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Sticky Toffee Pudding 

water taxi !

a seaplane in the harbour 

papier mache  sculptures at cage gallery 

The BULK BARN

they even selling bulk pie filling!!

and custard !!!

 The weather here has been frightful but life here is quite delightful !!!!!

This was my second trip to Victoria in 2 days!!!! No cultural desert for me!!! Wendy drove me to a lovely hotel on the other side the inner harbor. She dropped me off ageeing to meet at the regular place where she has her art class . The hotel was a high-end Marriott I think with a lovely view over the harbour across from the Empress Hotel, the British Columbia Museum and the streets across the water. I thought i needed to check i could just sit for coffee.  This was indeed  what the hotel offered; I did not need to be a guest there, i could just have Coffee!! The view was splendid and hopefully my video will work on here .Now it was around 1pm and I did want the coffee but i felt decided to  push the boat out and have a dessert as well. Sticky Toffee Pudding!!!A really good favourite from England. Sitting there relaxing i took my time , observing a sea plane land, The water taxis that charm me for their shape and size, the bright light on the water and the inviting view across the water persuaded  me to stay  awhile. 

Finally i walked outside, made  a short video and admired the gorgeous landscape architecture towards the white footbridge . Actually it was a footbridge and a road bridge but this is also a swing bridge that raises to allow boats to pass . Shortly after crossing the bridge i was in true downtown Victoria and Bastion Square that i had read about . Right there was an inviting and interesting cooperative art gallery calling  my name.. Its name was Cage Gallery .  The work was rather varied  because the space was celebrating its 10th anniversary with a piece of work by each of its members. The quality was good and the variety was pretty interestingly diverse . 

After that as i walked in the rain for the rest of the afternoon  i dodged into stores large and small ,just taking in the general sense of the city. Needless to say the evidence of the homeless who essentially live on the streets are so poignantly showing  the sense of the hopeless . They either try to stay dry and protect the contents of their shopping cart carriage or have given up and are drenched to the skin. I have a really tough time trying to imagine that some of these people choose this life style, knowing that the majority have  no doubt run out of resources. They live less than hand to mouth, waiting for the next fix that brings brief relief and a spirally sense of there is nothing more to lose. 

I dropped in the say hello to Shaa, the Indian who replaced the battery in my phone . I asked if he knows that  Canadians are calling for a total One Day boycott of all things American, on Feb 28th. All USA businesses , Costco to Walmart and Gap etc. Shaa does some English and understood the concept although he had not heard the plan. We agreed  that should he put huge posters outside that say "All From China " . I also made my second list to Bulk Barn to get better photos of the huge variety of products they sell .

As I waited inside for Wendy, I did some drawing in my sketchbook . A good day. 

The promised video is either still in production or o the cutting room floor . watch this space !