Roland, a bit early, leaves not falling yet, but I always enjoyed introducing this poem to my students re. Fall! Gerard Manley Hopkins is a British Jesuit poet, mid-1850s. đđ˝ https://youtu.be/BrqZMuTiqi4
If u check below the poem, u will see a couple of detailed analyses of the poem, the layers of meaning, the âmetaphorâ, essentially the use of literary devices as in much of poetry, etc.. Great to explore with teenage kids on a Sunday afternoon, & to get them interested in âwordsâ, & in expressing themselves. > On Oct 7, 2021, at 13:10, Roland Francis <roland.fran...@gmail.com> wrote: > > ďťżAutumn or Fall is upon us and with temperatures a little above normal for > this time of year, we are still having end-of-summer excellent weather. > Winter is forecasted to be more severe than recent years but thatâs not > saying much because recent winters were nothing like normal winters at all. > > The pandemic has not had much of an effect on the city. While people still > mask up and keep distance, open air spaces are filled again and roads are > back to normal traffic. This October presents a vast positive difference to > last October. > > The Toronto International Film Festival which took place a short time ago was > only a shade of its previous popularity. Celebrities were few, screenings > were mostly virtual and the crowds totally absent due to regulations. > > Full dose vaccinations are given to 81% of the population but the next goal > is 90% and to achieve that, the authorities and employers are tightening the > noose with banning non vaccinated people from public transportation and > making it difficult lead abnormal life for those who are delaying or refuse > to take it. > > The face of Toronto is changing. The phenomenon of those little shopping > plazas in the city already gone with mom-and-pops giving way to big box > stores, are now being seen in the suburbs too, except for those plazas being > replaced by residential condominium towers. Itâs a real pity for suburban > dwellers like me to see the city encroaching here. > > Working space seems to be permanently changing to hybrid models. While many > still totally work from home with a few returning to full time at the office, > a substantial number are converting to 3 days at home and 2 at the office. > That allows more personal interaction with managers and still gives tax > deductibility advantages to both workers and employers since it is counted as > a âmajority of the working time.â > > Inflation is high. Every item, food or otherwise that you look at > individually has gone up by an average of 25% compared to 3 years ago, but > inflation is calculated at 5%. Somebodyâs goofing, intentionally or > otherwise. Gasoline which was a little above a dollar during the height of > the pandemic has reached 1.45/litre today. That may be bad for consumers but > good for the economy since Canada is an oil producer. > > Salaries have not changed much except for the bright spot being that jobs are > plentiful and doors wide open specially for intending immigrants specially in > the in healthcare professions. > > Real estate had shot sky-high with most young people virtually shut out of > the housing market unless they are two income professional families with each > of them earning 100k or more annually. The average 2 bedroom 800 square ft > condo unit costs 700 to 800k with the average detached home costing well > above a million. The Pandora Papers are indicating that world real estate > prices have been sky rocketing over the years due to investments of ill > gotten offshore money into real estate in stable countries through shell > companies. > > Toronto may not have been a beautiful city on the lines of many in Europe, > but it was certainly a pleasant, homey one. We are now becoming more like a > typical American metropolis albeit without the number of rundown > neighbourhoods you often see in major US cities. > > More next month. > > Roland. > Toronto. >