Lots of excitement in Sydney this weekend with Aerosmith playing in Open Hearth Park (the Tar Ponds site).   I visited the park a couple of weeks ago (to less fanfare) and enjoyed what I found.  So here is what it looks like without the throngs. We liked the mural that greets you at the parking lot.… Read More

Friday evening we realized we had not been downtown in the streets for a while so in we went. There was a satisfying amount of surface excitement  with all the construction and demolition and  folks sitting on the terraces. What caught my attention was the fragment of an old sign that has been exposed  during the demolition… Read More

Over on the Halifax Examiner site today, a story by Hilary Beaumont began: "they might have marched out of a history text. In a scene nearly indistinguishable from a 1960s civil rights protest. . ." She was describing the local demonstration to show solidarity with protesters in Ferguson, Missouri. There have been many great photos… Read More

A building form I have been trying to be aware of  is the apartment building.  When I grew up in Halifax in the 50s it seemed like there were few multi unit buildings; lots of duplexes (which would be interesting to document).  Over time I've realized there are more  apartment buildings than I was acknowledging and I began to imagine a… Read More

Last time we talked I was waxing rhapsodic about  Scotia Square. I can tell you're unconvinced so let's keep moving. Does the pedway system get enough respect?  There was a time when it was a big deal that we could travel the downtown undercover.  I suspect now we just take it for granted.  And who is responsible for bridges… Read More

Tim Bousquet  has been very generous including links to my blog in his smart news site The Halifax Examiner.   After my last post he offered the opinion that "Stephen Archibald sure has a lot of time on his hands."  Absolutely accurate (he is an award winning investigative journalist). On Thursday I had some time on my hands so I… Read More

Earlier in the summer we had some out of province experiences.  Of course my noticing doesn't stop when we cross the Tantramar so here are some things I thought you would enjoy and even some ideas we could try at home . It is good to watch your step in a new town and in Ottawa… Read More

The Eastern Shore is not obvious. No World Heritage towns, no tours of vineyards in doubledecker buses.  For a couple of days we visited the shore and had more nuanced experiences -  here are some observations for the file. Our destination was  the cottage of friends just beyond  Sheet Harbour, two hours plus drive from the peninsula.  When we… Read More

For someone who lived through the Oil Crisis in the 70s it's embarrassing to have driven to the South Shore three times this week.  But it's summertime and the destinations were classic: the farm, the shore and the lake. Let's see what we can squeeze out of these adventures. The farm was the people's farm - Ross… Read More

Our car was at the dealer for service.  An opportunity to wander without intent looking for glimpses of the authentic. I'm on my own but thinking about what would be fun to share with you co-conspirators. As I  set out from the Robie Street location it feels like it's all been seen before.  But I look closely,… Read More