Lifestyles 55 2022 October

WhenI first came to Winnipeg, I knew I had come home.

I have loved this city from the very beginning. That’s why I ran for City Council four years ago. During my time in office, I have learned so much and everything I have learned makes me more determined to do all in my power to move Winnipeg forward in a better way.

First, we have to fix the fundamentals in opera tions, and I will do that. I know how to do that. That work was part of my career in business. At the same time, I believe we can begin to restore the physical beauty of the city. Citizens deserve to be proud of all our tree-lined streets, including our heritage downtown neighbourhood and beyond to the new suburbs and forgotten parks and green ar eas.

I believe in you, our citizens, who have all do nated parts of your heritage, courage and energy to giving us the special flavours of pluralism that makes Winnipeg unique. I am part of the tradition al world but also part of the tomorrow world and I believe we can make a stronger and better world based on those roots and on our understanding and

acceptance of one another. All our blending and mixing and special ways makes us a better, stronger community.

Fundamental to a vibrant, livable city are all the things that I have tackled in my policy announce ments and more. Let me bring them to life for you. We have some critical priorities: dealing with homelessness, creating a safe, crime-free environ ment, providing safe transportation whether on foot, by bicycle, on public transport, in taxis, by

A green corridor for downtown Winnipeg

Wehave a dream of a greener downtown, start ing with a green corridor on Graham Avenue from Donald Street to Main Street, as the begin ning of the project.

Rev. Cathy Campbell, former minister of the Holy Trinity Angli can Church, and her successor the Rev. Andrew Rampton concluded that it was time to address the green deficit in the area, starting with their own lot. Cathy is a tree fan, and she has a solid understanding of how trees affect us and the en vironment. She knows that people exposed to urban forests and green spaces, no matter how scanty, react

better to all circumstances. They are scanty, in a several-block area, there are just 42 trees – Cathy counted.

Idea is action and Cathy and An

drew then pulled together a citizen committee, starting with Wendy Janzen at Colliers and they began to examine ways to accomplish this. The first step was to discover whether there was any interest in the community. There was plenty. Everyone they approached seemed more than willing to get involved, including some of the key city ac tivists and even civic departments dealing with downtown improve ment.

That was two years ago, and while the group has been held back by COVID-19 restrictions, during that time a great deal of consensus has been built. The group has even held a design conference involving several local landscape architects who got involved as volunteers. It

Queen

Elizabeth’s recent passing has caused many of us to pause and reflect on what she has meant to each of us in our own lives. Clearly, I was no exception. Even though she was 96 years old and said to be in failing health, her death nevertheless shocked the world. She had always been there, and to lose her seemed almost impossible to compre hend.

In my life, I’ve had the good fortune to meet Her Majesty and other family members several times. I’ve met the Queen in Winnipeg, Toron to, and Windsor Castle. Every time was a mo ment to be treasured. Truthfully, meeting the Queen was above and beyond special to me. It was, for the most part, surreal and I was, admit tedly, simply in awe.

One needs only look at videos of her meeting crowds in her walkabouts – young and old alike, men, women, disabled, veterans; no matter who or where – the faces of the people she met radi ated with delight. I vividly recall every visit for several reasons. And each visit also had its funny moments (at least they are funny now!!).

In 1984, the black beavers had sex during the ceremony as they were being presented to Her Majesty at the Assiniboine Park Zoo!

While I was organizing the 2002 visit, I met several people who told me about Her Majesty’s visit to Winnipeg in 1951 as Princess. They re membered where they were when they saw her

Kevin Klein

Dorothy Dobbie

Dwight Macauley

Kevin Klein.

HRH Queen Elizabeth, Dwight Macauley and an RCMP Escort.

Newly constructed, and designed with the latest findings in aging research, Bergen Gardens offers a variety of customizable service packages to suit your lifestyle, including: Serenity Salon & Spa, Empire Cinema, Hometown Spirits Tavern and Men’s Shed Group, and much more. Gardening options

Using

Molson Street,

building a community that

Bergen Gardens, setting a new standard in senior living, offers the perfect transition into a convenient and well-tailored lifestyle.

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EDITOR

Dorothy Dobbie dorothy@pegasuspublications.net

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CONTRIBUTORS

Joe Borges, Edward Burgener, Gary Brown, Cliff Cullen, Dorothy Dobbie, Rick Duerk sen, Hon. Myrna Driedger, John Einarson, Michael Gibbens, Stefano Grande, Hon. Scott Johnson, Jim Ingebrigtsen, Kevin Klein, Ian Leatt, Dwight Macauley, Fred Morris, Mani toba Seniors Coalition, Manitoba Association of Senior Centres, Connie Newman, Peggy Pendergast, Brent Poole, Sanja Rossi, Senaka Samarasinghe, Wayne Weedon, Nathan Zass man.

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ISSUES IN THE NEWS

Tough talk on the race for mayor

The

race for Winnipeg’s new mayor is gaining momen tum and all will be decided by press time next month, but as of the last week in September, we see Glenn Murray falling fast from, 41% to 33%, and Scott Gilling ham hanging on to the 15% he has had from the start. Kevin Klein on the other hand, has been gradually climbing and is now in the num ber two spot at 18.5%. Two sepa rate polls conducted a week apart, confirmed this at time of writing. Kevin Klein seems to be winning the hearts and minds of everyday Manitobans at his frequent town hall meetings throughout the city.

Murray

Now, 20 years after his last trun cated stint as mayor, Murry hopes to pick up where he left off. But the city has changed tremendously since then and he is complete ly out of touch.

Of concern should be his inability to stick to matters when the going gets tough. He has left several political posts in pursuit of better things, at which he failed, and which brought him limping home to Winni peg four years ago thinking he would run for mayor again but stymied by Bowman’s deci sion to stick it out.

Murray is running on name recognition, hoping that old political baggage doesn’t catch up with him and burst the bubble he has creat ed around himself on the stays of that magical bridge. The bridge may be pretty, but it also has a million-dollar bathroom sitting unused in a deserted restaurant that doesn’t work be cause it is so far from a place to park in our brutal winters. This illustrates the problem with him as the mayor. He pledges to make the whole city “pretty again” but if it falls apart instantly because of bad planning, all Winni pegger will be left with is a whopping big bill.

On a positive note? He is charming and a good speaker.

Gillingham

Gillingham, on the other hand, has a very inflated view of his own abilities. He served for eight years as finance chair and Brian Bowman’s right hand boy. But during that time, his rubber stamp budgeting reduced the city’s $120-million rainy day reserve fund to less than $20 million. He says his main talent is to form coalitions and make people like him. That is fine, but our city is in an unholy mess, and it needs an understanding of finances, good management practices and tough, determined leadership to set it right.

Gillingham’s ego also led him to declare his intention to jump from city hall into the leadership and premiership of the PC Party. When the Party didn’t rush to embrace him, he had some very rough words, including those in this report from CBC*: “It has become clear to me and to others that my party — the Progressive Conservative Party — has become oblivious, indifferent or even contemptuous when it comes to the advice, the experience and the partnership offered by local

officials, local communities and lo cal leaders across Manitoba, regard less of their party affiliation or what community they’re from,” he said in a statement. He had even harsher things to say in a tweet at the time, but that has been taken down. He also said that said he considered a run as leader “to improve the gov ernment’s relationships with stake holders.” Huh? The arbiter be tween the people and whom?

Gillingham has no leadership or financial experience (he was a pas tor for 12 years before being elect ed) and right now, we need some one who understands business and knows how to get things working. Among his sillier ideas was to con tinue to increase the budget of 311 by 25% a year until the wait time came down to three minutes. Talk about financial management!

On the positive side? According to some who know him, he is a nice guy.

Klein

So, what about Kevin Klein? I openly declare my bias in his favour, but that bias is based on his track record and his continuing determina tion to make thing work at City Hall, despite fierce resistance that put him on the outside with other outspoken councillors such as Jan ice Lukes and Shawn Nason. So far, I haven’t seen any policy announcement that I consider frivolous or impossible because behind each pronouncement he has a plan based on care ful examination of the problem and its likely solutions.

No doubt some of these plans are subject to change along with changing times and circum stances but I have confidence that he has the wisdom to see when changes are required and that he is not the type of leader who will dig in his heels just because something is “his idea”.

I am particularly excited about his vision for the city. It is bold and refreshing but imminently doable and within rea sonable fiscal constraints.

Are there no negatives? Of course, there are. Kevin is in tense and he is a workaholic. He is earnest and, in his earnest ness, he sometimes forgets to curb his passion and laugh (but he can also laugh at himself). He is demanding, but those who work with him don’t seem to mind – indeed, they seem to take some delight in doing their very best because it is so appreciated.

Could he be a better delegator? Yes, because all type A per sonalities are looking for perfection and suffer greatly when it is not achieved. But he is fiercely loyal, and he generously spreads the credit for success around.

He can be cantankerous at times, but so can we all. He is also generous in his sharing of information and is a good col laborator.

That is my person assessment of the front runners. We will see what happens on October 26, 2022.

Dorothy Dobbie

How candidates responded to the street naming issue

In 1982, Vopni Avenue was re named Park Lane. In the August Edition of Lifestyles 55, I an nounced my support to the Vopni fam ily's efforts to correct the 1982 injustice and reinstate Vopni as a street name. I sent out a questionnaire to the Mayor, City Councillors, and the 2022 Mayor and City Council Candi dates. This article deals with their responses.

25 out of 57 responded (43.8%)

There are 53 people currently running for Mayor and City Coun cil, two acclaimed candi dates, a retiring mayor. One registered candidate, Govind Thawani, an swered the questionnaire before being disqualified for not completing all the nomination require ments. I have included Mr. Thawani's answers.

All candidates in St. James, Waverley West, and Fort Rouge responded. Only three out of the 11 nominated candi dates for mayor responded.

I will not name the candidates who did not respond in the hope that they will respond prior to the October 26 election. The candidates who respond ed were Janice Lukes, Sherri Rollins, Brad Gross, Evan Duncan, Gordon Penner, Salvatore Infantino, Natalie Smith, Joe Pereira, Gary Lenko, Ed die Ayoub, Tim Diack, Kelly Ryback, Daevid Ramey, Shawn Dobson, Baljett Sharma, Derrick Dujlovic, Steve Lipis chak, Pascal Scott, Chris Clacio, Gov

ind Thawani. and Michael Thompson and Steven Minion. Mayoralty can didates who responded were Kevin Klein, Robert Falcon Ouellette and Rick Shone.

Question 1

Do you favour an immediate City Council motion to name a new Win nipeg Street after Jon Vo pni?

Yes: Brad Gross, Gor don Penner, Kelly Ryback, Daevid Ramey, Shawn Dobson, Baljett Sharma, Chris Clacio, Govind Tha wani, Joe Pereira, Steve Minion, Rick Shone, and Michael Thompson

Robert Falcon Oulette Yes. Also, the 159 Canadi ans who died in Afghani stan should be honoured.

Tim Diack: yes with a strong preference to Jon Vopni Way.

Derrick Dujlovic: Yes to a west end street.

Steve Lipischak: changing a current Street name to Vopni.

Natalie Smith mentioned the 1980 Possible Conflict of Interest and wants an immediate Council vote.

Gary Lenko wants the issue raised after the Election.

Eddie Ayoub wants Park Lane to be changed back to Vopni.

Pascal Scott: yes, but not in a new development but a location of city that Mr. Vopni had a great impact.

Kevin Klien and Evan Duncan an swered question 2 only.

Janice Lukes and Salvatore Infantino

wanted more information.

Sherri Rollins commented, "The mo tion as outlined is not a priority."

On September 28, 2011, City bylaw 115 2011 creating a process for the naming and renaming of streets came into effect. The bylaw states: Only Council may name or rename streets (article 3 (4)). A duplicate that sounds similar or is easily confused with an other existing street names is not al lowed (article 7 1 a).

The word developer is not men tioned in this bylaw. However, advo cates for the reinstatement of Vopni as a street name were continually referred to unnamed developers.

Question 2

The candidates were asked whether City Council should have complete control of naming new City Streets.

Yes: Eddie Ayoub, Chris Clacio, Shawn Dobson, Joe Pereira, Baljeet Sharma, Daevid Ramey, Kelly Ryback. Brad Gross, Robert Falcon Oullette, Gary Lenko, Pascal Scott, Evan Duncan existing bylaws re viewed.

Kevin Klein promised a complete re view of the existing by law.

Natalie Smith: City Council and Welcoming Winnipeg should work to gether.

Gordon Penner: it should be up to the community depending on the name.

Steve Lipischak: someone who speaks for the community rather than someone who speaks for developers’ interests.

Derrick Dujlovic: not solely up to City Council. Mentioned the need to

consult the area councillor.

Tim Diack: limit City Council con trol. Developers should be able to use certain names.

Salvatore Infantino: developers should submit names to be approved by City Council.

Govind Thawani input necessary.

Steve Minion wants to take the pow er away from developers.

Janice Lukes does not favour full control by City Council She works with two developers in her ward.

Note: In her ward, we have new street with names similar to existing streets. Examples Cherrywood and Rose Lake. In Sage Creek (the St. Vi tal ward) Snowberry, and Silver Sage Creek.

Sherri Rollins did not answer ques tion 2.

Michael Thompson refers to street naming as one of several items that must be cleaned up.

Steven Minton advocates taking this power away from developers and pri vate corporations

There is clearly a lot of support for the immediate restoration of Vopni as a street name. Steve Minion said it best:

"I want to live in a city rich with His torical meaningful character."

