Canada – the Ottawa Album

Posted on May 26, 2017 by The Belugas are Watching

Our last gig – a Q&A session with Neil Wilson

Our last stop in Canada was the Ottawa International Writers Festival. They have had many Irish writers take part over the years and last year brought writers and illustrators to Dublin for the CBI conference. The sun came out in the capital!

Drawing for 100 kids in Hopewell school

They draw back – a parliament of owls

street furniture

Perfect Books – yes, we all bought books in every city!

door detail

Big Chair Alert!

parliament buildings

the locks lowering the Rideau Canal to the Ottawa river

the squirrels are BLACK!!

Ottawa river. Near side is Ontario, far side is Quebec

National Gallery

Tiny geese -inuit art

National gallery, Inuit art

Inuit piece, tiny seal

The Three Watchmen, Jim Hart

Big chair in the sun

poutine festival

Oisín and Deirdre in the Natural History museum

Moose!

Moose eile!

Thar be bears

The festival venue

We saw wonderful Inuit art in Ottawa and also the fabulous Maman by Louise Bourgeios which deserves its own album! There is a lovely picturebook about Louise and her Maman, who was a weaver, illustrated by Canadian illustrator, Isabelle Arsenault

Canada – the Montreal Album

Posted on May 26, 2017 by The Belugas are Watching

With Dr Susan Cahill at the Irish Studies’ Centre in Concordia University, Montreal

Next stop on our tour of Canada was the Blue Met Festival, Montreal. Click on images to go large/get info/scroll

Is this Diagon Alley?

Drawn & Quarterly bookshop at Mile End (where William Shatner grew up)

There was a mural festival going on on Boulevard St Laurent

mural festival on Boulevard St Laurent

Deirdre and the bird cages

Arret!

Marilyn

China Town

Golden birds, lobby Édifice Aldred, Art Deco in Vieux Montreal

Édifice Aldred -Art Deco in Vieux Montreal

Art Deco lift – lobby of Édifice Aldred

stained glass window in Basilique Notre Dame

Basilique Notre Dame de Montreal

Édifice Aldred -Art Deco, Montreal

Poutine! French fries in gravy with cheese curds.

Moomins at Drawn & Quarterly

Deirdre reads from her CBI award-winning novel, Needlework

Susan gives me an intro

Dave reading from Knights of the Borrowed Dark

Costumes for the ballet at the fabulous Marc Chagall exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts

Then it was off on a train to the capital, writing as we went…

Canada – the Moncton Album

Posted on May 25, 2017 by The Belugas are Watching

The first of three photo albums from my trip to Canada representing Irish children’s lit with Deirdre Sullivan, Óisín McGann and Dave Rudden. First CBI sent us to the Frye Festival in Moncton, New Brunswick (for more info, roll over or click on an image)

Dave, Deirdre, Oisín

Covered bridge, just what I’d wished to see! I love covered bridges – think Bridges of Madison County. Old wooden structures built to keep the bridge clear of snow.

Maple syrup! Collection can

Syrup direct from the tree – pre boiling. It tastes like slightly sweet water.

Here’s where the syrup is reduced by 80% till it’s the thick syrup we know

The lightest syrup is the first harvest, the darkest was just three days bottled, and they were still waiting to see if the trees would give one more batch -the darkest.

Yum!

Maple sugar lollies made on the snow!

Waiting for the tidal bore to turn up – a wave which travels up the river from the Bay of Fundy. At certain times of the year surfers surf it – a 33 mile long wave!