I arrvied in Toronto Wednesday last week for a whirlwind two days of meetings with friends that included:

• Lady Sarah and Annabel (who I visited directly from the airport, jet lagged and all);
• Diana, the person responsible for running Toronto Island for the City (who I visited on a uber rainy Friday afternoon at the Rectory with my dear friend [and boss] Donna;
• Blee, Cousin Richard, Mimi and Jim (who did sushi with me thoroughly spun with jetlag on Wednesday night); and,
• Franco (aka tomatoboi) who I finally managed to meet up with, which was great (Franco and I share a passion for all things aviation related. Great to finally meet you!)

1) Lady Sarah and Annabel; 2) the greatest boss in the world!

3) moi and Diana enjoying lunch at the Rectory on Toronto Island; 4) the Rectory

On Friday night I attended the 3rd annual Equality for Gays and Lesibans Everywhere (EGALE) Gala at the new Ritz Carlton Hotel. As G was in Vancouver, Blee kindly stood in as my date and did a smashing job. Thanks! The evening was good fun with MC Elvira Kirk on game as she always is. Her opening zinger comparing the Ritz Carlton ballroom’s chandeliers to labia set the tone for the evening. We were conveniently sat right behind Elizabeth May (Leader of the Canadian Federal Green Party) who was a hoot and her fundraising push on stage with Canadian Liberal Party member, the one and only, Bob Rae was perfect political satire. Also in the house that night were Minister of Research and Innovation (and good friend of the program I manage) Glen Murray; former MP (friend, and friend of the program I manage) Rob Oliphant; Olivia Chow (wife of the recently deceased Leader of Her Majesty’s Official Opposition, Jack Layton); and two former Chief Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada (thanks to both for making gay marriage legal in Canada).  Dinner was excellent and served by white gloved waiters. Billy Newton Davis (gosh, remember him?!) was the evening’s entertainment.

A

5) the EGALE Gala … does that chandelier look like labia?

6) my table; 7) catching up with dear friend, and opera mate, Neville (yes that is a stripper pole in the background but this is the EGALE Gala afterall)

8) appetizer was a crab cake; 9) the main was kobe beef

9) dessert was an apple tart

Saturday morning at god o’clock had me on yet another flight to London to spend a longish weekend at Riverside with the family. It was SO nice to come home and recover from way too much flying of late. Home-cooked food, time with my mom and papa, a bed I knew all were great! Sunday I visited Lady Kay, my grandmother, who in 2 weeks time will be turning – 100 hundred years old! Isn’t that amazing and gawd, doesn’t she look great?! She still goes down 5 days week for exercise classes.

10) Lady Kay and I in London … is she not the greatest woman alive?!!! At nearly 100 … gosh, I’m so blessed to have her. She thought my iPhone was so funny

11) mom has the table ready; 12) out in Papa’s garden there are still wonderfully lovely things

13) more garden; 14) even the birds are still enjoying it

15 & 16) Sunday mom cooked the darnest ham ever

17) and there was plenty of roast veggies; 18) and a salad with beetroot .. mmm my favourite

19 & 20) Friday night Papa hauled out the grill for our steaks … he was not cutting the steaks with those clippers, honest!

21) Papa and Chloe; 22) dinner nears completion

23 & 24) my niece with Sadie, the world’s highest jumping doggie

I’m back to Vancouver (and OMG so sick of travelling) but looking forward to our next adventure, over Thanksgiving, to – wait for it – one of the world’s best hotels and certainly one of the best in North America (or, at least, as rated by Travel & Leisure magazine; see here) the Wickaninnish Inn in Tofino.