Perhaps They’ll Win This Time
Overlooking Greenwich from the Royal Observatory
When I was in England a year ago December, we stayed in Blackheath, which is a ten or fifteen minute walk from the Greenwich Observatory. The observatory was once used as a guide for ships coming into London on the Thames. It sits on a hill overlooking Greenwich, and all of London really. Outside the observatory, facing the river is a statue of General Wolfe: “The Hero of Quebec,” it reads. I can’t imagine how that must grate on Quebecois who come to have their picture taken straddling the Prime Meridian.
However, a short story gives an idea:
How long does it take for old wounds to heal? Apparently, when the injury came at the hands of the British on the Plains of Abraham, 250 years is not long enough.
Agnes Maltais, Parti Quebecois MNA for the Quebec City riding of Taschereau, is outraged that federal Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs Josee Verner plans to attend a re-enactment this summer of the battle of the Plains of Abraham. The skirmish will mark the 250th anniversary of the battle, in which the British under General Wolfe defeated General Louis-Joseph Montcalm’s French forces, bringing an end to French rule over what is now Quebec.
The Hero of Quebec
A Quebec MNA, with nothing better to do on his plate, what with the worst recession since 1982 raging on, complains that a federal cabinet minister, with nothing better to do, what with the worst recession since 1982 raging on, will attend a re-enactment of this historic ass-kicking.
What’s needed in this country is somebody of General Wolfe’s fortitude, to lay another can of whoop-ass on these Quebec MNA’s and stop their whining.
Just send Quebec another billion dollars and they’ll be fine with it.