Port Hope has a library with a range of good services but a bad case of prickly librarians. Perhaps it is because they cannot control the level of conversations. Perhaps it is a brittle composure and inconsistent sense of civility. Perhaps there are impending budget cuts.
But expect inconsistency on keeping conversations under control, use of cell phones [you will have to go outside even in the bitter cold of winter], and expect inconsistency even in help. Port Hope’s Library has become so mixed in its services. This is in contrast with so many other libraries in the Northumberland area – Cobourg, Hastings, Warkworth, Campbellford and others. It is passingly strange – the library has so many books on Jane Austen and civility – but it is a role of the die if you can expect to find common sense and sensibility there.
About 20 years ago my brother Greg introduced me to a sport, Ultimate, that was one of the neatest I had seen or played in a long time. I know the Summer and Winter X-Games feature all sorts of great new sports but Ultimate [or Frisbee football] has a simple infrastructure [all you need is a frisbee and open field plus 8-12 players] plus an elegance and flow that is most appealing. Well this year, on Janes Walk in Toronto I got introduced to another elegant sport with the same dynamics: simple rules, easy to play, and based on what every kid knows how to do – ride a bike. So it should be no surprise that Bike Polo is catching on in cities across Canada.
Actually I had seen Bike Polo in Vancouver about 5-6 years ago when I was at a meeting on the UBC campus but by the time I got out of the meeting and had a chance to investigate the players had long vanished from a hockey rink/tennis court. So it was at a Janes Walk in early May within Trinity Bellwoods Park which inadvertently re- introduced me to Bike Polo.
This game was being played on the otherwise near empty tennis courts in the park. There are 3 players to a side, their mounts are bikes, and they play with a mallet which has a hollow plastic head. The teams here were playing games of “first to 5″ and that is just about the extent of the rules that I could puzzle out and pick up in a quick 15 minute watching of the game.
Mallets used in Bike Polo.
The real skill in Bike Polo is maintaining balance on the bike in the constant stop and go that is part of the game. For example, at first the game looked like PeeWee Soccer where the kids gather like bumble bees all around the soccer ball. There seemed to be little positional play. But after awhile I got used to the rugby-like scrum and the ability of crafty players to break away from the scrum and rush “down field” for a break away pass.
However, the trick is not just the making but also the receiving or braking of the pass that is a key skill. Because if a
Breakaway Play
player even slightly bobbles a pass the opposition is on it and can either create their own return break away, or at the least, get in position to defend their goal. Very quickly one could see that a wide range of skills including mallet dribbling and passing, wheel blocking, and vision of play are each important in the game. If I had not agreed to meet a friend for another Janes Walk this same day, becoming steeped in the subtleties of bike polo could have become a whole afternoon’s delight. Like one bike polo player noted, “what is bike polo to me? No doubt - like a second woman”.
Find out more about Bike Polo in Canada:
Calgary has great coverage of Bike Polo action
The Halifax story with video
Montreal Bike Polo action
Toronto Courts
WUPass = Winnipeg Bike Polo
Vancouver’s Vibrant Bike Polo scene
Cruising by assorted boatcraft down the Ganaraska River is what Float Your Fanny Down The Ganny is all about. As always traveling down the Ganny in Spring is very much dependent on the often sporadic weather. This season was no exception with cool and wet finally changing to a sunny, warmer but still windy crisp day for paddling down the Ganaraska river that Rainbow trout would be going up in a week or two.
The river crosswalk marks the finish line
As you can see from above , the weather was fine and the Ganny was gurgling but not absolutely rambunctious as was the case last year. And the turnout of spectators was distinctly higher in keeping with the weather and the availability of welcome sunny Spring day.
As usual the canoers and kayakers have first “sailing” rights on the Ganny. And so up at Dale Road about 2-3 miles
North of Port Hope, the canoes and kayaks are first to appear at the bridge overcrossing. These are the more civil Ganny crafters leaving the racing to about a half dozen paddlers literally plunging down the river. Here the pace is more decorous, one could be reading about it as a scene from a Jane Austen novel. But don’t be fooled, getting a canoe or kayak down the Ganny without going in requires skill – the rapids and changing water depths put a premium on good paddling technique. And of course there is the matter of having to traverse around the fish ladder less than a klick down stream.
Custom Float Craft:The Heart of the Show
But lets be honest, people come to Fanny down the Ganny to see the custom made float craft. It is sort of like going to an antique car show – with the emphasis on instantaneous boat/float “antiques”. If they make it down the Ganny in one piece, count that a major triumph as can be seen in this sampling of 2010’s Custom Boat/Float Craft:
A Classic Inner Tube Float with lashed and modified deck accouterments – a little wet and prone position oriented.
The CountrynWestern Khaki Canoe Craft – with signs, pretty lasses and front bumper horns.
The Red-painted Barrel 4 Wheeler – barely suitable for transport on land let alone water.
The Inverted Satellite Dish - you know they had to patch this one up with all the plastic bailing pails on board.
The Great Ganny Nile Barge - filled with paddlers, beautiful princesses, and note the water gunner.
This is only a sample sampling of what neato Custom Crafts that were to be found on the Ganny this Spring – go to the galleries here and here for lots more Fanny on the Ganny pictures.
Ganny Fanny Watchers
It was implied that the chief reason that people came out for the Ganny Run was to catch a bit of Spring and to see how the various custom craft made it down the river. But there are other attractions. Of course it is a chance to visit and socialize and the many conversation and chats all along the riverbank attest to that. Also it is an opportunity to get the kids out for some fun and they certainly take advantage:
Warm enough to run through wading pool
But there is another attraction – water balloons. Any custom float craft that comes armed with water guns like so:
Plastic Bottle cruiser with well armed water cannon
these floats are fair game for attack from the shore by water balloon barrages. Let me tell you there has been an arms race going on over the years and now the water guns carried on board some craft with their quick suction refills and long piston shooting are getting pretty potent as water weapons. Their shots can go 20-30 feet from the craft. And onshore, “innocent” spectators can easily be hit in the crossfire. So a very close riverside seat has some getting wet drawbacks.