Only three out of the 16 people (18.75%) currently on City Council answered this questionnaire. 22 out the 40 challengers (55 %) found the time to answer this questionnaire. The chances of getting the Vopni name back on a City Street may depend on the election of a lot of new people.

Fred Morris is a grandfather, sports fan and political activist.

Smart Technology to keep your home (or your parents) secure from a distance

My 80-year-old mother lived alone in the family home when she had a mild stroke in 2018, and it revealed an area where smart home technol ogy could be invaluable.

My mother was observant enough to realize that she was having a stroke and was able to call me just before the symptoms worsened. I immediately called 911 and got into my vehicle. I lived more than 40 minutes away so I was certain that the paramedics would ar rive before me, and they would use whatever means necessary to gain access to the house if the door was locked. My mother’s health was my main concern, and I did not want the ordeal of re-securing my mom’s house to stop me from be ing at the hospital with her right away. Thanks to the smart door lock I had pre viously installed; I was able to unlock the door remotely before the paramedics arrived. No need to break the door down.

Fortunately, my mother only suffered some mild pa ralysis but retained all her faculties. After some time at the Riverview Health Center, she was able to return home. But we knew that for my mother to remain in the family home, things were going to have to be different and she would require some supervision and assistance.

We subscribed to Victoria Lifeline and created a unique code for the smart lock that they could pass along to any emergency services personnel they might have to dis patch.

Even prior to the stroke, my mother frequently forgot to hang up the telephone when she finished a call. She used a cordless phone and, on many occasions, would not press the off button hard enough, leaving the phone in a

Technology offers up some helpful options for Seniors living on their own.

busy state. Not being able to reach my mother to check up would usually result in me making the long drive to her house in the evening to make sure that everything was alright, and to properly disconnect the phone.

I installed some cameras with intercom capabilities in side the house so if my brother or I could reach her if we couldn’t get through on the phone. We wanted to bal ance security with respect for my mother’s privacy, so we agreed that the cameras would give us views of the kitch en and living room only. This gave us the ability to ensure that she was alright and that the stove was turned off, without having to drive across town to check regularly.

I was also concerned about home security. We already had the remote door lock, which allowed me to make sure the door was locked at night. In addition, we installed a camera outside to capture any activity in the driveway and front yard. This camera was a compliment to the alarm system already installed in the house and was set up to record and send out notifications whenever motion

was detected so we could ensure that nothing nefarious was occurring around the premises. I was also able to see when the neighbours occasionally cleared her driveway, so I would know who to thank for saving me the trip.

These additions allowed us to respectfully watch over our mom and gave us all huge peace of mind.

If you have an elderly family member in poor health who wants to stay in their own house or would just like to know more about how home automation and video tech nology can let help make your house or business smarter and safer, contact Techno Joe at Joe@TechnoJoe.ca or 204-479-3913.

Techno Joe provides exceptional IT solutions, such as auto mation, surveillance systems, network reconfigurations, PC repairs, and data recovery for residential and business in the city of Winnipeg and surrounding areas. Joe Borges, the com pany founder, has been in the technology industry for over 35 years with more than 20 years’ experience in surveillance and home automation.

Fred Morris

From the desk of a gadfly

Joe Borges Techno Joe

A new day for Manitoba Seniors is on the horizon

Help the minister get it right

As Minister for Seniors and Long-Term Care, I am encouraged to report that thousands of Manitobans have already weighed in with their thoughts as the Manitoba Govern ment embarks upon the development of a strategic plan for Manitoba seniors.

What we’ve heard already demon strates what we hoped –Manitoba se niors and those who care for them want to have a say in the future senior’s strate gy and We know you want your voice to be heard in developing plans that affect your daily life now and into your future.

In the initial round of public consul tations on the EngageMB online public consultation platform, we received vital and quality input that is now shaping the next steps of public consultations to develop the strategy, expected to be re leased in early 2023.

One of our government’s top priori ties is establishing a more comprehensive, responsive system of programs and policies that provides the supports and services seniors need most. We sup port the healthy aging of Manitoba seniors and we

Civility

Inaddition to my role as the MLA for the constituency of Roblin, I am also the Speaker of the Manitoba Legisla tive Assembly. I was first elected as speak er by my peers in 2016 and again in 2019. During this time, I have learned much about the importance of the role of a presiding of ficer and the rules created to ensure MLAs are able to complete their democratic duties and act as the voice of their constituents.

While members are ex pected to debate, it is ex pected that this be done in a civil way. While heckling is discouraged, it does happen in legislatures and parlia ments in our parliamentary system.

are working to ensure seniors can safely live indepen dently in their homes, have active lifestyles and the ability to stay connected in their communities as long as possible.

Based on responses from first sur vey, we will explore key findings iden tified by Manitobans including im proving access to physical and social activities, addressing challenges with the health-care system, supporting caregivers, and providing accessible housing options.

Complete information on what we heard from Manitobans in the first round of consultations can be found at https://engagemb.ca/building-aplan-with-manitoba-seniors.

Now that the next phase of the con sultations is underway, you and your loved ones and caregivers for seniors can participate in the process by fill ing out an additional series of surveys and attending public engagement sessions. See the link above to participate today.

This new series of public surveys will continue over

the next three months to seek detailed input on pri ority areas including public safety and elder abuse, housing, ageism and discrimination, social inclusion and financial security.

Community engagement networks are available for those who prefer to provide input in an in-person setting, and community members will be invited to provide input at various consultation events across Manitoba.

Please contact SeniorsMB@gov.mb.ca for more de tails on in-person town halls and consultations hosted by a number of Manitoba seniors community orga nizations.

In addition to hearing from Manitobans online and in-person, we are looking to what is working well in other jurisdictions and countries. The Manitoba gov ernment is analyzing successful seniors models both nationally and internationally.

Thank you for sharing in this opportunity to make Manitoba an ideal place for healthy aging in Canada and around the world. These in-depth consultations will provide critical insight as we build the seniors strategy together.

Scott Johnston is the Minister of Seniors and Long-Term Care.

While opposing views are always al lowed to be spoken, this must be done in a civil way. It is my duty as Speaker to control heckling as much as possible and ensure that heckling is nev er allowed to be a personal attack. There is a line to be drawn between appropriate and inappropriate heckling.

As the Speaker, it is my job to draw that line to keep decorum and civility in the chamber which at times is an extremely challenging task.

While that can be a great thing, the other side is that now, more than ever, younger people are exposed to the incivility, toxic ity, unkindness, and negativity that exists on social media.

In my role as Speaker, sometimes restor ing civility and calm to a debate is a mat ter of reminding members with the word “order”. I do have other options available

to me if that alone does not work.

Remember to limit your time on social media if you find that it is taking a toll on your mental health. And importantly, lead by example. Choose to be kind to others; choose to use your words for positivity. Our words matter.

Hon. Myrna Driedger is MLA for Roblin and Speaker of the Legislative Assembly.

Hon. Myrna Driedger Broadway Journal

Throughout the CO VID-19 pandemic, the Manitoba Legis lative Assembly has shifted and adapted along with the health restrictions. We were among the first in Canada to initi ate a hybrid virtual/in-person sitting for MLAs. This was a massive undertaking by the Speaker’s Office, the Clerk’s Office, and many more offices within the Legisla tive Assembly to quickly align the needs of MLAs participating in a virtual format with what the in-person MLAs had access to. This is important to ensure that all MLAs can fully represent their constitu ents without any undue impediments. I am proud to say that MLAs were able to represent their constituents in the house while participating virtually as if they were present in the house physically. One large difference is that virtual members were not allowed to heckle.

Civility is something that I notice outside of my leg islative role as well. I enjoy the many benefits of social media but have found lately that it has become more toxic. Through it, we can connect with each other, highlight happy moments in our lives, and stay in touch with people we other wise would not. Social media can be used for good and positive purposes. Unfor tunately, there is a negative undertone with many social media platforms. Some people choose to use platforms like Twit ter, Facebook, Instagram and others to be cruel, unkind, and to say things from be hind their keyboard that they would never think to say in person. We must always remember that our words matter. What we say to each other either in person or online has an impact.

I often wonder what the younger people around us think of civility either in person or online. Social media plays a larger role in the lives of the generation growing up now than it has ever before. We have nev er been so connected and so “logged in”.

Helping Seniors Make Ends Meet

Manitoba’s Affordability Package

To help ease the burden of rising costs and high inflation, the Manitoba government is providing much needed support to help Manitobans make ends meet.

This new Affordability package will help families with children, seniors living on a fixed income and vulnerable Manitobans.

The Manitoba government is standing up for families that need it most.

For more information, visit manitoba.ca/familyaffordability

Hon. Scott Johnson Minister’s Message

It’s the little things. . .

You know the expression, “Little things can make a big differ ence”? It exists because it’s true!

For Kris Parsons, the impact of “little things” have lasted a lifetime and in spired her to give back.

When Kris was 10 years old, she needed to stay at HSC Children’s Hospital for a month. At the time, she was unable to walk or even get out of bed. Fol lowing a previous bout of osteomyelitis, one of the discs in her spine had deteriorated so much she needed a body cast and complete bed rest in hos pital to help her heal.

Kris has fond memo ries of Child Life staff and nurses spending time with her, doctors showing her kindness and her favourite daily activ ity – watching The Good Day Show on CHTV, hosted by Noname the sock puppet.

Thirty-odd years later, Kris - now an adult living in Ottawa - still remembers the kindness she experienced and shows

her gratitude by sending treats to the Child Life team to share with kids in hospital.

Kris says when she is out shopping and sees a fun item, her first thought is, “Would the kids in hospital like this?” She has worked closely with the Children’s Hospital Foundation and hospital staff to help pro vide exactly what sick and injured kids need with ev ery generous donation.

Kris has sent in many packages to the Child Life team over the years with items like gift cards, co lourful bandages, a DVD player and other electron ics to help provide fun and distraction for kids fac ing treatment. And to say thanks to this special team of people who reassured and supported her when she was a child in hospital, Kris purchased Blizzard® Treats in Manito ba this past August as a thank you gift for hospital staff on Miracle Treat Day, when DQ stores across Canada donate proceeds to local children’s hospitals.

Another special group of people who understand how important little things are for kids in hospital – like celebrat ing Halloween – is Spirit of Children, the folks behind the Spirit Halloween stores that pop up every fall.

Every year since 2007, they have made the hospital a little less scary for kids by sending an assortment of cos tumes and donating a portion of sales to Child Life. This is a boo-tiful and generous treat! Learn more by clicking the Shop button for current community offers at goodbear.ca.

It does not take much for little things to become big things that are so appre

Getting a good night’s sleep

The Blue Light Switch for Im proved Sleep

Exciting new research has helped thousands of people improve their sleep quality, reduce their dependence on dan gerous drugs, and restore the important phases of sleep that are critical to mental and physical health.

Over 40 years of re search has shown that our exposure to blue light in terferes with our ability to get the sleep we need. We are all familiar with how bright white sunlight turns to orange and red as it sets. This is because the blue wavelengths are scat tered by the atmosphere when the sun is setting. We have been programmed for thousands of years by nature to recognize and re spond to this red light from the sun in the evening. The electric light bulb has only been part of our environment for the past 100 years or so. It's now part of our daily routine to be artificially ex posed to white ‘day’ light at night.

White light is composed of equal quantities of red, green, and blue. Sci entists have shown that the blue portion shuts off the production of melatonin, so you can boost levels of this hormone that prepares us for sleep by blocking blue light (or all light) from your eyes.

Blue Light = Serotonin = Good Mood

Blue light stimulates serotonin, the "feel-good" neurotransmitter associated with mood balance. Low levels of se rotonin are associated with depression, so you want to soak up as much regular white light during the day as possible to maximize serotonin levels. A recent study found that those who worked in offices with windows received 173% more light during working hours and slept an average of 46 minutes more each night. Those with windows were more active and had higher energy lev els, while workers without windows re ported more physical problems, lower vitality, and problems sleeping.

No Blue (or White) Light = Melatonin = Sleep

Melatonin is the magic hormone that our body produces that is so critical to sleep. If you have tried taking melatonin as a supplement, you may have found it

helpful, but some people (including me) experience side effects including drowsi ness, headaches, irritability, nausea, and nightmares. Melatonin supplements do not function in the same way as when melatonin is produced naturally in the body.

By shielding your eyes from blue light at night, your brain thinks you are watching the sun set, or that you are already in darkness, so melatonin production starts, and you begin to get sleepy. In ad dition to improved sleep, increasing melatonin levels has been shown to lower the risk of cancer by up to 60%, and cut the risk of type 2 diabetes in half.

Glasses: There are various methods of eliminating blue light at night, but an easy and affordable solution is a pair of specially designed orange-coloured glasses that absorb the blue wavelengths. Wearing the glasses for an hour or two before bed starts the flow of melatonin which can lead to deeper, more restful, and restorative sleep.

Lighting: I recommend installing light bulbs designed to reduce the blue portion of light in bedroom lighting fix tures and night table lamps. If you read in bed, innovative bulbs like Relax from MiracleLED are perfect for helping you wind down and fall asleep. If you cannot find this type of bulb, choose the lowest colour temperature possible (3000 Kel vin or lower), as the higher the Kelvin temperature, the greater the percentage of blue in the light source.

