Posts with the Stratford tag

Barris Beat

A stage without Kenneth…

Written by Ted Barris on . 1 Comment
The look Ken Welsh often brought to his December readings of A Child’s Christmas in Wales. Photo  – Charlotte Hale.

I can think of all kinds of memorable spoken quotations. Winston Churchill’s wartime proclamation, “We will fight them on the beaches…” Oprah Winfrey’s motto, “Think like a queen.” Danny Gallivan’s “Savardian Spin-o-rama” on Hockey Night in Canada. Not only are the words etched in my memory, so are their voices. But there’s another memorable voice I’ve always heard around Christmastime offering these memorable words:

“I can never remember whether it snowed for six days and six nights when I was 12, or whether it snowed for 12 days and 12 nights when I was six.” Of course, those are words of Dylan Thomas, from the opening of A Child’s Christmas in Wales.

But I have only ever heard one voice associated with those lines, that of Kenneth Welsh. (more…)

Barris Beat

The space of the century

Written by Ted Barris on . Leave a comment
The way Uxbridge residents gathered to celebrate the unveiling of Col Sam Sharpe sculpture (May 2018)

We all assembled in downtown Uxbridge that evening. There were politicians of all stripes, bands, a parade of veterans, Indigenous representatives, vehicles, lots of kids running around in the streets and rows of seating spilling out from the curb. The police had to cordon off our main intersection of Toronto and Brock streets. There must have been 500 or 600 people seated, standing, passing by or gathering to witness the unveiling of the L/Col Sam Sharpe memorial sculpture in May 2018. As I organized my MC notes, a friend from out of town poked me in the shoulder.

“Wow, what an event!” he said.

I smiled and nodded, but then he added a comment and a question that cut me to the quick.

“You’ve got a hell of a town here, Ted. But how come we’re sprawled all over the street? Don’t you have a downtown square for this?”

The answer was: “No, we don’t.” (more…)