Taking advantage of the recent Arctic blast, I headed down to High Park on Sunday to check out frozen-over Grenadier Pond with the Psychogeographers.
A highly effective sign. Skaters weren't cheek-to-jowl as they would be at Nathan Phillips Square (which proved a relief to one member of our group who was adjusting to being on skates).
The long laneway cleared out to connect the main skating area with a smaller area to its north. Several shovels were left on the pond to clear out areas, creating new lanes, snow islands and oxbows.
Not being a proper rink, the ice was on the choppy side. Walking on boots proved no problem, even if I did fall on one slippery patch. Still, you could shoot a hockey puck around, such as this one from the rare "Famous Communist Dictators of the 20th Century" series.
The main skating area. I imagine the view would have been fantastic from the houses in the background. Also note the blue skies and reflection of the bright sunlight.
Sometimes you've got to stick together.
Later in the afternoon, several people took part in the fine art of bank jumping. Need a demonstration?
Afterwards, several of us slowly wandered into the park restaurant, downing hot chocolate to thaw out. It was debated whether mugs covered in drawings of banana slices gave the hot chocolate a subtle tropical undertone.
Full set of pictures on
Flickr. More pictures and stories at
Kitty Empire and
Spacing.
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