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…)

Bredin’s Bakery during Uxbridge’s recent sign-wars campaign.

They had just finished sprucing up the shop. Walls and trim were freshly painted. They’d replaced some shelving and hung a vintage photograph of family ancestor, Greg Bredin’s dad, who’d originated the business. And probably best of all, they’d re-framed and re-hung some of their favourite bakery puns.

“Sorry for being flakey,” one read after they remodelled. “We’ve been procrusti-baking.”

Some of their slogans were also strategically placed around the bakery counters and display cases, including, “Have you tried a Bredin donut? If not, we understand. They sell out within an hour and a half every Saturday.” (more…)

Ted Barris

author | journalist

Posts with the Bedford Falls tag

Finding the holiday spirit

Bredin’s Bakery – more missing than the name