Winter has socked in here in Canada and the snow piles are huge but we are used to it; in my lifetime I have seen big snow winters and small snow winters but the temperature is pretty consistent. Cleared away the snow on the porch and patio again yesterday and it is punky now because it is so cold the moisture is sucked out of it. If it is a big pile you have to break it up to move it because it is like bricks which is why the Inuit built igloos to live in in the past. But then I lived in southwestern Ontario until I was in my early 30s and it is a different story with huge snowfalls because of lake effect snow - we had two great lakes closeby - Huron and Erie. They could dump a lot of snow on us in London. But we are equipped to move it and the grader has come down the streets here a couple of times filling the laneway. That is why I have the company mostly to move that heavy load which would take me considerably longer.
Some work on the Blake material yesterday but mostly cleaning and that is all done now for the week. It is mostly just to keep the dust down as the house being closed up like it is for the winter a lot of dust collects. I have taken to sticking the vacuum hose down the ducts for the heat flow just to keep more of the dust out of the pipes. Maybe it works who knows.
I do want to continue the will of Robert Blake who died in 1521 leaving three sons - Richard, Robert and Thomas. These three men also left their wills as did their sons making for a good tree coming down as they mentioned their siblings and sometimes their nephews and nieces. The reference to Robert Boswell who was the father in law of the William Blake at Speen, Berkshire did generate thoughts on how the Blake family at Andover might be related to the Blake family in Berkshire and my speculation that the Blake family in Berkshire is descendant of Richard le Blak found on the Pipe Rolls at Wargrave (near Windsor), Berkshire in 1301. The movement towards the Wiltshire border is noted by finding them at Speen and then into Hungerford and down into Calne. The works created by Blake family members in 1690 and later in the latter part of the 1890s have introduced material that is also speculation but the 1690 is corrected by the 1890 material. However the 1890 material introduced the speculation by a fraudulent genealogist Horatio Gates Somerby concerning the Andover Blake family. My "raison d'être" is to introduce my own speculation (hopefully with sufficient proof) that this linking between the Calne Blake family and the Andover Blake family is much more ancient than either of these two charts demonstrate.
I am still spending time on Duolingo learning/relearning Latin and French. My son in law is French Canadian and my intent to continue with that research is strong and in the future but I must improve my french in order to read more documents that I have acquired. I can get the gist of it but I want absolute accuracy and I am doing well with French as I recall the words from the past quiet efficiently as it turns out and that works for me. But it is also good to improve my spoken french once again as I was actually bilingual in my job. But I have become lazy in my old age plus I simply do not talk that much to people in general - we are all busy!
Tea is ready to drink and I shall work on my Solitaire puzzles. I rather think I am going to continue my membership as I really do enjoy doing my puzzles and they send it to me in Canadian dollars which is great (although I will look around to see if there is another program that is Canadian; I have a couple of subscriptions that are American companies - Ancestry and Microsoft and Netflix - there is a new series on Winston Churchill that was extremely revealing concerning the Second World War). As a country of 41 million we would be a great loss to American companies that have created their business plan including us. Why not we share an enormous border across which passes millions of dollars in trade every day both ways and considering the number of American companies in Canada who actually have infrastructure here (and there are many) I say as I always do that we buy far more American than they buy Canadian simply because they are eight times larger and can produce far more items especially cotton which does not grow here, fresh vegetables in the winter and so much more! We had all of those industries (except cotton and fresh vegetables in the winter like cauliflower and broccoli) but free enterprise is a powerful tool that, if allowed, produces the best situation for the peoples of a country but it must be free of government interference. I think it is a pity to uproot American companies who have had the foresight to see how this great friendship has built such a strong economy on both sides of the border. Canadians buy a lot of cars - this a huge country and everything is far away that you want generally even vacations. The great thing about turning 16 here is learning to drive and then the next acquisition is a car for sure. That is how our youth thinks and more power to them (they live at home just so they can own a car!). When I was still living at home (married at 20) we had four cars in the laneway (I have six siblings and later there were more as the ones younger than me grew up and acquired a car). For us it is the passage from childhood to adulthood. We had our own car industries and we are clever people and can create anything we need if we need to. But the status quo works for us otherwise!
Arguing politics was part of my growing up and especially my uncle would present all the arguments to me when I was there in my teen years. Even in his old age in his letters he had his opinions which were always strong. I think that my grandfather was like that (he died at 53 when my mother was eight) and he learned from the best his mother's first cousin was Sir John Carling who was very active in politics from the days before Confederation into Confederation and still there in the times as Canada added more and more provinces to become the great Country it is now. The Westminster Model of governance is the best I have ever seen but I am biased (I will put pressure on the Conservatives to make it illegal to prorogue Parliament; it is not a good fit for our democracy when it can extend for months at a time; a week to cool heads would be fine but not for months). My grandfather loved to discuss politics my grandmother said (and she did not that was for sure) and he would present all the arguments to her time and again. The Westminster Model of government is a very stable and fair system which allows for so many opinions and checks and balances in order to protect what really is the most important item in a country. Their industry and it is the industry that should dictate how they manage for the most part in order to create the best scenario for a country but we do need to protect that industry so that the benefits are there for the users. The habit of looking for the cheapest place outside of the normal area to produce items is a negative growth and must be cropped (government does that). Uniformity amongst allies is the best methodology so that you produce at a good price and create a strong middle class of the users of the industries thus supporting the industries - that was the purpose of NAFTA and later CUSMA. If it is lost then we must begin again and recreate our industries. Greed for money in the short term destroys good industry.
Looking forward to CFB Iqaluit, doubling the number of Rangers and the icebreakers. I guess we know how I am going to vote. Building up our military is the most important thing for the future and it has been neglected but we can do it. Our youth is strong and eager to take up the reins of supporting Canada and they can create any industry that we need if necessary.
The good news of the day from the Prime Minister is a new high speed train between Quebec City and Toronto. This is a brilliant addition to Canada and will help to make trade between the provinces even more efficient. One of the reasons that the British Commonwealth is so great is the decentralization of government from the days of the Empire. Countries were encouraged to set up their own system of governance following the Westminster Model although it was not forced on them. Government when it becomes too centralized over a large area becomes less efficient and the Commonwealth is a good example of efficiency within that group of nations that look back to the mother country as their example. They are all independent pretty much now and self-governing providing a good living for the peoples in their country in as much as they are able. There is a lot to be said for free-standing countries. In Canada's case we are lucky to have the First Nations very involved in all levels of government here; they have the knowledge of the land and how to work it. I look forward to the upcoming election to be honest. Canada can and has stood tall and alone many times but we are the best friend to our neighbours as that is just our way. I can think of so many great things that we have, as a country, created including the St Lawrence Seaway which was a massive task for a small country on our own but we did it well. Now I must get some work done; this workaholic has too many fingers in the pie.
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