Happy Canada Day, all! I’ve been watching the celebrations on CBC and thinking about Canada. On August 3, 1992, I left Chester, a city in the North West of England, for good and arrived in Toronto. I cannot believe it has been almost 15 years since I moved here. I have never been so unhappy about anything in my entire life, but I must say, all these years later, that it was a good decision. While I still feel as though I missed out on a lot, I’ve been able to do so many things that I never would have even thought of if I’d stayed in the U.K. That being said, my resolve to eventually return home is stronger than ever, but I no longer resent moving to Canada.

I finally went to Ireland Park. Spending Friday afternoon there with Caro and Sandra was bittersweet, as Caro moved back to Quebec on Saturday morning, but we had a wonderful time. I spent most of it taking photographs of the statues. Here are a couple of my favourites. If you’d like to see more, there are some posted on my photoblog.

While we were enjoying the sun at Eireann Quay, a City TV reporter and camera operator came to the park. They were shooting a small piece by the edge of the water and we could hear them talking about pirates. Since we are members of the pirate roller derby team, Caro just happened to have an eye patch (complete with skull and crossbones) with her. I offered it to the reporter, in case he wanted to appear more “pirate-y.” He laughed, and told us about the story that brought him there.

Last week, when Ireland Park was officially opened, finance minister Jim Flaherty was present. Our new reporter friend had decided to do some research and came across Mr. Flaherty’s background. His clan, the O’Flaherty’s, originally from County Galway, has a long history of fighting and pillaging. So much so, that a sign reported to hang over the west gates of Galway read, “from the ferocious O’Flahertys may God protect us.” So there you have it folks, the man who takes your taxes is actually a pirate!