Canadian politics just became much more interesting. Maxime Bernier has withdrawn from the Conservative Party, of which he almost became leader, to found a new political party. He is speaking up about issues that others want to avoid talking about and this has raised a storm of criticism. Perhaps he is starting a movement at … Continue reading Spectator or participant?
Canada
The Emperor’s New Clothes and Donald Trump
In the tale The Emperor’s New Clothes, by Hans Christian Andersen, a vain emperor is approached by two men who claim to be master weavers. They offer to make him a marvellously fine set of clothes from material that only they know how to make. This material has a unique characteristic, it is invisible to … Continue reading The Emperor’s New Clothes and Donald Trump
Every Day With Jesus – booklet report
My wife has informed me that the book reviews I have posted are not reviews. I have thought about that and decided that she is right. I should have called them book reports. What I have before me today, though, is not really a book; it is a booklet of daily devotions giving a page … Continue reading Every Day With Jesus – booklet report
Fire Road – a book review
FIRE ROAD - The Napalm Girl's Journey through the Horrors of War to Faith, Forgiveness and Peace, by Kim Phúc Phan Thi. June 8, 1972, a nine-year-old girl had the clothes burned off her back by napalm during the Vietnam war. The photo taken by AP photographer Nick Ut won him a Pulitzer Prize and … Continue reading Fire Road – a book review
Brain benumbed by beastly biting cold
We are in the midst of a Canada-wide cold wave, with temperatures 15 to 20 degrees below seasonal averages. (Those are Celsius degrees, too. Each one is worth 1.8 Fahrenheit degrees.) The National Post reports that it was colder in Winnipeg this morning than it was at the North Pole, the South Pole and the … Continue reading Brain benumbed by beastly biting cold
The Bluenose
The picture in yesterday's post showed Canada's most famous ship, the Bluenose, a fishing schooner launched at Lunenburg, Nova Scotia in 1921. The Bluenose won the International Fisherman's Race numerous times in the 1920's and 1930's, being defeated only once. It also set the record for the largest load of fish brought into Lunenburg harbour. … Continue reading The Bluenose
Let’s eradicate Black Friday in Canada
In the USA, Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving, the day that Christmas merchandise goes on sale for the first time. It's a big thing, usually the highest dollar volume of sales for the year. In Canada it obviously just a crass copy-cat attempt to pry a little more money out of shoppers' bank … Continue reading Let’s eradicate Black Friday in Canada
Winter’s adventure lost
Seventy years ago, when our family wanted to go somewhere in winter we used a cutter much like the one illustrated. We dressed very warmly, heated a stone or two in the oven, placed them on the floor of the cutter and draped horsehide robes over our laps and feet. Nowadays, I push a button … Continue reading Winter’s adventure lost
Chapter 3 – My father
The time has come for me to write about my father, but I don’t want to. I’m afraid that I’m going to make him sound like an ogre, and he really wasn’t. Most of the time he was a pretty decent sort, but I grew up living in dread of the times when his internal … Continue reading Chapter 3 – My father
The significance of Canada Day
July 1 is Canada Day. This year we are celebrating the 150th anniversary of Canadian Confederation. Canadian history goes back much further than July 1, 1867. Why has this date been chosen as the birth of Canada as a nation? A quaint notion has arisen today that before the coming of white people the aboriginal … Continue reading The significance of Canada Day
Flatlander Faith 