Throw a pot
Just about the same time mankind developed the potter’s wheel (about seven to eight thousand years ago), we fortuitously discovered how to make wine. We learned to create vessels to store grains, liquids and fruits—along with a precious new gift. Standards in pottery sizes and shapes developed over time. The more commonly known vessel, the […]
Rebuilding village icons
That was quite the event at Wellington Town Hall last Thursday night. You could divide the audience into four groups, of about equal size: those standing up at the front who were associated with the project; those sitting down in the audience who got there really early; those standing up in the audience who got […]
Walking school bus
Sometimes, as I walk by Queen Elizabeth School in Picton on a weekday morning, I see a long line of vans and cars. Maybe you’ve seen the same in front of other “urbanish” schools in the County. Adults are dropping their kids off for a day of learning. I’m sure many of these children live […]
Helmer marches on
When the news flashed across the screens recently that Bryan Helmer had signed with the Springfield Falcons to play hockey, it came as no surprise to hockey observers in the Quinte area. We have followed Helmer’s career for the past several years. By no means was the start to his hockey career auspicious. He had […]
A local gem
In the beginning, fine wines were reserved for the patrician class. But as the middle class grew, they began to demand better wines. To cater to this new market, costs had to be trimmed. Wine growers began to work with various European universities to develop new vines and streamline winery operations. As a result, the […]
The 12th word
Like most people, I get tired of seeing wretched words and phrases that appear to offer vast significance but on closer examination, don’t mean much at all. So my interest was piqued when a blogger on Yahoo.com, Jeff Haden, came up with “11 marketing words that no one wants to hear in 2013.” You can […]
Out in the open
Fictional headline, 2003: Dalton James Patrick McGuinty Jr., 48 years old, became Ontario’s first male, openly heterosexual Premier. Dalton is married to his wife Terri, a female who is openly heterosexual and together they have four grown, male and female children whose sexual orientation has not, as yet, been publicly declared. Dalton was born in […]
Cory’s debut
Cory Conacher played his first National Hockey League game last Saturday night. He scored one goal as the Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Washington Capitals 6-3. Just 16 months ago, he was invited to attend the Lightning’s training camp as an undrafted player. Since that time, he has seized the opportunity, and has blossomed as […]
Game changer
Abundant archaeological evidence dates the production of cultivated vines to approximately 5,000 B.C. For many reasons, the style of those early wines is completely different to those of today. Back then wine was made from the fruit of wild vines. And—although it was a most happy discovery—the wine that resulted would likely have bordered on […]
The smokehouse
It’s a Saturday morning and the aroma of bacon in the frying pan drifts through the house. Sipping on a coffee, I begin to think of…well, how foods are smoke-cured. I glance through the kitchen window toward the small stone building that sits across the road on a high bank of Slab Creek. “Stone smokehouses […]