Last weekend Bowser and Blue played the Lancaster Park Outdoor Resort. It is an RV park just across the border in Lancaster, Ont., about 30 minutes from the West Island.The park is on the lake, where the St. Lawrence opens up to Lake St. Francis. This is a lake very much like Lake St. Louis. It’s wide and shallow. The park is like a little town much like small town in the U.S. were depicted in old movies. It’s a safe and friendly community. With kids riding bicycles with...
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The phrase "The Beautiful Game" is a synonym for Association Football. And indeed, there is an aesthetic which seems to be overlooked in other sports. You will notice it right away by listening to the commentators. One goal was described as “brilliant.” Another was simply “delightful.” These are adjectives that are usually found in the arts. As in: his performance was “brilliant” in the “delightful” production of …. Football seems to be appreciated as much as theatre...
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Summer solstice festivals reach back into our pagan past, to a fertility ritual associated with the lighting of fires. Today we light our little fires of nationalism. The United States celebrates nationhood on July 4, Canada celebrates on July 1 and the newly emerging "Quebecois nation" celebrates on June 24. Many national days cluster around the summer solstice, probably because we like to associate the potency of our nation with that of the sun at its highest point. ...
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The strange thing about Quebec is that in most matters it is a very progressive society, like a North American Sweden. But when it comes to language, it is North Korea; each leader falling over each other trying to prove that they are the most like Kim Jong Il. But now that the Liberal government of Quebec has overtly moved on from merely oppressing its English-speaking citizens to oppressing its French-speaking citizens as well, perhaps this is an opportunity to bring all Quebecers...
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Beaurepaire village was awash in colour. Rainbow-coloured ribbons had been out for days. Not everyone knew what it was all for. My neighbour thought we were about to have a gay pride parade. But it was all to kick off Beaconsfield’s 100th birthday. On an idyllic Friday evening in June, the boulevard was closed and hundreds of families wandered through the village. A man did tricks on a penny farthing bicycle. Ladies wore Victorian dresses and enormous flowered hats....
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The latest skirmishes between the Quebec Liberals and the Parti Québécois have all been about ethics.Let us pause for a moment and have a good laugh. I put it to you that neither of these political parties knows anything about ethics....
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A year ago I drove along Beaconsfield Boulevard. I was in no hurry with time to kill, doing twenty klicks in a thirty klick zone. I stopped at a stop sign, looked both ways, and as I pulled away I noticed a police car behind a hedge on the cross street. Sneaky bugger, I thought as I continued. Within seconds he was pulling me over. What did I do? He said I had not stopped. I had, I protested. He frowned as he inspected my license and registration. ...
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Suddenly we are all united. Everyone in the city is excited about the successes of the Canadiens. The local flag of choice does not sport the maple leaf or the fleur de lis. It sports a big CH. And it flies from almost every passing car. And on every stop sign, we don’t read “Arret” or “Stop.” We read: “Halak.”But there are a few of our compatriots who do not share our euphoria. For instance, my friend who runs a video store. He just shakes his head and says: “It’s...
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These days a conversation can start with the weather, and end up with politics.After the sudden cold snap this weekend many of my friends were discussing the weather. And it seems that no matter what happens with the weather, it always ends up being proof that the weather is changing.I try to calm them down by reminiscing that during my entire lifetime we always had weather. And weather, by definition, has always been changing.But today, weather has become a prima Donna...
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Perhaps you have had this experience: the Canadiens are down one goal and it’s the last two minutes of the game. So they pull the goalie. And guess what happens? That’s right. You knew it would happen. Everyone knew it would happen.The opposing team scores another goal, putting away the game for good. So why do coaches persist in doing this? There seems to be no one-goal games any more. The winner always wins by two goals because the losers have given them an extra...
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