This Saturday, December 6 (11 am to 2 pm), I’ll be at the Reif Estate Christmas Market with copies of ‘Providence Point’ for sale. The market is an annual two-day event – this year on December 6-7 – with a chance to browse all manner of potential Christmas gifts. Admission is free, at 15608 Niagara..
“Rex had only just come back from a trial of several weeks of working with Antek in Toronto. He claimed to have taken well to the roofing trade, but the approach of winter was slowing demand …” Now he had time to return to the Bay, and “he required time to think. The challenge was..
“The first weekend in August mirrored what Granny affectionately knew as England’s August Bank Holiday. My paternal grandparents, Gramps and Nana, shared the same happy recollection. All the same, like many others at the time, they did not receive an official Monday off. … Still, … they arrived at the Point along with Harry and..
Florent Sivell, a singer-songwriter based in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, has launched a crowdfunding campaign to make a video for his new music single ‘You’re just like me’ (to be released in winter 2026). It’ll be produced by film director Feber E. Coyote (https://febercoyote.art/) and director of photography Arold Blanchet (https://aroldblanchet.com/). Find Florent on Facebook, or listen to..
Hank tells Robbie of his plan to quit school at age fourteen and work odd jobs, either in Toronto or along the Bay. His goal is to match the life-style of local models that his mother calls “our royalty around here.” But Robbie needs convincing… “‘A regular job might be safer. Don’t you think so,..
“Christie’s Bluff was on the horizon as we got under way… Bella headed straight out. The boat was surprisingly swift… This journey to the Bluff would be very different from the first I had made. The lapstrake hull kept spray to a minimum, and there was a canopy we could raise if the sun grew..
“August began to feel a little different as the years passed. I discovered a glimmer of the liberation that increasing detachment could provide. But Hank was right. Change came at a cost. I was forced to imagine him vanishing into wretched city districts where I knew we could never meet. Meanwhile, Josée was entangling Rex..
Mooching was a subtle method of deep-water fishing in midsummer. It called for drifting slowly “while raising and lowering [one’s] … line to probe random depths along the way… The strategy explored varying depths, temperatures, and currents. Strikes might occur at any time, though fish were most often expected when the lure began either fleeing..
“Sunshine had permeated the dock, the planks of my skiff, even the bedrock. Everything radiated heat. Daisies, red clover, and Queen Anne’s lace exploded into bloom … As well, youngsters from near and far thronged to the Little Rock to seize what was left of the summer. Swimming, sunbathing, and flirting reached a crescendo. “Still,..
For your signed copy of ‘Providence Point’ visit me this weekend (September 27-8) at the Tellwell Publishing booth, Word on the Street – David Pecaut Square, Toronto. (Computer-generated images)
Hank, Rex and I “always knew that August’s parade of lazy days must finally come to an end. For Granny, as well… the conclusion of summer aroused powerful emotions.” For as she watched our late-summer exploits, “the freedom we enjoyed must have reflected opportunities totally beyond reach for even the most intrepid of Victorian daughters…
Granny recalled that at the Reigate summer festival, a pugnacious bully had mocked a young girl’s singing, but Great-Grandpa Barnaby would not stand for it. From the front row, “he glared down to the back of the tent” in which the performances were taking place. “He very deliberately took off his blazer. Then he rolled..