Terroir
Terroir defines a unique combination of soil type, climate and topography. For wine, it is important to the health and survivability of grapes during the growing season. At harvest it affects the minerality and “brix” (sugar level) of the grapes. Winemakers throughout the ages have recognized that certain parts of their vineyards have special attributes. […]
Memorial Cup 2013
The Halifax Mooseheads entered the Canadian Junior Hockey League 19 years ago. Their quest for the Memorial Cup came to fruition last weekend as they defeated the Portland Winterhawks 6-4 in Saskatoon to capture the title. The Mooseheads were led by Nathan Mac- Kinnon, who, along with a hat trick, also assisted on two other […]
Just a number
Last week a friend, who has just had an extended stay in a rehab centre following back surgery, suggested I could write about the downside of growing old. She and the LOHL had a rough go of it, that’s for sure. Her husband had only just begun to manage on his own after suffering a […]
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, […]