Eye Shades: If you do not have blinds that shield your bedroom from all ambi ent light, I recommend using eye shades. One of the most interesting new prod ucts is the Illumy Sleep and Wake Mask, a comfortable pair of eye shades that emit red light to help you fall asleep with a simulated sunset, and gently wake you up in the morning with blue light. I also like the Sound Oasis 2000SE 'Glo to Sleep’ mask as it features soft blue or red LED lights that can help you fall asleep.

Software: Using a phone, tablet, or computer before bed can significantly affect sleep quality, as these screens produce high levels of blue light. I rec ommend installing one of the free ap plications that automatically adjust

displays to reduce the disruptive blue light emission. ‘Twilight' works on An droid devices to turn down the blue in the evening. Download ‘f.lux' for your laptop or desktop computer - the pro gram does the rest. It’s best to avoid us ing electronic devices of all kinds for at least three hours before bed. Similarly, I also recommend having a minimum of three hours between your last meal and bedtime to avoid digestive disruption to your sleep routine.

Celliant Fibre: An FDA-approved Class 1 medical device available in mat tress and pillow protectors, Celliant fibre converts body heat into infrared energy (a wavelength outside the visible light spectrum) and emits it back into the body. Made of special minerals that provide benefits even when covered by layers of fabric, Celliant fibre mattress and pillow protectors help regulate body temperature, making you more com fortable, while increasing oxygen levels which facilitate healing. Recent studies found that subjects sleeping on Celliant fell asleep 15 minutes faster, achieved an average of 18.3 more minutes of sleep each night, and showed an average in crease of 8.5% in tissue oxygenation (re sulting in more energy, and waking up feeling rejuvenated). I have found the most restorative sleep by combining a Celliant fibre mattress topper and pillow protector with an earthing sheet and pil lowcase. Earthing works to reduce the number of free radicals present in the body, potentially helping to relieve in flammation and other ailments.

L-Tryptophan: L-tryptophan is the amino acid that our body converts into serotonin and melatonin. Supplement ing with L-tryptophan is important for many people, as blocking blue light may not be effective if there is a deficiency. I recommend Zenbev, a natural supple ment developed by Dr. Craig Hudson made from defatted pumpkin seeds. Pumpkin seeds are nature's richest source of L-tryptophan and are also high in magnesium and zinc. L-tryptophan con verts to serotonin under daylight (expo sure to blue light), and to melatonin in darkness (or the absence of blue light).

Magnesium: Magnesium has also been shown to help with sleep, with re searchers calling it "the new melatonin." Recent studies have found that it can be especially effective when combined with zinc and vitamin B6, which facilitate the conversion of L-tryptophan to melato

ciated by kids, families and staff alike.

In this season of gratitude, we want everyone to know how much your gen erosity, your commitment and your thoughtfulness mean to the kids who have needed the hospital to get well over the years – like Kris did – and to the 130,000+ kids from Manitoba, Northwestern Ontario and Nunavut who still need our children’s hospital every year.

Thank you for helping to #GiveBet terFutures to sick and injured kids.

Stefano Grande is the president and CEO of Children’s Hospital Foundation of Manitoba.

nin. If you're choosing a magnesium sup plement for sleep, I recommend Magtein (magnesium L-threonate), an exciting new form that more effectively crosses the blood-brain barrier. Developed by a Nobel Prize-winning physicist at MIT, research has also shown that magnesium L-threonate can help improve memory and cognition.

Herbs and Amino Acids: There are a variety of herbs and amino acids that help many achieve a better night’s sleep including valerian, hops, passionflower, California poppy, lemon balm, Skullcap, loquat fruit, schisandra, GABA, and Ltheanine. Healthology Sleep Great Sleep Formula, AOR Ortho-Sleep, Pure En capsulations Best-Rest, NOW Sleep, and the new NOW Sleep Regimen 3-in-1 Blend (designed to help you fall and stay asleep) are all excellent natural formulas.

Avoid Alcohol and Caffeine: Author of “Why We Sleep”, Matthew Walker recommends avoiding coffee, which has a 12-hour quarter-life, meaning that 12 hours after consumption, 25% of the caf feine is still in our blood stream (enough to affect sleep). Drinking alcohol at night affects the important REM stage of sleep, so if you are having trouble sleeping, be sure to avoid coffee and alcohol in the evening. Walker also recommends main taining a bedroom temperature between 62-65° F (16-18° C).

A customer once approached me to discuss the sleeping problems her hus band and father were having. Her father was 92 and in an assisted living home. For many years he had been taking a dan gerous sleep drug but was still not get ting quality sleep. Her husband had simi lar issues but was not taking the drug. I recommended they both try the com bination of Zenbev, install Relax bulbs in the bedroom, and wear the orange glasses before bedtime. The next day she returned with her sister, a physician, to tell me that their father had slept through the night without waking up once for the first time in twenty years, and that her husband had experienced a similar result.

There are many factors that can affect and improve sleep, but shielding your eyes from blue light, sleeping on Celliant fibre, exercising regularly, avoiding coffee and alcohol, and supplementing with Ltryptophan, magnesium, and relaxationpromoting herbs are easy and affordable solutions.

Nathan Zassman is the owner and presi dent of Aviva Natural Health Solutions.

Nathan Zassman Natural Health

Stefano Grande Healthy Living

Kris gives back to the kids in the hospital now. Halloween is not forgotten.

Are funeral providers all the same?

No.

Like every other business that offers simi lar services, no two funeral homes or funeral providers are alike. There are many factors that need to be considered when you are searching for the funeral provider that will best suit your needs including, but not limited to, qualified staff, a positive reputation, length of service in your local and busi ness community and overall variety of services and facilities offered.

The staffing can vary considerably from provider to provider. The care and compassion of a funeral director is a primary difference and some are more qualified, have more experience and knowledge, greater skill sets and a more caring nature than others. In the funeral profession a funeral director is often a licensed embalmer and the skill of each individual can vary considerably in that forum as well. Embalmers are the staff who not only prepare the body through embalming but handle the transfer following the death, cleansing and sanitizing of the decedent, setting the features, dressing, applying cosmetics and hairstyling and plac ing them in the casket for the final goodbye among

other needs. In addition to these skills, it is important to consider how much ongoing professional training that the staff receive at their respective funeral home as this assists in meeting the ever-changing needs of today’s communities.

Another important aspect includes the number of staff available to accom modate the arrangements, administra tion and the ability to care for more than one family and service at a time. Is your funeral director well organized, detail oriented and remain calm dur ing a fast-paced day? It is not uncom mon for funeral directors and staff to be called upon to care for multiple families at one time and unfortunately, there are not enough funeral directors available to assign them solely to one family for the duration of the arrangements while han dling many other daily tasks.

The facilities each funeral home pro vides can offer different levels of comfort – are they more homey and comfortable or are they colder and more business-like? Does the provider offer all services in one convenient location and do they own their own crematorium so that your loved one does not need

to be transported elsewhere for that service? Funeral homes also vary in size and variety of space that are available, including a room for the celebration service, a full-service reception room that takes care of all of your needs or do they have simpler offerings where you need to handle more of the details yourself. Is there sufficient and convenient parking available and is the facility able to accommodate the needs of the disabled?

A consideration that has really come to the forefront, especially since the pandemic, is the use of technology. Each provider will have different levels of technology accommodate the gathering that meets your needs – is that a simply mobile phone recording the service or high-quality audio visual equipment to provide a more intricate and live-streaming experience. Some will have equipment that can be taken to graveside for music to be played or send an FM signal for attendees to better hear the service from the comfort of their car.

These are some of the details that need to be consid ered when finding a provider that can assist you with the important end of life service of your loved one. The funeral home or cemetery you choose should have the ability to help you design a meaningful memorial that truly celebrates the life it represents while making the process easier for those left behind.

Thank you – An ode to the goodness of Winnipeg support folks

Afriend

once gave me a Thanks giving Day challenge. Make a list of 25 things for which you are grateful. Be specific and write down why. I’ll start this year’s list with some of the people whose gifts started me up the road to recovery –

• Christine Leger. Your gift was not just the call to 911 which resulted in a trip to the hospital, but knowing me well enough to discern, merely by the sound of my voice, that I was in dire straits.

• The WFPS. How much did I cost the tax payers because of choices I made? Four times I found myself in need of medi cal intervention. As you tended to me at my place you would have seen my living conditions. It would have been obvious why I was in need of your help, but there was no judgement, just profes sional care.

Even at 2:00 a.m., when you came to check on the alarm my ECG set off, I could see the smile behind your mask. Many people complain about lengthy wait times or lack of beds. You should direct your frustration to wards me and my abuse of the system, not the people on the front lines.

gram, said that there was a bed available and that you could arrange for me to go. I couldn’t accept that gift fast enough.

Rick Duerksen Reach

• The doctor at the Victoria Hospital CCU I don’t know your name, but you gave me the gift of directness. Using your best bedside manner, you said, “Rick, you are a bleeping idiot if you think you can go from the hos pital straight back to your place, without detox, and not be back here in a week. My bet though is that you’ll be dead.” You made the calls that sent me to the HSC detox ward for further treatment.

• Deb Chaboyer, my counsellor at AFM. You showed me how to learn about myself. You never told me what I needed to do. You guided our conver sations, asked me questions that I had avoided, let me know it was okay to be angry. You told me know that you be lieved in me.

• Envirotech Ag Systems. You ex tended to me consideration and grace that was completely unwarranted. My last fall wasn’t the first time, but you chose to support me. I look forward to coming to work, every day.

• Christine Torres. You knew me as the person who would contact you when I needed some yard work done or when my sidewalks needed shoveling. You ran a crew and would send someone over.

dy on the end table. When I was hauled away from my place it was a filthy hovel. I came back to a home. I called you and asked you what I owed you for your time and for all the things you had bought. I couldn’t see you, but I could hear your smile when you said, “You don’t owe me anything, Rick. I was happy to help.”

• Recovery and Beyond. The sup port group that has become like a family to me.

• My family and friends. This col umn is too short to write about all you have given me.

• Donna. As you know, I am seldom at a loss for words. I am now.

How do I adequately express my gratitude? At times I think there aren’t enough words, but maybe, sometimes two words from the heart are sufficient. Thank you.

• All the ER and hospital staff. Ev ery person who treated me at the various ERs were professional and caring, treat ing me with a dignity I did not deserve.

• The social worker at the HSC de tox ward. You said that while my body might be detoxed, I was far from ready to attempt to pick up the remnants of my life. You asked if I wanted to go to the Addiction Foundation of Manitoba (AFM) for their 28-day in-house pro

Sometimes you would be there yourself. The few times you saw me I was prob ably drunk and looked like a bum. Yet you took it upon yourself to clean up my house, no small undertaking. You replaced the stained throw cushions, added some floor mats, replaced some missing dinnerware and cutlery, and re stocked the fridge and cupboards. As a finishing touch, you put a bowl of can

u A green corridor for downtown Winnipeg

was hosted courtesy of city planner Hazel Borys and her husband, Art Gallery CEO, Steven Borys.

One of the issues the group has wres tled with is, why Graham? The short answer would be that this section of the street has the most need. And it is imme diate. The City has long term plans to ad dress this, but the feeling is that it cannot wait. This is an area that is presented very soon to visitors who occupy the local ho tels in that district. They all want to visit the Forks, but how do you find it? There are no directional signs and no “pathway” to help them on their way. And how can you send them down bleak, dirty streets to visit an iconic tourism site?

More, there are considerable homeless populations in the area and the group believes strongly that providing a clean, green environment will lead to respect for the surroundings, especially since the Church can help to identify the leaders and enlist their assistance. It has long been my belief that respect garners respect in most cases.

This part of Graham is a bleak place. It is home to several corporate or institu tional buildings.

While the Winnipeg Library at the southwest corner of Donald and Graham is amenable to making improvements to the streetscaping around their building, it is a different story on the southeast corner of Donald and Graham. This is the new Winnipeg Police Headquarters, a cold, dismal looking pace that nevertheless has street offsets where raised garden space could be easily accommodated both along Donald and on Graham. On the positive side, there are six trees along the Graham Street front.

Th northwest corner is another matter. There are two rather bleak looking park ing lots that extend for two blocks, all the way to Fort Street. There are a handful of recently planted trees along the street on the Smith to Garry Lot and even three or four with in the lot itself. Some attempt has been made to add some shrubs as greenery around the Smith to Fort Street lot, but the lot is, nevertheless, quite bar

ren. To the City’s credit, there are a couple of benches set along the concrete fence that divides the lot from the street, but they are unshaded.

On the south side, there are more in stitutional buildings. The Cargill building occupies the Smith to Garry Block and again, there are street offsets here that could accommodate raised beds or other amenities. Someone has added some con crete planters. There are two trees on this side of the street.

On the south side of Garry at Fort to Main a modern glass building occupies the first half of the block. It is connected to the underground shopping mall by an overhead walkway. CDI College occupies the rest of the block.

Construction is nearly complete at the north side of the block at 300 Main Street.

To mitigate this between now and the time the City comes up with its project 10 to 15 years from now, we plan to try to enlist the co-operation of the two or three big property owners asking them to make aesthetic green improvements to their

A friend once gave me a Thanksgiving Day challenge. Make a list of 25 things for which you are grateful. Be specific and write down why.

Do I have to stop at 25? What’s on your list?

I can be reached at hangar14@telus.net

Rick Duerksen is a recovering alcoholic. If you feel that you are about to fall off a cliff, perhaps Rick’s experience will give you hope.

exteriors. In Ottawa, building managers routinely pit out well cared-for, beauti fully designed street plantings in spring, not relying on the city to dump an ugly concrete box in front of their doors.

