Company's Gone; We Can Go Back To Sacrificing Missionaries To The Ogopogo Monster Now

First things first, some business to attend to....

A number of us have been developing an idea for a united front, you might call it, called Writers of Mass Distraction. We're friends and fellow writers, and we've got a group wordpress blog here. Check it out; it's a work in progress, but we're concentrating on the writing process and using the blog as a platform and show of mutual support.

Next, a few days ago at her blog, Erin Lausten put the spotlight on me. Check it out, and if you're not already following her, by all means, get started.

In my joint work with Norma in our alter egos of James and Scarlett, our cover is up and running. Have a look at it here. 

Finally, Donna gave me a chance to do a guest blog for her. I decided to choose phones for the subject of the day, and you can find it here at her blog Believe In Yourself. Again, if you're not already following her, then do so!

Now then, the Royal Tour is at an end, and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have gone home to England. After their time in Ottawa and Quebec, they went to Prince Edward Island (a true gem for this country; if you haven't been there, by all means do so). William got some flying time in a Sea King, while he and Kate raced in dragon boats (William's team won). From there it was off to the Territories, to the wilds of Canadas' north and meeting the people there (William even spoke in Dene).

And they took a trip to Slave Lake, which was the scene of a disasterous forest fire some weeks ago, destroying a good section of the town and causing 700 million dollars in damage along the way. The last stage of the trip was to Calgary, where they opened the Stampede and looked rather good dressed casually.

I'm sure the fashion paparazzi were in horror at them not wearing the latest designer clothing at that moment in time, but let's face it... the fashion paparazzi are among the most useless human beings on the planet.

They finished off the tour with a trip to California for a couple of days, where they wowed even the celebrities and the Prince got some polo in. All in all, a successful tour.

Next time you two come back, make sure Toronto isn't on the agenda. It drives the local city boosters nuts to be slighted.

The editorial cartoonists got a lot of mileage out of Will and Kate, not to mention the local reaction to them. Here are some of the best, and the last one is the funniest one I have yet to see all year.

Oh, My Head... Some Maple Syrup! Now, Damn It, Now!!! Forget A Glass, Just Give Me The Bottle!

Sir John A. MacDonald and the national symbol crack a cold one....

Pretty appropriate, all considered....

Canada Day is done for another year. The special guests, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, were present on Parliament Hill for both the noon hour and evening shows, and the crowd loved them. In the morning, they were present at a citizenship ceremony at the Museum of Civilization.....

The Evil One watches the young royals in silence, plotting the day when he can make his move and become Emperor Stephen the First, tyrannical Supreme Majestor of Canada....

It was a long day, but as always, a good one. I got together with friends, and we went to four museums here in Ottawa and Gatineau, starting with the War Museum, which at the moment is housing a temporary exhibit on war and medicine (don't eat anything in advance, trust me). The new building's been in place for a few years now, and if you're in the area, check it out.

From there it was onto downtown, which predictably was packed, so we shifted to the Museum of Nature, which was reopened last year with more galleries and a glass tower that compliments what's essentially a castle in our midst. And the blue whale skeleton has to be seen to be believed....

From there it was onto the National Gallery. We had to wait a bit to get there, though. Sussex Drive was closed to pedestrian traffic to allow the motorcade through. We had a good view of the Duchess, who was waving to the cheers of a lot of people. After the road opened up, it was into the Gallery, which was packed. For those of you who know who I'm talking about, this is the sort of place where you'll find a great number of Group of Seven paintings, not to mention that Voice of Fire painting they bought in the nineties for a million and change, which, of course, consists of three stripes. I've said it before: I could paint that!

 There's a Caravaggio exhibit this summer, which I have to get to. You may not know the name, but he influenced practically every artist who came after him with his style and use of shadow and light. Below you'll see his Saint John the Baptist....

After dashing through the gallery, it was off to the Museum of Civilization (yes, we're civilized Canucks) on the Quebec side of the Gatineau River. Again, very, very busy. We spent time there, wandered among the exhibits inside, and in my own case, ran my legs into an unseen stone sitting bench in the Japan special exhibit. Ouch came to mind, along with a few choice curse words.

 From there, it was back across the river, to the National Arts Centre, for an evening concert of music. It was a mix of choral music, orchestra, jazz soloists. Finally, from there, we headed off to one of the better vantage points in the city for fireworks viewing: Majors Hill Park. And we were not disappointed. The fireworks this year were tremendous as always.

And so Canada Day is done once more. And yes, I do feel like I've got a hangover. Though I don't drink, and certainly didn't yesterday. It's the hecticness of the day that does that. It's a long day, but also a good one. We get to be lunatics for a day. In a good way, of course.

Of course, the tylenol helps tremendously with the morning after headache....

The Bear Cavalry, Churchill Detachment, Manitoba