Dalnavert Museum and the Forks, Winnipeg

Right. This is definitely a record. Winnipeg has got to be the furthest I have ever been from the sea! It’s slap bang in the middle of Canada, so I must be well over 2,000 km from both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Bear with me while I freak out. Eeeeeek!

Right. Now I have that out of my system, I must say that I was almost equally dumbfounded by how green the city is. And I’d thought that Montreal was green! From the air, Winnipeg looks like a huge forest that just happens to have a city tucked away inside it.

I found the name Winnipeg intriguing. What’s that about? It turns out that it comes from the Western Cree name, ‘winipīhk’, which means ‘muddy water’. Charming! Although that brings me to something else I noticed: there seem to be ponds and small lakes everywhere, which may in part explain the fact that there are geese everywhere! And I mean everywhere. I came across this guy parading around in front of the Manitoba Legislative Building as if he owned the place.

A staff member who had just left the building confessed to the Oldies as she hurried past that she was absolutely terrified of the geese. It sounds like Winnipeg may not be the ideal city for her, but it might suit me after all. If it’s good enough for geese, it should be good enough for gulls!

Indeed, the more I looked, the more I realised that there’s no shortage of water around here. Although Lake Winnipeg is over 50km away, the city itself lies on the confluence of the Assiniboine and Red Rivers. Imagine, there are traces of human settlement and trading activities on the banks of these rivers going back 6,000 years! I was glad to see that the Oldies soon became regulars at The Forks, as this area is known, with its numerous amenities from parks to museums to shopping centres to youth theatre… though I suspect that their main focus of interest was the food hall in the Forks Market, with its extensive range of local and international fare.

Astonishingly, on their many trips to the Forks and Downtown Winnipeg, the Wingless Wonders weren’t always thinking of their stomachs. They sought out a bit of culture on occasion. I don’t know what they did to deserve it, but they got VIP treatment all the way when they went on a private tour of the Dalnavert Museum. This elegant 19^th century mansion, once the home of the son of a former prime minister, has been beautifully and skilfully restored.

As we moved through the house, I felt I had stepped back in time. It was a fascinating glimpse into the daily life, over a hundred years ago, of this well-to-do family. A life that was much more complicated in some ways, but in others, so much simpler than life today, with all its high tech and mod cons.

The Oldies received another warm welcome into a completely different type of residence – a tipi! Their interest in the protest encampment set up by First Nations peoples on the east side of the Manitoba Legislative Building did not go unnoticed.

I think they were as surprised as I was when the camp leader waved us over and invited us inside the tipi, where a large log fire was burning in the centre. What an amazing sight! – although it took a few minutes for my eyes to adjust to the dark and smoky interior.

Knowing that His Lordship cannot stand smoke, I mentally bet on him having to exit, coughing and spluttering, in about two seconds flat. Incredibly, he seemed completely unperturbed and he remained seated, listening intently as Rob, the camp leader, explained about the group’s struggle for recognition of their rights under the treaties.

Rob also talked about the importance of Mother Earth and the spirits in his culture and explained that the fire was a healing fire. He said he was a smoker and had had to use an inhaler before moving to the camp. Now, having lived in the tipi for 18 months (in that climate!), he no longer needed the inhaler. I had to take his word for that, but His Lordship not choking on the spot was nothing short of a miracle!

I have since heard that the group was later evicted and their encampment bulldozed. But with the forces of nature on their side, I somehow suspect it will take more than a bulldozer to beat Rob and his fellow protesters.