Barris Beat

Behind the brush strokes of history

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A moment in history captured by an equally historic painting.

It’s one of those iconic Canadian images – when you’re a Canadian kid growing up with history books and images of Canadiana all around – that registers permanently.

It shows a biplane – really little more than a pair of kite-type wings with a man, Douglas McCurdy, sitting on the lower wing at the controls – flying over a wintry scene. It’s the Silver Dart, flying just a few feet above the frozen surface of Bras d’Or Lake near Baddeck, Nova Scotia, on Feb. 23, 1909. And as iconic as the image is, I only learned this week who captured it.

“I’m Kathryn Bradford Stevens,” said the speaker at the function I attended this week. “I’m the daughter of aviation artist Robert Bradford.” (more…)

Barris Beat

Much sole-sourcing. No soul-searching.

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ServiceOntario outlet. CityNews.

The last time I went there, I learned something. Remember those Ontario Health cards with the red and white stripes and no head shot? Several years ago, I received notice that I needed to have mine updated with new coding and a photograph. I honestly had visions of lineups, questionnaires, and a long wait to have a new photo taken and an even longer wait for the new card to arrive.

“Nope,” the ServiceOntario representative said. “I already have your photo from your driver’s licence in the file. We can use that for your new health card.”

I was in and out of the service outlet in minutes. My updated card arrived just days later. And I’d discovered that the digital system storing my photo ID actually does work. (more…)

Barris Beat

Norm and Alex, the stars they were

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Sheriff (Brian Keith) challenges Russian sub with help of Russian sailor (Alan Arkin) in “The Russians Are Coming.”

It’s the early 1960s. The Cuban missile crisis is still fresh in people’s minds. The Cold War is at its peak. A Soviet submarine has run aground on the New England coast. Locals in the closest town think it’s the start of a Soviet invasion of America. The panicking townsfolk – armed to the teeth with shotguns – are lined up on the dock facing an armed Soviet sub.

And the local sheriff stands between the two sides about to open fire. He pulls out his parking ticket pad, looks up at the sub commander and through a Russian sailor translating, says, “All right, let’s have your full name and address.”

The sub commander orders his deck gunners to prepare to fire. (more…)

Barris Beat

Putting a face to a name

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A personal preference is to GO to the township office, not email them.

For some, the new year means resolutions, diets, workouts or turning over a new leaf. For me, perhaps because I’m a details person, January means ensuring that household services continue to arrive and that I’m living up to annual commitments. Among them, as usual, I stopped by the Township office to pay the annual licence fee for our dog, Jazz. The clerk said the past few years Uxbridge has contracted that service out to Docupet, an online service in Kingston.

“That’s fine,” I said, “but I’d prefer to pay you.”

“It’s easier if you go online,” she said.

“Maybe, but if I pay you locally, in a way I’m ensuring you keep your job.” (more…)

Tours

D-Day anniversary tour to JUNO Beach where iconic film shot

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It’s the most recognizable film footage of the D-Day invasion. Now, nearly 80 years after Canadians rushed ashore on Juno Beach on June 6, 1944, to begin the liberation Europe, we know the exact location of that filming site.

War cinematographer Bill Grant and his D-Day camera in 1944.

For years that black & white 35-mm movie footage was thought to be shot by a camera mounted in the back of a landing craft in front of Courseulles-sur-Mer. I spent a year helping to give Cdn Film & Photo Unit cinematographer Bill Grant credit for capturing that moment. Now historians have proven the landing spot was at St-Aubin-sur-Mer.

If this story intrigues you, I’ve got lots more. This spring I’m leading a Merit Travel tour to Normandy, Dieppe, Vimy, Ypres & Passchendaele. Here’s all the info: https://www.merittravel.com/d-day-tour?fbclid=IwAR0qbIhlfitv_r1SqTpZV5JMd2t_5Ru6p9VTCSF2GvloPB9e_GqJ6NtFEnI

Barris Beat

Boldness. Not belligerence.

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Jennifer Botterill confronts Jamal Mayers on fighting in the NHL. Hockey Feed.

It was the end-of-year party for our oldtimers hockey club at a pub in town. After some wings, some beer and a lot of laughs, we got down to the serious stuff of discussing the game we love. And it didn’t take long, before the elephant in the room emerged.

“What’re they going to do about fighting in hockey?” (more…)

Barris Beat

Finding the holiday spirit

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Family Christmas tree hunting party. Dec. 17, 2023.

We’d wandered to the back of the back-40 last Sunday. Almost nobody was there. A bunch of the grandkids ran around as if it were the last day of school. My younger daughter and I walked in silence, scanning the horizon. She spotted one. I spotted one. Then my grandsons figured they’d found a tree. Eventually, I stopped and surveyed a likely candidate. “What do you think of this one?”

“Sure, Popou,” some of the kids said (calling me the Greek word for granddad).

But I waited for my older daughter’s youngest son to look and pass judgement. He smiled and said, “That’s good.” His mom, who usually decides, couldn’t join us this time, so the final OK fell to him.

“Let the holidays begin!” I said. (more…)

Barris Beat

Social skill without a cellphone

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Closing night flowers (“One rose is just fine”) to “Frankie and Johnny” co-stars Grant Evans and Lisha Van Nieuwenhove. Photo Michelle Viney.

This week I’ve visited the Uxbridge Music Hall a lot. We were moving staging, lights, props and actors into the facility for performances of Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune, Dec. 13-16. On Monday, as director Conrad Boyce and I opened the front door of the Hall to move a piece of furniture onto the stage, Benny, the custodian, greeted us with a big smile and handshakes.

“Isn’t it great? We don’t have to do this anymore,” and he mimicked avoiding somebody on the sidewalk the way we did during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It is great,” I agreed. “But we almost have to learn how to deal with people face-to-face all over again.” (more…)

Tours

Join our Merit Travel D-Day 80th Anniversary Tour – May 15-26, 2024

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1944 D-Day era Jeep.

If you can imagine yourself riding in a WWII-vintage Jeep around the D-Day beaches for an afternoon…

Or discovering Canada’s actual role in the Dieppe raid…

Or meeting a Great War tunnelling expert who also serves beer and lunch near Passchendaele…

Historian & bartender Johan Vandewalle.

Then our upcoming D-Day 80th Anniversary Tour is for you! Merit Travel has just put the seats for our trip on the market. We leave on our 10-day trip on May 15, 2024. Check the details at this Merit Travel link: https://www.merittravel.com/d-day-tour

And, if you’re available, I’m hosting a ZOOM with Merit Travel this Thursday, Dec. 14 at 2 p.m. to describe the tour and answer your questions.

Barris Beat

Fighting fakery

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Sports Illustrated website offering profile of reporter Drew Ortiz.

Have you ever read a story in a magazine and wondered who the reporter was who wrote it? Well, I have, often. More specifically, imagine that you were reading an edition of Sports Illustrated a few weeks back. You saw a story that caught your attention written by Drew Ortiz. If you then searched the Sports Illustrated website to find out more about Ortiz, here’s the message you’d have found:

“Nowadays, there is rarely a weekend that goes by where Drew isn’t out camping, hiking, or just back on his parents’ farm,” the SI site said.

Well, the mystery around Drew Ortiz and his SI story intrigued reporters at a New York-based science and technology publication called Futurism. They did some checking and discovered that the photo of Drew Ortiz could be traced to an Artificial Intelligence image website with the description: “neutral white young-adult male with short brown hair and blue eyes.” (more…)