Why I’ll always relish kindness of the Ontarians

THE Ontarians are the most hospitabble folk in the world (after the Irish). They welcomed Grandpa George in after all. And his grandson. George was running around with wrong ’uns in Glasgow in his teens and was put on a ship by his Dad to go and live with relatives in Canada who would sort him out... early Fresh Prince of Bel Air, if you like.

And there he would have lived happily ever after if that pesky Kaiser Wilhelm hadn’t invaded Belgium and sparked the First World War sparking Soldier George to join the good fight in Europe.

Where... he was gassed out of action, found himself rehabilitating in Scotland, met an Irish nurse and stayed for the rest of his natural.

Which is why I’m bringing you this tale and not writing ice hockey for the Toronto Sun.

All of which I regaled to the Visit Ontario group I gatecrashed (there’s no other word) last night in Dublin. And what a lot I found out.

You want a love story... I thought you might. George Boldt, general manager of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York liked to holiday in Heart Island in the Thousand Island region along the upper St Lawrence River so much that he commisioned the building of Boldt Castle for his beloved wife Louise.

Alas she died and heartbroken George stopped the building.

For 73 years it was left derelict until the Thousand Island Bridge Authority bought it for a dollar and proceeded to restore it.

Thousand Island... yes, it gives its name to Thousand Island dressing. George having got his chef to come up with a dressing encompassing all that was good about the region which was green relish for the foliage, ketchup for the sunset and mayonaisse for the white waves.

Ontario is the best place from which to explore the Thousand Islands and St Lawrence River.

Major airlines fly to Toronto. We found WOW Air flight return via Reykjavik for the sample dates of November 3-10 from €513.

Visit wowair.com. See www.ontariotravel.net.