A wonderfully kitschy gem located on Marie-Anne just east of De Lorimier, in the east end of the Plateau. Unfortunately the casse-croûte in question is boarded up.

Detail of a monument to Queen Victoria, in Dorchester Square. The amount of "The Maple Leaf Forever" style kitsch in this one public space is really over the top.

Dorchester Square looking towards the north, as seen last fall. The prominent statue is a monument to Montrealers who fought in the Boer War. Extremely unpopular amongst Francophones, who saw it as an imperialist war that didn't concern them, Anglophones rallied around it as loyal British subjects.

Vieux-Rosemont council district. Last week Vieux-Rosemont city councillor Pierre Lampron resigned, citing personal reasons. Having previously been the president of SODEC and later vice-president of Quebecor, he was presented as a star candidate (well, as close as it gets in municipal politics) by Louise Harel during the 2009 election.  And when Benoit Labonté was expelled from the party, he became Vision's candidate for chairman of the Executive Comittee. After losing the mayor's race, Harel named him as the Official Opposition's finance critic. Lamrpon further explained his reasons for resigning in an interview with Rue Masson, essentially stating that he found being an opposition councillor tiring and that he wanted to move on to other projects. While not particularly expected, this resignation does not come as a big surprise to city hall observers. After Vision's loss in the last election, some wondered whether the former executive would be interested in being a "mere" city councillor. Moreover, in 2010 he suffered health problems and was absent from city council for a few months.  And finally, he had also been criticised for not being very present in his district. This resignation means that in the next few months a by-election will be called to elect a new councillor. The outcome of the election will not change the balance of power on either the Montreal-wide city council or the local borough council. It will, however, be an important test of strength for the opposition parties. In 2009 Pierre Lampron won 42% of the vote against 34% for Projet Montréal's Christine Gosselin, a relatively unknown newcomer.

The back of the  Wilfred Laurier monument, in Dorchester Square, as seen last fall. Its design features the crests of the provinces imbedded in a stylized tree trunk.