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 […]
The Champions Tour at Naples — the aftermath
Jay Don Blake was featured in last week’s article. He was one of the first players on the practice tee on Monday, working on his technique. During Thursday’s round, I heard him smack a drive off the tee, but lost it in a cloudy sky. When it cracked the palm tree just above my head, […]
Concrete egg
When it comes to concrete, we can definitely establish that the egg came last. The latest aid to winemaking, the concrete egg, was the brainchild of Michel Chapoutier. In 2001 he commissioned the Nomblot Company— a specialist in concrete wine vats—to create a tank in the shape of an egg. The shape was of paramount […]
Doing a Benedict
That Pope Benedict retirement thing has got people talking. I say: good for him to admit his limitations and not feel forced by tradition to stay on until the bitter end. The list of people who should follow suit, or should have long ago, is lengthy. Near the top of my list are Dalton McGuinty, […]
Elephant in the car
My siblings and I had a discussion, many years ago, about our Dad’s driving. At the time, Dad was in his late seventies and, as far as driving went, we didn’t really have any concerns. If anything, our Dad was a much better and more conscientious driver than any one of us. Nope, we were […]
Ace Group Classic golf tournament
They are lining up the troops here in southwest Florida for the Ace Group Classic golf tournament to take place this coming weekend. There are five contestants who will tee off at TwinEagles in Naples this year as newcomers: Rocco Mediate, Steve Elkington, Bart Bryant, Duffy Waldorf, and Gene Sauers. Mediate won the Champions Tour […]