catching up

We were invited to the CANFAR event at the Royal Ontario Museum the other night - yes the one disrupted by the moronic art student from the Ontario College of Art and Design who thought it would be a good idea to stage a bomb scare at the museum. The first part of the event was dinner - which was served at a number of venues in the area - to be followed by the main event at the museum, including the fund-raising silent auction. When we got to the part of Bloor just west of the ROM, it was chaos. Streets were closed. There were police everywhere. We were able to have dinner because our venue was outside the potential blast range, but the rest of the event was canceled as a result of the incident and ensuing investigation. If the event was not disrupted, CANFAR would have the full proceeds in the bank, to help them continue their excellent work fighting AIDS. While I'm confident that the excellent organizers behind this event will find a way to re-stage a fund-raiser, it is such a shame that it was disrupted. As an artist, I'm really embarrassed and angry that a young so-called artist in this town would pull a stupid stunt like this.

Tonight we had some former neighbours over for dinner - Gina and her son Paulo. They moved in the spring after 35 years living on our street. They are delightful people, and we had a great time with them. The evening included some "home-made jam", as I broke out a button accordion, and Paulo showed us what he could do banging on my djembe, with Tuffy and Gina playing various percussion instruments. It was so much fun!