The Observer
The acknowledgements didn’t make a lot of sense when I read them before starting The Observer by Marina Endicott. Neither did the author photograph on the back jacket flap. Both…
Flag Day
Sixty years ago, the maple leaf was raised for the first time as Canada’s official flag. On February 15, 1965 it replaced the Red Ensign and Union Jack. Not all…
The Wolves of Winter
Novel by Tyrell Johnson, The Wolves of Winter, 2018 Simon & Schuster A young woman and her family had headed north from the United States, ending up in the Yukon.…
Elizabeth, 1951 Canada
A page from my mother’s scrapbook. For five weeks in the fall of 1951 Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip toured Canada. It was her first trip here. My mother kept…
General Jack and Warrior
Warrior was called "the horse the Germans couldn't kill." He was a war horse. The 15.2 hand Thoroughbred gelding was General Jack Seely's charger. Gen. Seely was a British career…
Canadian Triple Crown
Mighty Heart has a chance today to be the 13th Canadian Triple Crown winner. The three-year-old colt won the Queen's Plate at Woodbine, the Prince of Wales Stakes at Fort…
P. L. Robertson
Red Robbie, green Robbie. If you know what that means, you're a Canadian. Or a connoisseur of screws and screwdrivers. The Robertson screw and screwdriver, with square socket heads, the…
Passchendaele
The Battle of Passchendaele ended 100 years ago today. It is also called the Third Battle of Ypres and the "Muddy-est, Bloody-est of the whole war." The latter is what…
Canadian Songs
So, for Canada Day, I looked for Canadian songs that evoke a sense of place, of history. Those songs that everybody knows a few lines of, to sing at public…
Terms of Union
"What fair and equitable basis may exist for federal union of Newfoundland and Canada?" Seventy years ago, Newfoundland decided to ask Ottawa that question. Two years later, they'd sorted it…
Four Strong Winds
I've been thinking about Ian Tyson lately. With the recent death of Leonard Cohen, the songs and the songwriters of Canada - and an era - have been heard a…
United Empire Rebels
A couple weeks ago, I posted the family tree of the Mabees, my paternal grandmother’s people. It’s the family I knew least about, other than there are a lot of…
Corrie Scene of the Week
Corrie Scene of the Week Excerpts Scene of the Week dates follow the Canadian timeline, 2 weeks behind the UK. For episodes before 2018, go to page numbers above 'comments'…
Coronation Street
Coronation Street Post Excerpts click for Scene of the Week Corriedale (Jan. 26/26) For the first time, two British soaps combined actors, writers and crew to produce a crossover of…