Nick Tahou Hots - Home of the Garbage Plate, 1992

Nick Tahou's Hots is the seediest place I have ever been in - it was 24 hour in 1992 but I went there midday so I didn't get the druggie hooker patrons that made the place quite interesting after midnight. It is famous for 'the Garbage Plate', which is pretty much anything you could get in an all-night cafe thrown together:

 The Garbage Plate. I can't remember what was in it, but you can see macaroni salad and home fries. The waiter recommended getting "the full garbage plate experience" so I probably had everything available on it -   cheeseburger, hamburger, red hots, white hots, Italian sausage, chicken tender, fish (haddock), fried ham, grilled cheese, eggs, home fries, French fries, baked beans, and macaroni salad, according to Wikipedia plus mustard onions, and Nick's proprietary hot sauce.

It looks exactly the same today! 320 W. Main Street, Rochester, NY

Freedom to Read Week at the Bookshelf, Guelph, c. 1992

 The late Paul Quarrington

 The late Timothy Findley, reading  the also late Thorgeir Thorgeirsson's poems. Thorgeir was an Icelandic poet who had been convicted after criticizing the local police for beating up people. 

 Left to right, Arthur Black, Brian bookshelf staff, talented fabric artist, Barbara Gowdy, Rick Salutin, Nino Ricci

Cafe owner Doug Minnet, in front of a chalkboard drawing by Nick Craine

Yeltsin walks to Parliament, Ottawa, 1992

Russian president Boris Yeltsin visited Ottawa in 1992 - he laid a wreath at the war memorial and then was going to parliament by motorcade - he looked up and saw that it was only a block or so away and decided on the spot to walk there instead of going by car. So of course panic ensued as the security people formed  a perimeter around him. One photo I really missed was the look on the face of people on a municipal bus as they looked down and saw Yeltsin standing right in front of them and waving.

 Walking past the Governor-General's Foot Guards

 Hey, it's a nice day. Forget the car, let's walk! Security guys race ahead.

Panic ensues!

Canaries on a 45!

The Blue Danube and La Paloma, as twittered by a canary

Unfortunately the 45 in this sleeve was not the same! However you can hear an extract of The Blue Danube by the Parker Canaries here! I'd say that they just dubbed the canaries in, although I like to imagine canaries sitting on a perch next to a bespangled Hal Pearl on the Wurlitzer organ in the Aragon ballroom in 1953. 

Sammy's Variety, 93 Elizabeth Street, Guelph, c. 1993

Sammy's Variety c.1993 - now closed - someone has done huge tags over this sign, as can be seen on the google map streetview, so I'm glad I saved this! It was run by a very nice Taiwanese man.

Ship entering the St. Lawrence River seen from Dufferin Terrace, Quebec City

Ship entering the St. Lawrence River seen from Dufferin Terrace, Quebec City around 1989

War of 1812 reenactment, Glengarry Pioneer Museum, Dunvegan, Ontario

 Metis trader, Northwest Company

 American Invaders

 19th Light Dragoons saddle

Dragoon with anachronistic cell phone