But getting wet is par for the course, especially for Fanny Ganny Goers. If there is one consistent attribute among the Ganny Floaters is that they are pretty wet [and last year, largely soaked]. But that is a feature of Fanny on the Ganny, it marks the end of Winter because it is warm enough to get soaked and still have fun.
As promised in our previous posting, the weather was certainly warm for Fanny on the Ganny in Port Hope Ontario. Okay there was a cooling breeze. But the Ganny was well behaved compared to last year’s raging torrent and much cooler of flowtemperatures. So all the preening and primping by Port Hope’s shops was well worth the while because the Ganny was very crowded with Fanny fans.
First of all flowers were everywhere:
Every shop and store had flowers on display or for sale:
But I suspect that the flurry were as much a Rite of Canadian Spring – the first warm week in 3 months has to have every Canuck’s spirits flourishing. And the ample sunshine added a touch of bloom to the day that just had to be echoed in the streets. And so it was.
The shopkeepers had everything neat as a pin:
So street walking and Window shopping were a charm.
But Redpath had the sweetest confection of all:
An antique classic truck carrying sample cookies for free distribution among Fanny Goers. This was a popular spot along with the kids jumping gyms and the great bratwurst booths on the West shore side. In sum, Port Hope was more than prepared for its early Spring riverfest.
Jane’s Walk is one of those best-ideas-since-Sliced-Bread events. Very simply people go for a walk on the weekend of May 1-2 in 35 cities in Canada or 25 cities in the US or 2 cities [so far] in Europe. Yes, a walk – a free guided tour telling the history of an urban area including geography, architecture, peoples, businesses coming and going and all sorts of facts about a neighborhood. The walks typically last a half more than an hour. Here is one:
Peterborough ON Jane’s Walk
Jane’s Walks, like “eh”, are a gift from Canada and Jane Jacobs to the World. These walks are about seeing things from the inside out. I personally take curiosity, camera and civility along and have a great time. Here are a few images from a Jane’s Walk in downtown Toronto near the Grange.
The Spring colors were out in full force
I discovered precious cargo – a great vinyl record shop
The Spring flowers inspired new Color Weavings
In short, a Jane Walk always brings a surprise or two, an insight or two about what matters, and a new friend or two. Who could ask for more?
At the Legion Hall during the Warkworth Maple Syrup Festival, I came across a really tasty find, the Kawartha Fruit Winery plus Jelly, Jams and Preserves Place [I have added the latter phrasing]. Now my friends in Toronto who are truly gourmands and fine wine samplers would enjoy the Winery half of the above craftings. I think Bruce and Janet, Warren and Eva would truly be lip smacking at the prospect of tasting some of the fruit wines.
And why not? The wine list has the attraction of tastes familiar and sweet brought to a vintner’s zest. Here is a sampler of what is available from Kawartha Wines:
Apricot – very rich full flavor, silky feel with smooth long finish, one of our best and most popular.
Blueberry – soft full flavor, rich finish, surprising taste.
Cherry – light, refreshing flavour, crisp clean finish, excellent with all meat or on its own.
Cranberry – if you like cranberries you will love this wine – crisp, clean, slightly tart, very long finish.
Nectarine – luscious, smooth, flavourful – very popular – one of our best.
Peach – intense peach flavour, full rich body, long peach finish – very popular
Pear (Bosc) – one of our best- beautiful gold color, medium body with pear flavour and long finish.
Plum (Golden) – beautiful golden colour, light, crisp taste, great on its own or with food.
Plum (Shiro) – light, very crisp with a hint of tartness – very popular, great on its own or with food
Raspberry (red, purple, golden) – perennial favourites, very intense raspberry nose blows you away, nothing else like it, very full, rich and luscious, unbelievable finish, often sells out.
Rhubarb – light bodied fruity wine, surprising flavour, very popular
Strawberry – another perennial favourite, very complex aroma and flavour, very long finish, absolutely delicious.
Vidal Ice Wine – intense flavour, rich bouquet of apricot and peaches, well balanced with good acidity, very long finish, served chilled on its own after dinner.
Maple Syrup Wine – a unique presentation of Kawartha Country Wines, rich maple syrup nose and flavour, well balanced, luscious and full bodied, truly exciting and very special – a truly unique Canadian product.
However, this party being a teetotaler and a sweet tooth would like to reverse the focus and describe some of the Jams, Jellies and Preserves available. The varieties were intriguing – Spice Apple Jelly, Peach Wine Jam, a number of Plum Preserves with and without Wine. And that was just for starters. Amazing combinations of strawberry, raspberry, blueberry, rhubarb, cranberry, plum, mango, nectarine, maple syrup, and other delicious sweeties. The choices simply intrigued the mind’s taste buds. I finally got the following:
Blackberry with wine Preserves – surprisingly light and tasty, great with crackers and cheese
Cherry calvados jelly- a touch of tart yet cherry smooth, a delightful pick
Strawberry with wine – the wine extends the flavor. I can tell you great with waffles and ice cream
Mango and rhubarb jam – the two fruits blend well together suggesting a sweet marmalade
Peach apricot jam – tingling tart yet smooth and satisfying, great on chicken or fish
I had to trade up to get the latter two jams, but that is another story. So now I am looking forward to Spring and Summer for an opportunity to take some trips up to the Kawartha Winery for its fine fruit wines but also for jellies and jams and other sweets preserve me.