By Linda Coneybeare Travel Plus Hola! I am just back from a week on the Costa Tropical in Andalucía Spain. My sister and her husband wisely decided to spend the winter in Spain so that…
Starting with malt
A guided tour through the art science and history of our favourite 7000-year-old beverage with beer columnist Brent Milcz. As a brewer talking about how beer is born is a bit of a rabbit hole.…
Arrive alive
Smart phones have changed our lives in myriad ways. The way we communicate the way we use the Internet the way we shop and date and get directions. They’ve also made our roads more dangerous.…
Canadian drama at its best
We’ve seen the final episode of Downton Abbey but the finales of two real-life Canadian dramas will be aired within the next few weeks. A verdict in the Jian Ghomeshi sexual assault case comes down…
Dear Minden Hills council
I am writing this open letter on behalf of the members of the Arts Council – Haliburton Highlands Board of Directors to express our dismay at the cuts to the Minden Hills Cultural Centre. The…
Just imagine
By Chad Ingram It’s difficult impossible really for those of us living here in the comfortable 21st century with our automobiles and propane heating and pocket-sized devices capable of holding the sum total of human…
The window
By Jim Poling I t was one of the those wood frame windows they built into 2 ½-storey family homes 100 years ago. Perhaps four feet tall and 2 ½ feet wide with a push…
Themes
By Chad Ingram Imagine for March which is maple-tapping time in Haliburton County Minden’s downtown decked out with sap buckets and spring kites. It’s a vision that will come to fruition very shortly as Minden’s…
The Next Revolution
A malaise – that vague sense that something is not right – has us in its grip. It’s not the March malaise that accompanies the weariness of winter and yearning for spring. It’s a malaise that…
Tattoos and Star Wars
By Jim Poling Sr. I ’ve been thinking about getting a tattoo. Thinking hard. Getting a tattoo is no lightweight decision. What statement do I want to make? What design? On which body part? These…
A little help
By Chad Ingram O ntario’s municipalities are in trouble. They are camels whose backs can’t handle much more baggage. Years of the province downloading costs from infrastructure to social services to security has left many…
Letters to the EditorLetters to the EditorTo the…
To the Editor As some people may know Feb. 29 is the OSPCA National Cupcake day! The staff here at Minden Animal Hospital will be selling cupcakes that day in support of this! All proceeds…
Beggars
By Chad Ingram Think of critical infrastructure and one may picture roads bridges and culverts. Think of essential services and ambulances and fire trucks may come to mind. In 2016 the Internet also belongs on…
Little flu for now
By Jim Poling It has not only been an unusually mild winter (except for last weekend) but an unusually mild influenza season. Everyone hopes it will stay that way. Up to Feb. 1 there had…
JuniorBook of the Month
Herecomes Valentine Cat byDeborah Underwood Catdoes not like Valentine’s Day. It’s too mushy and he’s notinterested in giving anyone a Valentine… especially not his newneighbour Dog. Dog has been howling and throwing his bones over thefence.…
Bathing suits on midnight swims?
By Jim Poling Maybe it’s the fine winter weather. Little snow to shovel. Some ice but I’ve spread salt and sand on the driveway only once. Never any thought of having to shovel the roof.…
Cutting culture
By Chad Ingram Just what to do about the Minden Hills Cultural Centre – how to make it more economically viable and how to bring more people through its doors which are of course linked…
Courage in the cold
By Jim Poling It was just before 1 a.m. on Feb. 3 1943 when the torpedo struck beginning one of the most inspirational stories of the Second World War. Most of the 904 men aboard…
Metamorphosis
By Chad Ingram Haliburton County council has decided the county will close its tourist information centre along Highway 35 in Minden at the end of the year and that’s OK. Actually it’s a good progressive…
Hooked on Downton Abbey
By Jim Poling After six seasons I’m still wondering why a guy like me became a fan of the British TV series Downton Abbey. Not just a run-of-the-mill fan – a rabid fan. I would…
Those left behind
By Chad Ingram I lost a friend to suicide last year. I didn’t find out until months after it happened. My friend was also a co-worker of mine when I lived and worked in the…