William Shakespeare – A Man of Many Talents On this day (April 23rd) in 1564, William Shakespeare was born. Fifty-two years later in 1616 he apparently died on the same date. The Bard He was the most renowned playwright of all time who incredibly is still studied in schools and universities over 460 years later. […]
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Politics! Some Trivia There has been a great deal of political chit-chat lately, both North and South of the border between Canada and the United States. We are inundated with it on the daily news. Some true and some fake. What do we believe? So, I thought it might be a good idea to get
Adelaide Simpson – The Baker’s Wife When the Norman Morison arrived in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, in a snowstorm in January 1853, Henry and Adelaide Simpson were among the many passengers aboard. Other families such as the Skinners and the McKenzies were also aboard to take up positions as farm managers for the Puget Sound
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Victoria’s Long Naval Connections The Royal Navy’s Colonial connection to British Columbia’s capital city, Victoria, goes back to the settlement days of the Puget Sound farming families in the 1850s. The Skinner Family Families such as the Langfords, the Skinners, and the McKenzies who had arrived in the colony to manage farms for the Puget
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Val’s Book Reviews Letters from Gerald by R.W. Butler Altona: Friesen Press, 2024$22.49 / 9781038305459 I was pleasantly surprised to find that fiction about ornithology could hold my attention to the very last page. West coast author R.W. Butler’s debut novel on this specialized topic has much to commend it. The book concerns young Eleanor
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The Sylvia Hotel A Classic By the Bay The Sylvia Hotel in Vancouver’s English Bay is an historic building located at 1154 Gilford Street alongside Stanley Park. The hotel has been a significant Vancouver landmark for almost ten decades. Guests who visit The Sylvia today come for the special old-world charm of squeaky elevators and unique-style
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Thomas Harris – Victoria’s First Mayor British Columbia’s capital City had one of the most colorful and controversial figures serving as the first Mayor. His name was Thomas Harris, and he served three terms in office between 1862 and 1865. A butcher by trade, he referred to himself as “just an ‘umble tradesman” who owned
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What in the Sam Hill? A Man of Peace. Historians believe that the expression “what in the Sam Hill?” originated with a man called Sam Hill, a minister of finance to Oliver Cromwell in 17th century England. Others believe the expression is attributed to a Quaker named Sam Hill who lived part of his life
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Flotsam and Jetsam (Early Characters in B.C.’s Capital City.) Many of the colourful transients who drifted into the capital city in the early days barely stayed long enough to guarantee themselves a place in the history books, but I recently discovered a few interesting examples. One was Polish-born, carriage driver Billy Barlow. In 1863, he
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Val’s Book Reviews Dear Arlo: letters to my grandson by Olga CampbellVancouver: Jubaji Press, 2024 This memoir by Olga Campbell is a mixture of prose, art, poetry, and recipes interspersed with letters to the author’s grandson, Arlo. It tells the tragic story of a legacy of trauma. Campbell herself is a second-generation holocaust survivor born
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