Curling

On Tuesday night we tried curling for the first time. The best description I can give you is 'lawn bowls on ice, plus sweeping up', but that doesn't really do the sport justice. The truth is, curling is surprisingly challenging, somewhat dangerous and a whole lot of fun!

The basic premise of the game is that two teams of four players take turns sliding 20kg granite curling stones down a narrow sheet of ice, aiming to finish with more stones in the centre of a target than the other team. The handle of the stone is turned slightly as it's released, which makes it 'curl' in an arc as it travels down the ice. After you let go of the stone, two of your teammates use special brooms to sweep the ice directly ahead of it, which allows the stone to travel faster.

The surface of the ice has a 'pebbled' texture, so it's not quite as slippery as a skating rink. Nevertheless, our group had some spectacular falls while curling and sweeping, which must have provided great entertainment to the more experienced players nearby.

We were lucky to have a seasoned curler on hand to show us the ropes (rocks?). Parker was very encouraging of our efforts, despite our complete lack of technique. He also hinted at the complex strategic nature of the game, which is nicknamed 'chess on ice'. Unfortunately even our best attempts resulted in little to no control of where the stone actually ended up, so strategy didn't really get a look in.

If you ever find yourself in the unique situation where someone invites you to go curling, I would thoroughly recommend the experience. I think it only appropriate that I end with the curling community's favourite saying, intended to convey a spirit of excellent sportsmanship: Good curling!

 

The Yonge and the Restless

Yonge Street (pronounced 'young') is (debatably) the longest street in the world, running 1896km from Lake Simcoe (about an hour's drive north of Toronto) all the way south to Lake Ontario.

It's considered to be the centre of the city, quite literally, as it divides all the perpendicular streets in downtown Toronto into east and west (e.g. Queen Street West, King Street East etc). Yonge street is also seen as as a major cultural hub, containing famous landmarks such as the Eaton Centre, Yonge-Dundas Square, the Elgin & Winter Garden Theatre, the Sony Centre and the Hockey Hall of Fame. Many large festivals and parades are held down Yonge street including Buskerfest, Pride Parade,  Celebrate Yonge, Live Green Toronto, Zombie Walk and the St Patrick's Day Parade. It's also home to the Yonge-University-Spadina subway line, which celebrates it's 60th birthday this year as Canada's first subway.

Yesterday (as well as last year), I had the pleasure of running down this famous street at the Toronto Yonge Street 10km run. It's a great event, as the gentle downhill slope and generally cooler temperatures in April make for a very fast race. I was happy to cross the finish line in 55:37, over a minute faster than last year! There was a fantastic atmosphere in the crowd, partly due to the thrill of running down the middle of what is usually a very busy street, but mainly because it feels so good to get outside again after such a long, cold winter!

April Showers Bring May Flowers

That's an actual saying apparently, I'm not making this up. I think I prefer T.S. Elliot's bleaker reflection that "April is the cruellest month".

Spring officially started over two weeks ago, yet today it's been raining non-stop with a high of 8 (feels like 4) and a low of -4 degrees. This seems like such a let down after surviving the bitterly cold winter. For some reason I feel the need to tell everyone I come across that "this isn't Spring where I come from!".

I so desperately want it to be warm again! I want to see colourful flowers and fresh grass and leafy green trees! I eagerly await the day that I can leave the apartment wearing just a t-shirt and jeans! Or a lovely dress. A DRESS! Imagine!