“Calendar Girls” revived by Yorkshire players

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The original Calendar Girls 
There’s nothing so British it seems as a group of nice middle-aged ladies stripping on stage for charity. The women above, the original Calendar Girls,  are responsible for this. It’s 13 years since their Women’s Institute group in a small North Yorkshire village bared all in that famous calendar to raise millions of pounds for charity. They became a legend in the process.  Now a Yorkshire theatrical troupe, the Grassington Players are performing naked for the world amateur premiere of the stage version of the incredible story.  It was back in 1999 when the ladies of Rylstone WI came up with an idea to raise money for charity. Their nude calendar and the story behind it sparked international interest, an award winning film and stage play. Video

Pink parade crosses Mt. Pleasant at Moore

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Thousands of happy warriors clad in pink marched through South Bayview today on their way to Downsview Park. It was the wild crazy and joyful Weekend to End Women’s Cancer, a fundraiser for Princess Margaret Hospital’s cancer wing. A South Bayview Bulldog correspondent grabbed some pictures as he was treated to this wonderful sight at Moore Ave and Mt. Pleasant Rd while the marchers made their way east.  The two-day, 60-kilometre walk kicked off at the Direct Energy Centre. At Downsview Park tonight  they’ll see performances from Glass Tiger, Disco Nation and Michael Burgess before heading back downtown on Sunday morning. The walk raises money for the Campbell Family Cancer Research Institute at Princess Margaret, including cancer awareness, treatment and prevention. Above,  in the main picture pink plastic poncho paraders say hello. Inset left, you’ve got to love this lady’s headgear. Inset right, these two must be part of the 1 percent. They were in a pink stretch limo. Love you all.

Environment Canada issues special warning

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Environment Canada has issued a special weather warning that we may see as much as 50 mm of rain over the weekend. It is more likely we’ll receive something like 20 to 40 mm (as noted in the post below). In its long-term forecast, Environment Canada said 10 to 20 mm was expected for Toronto on Friday night and that seems about right. The rain started about 2 a.m.in South Bayview, It is said we’ll get another10 to 20 mm today. Fortunately, the drenching seem to be coming in stages, giving the sewers and land to dispose of the collections somewhat. The rainfall will be followed by cooler air and brisk winds late Saturday and Sunday, Environment Canada said. In Toronto, Saturday’s high will be 22 C, followed by a high of 20 C on Sunday.

Yikes! Airbus predicts jetliners will fly in flocks

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In a scene that will give some travellers the jitters, Airbus has said that one day “intelligent” passenger aircraft will cruise across oceans in low-drag, energy-saving formations, like flocks of geese. The idea stretches the imagination about the hoped-for energy saving and navigation of the Avionics of 2050.  That’s when Airbus says this type of travel could be the norm.  It will save fuel, apparently, and get more people to the destination together, as one media outlet put it. Oh really, say we. More people arriving together. That would be fun. And indeed, there’s nothing in the Airbus vision to explain how flocks of aircraft land on limited runways, dock, disembark and feed the baggage carousel without enormous delays.

Leaside alert for possible flooding this weekend

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According to a story produced by Newstalk 1010 the City’s Water Department is worried about the heavy rainfall predicted for this weekend.  Starting tonight and all through tomorrow, the Weather Channel is suggesting there might be as much as 40 mm on the ground. The General Manager of the Water Department, Lou Di Gironimo , told Newstalk 1010  that if the rain comes all at once, the City could be in trouble. He says the infrastructure just isn’t designed to handle that much rain in a short period of time. It doesn’t help that parts of the city saw record-setting rainfall on Tuesday. With the ground already saturated, there may be nowhere for this weekend’s rain to go. There are supposed to 32 spots where the City that traditionally has flooding. One would certainly be the Bayview Extension at Pottery road. But the Water Department says there are other spots around Leaside. Previously, there has been flooding on Moore Ave where it meets Southvale Rd.  The scene above is from Southvale at Astor Ave on June 1, 2012. 

NDP takes K-W denying Liberals a majority

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It appears that the NDP will win the riding of Kitchener-Waterloo by-election, defeating the Progressive Conservative and Liberal candidates with ease. Shortly after 10 pm. NDP candidate Catherine Fife had 7844 or more than 40 percent of the ballots cast. The win takes the K-W riding held by PC Elizabeth Witmer for years and denies a majority government to Dalton McGuinty. In Vaughan, Liberal Steven Del Luca breezed to victory. He had more than 50 percent of the votes with at least 207 of 304 polling stations reporting at 10.15 pm. Election Ontario updated results (Necessary to use drop-down menu to find either K-W or Vaughan riding results)