Coffee spoons and great causes

“I have measured out my life with coffee spoons.” The lovesick J Alfred Prufrock had it right, both metaphorically and, in our case, literally, given the extraordinary amounts of time we spend in coffee shops. But that’s not what I wanted to talk about.

I’m interested in the metaphorical angle at the moment. I’ve been reading a book by Bill Browder called Freezing Order, about his life-endangering struggle to persuade the world to pass the Magnitsky Act in as many jurisdictions as possible, mandating governments to freeze the financial assets of foreign violators of human rights, more specifically Russian oligarchs, in punishment for the murder of Browder’s friend and lawyer Sergei Magnitsky in a Moscow prison in 2009.. The book begins with his narrow escape from an attempt by the Russian government to have him arrested in Spain and sent to a Russian prison. It’s a rollicking yet righteous adventure story!

Browder succeeded in getting the law passed in many countries, including Canada, which passed the Magnitsky Act (aka the Justice for Victims of Corrupt Foreign Officials Act) in 2017.

Meanwhile, here we are, cozy and warm in our Glebe cocoon, just coming out of a long winter and anticipating with glee the first glimmerings of spring. Harmony reigns, more or less. Life is safe, pleasant, reasonably healthy if we want to do it that way, and even COVID is receding like the tide.

I ask myself, “When will I narrowly escape from danger for a noble cause? Where is my adrenaline-fuelled adventure?”

Where is the challenge here in the Glebe? What great and good cause www.glebereport.ca

Established in 1973, the Glebe Report, published by the Glebe Report Association is a monthly not-forprofit community newspaper with a circulation of 7,500 copies. It is delivered free to Glebe homes and businesses. Advertising from merchants in the Glebe and elsewhere pays all its costs, and the paper receives no government grants or direct subsidies. The Glebe Report, made available at select locations such as the Glebe Community Centre and the Old Ottawa South Community Centre and Brewer Pool, is printed by Winchester Print.

EDITOR............................ Liz McKeen editor@glebereport.ca

COPY EDITOR.................... Martha Bowers

LAYOUT DESIGNER............. Jock Smith layout@glebereport.ca

GRAPEVINE EDITOR............ Micheline Boyle grapevine@glebereport.ca

WEB MANAGER................. Paul Goubko website@glebereport.ca

SOCIAL MEDIA................... Sophie Shields

ADVERTISING MANAGER...... Judy Field advertising@glebereport.ca

613-858-4804

BUSINESS MANAGER........... Debbie Pengelly accounting@glebereport.ca

DISTRIBUTION MANAGER.....

COMMERCIAL DISTRIBUTORS Hilda van Walraven circulation@glebereport.ca Teddy Cormier, Eleanor Crowder

PROOFREADERS................ Jennifer D'Costa, Jeanette Rive

AREA CAPTAINS................. Martha Bowers, Bob Brocklebank, Judy Field, Jono Hamer-Wilson, Deb Hogan, Elena Kastritsa, Brenda Perras, Della Wilkinson will lead us into shark-filled waters, sharpening our wits and awakening our intuition and creativity in the face of adversity? We dream. We squirm a little. We drink our coffee.

The Glebe Report strives to be inclusive and to represent the full diversity of the community we serve.

But if we get real for a moment and acknowledge the challenges that are staring us in the face here in our own backyard – climate crisis, poverty, homelessness, food insecurity, mental health problems, violence of epidemic proportions – or on a different plane, harmful urban development, loss of green space, lack of affordable housing, loss of tree canopy – the list of challenges is endless.

Drink up your coffee, buck up and let’s get to it!

—Liz McKeen

CONTACT US

175 Third Avenue Ottawa, Ontario K1S 2K2 613-236-4955

TFI@glebereport

SUBMIT ARTICLES editor@glebereport.ca.

OUR DEADLINES

For Glebe Report advertising deadlines and rates, call the advertising manager. Advertising rates are for electronic material supplied in pdf format with fonts embedded in the file.

