Prime Minister Harper has made a brief address to guests at the Leaside 100 Gala in which he offered a sensitive and detailed recollection of memories of the first 12 years of his life. Mr. Harper used a John Lennon composition, There Are Places I Remember, to set the tone for his own reminiscences of earlier times. He called the song one of the Beatles truly great artistic achievements. The prime minister said the music evoked the same fondness and sadness for him of Leaside friends and relatives no longer here. He recalled seeing the Canadian Maple Leaf flag raised at Northlea Public School and the intense differences of opinion that gripped Leaside during “the flag debate”. Emotions ran high, he noted, as sympathies were divided between old flags and the new designs. He drew a laugh from guests at the Gala when he confessed that his family preferred the design with blue borders. Mr. Harper recalled coming back to Leaside about 25 years after moving away. On this sentimental journey he walked by the family home at 332 Bessborough Drive and as he did so he said “I saw a boy about six. As he turned I could have sworn it was me. But when I looked again he was gone. That was a lifetime ago and I can never go back but I can never entirely leave it either.” There is an audio recording of Mr.Harper’s complete remarks on the column at the left. It runs about 14 minutes and will remain there for two weeks.
