Boulevard Magazine - January/February 2010 Issue

OLYMPIANS, MOVE OVER Mere mortals are finding fitness at Victoria’s gym to the stars

Mid-Life U-Turns It’s never too late for the road not taken

STATE OF THE ARTS Gordaneer looks deeply at those deep cuts

HOT PROPERTIES High-tech fun and games in View Royal

TRAVEL NEAR Ten cool places to get cosy

the magazine of urban living

the arts people food homes

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contents

boulevard

30

features

volume XX ISsUE 2 january/february 2010

50

68

12 FINDING FITNESS ALONGSIDE OLYMPIANS Train with the nation’s best

By Alex Van Tol

30 OFF THE GRID IN STYLE A Gulf Island home takes sustainability seriously

By Denise Rudnicki

22 THEIR LIVES, THEIR WAY Tales of reinvention inspire this restless writer

By Julie Nixon

50 COWICHAN CHALLENGE The Bamberton proposal: Is it too big? Just right? Not on?

By Katherine Gordon

110

ON OUR COVER: The Alberta Ballet Company performing Joni Mitchell’s The Fiddle and the Drum (See Front Row, page 60). Photo by Charles Hope

departments 8 EDITOR’S LETTER Another decade, you say?

9 LETTERS to the EDITOR We ask, you deliver 10 CONTRIBUTORS Look who’s behind our stories and photos 40 CREATIVE MINDS Studio 16½ owners build art, community and a business

By Anna Kemp 60 FRONT ROW O-Canada Winter Show celebrates you-know-what through the art of Tim Hoey at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria; it’s a busy time

columns

18 HAWTHORN The best Olympic moments are not what you’d guess

By Tom Hawthorn

for dance with three ballet companies in full swing; plus flamenco guitar, a celestial soprano, the Victoria Film Festival and much more

By Robert Moyes 68 HOT PROPERTIES A View Royal couple creates a high-tech home

By Denise Rudnicki 86 HOT DESIGN Color trends to suit your tastes and personality

By Shannon Moneo 92 TECHNOLOGIA How to handle the e-mail beast

By Darryl Gittins

26 PUBLIC CITIZEN Do think tanks inform or flatten public debate?

By Ross Crockford

96 BOULEVARD BOOK CLUB A Metchosin club reads Late Nights on Air

By Adrienne Dyer 102 TRAVEL NEAR Snuggle up in 10 cosy places

By Elizabeth Levinson 106 TRAVEL FAR Taiwan is a feast for all the senses

By Judy Reimche 110 LIBATIONS “Artisan cocktails” make a splash

By Robert Moyes

114 EATING IN Tuck into a tasty tagine with no regrets

By Elizabeth Levinson 120 EATING OUT Good music and good eats were meant for each other

By Rick Gibbs 125 SECRETS AND LIES Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond stands up for kids

By Shannon Moneo

86.

46 STATE OF THE ARTS A special, expanded column takes a deep look at deep cuts

By Alisa Gordaneer

The holidays are over . . .

January Sale On Now.

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For the way you live

editor

FROM our

Life is about more than money.

Purists and pundits may argue whether we have entered a new decade (is Dec. 31, 2010 really the cut-off?), but a single-digit number clicking over to a double always draws my attention.

Certain dates on the kitchen calendar do mark progress more than others. Like a 20th anniversary or 50th birthday, a nice, round number like 2010 opens up space to reflect, celebrate and likely wince a bit at what we have done with our lives so far, and what we hope for tomorrow.

One of our regular contributors, Julie Nixon, has had the question of “what’s next?” gnawing at her, so this decadeopening issue of Boulevard contains her exploration of how other Victorians came up with their own answers. We don’t know where Julie’s search will take her, but wish her well as she heads off for the frontiers of her own dreams.

And while many may dream of what it would be like to stand on an Olympic podium for the gold and glory, only the extremely gifted and maniacally dedicated stand a chance at the upcoming Games. But that does not stop ordinary Victorians from working out in the same place as the champions, as Alex Van Tol discovered when she visited the Pacific Institute for Sport Excellence. (Apparently, you can go there and the nice folks will measure your skin folds as part of a fitness assessment. Thanks, but since my body now has more folds than an accordion, I’ll pass.)

Columnist Tom Hawthorn, who loves sports as much as he loves people’s stories, shares his personal Olympic moments, with a touching twist as always. And because arts funding is under attack, we’ve given State of the Arts columnist Alisa Gordaneer extra space in this issue to delve into what Victorians can expect to see — or not — as a result of so many deep cuts in the culture sector. She reports that like Olympians, artists, actors and dancers all over town are working harder than ever for the joy of performance and the privilege of your appreciation.

Now on your mark, get set, please read on!

Victoria Boulevard welcomes your letters. Please include your name, address and telephone number. Letters may be edited for brevity and/or clarity.

Write to Letters, 1845B Fort Street, Victoria, BC V8R 1J6, or you can e-mail us at info@victoriaboulevard.com.

Check out our website: victoriaboulevard.com. VB

8 victoriaboulevard.com

letters

YOUR

Hot Properties makes this reader hot . . .

In the September/October issue, we are told that the owners profiled in the Hot Properties feature approved blasting out 160 dump-truckloads of rock, and that they think that challenging sites can be the most rewarding.

Rewarding for whom?

When people from off-island come and adore the beautiful land, why is it that the first thing they do is remove almost all of the land and superimpose cement for foundations and driveways and patios and who knows what else?

There are a plethora of stunning houses already built and ready to buy.

But now that the damage has been done, please don’t boast about it.

Wendy Ramsay Metchosin . . . and this one too . . .

I have long been distressed by Hot Properties.

In a time of fiscal restraint and with the need to shrink rather than inflate our footprints on the Earth, this feature consistently features enormous and enormously expensive, overbuilt houses that seem designed to trigger the envy button in us lesser (poorer) mortals.

Do us a favor. Feature some brilliant but modest renovations of older homes or some of the amazing tiny

houses being built between existing ones.

Dorothy Field Fernwood ¡Muchas gracias!

As a former editor and publisher of trade magazines in Mexico for over 35 years, and now almost retired in this beautiful city, I have had enough time to read many magazines published in Canada and especially those on Vancouver Island. It was a pleasant surprise to have in my hands your September/ October issue of Boulevard.

I want to congratulate you on this good magazine and the improvements made on typography, columns and contributors.

Roberto J. Marquez Victoria Reverend Cool Your story about St. John the Divine (November/ December) prompted many people to send me rave reviews, including “cool, DUDE” from one of my older woman parishioners. And our new organist has a wife specializing in Early Music: after they move here from England, she plans to contact James Young because of the article in the same issue on Mr. Young and his Early Music Society.

It’s amazing how far an article reaches.

Rev. Harold Munn St. John the Divine Anglican Church, Victoria

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BOULEVARD

ourcontributors

the magazine of urban living the arts people food homes

President John Simmons VP Finance Melissa Sands Publisher Sue Hodgson Associate Publisher Linda Hensellek Managing Editor Vivian Smith Associate Editor Anne Mullens Art Director Jaki Jefferson Production Jaki Graphics, Kelli Brunton Principal Photographers Gary McKinstry, Vince Klassen Advertising Sue Hodgson, Linda Hensellek, Cynthia Hanischuk, Alicia Cormier, Pat Montgomery-Brindle Marketing Coordinator Scott Simmons Pre-press Kelli Brunton Printing Central Web

Darryl Gittins has been a technology whiz for more than 20 years, even working in the high Arctic developing deep-sea submersibles. His office is a Christmas tree of wires, flashing lights, more than a dozen working computers and techno gizmos of all descriptions. Gittins, who now writes security-related content for a major software company, always takes precautions using wireless hot spots. “You can never be too careful,” says Darryl.

Vince Klassen was born and raised in Victoria and has collaborated with Boulevard magazine since 1992.

His commercial photographs have appeared in numerous national and international publications and his personal work has been exhibited at the International Photography Hall of Fame and Museum in Oklahoma City. While photographing the off-the-grid home on Prevost Island for this issue, he was amazed with the owners’ tremendous vision to live off the land while maintaining treasured comforts.

Gary McKinstry, originally from Toronto, has been a commercial photographer in Victoria for 25 years, 20 of those for Boulevard. “I like to keep it more about my eye — the lens — the light and, of course, the subject and not about my computer,” says Gary of his approach to photography.

He also appreciates the opportunities that he has to meet creative people during the course of his assignments. Look for Gary’s photos throughout the magazine: you’ll always find him capturing the essence of our Secrets & Lies subject.

Robert Moyes is a Victoria native with a long-standing interest in the arts, including the arts of fermenting, brewing and distilling: he put this passion to work researching this month’s Libations column on the new trend in creating “artisan cocktails.” Robert also expertly scours the Victoria and area arts scene to bring readers our popular Front Row event round-up. He has been a journalist and freelancer for over 25 years, and is the author of two guidebooks.

46,000 copies of Victoria Boulevard ® are published bimonthly by Boulevard Lifestyles Inc. Mailing address:1845B Fort Street, Victoria, BC V8R 1J6. Telephone: 250-598-8111. Fax: 250-598-3183. E: info@victoriaboulevard.com.

W: victoriaboulevard.com.

Victoria Boulevard ® is a registered trademark of Boulevard Lifestyles Inc. All rights reserved.

No part of this magazine may be reproduced without the publisher’s written permission.

Printed in Canada.

Julie Nixon cracks open the door to the room that she carries about inside her, revealing just a little part of herself in the feature article about tales of reinvention. Much like the remarkable people she interviewed for this story, Julie has recognized that she has denied a true passion that wants to bubble to the surface. With her supportive husband and ever-amusing canine cheering her on — and home renovations finally complete — she is ready to embark on a new career. VB

Pacific Institute for Sport Excellence Inspired by Olympians?

Come rub (sweaty) shoulders with the world’s best right here

Michelle and Craig Rinald work up a sweat at PISE.

by Alex Van Tol photos by caroline west

A few years back, crews broke ground for the Pacific

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Institute for Sport Excellence (known as PISE) just across the field from Michelle Rinald’s house. Rinald was thrilled.

In a matter of months, a full-service fitness facility — complete with Olympians and other world-class athletes — sprang up just steps from her door. It doesn’t get any more convenient than that.

Fast forward a couple of years, and Rinald, 45, is loving PISE for more than just its convenience. “It’s so clean. It’s beautiful,” says the mother of two teen-aged boys as she and her husband, Craig, 48, relax at Refuel, PISE’s on-site café. And the chance to work out near Canada’s leading sports performers? Pretty inspiring.

Open since March 2008, PISE (pronounced like Pisces without the s ) snuggles up to Camosun’s Interurban campus. The 80,000-square-foot facility currently serves about 500 members, with room for more. Most of PISE’s users are elite performers, like Olympians and other “carded” athletes whose training regimens are supported by government funding. Camosun students taking sport-related degree programs also use it free of charge. LifeMark, a private, Canada-wide, sport medicine outfit, has set up camp in PISE’s south wing, and offers a range of services for sore bodies. Leasing another space in the building is the Canadian Sport Centre Pacific, or CSCP, which oversees the research, training and testing that are involved in keeping high-performing athletes at the top of their game. The CSCP is the national centre for the Own The Podium initiative for the 2010 Olympics and Paralympics.

Victoria is home to more Olympic and carded athletes than any other region in Canada, especially for summer sports. Rowing Canada, Swim Canada, Triathlon Canada, Rugby Canada and numerous other groups have made PISE their training base. And why not, when you can grab your physio, sport medicine, acupuncture, chiropractic, massage and gym time all under one roof? “It’s been a terrific addition to the Victoria scene,” says David Docherty, professor emeritus at UVic. Once an elite rugby player himself, Docherty says PISE provides one-stop training under expert supervision for athletes.

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the common areas and fitness spaces at PISE. Rinald laughs as she recalls an afternoon workout where a number of elite rowers entered the public gym to do some dry-land training on the bikes. “One guy was sweating so much I thought his water bottle was leaking!” she says.

This mixing of professional and recreational athletes is one of the things that make PISE unique. “When the athletes are using the facility, people can see what they’re doing,” says Bob Moffat, the general manager. “When they’re around it’s pretty inspirational.” Although the carded athletes can — and usually do — use a separate area for working out, there’s plenty of community crossover in the hallways and lounge areas, at summer camps or the weekly speaker series, held Friday afternoons and anchored by presenters like gold medal winner Simon Whitfield, Olympic swimming bronze medalist Ryan Cochrane and Canadian show jumping’s Jill Henselwood. “I can’t help but think it would be motivational and inspirational to be in the same building where Simon Whitfield works out,” says Docherty.

But PISE isn’t just a place where athletes go to get ripped and repaired. It combines education, research and testing, sport medicine and high-performance sport under one roof.

“With these four different areas we’re targeting, it’s unique in the world,” says Andrea Carey, the program and facility manager. “If you look at, say, the Australian Institute of Sport, it’s really just geared to athletes and research. There’s not really an education component and there’s not a community component. We’ve taken a number of different pieces and put them together to create something that is really innovative in the world.”

From inception, the idea was to bring together the necessary components of a high-performance athlete’s world and let the public use it, too. “We want people to be healthier and more active, and perform at a higher level in sport and recreation,” says Moffat. “We’re here to help provide that. We’re trying to offer something different than a rec centre.”

Eager to work out in just such a world-class facility, Rinald signed up for Boot Camp with her husband, as soon as the centre opened. “I’d never worked out in the gym before,” says Michelle, who’s just now finding time to focus on her own fitness after years of shuttling her boys to and from their own sporting activities. “I wanted to know how to do it, and do it correctly.” The multipronged Boot Camp program provided a functional movement assessment, nutritional services and the support of a personalized training program, plus thrice-weekly workouts.

The Rinalds were hooked. Now, they work out at PISE several times a week, the highlight being yoga with Elizabeth Peckham. Craig also uses physio services to manage a herniated disc.

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With membership fees rivaling those of regional rec centres, PISE offers world-class equipment, access to fitness gurus to answer questions, discounts on registered programs, a parking pass and — perhaps best of all — no time restrictions on the equipment. “People are continuing to sign up and that’s indicative of the success of our programs and

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If you want to measure the effects of your fitness regimen, then PISE-style testing may be for you.

Let’s say you’re a middle-ager who wants to shed 15 pounds. First up: a skin fold test, says James Brotherhood, exercise physiologist at the Canadian Sport Centre Pacific. “By measuring skin folds relative to body weight we’d be able to track any changes going on in your body.” You could do “a submaximal VO2,” which involves going all out (usually on a bike or treadmill) and pushing yourself to the limits of what you can do. The results show how much oxygen your muscles extract to produce aerobic energy and how well. With those numbers, says Brotherhood, they can tell whether you’re breaking down carbs or fat. “We can tell how many calories you’re burning at each intensity.” Based on the relationship between carbon dioxide and oxygen in the body’s cells, Brotherhood can help assess training gaps and help fill them.

Testing packages start at $50 (skin folds/body composition) and range up to $250 for a package that mirrors what NHL entry draft picks go through.

Google Pacific Institute for Sport Excellence and follow the links to Community Programs, or call 250-220-2510.

our approach to them,” says Moffat. Among the most popular offerings are the community testing programs that traditionally have only been available to high-performance athletes. Through Canadian Sport Centre Pacific, Joe and Jane Doe can get a full analysis of their current fitness levels (see sidebar). “It’s a growing area for us. Because it’s never really been offered, people don’t know a lot about it so we’re educating them,” says Carey.

So what’s it like to have only a glass wall separating you from the gods and goddesses of Canada’s sporting scene?

“We watch them,” grins Michelle. “You look at what they’re doing and you look at your 10-pound weights and you just say, ‘ Wow, I’m glad I’m only doing this !’ ” VB

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Even if you aren’t an Olympics fan, you can still find some transforming personal moments amid the hoopla: I know I have, in odd places Silken Laumann stood on the Olympic podium, a

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moment the athlete had long anticipated. A bouquet in her hands, she nodded as an official draped a medal around her neck.

Spectators who had cheered so exuberantly moments before stood silently for a national anthem.

The moment matched what she had imagined; only instead of the opening notes of O Canada she was hearing the unfamiliar sounds of a paean to Belarusian greatness.

