Church hill
I recently attended a service in Belleville. I admit to not being a regular church goer but I am interested in the icons and mythologies of various faiths. I was late arriving for the morning funeral service at St. Michael the Archangel and, with the mass already under way, I slipped into a pew under […]
Longevity
There is a lot to be said for longevity, especially in the sports world. Experience is a valuable asset. In conversation the other night with former Wellington Duke Matt Cooke, he suggested that I check on the number of games he has played in the NHL, and compare it with the number played by another […]
Punt to the finish
“Punt” is the correct name for the dimple on the end of a wine bottle. There is no actual agreement as to why it still exists. When wine bottles were hand-blown, a dimple was left on the inside of the bottle to prevent glass-blowing imperfections from scratching a wooden surface. Eliminating the blown bottom surface […]
Your slogan here
These are not the best of times for County morale. The County’s ranking ranter, Steve Campell, has been calling somewhat tongue in cheek for County independence for a while now. And then, wouldn’t you know it, a half-page advertisement appeared in The Times last week, stating: “There are times when a government becomes the enemy […]
Visiting and visitatin’
February 2013 started out okay but, as the days flew by, the month of hearts and love became more about heartbreaking than heartthrobs. And February 2013 reminded LOML and I that we really have only two kinds of clothing. The stuff we wear every day, essentially blue jeans and t-shirts, and the clothing we wear […]
Southwest Florida hockey
In the past two weeks, several products from the ranks of Quinte hockey programs have enjoyed sunshine in Southwest Florida. Last weekend, the Evansville Icemen faced off against the Florida Everblades on Friday and Saturday nights, at the Germaine Arena. Two players from the Icemen are familiar to hockey fans from the north: Dylan Clarke […]
French kiss
Apart from the fact that he allowed Pompey Magnus take credit for his suppression of the Spartacus slave revolt in 73.B.C., Marcus Licinius Crassus’s best claim to historic fame is that he managed to get himself and seven Roman legions slaughtered at the battle of Carrhae about 52 B.C. Crassus made his fortune in Rome […]
If crows played rummy
I have a rather guilty secret. I like watching nature documentaries. And the reason is that for so many years I have kept myself so woefully ignorant about matters scientific that almost anything I watch is a revelation. For instance, I’m in the middle of watching the multi-disk, nine-hour-plus set put out by the BBC […]
Go figure
For many years I was only vaguely aware of International Women’s Day. The vaguest of vaguely. It was at an annual meeting of the provincial assembly of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation when I first met some remarkable women and heard them speak of the social, economic and political issues and achievements of women. […]
The legacy of Stephen Licence
By Conrad Beaubien The light from the store window spills warmth onto the sidewalk. A hush of traffic carries through night streets; my hands take to my coat pockets, sheltering from the north breeze descending from Hastings County. The scene within the store window has my attention; the headlight on a miniature scale train shimmers […]