Blog

I have mentioned before in this space that I am a member of the editorial board of the online book review site, the British Columbia Review, formerly the Ormsby Review. The site is devoted to reviewing books about British Columbia and/or by British Columbians.

So let me announce that the Review has added a new feature, its own YouTube channel. We have kicked things off with a short interview...

The year began with a short visit to Powell River. Many nice hikes in that area, one of which took us to the top of Mt. Valentine with a wonderful view of the Salish Sea. That is the mill below us in the photograph above. Once the lifeblood of the town it is closed now and the property on the market. As far as one can tell the transition from company town has gone well; the community seems to be...

Canada's History Society has announced the winner of its Governor General's History Award for Popular Media, better known as the Pierre Berton Award.

This year the award goes to Thomas King, the prolific novelist, historian, humourist, broadcaster and I could go on. In...

 I braved the monsoon rains last week to attend the regular meeting of the Vancouver Historical Society where Gregory Betts was speaking about the Grateful Dead and their visits to the city back in the 1960s and '70s. You can watch the lecture yourself here on YouTube.

What I remember about the music of those years was not the Dead -- I was out of town for their concerts -- but the Jefferson Airplane. For me, the...