Scenes from the Roadshow
I have to confess I’ve soured on Downton Abbey. All right, so the lead actor wanted out of the show. But couldn’t they have sent his character on a prolongued prospecting trip to South America instead of doing away with him at the apex of his happiness? So what’s my favourite show nowadays, I ask […]
Never say never, Sens fans
The Ottawa Senators entered the last minute of play down by the only goal scored in the game, up to that point. Erik Karlsson, the brilliant young Senators defenceman, was sitting in the penalty box, allegedly for slashing. He and Matt Cooke were duelling for the puck, when Cooke’s stick broke. Hardly a slash. Nonetheless, […]
The penalty box
It’s been a bad week for the skating Senators. Maybe they’ll win game four tonight. But even if Mike Duffy laces up and scores a hat trick to save the series with the Penguins, it’s hard to see how those highly paid masters of sober second thought, the non-skating Senators, can mount a comeback in […]
Angel’s share
If oxygen is so critical to life in general, what impact does it have on the life span of wine? The answer was little known until the the rebirth of scientific reasoning during the Enlightenment of the 1800s. Prior to then, wine was transported in barrels, and was thus over-exposed to oxygen. This, of course, […]
Green, green grass of…
Maybe I’m hard of thinking but I never really understood the sensibility of carbon offsets and the purchase of carbon credits. I, like most of you, understand the little form a person fills out online, at the completion of which the carbon footprint calculator spits out a dollar figure. No problem with little online calculators. […]
The sands of North Beach
“I know every damn inch of that park,” says Ralph Margetson. “I was born in the south of England and lived there until I was 11 years old. Got to know the shrubs and the birds and when we came here I would get to know the skunks and raccoons. I quit school down here […]
The aftermath—Toronto, 2013
They cleaned up the debris at the Maple Leaf Square in Toronto on Tuesday morning. The location gained prominence in the last few weeks as a gathering place for the members of the Leafs Nation. Toronto Maple Leaf fans gathered on the west entrance to the Air Canada Centre—those who could not, or would not, […]
Romney style
Wine wasn’t always about scorecards and tastings. With some exceptions, wine was consumed in the Middle Ages much the same way we consume water today. Up until the 18th century wine was considered a safer alternative to drinking water, which was often of somewhat dubious quality. To meet the demand, grapes were harvested to yield […]
Trained to the hilt
You just never know where the times will take you. Take the British nanny. Amid rampant unemployment in other sectors, “Saudi princes, Russian oligarchs, busy executives and celebrities demanding a Mary Poppins-like figure to look after their children” are creating a boom in the market for the classic British nanny, according to a recent news […]
A PAD at PEPtBO
Sometimes I think it’s nice to let you know when I’m writing. Today is Mother’s Day. I almost always do the final write on Sunday and today I am thinking about how grateful I am to be a mom. My family has made my life wonderful, creative and exciting. Mother’s Day aside, today I am […]