It's been a while since I've posted to the blog; most my public musings have been on my
Twitter feed. I'll try to make up for that as I have a lot on my mind regarding current local political and economic issues.
I hadn't taken the kids on one of our little min adventures for a while, so I thought we could pay a visit to New Westminster. We often drive through or near there, it's been a long time since we stopped for a visit.
The first stop was the New Westminster Police Service
museum, tucked in the corner of the lobby of their main building on Columbia Street. There's some interesting police memorabilia -- the kids liked the jail cell, handcuffs, truncheon and Harley Davidson motorcycle. It's clear that the service there is very proud of their local history as one of the few remaining city departments in the province.
We then went to visit the historic
Irving House, a mansion built in 1865 by a lumber and shipping baron who made his riches during the BC Gold Rush. It's been beautifully maintained and is stuffed with perfectly-preserved Victorian furnishings. It was good for the kids to see how easy it is to take things like indoor plumbing and central heating for granted, as even the super-wealthy of that era had to do with bedpans and hot water bottles. From now until Christmas the house is decorated with all the Christmas trimmings, complete with a volunteer brass band in the parlor playing all the holiday favourites. The volunteer tour guides are in period dress and are enthusiastic and knowledgeable. Well worth a visit.