Laumann had just completed her fourth and final Olympic Games on the placid waters of Lake Lanier, a manmade body of water and the dusty state of Georgia’s only lake of any kind. Laumann earned a silver in the single sculls, a disappointing result for a rower so determined to get a gold after having won two bronzes earlier.

“I got better,” she said after the race, fingering the medal.

“And it’s pretty.” She sounded like a gift-opener being polite on Christmas morning.

Laumann’s Olympic moment in 1996 ached of exhaustion and disappointment, though she recovered well enough to establish herself as a motivational speaker and children’s

advocate on her return to Victoria. For her, the Olympics opened a door for an admired athlete to become a prominent citizen.

After years of planning and building, Vancouver and Whistler are about to host the Games of the XXI Winter Olympiad. The 17 days of blanket television coverage (followed by another 10 of the Paralympics) will be hard to avoid. Many are ambivalent about the Games. The cost is obscene. The athletes too often seem little more than vehicles for the pushing of product — a soft drink, a fast-food joint, the spectacular scenery.

The list of what’s wrong with the Olympics is a long one: the misplaced spending; the in-your-face nationalism; the nudge-nudge, wink-wink of such television-friendly eyecandy as beach volleyball; the piggybacking of politicians on athletes’ success. For us in British Columbia, the decision has already been made and the money allocated. The Games are here. British Columbians who don’t approve will get a chance in a few years to cast an electoral verdict on the government that supported them. Meanwhile, I’d like to encourage all to embrace the event, because, for all its faults, the Olympic Games do bring people together. Each of us can discover an Olympic moment, whether as a spectator vicariously sharing an athletic triumph or defeat, or as residents, seeing home afresh through the eyes of visitors from around the globe.

Such moments are unforgettable. As a teenager in Montreal in 1976, for instance, I delivered the Gazette in the morning before going to class, eagerly adding a coveted Montreal Star delivery route for late afternoons. Too soon I learned why the route had been abandoned. The Olympic papers were thick, a carrier’s payment the same no matter how heavy the bundle.

The extra money came in handy to buy tickets to a field hockey game at Molson Stadium and a soccer match at the Olympic Stadium, properly nicknamed the Big Owe. I tried to buy a ticket to the women’s volleyball finals at the Forum. Shut out at the box office, a fellow fan sold me a ticket for standing room at face value. It meant hours of not moving from my spot above the red seats, but I caught four thrilling matches, including the incomparable Japanese team, whose athletes flung themselves onto the unforgiving floor with abandon. I’d never even seen a Cuban before, let alone a Russian.

One of my lingering memories is of Canadian captain Betty Baxter valiantly, if unsuccessfully, throwing her body after a ball in a losing effort against the Peruvians. Many years later, Baxter ran unsuccessfully for a seat in Parliament from Vancouver.

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in Victoria to take up a sport demanding excellence in swimming, running and cycling. Whitfield remains a world-class athlete and can be spotted jogging along the Dallas Road waterfront while pushing a stroller.

A few years back, I visited Chuck Chapman at his home in the Oaklands neighbourhood, near Hillside Mall. He was stooped by old age, looking as though forever bent over to dribble a basketball, the sport at which he had won a silver medal at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. He kept the medal in a tattered box in a side-table drawer in his living room, close at hand, but not on display, a gesture as modest as the man himself.

As it turned out, my most personal Olympic moment happened when I covered the Atlanta Olympics in 1996.

But it was not at Lake Lanier, nor a gymnasium, nor a stadium.

I covered the Atlanta A Canadian contingent of print reporters was housed in Games, but my big new student dormitories on the moment wasn’t about campus of Clark University, just a short jaunt from the familygold medals: I sat in owned businesses lining Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. One night, a booth in a diner lured by the aroma of smoking meat, I walked through a where Martin Luther heavily-barred door into what King Jr. used to tuck a painted window declared to be Aleck’s Barbecue Heaven. into a plate of ribs.

It was smoky inside. Dark, too.

A counter with stools faced the ovens, whose flames made the diner feel more stygian than celestial. A few rickety tables lined the side wall. At the rear, a large poster of the man after whom the street was named loomed over a lone booth. The only typography on the poster: “1929-1968.” The corners were tattered.

I asked the owner why the poster was on the wall over the booth.

Sometimes, the dumbest questions elicit the best answers.

After preaching, the minister made it is his habit to come to Aleck’s, just another “hungry brother” seeking a plateful of messy but delicious ribs. That booth at the back was Dr. King’s booth. They kept it after renovations. I had a seat, imagining a saintly martyr as an ordinary man.

Maybe one of our visitors will find their moment walking the landscape that inspired Alice Munro and Carol Shields, or will dedicate themselves to architecture after seeing a Samuel Maclure mansion, or will become a more dedicated horticulturist after strolling through Butchart Gardens.

It’s not just about the spectacle when the world comes to visit. It’s personal. VB

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Tales

of Reinvention Charting a new life mid-course may not be easy, but many find it well worth the effort

Cheryl Taves left financial security for the life of an artist.

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Cheryl Taves’ life was good. At 38, she had extracted herself from a toxic marriage and embarked on a new career in real estate sales for a property developer with enough success to purchase her first home. She had found a new partner. Still, Taves couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t right.

During a volunteer counselling course that caused her to reflect deeply, she unearthed an overwhelming sense of sadness and loss. “A lot of pain kept coming up around the fact that I wasn’t honouring the artist that I was. That had really been my life-long dream and I had tabled it for such a long time,” says Taves.

It’s not unusual for people like Taves, as they hit their 30s, 40s and even 50s, to question the choices they made in youth and wonder if it is too late to change course. “Nearly everyone has difficulty turning their most passionate dreams into reality,” says author Nicholas Lore, founder of the Rockport Institute Career Choice Program, an online organization based in the United States that helps people find careers. “When we step out into the realm of fantasy and attempt to forge a life that is a major improvement on our current situation, we fall prey to doubts and difficulties,” says Lore.

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Like so many others, I’m asking: How can I make a change and find a new passion in life, or even reignite an old one?

In search of answers, I set out to find some Victorians who have heeded their inner voice and taken a leap, finding inspiration in their courage and determination.

Cheryl Taves, now 48, is finally the artist she wanted to be. She lives in Metchosin with her husband, Keith Baker, a musician and residential home designer. Looking back, she can see how she got stalled on the wrong road. After graduating from high school, she considered several options for an art degree, but when a year went by without committing, her parents got anxious.

“The next thing I knew I was enrolled in a two-year business administration program at Camosun College, destined to be a bookkeeper,” she laughs. “It was a long way from my dream, but far more practical — at least that was the message that I was getting from those around me.”

When her inner voice would not be silenced, Taves mustered her courage, and with Baker’s support, quit her job to enter the Victoria College of Art. “It was hard to give up my financial independence,” says Taves. “I felt so vulnerable.”

However, she flourished at art school, and soon after graduating in 2004 she was on the roster at the (now-closed) Fran Willis Gallery. An abstract mixed media artist, she now shows independently and with a collective called Making a Mark.

Not everyone’s denied passion is artistic. Diana Nethercott, 45, has been a successful photographer for over two decades.

She is transitioning from artist to business entrepreneur.

While she thoroughly enjoys her work as a photographer, her desire to try something new has been like a little gremlin gnawing in her gut. For two years she tossed around ideas that might satisfy her craving for a “biz buzz” and her passion for the environment.

She had used cloth shopping bags for years, but when retail stores began selling their own bags, she saw a market for fashionable, eco-friendly shopping bags. She started hotSACKS, a company that manufactures funky EcoLogocertified reusable shopping bags and recyclable mesh produce bags. It wasn’t her first idea, but it was the first that really excited her and didn’t feel too risky.

She created a transition plan and continued work as a photographer, spending her free time researching her idea and reading up on how to run a business. She held focus groups before making a prototype.

“You have to have a thick skin, be positive, be somewhat conservative but be willing to take a risk.” She says the learning curve is huge and leaving a stable career is chancy, but with the support of her husband (a journalist who helps write her press releases) and by continuing to work as a

photographer during her transition, the fear of the unknown abated. “When you do get through it you have a great sense of accomplishment,” she says.

Some experts say setting up a transition (and contingency) plan is crucial: how are you going to survive financially until your new career is profitable? What is Plan B if Plan A fails?

Taves stresses that knowing yourself and defining your lifestyle goals are extremely important. “It can only succeed when you’re committed to being truthful to yourself,” she says. Taves, however, didn’t have a fallback plan. “I knew with a real certainty that it was what I had to do.”

BD Young also leaped without a net from the life of a successful lawyer to that of a screenwriter. (Born Brian, Young was called BD once by a producer on a conference call and it stuck.) A Victoria lawyer for 12 years, Young had been writing on the side for most of his adult life when he confided to a film business friend that he was secretly working on the “quintessential lawyer novel.” The friend suggested he try a film script, and he did.

Incredibly (he wasn’t even represented yet), he sold it right away and made “a silly amount of money.” That script became the film Love for Rent, a romantic comedy that made it to some US theatres before going to video. “It doesn’t happen this way,” says Young. “To have somebody actually

option that script and agree to hang onto it, it’s phenomenal.”

Over two years, he wrote “furiously” each night after work, the ideas coming fast, and with his scripts being optioned and his confidence growing, he realized the career change was a no-brainer. Even though he enjoyed the thrill of being a litigator in criminal and civil law, he quit outright, even resigning from the Law Society. “I thought, ‘if I’m going to do this, there is no going back.’ ” Now Young has 15 original scripts optioned or in development and lots of projects lined up. “I had no idea I would end up being a screenwriter. . . . It was even a real shock to my friends,” he laughs. His niche is comedy and sentimental “boy and his dog” stories. While he wishes he had discovered screenwriting earlier in life, “things happen for a reason.” Young was married with two kids by his early 20s. “I couldn’t be a flaky artist, even though that was inside of me and looking for a way to come out.”

His advice for other wannabe writers? Just do it. “Write something and get it out there,” he says.

With stories like these, I feel absolutely inspired. Armed with a wealth of advice, a strong sense of self and character, and the support of my husband, I know that I’m on the right journey. I’ve learned that my goals are not static. While I’m already taking steps to nurture my art, I also have another cherished dream: to live off the land, and to write a novel.

And dreams can come true. VB

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Right-wing think tanks thrive because of their snappy sound bites: trouble is, they may win the war on ideas trumpeting poor-quality information “I don’t think government should have any oversight,” Diane Katz told the radio talk-show audience.

A director of the Fraser Institute, she’d just published a report on BC’s agricultural land reserve, blaming it for making our coast one of the most expensive real-estate markets in North America. The ALR’s anti-development rules prevent the market from determining the most “efficient” use of our land, she declared. Instead, we should turn our farms into suburbs and truck food in from Mexico.

Katz rattled on like this for 15 minutes. Not one caller challenged her with the concerns of food security or peak oil. After the segment wrapped, I called the host, and innocently asked: Why that topic?

“Fraser Institute speakers are extremely effective communicators,” he replied. They know what’s provocative, they come on the air at a moment’s notice, and they make their points concisely — unlike tweedy academics.

“Generally, eggheads don’t make for compelling radio.”

Chalk up another media hit for the Fraser Institute, BC’s

best-known “think tank” — one of hundreds of publicpolicy centres that have sprouted like dandelions across North America. Think tanks originated in the early 1900s, when industrialists created institutions dedicated to social and economic research, in the belief that science could improve government decision-making. (In 1921, a think tank convinced the United States to adopt a national budget system.) More appeared during the Cold War to analyze nuclear-weapons strategy. But in the 1970s, right-wing “advocacy” think tanks arose mainly to critique the administrations of Jimmy Carter, Pierre Trudeau and Dave Barrett, and big-government policies like the ALR. Since then, the Fraser Institute has become a BC phenomenon, with offices across the country, a staff of nearly 100 and more than 7,000 media citations a year worldwide. At its recent 35th-anniversary gala ($350 a ticket), the honorary chair was Gordon Campbell.

To some, such growth is sinister. In a new book, Not a Conspiracy Theory: How Business Propaganda Hijacks Democracy, Simon Fraser University lecturer Donald Gutstein argues that think tanks have steadily eroded public confidence in government, and driven North American politics to the right.

“The whole system is media-driven,” says Gutstein, who identifies a continental network of libertarian policy centres (Diane Katz came to BC from a think tank in Michigan) that groom and train armies of speakers, flooding the airwaves with reports touting private education, unfettered free trade and environmental self-regulation. “If a real-estate board says, ‘We need to get rid of the ALR,’ everyone says, ‘We know why you want to do that,’ ” observes Gutstein. “But if the Fraser Institute says it, and has a study with numbers, we’re more likely to believe it.”

Such studies are funded out of the institute’s annual budget of $14-million, mainly derived from tax-deductible donations; its board of directors includes developers, oil and mining executives and health-care merchants. Sometimes the benefactors are controversial: as Gutstein learned from U.S. tobacco-lawsuit documents, when Victoria imposed North America’s first total no-smoking bylaw in 2000 and other cities followed, the institute solicited cash from British American Tobacco, citing previous donations from Rothmans and Philip Morris and trumpeting its research denying links between second-hand smoke and cancer. Even today, I note, the institute insists that smoking has declined thanks to people freely embracing healthier lifestyles — because it doesn’t want anyone thinking Victoria’s bylaw achieved a public good.

Well, so what? As Gutstein admits in his book, despite decades of Fraser Institute bumf, surveyed Canadians remain keen on preserving peace, order, and good government

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programs. Our media landscape still has room for lefty cranks like me, and if tycoons want to finance gangs of libertarian blowhards, that’s their business.

Instead, the real crisis is that we’re increasingly bombarded with poor-quality information. “We’re living in a world that’s less and less interested in detailed policy analysis, even though the tools to do it are ever-expanding,” says Evert Lindquist, director of the University of Victoria’s school of public administration. Think tanks once conducted deep, impartial research using the best data possible — Lindquist says Victoria’s sewage debate is a local example crying out for such work — but now it seems many just provide talking heads to a conflict-fueled media more interested in grabby headlines than serious deliberation.

“Take the Fraser Institute’s ‘Tax Freedom Day’: people talk about it, but what’s its connection to an issue?” Lindquist asks. “Would they ever make a recommendation to a government for a particular mix of taxes? No, they’re just cheerleaders for lower taxes.”

Nevertheless, the left has agonized over the fact that it appears to be losing a public “war of ideas” to the Fraser Institute and its friends. George Lakoff, a University of California at Berkeley linguistics professor, has pointed out that neo-cons have been “framing” issues for years, deploying loaded phrases like “tax relief” (instead of service cuts) or “executive compensation” (instead of CEO enrichment) so successfully that they’ve become commonplace. Gutstein and others take a bigger view, and call on the left to create more robust networks and foundations of its own. There’s the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, but it has a fifth of the Fraser Institute’s staff and budget.

Instead of struggling for wider media attention, however, the solution for lefties may be to work on directing their research to the people who will actually use it.

Four years ago, former Victoria school trustee Charley Beresford became executive director of the Columbia Institute — a different type of think tank, despite its name. Through its Centre for Civic Governance, it advises BC’s many progressive municipal councillors and school trustees about programs to develop sustainable communities.

“School boards have pledged to be carbon-neutral by 2010, and municipalities by 2012,” notes Beresford, before handing me sheaves of information about their workshops on climate change, environmental retrofits for school buildings, and, I see, improved support for local farms.

“Public policy is about how we organize ourselves, and think tanks shape that policy,” she continues. Libertarians obsess about personal freedom; the goal of the Columbia Institute, she says, is to strengthen communities. We are individuals, but we’re also members of a society. “We need to look at the whole picture.” Amen to that. VB

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It was 1984. Harry and Marjorie Bergenstein were in their converted 1940s salmon troller, Olde Style, cruising the southern Gulf Islands. Harry was two years from retirement from BC Hydro and looking for a place to put the rest of his life. He saw it that day. “He took one look at Prevost Island and said, ‘I want to retire here,’ ” says Marjorie.

