A short story by Ken Gray From a distance, the amber box on the shelf before me tells no story whatsoever. A beautifully crafted box of coloured strips is no mere bookend. Someone had taken a lot of time to assemble something beautiful for . . . God? Possibly hollow, I have no idea what... Continue Reading →
I always wondered why Radar left M*A*S*H before the show ended โ Now I know
From This Day in Historyโs Post Gary Burghoff stood on the M*A*S*H (henceforth MAS*H) set in October 1979, holding a teddy bear that had become as famous as he was, and told the producers he was done. Not for more money. Not for better storylines. He was leaving because playing Radar O'Reillyโthe role that made... Continue Reading →
In quires and places where they sing
Feel free to complete the phrase above with the response: โHere followeth the anthem.โ Since the Anglican Book of Common Prayer of 1549 the rubric welcomes and encourages musical creativity and ability in the public services of Morning and Evening Prayer. Visitors to Anglican cathedrals and larger parish churches throughout the Anglican Communion may find... Continue Reading →
Early Sunday morning
Another in a series of original short stories. Enjoy โBetween the vestibule and the altar,ย ย ย let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep.โ (Book of Job) I wasnโt weeping, but I felt a little funny. There I was, dressed in Alb and Stole, standard clerical dress for ministers of many Christian denominations, on a... Continue Reading →
Two more organ pieces by J.S. Bach for Canadian organists to learn and perform
Philip Oltermann writing in The Guardian, Mon 17 Nov 2025 -- Click the original article to hear a partial performance and to see other images. Two long-lost organ pieces by Johann Sebastian Bach have been performed in Germany, roughly 320 years after the composer wrote them as a teenage music teacher. Entitled Chaconne in D... Continue Reading →
The Way I see Street Photography
On my daily troll through online news, sports, and entertainment items I often check out Fstoppers.com, an excellent source for photographers of all abilities and interests. A recent blog talked about street photography and how photographers must practice care, discretion, and resilience to get good shots. For some persons appearing in public, the taking of... Continue Reading →
At the movies, with Emma Thompson
Kathie and I are working our way Emma Thompsonโs new four-part suspense series on Apple-TV, described by Wenlei Ma on THE NIGHTLY as โa great show with an unusual tone that, like Slow Horses, generously peppers wry humour between the drama and thriller elements. It keeps things moving along without ever getting bogged down in... Continue Reading →
And now, for something completely different
Just for fun, and for a break from the savage political and ecological non-fiction swirling around me right now, I have turned my hand to fiction, and to short stories in particular. Here is my first story. See what you think. Truth disguised Truth be told, sometimes distractions are the main thing. Recently graduated from... Continue Reading →
All in the family
A sermon for the Twenty-Second Sunday after Pentecost, November 9th, 2025 for the congregation of St. Stephen, Summerland by the Very Rev. Ken Gray The original title of Norman Learโs 1971 TV sitcom All in the Family was Those Were the Days which ended up as the showโs theme song. I can imagine J D... Continue Reading →
John Schneider gets my vote for the Manager of the Year
Final Blue Jays post for a while; I promise! But I canโt resist calling out John Schneider for his management of this yearโs team. Still a newbie baseball fan myself I donโt know the great managers of the past. But I have admired John Schneiderโs direction of our rags-to-riches Jays this season. โThey went about... Continue Reading →