Happy 1/1/11!

Earlier today I noticed the significance of the date. I'm afraid I didn't notice this in time to mark the significance of 1:11 or of 11:11. In this past year, I think I noticed 10/10/10, but didn't pay attention at 10:10 on 10/10/10. This year, we have 11/11/11 to look forward to, but since that's Remembrance Day, it might not seem entirely appropriate to be jovial at 11:11.



Yesterday I saw out 2010 with Toronto friends. First we spent a few hours at a Korean BBQ place, where you have a flaming grill in the middle of the table and are supplied with boxes of raw meat to place on the grill. We went for the all you can eat option, apart from the one vegetarian in our number, in front of whom the stack of meat was put.



After some circular meanderings in search of coffee which ended in a McDonalds, we joined a few thousand other people in Nathan Phillips Square outside City Hall, where City TV was hosting a new year bash. We found our way to a spot where we had a diagonal view of some of what was happening on stage, though everything was visible on video screens. They had a number of singers and bands performing, who were presumably famous, along with some competitions, celebrity greetings and chit-chat. I noted that in the UK we don't have dedicated TV channels like City TV for each major city, but then in the UK this kind of event wouldn't be interrupted for commercial breaks.



We were packed in fairly tightly, especially in the last half hour or so before midnight, when some rather excitable young ladies behind us tried to move forward and then were trying to dance to the music whilst jammed against the people around them. I spent the last 15-20 minutes before midnight trying to resist being pushed forward or losing my balance, as this could have sent several other people flying as well. Nevertheless, this contributed to the festive atmosphere alongside a sense of ritual endurance of making it through to the new year and the accompanying fireworks.



Making it out of the crowd afterwards was also something of a rite of passage. Whilst leaving the square, we managed to lose each other a couple of times, despite being within what usually would be a few seconds walk of each other. A number of the major downtown streets, notably Yonge Street, Toronto's historic central high street, were closed to traffic to accommodate the swarms of humanity.





We found our way to Fran's diner to eat dessert (or poutine in my case) whilst the crowds thinned out, and eventually we took the subway - free and running until 4 am for the occasion - to our respective homes.



Last night I heard about the tradition of the levée, a custom originating in Europe but survivingly largely only in Canada, where public officials host receptions on New Year's Day for those they serve. The Wikipedia article is instructive and entertaining in places:

In colonial times, when the formalities of the levée had been completed, guests were treated to wine and cheeses from the homeland. Wines did not travel well during the long ocean voyage to Canada. To make the cloudy and somewhat sour wine more palatable it was heated with alcohol and spices. The concoction came to be known as le sang du caribou ("reindeer blood").

Under British colonial rule the wine in le sang du caribou was replaced with whisky (which travelled better). This was then mixed with goat's milk and flavoured with nutmeg and cinnamon to produce an Anglicized version called "moose milk". Today's versions of moose milk, in addition to whisky (or rum) and spices may use a combination of eggnog and ice cream, as well as other alcoholic supplements.

However, the article notes, "Today the levée has evolved from the earlier, more boisterous party into a more sedate and informal one."

Today the Lieutenant Govenor of Ontario was hosting a levée at Fort York which I wasn't up in time for, whilst the mayor was hosting one at City Hall a little later. Toronto's recently elected mayor, Rob Ford, is a rather polarising figure, and I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have voted for him if I'd been eligible to do so, but I thought that, given that he was offering hospitality, I would take him up on the offer.

I got to City Hall and found my way to the back of a long queue, which I wasn't expecting. A lot of the people around me in the queue seemed to have supported him in the election. One was talking about how he was put off putting gravy on his Thanksgiving turkey because Rob Ford was campaigning against the "gravy train" at City Hall: "I had the gravy right there on the table, but then Rob's face appeared on the side of the turkey and I just couldn't do it. It didn't stop me carving the turkey though." I'm not sure whether or not his tongue was in his cheek.


(ice rink outside City Hall)

Passing the time while waiting, my neighbour, an Asian lady who had been a volunteer in Rob Ford's campaign, starting doing what looked like Tai Chi exercises or somesuch, including wielding an unfurled umbrella in a slightly alarming manner. She was fairly friendly and chatty though when not twirling her hands in circles and holding her leg out in front of her.

It was getting on for an hour before I got to the front of the line, relinquished my bags to security, and wished the mayor a happy new year. He said something in reply and then I was free to get my refreshments in the rotunda. I was expecting food, especially as I hadn't had breakfast, but none appeared to be forthcoming. What was on offer was coffee and fruit juice. I'm not sure if this is standard for the more sedate levées of today or if this was a sign of this mayor's cost-cutting frugality. It was an interesting cultural experience, which I'm glad I participated in, but I suspect the lieutenant governor might have thrown more of a party, so if I'm here on New Year's Day next year, I might pay him a visit instead.

Happy new year!