Wheelchair Relay - Canadian paraplegic Association

One of the first contacts I made here in Toronto was the Canadian Paraplegic Association who have helped me find accommodation and care whilst here. In return I offered my services if ever they needed a singer for any event or function. They were very quick to book me and my first gig for them which was on the weekend singing the Canadian national anthem, O Canada, to launch their annual wheelchair relay race.

This was very exciting but also very nerve racking. I have sung the Australian national anthem so many times that I often sing it in my sleep, but singing another country's anthem brings a whole new different type of pressure. You can't sing an anthem wrong! If you do, you'll never be asked to sing it again.

So over the last couple of weeks I have been busy learning the lyrics which were actually quite easy. No girt by seas here! It is quite a simple song as well, and even though I know a lot of people don't like our Australian national anthem, the anthem here doesn't have a nice big ending like ours does. But I sang all the right words and hit the right notes and from all feedback people felt very patriotic and ready to tackle the course.

As always on request by me, Mel gave her usual critique of my performance and commented that although she thought I sang well, the Anthem is not one that is moving but rather a simple melody that you would commonly here as a church hymn, only 10 times shorter. Mel said as I was singing she was looking around at the Canadians and some were very patriotic and sang along with their heads held high, visibly proud of their heritage and others talked all the way through it. Like I said earlier, it does not have a big ending and it kind of leaves you wanting more.

The wheelchair relay took place at Yorkdale shopping mall in the car park at the back. They had marked out a 200 m track in which teams of eight raced around full tilt in wheelchairs to hopefully win the trophy and bragging rights at the end of the day. But the main reason why they have this event is to raise funds and awareness about spinal cord injury.

Mel walked around being photographer as usual. In fact she was approached by one of the organisers to have copies of her photos. I caught Mel constantly glancing at the Mall in between taking her photos and I could tell that she really came for the shopping afterwards. Yorkdale Mall is one of the biggest in Toronto other than Downtown, but is more of your high end.

Workers from CPA as well as local organisations put teams together consisting of both able-bodied and disabled people, and boy did some of these teams get competitive. One team that has won the last four years in a row is entirely made up of wheelchair sprinters, basketballers and skiers. They are so fast and take great pride in being first over the line.

I was still on stage while all the usual pleasantries were completed before the relay began and actually had to participate in the warm up. Now I am not so sure you have ever witnessed a quad trying to do warm ups but Mel said I looked like a very awkward Village person trying to reenact the Y.M.C.A. but I will brag that most of the other quads started exercising because I was.

It is a real community and family event. With a barbecue lunch, massage tents, show bags, dress up themes and other entertainment. Even the local fire brigade turned out, so we sidled up beside the big red firetruck and had a few photos with your fellow Torontarian comrades Dad. One of the fireman was a charmer and had his eye close on Mel, he put the helmet on her and asked her to sit in the front seat for a photo. Now Mel is not the most coordinated of people and the helmet being way too big and heavy kept falling down in front of her face causing her to almost slip as she was trying to get in. But with those long legs of hers it was hardly even a step to get in. And I made sure I watched the fireman very closely as he helped her down! I then did my usual compare notes with the fireies between canada and Australia. The biggest difference being that they work two 24 hour shifts a week, and are much more closely linked with the other emergency services.

One of the other artists was a Cirque/gymnastics type of performance which was very entertaining.

There were some pretty cool racing wheelchairs on display that I was pretty keen to get into and try out. Mel thought they were great even for her as you get to lie down and ride. More her kind of exercise!

This was a great event and I can promise you that when I get back to Australia Mel and I will be organising one of these. Mel and I talked about how great it would be to see family members involved. We can just imagine watching Mel's brother John trying to push this wheelchair with his big ears flapping, Rick and Pip racing each other and Aunty Kym trying not to get her beautiful silk top dirty as she pushes along the track. And Nan don't think your excluded in this, if you went jungle surfing then you are so involved in this relay challenge! So make sure you start working out your arms and pumping those biceps because at the end of this relay there were some very sore bodies.

Some had the right idea and went in their electric chairs. Just charge up the batteries and stick it into top gear! This is Kevin Rogers, our resource officer, who normally pushes his manual but had a broken hip and still competed in his motor chair.   

It was a great day and we look forward to replicating it in Australia. 

