Mass in Woodbridge, Visit to the McMichael Art Collection in Kleinburg, Visit to a British Grocery Store in Oakville, Visit to Llew’s Aunt Josephine and Sunday Family Dinner at Home

Sunday, September 8, 2024

Woodbridge, Kleinburg and Oakville, Ontario, Canada

Mass in Woodbridge, Visit to the McMichael Art Collection in Kleinburg, Visit to a British Grocery Store in Oakville, Visit to Llew’s Aunt Josephine and Sunday Family Dinner at Home

We had an extraordinarily eventful day! Starting from the Get-go, when we had our breakfasts and left for the 10.30 am Mass (Ryan drove us there and stayed for the Mass), till we went to bed at night, we were on the Go, Go, Go.

Mass at St. Catherine of Assisi Church:

As Ryan drove us to church, we left home just ten minutes before Mass began. It was a nice service with the added gift, given to each of us, of an icon of Our Blessed Mother as today is her Feast Day. If we were still in Bandra, we’d be celebrating Bandra Feast today as the Birthday of our Lady is celebrated world-wide. We queued up after Mass to receive the icon (one per family) but I took a second one for Russel.

A Wonderful Visit to the McMichael Art Collection:

After Mass, we made a quick detour to pick up Sharon, Ryan’s wife, and then with her in the car, we drove to our next port of call: The McMichael Art Collection which is not far from Sylvia’s place in Vaughn. It’s in the small town of Kleinburg, Ontario, which was about a half hour’s drive away.

I had never even heard of this museum, but Sylvia informed me that her late husband, Tony, was very keen for us to visit this place. Had he still been living, we’d have all made an excursion to this venue together. As it was, Sylvia decided to honor his wishes and pay for us to enjoy a visit there. I was fortunate enough to be given a free ticket to enter on the strength of my Met ID card. Sylvia treated the rest to tickets—again, in accordance with Tony’s wishes.

From the time we entered the vast property that houses this collection, I was charmed. For one thing, it is delightfully isolated, in a non-residential part of Ontario. Set in a sprawling wooded property, the approach is a long driveway, both sides of which have been converted into a sculpture garden. Had we time, we could have strolled through the property to admire the sculptural work, as a lot of visitors seemed to be doing. The grounds were already showing evidence of the arrival of Autumn. There were maple trees already exhibiting splashes of vivid red and many trees had already yellowed. Appropriately, there was also a lovely nip in the air, so that I was grateful for my light down jacket and scarf. I love fall fashion and I feel sorry that I no longer get to wear scarves or blazers.

Since time was of the essence, we headed straight for the car park. Just a little later, we were entering the lovely modern building that was custom-designed to house a collection of Canadian Art. The collection was started by Robert and Signe McMichael in 1952, when the couple purchased land in the village of Kleinburg. Moved by the natural environment, the McMichaels began collecting works of art by Tom Thomson, the Group of Seven and their contemporaries, who also drew inspiration from the natural landscape. In 1965, when they offered their home and artwork to the Province of Ontario, their collection comprised 194 paintings. Today, there are 6,500 items in the permanent collection. Even before we entered, we took a picture by a sculpture of a polar bear with her calf. It set the tone beautifully for the items on display inside.

Once inside and after our tickets had been purchased (Sylvia’s treat), we got to know that there was a docent tour to be given shortly. We decided to take it and were treated to a lovely walk-through of a special exhibition entitled, “River of Dreams: Impressionism on the St. Lawrence”. We were stunned by this exhibition as it introduced us to the Quebecois artists who followed in France’s Impressionist tradition to produce works that appropriated their techniques and colors but juxtaposed them against Canadian themes and subjects. We saw Impressionist Works by A Y Jackson, James Wilson Morrice, Frederick Varley, Emily Carr, Franklin Carmichael, A J Casson, Lionel Fitzgerald, Lauren Harris, Mullen, etc. in the special exhibition. These have traveled from Montreal to Toronto as the museum there is being renovated. These artists were known as the School of Seven. The guide was highly knowledgeable and she took us through each of the artists represented in the exhibition pointing out landscapes, country pass-times and pleasures, seasonal variations in Nature, etc. Very canvas followed the subtle pastel shades of the French Impressionists and their fondness for blurred lines. We loved the work on display and were truly charmed by it. I also discovered that one of the most famous of Canadian artists is Tom Thomson and that I own a beautiful reversible silk scarf (a Christmas gift from a friend in Bombay) that depicts his depiction of a ‘Forest in Fall’. I was just thrilled when I saw similar scarves depicting his work in the gift shop. I’m pretty certain my scarf was bought here in Canada and presented to me. I will now treat it with renewed respect!

