The South Bayview Bulldog

It’s a little different to see a made-to-measure wooden fence around a demolition site but that’s what we have here as wreckers get ready to take down 7 Southlea Ave. It’s a good looking stone house but will no doubt pop back up with a lot more floor space. And thanks to the reader who mentioned this pending demoltion to The South Bayview Bulldog.  

Although he has been gone these many years, some people think that Pierre Trudeau has one last spectacular political act left to perform. Sure, that sounds dramatic but if his son, 42-year-old Justin Pierre James Trudeau, runs and is elected Liberal leader, it will be almost entirely because of the PET legend. Until recently, a Trudeau candidacy was not taken seriously. Most people put their money on Toronto Rosedale MP Bob Rae, not withstanding the left over liability of the ill-fated Ontario NDP government. But that was before the dynamic Thomas Mulcair became leader of the national NDP and raised the spectre of an NDP federal government That would leave the Liberals in a lengthening dark night as Canada’s irrelevant party. In her column in the Toronto Star, the astute and well-followed pundit Chantel Hebert calls Trudeau the younger the rock star of this Parliament.. Never mind  that some snidely say Justin has his father’s name and someone else’s brain. In a leadership vote where anyone who signs up as a Liberal supporter will have a say, he would be a formidable contender. Hebert goes on to say that a Trudeau-Rae tilt  “could pit the hearts of many Liberal loyalists against their reason.”  She says that more than a few Liberals would feel that losing on a Trudeau ticket would at least offer the party the grace of dying with dignity.

There are so many things to see on South Bayview on a sunny Sunday morning like today’s. We noted the temporary closure of Wild Wing for renovations, They opened the first time in January 2011 and say they will re-open May 21. Lovely flowers at Passion Fruit and crowds of gentry in the patios. Toshi (inset) likes it too and in the process becomes a sight himself. He is an eight-month old French bulldog. Toshi attracted a lot of admirers at Starbucks. We noticed however that he doesn’t always answer to his name. 

Bayview Ave is a long road in Toronto so there’s lots of opportunity for potholes, ponds and rough pavement. The Canadian Auto Association has once again ranked roads in Ontario and Bayview Ave is said to be the 10th worst. Our nomination for the best reason why is this man-made pond that forms outside 1581 Bayview whenever it rains. It’s been there for years and during rush hour it leads to the soaking  of pedestrians. Here are the rankings.

1. Dufferin Street (Toronto)

2. Bunting Road (St. Catharines)

3. Burlington Street East (Hamilton)

4. Stanley Avenue (Niagara Falls)

5. Kraft Creek Road (Timmins)

6. Lawrence Avenue East (Toronto)

7. Carling Avenue (Ottawa)

8. Finch Avenue West (Toronto)

9. Kingston Road (Toronto)

10. Bayview Avenue (Toronto)