Rights and Freedoms
Imagine this: Close your eyes and you’ve just spent the night in a cold, concrete subway station wondering what is going on “topside”. The lights are flickering. You’ve just realized you’re a little bit claustrophobic. You can hear the gunfire from the big guns, topside. You can hear the air raid sirens wailing. You can […]
Her Majesty’s Memoirs
Talk about life being unfair. Just as she was beginning to celebrate her Platinum Jubilee—70 years on the throne—Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II has tested positive for Covid. She may have been exposed to it by her son Prince Charles, who has endured two bouts with the virus, but she could have just as easily […]
Get Cut or Make the Cut
Recently I mentioned I was thrilled to be surrounded by my tchotchkes, but I forgot to mention I am underwhelmed by some of the other stuff I’ve crammed into my life. For some reason I can’t seem to part with things I don’t need, want or use. I may be that person in the meme […]
The plot thickens, or just gets lost
Once upon a time, we were faced with a virus that came from China. We thought that it was transmitted hand-to-hand, and that we could contain it by washing, fist bumping, and isolating. Our aim was to eliminate its transmission. Fast forward two years to today. Downtown Ottawa is under occupation by the “freedom convoy”. […]
Shiny sparkles
Recently, on social media, someone posted a little blurb about how we’ve changed since the beginning of The Pandemic. At the beginning of this pandemic adventure, we stood on balconies and front porches ringing bells, singing, making music and shoutchatting across the street to our neighbours. On one of the most touching, exciting, tearful days, […]
Misplaced priorities
Council made it clear last week that County roads, a few loads of gravel and rural road sweeping are more important than making sure its residents have food in their bellies. During last week’s budget deliberations, the Food Security Working Group (FSWG) put forward an ask of $60,000 to be used to help fight food […]
Please don’t run Mr. Chong
The Honourable Michael D. Chong, M.P. House of Commons, Ottawa Dear Mr. Chong It must have given you some satisfaction to see your Reform Act legislation employed by the Conservative caucus to swiftly and permanently dispatch Erin O’Toole to the graveyard inhabited by Stockwell Day and Andrew Scheer. Without your legislation triggering a vote at […]
Who’s my Ginger Peachy?
So many times I have often wondered, in print, how one month manages to pass by so quickly. I didn’t feel that way about January 2022. January was just one long string of challenges, one after the other. I’d nicely get over some disaster or upset and another would take its place. I’m not complaining […]
Mr. Young’s Ultimatum
Neil Young is at it again— stirring up trouble with his music to defend a cause he holds dear, He is less than fondly remembered by those in Alberta who felt the sting of his on-the-scene opposition to the tar sands. Mr. Young has now taken on Spotify the world’s biggest podcasting service. He has […]
Downsizing, Schmownsizing
Last week I had a lovely “visit” with a good friend. One of the things we discussed was how we’d decided to spend some of our Pandemic Moments cleaning house. Yep! Purging. Downsizing. Becoming minimalists. Call it whatever you want to call it. We talked about our abundance of stuff. For some reason we’d been […]