Casserole in Verdun – June 9, 2012

Stubborn little group keeping the flame burning.  Interesting to see protesters not jaywalk, though of course there was a cop right there:).

 

Read Full Post »

Casserole in Verdun – June 8, 2012

About 15 last night. Still a lot of encouragement from passing cars, fire trucks and pedestrians.

Read Full Post »

Casserole in Verdun – June 7, 2012

More people tonight, maybe 30 all together. Different ideas coming in to the mix.

Read Full Post »

Casserole in Verdun – June 5, 2012

Had to miss it Monday, but Tuesday under threat of rain and cool weather left only these two hearty souls and myself to bang our pans for 30 minutes.

Read Full Post »

Casserole in Verdun – June 3, 2012

Cold again. But the die hards were there. Ended up with about 20 people walking along Wellington. Small groups are fun in their own way. When will it get warm again?

Read Full Post »

Casserole in Verdun – June 2, 2012

Well, the rain and cool weather had people staying at home or heading out to make Casserole a part of their Saturday Night out in the bigger city. Still, a few die hards  did show up. Was about 7 people before the rain came again. Never knew how much just 3 pans could sound like a whole lot more.

 

 

Read Full Post »

Casserole in Verdun – June1,2012

The sidewalk sale is on Wellington through this weekend but that hasn’t stopped people from gathering in front of Notre Dame des Sept Douleurs. And the lousy weather has not dampened anyone’s enthusiasm. Wellington and Verdun groups keep  merging every night. Still a good crowd of 150-200 coming out at 8pm. Amazing for a part of the city that does not see much protest action, most of the time.

Read Full Post »

Casserole in Verdun – May 31, 2012

Crossing Wellington which is currently closed to automotive traffic for the sidewalk sale. Bought some nice t-shirts for $3.35 each. Check it out – and bring a pot!

Read Full Post »

Casserole in Verdun – Wednesday – Casserole Night In Canada

Numbers a little low tonight but the enthusiasm is still there! Have  heard  there was quite a turnout in Toronto tonight, way to go, Toronto!!

Read Full Post »

Casserole in Verdun – Tuesday

The monster downpour we had just a few hours earlier was bound to hurt attendance tonight. About 30 people showed up at  The Monument (Verdun Metro) and it was finally decided to march on the sidewalks. Joke going around was that most people were at home using their pots and pans to bail out rainwater.

“No, Officer, I don’t believe we will need an escort tonight.”

Read Full Post »

Casserole In Verdun – Monday

There has been at least 60 people on all 6 nights yet I can say there are only 7-8 people, including myself, who have come to Wellington and De l’Eglise each night, so there is quite a bit of circulation going on. Tonight the march went up to the Verdun Metro to join another group there. You will see a couple of guys addressing the crowd but they are not making speeches, just trying to get a route together, democracy in action. The group then left to go to Cote Saint Paul to meet another group at Jolicouer Metro.

Read Full Post »

Casserole in Verdun – Sunday

A bit of rain falling may have discouraged some tonight as there was not as many as usual at the church at De l’Eglise and Wellington. Still, it seems that if you bang a pot or pan for 15 minutes you get the urge to move. There is something wonderful and primitive about this beat and around 8:30 people started to walk on the street.

As we approached Willibrord a cop car ahead seemed to be preventing the crowd from entering that street and there was some mild confusion for a few minutes. Turns out the police were actually escorting the Verdun avenue group down and soon we were merged and moving again. Everyone was delighted and there was a huge surge in energy. The usual people on their balconies banged their pots. Don’t let the media fool you. There is tons of support being shown along these nightly routes.

And it needs to be said that the cops are doing a great job of keeping marchers and automobile traffic separated. Ironically, as these evenings are all about protesting a government bill that severely limits the abilities of groups to protest in public, the police and the “Casserolers” are showing the world how it should be done.

Read Full Post »

Casserole in Verdun – Friday

Only got 2 in before my camera conked out. At first it seemed like there wasn’t as many people as Thursday but another group marched down from Verdun along 1st and the two groups merged at Williborord and headed back up, so it was a pretty good turnout, despite the intense lightning and rain storm that dropped not long after things got going.

It is an incredible thing. People just show up at 8 and bang their  pots and pans and around 8:15 you start walking. No leaders, no instructions, just tag along. The thing that stands out the most for me these last three nights is the joy on people’s faces. You see no anger at all, nowhere. It’s as if people are saying, “Charest, we do not like what you are doing, and we are not afraid”, in a way never seen before, calm, with dignity, and a very proud sense of community. The only thing I can think of to compare it to is the Estonians singing away the Soviets.  If you care about this country, Bang A Pan!

Read Full Post »

Casserole in Verdun – Thursday Edition

On Wednesday there was perhaps 80- 100 people walking. Tonight the crowd was much bigger, 500? The first video is at 8pm. They started marching at 8:15 and the final video was taken at 9:45. This is beginning to look like a great exercise in community building. We should make this a tradition, La Nuit des Casseroles, in the last week of May. This is so bloody simple, pure genius!

 

Read Full Post »