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 →
Bill Cunningham at work (and play) Two photographers, one living, one no longer with us, documenting our world, brilliantly. It has been some time since I have blogged on photography. It has been however one of my priorities since launching takenote.ca. Today however, I return to photography. Two recent news articles highlight the work of... Continue Reading →
Now fifty years since I graduated from Victoria’s Oak Bay High School I have fond memories of wood shop class. Lacking an eye for detail coupled with insufficient powers of concentration I particularly loved making bowls on the wood lathe. I likely created more shavings than bowls, but it was wonderful fun. When invited by... Continue Reading →
[Ken Gray] It has been some time since I featured a blog on photography. Today I seek to correct that imbalance. I have owned Canon equipment in the past but that predated my serious interest in digital photography. In 2005 I purchased my first set of Nikon gear, a D50 body with two lenses and... Continue Reading →
I am looking forward to visiting with others who graduated from Victoria’s Oak Bay High School fifty years ago, the Class of 1975. As interest spreads my guess is that around fifty of us will show up at a Victoria hotel in early June, hoping that we are recognizable and we will recognize others. I... Continue Reading →
More from Juno, your favourite dog-blogger Folks are testy right now, really tense, short-tempered, on edge, anxious at least, frantic at worst. Everywhere I look, strain creases almost every human face in conversations about people, places, and of course, politics. There are so many events and challenges before us as Canadians, Americans, and global citizens... Continue Reading →
Sitting with a group of elder(ly) actors the other day was eye-opening for me. The workshop—part of Summerland’s amazing little Ryga Arts Festival—titled “Aging in the Arts” sought to brainstorm ways to assist and mitigate issues for actors and others in their older years. To a person, participants have been active in the craft or... Continue Reading →
Dear reader, I am honestly trying to do something different here; I promise. I am struggling to put aside my obsession with US presidential race memes (go here if you have not seen my growing collection). While thinking to myself recently, lo and behold, almost immediately, the image above landed in my social media feed.... Continue Reading →
By Samantha Hurley, a photographer and a journalism student at the University of Georgia — Sept. 13, 2024 in the New York Times [Visit the link to view images] [With thanks to Peggy Wilmot for the share, I am pleased to learn of Samantha Hurley’s considerable talent and determination as a budding “blind photographer.” Rather... Continue Reading →
With thanks to Victoria Laine and Kathie Gray for contributions. Let me tell you a story of a sock yarn bunny named Fast Eddie (FE). FE was quickly born because of a request by a friend, Victoria who asked, “Do you ever do custom orders?” after knitter, Kathie posted a picture of his cousin on... Continue Reading →
Take Note - Reflections on life, music, politics, retirement and more by Ken Gray 