Walk to Courthouse Square

Yesterday, Dad and I went to Mackenzie House so we could go on their guided walk to Courthouse Square.

There is a memorial outside Mackenzie House which commemorates Peter Matthews, Samuel Lount and all of the men and women who fought for political freedom and responsible government in Canada.

William Lyon Mackenzie was the 1st Mayor of Toronto and he was a leader of the 1837 Rebellion for responsible government. He fled Canada to escape being captured after the rebellion. There was a bounty of £1,000 when he was on the run. He moved back to Canada with his family in 1850 after he was pardoned by Queen Victoria.

We did a quick stop at St. Michael's Cathedral. By the time Mackenzie came back to Canada for a short while in 1849 there was an increasing number of Catholics in Toronto.

When Mackenzie left Canada there were a total of 2,000 people in Toronto but when he came back there were 15,000!

We walked passed Massey Hall.

We stopped outside The Eaton Centre. Before The Eaton Centre was there, that area had a lot of residences. Mackenzie and his son stayed at the the MacIntosh Residence in 1849 when they came back.

People rioted!

They threw rocks through windows and burned an effigy of Mackenzie outside the house!
They blamed Mackenzie for the 1837 rebellion and they were upset that he escaped punishment.

St. Michael's hospital stands on where George Brown's House used to be. George Brown was a good businessman and a journalist. George Brown ran the Toronto Globe (which is now the Globe and Mail). Mackenzie was a good journalist but not so good at business. But, Mackenzie beat out George Brown for a seat in Parliament in 1851.

Beside Courthouse Square there was a jail where the captured rebels were kept. Peter Matthews and Samuel Lount were executed for High Treason even though they didn't cause any bloodshed. People didn't think they would actually be executed.

Even though there was a population of only 2,000 people in the city, 10,000 people were in the square to watch the execution!

At the site of the old jail they have this plaque.

After the rebellion Samuel Lount almost managed to escape capture. He was in a boat and able to see the Pennsylvania coast when the wind suddenly changed and blew him back to Canada. A farmer caught him and claimed the bounty of £500.

Bruce Beaton played the role of Samuel Lount. He explained what Lount must have been thinking as he faced execution. Lount wouldn't get to see his children grow up to become the great adults he knew they would be and his wife would miss him dearly.

Samuel Lount faced his execution bravely.
Sheriff Jarvis, who led him to the gallows, cried.

Bruce Beaton also played the part of Solicitor Robert Baldwin. He told Lount and Matthews to plead guilty because he expected leniency. He felt terrible about what happened.

There is a monument to Peter Matthews and Samuel Lount in the Toronto Necropolis.



Here are links to my other blog posts about Mackenzie House where I talk about the Rebellion, Lount and Matthews:
http://joshdlee.blogspot.ca/2013/05/mackenzie-house.html
http://joshdlee.blogspot.ca/2013/11/halloween-at-mackenzie-house.html

"The Travelling Cellist" at Fairview Mall

Today Dad and I went to Fairview Mall to see "The Travelling Cellist".

It's the last one I will get to see, but there is one more performance tomorrow at Albion Library.

David Hetherington performed Albinoni's Adagio at Fairview Mall. It was noisy but I could clearly hear his playing. He is an amazing cellist!

Here are some pictures from today.

I loved the arrangement of Albinoni's Adagio by Ed Hayes and I loved all of the performances that I saw.

Even though Mom wouldn't let me read the book, "The Cellist of Sarajevo" by Steven Galloway, I really loved going to see "The Travelling Cellist". I'm definitely going to read it when I'm older and I will remember these performances.

Here are the links to the other blog posts that I did about "The Travelling Cellist"

• "The Travelling Cellist" at Scarborough Civic Centre
• "The Travelling Cellist" at Harbord Bakery
• "The Travelling Cellist" at Malvern Library
• "The Travelling Cellist" at St. Lawrence Market
• "The Travelling Cellist" at Gibson House

And here is a link to the Toronto Public Library's website about "The Travelling Cellist"
http://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/ktr/the-travelling-cellist.jsp

"The Travelling Cellist" at Gibson House

 This evening Mom and I went to Gibson House to see "The Travelling Cellist". The last time we went to Gibson House was in October 2013.