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Marjorie tells this story on the boat ride from Swartz Bay to from top left: Marjorie Prevost. At 73, she is trim and Bergenstein designed her elegant in her silver bracelets, many-windowed home to let wide red belt and chin-length, in tons of light; The treed blond hair cut to withstand the property is only one of seven 30-minute crossing in an open freehold acreages on Prevost; boat. We are in her boat because Adirondack chairs offer views there is no BC Ferry service to Prevost. In fact, there are no of Captain Passage and services at all. Like all properties Saltspring; Be careful, the on the island, the Bergenstein raised metal ramp to the dock home is off the grid. No has no handrails. The ramp electricity, mail delivery, garbage intimidated one guest so collection, or land lines for phone, Internet or cable; no much he crawled up it; municipal water or sewage The houseboat is home service; no grocery store, to her caretaker. schools or hospital.

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Moresby, Saltspring, Secret — and then Prevost appears, a rare jewel in the Gulf Islands crown, which even on this short trip looks a little tarnished in spots by over-crowded waterfront. Most of Prevost is owned either by descendants of Digby de Burgh, who bought it in the 1920s to farm and raise sheep, or by the Gulf Islands National Park Reserve.

The Bergensteins’ is one of only seven freehold acreages.

Marjorie says it took five years to persuade the Vancouver lawyer who owned the four-hectare (10-acre) property to sell to them, and in 1991, they laid the foundation for their island home. Marjorie is on the dock in one light step, looking over her shoulder as I clamber out of the boat. “You couldn’t move here if you didn’t like the water. Good thing I didn’t grow up afraid,” she says.

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We stand in her kitchen and I water pumped from the well. realize that writing about Prevost without gushing will be difficult.

Marjorie’s husband Harry Through the windows stand tall boasted it held enough to fir and red arbutus, and on the douse any fire on the island. rocks by the water’s edge, Opposite below: Marjorie framed by two blue junipers, a and a guest enjoy a soak in heron waits, monk-like, for fish. her salt water hot tub.

To the left is a guest cabin tucked between a perennial garden and a pond. To the right is a hot tub at water’s edge, and past that, a path meanders through a forest. Rocks wear lichen so thick and soft you can plunge your hand into it wrist deep. At the end of the path, on a rocky point, two blue Adirondack chairs offer a view of Captain Passage, Saltspring and the tip of Galiano. Marjorie looks over at a sailboat negotiating the reef markers her husband placed and sighs. “You have no idea how many boats we pull off that reef. Three or four a year.”

Marjorie walks through the almost two-thousand-squarefoot home she designed and built, and talks about what it is like to live off the grid. “I don’t even think about it anymore,” she laughs. It helps that she can afford state-ofthe-art systems. A $25,000 solar system supplies enough power to run the refrigerator, dishwasher, microwave,

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washer and dryer, all the pumps, the toaster and blender, even the Italian espresso machine. If it is rainy and dark, she checks the voltage meter and if it is 48 or less, she pops the generator on until the batteries are recharged, which she says takes only an hour. It turns out vacuums are huge power suckers and Marjorie uses her new $13,000 generator to run hers. Is there anything she cannot use? “I don’t iron anymore,” she says but that has more to do with an understandable dislike for the chore than a worry about the power supply.

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Dave Egles, president of Home Energy Solutions, installed the Bergensteins’ solar system. In fact, he says he installed all but one of the systems on Prevost. If he has done his job right, he says, Marjorie’s new generator will hardly be needed. Innovations in solar panels mean they produce twice the electricity they did 20 years ago, Egles says.

I press Marjorie for stories about when living off the grid was hard or frustrating but she insists there are none. Her fondest thoughts are of hosting friends ­— the pianist, artists, oil tycoons, once even a Russian dance troupe — who tie

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up to the dock, sometimes staying for days. She cooks for them on her propane stove and keeps the food warm in her 1921 Marswells wood stove, which also helps keep the house warm and is handy for burning paper refuse. The propane heats the water for her guests’ showers under the Australian rain shower head with the 1920s fixtures salvaged

Top left: Marjorie loves entertaining friends in her bright, well-equipped kitchen.

Below left: Her dining room has hosted businessmen, performers and artists from around the world.

Below: The spacious yet cosy living area is heated by a wood stove and expands outdoors onto a deck.

from the Hotel Vancouver. The propane also heats the floors on the main level. A second wood stove heats the living/dining areas, which are lined with a wall of French doors that open onto wide decks.

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To shop and visit friends, she keeps a car in Ganges on Saltspring, a 15-minute boat ride away. Her doctor is on Saltspring, as is Lady Minto Hospital. In a medical emergency, she says she would call for the water taxi with ambulance attendants, a service she is certain is far superior to anything people have on Vancouver Island. She has a mailbox at the top of the government dock in Ganges.

Her septic system never needed pumping, she says, only yearly checks. Rainwater is collected from the roof and it, along with water from a clear well, is pumped into a 14,385-litre holding tank. She has high-speed wireless, thanks to the mobile Internet stick, satellite television and a cell phone. It seems to be a functional, plugged-in and efficient home.

Still, as Dave Egles points out, someone who lives off the grid needs to understand the systems and what to do if, for example, a pump stops working. This is where Marty Watson comes in. For five years, Watson has been employed part-time to cut the wood, pump water into the tanks, ferry

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Marjorie and do many other jobs involved in caring for a large property. Marjorie says “Marty makes me feel not trapped. I could not be here without him.”

Eagles circle overhead and in the spring, Calypso orchids appear underfoot. Marjorie is rhapsodic about her life here, saying, “I’ll never live on another piece of property as wonderful as this.” And yet she plans to leave. Harry died five years ago. Marjorie says she is happy here but “there

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will come a time when I won’t be, and I would rather go when I am happy.” She is grateful for Watson’s help but “I don’t want to depend on people to do things for me.” More than that, she says she wants to reinvent herself. “There is something more for me. I want to find out what that is.”

On the boat back to Swartz Bay, Watson tells me he sometimes feels that Harry is on the island, watching him work. He says his girlfriend has seen “an old man in a grey sweater” following him. I ask Marjorie if she knows that Watson says Harry’s ghost is on the island. She knows and does not disapprove, any more than Harry might when Marjorie leaves Prevost in her quest to make a new life. VB

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and a community of emerging artists in Chinatown Down Fan tan Alley’s shadowy corridor, among the stacks of wicker baskets and mysterious doorways, a new art gallery has opened its doors. Boucherat, the latest venture by artist/entrepreneurs Bill Cowen and Kirsten Wright, exhibits and sells works by a range of emerging local artists.

Boucherat grew out of Studio 16½, Wright and Cowen’s first Fan tan Alley gallery, opened in 2003. Studio 16½, which had for 17 years been the late Glen Howarth’s studio, became a go-to place for young artists trying to break into the art scene. On top of running as a gallery, it hosted events and projects and for a time ran as a boutique selling works by local designers and artists. Last year, Wright launched Regalia Boutique to house the retail end of things.

In July, the old Dragon Song storefront became available.

Wright and Cowen seized the opportunity to expand, reinventing their gallery and moving it down to street level.

Boucherat, named for Marie Boucherat, the building’s original 1912 owner, doesn’t replace Studio 16½ but frees up the large second-floor studio for art classes, workshops, lecture series and screenings.

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dynamic team. Wright, self-possessed and articulate, is a painter, a performing musician and a focused business woman. Cowen, good humoured and overflowing with ideas, is a writer, filmmaker and web developer. Both are committed to Victoria’s artistic community and to preserving the heritage of Chinatown.

Wright and Cowen have been at the heart of Victoria’s emerging young art scene since they opened Studio 16½.

“We were involved with the art party scene back when Harley Smart and Luke Ramsey and all those guys were putting on these big installation art shows down in the Sunset Room behind Value Village,” says Wright. “That sort “If you are just of West Coast, graffiti-influenced, low-brow art culture was getting starting out as a lot of energy put into it by the an artist, you don’t young people of Victoria and we just kind of plopped ourselves know how to into it at the right time and decided to open Studio 16½.” approach a gallery Though home to a wealth of young creative talent, Victoria and get a show,” lacked a commercial gallery says Kirsten Wright. catering to emerging artists, says Wright.

“They could either show in a restaurant, or put on a show at the Ministry of Casual Living or the Fifty Fifty, who are non-profit and sort of out of the way. Or there is Open Space or the Community Arts Council, but they are wellestablished and have people from all over the place pursuing them for shows.”

Wright and Cowen provide young artists with more than a much-needed local venue. Artists themselves, they understand the challenges of turning creativity into an income and try to support artists to develop professionally.

“If you are just starting out, you don’t know how to approach a gallery and get a show,” says Wright. “We have always tried to build up that role-playing of gallery and artist so they know what to expect when they walk into another gallery. For example, they need a bio, they need a CV, they need a portfolio, they should have a website. All these things will, in the end, help you so much as an artist and you can grow from there.”

Lyle Schultz, an up-and-coming local artist, says showing at Studio 16½ gave him valuable exposure in town and built his confidence in curating shows.

“Applying to galleries can be intimidating. . . . Bill and Kirsten take the time to educate artists, keeping it professional while still dealing with you on a human basis.”

Wright and Cowen run a commercial gallery aiming not just to show great work, but to sell it. In Victoria, where

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older collectors of established artists dominate the art market, Boucherat gives young buyers and new artists a chance to get in on the action.

“Everybody deserves to have something they love in their home,” says Wright. “We are trying to create an art market for a younger generation of people, people that don’t have a ton of money but do recognize the value of something that is culturally relevant to their age group and their lifestyle.”

Though committed to the business side, Wright and Cowen run their gallery as more than a commercial space.

They host annual group projects like last year’s Premier Portrait Project, held during the election, for which they invited artists to contribute portraits of BC’s 34 premiers.

In 2007, they hosted the Panorama Project, cutting a panoramic photo of the Victoria skyline into 20 chunks and giving each to a different artist to reinterpret, then joining the sections back together.

“A lot of artists are in their hobby holes doing their own thing,” says Wright. “These projects engage artists with each other and that’s really valuable. It makes the community that much more interconnected and more supportive.”

“People come in and ask if we are a commercial gallery or a collective,” says Cowen. “We like that because it proves our activity in the community is not solely commerciallybased. We sell art to people but we also always get asked to be part of art crawls and community art projects and that sort of thing.”

Local artist and art writer Robert Amos likens Cowen and Wright to Victoria’s Fran Willis.

“Fran Willis’ gallery was set up as a commercial gallery but really, if there is any justice, she should have been given grants by the city and larger government bodies. . . . She did so many public events in her gallery which were not commercially successful but were valuable to the community. . . . It is a considerable advantage to this city, which has virtually no public support for art.”

Opening Boucherat allows Wright and Cowen to grow both the community-focused and business aspects of their projects. Within weeks of securing the new location, a year’s worth of public programming had been designed for Studio 16½. A new online catalogue helps to grow sales.

“It’s been a five-year joy ride of proving to ourselves the artists are worth it,” says Cowen. “And Boulevard they are.”Magazine January issue, 2010 Half page vertical On the web: 4” x 9.75” Full colour Boucherat Gallery: fantanstudios.com/index.php 1595

List of programming for Studio 16½: fantanstudios.com/ 32004-7276 index.php?action=studio_archives&category=event

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State of

By alisa gordaneer

TheArts In this expanded column, Alisa Gordaneer looks at what might grow from the clear-cutting of the arts

Timing is everything. Performers, whose job is to crash cymbals or bounce on stage at just the right time, know all about it. They practice relentlessly, because audiences expect the satisfaction of seeing works of synchronized genius.

If that’s the case, the British Columbia government’s massive funding cuts to BC arts groups came timed last fall with the precision of an Olympic figure skater on especially slippery ice: right at the beginning of this year’s artistic season, when arts groups had already committed to presenting the best shows ever in honour of the province’s moment in the international spotlight this winter. That’s right.

The funding carpet was pulled out from under them, too late to do anything about it.

The cuts are extensive. Last fall, the province halved the share of gambling revenue that filtered over to the arts. Bad enough, say arts administrators whose budgets are already on recycled shoestrings, but it gets worse. Over the next two years, the province plans to cut its arts funding by as much as 88 per cent, an amount expected to be confirmed in its budget announcements this March.

What this means won’t be immediately apparent to audiences. Arts administrators may lay off staff, take pay cuts, sacrifice long-needed equipment or facility upgrades, or reduce the number of shows they put on. In the long term, however, expect fewer shows, more local artists featured, and lower-rent venues. And expect not a small amount of fundraising efforts as arts groups attempt to make up a shortfall of thousands of dollars each. There’s a certain urgency to their efforts, as many arts groups had already based their seasons on government money they’d expected to have in their pockets. Victoria’s Intrepid Theatre, for example, got the news of the cut to its $35,000 share of provincial gaming funds on the first day of its popular Fringe Festival last fall. As General Manager Ian Case says, “the insulting thing is it happened so late in our season.” The company had already committed the money to performers and performances for the fall and winter shows.

“We had no opportunity to do anything about it.”

Which means that for Intrepid, and many other local arts organizations, the effect of the cuts won’t be really obvious until well after the Olympics have faded away. “Next year, we’ll have to cut back on our presenting series,” says Case.

“It greatly impacts our ability to present the best art possible.”

Case says Intrepid is likely to focus more on locally produced shows, and plans to rent out its Metro Studio space (if it can still afford to keep it open) to local groups in need of a venue. “We’re looking at trying to find the best work we can, that we can afford,” says Case. “We’ll be working with emerging companies, further down the food chain, who are willing to do box office splits.”

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While some groups, like Intrepid, are trying to cut the costs of their operations, others are already working on building their revenues to help weather the economic storm.

At the University of Victoria-based Malahat Review, one of Canada’s most renowned literary magazines, editor John Barton says the magazine is scrambling to deal with a double round of cuts because last October, on top of cutting arts grants, the province slashed funding to book and magazine publishing. Literary magazines often use contests to increase their subscription base, and so the Malahat is launching another contest — its fourth annual one. It’s also discounting subscriptions, which Barton says “make me feel like a used car salesman rather the editor of an iconic literary journal.” Even so, the publication may need to cut its pages, and possibly staff. There’s not much else to trim.

At Open Space, executive director Helen Marzolf has also been “postponing and cancelling programs, trying to find savings wherever we can.” They’re putting off improvements to the space itself, and making money by renting it out for private parties.

Open Space had been working to build its programs, with an eye to receiving matching funds from the federal government (whose pocketbooks still seem to be open, at least for the time being). But now, says Marzolf, “the cuts have thrown a monkey wrench into plans for the future. . . . it undermines our ability to plan.”

Open Space will still present visual arts, music and performances, but just not as frequently. The cuts “make BC arts organizations a lot less competitive on the national stage, and with national funders,” says Marzolf. “It detracts from our image.”

Marzolf also plans to build partnerships with other arts organizations, so that even if they’re competing with other provincial non-profits for increasingly limited funds, at least they’re not competing with each other for audiences.

Paul Destrooper, artistic director of Ballet Victoria, counts on that kind of collaboration. While his organization lost 100 per cent of its gaming funding last fall, it had some

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money saved and was able to go ahead with the fall season. But pressure to make up the lost cash is strong.

“We need to do extremely well at the box office,” says Destrooper. He points to this spring’s co-production of Carmina Burana, with the Victoria Choral Society and the Victoria Symphony, as an example of the kind of collaborative effort that could help local arts groups put on better shows by working together and improve attendance by “cross-pollinating” audiences.

I suppose if there’s a silver, or at least aluminum, lining, it’s that maybe some local performers will get their big break with companies that can’t afford imported talent.

Maybe we’ll discover some unsung gems or unseen works of local talent. Or maybe — and I’m ducking now to avoid the rotten tomatoes you were saving for all those cancelled Partnerships with other performances — these cuts will help the arts as a whole.

Maybe stale or irrelevant arts organizations organizations will pack up their tents. Maybe we’ll see means that even if some brilliant and hitherto unimagined collaborations groups compete between unlikely artistic fellows. Maybe arts patrons for funds, at least will convince the BC government to give enormous tax breaks to those who fund they’re not competing the arts. Or as the Malahat’s Barton ironically points out, for audiences. the cuts could potentially create new opportunities for arts groups. “Maybe governments should be hiring arts administrators to run the now partly government-owned automobile manufacturers? After all, we know how to survive on almost nothing and know how to eke maximum value out of every single dollar and do it in the name of art (another name for the public interest),” Barton says. “Hell, maybe we should be all made deputy ministers and help ‘Gordo’ deal with the provincial deficit and debts.

And, unlike him, we might do it as volunteers or on starvation wages.”

Maybe pigs will fly.

