Time spent at Crieff Hills Conference Center

I met Carmen and Wally at St. Paul's and we drove up to the conference centre which is near the little town of Crieff.  It was a lovely drive even though the weather was threatening.

I love their new car, a very nice blue.

People drifted in at various times during the afternoon with a variety of food to contribute to the pot luck.  I made couscous salad with vegetables, corned beef, onions and raisins in it.I also brought some Four O'clock herbal tea to share with others.  One of the young ladies loves herbal tea and this one is a delightful mix of cinnamon and other herbs.  It made the cottage where we stayed smell beautiful and welcoming.

Each year we rent the same cottage which is quite rustic and has a fireplace.

We started off with nibbles and dips which people seemed to enjoy and by 6 p.m. we were all ready to eat. One of the couples had even purchased fresh corn!

The young people had some games outside and a small group of folk went for a walk to the maze and the prayer chapel.

We had a wonderful variety of food, perogies with sour cream, spaghetti, green salad, lasagna, bread buns, apples, cupcakes, apple  and lemon meringue pie and other things which I cannot think of right now.

A veritable feast!

After super, people  began to gradually make their way home.    It was an enjoyable afternoon with good conversation and good food. The rain started as we made our way home.

Thanks for dropping by.

Lit Live at ArtWord/Artbar Sunday September 8, 2013

The first of a series of live performances by writers who are novelists or poets, was held on Sunday evening at ArtWord/Artbar on Colbourne Street.  Owing to the generosity of hosts Ron and Judith, a last minute switch to their  establishment was made, due to an overbooking at our usual place.

Ron and Judith, as always, were marvellous hosts.

There was a good crowd in attendance and it is easy to hear at this cozy place which makes it even more enjoyable! At this event, there were only five readers which was good as it meant the evening did not run too late.

Graham Crawford - M.C. for the evening

Karen Shenfeld

Ellen Jaffe

Helen Blum

Shannon Maquire

Heather Wood

Carmine Starnino

Safia Fazlul

Please note, a picture of Lil Blume did not turn out so could not be put on the blog.  Lil and Ellen were the editors of "Letters and pictures from the old Suitcase" plus are well known writers themselves.

It was a very good start to the season. Each month there will be another reading, most likely at Homegrown Hamilton on King William, our regular place.

Thanks for dropping by.

Taser used on 80-year-old woman in Mississauga

Taser used on 80-year-old woman in Mississauga


This is hard to understand.  How can an 80 year old woman be a threat to a younger person unless she was holding a gun.

Often times when an older person breaks a hip, they die within a year, or so I have heard.

I just cannot understand why a taser was used in this case.

Enough excitement for today and all week!

I went with Sami to have his language assessment and now he is enrolled in an LINC programme near his home twice a week.

After that, I took him to Whitehern to enjoy the peaceful garden,or so I anticipated.

We were talking and we heard loud arguing and cursing so I went for a walk along the garden path to see what the problem was.  It turned out that it was a bunch of young people arguing and shoving each other but on the other side of the fence so I thought that they would stay there.

Instead, they brought their arguments inside into the garden and it got progressively worse.  They didn't see me as I hid my cell phone behind my purse and when the two girls got into a fist fight and started rolling on the ground, I called for the police.

Their so called "friends" were egging them on and even one girl was taking a picture with her phone.

Sami and I continued to talk but with our eyes on the young people. Before the police could arrive, the young men ran away and then the two fighting girls also.

I stayed behind to wait for the police and told them what happened.  They took a report and I told them that I had heard a woman come from the YWCA residence to tell the girls that they could be heard all the way over there.  I surmise that the two girls live there.

Even the young Muslim boy and girl were afraid and the young boy sheltered her in his arms. Bet their parents did not know they were meeting!  They were teenagers and probably had just gotten out of school and thought this would be a quiet place for them to meet.

It was two policewomen who came and they were fantastic.  They had not even known that this garden existed so I filled them in on some of the history of the place.

I stayed and read for a little while and then walked home.

It is a real shame that people can spoil such a beautiful and wonderful spot, which should be an oasis of peace in the down town core.

Thanks for dropping by.

"The 16 Year Old Killer" Cyntoia's Story

"The 16 Year Old Killer" Cyntoia's Story

What a wonderful thing to say

One of my poet friends told me today that she keeps my "Doors" poem on her mantelpiece  and it guides her.

I was so touched by the fact that she would share this with me.

I have been hesitating whether or not to go to the Thursday night poetry group as my favourite leader there has resigned and will not be attending any more.  It would not be the same for me as I was very fond of her and found her so gentle and kind in her ways.  A true teacher with much to offer. Students would be so lucky to be in her regular college class!

My poet friend wants me to attend as she says that my poetry is usually so uplifting.

Perhaps I will.  I will see.

Thanks for dropping by.

5 Broken Cameras with English Subtitles

This is a very long video showing the life of villagers in a Palestinian village.

I will leave you to make your own judgements on this very telling video.

Thanks for dropping by.