Corrie Catch-Up
CBC’s Coronation Street is now only two weeks behind the UK. Wow! We’ve never been that close before. In an RCI interview with Carmel Kilkenny, CBC Executive Director of Content…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Sept. 2/12)
Eve at an eat as much as you like buffet Soap operas are about emotions, relationships and the vicissitudes of human interaction. So there are many powerful scenes that involve…
Have Chicken – Will Travel
Some hens need a home. So the first construction project at the house? A chicken coop. It’s just big enough for five or six chickens and their furnishings and for…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Aug. 26/12)
Employee of the Year So many good storylines and powerful scenes this week! Sunita’s delusions about Karl and Dev’s heartbreak as she tells him the “truth” as she wants to…
Poems by C. H. Burwell
It took a year but I have my grandfather’s poems in pdf format. If you would like to print it out, click here and download the file links on the…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Aug. 19/12)
King Solomon's Judgement In the Old Testament story (1 Kings 3:16-28), two women claimed to be the mother of a child and King Solomon had to decide which one was…
Phoenix Eggs
These beautiful little eggs are from my great nephew's Phoenix hens. They’re maybe half the size of a large supermarket egg. But they’re twice as flavourful. I think that has…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Aug. 12/12)
In Vino Veritas “Sometimes you’ll buy a vase or a picture and you’ll put it on the sideboard or on the wall, and it’s ok. But it’s wrong. And that’s…
Dressage Top Hat
A requirement for safety helmets to be worn by riders in all equestrian shows is a good idea and, by and large, the helmets look ok. But dressage needs something…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Aug. 5/12)
Darryl The visual of the week: Darryl the rat, mistaken for a cell phone. There have been many rats in the Rovers Return over the years, certainly two-legged and probably…
Olympic Eventing
Trying to watch the Olympics Equestrian Eventing of the past three days, I’ve performed in my own olympic eventing. It includes the Stair Dash, Pet Hurdles and Speed Remote Handling.…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Jul 29/12)
Home Décor It was a splendid week on Corrie Street. The Jubilee festivities were just grand, with the bunting and flags and pictures of Queen Elizabeth. The Street party was…
Tale of Two Dog Parks
I don’t know if St. Thomas dog people and City Hall are still battling about weeds in the dog park. Please God, I hope not! Of all the issues that…
House Deconstruction
Three weeks in our new house and slowly it’s coming together. A new house is like a Rubik’s Cube: frustratingly impossible to figure out the parts but hit the right…
New Charity Cat Project
The Charity Cat project, under the umbrella of the STDOA, began due to cats who turned dog people into cat people. It started last summer with, literally, a cardboard box…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (June 10/12)
Double Drunk Story Caitlin Thomas wrote a book about her life and marriage to the poet Dylan Thomas. She called it Double Drink Story. I thought of it in the…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (June 3/12)
How would you know? It didn’t take long. Only a few weeks of sharing hearth and home – and child – and on Monday Peter throws it at Carla. “How…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (May 27/12)
Children of the Corn A week of kids, and both children and adults doing strange and hurtful things. Faye and Owen Best scene pick: Owen apologizing and explaining to Faye.…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (May 20/12)
Yankee Doodle Wednesday it was so sad seeing Sylvia depart. Sad for her, for Roy and for me. I’ve come to like her so much. And she and Roy really…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (May 13/12)
Bend it like Beckham Rosie has gone to London to be in a reality tv show – her chance at fame and fortune. Wednesday, she and Jason said goodbye in…
Spam
A lot of spam comes to blogs. That is why comments are screened: to keep the robot generated junk out. It’s held in a spam filter and must be gone…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (May 6/12)
It's not you, it's me Poor Leanne. Monday after she fled the courtroom, Peter comes looking for her shamefacedly. As she screams at him, you can see her very heart…
War of 1812
In 1814 we took a little trip - Along with Colonel Jackson down the mighty Mississip’ We took a little bacon and we took a little beans And we caught…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Apr. 29/12)
The Long Goodbye Paul’s relationship with Eileen and Lesley. A story interspersed with the arrival of Robert Vaughn as Milton, the drama of Carla and Peter sneaking around, Frank’s trial…
Ponta Delgada
I’m not a city person, but one city stays in my mind. Ponta Delgada, capital of Saõ Miguel in the Azores: a tiny perfect city. Having flown in to another…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Apr. 22/12)