Speaking of flying pigs, at the Vancouver Fringe Festival last fall, fundraisers passed the hat (actually a papiermâché airplane; there’s that innovation again) before each show. I wonder if the province imagined arts groups begging for donations before every show. If that’s the case, I’d like to see what kind of funding Olympic-goers could cough up if someone passed a hockey helmet before each event. VB

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Cowichan

By katherine gordon

A COWICHAN CHALLENGE Is Bamberton too much, too fast or a green community whose time should come?

concept site plan courtesy of tartan group

“It’s a beautiful piece of property in a beautiful location,” enthuses Ross Tennant about Bamberton, a former cement factory site bought in 2005 by his development company, Three Point Properties. “As soon as we saw it, we knew we could do something incredible here.”

Tennant has a good eye. Bamberton’s 592 hectares stretch for five glorious kilometres along Saanich Inlet, just south of Mill Bay. The property’s steep, heavily-forested slopes offer panoramic views over Finlayson Arm. With the sun filtering through the firs and maples to sparkle on the inlet, it’s a small, peaceful corner of Vancouver Island paradise. But in 2005, that wasn’t immediately obvious.

Only crumbling remnants remained of what was once the thriving industrial village of Bamberton, comprised largely of cement workers and their families. The site did still house the derelict cement plant that had been built by the Portland Cement Company Ltd. in 1912, under the auspices of H.K.G.

Bamber, its managing director. The plant had ceased operations in the early 1980s, but the area surrounding it remained highly contaminated with industrial chemicals.

When Tennant first looked at the site five years ago, however, he saw past the ruins and devastation. So did his partners in Three Point Properties, Victoria developer Jack Julseth and Joe van Belleghem of Dockside Green fame.

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Their vision is to rebuild Bamberton, this time as an environmentally sustainable community. More than 3,000 view homes would be built on its slopes, with both funicular and road access to a waterfront village with commercial services and recreational facilities located on the former cement plant site. Ninety per cent of the waterfront would remain green space.

Like the Dockside Green development in Victoria, local suppliers and sustainable materials would be used. The community, which would have its own water supply from Oliphant Lake on the west side of the Malahat Highway, would use state-of-the-art environmental technology to minimize water and energy use. More than 120 hectares of rare, old-growth Douglas fir forest, sensitive wetlands and wildlife habitat would be made into a Cowichan Valley Regional District (CVRD) park, and another eight hectares added to Bamberton Provincial Park.

A grand dream indeed: also a challenging one. Nearly five years after buying the property, and two years after undertaking a $20-million remediation project to demolish the derelict plant and remove the contaminated material, the Bamberton plan is still working its way through a CVRD rezoning application process. Late last October, the CVRD’s advisory planning committee recommended approval, but success is not guaranteed. The plan is still subject to review by the district’s services committee before going to the CVRD board itself for a decision on whether to send the plan forward for public hearing. Rob Conway, the CVRD assistant manager of development services, says: “Any rezoning process is unpredictable, this one more so than most because of the sheer scope of the project. It would more than double the size of the Mill Bay population, so it’s very significant. It’s not a decision to be made lightly.”

Tennant remains optimistic. Conscious of the likelihood of local concern over the size of the project, he says Three Point Properties undertook intensive community consultation before finalizing its vision. It took three years for a site plan to be developed that reflects what Three Point Properties heard from concerned locals in south Cowichan: respect the history of Bamberton, create local jobs and protect the environment and green space. “It took a long time, but we have a very good plan as a result,” says Tennant.

All the same, the proposal has generated its fair share of opposition. Conway explains: “I think Three Point has done a good job of community outreach and their environmental approach is very innovative. But [it] is still fairly overwhelming. It would be a huge change for this community.” Public perceptions have also been scarred by experiences with previous developers, adds Conway.

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Three Point Properties is not the first company to propose development of Bamberton, and its predecessors have not been well-received. “Rightly or wrongly, there is a history here of perceived failed promises. So there are serious concerns that even if Three Point is trustworthy, what will happen if they sell the land to someone else? That’s a big concern for many people.”

Letters to the Cowichan Valley newspapers spell the concerns out in no uncertain terms. “Why would anyone in their right mind entertain the idea of a megadevelopment (a city) in their rural backyard?” asks Mill Bamberton’s developer Bay’s Balu Tatagachi.

“Bamberton promises all the acknowledges politically correct bells and whistles — the eco-industrial the anxiety around and ecotourism sectors, the the project’s scale, energy conservation measures, site remediation — but even but points out it has this amount of green-washing cannot disguise the fact that an a 25-year timetable. influx of 3,200 units would change the physical and social landscape of South Cowichan beyond recognition,” says Mary Desmond of Shawnigan Lake Watershed Watch. The Cowichan News Leader editor summed it up simply last June: “Too much, too big, too fast.”

Tennant acknowledges the anxiety around the project’s scale, but points out that the plan has a 25-year time line.

A town isn’t going to spring up overnight. He also points to the work that has gone into incorporating community feedback. A museum has already been built to celebrate the industrial history of Bamberton. Three Point Properties is also committed to the amount of parkland and environmental initiatives it has incorporated into the plan.

“Other developers have looked at us askance and told us we are out of our minds to give up so much valuable waterfront to green space, for example,” says Tennant.

“But I firmly believe that is the right thing to do for this community.”

Will the grand dream become reality, or will its very grandness be its undoing? “We’ve taken a long time to make sure we have got this right,” repeats Tennant adamantly. “I do believe it’s going to happen.”

Tennant and his partners will have to wait and see.

At the earliest, the CVRD rezoning process is expected to be complete sometime this spring. Whether they are successful, and the slopes of Bamberton will once again become home to a thriving community, only time will tell. VB victoriaboulevard.com 59

FRONTROW

By Robert Moyes

A DIVERSITY OF DANCE From traditional to newly commissioned, several notable

may be the closest classical dance ever got to slapstick,

dance performances are in the wings. Victoria-based Canadian

complete with dancers who double as practical jokers.

Pacific Ballet, specialists in classical and romantic ballet,

The plot involves a gentleman looking for love via

returns to the 1800s to resurrect a once-famous ballet from

newspaper ads when, all along, everyone except him

Danish choreographer August Bournonville. Although known

knows his housekeeper would make the perfect wife.

for using lots of humour (including touches of commedia

This Canadian premiere runs February 13 at 8 pm and

dell’arte), Bournonville always hewed to the classical ideals of

February 14 at 2 pm and 7 pm, at the McPherson Theatre.

ballet. His Konservatoriet, or A Marriage for Advertisement,

For tickets, call 250-386-6121.

Joni Mitchell’s The Fiddle and the Drum, performed here by the Alberta Ballet Company.

Photo by Charles Hope.

The French Connection january 11, 8pm royal theatre

Jean-François Rivest, conductor Avan Yu, piano

A Night at the Oscars january 14, 2pm january 15 & 16, 8pm royal theatre Victor Sawa, conductor

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january 17, 2:30pm royal theatre Giuseppe Pietraroia, conductor Platypus Theatre

Turkish Delight

january 24, 2:30pm january 25, 8pm royal theatre Bernhard Gueller, conductor Susanne Hou, violin

Dance Victoria has a busy winter, beginning with Joni Mitchell’s The Fiddle and the Drum, an internationally acclaimed collaboration between

Les Préludes

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Canada’s iconic singer-songwriter and Alberta Ballet. Choreographer Jean Grand-Maître originally approached Mitchell with the idea of doing a

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straightforward “greatest hits” biographical portrait, but the singer had a different idea. An accomplished victoriaboulevard.com 61

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painter, Mitchell was just finishing a project comprising 64 large canvasses confronting dark issues such as war and environmental damage. She suggested those themes, buttressed by projected images of the paintings as well as bits of video footage, would make a unique multi-media experience. Created in 2007 and originally under an hour long, Fiddle has now been expanded into a full-length ballet showcasing 29 dancers offering bold, richly emotional interpretations of 13 Mitchell songs (many from later albums, but including such classics as Woodstock and For the Roses).

Performances are January 27-28, 7:30 pm at the Royal Theatre.

For tickets, call 250-386-6121.

Ex-Victorian dancer-turned-choreographer Crystal Pite has had a long history with Dance Victoria, beginning with A Conversation, the celebrated “dialogue” between Pite and fellow dancer-choreographer Lynda Raino that Dance Victoria commissioned in 2002. Currently much in demand in Europe and North America, Pite accepted another commission from Dance Victoria and the National Art Centre a year ago. The resulting work, Dark Matters, takes inspiration from modern physics to explore aspects of creation, destruction and the unknown. Esteemed for her witty staging as much as her sensuous and dynamic choreography, Pite remains a brilliant dancer and appears on stage for this world premiere performed by Kidd Pivot, her six-person troupe.

“The show includes a giant puppet and a few other surprises,” says Dance Victoria producer Stephen White. “It’s a very theatrical piece.”

The performance is January 30, 7:30 pm at the Royal Theatre. For tickets, call 250-386-6121.

HE PAINTS! HE SCORES! Victoria’s punk-rocker-turned-abstract-expressionist Tim Hoey has a solid career underway as an artist, selling canvasses both locally and through a gallery in Calgary. But three years ago, Hoey began to occasionally abandon his dark abstractions to produce paintings with overt nostalgic charm. Dubbed his “O-Canada” pieces, they were rendered in a Pop Art style and coloured to recall Hudson’s Bay blankets of yore. His subjects included everything from Tim Hortons coffee cups and birch bark canoes to Pierre Trudeau, Mounties and “stubby” beer bottles. And boy did bold paintings of iconic Canadiana catch on. Between thronged openings and special commissions (including one to Canadian Olympian Mark Tewksbury), plus website sales to expat Canadians all over the globe, the hard-working Hoey has slapped “Sold” on more than 300 works.

All this wasn’t lost on the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, which approached Hoey to mount an exhibition here, his first. The result is the O-Canada Winter Show, a collection of about 50 paintings timed to informally resonate with the 2010

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Olympics. As much art as visual comfort food, this current series O-Canada Skates, portrays such objêts d’hiver as Bauer mixed medium oil/ hockey skates, snowmobiles, acrylic, 24 x 30 in, toboggans and toques.

2009 — one of his “Canada has a ruggedness, and pieces that will be part these paintings deliberately have a touch of crudeness . . . like a log of the O-Canada cabin,” explains Hoey. And for a Winter Show at the painter who grew up around many AGGV this February. of Victoria’s most important artists (his mom was a volunteer at the AGGV), this show is a huge honour. “It’s kinda like you made it to the NHL and you’re lacing up for your first game at the Montreal Forum,” quips Hoey.

At the AGGV from February 4-28. For information, call 250-384-4171.

GUITAR PASSION Victorian guitarist Gareth Owen was literally born into a flamenco family. His father, Harry Owen, is an internationally renowned guitarist and his mother, Veronica Maguire, is a gifted dancer and teacher who founded the long-running Alma de España troupe. Owen showed great potential while just a boy. His years of obsessive practice and studying included two pilgrimages to Jerez de la

Landlocked, Gregg Simpson, acr ylic on canvas, 1967

Tim Hoey’s

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PAINTING IT OLD-SCHOOL Self-described as “mad, passionate, devoted, obsessed — driven, you could say,” painter and printmaker David Ladmore works 12 to 14 hours a day. The English-born Ladmore seems to be making up for lost time, insofar as he first dedicated himself to art at age 40, 15 years ago. He lives in an old, near-chaotic James Bay apartment that’s more studio than abode. Luckily his wife, Laurie, is a fellow artist

Photo by Samantha King.

We are moving

Frontera, one of Spain’s preeminent centres for traditional flamenco, where he was mentored by contemporary guitar masters Jesus Alvarez and Niño Jaro. He merged their two styles into a compelling amalgam combining emotional rawness, aggressively syncopated rhythms and scintillating technique. Owen Gareth Owen. has been increasingly visible on the local music scene, and his Harry Manx. bravura playing is captured on the 21-year-old’s recent live CD. His latest event is a special concert with noted Spanish singer Antonio de Jerez, based in Los Angeles, whose style perfectly matches that of Owen.

Between the guitar prodigy and the veteran gypsy cantaor count on an all-star evening of music summoned from the true heart of Spain. January 23, 8 pm at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian, 924 Douglas Street. For tickets, call 250-384-8832.

Three weeks later, two deep-rooted music styles coalesce inside one guitarist when award-winning Harry Manx returns to town. For years an itinerant bluesman, Manx increasingly felt drawn to classical East Indian music and eventually undertook a five-year tutelage under the legendary Vishwa Mohan Bhatt (the Grammy-winner most famous for modernizing Indian ragas played on his self-designed Mohan Veena, a 19-stringed “sitar-guitar”). Emerging from that apprenticeship with a compelling hybrid of American blues and Indian soul, Manx and his East-meets-West “mysticssippi” sound became an overnight sensation. Aside from his technical instrumental virtuosity (he also plays lap steel guitar, harmonica and banjo), the transcendentally funky Manx is a notable vocalist and songwriter.

Manx performs February 6, 8 pm at UVic’s Farquhar Auditorium. For tickets, call 250-721-8480.

(who also manages David’s career). The two are being featured by the Community Art Council. Mostly self-taught, Ladmore’s figurative and landscape oils owe more to English masters such as Turner and Constable than to art academy trends.

Showing in galleries in Chicago, Toronto, David Ladmore’s and Washington DC, the award-winning Woodlands XI, oil Ladmore just beat out 250 other artists to on panel, 30 x 24 in, win top prize in the CACGV’s “Look 2009.

Victoria” annual contest.

The show is at the CACGV Arts Centre, 1001 Douglas Street, from February 11-17. For information, call 250-381-2787.

PLAYWRIGHT’S PROBLEM CHILD UVic’s Phoenix Theatre returns to the oeuvre of incredibly prolific playwright George F. Walker, recent Order of Canada inductee. Walker is known for his fast-paced and provocative black comedies featuring characters at the margins of society, and Problem Child is no exception. Part of Walker’s Suburban Motel play cycle — written a dozen years ago and comprising six plays with nothing in common except they are all set in the same shabby motel room — Problem features a desperate couple who are trying to put their criminal past and drug addiction behind them in order to regain custody of their infant child. Belfry Theatre artistic director Michael Shamata guest-directs this angry look at personal and societal dysfunction.

Problem Child runs February 18-27. For ticket information, call 250-721-8000.

A CELESTIAL VOICE Pacific Opera Victoria pulls off a coup with Capriccio, the last opera by Romantic-turned-modernist Richard Strauss.

Rising superstar Erin Wall, a young Canadian soprano whose career is on fire, will perform the central role of Countess Madeleine. Strauss loved to compose for the soprano voice, and he would have savoured a full lyric singer as Wall in one of his best-written roles. Singing internationally since 2002,

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Artwork for Capriccio by Jane Francis Design. Inset: Erin Wall, who plays the Countess.

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Wall last year added to her stack of glowing reviews with critically acclaimed debuts at both The Met and La Scala (the Met performance was simulcast). These days Wall is more likely to be heard in Paris or Vienna than Victoria; she was presumably lured here by the chance to perform in the rarely mounted Capriccio, which is a West Coast premiere of Strauss’ ironic but rapturously romantic tribute to love and art.

Performances are at the Royal Theatre from February 25 to March 6. For tickets, call 250-385-0222.

TEN DAYS OF FILMS The 16th annual Victoria Film Festival soon unspools more than 150 films, including some 55 features. Festival director Kathy Kay is one of eight jurors who vetted approximately 1,200 DVD entries, as well as researched films at festivals in Toronto and New York. The two major themes this year are The Future and Pleasure. The Future looks at the impact of social media and new technologies, both on society and film creation. Pleasure examines all sides of this seductive topic, whether it’s a documentary about food or a look at how recreational drug users can turn into addicts. Want some tips? Kay recommends Defendor, a Canadian-made comedy starring Woody Harrelson as a mentally unbalanced “superhero”; Lebanon, a multiple award-winning Israeli film about the 15-year war in Lebanon; and Vision, a drama by Margarethe von Trotta, based on the extraordinary life of 11th-century Hildegard of Bingen, the abbess, playwright and composer.

The festival runs from January 29 to February 7.

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HOTPROPERTIES

By denise rudnicki Photos by Vince Klassen

A West Coast contemporary home in View Royal puts the fun in functional

The Eror’s house sits where fresh water from Millstream Creek meets the sea

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water of Esquimalt Lagoon.

