Monthly Archives: November 2018
Revisiting The Trenches of Passchendaele
With the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War coming up this Sunday, I thought I would revisit some older posts related to that conflict. This one was published four years ago today – November 8, 2014. The years between 1914 and 1918 were the wettest Europe experienced during the 20th century, […]
A Forgotten War?
I remember it as a one liner in history class, probably early in high school. France and Germany fought a war, 1870-71. I don’t remember who won (Germany I presume – that was the Bismarck era) or what the cause was. I think at the end Alsace became German, or returned to being German. As […]
Voting Day
If you are an American, get out and vote today. It is important to exercise your franchise. Democracy is only strong when people participate. I doubt if today’s vote in the US is as important as some people are making it. There has been a fair amount of hysteria online about this election, more than […]
Blooming November
As we walked through a park in downtown Freiburg Saturday, what struck me most was the profusion of flowers. In the park at the base of Schlossberg the blooms were everywhere. At this time of year in Canada, the parks are grey and somewhat uninviting places, the trees having shed their leaves. And those are […]
Back To The Munster
There was nothing on the schedule yesterday, at least not officially. I did have a pile of work on my desk, trying to catch up after a week in Cyprus. (That was also work, but the routine tasks didn’t get done in 12-hour days of meetings.) So when my wife woke up and said “let’s […]
The Hospitable Leader
I like food, which makes me no different from anyone else. Until I read The Hospitable Leader though, I hadn’t given much thought to the role food plays in effective leadership. Terry A. Smith’s new book is about much more than food, as he calls on leaders (and those aspiring to leadership) to consciously develop […]
What Are We Afraid Of?
I’m feeling indecisive this morning; can’t decide what today’s post should be. So I’ve decided to share this one again, originally posted in November 2014. I have mentioned that it is my custom to attend church on Sunday wherever I may find myself, which explains why I was at St. Edmund’s Church in the British […]
Oktoberfest?
The month is over and for the second year in a row I failed to take part in any Oktoberfest activities. Soon they’ll be revoking my honorary German status. The closest I came was last week in Munich, which, as everyone knows is the spiritual centre of Oktoberfest. Well, I wasn’t actually in the city, […]
random thoughts from lorne 
Recent Comments