Sweet Revenge I’m sure everyone who has ever lost a love to a lying, two-faced schemer stood up and cheered when Becky got back at Tracy. I sure did. What…
A Local CBC Solution
Stick with what you do well and others can’t do – that’s my suggestion for CBC Radio. An example, from this past week’s Sunday Edition, the story of The Investigator,…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Apr. 15/12)
Sin “Be sure your sin will find you out” (Numbers 32:23). Words that Tracy, Faye and Deirdre would do well to remember. Friday saw the start of the unraveling of…
RCI The Link
There’s a CBC Radio secret that night people in Canada know about. Radio Canada International’s The Link, produced in Montreal, airs from 2 to 3 a.m. Monday to Friday on…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Apr. 8/12)
Morning has broken Morning has broken... That's what played as guests awaited the brides. By the end, it was Sian’s heart that had broken. I’m sorry about that, but am…
Corrie Stars in London Ont
I’m glad I didn’t bother putting mousse in my hair last Friday. I hate the feel of it, but use it when it’s important to me that my hair looks…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Apr. 1/12)
SPOILER The minister comes to see Sophie and Sian about their blessing and goes to the Barlow house by mistake. He talks to Tracy, she finds salvation and publicly confesses…
Tempting Providence TNL
If you’re near London Ont. you’ve got a couple days left to see a grand play at the Grand Theatre. Tempting Providence, by Theatre Newfoundland and Labrador, runs until Friday…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Mar. 25/12)
Sanctuary Tuesday, while looking at Faye flounce off as he and Ches unloaded materials, Owen said it best: “It wasn’t a shed, it was her sanctuary.” So why is he…
Fanshawe Riot: Educating fools?
Last weekend, St. Paddy’s Day, London Ont. joined the ranks of cities of fools. Violent, vandalizing fools. Students at Fanshawe Community College in the city’s east end overturned cars and…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Mar. 18/12)
Sleep tight big fella Words for both Schmeichel and Lloyd at the end of Monday’s episodes: sleep tight big fella. Thank you, Carmel Morgan, for two perfect episodes. Sad and…
Schmeichel, the Greatest Dane
The name Schmeichel is well-known to two groups of people, soccer fans and Coronation Street fans. Peter Schmeichel is a great Danish goalkeeper who played for Manchester United. It was…
Tales from The Street
The big Corrie bus has rolled into Canada: McDonald father and son and the Peacocks. Charles Lawson (Jim McDonald), Nicholas Cochrane (Andy McDonald), Stephen Arnold (Ashley Peacock) and Julia Howarth…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Mar. 11/12)
A Boy and His Dog There were a lot of great scenes this week. The birthday party from hell with Rosie’s press coverage and Sophie and Sian’s hidden engagement rings.…
Interlibrary Loan
I wanted a book a while back. The St. Thomas public library didn’t have it and neither did the local bookstore. Did I want to drive to London to look…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Mar. 4/12)
Goodbye Mr. Chips John Stape’s death scene Friday was very touching. Despite him being a total nutbar, I am sad to say goodbye to him. The character of John Stape…
Dick Francis: A racing life
The back cover of Dick Francis: A Racing Life, a biography by Graham Lord, calls it “warm, affectionate, yet sharp and perceptive.” I usually read the jacket information before starting a…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Feb 26/12)
Breeding Pair Tracy told Steve she was contemplating an abortion because she couldn’t handle one baby, let alone twins, on her own. “You’ll find someone,” he tried to console her.…
Newfoundland Mi’kmaq Books
The telling of a place often is told through the people who make up the place. Conversely, the telling of a family can be told through the place they lived.…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Feb. 19/12)
Sisterhood If I’d laid a bet on how long Carla would cope with Maria as helpmeet, I’d have lost. Carla lasted longer than I’d expected. But, even so, it wasn’t…
Ocean Ranger 30
Thirty years ago the Ocean Ranger drill rig sank off the coast of Newfoundland. The entire crew, 84 men, drowned. During the early hours of February 15th, in a bad…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Feb. 12/12)
I saw my scene Tuesday and wrote about it then. Friday put my impressions in a different perspective. So here’s both, about Carla and Frank, with my observations on Friday…
Mabee Graves
These are the gravestones of Nancy Mabee Ostrander and her family at Jackson Cemetery near Courtland, Ontario. Len Fluhrer, a London local history writer, sent me the photos. He took…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Feb. 5/12)
Nightmare on Coronation Street Monday and Tuesday – great writing, acting, story and character development. Hard to pick one scene but that’s the task I have set myself. So, Audrey…
A Tale of the Sea etc.
