Big Money?

When I saw this giant beer can on top of the Mexican restaurant Avacado I jokingly wondered what kind of deposit return I could get for it.  Of course given that it's made of some inflatable material, and not aluminum, the answer is of course nothing.

It has definitely been too long since I posted here, but at least I got one more in this year.

Quiet Reminder.

Sgt. Hugh Cairns, VC Armoury is located on Idylwyld Drive North.  Cairns, a member of 46th (South Saskatchewan) Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force, won the Victoria Cross for actions in battle on November 1st, 1918, dying the following day of his wounds.  He was the last of 71 Canadians to win the Victoria Cross in WW1.

The armoury is the current headquarters of the North Saskatchewan Regiment, a Reserve infantry unit of the Canadian Army.




Prominently seen in front of the armoury is a WW1 German canon.



 

 
It is a 15 cm Kanone 16, and was donated to the City of Saskatoon by the Canadian Government in 1919.
 

 
At one point years ago I remember there being complaints about the cannon being located there.  Some people apparently thought it wasn't appropriate, an odd thing to think about a military facility.
 
The armoury and its "lawn ornament" commemorate a war that is fading from the public conciousness.  Even the youngest of those who have clear memories of World War One are several years past one hundred years old.  The veterans of the war are all gone.  Most of the thousands of commuters who pass by it daily on busy Idylwyld likely don't know the history behind the name, and probably aren't curious enough to find out.

Over Here, Clark.

As in most places pay phones are becoming less common in Saskatoon.  And especially rare is the good old phone booth.  But a few still exist, such as this one on 22nd Street and Avenue D North.



There's no door, presumably to reduce the chance of people loitering.  Loitering is the argument often given for getting rid of phone booths.  Not that there's much point these days.  As in most places you can't phone a phone booth here anymore, which is a much better way to prevent loitering.



This one is in very good shape, with no real signs of vandalism.  Perhaps this corner is too busy for the taste of wouldbe vandals.

SaskTel is a Crown Corporation owned by the Government of Saskatchewan.  It provides various telecommunication services, including local and cellular phones, Internet, and digital TV.

I'm sure many of you will get what the title of this post refers to.

Toubled Tunnel

The Rusholme Pedestrian Tunnel is located on Saskatoon's west side.  It connects the parking lot of Confederation Mall with Vancouver Avenue North under Circle Drive.



Here we see the opening of the Confederation end.



Unfortunately this and other such tunnels have been the site of robberies and assaults.



This is the halfway point of the route under Circle Drive.  It wouldn't be hard, one suspects, to wait here for anyone who might come through.



As with the Confederation side the Vancouver Avenue side is a bit below ground, hidden from observation by those entering and leaving the tunnel..





There have been suggestions this tunnel should be replaced with an above ground pedestrian crossing.  There are a number of such crossings, such as the one that connects Sutherland with College Park across Circle Drive.  There is also talk of installing security cameras, although the obvious question is whether such devices would be safe from vandalism.  In any case some form of pedestrian access is needed to prevent people crossing the very busy Circle Drive.

Saskatchewan Portal.

A very cool mural painted on a garage door on Brightwater Crescent.

Poker Face(Reminder).

This sign would have caught my attention anyways since it's currently posted on multiple doors at the Centre at Circle and 8th shopping mall.  But added to this is the fact she reminds me of British media personality and poker player Vicky Coren.  I would imagine however that Coren is a little too busy to be doing promo photos for Canadian shopping malls.

Ye Olde English Automotive Conveyance.

Here's something you don't see often on the streets of Saskatoon.  I came across this nicely restored Morris Minor this week on Kellins Crescent.



This car made me think of the classic Volkswagen Beetle design, especially since my dad owned a 1969 "Bug" in a similar shade of green when I was small.