When we finished viewing the special exhibition, we walked through several galleries where we recognized the work of indigenous Canadian artists such as Nerval Morrisseau (whose work we had seen in the AGO). But we did not linger too long as we had a number of other places to cover. Still, overall, the McMichael Collection had been a true revelation to me and I was so delighted I became introduced to Canada’s Impressionists—for who knew of them earlier? Indeed, everything about this museum was wonderful. We LOVED the place—the property (wide-spread sculpture gardens), the architectural design, the layout and curation, the guided tour and the gift shop.

to the British Grocery Store:

A few days ago, while we were chatting, someone had mentioned that there is a store here in Toronto that stocks and sells British groceries. Of course, then, I was very keen to visit it as I was looking for Lyle’s Golden Syrup. I do not get this product in India or in the USA. It is only in the UK that I can stock up on it. Hence, this was on the agenda for me as a must-buy item in Canada.

I was fortunate that Ryan agreed to drive me to a place called Oakville, which turned out to be a really beautiful town with the most enticing shops. Seriously, were I alone or had I more time on my hands, I could have spent an entire morning browsing in those one-of-a-kind boutiques and shops. But the rest of the company with me was not so inclined. So, we found the British store, Ryan dropped us off and went to park and I felt like a kid in a candy store once I was inside. I did find my Golden Syrup and also Colman’s mustard powder, Bisto gravy granules with onion flavor, Border’s Dark chocolate covered ginger biscuits and a couple of other items that I absolutely cannot do without. So, in the end, it was a very successful trip and certainly worth the search and the drive for it.

Visit to an Elderly Aunt:

As we were not far away at all, Llew decided to go and pay a visit to his only surviving aunt on his mother’s side, his Aunt Josephine (his late mother’s late brother John’s wife). She happened to be in an assisted living community and, having received the address and directions from her daughter, Irene, we went to see her. The rest of our group stayed in the car parked outside as we did not intend our visit to be very long.

Aunt Josephine was at the very end of a game of bingo when we found her inside. She is now 96 years old but seems perfectly coherent and lucid in her conversation with us. I am not entirely sure she recognized us or knew who we were, but she chatted away with us as if she had known us forever. We gave her the bouquet of flowers that Llew had picked up for her and at the end of the visit, she invited us to come over to her room—which we did. It is a very cozy and comfortable space, filled with photographs of her family members and personal mementoes, including pictures of her husband, Llew’s Uncle John. It was a brief but very enjoyable visit with her and we were very glad we carved out the time to include this visit as well.

A Family Dinner in Woodbridge:

We had been surviving on snacks that we picked up from the British store (chocolate biscuits, British crisps) and water—so, by the time we reached home, we were starving. As we knew we had a big dinner coming, we had a light late lunch. I made myself a toasted sandwich with cream cheese and had a nice cup of tea.

Later, in the evening, after we had showered and freshened up, Sylvia’s two sons, Ryan and Wayne, their wives Sharon and Amelia and their children came over to her place for dinner as they have been doing every Sunday for decades. Even though Tony is no more (perhaps, all the more reason, because Sylvia is now alone), they come in on a Sunday bringing food with them and their children—six teenagers in number (three for each son). The cousins, of course, have the time of their lives when they are together and the adults are free to gab and catch up with the events of the week.

By the time we decided to have dinner, I found out that Chinese take-out had been ordered as well as pepperoni pizza for the teens. We filled our plates and then sat down to eat as the chattering continued.

And so a very eventful and packed day came to a close. The days are flying and although it is amazing how much we are managing to fit into our stay here in Canada, it is still astonishing to me how quickly Phase Four of our travels will come to an end and we will be headed back to the USA for the start of Phase Five. We really do intend to make the most of our last days here.

Until tomorrow…cheerio.