We can do this here, and more. Property owns can take a lesson from the new Rich ardson Innovation Centre at 77 Westbook a few blocks away. They can look closer to home at the completely renovated For tune Block just one block south on Main to see how Ryan Pollard has beautifully restored a couple of derelict buildings, opened a trendy restaurant at street level and how he plans green space in between this restoration and the next where he will be creating a modern boutique hotel in side a century old façade.

Stay tuned. We can do this, Winnipeg. Whoever takes the chair at City Hall can be sure of one thing: we will be knocking on his door to accelerate the construction of simple green fixes such as raised beds and more trees, not to mention, work ing harder to deal with those two surface parking lots.

Michael Gibbens

u Kevin Klein’s vision for Winnipeg

ambulance, or in our own automobiles travelling smooth street with no potholes, and ensuring that you have clean water, reliable waste disposal, fire protection and a fair, sensible, and helpful regula tory system for builders and home renovation alike. We need good development investment as well as good housing, including infill housing for those with smaller budgets.

Just as fundamental, however, is a city that nurtures a green environment, looks after its trees, cleans it streets, has shady places for visitors and residents to stop and watch the passing parade downtown – a city where downtown is a happy, friendly place that offers an excit

ing destination for shopping and going to dinner and attending a concert or a play. I pledge to add a thou sand more acres of green space to enhance our green reputation.

There are lovely green spes in town but only in pock ets. The exchange, The Forks, the arts district, Osborne Village, the Corydon Avenue restaurants, old St. Boni face. We need to link them together with green corri dors and safe, walkable spaces.

I know that there is a movement that believes that all cities should concentrate on high density develop ment downtown and it is true that many people like that environment, but there are also many others from

more rural areas and with small children who like the freedom of the suburbs. We cannot forget what needs to happen to make their neighbourhood easy to access with reliable transit and well-maintained community amenities.

My goal is to create a Winnipeg that will once again, be one of the most beautiful and desirable cities in which to live and invest in this country. Working collabora tively with our councillors, with the province, with our own civic public service and all of you, this is do-able.

Please vote for me and let our team get to work for you.

For policy details, please go to Kevinklein.ca.

Photo of the month

Everyone

needs eye-candy to have a happy and balanced life. Photographer Will Chopyk has offered this treat to soothe the soul and provide balm for the mind. This month’s offering is called Orange Crush.

Here is his letter. He sent me three excellent photos of dif ferent styles and subjects and I chose this one to commemo rate the season:

I picked up Lifestyles 55 (September) for the first time this week end and enjoyed it. I especially liked the Winnipeg Beach article.

The Winnipeg Beach pictures tweaked my interest, and this is the reason I am writing to you.

Would Lifestyles 55 consider running photographs from its read ers? The photographs could be submitted randomly or based on a theme determined by Lifestyles 55.

I am a 70-year-old amateur photographer and would be pleased to have you run one of my photos.

What ever you decide thanks for publishing a good read.

- Will Chopyk

Orange Crush. Photo by Will Chopyk.

the beginning.”

could be the first juris diction in the world to operate a fully electric lithi um mine and Canada’s first lithium hydroxide process ing plant. The mine is 16 km east of Snow Lake on the other side of Wekusko Lake, but the processing plant would be built at Cen trePort in Winnipeg.

Manitoba

“I get so excited when I think about the possibili ties for northern Manito ba,” said Premier Heather Stefanson about the MOU signed near the end of Sep tember between Snow Lake Resources and LG energy.

A major advantage in securing the project is the hydro line traversing the lower end of the property. This makes it possible for Snow Lake Resources (operating as Snow Lake Lithium here) to talk about provid ing a clean energy product.

Snow Lake Lithium says it is “committed to creat ing and operating a fully renewable and sustainable lithium mine that can de liver a completely traceable, carbon neutral and zero harm product to the North American electric vehicle and battery markets.” That is, a totally green project.

minerals. “This is just the beginning,” the premier says, eyeing other developments in the north. There are significant other players looking at Manitoba who will be encouraged by the LG partnership and pro cessing plant.

Heather Stefanson The Premier’s priorities

As always, her comments understate the importance of what she has enabled. She just gets it done. But, the enor mous importance of this coming together cannot be overstated, it has far-reaching potential for Northern Manitoba and the whole province.

Hydro electricity is current ly considered the cleanest energy available.

"At a time of global en ergy insecurity, Manitoba is uniquely positioned to sup ply the critical minerals and materials the world needs to pursue decarbonisation," said Premier Stefanson.

Canada is the only country in the Western Hemisphere that has all the critical minerals required for EV batteries, including lithi um. Manitoba has a large supply of those

Building the fast track

Critical to the success is the processing plant, which would be built here by LG , with a 30 year proven track record and a 30 percent share of the global battery mar ket, on the edge of Winnipeg at Centre Port. Serviced by air and rail, CentrePort is ideally situated to extract the concentrate, manufacture, and move the product to the markets of the world – whether through traditional, east-west ports or ideally, north through Hudson Bay. The province has re cently partnered with the Federal govern ment in refreshing its investment in the Arctic Gateway Rail Line. Additionally, talks are underway to extend the line to Port Nelson which follows a more stable rail bed and has access to a saltwater port which is usable nine months of the year. This project, called Neestanan, is being contemplated as a wholly owned enterprise of the First Na tions in Northern Manitoba.

"We are thrilled to see this partnership move forward between Snow Lake Lith ium and LG Energy Solution to advance

Manitoba's leadership position in the North American electric vehicle supply chain. This collaboration is a testament to the execu tion of our government's strategy to attract investment, and the new technologies that will help create a stronger, growing econ omy for Manitoba and Canada, " said the premier in a statement at the time of the signing.

LG Energy Solution, a Korean chemical company, is a manufacturer of lithium-ion batteries and battery cell packs for Electric vehicles. Given the current thirst for battery powered energy, they want to move fast. Scoping of the project is already underway be Primero to identify the technical innova tions and skills required. Primero are spe cialists in construction of Global resource projects.

For the past year, the premier has been focussing on breaking down the existing barriers to investment in Manitoba, partic ularly in the north because she can see the potential for all Manitobans including the indigenous communities up there.

“This is a $1.2 billion deal,” said the premier. “It will mean jobs and economic opportunity for all northern residents and bring new life to the area.” And it is just the beginning.

Encouraging

value added process ing in Manitoba is a win for all,” said Economic Development Min ister Cliff Cullen. “South ern Manitoba has gained so much from secondary production in the agricul tural sector with compa nies such as pork producer HyLife Foods and the massive Roquette pea-pro cessing plant near Portage La Prairie. Now we stand to gain even more from additional minerals pro cessing in Winnipeg from lithium extraction in the north.”

The minister say fast tracking is important, es pecially to the Korean investor who is accustomed to making things happen. It is critical that the prov ince remove systemic barriers as rapidly as they can.

tions for Exchange Income Corporation (EIC), the airline conglomerator started by Duncan Jessiman and Mike Pyle.

Minister Cullen said that this latest announcement is just the beginning of an accelerated journey back to the top of the heap on the mining investment list. “We want the world to know that we are ready for them. We have the skilled labour, the green energy, the raw material, and the confi dence to make it all work together.”

Economic Development Minister Cliff Cullen

“It is my job to see that investment bar riers are removed, that there are opportu nities for all northerners.” He recognizes the need for better access to training and education for the northern workforce and he is in talks right now about how to make work. “We have to be able to fill job vacancies with the mining sector,” he says. “There are 28,000 job vacancies right now begging for labour and offer ing tremendous opportunity.” He is al ready engaging with leaders in education to make sure we can meet the demand.

“As minister of Economic Develop ment, it is my job to say to investors, Manitoba is open for business, and we are here to support you. We then need to walk the talk and make sure that the system moves quickly and responsively.”

Working with Premier Stefanson is a refreshing atmosphere to work in, he says, noting that she sees the big picture and the benefits of moving decisively and quickly. Soon after taking office, she cre ated an Economic Development Board of Cabinet, involving “whole govern ment” responsibilities, of which she is chair and Minister Cullen is deputy chair. To handle operations, and to make sure that the expertise and research is there to back up decisions, the Premier then ap pointed a secretariat headed by Michael Swistun, formerly (among a long history in business), the Director of Acquisi

He added, “Manitoba is braced for a world reces sion, but we believe we can weather the storm because of our diversified economy and a ready labour force. And we are not alone in believing in our province. Phil Gross the president of Snow Lake Resources who lives in New York, re cently joined me for a meeting with the Koreans in my office. I didn’t have to say much. Phil was selling Manitoba for us!”

The role of the Economic Development Board

Membership includes the departments of economic development, investment and trade; finance; advanced educa tion, skills and immigration; Indigenous reconciliation and northern relations; transportation and infrastructure; natu ral resources and northern develop ment; and agriculture.

The board will set priorities, reduce barriers to investment and ensure swift action on: • increasing private-sector investment and expanding capital avail ability; • modernizing government poli cies, regulations, programs and servic es to spur economic growth and speed up investment; • co-ordinating gov ernment operations to make business investment and growth in Manitoba easier and faster; • improving opportu nities for entrepreneurship, innovation and commercialization; • expanding lo cal and global market opportunities for

Manitoba companies through strategic and targeted trade initiatives; • devel oping market intelligence and analyti cal capabilities within government; and • leveraging government spending to support economic development as ap propriate and required.

The secretariat and its leadership will focus its activities on: • ensuring ac tion on board decisions, • managing specific business development op portunities, • recommending policy to incent greater private investment and promote expanded trade, • liaising with the Manitoba business community as stakeholders, • co-ordinating crossdepartmental economic development activities to reduce delays in invest ment decisions, • providing research and data analysis support, and • es tablishing quantitative benchmarks and tracking outcomes.

Celebrating Seniors Month!

Scott Johnston

MLA for Assiniboia assiniboiamla@outlook.com

204.615.6044

MLA for Tuxedo tuxconst@mymts.net 204.487.0013

Heather Stefanson

Dorothy Dobbie

The delights of the south brought to your home

Leftovers

are always a great way to create other dishes. Turkey is a very versatile foul; many dish es come to life with it.

Aside from the tradition al roasting, deep frying is a real winner, but what to do with the leftovers?

So many ideas always flash through my mind, from a cold salad, to fry ing some up with barbe cue sauce, or even a good fricassee. This time, though, I thought about how the folks south of here might throw it all together. These folks love their biscuits, so why not try something new?

4 celery stalks

2 medium carrots

1/2 cup frozen peas

4 garlic cloves

3 cups cooked chopped turkey

1/4 cup all purpose flour

2 cans chicken soup

1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

1 freshly squeezed lemon

2 teaspoons fresh parsley

1/2 teaspoon fresh oregano

The all important how to:

For the pie:

Ian Leatt Foodies

There is a little time involved in prep ping this dish, that aside, once all the flavours are collected together, it makes for a great round up of food. No left overs here – just good old fashioned home cooked goodness.

Here is what you will need:

For the Filling

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 white onion

1 cup 33% whipping cream

Salt and pepper, to taste

Savoury Drop Biscuits

1 cup all purpose flour

1 cup self-raising flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1/2 cup grated frozen unsalted butter

1 teaspoon dried thyme

2 teaspoons fresh flat leaf parsley

1 cup butter milk

1/2 cup cheddar cheese

Peel and chop the carrots, place in a small pot of water and bring to a boil. Leave to simmer for five minutes then remove from the heat, draining the excess water.

Melt the butter in a large, enamelled cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Chop the onion and celery and cook on a medium heat until the vegetables are tender. Add in the garlic and cook for a further minute un til its nice and fragrant then add the carrots combining all ingredients together.

Place the chopped turkey in a bowl and squeeze over the lemon juice turning as you do to ensure all parts of turkey have some essence. Add the turkey to the dish and stir together.

Sprinkle the flour over the top of the tur key and vegetables and stir until everything

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

Somewhere it was written that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, the same can be said for any renovations you carry out on your home. After all it has to be beautiful you have to live with it, right?

Picking a room to decorate can be a tricky one. There are so many things to take into consideration. I was recently at a friend’s home, they were discussing colour collabora tions with tiles, paint, and style for their soon-to-berenovated bathroom. Using them as an example, lets take the bathroom:

The first thing you need to remember is the time it will take if you are going all out to redecorate the

bathroom! The average length of time for a bathroom renovation is two weeks. That’s right, two weeks! That includes taking the room back fully to the stud wall.

Start with a plan. Draw the room on squaremarked paper to help put things into perspective. Creates scale size models of all the moving pieces.

Then arrange the layout, bath/shower, or separate bath and walk in shower, toilet, vanity unit. Storage is always important. This gives you an idea of what you will be able to achieve.

The toilet should remain in the same position, but if you chose to move it get a plumber. There

are many issues that can arise if moving the toilet.

Shop around for products, (Toilet, tub, shower, vanity) getting a good idea as to what you may expect to spend, then budget accordingly.

Having chosen your essential furnishings, next come the tiles. There is so much to chose from. Think about it, floor tiles, be hind the shower tiles, wall tiles, back splash tiles – the list and choice is endless. A good idea is the create a design board of colour wants and likes.

Finally paint, choose a water-resistant paint but again think about what you are creating. Not all walls need be the same colour. Think about a splash of colour, it makes all the difference.

