Cherry Blossom Time!

And a new name for my newsletter

May 04, 2025

First off, a bit of housekeeping. My newsletter is almost 18 months old and I’ve come to the conclusion that a change of name is long overdue. Mark’s Substack is, after all, a rather generic name. Not only that, there are many other Mark’s Substacks here. Loads of them! So, from now on, this newsletter will be called “I’ve Snapped”. Unless, of course, others think it’s such a great name that they decide to use it and then I’ll have to change it again. But, until then, long live “I’ve Snapped”!

In 1959, the Japanese ambassador to Canada presented the city of Toronto with 2,000 Sakura trees (Sakura means cherry blossom in Japanese). It was a gesture of goodwill to the city from the citizens of Tokyo in recognition of Toronto’s role in accepting re-located Japanese-Canadians after the Second World War.

The Sakura trees were planted in a number of parks throughout the city. However, High Park in the west end of the city is the most popular location (and also not too far from where I live, which is handy). Each May, large crowds descend upon the park to participate in the tradition of hanami, which is the Japanese term for flower viewing.

As beautiful as the trees and flowers are, there comes a point in time when the street photographer in me nudges aside his nature photographer alter ego. As a result, I find myself pointing my camera more at the people practising hanami rather than at the blossoms themselves.