Columnists

Springtime

Posted: May 19, 2017 at 10:21 am   /   Columnists

It’s springtime. The dandelions and the realtors’ signs have popped up all over the County. LOML and I live in an old house. A seriously old place. Most of what I consider quirky or charming or put-up-withable, another person would consider annoying and in need of upgrading. There are some folks who drool when they […]

No Comments read more

Mothers

Posted: May 19, 2017 at 8:53 am   /   Columnists

I am what society often considers a woman of childbearing age. I am not, however, a mother. I never felt the draw to motherhood, the desire to have a tiny human of my own to care for. I appreciate the lovely things about babies: their soft skin, their huge eyes, their grasping fingers, the new […]

No Comments read more

2017 Royal Bank Cup

Posted: May 18, 2017 at 10:42 am   /   Columnists

The Royal Bank Cup is in the midst of preliminary rounds at present in Cobourg, Ontario. As the host team, the Cobourg Cougars receive an automatic bye into the championship. There are five teams in the tourney, vying for the prize as the best junior hockey team in Canada (excluding the CHL teams). There are […]

No Comments read more

Old vines tale

Posted: May 12, 2017 at 9:10 am   /   Columnists

In April 2012, renowned wine columnist Beppi Crosariol wrote an insightful article on old grape vines. These items are like catnip to me: I can’t help but nose around in the origins of vines and their ability to provide wine and food. Almost 2,000 years ago, grapevines began to be planted on the leeward side […]

No Comments read more

Second fiddle bows out

Posted: May 12, 2017 at 9:07 am   /   Columnists

It’s hard to think of a job that is more taxing than that of Queen of the Realm. You always have to be on your best behaviour. You just don’t get much time to put your feet up and say “To heck with the world, I’m taking a for-me day.” But I suggest there is […]

No Comments read more

Hospice hiking

Posted: May 12, 2017 at 9:02 am   /   Columnists

One day you wake up and realize you’re the same age as your parents were when you thought they were old. Yep, it happens. It just happened to me. I distinctly remember sitting at my parents’ kitchen table, in Toronto, and thinking, “My parents are old. They’ve moved to this smaller house because they’re too […]

No Comments read more

Boiler plate

Posted: May 11, 2017 at 3:12 pm   /   Columnists

There are not enough places to live. It seems like a ludicrous problem in the County, where the population is a mere 25,000 on roughly the same amount of land as Toronto. Even when farm, commercial and industrial land is taken into account, there really should be enough room. And yet, when council decided to […]

No Comments read more

Impostor syndrome

Posted: May 5, 2017 at 9:04 am   /   Columnists

There is an affliction in our society that is probably easily fixed by Building Self Esteem and Sucking It Up. It’s called Impostor Syndrome, and it strikes in the hearts of people who are given responsibility or trust they have earned but somehow feel is undeserved. It’s a delusion. One that is harmful to the […]

No Comments read more

Simmering unrest

Posted: May 5, 2017 at 9:03 am   /   Columnists

Some time back, I wrote about the biggest civil revolt that took place in the 20th century in France. And no, I am not making reference to the demonstrations that captivated the world’s attention in May 1968, when students in Paris somehow lost that San Francisco summer of love feeling and protested against anything and […]

No Comments read more

While you still can

Posted: May 5, 2017 at 8:57 am   /   Columnists

I couldn’t figure it out at first. Let’s just say I wasn’t paying close attention; it’s better than saying I was slow on the uptake. The 30-second television commercial featured a man—who could have been the Most Interesting Man in the Word if it were a beer commercial—apparently driving a sporty red 2017 Lexus IS […]

No Comments read more