Thursday June 21 Moose Jaw Jaunt to Regina

M. Wayne is buried in a book, so I’ll take the first crack at the daily post.

We had coffee and a bun at the local cyber café where we quickly caught up on news, e-mail, and e-chores. Coffee was good, the reception excellent.

Then off to Regina, 45 minutes east along Canadian Hwy. 1. All was flat prairie in every direction, green with cultivation, and dotted with groups of metal silos. What a beautiful city, the province capital, with a lovely park complete with geese and their broods, formal garden, civic buildings, schools, and people out enjoying life. One thing we have noticed is that everyone gets out on a sunny day! And if it is cloudy, there is always the tanning salon of which there are many.

The goal for today was to see the Royal Canadian Mounted Police parade drill and museum. Wayne sagely thought that being a school day there would be fewer people. Wrong. Buses of school children and seniors arrived in addition to the usual tour buses. But everyone was cheerfully accommodated. Our guide was from Quebec on summer work assignment in between semesters.

The parade grounds were painted with a blue and a yellow stripe which was never crossed unless during drill or ceremony. Everyone just went around the edge, in respect. The parade ground was where they laid the fallen. There was also a monument to their memory, two cannon, and an eternal flame (since 1995).

In the drill there were six units of 32 each, some cadets and others nearing graduation. A new cadet corps arrives every Monday to replace the unit which is graduating. There are 17,000 RCMP stationed in all the provinces and territories, and they are working steadily to grow that number. This rotation is to continue another two years until their goal is reached.

Time in training was six months and how an individual was dressed was indicated by his attire. Cadets wore blue with gym shoes, then black shoes, then brown riding boots and jodhpurs and weapons – hats changed as well as insignias, men and women. They were a smart looking group, though not perfect. Afterwards we watched four squads drill inside – a few had to do pushups, or maybe they were showing off.

The tour included the chapel which was the first building in Regina (built in 1893), and originally a bar and mess area for the RCMP. Now it is pristine, very dark wood like the hull of an upside-down ship, stunning stained glass. Service is held each Sunday, weddings, funerals, and baptisms.

W. Out of the book!
The first photo was inside the museum-to-be with Margaret and one of the moose RCMP – cute.

The cadets on parade were not wearing the traditional red coats of the RCMP – that is saved for graduation and later for ceremonial events. I had never thought about police cadets (that’s really what the RCMP is – police – having to march / drill, but there they were. Looking at some of our photos this evening we noticed that two guys were completely out of “step” – that is, they have their left arm up when everyone else has their right arm up.

More about the arm swing. When we were leaving the RCMP Heritage center (a future museum), there were several school children classes ahead of us. Their teacher was showing them how to march: extend your arm; close your fist; put your thumb up, then lower it onto your fist. When you march, the arm is to come to the horizontal. The next photo is of the children learning how to march with their arms / hands in the correct position. The next photo is of the parade – officially called the Sergeant Majors Parade – held every weekday at 12:30 p.m. (it’s outside in the summer; in winter, it’s inside). Fascinating.

In front of the parade ground, there is a memorial to the RCMP fallen in various conflicts, including WWI and WWII. The polished cannon shown here was one of two at the memorial.

Following our visit to the RCMP training “depot” (as it’s officially called), we went through Regina. What a nice city. Everywhere we went, folks were chatting and having a great time. Guess when it’s winter and 60 below, you welcome Summer.

Another photo is the Legislative Building with Queen Elizabeth on Burmese (her horse) – Regina is the capital of the province of Saskatchewan. We were going to take a tour of the building, but a bus-load of noisy children filed in so we took a pass on the tour. The bronze statue of the queen (and horse) was presented in 2005 to the city of Regina. Although it may be hard to tell from the photo, the statue is exquisite in detail from the Queen’s cuffs down to the bridle.

In front of the Legislative Building / Gardens, is a lake facing the city. There were many geese and young goslings crossing the road (stopping traffic), but we have enough photos for the day!

One interesting side-note to yours truly. My limited experience says the tax(?) on wine is very steep – maybe it’s just the cost of making it? Anyway, we have seen numerous make-it-yourself wine shops. I guess selling the grape juice and yeast is relatively cheap while the end product is expensive. As a result, very few wine stores and lots of do-it-yourself boutiques! For beer as well.