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 […]
If Lance had met Abby
The world lost two icons this past week. But it made a net gain in heroes. The first icon to be lost was Pauline Phillips, who wrote under the pen name Abigail van Buren, and was fondly known as “Dear Abby.” An advice columnist since 1955, she was the younger twin sister of Esther Lederer, […]
Water music
When I was a little kid, my parents asked, “Music lessons or swim coach?” No matter what I wanted the answer was “swim coach.” From the time I was in grade one until I finished grade nine, three times each week, I swam at the John Innes Pool in Etobicoke. Usually my father accompanied me […]