Take me out to the ball game!
The refrain from that great song can be heard across North America on most sunny weekend days throughout the summer. A couple of weeks ago, Hunter whispered to his grandmother that he would like to go to a Blue Jays game. He gets to go to at least one game a year, and it is […]
A golden goose
Last week, we detailed how Vincor had evolved, from strength to strength, to dominate Ontario wine sales. After acquiring vineyards in B.C., Quebec and Ontario, Vincor, along with Andrew Peller Ltd., were given further leverage when they were granted licences for off-site retail stores (usually located at the exit of major grocery chains). Today, Vincor […]
The forced march
The old era is just about over—the era of creating, storing and regurgitating hundreds of different passwords—to be succeeded by the new biometric era. According to the New York Times, most major banks in the U.S. are implementing systems that will allow for recognition of voice, eyes, facial contours or fingerprints as a password substitute […]
Strong women
I’ve never been one to follow professional sports too closely, and the nationalism and politics of the Olympic Games has always felt a little too forced for me. Generally, I’m the type to dread the biennial two-week stretch when the news is overtaken by dramatic stories from the lives of extraordinary people. This year, in […]
Water, water…
This week, I will not mention Donald Trump. Nope. This column is dedicated to all those people who just don’t understand the importance of conserving water and the significance of the current County-wide drought. It’s also for the people who do understand and don’t know how to have a good time conserving. This column is […]
Knee high
Within arm’s length from where I sit, I study a wasp as it lands on the edge of a birdbath. The wasp is soon joined by a second one; a cicada sings from the prairie grasses beyond. The rust-coloured leaves from the three-storey poplar trees blanket the driveway, autumn-like. Stress has driven the poplars to […]
Round table
In 2011, I visited Wellington, dressed in my best and ready for an interview with Rick Conroy—editor of this paper—for a four-week internship. After that interview, I took myself out for breakfast at the Wellington Grill, where a group of locals sat around a table, discussing everything from the local gossip to the troubles of […]
Bright prospects
I’ve long been intrigued by those “wine stores” usually found at the supermarket exit. How are they able to sell wine outside the premises of an LCBO? Very little detail was available on the subject until I was guided to an in-depth article written by Toronto Star reporter Martin Regg Cohn in March of 2015. […]
Three disappointments
It’s been a week filled with disappointments, so the least I can do is to share them with you. They came in the form of Thomas the Tank Engine, dental floss and Hank Williams. Thomas the Tank Engine first. I grew up in England during the last years of the steamtrain era. My grandparents lived […]
Make museums great again
I will not talk about Donald Trump. I will not talk about Donald Trump. I will not. How about those County Museums, folks? Have you hugged one of our museums recently? We’ve got five sites! Something for everyone. I know many of y’all have never been to any of the County Museums. I know it. […]