A Third Wave of Postcards

A year into the pandemic we seem on the brink of a third wave of global isolation. So lets confront the darkness head-on and try and have some fun. Movies help. By the way - the working title for this post was Postcards from the Pit.

"What's wrong?" -- Dominique Sanda in Il giardino dei Finzi-Contini (The Garden of the Finzi Continis), Vittorio De Sica, 1970.

"I don't believe in pals." -- Juliette Mayniel and Gérard Blain in Les Cousins (The Cousins), Claude Chabrol, 1959.

"I don't believe in friendship." -- Joanna Shimkus in Montparnasse-Levallois, Godard, (from Paris vu par... (Six in Paris), 1965.

"I hate great passions." -- Élodie Bouchez and Gaël Morel in Les roseaux sauvages (Wild Reeds), André Téchiné, 1994.

"Nothing means anything in the long run..." -- Birger Malmsten in Sommarlek (Summer Interlude), Bergman, 1951).

"No-one ever comes back again. " -- Stefania Sandrelli in Io la conoscevo bene (I Knew Her Well), Antonio Pietrangeli, 1965.

"I didn't expect it to hurt so much." -- Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung in 花樣年華 (In the Mood for Love), Wong Kar-wai,  2000.

"I'm a little bit afraid." -- Solveig Dommartin in Der Himmel über Berlin (Wings of Desire), Wim Wenders, 1987.

"I can't play at being in love just to please you." -- Guillaume Canet and Adèle Haenel in L'Homme qu'on aimait trop (In the Name of My Daughter), Andre Techine, 2014.

"All the women around Maurice attempted suicide." -- Judith Chemla in L'Homme qu'on aimait trop (In the Name of My Daughter), Andre Techine, 2014.

"Go ahead and have a good cry." -- Franco Citti in Mama Roma, Pier Paulo Pasolini, 1962.

"You're a little terror!" -- Amanda Langlet and Melvil Poupaud in Conte d'été (A Summer's Tale), Éric Rohmer, 1996.

"Bravo. Giulia, did you ever see your husband laugh?" -- Jean-Louis Trintignant and Stefania Sandrelli in Il conformista (The Conformist), Bernardo Bertolucci, 1970.

"Human sacrifice has gone out of style." -- Takashi Shimura in 醉いどれ天使 (Drunken Angel), Akira Kurosawa, 1948.

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More posts like this:

Thirteen Postcards in a Pandemic, May 2020. 

A Second Wave of Postcards, October 2020.

A Fourth Wave of Postcards, January 2022.

Winter Light

The first anniversary of the global pandemic finds Bill and I taking pictures of our beloved Toronto.

For the past few months we have been noticing winter light.

Here is a strong winter light at Queen and Spadina.

The strong winter light has been bouncing around in interesting ways

in Toronto's many unopen shops.

I was picking-up some take-out lunch at Mars Diner. The light seemed to hum.

Midday brings lovely diagonals. Queen Street West.

Kensington Market.

Queen West.

Sometimes winter light is colourless.

It is shadowless.

Flat light on Queen's Quay ice.

After a snowfall the air is heavy with moisture

creating a different winter light.

still without shadows but the colours have poured back in.

This is the rich winter light.

Some winter light is playful.

The more closely I look at these shadows, on a wall in the Music Garden, the less I understand them.

We'll leave you with a memory of Greg Couillard's homemade marmalade in the last of the winter light.

Christmas at Our House

Christmas is going to be modest this year. 

So hard to grasp that we won't be visiting our family and friends. 

This Christmas Bill and I will be staying in our bubble of two. (A friend sculpted this portrait of us thirty years ago. The resemblance remains uncanny.)

We love Christmas trees but for some reason we have never had one ourselves. But we do have a box of Christmas decorations.

Tradition dictates that they go on our over-wintering bay tree and our rosemary bush.

Late November at Santa's Workshop South finds Number One Elf William Kimber drawing this year's Christmas card.

Later I filled our display shelves with some of our favourite Christmas books and cards and records.

This year we found a new place for our box of lights and our Christmas angel. We have had the lights for more than thirty years and have never taken them out of the box. We just pull out the cord, plug it in and the rows light up.

The angel was at the top of my parent's Christmas trees all through my childhood and teenage years. When I left home to go to the big city my mother gave it to me.

Early December at Santa's Workshop South finds Number One Elf William Kimber at his desk writing greetings on our newly printed Christmas cards.

Merry Christmas, everyone! Inside the greeting goes "Let's 'ZOOM' into 2021 in hopes of a better year!'

There are clementines. It must be Christmas.

We'll leave you with the skittish poodle we met a few days ago. Dressed to the nines but nowhere to go, just like the rest of us.

"Margaritas to go" -- Autumn in Kensington Market

When John and I visit the market we often tie-up our bikes on Dundas and walk up Kensington Avenue.

We've been shopping at Courage My Love for four decades at least. Still has great vintage stuff.

We love the shabby/elegant gates and fences along the street

and  this scratchy, eroded graffiti.

It must be cool to live in one of the funky homes hidden in the alleys.

We never visit the market without picking up some produce at the Kensington Fruit Market on

 St Andrew Street.

In the mood to discover your future?

Even the cows in the window of Global Cheese are wearing masks.

At Baldwin Street the Market has a small-town feel.

The House of Moses! This is my capture of the shop

and here is John's much more psychedelic version.

We think the baguettes at Blackbird Baking Company are as good as the ones in Paris. John also loves their Pullman loaves for toast.

Cheese Magic -- our favourite cheese shop.

Mare Pizza is situated right across the street

The thin, crisp crusts remind us of Roman pizzas. That's John picking up our slices.

One Sunday at Pancho y Emiliano we saw this great offer. Why resist?

Pupusas features several take-out counters of South American treats. Tacos or churros anyone?

Go to Bungalow for in mid-century furnishings and clothing.

Slogan of the Hotbox -- "... SERVING POTHEADS SINCE AH... I FORGET".

Go to Carlo's House of Spice for coffee, nuts, dried fruit and a host of herbs and spices. Did I forget anything?

Painted garage on Augusta

Do stop at Bellevue Square Park and check out these plaques. On the left is a map of Kensington Market and on the other is a history of the neighbourhood.

 At the bottom of the park, Wales Avenue meets Augusta with this display of fabulous market architecture and shops. 

Do visit!