[Apologies for the double posting today โ This however was too timely to ignore] Lindisfarne is a small island off the coast of Northumberland, north of the Farne Islands in the United Kingdom. Linked to the mainland by a causeway exposed only at low tide, it is the site of a church and monastery founded... Continue Reading →
Adolescence on Mothering Sunday
A sermon for the congregation of St. Saviour Anglican Church, Penticton BCFourth Sunday in Lent โ Mothering Sunday, March 30th ย 2025 โ The Very Rev. Ken Gray Happy Mothering Sunday to you all. Since the middle ages, Mothering Sunday has been celebrated in the United Kingdom on the fourth Sunday of Lent. I grew up... Continue Reading →
Blue Jays Baseball โ Letโs play ball
John Yates was mad about baseball. Having lived much of his working life in Ontario he was one of many loyal fans who would make the trek down to Florida each February for Blue Jays spring training camp. He later moved to Sooke BC where we met in the early 1990s. From our house just... Continue Reading →
Never the twain shall meet โ AKA Donald and drag: A bridge too far?
Photo collage: NPR Conan O'Brien and other top comedians brutally humiliate Donald Trump at the Kennedy Center โ ripping into the "orange a**hole" despite the MAGA coup to seize control of the famous cultural center. CONTEXT The John F Kennedy Centre for the performing arts, Washington D. C. Since the early 1960s the John J... Continue Reading →
Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
Celebrating great Americans โ A new series of blogs Time for something different here at takenote.ca. Setting aside stories of the dark fascist in the white house and his posse of oligarchal henchmen I want to commence a series celebrating great modern day Americans. Today I feature Henry Louis Gates, Jr., someone I have only... Continue Reading →
HOME
Once again Kathie and I have returned home, at last. We have had other grueling travel adventures throughout 2024; and many more will likely occur. For now, however, we are home! Pardon the clichรฉ, but there really is no place like home. Dorothy said it best, with other poets and prophets before her; thereโs nothing... Continue Reading →
The Great Lillian Hall, and Jessica Lange
Photo: HBO For my theatre friends and colleaguesReprinted from The Washington Post article by Naveen KumarA "Russian doll of a role" This sounds soooooh good โ Watch party anyone? [Kaveen Kumar to end] โIt may surprise you to learn that Jessica Lange, whose work onstage and screen spans nearly 40 years, had never done Chekhov.... Continue Reading →
Time for some Christmas music
Enough politics (for now). No more Juno dog blogs (until the new year). Itโs time for some Christmas music, in particular, The 2024 St. Olaf Christmas Festival, "Our Hope for Years to Come." A compilation of this yearโs three performances is now available for on-demand viewing throughout the holiday season here. A tradition since 1912,... Continue Reading →
โBah, humbug.โ A Donald Trump Christmas
As I prepare incidental music for the Summerland Singers and Players next Christmas Production, A Christmas Carol, A Live Radio Play by Joe Landry I cannot resist the temptation to substitute Donald Trump for the infamous Ebeneezer Scrooge. I have presented my idea to both cast and director. They have yet to seriously respond to... Continue Reading →
The finish line, maybe?
So here it is; the final installment of our survey of 2024 US presidential election memes a day before election day, Nov 5, 2024. We offer here a small selection of final reflective thoughts prior to what is likely the most important election anywhere in the world at the present moment. Polls remain nail bitingly... Continue Reading →