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old city hall toronto

Voting high

I just voted in the advance poll for the Toronto municipal election 2014. You can’t see me, but I am jumping up and down just a bit. For some reason, I find the act of voting exhilarating, particularly voting in the advance poll, on the first day possible. But when I reflect upon this, I have to admit a certain character flaw – a certain predictable pattern. I also lined up with friends for the first screening of The Fellowship of the Ring in Toronto in December 2001, and all the subsequent films. I travelled to Birmingham, England to hear… Read More »Voting high

All the boots of tramping warriors

This July, I met up with seasoned travelling companions Chris and Rosemary in Amsterdam. We have conspired on several international adventures in France, Italy, and the far west coast of North America, but this summer we had a quest to learn all we could about the events of 1914. We spent a few days decompressing in Ghent: a cyclists’ heaven. Cars, pedestrians and bikes all share the road with decorum and respect. There are bike racks in front of every public building, and cycling along the canals is a peaceful way to explore. We gaped at the treasured Ghent Altarpiece,… Read More »All the boots of tramping warriors

Bali wall painting

Great navigational errors: Episode two

My second great navigational error was in Bali, Indonesia. Again (as in episode one) I was in the back seat. Bruce Hill and his brother were up front; Chris driving UK-style on the right hand side of the car. We had enjoyed a thrilling late night Gamelan concert in sultry Ubud, with a 30-piece Balinese orchestra, dancers and singers. We picked our way back through the town following some sort of “map.” Heading up into the countryside, the road soon began to get very thin, then disintegrated altogether into a brittle stone cattle path that was certainly not intended for… Read More »Great navigational errors: Episode two

Pressing social questions of everyday life

What would you do? If you prepared supper for someone and they didn’t show up? What would you do if someone sent you a book as a present, but you already owned that book? Would you tell them or just say thank you? What would you do if someone sent you an email obviously intended for someone else? Would you reply and correct them, revealing that you are privy to information you probably shouldn’t have, or would you erase it? If you are in a restaurant waiting for your lunch meeting with a colleague and they are 20 minutes late,… Read More »Pressing social questions of everyday life

Sackville United Church

Paradise: paved or saved?

A place dear to my heart is “For Sale.” Sackville United Church gave me the life-changing experience of singing in a big choir of joyful children’s voices; where I first felt a powerful pipe organ rattle through my feet, had my first chance to act in a play, to paint banners, to memorize poetry, to go Christmas carolling, to sing soaring descants with the big kids. The building is no longer a church. It has been purchased by a developer who intends to take it down from its place of pride; take it out of the heart of town where it… Read More »Paradise: paved or saved?