Peddlers and premiers
Lebanese Canadians in Atlantic Canada
(This is the original version of an article written for “Saltscapes” magazine and published in the January-February 2012 issue. The editors edited and amended it to meet their space and content requirements. Even this draft is less than half of the material volunteered by generous sources. I’m having trouble with my [...]
What is Smart showcase Miramichi?
For perhaps the first time ever, local teachers and students are taking the lead in the development of a powerful new tool for Miramichi tourism and business generally.
Miramichi celebrated being named the world’s first Smart Showcase Community on June 1. District 16 teachers and students led the way.
Just what does that mean and why might [...]
Shame on “Sun” and “Herald”
“Freedom of the press belongs to the man who owns one.” AJ Liebling
Newspapering has been my life. I grew up in a newspapering family. Newspapering has been my vocation, my hobby and my religion.
It saddens, sickens and offends me when newspapers violate the magnificent privilege we have in a democracy.
Newspapers all vigourously defend freedom of [...]
Polite,heavily armed society
When I mentioned to a Woodstock friend, Bob Wilson, that I found Floridians very friendly and polite people, he smiled and replied, “Yes, well a heavily armed society is generally a polite society.”
Florida is certainly a heavily armed society. I read late last year that legislation prevents employers from forbidding employees to bring guns onto [...]
Scallops, Pan Seared, with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce (serves four)
Ingredients:
4 Tbspns butter or a butter-olive oil 50-50 mixture
2 lbs. sea scallops (or at least a half pound per person)
In a large skillet, melt butter over low heat. Add scallops until they shed their liquid into the pan.
Remove scallops and reduce scallop liquid and butter to a rich, nutty brown.
Turn heat to high, add [...]
Fiddlehead Soup
16 Servings
4 pounds fresh fiddleheads
3 cups chopped onion
2 cups vegetable or chicken broth *
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon salt
4 pinches ground black pepper
5 cups vegetable or chicken broth*
4 cups homogenized milk **
2 cups plain yogurt
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Dollops of sour cream – optional
Directions
1. Place fiddleheads and onion in a saucepan with 2 [...]
Surprises and aliens
After being away for 12 weeks over the past four months, it is good to be home for a while.
After voting in the advance poll, I was out of the province during the municipal elections.
Arriving home, I find the general reaction to be the same as my own. We are a bit [...]
Wellington, New Zealand
From Napier, we drove down to Wellington, New Zealand’s capitol, at the bottom of the South Island.
On the way, we got further reminders of just how empty most of New Zealand is. Like Canada, it is getting emptier. People are abandoning the smallest communities. We stopped in one rusting, rotting, flaking little crossroads [...]
Onward in Auckland
On our first full day in the country, we spent the morning planning our North Island itinerary with Allyson at the iSite NZ tourism office. The offices are more like travel agencies. They recommend and book tours, accommodations, transportation and auto rentals and give advice. They take immediate payment for whatever they book and [...]
New Zealand trip observations
To get to New Zealand, we embarked at Moncton and hopped across the country to Hamilton, Calgary and Vancouver. We arrived at midnight and laid over until the next evening.
Our hotel was in Richmond, a suburb with a large Chinese population. We learned years ago that a restaurant full of Chinese diners, is [...]