FRIENDS OF THE LITTLE SISTERS OF JOY
The HARVEST OF RIGHTEOUSNESS IS SOWN IN PEACE BY THOSE WHO MAKE PEACE.'
Letter of St James 3:18
My dear Friends
What an incredible start to the summer! I left London Gatwick on Air Transaat at 9.45 am. The plane was full of very diverse human beings and the Captain had a job to get everyone to sit down before taking off-everyone was very laid back and listening to Spanish music on the intercom!
I had a pleasant journey with good company and we arrived on time at 12.55 Canadian time.
If you recall, I had a profound mystical experience in June 1988 in a Shrine on the St Lawrence river near Quebec, and ( I checked with the Captain) I can always tell when we are flying over that magical river-I feel it in my bones just before we go past Quebec, onto Ontario and fly like a bird to our destination at Pearson airport.
At Pearson I decided to catch a cab in style and my Moroccan driver took me past the beautiful sights on the road from the airport to downtown Toronto. Everything felt spacious and free and I was ready to have some new experiences.
Gary, my host and an old and treasured friend, greeted me warmly at his four-storey brownstone building in the heart of the Annexe-where artists, poets and musicians abound. This neighbourhood has been deemed the most vibrant neighbourhood in the whole of North America.
One place I was really happy to rediscover was the JCC, the Jewish Cultural Centre. This is a fascinating place for Jews and non-Jews alike, where you can swim and take fitness classes, catch up on your Hebrew lessons and go to concerts or simply grab a coffee in the lovely 2nd Cup cafe, which is a regular meeting place for friends and acquaintances. Sometimes I would place myself there at one of the small tables for breakfast and just see who turned up. Now and again it would be Jewish or Christian ladies with I had something particularly in common.
Just down the street is my favourite bookshop-Ten Editions, run by my friend Susan. You can get just about anything in there in the way of second-hand books and browsing is a delight. Susan and I would have long talks and the store was also frequented by David Brydges, a fellow traveller lodging at Gary's place. He is a poet, amongst many other things, and is trying to arrange a trip by train across Canada for fellow poets and artists, getting them to air their works along the way. What a lovely and novel idea!
An important part of my journey and time in Toronto were my visits to the Native Canadian Centre, right at the bottom of Bloor and Spadina. This thriving meeting place is the centre and hub for the Native Canadians in Toronto and further afield. There is coffee on tap and a warm welcome every day. Once a week there are special evenings where they meet and play drums and have food.
The Native Canadians are part of a rich tapestry of First Nations peoples extending all over Canada, the U.S. ,Mexico and beyond. They go by many names, such as Algonquin and Cherokee and each group is totally unique.
I was introduced to them in a very personal way in the street on the first Sunday I arrived. I met Rose, a Christian who was very warm and friendly. Soon I felt right at home, going to the Centre and sharing food, chatting and occasionally buying gifts from the beautiful Cedar Basket Gift Shop, run by Doris.
This is a shop which draws strands of all different Native Canadian arts and crafts together. There are simple cards and bookmarks with Canadian birds in flight, rugs and shawls, carved animals (my favourite is the Bear) and a selection of T-shirts. Doris and the young trainee shared a little about their upbringing and it turns out that Rose's family comes from Manitoulin Island, a beautiful natural place, shared by Native Canadians and others alike in peace and harmony, and a place of such natural beauty that I long to explore it with Rose one day.
Which seems like a good place to end this newsletter for now.
Shalom
Peace and Friendship
Gila
