Hands down, this was the best July 1 celebration I've ever had! Trafalgar Square was taken over by a crowd of red and white wearing Canucks, and I joined some friends I'd met from SWAP there for the day. Well, sort of. There was a good deal of bar-hopping thrown in as well! We roamed around the square for a while, then wandered over to the Canadian High Commission next to the square, where PETA was protesting the seal hunt. I wish I had taken a picture, but I was carrying what looked like a leather bag and I didn't want to give them reason to attack me with flour or some other idiotic thing that they are known to do... A description shall have to suffice. They had a table set up, slanted forward slightly, with two red strips of colour on the outside, imitating the Canadian flag. In the middle, replacing the maple leaf, was a woman in pasties and a bikini bottom, covered in a red paint-like substance that dripped down to suggest blood. I guess she was pretending to be the seal. Two women stood on either side of the table with signs that said something to the effect of 'Don't go to Canada this summer, they kill widdle baby seals!' This set me off on a PETA rant right in front of them that had something to do with the fact that so many of their ads and protests objectify women's bodies for the sake of saving animals and that I thought they were idiots, but thankfully they didn't throw any leftover paint at me.
After viewing the PETA display we spent a few hours at The Maple Leaf, which is a Canadian-themed bar near Covent Garden. It was already packed -- I think the locals were confused by the presence of bouncers at the door at noon and rowdy Canadians going in and out (one Brit stopped us and asked, 'Is this, like, National Canada Day or something?') It was just so great. Everyone was happy and completely willing to talk to complete strangers, simply because we were all from the same country. I think it was my favourite Canada Day so far because we were all excited about being able to unite over our country while away from it. Felt like that to me anyway. It was awesome. Anyway, because of the happiness (inspired, I'm sure, by booze at least as much as patriotism) everyone was in a great mood. We stole a few people away from their tables and took them back to Trafalgar Square, where they were serving POUTINE! Delish. The exchange between me and the British chick dishing up the poutine went something like this:
Me: 'Could you put a bit more gravy on that, please?'
Chick: 'Sniff. You don't want it too soggy, you know.'
Me: (thinking) 'Hon, I actually eat this stuff. Trust me, it's not too soggy. I want more gravy! Please.'
A Tim Hortons stand was also in operation, and although the coffee tasted exactly the same as the nasty stuff at home... it was the best tasting nasty taste of home ever. And a Timmies Bostom Cream donut. Bliss.
Music got under way later in the day, and the highlights for me were seeing Hawksley Workman and Jully Black. That woman is fierce!
The day ended, sadly, without fireworks, but with what I can only describe as a cute attempt to create a maple leaf out of people on the ground. Security was not amused. It was awesome.
Here are the pictures...
The Maple Leaf decked out for Canada Day
Us with two random guys we picked up
Us again with the two random guys and a random girl we picked up!
Matt (in the middle) is American but we dubbed him an honourary Canadian for the day - especially since he wore the closest thing to a red shirt he owned.
Timmie's coffee!
Canada House, one of the locations of the Canadian High Commission, is right beside Trafalgar Square.
That's how many people were in the lower part of the square. Just the lower part. And look - Mounties! (Or people cunningly dressed as Mounties.)
Hawksley!
Jully!
The sort-of maple leaf on the ground as security bellows at us to leave.
