(This post was originally published in February 2022) February is the month when thousands of people around the world will send or receive sentimental or humorous greetings cards from their sweethearts, friends or family members. So, let’s take a step back in time and examine the history of this unique ‘giving-of-cards’ tradition which apparently all […]
A HISTORY OF VALENTINE’S DAY! Read More »
Last weekend, the Chinese community celebrated the lunar Chinese New Year, which this year heralded in the “Year of the Rabbit.” The rabbit is the fourth animal in the zodiac sequence of twelve and is seen as the luckiest. People born in the year of rabbit are believed to be vigilant, witty, quick-minded and ingenious.
Tonight is the last night of the old year and will be observed as the oldest of all holiday celebrations, first celebrated in Babylon about 4,000 years ago. At that time, however, the New Year began after the vernal equinox which was the first day of spring. It seems more logical to begin a new
It’s not JUST New Year’s Eve! Read More »
A Christmas Eve Miracle At least once in everyone’s life we need a miracle. The story of the one that happened over 180 years ago on a cold, crisp Christmas Eve in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, has been told many times before but, in today’s world of unrest and uncertainty, it still bears repeating. It
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Val’s Book Reviews Fortune Knox Once: More Musings from the Edge Victoria: Heritage House, 2022 $22.95 / 9781772034172 We all need a little Knox humour in our lives these days and Jack Knox has delivered just that once again in his latest book Fortune Knox Once (More Musings from The Edge). Jack Knox is a
The mixture we all need Read More »
Val’s Book Reviews Between a Rock and a Hard Place: A Dutch Policeman Fighting the Nazi Occupation by Johanna Van Zanten Las Vegas: Histria Books (Addison & Highsmith Publishers), 2021 $29.99 / 9781592111022 I always enjoy books set in World War Two, especially those that tell stories of lesser known aspects of the war. Such
I am just coming out on the other side of a bout with Covid and am feeling very grateful! Two years ago after we had been in lockdown for a while, I wrote a blog about the things I was learning about isolating in a “bubble” and the strange new world to which we all
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Val’s Book Reviews The Call of the Red-Winged Blackbird: Essays on the Common and Extraordinary by Tim Bowling Hamilton, ON: Wolsak & Wynn, 2022 $22.00 / 9781989496428 It is always a delightful surprise to discover a book you would not normally read, only to find it extremely enjoyable. Such was the case for me with
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Originally published in this Blog on November 5, 2021 Perhaps because there has been so much horror in the world of late, it seems even more important every November 11th to remember why we honour all those who serve their countries. On November 11, 1919, when the first Remembrance Day was held throughout Commonwealth countries
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Val’s Book Reviews The Darkness in the Light by Daniel Kalla Toronto: Simon & Schuster Canada, 2022 $24.99 / 9781982191399 If you enjoy gripping, psychological thrillers, Daniel Kalla’s book The Darkness in The Light will hold your attention to the very end. The story takes place in Anchorage, Alaska, and in the remote world of
Beware of Ketopram Read More »