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We all remember those little boys who loved forts and clubs and tree houses. In their secret places, time stopped rushing, chores were forgotten, and the game was all that mattered. Josh Eror was probably one of those boys. He sure looks like a little boy when he opens the door to his media room, revealing his state-of-the-art, grown-up secret clubhouse. Only this one allows girls. Josh points to a movie poster of Devil Girl from Mars, saying it “reminds me of my wife, Nadine.”

His real-life devil girl settles into one of three huge leather recliners facing the 61-inch plasma screen that dominates one wall of this room, which looks like a private box in a sports arena. The media room is in three levels.

The galley-style kitchen, on the highest of the three levels, shares space with a raised table and stools; on the middle level are the recliners and their built-in cup holders, then a lower level has a couch. Josh turns on the TV, says “but we have better,” and lowers a 96-inch, drop-down screen for

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playing movies. Everything is operated from a bank of equipment — surround sound, CD player, radio, satellite, and the speaker system — 10 black boxes stacked in an equipment rack like something in a professional production studio. “People go over the top,” says Josh. “We aimed for what we needed.”

Josh knows a good thing when he sees it. That’s why he married his high-school sweetheart, grabbed an opportunity

70 victoriaboulevard.com

knock loudly please.

Above: Nadine and Josh battle it out at the pool table.

Below: The three-level media room looks like a private box in a sports arena.

nine years ago to provide technical support for an American software company and at 35, was able to build this dream home in View Royal. The couple moved here in June 2009, just over a year after the foundation was laid. The 3,600-square-foot house is on a sloping lot with a view of the

Since we built our home theatre, we spend a lot of time in here.

In fact, we’ve let other things slide. Like the doorbell we need to install. Thanks to Larry and his team for managing our home theatre wish list and budget.

Nadine may say we enjoy it a little too much.

I’m on it, honey.

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tidal estuary, where the fresh water from Millstream Creek meets sea water from the Esquimalt Lagoon. The delicate eco-system provides a rich sanctuary for migratory birds, which drew the Erors to buy here. On this day we see blue herons, a kingfisher, Canada geese and ducks, but swans have been spotted too. “We love the view,” says Nadine.

“We’ve seen birds we didn’t know existed on the island.”

Chris Walker, of Christopher Developments, designed and built the house, and calls it West Coast contemporary. It is clad in cedar, with revolutionary LED pot lighting, in-floor radiant heat and tall windows that bring the outdoors in.

It has a low profile on the street where a water feature with a bridge “required some head-scratching” to make work, says Walker. Walker says his favourite design element is in the living room, where a wall of windows surrounds a

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Interiors, both Victoria-based.

Designer Lorin Turner says Josh and Nadine were dream clients because they were wide open to new ideas.

“Usually clients come armed with pictures,” she says. “They were very trusting, bless their hearts.” Turner’s favourite design element is the G-Roc kitchen counter by Szolyd, made of 85 per cent recycled products, which involved mixing glass into concrete and then pouring it into a mould. The counter weighs nearly one metric ton.

An engineer had to certify that the house could hold the weight and 10 men carried it in. Turner was not there that day. “There are some things you don’t want to see,” she says.

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The fir cabinetry adds a warming contrast to the contemporary design of the bathroom.

bathroom has an open Jacuzzi-style tub, a glass-enclosed shower, his-and-hers sinks and custom tiling.

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level — smaller, less drama, more utilitarian.

Josh and Nadine decided early to trust their architect and designer. Josh says, “We saw what Chris’ vision was. We knew he would build us an amazing home — a fusion of wood, natural colours, stone and even metal.” A dream scenario for designers, Walker says his clients’ trust allowed him to express himself and that was “so freeing but I also felt an incredible sense of responsibility to get it right.”

Getting it right meant adjusting the ground-level floor of the two-storey, three-bedroom house to Josh and Nadine’s vision. This floor is devoted to games. Along with the media room is a computer room with four computer stations for playing games. Josh says, “I guess if I had to choose my dream career, it would have been developing the software for computer games.” Other toys include a full-sized pool table, a professional dart board that lives inside a custommade cabinet, and a gaming cabinet with an Xbox 360, a PS3 PlayStation, and a Nintendo Wii. Beside the television in the gaming cabinet, a wall-mounted TV is dedicated to display and cycle through the digital photographs that are Nadine’s hobby. Nadine’s framed photographs provide much of the art in the house. The games level opens to a patio with a hot tub, barbecue and outdoor fire pit, and the dog run for Lucy, the mixed-breed Josh and Nadine adopted.

Turner calls the media room “cool and lounge-like” and laughs when told that Josh says he worries he may spend too much time there. This is, for her, a sure sign of the success of a design that reflects the owners’ personalities.

“They’re such nice, fun people. We really wanted to give them a great home and make them happy.” VB

SUPPLIERS AND TRADES: Architect/builder/ woodwork: Christopher Developments Inc.; Interior Design: Lorin Turner, Zebra Interiors; Plumbing: Majestic Mechanical Ltd.; Plumbing Fixtures: Wolseley Canada Inc. Kitchen & Bath Classics; Cabinetry: Chris Mead Custom Woodwork; Counters: G-Roc by Szolyd, Stone Trends Marble & Granite Ltd; Appliances: Trail Appliances; Windows: Van Isle Windows Ltd.; Window Fashions: Studio 300; Doors: Euroline Windows Inc.; Door Hardware: Victoria Speciality Hardware; Lighting: McLaren Lighting; Landscaping/water feature: Duane Ensing Landscape Design; Stained Glass: Charles Gabriel Blasted Glass; Home audio/alarm: Simply Automated.

GREAThomes GREATrealtors BOULEVARD MAGAZINE’S REAL ESTATE

advertising SECTION January/February 2010

BEAUTIFUL OLYMPIC MOUNTAIN VIEWS! Situated on the popular Lansdowne Slope, this 3005 sq. ft. home is on .26 of an acre.

A wrap around deck, provides a wonderful outdoor living area. $940,000. For details contact LYNNE SAGER, RE/MAX Camosun.

Photo by vince klassen

GREAThomes GREATrealtors Welcome to Boulevard ’s Great Homes, Great Realtors. This advertising section, showcasing prominent Victoria realtors and a hand-picked selection of currently available property listings, will appear in each issue of the magazine. We hope that you will enjoy it!

LYNNE SAGER — RE/MAX CAMOSUN I’ve been selling unique and waterfront homes in Victoria for 25 years and offer knowledge in construction and interior design from my family business. I’ve been a member of the Education Committee for VREB for four years and am presently on the Community Relations Committee. I pride myself on keeping my negotiating skills and personal contacts current.

DALLAS CHAPPLE RE/MAX CAMOSUN Named after my father, bandleader Dal Richards, I have a Mass Communications degree from Paris’ Sorbonne University. I’ve been a Victoria realtor for 18 years specializing in Oak Bay and have consistently placed in the top 100 of RE/MAX’s 6,000 agents in Western Canada. My goal is to help clients find their dream home and ensure their decisions are wise, long-term investments.

DEEDRIE BALLARD RE/MAX CAMOSUN During my 17 year career in Real Estate, I have been listing homes in Greater Victoria. Diversification and knowledge combined with personalized service has made me one of Victoria’s Top Realtors. Giving back to my community has been a vital part of my life, having served on many boards over the past 35 years. When you work with Deedrie Ballard; Expect Excellence.

LISA WILLIAMS CENTURY 21 QUEENSWOOD REALTY LTD. A third generation Victorian, my passions are architecture, design and our fabulous West Coast lifestyle.

Working in Victoria since 1990, I specialize in waterfront, unique and luxury properties and have sold many of Victoria’s highest priced homes.

My mission is to exceed expectations, rise to every challenge and to always look for innovative ways to connect buyers and sellers!

LESLEE FARRELL MACDONALD REALTY I am a Simon Fraser University graduate and passionate about boating, the arts and charity service. After 30 years in my profession, I feel as committed to my clients today as I did on day one. I provide expertise in luxury and waterfront properties, along with a top-ranking internet presence that is combined with leading-edge marketing tools. My wish is to deliver the ultimate concierge service to all of my real estate transactions.

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“MY GOAL, AS YOUR REALTOR, IS TO FIND YOUR DREAM HOME, AND ENSURE THE DECISION YOU MAKE STANDS AS A WISE INVESTMENT OVER THE LONG TERM.”

Fabulous Oak Bay! Great Area!

What a great location for this beautiful home, Central and Newport across from the golf course. Featuring 3 bedrooms on the main this house offers 1 level living, but has a 7’2” basement with bathroom, great for further development. – $749,900

Brentwood Bay! Port Royale!

2 beautiful townhomes!

Enjoy these spectacular ocean views from your living room and dining room. Spacious eat-in kitchen opens to the deck where you can enjoy the sun set!

Nearly $100,000 in renovations has been spent on one of these 2 bedroom, 3 bath townhomes!

– $569,900 & $729,900 This stunning Uplands home was renovated by Pamela Charlesworth and features a gorgeous new kitchen with granite counters, new bathrooms, 3 bedrooms up – all situated on .35 acres of beautiful English garden. Ocean glimpses from sunroom. – $1,575,000

The Huntsman! Oak Bay! This spacious 2 bedroom/2bath suite faces due south overlooking gardens and trees and is on the quiet sunny side of the building.

This suite is just perfect for those who don’t want to downsize too much. Close to shops, doctors, banks, groceries etc. on the Avenue. – $474,900

Oak Bay Border! You will not believe the stunning renovation done to this 2 bedroom suite.

Gorgeous new kitchen with custom cabinets, counters, cork floor.

New flooring through-out, 2 brand new bathrooms with dark wood, slate tile & new fixtures, Oriental mahogany doors inset with mirror in dining room. Patio suite – perfect for small dog! – $369,900 This stunning south Oak Bay family home, the Goodacre property, features 6 bedrooms upstairs, spacious dining room with built-in cabinets living room with extended bay windows, sun room on .33 acre garden.

– $1,350,000

Thanks to you, 2009 has been a great year!

I am in the “Top 100” of the 6000 RE/MAX Associates in Western Canada!

DALLAS CHAPPLE - RE/MAX CAMOSUN 4440 CHATTERTON WAY VICTORIA, BC V8X 5J2 OAK BAY OFFICE 2239 OAK BAY AVENUE VICTORIA, BC V8R 1G4 P: 250-744-3301 F: 250-744-3904 TOLL FREE: 1-877-652-4880 E: DALLAS@DALLASCHAPPLE.COM GreatHomesGreatRealtors

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LISA WILLIAMS

STUNNING FAIRFIELD 4 bedrm home, totally reno’d to the highest standard w/heated teak floors, new Bruce Wilkin kitchen & bths, tons of character, spacious rooms, lrg. new deck, sep. studio & more . . . just 1.5 blocks from the ocean! $915,000

FORECLOSURE . . . Exceptional opportunity to buy a fantastic .74 ac. beachfront property on sandy Cadboro Bay Beach w/100’ frontage, south exposure world-class views & private, exclusive location! 1900’s character legal N/C triplex w/lots of options, or build new dream home! $2,100,000

SPECTACULAR GATED ESTATE . . . with 240° ocean & mountain views and total privacy! Over 5700 sq.ft. w/4 bedrms, 6 bths, exquisite finishing, beautiful pool, media room, luxurious master & so much more! $1,799,000

LUXURY BAYVIEW VICTORIA CONDO! Enjoy exceptional harbour, ocean & mtn. views & non-stop sun from this exclusive, totally upgraded, 2 bedrm corner unit in prestigious bldg. just mins. from the Inner Harbour! $1,599,000

PREMIER 10 MILE PT. ESTATE! This incredible 2.21 acre gated estate w/luxurious 8000 sq.ft. home is easily Victoria’s most exceptional waterfront property . . . with low bank waterfront access, sunny, south/west exposure & tranquil, private & exclusive setting! $9,900,000

UPLANDS WATERFRONT ESTATE! Private, gated 1.3 ac. property w/9000 sq.ft. hm & access to gorgeous sandy beach! Dramatic design w/5 bedrms/ 6 bths, incredible views & lots of privacy. Beautiful mature gardens w/gazebo, waterfall, terraces & easy access for small boats & kayaks! $7,450,000

SPECTACULAR WATERFRONT ESTATE! Over 6600 sq.ft. on prime 1.24 ac. in Oak Bay. Exceptional views, seaside pool, & tons of privacy! Elegant entry, formal lvg & dg rms, kitchen w/FP, eating area, family room, conservatory & office, gorgeous master suite plus 5 bdrms & 6 bths, lrg. games room, nanny suite & much more! $5,500,000

FABULOUS COUNTRY ESTATE in beautiful Mt. Newton Valley w/totally renovated, luxurious 6200 sq.ft. hm & 7.85 acre property w/south-west exposure & views to the Saanich Inlet! Beautiful new 5-6 stall barn, new riding ring, paddocks & pastures, riding trail, expansive patios & total privacy! $2,399,000

SPECTACULAR OCEANFRONT ESTATE On gated 8.39 ac. property just 17 mins. from downtown! This exceptional 10,000 sq.ft. home boasts hi-end finishing & luxurious appointments, amazing waterfall & terraced patios, non-stop views and total privacy! $12,990,000

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Leslee Farrel Boulevard ad Dec 21 1

South Oak Bay Oceanfront Manor! World-class estate offering 2.25 acres with views of Mt. Baker.

1913 architecturally grand, with 10 bedrooms and 8 bathrooms plus 3 wine cellars for 2000 vintages!

Magical gardens, private beach. Simply irreplaceable at $12,500,000.

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Situated in Swallows Landing on the 7th floor, this 2 bedroom executive suite provides dramatic 16’ floor to ceiling windows offering volumes of light and views from sunrise over the Inner Harbour to west sunset views at night. Luxury finishing throughout with smart wiring upgrades. Offered at $858,800.

MLS# 269127

A classic 1913 residence meticulously renovated to 2009 standard, maintaining strength of architecture.

It is ideally situated on a quiet South Oak Bay byway, just a stroll to the sea, Victoria Golf Club and Oak Bay Village. 4 bedrooms/6 bathrooms and den!

Offered at $2,435,000.

MLS# 269108

This incredible penthouse is the crowning jewel of the harbour, artfully executed, fully furnished, and lavishly appointed. Features include a private lobby, wine cellar, and gourmet kitchen with great room.

Views encompass the harbour, cruise ships and the Olympics beyond. A jewel offered at an incomparable price of $3,550,000 including GST. MLS# 264773 This Classical Post Modern residence is the ultimate find for a discerning buyer. Situated alongside an oceanfront park, you will be impressed with the spaciousness and light; combined with the ultimate in finishing and building materials. Beautiful ocean views, tranquil and chic! Offered at $2,595,000.

MLS# 268018

Twin Coves, aptly named for the two coves on the shoreline is an outstanding waterfront estate situated in the heart of Queenwood with 1800’ of shoreline on 5.17 acres of magical property, is one of the largest estates in the area. On the market for the first time in 20 years the elegant and stately residence offers 6300 square feet with a second garage and quest cottage. Offered at $6,900,000.

MLS# 256851

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By SHANNON MONEO

living &

COLOUR A new year for colour: Tone it down, pump it up, it’s all good

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Wendy Welch was once waiting for a Victoria bus, clad in forest-green tights. In her native Montreal, she wouldn’t draw a second look. A man approached. He told Welch she was so brave to forego basic black.

This story illustrates two colour observations. First, Victoria is a restrained town, where shades of grey, brown and white remain West Coast royalty, while hundreds of colours-in-waiting rarely move beyond paint chips. And second, a jolt of colour goes a long way. “People should take more chances,” recommends Welch, a visual artist who founded the Vancouver Island School of Art and who once had a pink-walled kitchen with black trim. “Colour makes us feel alive.”

We can’t get away from colour, says Kevin Skelly, one of 80 Canadians belonging to the 1,100-member Color Marketing Group. The U.S.-based international organization decides future colour trends for everything from paint and apparel to vehicles and electronics based on current best-selling products.

Colour can rejuvenate or hamper us, says Skelly, marketing manager for Cloverdale Paint.

