3 Things in June 2026

Preamble: You may have forgotten, but I am running a pool for the 2026 World Cup and it starts in just a few days. The pool is just for fun and, fortunately for you, it’s not too late to join in.

Click on the AI-slop graphic above, or go HERE for details, or HERE for the latest updates.

Also this month: 1) a vile villain 2) Dixieland in a dump, and 3) perfection in prints.

I am a Ricardian now

The Toronto Public Library is a terrific institution, and it does a lot more than lend books. Our local branch is just a short walk from our home and I have occasionally skimmed their calendar of events, but always found it uninteresting. It’s geared to pre-schoolers and recent immigrants. Nothing wrong with that, in fact it’s essential, but I thought it would be nice if there was something targeted precisely at me¹.

Recently though, the library hosted a talk by a woman from the Richard III Society of Canada, and I thought: “Why not?”. I mean, I enjoy Shakespeare, and Richard is perhaps his greatest villain. It would be good to know more.

The talk was really good.

It turns out that the Society is dedicated to debunking the notion that Richard III was a vile despot, that he was a hunchback, and that he was born with a full set of teeth. It’s also open to the possibility that he didn’t kill his nephews. All ideas that were popularized by Shakespeare and others,

The RIII Society’s mission statement, or creed is:

In the belief that many features of the traditional accounts of the character and career of Richard III are neither supported by sufficient evidence nor reasonably tenable, the Society aims to promote in every possible way research into the life and times of Richard III, and to secure a re-assessment of the material relating to this period, and the role in English history of this monarch.

The Society was also instrumental in the project that, quite remarkably, discovered poor Richard’s remains under a parking lot in Leicester in 2013.

It was all presented with great enthusiasm, to an audience of about 30. There was even a Canadian connection, as one of the few confirmed Ricardian descendants able to provide DNA evidence to validate the identity of the skeleton under the asphalt lived in London, Ontario.

It was all great fun. So I joined the Society².

What a dump

This is the 3rd in a series of reports describing how HVW and I go out drinking on the weekend³. This time we ventured to Grossman’s Tavern on Spadina. To say the exterior is unassuming would be a huge understatement. The signage is half missing and the only indication that we had arrived at the right place was the door covered in flyers for upcoming shows. But the outside is vastly superior to the inside. On the occasion of the tavern’s 75th anniversary⁴, in 2018, the Toronto Star described it as a “dilapidated oasis of authentic grottiness“, and they meant it in a positive way. Since that anniversary, the only thing that has changed is, well, nothing really.

The tavern consists of two rooms with an opening between the bar area and the performance space. The walls are plastered with faded promo shots of long forgotten performers. Judging by the number of porn-star moustaches and headbands they date, mostly, to the 1970s and 1980s. The menu is, ummm, limited but the beer and wine are at least cheap.

We had come to hear some New Orleans jazz, performed by the New Orleans Connection All Star Jazz Band, who have a regular gig at Grossman’s, from 3-7 on Sundays. There is also NOLA style jazz on Saturdays, performed by the Happy Pals, who are 40 year veterans at the venue. I suspect that the line-up of the two bands is fairly fluid. Anyway, they started shortly after 3, and we stayed for an hour.

HVW and I were among the younger members of the audience; most were well into their 70s. And many had come prepared dance. As soon as the band got going, there were folks on the floor, many of whom clearly knew what they were doing. It was charming.

The NOCASJB ran through a variety of well known, and lesser known tunes. I didn’t catch the name of the first one; the chorus sounded like “Hindustan”, but I’m pretty sure that’s not right. That was followed by: “Careless Love”; “Yes Sir, She’s My Baby”; “Ain’t Misbehavin'”; “Sing On” (?); “Short Dress Gal”; and the set ended with “Just Because”. They played each one with enthusiasm, and are clearly a competent bunch of musicians. I’m not much of a Dixieland jazz fan, but it’s live music, the musicians are playing more for love than money⁵, and I enjoyed it. ‘Nuff said.

David Blackwood

This past winter, HVW and I went to the AGO⁶ to see one exhibit, but stumbled on another. The other one was a retrospective of the works of Newfoundland printmaker, David Blackwood. It was astonishing.

David Blackwood (1941–2022) was born and raised in the community of Wesleyville, on Bonavista Bay in Newfoundland. In 1959, Blackwood left Newfoundland to attend the Ontario College of Art where he studied under John Alfsen, Carl Schaefer, William Roberts, Eric Freifeld, Rowley Murphy, and Jock MacDonald. Blackwood settled in Port Hope, Ontario, but continued to return to Newfoundland each summer. He died in 2022.

The exhibit continues until 26 July, and is well worth your time if you are nearby.

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PS: the header image this month is a familiar sight to many of you.

1. Not that I’m selfish or anything ↩︎
2. In the coming month, I plan to attend a talk, not arranged by the Richard III Society, at a church just around the corner from the library. The topic is the age of Vikings on the Isle of Man. Maybe this one is going to try to persuade me that they were not a bunch of blood-thirsty Pagan marauders, but I know that’s what they were. I have seen The Northman, after all. ↩︎
3. That’s a joke, people. We go out for the music, and there just happens to be alcohol available. ↩︎
4. Purist called it the 70th anniversary, because they didn’t have a liquor license for the first 5 years. ↩︎
5. There’s a tip jar at the edge of the stage, which was mostly empty during the performance but filled up when it was passed around between sets. ↩︎
6. Art Gallery of Ontario ↩︎