The birth of Pinotage
During the 1860s, wine exports to England peaked as the French and English governments sorted their differences and the preferential tariffs accorded to South African wines were no longer an issue. By the mid 1860s, the Phylloxeria blight arrived on the shores of South Africa, collapsing the industry for the better part of two decades. […]
Murray’s ditch
A Sunday morning and I walk the south bank of the Murray Canal. Moss of verdant green covers the slope to the water; from a bordering forest a mourning dove answers the call of a distant freight train. The abandoned rail swing bridge drifts in a mist that carries through the passage while the rustle […]
Alternative energy
Just for the record, I’m not “on board” for any kind of industrial-sized wind turbines. Not now. Not ever. Not anywhere and most especially, not here in the County. I am, as regards IWTs, a full-on NIMBY and have as many questions about the “green and clean” of IWTs. And, also for the record, I […]
All’s well
Hospice Prince Edward has had a bit of press recently, especially about the potential to create a residential hospice here in the County to provide end-of-life care in a setting away from the patient’s home, specializing in “palliative care, advanced pain management and bereavement support”. Quality living. So, what I do know about living is […]
Royal Copeland
Last week, the Toronto Argonauts mourned the loss of one of their former great players, Royal Copeland. Copeland played in 111 regular season games in the Canadian Football League, as well as 14 playoff games. He won four Grey Cups with the Argos, including three consecutive Cups from 1945 to 1947. Vern “Jumbo” Goyer, a […]
Karlo captures County fruit
By 1498 the Portuguese explorers had travelled around the Cape of Good Hope and established trading centres in the Indian Sub- Continent. Since they had not accomplished a foothold in the tip of Africa, the Dutch explorers seized this opportunity, founding the colony of Cape Town in 1659. The Dutch were established and preeminent traders […]
Gift of innocence
When Foster Bailey died a few weeks ago, I felt a double tinge of sadness. Tinge number one was of course because Foster himself had died. I never got to know him, but when we passed each other on the street—as we did quite frequently— he seemed to say, hello in the most upbeat way, […]
What a horse taught me
The domestication of the horse helped close distances between people and societies. The horse helped us to communicate, to explore and to find freedom of movement. While in travel, in war and in agriculture horse power was a measure of prestige, the horse became part of our mythologies and was akin to flying and to […]
The Supertest Story
Fifty years ago, we lined the banks of the Long Reach in Prince Edward County to watch the Harmsworth Trophy Races.We had little idea what to expect. We knew something about water speed, from boat races in the Bay of Quinte.We knew land speed from motorcycle and automobile races at the Fairgrounds.We knew air speed […]
Still keen on Argentine
At the beginning of the 19th century, Argentina boasted the 8th largest economy in the world. With these riches the middle and upper classes of Buenos Aires enjoyed lifestyles on par with those in Paris, London and New York. The wine industry catered to this class as most of the wine produced in Argentina remained […]