Here is what you might expect as a bud get to give you an idea of what costs may look like.

is evenly coated, then add the chicken soup to the pan. Once each can of soup is emp tied, refill with boiled water, stir the can to use the excess left inside then add this to the skillet. Add the peas, carrots and nut meg, stir constantly for two to three more minutes until the mixture starts to thicken.

Season with the thyme, parsley, oregano, salt, and pepper, to taste. Stir in the whip ping cream and cook for another two to three minutes until nice and thick. Remove from heat.

For the biscuits:

Preheat the oven to 425° F. Place flour, baking powder, salt and rosemary into a mixing bowl and blend together.

Add the frozen grated butter and cold buttermilk, stir until a dough has formed.

Using a ¼ cup scoop place each on top of the filling leaving a space between them, you should get 10 biscuits.

Bake at 425° F for 10 minutes. Turn the oven down to 365° F and bake for a further 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve.

I love this meal. It is so homey. Have some fresh crusty French baguette and but ter for lapping up the cleaned plate with. Happy Thanksgiving folks.

Ian Leatt is general manager of Pegasus Publications and a trained chef.

Budgetary layout Utilities $2,500 Tiles $2,000

Paint $ 150 Windows/Doors $1,500

Labor $ 25% what if $ 600

Total $6,750

All-in-all, this is a high estimate. it could be a lot less if you shop around. The labour is free as you will be completing the project yourself. It is also always a good idea to add 25% for the what-if.

For as little as a fresh coat of paint to a full renovation, you can have that new bath room you want. Go for it.

Brent Poole is the owner operator of Handy Hands Construction, which he has run with his father Jim since 1997. A carpenter by trade, Brent enjoys all types of projects. “We’re not happy until you are happy!”

Getting connected more important than ever

It has been a difficult two years, as our lives have been drastically affected by the COVID-19 pan demic. People’s ability to be with other people has been especially impacted. Getting connected or re-connected with others is therefore more important than ever, says Connie Newman, the Executive Direc tor of the Manitoba Association of Senior Communi ties.

Having social connections, whether it’s visiting with family, doing activities with friends, or even just briefly chatting with a cashier at the grocery store is essential for everybody. With the mandated social distancing during the pandemic, in-person contact stopped or became extremely restricted, and many people became socially isolated and lonely.

A research study with about 2,000 Winnipeggers showed that, before the pandemic, nine percent of people aged 65 or older said they were lonely most days of a given week. When the same question was

asked during the pandemic, 21 percent said they were lonely most days. Mental health also suffered. Before the pandemic, 14 percent of these older Winnipeggers had depressive symptoms. During the pandemic, the number increased to 21 percent.

Research shows that social isolation and loneliness can lead not only to mental health problems, but also to physical health problems, for example, an increased

Sri Lanka summer round up

Senaka Samarasinghe

It has been a busy summer for Sena ka and friends. Here are some high lights.

Walking at Assiniboine Park

Due to summer holidays majority members of Sri Lankan Seniors Mani toba (SLSM) were away from the city. However, we were able to arrange walk ing session for the wellness of our mem bers on Aug 23, 2022, from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm. The organizing committee arranged one hour walking session fol lowed by light meal.

After lunch the organizing commit tee conducted a discussion with mem bers about the events scheduled dur ing the month of September 2022. In early September SLSM obtained a slot to provide breakfast at Siloam Mission. Food arrangements and the selection of volunteers were the main themes of the discussion. A fundraiser bake sale was scheduled be held on Sept 17 from 11:00 to 2:00 pm at Access Fort Gar ry (Room No. 166). Several members pledged to offer various food items for the bake sale.

Bake Sale, Sept. 17, 2022

At the bake sale, finger-food items, namely cutlet, roll, fish bun, sandwich, dal-wade and cake were offered. Sevver al volunteers agreed to prepare selected food items. This message was dissemi nated among our community. Fam

ily wise sent their required number of packs for each family. Accordingly, there were more than 130 packs. Selected volunteers delivered food items on the scheduled date at 10:00 am. SLSM in formed members to come and pick their packet(s) between 11:00 am to 2:00 pm. However, by 1:00 pm all members came and purchased their packs.

In addition to the above ordered food, sweets and traditional finger-food were kept for sale on a separate table. For this also volunteers took the responsibility to provide food free-of-charge allowing SLSM to make an income. This table wasempty by 1:00 pm.

SLSM take this opportunity to thank Sandra Sukhan (Immediate Past Presi dent of Pembina Active Living) and her husband Robin Sukhan for attending our Bake Sale event.

A special visit

Prof. Siri Gunasinghe is an iconic fig ure of the Golden Era of the Peradeniya University. I came to know that his wife,

risk of heart problems. Social isolation is a much a risk factor for dying prematurely as smoking or a lack of exercise.

Family plays an important role in people’s social lives, but there are many other opportunities in the community for people to connect with others. Active living centres for people aged 55 or older and senior groups provide excellent opportunities for people to interact with peers, be part of a community, and de velop close relationships, says Newman. They offer many activities, like fitness classes, card games, book clubs, art classes, and educational and learning oppor tunities.

Getting back into the community and participate in activities may be daunting for some older adults as we head into fall, says Newman. Active living centres take all the necessary precautions to keep people safe, like reducing the number of participants or sanitizing equipment.

Hemamali, sang a song for her husband’s 90th birthday on Feb. 18, 2015. You’re the Breeze that Eases Life’s Fatigue was the theme of the birthday song. Few of my Uni. Gurus (Teachers) Hiran, Erika Dias and Laki Yapa were contemporaries with this couple in Peradeniya. Suranga, my son-in-law arranged a family trip to B.C. and my granddaughter Chamathi designed the itinerary. With Chamathi managed to assign a window to visit legendary lady Hemamali in the Island of Victoria, B. C.

The historic day was July 22, 2022, at 3:00 p.m. All of us visited her. Af ter a brief discussion with us, she laid British style tea table with cups and saucers, handmade teapot cover. Over a cup of tea, she illuminated their professional services in Sri Lanka and Canada to motivate not only seniors but also two of our granddaughters how her husband offered a Professor ship in the Dept. of History in Art, the U. of Victoria and in 1970 his family

migrated to Canada. Up-to-date this couple, their two children and grand kids (three generations) used this Uni versity.

She happily narrated her and her husband’s professional services not only in Sri Lanka but also in Canada for more than seven decades.

Maname, an inspiring Sinhala dra ma, was first staged on Nov. 3, 1956, at the Lionel Wendt Hall, Colombo 7. Hemamali Gunasekera (as a teen ager) played the lead-role as Maname Princess. The romance had developed while Dr. Gunasinghe helped for Ma name drama. However, she left Ma name after she got married to him. After graduating from Peradeniya, He mamali followed a doctoral degree in Linguistics in U. of Victoria, and she dedicated in teaching English.

In 1956, when Prof. Gunasinghe introduced free verse, it became the fashion. He used spoken language in his writings, and everyone enjoyed the simplicity. He who challenged the status quo and paved the way for new directions. He was an award-winning poet, novelist, critic and film director.

Sinhala movie, Sath Samudura (Sev en Seas), is a landmark Sri Lankan film directed by Prof. Gunasinghe and re leased in 1967. This film is considered a major work in Sri Lankan cinema. In 1968, eight national (Sarasaviya) awards offered for the film and Hema mali appeared as Sophie Nona.

Walking at the park.

A special visit.

nnn Winnipeg

20 Fort Street Seniors Club 2200-20 Fort Street / 204-250-8644

A & O Support Services for Older Adults Inc. 200-207 Donald Street 204-956-6440 / Toll Free: 1-888-333-3121 info@aosupportservices.ca www.aosupportservices.ca

Archwood 55 Plus 565 Guilbault Avenue / 204-416-1067 archwood55mail@gmail.com archwood55plus.wildapricot.org

Bleak House Centre 1637 Main Street / 204-338-4723 bleakhousecentre@gmail.com www.bleakhousecentre.com

Broadway Seniors Resource Centre 823 Ellice Avenue / 204-772-3533 www.bsrc.ca

Brooklands Active Living Centre 1960 William Avenue W. / 204-632-8367 bpscc@mymts.net

Centro Caboto Centre (Italian Seniors) 1055 Wilkes Avenue W. / 204-487-4597 ext. 30 info@cabotocentre.com / www.cabotocentre.com

Charleswood Senior Centre 5006 Roblin Boulevard / 204-897-5263 info@charleswoodseniorcentre.org www.charleswoodseniorcentre.org

Creative Retirement MB 204-481-5030 info@creativeretirement.ca www.creativeretirementmanitoba.ca

Crescent Fort Rouge United Church 55+ 525 Wardlaw Avenue / 204-489-1925 www.crescentfortrouge.ca

Dakota Community Centre 1188 Dakota Street / 204-254-1010 ext. 217 melissal@dakotacc.com / www.dakotacc.com

Dufferin Senior Citizens Inc.

377 Dufferin Avenue / 204-986-2608

Elmwood East Kildonan Active Living Centre 180 Poplar Avenue / 204-669-0750 poplarseniors@live.com / www.eekactiv.com

Fort Garry Seniors Resource Council 200-270 Donald Street / 204-792-1913 fortgarry@aosupportservices.ca www.aosupportservices.ca/resources/seniorsresource-finders/

Good Neighbours Active Living Centre 720 Henderson Highway / 204-669-1710 admin@gnalc.ca / www.gnalc.ca

Gwen Secter Creative Living Centre 1588 Main Street / 204-339-1701 becky@gwensecter.com / www.gwensecter.com

Headingley Senior Services 5353 Portage Avenue / 204-889-3132 ext. 3 hdlyseniorservices@mymts.net www.headingleyseniorservices.ca

Indigenous Senior Resource Centre Inc. 527 Selkirk Avenue / 204-586-4595 executivedirector@isrcwpg.ca / www.asrcwpg.org

Manitoba Korean 55+ Centre

900-150 River Avenue / 204-996-7003 www.ksam.ca

Manitoba Association of Senior Communities

North Centennial Seniors Association of Winnipeg Inc. 86 Sinclair Street / 204-582-0066 ncsc@shaw.ca / www.ncseniors.ca

North Point Douglas Senior Centre 244 Jarvis Avenue

Pembina Active Living (55+) 170 Fleetwood Road / 204-946-0839 office@pal55plus.com / www.pal55plus.ca

Rady Jewish Community Centre 123 Doncaster Street / 204-477-7539 lmarjovsky@radyjcc.com / www.radyjcc.com

Rainbow Resource Centre 170 Scott St. / 204-474-0212 ext. 211 OTR@rainbowresourcecentre.org www.rainbowresourcecentre.org

The Salvation Army Barbara Mitchell Family Resource Centre 51 Morrow Avenue / 204-946-9153 sheila.keys@salvationarmy.ca

South Winnipeg Seniors Resource Council 117-1 Morley Avenue / 204-478-6169 resources@swsrc.ca / www.swsrc.ca

Southdale Seniors 254 Lakewood Boulevard / 204-253-4599 www.southdale.ca

Sri Lankan Seniors Manitoba 113 Stan Bailie Drive / 204-888-8253 www.srilankanseniorsmb.ca

St. James-Assiniboia 55+ Centre 3-203 Duffield Street / 204-257-8850 info@stjamescentre.com / www.stjamescentre.com

St. Mary’s Rd. Seniors 613 St. Mary’s Road / 204-257-0678 www.stmarysroad.ca

Transcona Council for Seniors 845 Regent Avenue / 204-222-9879 tcs@mymts.net / www.transconaseniors.ca

Transcona Retired Citizens Org. 328 Whittier Avenue W. / 204-222-8473 trco328@shaw.ca

Vital Seniors 3 St. Vital Road / 204-253-0555 stmary@mymts.net / www.stmarymagdelenewpg.org

Winnipeg Chinese Senior Association 204-291-7798 / wcsa.wpg@hotmail.com www.winnipegchineseseniors.ca

Beyond Winnipeg

Beausejour

Beau-head Senior Centre 645 Park Avenue / 204-268-2444 beauhead@mymts.net

Brandon Brandon Seniors for Seniors Co-op 311 Park Avenue E. / 204-571-2052 executivedir.sfors@wcgwave.ca / www.brandons4s.ca

Carman

Carman Active Living Centre 47 Ed Belfour Drive / 204-745-2356 www.activelivingcentrecarman.ca

CranBerry portage

Jubilee Recreation of Cranberry Portage Legion Hall 217 2nd Avenue / 204-472-3031