In January 1883, a dory was lost at sea off the south coast of Newfoundland. On it were Howard Blackburn and Tommy Welsh. They became separated from their schooner in…
A Tale of the Sea
The Newfoundland Quarterly Vol. XII-No. 3 DECEMBER, 1912 40 cents per year Howard Blackburn and Thomas Welch - A Tale of the Sea By The Right Hon. Sir Edward Morris,…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Jan. 29/12)
Sitcom du Jour A double-date at Roy’s Rolls, or four platonic pals enjoying a meal as Norris preferred to think of it. Either way, Mary was spectacular. Her partner in…
Elgin County Dog Show
The Elgin County Kennel Club wants to come home to Elgin for its annual dog show. It would be nice to have it here in St. Thomas. I’d probably go…
Francis Family Books
If you had the sad job of picking the topic of the last novel you would write, I don’t think you could choose better than Dick Francis did. Crossfire, co-written…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Jan. 22/12)
Sympathy for the devil I never thought it would happen: I felt sympathy for Kylie and appreciation for Gail. When Kylie told Gail she wanted Max to be put up…
Drifting into Doom: Book
It was a dark and stormy night when I began reading Earl Pilgrim’s Drifting into Doom: Tragedy at Sea. Winter rain blew at the windows and tree branches hit the…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Jan. 15/12)
Parenthood Monday’s theme seemed to be parenthood, or not. Heart-breaking for so many characters. Three parent-child bonds struck me in particular. Sylvia and Roy Hayley is at the end of…
Tourist Board TV
Last night I watched the first episode of Arctic Air, CBC’s new series set in Yellowknife and surrounding lands. Tonight Republic of Doyle, set in St. John’s, returns for its…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Jan. 8/12)
The Real James “Your little James is a psychopath!” My husband said that at the end of Wednesday’s episode, with some considerable glee. He’d been telling me for weeks that…
Musée Acadien PEI
If you have a drop of Acadian blood in your veins or if you just enjoy the distinctive sound of an Acadian fiddle, a place for you to go is…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Jan. 1/12)
Differentness Once they’d decided it was necessary, Hayley and Roy didn’t have a chance to tell Mother Cropper the truth about Hayley’s sex change. Tracy Barlow, trademark sneer in place,…
Attawapiskat ‘Solution’
In a Sun Media op-ed column this week, Jerry Agar suggests a solution for the people of Attawapiskat, the embattled Northern Ontario reserve: leave it. He points out that doing…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Dec. 25/11)
Mother of the Year An anonymous call to Child Services, Max taken back into care “while we investigate.” Becky's way of handling this will not earn her any mother of…
Merry Solstice
Whatever the name of the event you’re celebrating, Happy It. The one thing that all the festivities happening at the time of the winter solstice have in common is that…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Dec. 18/11)
Paradise Lost Dreams seemingly attained: Paradise found. Awakening to reality: Paradise lost. Three scenes this week showed this, in very different ways with different levels of drama. Tyrone loses Tuesday,…
Island Dogs
On our recent trip to PEI, we stopped to get our bearings in Gateway Village at Borden-Carleton, just off the bridge. Walking around, saw a pet store with an open…
Notre Dame du Mont Carmel, Ile St-Jean
The church and graveyard at Mont Carmel on the west coast of PEI. Here, the island feels like it should be called by its old name, Ile St-Jean, when it…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Dec. 11/11)
Live fast, die old I didn’t watch Coronation Street when the Tanners lived there. But you can’t be a Corrie fan without knowing of Elsie Tanner. I’ve seen her and…
Attawapiskat
Look at Google News today: “Send troops to help Attawapiskat.” For a month, we’ve read about the Band Chief declaring a state of emergency over the lack of housing and…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Dec. 4/11)
Marriages of Convenience “For generations, the cream of British aristocracy and the crowned heads of Europe have intermingled to produce a bloodline like vintage champagne. Then what do they go…
North Cape Trail, PEI
We went to Prince Edward Island in November for “oh, a day or so.” Just off the bridge, in Gateway Village, an “olde towne” of new buildings with tourist services…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Nov. 27/11)
Easter Reunions Such a treat – seeing so many Corrie people back. They were there for Easter in UK air time. For us, just a very good Friday. First, Todd…
Anger by name…
Years ago, I was in a public library in Los Angeles and found reference books on family histories. I looked up my family name, Anger. It said the name came…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Nov. 20/11)
Marc, Marcia, Bambina The scene that made me shriek with delight this Tuesday was Kevin’s surprise gift to Sally. A Bambina! A beautiful little red Fiat 500, gift-wrapped! I just…
Jeep
