So many of us have inaccurate ideas about life in other countries. For example, it is easy to believe there are murderous cartels in Mexico, often controlling the illegal drug and arms businesses.
Yes, I gave it my best shot, but I just couldn’t relate to the big hockey show in Toronto last weekend. The hardest working people were the talking heads who laboured mightily to
St. Augustine, it is said, wisely wrote, “The world is a book. The person who does not travel reads only one page.” Travelling is a great teacher, and my recent 19-day dental trip
Reflecting on my peripatetic life, I realize I have often studiously avoided the local foods that define an area. Recently, this meant 19 days in Mexico without tasting, seeing, or even smelling guacamole.
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The festive season is well behind us and I had plenty of time to be thankful for the characters of Niagara-on-the-Lake. They have a big influence on our town. Yes, we have built
The holiday season brought even more musical and cultural events to our wonderful part of the world, and it was tiring to try to keep up. When will the good times end? Music
It’s been a wonderful 33 years for one Canada Post employee, who was very busy over the holidays writing letters to Niagara area children before Christmas. In a world — and a country
So much to do, and so many spirited local folks making Christmas-y things happen. Last weekend, visitors from nearby towns and faraway countries descended on Niagara-on-the-Lake, enthusiastically getting into the holiday spirit. People
So much going on in our town and so much to learn. Last week, I came upon the Learn & Live seminar at the Niagara-on-the-Lake Public Library, presented by Trevor Kwolek of Great
Do Ross’s Ramblings focus too often on Niagara-on-the-Lake’s Old Town? At the risk of over-rambling, this week I will touch on three diverse subjects. Firstly, a somewhat high level (for me) discussion of
Not that many years ago, it seemed that Niagara-on-the-Lake’s idea of decorating Queen Street for the festive season was to spend 20 bucks on white lights at Canadian Tire or Penners. Improvements have
Although I no longer watch hockey on the television, mainly because the players are too fast and too clever, the tragic news of a hockey player dying in England has been all over
Until four months ago, I never imagined I would hear my name and the noun cancer in the same sentence. I won’t be melodramatic, but the numbing sound of those words from Dr.
The days come and go, and the seasons gently change. We somehow manage to keep up with the many shifts, technologically, socially and geopolitically. Occasionally, I just go with the flow, trusting our
Why is Halloween always awkwardly celebrated on Oct. 31? Mainly, because it has always been celebrated on Oct. 31. Perhaps too often, I ramble that traditions hinder progress and stifle creativity in our
As the seasons change here in our blessedly peaceful corner of the world, my hours spent downtown cause me to randomly ramble. Our creative and aggressive tourism marketers use their expertise to attract
An eventful 41 years ago, it was my good fortune to spend a lot of time in and around Interlaken, Switzerland (pronounced Interlochen, not Interlaken.) It is a very old Swiss town that
My thick dictionary defines “marketing” as the provision of goods and services to meet consumer needs. This has always seemed a bit shallow to me, and I feel that people remember goods and
Always up for trying something new with new friends, and confident enough to admit I would be the weak link on a team, I participated in the NOTL Legion Branch 124’s music trivia
Queen Street was busy last weekend with visitors of all ages out and about, enjoying what we lucky NOTLers take for granted. Temperatures were perfect for walking and bike riding, and there were
A Sunday afternoon bike ride downtown and the day becoming a bit chilly. Grey clouds were hovering just above our beautiful tree cover. Our town council was wise way back in 1922, planting
A while back, I rambled about the project-delaying archeological study overkill at the corner of Simcoe and Johnson streets, where a new culvert was being painstakingly constructed. At one point, up to nine
Yes, NOTLers, strawberries, cherries and peaches enjoy a day in the sun each year here in Canada’s prettiest town. So, it was high time the plump red and under recognized tomato was put
As the Man in Black sang, “There’s something in a Sunday that makes a body feel alone.” It was an early-morning catch-up breakfast with my daughter at Butler’s Sports Bar last Sunday morning,
My musical career more or less peaked in the 1960s with Elvis, the Beatles and the Beach Boys. But even then, I had heard of the mystical Stradivarius violin. Last weekend, a violin
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