All Entries in the "Uncategorized" Category
Salute to ‘The Few’
The closest Royal Air Force base to my hometown of Ipswich, Suffolk, England was Martlesham Heath. Previously, the RAF research and experimental station, it became an operational fighter base when the Battle of Britain began. Its role was to defend the Orwell and Stour estuary between Felixstowe and Harwich and the eastern flanks of London. […]
Vote for health care priorities
Please go to www.votehealthontario.ca and vote on your health care priorities. The following I received from the Ontario Health Coalition: Over the last two months, approximately 700 Ontarians submitted their key health care concerns and issues during June and July. We collated these submissions and now we are asking people to vote on their priorities. […]
Restoring the Honour
http://www.youtube.com/user/RoyalHonour Recent surveys have shown overwhelming support for the Honorable Peter Mackay’s decision as Minister of National Defence to restore the historic Royal Canadian Navy, Royal Canadian Air Force and Canadian Army designations. Congratulations are due to the Government of Canada and the Canadian Senate for their support of this wise decision. It has taken […]
Crafty crab spider uses a form of magic
A visitor to most County gardens in summer is the crafty and elusive crab spider. Not that I am a particular admirer of this creature, but I am fascinated by its ability to make its living by blending into its surroundings and using a little magic. That bit of trickery centres around this spider’s unique […]
When the world was young
Ten-year old schoolboys, as Shakespeare said, would with satchel and shining morning face, creep snail-like unwillingly to school. On my snail-like way to Rose Hill Public School in Ipswich, Suffolk, England (where the words cast in stone over the junior entrance read not “Kindergarten” but “Mixed Infants”) over 60 years ago now, I would pass […]
Remain vigilant about local health care
Aug. 6/11: Scott Rowand passed away approximately two weeks ago at age 57. In late 2005, Mr Rowand was the healthcare consultant sent in by the then Liberal Minister of Health George Smitherman to look at the governance of Quinte Healthcare. The McGuinty Government had introduced a policy aimed at increased accountability by hospitals and […]
The Eyes of the Young
Leading kids on an interpretive hike can be a challenging task, especially if there are 30 or more of them as I have had occasionally. Often the only thing you can hear are the sounds of birds and animals getting out of our way as fast as they can. I seldom do hikes for kids […]
Ontario hospitals have fewest beds per person
This article from the Ontario Health Coalition is interesting – especially with an election around the corner. It states that Ontario has the fewest number of beds per person of any province in Canada. No Vacancy: Ontario Health Coalition Finds Hospital Overcrowding at Untenable Levels Toronto, July 21, 2011 – A new report, “No Vacancy: […]
‘All rank abandon ye who enter here’
I was recently re-reading Ronald Blythe’s “The View in Winter – Reflections of Old Age” a splendid book by the author of the equally fascinating “Akenfield”. Both books are portraits of English rural life in East Anglia based on interviews with – for the most part – older inhabitants. Interviews with aged men who fought […]
Blame It On the Paper Boy
The worst offender on our road for garbage is not the smoker, not the Tim Horton’s fiend, or the motorists who openly drink while driving (although they are near the top of the list). It is the paper boy, or the paper person, or whoever this obnoxious individual is who litters the sideroads from our […]
