I have always been fascinated with how cities begin. Anyone from Edmonton who loves poetry will likely already know I share this passion with one of our greatest poets, Alice Major. She wrote about how Romans founded a city, one of them being Londinium almost 2,000 years ago. I also loved it when I learned that Giovanni Caboto was a famous explorer who Anglicized his name to John Cabot, but that our lovely park uses his original name.

I love history, especially World War II history, and I was fascinated to hear about the Canadian Army and the Battle of Ortona, which is commemorated in Giovanni Caboto Park. But I have learned what I hope are most of McCauley’s secrets. I have seen fires, homeless encampments, SWAT teams, and a friend who often brings his son to Giovanni Caboto Park to use the monkey bars and other amenities because it is his favourite playground.

Eager to take new pictures, and to visit my favourite city on the planet (even bypassing my beloved Edmonton and Vancouver), I bought a ticket to London, England, for March of this year.

There was just so much to see. I spent two full days in The British Museum and two full days in the Victoria and Albert Museum. In between I went to places such as Kensington Palace where Princess Diana lived for 12 years, and the Science Museum where they have such things as the capsule from the Apollo program that orbited the moon without landing to explore a path for the first moon explorers. I also felt it critical to visit Westminster Abbey and St. Paul’s Cathedral and wasn’t disappointed.

When I told Canadian friends I was off to London, they often asked which one. In London, England, though, Edmonton is a suburb where a Hudson’s Bay Company executive was born, and our city was named after it as a tribute. It is comforting to know, 8,000 miles from home that there is an Edmonton in London and a London in Canada.

Being away this time wasn’t as hard as on previous trips. I paid extra to be able to phone home and even joined a support group I frequent over the Internet and wrote blog entries from my hotel room. To hear London stories, enjoy other free content, and find out more about mental health, visit my blog at: https://leifgregersen.substack.com.

Leif Gregersen lives and writes in McCauley.