Are the bees for the birds? The custom of “telling the bees” is a charming and ancient tradition where beekeepers inform their bees about significant events in their lives, such as deaths, births, marriages, and other major occurrences. This practice is believed to have its roots in Celtic mythology, where bees were seen as messengers..
The Russians are coming/ Les Russes sont à nos portes August 22, 1968 The English version of this text in honour of my wife’s birthday immediately follows the French. Aujourd’hui, c’est le 66e anniversaire de mon épouse Anne. Le 22 août marque également le 56e anniversaire de l’invasion de son pays, alors connu..
New Canadian Class 1968 On August 21,1968, my wife Anne’s country was invaded by the Soviet Union. The invasion of Czechoslovakia took place the day before Anne’s 10th birthday. The Soviet Union was intent on putting an end to what is known as the Prague Spring, a period of reform in Czechoslovakia that challenged the..
Je suis ton Père/I am your Father Dans mon livre, je parle de mon beau-père originaire d’Europe de l’Est. Il est décédé de complications liées à la maladie d’Alzheimer en 2009. Aujourd’hui, en 2024, j’ai l’impression que mon déclin s’est amorcé et que mon destin sera bientôt semblable à celui de mon beau-père. In my..
Place à l’humanitaire / Make way for humanitarianism English to follow: Dre Joanne Liu est une éminente humanitaire québécoise, un médecin urgentiste pédiatrique et un professeur à l’École des populations et de la santé mondiale de l’Université McGill de Montréal. Elle a également été présidente de MSF (Médecins sans frontières). Joanne est une passionnée..
The real reason that we returned to Canada: My wife Anne missed Simons too much to remain in France. Here is an excerpt from the story “Excuse My French” from the book entitled My Time with You Has Been Short but Very Funny. Simons, a clothing and department store, is a Quebec and even..
Weetabix: The Song My old friend Andy McClelland is a brilliant singer/songwriter. Recently Andy has taken some of the silly song lyrics and doggerel that I’ve written and turned this dross into some golden tunes. Our most recent collaboration is “The Weetabix Song” that Andy has created based on a satiric little piece that I..
Weetabix Each and very morning, my wife needs a quick fix; She’s compelled to devour her Weetabix. Breakfasts in her native Slovakia were much more eclectic; When she came to Canada at age 10, out went the authentic. A ship without mooring, she ingested every sort of North American comestible; Her parents, non-plussed, found..
What’s in a name? Becoming SpongeBob “Sticks and stones will break my bones/ But names will never hurt me.” (An old adage which is a bare-faced lie) When I was barely eight years old and living in Georgetown, Ontario, an earth-shattering upheaval shook my identity to the core: I lost the name my parents..
How my mother became a pedant…an excerpt from My Time with You Has Been Short but Very Funny https://robertmcbrydeauthor.com/ And a grammar song by the great musician https://soundcloud.com/andy-mcclelland Stream The Grammar Song by Andy McClelland | Listen online for free on SoundCloud My mother, Angelina Reiser, was born in 1918 of parents who had..