Because we’re afraid to experiment with our personal palettes, we opt for safe neutrals. Vibrant colour is injected via furniture or artwork. “We’re very conservative on the West Coast,” says Terri Heal, manager of Saanichton’s Pacific Paint Centre and also an interior designer. On the Prairies, hot pink or electric blue trim snow-surrounded homes. Here, our cues come from the trees, ocean and mountains.

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.classic Harmonious beauty that never goes out of style

Allow your spirit & style to complement your home

Parsons Cove Those who covet a serene, chai beige home bring Heal to her knees. “I went into one house. It was all beige. I couldn’t stand it.” So she painted the dining room red. “The word beige is a bit of an evil in our industry,” says Heal, whose own bedroom is red-walled. “I do try to encourage people to go outside their comfort zone.” But red can be an agitating colour that sucks energy. A moss green room, meanwhile, can calm, Welch says.

Interior decorator Vicki Walton, who launched her business in 1991 on the Saanich Peninsula, says she is also “not a beige person. I live for colour.” In her cottage-style home, warm tones of yellow and blue dominate.

“Beige and neutrals are what works,” argues Dean Marchtaler, Vancouver Island Colormart manager. That’s Wondering what the difference why spec homes is between Dubai Sand and are usually Arizona Heat? painted subdued Not sure whether to go Tender neutrals to Tan or Beach Bum? accommodate These and hosts of other colours homeowners’ are viewable on these websites: possessions.

Leah Rourke is benjaminmoore.com:80/ a professional prattandlambert.com registered interior designer. In her sico.ca/en/Couleur_Tendances.asp wood-floored, grey-painted para.com/en/ home, one wall is cloverdalepaint.com/home_owners/ bright melon green and hanging on that backdrop is a huge black and white print. Painting one wall in a “punch” colour, that knockout hit of colour, lets people have fun, Rourke says. But often, people paint the wrong wall, usually the largest one. Instead, it should be the wall behind the sofa or shelves. Not much colour is needed but finding the balance is what scares people, Rourke says.

Hers is no black-and-white job. She ferrets out clients’ desires, personalities and pre-existing conditions, including lighting. If the furniture, draperies or flooring aren’t changing, the paint has to match. Clients will say they want “modern” but unless there’s an image, it’s meaningless. “It’s a puzzle to pull out what they’re looking for,” Rourke says, which is why she charges by the job. “It’s a fairly considerable investment.” But happy clients who didn’t mistakenly paint their kitchen Lifevest orange, see the value in hiring a designer.

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boys dream of black bedrooms or young singles itch for fuchsia living rooms. And requests for brazen shades often flood in after people have seen a home design show or magazine photo.

“We sort of turn them around a bit,” says Marchtaler. After three decades of paint industry experience, he admits that 99 per cent of his sales are colours that fit in their surroundings.

Change can start small. Colormart sells $9.99 samplers so one can see how a patch of colour will look. To fully paint ceilings and walls of a 2,000-square-foot house, Marchtaler figures 25 to 30 gallons of paint are required, which can cost anywhere from about $1,500 to $2,500 depending on the quality and amount used (certain surfaces or some colours require more coats).

Putting it into perspective, if the house cost $350,000, that’s less than one per cent of the home’s value, Marchtaler adds.

“Paint is makeup. Paint is what makes everything look good.”

And like makeup, new colours are released each year. When Color Marketing Group members meet, they use the colour wheel and discuss what’s been selling in their industries in each colour. “We follow cycles, monitor what’s going on,” Skelly says from Surrey.

Unlike colour-savvy Quebecers who gravitate to the latest trends, West Coasters are not painted into a corner by the year’s au courant picks. While we like warm earth tones, “it’s all over the place,” Skelly says. His prediction for Cloverdale’s 2010 top

. . . Denmark

three interior colours for BC are a putty taupe (Bamboo Beach), a yellow-based grey (Star of the Garden) and a greyed-out pink (Swiss Cream). Popular deeper tones include an orangey brown (Pocahontas) and a golden brown (Victorian Gold). Rourke’s clients are choosing vibrant but toned-down hues such as raspberry. Warm ivory whites are also popular. Walton’s clientele is selecting sapphire and navy blues as well as golden shades.

Heal’s customers, meanwhile, embrace “green” both in lifestyle and colour choices. Her Benjamin Moore line features a strong green presence. Grey is fading, as is the blue and brown spa-themed bathroom combo.

Exteriors sport earthy tones, blending with the environment.

Nutmegs, chocolate browns, beige greens, classic burgundy and grey blues are favoured, says Skelly, who moved to BC from Ontario three years ago. The western sun is stronger than in the East, flattering warm, soft tones.

But with thousands of colours, why confine yourself to a paint company’s annual picks? All colours work in any room. Just avoid colours in their pure form. Tone them down.

In January, the Vancouver Island School of Art offers a 12-week course, Understanding Colour. The $425 cost might pre-empt a decorating disaster as offered by Welch. “Never use all primary colours together unless you want the nursery room effect.” VB

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TECHNOLOGIA

By Darryl Gittins

MK

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E-MAIL AVALANCHE

Feeling snowed under

by too many e-mails?

Here are some ways

to dig yourself out

E-mail has all but replaced the telephone as our most essential communications device, but it has its downside.

Do you have 2,000-plus messages in your Inbox? Do you think you have to keep them but don’t know where? Are you ready to give up and delete everything? It’s E-mail Overload! Here are some tips to tame the e-mail beast.

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File, File, File The key is to move messages out of the Inbox regularly.

After you deal with a message, move it to another folder.

Only leave messages needing your attention in the inbox.

Here are two approaches: Create folders for every topic, and dutifully file each e-mail into the specific folders. This can be timeconsuming, but it works well if you ever need to retrieve all related messages. A terrific tool that can help is “Claritude Speedfiler” ($25 US). (Find it with Google.) The program intuitively suggests the best folders for selected messages, and will then file the messages with a single

click. It also indexes your folders. This lets you quickly find any specific folder, a useful feature curiously missing from the big e-mail programs.

If maintaining many folders seems daunting, just dump everything into one or two bucket folders, such as “Jan-Mar, 2010.” To retrieve a message, use a search program but not the awful search feature in Outlook. Try “Copernic Desktop Search,” “Google Desktop” or “Yahoo! Desktop Search.” If you are using Outlook in Windows, you may already have “Windows Search” installed. My favorite is “Xobni.” The free version is marvelous, but the paid “Xobni Plus” ($30 US) has advanced functions that work spectacularly well. Prepare to be amazed. These programs index all of your personal documents (including e-mail and photos), and can find items quickly.

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Over 90 per cent of e-mail is spam. Newer programs are better at handling it, but if you are getting too much, try a blocker. Computer guru Kim Komando recommends MailWasher.net, getpopfile.org, Spamato.net, and spambayes. sourceforge.net (all free.) These programs learn as you use them. Do scan your junk file folder every day. Occasionally important messages can end up there. Delete the spam regularly.

Avoid getting on spam lists by using a disposable e-mail address. Create a free account on Hotmail, Yahoo! or Gmail.

Give out your main address only to trusted contacts and use the disposable address for everything else. If you start getting too much spam in your disposable account, close it and create a new one.

Do you know where your Inbox is hiding?

When you back up your personal files, do you also back up your e-mail? Microsoft doesn’t make this easy to do, because the e-mail files are hidden in a folder buried deep within hidden system files. You should move the e-mail files to your personal folders, so that it’s easier to back it all up. On a Mac, this isn’t an issue because the files are stored in the Library folder, which you should include in your back-up.

To regularly back up your e-mail, create an “E-mail” folder in your My Documents tree and then move all your e-mail files there.

Here is how you move the files if you use Outlook Express or Windows Mail. In the Outlook Express or Windows Mail screen click Options on the Tools menu.

Click the Advanced tab. Click Maintenance (or click the Maintenance tab). Click Store Folder and click Change.

Browse to the E-mail folder you created and click OK. Then restart the program.

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Search Google for “Back up the Outlook Express Address Book” for an article on support.microsoft.com that explains this further, and also shows how to back up your contacts.

To back up e-mail in Outlook, first close the Outlook program. Search your computer for the Outlook.pst file, and then move the file to the E-mail Avoid spam by using folder that you created. (If you receive an error saying the file is in use, log off and back onto the a disposable e-mail computer, and then try again). address and only give When you restart Outlook, it will ask you for the .pst file. Click OK and browse to the E-mail folder, your main address and then click Open. The tricky thing is finding the cleverly to trusted contacts. hidden Outlook.pst file. For help with this, search Google for “Move your Outlook data file to another location” to find the article on Office.Microsoft.Com. If you use Archiving in Outlook, you might also want to move the Archive.pst file to the same E-mail folder. Note that the Outlook.pst file includes your contacts, so you don’t need to take extra steps to back them up.

A tip for road warriors When you check POP3 e-mail on the road, messages are copied to your Inbox, and then deleted from the server. The problem is, if you check mail later on another computer, the messages are gone.

To avoid this, configure your e-mail to leave a copy of messages on the server. On the Tools menu, click Accounts.

Click your e-mail account, and then click Properties. Click the Advanced tab, and then check the box Leave a copy of messages on server. Also, use the option to remove messages from the server after five days or so. With this option, messages are only deleted if you already have a copy of the message in the Inbox of the computer that is checking the mail, and the message is older than the number of days you set. This helps to avoid hitting the storage limit on the server.

You can avoid the problem by using a Webmail portal such as https://webmail.shaw.ca or https://webmail.telus.net, or other Web-based e-mail programs such as Hotmail. These let you read messages without deleting them from the server.

Last, make sure your e-mail program is updated to protect against malicious messages. Click Check for Updates on the Help menu.

Now that e-mail beast should be a pussy cat.

Darryl Gittins welcomes your questions. You can reach him at Darryl_gittins@hotmail.com VB

Does your retirement plan meet your retirement needs?

SOME TIPS TO HELP YOU MANAGE YOUR RETIREMENT NEEDS

COLIN NICOL General Manager, Wealth Management Island Savings Credit Union

A high percentage of Canadians think that their retirement plans will not provide for their retirement needs. It’s little wonder: on average, less than 40% of Canadians are part of a company pension plan, and recent market volatility has put off the retirement plans of many people for several more years.

But whether you plan to retire in 40 years or four, it’s never too late to put a retirement plan into place.

• Start early—start today.

• Look at your present finances and see how much you can save each paycheque.

• Decide when you want to retire and how much you will need monthly to live.

You should also consider your lifestyle, including your current and future interests such as arts or sports events, travel, redecorating, or downsizing.

• Consider your appetite for risk and your time horizon.

Investments with higher risk mean your portfolio’s performance will be more volatile; however, there is potential for better returns.

Generally, if your time horizon is longer, you can take on more risk.

• Meet with an advisor to identify your retirement goals and discuss your retirement plan.

• Once you’ve decided what you can invest, an advisor can give advice about which approach is best for you.

• Monitor your progress with your advisor regularly to ensure you are on track and make changes where necessary.

A planned retirement will make for a much happier, more relaxed retirement.

Keep reading this publication for more answers and financial planning insight.

Have questions of your own?

Come speak to any advisor on my team at an Island Savings branch near you today, or email me at cnicol@iscu.com.

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BoulevardBookClub

By Adrienne Dyer photo by gary mckinstry

A Metchosin club hears static and passion when members tune in to Late Nights on Air

Will I outlive my money?

How will inflation affect my retirement income?

How do I avoid market volatility while still providing growth in my portfolio?

The Book: Late Nights on Air Author: Elizabeth Hay Publisher: McClelland & Stewart, 2007 Length: 376 pages Group: The Deadly Serious Book Club

THE CLUB: A great book draws people together. Or rather, a great discussion does — whether the book turns out to be fabulous, or simply a waste of reading time. For this Metchosin group of 15 or so women, a love of reading brought them together over a dozen years ago, with lasting friendships the result. Three of the members represent three generations from a single family (and the age span of the club, 25 to 75). Although members have come and gone over the years, eight original members remain.

This club seems to love character-driven plots.

They’ve been known to select books by author or genre and once read a Harlequin romance for Valentine’s Day. They generally gravitate towards Canadian novelists. Members can put forward any title, but books make it onto the reading list by popular vote. She who nominates a chosen book provides background tidbits about the author and the book to get the discussion going.

Before these ladies dig into the literary debate, though, they take turns sharing personal news. Thus, Late Nights on Air had to wait until group members related life’s most recent ups and downs. Cup of tea in hand, I savoured a slice of plum cake baked by host, Leisa Weld, and enjoyed the peaceful ambience of Weld’s on-campus home at Pearson College, where her husband serves as director, until it was time for book talk.

Christie Coltman and Pat Bewley

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THE PLOT: Hay won both the 2007 Scotiabank Giller Prize and the 2008 Libris Award for Fiction Book of The Year for this novel set in 1970s Yellowknife. It is populated by an eclectic cast of misfit characters whose relationships and personal histories unfold as they work together at a small radio station. Woven into the background are other tensions, like the real-life Mackenzie Valley gas pipeline proposal and the starkness of life in northern Canadian small towns. A major portion of the story sweeps readers out onto the tundra as four characters embark on a canoe trip in the path of English explorer John Hornby, who starved to death on the banks of the Thelon River in 1927.

THE AUTHOR: Ontario-born Elizabeth Hay has three published novels, a handful of non-fiction books, and numerous works of short fiction that have earned her wide acclaim, including the Marian Engel award in 2002 for her entire repertoire.

Hay spent 10 years as a CBC radio broadcaster (part of that time in Yellowknife), her career taking her to Mexico and eventually, New York City. In 1992, she returned with her family to Ottawa, where she still resides.

DISCUSSION HIGHLIGHTS: “This book needs a map!” was the first comment, in reference to the canoe trip that was, by far, every member’s favourite part of the book. Hay’s description of the tundra landscape was so vivid and evocative, members could practically smell the wildflowers blooming under the rare summer sun. The club also loved Hay’s depiction of an era when a voice over the air was all-important in the still of night, and the passion with which the author wove in the story of the pipeline proposal.

In general, though, the group found the book difficult to pick through, partly because of Hay’s overuse of foreshadowing, which, as one member put it, “didn’t just tell us what happened once, but pounded us over the head with it.” Hay forewarns of both trivial and significant events with equal solemnity, which deflates the sense of urgency needed to keep the plot moving.

The characters, too, failed to engage. “The characters weren’t very well-drawn, and I kept getting Eleanor and Gwen mixed up during the canoe trip,” said one. “I had to write it all out to keep them straight. When there are only four characters, a person shouldn’t have to do that.” Even sexy, mysterious Dido, around whom the plot is supposed to revolve, didn’t seem to fit into the story, as though her sole narrative purpose was simply to be the seductive voice on air that the washed-up radio veteran, Harry, first falls in love with.

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With only lukewarm feelings towards the characters, it was difficult for these readers to feel moved by the story. This was especially true at the end, when characters are dropped into their supposed happy-everafters via purely coincidental encounters, as though the author was in a hurry to finish. And in terms of character relationships, it was as though Hay tried to create Hay writes achingly a love story but failed.

“She didn’t explore the beautiful prose about theme that’s it’s possible to be in love with more than one person,” said one the North, but for this member. “The romances are very flat.” group her characters Despite all this, many members cried when a lack dimension. pivotal male character died, so moving was his final scene. And they agreed that Gwen, the novice announcer, was the one character to undergo true growth.

While some characters (like Dido and the menacing Eddy) drift in and out of the story with little purpose or meaning, one member argued that this illustrates the inconstant life in the North. “You go North for a couple of years, and then you leave,” she explained, speaking from experience. “It’s always a part of you. You’ll never go back, but you’ll never forget.”

CLUB VERDICT: One club member observed: “In northern places, there’s always a sense of what could be.” The same could be said of Hay’s novel, which fell short of this book club’s expectations. Unless you’re interested in the inner workings of a radio station or life in the Canadian North (which Hay does describe in achingly beautiful prose) you may find this book tedious. Still, given the national praise bestowed upon Hay’s novel, you may just want to read it anyway.

Do you want your book club featured in the magazine? Please e-mail Adrienne Dyer at adyer@telus.net.

If you liked Late Nights On Air, Tanner’s Books in Sidney also recommends: The Order of Good Cheer, by Bill Gaston Tenderness of Wolves, by Stef Penney

It’s gotta be here somewhere . . .

Photo by shahn torontow, 2009 “Photos By” entry

Find your inspiration . . . it’s “Photos

By” time!

