This Morning on Parliament Hill

After a dentist appointment this morning, I stopped by Parliament Hill on my way back to work. The impromptu memorial to Jack Layton was still there and growing, with many bouquets of flowers (lots were orange) and letters and flags and bottles of orange crush. An amazing display of people's grief. 

Hundreds of people were milling about. Some were tourists, but most were people who wanted to line up to go inside to pay their respects to Layton, who was lying-in-state in the foyer of the Parliament Building. The lineup was long and apparently, it took about 2 hours.

I was walking past at the same time as the changing of the guard ceremony. This guy was standing there so stoically in his bearskin hat in the sun. 

The guards were marching one way and I was walking the other on my way back to work. It has been a sad week on Parliament Hill, but today I just enjoyed the sun and the colour and the sense of community with all the other people mourning Layton's death.