Mourn on the 4th of July: An elegy for my American cousins and friends For my dear, recently departed wife, Anne, travelling to Vermont, which we did quite frequently whilst in Canada, was like returning to her native region in the Carpathian foothills of Slovakia: the same green uplands folding one behind another, the..
New Canadian class: Canada Day 2026 On August 21,1968, my late 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..
Weetabix Revisited in the Wake of Brain Cancer Until my wife Anne was suddenly stricken by glioblastoma, the very aggressive, incurable form of brain cancer that befell her a mere six weeks ago, she could not live without her daily hit of Weetabix. Even on Christmas morning, she devoured a delicious bowl of this..
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 Happy Brothers/ Les frères Šťastný Two seemingly disparate fragments of history, one with a decidedly personal edge… Fragment one Anton Šťastný and Peter Šťastný chose to defect from Czechoslovakia to Quebec City, Canada, in late August 1980. Older brother Marian defected a year later to join them on the NHL Nordiques. The professional hockey..