I have here in the past mentioned, or more accurately lamented, that there seems to be a lack of leaders in our society. There are those we follow due to their celebrity: heroes of Hollywood or stars of the sports world. Shaping and influencing culture does not necessarily make them leaders; they may just be […]
I will be voting today. Ontario is holding elections province-wide, as voters in each municipality choose their mayor, councilors and school board trustees. By the time you read this I may have already cast my ballot. I live in Ottawa, the national capital. We do things big here, and people are interested in what goes […]
But the people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We want a king over us. Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles.” I Samuel 8: 19-20 (NIV) The people of Romania wanted a king, so […]
The suits of armour were very impressive. As was the entire armoury at Peles Castle, spears and swords and medieval equipment, a room full of everything a good knight needs for jousting or battle. Except why would the King of Romania need all this stuff? (There is also the question of why Romania needed a […]
I got a text from my son: “Are you on the Hill?” “Yes” I replied. After all, I’m on Parliament hill every Wednesday morning. Another text: “There were shots fired. Any idea what is going on?” Outside I heard the sirens. Sirens are as normal in downtown Ottawa as in any urban setting – fire […]
I had things I wanted to do on Wednesday and decided not to write a blog post. But what you plan and what happens are frequently not the same. What I expected to be an ordinary work day wound up being extraordinary, with an apparent terrorist attack on the Parliament of Canada that left me […]
When we were choosing travel destinations for our month in Europe this year, deciding where to go was difficult. We had to visit family in Germany. I really wanted to go to Juno Beach, the site of the Second World War Normandy landings. Vivian said she really didn’t care, as long as we went somewhere […]
On the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website there is a warning: SCHOOL GROUPS: TEACHERS – PLEASE CLOSELY SUPERVISE YOUR STUDENTS, PARTICULARLY AT THE TYNE COT CEMETERY CROSS OF SACRIFICE. I presume the all caps are to emphasize the importance of the message. I’m not sure what exactly is meant by “supervise closely.” When we visited […]
It dominates the town of Bayeux still, as it has for almost 1,000 years. It has survived wars and conflicts and remains a testament to the Christian faith of the Norman people who started building it long before France was a nation. The Bayeux Cathedral towers over the town; you can see it from everywhere. […]
I absolutely refuse to interrupt my annual two week vacation on the beaches of Maine for anything. That’s my time, a chance to relax and recharge for what always is a busy Fall season ahead. This year though, I must admit I was tempted to break that tradition when I learned Susan Cain was one […]
random thoughts from lorne 
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