1) Riverside – planters on the sill

I dashed back to London Friday to spend the weekend once again with the family and to be on-hand when my beautiful niece, P, graduated. It was great to be there and well worth the short jaunt before returning to Toronto to be on hand for some of my Toronto team’s training.

While there has been altogether too much travel this trip and I must admit a certain fatigue, it was still worth it to visit family and friends.

2) visiting Lady Kay, my grandmother, who will be turing 101 later this year; 3) at Riverside there is always time for card games in the recroom; (sigh) that’s our dear Pekingeses – Dodi and T’ang – sadly gone, framed in the background. For the record, I did not win!

4) Niece P looking breathtaking; she really out just model permanently and skip schooling! Oops, sorry sis, I didn’t say that. Get to college P!

On Saturday, at Riverside, I opted to get micro and see the gardens from a closer vantage point. Something you often miss when taking in the sweep on a grander scale. Here’s some pictures from that sojourn.

5 & 6) in the gardens

7 & 8) in the gardens

9 & 10) in the gardens

11) dinner? 12) in the gardens

13) mom attends to one of the feeders

14) mom prepares a fish duo (Norwegian salmon and arctic char) – butter sauce was courtesy moi; 15) pre dessert is a cheese tray

16) with the cheese comes good Portuguese port

Back in Toronto, I met Blee and Cousin Richard for dinner at Hawker Bar, a self-styled Singaporean-style restaurant on Ossington. It was very good – and ambiance aside which is wholly uncharacteristic of any hawker market experience I had in Singapore – was very good. The wings and chili salt tofu particularly so.

17) the menu; 18) its a tiny hole in the way place

19) Blee with a Tiger beer, but of course; 20) the cucumber salad

21) Singaporean chicken wings with sweet chili soy sauce; 22) chili salt tofu

23) laksa (lovely and spicy); 24) whole fried Branzino with banana blossom salad

Onwards now, next stop Whistler!