Once the event was over, there was a mad rush of all the women heading to the Mall. Mel thought there were sales on so she asked someone who seemed to be very desperate to get inside that shopping complex, but it turns out that the beeline was Tiffany's. We decided to go along and see what all the fuss was about (Mel actually doesn't like Tiffany jewelry...phew! Just the Audrey Hepburn Connection) and watched someone buy their partner a $48,000 ring.  We wondered through the rest of the Mall but soon left as Burberry, Prada, and Louis Vuitton were all out of our price range.

Toronto Island

The weather has been amazing since the first day we arrived here back in early June, but of late we have noticed that the wind chill factor has increased, there are more clouds in the skies and the days are ending earlier. We have been so lucky that the weather has allowed Mel and I to do some wonderful sightseeing and enjoy the outdoors, especially as we are about to go into a winter like we have never experienced before. So before the weather turns to ugly we have decided to do as many outdoor activities as we can before we are snowed in.

Geographically speaking Toronto sits right at the foot of Lake Ontario. It is a freshwater lake of course, being inland and all, and I think we have mentioned in earlier posts that the harbourfront down here is not nearly as spectacular as Sydney's, and as it's not an area that is heavily populated during the winter. It just lacks that vibe of entertainment and excitement that we think a harbour should have.


Having said that though, one of the biggest drawcards to the harbourfront though is to get on a ferry and travel about 10 minutes across to Toronto Island. The ferry themselves are very similar to the old blue-and-white ferries that were used to travel from Sorrento to Queenscliff, for those who have been on them and can remember them. As we got on Roxy made herself comfortable on a seat close to the window and peered out at all of the yachts and boats that were sailing around us. This is one of my favourite photos that Mel has taken of her.


Before Roxy to got too comfortable we were pulling in to the dock at the island. Or should I say islands. It is actually three islands in one with centre island being the gateway, Ward's Island to the left and Hamlyn's point to the right.

We were heading to Centre Island as it has the most activities and sights to see and if we got to the other two that would be a bonus. It was lunchtime so we decided to go for a bite to eat at the Carousel cafe. It was a beautiful walk through the open gardens and over footbridges to get to this place and we were given a seat at a table with a perfect view of one of the dividing streams. We watched many people in kayaks row past and there were people who had anchored their private boats just for the day to visit the island. Once again Roxy found a new animal she had never encountered, a Peacock! Suffice to say neither of them particularly wanted to be friends.


Centre Island has an amusement park called Centreville and as we entered it had a very carnival and show like atmosphere. It was like going back in time though, as a lot of the rides and the game booths were like something you would see at Sovereign Hill in Ballarat. Most of the rides are aimed at children but I could tell Mel was itching to get on the log ride or try the bumper boats out on the lake. Oh, and Petey, we found your ride!

Also linked to the amusement park is a farm that you can stroll through called 'Far Enough Farm'. It had all the appropriate animals like cows, horses, chickens, turkeys, giant pigs and even goats, and as much as Mel and I had seen all this before we took great delight in hearing the children and their parents ooh & aah over these creatures that some had probably never seen before.

Mel also finally found a chair that was perfect for her long legs.

It was photo heaven as Mel got shutter button happy while we were walking through the gardens towards the hedge maze.

You must read this next phrase in your best David Attenborough voice ok.

"Here we are at the typical squirrel feeding spot. Oh Look, here we have one right now eating right at the base of this tree. We won't show you the next photo, as it reveals what happens when you mix an inquisitive Labrador with your garden variety rodent" ......... just kidding.

As you can see it was a flora and fauna veritable delight.

On the south side of this island is the beach set out in true California Sunset Strip style, minus the bikini clad rollerbladers and iron pumping weightlifters. In fact the beach was pretty barren, but we could imagine what it would be like in summer when the hordes of people travel over here in the hotter days.

On our way back we passed Franklins Children's Garden where I found my first wheelchair accessible set of lookout binoculars (truth be told I think they were for the kids seeing as the only thing it looked at was the Rabbit and the Turtle statue .... I think they got it wrong, as I remember it being the Tortoise and the Hare).



It had been a long day of walking around the Centre Island and there was no way we were going to be able to fit in the other two. We were given a tip off by one of my carers about a beautiful cafe called The Rectory on Wards Island which unfortunately was closed on that day so we plan to go back there again in the near future. As we were heading back over to the dock we passed another beautiful bridge. The wonderful thing about this bridge was that it was situated right where the ferry pulls in and you are forced to look back at the city across the lake. It was then we realised what a beautiful city it is and how lucky we are to be here.