It’s time for Boulevard ’s annual “Photos By” contest.

Send us your best image and if it’s among the six to eight selected it will be published, with your brief biography, in the May/June issue of Boulevard. Focus on personal rather than commercial work. Images of people will require the subject’s consent to appear in a published photograph.

Winners automatically consent to have their work used

by Boulevard Lifestyles Inc. in any future promotions.

Deadline for submissions: January 30, 2010.

Please submit electronic files only to a maximum of 3 photos. All files must be high-resolution (300 dpi).

Label ALL files with your name and subject title.

Please upload all electronic files to our FTP site.

Go to: www.victoriaboulevard.com and click on Photos By Contest upload link and away you go!

Nine Lives of Charlotte Taylor, by Sally Armstrong VB victoriaboulevard.com 101

TRAVELNEAR

By elizabeth levinson

Attention snugglers: We’ve found 10 great places close to home where you can cosy up When the weather outside is frightful, getting cosy is a great revenge. Whether you’re craving a luxurious or a rustic getaway, here (in no particular order) are 10 great spots to snuggle.

Point No Point, Sooke Already many Victorians’ favourite “lost weekend” destination, the advertising aptly describes the experience: “Fireplaces. Hot tubs. Crashing surf. Think you can handle it?”

Closeted in a private 1950s log cabin hanging over the Strait of Juan de Fuca, nothing distracts save the sun in the morning and the moon at night. The 16 hectares of waterfront is a birdwatchers’ and beach-combers’ delight. The cozy fireplace lounge and exceptional dining on local fare prepared by chef Jason Neinaber ice the cake. See pointnopoint.com.

Beaconsfield Inn, Victoria J.P. Rithet’s grand 1905 wedding present to his daughter lives on. Cosiness is found in many details throughout its nine rooms: feather beds that could mean the best sleep ever; roaring fireplaces; a glass of sherry with freshly baked cookies, good reading material and nifty Edwardian sports memorabilia in the study; an authentic Edwardian bath just like the one Prince Charles bathes in daily at Highgrove (ask for The Duchess’

Room) and leisurely home-cooked breakfasts in the conservatory.

See beaconsfieldinn.com.

The Inn at the Market, Seattle Nestled in Pike Street Market, the inn’s front door leads to a charming inner courtyard, where Parisian wicker tables, planters and big heat lamps are set out for déjeuner. The rooms are modern yet serene; a Parlour Suite proffers a comfy chaise lounge perfectly positioned to overlook the bustling market and Seattle Harbour. That Parisian feeling continues in the inn’s Campagne and Café Campagne restaurants, where intimate dining on steak frites or Croque Monsieur sets a romantic tone.

See innatthemarket.com.

FreeSpirit Sphere, Qualicum Beach Tom Chudleigh’s hand-built fibreglass and Sitka spruce spheres are the epitome of cosy. Perched five metres off the forest floor and tethered to conifers, the sphere’s interiors are constructed like ships with every square inch used for bed, table and banquettes, galley kitchen and cupboards. A composting toilet on the ground and a full bathroom with shower and sauna are just steps away. The experience is unique, surreal and particularly fun when a little breeze adds sway to your home in the canopy.

See freespiritspheres.com.

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Durlacher Hof, Whistler Sitting on the bench that hugs the Kachelofen, a typical Austrian farmhouse wood oven, may be my cosiest experience yet — especially with a glass of wine and the convivial company of other guests. This is après ski perfection, but so is everything at this authentic alpine inn, on the outskirts of Whistler Village. It is Gemütlichkeit (friendliness) personified: immaculate rooms with mountain views, goose-down quilts and hand-painted pine furnishings; Continental breakfasts of muesli, fruit, sliced meats, good bread, and cheese followed by TopfenPalatschinken (rolled crepes with ricotta filling); and the genuine hospitality of an Austrian-Canadian family.

See durlacherhof.com.

Dolphins Resort, Campbell River In the 1940s, Lucy Russell opened a waterfront teahouse in Campbell River, but folks wanted to fish, not sip. Today, with its 12 log cabins and charming dining room, the Dolphins Resort is nostalgic perfection.

The hot tubs have unobstructed views of Discovery Passage. The dining room, with its roaring fire and fishing memorabilia, serves classic comfort food like steaks with mushrooms and roasted potatoes and firstrate buttermilk-blueberry pancakes. Snuggled into bed in one of the little log cabins with the only sound a crackling log fire, we relish the simple pleasures of island life.

See dolphinsresort.vancouverisle.com.

Thistledown House, North Vancouver The Lions Gate Bridge’s frantic traffic subsides into a gentle climbing road toward Thistledown House. This solid Arts and Crafts home, owned by five successive Scotsmen, has been one of my best-kept secrets. Check into the Snuggery, as cosy as its name, or larger Pages suite with its dual chaise lounges by the fire, or escape into the house’s many nooks or in the lovely garden to read, sip wine and dream. Resident cook Liz Jessiman-Phair’s breakfasts are five-star affairs from apricots poached in Muscat to fourcheese polenta topped with mushrooms in a demi-glace cream. See thistle-down.com.

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Hastings House, Saltspring Island Warren Hastings built an English manor house on Ganges Harbour in 1940 with little idea it would become a Small Luxury Hotel of the World™. All rooms on this waterfront property are cosy, but Manor East, with its harbour view, log fireplace, half-timbered ceiling and oak and chintz furnishings, is my long-favourite. A basket quietly arrives at the door each morning with coffee and muffins, yet a full breakfast awaits in the front dining room.

Afternoon tea is a treat by the living room’s Inglenook fireplace. See hastingshouse.com.

Turtleback Farm Inn, Orcas Island Bill and Susan Fletcher’s luxurious suites overlook 32 bucolic hectares in Crow Valley. Quiet attention to detail shows everywhere, from snug wool comforters from the farm’s own sheep to Susan’s renowned breakfasts, found in her best-selling Turtleback Farm Inn Cookbook. Handmade Madrona (arbutus) wood furnishings, braided rugs and pedestal sinks add to the charm. See turtlebackinn.com.

Wedgewood Hotel, Vancouver “Cosy in Vancouver” is the Wedgewood Hotel, the elegant European boutique property just steps from the downtown Art Gallery and designer shopping. Wellappointed spa, richly furnished Bacchus restaurant and cocktail lounge, romantic suites with soaker tubs, freshly baked cookies at turndown: this is the ultimate city respite.

The Sunday Night Getaway package features room, excellent chicken dinner in Bacchus, continental breakfast and valet parking. See wedgewoodhotel.com.

Some Cosy Quickies Try the “Double Happiness” hand and foot treatment at Silk Road Spa; silkroadtea.com/spa Sip a pint at Yellow Point’s Crow and Gate Pub; crowandgate.com Groove to a sizzling set at Hermann’s Jazz Club; www.hermannsjazz.com Imbibe Chili Hot Chocolate at Chocolat; 250-381-0131

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TRAVELFAR

Text and Photos By judy reimche

A Brentwood Bay couple feasts on the festive air of Taiwan

When people in Taiwan greet one another, they don’t say “How are you?”, they say “Lee jabaw bwei?” (“Have you eaten?”)

The polite answer is “Ja ba.” (“I’m full.”) So when my hairdresser in the city of Taichung asks if I’ve eaten breakfast, I am quick to say yes. If I say no, she will feed me as well as wash my hair — all for about three Canadian dollars.

I live in Brentwood Bay, but have an intimate view of Taiwan.

My son married a Taiwanese woman and now they and my two grandchildren, ages 6 and 3, live on the western coast in Taichung, the country’s third-largest city. My husband and I have visited three times.

For Victorians who want a fascinating Asian destination, with a mix of old and new, the beautiful island of Taiwan can’t be beat.

It is roughly the size of Vancouver Island and home to some 23 million people, yet vast amounts of green space still exist. Not only is a visit a rich cultural experience, it is a perfect jumping-off point to the rest of Asia. And the friendly people in this chaotic society welcome all comers.

To the Taiwanese, food is an integral part of the social fabric.

Street cafés and markets are everywhere, and locals all know the current favourite places to eat.

The vibrant, crowded night markets are like England’s

neighbourhood pubs, where people gather every evening to meet friends and eat. We join in and around us vendors stir steaming vats of noodles, and cook steamed buns and pot stickers. The smells of stir-fried meat and vegetables and unidentifiable foods mingle in the night air.

You can get nearly any kind of food on a stick, like cornon-the-cob and pork balls. My grandson’s favourite is squid, but my 3-year-old granddaughter prefers candied strawberries on a stick.

People snack on chicken feet, salted snails (in the shell) and my favourite raw sugar cane.

It is not just food at the night markets. People haggle three deep over prices at the many stalls selling everything from jade jewelry to glittery dog clothing. I saw red sweaters with feathery pink collars and rhinestones for pampered pooches, which was particularly odd because until recently dog was apt to be on the menu, not found as a pet in the house. Bartering is almost a game. After we haggle (in Mandarin) for a small suitcase, people in the crowd laugh and congratulate me at besting the seller.

A good time to visit Taiwan is in January and February, when the tropical weather is more temperate (about 15 degrees C), and Chinese New Year’s celebrations abound. The markets are

From left: Office skyscrapers rise above a busy Taichung street.

Taiwan’s efficient recycling is done by tricycle. A night market booth serves colourful, hot fruit drinks. Fish vendors are found on almost every street. Taipei 101 was deliberately modeled after Chinese food take-out boxes. Candy vendors do a brisk business around New Years, when children get candies free from every business.

filled with candy and red and gold firework stalls. Fireworks go off day and night, adding to the festive air.

Temples, especially around New Year’s, play a huge role, both in religious practice and opportunities to eat. Each temple favours a separate god — you go to one to seek good fortune in the coming year, another if you’re a young woman looking for a husband.

We visited the temple at the old military site of Wankai Academy (built in 1827) in Lukang, an ancient city of about 85,000 people, south of Taichung. There, my daughter-inlaw went through the complicated ceremony of choosing fortune sticks. I decided to leave my fate to chance, but she was pleased to learn that the sticks foretold steady work for her family in the months ahead.

Within the city of Lukang, an old village with narrow, winding streets and walled enclaves is preserved from the 19th century. One of its famous alleyways is named Touching Breast Alley, so narrow that people would indeed brush chests to pass in opposite directions.

While I spent most of my time in Taichung, most visitors to Taiwan naturally spend time in the capital city of Taipei.

A major landmark is Taipei 101, now the world’s largest victoriaboulevard.com 107

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Travel Tips: Cathay Pacific, United Airlines, Japan Airlines and Taiwan’s airline EVA all have daily flights to Taipei connecting through Vancouver. Round trips start at $1,455 for spring 2010 fares.

Prices for accommodation in Taiwan range from about $50 Cdn. for bed and breakfasts to $70 (three-star) to $220 (five-star) hotels per night. See lonelyplanet.com/Taiwan or asiatravel.com/taiwan/taiwan.html.

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skyscraper, towering 509 meters with 101 floors above ground and five below. We took the gut-lurching elevator (the fastest one in the world) up to the 88th floor to see the outstanding view and the ingenious Damper Baby, a huge ball suspended like a steel pendulum down the centre of the building to compensate for movement caused by typhoons or earthquakes.

The shopping mall at its base — 101 stores — offers some of the most exclusive shopping venues in the city. However, with 100 New Taiwan Dollars worth about $3 Canadian, even top-end shops are affordable.

English is rapidly becoming a third major language in Taiwan, but beyond the major cities it’s not widely used and westerners are scarce. Children scamper over, touch my hand After we haggle for and run away. People often call out “Hello” or oddly, “Are you a small suitcase, happy?” to try out their English. people in the crowd They laugh when we say “Thank you, we’re very happy!” laugh and Since my Mandarin is poor, I always carry a card with written congratulate me information of my hotel and destinations to ensure I don’t at besting the seller. go astray.

In Taiwan, old and new co-exist with no irony. People sweep the streets with stick brooms while talking on the most advanced cell phone technology in the world. Hip scooters carry everything from household goods to propane tanks and live pigs.

As for things to do, historical sites abound, as do modern museums, art galleries and beautiful countryside. When the Portuguese first saw Taiwan in 1547 they named it Formosa for “beautiful island.” A gorgeous natural world still exists beyond the cities, including the Yangmingshan National Park, famous for the Butterfly Corridor, bird-watching trails, hot springs and volcanic hollows.

With so many things to see and do in Taiwan, I am looking forward to going back. For in truth, I cannot answer “Ja ba” — for I am not yet full of Taiwan.

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libations Finicky about your aperitif?

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Lots of people are fussy about their martinis, but Solomon Siegel is a fanatic. The co-owner and chief bartender at Solomon’s, a bar and bistro located near Chinatown on Herald Street, says he never really enjoyed what’s typically referred to as a “traditional” martini.

“It was only after doing lots of research that I came upon something I loved, . . . the original dry martini, which dates from around 1910,” explains Siegel. His version demands top-quality gin, a big splash of fresh vermouth, orange bitters, a lemon twist and ice made from purified water. It is so soft and nuanced, it’s almost unrecognizable from its severe counterpart. Known as the Pre-Prohibition Martini, it’s one of 50 custom cocktails on Solomon’s menu of

The devilishly elegant Devil in Paradise cocktail has fruity tones and an earthy sweetness.

classics (Mai Tai, Manhattan, Pisco Sour) and Siegel’s own originals (The Nutty Blonde, Trevi Fountain).

Siegel has made himself an expert in the realm of what’s known as “artisan cocktails.” This phenomenon, which began several years ago in cities like London, New York and San Francisco, is about the cocktail as gourmet art.

Unlike making a margarita from a commercial mix, the idea is to create a drink that has the complexity and attention to detail people expect from a meal prepared by a trained chef.

Sometimes referred to as mixology, the trend is attracting a growing number of ardent practitioners, mostly in bigger cities. In Victoria, another bar fully committed to the artisan aesthetic is Clive’s Classic Bar in the Chateau Victoria.

Siegel at Solomon’s is typical of the new breed, spending hours studying old books and experimenting with premium ingredients. Much like foodies obsessed with organic ingredients, mixologists shun packaged juices, commercial syrups and flavoured liquors to avoid any chemicals or additives. They stock up instead on handcrafted tonic waters, exotic garnishes, and unusual liqueurs such as Yellow Chartreuse, Absinthe and Benedictine.

Once you’ve paid your dues, though, mixology has few rules. “What it comes down to is: quality, quality, quality,” asserts Siegel, who buys only top-shelf spirits, insists on appropriate glassware and fresh-squeezes juices for each drink. He also keeps 30 different types of bitters on hand; ranging from fruit and herbal to citrus and even chocolate.

These are his “spices.” So, what does “artisan” taste like?

His Devil in Paradise, a top-of-the-line cocktail at $12, contains brandy and cassis wine augmented with Griottines — tiny French cherries pre-soaked in kirsch —­that are then flambéed with Angostura bitters sprayed out of an aerosol tin prior to the whole drink being sieved. Garnet-coloured and handsomely presented with a single Griottine impaled on a skewer, this devilishly elegant drink drapes your taste

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buds with caramelized fruit tones whose earthy sweetness never cloys.

“A bartender must have proper technique,” says Siegel.

“You need to know which drinks are shaken and which are stirred, how to garnish properly, and you really need to have a trained palate so that these complex drinks have the perfect balance between sweet and tart.”

Background knowledge, too, is essential: the shelves behind the bar at Solomon’s have as much space devoted to reference works and recipe books for cocktails as they do for bottles of single malt scotch. Siegel has become such a scholar that he frequently gives popular mixology courses to those happy to pay up to $100 to learn about the world of cocktails or attend a master class focused exclusively on the martini.

This trend towards sophisticated appreciation contrasts with recent decades, when too many cocktails were just neon-coloured concoctions with salacious names like Sex on the Beach. Although low-brow sugary drinks are still part of the bar scene, happily a growing maturity is taking hold as many drinkers now insist on quality over quantity.

And with prices ranging from $6 to $12, this is affordable quality.

“Victoria is full of discerning drinkers when it comes to coffee and craft beer, and they just need a nudge to develop a similar awareness when it comes to cocktails,” observes Siegel. While literally growing up in Pagliacci’s Restaurant (which is owned by his father and uncle), Siegel learned to be an affable host by bussing tables.

