Bougainvillea everywhere, though not at their most luxuriant in January. J collects small bouquets, mostly from the overgrown bushes in front of the deserted Chinese restaurant. Bougainvillea should have a special meaning for Canadians, as it was named in honour of Louis Antoine de Bougainville, who was an aide-de-camp to Montcalm but, luckier than Montcalm, survived the battle for Quebec and accompanied the Chevalier de Lévis to St Helen’s Island off Montreal for the last stand of France in Canada. But bougainvillea obviously comes from a warmer climate. It was in fact discovered (in Brazil?) and named for Bougainville during a trip to circumnavigate the globe. Not that this was by any means the end of Bougainville’s adventures. After South Sea exploration he found himself with France on the side of the rebels in the American Revolution, and took part in the Battle of Chesapeake. An astonishing number of other accomplishments (such as writing a book on calculus), but this is in danger of becoming a biography.
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