Views expressed in the articles and letters submitted to the Glebe Report are those of our contributors. We reserve the right to edit all submissions. Articles selected for publication will be published in both a printed version and an online version on the Glebe Report’s website: www. glebereport.ca. Please note: Except for July, the paper is published monthly. An electronic version of the print publication is subsequently uploaded online with text, photos, drawings and advertisements as a PDF to www.glebereport. ca. Selected articles will be highlighted on the website.

The Glebe Report acknowledges that its offices and the Glebe neighbourhood it serves are on the unceded lands and territories of the Anishinaabe people, comprised of the Ojibwe, Chippewa, Odawa, Potawatomi, Algonquin, Saulteaux, Nipissing and Mississauga First Nations.

Pet Success Glebe has opened at 793 Bank Street, formerly Readi-Set-Go “Food, training, daycare, boarding, bath, rehome, adopt” “Full-service DogSuccess and Petsmart Success Pet Community offering pet training, assessments, dog walking, pet daycare and a pet hotel” (dogsuccess.ca)

Contributors this month

Iva Apostolova

Nicole Beswitherick

Ginette Bocage

Ada Brzeski

Susan Cartwright

Jeanne Charron

Sylvie Chartrand

Madeleine Cloutier

John Crump

Jenny Demark

Christie Diekmeyer

Shelly Donaldson

Colette Downie

Pat Eakins

Ian Guthrie

Joel Harden

Keaton Hills

Julie Ireton

Kathy Kennedy

Alison Lawson

Julie LeBlanc

Ian McKercher

Shawn Menard

Daniel Miranda

John Muggleton

Margaret Brady Nankivell

Yasir Naqvi

Tim O’Connor

Monica Onley

Barbara Popel

Josh Rachlis

Kevin Reeves

Nancy Riggs

Jeanette Rive

Marisa Romano

Elizabeth Ross

Sarah Routliffe

Sue Stefko

Janet Sutherland

Martha Tobin

Charles Weiner

Cecile Wilson

Susan Yungblut

Zeus

LIZ ROSS

Quick fix not good enough

Dear Editor, Glebe Report

On March 20, whilst the ground is still frozen underneath, a City of Ottawa truck arrives to fill in the huge pothole on Third Avenue with asphalt, and then pound it down. This is a quickfix method which has never worked. Don’t we deserve better than this?

Liz Ross

Tulip Festival parking tips

Dear Editor, Glebe Report

This year’s Tulip Festival runs from May 12-22 and with the closing of the Dow’s Lake parking lot, visitors wishing to take in the annual display of thousands of tulips might find that parking a vehicle will be a challenge.

Alternative parking lots include the one on Beech St. between Preston St. and Rochester St., about a half kilometre from the Dow’s Lake Pavilion, or the parking lot for the Agricultural Museum which is located south of the Ornamental Gardens on Prince of Wales Drive. This lot is 1.1 kilometres from the Dow’s Lake Pavilion. Both of these lots charge parking fees.

To accommodate those who are mobility challenged, there will be reserved parking on the east side of Dow’s Lake Road between Crescent Heights and Kippewa Drive, for vehicles that display the accessibility parking permit. This restriction will be in force throughout the 11 days of the festival.

Coach buses will be parking at Carleton University but will unload and load their passengers on Carling Avenue near Commissioners Park.

Monica Olney

Two teams, one arena?

Dear Editor, Glebe Report

Re: “Lansdowne Park 2.0; Mayor Sutcliffe and new council facing hard decisions,” Glebe Report, March 2023

As a citizen and taxpayer, I found the article about proposed developments at Lansdowne Park informative, stimulating and more than slightly alarming.

The proposed towering towers represent the increasing, creeping privatization of a priceless public asset.

