Decorations

 The Chateau Laurier hotel has for years hosted a Christmas tree event. Local companies make a donation to the Children's Hospital Of Eastern Ontario, and trees get decorated with their names in the lobby and corridors of the ground floor of the luxury hotel. You can imagine it's a popular event locally, and ideal for the photographer.

Along with the Christmas trees, these halls include a wealth of photographs of the hotel's history. The Chateau opened in 1912. Its official opening date in April of that year was postponed for a few weeks. Charles Melville Hays, the railroad baron who had been behind its creation, had been coming back from Europe with his family and a substantial amount of furnishings bought on the continent.

They were sailing on the Titanic.

Hays of course died in that calamity; it's been suggested that his ghost haunts the hotel. There are other ghost stories connected to the Chateau.

Many others have been here over the years. This photograph of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip dates to when she was still the Crown Princess, and the Royals were paying a visit. Here they are accompanied by Vincent Massey, the Governor-General at the time.

More of those Christmas trees. I'll carry on here tomorrow.

Last Refuge Of The Damned... That Is, The Senate

Another glimpse in the Senate foyer, this takes in the portrait of the Queen. Another portrait can be glimpsed in the gallery upstairs. It was Prince Phillip. Unfortunately that promenade was not part of the tour.

The ceiling in this area was certainly unique.

Here we have the entrance into the Senate. Drawing from British parliamentary tradition with their House Of Lords, the decor here has red dominating it, while green is prevalent over in the House of Commons, as I showed you some days ago.

Inside the Senate, the walls are decked out with large murals.

The senators are not elected, appointed by the government of the day as vacancies appear. It's meant to be a chamber of sober second thought. And while there are senators who do a good job- a former general named Romeo Dallaire comes to mind- in the last year or so, the Senate has been under fire for the spending habits of several senators, all but one of whom were appointed by Darth Harper.

Speeches from the throne take place here to start a new session, drawing members of parliament over from the Commons.

I must say, I do like the ceiling.