At the risk of sounding like a dead white male, or an Ottawa Citizen columnist, certain good old practices have disappeared, and one of them is women standing with their arms garlanded. This mosaic is part of the vaulted foyer of the Metropolitan Building at the corner of Wellington and Bank, and was executed in the 1920s, as you can tell from the clothes. The women are holding hands in a pattern never seen today but quite common at the time. Here's a skating photo from the same era:
Doesn't this just say social harmony? Where did it go? The same place as all those dances, and men's hats and handkerchiefs, I guess. Better get Martha on it. If she can get everyone on earth to tie a scarf the same way, she can surely bring this back.
Douglas
I see a concurrence with the drop in gin sales.
Posted by: Alan | 15 December 2006 at 10:03 AM