The construction of a new arena at the east end is more construction on what had been green space. Here’s an idea – in several European cities, for example Rome, two major-league soccer teams share a single stadium. How about the Senators and 67’s jointly occupying the new stadium (if it is ever built!) at LeBreton Flats? It would be possible to accommodate two schedules.

I am prepared to concede that parts of the [Lansdowne] early redevelopment have turned out better than I anticipated, but I have an ominous feeling about these new proposals.

Ian Guthrie

Our Volunteer Carriers

CHRISTIE DIEKMEYER

More trees, please!

Dear Editor, Glebe Report

Amidst the concrete and buildings of Bank Street on a mild winter day, I hear a sound of chirping. It’s a gaggle of songbirds that sounds so happy on this day that sees the temperature rise north of zero for the first time in weeks. I am walking to work in the early morning as I pass this regal set of trees. I do not see a single bird, but they are surely feeling safe and content at their camouflaged party. I am delighted for them. Sing on!

More trees, please.

Sing on!

Christie Diekmeyer

Agm

Save The Date

Celebrate your community newspaper, 50 years young!

The Glebe Report Association’s Annual General Meeting Monday, May 15, 2023, 7 p.m.

Glebe Community Centre, Preschool Room

All welcome – members of the association and non-members alike

Glebe Report’s new website

In the year in which we turn 50, the Glebe Report is launching a fresh new website. The revamped website is lively and up-to-date and works better with cell phones and tablets, but still has the full, searchable Glebe Report archive of past issues starting in 1973. Check it out at glebereport.ca.

Glebe Report seeks Area Captain

Want to help distribute the Glebe Report each month? If you have a car and 1.5 hours a month to spare, then your help would be most appreciated! Please send an email to circulation@glebereport.ca for more information.

Jide Afolabi, Jennie Aliman, Lawrence Ambler, Nico Arabackyj, Ella Åsell, Aubry family, Miko Bartosik, Alessandra & Stefania Bartucci, Selena Beattie, Adrian Becklumb, Beckman family, Joanne Benoit, Inez Berg, Naéma and Raphaëlle Bergevin Hemsing, Carolyn Best, Carrie Bolton, Daisy & Nettie Bonsall, Martha Bowers, Bowie family, Adélaïde and Éléonore Bridgett, Bob Brocklebank, Ben Campbell-Rosser, Nico Cauchi, Bill Congdon, Ava & Olivia Carpenter, Ryan & Charlotte Cartwright, Chiu-Panczyk Family, Sarah Chown, Sebastian, Cameron & Anna Cino, Janis Ellis-Claypool, Avery & Darcy Cole, Jenny Cooper, June Creelman, Marni Crossley, Olivia Dance, Mark Dance, Dawson family, Richard DesRochers, Davies Family, Nathan and Roslyn Demarsh, Marilyn Deschamps, Diekmeyer-Bastianon family, Dingle family, Delia Elkin, Nicholas, Reuben, Dave & Sandra Elgersma, Patrick Farley, James & Oliver Frank, Judy Field, Federico Family, Maria Fobes, Liane Gallop, Joann Garbig, Madeleine Gomery, Joyce Goodhand, Camilo Velez Gorman, Barbara Greenwood, Ginny Grimshaw, Marjolein Groenevelt, Henry Hanson, Oliver, Martin, Sarah & Simon Hicks, Cheryle Hothersall, Jeevan & Amara Isfeld, Jungclaus Family, Janna Justa, Elena Kastritsa, Kasper Raji Kermany, Michael Khare, Lambert family, Leith and Lulu Lambert, Mel LeBlanc, Jamie, Alexander & Louisa Lem, Brams and Jane Leswick, Aanika, Jaiden and Vinay Lodha, Vanessa Lyon, Pat Marshall, Patrick Collins Mayer, Catherine McArthur, Ian McKercher, John and Helen Marsland, Matthew McLinton, Cameron Mitchell, Julie Monaghan, Thomas Morris, Vivian Moulds, Karen Mount, Maddy North, Diane Munier, Xavier and Heath Nuss, Sachiko Okuda, Matteo and Adriano Padoin-Castillo, Brenda Perras, Brenda Quinlan, Annabel and Joseph Quon, Beatrice Raffoul, Bruce Rayfuse, Kate Reekie, Thomas Reevely, Mary & Steve Reid, Jacqueline Reilly-King, Anna Roper, Sabine Rudin-Brown, Casimir & Tristan Seywerd, Short family, Cathy Simons, Abigail Steen, Stephenson family, Tara Swords, Ruth Swyers, Saul Taler, John & Maggie Thomson, Tom Trottier, Trudeau family, Will, Georgie & Blaire Turner, Zosia Vanderveen, Veevers family, Nick Walker, Erica Waugh, Vanessa Wen, Paul Wernick, Howard & Elizabeth Wong, Ella & Ethan Wood, Martin Zak.

