July 1st in Trafalgar Square

I don't have a Canadian icon - you'll have to settle for the red and white pavilion.

This year, I took July 1st as a holiday and made an extended holiday weekend of the date. It just feels wrong to be at work that day.

So just for fun, I met nusbacher  at Trafalgar Square to mark the day, to see what is flogged as Canadian culture abroad.

Turns out it's a handful of familiar favourites: Tim Horton's coffee and donuts, Sleeman beer, bison burgers and curly fries (go Canadian cuisine!) and vaguely country-western music on the stage. Perhaps the evening shows were more folk/celtic/silly - apparently the Arrogant Worms played there last year. I would have come back for them!

AND: street hockey (rather depressingly sponsored by oil companies).

And lots and lots and lots of cheerful folk in red and white. I had no idea there were so many Canadians in London - we seem to keep a low profile. I couldn't decide if they all work in the City, or were on holiday and actually planned to visit Trafalgar Square that day, or they'd booked the day off like me.

It was heartening to hear familiar accents, and to slip so easily into conversation with someone in line (not a queue, all of a sudden, just a line) for coffee.

nusbacher looked well, and we talked about plans for heralding at Raglan. We got our Canadian marks - a painted maple leaf for me, a 'Canadian girls ROCK!' tatoo for her - and decided to leave the sample Mountie to the non-Canadians.

I rolled home with a big silly smile on my face, inordinately pleased at this little dose of Canada.