By MARY FRAN McQUADE Let’s skip the New Year’s resolutions here. Instead, pick up a book, a TV series or an online talk to keep your spirits bright this winter. Here’s a selection of my own favourites. Laugh a little Just about any book by Beverley Nichols will enchant you and make you laugh. Nichols […]
By GENE DOMAGALA During this COVID-19 dilemma we have now seen great interest in how people can spend their leisure time, especially here in the east end and the Beach. One of the most popular events 120 years ago or so and up to the present day is ice skating. I have written about this […]
By JAN MAIN You know Christmas is over when the turkey carcass is in the pot simmering away to make stock! This year, I opted for a large roasting chicken. As you can imagine, Christmas was downsized and the smaller bird made more sense. However, the technique to make stocks is the same for both […]
By RIMA BERNS-McGOWN Happy New Year! May it be a better year for all of us. I hope that 2021 marks a rapid turnaround in our collective fortunes – and that you all experience only joy and fulfillment, health and happiness. 2020 was brutal. Let us hope that in 2021 we see the virus beaten […]
By BERNIE FLETCHER Mystery Mondays are back! Canada’s most popular drama, Murdoch Mysteries, returned to CBC on Jan. 4 for its 14th season. Our favourite detective, William Murdoch (Yannick Bisson), is a man ahead of his time, but who were the real sleuths of Victorian Toronto? In 1894 our city skyline was dominated by church […]
By ALAN SHACKLEON It’s the first day of 2021. The year 2020 is over. I believe I’ve been waiting since the middle of March to say that. I cannot think of a year I have been happier to put in the history books than the one just ended. This column is not going to be […]
By JACQUELINE CORRIGAN How I love words! Especially words that have a double meaning. I must admit to being a little worried about what to write this time of year. In late December of 2019, I wrote about going off the beaten path and trying new things this year. Iʼm sure we all agree that […]
By ALAN CARTER As we send 2020 packing to the dustbin of history, it is time to reflect on an unprecedented year that saw the word unprecedented used an unprecedented number of times. When confronting anything remotely out of the ordinary, keep in mind there is limited time left to score an easy laugh by […]
By BERNIE FLETCHER ‘Tis the season to stay home, play board games and binge your favourite shows. Would you believe the most-watched drama series on Netflix is about…chess? The Queen’s Gambit tells the story of a child prodigy who learns how to play chess in an orphanage and grows up to be a champion while […]
By MIMI LILIEFELDT Community is made up of people, you can’t be a community on your own. We all need each other. Even in our ‘independence’ it’s not possible to do everything alone. This is especially true when it comes to raising children. Thankfully there are people like Eloise Morrison. Eloise is a genuine person […]
