Monthly Archives: July 2016
Today’s Stupid Question Comes From…
… the nice people at Bell Canada. At 7:01 p.m. last night an email from their customer service people popped into my inbox. It read as follows: Please tell us how we’re doing. L Anderson, Thank you for your recent call to Bell, at 3:51 PM on Tuesday, July 19, 2016. We’d love to […]
The Mill
I lived and worked in Renfrew County for 15 years or so, and never once checked out any of the ghost towns. I knew where they were, half a dozen or so anyway, but I just didn’t make it a priority. Now I’m thinking I missed out on some interesting aspects of local history. And, […]
An Answer and a Question
In Saturday’s newspaper there was a review of a new book that I suspect I will never get around to reading. It’s not that I didn’t find the concept appealing, but more that I have a number of books at home that I have on my must read list. I won’t guesstimate the number, but […]
The General Store
Sometimes the questions go unanswered. Why was some stuff left behind when the general store closed? I can figure out why the store closed – the community died. Passed through Balaclava, Ontario, yesterday. Actually, we didn’t as much pass through as go looking for it. The community is one of several “ghost” towns in Renfrew […]
The Pigs Take A Train
My wife was visiting family in Germany and sent picture of a clipping from the local newspaper regarding the famous Lippstadt pigs that I made the focus of one of my early blog posts in November 2014. The pigs it seems, had gone missing again but been found. Her translation of the article tells the […]
Bluesfest 2016 IV – The Monkees
What do you do when the singer on half your hit records dies? When your guitarist apparently would rather be dead than join you on stage? Or maybe not. After all, the show must go on. The pre-fab four are now the pre-fab two but, still calling themselves The Monkees, Micky Dolenz and Peter Tork […]
Bluesfest 2016 III – John Fogarty
I am not a wine expert, so what I am going to say next may not be true. But I have been told that some wines don’t age as well as others. I don’t remember if it is due to the deterioration of the cork, or sheer age, but sometimes a fine wine will become […]
Bluesfest 2016 II – The Lumineers
It was one of those songs, an ear worm that gets into your head and won’t leave. A huge hit, the sort of thing every new band dreams of and prays for. There is more to The Lumineers than “Ho Hey,” from their 2012 debut album, as they proved during a very damp set this […]
Bluesfest 2016 – I
Music can strike to the heart of my being, stirring up an emotional reaction unlike anything else. Especially live music. This summer, for the first time in more than a decade, I didn’t purchase a full festival pass for the RBC Ottawa Bluesfest that started last week and runs until the 17th. I looked at […]
St. George’s Cathedral
I have walked by this church dozens of times in my life, but had never looked inside before last month. It is the oldest Anglican Church in English Canada. That surprised me a little, given that the building was constructed in 1825. I would have expected there to be Anglican churches in what is now […]
random thoughts from lorne 
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