Well, I’m back from my annual visit to family and friends in Canada. It was a visit like no other, full of drama on both a personal and national level. There’s just something in the air at the moment. To be honest, despite the great pleasure of connecting with friends and family (I am now a great aunt, with the emphasis on great, I might add), I was happy to come home. The trees and hedges had been transformed from spindly brown to vibrant green and the lilac was looking spectacular. The countryside is a mass of hawthorn blossom. There’s comfort in nature taking its course despite the endless capacity for world leaders to do the wrong thing.
The election took place while I was in Canada, with the whole country glued to their screens waiting to see what would happen. But life goes on, regardless of significant political events, and I did the things I always do when I’m there. Delicious muffins have to be eaten because no other country makes them as well. Carrot Spice, Raisin Bran, Morning Glory – it is the undisputed home of delicious muffins. And Canada is the only country in the world where you can find a Bloody Caesar cocktail. It’s like a Bloody Mary, but made with clamato juice instead of tomato juice. I know clam-flavoured tomato juice sounds quite weird, but it is absolutely delicious. They even sell pre-mixed “Caesars” in cans. Bliss.
The Ontario liquor stores have removed all American products from their shelves – no US wine or whiskey to be found. Canadians feel very strongly about their sovereignty and are buying Canadian when they can. ‘Elbows Up!’ is the slogan you hear everywhere. Which is great, but I was a little confused when the cashier asked me if I wanted to contribute to a charity to plant trees in Canada. “Surely Canada has plenty of trees already?” I asked. “I’ll take that as a no,” she said with a sigh.
Then it was time for my mandatory visit to the National Gallery. I worked at the Ottawa-based gallery years ago, when it was located in a high-rise office block, and its current spectacular building was in the planning stages. They have a sprinkling of significant European works, but mostly it’s full of beautiful Canadian art, and many local residents are barely aware of it. It makes me sad to see all the empty rooms, especially when I think of the constant crowds of people visiting the National Gallery in London. True, Ottawa’s gallery doesn’t have Van Gogh’s Sunflowers or Holbein’s Ambassadors, but it does have rooms full of beautiful art, including works by the Group of Seven, which are spectacular, but largely unknown outside Canada.
I was wandering around looking for paintings by Alex Colville and finally asked a guard where they were. “He’s been replaced by lips,” he informed me. It turns out all his work has been put into storage in order to mount an exhibition of lipstick prints. I wonder what he’d have thought of that. I wasn’t impressed, but will just have to wait for my next visit. Maybe American booze will be back on sale by then. Or maybe not. We’re living in strange times.