Crystal City

Crystal City & District Friendship Club Inc. 117 Broadway Street / 431-867-0122

dauphin

Dauphin Active Living Centre Inc. 55 1st Avenue SE / 204-638-6485 www.dauphinseniors.com

eriCkson

Comfort Drop In Centre 31 Main Street / 204-636-7895 areas@mymts.net

Flin Flon

Flin Flon Seniors 2 North Avenue / 204-687-7301

gilBert plains

Gilbert Plains and District Community Resource Council Inc. PO Box 567 / 204-548-4131 / gpdcrc@mymts.net www.gpdcrc-newhorizons.wix.com/gpdcrc

gimli

Gimli New Horizons 55 Plus 17 North Colonization Road / 204-642-7909 gimli55@mts.net / www.gimlinewhorizons.com

grand marais

Grand Marais & District Seniors 36058 PTH 12 gmdseniors@gmail.com

grandview

Grandview Seniors Drop In 432 Main Street / 204-546-2272

hamiota

Hamiota 55+ Centre & Restore Community Co-op Inc. 44 Maple Avenue / 204-764-2658

killarney

Killarney Service for Seniors 203 South Railway / 204-523-7115 wanderson@killarney.ca

manitou

Pembina Community Resource Council 315 Main Street / 204-242-2241 pembinacrc@gmail.com

minnedosa

Minnedosa Senior Citizens Assoc. 31 Main Street S. / 204-867-1956 mdsasca@gmail.com

morden

Morden Activity Centre 306 N. Railway Street / 204-822-3555 mordenactivitycentre@gmail.com www.mordenseniors.ca

neepawa

Neepawa Drop In Centre

310 Davidson Street / 204-476-5103 www.neepawa.ca/district-drop-in-center

pilot mound

Pilot Mound Fellowship Club 203 Broadway Avenue / 204-825-2436

plumas

Plumas Senior Citizens Club Inc. 102 White Street / 204-386-2029

portage la prairie

Herman Prior Senior Services Centre 40 Royal Road N. / 204-857-6951 hermanpriorcentre@gmail.com www.hermanprior.com

Portage Service for Seniors 40A Royal Road N. / 204-239-6312 https://portageservicefors.wixsite.com/psfs

riverton

Riverton Seniors Activity Centre

12 Main Street / 204-378-2800 rdfc@mymts.net / www.rivertonfc.com

sandy lake

Municipality of Harrison Park - Age Friendly Initiative Committee 204-585-5310

Sandy Lake Drop In Centre 100 Main Street / 204-585-2411

selkirk

Gordon Howard Centre 384 Eveline Street / 204-785-2092 executivedirector@gordonhoward.ca www.gordonhoward.ca

snow lake

Snow Lake Seniors Centre

71 Balsam Street / 204-358-2151 snowsrs@mymts.net

steinBaCh

Pat Porter Active Living Centre 10 Chrysler Gate / 204-320-4600 ed@patporteralc.com / www.patporteralc.com

stonewall

South Interlake 55 Plus 374 1st Street W. - Oddfellows Hall 204-467-2582 / si55plus@mymts.net www.si55plus.org

swan river

Swan River & District Community Resource Council 126 6th Avenue N. / 204-734-5707 resourcecouncil@srseniorservices.com

the pas

The Pas Golden Agers 324 Ross Avenue / 204-623-3663 djdlake@mymts.net

thompson

Thompson Seniors Community Resource Council Inc. 4 Nelson Road / 204-677-0987 thompsonseniors55@gmail.com

treherne

Treherne Friendship Centre 190 Broadway Street / 204-723-2559 jstate1066@gmail.com

viCtoria BeaCh

East Beaches Social Scene 3 Ateah Road / 204-756-6468 ebssinc1@gmail.com / www.ebseniorscene.ca

East Beaches Resource Centre Traverse Bay / 204-756-6471 ebresourcec@mymts.net www.ebresourcec.weebly.com

winkler

Winkler & District Multipurpose Senior Centre 102-650 South Railway Avenue / 204-325-8964 office@winklerseniorcentre.com www.winklerseniorcentre.com nnn

www.manitobaseniorcommunities.ca info@manitobaseniorcommunities.ca

October is Seniors & Elders month

“The experience of reaching old age can be better or worse depending on the culture in which it takes place.”

~Ashton Applewhite

older people are recognized, valued, celebrated, and cherished all year long.

October

is Seniors & Elders month; this is the month we celebrate the older people in our lives and the invaluable contri butions that they make to the com munity. On Sunday, September 11, we celebrated Grandparent’s Day at Assiniboine Park by hosting the first ever Grandparents’ Day: Connect ing the Generations and Celebrating Diversity event. Both Grandparent’s Day and Seniors and Elders month are important reminders to celebrate and honour the older people in our lives. Through the agency’s work and in collaboration with our partner organizations we are striving to ensure that

A & O: Support Services for Older Adults

A & O in partnership with multiple community partners have diligently been working on creating awareness around the issue of ageism. In our youth obsessed culture, many people don’t realize when they are being age ist as it is often normalized and accept ed. What is AGEISM anyway? The World Health Organization defines ageism as the stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination towards people on the basis of age. Ageism stems from the perception that a person might be too old or too young to be or to do something.

Differential treatment is a form of discrimination under the Human Rights Code. This is how we act towards older people. When an individual is treated

differently based on generalizations about a group to which they belong or are thought to belong, rath er than on their individual merit.

There are two levels of ageism: Individual/Inter personal and Institutional/Cultural. We need to start by looking at ourselves and our perceptions of ag ing. It is only when we recognize our own ageist at titudes and tendencies that we can start to influence behaviour change and larger institutional, cultural change.

Institutional and cultural change are critical in supporting people in ageing well. We should be cel ebrating that we are living longer, creating policy, and directing the required resources to support peo ple to age in their communities for as long as they are able. Investing in population aging is the right thing to do as we all have aging in common.

For more information, please visit our website at ao supportservices.ca or contact us at: Phone: 204-9566440 OR Toll-free: 1-888-333-3121

We have so much to be thankful for – Happy Thanksgiving!

October is the month that we give thanks: thanks for living in this country called Canada, this province called Manitoba, where finally the long journey to reconcili ation is beginning to take place, and this city called Winnipeg. The names all harken back to this land of my origin. HAP PY THANKSGIVING.

Being a first genera tion Canadian has made my life unique as it has for many children of im migrants. In the past, children were raised in the traditions and evolv ing lifestyles of their often large extended families. Long lasting traditions and family events representative of family but also of the country and community, they lived over centuries where these events were passed down from one generation to another. My parents, who met on the boat com ing to Canada in 1927, had common beliefs in the Monarchy and religion but differing family traditions as my father was English and my mother Irish.

same dreams and hopes now, not only for themselves, but for their children found ways through their creative skills and endeavors, to share their expressions of joy, sadness, pain and caring by sharing their music, crafts, games and food delights belonging to their family origins.

cern and reassuring care”. Her voice messages always ended with hope for the future, all qualities we can strive to emulate. I will end with a message

on a treasured fridge magnet: For the ignorant, old age is as winter, For the learned, it is the harvest.

Again, Happy Thanksgiving!

Peggy Prendergast Exploring Lifestyle 55 Possibilities

I was brought up in a Victorian-like culture with a strong connec tion to the monarchy. My father, trained in the British army as a musi cian, had to join the Ca nadian army as a PPCLI band member when the depression hit, to earn enough money to feed their growing family and my mother, who had some childcare training like Mary Poppins, was well versed in caring for the needs of the children of that family.

They came with dreams and hopes based on perceptions of a better life from what they had heard. They want ed to improve their lot in life. They be came a unique family nucleus having to forge their own traditions from dif ferent memories of family life within a city and a country developing their own unique traditions and celebra tions from amongst many newcomers like themselves. After they married, their roles as parents were very clear to them but were based on the only lifestyle they actually knew, that from the past as they remembered it. My father would earn the money for the family and my mother would feed, clothe and manage the household money available for that task.

So, what is the big deal you may ask? Isn’t that the same for everyone? The individuals who made up our city were often similar in that they too were nuclear family structures, but everyone’s traditions and belief systems had different home country family and cultural traditions. Which ones were to be chosen? The com munities that evolved had to meld those differing traditions and fam ily belief systems and build a lifestyle that worked for the times. The leaders that emerged were from many differ ent traditions with differing connec tions to their past family lifestyles. When the depression hit, and em ployment was scarce and poverty was so prevalent, the people with those

Thanksgiving comes in our lives at a time when the land’s produce be comes available. We share it with one another and give thanks to whatever spirit we believe works within us, to sustain and improve our lives and those less fortunate than ourselves. Many younger people in our world think older adults have lives that are now finished and not of value to the working world or the communities in which they live.

To me these ‘elders’ hold the key to how to make communities grow and prosper. They have learned by trial and error how to relate to different cultures and ways of living and how to decide together how to use the best of all the cultures that present themselves for the greater good.

We have just witnessed the life of a woman who reigned, unwavering, for the past 70 years, with the support of her husband, over a Commonwealth of many diverse cultures. They influ enced the world as a family role model as well as with working examples of commitment to peoples as they saw their role to be from a thousand year traditional past. She and her husband actively supported and influenced many changes that have come about in our world by building respectful rela tionships with world leaders and hold ing remembrances, creative symbols of countries and cultures as treasures within the archives of the monarchy for the enlightenment of present and future generations. The outpouring of the reverent emotion shown to her during the ten days of public mourn ing was evidence of the thankfulness of her peoples. During her eulogy it was noted that Elizabeth, our Queen, ex hibited the qualities of “courage, con

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RWB brings back one of Canada’s most celebrated literary achievements to stage

The Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s (RWB) 83rd season of mainstage productions begins in the world of Gilead. The Handmaid’s Tale, based on the critically acclaimed novel by Ca nadian literary giant Margaret Atwood, returns to the Centennial Concert Hall from October 12-16, 2022.

Choreographer Lila York’s dance-dra ma portrays a dystopian future where the audience shadows the restricted, yet resilient, Offred as she navigates a world where women’s rights have been stripped away in this powerful interpre tation of Atwood’s gripping novel.

“Creating a ballet based on Margaret Atwood’s prescient novel, The Hand maid’s Tale, has been a longstanding and passionate wish for me,” stated York. “In the years since the novel’s de but more than 35 years ago, it has only grown in relevance and importance. Once seen as ‘controversial’, the story, its premise, and its characters, are now fully part of our culture and our lexicon. It has been a privilege for me to work with the RWB and their brilliant and dedicated dancers on this project. I am deeply indebted to Ms. Atwood for her support and her wisdom.”

Atwood’s dystopian bestselling classic was published in 1985 and returned to the bestseller list in wake of the 2016

American Presidential election. Trans lated into over 40 languages, Atwood’s Governor General Award-winning novel has been adapted to film, opera, a novel-to-radio series, an award-winning audiobook, graphic novel, television se ries, and York’s ballet, commissioned by RWB Artistic Director & CEO André Lewis in 2013.

“Through dialogue with Margaret Atwood, York spent nearly a decade reimagining the dystopian world of Gile ad to enthrall our audience,” says RWB Artistic Director & CEO André Lewis.

“The Handmaid’s Tale rings truer than ever in today’s political climate. York’s powerful reconceptualizing of this stir ring tale, when brought to life by the

Daughter, Angela Kelman

In the 1990s, country music entered the music video age and in Canada there was no artist with a higher profile on the country video scene than Vancou ver’s Farmer’s Daughter, a trio of talented and beautiful singers. The female group racked up a half dozen hits, earned several gold albums, and toured the country to sold out crowds. Along the way they picked up a Juno Award for Group of The Year in 1997 along with a half dozen BC CMA (British Columbia Country Music Associa tion) awards.

The group consisted of Saskatchewan’s Jake Leiske, Albertaraised Shauna Rae Samograd, and Bran don, Manitoba-born Angela Kelman. Angela was singing by the time she began school. “I knew by age five that this was what I wanted to do.” A gradu ate of Gerry Perkin’s CP Express high school rock band program at Crocus Plains High School, Angela spent sever al years singing in Winnipeg nightclubs and lounges including Rae & Jerry’s, the Rorie Street Marble Club and the Oval Room at the Hotel Fort Garry with pia nist Tom Dahl.

In 1986, Angela joined The Argyles, a Winnipeg-based Manhattan Trans fer-style vocal quartet and spent three weeks performing at Expo ‘86 in Van couver before embarking on an Asian tour with engagements in Malaysia, Kowloon, and an American naval base in the Philippines. In 1989 she enrolled

in the Vocal Institute of Technology at the Musician’s Institute in Hollywood, California. “I felt like I needed to learn more. I refined my voice and learned to project.”

While in Los Angeles, Angela moonlighted with a dance band playing the Marriott Hotel chain. Homesick for Canada, she relocated to Vancou ver in 1991 taking a gig in the lounge at the Big Bamboo club.

“Some friends of mine knew of these girls who were starting a coun try trio. I wasn’t singing country music, but Jake Leiske heard a demo I had done in LA — pop and hip-hop stuff — and thought, ‘She’s good but she’s not country.’ When they approached me, I listened and thought, ‘This is good.’” Jake and Shauna drafted Angela to fill in for a weeklong engage ment at the PNE in the summer of 1993 before inviting her to join permanently.

“At that point I had set goals for myself that hadn’t happened yet. So, the timing was right. A year later we all quit our day jobs and went on the road.”

Girls Will be Girls catapulted Farmer’s Daughter into the spotlight with seven hit singles. Angela’s jazz and pop sen sibilities along with her harmony train ing helped to craft a unique vocal blend, leaning as much on pop as country. The three attractive women were also perfect for music videos. Makin’ Hay became their breakthrough album, going gold and yielding their biggest hits Corn fields or Cadillacs and Lonely Gypsy

Wind. “We were huge by the late ’90s but we were away from home so much. In one year, we were out on the road for 270 days.”

A highlight came in 1997 when the group toured Canadian forces bases in Bosnia. “They were so appreciative of us entertaining them because we were bringing a piece of home to them.” They also performed for troops in Egypt and the Golan Heights, as well as wartorn Eritrea in Ethiopia. That same year Farmer’s Daughter won Juno and CCMA awards for Country Group or Duo of the Year.

A third hit album, This is the Life, in cluded a cover of the BTO rocker Let

athleticism of our Company artists, is sure to spark conversation and leave a lasting impression.”

