Just another Saturday morning…
One of the many things I love about living in this city. The Wonderful Husband and I were on our way out of town to a friend’s cottage last weekend, when a motorcycle police officer zipped into the intersection and stopped the traffic going north. A moment later, we heard the music and saw the red blur approaching.
But of course! It’s the Changing of the Guard. These soldiers were on duty on Parliament Hill. They’ve been replaced by the next shift of guardsmen (and women), and are now marching back to the parade ground. (Which is right next door to my kids’ high school, if that isn’t also very cool?)
We natives tend to forget about these things. 🙂
But though I can forget these everyday details, I refuse to be so blase that I would grouse about sitting there through a change or two of the traffic light, while deliberately choosing not see the fun in the pomp and tradition.
Because, really! That’s POMP! And TRADITION! Right there out my car’s front window! Isn’t it cool to live in a city where stuff like this happens?
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I would like living in Ottawa in the spring & summer – in fact we’re heading that way the week after next! – but the winters would break me. I like my east coast never-gets-below-minus-fifteen, thanks.
Really? I thought east coast winters were cold and icy, and snow, snow, snowy. Inordinate amounts of snow. No?
Gosh no, when we do have a lot of snow it’s an anomaly. We have two weeks of quite cold in February – and the wind chill near the coast is not fun – but overall it’s not bad compared to the rest of the country.
Now, Newfoundland? Those poor buggers get hammered. But here in Nova Scotia we’re on the Gulf Stream and it keeps things moderate, for the most part.
I didn’t know they did a changing of the guard in Ottawa as well! I thought that it only happened at Buckingham Palace.
Yup! We’ve got ’em. I think it’s only for the summer months, though. (Update to comment: I was right!) There’s always security on the Hill, of course, but the fancy-schmancy marching down the road happens only in peak tourist season… I believe. A fair number of the band members are university music students, the rest are well-seasoned military musicians; the calibre of music is high.
We saw this two years ago when we were out visiting family. My young son marched down the sidewalk and was so excited to meet some of them afterwards. I love to visit Ottawa, and can’t wait to go back.