Queen Elizabeth II was born on April 21, 1926. She will turn 90 years old this year. She is currently the world's oldest monarch and the longest reigning British monarch of all time. Queen Elizabeth II is not only the Queen of England, but also the Queen of Canada. Therefore, she visits Canada quite frequently and there are many statues and monuments in her honour across the country.
When we were in Winnipeg, Manitoba we visited the beautiful legislative building. On the east side of the grounds near Kennedy Street is a monument which commemorates the
Queen’s address to the
Manitoba Legislative Assembly during its
provincial centennial in 1970. The sculpture was created by Leo Mol who also has hundreds of other sculptures located in Winnipeg's Assiniboine Park. When the statue was relocated to the legislative building grounds the Queen and her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh were there for the unveiling.
Location: Athens, Greece Address: First Cemetery of Athens, Logginou Date: Aug 2015
Dimitrios Mitropanos was one of the most highly regarded Greek musicians of all time. On April 17, 2012 he passed away leaving millions of fans saddened. At least his music will live on and bring them comfort. Some of his most popular songs are Ta Lathathika, S'Anazito and Panta Gelastoi. When we were in Athens we decided to pay our respects. At the front gates of the First Cemetery of Athens was a woman selling flowers, candles and other religious articles. Her stall was surrounded by the ever present pigeons and at least one sleeping street dog. We purchased some white roses that we planned to leave at the grave of Mitropanos. We knew that he was buried somewhere in the cemetery, but despite trying to do some research beforehand we did not know exactly where.
After entering through the front gates of the cemetery we came across the Church of St.Theodori. We had seen video clips of Dimitrios Mitropanos' casket being carried through the crowds and into this church. Now we just had to find his final resting place. We knew that he was in an area of the cemetery along with other artists and musicians. We walked up and down the rows of graves in hopes of spotting his name on one of them. After some time we decided to ask for help and consulted with a guard at the western gates. He sent us towards an area on the other side that we had not checked. Again we walked up and down the rows with no luck. The cicadas buzzed in the trees that sheltered us from the midday Athens sun. We were prepared for the heat, but we feared the flowers may not reach their intended destination. As we headed back towards the front gates, a groundskeeper approached us. He had no doubt been observing this couple wandering from row to row with flowers in hand. We asked if he knew where Mitropanos was buried and he said "Of course". We followed him as he wound his way through the cemetery until we reached a section far in the back corner. We realized that we never would have found this place without his help.
We thanked the groundskeeper and then placed our roses at the foot of Mitropanos' grave. We stood in silence for a moment and then turned to be on our way. We took one last look as a dove flew down and landed on the cross of the grave next to Mitropanos. As Dimitrios sings in his song Akou, "Listen, I'm still living".
Lions and rhinos and bears! Oh My! The Toronto Zoo is currently in the middle of a baby boom. During our latest visit to the zoo we were able to visit their eight newest arrivals. There are 4 white lion cubs, 1 polar bear, 1 Indian rhino calf and 2 giant panda cubs all now on display for public viewing.
The first to arrive were the four white lion cubs. They were born in September 2015 and are all males.
White lions have a gene mutation that causes them to have lighter hair, but they are not albinos. The four cubs at the zoo are named Gus, Hank, Harrison and Oliver.
Like most wild animals they are growing rapidly and it will not be long until these babies are as big as their parents.
Below is a video of the boys playing and Mom keeping control while she still can.
On October 13, 2015 the Toronto Zoo welcomed the first giant panda cubs to ever be born in Canada. There was one boy and one girl. They were kept under special watch and 24 hour care as they grew bigger and bigger. The public was waiting patiently and finally in March 2016 the panda babies were named and we were given a chance to see them in their nursery.
The male panda is named Jia Panpan which means Canadian hope. He has round black fur around his eyes.
The female panda is named Jia Yueyue which means Canadian joy. She has black fur that points like a diamond towards her eyes.
While we were visiting, Jia Yueyue was asleep in a fenced off area. It wasn't long until she woke up again. This area might have contained her when she was a bit smaller, but now she was able to make her escape.
Below is a video of the panda babies being fed, exploring their enclosure and playing together.
On November 11, 2015 a little baby girl polar bear was born. Her name is Juno and she has even been adopted into the Canadian Army and given the rank of private. The Toronto Zoo has had polar bear babies before such as Humphrey and Hudson, but this is the first female that we can recall.
There is something about her face and behaviour which makes it easy to determine that she is a girl. We have seen her both outside as well as inside her little house playing with her toys.
The last to arrive was a baby Indian rhino. He was born in February 2016 and when we visited him he was only five weeks old.
He looked so small and fragile compared to his mother, but if he charged at you be sure to get out of the way as he already weighs over 200 pounds.
At the time of our visit the rhino baby did not yet have a name. Another thing it does not yet have is its horn. A baby rhino is born without a horn, but it starts to grow right away. That is one more thing for Mom to be thankful for as she nurses and cares for her baby..
Queen Elizabeth II Statue
