Our Jays are on an amazing run right now. Few predicted such success six months ago. Our boys just swept the Baltimore Orioles; they lead the American league East four games ahead of their heel-nipping rival, the New York Yankees. Manager John Schneider has strengthened a fragile bullpen and continues to finesse the starting pitching... Continue Reading →
Another in my series “Larger Than Life Characters in our little town of Summerland” Dick Spencer and I met shortly after Kathie and I moved to Summerland in the fall of 1994. With his wife, Lois, he was a member of the Anglican congregation I served as priest from 1994-2004. A talented woodworker and carpenter... Continue Reading →
I am often asked to share a song or a poem at variety nights or campfire gatherings. Typically I call up memories of British comedy classics from Flanders and Swan. Over the years I have offered my own version of Hoffnung’s The Bricklayer’s Lament. I really need to broaden my scope to include some Canadian... Continue Reading →
Shared by Stephen Greenhouse on Facebook Former Trump White House lawyer Ty Cobb made some withering comments about Trump, writing, "He is worse than anyone in our history." Cobb wrote: "Trump is worse than anyone in our history in my experience and opinion. As people seem to have forgotten, I was very critical of Biden... Continue Reading →
How one of Canada’s richest women transformed the island of her birth Highlights from Deirdre McQuillan in The Irish Times Sun Aug 24 2025 Having made a fortune in fibre optics, the ‘culturally responsible’ entrepreneur Zita Cobb helped reverse the fortunes of Fogo island, Newfoundland At the age of 13, in 1971, Zita Cobb, an... Continue Reading →
Arlene Dickenson on Facebook Anaïs Nin said life shrinks or grows in proportion to one’s courage. I think about this a lot when I see adults, at any age, settling into smaller and smaller worlds. The same coffee order, the same daily routines. The same conversations with the same people about the same safe topics.... Continue Reading →
Andrew Coyne in the Globe and Mail, updated By now it should be clear that the subjection of the United States to the dictatorship of Donald Trump is no longer a theoretical possibility or even a distant probability. It is an imminent reality. It is not here, quite – critics of the President remain at... Continue Reading →
I have long lasting ties with Scotland’s Iona Community. During the 1990s while ministering at Sooke on Vancouver Island I discovered their music and liturgies. Initially created by John Bell, Graham Maule, and the Wild Goose Worship Group the liturgies were scripturally based, socially relevant, and justice-centred. The music was very well crafted, easy to... Continue Reading →
A few days ago I published a blog describing Pope Leo’s citation of the faithful witness of the Algerian Martyrs during the Algerian civil war between 1994-1996. Mission, the pope insisted, is never “a form of self-display, in opposition of identities, but the gift of self, even to the point of martyrdom, by those who... Continue Reading →
I first learned of the Algerian martyrs through the movie: Of Gods and Men, a film centered on a true story that happened in the monastery of Tibhirine, Algeria, where nine Cistercian monks lived in harmony with the largely Muslim population of Algeria, until seven of them were kidnapped and assassinated in 1996 during the... Continue Reading →
Take Note - Reflections on life, music, politics, retirement and more by Ken Gray 