Posts with the Family Day tag

Barris Beat

Mind the gap

Written by Ted Barris on . Leave a comment
A Boston cream donut helps reveal what’s needed to return to normalcy.

It’s been a ritual for years. Generally, on Saturdays, I convene adults and kids in the family Donut Club. I rustle up the donuts. They readily eat them. And through most of those years, the orders for the kids have been the same – chocolate-glazed or sprinkled donuts from Bredin’s Bakery in town. Well, the pandemic and the closure of the bakery changed all that. The Donut Club hasn’t met as regularly as it used to. But last Saturday morning, I put out the call for the donut orders anyway.

“Boston Cream, please,” came back one order.

“Boston Cream? Since when?” I asked.

Well, because everything’s been turned upside down for these past two years. And the donut delivery guy (me) has been separated from the donut eaters (them) for quite a while. (more…)

Barris Beat

What’s a Family Day worth?

Written by Ted Barris on . Leave a comment
In 1951  film A Christmas Carol, Scrooge (Alastair Sim) ridicules Cratchit (Mervyn Johns) about expecting both a day off and full-day’s pay.

In the canon of English literature, it’s not the zenith of composition. It doesn’t resonate like a Shakespearean soliloquy, or crackle like Jane Austen dialogue, or whisk you away like a magical J.K. Rowling passage. But, for my money, the exchange between Scrooge and Bob Cratchit, in A Christmas Carol, says everything about our times.

“You’ll want all day tomorrow, I suppose?” whines Scrooge, anticipating his clerk’s desire to have Christmas Day off.

“If quite convenient, sir,” pleads Cratchit.

“It’s not convenient and not fair,” snorts Scrooge, “You don’t think me ill-used, when I pay a day’s wages for no work.” (more…)

Barris Beat

Being there

Written by Ted Barris on . 5 Comments
Linda Carter - artist, filmmaker and public speaker -
Linda Carter - artist, filmmaker and public speaker - says, “In this society, we need people who’ve been there before.” She spoke to reporters at a Black History event at Centennial College this week.

Earlier this week, I hosted a Black History Month event in Toronto. The guest speaker was fashion designer, actress and filmmaker Linda Carter. A couple of weeks ago her latest production, a film called “The Making of a Judge,” documented the life of her father, George E. Carter, Canada’s first native born black judge. Following her short talk about the film, several journalists posed questions. They ranged from her thoughts about her career to the importance of Black History Month to her feelings about Afri-centric schools. Then she got this one:

“What are your thoughts on the causes of such things as the Jordan Manners shooting in a Toronto school?” the young journalist asked.

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Barris Beat

Never in November

Written by Ted Barris on . 1 Comment
Grave of J. Robertson, VC, at Farm.
Grave of James Robertson, VC, who served with the 27th Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force. He died Nov. 6, 1917, during the Battle of Passchendaele in Belgium. He was 35.

They tell me if things go a certain way, one day soon I’ll have this day to myself. I’ll be able to rise, take a leisurely breakfast and then do the right thing. They tell me if their plan is accepted, I’ll have all day to pay my respects to Canada’s veterans. That plan will mean I’ll have a statutory holiday on Nov. 11, on Remembrance Day. At least, that’s what the sponsor of a private member’s bill, MPP Lisa MacLeod, believes.

“There’s been an outpouring of support for Canadian soldiers, our war veterans and our war dead,” she told CBC a few days ago.

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