To transport audiences, York assem bled a team of top international talent in lighting, design and costuming. In novative set designer Clifton Taylor, who has worked with the world’s lead ing dance and opera companies, was assisted by Anshuman Bhatia to bring the world so vividly envisioned by At wood to the stage. Designer Liz Vandal, lauded for her cutting-edge fashion de sign and costuming for Cirque du Soleil and Marie Chouinard, created original costuming to fit the narrative’s dark ro manticism.

Set to a pastiche score of renowned composers, including James MacMillan, Arvo Pärt, Alfred Schnittke among oth ers, the thought-provoking ballet will provide a rich array of new characters to showcase the energy and theatricality of the RWB Company artists.

The Royal Winnipeg Ballet gratefully acknowledges the support of its Pre senting Sponsor – BMO and Student Performances Supporter – Richardson Foundation, as well as the generous support of patrons, sponsors, and do nors.

Check out rwb.org for ticket information and purchase or call 204.956,2792.

it Ride with Randy Bachman guesting on the track. American success beck oned. “It felt like we were on the edge of something big, but we were too eclectic for American country music. What real ly blew us out of the water, though, was the Dixie Chicks. This concept that we had going was being done by someone else.” A Best of album followed but the momentum was lost. Angela looks on it now as a blessing. “As disappointing as it was, it’s also a relief because life would have changed dramatically for me.”

Angela hasn’t missed a beat, continu ing to perform with a couple of Vancou ver-based big bands including the Poly ester Philharmonic, a ten-piece retro ’70s band, recording children’s albums, and operating a busy vocal school out of her home in Vancouver. Angela’s love of Latin music led to recording two solo albums, Café Brasilia and Casa Do Sam ba. “Country pop is not my favourite style of music,” Angela surmises, “yet I’ve had my biggest success with it.”

John Einarson is author of Heart of Gold: A History of Winnipeg Music.

Elizabeth Lamont, The Handmaid’s Tale, based on the novel by Margaret Atwood. Photo by David Cooper.

Angela Kelman 2015

John Einarson Local Music Spotlight

u Memories of the Queen

in the motorcade, what street they were on, what house they were in front of, was the Queen on their side of the car or was it Prince Philip? Did she see them? Did she wave? On and on it went. That seemed to be the norm. These memories reflected how deeply loved and admired she was and that even seeing her in person passing by in a car had an impact on them. Keep in mind this was over half a century after it happened!

In 2002 it was the famous (or infamous) boat inci dent that saw Her Majesty and Prince Philip floating adrift in a water taxi in the middle of the Red River. The water taxi story is one I have told many times –however; I will simply say once and for all – it was never my idea to have her in a water taxi!!

On that visit, Karen Bryk, the Deputy Chief of Pro tocol, RCMP member Ron Lowe, and I were hon oured with a medal from the Queen. I received the LVO (Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order), Kar en received the MVO (Member of the Royal Victorian Order) and Ron Lowe (who sadly passed away earlier this year) received the RVO (Royal Victorian Order).

In 2010, it was the weather. It was raining when Her Majesty touched down at our new (as yet un opened) airport, and then it abruptly stopped. After several stops, which included Government House, the Canadian Museum for Human Rights and The Forks, it started to rain again the moment the Queen’s car door at The Forks was closed, and we were off to the 17 Wing Air Base to say our farewells.

It rained all the way to the base, and once again, it stopped as she arrived. After the farewells, she boarded

the aircraft, and as the plane started to taxi down the runway, it began to rain, and this time it was a down pour.

On that visit and in Government House, I was giv en another honour from the Queen, the CVO, Com mander of the Royal Victorian Order. Once the medal was firmly in my grasp – I said to the Queen, “Your Majesty, thank you for not mentioning the boat”. That sparked a good laugh with both the Queen and Prince Philip.

Also, in 2002 Premier Greg Selinger invited me to accompany him to Toronto, where Prime Minister Harper was having a state dinner in honour of Her Majesty’s visit. The dinner was, appropriately, in the Royal York Hotel. Unexpectedly, the power went out just before all the guests were waiting to meet The Queen and Prince Philip! Murphy’s Law was alive and well.

Food preparation stopped. The air conditioning shut down. The Queen could not take the elevator down to the reception and dinner as she was literally stuck in her room on one of the hotel’s top floors wait ing for the power to come back on. After what seemed like an eternity, the power came back on.

It was at that event where, after being introduced to the Queen, she firmly grasped my hand, leaned to wards me and quietly said, “Thank you for coming. I see you survived,” at which point she and Prince Philip started to laugh.

That was the last time I had had a chance to meet her. That moment, like all of them, is a memory I will

carry with me and cherish for the rest of my life.

Since her passing, many media commentators and reports have described her as the most famous person in the world. I’m sure it is probably true.

Throughout her life billions have seen her on tele vision or heard her on the radio. Millions of others worldwide have seen her in person at various special events, celebrations, Royal Balcony appearances and motorcades. The number of people who have actually met her is in the thousands.

I consider myself very fortunate to have been one of those who had the opportunity to meet Her Majesty and work on her last three visits to this province – in 1984, 2002 and 2010. The meetings all happened in my capacity as a provincial civil servant with the Gov ernment of Manitoba, first as the Radio and Television Coordinator with the Information Services Branch and then as Chief of Protocol for the last two visits. She was one of a kind, the likes of which we will not see again.

I should also mention that I’ve also had the good fortune to meet King Charles III. All while he was still a Prince. I believe he will pleasantly surprise and im press us all as he starts his new life as our Monarch and Head of State.

God save the King!

Dwight Macauley was the chief of protocol for the prov ince of Manitoba. He also arranged for the delivery of 20 tones of steel from the downed Twin Towers to the Inter national Peace Garden where nor it commemorates that awful event.

Canoeing the Coppermine River at 78

Edward Burgener

Myniece, who is in her forties, asked her dad and me to support her desire to see the Ca nadian Arctic barren lands. Her proposal was for 18 days on Coppermine River, ending near Kug luktuk on the Arctic coast.

My brother is going on 76 and I am 78. I said yes immediately. Both of us had paddled many rivers to the Arctic, but that was 25 years ago. Was I up to it now? How about my equipment? I hadn’t used my tent for years. I needed footwear, bear spray, food, sleeping bag, rain jacket, mosquito repellent, sunscreen, lip pro tection, sunglasses, hat, and life jacket.

Yes, we were up to the challenge.

The water level was unusually low meaning the river was more dangerous than the last time. Our canoes were running aground on the shallow edges of the riv er, and we were forced to take the main channel, which was full of rapids with massive boulders. Interspersed with the challenging river runs, though, were lakes, of fering us great fishing. Trout sushi was on the menu, as well as grayling, char and even pike.

One night we were visited by about 15 musk ox. They surrounded my niece’s tent. She heard snuffling on the side of her tent but did not have a window to see what it was. She, of course, was thinking it was a grizzly. She clutched her bear spray and hoped for the

best. Next morning, she saw the hoof prints and was greatly relieved.

Moose were plentiful, cows with calves, but no wolf or grizzly sightings. The moose were feeding on grass es in the river, but they depend on the hundreds of acres of willows growing along the shores. The wil lows varied from four feet tall to seven feet tall. The new shoots looked like the asparagus one buys in the grocery store. They were three times as long and more succulent looking.

The final challenge of the river is the portage around

Bloody Falls. The name comes from a Chipewyan on Inuit massacre in 1771. The portage was three kilometres, but with back-and-forth trips to get our equipment across, we totaled 15 kilometers, nine of which involved carrying a 50-pound pack or a canoe. A 200-foot mountain had to be scaled, then down a 100- foot, boulder-strewn ravine, up again, then down to the base of the falls. It took six hours. We then pad dled 15 kilometres to Kugluktuk and set up camp in a community camp site. I thought that if my heart was going to give out, it would be that day, but other than exhausted, I was fine. I concluded that my brother and I are good for more adventures, but perhaps a little less challenging.

One unexpected highlight of the trip was finding that the Inuit peoples in Kugluktuk were very friend ly and hospitable. While setting up our tents, it was very hot, and we did not have water. We did not know where to get it. A young couple on a quad stopped by and offered to get us a barrel of water and to wash our dirty clothes. They offered to do it free, which we of course would not accept. Later a variety of artists of fered their carvings and other art for sale.

The most amazing event was a lady who arrived in the middle of an evening rainstorm and offered her fresh home baking. It smelled wonderful. At the time we were chilled and a bit wet, and the taste of warm bread cheered us all up. She had to walk a kilometer in the rain to do that. We were impressed and grateful.

Get into geocaching and end retirement boredom

Over the past few years my wife and I had been looking for something to do with some of our spare time. Retire ment was allowing us to do whatever we wanted to do, and it was great, but as always when something is great, there is also often something missing. We had looked at some pos sibilities, but money was usually involved which made us hesitate.

We had heard about Geocaching but never real ly explored it as something for us. I guess that we nev er really understood what all the hoopla was about.

Gary Brown Geocaching

Once we really discovered the ins and outs of this sport, it wasn’t long before we were hooked.

The best way to describe geocaching is “Using billion-dollar satellites to find

Tupperware in the forest”. You can buy a GPS receiver or you can download the APP from the Play Store or Apple on your smart phone and go from there. It sounds complicated, but it really is not. Try going to geo caching.com and create an account. It’s free for a general membership and this allows you to find the easier geocaches. If, at a later date, you wish to upgrade to a premium membership, it will cost a whopping $29 a year. The premium member ship allows you to find all the geocaches as well as the events (which we will cover later).

Once you have an account you should be able to search for geocaches. Open the website or app and click on “go to map”. Try looking in the parking lot

between Cabela’s and Ikea on the map. There are a number of easier geocaches there that you can download and search for. Most geocaches are actually hid den and, with some of these, the smart phone or GPS receiver will lead you to a lamp post. On the bottom of the post is a plastic or light metal skirt that hides the bolts that connect the post to the cement stand it is on. Lift this skirt and there should be a pill bottle or other container there. Open it and sign the log. Then mark it as found on the web site. (While searching for the geocache you should try to be discrete as there are a lot of people that are not aware of what you are doing, and their suspicions may be aroused.)

There are an endless number of geo cache styles. They range from easy to almost impossible. Some are called mystery or puzzle geocaches. Many of these also are easy and but they range up to the almost impossible stage. To see some examples of different geocaches

go to www.pinterest.com/katgirl9786/ best-geocaches-ever/.

The only limit on the style of the geocache is someone’s imagination, al though there are rules that apply in re gard to safety and private property. Not all of them are as complex as the ones on that website though, with many of them being simple. Next time you see a bird house keep in mind that it could be a geocache.

Events are where Geocachers can get together and exchange stories or infor mation on hard to find geocaches. Quite often they have a theme such as one se ries that all took place at different ice cream places.

All in all, Geocaching is a fun way to get out for some exercise and occu py time that otherwise may have been wasted. I hope to run into some of you on the geocache trail.

Gary Brown is the vice president of the Manitoba Geocaching Association (MBGA)

Preserving prairie grasslands

Whentalking about climate change, most at tention is paid to the consequences it will have on people, the qual ity of life and economy. Sudden climate changes can have a negative effect on both plant and animal species, and the main challenge is how to save those that are vulnerable.

Plant species are dying, and in the next two to three decades, some predict that 50 to 60 percent of the species will go extinct. In such rapid changes, plants won’t be able to adapt.

About 7,000 years ago, the most dom inant plant community of the Red River Valley was tall grass prairie. They trans formed glacial Lake Agassiz sediments into rich, black soil that supported a vast ecosystem of plants and animals. The Canadian prairies are made up of three broadly distributed grassland types: tall grass prairie, mixed grass prairie and short grass prairie. The grasses are the foundation of the prairie ecosystem and adapted to survive extreme cold, heat, drought, fire and flood. The Prairies Ecozone in Manitoba contains tall-grass and mixed-grass prairie habitat, and both prairies have many plant species in common as well as several rare and endangered plants and wildlife.

In the past, tall grass prairie extended from south ern Manitoba to Texas. Today, less than one percent of that ecosystem remains, and it is considered one of the most endangered habitats in Canada. This natural en vironment is characterized by fertile, organic soil with more than 50 cm of precipitation per year providing ideal growing conditions for growth of native grasses such as big bluestem and Indian grass which can reach

more than two meters in height. Mixed-grass prairie lies to the west of the tall-grass prairie where there is less precipitation, and the soils are sandy or well-drained. Common plant species are: blue grama grass and purple cone flower. This ecosystem extends from the Interlake and Southwestern Manitoba across Saskatchewan to Alberta.

The First Nations people had lived on the prairie for thousands of years before the first Europeans arrived in Manito ba. They relied on the tall grass plants, gathering them as a medicine, food and crafting material. They followed one of the most effective natural grassland management systems. The prairie eco system was historically shaped by fire, but also through and drought and graz ing by the millions of bison that roamed the prairie.

Bison are considered a keystone species – an impor tant species that is the foundation of an ecosystem. They grazed vegetation, turned and pressed soil, and spread seeds in their fur and manure. Only 300 years ago, they were present in large numbers. After Euro pean settlement the species was nearly lost from the prairie. In 1873, James McKay captured three calves during a hunt in Saskatchewan and brought them to Winnipeg to raise. His herd grew and was later sold and shared. Descendants of this herd live at the Assini boine Park Zoo in Winnipeg. Wild bison are federally protected as species at risk, and wild Canadian plains bison are only found in natural parks.

