Library - Burlington, Ontario, Canada

This is the Burlington Central Library, where I spent a lot of time in my youth. My Mom took us all the time to get books, and for story hour. Also this was back in the day when you had to go to the library to do research, so completing last minute projects the night before was much more difficult than it is today. You're it, Carol.

Gate - Burlington, Ontario, Canada

When Carol posted a gate I thought immediately of the luxurious mansions by the lake complete with extravagant gates. So I took a nice drive and a walk down Lakeshore Road, and you know what I discovered? People here are very fond of extravagant, luxurious gate posts with no gates on them! This must say something profound about Canadians (though I'm not sure what). Maybe it means that we're all friendly, welcoming, and trusting. Or else we're just too lazy to open and close gates all day.

Gate - Glasgow, Scotland

A gate. Nothing more, nothing less. :) Well, there are daisies and some really long long grass... But primarily a gate. You're it Jen!

Petrol Station - Glasgow, Scotland

24 hour petrol Glasgow style! :) This petrol station is part of Tesco supermarket. See, the cars are a bit bigger than before lol. Ok so your "gas" is super cheap!! Derek filled our wee Toyota today and it cost him 94.9 pence/litre, which is 202.9 cents for you. Taxes in the UK suck! :P

Gas Station - Burlington, Ontario, Canada

Here's Petro Canada, one of the big gas station companies around here. We Canucks talk about gas prices almost as much as we talk about weather. This morning we tanked up at 104.3 cents a litre, which is very expensive to us, but I understand is laughably cheap to the rest of the world. Oh, and it rained this evening. You're it, Carol.

Groceries - Burlington, Ontario, Canada

From left to right:
Kraft Dinner (or KD for short)- for some reason this cheesy noodle "meal" is found in every Canadian household. If you ask for it in the States, though, they look at you like you just crawled out of an igloo.
Frozen fishsticks - We don't actally have these very often but I think we should remedy that because they are yummy and easy to cook.
Mini-Wheats - It's a cereal with multiple personality disorder. Poor MW can never decide whether to show his sensible, healthy, high-fiber side, or his sweet, fun-loving, frosted side. We eat cereal every day for breakfast at our house. And look, I get a free Shrek Knight Light (my nephew stole the last one).

Just in case you were wondering: yes, our counter is always this dirty but this is by no means typical of Canadians. Most of us are very clean.

Groceries - Glasgow, Scotland

Ok I think this has to be the most random tag so far! Lol. Three items regularly found in a kitchen after a trip to the supermarket. ;o) Here were have good old Heinz Baked Beans, a staple in our house. Then we have Bisto gravy granuals for chicken (goes great with chips!) Not crispy "chips" but fries... And then we have Harry Ramsden's mushy peas. Love them alongside fish. Yum! You're it Jen! :oD

Fire Engine - Glasgow, Scotland

Here's a Strathclyde Fire Brigade fire enginen responding to a 999 emergency call. Actually, it was a false alarm at my office, but still. Lights flashing, sirens blaring... No parade for these guys! Is it just my imagination or do fire engines in Burlington seem longer than in Glasgow?

Fire Truck - Burlington, Ontario, Canada

I wonder what these guys do more often, fight fires or drive in parades. Here they are at the Sound of Music Festival yesterday. It's good to have them around, I guess, in case one of the marching bands catches fire. You're it, Carol.

Bird - Burlington, Ontario, Canada

I too know nothing about birds. This one was hanging out on a rock at Spencer Smith Park (a.k.a. The Waterfront). We have other kinds, including little birds similar to your Scottish blue tit, but I just happened to have taken this photo a few weeks ago. Bonus!

Bird - Glasgow, Scotland

We're quite lucky to get so much wildlife in our garden. You've seen a squirrel, now here's a little bird. I know not the first thing about birds so not a clue what breed this is. But it's cute! My Grandad made the bird house as our Christmas present! :o) You're it Jen!

City Chambers - Glasgow, Scotland

Glasgow doesn't have a City Hall so I guess the City Chambers is the next best thing. This grand Victorian building was designed by William Young and completed in 1890, and is now the headquarters of Glasgow City Council. A random piece of trivia for ya... the entrance hall of the Chambers displays a mosaic of the city's coat of arms on the floor. The arms reflect legends about Glasgow's patron saint, Saint Mungo, and includes four emblems - the bird, tree, bell, and fish - as remembered in the following verse:
Here's the Bird that never flew
Here's the Tree that never grew
Here's the Bell that never rang
Here's the Fish that never swam.

See the Wikipedia entry here.

I have a small confession to make. I didn't take this photo this weekend. There's a big clue in the pic which gives the time of year away... any guesses?? ;o)

City Hall - Burlington

Here's where all the important decisions are made in our city (I guess). The tents and stuff are there because the Sound of Music Festival is on today. The Festival is a big deal in Burlington, but not so much anywhere else. This morning baby William and I watched a parade just few feet away from where this photo was taken. A surprising number of bagpipe bands. You're it, Carol.