He has transplanted that knowledge to his own place, but made something very different: “It took me awhile to convince some customers that this wasn’t Pag’s Two,” he quips. With a new chef in hand and a tapas theme, Siegel hopes his bar will attract serious foodies as much as cocktail connoisseurs. “We’re thinking of starting to pair cocktails with food for an ‘aperitivo hour,’ ” he adds. “It would be one of those after-work things where people drop in for a cocktail and a snack before dinner.”

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The Pre-Prohibition Martini 45 ml (1.5 oz) gin (preferably Plymouth English) 15 ml (.5 oz) Noilly Pratt vermouth (fresh, meaning opened for less than a month) dash of orange bitters “pure” ice made from filtered water Stir for a minimum of 60 seconds with lots of ice, deeply chilling the drink while buffering it with ice-melt.

Drain, then garnish with a thin lemon twist (no pith!). VB victoriaboulevard.com 113

EATINGIN

By elizabeth levinson Photo By gary mckinstry

Our own unique A spoonful of this tasty tagine

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Try our famous No.10 Blend or one of our many other green black selections.

Available as loose leaf or tea bags.

Oscar Wilde advised that “moderation is a fatal thing. Nothing succeeds like excess.” But he never had to face the 21st century fact that excess is killing us. Heart disease and stroke are the leading causes of death for men and women in Canada. We can reduce our personal risk of heart disease by up to 80 per cent through lifestyle changes.

And sorry Oscar, a key change is making more knowledgeable food choices and consuming everything in moderation. That doesn’t mean ice cream is forever banned; it means getting a handle on the big picture of what you eat every day, and ensuring you’re eating healthy but not gluttonous portions of four food groups: vegetables and fruit, grain products, meat/meat alternatives and milk/milk alternatives.

The tried-and-true Canada’s Food Guide is worth a re-read, particularly for those of us whose busy lives frequently cause us to eat carelessly. Nobody wants to spend too much time counting calories or reading labels, but it pays to be mindful of some simple guidelines.

The essence of the guide’s advice: “Fill ¾ of your plate with whole grain foods, vegetables, fruit or legumes; round out your meal with a lower-fat milk choice and a smaller serving of lean meat, poultry or fish; aim to eat fish at least twice a week; and above all else, stay away from high-fat snack foods, cookies, pastries, fried foods and most fast foods.” This seems straightforward, but many of us may need more motivation.

Barbara Haley, area manager for the Heart and Stroke Foundation of BC and Yukon, suggests participating in the Heart and Stroke Risk Assessment. It’s a new online

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At The Market Stores, we carry one of Victoria’s largest selections of traditional, organic and exotic produce. Our colourful, vibrant produce department is carefully stocked with hundreds of products, brought in everyday of the week.

If we don’t carry what you want, we’ll make every possible effort to bring whatever “it” is, in. No matter where our fruits and vegetables came from, one thing is sure, they’re ripe with freshness.

So if you’re looking for those special and sometimes hard-to-find ingredients, shop at The Market on Yates or The Market on Millstream.

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A 12-week follow-up support program helps you track what you’re eating, thinking and feeling. Says Haley: “It has definitely helped me pick out trends in my own eating and made me better informed about the choices I do have.”

Indeed, personal motivation is arriving right into my inbox now: the Heart and Stroke Foundation is sending me supportive e-mails about controlling my fat and salt levels and increasing my physical activity.

I’ve also taken a hard look at my home cooking routine, starting in the grocery aisles. Knowing that our best food choices are found around the perimeter of grocery This hearty dish always stores — whole fresh fruit, vegetables, dairy and meat — while processed foods incurs rave reviews at lurk in the middle aisles, I am steering a wide berth the table. I replaced around the ready-made, high-sodium products the lamb with skinless (so long, nacho chips!).

I’ve turned the guide’s recommended “four to chicken and the safflower 10 servings of fruits and vegetables a day” into a oil with olive oil, cut out fun personal challenge.

Cooking delicious heart-healthy recipes makes the butter and reduced the goal attainable. When I prepared the delicious the salt. tagine, a Moroccan slowcooked stew, that follows, I visualized its ultimate presentation at the table: an inviting mound of cooked whole grains (kamut, brown rice or couscous), with a moderate portion of the tagine, which happily contains some of my recommended daily quotient of lean meat, fruit, nuts and fat.

Winter stews and tagines naturally call out for green leafy accompaniments so I sautéed collard greens and ramped up the day’s fruit allotment (and kept to my North African theme) with a starter salad of orange segments, red onion and pomegranate seeds.

Lamb or Chicken Tagine This hearty dish always receives rave reviews at the table.

I replaced the lamb with skinless chicken, the safflower oil with olive oil, eliminated the butter and reduced the salt. It can be prepared in a tagine, a special covered clay dish, on

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top of the stove, or in a big casserole dish, starting on the stove and then left to slow-cook in the oven. ½ tsp saffron strands 3 tbsp boiling water ¼ c olive oil quantity of chicken stock 3 tbsp butter (optional — increase olive oil accordingly) 1 tsp minced fresh ginger salt and pepper to taste (and within your sodium limit!) ½ tsp ground turmeric 3 small red onions (1 finely grated, 2 coarsely chopped) 3 cloves garlic, chopped 2 ½ lbs boneless lamb or boneless skinless chicken, cut into small chunks 1 tbsp honey ¾ c raisins ½ c dried apricots, halved 2 dried figs, quartered Juice of 1 lemon 2 cinnamon sticks 1 1/3 c flaked almonds, toasted, to garnish some chopped cilantro or parsley, to garnish freshly cooked whole-grain rice or couscous Toast saffron in fry pan over very low heat until brittle.

Crumble into a cup, add the boiling water and infuse for 10 minutes. Heat oil with the butter (if using) in a large tagine over medium-high heat. Add ginger, salt, pepper, turmeric, grated onion and garlic. Sauté for 30 seconds.

Add the lamb or chicken, stirring until the meat is wellcoated in spice mixture, about three minutes.

Stir in the chopped onions, saffron water and honey.

Pour in enough stock to cover the meat. Cover and simmer over medium-low heat until meat is almost tender, about 1 ½ hours (less time for chicken than lamb). Stir during cooking and add more stock if needed to prevent the sauce from drying out.

After about 45 minutes, place the raisins, apricots and figs in a bowl and add a ladle of the cooking liquid, the lemon juice and a little hot water or stock. Let soften for 30 minutes.

About 30 minutes before the end of cooking, when the meat is almost tender, add the fruit mixture and cinnamon sticks to the tagine. Cover and simmer until the meat is completely tender. Season to taste and discard the cinnamon sticks. Serve hot with the cooked grain. Serves six, total cooking time two hours. VB

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EATINGOUT

By rick gibbs Photo By gary mckinstry

Local restaurants pair food that sings with music that cooks

Joey Smith on bass, Chris Frye on guitar and Brooke Maxwell on sax and keyboard serve up their music to the dinner crowd at Pagliacci’s.

It’s Tuesday night at Pagliacci’s. A local band called Frye, Maxwell and Smith burns on a lively Chuck Berry tune, while some 60 patrons sip wine, dig into delectable plates of pasta, tap their toes and chatter. The song ends; the room breaks into loud applause, even a few spirited whoops. Clearly everybody — band, diners, and staff — is having fun on this damp night.

“If music be the food of love, play on,” wrote Shakespeare, highlighting the intimate connection that food and music have long enjoyed. We say musicians who play well together “really cook.” Musical and culinary arts even share similar aesthetic approaches: a good band blends rhythm, harmony and melody, just as a skilled chef orchestrates texture, flavour and visual appeal.

Fortunately, some Victoria restaurants serve up not only delicious food but also great live music. In short, they really cook.

Richard Fisher, 51, an avid music fan who, with his wife and friends, seeks live music wherever he can, says, “we should all feel quite blessed” with the quality of the musicians in Victoria and that hearing them in good restaurants is “the icing on the cake.” Live music brings atmosphere to a restaurant and is a big factor in the overall quality of the dining-out experience, he says.

Pianist Karel Roessingh, who plays in restaurants throughout the region, identifies adequate pay, good treatment and a sincere interest in the music as key elements along with great food in creating a positive environment for the musicians and hence the clientele.

Musician Brooke Maxwell, who has played Pagliacci’s for seven years, appreciates the respect for music and artists shown by owner Howie Siegel and his staff, a sentiment echoed by others. Maxwell describes Pags as a place where musicians feel free to “take risks” and try new things.

Consequently, great moments occur, when the band, the patrons, and the staff spontaneously connect.

The regular lineups outside Pags attest to the quality and value of the food, from “The Dish of Eating Dangerously,” a fiery Indonesian stir fry ($10/$14), to the more prosaic “Meat John Doe,” a.k.a spaghetti and meatballs, ($9.50/$13.50), and the famous chocolate desserts ($6.50 to $7).

Floor manager Kris Simard, 45, notes that on key anniversary dates Siegel has brought in artists like the late jazz great Dexter Gordon and vocalist Etta James as free, special treats for the restaurant’s loyal clientele.

Pags apparently has the right vibe. Can other restaurants measure up?

Sitting in her art-filled, seasonally-themed James Bay establishment, her red hair lit up by the sun through the windows of the 1912 heritage building, Lisa Boehme, the proprietor of The Superior Cafe, says yes. She says food and

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music are equal at The Superior and have been since day one.

Intense and animated, Boehme, 50, started out in 2004 providing a stage for student musicians but soon opened her spacious room to local players and the occasional traveling artist. These days, you’ll hear acoustic jazz and blues, plus Celtic, flamenco and folk performers. Boehme has recently “rebirthed’ the restaurant by reducing the number of seats and turning down the volume. She says the unplugged music is “a lot more appreciated,” a claim verified by Kelly Mitchell, a regular customer who notes that it’s easier to have a quiet conversation now without feeling that she is intruding on the players. Musicians like the art-gallery-like space and note the appreciative clientele, but the tip system (essentially indoor busking with a small guarantee from the house) discourages appearances from some professional musicians.

The Superior has a local and, where possible, organic “small plate” menu that changes daily, designed, says Boehme, for aging boomer appetites. On this day, the selections include charred summer vegetables with sesame cilantro pesto, Saltspring Island mussels with chicken sausage and kale, and grilled pork loin with semolina gnocchi, baby collards and strawberry chutney (all $7-$16). Boehme recommends two plates per person, three for a couple, five for a trio.

Atop the Chateau Victoria Hotel, relaxed elegance and local organic food are hallmarks of Vista 18, with its diverse, unpretentious menu designed by executive chef Garrett Schack. Birch syrup-glazed wild Pacific salmon ($24), island farmhouse chicken breast ($23) and lamb taster ($30) all beckon, along with “first plates” like asparagus soup ($9) and wild BC shrimp cakes ($15).

Chris Sartisohn, of the Cold Cut Combo, the Thursday night house band for the past six years, says it’s becoming “the local music jam spot,” adding that the management and staff “have been nothing but accommodating.”

Other possibilities for good food and music include the Heron Rock Bistro, Lure at the Ocean Pointe Resort, and the Fairmont Empress Hotel. Further afield try Haro’s Restaurant & Bar in the Sidney Pier Hotel, the RC Grillhouse in North Saanich and The Masthead Restaurant in Cowichan Bay. For more information, Google the restaurants. Most have menus and music schedules posted.

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Your resumé is overwhelming: a law degree from Osgoode Hall, a master of laws from Cambridge, a law doctorate from Harvard and more.

Which initials bring you the most pleasure?

Those initials are MOM. I have four children. All of the education that I achieved, which has been a wonderful beginning for me, was good preparation for my biggest job, which is really being a mom.

All your children, including twin daughters, attend public school. Why not private?

I think public school is one of our greatest achievements as a society and it’s important that children from all backgrounds, cultures, social classes go to school together and that they equally achieve excellence and I really feel that it’s only possible through a strong public system.

When you compare the lives of your children to those you represent, what goes through your mind?

Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond BC Representative for Children and Youth

Lots. There’s been a lot of inter-generational trauma and conflict in our families, in particular for my husband and myself.

But my children have a very stable home and

committed parents and we are always prepared to listen to them and to try to be kind and patient and find answers and solutions when they have concerns or problems in their lives. And many of the vulnerable children that I advocate for don’t have that same person in their life.

At 16, you were already attending Carleton University, starting years in academia, followed by land claim work in the United States, university teaching, legal work on a reserve, capped by becoming the first Treaty Indian to be appointed a Saskatchewan provincial court judge.

Which mountains are left to climb?

Maybe I should actually climb a real mountain now. Get out there and climb Mount Logan or Mount Finlayson. I really try to live in the moment, live in the present.

Time magazine named you one of the top 100 global leaders in 1994.

Do you feel you’ve lived up to that distinction?

I don’t really live my life according to Time magazine but I’m glad they recognized me. I try to be a leader in what I’ve done in my life. But also, I feel very much that I’ve been pushed into the position of leadership by other ➤

people in my community, in my family, or in this case in BC, where I was invited by the members of the Legislative Assembly. It’s not really up to me to decide that. It’s up to the people to decide.

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One must always have one’s boots on and be ready to go.

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You’re not afraid to criticize government. Is that because you believe you are right or is your drive to help the disadvantaged more important than “playing politics”?

I have the tough job of having to look at the work that’s done in the bureaucracy and by ministers in government and say whether it met the needs of children and sometimes it doesn’t. When the opportunity is called for, my obligation is to tell the public what I think. I don’t seek out conflict with anyone. I serve the public and my main method is to be committed to the truth.

For the situation of vulnerable children, very often what happens in their lives is concealed and I think we need to be very direct about their experiences and make sure we use every opportunity we can to support them.

You had an alcoholic father who beat your mother and you endured mistreatment.

Why do others who suffer the same life not flourish as you did?

Resilience is significant. I had three older sisters who supported me and I met teachers who supported

me. I can’t say that I haven’t been affected by those sorts of adverse childhood experiences but I’ve also tried to use my work, in particular in this position, to make it more acceptable for children to seek help, not to feel ashamed or embarrassed and not to think they are destined to a poor future.

What’s needed to improve education for aboriginals in BC? We have to accept and believe that aboriginal students can achieve with the right environment, as can any student. I know for myself, as the mom of four status Indian children, when the government says only 50 per cent of you will graduate, am I to round the children up and say we’re going to have to pick which two of you will make it because we’ve decided two of you won’t? So, there’s what you can achieve and what you should aim for. The research and experience is clear and I think I’m a testament to it, aboriginal kids put in an environment where they’re expected to achieve can achieve.

If you could go anywhere in the world on a holiday, where would it be?

A holiday that I’d really like to do as a family would be to go to Haida Gwaii. I’d like to see the totems. I’d like to see the villages particularly while we can still make out the carving of some of the old poles. I find a lot of comfort and interest in that gigantic, coastal rain forest. VB

Familiar Faces, Familiar Places

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Photographed by Gary McKinstry at Craigdarroch Castle - Victoria’s Legendary Landmark

This is Alex

Fariborz Akhavan, Senior Insurance Advisor with RBC Insurance, with his RX 350

After Alex escaped from Iran in 1993 with his wife and one-yearold daughter, Victoria became their home. While in Iran, because of his belief in the Baha’i faith, Alex had not been allowed to attend university or find work, which severely limited his future. “I didn’t want the same destiny for my children,” says Alex. His family, community and faith are the most important things in his life. “My hobby is spending time with my family and serving the community,” says Alex.

Two years after arriving here he started working in the financial industry and has been with RBC Insurance ever since. “I have been one of the elite members of RBC Insurance for Canada for the past 12 years,” says Alex. He is a member of the Million Dollar Round

2009 Lexus RX 350 Very well equipped from $48,795.00 Includes freight and pre-delivery inspection

Table, which has a membership of the top 1 per cent of sales professionals in the industry in the world. Not only does he know the insurance and financial industry well, he knows his cars: his new Lexus is his second in ten years. “I really like the high-tech equipment used for this vehicle, as well as the low fuel economy it offers compared to other SUVs in its class.” Reliability is important, too. “Whatever surfaces I travel upon, whether paved, gravel, or highway driving, especially in all this wet weather, it manoeuvres well and feels extremely safe,” says Alex. As for the people and service at Metro Lexus, says Alex, they are superior. “You can’t find a group that has a standard of excellence in service like they do, and they know their product well.”

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