Snakes and Ladders
Many of you readers may remember the board game called “Snakes and Ladders.” You rolled the dice, and counted spaces to try to win the game. If it so happened that you might land on a ladder, you saved time and space by climbing to another level; however, if you landed on a snake, you […]
Battle of the beige
In spite of what I’ve said about growing old, some things just don’t improve with age. Thank goodness we live in wine country and I’ve got a huge wine rack in my kitchen. The wine is aging nicely, but the kitchen. Oh, my. The kitchen. Oh, sure, our kitchen is mostly intact for a room […]
The mass ‘oops’
Like me, you probably clip articles out of the newspaper and, as you tidy your desk, reread them with bafflement. Here’s one that got to me. Under the heading “insurance,” the headline read “Aviva unit fires all its staff by mistake.” It turns out the investment arm of the U.K.’s second biggest insurance company had […]
Bull’s Blood
Some wines, like Hungarian “Bull’s Blood,” have a wonderful story behind their name and origin. Bull’s Blood is a robust red wine, blended from up to 13 different varieties, that is commonly found on wine shop and supermarket shelves in the British Isles. The common availability of this wine, however, does not diminish its quality. […]
Rob Bagg – Saskatchewan Roughrider
Last Saturday, Robb Bagg dropped by Mary Ann Sills Park in Belleville to watch a little football. His cousin, Matthew Mead, is the quarterback for the Bancroft entry in the Belleville Minor Football League. As he was leaving the grounds at the end of the third quarter, Bagg quietly suggested to Mead’s father that he […]
Close to my heart
LOML’s aunt used to say there weren’t too many reasons for old folks to get together unless it was to attend a funeral or a grandchild’s wedding. Every time she said something to that effect, I thought it must be H E double uppers and lowers to get old. She might have been about my […]
Late spring frost
This time of the year wonderful things happen in the vineyards of the northern hemisphere. The vines begin their yearly majestic journey toward a bountiful harvest, subject to detours created by Mother Nature. The vines awaken from their dormant winter state when the soil reaches the right temperature. In an effect known as “weeping,” the […]
Stanley Cup 2012-round three, SVP
Everything has been settled in the Western Conference. The Los Angeles Kings will face off against the Phoenix Coyotes to decide the finalist from the west. Needless to say, the emergence of those two teams was not exactly expected. A couple of weeks before the regular season ended, neither of those teams was seriously entertaining […]
Suspicious reporting
According to the Globe and Mail, reporter Steve Ladurantaye won a National Newspaper Award for his “explanatory” journalism in 2006. Well, Mr. Ladurantaye, based on your most recent effort, I’d say your best explanatory journalism years are behind you. Entitled “The Outsider’s Inn,” a May 5 article in the “T.O.” section of the Globe and […]
The secret to sake
This week we travel to the Far East, to explore the interesting Japanese beverage, sake. We in the West tend to refer to sake as rice “wine.” But wine production converts natural grape sugar into alcohol. Lacking this sugar, rice must be “brewed” like beer. Despite the semantic nuance, however, sake still shares the wide […]