Railway Line - Burlington, Ontario, Canada

Neither quaint, nor little, nor Scottish. People in Burlington use this railroad to take the GO Train to work (usually in Toronto) or to a baseball game or something. You can also use it to ride a via rail train to just about anywhere in Canada.

Railway Line - Glasgow, Scotland

A quaint little Scottish railway line. :) This is the line that runs right by our house. If you're on a train on this line, and you look out of the right-hand window in about 2 seconds, you'd see our house! I've never done that 'cos the station before mine is miles away lol. But in theory...

Jen, you're it!

Phone Booth - Glasgow, Scotland

A phone booth in Central Station (there's even a train to ptove it!) We have the box ones you showed all over the place, but refer to them as phone boxes lol. The vocabulary differences crack me up! :)

Phone Booth - Burlington, Ontario, Canada

Next I'll be taking pictures of cave paintings and woolly mammoths. Seriously though, these things are going the way of the dinosaur (as you know, dinosaurs became extinct when they were replaced with cellphones millions of year ago).

Supermarket - Burlington, Ontario, Canada

Ultra Food & Drug is the grocery store I frequent most often, not because it's the best, but because it's the one within walking distance of my house. Other common ones are: Sobey's, Fortinos and Loblaws. I don't know how it is in Scotland, but in Ontario there are laws against selling alcohol in super markets. Luckily, this one is attached to an LCBO (Liquor Control Board of Ontario) where you can by all the booze you want.

Supermarket - Glasgow, Scotland

I decided to take a break from roadsigns, so here is a typical Scottish supermarket. This one is right by an old mill, called Anchor Mill, hence the anchors on the wall. Common supermarkets here - Morrisons, Tesco, Somerfield, Asda, Sainsbury's. You're it Jen!

Maximum Speed Sign - Glasgow, Scotland

30 mph, no km in Scotland. These red-ringed signs are popular and usually come in 30 - residential, 40 - dual carriage-ways, 70 - motorways... The other common one is a white circle with a black diagonal line which indicated the national speed limit.

The 30 on the road is unusual. :) Our street's just special lol.

Maximum Speed Sign - Burlington, Ontario, Canada

This blog is only just begun and I feel like I've run out things to take pictures of. I'm going to have to start getting more creative. For now though here's a sign showing the speed limit near my house. Don't get excited, speed demons, that's only 50 kilometres an hour. You're it Carol.

Mail Box - Burlington, Ontario, Canada

Couldn't find any "post boxes" but these mail boxes are just as red! They don't always come in pairs like this but I suppose one would get lonely.

Post Box - Glasgow, Scotland

A post box... a box for your post... Bright red and still very traditional, these have been around for decades! The sign on the front gives you all the collection times. When a Royal Mail Postman pulls up in his red van, he unlocks it, opens the front and takes out the post.

Oh and a wee bit of trivia - the dude on the horse was talking on a mobile phone when he trotted past me lol. You're it Jen!

Pedestrian Crossing - Glasgow, Scotland

Ok first up, there are no crosswalks in Glasgow. We call them pedestrian crossings. :)

As you can see, there's a yellow box on the pole and after you press, you wait. Very few have countdowns like in Burlington. This one, like most, has a red man for when it's not safe to cross and then a green man when it's safe to do so. :)

FYI, this was taken right outside of Central Station looking up Renfield Street (where I work!)

Crosswalk Light - Burlington, Ontario, Canada

Seems like Carol is posting from the future, so if I post the same day, my pictures will always end up under hers. Anyway here's a crosswalk light near my building. This one has a number telling you how long you have to get your butt across the street. At about 14 seconds, the little walking man turns into an orange flashing hand, warning you you're almost out of time. It's really quite suspenseful. You're it, Carol.

Street Sign - Burlington, Ontario, Canada

Here we are, a Canadian street sign, taken while out walking on this beautiful sunny Saturday. I took some other pics of random things while I was out. Now I just have to choose one to post.

Street Sign - Glasgow, Scotland

A typical Scottish street sign ~ although most are on walls... We live near this one! You're it Jen.

Squirrel - Glasgow, Scotland

Jen, this idea is pure brilliance - I love it!

Here's a Scottish squirrel for ya. I don't know about Canadian Squirrels, but the majority in Scotland are grey - red ones are very rare. This little guy visits all the time and was happy to pose for this photo. Now I gotta come up with a shot for tomorrow! :)

Squirrel - Burlington, Ontario, Canada

I thought I'd kick off this photo tag with something that my neighbourhood has in abundance. The squirrels around my building are both fat and bold, thanks to the senior citizen population. I'm curious to see what Scottish squirrels look like. Does Scotland even have squirrels? You're it Carol.