Tag Archives: COVID-19

A Dwindling Generation

There are 30,000 of them left. Ten years from now there may be 5,000. In twenty years time, none. Canada’s Second Word War veterans are dwindling as age catches up with them. The European portion of the war ended 75 years ago today. It is a milestone anniversary, but there aren’t the big public celebrations […]

Social Distancing Changes This Holiday

I was planning on a May Day post today. I knew the holiday would be different this year, that there would be no large gatherings. But I thought there would still be some observance. So yesterday evening I dropped by the Sulzburg Market Square, thinking I would at least see this year’s Maypole being erected. […]

The Shortage

Stores in my part of Germany appear to be well-stocked with what seemed a month ago to be the world’s most precious commodity: toilet paper. You can find different jokes and memes online poking fun at the situation. I’ve shared some here already. Saturday night though I experienced edible toilet paper, something I had previously […]

COVID Silver Linings

City officials in Ottawa, Canada, probably won’t admit it, but the timing of the COVID-19 pandemic has been a blessing for them. People are focusing on health and not the city’s under-performing light rail system. The multi-billion dollar project was opened to the public with great fanfare in September, and the breakdowns started almost immediately. […]

Unnecessary Problems

Do the actions of politicians sometimes have you scratching your head in bewilderment? Do you frequently think you could do a better job? You are not alone. Especially if you are one of those people with common sense. Living in Germany doesn’t mean I am oblivious to what is happening back in Ottawa. I keep […]

Celebrating Easter 2020

For those in the Orthodox and Coptic traditions (and a few others) Easter is celebrated a week later than other Christians. In recognition of that, some reflections on the Easter we celebrated last Sunday. Someone in Sulzburg had a great idea, though I’m not sure how successful the execution was – but that may be […]

Fire In The House!

Imagine your neighbor’s house caught fire. How would you respond? You would knock on the door to make sure everyone had gotten out okay, then you would step aside to let the firefighters do their thing. Right? Let the experts put out the fire. If it was a big blaze you’d probably see more than […]

Leading By Example? Sadly Yes.

“Stay at home! This means you!” How many times have you heard those words from politicians in the past month? Self isolation, social distancing, no unnecessary travel. No exceptions. Except it turns out there are. In Canada anyway. The Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition don’t think the rules that apply to others […]

Does It Make A Difference?

There are no sporting events, no cinemas, most stores are closed, you can’t have people over because gatherings of more than two are forbidden. Everyone is working from home, and no-one really knows what day it is.

Cultural Expression

  I’ll admit I laughed when I first saw this one on social media. Then I looked it up to see if it was real. They do things differently in the Canadian north. This is for illustration only – please note the fine print.