“Our tradition was to stargaze from the veranda. Grandpa would pull out his Bix Beiderbecke 78s and wind up the gramophone. It was their favourite music. The fantastical rhythms transported them to St. Louis, Chicago, or New York City. Granny without fail lost track of the time, allowing Grandpa to regale her with the likes..
To begin at the beginning, my grandparents… bought their cottage in the early thirties. They christened it ‘Providence’ after a home they once rented in a village south of London. ‘Point’ was a nod to the rocky outcrop where it stood. Nothing this side of the Atlantic could equal the original Providence’s old-world charm. Still,..
The meal passed agreeably. By the time our second beers arrived, … Rex was keen to fill me in on events between Port and Toronto. “Things are great with Josée. And Antek wants us to get married in the spring. By the time you see us next year, she’ll be Josée Doiron like me. We’ll..
“The obstacle … [standing in the way of enjoying the Point that Granny] recollected most vividly was also the first she encountered: the track in from the main road. Its four or five miles meandered from one featureless patch of bedrock to the next. Granny’s previous experience [in England] had prepared her for rural byways..
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..