The 29 June was the “wind day” for York University’s International Renewable Energy Academy. As the featured speaker to start the day I donned one of my favorite wind tie.
This particular tie has wind turbines on a blue background with Holstein cows in a scene common across northern Germany. I have a collection of wind themed ties and this one Nancy calls my “in your face” tie as there’s no subtlety about it. It says wind energy and it says so proudly.
I’ve written about this tie before. See Josef Pesch–Strom Rebel of Freiburg for the story about how I came across this tie in 2001 at the formation of the World Wind Energy Association. It always engenders comments.
At the reception that night, Woodstock’s mayor Trevor Birtch arrived wearing his own windmill tie. Now for those who don’t know, Woodstock bills itself as the dairy capital of not just Ontario but all of Canada. There’s a giant milk cow at the entrance to the town and the county celebrates all things dairy, especially the region’s cheese.
Mayor Birtch looked enviously at my tie—as his lacked cows—and wanted us to pose together. So here we are boasting about our ties.
I am trying to track down the German source for these ties. If anyone has a tip for where I can order more, please post me a message.
