The South Bayview Bulldog

John and Daniela visit New York

Ring on way home to England

John and Daniela returned to England thinking that the engagement ring John let slip into a grated sewer on Times Square was gone forever. But it isn’t. The ring was found by police specialists the day after it disappeared into the muck, was cleaned by the NYPD and sent on its way to the couple. Police didn’t have their address but John and Daniela came forward again after a police appeal was seen and retweeted by thousands in the hope of identifying them. An earlier story of how the ring was lost is here.

Hey Lava Cake

Andrew Howard and Robert Nigro

Trees at Trace Manes

Jessica of Milk and Honey Pies at Briton House Winterfest

Ladies Night

Pancake Breakfast at MRUC

Guys Night Toy Drive

Recent days in South Bayview have seen a visit by Lava Cake (upper left) to Room 115 at Davisville Public School. Lava Cake is a guinea pig looking for a nice home. He met the kids with his friend Mrs. Casey of the Toronto Humane Society. Upper right are friends and brothers-in-education Andrew Howard and Robert Nigro at the Maurice Cody Winter Fair Saturday. As always, it was a tumultuous event. Mr. Howard is a TDSB superintendent and former principal at Cody while Mr. Nigro is principal at present. Centre right is a reminder that the 69th Leaside Scouts are selling Christmas trees at Trace Manes Park this weekend and next (Dec 8-9). At bottom left is Jessica of the Milk and Honey Pie Company helping to make things fun at the Briton House Winterfest on Saturday. Nice event. Then some posters, starting with a Ladies’ Night event posted on Ann Brown’s Leaside Chit Chat. And a reminder of the Manor Road United Church Pancake Breakfast December 8 and the Leaside Guys Night Out at the Leaside Pub December 6.  All coming events are at the  South Bayview Bulldog Bulletin Board.

There was no winning ticket for the $5 million jackpot in Saturday night’s Lotto 649 draw. The guaranteed $1 million prize was claimed by a ticket holder in Quebec. The jackpot for the next Lotto 649 draw on Dec. 5 will be approximately $7 million.

.@43_Kadri with the winner over the Wild.#LeafsForever https://t.co/vbMARl4XPH

— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) December 2, 2018

Scott Moir and Tess Virtue

George Herbert Walker Bush

“Say, what’s in this drink?”

Olympic medallists Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, movie star Seth Rogen with his writing partner Evan Goldberg and retired astronaut Chris Hadfield were among those who received a star on the Walk of Fame in Toronto’s entertainment district Saturday night. Then, former prime minister Brian Mulroney will be one of the speakers at the funeral of George Herbert Walker Bush. Below that, a radio station in Cleveland has been cowed into banning the 1944 song Baby, It’s Cold Outside. Take a look at Esther Williams and Ricardo Montalbán debuting it in that year. Finally, police and animal services staff have removed a plastic jug from the head of a deer on Long Island. Good work men.

William Nylander, 22, has signed with the Maple Leafs and will play with the team this season and for five more seasons as well.  His six-year deal is worth nearly $7 million a year and totals $41.4 million. The Hockey News

Brampton MP Raj Grewal has admitted that he borrowed and lost millions playing high-stakes blackjack at Gatineau’s Casino du Lac Leamy across the Ottawa River from Parliament. He says in a statement Friday that he has paid it all back but he does not say how nor from whom he borrowed these fantastic amounts in the first place. Remarkably, he also said on Facebook that he is thinking of staying on as an MP for Brampton East. Sources have told the Canadian Press that they expect Mr. Grewal to be expelled from the Liberal caucus if he does not resign. Grewal is saying that his gambling folly became too big to keep secret in November even though he insists that his wife did not know what he was doing. Nor does he say just how he accomplished the repayment of such sums in such a short time.

No one claimed the $60 million jackpot in Friday night’s Lotto Max draw. But 11 of the 35 Maxmillions prizes of $1 million each that were up for grabs were won. The jackpot for the next Lotto Max draw on Dec. 7 will remain at approximately $60 million, but the number of Maxmillions prizes offered will increase to 42.

Good morning. Events of interest Saturday include the Briton House Winter Fest, the Maurice Cody Winterfest and a book signing and presentation by Alan Redway at Walter Stewart Library in East York. Details on the South Bayview Bulldog Bulletin Board.

Uber appears to be getting ready to deliver groceries but just how is not quite clear. It has posted an opening for a “head of grocery product” whatever that may mean. As is known, the digital taxi firm has had great success delivering food by way of Uber Eats. The most reasonable surmise given its history is that Uber will try to muscle in on the Instacart style of business. That is, contracting with grocers to deliver orders. It seems unlikely that Uber is going to go head to head with brick and mortar players like Loblaws, Longo’s, Metro or even Rabba.

The Supreme Court of Canada has found in a 9-0 decision that a reporter for Vice Media must give the RCMP material he gathered for stories about an accused ISIS terrorist. This outcome has been met with a typically misguided response by some reporters. Canadian Press says it will be seen as making reporters an arm of the police. Vice Media declared the SCOC unanimous decision “a dark day for press freedom.” Such interpretations are demonstrably untrue and represent a disservice to a free press. The media in Canada is free. It must, of course, operate within the law in a land where there is eminent rule of law. There is nothing to fear in this context. Seasoned, sensible jouralists know that the cardinal protection of a free press is freedom from prior restraint to publish. But reporters are not — nor should they be — beyond the law.

Back-to-back earthquakes measuring 7 and 5.80 magnitude have slammed Anchorage and areas nearby. The City sits on two “plates” which tend to shift about every few years. The first of these quakes rivalled but did not exceed the 9.2 quake that demolished parts of Anchorage in 1964.