The South Bayview Bulldog

Bill Stevenson (@billstevenson57) is busy this morning alerting Leaside to the rather rough landing of this aircraft at the Leaside Airport. Oh wait, that was maybe 100 years ago. Never mind, it’s a great picture that Mr. Stevenson thought we might like. Folks on Aerodrome Crescent probably know the history of their neighborhood but this is an enjoyable reminder. As someone says: “Flight 13 now loading from the top of the barn.” Thanks all. Lesaide. The picture is from a FaceBook page called Vintage Toronto and it has a lot of pictures worth checking. Vintage Toronto 

Rescued raccoon

A fire this evening has damaged the now vacant Alexander St. premises which for close to 50 years housed the Carman’s Steak House. One tweet called it a serious and dangerous fire but no one appears to have been hurt. Arthur Carman ran a steak house at this address, 26 Alexander, beginning in the 60s closing out his long tour as the genial host of grand evenings only in 2009. It is said that Carman’s was the restaurant that introduced Toronto to garlic bread. It’s a bit of Toronto trivia that seems as odd now as the Sunday closure of the TTC in the 30s. In Carman’s heyday the neighborhood was peopled day and night by television celebrities and imported performers related to CBC production just down the street. In the course of clambering all over the stucco home of Carman’s restaurant police and firefighters came across a baby raccoon and rescued it. We must assume that this darling creature is going back into the wild  and will not become a 53 Division mascot. Picture: Twitter 

Hey, it’s a big city and it doesn’t necessarily make a difference in getting things right when the name of your magazine is Toronto Life. And so it seems the venerable and sometimes pesky profiler of prominent persons has placed the proposed new location for the 119 Isabella St. “coach house” in Yorkville. Many homeowners even on the west side of Yonge would like to claim a Rosedale connection. But common sense and old maps say they are in Summerhill. Ah Summerhill, that upscale escape for wealthy families in hot weather from the disease-ridden downtown of the 19th Century. Yorkville was originally defined as south of Davenport but it appears to have crept somewhat north to Castle Frank Creek, which once coursed along Pears Ave. in Ramsden Park. The story so far is that Hiscox Holding Group wants to move the building to a small and yet-to-be severed lot on Molson Street behind 92 Roxborough St. W. It’s fairly well established that the building is not a coach house but a home used by servants of the family across the street. 

Two Michigan men were stunned to see an enormous bank of fog rolling in on them last Wednesday as they did a little fishing just off shore in Lake Michigan. After about an hour on the water, Andrew Ballard, along with his father Spencer, noticed what they thought were clouds moving in to the area. “We couldn’t see anything and the wind was crazy — it wasn’t like anything I’ve seen before,” Ballard, 25, told local media. Andrew was able to film the fog as it moved towards them over the water. Meteorologists say the formation, also known as advection fog, is common in the Great Lakes at this time of year when the water is still cold. Fortunately the men were close to shore and found their way off the water without delay.

Vivid Sydney, the annual extravaganza of colour and sound,  has immersed hundreds of thousands of locals and tourists in the Australian capital. One of the most compelling and enjoyable spectacles is the light show reflected on the Sydney Opera House (inset). The event is held annually during winter in the Southern Hemisphere over the course of three weeks in May and June. The centrepiece of Vivid Sydney is the multimedia interactive light sculptures and building projections that transform various buildings and landmarks in and around Sydney. This year the crowds seem even bigger and authorities are asking people to be patient getting around. There’s always crowding in a big town — or as we call it in Toronto — Gridlock. Vivid Sydney was created just six years ago and this year is believed to have attracted 800,000 people on opening tonight. The Sails of iconic Sydney Opera House came alive with world-exclusive, stunning 3D-mapped projections, and the Harbour City was filled with color and light. Vivid Sydney, the largest light, music and ideas festival in the Southern Hemisphere, and Australia’s Event of the Year, features a huge, free nightly light show of lighting installations, building projections and water theatre around Sydney harbour from 6 p.m. until midnight. 

The formidable and still very sharp Johnny Bower, legendary goal keeper and Toronto gentleman, was honoured in his childhood neighborhood as the City named John Bower Lane. Bower will be 90 in November  Previous post 

Bessborough Public School saw a wonderful day for the 20th Annual Mayfair Fundraiser. Saturday warm weather bathed the school grounds and among among other things drew a fine body of political candidates. Mayoral candidate John Tory (centre) inspected the candy floss operation.  David Soknacki and Ward 26 Councillor John Parker (at bottom) were happy to attend. This year’s Mayfair featured a skateboard park with some professional help from the Evolve Skate Camp. The nice weather also seemed to fulfill  the expectations of an attendance of at least 2,500. Mr. Parker observed that the Bessborough Mayfair has the highest parent-to-kid ratio in town which is certainly commendable. We suppose that statistic is measurable at the board. But Cody kids were present at the Bessborough Mayfair too as a tweet from organizers of the Cody Spring Fair were eager to point out. That event comes along Saturday, May 31, 2014