It was a pleasure to attend the annual gala of the Town of York Historical Society, proprietors of Toronto’s First Post Office (TFPO), both a museum and a working post office, the other night at St. Lawrence Hall in Toronto. To add to the ambience, each table was provided with a number of goose feather …
I confess that I am not a big hockey person. However, I did grow up watching my brother play hockey and occasionally watched a game on TV with my father (a former hockey player himself). So even I have an understanding of and respect for the iconic Stanley Cup, the silver trophy awarded to the …
I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from Little Canada, but it turned out to be engrossing and a lot of fun. Two hours exploring passed in a flash. My friend and I did a double-take at the Art Gallery of Ontario (above). Is there an external staircase on the front as displayed (or just …
I’ve written before about the excellent Gibson House Museum. Today, on a spontaneous visit, I was very lucky to be shown how to use a floor loom… and permitted to sit down and try it! The last inch or so of this fabric (at top) is my effort. I think I should have been a …
Back in January of 2019 (which honestly seems like yesterday), I set myself the goal of visiting 100 museums during the year, and posting a short blog entry about each one. That would work out to three or four a week, which sounded overly ambitious, but hey, why not. I’m delighted to report that I …
The last “museum” in my 100 Museums Challenge is a very special one, as it’s the shrine of a saint. In October 2019 I was lucky to tour Ireland in a group led by Stephen McPhilemy from Derry, Northern Ireland. On the day that we would go to Brú na Bóinne north of Dublin, Stephen …
Continuing from my previous posts (here, here, and here), these are four more Dublin museums I visited in October 2019. 1) Dublinia Dublinia, which was redeveloped in 2010, is a living history museum and not-for-profit heritage centre, focusing on Viking Dublin and Medieval Dublin. It was marvellously interactive, occasionally gruesome, and quite educational. A panel, …
Continuing from my previous posts here and here, these are four more Dublin museums I visited in October 2019. 1) National Museum of Ireland – Archaeology The National Museum of Ireland – Archaeology is delicious. Irish Bronze Age gold, prehistoric tools, Viking Ireland, Medieval reliquaries, Iron Age bog bodies, etc., etc. The silver-gilt Tara Brooch …
The Enoch Turner Schoolhouse Foundation, a not-for-profit charity established in 1971, held their annual fund-raising Founders’ Dinner last night, and I was honoured to be invited to represent the Ontario Historical Society. As a bonus, it gave me the chance to have a look inside the museum, which is owned and operated by the Ontario …
Continuing from my previous post, here are four more Dublin museums. 1) Jeanie Johnston Tall Ship and Famine Museum Jeanie Johnston Tall Ship and Famine Museum provides a fine opportunity to reflect upon the realities of the disastrous famine in Ireland (also called the Great Hunger) from 1845 to 1849. I appreciated how the history …
