Staycation

How quickly the world changed. In the Covid league tables, Canada ranks in the middle (as it does in most things) – not celebrated as an international role model, but not to be pitied either. Restrictions in Toronto have been roughly the same as in the UK, with restaurants closed then open then closed again, masks now required in public indoor spaces, and mandatory quarantine after international travel. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Canada’s border with the USA has remained shut since the pandemic began.

For all that, we both feel very grateful for jobs that can be conducted from home (though Harriet has returned to the lab three days per week). Even my organ playing was virtual for a time. We live in a wonderful area of parks and quiet streets for exercising. And we’ve appreciated the time to develop our culinary skills, from ‘British Indian Restaurant’ style curries to vegetarian poutine – and infinite sourdough.

Our trip home in the summer was postponed. Instead, we enjoyed exploring Toronto in wonderful sunshine (and occasional charmingly British drizzle), with treks around Toronto Islands, wildlife-spotting at High Park, and a tour of the immersive Van Gogh exhibition. But by far the highlight was our quintessentially Canadian experience: kayaking in Lake Ontario. (In truth, canoeing is more typically Canadian, but for first-timers they recommend a tandem kayak as the most difficult vessel to capsize. And it worked: even while negotiating busy harbour traffic, we didn’t fall in once.)

As autumn began, we were invited by two dear friends to stay on their family’s island in Georgian Bay, about three hours’ drive from Toronto (plus twenty minutes zooming across Lake Huron in a small motorboat). Generations of Toronto’s oldest and wealthiest families have escaped here for long, hot summers – finding a beautiful landscape made famous by the Group of Seven, and an array of wildlife from otters and beavers to snakes and even bears. Our daily routine could have been taken from the pages of Swallows and Amazons: bathing in the lake, exploring the islands on foot or by rowboat, and curling up with a book by the fire. In a changed world, it was a welcome glimpse of more peaceful times.