I got me a Rubicon! I’ve never had a Jeep, always wanted one. In my head, I have a list of vehicles, or types of vehicles, that I want at…
Luanne Demers, Founding President
It was with much sorrow that we learned of the passing of a lovely woman – our friend and founder of STDOA Luanne Demers. Luanne died of cancer, too young,…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Nov. 13/11)
Bad Becky Wednesday, Becky going at Kylie then the Platts, followed by her going at Liz, and finally, the fabulous moment of throwing Liz’s favourite clothes in a puddle. And…
Hickstead
Canadian athletics and the world of show jumping lost a superstar last Sunday. The great Hickstead died during competition in Verona, Italy November 6th at age 15. His big heart…
New England Fall
Driving to New Brunswick by the American route, through New England. Trying to pick out roads as the crow flies. But mountains and forests in the north. Looking at an…
Sussex NB Dog Park
In Sussex, New Brunswick, when the first snow of the season hit. Beautiful weather the past few days, then bam – rain, snow and high winds. Not as bad as…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Oct. 30/11)
Business Watched only a bit of Corrie today, so I don't know everything that happened. But Dev explaining the full extent of their financial problems to Sunita was very moving.…
Me & Louis L’Amour
I stayed with my brother for a couple weeks once. I never thought of him as a reader, I was the “bookworm” in the family. But in his living room…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Oct. 23/11)
The Best Man The week ended as it started – with Peter and Nick. And Leanne and Carla. At the end of Friday’s episode, Peter told Leanne he knew about…
Prime Time
Last month, the new prime time tv programmes were rolled out. Many are good. They threw my life into chaos because I actually wanted to watch them. Person of Interest,…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Oct. 16/11)
The Good Soldier Writing this after Monday’s episode, pretty sure nothing is going to top Gary’s description of what happened in Afghanistan.* Gary has been unraveling since he came home.…
Walking in the Woods
When I moved back to southwestern Ontario, I thought walking in the woods would be over for me and my dog. Groomed parks maybe, but no acres of forest or…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Oct. 9/11)
Joy of Joy It seems wrong to say you enjoyed watching an old lady die of heart failure after finding out that her son was dead and his body buried…
Recorded Campaigning
This election I don’t know who I’m going to vote for. When the electioneering machine started cranking up, so did the recorded messages. You know, the taped messages that lazy…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Oct. 2/11)
Agatha Christie? Despite the sight of Tracy Barlow lying bloodied on the ground by the Barlows’ back door, the scene this week for me was Emily Bishop telling Tracy just…
Qalipu Band of the Mi’kmaq Nation
Monday it was announced: Mi’kmaq people of Central and Western Newfoundland are now members of the Qalipu band under the Indian Act. It’s been 39 years since they began politically…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Sept. 25/11)
Airing Laundry Usually I watch Coronation Street on the kitchen tv. I also tape it so if I miss the evening broadcast, I watch next morning on the bedroom tv.…
Coronation Street 50th
Coronation Street began due to a government mandate for home-grown television programming. A Canadian producer at Granada, the late Harry Elton, knew the popularity and longevity of American soaps and…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Sept. 18/11)
Off the Rails Wow!! I was disappointed when I learned the big event to mark the 50th anniversary would be a tram crash. I had hoped for something uplifting. But,…
St. Thomas Ford Plant
In Grade 11, at St. Thomas’ Arthur Voaden Secondary School, I was the only girl, and only Art student, in an English class with Shop boys. I had read most…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Sept. 11/11)
Our Jim With our CBC episodes doubled as of this week, and a lot going on in the Street, it’s hard to pick just one scene. So my pick is…
The Public Library
When I was a kid, I spent a lot of time in the library. It was in an old house on Main Street in Belmont, right near our house. I…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Sept. 4/11)
Goodnight, Jack Duckworth Tuesday – can’t pick one scene. First, at his birthday do at the Rovers, Jack Duckworth and Molly discuss the situation with Kevin being her baby's biological…
Elsie 1997-2011
Elsie Rose died yesterday, Sept. 1st, peacefully with her family beside her. She is buried at Sandy Ridge Pet Cemetery in Eden. She is mourned. This was written last Sunday.…
Meeting Jack Duckworth
In 1992 I went to Manchester to research Coronation Street for a CBC Radio Ideas documentary on British and American soaps. At Granada, I watched the taping of a scene…
Coronation Street Scene of the Week (Aug. 28/11)
Jacks' Bonfire Night A lot of story this week, but nothing leaping out at me until Friday. It was November 5th, Bonfire Night. Fireworks had started, literally on the street…