A long-standing controversy finally put to bed


 Posted on April 2nd, 2010
 by Patrick 4 great comments. Room for one more!

Happy death and resurrection of our lord and saviour weekend, dear reader! If you’re into that sorta thing. Me, I’m pretty ambivalent about bunnies and coloured eggs don’t really do much for me, so Easter’s on the bottom of my holiday list. Also, I don’t get Good Friday; isn’t that when Jesus died? I didn’t know the guy but expiring on a cross doesn’t seem good at all. Should be called Ironic Friday, maybe.

But please don’t let me keep you from enjoying it. I am. I’ve managed to run some errands at the east part of town. The Beach.

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I suspect I’ve mentioned the area occasionally. The beach is a fru-fru place, fairly expensive to live in, good place to inhabit if you’re a wealthy artist or a well-heeled bead maker. Well-attired hippies for the most part. Lots of dogs, babies, and lululemon.

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Another way to know you’re in The Beach is that everything is suddenly beach-themed. It’s kinda sad in the middle of deepest darkest winter, but in the summer even I’d be willing to wear flip-flops on the street there.

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And yes, I can confirm that the name actually makes sense. (I used to call it The Beaches too, I liked that better.)

The Beach area is just to the east of Woodbine Beach. At one time, I suppose, with the horse racing track the only other thing around, the neighbourhood was the only one near both beaches. But with the racetrack gone and replaced with housing, The Beach really is now only the length of one beach – Balmy Beach.

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Woodbine is used for public events like the Victoria Day fireworks, but despite being one long continuous stretch of public sand, somehow Balmy Beach remains separated. Even the trash feels expensive, artsy.

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However, as long as you have a lap dog or are hugging a fancy-looking coffee cup, or both, getting onto Balmy Beach really isn’t a problem. I mean, they let me roam around :)

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So there you have it, dear reader, a slice of a sunnier Toronto to go with your holidays, and a long-standing controversy finally put to bed. The Beach really is The Beach. Balmy Beach. You’re welcome.

Hope you’re enjoying some of that traditional Easter pie and / or throwing back the booze like tomorrow’s the weekend. I’m fairly certain Jesus would’ve wanted that. Remember that water-to-wine shindig he hosted? Yeah.

Happy Easter :)

4 Comments on “ A long-standing controversy finally put to bed ”

  • Grace
    April 2nd, 2010 1:05 pm

    My husband lived in Toronto for a while, but that was with his first wife. It looks like a real nice city – I'm a city person.


  • Patrick
    April 5th, 2010 9:07 pm

    Don't let the ex-wife colour Toronto for you, Grace :) If you're a city person, Toronto's a good one. And I've seen a few.


  • wngl
    April 2nd, 2010 5:00 pm

    I love the beagle pic!


  • Patrick
    April 5th, 2010 9:14 pm

    Thanks, wngl. I have to admit that the dog is my favourite of the group too. I happen to be cohabiting with a cat these days but I like dogs equally as well. Except I wouldn't want anything larger than a cat in my place. I'm sure that in some circumstances it can be done but I think that anything Beagle-sized, hungry, and producing poop makes for challenging city living. The people with the Great Danes; I can't even begin to fathom…


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