Thursday Doors: Speak Friend

This week I have only a single door to share, but the building is unusual enough to stand on its own.

Early Sunday morning while most of the city was still sleeping, Gilles and I were downtown to see the departure of the 21st annual Friends For Life Bike Rally to Montreal, in support of the Toronto People With AIDS Foundation.

I couldn’t be more proud of our son, Jordan, our son-in-law, Dempsey, and ‘adopted’ son, Trevor, who have been actively involved with the Bike Rally for several years, including being on the Executive Team which plans this primary fundraiser for the Foundation each year.

Dempsey, Kari, Trevor, Jazz, Jordan
There were plenty of hugs, kisses, and best wishes for this crew before they rolled out on Sunday morning.

All this week they have been riding an average of 100 km a day, camping each night along the way, and tomorrow afternoon the 200+ riders with 100 support crew will be rolling into downtown Montreal.

However, this is all just a preamble to explain what I was doing downtown when I discovered this old Victorian house across the street from the park where the Bike Rally was gathering.

How could I not be distracted by a building with a giant pink octopus climbing its walls?

Described on its website as a “sports bar for nerds”, this is the Storm Crow Manor.

I’m not sure the entrance says ‘Welcome’ to me but it’s certainly intriguing.

With images of aliens covering the upstairs windows, the Manor is clearly channelling a sci-fi meets Hallowe’en kind of vibe.

While the doorway might not scream ‘welcome’, the “Speak Friend and Enter” sign says it all for me. The language of “Friend” is universal.

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