Monthly Archives: March 2017
ABBA The Museum – I
Before leaving Canada I polled my friends and colleagues. The verdict was unanimous; I had to visit the ABBA museum in Stockholm. Of course, none of them had ever been there. I am not an ABBA fan. I have acquired over the years about 10,000 albums. (I know that sounds like a lot, but remember, […]
A Loft in Paradise
There are times on a flight when you don’t want to commit to two hours to watch a feature-length film. There may not be enough time left before you reach your destination; or you may not have the ability to concentrate for a couple of hours, so you want something short. On one of my […]
Stockholm Cathedral
When I first saw Stockholm Cathedral it was closed to tourists. A church service was in progress, and it makes sense they wouldn’t want people wandering through. I thought about joining in worship, but it seemed rude to be late. So I headed off in the direction of the Royal Palace. By the time I […]
Thoughts On Survival
This showed up in my email this week. It wasn’t the first time I had seen it, or something similar. It usually doesn’t have pictures attached, which is what convinced me to share it here. I’d give credit, but a quick online search convinced me that authorship is unknown. I know I didn’t write it […]
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
My family came to Canada from Ireland in 1846, so you would think I would be celebrating St. Patrick’s Day today. But I’m not. Our Irish sojourn was a short one, 1843-1846, so I don’t really qualify as Irish. Also, as Protestants, Presbyterians in fact, I don’t think my ancestors would approve of my taking […]
The Apostates
Life is an unending series of choices. Some are rather trivial: should I have cereal or toast for breakfast? Why not both? Others have more impact: should I take this job? Should I marry this person? None though is more important than the choice involved in religious belief. The question of God and our relationship […]
Visions of Empire
It’s a huge monument, popular with tourists and pigeons alike, right in front of Buckingham Palace. Looking at it had me thinking about just how much times have changed in a little more than a century. The Latin inscription reads ‘Regina Imperatrix.” My high school Latin translates that as “queen and empress.” The empire is […]
Manchester By The Sea
Death. Family. Adolescence. Sin. Redemption. Hidden secrets. So many heavy topics touched on in one film. When you think about it, it can overwhelm you. I had read a positive review somewhere of Manchester by the Sea and was thinking about seeing it in the theatres, but I ran out of time. Then it received […]
May The Force Be With You
There were two Yodas floating around when I was last in Trafalgar Square in central London. Darth Vader was there too. It wasn’t just Star Wars characters though. Death put in appearance also, though, not surprisingly, he didn’t seem as popular. I doubt tourists really want to be reminded of their mortality when they are […]
St. Margaret’s Church
It’s not that I am cheap, it was a matter of timing. I didn’t pay the twenty pounds (almost forty Canadian dollars) to see Westminster Abbey because I only had a couple of hours and I know from experience a visit to the Abbey takes much longer if you really want to see everything. That […]
random thoughts from lorne 
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