CONTACT: circulation@glebereport.ca

Our studios offer significant savings

If you’re concerned about the cost of retirement living, our studios may be the solution you’re looking for. Consider the substantial savings over our one bedroom suites. You’ll still enjoy all our amenities, fine dining, and an active social calendar with care available when you need it.

By Julie Ireton

As Roberta Brown gets set to celebrate her 109th birthday this spring, she has no secret to longevity to share, but she says being a regular member of Abbotsford’s Luncheon Club helped her stay active throughout her “younger” senior years.

Brown, who now lives at the Ottawa Grace Manor long-term care facility, grew up in a small farming community in the Outaouais called West Templeton. She was born just a couple of months before the start of the First World War, in June 1914.

While Brown says there are a few people at Grace Manor who are over 100, she’s definitely the oldest.

“I don’t know anyone that old,” laughed Brown.

And while being isolated from family over the past three years hasn’t been pleasant, she said to date, she’s made it through the pandemic without getting COVID-19.

“Am I ever glad that’s all over,” said Brown.

Over the years she’s survived two husbands, a daughter, many friends and family members. But she takes pride in having six grandchildren, 15 great-grandchildren and six great-great grandchildren.

“We’re just happy to have her every day,” said her son, Maynard Dunn.

While she stayed home with her three children when they were small, she later got a job in downtown Ottawa.

“I was a sales lady at Murphy Gamble’s on Sparks Street,” said Brown, referring to the now long-gone department store. “That’s where I worked for 12 years. I sold clothing and pretty much everything. It was considered one of the best stores in Ottawa.”

In her retirement in the mid-1990s, Brown lived in the south end of Ottawa and a neighbour convinced her to come along to Luncheon Club at Abbotsford House at the Glebe Centre, the old stone farmhouse across from Lansdowne Park. Brown remained part of Luncheon Club for about 25 years.

“On Tuesdays at the centre we’d watch a movie, play cards, or trivia and games,” said Brown. “On Fridays we went to one of the shopping centres.”

The club offers a gathering space for seniors considered “socially isolated,” people who might benefit from the interaction with a group of peers.

“Currently, the Luncheon Club program meets Tuesdays,” said Kirsten O’Brien, who facilitates community support services for Abbotsford at the Glebe Centre. “It fosters caring and support to each of the clients, provides activities of interest and then lunch.”

Brown now uses a walker and hearing aids, but she still plays cribbage and enjoys visits from her family.

Along with her birthday celebration this spring, she said she’s looking forward to spending time in the Grace Manor garden with its flowers and birds.

Abbotsford is your Seniors Active Living Centre for adults 55+. It houses the community programs of The Glebe Centre Inc., a charitable, not-for-profit organization which includes a 254-bed long-term care home. Find out more about our services by telephoning 613230-5730 during regular business hours or by checking out all of The Glebe Centre facilities and community programs on our website glebecentre.ca.

Julie Ireton is a journalist who contributes regularly to the Glebe Report on issues affecting Abbotsford.