Class of 1812

Away to Niagara-on-the-Lake, the first capital of Ontario and supposedly the Prettiest Town in Canada, which well may be true if your idea of urban beauty is seeing grand old dowagers nicked and tucked and botoxed so they have all the charm of a Disneyland bordello . . . I prefer the scars and pockmarks of reality.

Not to worry, we spent most of our day at Fort George, where the Niagara River meets Lake Ontario, a historical site from the War of 1812, during which Canada's British masters kept the fiendish Yankee army at bay.

Interesting to see the Brit class system operating during times of war, the troops living in quarters that have a more-than-slight touch of concentration camp chic (Click Here) , while the Officers' Quarters (Click Here) may best be summed up in the literature provided, "Officers expected to live like gentlemen and those at Fort George were no exception. They attempted to recreate in their living quarters the high material and social structures they were accustomed to back home in Great Britain."

Ironically, perhaps, the Officers' Quarters is the only building on the site with air conditioning.

Oh, Canada!

PS. The two linked photographs are now re-linked.