Councillor Harper’s Saturdays
Wellington Ward Councillor Mike Harper had the summer from hell last year. He spent his Saturdays interceding in fights between those trying to turn their boat trailers around by the Belleville Street boat ramp, and the owners of the adjacent properties who didn’t want interlopers in their private parking spaces. And when he wasn’t doing […]
Backseat driving
The week of February 21st! Time flies, as you know, when we’re having fun. Are we having fun, yet? I sure hope so. I think I have decided we all need a real break. Yeah, I know we’ve had a break from each other for a year now. I mean a break from the break […]
Out of the lockdown and into…?
So what did you do last Wednesday? Did you go hog wild in celebration of the fact that our area—the Hastings and Prince Edward public health unit—was tied with the Renfrew unit and the Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox & Addington unit in the race to be first out of the lockdown gate? Did you go […]
Chit Chats and other Consumables
It’s half past February and Valentine’s Day, as I write this column. LOML and I have barely picked up the last of the errant tinkel, a.k.a. tinsel, and we’re still working on Christmas chocolates and candy canes. This morning, Valentine’s Day, we have added a little pile of heart-shaped sugar cookies, a bag of dark […]
My four legged mentor
By Conrad Beaubien I know with certainty that I’m holding the reins of another era. My treks with Thunder offer a takeaway every time. I know he knows; the unfazed deepness in his ever-kind eyes, a twitch with his tall ears is but one of the indicators I have come to understand. It’s a donkey […]
The top 37
There is something about the money paid to athletes that fascinates us. Why are they paid so much? Shouldn’t they be playing for the love of their sport? Playing is fun, and fun should be free. Besides, our parents say that if their sports heroes played for next to nothing, so too should their children’s. […]
Family Day
It’s February, Family Day is just around the corner and even if we haven’t got family, we’ve got family. We’re more generous about our definition of family, thank goodness. When I was a kid, attending a Catholic School in Toronto, there was never any doubt about what a family was. According to our teachers, a […]
The Irrelevance of Mr. O’Toole
Erin O’Toole has got off to a slow start. On the evening he was elected Conservative leader, problems with the balloting system pushed the broadcast of his leadership acceptance speech into the wee hours of the morning, well past everyone’s bedtime. On top of that, he assumed the Conservative leadership in August, 2020—just before the […]
Prognosticating and other Shenanigans
Groundhog Day! As much as I like all of the seasons, Groundhog Day is the promise of change. When this article hits the Times box it’ll be the day after. I don’t remember the second day of February ever being such a big deal when I was a kid, or even when I was a […]
From 24 million to one
Justin Trudeau couldn’t bring himself to admit the obvious. He got blinded by the bright light of his celebrity pick for Governor General. and failed to do his due diligence. The buck didn’t just stop with him; it was on his desk the whole time and never got passed around. If Mr. Trudeau is determined […]