Another way of grassland management is fire. Burn ing improves the growth of plants and the new shoots would attract bison herds. Fires were started by light

ning strikes or purposefully by Indigenous people who knew that burning would improve growth of edible and medicinal plants.

During the 19th century, most of the prairie was plowed. European settlement brought enormous change to the native landscape. Only a few patches re mained intact. In Manitoba, there is the Living Prai rie Museum, the Manitoba Tall Grass Prairie Preserve lands in the Tolstoi-Gardenton area, 100 km south of Winnipeg, and Beaudry Provincial Park.

Living Prairie Museum is located in Treaty One ter ritory, on a traditional homeland of the Metis Nation. The credit for preserving this precious part of the prai rie belongs to one of Winnipeg's wealthy merchants, Andrew McDermot, who purchased this land but did not cultivate it. On this site there are over 150 different types of grasses. Wildlife such as small and large mam mals, birds and insects, whose survival is compromised within the city, can find food and shelter here.

There is another successful trend of prairie comeback in Manitoba. People are encouraged to shift from turf grass to native plants. This pilot project, that more and more Manitobans are embracing, will help reduce car bon emissions and provide other benefits such as cut ting down on chemicals. These plants can mitigate the effects of drought and floods. Native plants are tough and independent. They don’t need watering, never require fertilizer and little or no maintenance. Frost, drought and local insects and other animals can impact native plants but won’t kill them because they devel oped the ability to survive and reproduce in the local environment. The roots of native grasses can help pre vent erosion. Some can reach as deep as four meters.

By planting native plants, we improve the health of the local ecosystem, and growing some of them will connect us with our native prairie heritage.

Oscar Bert Grubert – entrepreneur, restauranteur

Oscar Bert Grubert (1929-2014) Entrepreneur, restauranteur.

Oscar Bert Grubert was born at Winnipeg in 1929, one of four children of Polish immi grants George Gershon Grubert (1893-1975) and Adela Grubert (c1897-1975), brother of Sarah, Pearl and Harry Grubert. His preschool is years were spent at Seven Sis ters Falls. He returned to Winnipeg and attended el ementary and high school in the city’s North End. In 1954, he received a law degree from the Manitoba Law School.

Grubert developed an international food and beverage empire from the humble roots of a drive-in restaurant, Champs Auto Drive, started in 1957 in partnership with Bill Goldberg and Meyer Gil fix. The following year, he brought the Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise to Manitoba, operating under the name of Champ’s Chicken. He went on to establish a succession of Winnipeg restaurants through the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, including Kamps, Grubee’s, Butch er Block, Mother Tucker’s Food Experience, Koko’s, Mama Trossi’s, The Garden Creperie, The Rec Room,

Memorable Manitobans

At its height, his Champs Food Systems employed over 3,000 people in more than 50 restaurants around Canada and the USA. In 1970, he served as President of the Canadian Restaurant Association.

In the mid-1960s, Grubert dabbled in concert promo tion, establishing Champion Productions that brought the Rolling Stones to Winnipeg in mid-July 1966. He brought professional fastball to Winnipeg, naming his team the Winnipeg Colonels, and served on the Board of the World Hockey Association’s Winnipeg Jets.

He was married twice, first in 1954 to Belle Kirschner and second in 1989 to Ruth Mozersky. Active in Win nipeg’s Jewish community, he was a founding member of the Manitoba Jewish Foundation. He was recog nized for his many efforts in the community by The Jewish National Fund as their Negev Dinner honouree in 1985.

He moved to Toronto, Ontario in 1989 and died there on 11 February 2014.

Jim Ingebrigtsen is a council member of the Manitoba Historical Society and submits the stories of Memorable Manitobans each month to Lifestyles 55. Visit MHS.mb.ca and discover more than 12,000 othernotables in our archives.

Chicken on wheels.

Oscar Bert Grubert

Chances R, Thomas Button’s, G. Williker’s, T Bones, Carlton Street Fish Market, Strawberries, The Palomino Club, and Blue Jeans Cabaret.

Manitoba prairie grasses, Sanja Rossi herbarium, private collection.

Plains bison, Assiniboine Park Zoo. Photo courtesy Sanja Rossi.

Monarch butterfly on Meadow Blazing Star, Living Prairie Museum. Photo cour tesy Sanja Rossi.

Sanja Rossi Manitoba Through Time

Peace at last – the war is over

In

1945, newspaper headlines de clared the war was over. However, the war was far from being over. There was a cease-fire, but not everywhere. As enemy troops began re treating, territories and colonies belonging to England, Holland, Bel gium, France, and other countries were demand ing independence. In Java, American lendlease guns cut down the inhabitants who wanted nothing but the right to live their own lives in the land of their birth. The Doctrines of Discovery asserted that France had a “God-given right” to rule the heathens in Indochina. Ditto for the Netherlands in Java, for Eng land in India, for Belgium in Africa, and for many other Christian nations around the world.

Wayne Weedon Food for Thought

France rushed to Indochina and paid the retreating Japanese troops to turn around and subdue the rebelling infidels. The fate of India and Africa was much discussed between the Al lies, without any consideration for the wishes or welfare of the people living there. Korea, a Japanese territory, was split, with Russia taking the north and USA taking the south. The Koreans did not agree with this, all they want ed was to be left alone so they could live their own lives in peace.

Mathew 6:6 states, “when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret”. The founding fathers of the United States of America formed a secular repub lic, agreeing with Mathew, religion

is a private matter and should be left out of government and politics. Ma hatma Gandhi’s plan was to follow the USA’s example and create a secular state. All Indi ans would stick together and co-operate to form a unified and independent India with no official religion. If this had hap pened, India might have become a productive and powerful nation, much like the USA. Gandhi was assassinated as Eng land chopped up India into separate states. Re ligious feuds, which con tinue to this day, broke out between these states. So far, millions of men, women and children, including new borns, have been slaughtered. Gandhi warned, a united India will prosper and thrive, but a divided India will self-destruct. If this is what England wanted all along, for the past threequarters of a century, Indians have been played for fools.

Today’s war in Ukraine is a con tinuation of the Second World War. England declared war when Germany attacked Poland. England was sup posed to free Poland from foreign ag gression. However, when the German armies retreated from Poland, the Rus sian armies marched in. The Allies had agreed, Poland, Ukraine, and several other countries would remain under Russian rule. Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin had private meetings, debat ing about who would control whom. When peace treaties were signed with Germany, Italy and Japan, the fighting over control of countries and boundar ies escalated between the Allies.

Celebrate the Year of the Garden with

In 1945, even though the twentieth century was not even half done, it had already established itself as the bloodi est period in human history. From 1900 to 1945, more people had died by violence than in all the world’s pre vious recorded history. The death total was more than the entire population of the USA. During the first thirty years of the twentieth century, Euro pean powers fought 74 wars. These wars averaged four years in duration for a total of 297 years of warfare.

After the second atomic bomb was dropped on Japan, reporters were giv ing the public the glad news that our last enemy had surrendered. As trea ties were signed, the Allies lost their common purpose and their common enemies, and they started fighting

amongst themselves. Former brothersin-arms quarrelled over who should control what territory. Americans thanked God for the atomic bomb, which they had, and the Russians did not. The manufacture of these bombs was speeded up. Americans talked peace and understanding to their erst while friends while holding a gun to their ribs.

As their troops came home, Ameri cans turned their bloodthirsty atten tion to internal struggles with labour organisations and their own minori ties. During the war, because there was a lack of manpower, jobs became available to depressed racial minori ties who began attaining an economic status which they had never previous ly enjoyed. Once the end of war was proclaimed, USA was confronted with the problem of putting these racial mi norities back into their proper places. They were holding jobs which return ing white servicemen wanted. During the war, when manpower was needed, laws were passed which provided fair employment practices to everyone re gardless of colour or creed. Now that the need for their services had passed, the USA Congress decided in favour of unfair employment practices for minorities.

And the Second World War contin ues. Will it ever stop? That is food for thought.

Next month: The Eve of Destruction

Wayne Douglas Weedon is a Manitoba author. Some of his works may be down loaded, free of charge in various formats, at https://archive.org. Any of this authors articles published in Lifestyles 55+ mag azine, may be freely copied and circulated in any format, if the source and author are acknowledged.

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Will

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A power of attorney is an extremely valuable document to have in place in case anything happens to you which affects your mental ability, such as a stroke, coma or dementia.

Health Care Directive (Living Will)

A health care directive, commonly called a living will, is a document which appoints an individual to make decisions with regard to your health care only, while you are alive but unable to express your decisions yourself. This document is distinct from a power of attorney and deals only with health care decisions such as whether life sustaining treat ments, such as CPR or blood transfusion, should be continued or withdrawn.

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‘What about India?’ poster. Image courtesy of the US Library of Congress.

Bill Blaikie leaves us too soon

of the past. He will be missed by our readers. He brought this same sensibility to the back pages in the former Parliamentarians publi cation, Beyond the Hill.

It

is with great regret and sadness that we learn of the passing of Bill Blaikie, former MP from 1979 to 2008 and later MLA from 2009 to 2011 and our faithful corre spondent in Lifestyles 55. Bill slipped away from us on Sept. 24 with his wife, Brenda, by his side.

For readers of Lifestyles 55, Bill’s articles were filled with wisdom and sometimes hu mour about topics of the day and memories

Points to Ponder

minimus.

1. The space between your eyebrows is called glabella.

2. The way it smells after the rain is called petrichor.

3. The plastic or metal lic coating at the end of your shoelaces is called an aglet.

4. The rumbling of stomach is actually called a wamble.

5. The cry of a new born baby is called a vagitus.

6. The prongs on a fork are called tines.

Jim Ingebrigtsen Is It Just Me...

7. The sheen or light you see when you close your eyes and press your hands on them is called phosphenes.

8. The tiny plastic table in the middle of a pizza box is called a box tent.

9. The day after tomorrow is called overmorrow.

10. Your little toe or finger is called a

Those are the facts, but to your editor, al though he served across the aisle from me in the House of Commons, I admired and re spected him as did so many of my colleagues. He was a good friend and a giant of a man in both politics and private life. He lived to serve others and did so with intelligence and passion.

Bill was, for several years, the longest serv ing parliamentarian and was the Dean of the

House in the 38th and 39th Parliaments. He was sworn in as a member of the King's Privy Council for Canada in 2003. In 2007, he was voted Parliamentarian of the Year by his peers. Blaikie was the Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada from 2006 to 2008. In 2013, he received the Dis tinguished Service Award from the Canadian Association of Former Parliamentarians. Bill was appointed to the Order of Canada in 2020.

He had a long battle with cancer and fi nally succumbed. We wish his wife Brenda and his children our warmest condolences.

11. The wired cage that holds the cork in a bottle of champagne is called an agraffe.

12. The ‘na na na’ and ‘la la la’ which don’t have any meaning in any song are called vo cables.

13. When you com bine an exclamation mark with a question mark (like this ?!), it is referred to as an inter robang.

14. The space between your nostrils is called a columella nasi.

15. The condition of finding it diffi cult to get out of bed in the morning is called dysania.

16. Illegible hand-writing is called griffonage.

17. The dot over a ‘j’ or an ‘i’ is called tittle.

18. That sick feeling you get after

eating or drinking too much is called crapulence.

Thoughts to Think About:

1. When one door closes and another door opens, you are probably in pris on.

2. To me, "drink responsibly" means don't spill it.

3. Age 60 might be the new 40, but 9:00 pm is the new midnight.

4. It's the start of a brand-new day, and I'm off like a herd of turtles.

5. The older I get, the earlier it gets late.

6. When I say, "The other day," I could be referring to any time between yes terday and 15 years ago.

7. I remember being able to get up without making sound effects.

8. I had my patience tested. I'm nega tive.

9. Remember, if you lose a sock in the dryer, it comes back as a Tupperware lid that doesn't fit any of your con tainers.

10. If you're sitting in public and a

stranger takes the seat next to you, just stare straight ahead and say, "Did you bring the money?"

11. When you ask me what I am do ing today, and I say "nothing," it does not mean I am free. It means I am do ing nothing.

12. I finally got eight hours of sleep. It took me three days, but whatever. 13. I run like the winded.

14. I hate when a couple argues in public, and I missed the beginning and don't know whose side I'm on.

15. When someone asks what I did over the weekend, I squint and ask, "Why, what did you hear?"

16. When you do squats, are your knees supposed to sound like a goat chewing on an aluminum can stuffed with celery?

17. I don't mean to interrupt people. I just randomly remember things and get really excited.

18. When I ask for directions, please don't use words like "east."

19. Don't bother walking a mile in my shoes. That would be boring. Spend 30 seconds in my head. That'll freak you right out.

20. Sometimes, someone unexpected comes into your life out of nowhere, makes your heart race, and changes you forever. We call those people cops. 21. My luck is like a bald guy who just won a comb.

Jim was a writer-broadcaster, producer and presenter on television and radio for 40 years. He is also a host on Lifestyles 55 Digital Radio. Find Radio Redux and Mid-Century Memories it at www. whatsupwinnipeg.

Did you know these things had names?

Dorothy Dobbie

The Hon. Bill Blaikie.

Committed to Manitoba seniors

Soon!

Our PC government is proud to to support the needs of seniors across our province.

Heather Stefanson Premier of Manitoba

Scott Johnston Minister of Seniors and Long-term Care