Groan. After what felt like just five
minutes sleep, I levered myself out of bed this morning expecting us
to be surrounded by the newly formed Lake London, or a field of
smashed and bashed trees, given the storm we'd had the night before.
But no, all was benign and tranquil, apart from a few puddles and
some leaves stuck to Towed Haul's skin. Well, it sounded
like a dreadful storm but maybe being in a trailer is a bit like
being in a metal drum. Ho Hum.
Anyway,
today's excursion was to the Farmer's Market in St Jacobs, about 100
Kms north east of us. It sounds like a long way to go and get some
cucumbers but this market is well known in this part of Ontario and
is well used by both local farmers and the buying public. Proof, if
proof were needed, was in the unseemly scramble for a parking spot in
the very large lot provided. I have to say that neither Mrs T or I
had high hopes for this trip and we made it probably so that we could
get a look at some of the Mennonites that live in the area and see
how they used the market as a means of boosting their farm income. As
it turned out we saw plenty of Mennonites offering their wares at the
market, and even saw one of their horse drawn vehicles being driven
down the road; it was a scene right out of Witness.
Mennonites are like the Amish of Pennsylvania (and other places),
eschewing motorized transport and farm machinery in favour of doing
most mechanical things with the use of horses. I'll admit to a fair
bit of morbid fascination with this sect, especially as they are oft
to be seen in South Western Ontario. I certainly appreciate that
Canada and Canadians work hard to preserve the religious freedom of
most of its people but I do struggle, though, with the fact that the Mennonite women have to wear a kind of uniform; something on their heads, plain
and modest clothing and no kind of enhancements in the shape of hair
styles or makeup. The men don't seem to have such restrictions and
that doesn't seem quite fair to me, but each to their own I guess.
Quite apart from
the Mennonite interest, the market was actually very good. Masses,
and I mean masses, of fruit and vegetable stalls all displaying
amazing produce, and so colourful, too. There were also plenty of
food stalls, cooked or otherwise, clothing stalls and, of course,
lots of what my mum refers to as “Tat”, ranging from flags of the
world to leather goods to counterfeit sports clothing. There were
huge numbers of people there, hence the parking, and so many of them
seemed to be sitting down eating. Naturally we didn't want to
look out of place, so we bought some pastries from the British Bakery
stall and enjoyed pasties and sausage rolls in the open air, as you
do.
We ended up buying
corn, tomatoes, fruit, more pastries, bread and a couple of bits for
an upcoming Tadpole birthday, which was not only a fair haul but a
relatively inexpensive one, too. Also, there was no rain!
We then decided on
a quick spin around St Jacobs “village”, although as most of it's
on a long, straight road it's not easy to go around; more through
than anything else. It was heaving with visitors so we called only at
the “Mill & Silo Shops”, a collection of expensive outlets in
guess what? An old mill and its silos. There was a place there called
A Taste of Scotland (or something similar) where I was tempted
by a Tam O'Shanter with attached ginger wig and a leather sporran.
Fortunately I saw sense and left with neither, scared off by the $10
pack of Heinz baked beans, the same item which retails in Chatham at
$4.99. Wee Jock McRipoff indeed.
Then it was off to
Tim Hortons for a coffee and to enjoy some of the sweet pastries we'd bought at the market; Bienenstich, a Mennonite favourite apparently
and Strudel, to reflect of the German influence in this part of
Ontario. See how culture aware we are?
We decided it was
best to drop our loot (I was going to use the word “booty” but it
seems to have a quite a different meaning these days) at Towed Haul
before heading into London to take advantage of Staples “Teacher
Appreciation Day” and the 15% discount it offered (Teachers, eh?
Tons of holidays and discounts in Staples. Tut). We came out
with an electric pencil sharpener (can you get electric pencils?) and
a calculator, although that doesn't tell the whole story, as you will
see. Then it was off to Chapters to get some books for the Tadpoles,
where we were engaged in conversation by a very excitable, though
very pleasant, assistant called Jody who helped us with some choices.
It was four for the price of three day (can you spot the theme?) so
four books were duly purchased. Then it was off to another branch of
Staples (for the rest of the story) where we left the store with a
very swanky office chair (in a box) for Mrs T, bought with the
benefit of the teacher's discount, so everyone was very happy.
Back at the
campsite, two very tired Toads (remember last night's storm?), retired
to their trailer, had a meal of fresh produce and pastries, then
settled to reading and blogging. I say blogging but I spent a
frustrating evening fighting with the KOA WiFi network that was being
so slow that I could have gone out and bought a copy of the Daily
Telegraph in the time it took the PC to load the front page. Tsk.
Tomorrow is culture
day. An hour or two around the town of Stratford, which is a most
agreeable place, then to the Avon Theatre for a performance of Jesus
Christ Superstar, a production that has had rave reviews this year
and, judging by the scarcity of tickets, is very popular. We are
sitting up on the lighting gallery with the spotlight operators but
I'm sure the view will be excellent! See tomorrow's entry for the
Toad's Theatre Column.
