Faith and begorrah! I have to double-check with Euchremeister, Ann Stewart, but I believe that our DRA Euchre Luncheons will resume this month… on St. Patrick’s Day, Friday March 17th, to be precise.
Over the past year or two, we have lost a number of our loyal players. So we are going to have to make a concerted effort to build up our ranks again. So please make a point of telling your friends and acquaintances about this gem of a euchre luncheon. It combines friendly play and a great spread of homemade sandwiches and sinful sweets. Admission for this afternoon of food, cards and camaraderie — is still only $5.00. The monthly tournaments are held at 19053 County Road 24 starting at 12:00 noon and wrapping up around 3:30 PM. Come one. Come all.
By the way, I couldn’t resist researching what the Irish cliché “faith and begorrah” means. As near as I can tell, it’s a way of skirting the Third Commandment not to take the Lord’s name in vain. “Faith” in this context is a near-swear word that uses the whole religious belief system as an interjection. And “Begorrah” is Irish slang for “By God.”
From Munroe to Python
I had intended to provide a report in last week’s column on the Dunvegan Recreation Association’s recent screening of Billy Wilder’s Some Like It Hot, but I ran out of room.
Admittedly, I had never seen the film before. So I wasn’t quite sure how a black & white movie just two years shy of its 60th birthday would stand the test of time. I needn’t have worried. The chemistry that Munroe, Lemmon and Curtis exuded had the audience laughing out loud from start to finish. And speaking of the audience, the wish for a record audience that I expressed in my February 15th column came true. My thanks to the eighteen movie fans who came out for the event… including one couple from Alexandria and another from Parry Sound. (To be honest, the movie fans from Northern Ontario were Bob Garner’s sister and brother-in-law.)
The DRA’s next Saturday Night Movie event… slated for March 18th… features the 1975 classic Monty Python and the Holy Grail starring Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle and the rest of the Monty Python regulars. Billed as the film that “Sets The Cinema Back 900 Years”, the off-the-wall plot follows the exploits of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. On the way home following a wild celebration at Camelot, God intervenes and sends the armour-clad noblemen on a quest to find the Holy Grail.
If you are one of those who like to keep your eyes peeled for cinematic goofs, watch for the sword fight between King Arthur and the Black Knight. IMDb claims the lighting changes repeatedly between an overcast sky and a bright sunny day. As well, the fire in the tent in the background switches from lit to unlit and back again.
Don’t forget to bring your own refreshments and, if you so wish, a comfy cushion or chair. Admission and hot-buttered popcorn are free, but donations are gratefully accepted.
Gown Frown
Laurie Maus tells me that her offer to organize a meeting on sourcing period costumes for the Dunvegan Museum’s ‘1867 Confederation Gala’ fell on deaf ears. “Not a single call,” reported Laurie. “I guess everyone has something or there will be lots of time travelers sporting modern fashions.”
Out of touch, much?
Last week, I learned of another householder in Dunvegan who is being pounded by Hydro One’s punishing electricity charges. Back in the 1970s, the owner of the tiny dwelling bought into Ontario Hydro’s dream of the all-electric home… a dream that, over the past decade or so, has turned into a never-ending nightmare. And this individual is not alone. Hundreds of thousands of rural Ontarians are facing monthly power bills that have spawned a whole new demographic segment: the energy poor. No matter what they do to cut back on their usage, their bills continue to rise to pay for the provincial Liberals disastrous green energy, rip-off-your-neighbour schemes.
I can only imagine how this Dunvegan Hydro One customer reacted to the January 1, 2017 announcement from the Ontario Minister of Transportation that subsidies for the buyers of luxury electric vehicles like the Tesla will more than quadruple, from $3,000 to $14,000. They might well ask their local MPP why a person who can afford to buy a car that can cost upwards of $100,000 needs a subsidy in the first place? Even more galling is the news that the Environment Minister’s chief of staff left to work for Tesla right around the time these e-vehicle subsidies skyrocketed. The career move may have satisfied the letter of Ontario’s conflict of interest laws. However, I question if it passes the smell test with rural Hydro One customers who have to choose between turning on their baseboard heater and buying food.
Birding News
When Peggi Calder used to pen this column, it carried much more news on the comings and goings of Dunvegan’s avian visitors. Disappointedly, I have not even come close to matching Peggi’s field observations, and have largely given up trying. I lack her finely tuned eye and ear for rare bird sightings. That’s why I always perk up whenever I spot her messages in my email in-box. Spring must be in the air, because tidbits of rare bird sightings have begun to flow once more.
For example, on Wednesday, February 15th, Peggi spotted a male Red-bellied Woodpecker briefly inspecting her clothesline pole. According to my trusty Internet connection, the Red-bellied Woodpecker is extremely rare in this part of Ontario. Apparently, they prefer mature deciduous trees, primarily those found in the Carolinian forests of Southern Ontario, which are usually the extreme northern limit of the Red-bellied Woodpecker’s range.
In looking at the photos on Google Images, it’s obvious the male of the species is a beautiful bird with a bright red cap… not a full red head… and a black and white striped back. The female has a red neck only. Male or female, the name of the Red-bellied Woodpecker seems to be a bit of a misnomer. I could see no evidence of a red belly in the photos I looked at. “Unfortunately I’m not feeding suet or he probably would have stayed longer,” reports Peggi. “The last time I heard of them around here was in 2012, when one visited Bill Franklin’s farm.”
A second e-mail from Peggi a few days later brought more rare bird sightings. Peggi spotted a Shrike — most probably a Northern Shrike — sitting on top of a low tree west of Alexandria on County Road 43. And she had reports of a fairly tame Barred Owl near St. Elmo, north of Maxville, and a mature Bald Eagle near the intersection of Highways138 and 417.
In the footsteps of Janis Joplin’s entreaties for a Mercedes Benz (her friends all had Porches, she had to make amends), my prayers for a bird sighting were answered last Sunday when Terry and I spotted a field on South Branch Road (just west of Grant’s Corners) that was filled to overflowing with snow geese.
1812 Erratum
In last week’s column, I urged you to attend the Dunvegan museum’s 1812 Steak Night Fundraiser. The only problem was that gave you the WRONG date. The event will be held at the Windsor Tavern, 84 Main Street in Vankleek Hill on Friday, March 3rd. Not March 4th. My apologies to the event’s organizers for getting this essential detail wrong.
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