Doing 50, turning 70
The pop music milestones are piling up. Paul McCartney, who is knocking them dead on his current Canadian tour, has just turned 70. The surviving members of The Who, both in their late 60s, having weathered numerous ‘farewell’, ‘goodbye’ and ‘last chance to see us’ tours, are once more touring to play their album Quadrophenia, […]
Santa potential
December. It’s here. It should be cold outside. The local parades have paraded— truth is, as I write this column, the Picton Parade is happening in the rain. It’s more like April than December. In spite of the “weather outside” the wish lists have been written and rewritten. If you have to drive anywhere, parking […]
Grey Cup aftermath
What horse? All this talk and all these words written about a Calgary horse that runs along the sideline every time they score a touchdown! Even when they did score, the horse had been put out to pasture. At that stage of the game, the fat lady had sung, folded up her musical score, and […]
VQA FAQ
The festival of Wassail affords each and every one of us a wonderful opportunity to taste the difference between “V.Q.A. Prince Edward County” wines and those made with grapes from other jurisdictions. Introduced as recently as 2000, the designation V.Q.A. stands for “Vintners Quality Alliance.” Regulations require that wine displaying this designation be made only […]
The wristwatch jingle
Okay, Christmas time is coming, and we must brace for the predictable wave of ‘bling’ ads. The well-to-do will say that we should give them a break, because it’s better to spend their money than to save it; and better that they wear ridiculously pricey watches than load up on SUVs or embark on jungle […]
Citizen Durning
I’ve always thought I was a good citizen. You know, the kind of person who doesn’t put the garbage out too early, pays her taxes (as close to the deadline as possible), keeps the sidewalk clear in the winter, doesn’t burn without a permit, and votes. Last year the test of my goodness came in […]
Grey Cup 2012
The concierge at the Royal York Hotel in Toronto shuddered a little when he heard the Calgary Stampeders had won the West. Stampeder fans are now heading east in droves to prepare for the game. Traditionally, they bring everything. That includes the horses that like to canter down the foyer in the Royal York. An […]
Take it neat
The ability to turn on the tap and refresh ourselves with a cool glass of water is a luxury we take for granted. Clean water is a tribute to our health codes and engineering capabilities. Providing clean water for citizens has been a major challenge throughout history—especially given how little was known about the danger […]
Quinte shorline
The rains have charged the waters of the Moira; they hurry into the quiet of the Bay of Quinte stirring into a whirlpool that swallows the setting sun. A family of mallards pushes upstream; crimson light on emerald backs. The laughter of children carries from a nearby park; a couple ambles at water’s edge, reflections […]
Not just a noticeboard
We’ve got quite the little construction boom going on in Wellington. Over in the west end, a new dental centre is going up on Prince Edward Drive, and a new restaurant/LCBO complex has been started on Main Street. In the east end, they’ve been busy erecting a greenhouse at Blooms on West Lake. And in […]