dunesifter

Man who collect fallen branches from poplar trees as the storm still rages, should be named ‘idiot bumps-on-head.’ Swimming: I had a swimming epiphany on Saturday. I know, I know, what took me so long? I’ve had 3 sessions of 10 forty five minute lessons and I still can’t swim….let me see 30 times... Sign in to see full entry.

Fred and Norm came a calling the next day. I could tell they were in a more determined mood by the way they hitched up their belts when they looked at house. This was war. Fred had made a small platform of 6 x 4’s. It looked to me like a small upside down pallet, or it would do after assembly. As it... Sign in to see full entry.

Norm and Fred the builder came over to our house two days later. At first, I thought Norm, who was in his 40’s, rotund and balding, was in charge because Fred did most of the work. But it dawned on me later that Norm didn’t do much because Fred was younger and slimmer and could crawl into the crawl... Sign in to see full entry.

As I mentioned before, Ell’s home is a cottage. In Canada, the word ‘cottage’ usually refers to the building by the lake that is visited in summer time. A ‘cottage’ is something that is ‘opened up’ in spring and ‘closed up’ in the fall. Ell’s cottage was originally a summer cottage, but was turned... Sign in to see full entry.

Only five years after Confederation, in 1872, Canada gifted the world Labour Day. It began as a march in Toronto to demand the release of 24 leaders of the Typographical Union who were imprisoned for the crime of striking to demand a 9 hour day. The beginning of Unions; the beginning of weekends,... Sign in to see full entry.

It was a post by TAPS which reminded me of our coach trip to NYC last year. This is an excerpt from the diary I wrote at the time.........................................................The coach took us straight to Ground Zero. The whole idea of Ground Zero being a tourist attraction struck me as... Sign in to see full entry.

“If we, as a species, are determined to survive, we must start the long flight. Many of you listening to me will blame your leaders. It is natural to blame your leaders. That is what leaders and governments are for, is it not? Silence! Cease the mutterings or death will follow. We evaded the enemy... Sign in to see full entry.

…and terrified of thunder and wind? It was 6.20am when Samantha got me up this morning. Ell has a subtle way of getting the dog away from her side of the bed. She thinks I don’t know, but I hear her in my sleep saying things like “You’re on the wrong side of the bed you daft mutt. He is over there.... Sign in to see full entry.

I’ve pooh-poohed the anti moon-walk brigade since 1969. Of course Neil Armstrong walked on the moon for God’s sake, and as for the sneering about how a flag can flap in the non-atmosphere of the moon – it was made of aluminium wasn’t it? The flap was already there, prefabricated. I’ve shaken my head... Sign in to see full entry.

….I asked, as my friend and I watched CNN news. We were having a coffee after a pretend game of tennis (more about that later). Up, was the breaking story about the British flight which made an emergency landing in Brindisi, Italy, because they found a note saying there was a bomb on board. Before... Sign in to see full entry.