We looked around the house before the cellist came.
We forgot the camera but we still took some pictures with Mom's phone.

We started off in the kitchen. They had the fire going and it was nice and warm in there.
There were board games set up for games night which is the first Thursday of each month.

We peeked inside David Gibson's office.

This box and this table were close to the square piano in the parlour. They are both very interesting.

We went back into the kitchen before heading upstairs.

I couldn't help noticing the toys on the ground.
Can you believe that 4 boys shared one bedroom. There were 2 beds and 2 boys would sleep in each bed!

This room was the sewing room and the hired girl's room.

I was interested in the clock on the fire place in the parlour.

When it was almost time for the cellist to come, we were happily surprised that it was going to be Joseph Johnson, the Principal Cellist of the TSO. I've seen him play Albinoni's Adagio two times already (at Harbord Bakery and at St. Lawrence Market).

Of the 3 locations I've seen him perform, I think this was the best!
The room the smallest and it was nice and quiet. He played it differently as well. He didn't use pizzicato but instead played out the notes.

I like this photo because you can see a picture of David Gibson over Joseph Johnson's left shoulder.  

I've really grown to love the cello. :-) 

You can still get to see "The Travelling Cellist" in different locations across Toronto until April 7th.
Here's a link with more information:
http://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/ktr/the-travelling-cellist.jsp

My Cavity!

I had a small cavity that I had to get filled. 

I was very nervous about it so my Mom told me to listen to music.

The dentist put gel in the area of the cavity and then he gave me the needle. I didn't even feel it. I only noticed my mouth getting number!

Here is a picture of me after I got the needle. We were waiting for the anesthetic to kick in. (Dad said I should call it freezing because it's easier to spell - but Mom helped me spell anesthetic.)

When the dentist came back I kept on listening to my music and everything seemed to go very fast. I could still smell and taste and feel the vibrations but I just focussed on my music.

My mouth is still numb right now. It's a very funny feeling.

I hope I don't get any more cavities any time soon.

PCC Streetcar on Kingston Road

Today Dad and I went to Kingston Road to ride on the vintage PCC streetcar but we weren't lucky enough to actually get on it.

We waited a long time for it to come in but not enough people got off even for the last run of the day. A lot of us left without getting to ride on the streetcar.

Here is a short video of the PCC streetcar coming into Bingham Loop.

I'm wasn't too upset about not getting to ride on the streetcar today because I got to ride on a PCC streetcar last year on St. Clair West.

"The Travelling Cellist" at St. Lawrence Market

Dad and I went to see "The Travelling Cellist" early this morning at St. Lawrence Market. We got there early so we could get some British meat pies and gluten free things from the Farmers' Market before they sold out.

We were waiting for the cellist at the North Entrance where we thought it was supposed to be but it turned out it was at the West Entrance.

Joseph Johnson, the Principal Cellist of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra played Tomaso Albinoni's Adagio. I think it was noisier than the north entrance because of the ventilation system but we were still able to hear him.

When he was about to get started the cello wasn't stable enough.

So he had to improvise.

 But it still sounded beautiful!

For more information about "The Travelling Cellist" check this link from the Toronto Public Library's Keep Toronto Reading Festival. They will have performances up until April 7th in different parts of Toronto.
http://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/ktr/the-travelling-cellist.jsp

"The Travelling Cellist" at Malvern Library

Mom and I went to Malvern Library to see "The Travelling Cellist".

The Toronto Public Library and the TSO are doing 22 performances of Albinoni's Adagio from March 17 - April 7 as part of the Keep Toronto Reading Festival. They chose this piece because in the book The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway, the cellist played it everyday for 22 days to remember 22 people who died while waiting in line for bread.

Today, Marie Gélinas played and it was wonderful!
Each time I hear Albinoni's Adagio, I love it more and more!

Here are some pictures from today.

When Marie was finished she posed for a picture with me.

Here's a link with more information about "The Travelling Cellist"
http://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/ktr/the-travelling-cellist.jsp