular basis.

Recently, The Old Cemeteries Society placed grave site markers in the extreme south east corner of the cemetery where there was an informal path cutting through an apparently unused portion of the cemetery. This was done as a reminder to people visiting the park that, although there may appear to be unused areas on the grounds, in fact the cemetery is quite full. So, where pathways have been created by the cemetery's many visitors, they often trace a course over unmarked grave sites.

According to the Society's President Wilf Bruch, it is hoped that eventually the grounds will be restored to that of a traditional gated cemetery rather than as it is now - an open park-like setting.

More information about Ross Bay Cemetery can be found by visiting its website: http://www.oldcem.bc.ca/

Google Street View Victoria now in 3D

The 3D craze has hit Google Street View in Victoria!

Get your 3D glasses out for Google Maps! Google Maps has released a new 3D version of Street View. Of course you will need to have a pair of 3D glasses handy to appreciate this new Google Maps feature

Once you are in street view mode a new icon appears under the navigation graphic of a chap with 3D glasses pushed back on his forehead.
Click on the fellow and presto - his glasses drop in front of his eyes and the view is now in 3D!